• Last Seen: 9 yrs ago
  • Joined: 11 yrs ago
  • Posts: 34 (0.01 / day)
  • VMs: 0
  • Username history
    1. RedSavant 11 yrs ago

Status

User has no status, yet

Bio

User has no bio, yet

Most Recent Posts

Honestly, it just strikes me as odd that he was able to tell both what was traded and how much it was worth given that the notebook is ciphered. I know nothing about accounting or bookkeeping, so I'm not going to pick at details, but that at least was noticeable.
Touka blinked, slightly surprised, but nodded. "If you like," she said, looking slightly up at the man. "Mitsumine Takeshi?" He had to be, since he was holding her grandma's letter. She flushed slightly. Hopefully he hadn't noticed the marks where she'd tried to pry it open without breaking the wax. "Have you ever met my family? I thought it strange that my grandmother asked for a letter to be delivered."
"Oh, perhaps the pup has some fangs after all," Touka replied, grinning. "Not too sharp, not yet. But you have some after all." That was good, at least. She stood, crossing the floor in a few steps to take the blade from the wrapped cloth, holding it by the sheath. She wasn't stupid enough to hold a sword by the hilt in front of a lord; maybe he was toothless, but his guards probably weren't. She turned back to face Ryuunosuke, sobering. “I came here from my family’s village to see whether or not you were worthy of our respect. My family believes in you, and are willing to fight to the death to protect you and yours. Are you prepared to do the same for us? Would you die for the sake of those who would die for you?" Without waiting for an answer, she turned and stepped out into the hallway, turning what she thought was the way back toward the entrance.
"Nothing right now," Touka replied shortly, shaking her head. She grinned over at Kanaka. Finally, someone with an actual backbone! If only this girl had been made clan head; then the Mitsumine would be worth the continued respect of the Hakurou. As it was, though... the boy was nothing but bows and apologies. He had no fight in him. "I've said all I came to say and seen all I desire to see. Keep the cloth; that is a goodwill gift from my family to yours, but the blade was to be a present for you yourself, and I do not think you worthy of it." She spoke bluntly, meeting Ryuunosuke's dark eyes calmly. The blade she spoke of was visible inside the wrap of cloth; it looked to be a short chokuto, with a sheath and hilt of dark brown wood.
Touka narrowed her eyes at the girl in the hallway, bringing her own presence to bear. She was powerful, but not overwhelmingly so, and Touka felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Useless human body - the itch spread across her neck and shoulders as she tried to raise hackles that didn't exist. The pup lordling's obsequiousness was starting to grate already; the youngest child in the family, at least, had enough pride not to roll over and show her belly to the entire world, unlike the two grown men who claimed to be the lords of the land. "It's fine," she said, keeping her eyes locked on the girl's - Kanaka's. "If there's something that needs discussing, then by all means."
Touka reached for the offered tea, but midway through the motion she stiffened. A presence was looming somewhere just outside the room, listening to the conversation - and making their power quite obvious. It wasn't the careless unveiling of an untrained amateur, either - no, the presence had simply appeared, right outside the door. A calculated move, then - one calculated to intimidate, perhaps? The watcher had unveiled him- or herself right as the pup lordling had mentioned her family. Her lower back started to itch again, and she straightened back up without touching the tea. "You are polite for someone allowing eavesdroppers on your guests," she said sharply.
"A long journey indeed," Touka replied, nodding agreement. Her speech was lightly accented to Ryuunosuke's ears, and a bit archaic as well. "Breakfast would be welcome, if you care to offer it, but first I will introduce myself." She bowed slightly, placing her hands just so on the springy tatami. "I am Touka of the Hakurou, of the north reaches of your land. My elders bade me come deliver their respects to the new lord of the Mitsumine." She placed the watercloth-wrapped bundle of silks just inside the door. "Gifts, to represent our continued friendship."

As she spoke the words her parents had coached her with, Touka sized up the young lord. He was fairly well-appointed, that much at least was sure, with dark hair and an intelligent look. If the pup resembled either of his parents, it was little wonder Uzume had always been such a staunch supporter of close relations with them. She stood carefully and stepped inside the room, her soft slippers (so very soft!) sliding across the tatami with a quiet rushing sound. Kneeling across the table from the pup, she tucked back her furisode and folded her hands in her lap. "So, you are the new lord?"
Do we have a character sheet somewhere for Ryuunosuke? I just don't want to describe him incorrectly here.
And so it was that, a mere hour after waking up that morning in a small, cold and dirty travelers' hostel, Touka found herself kneeling in a wide and luxurious hallway, her feet nice and warm in soft slippers, waiting to meet the heir of the Mitsumine clan. The maid, Chiyo, had been very gracious, and while it had felt strange to finally hand over the letter she'd been keeping against her chest for the entire long trip, it was a relief in a sense, as well. She cleared her throat behind the screen, loudly. Time to get this over with.
When Takeshi received the letter from Chiyo, he would notice two things about it. The first was the familiar hand the address was written in - Hakurou Anko's graceful and sweeping penmanship hadn't changed. The second was the red wax seal. The 白狼 impression was a little bit blurred, as if it had melted gently, and a tiny bit chipped, as though someone had half-heartedly tried to pry it open but given up. Still, the seal was intact.
"I come... seeking an audience with the new heir of the Mitsumine," Touka explained, somewhat sniffily. She tried not to fidget in place as a chilly breeze swept across the somewhat raised road; she'd been born in the mountains, damnit, even further north than this. These soft, southern townspeople didn't know what real cold felt like. Admittedly, the silk of her kimono felt like ice water in the chilly air... at least the long sleeves hid her goosebumps. She held out the bundle of silk cloth, wrapped in watercloth to protect it from the elements. "I bring gifts and a letter from the Hakurou elders of Matsusaka for Mitsumine Takeshi." She purposefully left the honorific off of the regent's name. She had been too young to remember the previous Daimyo when he died, but she knew plenty of Takeshi. A leader who retreated into a cage of luxury at the first sign of danger, lying idle, waiting for the day he could fob off his duties onto his brother's pup. Truly there were those born to lead, and those born to follow. She didn't know what was in the letter - oh, it had been tempting a few times, at night by the fire as she huddled her cloak close around her and cursed the elders and the Mitsumine both and wondered what on earth was worth the trip. But no; that respect she'd give her Grandmother, if not the humans. "May I come in?"
© 2007-2024
BBCode Cheatsheet