[ We find Our Lovebirds - Isty and Taka, Seylin and Patrick, standing outside the smith's shop as he begins working on Istvan's shield. What will they do now? If they sleep here, they may be eaten by a grue. ] [ Session Start! ] * Istvan turns to Takara. "Any ideas on somewhere we could kill time while the smith is working on my shield?" * Seylin swoops down and comes to a graceful landing a short distance from Patrick, Istvan, and Takara. She waves. * Takara smiles a little. "" * Takara bows to Seylin. * Seylin bows back respectfully. You have arcades? (We have the auto-translator on, right?) (Yupyup.) ( Yes. ) Your country is so beautiful from the air. Please forgive my impulsiveness, but I wanted to see more of it. * Istvan blanches a bit at the 'ride' suggestion. "Riding... might not be the best choice. Walking sounds fine." * Takara smiles at Seylin. "" She looks to Istvan and nods. * Patrick snerks and nods. * Seylin smiles. "Certainly." City sounds fine. * Takara turns and sweeps on towards the city, somehow not getting dirt on herself or running into any dirty peasants. (Because dirt is bad, 'kay?) * Istvan lumbers along, taking in the sights. "So most of the folks around here, even diplomats like you, haven't ever left Rokugan territory?" Forgive the bluntness, but... why? * Takara sighs. "" That would certainly destroy relations. From where? * Takara shrugs. "" * Istvan nods. "Seems kind of... extreme to cut off relations to all of the outside world over the actions of one group, but I can understand it, I guess." * Takara looks at Istvan and says, very seriously, "" * Istvan aahs. "Emperor is divine. Didn't know that. I understand now." s'a shame. With the Rokugan lands as allies, the fight against the drow and the orcs and such would've probably been a lot easier. * Istvan grins. "Plus, some of us foreigners are pretty nice folks." * Takara smiles a little and bows her head. "" * Patrick nods, being all listening and stuff. Well, then we'll just have to provide shining examples for how great those from outside Rokugan can be. *pauses; eyes Patrick* ... well, Seylin can do that. * Seylin laughs softly. * Takara laughs. "" Oh, he's a great guy. I'm a great guy. But neither of us are cut out for the shining-beacon gig. *chuckles* * Istvan grins. "Well, of course. I'm a smith. I take pride in keeping my armor nice and shiny." * Patrick grins. "I don't see what there's to not like about me." ^^ Well, I can't really comment. I'm rather biased. You should really visit the dwarven lands some time, Takara. The dwarves are actually a lot like people here, from what I've seen... lots of emphasis on honor, on clan and family... And on ale and wenches. There's that, too. * Takara blinks. "" * Seylin clears her throat slightly. * Istvan blinks, and flounders for a moment on how to explain it. "Er... best way I can explain is that the dwarves devote the same level of devotion to their leisure time that they do to their work. Leisure involving quite a bit of alcohol." Dwarves are devoted to their work. But when they're not working... they get very, very informal. * Takara blinks. "" * Istvan takes in the sights for a bit. "... question. How did Kenji come to engaged to a foreign woman, if the Rokugan areas are only just starting to make contact outside their borders?" * Takara licks her lips. "" How did that go over? I've seen that Lady Chiakko can be... extremely persuasive, but I'd think people would've been a bit shocked. * Takara chuckles. "" Have people gotten used to the idea? * Takara smiles a little. "" So your clan is a bit more friendly to the idea than most? * Istvan nods, and 'hmm's thoughtfully. I could imagine why. You've been to foreign lands long ago and there's likely much more you'd like to know. Plus, again, us foreigners are downright adorable. * Istvan strikes a half-hearted pose, grinning. * Seylin laughs. "That's... really not the word I'd use to describe you, Istvan." What's that? I think I see pigs flying! * Takara laughs, then glances to the sky. "" * Patrick laughs. "It's a joke." Hey, I'm like a big cuddly teddy bear. In plate mail. Pigs are normally big fat animals in gaijin lands used for livestock. So the phrase 'when pigs fly' means 'it'll never happen'. * Takara smiles. "" * Istvan fakes an indignant look. "I sincerely object to the idea that I am not cute and cu- aw hell, I can't say that with a straight face." *cracks up* * Seylin grins. "Honesty *is* the best policy, Istvan." Can I hear a bullshit coming through? I believe you can. * Takara shakes her head in bemusement and keeps walking. The city's getting busier. * Seylin takes a look around, since she's only seen it from the air so far. * Istvan goes quiet for a bit as he takes in the surrounding, with particular note on people's reactions to them/him. [ People are all about, doing their business and trying to do little else. Here and there is someone hawking wares from a cart; most of the stuff is pretty primitive by the standards of Brighthome. There is no meat, but there are river-fish being smoked and fruits and vegetables of all sorts set out for purchase. ] [ Interestingly, while most people take a small amount of interest in the foreigners - particularly the gorgeous girl with wings - there are many, most of them better dressed, who seem to make conscious efforts not to notice you. ] ... is it just me, or are we being ignored? * Seylin shrugs a wing. "Well, just because some people are more accepting of the idea of foreigners doesn't mean they all are." Ignorance breeds fear. * Takara looks at Patrick strangely. What, I can't spout a completely nonsensical saying? [ No, you can't. There's am Imperial Edict against that, mister! ] ( Impossible, the entire Dragon clan would be executed. ) [ I know. I'm totally kiding. ] ... really? ( That's to Takara's statement, btw ) * Takara nods. "" That's interesting. Variety's the spice of life, after all. Well, that's certainly better than them thinking we're not worthy of acknowledging. (And we all know how they feel about spices. ^_~) * Seylin nods. True. I see. I dunno, if someone's drunk usually they're either really funny or really annoying. It's hard to find a balance between staring and ignoring. * Takara nods. I know a lotta folks back home who'd take offense to that, if they didn't know the idea behind it. Or even if they did.' *nods* And lucky we have a guide who explains these things to us before we do something dumb. * Patrick snerks. * Takara smiles. "" she says, going along with the teasing tone. * Istvan smirks. "You should be getting hazardous duty pay." * Takara nods. "" [ Here and there you see restaurants/bars, as they are in this strange land. ] [ And then one of the restaurants pounced on them! Session End. ]