RP Nothing but an Ice Queen

[Andrew]

RP Date

YE 43

RP Location

Ice Queen Mountains, Yamatai

Ice Queen Mountains, Yamatai
Village near Ice Queen Sake

The slow overnight train up the mountain was a scenic trip worth the while, Motoyoshi-Ieyasu Taro welcomed the break after the busy New Year, followed by the Victory Day Celebrations. The news was still fresh, YINN and SANDRA reporters filled the screens of the train most of the trip up the mountain; reports about the aftermath of the Kuvexian War were all the craze. Taro had decided against the Yugumo Corporation Uniform, he wore a comfortable casual outfit of cargo pants, a dark purple checkered button-down shirt with a vest that matched his stylish black outdoor hat with a black belt stripe on it. He folded his tinted fashion spectacles and tucked them into his pocket as he departed his compartment on the train, he had not been out on the train much since departure. He accepted his coat from the steward and drew it up over his shoulders and hung the gray scarf with the Yugumo Corporation logo on it around his neck, "Thank you," he said with a respectful bow before he stepped off the train. and onto the platform.

Taro took a deep breath of the fresh, cold mountain air as he looked around. Snow layered the pagoda-style rooves of the traditional buildings; the small village was still a bit away from where the Sake Brewery was located; they had promised to send someone for him. In the meantime, he walked a few paces on the platform and watched as the train chugged away; the primitive design of the steam locomotive really added to the draw of the trip - it said something about these mountain towns, far from the crazy surge of Kyoto. It reminded Taro of places on Jiyuu III, only that the more temperate and less tropical environment made something about the place special. The trees that towered on the landscape out aged the settlement and the sound of the bubbling mountain stream that ran down the mountain slope could be heard over the sounds of the village.

The smell that came from the Takoyaki cart was enticing; Taro turned and walked over to the cart and looked at the offerings, he watched as a black-haired Yamataian woman flipped the scrumptious octopus balls with her chopsticks. He smiled and gave a nod, and a few words and transfer of funds later he had a paper packet of the warm little goodies all to himself. He separated the pair of bamboo chopsticks and began to eat as he waited for the ride that had been arranged by the Sake-maker.

@hyralt

 

[hyralt]

A low rumble filled the air as a white two-door hatchback drove up to the train station. The angular car was decades old and many would say that it was obsolete, but its engine hummed, telling a story of regular maintenance and preventative upkeep. The body panels showed signs of wear at their edges, but wherever rocks had chipped away, its owner had carefully repainted to protect the underlying metal. On the side of the car was clearly but unskillfully stenciled "氷の女王酒" in black paint. The car pulled up to the curb, stopped, and switched off.

The driver's side door opened and out stepped an older Yamataian woman in a black kimono with a golden obi. The woman glanced up to the train platform, then began sweeping the space around her until she saw the green-haired man who was eating takoyaki. She squinted slightly before ducking back into the car and retrieving a pair of white glittering gift bags, before closing the door. The long kimono severely restricted the movement of her legs, but she still managed to glide gracefully towards the green-haired man, her shoulder-length black hair bouncing only slightly with the motion.

"Motoyoshi-Ieyasu-san," she said to the green-haired man and bowed deeply. As she did so, she extended one of the gift bags out towards him with both hands, the other dangling from one of her wrists. "I am Kinoshita Fusako. It is my pleasure to meet you. Please accept this. It is a sample of my finest product along with a bottle of fresh mountain spring water. I am here to take you to my facilities when you are ready."

 

[Andrew]

Thankfully, Taro had swallowed his last Takoyaki before Fusako made her introduction; to be caught with food in his mouth at a time when he needed to speak would be of been an embarrassing start. Taro smiled and bowed deeply and respectfully in return, "It is an honor to meet you Kinoshita-san, I have to admit the trip up here was well received." He accepted the gifts and took a peek into the bags and then replied, "Arigatou gozaimasu, let me just pick up my bag from inside the terminal and I will be ready."

Taro slipped inside and grabbed his bag from the baggage carousel and went back outside, "Alright, ready to go. I have a little something for you as well from Jiyuu, it is just best I don't fumble with the bag out here. I'd hate to drop it in the snow." He waited for her to lead the way, his gaze shifted as he continued to enjoy the sights and the fresh mountain air. "It really is beautiful up here, I can imagine that might sound strange; I've spent a lot of time on Jiyuu this year, I can honestly say I missed the snow. It is a very warm, humid planet," he commented.

 

[hyralt]

"The spirits of nature are easy to appreciate here, but if I were to visit Jiyuu I'm sure I would say the same there." Fusako bowed her head slightly and swept her hand in the direction of her car before resuming her shuffle-glide back the way she came. "In fact, it has been some time since I have taken a vacation. Perhaps I should visit Jiyuu."

Once she reached the car, the sake maker turned and bowed to him from the waist as she had when she presented his gift.

"Please excuse me. I am sure that it is not the level of comfort to which you are accustomed, but we are a tiny operation and of humble means." She stood upright and gestured to it again, smiling with obvious embarrassment. "We use this ancient relic for local deliveries and picking up groceries. We are so seldom given the honor of visitors."

Fusako walked around behind the vehicle and opened the hatch to allow him to load his luggage.

 

[Andrew]

Taro smiled and said, "Jiyuu is a tropical paradise, it has a troubling history that it is working past but it is a beautiful world." He looked towards the car and walked beside her. When she made the apology he turned to her and said with a respectful bow, "You have no reason to apologize, I'm interested in things just the way they are and how you like them. I'm honored to be your guest, Kinoshita-san." Taro was genuine with his approach, his response gave a glimmer of the type of man he was and what he represented.

He put his luggage and her gifts to him carefully into the hatchback, "Oh, before we get carried on." He opened the bag and pulled out a fancy gift-wrapped box with stylish dark sage colored paper, it had a plastic window and was very obviously vacuumed sealed. Inside was a Densuke (Black) miniature watermelon from the Iga Fancy Fruit Emporium on Jiyuu. A second bag, tall and thin had a single bottle of YE 42 1st Vintage: Yuuki1)-42: Motoyoshi Private Label Umeshu from Ainu Orchards. "From our home to yours, " he said warmly.

 

[hyralt]

When Taro revealed the watermelon Fusako's eyes lit up with curiosity. She looked up to the man's face and momentarily considered politely refusing, but gift-giving was one of the few occasions during which she let her etiquette slip. First by giving him his gift as soon as they met, and now by accepting his gift without any show of refusal. She bowed slightly and took the gift-wrapped fruit from him with both hands, pulled it towards herself and spent a long moment admiring it before she looked at him again.

"Such a thoughtful gift," the sake maker beamed. "You embarrass me with your generosity."

Fusako placed the watermelon delicately into the trunk next to his luggage, then turned and took the bag with both hands. She peeked inside and smiled widely before turning her attention back on her guest.

"I look forward to trying this," she confessed. "I make umeshu each year for the rainy season, but I cherish every opportunity to sample products I didn't make myself."

Placing the bag inside gingerly, she closed the hatch and shuffled over to the passenger's side door, which she opened for him.

"Please excuse me again, I have one errand to run while I am in town. I promise that it will not take long."

 

[Andrew]

Taro removed his hat and hung it over the back of the headrest of the passenger's side seat. He sat down in the seat and made sure that his overcoat didn't hang outside of the door in preparation for when she closed it, "No problem, I'm not in any hurry. Is there anything that I can help with?" he asked, and looked out through the open door towards her.

He truthfully seemed content, the crisp cold mountain air, and the scenery was tranquil and had a relaxing effect on him. He looked forwards to the tasting of the Sake this woman made, if it was good it would become a premium product on the top shelf of the Yugumo Corporation's Takeda House venture. The green-haired Minkan leaned back against the seat and got comfortable.

 

[hyralt]

"I am quite gracious for your offer, but it is a simple chore." She closed the door and continued around the car, entering on the driver's side. Once seated, she started the engine. It hadn't had much time to cool down but she gave it a moment for good measure. "There is no mail service to our facilities, so we share a post-office box here in town. I am expecting a package and there may be something for my coworkers as well."

Without putting the transmission into gear, she briefly revved the engine. It was perhaps a bad habit of hers, but it was also an old one and hard to unlearn. She threw the stick into first, let off the clutch with one foot, and feathered the throttle with the other. They were carried off at a relaxed pace down the narrow roads on which there were few other cars. Rolling up to the curb next to a post office, she parked the car but left it running.

"Please wait here, I will be back in a moment." She got out, disappeared inside, and was back again in less than a minute carrying a few parcels which she placed delicately into the back, taking a moment to arrange them and the gifts neatly alongside his luggage. When she was in the driver's seat again, she bowed her head. "Thank you for your patience, we will now be on our way."

Shifting back into gear, she compelled the car forwards at a leisurely rate until they left the narrow city streets behind them and started climbing a long and winding road up the side of a steep hill. While she continued to manipulate the controls of the car with calm, deliberate motions she opened up the throttle and aggressively attacked the hairpin turns that ascended into the mountain foothills that overlooked the city. Her manner gave the impression that she had driven this path for longer than she could remember and had absolutely no patience for the route that seemed to be designed to make drivers slow down and appreciate the scenery.

It was a magnificent sight, as they slowly gained a better vantage over the village. From above, the snow that layered the rooves seemed like a fluffy blanket under which everything below was tucked in cosily for the winter. The effect was heightened by the early morning sun shining down through the clear sky and bouncing back up at them, making the panorama glow. Beyond the village to the north, the Ice Queen Mountains jutted up out of the ground and seemed to stare down at them like bored giants.

As they hurtled towards yet another in a long line of turns, Fusako took her eyes completely off the road ahead of them and turned to Taro with a warm smile.

"Pardon my prying, but I am curious: to what do we owe the honour of your company today?"

 

[Andrew]

Taro watched as the wilderness and mountain landscape passed outside of the car window; Yamatai was such a beautiful planet. He was passionate about the preservation of natural environments, his voice had joined Katsuko's in the last two years about preserving nature outside of the Colonization Zone on Jiyuu. His mind drifted to thoughts of recent events and conversations as his eyes searched the trees as if they would reveal to him the answer to a mystery. He turned his head and caught Fusako's gaze, a little unsure of exactly how long he had lost himself in the moment he smiled back and answered, "Honestly, your Sake. One of my less stressful and more enjoyable jobs in my clan's Corporation is the handling of its food ventures. We have a venture called Takeda House which was developed by my niece, Motoyoshi Tachiko. It is a high-end type of establishment that's really focused on high-quality ingredients." He paused for a moment, then added, "That is where your Sake comes in, I wanted something for our customers that isn't mass-produced in some fabrication facility. I appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into a product like yours, I hear it's the best and if it is that's what I want on the tables at Takeda House," he explained his intentions clearly.

"I also couldn't turn down a trip up here, I've never been to the Ice Queen Mountains and the chance to get away, and get some fresh air while I am on the homeworld for other family business," he then admitted.

 

[hyralt]

"I see," she stated inscrutably. "We are, as I mentioned, deeply honoured by your visit. I hope that I can make your time with us enjoyable and also that you find what you are looking for."

She turned her attention back to the road ahead just in time to skillfully manoeuvre around what turned out to be the final corner before they started up a straightaway that seemed to lead to the sky. This effect was further heightened as they climbed up above the treeline, but the illusion was eventually broken as they reached the crest of the hill and could see the road winding downwards into an arboreal mountain valley ahead of them. The steeply rolling hills undulated out towards the horizon directly in front of them and to the north, the hills quickly turned into jagged mountains so tall that they tore clouds out of the sky.

Winding its way down from the mountains and through the trees of the valley before them was a flowing river. The road ahead of them crossed the river by means of a small bridge, not even wide enough for two cars to drive side-by-side. Then a snowy path led off the main road and followed the river a long way until it ended at a handful of old buildings that were huddled together as if for warmth. Steam billowed out of one of them.

The vista in front of them was only briefly visible before they descended back below the treeline and started the winding road back down, but for this brief period, Fusako took her foot off the throttle and let the car coast, giving them both time to appreciate what they saw before she started racing again.

After not too much longer, they had finished their descent and were crossing the small bridge they had seen earlier, immediately after which they pulled off the main road and onto a snowy path that ran alongside the river. There was a crude sign where the path split from the road, which was made from what looked like scrap wood on which someone had painted the character for sake: 酒.

Finally, they approached the sake-making facility. There were three buildings with steeply-arched rooves, a design which seemed to be intended to let most of the snow fall off and prevent buildup and possible collapse. Despite this, a thin layer of snow clung to the surface and so it was only at the edges where the individual tiles of the roof were visible. Even among these few, some were noticeably more faded than others. The most faded ones, presumably the oldest, were greyish, whereas the least faded ones were dark brown.

The buildings themselves were simple, built from posts and beams made from squared-off logs that looked like they had been slightly scorched. Each structure had a wrap-around veranda that was slightly raised off the ground but entirely beneath the building's roof. The walls that separated the veranda space from the interior of each building were simple wooden panels and were likely replaced with paper panels during the heat of summer.

The largest of the three buildings demanded immediate attention, not only because it was two storeys tall while the others had only a single storey each, and not just because it had a giant waterwheel jutting out of the side being turned slowly by the river water, but because many if not most of its wood panels were pulled aside as steam billowed out of every opening in addition to out of a giant chimney on top of the building. Through the steam, there was a flurry of activity within, barely visible through the haze.

The longest of the three buildings lay across the stone-paved courtyard that spanned the space between all three. It was much in the style of the other two, but it seemed less weathered, suggesting that it was significantly younger.

Finally, between the tallest and the longest lay the smallest building. It had a single storey, but it was the only one that seemed to face them as they approached down the river path, as if it had been built first and the other two had been added wherever there was space at whatever angle was most convenient. This last building had the most aesthetic flourish of all three. Above the main entranceway was an intricately carved wooden panel depicting a nature scene with several large birds in various poses. As they approached, it was possible to see that it had once been painted in vivid colours, but along with the rest of the building it had faded over time until it was mostly just the dull colour of the wood beneath with hints of brighter colours here and there. The wood panels of this building were also different from the other two. Where the other two were plain wood, this one's panels were coated in black lacquer that shined brightly in the morning sun.

Fusako pulled the car into a space between the smallest and the longest buildings and killed the engine before turning to Taro with another warm smile.

"Welcome to Ice Queen Sake."

 

[Andrew]

Taro watched as the scenery changed and the buildings came into view; he adjusted his posture a little in the passenger's seat. The set up of the Sake Maker's brewery was something that held a perceptive nostalgia and 'old' feeling to it. This was something that Taro had begun to notice since he arrived in the village, even the trip on that steam locomotive to get up the mountain was special. The puzzle pieces had begun to fall in place for some ideas, it was part of why he had gone up there, to begin with. There was something to be said about something that at least didn't appear new, the woman he sat beside sold some of the best Sake on Yamatai, and from the look of it, she did it by the most traditional means necessary and it was something people loved. Everything on the colonial frontier was state of the art, for example, Yugumo's Tokyo Brewing Company's newest regional brewery had the best appliance that money could buy. It was something to consider, maybe some ventures needed to be made into the applications of more traditional methods - the Minkan silently noted in his thoughts.

Taro returned Fusako's smile after he took another look around where she had stopped the car, "Thank you, I look forwards to the tour. A question, if I may, is the water wheel active? Is that really where you pull the power from for all of this?" he asked, excited at the possibility that it was. This trip had yielded fascinating things, he wanted to see more.

 

[hyralt]

"That is a very interesting pair of questions." Fusako's smile never faded, but her eyebrows perked up. "The answers are perhaps more complicated than you may expect, but just as the master player of games makes each move in preparation for what is to come, you have so adeptly positioned us for the beginning of the tour," she mused then opened the door and stepped out of the car, notably not answering his question.

For a moment, she stood and listened. Without the growl of the car's engine, the sounds of the active facilities welcomed her home. From within the steamy building, several people were moving quickly and audibly, accompanied by the occasional wooden clunk of something heavy being dropped a short distance. Considering how many people were apparently within, they were rather quiet. There was no chatting nor was anyone instructing others what to do. There were occasional acknowledgements or groans, but otherwise, everyone seemed to know what to do and was focused on their task. Underneath the human activity, the air was filled with the babble of the river water and the gentle rustle of the wind in the trees. When she seemed satisfied, she leaned back into the still-open door to look at him.

"Our water wheel is indeed always active, but it does not always provide us with power," she explained somewhat mysteriously, but immediately elaborated. "Making sake is seasonal, as is life. While life begins in the spring, sake begins in the fall with the harvest and continues relentlessly until the rainy season. It is during this time that the demand for energy is highest, and we use the force of the wheel more directly."

She held out her hand with its palm upwards and swept it towards the building with the water wheel out of which steam was billowing.

"If you would like to follow, it would be easiest to show you."

With that, she closed the door and waddled elegantly towards the centre of activity, the colourfully embroidered hem of her black kimono almost but not quite trailing in the snow, thanks to the slightly raised sandals she was wearing.

 

[demibear]

Spending the last few years largely on starships, Mikael decided to spend the last remaining few days of his leave before heading off to yet another starship exploring the northern wilderness of Yamatai. Hearing about a sake maker that gives tours was extra icing on the cake so to speak.

Refusing to take the car and specifying it when he paid the fee, he instead opted to keep his mountaineering and survival skills up to date by personally navigating the terrain with a set time schedule to arrive at the facility for the tour. And it would indeed take him days as kept his usage of the roads limited.

Nearing the location of the facility in the forest, the man wearing grey extreme cold weather clothing and a large black rucksack with a white overcover took a moment to stop and take in nature. He looked around and started taking pictures with his sunglasses when he heard the car pass in the distance. He checked the time and started to curse to himself silently as he wasn't nearly on target as he thought. Using his body's inertia manipulating abilities to begin running over most of the snow.

Leaving the treeline as he neared the facility, he made no attempt to silence his footsteps as he slowed to a jog and made his way to what he hoped was the administrative building for the place. The scenery partially lost on him as he focused on not being rude by being late.

 

[hyralt]

Even the hearing capability of her obsolete Geshrin body was enough to detect the footfalls of someone approaching quickly in the snow. Fusako stopped suddenly and considered the relative likelihood of the approacher being the second guest she was expecting as opposed to someone with more antagonistic intentions. Her mind turned to the package she had picked up from the post office in town, which she knew contained the pistol she had requested from the Yamataian government. The intention had been to use it as a defence against invading Kuvexians, in case they ever began a land war on Planet Yamatai. However, the war had ended before she had even taken the time to retrieve it, and now it weighed on her somewhat as a reminder that she could be doing more to defend her fellow citizens. Finally, she dismissed the idea that someone might be staging a solo assault on her facility.

The sake maker turned and shuffled back to the car, opened the hatch, pushed aside the package containing her pistol, and picked up the second gift bag she had carried at the train station. "I believe another guest is presently arriving, just in time for the tour."

Holding the gift bag in both hands, she turned and took a few steps back into the courtyard between the buildings where she expected her newly arriving guest would find her.

 

[demibear]

Mikael slowed down to a brisk walk once he saw Kinoshita Fusako come into view with a gift bag in both of her hands. Mikael controlled his breathing to maintain what little composure he had and bowed to the woman before accepting the bag with both hands.

"Thank you for taking these moments of your time." Mikael said in Yamataigo before switching to Trade. "I hope I did not arrive too late for the tour. Got lost in the beauty of the mountains."

 

[hyralt]

"I am happy to inform you that you have been found at Ice Queen Sake," she giggled as she brought a hand up to hide her amusement. The motion caused the silken black fabric of her formal kimono's wide sleeve to trace a long arc in the air. "I can only hope that you find it nearly as beautiful as the mountains."

"Mikael Harris-san, I am Kinoshita Fusako. I am very pleased to meet you." The geshrin woman donned a serious expression as she began her formal introduction, then bowed deeply, extending her gift bag towards him with both hands. "Please accept this gift. A bottle of freshly bottled spring water, in case you are thirsty. Along with a bottle of our finest product, to take home with you."

 

[Andrew]

Taro walked slowly behind Fusako, as the newcomer joined them he smiled and gave a gentle bow as he said, "Good Afternoon, I'm Motoyoshi-Ieyasu Taro. It looks like we will be touring together. How was the climb?" Taro made sure his introduction came after their host offered her gift as to not interrupt. In the meantime, he enjoyed the atmosphere of the courtyard and pondered what Fusako had explained about the water wheel.

It was good to see that someone else would be joining them on the tour, another set of eyes to contribute to observations and another voice to questions things he may have overlooked.

 

[demibear]

Mikael accepted the gift and raised from his bow. He looked over at Taro when he introduced himself. It took a moment for the name to register with Mikael before he again bowed to the Motoyoshi man. He tried to keep tabs on all the admirals within the Star Army of Yamatai since he became an NCO years ago. It included former admirals with influence as well. The last thing he needed was to inadvertently insult someone that could make his life hell.

"It is an honor to meet you Mister Motoyoshi-Ieyasu The quality of the sake must be divine to attract someone of your status to come." Mikael said, in a genuine tone of respect for both Kinoshita Fusako and Taro. He then got up once again

"The climb was magnificent. It is always nice to have solid ground beneath you and clean air to breathe into your lungs. Volumetric Rooms only provide so much. But I can come again another time, I am sure you will wish a private tour."

 

[hyralt]

Fusako stood up straight and listened as Mikael spoke to Taro, politely smiling as he complimented her sake. She was not yet sure what to make of his compliments. Most people were too polite to give anything but compliments, and it took more social acumen than she had the energy to muster to sort out what they really meant. When the newcomer offered to leave, she felt annoyed but didn't show it. Instead, she kept her polite smile and brought her hands together, hiding them in the oversized sleeves of her kimono.

Silently, she considered why exactly she felt annoyed. Had Mikael been expecting a private tour of his own, and now was masking his disappointment with feigned politeness? Or was his offer genuine, in which case Taro must have been some important figure and Mikael was making some sort of political gesture? Fusako's research into her guests didn't extend beyond figuring out what they looked like so she could recognize them when they arrived, so she couldn't be sure. Regardless of Mikael's true intentions, she felt that the true source of her annoyance was that she wanted to make them both feel welcome, but now any action she took seemed like it would alienate one or both of them.

Just then, she noticed a brown creature with antlers in the distance. It was nearly the size of her car, but its legs were like stilts. Despite its size and seemingly precarious nature, it was racing up the side of the steep hill, similarly to how she had raced up the mountain pass not long ago. Its spindly legs actually seemed to give it an advantage as it tore through snowbanks with ease, most of its mass suspended far above. For a moment, it seemed to look at her, before it disappeared again into the forest.

"Nonsense," Fusako stated brusquely, resuming her path towards the steamy workhouse that had been interrupted by Mikael's arrival. "Sake is a drink best shared with others. As I was telling Motoyoshi-Ieyasu-san before you arrived, the river is crucial to how we make sake here. Not only does it provide a fine source of one of the main ingredients, but it also provides the force we need for a process that takes days before we can even begin. Let me show you."

 

[Soresu]

Koyama felt the winter's chill upon cheeks just a shade or two darker than that of the snow that crunched beneath her feet. Hiking boots. Scuffed from long use, steel-toed to resist wear and tear. The young woman felt a sudden strike upon the crown of her head. A phantom strike. Yet the feel of a solid, wooden bokutō crashing atop her head. Then the all-enveloping darkness of unconsciousness. The sudden flaring of that long ago inflicted pain brought about pleasant memories despite the knot that had grown where the strike had landed. Two and a half months old. Just shy of full maturity in the ways of Nekovalkyrja development. Puberty had come and gone. And the shape of the woman Koyama would become had begun to unfold before her mother, her sister, and teacher.

With the sudden intensity of training by her teacher, her sensei had doubled to the point of full-contact sparring. One had to be brave to take on a Samurai in the ring. Even with a wooden sword, they could be terrifyingly effective opponents be it against an enemy or each other. Thus had her final days at Samurai House both began and ended. All with the stroke of a sword of lacquered red oak. The first signs of returning consciousness had been the bite of cold. Of uneven ground with rock and gravelly soil beneath her. Those first minutes had been clouded even for the enhanced physiology of her birth body, that of the older NH-29. But wake up she did. Winter had beset the area then. And all she had, had on was a simple training uniform of sturdy linen with nary a shoe upon her small feet.

The whole experience of waking up in such a place, of looking around confused seemed to fuel her forward momentum at the memory. It had become a game of random chance and choice between them. Chizuru Saya did not play around with her charges when it came to putting in the hard work. Yet the woman had seemed dead set on continuously teaching her the same lesson over and over. Hammering it home as one would hot steel on the forge.

Biting her bottom lip, Koyama felt the snow give to the ground with a sudden and forceful spurt of energy. Her bracelet had chimed. The reminder for the tour giving her the urgency to catch up. Coming back to Yamatai so soon had left a bit of longing within her at the emptiness of the home she had shared with her mother at Samurai House. Still gone. Still hunting.

Checking in infrequently had become the new norm.

Floating would have been so very simple. The gentle uplifting off the ground and forward momentum covering the distance. Another phantom strike across the shoulder chided her for such a thing. Even with the early climb, she had felt the whim to revisit her erstwhile home amongst the wilds. The knife at her side had been the very same one thrust into the ground and found during those first waking moments up in the mountains. Nothing but her clothing with the simple socks one usually wore in a hall, the knife, the cursing for the pain, and the simple fact that the old witch had done it again. And again she had to find her way home over Yamatai's terrain, suffering her weather and living off the land and rivers along the way. And always, always had to be done just as that first time when she was merely weeks old. On her own with minimal if any assistance at all. And she hadn't doubted Chizuru would've somehow known if she had cheated.

"Please wait!" it wasn't quite a yell, but more of a call to catch the attention of the three ahead of her.

That little imp had thrown a fit when she had returned. Of smiles, and demands, always with the demands. Unfulfilled, Koyama had left her to return here. In a bid to appease the short-statured Elder, thus she had made the trip. The woman's favorite candy shop had been closed ever since the celebrations, the owners have gone to join family elsewhere for a time. Stores low, the youngest of the students had been walking on eggshells while in her hall. So perhaps sake would help? Something fine and refreshing. To be shared amongst their sisters. A respite before the oncoming storm. With the plus of herself getting a tour in the process before placing an order for just such an occassion.

The grey almost washed out cargo pants complimented her hiking boots, as did the simple long-sleeved shirt of black and white with little details done in a deep red along the cuffs. Free-flowing, Koyama's jet-hair swayed and bounced as she hurried. The snowy white winter's blossom of a mountain flower she'd picked up and placed behind an ear on whimsy jostled just a little. It was a flower she favored, pure, beautiful, obscure but worth the effort of coming across as it offered some positive symbolism of purity, luck and other local beliefs. Eschewing placing her hair in a ponytail the simple feel of the cold breezes had been well worth a few flyaways as it had played upon the gusts of chilly air as the sheet of jet-black hair flew free in the strong breezes. Admittedly she had learned to enjoy ending up tossed to the wilderness much to the worry of her mother in those early days. Yet every time had been further afield and seemed timed to her age and growth in finesse and skill with what she had been taught along the way.

A pale hand came up in an almost beseeching gesture even as she neared. While she was here in the cold, Chi would've likely been enjoying herself at the village's hotel with paper and charcoal, or brush and her paints and canvas. Her first, and dearest friend, her one-time sword and shield, mentor, advisor, and sister figure had joined her in the way she always seemed to do when Koyama had been gone for long periods due to her being in the Star Army. Just two old friends sharing a few precious moments together before being torn apart once more due to their duties. One to the Star Army, the other back amongst her warrior sisters and students in the walled confines of Samurai House in Kyoto.