Yōsái Village

Luna didn't pause as she moved past those that had stop ahead of her and moved towards the door and entered pausing when she caught the scent that drifted from the kitchen and sighed as her tummy grumbled. She chuckled as she patted it. "Easy my friend, you'll be full soon." she stated as she moved towards a table and sat down, brushing her trench coat to the side and her hair back over the back of the chair so that she wouldn't sit on it, and looked about the place.

"Nice. Very nice." she said softly, her silver eyes taking in every detail of the inn. "I'll eat first than secure a room. Hmm...for how long I have no idea." she muttered frowning slightly.

Zhiya bowed, as well, to all of them. "My case is the same as Kyo's. Until next time. I hope your stay here at Yōsái Village is pleasant."

She then walked off after Kyo, her features darkening the moment she turned away.

Having ordered several plates of her favorite foods and sake, Luna sat back leaning against the wall which she had placed herself and watched those who came and went while sipping the sake she had ordered.

It had been a long time since Surniph had woken up to treated wounds - far longer than she could remember. Her leg and thigh were wrapped in a bandage that wound around her leg, some sort of cooling salve on her skin, soothing the burn that blistered there. Her torso was also wrapped in bandages, tight and professionally done, snug when she twisted but not debilitating. She was also given some sort of material to cover herself, though the modesty was discarded.

They had given her a bed, too, but that she had discarded as well. She instead perched on the windowsill, the room she was staying in having been upturned for possible weaponry the second she had been steady on her own feet, blind with panic over waking up in a strange room with strange smells, having been disrobed, exposed, cleaned and patched up.

Her fur was still patchy from being charred off, but her tan coat was now more evident, having been cleansed from soot and ash. She sat facing the door, the room in disarray around her, a leg of a chair having been ripped off and remaining clutched in her grasp.

She was alert and ready. And now she waited.

Eventually, the door to the room opened to admit not a threat, or anyone who would be easy to pin as anything approaching a captor, but rather a fragile-looking little old lady in a green flowered cardigan, carrying a tray of tea. She seemed to pay no mind to Surniph's stance with her chair-leg weapon, or the disarray the room was in.

She set the tray down on a chest of drawers that remained mostly upright, before slowly and carefully - all the while ignoring Surniph completely - pouring a measure of the tea from the decorative china teapot into a similarly dainty china cup.

Only then did she finally turn to the Mira, extending out the beverage.

She uttered a single word in Losenyu, tone both strict and warm at the same time, gesturing with the cup and nodding between it and Surniph.

The female Mira narrowed her yellow-green eyes into slits, the stern tone coming across well enough, even if the meaning was lost on her. Still, she was suspicious of this woman. Maybe she had poisoned the cup. Maybe she meant nothing but ill will toward her after all, and this had all been a ploy to gain her respect and her trust before spilling her blood.

She knew intellectually that the image of someone bandaging her wounds before killing her didn't quite add up, but she was in reaction mode after her flight across the Forest of the Fall, two days of running blindly while being pursued relentlessly.

And yet, she knew she was still weak.

Still tense, she walked towards the cup, her limbs wooden, eyes never leaving the woman. With a quick snap, as much to test her own reflexes as to snag the object quickly, she had the container in her unbandaged hand, cup to her lips. With one eye on the woman, she drained the contents, trying not to sneeze with the sudden repulsive flavour hitting her tongue.

The second she was finished, she resumed her glare at the woman. "Meke," she said, pointing out the window. "Where?"

The Recruiter was quite pleased with the friendly reception. Even he found the smell of food, delightful. As they approached the Inn, he happened to notice a strange woman passed them. She was not from around here at all. Yet, there was something off about her. Something he would rather not find out. Perhaps she could be a useful asset. He has heard the leader has something of a soft spot for women. Or something like that. He wasn't sure, most low level guys don't even know who the boss is. Some big shot from Niihama they say.

Anything else about him is mysterious. As far as he should be concerned his boss is Ueda, and above him are the Vanguards. He has heard of the Vanguards. Four very powerful and dangerous men. Yet there are rumors of a higher position. Though nobody except the Vanguards know about it. As the women said their farewells and hopes of a pleasant stay, The Recruiter bowed his head. "Thank you!" "I shall!" He spoke with a smile as he saw them head off. He would enter the Inn as well. From there he can scope out his "talent" and converse with him over private matters.

Meanwhile the onlookers remained hidden and took notice the Recruiter entered the inn. They documented this. Soon they moved ever so silently into positions, where they gained better sight of the inn. More importantly kept surveillance of the Recruiter. Thanks to the tech, The Recruiter has on him. The Ninjas can keep records of his conversations, notice differences in heartbeat and body temperature, and hear everything he hears. So far they have no reason to intervene.

The old woman shook her head sternly, pointing instead back at the bed. She spoke a few sentences in Losenyu, with one word emphasised above the others. She gestured at Surniph's injuries, and mimed them breaking open and worsening. It was apparent that the woman strongly disapproved of any intention the Mira had of leaving.

Eventually, she folded her arms, muttering something else in her own language and then mimed a hammer and nail, building. "Meke", she repeated as she mimed.

Surniph tensed at the nonverbal command, but acquiesced eventually, stiffly lying down in the bed, her fingers folded over her stomach. She kept her eye on the woman, the makeshift club still clutched in one furry hand as she made zero attempt to relax.

Meke was... building something? Here? What the hell was he doing helping outsiders - in their own villages? Had he been speaking true when he had said he had no clan here?

Surniph pointed outside again, then held her arms up in a shrug. "Where?"

The woman apparently pondered for several long moments how best to express where Meke was, eventually settling for miming rippling waves with her hand, and then circling around it. She frowned, before taking a glass of water from the tray and pointing at its contents, stating "The lake" in Losenyu.

She went on to speak for several moments, apparently as much to herself as to Surniph, before gesturing at herself. "I am Nasane." she said, again in Losenyu (though the name was emphasised enough to be apparent).

Surniph frowned at the apparent flailing of limbs in an attempt to articulate - she assumed - where Meke was. Something about a big circle, and her water glass?

A body of water?

The frown eased when the woman gestured to herself, said a few words, and something that sounded like 'Nasane.'

"Nasane," Surniph repeated, pointing at the woman, then pointed to herself. "Surniph."

She smoothed a hand down the bed, frowning. "How long?" she asked, tapping the bed.

The woman held up a hand, showing first three fingers, then tipping her hand to the side in a gesture of uncertainty, then four fingers. Then she gestured to the clock and drew a full circle around it. "Three, maybe four days. Minimum."

She went on to wave her hands in a series of exasperated gestures as she spoke swiftly, without the intention of being understood, "If I had my way, and you weren't as hasty a fool as any other youth I've tended, you'd be here ten, or a fortnight!" She spread her palms to show ten fingers as she finished, tutting.

Smiling at the young woman who refiled her sake and asked for desert as she brushed her hair back over her shoulder sipping her drink, eyes drifting around the room, pausing briefly on the guy that had been ahead of him and grinned slightly before drifting off to continue to look about the room while waiting on her desert.

Her eyes not missing anything, even from the slightly darkened place she sat, her hearing picking up some conversations here and there. But her eyes kept drifting towards the male that had just come in and puzzled as to why he was here. 'Hell I'm wondering as to why I came here in the first place.' she wondered as she smiled at the female and dug into her desert, while keeping her senses on everything around her.

After the events of the previous day, a gathering had been called at the centre of the village. The elder was stood upon a slightly raised platform and was speaking to the crowd.

"For too long now we have waited for the ministry to help us stop the kappa's aggression harming our village's livelihoods," he said, "Lives have been lost and trade has been stifled. Our very way of life is threatened. Now we have lost more lives to an open attack, we have no choice but to look elsewhere. I know that the money that has been volunteered for this did not come easily. In this pack are retirement funds, inheritances and provisions set aside for dreams. But we have no other choice. If we do not act, then the kappa will bring our village to an end."

There was a general murmuring of assent, mixed with a few cheers of approval from the crowd before the elder went on. "Now we need volunteers to take these funds to the capital, to beseech one of the guilds of Tianshi to come to our aid."

The crowd of villagers shifted, before one person stepped forwards. Kyo nodded her head to her father before speaking, "I will go."

A moment later, another stepped forwards. Ryo flashed Kyo a smile before raising his hand up, "Me too. The road isn't always safe, an-"

Kyo interrupted him. "Ryo, you should stay here and protect the village. If the kappa make a direct attack again, then we'll need your sword here. I can handle myself."

"But-"

This time it was the elder that interrupted him. "Kyo is half right, Ryo. Your skill is too valuable in our defence to send you on the trip to the capital. But Kyo, you cannot go alone. We will need other volunteers."

Another young lady in green stepped forth, raising her hand. She had one hand on her sword.

"I shall accompany Kyo," she Jhiya, walking out from the small crowd. Her arm was grabbed by a man, white-haired, with a pack.

"And, ah, ah, me too!" piped Masaeyu, striding past the girl. "And my brother-" He looked over to the younger man who carried the same resemblance. "He will stay and defend, as well."

There was a pause, but no other members of the village stepped forwards. The village elder nodded. "Very well then, you three shall make the trip to the capital. If you have anything that you need, then ask, and it will be provided. You will find some extra money for train tickets in the reward fund."

Kyo smiled and inclined her head, "We shall set off as soon as we are able, Elder." she said, excited at the prospect of being able to ride on a train, something that most of the village had never before experienced. The massive metal vehicles were often talked about by travellers.

After a short number of additional announcements, ranging from cautions about dangerous places to instructions for repairs, the crowd began to disperse. Kyo approached her two travelling-companions to be with a grin, slinging the large satchel containing the reward money under her arm. "There are only a few things that I need from my home before we set off. Have either of you been to the capital before?" she asked.

As soon as everyone dispersed, Zhiya let her eyes inch up to Kyo, slightly uncomfortable. She slid her sword around her sash so that it was behind her, and folded her arms. "I do have someone I need to visit before I leave, as well. And... no. I'll admit I really haven't set foot out of Yosai before."

Masaeyu grinned and pointed to his chest with his thumb, the other hand on his hip. "Looks like I'll be the expert, here, once we do make it. I've been to the capital on several occasions!" He looked behind him for his brother, who had also walked off. "Though I've left each time for reasons. How about you, Kyo? I don't remember you having ever gone out of town before."