[Day 1 EM, open] Cold Habits

[Bayushi Kogi]

Just as Kogi is beginning to get a sense of this Kuu--very much as he presents himself, really, which is nice for once--another monk appears! The name 'Nozomi' tickles the back of Kogi's mind, but the tickle fails to quite resolve into recognition.

Kogi drops out of her kata. She could keep it up while conversing with one person, especially since he was practicing too, but two? Too many different directions to keep track. One began to feel both scattered and a bit discourteous, neither of which she likes. "Good morning, Monk Nozomi. I am Kogi of the house of Bayushi. Your... um, colleague? has just been kind enough to relieve some of my ignorance about your order."

--

Lore: Heraldry TN... 35? lol, well, here goes: 5d10o10k4 31

[Nozomi]

For all that she had a certain amount of fame, Nozomi definitely made an effort to be forgotten by many, so she'd be pleased that some had trouble remembering her at this point. She nodded towards the both of them. "Kuu is excellent at understand how to explain that sort of thing to others." She chuckled. "I usually give them the wrong idea, heh. It is a pleasure Bayushi-sama."

There was only the smallest amount of tension in her tone. She occasionally glanced towards the Scorpion curiously while they talked, the detached interest clear enough. "To answer your question, Kuu, she is a terror and a joy. Keeping up with that girl will be the death of me one day. But she grows faster than I can ever imagine. You wouldn't know it, but she's better at meditating than I am." In part because she wasn't great at meditation and knew it.

[Kuu]

"Colleague is not an inaccurate term, but we tend to call each other sister and brother in the order, and welcome those outside the order to do the same," he says with a smile. "And that is the way of children isn't it? Full of energy, curious about the world, lacking a filter for the things they say, and no worries about any of those things. The good ones are the ones that keep that sense of wonder no? They give you hope for the future."

"I was inviting Bayushi-san to the storytelling tomorrow night. The order could use more stories of followers of Bayushi. The clan seems to not be very forthcoming with such things. Even what we learned of Bayushi Umeno was passed on from sources that aren't Scorpion. The Order hopes to serve all of the empire, so it follows that we should also hold up examples of all the clans in the empire as well."

[Bayushi Kogi]

"Heroism seems to be a complicated idea, and Bayushi-Kami's followers are inclined to look before we leap," Kogi defends her clan's honor--lightly, with a gentle quirk of one brow.

"Though now you both have explained how your order sees it, I am more enlightened than before." It turns out it's all another matter of opinion, after all.

[Nozomi]

She smirked in distant recollection. "That sounds like Umeno to her core. Cautious in her step, determined the moment she swung her weapon. I think Heroism the way that the Bayushi see it isn't always what some in the empire think is heroism." She folded her arms and the smirk broadened a little as she remembered her friend. "Not that I agree with those who'd say that. Knowing how and when to strike, not throwing your effort and life away? Courage needs wisdom and timing. Bayushi Umeno was a brave fighter. I was always glad to have her to fight beside."

"But like almost any good story, heroism is the sort of thing I think every clan sees differently. Ask a Lion or a Spider, and you will get two very different answers."

[Kuu]

"Ask a servant and the answer will be even more drastically different," Kuu replies. "But peoples thoughts on such in the present can be different from how they see actions in the past. They tend to agree in larger numbers that certain events were more terrible or dangerous, and the people that dealt with them more heroic."

[Bayushi Kogi]

"Is it possible that just means one storyteller has already won the argument about those tales of the past?" Kogi suggests, delicately.

[Nozomi]

"Oh, you're a clever one," she said, grinning over at the Bayushi, seemingly growing more at ease. "I think it's a little too soon for any of us to say that, but you know? After I have seen Meido's wide plains and my daughter has joined me? I bet you there will be a time where we can say that the version we best tell is the one that 'won out' in the end. It may change over time still, as storytellers and needs change. But yes. a tale of heroism says as much about the teller as it does the one spoken of. What do each of us value as we tell our tales. I'll admit. I've been enjoying watching as it plays out, and grows. Seeing how the stories have grown, how the telling itself has grown. It's... freeing to know that I am just one of many voices."

[Kuu]

"Indeed. I think part of the Order's clever design is to suggest a unified purpose of encouragement of heroes through heroic tales. Which means that the many varied members of the Order will tell a tale as needed for the person they are encouraging. That person may then go on to imitate the story to a certain extent. In that way, stories of the past can have influence on actions of the future. Even if the telling isn't purely factual, the intent becomes an example and ideal," he says with a nod.

"But that is why it is also important for the order to have many tales of heroics in it's library. So that they can call on as many parallel, anecdotal stories as they might need to inspire people through difficult times."

[Bayushi Kogi]

"That sounds very practical, Monk Kuu," Kogi says, perhaps showing a little surprise. Cooler now that she's stopped moving, she glances down for a moment to snug up the collar of her padded jacket closer to her throat. "Almost worldly... if you wise monks can excuse my using that word."

[Kuu]

"We live in the world," he says with a chuckle. Noticing that she seemed to be a bit chilly, Ku took a step away. After a moment or two of concentration his skin flushed heavily and he began giving off intense heat like a fire.

"And when one lives in the world, it is helpful. Many monks have a more spiritual individual live, but the order itself has a somewhat practical purpose."

[Nozomi]

"We are in the world, and of the world, though we try to live apart from too much of the worldly concerns. But heroes and their blood are of the world, so ... it's not such a bad thing to be worldly." There were obvious limits, but Nozomi was definitely a very practically oriented monk when it came down to it. "I know a few of the others are thinking of the importance of contemplating infinity, alone among themselves. Give them time. They might even have their own way of thinking of it. But most of us are the sort to roll our sleeves up and get down and dirty, in the midst of the world in all its beauty."

[Bayushi Kogi]

"Hm. I did not know that was so much a part of the order's founding." Of course, she'd been tiny at the time, and not exactly living in a crossroads of empire-wide gossip either.

Kogi startles slightly as Kuu flushes--feverishly? no, that wasn't it--and turns himself into a human-shaped furnace. What's happening to him? The strangest thing is that he doesn't seem at all unwell... "Oh... um, is this... something to do with that spiritual life you mentioned?" She gestures a little uncertainly in his direction, not quite sure herself what exactly her spread hand is indicating.

[Nozomi]

Nozomi blinked at the reaction and then chuckled very very softly. No, she'd let Kuu explain that. She was so used to the use of a kiho by now that it was becoming second nature to her. Her own were more ... subtle usually, but she wasn't about to take the joy of explaining the things they'd picked up from one who had taken the time to learn them himself.

"It was a question, as the Little Teacher's first students came to him, that had to be answered. Are we of the world, in the world, or apart from it. The Teacher's right when he says that attachments, too much of them, can lead to suffering. But we couldn't leave this world to go off on our own. Human potential is like a garden. Something we wanted to nurture. It's one of the things most of us agree on, though I would not be surprised if others rise as time goes. It's the way with his teachings."

[Kuu]

"This is a technique that relies on rearranging ones internal elements. I route my fire into a level of prominence, then feed it by burning a little bit from the others. I direct that energy into my skin and allow my fire to have a direct impact on the world."

He smirks, "Of course, that explanation is kind of like saying 'you build a house by stacking sticks and logs'. A lot more detail goes into it. But, you looked like you could use a bit of warmth out here in the cold air. You may both stand a little closer if you could use some warming up."

[Bayushi Kogi]

"Oh, I'm fine, but... thank you." Kogi's social reflexes kick in, helpfully, while the rest of her brain remains a bit stuck on the superhuman heat thing. "All the same, perhaps we should either continue our practice, or go inside and prepare for the day?"

[Nozomi]

As the two of them were talking, Kogi might have noticed that Nozomi's eyes just never seemed to leave her for a moment or two. She'd been very curious in the way that she watched the other woman. But with time, it finally stopped and she turned her attention, listening to Kuu's explanation and chuckling some.

"I know where my child is now. I should probably fetch her. But, if you wish to continue speaking in warmer conditions, I can introduce you to her, Bayushi-sama," she said, bowing to her and to Kuu.

(OOC: Roll is a standard "Check for Lying Darkness Corruption" check she makes every time she talks to a Scorpion for any length. The girl's kind of paranoid. I'll only ever contact if she actually rolls a 30, hah.)