Private Tales Forastero

A private roleplay only for those invited by the first writer
"Hm?" He raised a brow, "Twenty- no... Spring is arriving..." He mumbled a bit. "Next winter will be my thirtieth." He stated plainly. "Why do you ask? Didn't you already know?"

But now that he actually thought about it, he'd never told. She never asked, either.
 
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"Just ... trying to piece together your story from the small chapters I've gleaned from you and Toji. He seemed concerned that I was far too young to be traveling with you and I ... well, I cannot honestly say I clearly remember your appearance anymore."

Her gaze dipped to linger listlessly over nothing in particular at the admission, "The scholars of the church say that every time you remember something, your mind changes the memory just a little. Eventually the memory becomes completely altered from the truth. I'm afraid what I believe you look like falls very short of the real you."
 
"Too young? How old are you, then?" She certainly did appear youthful, but wasn't that common with beautiful people? The swordsman frowned and almost immediately regretted asking. He had been told, long ago, to never ask a woman her age. Then, also long ago, he'd watched as one of the Five, Yoshida, had been smacked across the face from asking the same question.

He fell quiet.

That foggy image she had of him before. Had that faded? What was in its place?

"Shall we make a bet?" He forced out a cheerful tone, "To see how close your imagination is? When your sight returns, we will see how close it is to the real me."
 
Amore smiled, "Younger than you," was her reply after a few moments of silence, "but not as young as I think Toji believed me to be."

"A bet?" seemed an odd thing to bet on, "And how does that work exactly. What are you gambling with?"
 
"No idea!" The swordsman laughed. He released her bandaged hand. "There we are."

After a moment of pause he asked, "Does it bother you? I wasn't trying to hide it."
 
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Amore gently took back her hand, finding that it did not hurt hardly at all anymore. She placed it in her lap where she sat, folding both hands together, "Does what bother me? Your age?"

Odd question. The pinch of her brow said as much.

"Not at all. Why would it?"
 
"I don't know," he shrugged, "It bothers some people. Before you know it, I will be like Toji. Then, you will be the one leading me by the arm." Kishou's lips curled up into a terribly sad smile.

He talked about the future as if it was guaranteed for them, but it was more likely that once he took her back to Cortos, that would be that. End of the line.

"Can you imagine?" He chuckled, "Me. Hunched over a cane."
 
"I guess," Kishou leaned over the table and rested his chin on the palm of his hand, smiling as he stared at his companion's face.

Kishou, who was still rather weak, returned to his bedroll soon after to rest. The next morning they prepared to depart. As he moved around, the swordsman found that his leg, though healed, was uncomfortable to walk on for too long.

He let out a deep sigh as he sat in the carriage across from the Chairman and his wife and bent forward to massage his calf.

"It has been a while," Kishou said to the Chairman with an awkward smile.
 
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The Chairman did not look to be in the brightest of moods. Doing his best not to draw attention to himself, he'd let his wife do most of the talking and the fussing as everyone's things were packed into the caravan that would take them to the capital city. He'd made no effort to strike up conversation and, if you asked him he would have admitted he was grateful that the red-haired priestess could not look at him directly. Kishou's words broke a heavy silence that had fallen on the group as they began their journey.

["Indeed?"] the Chairman responded gently, clearing his throat, ["I suppose it has. How ... how are you feeling? Seems you've mended well."]

Amore, to her credit, had not allowed her dark mood to maintain. After coming to terms with Kishou the day prior, she felt the weight of her anger and fear leaven. It was not in her to stay cross, but she kept her quiet.
 
["I am well,"] the swordsman squeezed his calf and sat upright, ["I have the healers to thank for that."]

His smile was a bit more natural now, and when he glanced at his side to check on Amore, whose absent gaze was set straight ahead, he leaned back into his seat.

Having nothing else to say, Kishou wished he'd remained quiet, as the silence that hung between them now felt even more stifling than what it was before he'd struck small-talk with the Chairman.

If there was ever a constant, it was his clumsiness with these sorts of situations.
 
["There is a matter that we need to discuss."] Amore, it seemed, was not one to wait or miss an opportunity.

Shifting slightly where he sat, the Chairman looked up to find that the Priestess was very much looking directly at him now and he gave a mild flinch under the glint of her silvered gaze, ["You have my undivided attention, Lady Rose."]

["There is a history between Kishou and the Emperor that I believe you may be privy to,"] Amore continued, ["and it puts him in danger within the Capital."]

["Danger?"] the Chairman flashed Kishou a weary look, ["Well I promise I have no desire to put you in any further danger. What is the nature of this history? Should I stop the carriage?"]
 
Upon receiving the Chairman's weary glance, Kishou tilted his head to one side and rubbed the back of his neck, quietly chuckling. ["No, no need to stop,"] he said and cleared his throat.

["You know the General... And the Five Swords. They are- The- ..."] a nervous sideways glance was met with Amore's sights firmly set on him now. He sighed and let his hand slide off his neck and fall into his lap. ["I was the Second Sword."]

Before the scandal, that is. Before he'd uncovered their Captain's nefarious plot and took it upon himself to judge the traitor, and in the process was branded as one himself.

The Chairman, a usually lighthearted man, was unsmiling. If he was surprised, he didn't let it show on his face, but Kishou suspected that Amore's suspicion was correct, and perhaps the Chairman had simply been waiting for this moment.
 
The Chairman seemed to be considering his next words ... and perhaps his next move very carefully. He sat in silence, staring at Kishou in a manner that did not belie his otherwise good nature. When his wife's hand found his in his lap, the Chairman finally broke a very intense line of sight to look at her.

["I see,"] he relented, ["that does complicate matters. General Kensui will either be very pleased or very displeased to see you. Either way does not bode well for you. So what are we to do, hm? Perhaps it would be best if Kishou-"]

["We will not be leaving Kishou at the Orchid,"] Amore intoned with the same conviction and strength she spoke with all that time back on the island, before the incident, ["we must find a way for him to stay at my side, safely."]

At this the Chairman's weary expression returned and he lifted his free hand to rub at the side of his head, ["Very well. You've not returned to the Capital since you fled, I assume. You have no ...distinguishing marks aside from your tattoo and your face. We must simply keep them covered. We'll find you a mask to wear and you'll keep your hair tied up like the guards. We'll have to replace your kimonos with standard Guard uniforms as well. You'll not be able to appear before the Emperor with a mask, in which case you will have to put your confidence in me and I will remain in her company during the audience. Is that acceptable?"]
 
He nodded along to Amore's demand. She was confident. Proud. Strong. The swordsman had to force himself from smiling.

Is that acceptable?

As if there were any alternatives. As if either of them could think of anything better. The Chairman was a good man, of that Kishou was sure, but like many other men of notable status, he often spoke in a way that infuriated the swordsman. Using the correct words at the right time to achieve a goal, hatch a plot, turn a situation into their favor, or whatever else. A skill even Amore possessed.

Kishou, neither too soon nor too late, placed his hands on his thighs and half-bowed to the Chairman.

["My life will be in your hands,"] the swordsman responded.
 
["I will keep it well,"] the Chairman replied, returning the half bow respectfully, ["it is best that you change into your Guard persona at our first stop. You will ride alongside the carriage where you will be nearest to Lady Rose. The longer we wait to make this change, the likelier you are to be recognized by someone."]

["Thank you, Chairman. Your care and discretion in this matter is greatly appreciated."] Amore said.

Their first stop was a larger trade route village called Niyon - a place of constantly changing population and faces. It was the traveler's rest stop where the only people that stayed year round were those who had managed to make a foundation in lasting business. The Inn they stayed at doubled as a tea house, but nothing quite so posh and polished as the White Orchid. The entertainment was traveling bards and musicians, the lodgings were compact and mostly comfortable, the food was good if you weren't expecting high cuisine - it settled a belly that had spent the day on the move.

["Your name will be Captain Feng,"] the Chairman explained over dinner in a private booth, ["you are my most trusted of the Guards and you have been working for me for over ten years. You wear a mask because during the fire at Hu Zai that destroyed several of my buildings, you saved a young child from death and sustained terrible burns to your face."]

["...I sense that these are not made up stories."] Amore intoned curiously.

["Certainly not. My losses at Hu Zai took years to recover from. But that child did live thanks in part to the efforts of one of my guards. A child of a local fisherman ... not anyone that garnered much of any attention beyond the fisherman's family."]
 
Feng. Hu Zai.

["Your business must be quite expansive,"] mused the swordsman, ["to have buildings in Hu Zai. Hu Zai is a city that borders Oboro and Xi Guang if my memory serves me. The people of Xi Guang have a particular accent, as well."] Kishou frowned. ["I would not be able to speak with it."]

The merchant smiled a charming smile at the swordsman. ["Best not to speak, then."]

Kishou's frown lifted into a wry smile, and he quietly picked the meat from the bone of the grilled fish in front of him.

["It is a good plan."]
 
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["I will have everything you need for your new identity brought to you in the morning. Until then, I think it is best that you are seen not at all beyond this Inn. The less your face is seen, the better. I am sending a missive back to the White Orchid - if anyone asks, the Dragon is still mending in recovery there. He was unable to join the Rose on her journey to the capital."]

~~~

"There are a lot of loose ends for this plan," Amore worried in their room after dinner, anxiously grooming her hair with her fingers, seated cross-legged on their bedroll. She'd not bothered unpacking her combs - they were only going to be here for the night.

"How likely is it that you would be recognized by the common person for what you are?"
 
"There are," Kishou agreed, idly watching Amore from a nearby table as she raked her fingers through her hair.

As long as they stayed away from the pleasure quarters...

"Not likely."

Next to him was a small, emptied bottle of sake.

"We have to worry about Maki," the Water Dancer, and once a very close person to Kishou, "There is a... technique that many fencing and martial arts manuals mention called Seeing the Shape of All Things. Masters of their respective arts would describe it as a momentary trance, but at that moment, they could sense their surroundings to the tiniest details. It is said this is impossible to do at will, but she could do it. She had drunkenly explained it to me one night, but..." he shrugged, "I never thought much about it."

His finger circled his cup's rim.

"It would be best if I never come close to her."
 
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Amore paused in her efforts with her hair, finding it had grown quite long over the last several months. Though Mamen had trimmed it at the Orchid, she couldn't help but feel that it hadn't been enough. She listened in silence, grateful now that he was learning to open up to her. She took no meaning of what remain unspoken between his words - even if Amore had picked up on the fact that Kishou and Maki had been romantically involved it would not have mattered.

"Do you think ... she would recognize you within your disguise?"
 
" Without a doubt. She is blind, but it never stopped her from..." Kishou waved his hand in the air, "seeing things. She said once that she could see the color and shapes of peoples' souls. Whatever that means, the Shape of All Things makes her a fearsome fighter. Never once bested her in sparring."

Kishou scooted from where he sat to join Amore's side. His hands overlapped hers, and he gently took hold of her hair.

"I think the pair of you would get along, anyways." He smiled and entertained himself with her hair a bit.
 
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"So she ... sees your as your soul, its colors and shape as recognizeable as a familiar face," Amore's brow furrowed in thought on that, "as unique as a thumbprint."

Amore's movements stilled as she heard the whisper of robes over the floor when he moved closer, felt Kishou's hands fold over her own, smelled the musk of sake on his breath. He never had to insist on taking her hair away from her anymore - it had become a ritual between them. One that she quietly enjoyed and even looked forward to.

Pale eyes drifting off to nothing in particular, unfocused and listless as always, the Priestess sighed, "Do you think she would teach me?" It felt a hopeless question. What reason could Maki possibly have to help her. Amore could pay her, potentially, but even with all the fortune earned between them she wasn't sure it would be enough to learn from someone of Maki's caliber. Were the tables turned, it was the same line of thinking that a Solar Choir Priestess might teach a foreign nobody.
 
"A lovely way to put it."

With a lock of crimson in one hand, Kishou gently combed through it with the fingers of his other. His shoulders rocked to and fro as he quietly hummed the tune to one of the many songs that Amore sang in their travels.

"How generous a person that would make her," the swordsman softly answered. "Who could say? We need only ask. If she refuses, we ask again."

Tired and with plenty of sake in him, Kishou let the hair in his grasp fall down Amore's back, and he leaned forward to rest his cheek against the Priestess' shoulder.

"We ask and ask and ask until she gives in."
 
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"Hm," she wasn't sure she felt entirely confident in this train of thought. Maki did not sound like someone who would entertain being asked over and over again for something she denied. Amore was not a person who was willing to overstep her welcome or her bounds. Besides, the longer they stayed in the Capital, the more likely it was that Kishou would be discovered.

If Maki said no, she would not ask again.

"You did not leave me a drop of sake, did you?" the Priestess asked after the samurai presently melting into her side. A soft smile touched her lips and she leaned her head against his on her shoulder.
 
"Afraid not," his features lifted, his arms wrapping around her waist, "should I ask for another bottle? A small one?"

Kishou could enjoy two things without ever tiring of them: sake and Amore. And with the Chairman paying for their stay, why not indulge himself? The lordless samurai would argue the disrespect from turning down such generosity, but in truth it was a convenient excuse to imbibe further.
 
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