Day 1, Late Evening/Midnight, OPEN Cleaning before Bed

[Bayushi Nobuyoshi]

Having completed his duty for the day, Nobuyoshi returns to the crew common room, after fetching his armor, daisho, and yumi from storage. Each piece is scheduled to get a good going over to ward off rust. The late hour may mean that he has no one to talk to, but one can never tell on a ship of this size.

[Isawa O-Washi]

Having worked two nights of night scout duty while in the clutch of the Sea of Shadows, Isawa O-washi's natural sleep cycle was utterly disjointed. Seeing as he'd gotten the afternoon slot, however, this wasn't the disaster it could have been and so he was cheerful as he wandered into the commons, a large scroll and writing materials in hand. He was dressed in his usual, Phoenix-orange hakama and a red vest and no more, though today a small pendant the shape of the sun hung around his neck on a golden chain.

Seeing the Scorpion, he bowed. "Konnbanwa, Bayushi-san." Mindful of the others, he kept his tone quiet, though in truth some of the other men at least snored loudly enough to cover almost anything. "How'd you find your first day on-shift?"

[Bayushi Nobuyoshi]

Upon the Phoenix's entry to the common's, Nobuyoshi gingerly sets down the joint of armor he'd been working on, and rises, bowing appropriately to the gunso.

He considers the question, before phrasing his reply in the same whisper-quiet, flat voice he tends to always use.

"Konnbanwa, Gunso-sama" he replies "It was much as I expected it to be. Those I'd trained with displayed no unusual sudden changes in habit or personality. Considering where we just left, that is some comfort."


He pauses, almost as if he was just giving a report and would say no further until asked.

But he does come up with a question.

"I assume, under your watchful eye, there is still a foredeck on the ship?" he asks.

[Isawa O-Washi]

That got a low chuckle from the big man who nodded. "Hai, indeed there is. All to the good, really, or we'd all be walkng the gray paths of Meido instead of sailing just now." By habit, he made a warding gesture with his left hand. "But, hai, it was a good day to emerge into upon leaving that dreadful place. All the samurai seemed quite cheered by the sun. I hope they're feeling the same tomorrow...that's when any aches from new duties may get to the more sheltered ones."

[Bayushi Nobuyoshi]

Nobuyoshi nods.

"Of course, there's more to sick bay than sea sickness and sewing up wounds, otherwise the space would be devoted to the hold and have the seamstresses sew them up." Nobuyoshi comments.

"Do you prefer herbalism or acupuncture for strained muscles? Space is at a premium on-board, so acupuncture needles would take less space than a wide variety of herbs. On the other hand, a sudden roll of the ship could leave the acupuncture patient needing even more intense care. " he asks, somewhat curious.

[Asahina Narumi]

Narumi makes her way down the stairs quietly after having read the stars in preparation for the following day. She bows to those chatting, with a slight smile on her face.

She goes behind the curtain to receive something from her storage then comes back out into the common room, bearing small statues of both Suitengu and Benten.

[Isawa O-Washi]

"I've never espoused the use of needles, on or off the sea." O-washi's face twisted into a grimace. "Too much sake and a tattoo later I think I've had enough to last me at least a decade. Herbs are useful for more than just sprains, too, and while I understand the theory of acupuncture for illness, well, I'll stick to more traditional ways."

To the girl, he bowed and murmured, "Asahina-san." Not leaving her out but not wanting to delay a prayer, either.

[Asahina Narumi]

It looks as though she may have said something as she acknowledges the two once again with a deferential bow before beginning her small personal ritual. It's likely she still hasn't gotten appropriate volume control for a ship down and wished to avoid waking anyone.

After positioning herself somewhat out of the way, or at least as much as one can be in a small area like this, the priestess assumes seiza and places the two statues before her. She whispers some small prayers as she repeatedly touches her hands to the floor and her forehead to her hands.

Eventually she sits upright with her head bowed. She continues with a few more prayers, fidgeting with her bracelet as she does so (which is obviously not a set of prayer beads).

The whole ceremony doesn't last very long at all.

[Bayushi Hoshi]

After some time doing her star viewing, Hoshi made her way downstairs to the crew quarters to wind down her evening before some sleep. Fellow new recruits was something she was expecting of seeing but the gunso in the room had immediately caught her attention. She presented a deep bow, followed to one given to her cousin and the Asahina in acknowledgement.

[Isawa O-Washi]

O-washi, who was carefully drawing lines on his paper with a straightedge, nodded but didn't rise to bow, his brow furrowed in concentration as he tried his damndest not to let his line drift. Still, his tone was friendly, though quiet. "Konnbanwa, Hoshi-san. Now that there're two of you in here, going to have to switch out to chosen names, hope it won't cause any dismay."

[Bayushi Hoshi]

Glancing to his facial expression, she got the feeling she might have tripped over something in progress but had little reason to become skittish now. "Konbanwa Isawa-gunso. My skin is thick enough to survive the change, that should be nothing you have to worry about." She said with some lightness in her tone.

[Isawa O-Washi]

A grin peeked out around the lines of concentration. "That's good. One needs a bit of a thick skin to prosper on a ship, especially as humor at the cost of your fellows is like it's own little artform...ship sadane, if you will."

[Bayushi Nobuyoshi]

Nobuyoshi returns his cousin's bow as is proper, and ponders the Phoenix's comments.

"Ship Sadane..." he muses. "There's some artwork on board, but it seems like it would focus more on criticizing people's performance, rather than going after the reports of their deeds. Can't drive people to duels to the death either....

He returns to his work on restoring his armor and weapons while pondering the particulars of Ship Sadane.

[Isawa O-Washi]

"Exactly so." The gunso grinned a little. "Every flaw is found and expanded on. Any amazing virtue is lauded and used as ways to further display errors by others. Any odd quirk can be twisted. The key is to do it with humor, not the subtleties of a courtly game. The whole ship participates, or at least they do on a happy ship." He sighed, remembering the Moon was not such at this time. "That means you can't be too fancy for the heimen...or the Crab."

[Bayushi Nobuyoshi]

That last addendum does draw a small quiet laugh from Nobuyoshi.

"A surprising clarification, gunso-sama." Nobuyoshi says. "However, when one remembers to compare you to Moshi-gunso, perhaps less so."

Nobuyoshi continues polishes a piece of armor, not the least bit of corrosion can be allowed to remain.

[Isawa O-Washi]

"You lot just haven't seen me lose my temper yet. I assure you, I can bawl out a recruit with the best of them and curse the sky purple." He chuckled again, softer this time. "I can also cheerfully rib any member of any Great Clan, given that I've served with all of them by now. I've seen all the stereotypes in action in the three years I've been with the Imperial Legions. I've also seen just how many stereotypes are false, created by enemies or by the Clans themselves as a deception."

[Bayushi Nobuyoshi]

Nobuyoshi shakes his head.

"I don't doubt your versatility, gunso-sama." Nobuyoshi says. " Bawling out and cursing are just a selection of tools used to motivate quickly in a military force. If it came to behavior that endangered the ship, I'm sure you could match or even surpass Moshi-gunso in a verbal lashing."

Nobuyoshi pauses in his armor cleaning a moment.

"I do wonder if Moshi-gunso can match your use of humor and understanding, however. " Nobuyoshi wonders.

[Isawa O-Washi]

"Ije." O-washi liked his superior, respected her skill and devotion, but was under no illusions about her character. "She's Devil Ray for a reason."

[Asahina Narumi]

Packing up her statues, the Asahina disappears behind the curtain once more. She returns a few minutes later with a bit of cloth holding something a bit smaller than the statues, bowing to Hoshi after having noticed her. She walks up to the others and bows once more, speaking quietly so as to not bother those resting, "I hope that everyone has had a fine day. I intend to have a small drink to celebrate my first official duty day. If any of you would care to join me for such you are more than welcome."

she places the cloth wrapped item next to her on the table and the cloth slides down revealing the top of a sake bottle. She pulls out a cup and waits expectantly for any answers, pouring each a drink as they present a cup.

[Bayushi Hoshi]

Hoshi glanced to Nobuyoshi for a moment, a Scorpion who's quieter than me and that's probably saying a lot. He must get mocked or mistaken for being meek...

An internal sigh. Mm. Probably not.

"Mm. I had a feeling that my courtly ways would be out of place on this ship. Just my luck then." Hoshi said in light jest with an acted sigh that accompanied it. "Thank you for the valued lesson on ship sadane Isawa-gunso. I don't doubt Moshi-gunso's reputation for such a title was unwarranted."

She gave Narumi a small bow once she returned, smiling through her eyes when the offer for sake was presented. "You've come well prepared to make friends on this ship Asahina-san. Being as late as it is, I think it's fair game to join you for sake. Thank you for your generosity."