(Day 4 Early Afternoon Streets) Pachyderm Parade? (Open)

[Agasha Qian-Fan]

Probably a good job that the Matsu Beastmaster School arrived too late for this game . . . . that there are no Beastmasters with us, thought the Agasha.

"I've always thought that keeping a predator large enough to eat you as a pet was a little fool hardy. They do sound magnificent sights though. Have you seen any Matsu Lions before? Grand animals, even if they are a single colour."

[elonweis]

"No Agasha-san, though I have heard of them," she replies and asks politely, "Have you...?"

[Agasha Qian-Fan]

He shook his head.

"Only in drawings. They usually stay with the Lion armies, and those are entities I only ever wish to see while visiting Lion lands. Something I have not had time or leave to do."

[elonweis]

"I think they'd be a little frightening," she murmurs as she turns a corner. There at the end of the street were a pair of large gates opened on to a courtyard of sorts with a gigantic stable. It was hard to miss some of the beasts being guided towards a large field.

[Agasha Qian-Fan]

"A mighty stable for mighty beasts. I've never even imagined Unicorn stables to be this large."

He continued walking, fully intending entering the building to watch the elephants exercise.

[elonweis]

"I don't believe horses grow to their size," she murmurs. Fully expecting the young man to do just that, she moves forward and calls out to some of the drivers in Rhumaal. There's a brief exchange and something changes hands before a short whippet of a boy is summoned to stand by the woman's elbow. Suzuke looks up at Qian-Fan and calls, "There is a newborn if Agasha-sama would like to see it..."

[Agasha Qian-Fan]

That brought a bright smile to Qian-Fan's face.

"I most definitely would. Please, lead on."

He looked about ready to bounce like the Unicorn girl had a habit of doing.

[elonweis]

The Phoenix was lead past the stalls to an open enclosure, there one of the large female beasts was methodically working through a bale of hay. A smaller, miniature was occupying itself with place, dragging a branch by the rope tied to it. The boy climbs over the fence without a hint of fear and whistles to get the baby elephants attention, holding out some odd fruit and calling its name.

As curious as any young animal, the elephant trundles over, ears flapping with its trunk lifted to sniff the air.

[Agasha Qian-Fan]

OK this time he did bounce, marvelling at the miracle of nature before him.

"Oh my, so small and they grow up so large. Hard to believe, but there it is right in front of us. What is that plant he's feeding it with?"

[elonweis]

"Jackfruit," she replies as the calf lifts its trunk and delicately takes the piece of fruit from the boy. The child moves forward to push the calf forward from behind, beckoning to the Isawa with a grin as he babbles in that liquid tongue. "He says that, if you like... you can pet him..."

[Agasha Qian-Fan]

Childlike glee battled Rokugani reserve against touching. The glee won. Hands down. This was totally worth a purification ritual later that day.

With bright eyes the Agasha leaned over the fence and laid a hand on the baby elephant.

[elonweis]

Large, liquid brown eyes with long lashes blink up at the Agasha. The little animal shoves the fruit in its mouth and reaches up to touch the Phoenix' hand and arm with curiosity, the tip at the end of the long snout twitches as it starts to snuffle the man.

[Agasha Qian-Fan]

Qian-Fan's hand jerked away in surprise before slowly returning to the animal, trying his best to keep anything valuable, like spell scrolls, out of the trunk's reach.

"Surprisingly rough skin. How old is this little one?"

[elonweis]

"Three months," she translates as the not-so-little animal touches the wet tip of its snout to the shugenja's face. It sniffs at his hair and pets the strands with curiosity as it studies him with those old, wise eyes.

[Agasha Qian-Fan]

Wet, like a dog's nose. Except dogs don't have six foot long noses. Or grow to the size of a house.

He petted the elephants trunk softly, not knowing how easy the animal would be hurt if at all.

"Just three months? Those eyes look like they hold the wisdom of ages."

[elonweis]

"... the boy says that their mother's carry them for eight seasons," she murmurs, brow furrowing at that idea. The elephant calf, meanwhile, gives the Agasha's hair a tug.

[Agasha Qian-Fan]

Qian-Fan laughed and did his best to retrieve his hair from the not-so-little mammal's grasp.

"Well that would explain his size then. Eight seasons is a long time to grow and be ready for the world."

More petting of the trunk while trying to avoid having his hair pulled out.

"Do they have any predators? I can't imagine anything taking down a full grown one though."

[elonweis]

She asks quietly and translates, "People mostly and tigers and lions, they go after the young, the weak, and the sick..."

The calf lets go of Qian-Fan's hair and moves to grip the young man's sleeve trying to bring the cloth to its mouth.

[Agasha Qian-Fan]

"Ah no. I don't think you'll enjoy dyed silk very much, little one. Better you stick to your . . . jackfruit, was it?"

He pulled his sleeves away from the elephant calf slowly. Having a bite missing from one of his sleeves would probably be a difficult one to explain back at the Embassy.

[elonweis]

Suzuke bites her lower lip to keep from laughing as the calf lets go only to twine its trunk around the young man's arm. It had a surprisingly strong grip.