Qian-Fan made his way slowly down the streets of the gaijin town. He'd chosen to go back to his orange silks, even with the heat. There were proper baths here and he was going to take any chance to be properly attired. Which meant scroll satchel and wakizashi also accompanied him.

His eyes cooly swivelled across the streets, taking in every detail he could.

One of the servants from the embassy followed in the Phoenix' wake. She was short and stocky and didn't seem particularly armed. Suzuke kept one eye on the man and one eye on their surroundings, just in case. The citizens themselves didn't seem particularly interested in the foreigner in their midsts, going about their daily lives.

There were people trying to cart away the refuse. Here a gaggle of children surrounding an old man as he told stories. There a woman selling fruits from her doorstep. Further along, a small booth with garlands of marigolds hanging from think sticks and a young man threading more in the shadow of its awning. For all the oddness of the city, there were strangely familiar scenes that wouldn't be out of place in Rokugan. Except the elephants.

... a line of elephants parades past, loaded down with sacks.

It all seemed so natural. Qian-Fan could even picture it in a Rokugani town. Except with proper samurai, heimin and eta and not filthy barbarian gaijin. He pointedly ignored the refuse carts with the practised air of the samurai. He might have stopped to listen to the stories, but as he did not speak the language there was little point. The marigolds caught his eye and he gave them a second look as he tried to reason out their significance. Were they used for a festival or religious purpose. Or perhaps a good luck charm or decoration for the house in a strange kind of ikebana.

He was about to inquire to his guide/escort about such things when the elephants arrived.

Qian-Fan stared openly at them, mouth open in semi shock. He'd thought Unicorn warhorses were giants until now.

Suzuke pauses when the Agasha does, glancing towards what he was looking at. She didn't even crack a smile as lead elephant lifts its trunk to trumpet its presence. The people around them moved out of the caravan's way, unperturbed by the animals.

He flinched as the elephant trumpeted. The only thing that stopped him from reaching for a scroll was the indifference everyone else showed to the . . . animals. Self preservation kicked in and the Agasha moved to be out of their way while signalling to his guide.

"What . . . are they?"

"Elephants, Agasha-sama," she replies with a surprisingly soft and dulcet voice. "They're used as pack and riding animals like horses. They're usually placid creatures, though they can get in a rage and that's bad but don't worry. The handlers here are very skilled."

Qian-Fan listened to the description without taking his eyes off the enormous beasts.

"Magnificent. They can carry quite a load then? More than an ox could pull in a cart?"

"They could likely carry the ox if the ox didn't try to kick itself off its back," comes the smiling reply. The woman remembers herself and quickly wipes the expression off her face. It wouldn't do to offend.

Qian-Fan was too busy marvelling at the wondrous sight to even look at the heimin woman. He couldn't take his eyes off the elephants.

"Are they common to these lands?"

Yes, she was going to get a thousand and one questions about elephants.

It took me a few moments to spot the bright coloured kimono of the Agasha. I had been too distracted and dumbfounded by the giant beast. I had stared, mouth slightly open, for a good half a minute trying to recall what they were called. I vaguely remembered something but... it was not coming to me. And were they really this BIG?

The conversation peaked my interest straight away as I drew closer. I stood back a bit, perhaps somewhat impolitely ease dropping but only for the sake of learning. It did not seem they were discussing anything private. So these things were called ele... elefantusu? Interesting. Perhaps I should have asked for a guide rather than relying on my limited knowledge of the culture and language

"Common enough," she replies with a shrug, "They're very long-lived but it takes a while for them to carry their young."

"Long lived? Hmmm must take a long time to grow to their full size then. What do they eat?"

He belatedly spotted the Mirumoto and bowed politely in her direction, looking slightly puzzled as he did not recognise her.

"Leaves, vegetables, fruits-" she stops when the Agasha turns and bows politely.

Qian-Fan turns back to Suzuke, keeping half an eye on the parade of mammals.

"They are grazers? At that size and they eat only plants?"

He looks honestly surprised, having expected something to large to be a carnivore.

"Yes, Agasha-sama. If you let them, they will eat a whole tree from its leaves to its branches and right down to its roots."

A small smile briefly tugs at the woman's lips but is quickly hidden as she lowers her gaze.

Qian-Fan nodded, attention back on the elephants.

"I can only imagine what the Unicorn we have onboard will say when they set eyes on these. Something to put their war chargers to shame for once."

That line of thinking automatically led to . . .

"Do they use them for War?"

"Yes, they do," she replies quietly. "A charging elephant is hard to stop."

Qian-Fan nodded.

"I can see that. Not even a Hida or a Moto is going to stand up to one of those. An Earth Tensai perhaps. If he was prewarned and prepared. Maybe one of the Ise Zumi."

Another brief pause.

"How do they react to fire?"

Her eyes widen, "... as uhh... any other animal would."

Suzuke's gazes shifts to the people milling past, catching a few people frowning at them. She bows to the Phoenix, more than a bit discomfited by the situation, "I... I do not mean to be impolite Agasha-sama, but... but such questions perhaps would be best asked in a more secluded location."

Qian-fan blinked and looked at the servant properly as if for the first time.

"Why is that, Suzuke-san? These are merely innocent questions about these magnificent beasts. I am sure those native to these lands would do the same if faced with a Tanuki or such."

He spread his arms in the universal 'I've got nothing to hide' gesture.