With the clear skies and fresh breeze of the afternoon, Akodo Jishaku takes a walk around the cabin and up the narrow walkway to check out the wheelhouse. Based on previous experiences of exploring new parts of the ship he announces himself immediately upon arrival to make sure he isn't either in the way or in a forbidden area.

"Ahoy there! Akodo Jishaku, hoping to take a look at the wheelhouse without getting in anyone's way." He smiles amiably and waits for a response.

His eyes beheld a stranger, her white hair blowing in the breeze. She was a model of Crane grace and beauty, a woman in the prime of her life and who looked surprisingly delicate against the large wheel. At his hailing, the woman turned to face him for only a moment, eyes the color of a perfect autumn sky raking over him once before she returned her gaze to the sea.

"Navigator?"

Taking in the impressive woman before him with a trained eye he bows. "Hai, Crane-sama. Though never before on such a large vessel, or so far out to sea."

The Crane woman was not alone. A far more plain woman with a bow, one of those he had fought the day before, stood beside her. Mostly the ashigaru's eyes stayed focused on their surroundings. Keeping an eye out for trouble constantly. Still, she bowed to the Akodo as he entered.

"Fine."

The woman waved Jishaku in, again without turning her gaze from the wheel.

"Chart's are there, on the wall. We're ten leagues south o' that last isle in the Shima no Yanmazaru chain. See if you can find the point."

The Lion takes the time to politely bow to the ashigaru as well. Yesterday they had been opponents, but ever since then they were shipmates. "Hai -sama." Jishaku takes a good look at the map, comparing the north marker to the current location of true north, a talent he had possessed as long as he could remember. Reading the map and looking at their heading he mentally compiles the information and points (hopefully) to the very spot she had mentioned. "Right there."

"You." This was , apparently, addressed to the heimen. "Hold the wheel."

Leaving the ashigaru to old the course for the time being, the Crane stalked toward Jishaku, examining his endeavor. "Nearly." One of her fingers, calloused from a bow's string, tapped a point an inch or so away from his own. Looking up at him, her face lost some of it's cold edge, becoming a bit more approachable. "Now then. What'd you say's the best course to avoid...that."

Her finger drifted west toward a very ominous looking black patch on the map, only a day or so's travel away.

The heimin blinked at that request, but very quickly followed the order, especially as the other woman left it. The Ashigaru was obviously unfamiliar with the wheel of the ship by the nervous way she held it, as though it might try to spin out of her hands at any second. For now, she just did her best to make certain they kept going in what she thought was a straight line.

The Lion studies the map carefully, then the weather, and then looks back at the Crane. "Well the winds are blowing in this direction at the moment, and likely for the rest of the day. What are the currents like between here and there?" He looks out at the way the water is striking the bow and suggests a course. "I would want to check the direction of the currents regularly just in case of surprises."

She nodded, a single sharp motion, then pointed to another chart, this one nothing but odd blue and green swirls with tiny gradient lines to the untrained who'd never worked with a current map before. "Are you familiar with the use of this?"

He looks at it and nods slowly. "Familiar in that I know it is a map of currents Crane-sama. I have never actually used one on the open ocean before though." He looks from it to the other map and then goes back to the previous exercise and makes an adjustment to the course he had indicated before. "Given what I think the current map is telling me I would revise my previous course to one like this." Not a big change, but enough to show he understood the implications of what she had just shown him.

Once again she nodded. "Good...assuming the map's the right one for the season. This one is...we get them updated from Kyuden Gotei, it's a perk of the Duty. Weather changes the flows, just like it changes the leaves in a garden."

Looking up at him again, she finally gave him a smile, though a small one. "I'm Daidoji Kiriyo, Captain of the Orochi's Wake and second in command of this flotilla. Uminushi-sama's off inspecting my lot of recruits for the afternoon so I told him I'd keep things tacked proper here." With a wave, she indicated he should follow as she moved to reclaim the wheel from the poor heimen woman. "So. Tell me what you make of this lot so far."

Returning the smile he follows her to stand beside her in the wheelhouse looking ahead at the ship's course. "A pleasure to meet you Daidoji-sama. So far my lessons with the crew have been most instructive and I would like to think I am giving a good account of myself." He looks pleasantly at the ashigaru who had pulled her punches the day before. "Three days out to sea and I feel at home amongst the crew. As for my fellow new recruits? Some stand out as being very capable, others look like they have never been on water before. I have yet to meet many of them though."

A non-committal sound passed her lips as she made a few adjustments to their course. "What drills have they started you on? My gunso are quite different from the ones assigned here and so I rather doubt the curriculum is the same."

"Boarding drills with Isawa-gunso yesterday. Appropriate attire and dealing with men overboard with Moshi-gunso today Daidoji-sama." He watches her as she controls the ship, enjoying how natural her responses seem.

Touhi was more than happy to give the wheel back as she moved back to her position. Though more and more her eyes were straying to the conversation between the Captain and the Cadet.

"Mm."

She nodded absently. "My lot did missile combat yesterday and will be covering field medicine today." She smirked a little. "The prior day's lesson left plenty of folks with pulled muscles and a few burns, good practice for the healers."

"Burns, Daidoji-sama? Rope or regular?" There is a hint of curiosity in his voice, the implication of fire on a ship was generally bad news.

Kiriyo's laughter was a sharp thing, far too cynical and harsh to fit her pretty facade. "Both. Most of them haven't handled Tamori Fire before and I have my archers use it since I don't have any offensive shugenja on my regular crew."

"Well, better to get burned now than during combat." How do you store Tamori Fire? Very carefully...