Gazing (Day 11 late Evening Aft-deck Open)

[Yoritomo Kaito]

As the sun dipped under the horizon and the stars slowly appeared in the nights sky Kaito stepped lightly onto the aft deck a tatmi mat under onw arm and a coil of rope under the other. Looking around for a few moments to find a out of the way spot he begins to arrange the materials on the ground his eyes occasionally looking towards the sky.

[Shiba Nozomi]

From her seat against the side of the ship, Nozomi watches what he's doing curiously. She doesn't interrupt him with a greeting, as he seems rather focused, so instead, she tucks her legs up under her and places her small pointy chin into a proportionally petite hand.

[Yoritomo Kaito]

His makeshift bed made Kaito examines it for a moment before reaching down and producing a pipe from the cord keeping his pants in place. Turning to get a better view of the ship before settling himself in he spots the child sitting against the ships side. Starting to make a warding sign against evil spirits he stops himself. Wait Wait Wait weren't there a phoenix about that size on the ship?

"Evening" He says pausing a moment before remembering to add "Shiba-san" Think that is what it was.

[Shiba Nozomi]

Ooooh. That seemed like a fun idea... She'd never once had an issue with the size of the bunks allocated for her, they were always quite roomy enough and adding an extra blanket under them made them comfortably cozy. But she hadn't thought about sleeping aboveboard this trip just yet.

"Konb-ban-wa, Mantis-s-sama." She rises and bows to him, then takes a few steps closer to his position. Noting his hesitance with her name, she nods. "Hai... Sh-shiba N-Nozomi."

[Yoritomo Kaito]

I wonder if I make her nervous? He thought as he returned the bow rather pleased he had been right. "Yoritomo Kaito." He said introducing himself. "A pleasure to make yur aquatance." That's likely a better response then nice to meetcha right? She is one of those fancy fire chickens after all.

[Shiba Nozomi]

She has to practically stop her self from asking Really? in an incredulous tone, reminding herself he's just being polite.

"Ano... l-likewise, Yoritomo-sama." Shyly, she gestures to the setup. "M-mind if I sit w-with you a while? It's a g-great idea..."

[Yoritomo Kaito]

"Feel free Shiba-san, though i had been thinking of smoking this a bit" He says lifting the pipe in his hand into visibility. "Probably better that I don't though this is likely to be a bit of a trip and the lil weed i have will have to last me." Moving to take a seat on his makeshift bed he gestures for the little lady to join him. "Just sit wherever ya like."

[Shiba Nozomi]

She shuffles over, thinking for what wouldn't be the last time of how wonderful the ship's planks felt below her toes. Settling herself down on the deck, the spot she chose was close enough for easy conversation, but far enough away that there'd be no question of propriety.

She nods in agreement about the pipe. "T-the ashigaru... d-did you notice, to-today? No p-point in giving th-them m-more of a reason t-t-to be jumpy."

[Yoritomo Kaito]

He hadn't noticed anyone being that jumpy but then again there was no way a man could notice everything... Especially with so many far nicer things to ogle in his spar time bouncing unicorns for example. "In my experience sailors tend to be a somewhat jumpy lot anyways there are a lot of things to keep your eyes on on a ship and its good to be on your toes."

He taps the end of his pipe on his chin for a moment before continuing. "Though I suppose tomorrow morning might make em a little jumpier then most. Seems we may have a bit of fog rolling in."

[Shiba Nozomi]

She wrinkles her nose at the thought. "H-hope they d-d-don't blame m-me for it..." she mumbles unhappily.

Leaning back against her arms, she gazes up at the sky. Just as he had said, there was some mistiness obscuring things here and there. She hadn't noticed until now.

"An...and you w-want to w-wake up on-d-d-deck to that?" She seems a little confused.

[Yoritomo Kaito]

He glances over at the young woman for a moment this must be the bird with the odd eyes he had heard about. Which could explain why she thought the ashigaru seemed jumpy maybe she made they so. With a small shrug of his shoulders he replied.

"They will or they won't Shiba-san. As to waking up in the fog I don't much mind." I've woken up in worse. "I still like it better then sitting in a stuffy lil crew quarters, and anyways this way i get to watch the stars for a bit before i sleep."

[Shiba Nozomi]

They will or they won't... Small fingers make their way to the pendant at her throat.

"You c-can't really s-s-see the stars so well fr-from most p-parts of Kyuden Is-Isawa. B-but usually out at s-s-sea..." She glances over at him.

"The s-sea lights are always p-pretty, too."

[Yoritomo Kaito]

"That they are Shiba-san." The mantis replied a lopsided grin playing over his face as he glances back at the young woman. "I take it from your words though that you're from Kyuden Isawa?" He asked wondering if she hand been at sea before as her words implied.

[Shiba Nozomi]

"Ano... m-my sensei l-lives there, s-so when I go to v-visit, I s-st-tay with her." She fidgets with her pendant a little more.

"W-we caught s-some, once... t-th-the sea lights... by ac-accident."

[Yoritomo Kaito]

The mantis's eye drift down to the pendant the girl was fidgeting with His pipe unlit unconsciously finding its way into his mouth for a few moments. "How did ya go about doing that? Accidentally catching sea lights? Seems like something you would have to try to do to me."

[Shiba Nozomi]

It occurs to the Phoenix that she should have made her last comment about visiting her sensei in Kyuden Isawa as a past-tense... but pushes the thought away.

"W-well, we'd c-caught a number of things in our n-n-nets one evening, and K-Koichi found a few sm-small jellyfish c-caught up with the re-rest. He di-didn't recognize them and th-they didn't sting... s-so we stuck them in a b-big b-bowl and watched th-them swim around a b-bit. After it got dark, our b-bowl got all gl-glowy..."

She makes little pantomimes as she tells the story, wiggling her fingers about a bit when she describes the jellyfish, and then cupping her hands when she talks about the bowl glowing.

[Yoritomo Kaito]

Scary eyes or not it was kinda cute when the little girl pantomimed the jellyfish and the mantis had to stop himself from chuckling and likely embarrassing the little birdie. "Huh that must of been a shocking bit of a discovery." He replies after he calmed himself and took a breath. He was still smiling though as he continued. "I don't think I have ever seen em so close myself did ya end of letting em go or keeping em?"

[Shiba Nozomi]

"W-we let them g-go. Suitengu's b-beautiful children sh-shouldn't be caged up l-l-like that. He s-seemed to underst-stand that we j-just wanted to get t-t-to know his family a l-little better, and d-didn't seem t-too upset by it."

The pendant is a small opal in a very simple setting, milky pale, with flecks of color that caught the light now and again, if you were watching. The chain it's attached to is thin and equally simple as the setting. When she fidgets with it, her small thumb rubs over the top of the stone, and it looks like it may have become a little flatter from many similar events.

[Yoritomo Kaito]

The mantis nods in acceptance that was after all the proper course of action. "Ah good on you then, would hate to think they had been carried off to some far away place away from their home." It was a terrible fate indeed to be carried away from the sea at least in Kaito's opinion.

"I take it from your words though that you've spent quite a bit of time at sea though?"

[Shiba Nozomi]

She nods. He was Mantis, and it had only been 30 years ago when the Mantis has engaged in hostilities with the Phoenix, resulting in the surrender of many of the Phoenix shipping lanes. Many, but not all. Trying to navigate that issue with appropriate tactfulness, she replies,"Ah, yes. The Ph-Phoenix still have a f-few ships here and th-there. It m-may not mean m-much to you, but my p-proper name is Na-Nasu no Shiba Nozomi..."