Being in closely packed crew-quarters was a hell for the man whom had been accustomed being able to see the land leagues around him. The stench, the darkness and the constant silent chatter. it drove him mad. Well, to be precise, it drove him to the deck above, to the place where he could feel the sky above him.

Sitting down near to one of the ballistae, the man sighed, and stretched. Being out had its disadvantages as well. The sea was out there. And it was not the quiet, calm sea he had used to.

Dressed slightly warmer then usual perhaps to ward off a bit of the evening chill Kaito strode onto the deck pipe in hand. He had been doing his best to follow Isawa-sans suggestion so hadn't spent much time up on deck. Glancing around the likely nearly deserted deck he spots the mail unicorn he had seen at training the previous days and wanders over.

He couldn't quite remember the mans name Iuchi something or other if he remembered correctly. "Evening Iuchi-san." He greeted the unicorn as he got closer bowing polietly.

Turning to regard the man, the Unicorn nodded back, seated as he was. "Good evening, Yoritomo-san. Found the crw quartes too lively for your tastes as well?" the man asked.

"Something of that sort Iuchi-san." He replied somewhat nonchalantly. "You mind a bit of company this evening or were ya looking for some time for yourself?"

"I suppose I could use a distraction." the man nodded. "The sea speaks to me."

Kaito nodded recalling from the scroll satchels that the man wore that he was a shujenga of some sort. "I been told this part of the trip would be hard on those who could speak to the Kami." He replied as he went to one of the lanterns in order to light his pipe. "You don't mind if I smoke do ya?"

"Feel free." he nodded to his question. As much as he didn't smoke himself, he wasn't bothered by the smell either. Unicorn caravans were always a cacophony of scents and smells.

"Quiet night, eh?"

Another figure emerged from the quarters below to join the two men topside of the ship. Her attention at first went to the night to see if there were cleared to better skies but perhaps that would have to wait for an entirely different night. The Scorpion then bowed politely to both the Iuchi and Yoritomo. "Konbanwa minasan." She said in greeting.

Unicorn regarded the newcomer with some curiosity, turning his attention to her. "Good evening, Bayushi-san."

Hoshi glanced out to the neighbouring ballista, wondering if the Moshi would have a fit with sailors standing so close to a weapon without the intention to use it or being on duty. There was a small smirk behind her mask as she wrote off that concern for now. "It seems that we all had the same idea when it comes to fresh air." She said softly as she approached closer, taking the Unicorn's return greeting as an informal invitation.

"This one is Bayushi Hoshi, formerly of Ryoko Owari Toshi." She bowed politely with her introduction.

"Iuchi Xiao Hua, formerly of Shiro Iuchi. Not that I've spent a lot of time there." the man nodded to the Scorpion. "And yes, the common quarters were..." rest of the sentence was swallowed. Iuchi was rather sure that the woman would know what he meant, without actually saying it.

"Please sit down." the man invited the Bayushi to join them.

Hoshi nodded twice in understanding at the implied statement the Iuchi made, "It goes for a good majority of us when it comes to the Half Moon. I would think it could explain for some of Moshi-sama's sternness to push us." There seemed to be some amusement in her tone.

"Thank you Iuchi-san, the air is best when drawn from its source...even in present mood." She sighed softly with a glance at the skies.

"You tell me." the man muttered, shooting a quick glance at the seas. It was there, in the background, screeching and crying.
"You tell me." he sighed.

Hoshi settled down to the next available seat that wasn't so close to the ballista. "This should only be the journey instead of the destination, we must be cleared of this eventually." She said in reassurance, knowing that the Iuchi was some kind of shugenja even though she wasn't entirely clear as to which sort.

"Does anyone have an idea of our destination?"

"Coral Island, as they have said." he explained kindly to the woman. "Mantis trading port, deep in the south... or so the rumours tend to say. But the place is actually an archipelago. so, not the great place for port. More like a way point. One that is easy to defend." The man told her, tilting his head to the side.

"So, it doesn't take much to deduce that we might be heading beyond the Empire's borders. That is, unless we just sail there and back." He chuckled.

Hoshi lifted her brows at the Unicorn, she was honestly expecting clueless shrugs from the two and she was given something to go on instead. "Do you mean the Empire's borders in the loosest sense...Iuchi-san? I wasn't aware that we have already expanded our order beyond the conventional map Iuchi-san. A Mantis trading port ne? This would be one of those they speak of where they interact with the world beyond? I can't imagine the fish there giving much in return otherwise..."

"Erm... the Mantis I talked with didn't go into details. She was too drunk to." he explained. "But, if you look at the maps, well... Your conclusion seems plausible." the man nodded. "Not certain... but plausible for sure. Mantis certainly have access of alien artefacts." he added, tapping his shirt, revealing a tubular shape beneath the cloth.

Caught up for a few moments in lighting his pipe Kaito missed most of the exchange but coming over to the two bows politely to the scorpion as he takes his seat. As the Iuchi mentions the bulky shape beneath his cloth the Mantis speaks. "I thought I had seen you carrying something odd around. Ya mind me askin what it is Iuchi-san?"

From a drunk Mantis, Hoshi wasn't surprised. Kaito asked the next question on her mind and she glanced to the Iuchi to see if an explanation would come from it.

The quiet Asahina made her way onto the aft deck as well. She was interested in reading the stars and that was as good a place as any. She wasn't surprised to see others there when she arrived. Bowing to those assembled, "Good evening. I hope that I am not intruding." She kept her eyes on the group with occasional glances at the horizon.