[Morning 12 - Crow's Nest] Captive Audience

[Amaya]

There was a faint chuckle that came from over where the peasant was after the second statement was made. It faded almost immediately into a sort of disturbed silence and a small cough. She considered the idea for a moment, her brow furrowed in thought. Somehow, I have a feeling you meant the first... odd as that sounds.

"So... Shiba-sama, if you're lookin t'know yer tools," she said in a lame attempt at humor. "What're ya plannin t'use them for? Diggin a ditch any time soon?"

Reallll smooth.

[Shiba Nozomi]

She wrinkles her nose trying to picture that thought."That w-would be the mu-most unusual ditch R-Rokugan has ever s-seen."

Shaking her head, she replies. "I d-don't know w-what I'd n-need it for, but I'd ru-rather know wh-what I've got, then t-try and f-figure it out when I'm i-in a b-bind."

[Amaya]

"Fair 'nuff, Shiba-sama," she said after a moment's reluctant thought. "What is it ya wanna know? Ask away an if I know th'answer, I'll try'n share it back to ya as ya please." Not like I'm going anywhere anytime soon after all.

[Shiba Nozomi]

Nozomi rubs her nose absentmindedly, "W-well, what's your h-history? Everyo-one has to come f-fr-from somewhere..."

[Amaya]

"I'll be honest, Shiba-sama," she said, shaking her head. "I don't remember a whole hell'f a lot most times. I'm jus from a small town off th'coast, south of the spine. Pretty lil fishin village the Crane run. Lived there my whole life, an I usually only sailed out for a day n back on th'sampans for fishin. Only bout ten samurai in town any day of the week, a few of 'em comin and goin. Was just my mom n me most times. I only remember a lil bout my dad. He's th'one who got me set up with th'local crews instead of on a farm outside of town. I spent most my life on th'sea."

[Shiba Nozomi]

"C-Crane lands? R-Really." Nozomi would have guessed Lion byt the look of things. You live and learn... "And you c-came here b-because?"

[Amaya]

"Conscripted, -sama. Was picked up from m'lands a couple weeks 'fore the ship set sail and sent over," she said, shrugging a little. She had a good idea why, but that wasn't important. She knew she'd make do just fine here. "One'f my lords figured I'd be useful, I think."

[Shiba Nozomi]

Nozomi considers this. Most people did not randomly get the notion to send away peasants who were doing good work. Which left only certain things as options...

"So you're ob-obviously a d-decent hand w-with the r-rigging..." Nozomi glances to the ropes that Amaya had been skillfully working with. "What e-else d-do you d-do?"

[Amaya]

She twitched and fidgeted, clearly a bit uncomfortable. "Hunt sharks. I'm really good't catchin tougher fish ya can't catch so easy with a net. Lotsa experience with that sorta thing, though... couldn't tell ya for sure if that's what did't."

[Shiba Nozomi]

Sharks. She did just say sharks. Nozomi looks over the other girl with fresh eyes. That would explain at least one or two of the injuries...

A tiny smile. "Your l-lord... I'm go-going to guess he w-wasn't a huge fan of same on his s-sushi, was he, then?"

[Amaya]

"The magistrate liked shark, yep," she said, not really catching the possible implications to that, accurate or not. "Fair amount'f what I caught got sold onward."

[Shiba Nozomi]

That comment gets a slightly funny look from Nozomi, but she doesn't comment on it.

"Could... c-can you cook it, as w-well?" It was one of those things that was notoriously hard to prepare well, which, when combined with the difficulty in catching the thing in the first place, made it fairly rare. Butwell-cooked shark-fin soup was amazing.

[Amaya]

"Heh, no. Killin those bastards' is hard enough as is. cookin 'em's somethin a whole other sorta person can do. I'm more good w'ropes n sails than I am cookin or anythin like that," she said, shaking her head and sighing. "That'd be kinda a strange story. Kill m'own sharks n cook 'em up. If I was th'merchant type, I'd probably sell that pretty well." She laughed at that, not really sure whether commerce was something a samurai would want talked about.

[Shiba Nozomi]

Amaya was a peasant and talking about such things wasn't an issue for them. There was a whole merchant class of peasants devoted to it, as a patter of fact. Nozomi just sidesteps the specifics, and thus avoids the issue altogether.

"With that kind of sk-skill, you could easily set up a restaurant. Ha-have people c-come from m-miles around to eat w-with you..." She tilts her head to the side.

"W-would you be interested in l-learning how to cook? ...or d-do you p-prefer doing o-other things?"

[Amaya]

"Well, this sorta place in't so hot for experimentin or studyin, since lotsa folk have t'eat," she said, shaking her head. "Mebbe one of these days, b'for now I'm coontent without that sorta thing. I think I've got enough on m'plate less someone calls me t'do that mainly."

[Shiba Nozomi]

"Ah.. w-well... duty does come fu-first, of course..." A mental note is made.

"Ano... so..." She glances about. "Wh-what do you t-tend to do wh-when you're up h-here?"

[Amaya]

"Watch f'shoals, shallows n other hazards of th'ocean," she replied. "Most days, it's someone else. I got no problem gettin up here n all, but not always so good't spottin things folks are lookin for. Still, this deep, this part'f the sea, it's not too much a problem, least so I've heard."

[Shiba Nozomi]

"Well... I'll help y-you keep an eye out un-until they need me for t-training, if y-you don't m-mind, that is..."

[Amaya]

"Long's ya don't hav other duties, another set'f eyes won't hurt, -sama," she said, trying to decide if it was a good thing to have the shugenja on the nest or not. She certainly was trying to be friendly, and nervous in ways Amaya was unaccustomed to with samurai. Well, at the very least, no hexes yet, so that was good.

[Shiba Nozomi]

"They ha-haven't set duties f-for us yet. And w-with double coverage h-here, we're bound to c-catch anything th-that comes up." Nozomi scoots herself until her back is resting against the mast, and turns her gaze out to the emptiness all around them. Didn't look like there'd be much to miss, even for one person.

The little shugenja seems perfectly content to sit in silence if Amaya so chose.