Avian Education (Day 1, Early Eve, Open)

[Isawa O-Washi]

As a truly lovely sunset began on the horizon, O-washi's mighty eagle, Sensuifu, began his evening ritual. The Isawa, who had long admired the deadly grace involved, had arranged himself on the Nest to watch.

Today, however, he wasn't alone.

Though he'd never admit it, O-washi was very fond of the cuddly little kittens that Choukichi'd brought aboard. He'd found the younger of the two to be a sweet little thing had taken to cuddling it when no one was looking. Doing so this morning as he at last got some much-needed sleep, it had occurred to him that once the little ones were let have the run of the ship, they might well end up on deck and, thereafter, in Sensuifu's predatory sights.

Thus, to avert a disaster, he had determined to lay down the rules for the great hunter: Cute, fuzzy little beasties were not to be on his menu. It had taken some doing but happily O-washi was a fine climber and, with the kami's aid, the kitten had been given to understand that he would be safe enough during the ascent. Now it's small little face peered out from the pouch that O-washi'd slung him in a small but mighty purr beginning as it started to explore the platform under the Isawa's watchful guidance.

[Isawa Junpei]

Were it not for his inability to remain aloft while sleeping, Junpei might have made a home above the forward mast, away from the crow's nest, but close enough to enjoy the occasional sound of voices caught on the wind. He would never eavesdrop, but it worked well to alert him when someone had made the full ascent, prime for Junpei to approach on his own terms. This, evening, however, Junpei had watched the burly Isawa make his climb, but had waited until he was fully situated before hovering on over. "Konwanwa, Isawa-gunso," he spoke with a restrained glee (most likely brought on by their continued good fortune to not be in the Sea of Sorrows).

[Isawa O-Washi]

"Cousin." O-washi grinned and inclined his head, not wishing to disrupt his small companion by rising to bow. "Lovely weather today, neh? Damn nice change to where we've been. Good to see that you seem fully acclimated to the ship at last."

He was quiet for a few moments, grabbing the kitten before it could try going onto the spar. "I hope you've changed your mind about being here, now that things are less....grim."

[Isawa Junpei]

"It is a relief, of that you can be sure, and I'm enjoying my appointment very much. Still, I haven't much had the chance to prove my worth after all the pitiable days I had when first setting out. I even heard that the crew has a rude nickname for me now," Junpei might have frowned if it wouldn't be impolite. As it was, his eyes conveyed his mixture of anger and disappointment in himself.

[Isawa O-Washi]

"Could be worse...you could be the Toritaka." O-washi shook his head in amusement. "You at least get to be a bird with some degree of offensive capability. Him? He's just named for what's thrown overboard to draw shark for spear fishing."

Placing the kitten in his lap, the big man smirked. "If it's any consolation, names change as much as the weather on a ship. I'm Mountain now, thanks to the Captain, but I've been Tsunami, Sprinkles, and Hime since I joined the Ninth."

[Isawa Junpei]

Junpei's brow raised at the list, he wondered briefly if he should ask, and then with perhaps as much courage as he'd mustered on their voyage thus far he did, "Uhhh....Hime? Really?" Call him dense, but Junpei simply couldn't see it. Irony was a favored source of ship names, from what he'd gathered, but under what circumstances would anyone dare call O-Washi 'hime'?

[Isawa O-Washi]

Far from offended, the bigger man grinned. "Hai...got that one from my first crew after I took them out to a geisha house after our first voyage. It was a mixed crew but mostly composed of Crab. I made the mistake of accepting a challenge to a drinking contest with one of them, a deceptively slender looking Hiruma who was still a little miffed at me for being better at jiujitsu than he was. Needless to say, I lost."

O-washi started to laugh, the low bass rumble of it making the kitten chirp in curiosity.

"Next thing I remember, I'm sprawled on the deck of my ship, kitted out like a Maiko, wig and all."

[Isawa Junpei]

Junpei might have gone bug-eyed at the image, but managed to restrain himself. Instead he chortled quietly along with his superior, "I suppose I should count my blessings. It's just a little hard to get used to life at sea. It's nothing like being on land. It's like some sort of reversed world. It's not the physical trials that are hardest, though, I'll be the first to admit they're not easy in the slightest, it's the mental and spiritual ones. I'm so used to our lands where shugenja are given respect, yes greater respect then our bushi among many, but even so we'd never think to saddle one another with slanderous names. Gripe and grudges come out because of personal rivalry, knowing that the subject of your jealousy could possibly be better than you, and that makes you work harder."

He let one of his feet dangle to and fro as he spoke, "Here...it's...different. It's like you're no good until you save someone's life or do them a favor. Until then you're just like every common eta or heimin aboard. I try not to ascribe to cliche Isawa arrogance, and I don't speak for just myself, but I feel that the priests aboard are afforded no more respect then anyone else, in spite of our willworking on the crew's behalf."

[Isawa O-Washi]

Slowly, O-washi's laughter died. "That's because we aren't. All hohei are equal, regardless of specialty or calling, until they prove by dedication to duty they deserve more, or less, respect. It is only today that all have been sorted into those duties. Part of why the peasantry has respect is that the officers have seen them prove they can handle the difficulties of the sea, which none of the recruits have had the chance to do. You must be patient, Junpei-san. All of us in the Ninth have gone through the same training, the same difficult adjustment. Part of why it's done is to see who breaks."

Very solemn now, he met the other man's gaze squarely. "It is better to learn when it doesn't matter than when the time comes to stand shoulder to shoulder. There is much less ground for error on a ship in combat...there is no real retreat, no clever stealth to help win the day. When one man breaks, all too often the ship fails and all are dragged down to Meido together."

[Isawa Junpei]

"A grim thought," Junpei added. "It just takes some getting used to. At Kyuden Isawa students, that is to say everyone in attendance at the school, are lifted up to fulfill their potential. We're given encouragement and praise to help us seek our highest selves. Here...it is a lonely affair. Succeed or die, so to speak. You are punished for your failures, it feels, not so much praised for your successes. Then again, I suppose I have such a view since few of us have had the chance to succeed yet and every opportunity to fail."

He pondered the thought for a moment longer but then waved it away, "But I don't want to seem melancholy about it. Different is good. It is the reason I wanted to join the Ninth in the first place, to get out from under the stagnant predictability of life in the kyuden."

[Isawa O-Washi]

O-washi studied his younger Clanmate with a peculiar look on his face for a long time before sighing and settling his back against the mast.

"It is different. Very different. If you expect to be coddled, though, you've chosen poorly in a military career. No one gives a damn who you are related to, who your sensei was, how highly you placed in your class at gempukku, or how many prestigious recognitions you've gotten for anything other than military action and even then it's taken with suspicion since bragging to inflate one's reputation isn't only restricted to Lions. Even speaking of such things is considered a weakness, a way of trying to shield oneself from responsibility in case something goes wrong."

He let out a long sigh.

"And if you are lonely, that fault is yours. What do you expect when you spend your time flitting above the deck, using gifts that none other could hope to match? If you expect the others to respect you, you need to be among them, laboring to improve yourself as a fellow sailor and as a man. You need to share stories, build bonds with your crewmates, if you want them to treat you differently than they do now."

[Isawa Junpei]

That hadn't exactly been what he meant, but that didn't stop his senior from being right. Junpei nodded, "It's tricky."

Seating himself, he crossed one leg over the other, the front of his robes draping off to the side, while the back just dangled freely. "My duty up till now has been communion with the kami. My whole life was to better know the spirits, that is how I contributed to our clan. Up here I can commit myself to my element, but you're absolutely right. It will be hard to serve two masters."

[Isawa O-Washi]

"Not so tricky. When I first joined the navy for the Clan as a lad fresh from my time at Reihaido Uikku, I took up steersman's duty to feel the way the water kami reacted to the rudder and it taught me things that simple communion never had. "

One hand gestured to the sails below them.

"For you, of course, it would be different. You wish to study the air kami, neh? Take to the task of tacking sail. Use your skill and knowledge to better the ship even as you learn an aspect of your friends you didn't know. Take to the firing of the ballistae, see how the kam's temper makes the bolts fly. Watch how the currents, colors you can see in the water if you know how to look, change the dance of the kami above them. There are ways to blend your duties, old and new...you just have to open your mind and your eyes enough to see them."

[Isawa Junpei]

"You're right, of course," the younger priest acquiesced. "This is my life now. I'll miss the purity of focus, to meditate solely on the spirits. I could spend hours with my mind pouring into the aerial currents. But, I suppose I should get my head out of the clouds, so to speak." He smiled a small courteous smile, "Not that I haven't found myself chatting with almost every person who makes the trek up to these heights. You would be amazed the number of people who come up to enjoy the view everyday. Not that I blame them."

[Isawa O-Washi]

"It's an easement for those used to wandering. Never have I been on a ship with Unicorn that they don't climb up as soon as they've the skill. The horizon soothes them, I think, and as long as they don't cause trouble or have a tendency to falling there's no harm in it."

The circling eagle finally dived, hitting the sea with a splash and a cry. Distracted, the gunso looked over and then laughed. "Well...no harm unless Sensuifu there decides he doesn't like them. This is his territory as far as he's concerned, no matter how many times I tell him that it's the foremast that's his alone."

[Isawa Junpei]

"Oh dear," Junpei spied the forward mast, thinking of the long hours he'd spent there. "I'm glad he hasn't become too irate with me then. I've been finding myself there quite a lot since coming aboard. It gives the best view I think. Aside from what's behind us I can see most of the flotilla and everything ahead of us. I'll remember to be more considerate in the future, however. I might have to find a better spot."

[Isawa O-Washi]

"He's used to those in our colors." O-washi grinned, patting his flame-clad knee. "Besides, if you're flying about you're not testing him. Do you have the prayer for speech with animals? If so, I could introduce you and then it won't be a problem at all...he's reasonable for an eagle."

His big hand patted the kitten that was now worrying the ties of his hakama. "Reasoning with him is what I'm up here for with this little fellow...I can't imagine how traumatized that poor Yoritomo'd be if his pet got eaten by an eagle, much less what omens he'd ascribe to it."

[Isawa Junpei]

Junpei sidled in slightly, to get a better gander at the little critter, "Quite precious if I do say so myself. So these are Yoritomo-san's little kittens, I haven't seen either of them yet." The smile on the tensai's face couldn't be helped, though as his mood lightened, he began to drift away. A bit of concentration brought him closer, reaching out a thin hand to give a gentle pet. "Given a bit of coaxing, I think the kami would be happy to convey my meaning to your noble bird and maybe even to this little guy."

[Isawa O-Washi]

"Even I can manage and air and I aren't on fine terms." Chuckling, the older Isawa lifted the kitten and passed it over. "This one's the sweeter of temper which is why I brought him, less likely to worry when introduce. The other one is so feisty he might just take a swipe and I don't know what would happen then. I know there was a debate amongst the crew for names for them but I'm not sure which one is which...I suspect this one's Sage, though. His brother's Thyme. They're quiet willing to climb up on you in your berth I've found, though I sleep like a rock so perhaps it's the notion of a warm cushion that doesn't move that appeals to them."

[Isawa Junpei]

He took the small bundle, but out of sheer worry, he inched closer to the crow's nest, lifting his legs over the railing until he hovered just inches from the posting's 'floor'. He gave a short laugh at the feeling of downy fuzz beneath his fingers as he cradled the thing against his chest. "I never had pets growing up. Living next to the ocean there wasn't much in the way of cats or dogs in our small village, so we went without. Best we had were hermit crabs and the occasional sea turtle coming to shore to lay her eggs. That was something, though, watching the little ones run down to the sea after they'd hatched. I used to scare away the sea gulls."