Miya Momoko and Bayushi Kenshin quickly make their exit from Toshi Ranbo on their way to the Lion city of Nikatoshi.  The skies overhead are dark and cloudy, the first snows of the Winter--which will close the roads and passes to the movement of all except small groups and caravans--are yet to fall.  If the Lion manage to take Toshi Ranbo--or even entrench themselves for a Winter siege--the Crane will be unable to retake the City for years, if ever.  The two samurai know that their mission to convince the Lion to forestall their attack will most likely end in failure and death, but their duty is to try.

ooc:  your success, falure, and/or death are not actually predetermined, I'm just being melodramatic ^_^

Momoko rode with purpose - a thing that she lacked for many years.  Had she not been the shameful reminder of a Miya herald's intervention betweent the Crane and the Crab, she might have undertaken this task anyway.  As the 'Hostage' of the Crane however, she was honour-bound to ensure that her hosts were at least represented fairly.

Beside her rode her new friend - and she had mixed feelings about this.  Bayushi Kenshin had thus far proved to be nothing but an honorable man, and one who had pledged his blade to help her.  He had a lovely wife whom he obviously adored. MMomoko did not want to part them - for a day, or more likely for thier life times, should things take a turn for the worse.

The ragged little pony that Momoko urged forwards was an attempt at modesty - she wanted to appear as pathetic and genteel as possible before the Lion, should any Matsu feel a hankering for blooding thier bows or swords.  Plus, it gave her an advantage - the Lion would underestimate her.

She herself was dressed in her family colours, and hoped that the Lion were not so stupid as to attack someone dressed as a Miya before acertaining their identity.

Kenshin's presence was understated, yet it was an obvious reminder that the Miya were not in this alone. The steed he had chosen was chosen for speed and temperament. It was not as humble as the Imperial's pony, nor was it abrasive as a Unicorn's might be.

It simply "was".

He had also changed into a kimono that had only his family and clan Mon; but, unlike the Miya, Kenshin knew that this would not be interpreted as yet another Scorpion mask. Much like the Mask that he wore on his face, Honor, would not be interpreted as he intended.

And he was okay with that.

Kenshin kept riding beside Momoko, scanning his surroundings ...

Momoko could feel the pressure of the mission mounting on her, almost drowing her in a mixture of fear, duty and pride.  She needed something to occupy her mind until they found the Lion.

"Bayushi-san, I wonder, are you much of a poet?  It is a skill i never learned but often wished I had." She didn't finish the sentence with the line 'before I died', but she did think it.

"Iie" Kenshin replied, a bit embarrassed, "I spent nearly all of my free time with the blade."

Kenshin forced a smile under his thick mask.

"Many of us were forced from our homes by spear-point while still quite young" he continued somberly. "At first I focused so hard on sword work because I wanted revenge, but I soon found that it had a calming effect on me."

Indeed, the Scorpion clan were only recently reconstituted, and even then only the crucial role that the Scorpion Thunder had played and the Emperor's command forced an empire to grudgingly return them to their place. Before then, the Scorpion's children were forced to stay with the Crane.

The Last Hantei had clearly intended it to be for ever.

"I needed a lot of calming ..."

"I understand Bayushi-san. I did not intend to cause you embarrassment. I must beg your forgiveness.  I too have studied the blade, and I think I may have narrowed my studies perhaps a little to far. This mission cannot be resolved with just a blade, I feel."

"I feel terrible for you - your ordeal must have been heart-wrenching. You would have remembered your clan's expulsion, where as I don't even remember not being part of the Crane. What a strange pair we make."

Momoko kept her eyes peeled for Lion - she wondered if they were there at all in fact.

"Think nothing of it" Kenshin replied politely. "If I plan on spending more time in court, I'll need to learn more of the courtly arts."

The armies of the Lion wait in the distance, a field of unending yellow and gold.  You can see troops moving in drills, as others begin the slow process of preparing the evening meal.  From this distance it is unclear whether or not you have been sighted.

Momoko looked at Bayushi and grinned - "Well, we found them at last, heh." With that, she pointed her mount directly towards the encampment and steadied the beast's pace.

"Hai" Kenshin replied quietly. "Now we shall see what that means."

Kenshin moved his mount slightly to the rear of his charge, a move meant to indicate their relative status. He would not need to move up unless the Lion were foolish enough to threaten her.

And that would be a bad move on their part.

As Miya Momoko and Bayushi Kenshin approach the Lion encampment, a lone rider comes to meet them bearing the Lion banner.

"Miya-san," he calls, "...and Scorpion-san," he continues with some distaste, "what brings you to Nikatoshi?"