Sᴄᴀʀʀᴇᴅ Sᴄᴀʟᴇs ʏᴇᴛ Sᴘɪʀɪᴛᴇᴅ

      When your kind turns their back on you,

                                                                     find a way to rise above them.

How long has it been since he, of all people in his clan brought a guest? Mostly likely never. A woman like Xiu to be exact. Warriors from other clans visit Satsuma seeking alliances or observe what they’re planning which is common in this era. But this is a new thing. Right now, he felt the need to complete the list of tasks so Xiu’s stay can be comfortable and as enjoyable as possible. 

Beds, clothing, a prepared bath, food and other things….

“Outside of Japan? Well…” Toyohisa thought about it. Korea is one. But…it wasn’t for sightseeing. Still. Traveling across the world. He never thought about it. Maybe he can find warriors he can spar with. He wonders if there’s people like Xiu out there.”That would be…good..” Toyohisa murmured. But his clan comes first…the country is still not unitfied yet. Maybe after…he could.. “Wait! Hold on, what about your animal companions?” He asked. He wonders he can make some room for them as well. “Are they not coming with you as well?” He asked curiously. 

“Yeah! There’s tons to see, and I got to see so much, that---- that I can’t even explain all of it because I’m not so good at remembering some things.” She chuckled, cheeks tinting ever so slightly out of embarrassment. “Like here in your homeland, there’s a lot of things going on, and I definitely can’t remember anything about any of those problems unless it involves China.” Regardless, if Toyohisa was to have any questions, she wants to make sure she’s ready to answer them if his curiosity is piqued enough.

At the mention of her fox companions, she blinks in a semi confused manner with a tilt of her head. “No, they live here in Japan. It’s where they’d rather stay, and that’s okay,” she explained with a light shrug of the shoulders. 

“Besides, they know I’ll come back to play with them another day.” Confident with her answer, she gives a nod before her stance falters some. A hand went to her stomach upon feeling it growl, making her sigh softly. 

Yongqi’s current image as a human was taken upon finding a dead woman in the woods. Having regained her ability to shape-shift thanks to the teachings of the huli-jing, her only forms consisted of animals. She was very picky when it came to keeping a permanent identity of a person, and for a long, unspecified amount of time, went without one. 

“Right.” He almost forgot about that which isn’t like him. He nods and takes the bloody bag, then have slung over his shoulder on his back. “Thank you.” He tells Xiu. After asking what she would like to eat. It’s good to hear that Xiu likes fish. “Good! Then I know a good tavern that serves such good food.” Toyohisa nodded. 

He has to admit, Xiu is strange for a woman. Yet, it feels refreshing to meet someone like her.  it made him curious, he hopes he can know her better once they get to the tavern.

“I don’t need your repayment. My loss is part of the condition due to our battle therefore I must honor it. So no need for that.” Toyohisa shakes his head with a small smile. But then suddenly, she said something that made him widen his widen eyes and swirled his head at her in disbelief. Stay at his home for a night? Did she just said that? He heard that, right? If he has to, how is he going to explain this to his relatives, his uncle especially?! They keep whispering about him as they worried that he is focusing on the next battle and not other things. They worried that he’s not looking for a woman and- Not for anything…perverted, if that’s what you’re thinkin’!”

“O-of course! I will let my housemaids know so they can prepare a room for you then!” Gah! Pull yourself together, Toyohisa! Why in the hell did you think that?! Don’t be ridiculous! Toyohisa rubs his temple for a moment. He swears to God that his cousins, his uncle and vassals won’t question on why in the world did he brought a woman to the house. 

“China, hm? That must be a long trip from here so I understand the reason.” He tells, hoping Xiu won’t notice his immediate reaction to that request. 

Though his reaction goes unnoticed, she’s grinning ear to ear yet again, showing her glee to her request being accepted. However, the thoughts of meeting his family, the Shimazu clan-- now that was going to be interesting. 

“Good! Can’t wait!” Eyes shine with readiness to get going. A good drink and food was definitely needed after today. Naps in forests were nice as well, and sleeping near the water was too, but she needed comfort. Soft beds and warm blankets; how long has it even been since she’s slept at an inn? Well, at least Toyohisa was kind enough to accept her, so she could rest her bones in the way meant to. It meant getting to know the red samurai better too. His company’s been pleasant, and poking fun at him is just too entertaining.

“Not long at all.” She replies while hands move to clasp behind her back. “It doesn’t take me long to get around, but I usually take my time to get from one place to another. They’re not going anywhere anyways, so what’s the rush?” With a brief shrug of her shoulders, she unclasps her hands and lets them hang at her sides. 

“Would that mean that this beautiful solder is mine only to take~?“ There was only one obvious answer but she’s obviously enjoying the playful banter they’re having right now. “I hear that there are tournaments sometimes at the palace. If you’ll be participating, of course I’d like to watch.“, she said, leaning forward to gently rub her nose against hers.

“I’m…not good with handling horses. I can make sure that she’s well-fed and have a light exercise everyday but I don’t like riding horses. Or being anywhere near them.“ Yueliang sighed, as she remembered that moment which made her fear horses.

“You see, one of my teachers was gifted with a war horse coming from a general who was particularly fond of her. I did want to try and feed it but just merely remember how it would bare its teeth at me and snarl just gives me the shivers. I was just a young child back then and the towering, muscled horse looked monstrous at my age.“ She settled into her embrace, letting her forehead press gently against Xiu’s neck. “This is why I only have an ox to pull my carriage. Their long lashes and slow movements look adorable.“

“Really?” That was a new thing to learn. Xiu had no idea that Yueliang wasn’t good at handling them, let alone scared of them. As she told the memory of the reason behind it, the general frowns softly. “Ah, I get it...” A traumatic experience with an animal wasn’t something to laugh at-- not that Xiu planned on it especially with her sweetheart. She could, at least, relate with her own fear of birds. 

“Some horses can be stubborn like that. I don’t think it intended to scare you, but I’m sorry that happened to you.” Crescent wasn’t capable of being like that, but she couldn’t let Yueliang take the aging mare in after learning about this. Maybe Zhao Yun or Ma Chao could help her find someone who will take care of Crescent while away at war... With her hand rubbing her lover’s back ever so gently, Xiu wondered if she was going to be able to to buy her a war horse. A brief moment of silence allows the general to think if it would be a good idea now. The last thing she wanted to see was Yueliang in fear...and she didn’t want to see that at all!

❝Indeed I do.❞ She politely replied as the other told her what she wanted. Pharom has endless amount of time for work, since she was a workoholic after all. Her sapphire eyes scanned the damaged blade as she took in what she needed to do. It needed some TLC, but nothing she couldn’t handle.

❝I can certainly see how much you favour this weapon.❞ She said, pausing before speaking once more. ❝I shall do all that I can to make it look as good as new… In the meantime, would you like a beverage whilst you wait? I have various kinds of tea, if that’s to your taste?❞

“Thank you” She replied, “ It was a gift, so favoring’s right on the nose.” With a light grin, she hummed lightly. “Glad to hear that, and sure! Tea sounds nice-- lavender if you have any, but if not, then any other kind will do.” Looking around for a seat, it didn’t take long at all, as she made herself comfortable in a chair nearby, a leg crossing over the other.

“You’re the first person who was willing to work on my scythe, y’know. I’ve been to around--- “ She counts briefly on her fingers while eyes were briefly gazing upward as if to think. “Eight...? Seven or eight blacksmiths, and none of them knew how to help me. Isn’t that weird??” She lowers her hands and chuckles once more while looking at the woman. “So I definitely appreciate this, especially after my searching.”