(D2, MM) Pretty birds and swift birds

[Yasuki Taraka]

It was a good day for business. Granted, every day was a good day for business. But Taraka had two or three things to look forward to today. First Market, of course, Dinner with Asako-san? Quite possibly. But there was a Kakita inbound, and Taraka was quite interested in seeing these legendary singing bird drones.

The staff had done a full cleaning on the store. Not that the store was kept unclean, but Taraka had made sure they'd done their best to make Kakita standards for today. All the product perfectly placed, now all there was to do was wait.

[Kakita Haruhi]

Haruhi arrived at the appointed time. Expression eager.

She was wearing an old-fashioned kimono in a light gauzy fabric, appropriate for the rising temperatures and pleasantly clear skies.

She was flanked by three hovering avi-drones, meticulously realistic imitations of a warbler, a flycatcher, and a robin. They were fashioned from metal. No one would mistake them for real birds. But there was an attention to detail in their form, and to function - so many articulated plates - so that their flying motions were realistic.

The birds were presently silent.

She stepped inside the shop and looked around, taking it all in.

She caught sight of Yasuki-san, and bowed deeply. The three birds tilted their heads forward in choreographed unison, bowing at the same time.

[Yasuki Taraka]

That certainly brought a delighted smile to Taraka's face, who was dressed in the lighter more modern clothing preferred by the islanders.

"Quite the entrance, Kakita-san. Thank you for making the time for you and your entourage to visit the shop." she offered with a bow.

[Kakita Haruhi]

"Thank you for the invitation. I look forward to seeing the flying battle carp!"

"Let me introduce my avi-drones. They are the Sanmeichō. The warbler is Uguisu-kun. Ho-hoke-kyo, it sings. The harbinger of spring. The flycatcher is Ōruri-kun. The uplifting notes of summer. The robin is Komadori-kun. The soprano of spring!"

Each bird sang a few notes of one its most common phrases, in turn.

[Yasuki Taraka]

Taraka was definitely impressed. You heard about Kakita perfection, but experiencing it was another thing entirely.

"Quite impressive, Kakita-san. Might I take a closer look at one? I wouldn't dream of looking inside, but I'd like to take a closer look at the exterior and get a feel for their heft." she asked.

[Kakita Haruhi]

Haruhi nodded.

She made a gesture, and the warbler fluttered over to Taraka, ready to gently land in her open palm.

It rested inert. She could look at it, turn it around, any view of its exterior that she wanted. It was solidly heavy.

[Yasuki Taraka]

Taraka looked at it over carefully, both as a merchant and as an engineer. She handled it respectfully, looking for the barely visible seams and connections.

"Heavier than I would have expected. Well at least from your description. But there has to be a lot going on inside to perform not just as exactly as you wish, but on your command. Must be some quite robust blessings upon it to get it to fly as gracefully as Kakita-san has them fly."

She gently set it down on a table. It probably could have flown out of her hands with ease, but Taraka didn't want to risk that.

"I'm sure it won't surprise you but the carps are much simpler creations. A mass produced product, rather than Kakita-san's art."

She'd had over one of the Legend line Battle Carps for the Crane to inspect, along with the control sticks. The silver scale pattern on them was..pretty but that was about it.

"Feel free to open it up and look inside. They're built simply enough that enthusiasts can modify them without without any esoteric tools, and simpler blessings for the power, flight coming through the rotors rather than the blessings." she explained.

[Kakita Haruhi]

Haruhi nodded.

"I have programmed quite a series of motions and vocalizations, and, for performances, complex sequences. In moments like this, I am giving the commands in real time." She showed a small controller that fit in the palm of her hand, secured to rings on her fingers.

"But for grand performances, I am mostly initiating pre-programmed choreography, so I am not guiding them step-by-step - I am just keeping time with them."

"I assume in battle and racing, you must control every motion since you don't know what your competitors are going to do."

[Yasuki Taraka]

Taraka nodded.

"Most certainly for battle. And truly even for racing. While you could pre-program a set course for them to fly, all it would take would be one wrong gust of wind to turn a race into a wreckage. It's like how you could walk home blindfolded, but without being aware of your surroundings it is much much harder." she said.

"Also the controls are a lot simpler. Kakita-san's design looks marvelously stylish and lets her do very complex things, but you need someone with Kakita-san's considerable skills and knowledge to operate. Anyone could learn how to fly a carp in a few moments, though getting good at the combat takes more practice."

[Kakita Haruhi]

"Can you show me how the controls work? I do want to try!"

"I can see how the design supports speed. Sleek and light."

She looked at it curiously, imagining how to make it look exactly like the fat carp in the koi pond. None of those alterations would make it lighter or faster.

"Piloting this may be quite different than my choreography approach. I fear I may be a poor contestant. But a good learning experience for sure!"

[Yasuki Taraka]

Taraka nods.

"Certainly, Kakita-san. Let's take this outside, these really aren't meant for indoor use." she explains before leading her outside.

She sets the carp down on the ground, readying the controls.

"Alright, so each of the controls has two different functions, depending on if you push it up/down or left/right."

She pushes up on the left control, causing the rotors to spin and the carp to levitate into the air.

"So up/down on the left control is throttle. Pushing it up causes the rotors to go faster and the carp goes up, pushing it down slows the rotors and down it comes."

The carp goes up and down in the air.

"Left and right on the left control, on the other hand, controls the yaw." she says.

She pushes left on the left stick and instead of going up or down, the carp started spinning slowly in a counter-clockwise circle, but otherwise maintaining it's position.

[Kakita Haruhi]

She practiced the controls.

"It's nice and responsive. No delay."

"When you are racing, how much is up and down a factor? It seems like it would be fastest to not stop to change height. Unless the course had obstacles. Or that's part of avoiding other battle carp."

[Yasuki Taraka]

Taraka nodded.

"Indeed, altitude is indeed a factor more for battle." she said. "You do need your rotor to strike the opponent's banner. So you fly lower for that...to which your opponent will probably respond by going lowers themselves to prevent that. Of course, you can only go so low before the ground becomes an obstacle. So you might try climbing skyward instead daring your opponent to chase after you. It is an interesting dance among the clouds."

[Kakita Haruhi]

"Right, the hanging banner." She tried to picture it.

"I have given study to the aerial tactics of raptors. That would probably be the best bio-accurate bird shape for a game like battle carp. They have a high wing loading ratio (body mass relative to wing area) that enables rapid directional changes and controlled dives. They have an alula, a small projection at the leading edge of the wing, that prevents stalling during slow flight and tight turns. Their tail feathers allow fine adjustments to pitch, roll, and yaw during complex maneuvers. That all adds up to manipulating lift, drag, and momentum with extraordinary precision during territorial displays and confrontations."

"They can do barrel rolls mid-air, locking talons, and rotating, trying to hold the superior position."

"But much of their aerial displays are for communication. Intimidation. Showing off speed and skill so others do not test them. Showing patrol of a territory. Or courtship dancing."

"The flying carp - are they all about equal in maneuverability and speed? Or is part of the competition the ability to 'hone' an individual drone's performance?"

[Yasuki Taraka]

Taraka nodded listening to the Kakita talk birds.

"Of course, the hummingbird is the only bird I can think of that can maintain it's position like the carp can. Not that standing still is typically a good strategy in battle...unless it's to suddenly pull away." she points out.

She watched the drone bop in the air with it's whirring sounds.

"There is some variety in the speed and maneuverability of the drones, Kakita-san, but not hugely different. It's like the difference between two types of eagle rather than an eagle and a chicken. Modifying the drones to optimize performance IS a part of the hobby, but it's only gives a slight edge. There is, after all, a limit to how much you can optimize, parts only can be made so lightweight, so aerodynamic before you start reaching other failure points." she explained.

[Kakita Haruhi]

She nodded.

"Ah, I do want to try! Do you rent the drones? I assume we must buy one if we wish to toy with the attributes of it?"

[Yasuki Taraka]

She nodded.

"Ah, I do want to try! Do you rent the drones? I assume we must buy one if we wish to toy with the attributes of it?"

Taraka shakes her head.

"We don't technically rent due to the high likelihood of damage. We do take unmodified drones back when someone decides it's not for them, minus damages, so they don't end up in a landfill. And we can't take modified drones back for safety reasons. Once someone's been working on it, we can't vouch for it anymore." she explains.

[Kakita Haruhi]

"Perfectly reasonable."

"Is there a standard banner to attach? Do folks stock up on that here, also?"

[Yasuki Taraka]

Taraka nodded.

"We provide the banner free with purchase of the carp. We've got all of the clan and family colors in stock. We can do the lettering, also free of charge, so you can put up your name, or your business name or a slogan or we can leave it blank for you to letter yourself." she explained.

[Kakita Haruhi]

"Excellent! Crane colors, please. And I can letter it myself. A slogan, perhaps..."

"I must think on that."

"Do you fly the name of your business?"