[D5, LM] Beach Side Picnic! (Expecting, but Open!)

[Tamori Kanna]

(Expecting Itsuka, Honoka, Yakura, Ochiba, Sorato, and Hitomi, but this is also a public place so folks are welcome)

Kanna splurged on taking a scenic route to Namigashira Bay, by acquiring the service of the amazing Itsuka to fly her and new friends (some hopefully new friends too!) to the pretty lagoon. From the air they could all get a fantastic view of the island, the landscape, and the absolutely beautiful waters underneath them, clear to reveal some of what they would soon explore up close.

As the Utaku was flying them in, Kanna had of course extended the invitation to participate in the picnic she had brought and the swimming experience.

As soon as they had arrived, the little Dragon had eagerly set up a sort of makeshift folding screen for those who wanted a bit more privacy when changing to swimwear, and set out the picnic baskets. Meanwhile, Kaida got to run loose on the beach, eagerly sniffing and exploring!

[Yoritomo Ochiba]

Ochiba's contribution was a huge cooler the Mantis had manhandled into the cargo hold that loudly clinked whenever it moved.

"Because I can't drink any more of this Crab pi- the local specialties. So you're all getting a treat, careful of the stuff in the blue bottle though, we'll be carrying you back aboard.."

The Mantis arrived in a one-piece with 'Warning-I bite' across the front. Although a pair of sweat pants was heroically preventing anything scandalous on the way to the actual flight.

As soon as they'd hit the beach the Mantis had promptly dashed off to explore and was currently darting in and out of the treeline with interesting finds, including a variety of weird shaped sticks she was throwing for Kaida.

[Tamori Kanna]

OOC:
Kanna will cast the spell One with the Waves on most of the guests (expecting Sorato to handle those she can't do herself ^^;; ) as we arrive and get settled in. Folks are free to go in and out of the water for diving!

D5 LM Casting One With the Waves on Ochiba. ML 2 | 7k3 ⇒ 27 (TN: 15)
D5 LM Casting One With the Waves on Honoka. ML 2 | 7k3 ⇒ 24 (TN: 15)
D5 LM Casting One With the Waves on Itsuka. ML 2 | 7k3 ⇒ 29 (TN: 15)
-
D5 LM Casting Rejuvenating Vapors on self ML2 | 7k3 ⇒ 23 (TN: 15)
D5 LM Casting One with the Waves of self. ML 2 | 7k3 ⇒ 41 (TN: 15)

ONE WITH THE WAVES
Duration: 1 hour
This spell grants its target the ability to breath underwater and to ignore the penalties for underwater fighting for the duration of the spell. The character can also speak underwater and be understood by others close by. Needless to say, the spell running out while the character is wading through the ocean floor has disastrous consequences.

[Suzume Hitomi]

After the conversation the other day about how little of the Island's natural beauty she'd gotten out to, and another about taking a breather in this busy and hectic time, Hitomi had responded quickly to the invitation with an RSVP'd 'absolutely.' She wasn't entirely sure what to do with the attached mu-mujina.

Hitomi had taken the option of wearing her suit beneath her clothing, which was a few layers deep with the cool wind gusting. The water would be fine, and the storms weren't forecast to get worrisome till much later in the day. She brings a furoshiki-wrapped basket of mixed onigiri for the outing, and greatly enjoys the flight out.

"Many thanks for the invite Tamori-sama," she says, watching Ochiba toss another stick for Kaida. The little floof makes her think maybe she should get one. Many shops had pets as part of their charm. "After how busy everything has been, it's really about time for a break."

(ooc, of course that's somewhere between all the spell casting!)

[Yasuki Honoka]

Honoka is donning the most appropriately modest swimwear on the market that is still very fashionable and pleasing to look at. Nearby her, at almost all times, is her faithful yojimbo Yasuki Hiroto who is actually also dressed for the occasion if a little more labored by his news to carry his weapons with him as he was still on the job. He was always on the job. Having woken late this morning after last night's drunken affair she was eager to put the past behind her.

Honoka brought fitting candles for herself, and a few extra pairs just in case anyone else found themselves without. As well, Hiroto was asked to carry a cooler of lighter beverages so that everyone could cool down under the heat of the sun as well as some snacks!

Adding a little absently to the conversation, she says timidly, "I admit I do not often come out here."

[Utaku Itsuka]

The invitation was answered with a polite written letter thanking Kanna both for the invitation and for the preference for the Wherever, a card showing other highlights of the islands attached to the answer.

When they board the Float for the trip, Kanna may note the Mu-Mujina in a dinosaur suit sitting alongside 5 others in a corner of the cockpit panel(wait, one of then is actually a Nezumi!).

Itsuka will be sporting loose-fitting deep red dungarees over a white tank top, the straps of a bright pink bikini visible underneath it (some attention will reveal details of a Starlight Miko Crusaders pattern on it, which will be fully visible when they arrive and get ready to hit the beach).

She'll point landmarks and name islets along the way as they go, as.well as asking about their preferred routes for the way back.

[Yoritomo Ochiba]

After a few more minutes when the floof ball (and the goof ball) had exhausted their initial energy Ochiba trotted back to the samurai present and very respectfully receives the blessing from Kanna.

"Ohaiyo Minna-san and minna-sama! Suzume-san I never expected to see you on the beach, but you are elegant as always..hey, do you do historical swimwear? Like, obviously expensive historical swimwear? And Utaku-san, fancy seeing you here."
Making a 'not bad' expression.
"Hey, looking good! Let me know if you want a chat or just some of that booze I promised."

Then turning and bowing respectfully to Honoka.
"And we haven't met...but I think my guests very much enjoyed some of your excellent food at my big shindig, so wonderful to see you in the flesh Yasuki-sama!

And of course, Kanna-san...without whom punching sharks would be impossible."
From her it sounded like a compliment.

Looking around.
"You know, I've actually had dreams more or less like this. Beautiful scenery, beautiful booze, beautiful people."
Scratching the back of her head.
"Most of them don't end with fighting a shark...so this is actually gonna be better than my dreams, nice. Anyway, last one to the ocean is a Matsu!"

The Mantis then promptly turned and dead sprinted straight for the waters, diving in and disappearing from view.

[Agasha Sorato]

Sorato arrives for the trip in a pair of board shorts in a local Crab sort of color scheme and his new Nakahama Fan-Con t-shirt--along with the same sun shirt and sun hat Itsuka might recognize from their previous meeting, not that it's excessively sunny today. The sun hat has a drawcord to keep it on his head if it gets windy because of course it does.

He spends most of the plane ride looking thoughtfully out the window at the coastal landscape and jungle rolling away below, but unfolds a bit more when everyone spreads out on the beach and starts enjoying themselves. The spray of sand fanning up behind Kaida as he rockets across the beach chasing one of Ochiba's sticks brings a spontaneous smile.

"Yes, really good idea, Tamori-san," he agrees with Hitomi (whom he's only been introduced to today and finds a little elegantly intimidating, if congenial). "I've been hoping to dive here since I first visited. Much better with company." Also... safer.

He plops his daypack on the sand and fishes out his holoslates to help Kanna with the incantations.

---


D5 LM--One with the Waves, Hitomi and Yakura (2 raises for extra target), VP | 6k4 ⇒ 37 (TN: 25)
D5 LM--Drawing the Void | 7k4 ⇒ 33 (TN: 15)
D5 LM--One with the Waves, self | 5k3 ⇒ 19 (TN: 15)
D5 LM--One with the Waves, almost forgot poor Hiroto! | 5k3 ⇒ 13 (TN: 15)
D5 LM--One with the Waves, almost forgot poor Yasuki Hiroto! Recast with Void slot, c'mon man. | 5k3 ⇒ 32 (TN: 15)

Hitomi, Yakura, and Honoka's bodyguard Hiroto are all set to breathe water!

[Suzume Hitomi]

"Thank you for all the information Utaku-sama. Even after four years here, I haven't seen all that much of the islands. It's really beautiful from above," Hitomi makes sure to thank their pilot before hitting the sand.

It's been ages since Hitomi's had more than a standard festival blessing. This feels..interesting in ways she'd be hard pressed to describe. Like her lungs were awake or something?

She bows a sincere thanks to Sorato, who's actually less intimidating than she'd expected a Phoenix shugenja to be. "Thank you, this will be an entirely new experience. Um...any tips?" she asks while removing the long vest coat to fold and set aside.

With a bit of a shrug at Ochiba's commentary, she adds. "I was reminded recently that I really should see more of the nice spots here. And swimwear of the periods I'm most familiar with were basically just...um, none or some of the simpler normal clothes items." Her own, as she removes blouse and skirt unselfconsciously--more clothing still remains than at the bath or onsen, after all--looks like she may have found the same manufacturer as Honoka with a modest one piece suit with short sleeves and legs that stop several inches above the knee, all in swirling shades of blue

[Tamori Kanna]

Kanna wore a one-piece, that was pink, frilly, and very cute(!!!), as was her usual go to.

When they board the Float for the trip, Kanna may note the Mu-Mujina in a dinosaur suit sitting alongside 5 others in a corner of the cockpit panel(wait, one of then is actually a Nezumi!).

A keen-eyed Tamori, always looking to make the space around her better, would try to get a look to see which one(s) Itsuka might be missing for a full set. Hopefully some more of her duplicates could find a new home!

"Many thanks for the invite Tamori-sama," she says, watching Ochiba toss another stick for Kaida. The little floof makes her think maybe she should get one. Many shops had pets as part of their charm. "After how busy everything has been, it's really about time for a break."

"I am so happy you decided to join, as we hadn't been able to spend much time to get to know eachother, Suzume-san," Kanna replies with a happy smile. "I heard so much about your shop, but hadn't found the time to go there yet, but this way we can all meet in a more neutral manner!" Without one having to be seller and the other customer.

"Oh, and I really enjoyed what I saw of your pitch to Silver Fin too! I would love to watch it when it is fully released."

Seeing Kaida is having the time of his life, with beach, sticks, and running, Kanna made sure to fill up a bowl of water for him.

Adding a little absently to the conversation, she says timidly, "I admit I do not often come out here."

"And we're lucky that you could join us today," Kanna bows her head respectfully, but her tone is super-enthusiastic, "as you probably have a lot to do, Yasuki-sama. But I thought you would enjoy the chance for a small get-away, and hopefully see some of the crabs here up close in their natural habitat! Girl-crabs too!"

There were only boy-crabs at Crabkaku, so it would probably be a nice change of scenery, Kanna thinks in her brilliant mind. And to Kanna, Honoka had seemed like the type that would love to go but wouldn't ask, so she was more than happy to facilitate this.

"Yes, really good idea, Tamori-san," he agrees with Hitomi (whom he's only been introduced to today and finds a little elegantly intimidating, if congenial). "I've been hoping to dive here since I first visited. Much better with company." Also... safer.

"I am full of good idea," she grins confidently. "And Agasha-san seems to know so much about animals too, maybe if we see something special, maybe you'll tell us what it is, yes?" Her green eyes were very hopeful of this!

[Agasha Sorato]

"I am full of good idea," she grins confidently. "And Agasha-san seems to know so much about animals too, maybe if we see something special, maybe you'll tell us what it is, yes?" Her green eyes were very hopeful of this!

"I'll do my best," Sorato says, embellishing this promise with a casual bow (the only kind of bow you can do in a sun hat). "Yasuki Honoka-sama is the true expert on local marine life, though," he adds with a slightly shy smile at Honoka, who is less imposing in a swimsuit but whose all-business first impression a few days ago had been a powerful one.

She bows a sincere thanks to Sorato, who's actually less intimidating than she'd expected a Phoenix shugenja to be. "Thank you, this will be an entirely new experience. Um...any tips?" she asks while removing the long vest coat to fold and set aside.

"Yes, actually." That was a good question. "The water kami will help you breathe by passing only the air essence in the seawater into your body. But it's going to feel like you're breathing in the water--it will go in your nose and mouth. Taking the first breaths in there might feel strange. Some people find it hard to let go and inhale. Just relax and you'll soon get used to it," he concludes encouragingly. "It's much better than diving gear, because the water kami let us speak and move more naturally."

[Yoritomo Ochiba]

In the background a large blue-silver fish flies out of the water followed half a second later by Ochiba, arms extended. There’s a distant, watery:

”I have you now!”

Before both hit the water again and disappear.

[Suzume Hitomi]

Hitomi had, honestly, been somewhat surprised at the invitation, but assumed the connection came courtesy of Ochiba, who seemed to know *everybody*. Now, and on the trip out, it was obvious that the little Dragon's energy level complimented the Mantis's well...even as everything else about them seemed rather contradictory.

She laughs at her enthusiasm. "Hai, I appreciate a chance to learn more about you, your presentations in our host's challenges have been wonderful. Really curious about your facial products too! But as you said, this shouldn't be a time for buying and selling."

"I really wish they'd picked up Yasuki Honoka-sama's nature show, it was so soothing, and would really highlight how beautiful it all is here. But they only have time for so many, and yours really has that science angle going for it too, plus maybe more drama they expect to keep people interested." She doesn't even mention the abs...which are far more likely what the suits thought would keep people interested.

Ochiba's shout draws her attention and another laugh. "Well, I guess that's hopefully scared away most of the dangerous fish then." Because the not-very-attuned-to-nature Sparrow wouldn't consider that the splashing around would draw anything.

She listens very closely to Sorato's explanation, nodding. "Ok then, time to test out the kami's work, and see if what's hiding in the coral." The Agasha was right, it was surprisingly hard to just go...breathe water. Finally, she just sat beneath an incoming wave--gentled by the reef. The sight of the swirling sand and glimmering coral literally took her breath away, a gasp drawing her first watery breath and solving the problem. She moves toward the interesting wildlife, clumsy in this new environment.

[Utaku Itsuka]

A keen-eyed Tamori, always looking to make the space around her better, would try to get a look to see which one(s) Itsuka might be missing for a full set. Hopefully some more of her duplicates could find a new home!

She'll see there's a full set of the common ones, proudly standing side by side.
No sign of exclusives, though.

After a slow descent with a view of some islets further north, they land on the waters of the Namigashira Bay rather smoothly, slowing down and taxiing to the beach. Eventually she nods to the others, saying they can get ready to jump out when they want to. The Float is kept anchored a short distance from the sand, enough to prevent it from getting stranded.

A few checks on the plane, a deep bow to Kanna as she casts a blessing on her, and quickly she's also on her way to the water, only on her Starlight Miko bikini.

Despite the blessing, she also seemed rather unsure about breathing in water, just as the Sparrow before her. But also like her, a few looks under the surface and she got very into it. She had tried diving before, a few times - but never felt this free while doing it.

That freedom might have made her envy Kanna, even, if she'd thought about it more. But right now, she seemed to interested in the layout of the coast and the beach below them, too absorbed in the lifeforms swirling around.

Now and then, she almost stumbled on Ochiba. And she did look at Hitomi at some point - maybe something crossed her mind? - but seeing her talking to Kanna, whatever she had in mind was kept for later.

[Yoritomo Ochiba]

Snip

"Hey Suzume-san!"

Ochiba surges through the water with a grin, floating to a stop with a scattering of sand and holding up something silvery in her hands.

"I got him at last!"
The large fish, with a set of pretty impressive hooked teeth had been simply tuckered out by the Mantis and was now balefully eyeing her from between Ochiba's hands
"Look at those teeth? Isn't he a beauty."

She thrusts her arms out to the Sparrow.

[Suzume Hitomi]

snip

Thanks to the spell, Hitomi's underwater shriek is clear as a bell as she tries to back away in an uncoordinated flail of limbs that kicks up some sand, but doesn't really move her much.

"Um...ah...why?" It wasn't a sensible question. There isn't a lot of room in her head for sense right now.

[Yoritomo Ochiba]

Thanks to the spell, Hitomi's underwater shriek is clear as a bell as she tries to back away in an uncoordinated flail of limbs that kicks up some sand, but doesn't really move her much.

"Um...ah...why?" It wasn't a sensible question. There isn't a lot of room in her head for sense right now.

“I think because he’s a predator. Probably eats smaller fish and stuff. But we can ask Agasha-san.”

Somewhat perplexed Ochiba and the grumpy fish watch Hitomi violently churn the waters

“Do you not like fish? Damn, this is gonna be a rough day for you. Don’t worry though, as you can see, I got the matter well in hand!”

[Suzume Hitomi]

snip

Getting herself under control, sort of, Hitomi remains well away from all those teeth. "I mostly like fish on my plate! Which...um, are you planning to eat that one?" They could get a fire going on the beach. Probably be kind of nice with the chilly breeze today.

She's kind of awkwardly horizontal in the water, pushing at it to scoot slowly back. "Like, why chase it in the first place?"

[Yoritomo Ochiba]

Which...um, are you planning to eat that one?" They could get a fire going on the beach. Probably be kind of nice with the chilly breeze today.

“…Great thinking Suzume-san! He looks tasty, doesn’t he?”
The fish snaps angrily in response as Ochiba sniggers and pulls her fingers back
“Haven’t had a beach grill in ages, could be real nice.”

She's kind of awkwardly horizontal in the water, pushing at it to scoot slowly back. "Like, why chase it in the first place?"

Ochiba is clearly still not processing the question, looking at the fish and then back at Hitomi.

“Umm… dunno? He looked cool and I wanted to check him out but then he started swimming away and then it was a completion and I want going to lose to a fish!”
Grinning
“Just love of the game I guess. Wasn’t planning anything.”

[Yasuki Honoka]

Gathered now on the beach as they were, properly blessed. A blessing, of course, Honoka had given the deepest respects to both the shugenja casting, Sorato, and to the kami themselves. Now, however, she wrestles with the faith aspect of this as she stares out over the water. Standing near the waters edge where only her toes could barely touch water amid the wet sand.

Kneeling she curls up a little looking down at the water as the others gather. Hearing her name once, perhaps twice, she didn't immediately raise her head but came back to the auditory input later. Now, looking up from her mental musing she would look first to Sorato.

--

"I do not know if I would say expert, but I do know a bit," she says, her voice a bit quieter here. Possibly even able to be missed if one wasn't paying close enough attention.