(D1 MA Expecting) Spiritual Guidance...?

[Yoritomo Koemi]

Koemi had requested the ship's navigator to meet her at a sacred site, one farther away from the other sailors, to discuss more spiritual matters. She hadn't anticipated the meaning of "Fertile" in the naming.

"That is a penis," she said out loud, looking back to her fellow Mantis for confirmation.

[Moshi Minari]

"Yep. It most certainly is," the navigator responded back with an amused chuckle. "Wonder how many desperate skanks have tried sitting on these when they couldn't get any elsehwere..." Laughing, she placed a hand on the 'head' of one of the pillars to lean a little on it.

It was crass, to be sure, but they both had heard similar or worse onboard.

[Yoritomo Koemi]

The Yoritomo laughed too, reminiscent of a hyena. "From what I heard, our hosts enjoy their fair share of plowing," she added. Why did it always have to come back to the plowing euphemism?

She eyed the navigator's hand upon the statue. For her part, Koemi stayed standing upright. Her feet shifted on the ground. Even after the days they had arrived, she was still acclimating to the idea of solid land. "You said that your divinations gave back uncertain results, right?"

---

Whoops, was listed as EA. Now properly MA!

[Moshi Minari]

"Mm, yeah," she nodded, chewing her lower lip as she was reminded of that. "It's not unusual for divinations to be unclear though - but I don't consider it a good omen for them to be vague now when... well, I have a hunch there will be some excitement around this wedding. It's drawn people from corners of the Empire. Things tend to happen then."

[Yoritomo Koemi]

"We will all be sure to keep a watchful eye for trouble. We always do, don't we?" she said with a slight smile. "But that is not why I asked to see you." Koemi closed her eyes, doing her best to banish the phalluses that plagued her mind. "Are you more of a diviner and a speaker of kami than a Fortunist, Moshi-sama?"

[Moshi Minari]

Minari smirked confidently. "Of course. We're the children of the storms - always prepared for trouble."

Patting the head, she stood upright again, looking at the Yortomo. "Eh?" she blinked with some confusion. "I... well, that depends, Koemi. I mean, I offer my prayers to the spirits as much as I do to the Fortunes. Divinations is as much about understanding the signs of the universe as it is about communing with the Heavens, but everyone can learn to do it."

She rubbed her neck. "Why you ask?"

[Yoritomo Koemi]

"Ah, yes, yes. I suppose I didn't know which school you fell into. Perhaps you even read a lot of Tao?" Koemi fumbled with her words, offering an uneasy smile afterwards.

"But yes, the matter at hand." With her fingers, she pulled down on her cheek to expose more of her discolored eye. "I haven't been paying attention lately to this. But I think the color might be getting... odder? Have I upset some of the Fortunes, perhaps? It's been awhile since I've been able to headhunt..."

[Moshi Minari]

"Not that I haven't read some of it, but that whole introspective philosophy thing ain't my cup of tea," she shook her head. Her mother and that side of the family had been very insistent on that scholarly side of her education, including the Tao. "As a priest, it's only right that I'm able to answer some questions about it." The were almost a sourness to her tone as she spoke with a hint of resignation.

Still, Minari could focus away from that as she narrowed her eyes at Koemi's rather... disturbing countenance. "Hasn't it always looked like that? At least for as long as I've known you, but... usually, if the Fortunes are displeased with us, it's because of something we've done or failed to do. Do you think it's because you haven't hunted down and killed anyone in a while, that Osano-wo and the others might be angry?"

[Yoritomo Koemi]

"Philosophy can be a bit tiring, can't it?" Koemi offered with what was meant to be a calming smile. "Almost seems to contradict itself at times. But maybe that's part of it..." She scratched her throat, wondering if she was becoming some sort of philosopher herself.

"It has always been rather... disconcerting to myself and others," she admitted. "I'm glad you don't think it's gotten any worse." She glanced around the grounds. Fortunately, however slightly, all she saw was dick-shaped statues instead of eavesdroppers. "I can't point out any particular reason I'm feeling on-edge about my standing with him. I just do, you know?"

She grimaced. "Is that a sign in itself?"

[Moshi Minari]

"Maybe." She chewed her lip in thought.

"It could be paranoia, it could be a test. It's hard to understand the ways of the Fortunes sometimes, even one as direct as Osano-wo. But if you wish, I could try to get a more personal reading for you?"

[Yoritomo Koemi]

"I would appreciate that," Koemi said. "I am also concerned about Suitengu and Isora." She wrapped her fingers around her special amulet. Much as she felt unloved by her father at times, he had bestowed this upon her. "They too have my utmost devotion, including the headhunting. Perhaps one of them is concerned."

She gulped. "Or all of them."

[Moshi Minari]

Minari began to undo the knot that kept her heavy divination coins secured. "Is that the question you wish to ask the fates? If you have drawn the ire of Osano-wo, Suitengu, or Isora? It is often good to keep the question very clear in your mind - and the simpler the question is, the easier it can be to find an answer."

[Yoritomo Koemi]

"Yes," she said at first. Then, she shook her head. "Or my ancestors! But that's not Fortunism at that point... does that complicate it?" She poked each one of her head-holding bags. "One of the heads is dedicated to them as well."

[Moshi Minari]

The navigator looked up at Koemi with a perked eyebrow and a lips twisted in something between a smirk and a frown. "You really are an odd one, Koemi. You a Lion or somethin', with all this fixation on taking the heads?"

[Yoritomo Koemi]

Koemi shook her head, a bit taken aback by the question. "I don't even remember any Lion being in my ancestry. Although one of my half-siblings does have a mom from the Ikoma." She mimicked downing a huge keg of alcohol.

The bushi finished tracing the bags and went to grasp her katana by the end, therefore impossible to draw. "Is my duty not to kill?"

[Moshi Minari]

"Aye, it's all our duty to kill in the name of our lord and of our captain," she nodded, the coins clinking in her hands. "Personally, I prefer my enemies to just go to the bottom of the sea to be food for the sharks, but then again I don't particuarly look for glory in battle."

Minari turned the coins over to her other hand. "My mom's side isn't much on fighting, and well, my dad's more like me in that regard. Was the trophy-collecting a thing from your family?"

[Yoritomo Koemi]

"We have different duties in battle itself," Koemi offered as an explanation. "Mine is to bloody my weapons, yours are... well, can really vary based on how you approach it, right?" She thought to the navigator's suggestion of sharks. "Swept into the sea, perhaps?"

She eyed the coins, their purpose unknown to her even after so much prior exposure. That was, after all, why Minari was the diviner and not Koemi. "Not at all. I'm the only one from my family that I know about that does it." She laughed awkwardly; it would have been awkward by its own but she often managed to make it worse. "It's silly. It started off as a random thing I said and now it's my thing!"

[Moshi Minari]

"Like the waters, I adapt to the situation in a fight," she smirked. Indeed, she could strengthen Koemi and the others, heal their wounds, or bring down Osano-wo's fury on their enemies. A Mantis shugenja commanded the elements as needed.

Kneeling down on the steps, Minari readied herself for a toss of the coins. Though she paused to give Koemi an exasperated look. Why you gotta creep me out so much, girl, she thought, frowning slightly.

"So the question, for the coins, is have Yoritomo Koemi drawn the ire of the fates and Fortunes?"

[Yoritomo Koemi]

"And so, we are blessed to have you," Koemi said in reverence, bowing her head. "I wish I could adapt as well as you, Moshi-sama."

The Yoritomo nodded. "Yes, that should do well." She grasped her amulet and then looked back to their ship. "Oh shoot. My statues wouldn't help here, would they?" Three she had, one for each of the aforementioned Fortunes.

She smiled. Damn she had to smile. "Maybe the statues around us please Osano-Wo?"

[Moshi Minari]

"You are Mantis, it's in our nature to adapt. Like our founder did." Minari said calmly, though she hid the vague feeling of unease that Koemi tended to bring out.

"There is no need, Koemi," she assured the other woman, then smirked, "the signs reveal themselves or not, for our intepretation. However, knowing Osano-wo? He probably enjoys this place a lot. Especially any lady that visits it, I imagine."

The Thunderer had a reputation, after all.

Taking a breath, Minari focused her thoughts on the question. Have Yoritomo Koemi drawn the ire of the fates and Fortunes? The coins were tossed, and they landed near one of the phallic fixtures, perhaps a sign from Osano-wo himself.


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D1 MA Divination/Intelligence for Koemi. "have Yoritomo Koemi drawn the ire of the fates and Fortunes?" TN 15: 4d10o10k3 24

[Yoritomo Koemi]

"I see," she said in regards to the site. Truly she was glad that there was someone more knowledgeable in the ways. Indeed, she watched the coins with some sort of anticipation. And when they settled, she realized she had no idea what they meant at all.

Her mark was often associated with infidelity, though Koemi knew that made little sense; her other siblings did not suffer from the same affliction. But what she did recall was that this woman was of a lower caste than others. Could that have been it?

She kept her mouth shut. There was no way she was going to say that out loud to a crewmate.

[Dapper Dog]

"You are Mantis, it's in our nature to adapt. Like our founder did." Minari said calmly, though she hid the vague feeling of unease that Koemi tended to bring out.

"There is no need, Koemi," she assured the other woman, then smirked, "the signs reveal themselves or not, for our intepretation. However, knowing Osano-wo? He probably enjoys this place a lot. Especially any lady that visits it, I imagine."

The Thunderer had a reputation, after all.

Taking a breath, Minari focused her thoughts on the question. Have Yoritomo Koemi drawn the ire of the fates and Fortunes? The coins were tossed, and they landed near one of the phallic fixtures, perhaps a sign from Osano-wo himself.


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D1 MA Divination/Intelligence for Koemi. "have Yoritomo Koemi drawn the ire of the fates and Fortunes?" TN 15: 4d10o10k3 24

The signs point to an uneven future drawn to her by a malignant quality manifest in her corrupted eye. Avoid cats, and do not over indulge in rice or bad fortunes will manifest three times over.

[Moshi Minari]

Minari's calloused fingers moved over the coins, tracing the lines they formed and feeling the face of the heavy coins. The lines were uneven, and only one of the 'eyes' of the coins were visible as the others were filled up with sand and dirt.

"The uneven lines, it shows an uneven future drawn to you - by a malignant quality manifest in your eye. You have not drawn their ire, but it is possible to happen in the coming days, if you do not overcome the challenges ahead." She sighed. "Animals will bring you bad luck, particularly cats. You should not overindulge in rice, as rice is not the realm of Suitengu, Isora, or Osano-wo; if you do, your misfortune will be made manifest thrice."

[Yoritomo Koemi]

"Everything is uneven and uncertain right now, isn't it?" Koemi asked, clearly annoyed. She closed her evil eye and prodded it through her eyelid. Annoying thing. It was bad enough as an unsettling quality of hers.

"Too bad Captain loves that cat so much."

She tapped her belly. "Seems like I'll be needing to fish more then. Too bad, really. I tend to like a bit of rice." Then her eyes narrowed. "Wait, thrice? It can do that?"

[Moshi Minari]

She continued to look at the coins for a few more moments. "Times of uncertainity can be both gainful and unfortunate. I consider it a sign that the coming days might see a lot of trouble for the upcoming wedding."

"Just don't think about doing anything to Archie though," Minari warned and began to pick up the coins, blowing off the dust on them. "And yes, the Heavens can curse someone many times over."