D5ME, Keep 'em Coming (Tomodachi Enthusiasts)

[Yoritomo Tomodachi]

"Salt air, for me, and clarity," Tomodachi replies. "Aboard, your duty's clear, and everybody has to pitch in. Ashore...less so."

[Kitsune Shizenko]

"The same happens to me in the towns and cities. I just get lost and rarely know what to do. In the forest, I watch and study and see what needs to be protected." She finished her drink.

[Yoritomo Tomodachi]

"Sounds peaceful," Tomodachi says as he tops off her drink.

"Don't know it'd be for me, but it sounds peaceful."

[Kitsune Shizenko]

Shizenko chuckled. "Not that peaceful when a bear and a wolf pack start to argue about prey." She shook her head at the memory.

[Yoritomo Tomodachi]

"Oh?" Tomodachi asks. "Do tell!"

[Kitsune Shizenko]

"I am not much of a storyteller but if you so wish to know. I will abide." She cleared her throat. "It was a Autumn afternoon in Kitsune Mori, a deer was trying to forage. The pack of wolf was hiding amongst the rocks and trees. The bear was foraging for food preparing for hibernating and they become ravenous in that time. The deer was unaware the trouble it was about to ensue." She paused. "The wolves growled and so did the bear the deer ran away at the sound of growling and told me they were after it. I saw the wolves surrounding the bear arguing that the deer was its prey that they saw it first...back and forth the went. One went to attack the bear and I had to call upon the earth to grasp the wolf before tragedy started. 'STOP' I called. I tried to make amends between the pack and the bear."

[Yoritomo Tomodachi]

"How'd that work out" Tomodachi asks, drinking.

[Kitsune Shizenko]

"I guided the group to a river and made them work together to gather fish. There was a bit of reluctance but I made them understand how team work made things better." She explained.

[Yoritomo Tomodachi]

"Isn't fish bad for wolves?" Tomodachi asks. "I know dogs don't do well with it."

[Kitsune Shizenko]

"Wolves can eat fish but prefer an easy prey. When food is scarce, like in winter months they may resource to fish. Bears during winter hibernate and don't have to worry about hunting during set time." She explained.

[Yoritomo Tomodachi]

"Makes sense," Tomodachi says, drinking more.

"What about taunki? Do they also hibernate?"

[Kitsune Shizenko]

"They do... that is why Raakun is always hungry." She chuckled and took a sip of her drink. "I have studied behaviours of animals around the winter months... it is a bit harsh but to help keep the balance one must make sacrifices."

[Yoritomo Tomodachi]

"How do you mean?" Tomodachi asks, topping off her drink.

[Kitsune Shizenko]

"The winter is a month of scarcity and not much food is found for the animals that hunt prey. We need those predators to control those animals that we consider pests. Snow covered fields are not kind to them." She explained.

[Yoritomo Tomodachi]

"Right," Tomodachi says, but his tone suggests he does not take her meaning fully.

[Kitsune Shizenko]

The woman chuckled knowing that the subject goes over peoples head. "Any good stories from your end?"

[Yoritomo Tomodachi]

"I don't know about 'good,' Kitsune-san," Tomodachi replies, smirking slightly, "but possibly entertaining.

"Don't think I've told you how I got into sculpture."

[Kitsune Shizenko]

"No. you have yet to explain." She sipped her cup.

Raakun's belly was full so the critter curl onto Shizenko's lap.

[Yoritomo Tomodachi]

"Lucky critter," Tomodachi says, then "Probably ought to fix that, then.

"Well, it started on my last pre-gempukku cruise. I was still a little thing, then, scampering up the rigging like hell was behind me, and I'd drawn holystone duty. Happens to us all, of course, but still...

"I wasn't the only boy on board, of course. Other little twerp'd drawn the same duty, thought he'd make a race of it. Tried to trip me up, so I hucked my rock at him. Caught the back of the skipper's hand for it, of course, and again 'cause I'd cracked the stone.

"Piece of it broke off, I saw, and when I was in my rack that night, I started...messing with it. Started seeing things in it, and I started picking at it to let 'em out. Skipper saw what I'd done and sold it in port. Got, what, three koku for it. I still have one of 'em, keep it in my obi for luck."

[Kitsune Shizenko]

"The earth spoke to you in a different way it speaks to me." She smiled. " What happened the boy... is he still sailing?"