<Reise> "Day" approaches "Night" on board the ship carting Reise, Linny, Sunstar, and Mayu toward Rokugan, and the blonde finds herself lounging with the doctor in the ship's galley, poking at an admittedly well-prepared serving of fried fish and vegetables. She'd quickly forgotten exactly which fish the menu had called it. "Say," she says idly, driving what looks like a floret of broccoli across her plate with her fork. "I told you about why we'
<Reise> re going to Rokugan, right? Do you know anything about those blood mage types that Moriko's ex supposedly is?"
<IkiryoLaptop> "Maho-tsukai." She nods. "They are...persistent. Technically they are a type of shamanism, like most Rokugani magic. Rokugani mages call on spirits to help them, Maho-tsukai do so with dark spirits that seek blood spilled. Have you heard of the Great Maw?"
<Reise> She pauses, with the broccoli midway to her mouth. Slowly the fork returns to the plate. "...Yeah, once. On that Cygnaran cruiser we commandeered. The one with the cannibals that North probably told you about."
<IkiryoLaptop> She nods, not really eating her own food either. "They are spirits tied to the Great Maw, one of the smaller...but more unpleasant Chaos Gods. The Ogres on Rokugan worship it and it tainted the land and the spirits around them."
<Reise> "...I think there was one of those *on* the ship, then. Khaira and Annandra pushed it into the void it was trying to...make? Call? Worship?"
<IkiryoLaptop> "Likely an avatar of the great maw...they call on it so that it may feast." She turns up her nose slightly.
<Reise> "Well, it did, on him." She shakes her head. "Gods, even a year down the road and thinking about that thing still makes my blood boil." Her free hand, previously resting on the table, has curled into a tight fist, which she has to consciously force open.
<IkiryoLaptop> Dr Sunstar pauses...and reaches out to put a hand on Reise's
<Reise> She flicks her eyes at the old dryad, and sniffs a little chuckle. A deep breath follows and most of the tension leaves her frame. "Thanks."
<IkiryoLaptop> She smiles warmly at the other Solar...and raises her hand to her mouth as she has a small coughing fit.
* Reise patiently waits for it to pass, though she does switch whose hand is on top in the comforting spot, patting the back of Sunstar's. "So...nerds pledge to this Great Maw and call its spirits which want blood. Is there an advantage to doing so, or are the maho-whatever-eye only in it to watch the world burn?"
<IkiryoLaptop> "The spirits are hungry enough that you need very little talent and even less study to call on them...which is why it has been so hard to eliminate."
<Reise> "Ah, easy." She nods. "Which is probably why this guy got into them."
<IkiryoLaptop> "Most likely, yes." She nods. "Even the most untrained person, with a scroll, could call them up. And most likely die but they could call them."
<Reise> "Well...Moriko's mostly afraid he DID die...and then came back. Somehow." She shrugs lightly. "I don't know if he did or not; that's part of what I'm here to find out. But we've been over that before."
<IkiryoLaptop> "...very few Maho users can come back. The spirits are not naturally attuned to such..." She frowns, biting her lip.
<Reise> "Oh?" Her eyebrows perk up. "What would it take, then?"
<IkiryoLaptop> "A pact with one of the Ogres...or being a follower of Iuchiban, the first Maho user."
* Reise nods slowly. "...Neither of those sound particularly good. Which means, if that's what's up with this guy, he's potentially a lot more dangerous than just some nerd with a second-hand scroll of Summon Maw Spirit."
<IkiryoLaptop> "And a lot, lot stupider."
<Reise> That gets a burst of laughter.
<Reise> "No arguments from me!"
<IkiryoLaptop> She gives a small smile, wiping away a drop of blood from her lips. "If he has made a pact with an ogre, all it would take is finding the symbol of the pact and destroying it to have his soul claimed by his master. If he is a follower of Iuchiban, then it is the same with a Porcelain Mask."
<Reise> "...Good gods, really? How do these people ever become a threat?"
* Reise holds up a hand.
<Reise> "Don't answer that, I know how it happens."
<IkiryoLaptop> She nods, taking a small bite of her fish...and pulling a face. "I...do not think the Tau quite understand how Sushi is supposed to be prepared."
<Reise> "Isn't that supposed to be *un*cooked? This stuff's fried."
<IkiryoLaptop> She nods. "...rather."
<Reise> "Eh. Sometimes the 'greater good' is a little...lesser."
<IkiryoLaptop> "It seems that way..." She takes another bite...and pushes her food away.
<Reise> "Miss the home cuisine?" she asks. "Actually, I don't even know what kind of food you *do* like."
<IkiryoLaptop> "I don't have much sense of taste any more." She shakes her head. "Part of my sickness."
<Reise> "...That sucks," she says bluntly. "I'm sorry to hear that."
<IkiryoLaptop> She offers a small smile. "It's alright. I still have my own little pleasures...and it is a small price to pay to still serve Pelor."
<Reise> She studies Sunstar briefly, and then nods. "I'll drink to that." With water glass in hand she lifts it in the doctor's direction before taking a sip. "Even if it's not anything fun in the glass~"
<IkiryoLaptop> She chuckles, lifting her own glass. "I will have to introduce you to some of the drinks of my homeworld."
<Reise> "I've heard of one or two, thanks to Moriko, but it does sound like there's more."
<IkiryoLaptop> "Rather a lot." She smiles. "I knew most of them very well, when I was young."
<Reise> "Back in your free-spirited piratical raiding youth~?"
<IkiryoLaptop> "Before I met my Lunar mate, yes." Her smile wavers for a second as she nods.
<Reise> It's her turn to grasp Sunstar's forearm. "We'll deal with Morvhana for good, soon enough. But in the meantime...can you tell me about your mate?"
<IkiryoLaptop> She nods. "She was...well, of the two of us she was the respectable one." She smiles slightly, pulling a small locket out and handing it over for Reise to look at the picture.
<IkiryoLaptop> A fairly tall, conventionally attractive elf woman in a fancy blue kimono, with cloud-and-flower patterns on it; she has blue eyes, which are focused but kind. A daisho hangs at the obi on her waist. She's engaged in painting the scenery and looks a bit surprised by the sudden picture.
* Reise smiles a little as she absorbs the details of the picture. "She looks it," the blonde agrees, passing the locket back. "Just goes to show, I guess, Luna picks from all walks of life. Not every Lunar is like Linny."
<IkiryoLaptop> "She was a member of the Crane clan...a duelist by trade." She smiles. "...I still love her."
<Reise> "A professional duelist?" That earns raised eyebrows again. "Huh. I can't honestly say I've encountered one, myself, though I've heard stories...though, granted, from other spheres, where they were just high-class mercs."
<IkiryoLaptop> She shakes her head. "Here they are common...but she was one of the best." Her smile is sad but warm.
<Reise> "How did you two meet?"
<IkiryoLaptop> "She came to challenge us over...well, a small brawl we had had with the crew of one of their ships...I cheated in the duel and she still beat me~"
* Reise blinks. "You? Cheated?"
<IkiryoLaptop> "Relentlessly." She nods
* Reise snickers. "My, my. The multiverse is full of surprises," she teases gently.
<IkiryoLaptop> "I did say that back then, she was the respectable one." She smiles.