Plain Tailblazing

    Things have been uneasy in the lands of the Dukedome. The seige of the Eas Barony had for now failed, but with the Palace Land forces still holding Mac Anu numerous Yamato Adventurers were both without a home and without a safe location to respawn in. So many of the local groups were not pushing their luck, having fled to the farther reaches of the land, or resorted to subtefuge to prepare for the next movement of the enemy. Sniffing them out has been a trial in itself, as we are still unfamiliar with these lands. They hold an environmental advantage. For the time being...

Daiyu looked up from her notes to peer out across the water, somewhere in the unseen distance towards 'home'. The nation she had taken this role to stabilize and protect... yet now was far away from, upon these forgein lands, in an invasion that she had no choice but to participate in. A war she could do little to oppose regardless how she felt about the situation.

"Trapped in a story one no longer has control over the telling of," the hulijing murmured to herself as she closed the journal, having lost the interest in writing for the time being.

No doubt it is a good thing that Robert is -not- close enough to hear those murmured words. Indeed, while ordinarily his inclinations might tend more towards the impish, today they are...well, not respectful exactly. But civil, perhaps in deference to her perceived pensiveness. His approach is subtle enough. It starts with a light breeze that is distinctly out of place, carrying summer's bright warmth rather than autumn's aging sleepiness. Next there is the tinkle of little bells, coming ever closer, as though someone had decided to wear a cat's collar.

It is only at the last moment that there is the crunch of booted heels on the coast's coarse gravel, the snap of a black cloak in the sea breeze. "Yamato is usually a bit more welcoming," Robert announces from a position some six-to-eight feet to Daiyu's right, arms folding over his shoulder, his tones a mixture of amusement and apology. "May I join you?"

Vulpine ears twitch, picking up the little sounds around her, but for once Daiyu isn't completely paying attention to the environment. It's not until the crunching sand under heels is a little too close for comfort that she snaps out of her thoughts and turns her head enough to glance over a shoulder so she doesn't give any indicator of being startled. That would be bad for her reputation. Seeing who it is has her relax a bit, or maybe just re-establishing her usual air of indifference as she turns back to the water. "Promise not to try and stab me in the back, and I will do the same." Her head does tilt a little to one side. "Seeing as you've dared this close to what is currently your enemy's hold, I doubt telling you to go away would do much good, anyways."

"So promised. Truce, for now," Robert acknowledges, lips flickering into a momentary smile. In the silence that follows, his posture and expression as he gazes out over those crashing waves are a subtle reflection of her own. Though he, of course, isn't from her home. He interrupts the silence with a sharp inhalation, arms tightening over his chest. "That is that and this is this," he comments, vaguely. "Outside of war, I'm not inclined towards hanging out where I am unwelcome. If you wish to be alone you need only ask, though I had rather hoped you might be willing to offer your perspective on a few matters that I find confusing."

For the faintest moment there is a hint of a smirk tugging the corner of her mouth, and then it's gone. "You struck me as the sort who would not come this far without some intention." The journal she had been writing in disappears amongst her tails, likely tucked away into her inventory for safekeeping and she's just making a grand gesture of doing so. She was once in a stage performance in Lumina after all. "Keep in mind there at things I am not at freedom to speak of. But ask. Mayhaps I will see insight as well."

SpritesHero does not quite have Daiyu's capacity for the theatrical. Though he can certainly appreciate her flare. There's a questioning, amused arch of an eyebrow, as though to ask 'Really?!', before it lowers. "I once had a young lady of my acquaintence who was -very- upset that whenever I came to visit I seemed to want something," he reminisces, turning his gaze back to the ocean. "Though I must admit that, for me, I find the alternative even more baffling. You would not, I think, appreciate it if I simply popped up here to discuss the weather." A sidelong glance, as though to request confirmation, before he continues. "From our earlier conversations, I had been under the impression that you were concerned about how Landers are being treated by Adventurers, and that your intention was to protect them. Is this accurate?"

"That... would also be a fair assessment." One hand reachs over to grab her parasol and pull it free of where the tip was edged into the beach. It is given a light twirl to dislodge some sand, and then lifted to rest upon her shoulder. Daiyu's gaze remains upon the rolling waters at the edge of the land. "That is true. Lumina Cloth's social and economical stability was almost destroyed by the greed and lack of foresight of more foolish Adventurers.. people who now had a freedom in their choices and no idea how to handle such a situation." Not a huge surprise with a large part of the player population being from China. "Conserns arose that the Adventurers from other regions, other servers, would be no different."

Daiyu pauses. Only her tails move, swaying as light and fluidly as the water she's watching.

"That has proven to not be true." The vixen gives a slow shake of her head. "But not enough to sway the desires of those who push this conflict forward."

"It -is- probably fair to assert that greed and lack of foresight are universals," Robert admits with a notable grimace, one hand lifting to drag his fingers through his hair as though to scrape the grime of past sins free from his scalp. "I wish I knew what causes which inclinations to win out where. But perhaps I should simply be grateful for what we have. Which brings me to the crux of the issue. I do not expect this invasion to simply stop. Too much has been invested in it. Even if we were to assume, purely hypothetically, that the rationale for your war is a mistake, it is not politically viable to admit it."

Again there is a small pause, as Robert gathers his thoughts. "What I -don't- understand is what appears to be a shift in your strategy. From what I've heard, your rather ingenious strategy with the Guardians--Congratulations on Mac Anu, by the by--put many Landers at risk. And then we have...some sort of artifact robot running loose in the tower blowing anything it meets to smithereens. It's not ours, and we didn't set it loose. Has a decision been made, on your side, that Lander casualties are now considered to be acceptable losses if it means victory can be obtained?"

"Mac Anu was a calculated risk," Daiyu replies. "Most Landers would not act in ways that would draw the Guardians' ire. Crossfire... is unavoidable in warfare, but intentionally, no." Daiyu turns her head a bit, as if staring off at the mentioned tower far behind the horizon it could actually be seen from here. "I know nothing of the machinations employed in the Tower. Or that it was even being considered a viable target..." She cusps the hand not supporting her parasol to her chin. "... Which may of changed learning of one of your Alliances holding settlements there. But I am merely another piece on the board, not privvy to the Nobles' decisions." Taps her cheek thoughtfully. "A bishop, mayhaps. Certainly more than a pawn, despite how the cliche goes, but while my reach is long I am not nearly as... blunt to be a rook."

A shift back in the conversation. "Speaking of, I should likewise congratulate you and whoever devised those arcane landmines. That was a tactic even I would not of considered. Especially boobytrapping your own main route into the villa to do so." She's a strategist, she's allowed to at least acknowledge the cleverness of others, enemy or otherwise.

SpritesHero visibly relax, lifting his hands atop his head and flexing his back, as though to work out a few kinks. It's not particularly obvious how much, if any, of her comments regarding her position are really digested. Let alone at what level. "It is a relief to know that, whatever decisions might be made regarding putting Landers at risk, they are not yet reflective of general sentiment. I'd been concerned that we might need to start checking in on Landers under your control. But I trust you still have that firmly in hand. As for the landmines, I wish I could take credit for those. But they were kept under wraps by the higher-ups. If anything, I'm more impressed at the fact that they were able to keep the secret for as long as they did. I'll convey your congratulations if I ever figure out who is responsible."

His hands fall from his head, linking behind his back as he hazards a quick glance at Daiyu. "Do you hate it? Yamato, I mean. Winter looms."

As a strategist, she's impressed by the willingness to use the tactic. As an enchanter and alchemist herself, she's impressed by the creativity. But her composure remains it's usual controlled measure, not wanting to show too little or two much response. "Seasons come and go and change, as everything else in life." Though she does give a shake of her head. "Too many curiousities and peculiarity for a woman of my nature to 'hate'. Even if current affairs keep me from properly delving into them."

Tails flick a few times in their lazy dance around her ankles. "You are fortunate to have your Guilds. Your Alliances. Their organization and motivation to press onward." The hand leaves her chin, briefly flicking her bangs from her face before going to join it's counterpart grasping the parasol. "Had such social support formed amongst ours.... maybe such drastic measures would not of been necessary."

Daityu tips her head back a bit, gazing at the sky. "Hate it, no. But you have nothing that compares to Lumina Cloth's skyline at night, I'm afraid."

"No you're not," Robert opines with a flare of a grin and a sidelong glance. "You're not afraid at all. It's yours, and you're proud of it, and I bet if I looked behind you your tails would be flicking in satisfaction." But he's not about to press the matter. There's no point in it. So instead he simply turns his gaze back towards the ocean upon which the sun's rays still dance in glittering sparkles upon the wavelets. "Will you not tell me of it? Lumina Cloth's skyline."

"Economics and entertainment go hand in hand. Nights alight that put the sky to shame.... and a cage many of it's prisoners never realize. Kallamore did not imprison those who did not see their way... because most of them were already barred by their own vices or the debts amassed in them. Like I said. Choice and freedom amongst those with no familiarity. I of course was not one of those... But I did enjoy the city and what it was. What it offered. What the the time it allowed us to be." A whistful sigh briefly escapes her. "Stories not to tell, but to live."

"Sounds a bit like Las Vegas," Robert opines, his gaze more on the curious side now. Not that it's a steady gaze. Just the briefest side-flicks of his eyes, which otherwise remain fixed on the distant horizon. "I've never been myself. But it certainly has a reputation. If I'm to be honest, I don't think I'd have done well there. Or in your Lumina Cloth, as attractive as it might be. I get sidetracked far more easily than I would like. That isn't to say that I dislike freedom, mind, but I've come to the conclusion that I echo those around me for better or worse."

Again he hazards a sidelong glance, though it lingers this time. "And what of you? What did Lumina Cloth allow you to be? Or become, that you were not before?"

Daiyu chuckles softly. "I would of said the same of my former associate... yet the cage was clearly not foolproof, for he now stands amongst those having come to your aid." Clearly she's implying the 'Uncrowned' though she doesn't specify which one she is refering to.

Then her expression turned somber once more. "It is as I said. In this world I do not merely tell the stories, I get to live them for myself. I performed on the stage, and in the Arena. My name evokes both awe amongst its ranks... and apprehension at potentially having to face me." Her tails swish behind her as she sighs. "I had grown quite fond of the prestige I had gained, so to say my desire to restore the city's order was not without personal interest as well would be a farce." Her gaze casts out across the water again. "A war, an invasion, was not forseen.. and now I have no choice but to enact within it, like every other piece in play. Those who do not fulfill their role are the ones that become Broken."

"I do rather find Shenmi to be something of a kindred spirit," Robert allows, biting back a grin. "He does a fantastic show with his rabbit, doesn't he. You will be, perhaps, relieved to hear that he doesn't seem to have changed much from your recollection. At least not the last time I ran into him." And truthfully, there is fondness in the man's expression, which lingers through several moments of apparently warm memories.

He notably does -not- comment on being broken, though perhaps her sharp eyes might catch his wince at the word. A tightening of his lips, a brief setting of his jaw, a spark of anger. But all these are erased quickly enough, if not without effort. "I suppose I was the opposite of you," he confesses at last. "I'd always viewed success here to be...fleeting. Insubstantial. I promised myself long ago that I wouldn't live in my head, and...well. So I figured I'd just push the tower as hard as possible, get back to life out there." A laugh, wry, self-deprecating. "Clearly that didn't work out so well, eh? No more short-cuts for me. I suppose I need to build everything up properly."

"That rabbit..." Daiyu hisses between her teeth. But the momentary crease in her facade of indifference is gone as soon as it appeared. "He really was desperate for a new assistant," it is verbally brushed aside. One might get the faintest impression that it is more at being replaced rather than by what. But at the same time, there was just no way for them to continue operating together right now.

"For some a fantasy life is the only time they've finally felt alive. For others, their only escape. An oppritunity to be more, enjoy more..." And that is where her elaboration ends. "I should go back to the city, as much as I enjoy the chance to speak to others of less bound and enforced views. Before one of the patrols come across our conversing together."

SpritesHero gives Daiyu a rather mystified look that is not in any way whatsoever considering whether she used to dress up as Shenmi's rabbit. No. That would never be the case. "It's that, or the silent one, or the easily-nettled one," he reminds Daiyu mildly. He wisely refrains from a comforting head-pat. "Personally, I'd be glad he went with the rabbit," he suggests with an entirely serious air. "It could have been much, much worse. The others have no sense of comedy," he divulges.

But, certainly, the rest of her words are wise. And he knows enough to heed them. "It is a pity, but I suppose you are correct," he allows. "The pleasure is mine. I'll stop by again the next time you conquer a city." A pause, a roguish smile. "Or perhaps sooner if you worry I always appear with ulterior motives."

The parasol remains perfectly propped upon her shoulder even as Daiyu leans into a brief bow. "These times outside the conflict are few and far between... mayhaps in some future they will be less so." A pause. "If your allies inquire, tell them we are maintaining Mac Anu as we did Shibuya. A little tidbit will dissaude any concerns for you trapsing out here alone. Mine will only care that I detained you from encroaching into the city, and nothing more." With that she rises, executes a simple yet graceful turn on her heel, tails swaying with the moment, and strides back towards Mac Anu.