Mocharatte sat in her chair and watched the spectacle. The gaptooth girl was certainly strange. The warrior couldn't imagine what sort of relic she must have had to warrant being summoned. She sipped her tea and quietly listened to the conversation. The dragon sneezed and a low rumble came from it's throat.

When Oshiro made the final decision, Hideki closed his eyes for a few moments to suppress his frustration. Oh, well. In the end, it was just a few days longer to spend around these people. He'd survive, but he wouldn't be happy about it. At least it'd be more comfortable riding a horse than walking the distance.

Hideki opened his eyes again just as Oshiro and s*** were leaving. He didn't like the woman with the scarf, but at least she seemed the straightforward type. She'd be more tolerable than the rest of their company, each of which Hideki could easily find some flaw with--except perhaps the man with the gauntlet, who like him had not spoken but simply voted.

He gave a quick, disdainful glance to the elegant woman (too polite to be genuine) and the gap-toothed girl (too eager to please) as he stood and followed the ninja. He could already tell that they more than anyone else would be the ones grating on him during the journey.

There wasn't enough kuh in the world for this group. Yes okay some may be a little slow to rise, good bait those, but honestly, chit chatting? Umiko just had to press a finger to her head and her scarf assumed a hands-on-hips posture.

"Oi, I know some of you want to increase your comradery, but walk and talk please. World ain't gonna save itself you know."

She briefly look up at Hideki nearby and gave a little shrug before turning right back to looking in the room and starting to tap her foot.

Kaguya was pleased with the choice of path. He was sure that between them all, this party could've handled any threats, but he was also sure that between the older woman and young Tea-san, it wouldve been too difficult.

He rose from his position on the floor and spoke. "Obasan, Sekichi-san, if you will excuse me I must retrieve my belongings from the guards at the gate."
He bowed deeply to the people remaining in the room and left.
When he had arrived at the palace, the guards had made him leave his bag at the guard post. There was little of import within it, a coil of rope, an old knife, and some other survival gear that he thought he might need on a trip. The only thing of importance within was his set of armor. He had commissioned it back before his life had fallen apart, at the time it was a fine set covering him from his toes to his head and all solid black. Its helmet was the one he was wearing now, albeit he had gotten the helmet before he had received the cursed mask. Over his lifetimes of battle, however, it had been damaged and repaired and patched countless times but it was still strong even if its aesthetic was fairly old fashion.
It didnt take him long to reach the guardhouse and convince the guards to give him his bag. With his belongings in hand, and directions from the guards, he made his way to the stable to wait for the others.

Mocharatte felt this conversation was dreadful, and their welcome was wearing thin. She stood with the dragon, and they walked towards the window. She jumped on its back and took off, flying over the castle towards the stables.

They landed and saw the masked man standing around nervously. "What's up handsome?" She said jokingly from the dragon's back.

Sekichi-san’s extension of a hand up was both welcome and graciously received. Bowing her head in gratitude as the young woman helped her to her feet, Yoko turned her attention to Sasaki-chan, the Haridan who had also offered to… wait, did this crazy girl say she was going to carry Yoko through the mountains? Altruism was one thing, but neglecting to use one’s head before speaking was another. This wouldn’t stand. That being said, the girl seemed genuine enough. Perhaps only a mild scolding would be in order.

“That’s very kind of you, Sasaki-chan,” Yoko said, her face crinkling into a sincere smile as she placed the end of her staff on the girl’s shoulder. She gave it pair of quick taps. “You take care of that back of yours, though, ‘less you want to end up like ol’ obasan here, eh?”

The elderly woman had little time to say anything else before the meeting was adjourned and the remainder of the room’s occupants sprung to life, busying themselves with walking away and generally being a pack of unsociable sunbeams.

Yoko gave Sekichi-san and Saskaki-chan a “Well, it was nice meeting you ladies” before joining the group following Ryuujin-san out of the meeting place. She fell out of step quickly, however, forking paths with the others and heading towards the room she had been staying in for the past few days. A few moments later, Yoko had her traveling bag strung over her shoulder and was ready to take on the world.

Once she asked a guard for directions to the stables, that is.

"The pleasure is all mine." Hitomi said with yet another bow. As soon as Yoko had turned to leave, the young woman cast a derisive glare at Chouko, though it was gone so quickly that anybody who witnessed would swear they were imaginining things. Without another word, she fell in line behind the older woman and took a noncommittal route to the stables. Upon arriving, she acknowledged those that were already present with a brief greeting.

Hitomi spun around as the quiet was disturbed by an agitated whinny. She rushed over to the stall from which the sound had originated to see a familiar face. The creature's fur was completely black, save for the lower halves of its front legs and a spot on its forehead, which were white. It shuffled its feet a bit as its owner approached.

"Did you miss me, Sumi?" Hitomi cooed, pulling off her hat to let it rest on her back. She reached up and ran her hand through its mane, not a difficult task given the thing was no taller than her. "But it hasn't even been two hours yet. You're so hopeless." She chuckled. She did not chuckle, however, when Sumi reached in to get a bite of her hair.
"Hey!" She cried, attempting to pull away. When she couldn't get free, she gave the beast a flick on the nose. It wasn't a particularly powerful gesture, but it was enough to make it let go. It shook its head and gave a disgruntled snort as Hitomi backed away. "Idiot horse." She mumbled under her breath as she tried to straighten out her hair.

Most of the other relic holders had elected to find their own ways to the stables, heaven knows why, so Umiko was just left with the two silent guys. While creepy in their own ways, there was worse company she could be traveling with, and would be soon. It didn't take long before they reached Umiko's side destination, a kitchen area off of a large dining area. The place was relatively empty, but one man stood out as he stopped what he was doing and greeted the group.

"Ah, Umiko, here for the usual I presume?"

"Of course." She replied. "Although, I'll need more like a months worth this time around. Heading out on a special mission wouldn't you know, and I would want to run out if I can't find another supplier."

"In that case you'll have to excuse me for a moment while I prepare some more. You know we don't keep very much around here. Now where did..." The rest was rendered inaudible as he ventured off on his quest.

Aside from maybe a curious glace at her behavior sometimes it didn't seem like Umiko would get any reaction out of these two, so she jumped up on a counter to sit and wait. I wasn't a long wait, but the silence sure made it feel that way, and she was relieved when her contact reappeared.

"Would you like me to fix you a cup the make sure it's to your liking?" He asked while holding out the little box he had placed the prepared mixture in.

"Sorry," Umiko replied hopping off the counter space. "Important business, I unfortunately need to leave as soon as possible. Daiki is leading this little group, and you know how he gets when he has to wait."

They both let out a little chuckle, although this man in the kitchen was very obviously confused. It didn't last long however and the two said their goodbyes and parted ways. The path Umiko took to the stables seemed a little winding, but they made it just before Oshiro showed up with Yoko in tow, finding her asking a guard where to find the stables and deciding to just lead her himself.

It took longer than expected to get everyone underway, much to Oshiro's exasperation, but sure enough the group eventually headed out. The ride was for the most part silent, the horses being able to follow the lead of Oshiro's nicely without the need for orders. Even the crickets abstained from chirping, one way to tell it was "day" outside. For the small party of guardsmen sent to escort the party, it was unsettling, so the relief was audible when the crickets finally awoke and Oshiro gave the order that they'd be setting up camp for the night.

"Yes, I'm familiar with this area." The samurai stated, not to anyone in particular. "The grove over yonder should provide us with the wood for a fire, just as the stream within will provide us with water. Any volunteers for gathering, or to set up camp? Or do I just start assigning tasks?" He was clearly going out of his way to offer a choice in the matter, but it also wouldn't hurt to learn the groups strengths this way, so he wasn't to put out on the matter.

Mocha hopped off her dragon. "I'll get the fire going," she said as the two headed off to gather sticks.

As the group came to a stop, Hitomi slid off of her steed and onto terra firma. After a few shaky steps, she regained her balance, only to quickly locate a convenient rock and sit once again. The trip thus far hadn't treated her well. While her skill at riding had improved considerably since obtaining Sumi, that wasn't saying much, and sitting sidesaddle hadn't done her any favors.

When Oshiro asked for volunteers, Hitomi didn't respond, acting instead as if she was exempt from what he was saying. Of course, she was perfectly aware that this wasn't the case. Neither her station nor her charm had afforded her any special treatment up to this point, and that wasn't likely to change. In fact, it seemed as if she was being systematically picked on. When all was said and done, she was only here because she had a relic, and that meant she would be expected to pull the weight of a relic user. She made up her mind quickly, speaking up right after Mocharatte.

"Sasaki-chan and I can go fetch some water." Hitomi chimed in, turning to Chouko with a friendly grin. "Provided that's okay with her, of course."

Oso was an aptly-named horse. He was pudgy, for one, and none too bright. His coat was a dull black, and his eyes had a constant droop to them. And, unsurprisingly, Oso was also very, very, slow. He seemed like the kind of horse that had spent his entire life gorging himself on premium-quality palace oats, a beast whose athletic accomplishments were limited to three successive rolls in the grass without having to stop for a breather. Yes, this was Oso. This was Chouko’s assigned horse, and despite his faults she loved him. Most of the time.

If there was anything to be said for Oso, it was that he was especially talented when it came to following another horse’s rear end. From the outset of their journey, over every hill and through every valley he stuck diligently to his post, plodding along and sweating a great deal every step of the way. Thankfully for Chouko, her horse’s dependability and the party’s slow pace afforded her the freedom of travelling on foot and chatting with whoever she happened to be beside at any given moment. This would have been fantastic, of course, were it not for the fact that not one person in the lot seemed interested in muttering so much as hello, much less engaging in conversation. Obasan had apparently dozed off, Chouko herself was too nervous to talk to the pretty lady again and none of the other travellers would even look at her. What’s more, Captain Oshiro had assured her, for the twenty-seventh time, that there were still no reports to be sent back to the palace by Harida’s number one messenger. What did he mean, the emperor didn’t want minute-by-minute updates on the status of their mission? What kind of third-rate military operation was this?

Disappointed, Chouko resigned herself to the saddle. What a boring mission this was, and so very... tiring…

– – –

Chouko awoke, confused and a little bit miffed. Her face was planted squarely in something very soft, rather wet, and incredibly stinky. Upon further inspection (and partly thanks to the fact that her stomach was quite sore), she realized that she had fallen asleep slung over Oso’s back like an overlong sack of rice. Ech. She felt like she might drown trying to wash the smell out of her nostrils. Groggily she looked up, just in time to hear Captain Oshiro issuing instructions and the pretty lady volunteering herself and Chouko to fetch the water. Water. Right. Water was what what she needed. But she was sooo tired...

With a yawn in the place of a smile she saluted, proclaiming slurredly, “Chouko Sasaki, atch’yer service,” and slid off her horse.

...in the wrong direction.

She hit the ground with a thud.

Hideki watched curiously as the ninja woman received... something from the man in the kitchen. From the sparse conversation, he didn't gather enough information to come to any sort of conclusion as to what it was, simply filing it away as something interesting about the woman. He was relieved when she finally finished and they could head to the stables. Horses were much more reliable than people, and Hideki enjoyed their company more than people's--though he'd prefer a rock's company to another human's, so that didn't say much. The palace horses were well attended to, and docile. Hideki reached out to pat his on the nose before he mounted it, the horse simply flicking an ear in response.

He allowed himself to zone out as they traveled. The girl who had crashed into him before kept on running around for no comprehensible reason, until she seemed to realize the pointlessness of this activity and finally fell asleep on her horse. Without the sun, there was no way to tell how long they had been traveling, but at some point Oshiro decided to stop. Hideki dismounted with another fond pat to his horse. He would've simply sat down by its side if Oshiro had not asked for help with setting up the camp. Slightly miffed but not surprised, Hideki straightened and considered his options.

Casting a glance at the white-haired girl and her dragon, whose presence remained unexplained, Hideki finally spoke. "I'll go with her to gather firewood," he muttered. He wasn't entirely certain if Oshiro had heard or not, but rather than wait around he simply followed after Mocharatte to the grove.

Mocharatte had began to gather firewood when she noticed someone had followed her. "Oh? Come to help me?" She asked. "Remember, dry tinder first, larger sticks and logs after." The girl continued gathering as the dragon knocked down a tree.

Hideki held back a roll of the eyes as the white-haired girl told him how to collect firewood. He wasn't an idiot. The dragon wreaked havoc in the background. Hideki flinched slightly when the tree hit the ground with a loud crash.

"Of course. Thank you for the reminder," he said with a slight nod towards the girl. "Forgive me if this is rude, but should your dragon be doing that?" Hideki gestured towards the fallen tree, raising his eyebrows slightly. Otherwise, his face was neutral, and his voice monotone. He didn't think it the wisest idea to have the dragon destroying the grove; they were just trying to gather firewood, there was no need to go around felling entire trees.

Mocharatte smiled a little. "It will take that entire tree to keep the fire going throughout the... 'night'," she explained.