"You can always throw them up in the air and try and hit then when the drop." He suggested as they moved towards the camping supplies.

"Or just find some friends and an empty lot.'"

"Hmmm, you do make it sound easy. And I'm sure there are a few samurai here who might be interested."
Shoan resist the temptation to start tossing the balls up and down as they reach the camping section

"Worse comes to worst I've practiced on my own extensively, this should be no different."

"Most things are east until they aren't." Hayato replied with a shrug. "It helps that people are here to meet each other though."

He glanced towards the Lion. "Spend a lot of time on your own then?"

"More than most, less than some. Other samurai would go out, I would stay back to train. Now I am here and they are still training."
A small shrug

"Eventually I found people to train with, that seemed to solve the problem."

"Sounds like you were sent off to be married almost as soon as you were done training." Hayato offered, looking over the lioness for a moment. She didn't seem that young.

"I suppose i should ask if you're happy to be here?" He offered after a moment.

"Not quite, there was a combat tour first. That was a different kind of training...."
Looking back with a raised eyebrow

"Whether I am happy or not is immaterial, it is my duty."
pause
"It actually has not been as bad as expected, I am enjoying myself."

That was something he expected to hear from a lion, though the next was perhaps a bit of a surprise. "Anything in particular that you're enjoying? If that's not prying too much."

Coolers were the next stop, and the mantis started looking through them, it didn't need to be too terribly big but too small wouldn't do.

Poking around at some of the latest Crab cooler tech which could preserve either food or an oni's head

"The company has been a high point. Not all the samurai I have encountered have been good for conversation, but enough have. And I suppose it helps that the governor has focused more on physical activities than writing letters to one another."

Peering down at the cooler price tag, yup, this was a Yasuki brand
"And yourself? I hope you've enjoyed the hardware stores at least."

"Not fond of letter writing?" Well it wasn't like paper was the preferred means of communication now anyways. Though notes could be sent through comms.

Hayato picked up a mid sized cooler in a serviceable grey color and started looking it over. "The sporting goods store is rather nice as well. " He mused thoughtfully. "But its been good for the nost part, I've had the chance to meet some interesting people."

"It can all be very slow, and I feel my prose lacks when compared to a skillful courtier. They will send me a message describing the reflection of the moon on still water and then my reply will just say they smelt nice. There is definitely an art to it."

Shoan approves of the cooler, like beige, grey was an appropriate colour for all things
"It seems we are in agreement on the miai then. I have heard your name mentioned by several other samurai, so they clearly find you interesting as well."

"Mmm.... i'd have to say I approve of people that smell nice, I think i get your meaning though. It's a bit hard to compare to keep up with a courtier at times."

Hayato might not agree on the status of grey and beige being appropriate for all things. It did at least work for a cooler though. "Well, seems like I haven't stepped on many toes then, which I guess is nice to hear."

"If you're hearing about people from others though. It must mean you're looked on quite well by many here yourself."

"Ah....well it can be hard to tell. People may just be being polite, I understand there are many more attractive partners here than myself. Maybe they just like tattoos."

"You might not be the fairest of the young women here, but you are at least funny Ikoma-san." Hayato replied with a chuckle. "And that's not something to easily over look."

"Though makeup and the like can also go a long way, and if you had half a mind I'm sure some here could dress you up until you could hardly recognize yourself."

"Funny but not fair? It could be worse I suppose. And it's true, I dress up for special occasions. Although I find my clothing is more...traditional than most expect. Still, I've been told it is effective."

Stretching her neck
"I'm sure you can dress up nicely to, and we already know you have a good sense of humour."

"Effective? It almost sounds like you're talking about armor, Ikoma-san." The mantis replied with a laugh as he lead the way to the front of the store cooler in hand.

"Still..." He trailed off and looked. "It might be nice to see you in something contemporary. If guessing sizes wasn't such a dangerous prospect I might just send something over to the wisteria for you."

"But thanks, good to know I'm at least funny sometimes."

"Maybe even more than sometimes, if a samurai were to be generous."
Shoan plonks her goods down at the cashier and reaches for her cash, or at least, the remains of her cash

"Clothing is armour, of a sort, it just protects you from something more insidious than blasts and blades. As for the contemporary clothing....perhaps one day you will get your wish. Although then maybe I'd want to see you in something more traditional."

Where Hayato pulled out a slim silver card to pay for his purchases, apparently whatever funds the mantis had available were not in the amounts one casually carried around. "You may want to be careful there Ikoma-san, talk like that might make me even more confident."

He paused for a moment before nodding. "Alright then, Ikoma-san, just name the time and place."

Slightly teasing
"Tomorrow evening? I'll wear something casual, you wear something nice. As for the place...hmmmm. Perhaps if the weather is approrpriate you can test out all this camping gear in the xenobotanic gardens?"

That brought an amused smile to his lips. "It's a date then, Ikoma-san."

"Well, if we can consider a meeting between a Lion and Mantis in the gardens a date." He finished with a light chuckle. "Maybe we should classify it as some sort of verbal sparring match?"

"Oh yes, we should do that."
Repressing a smile
"I've never conclusively won a date before, it could be fun."