Izumi reached the mushroom.

Wrong mushroom.

"Crapcakes. Dasshuthatonenotthisone!!!!"

Unfortunately someone had decided to make the Kitsune deficient in the spell Ring that had the talk to animals spell so he only spoke hyperfastbullettrainfox and not birb.

Dasshu went the wrong way again.

Stray and Kurikoo and Shion dash by as Mumei pets Hiroki, letting her snack.

As the Fox dashes back by in the other direction though, she laughs and mounts back up. "Let's go play birdherd, kiddo."

They trot after the erratic pair, trying to cut them off and head them the other way. "Not that giant-giant mushroom, Kitsune-san! THAT, giant-giant mushroom!"

Any peasants farming nearby are surely shaking their heads at these antics.

It seemed Otori had a herding instinct as Dasshu turns to run alongside Hiroki.

"Gettingthehangofthiswon'ttaketoolong!"

He shouted as the wind ruffled his hair. Gotta hope he realised he couldn't take Dasshu and a dozen friends home with him.

Mumei laughs gleefully as they run, stretching out along the bird's neck. "We all are! Need to ride these in the forest!"

"Ujina-sanisgonnawin! YoucancatchhimDasshu!!!!!"

Somehow Izumi did something right and Dasshu sped in the right direction with a loud 'KWEH!!!!'.

Seeing the Ujina take the front - and the right way - and Izumi somehow actually maneuvering Dasshu (or maybe being maneuvered by it? it wasn't so clear...), Shion managed to convince Kurikoo to run to the right direction as well, and made her best effort to get closer to them "Come one, birdie, you can do it! Come Stray, come!"

When going through the Nakauchi, she says a "Ganbatte" to her as she nods to her suggestion. "We really should try and ride through the forest with them one of these days! Should be plenty to explore and record there too, ne?"

Mumei encourages Hiroki, but...well, her lack of real competitive spirit is likely to see her finishing this miai in the same place she started it, so it's no surprise that she she lags in the race. She nods "recording these beauties would be lovely, I think. I wonder what they'll do if they see wild cousins?"

"Oh, I wonder! That makes me think too... we've heard some of their calls, but... do they sing? And... maybe if they do meet wild ones they might give other calls we haven't heard yet?"

Mumei's words clearly take some of the focus off Shion, and it seems the race itself will be decided between the Ujina and Kitsune...

Now if speech speed is any indication of riding speed, the race should have a clear winner, Shion thinks, laughing to herself a bit.

"I bet some of the Otori caretakers know too. Definitely worth looking into." She strokes Hiroki's shining feathers. "Do you sing, pretty bird?"

She glances at the race ahead, and grins. "If Kitsune-san had better control, I think all bets would be on him, wouldn't they?" she shouts. "I think it'll be close."

Izumi was definitely more enthusiasm than skill. Dasshu practically zig zagged once he got in to the lead of the small flock. Jin was still ahead, as the Ujina seemed to actually know what he was doing.

Still, it would close.

Jin sat straight and gleefully looked back....only to see Izumi at his tail.

"KITSUNE-SAMA?! YOU WERE AT THE OTHER MUSHROOM A MINUTE AGO?! WHEN DID YOU?" It seemd the Foxeh that could was in the race.

Soon, the pair were head to head...who would win? Who would lose?

Lack of control was his downfall. Dasshu zigged when he should have zagged, giving the Hare the opportunity to take the win.

"ACK!!! Wrongway!Wrongway!"

Aaaaaaand Jin arrived at the giant giant mushroom.

"Yeah!" He yelled out loud to the world to hear. Or those nearby.

"That was fun minnasama!"

Mumei rises up and cheers as they near the finish. "Woooo! Nice job Ujina-san!"

"If we had Otori for all hands meetings shipboard, I would pay so much more attention."

Dasshu finally stopped dashing.

"WeshouldfindthemsomewaternowIthink."

Izumi was even harder to understand when bouncing on an Otori. But water was in there.

"I know I could use some." She looks around for an irrigation ditch. "Though I'm not sure if the open water here is safe for us. Probably fine for the birds."

"Anyonegotapurificationkitwiththem?"

Not that it really mattered. Izumi was more concerned about watering the Otori and not the samurai.

"nope. But I doubt they need one." Spotting a glint of water she steers in its direction. "I hope they know enough to not eat stuff that would make them sick. Unlike certain monkeys we know."

Izumi nudged Dasshu to follow, at a more sedate pace.

"Havetofindoutwhatcountsasatreatforthem. Likeapplesforhorses."

Treats? "different mushrooms, maybe?"