She chuckles. "hmm, you're going to have to tell me if you find some useful battlefield parallels here, but I've danced with an Akodo or two, they're no better dancers than anyone else." After a pause. "one was...significantly worse given the amount she had to drink just to get on the floor." She shakes her head. "I never understood that. Why dance if there's no pleasure to it?"

"And I'll be backleading here, which ought to offer some clues to the reverse if you like...or just relax and don't worry about it." The Nakauchi is nowhere near as warm as she ought to be after this much time on the floor, so her hand is cool in Shoan's. She looks up at her as the music transitions, taking a few measures to just lightly sway/bounce with the new beat. "Ready? Here we go..." And those connection points pull them together into movement on the new, faster rhythm. A few pattern steps to get the feel and then they are pivoting around a center of gravity that is very nearly directly between the larger woman's feet, ceding the center to another couple, pleased to show off their skills.

"Ah, that does seem....unwise. I am sure Akodo-san just wanted to please you, if if dancing was perhaps not her thing."

Shoan wasn't sure what backleading was, but she was learning quickly as the two start swirlingfaster and faster into the new rythmn.

"Is there any beat you can't dance to? I feel like anything come could on and you'd be able to coax me into it."

"She read wrong if that's the case. I'm pleased by passion. I want to see the intensity in someone's eyes when they get to do something that taps against the fire of their heart." She swings into a gentle dip as they spin, knowing she could shift the balance just a bit and the speed and probably get some real air under her feet with a partner this tall and strong. Not yet.

She laughs at the question, "There's a trick to that, in that there are only a handful of common beats, and a double handful if you toss in the uncommon. Now the rare offer infinities, but if you know the others, you'll probably find a way to meet it on its own terms."

"Well, I'm rarely one for displaying passion, but perhaps if you look closely......"

Shoan's become confident enough that she hasn't gazed down at her feet in minutes, not once.
"You know Nakauchi-san....you make dancing sound much more alive than my classes as a child. Perhaps if someone explained to me it was merely knowing the beats and tapping into your fire....well, somehow I do not think I would have made a dancer, but it would have made the dojo formal more interesting."

"That's not unusual. Most samurai are not particularly expressive." Which actually brings up an odd point that has only just occurred to the osprey. "Aren't the Ikoma the Lion family that's normally all about expression? That's a story, isn't it?" Pressure pulling against Shoan's shoulder adjusts their path to avoid running into a rather random individual dancer. She trusts the Lion to avoid ramming them into anyone in her direct line of sight, while Mumei keeps track of the rest.

"Yeah, those classes take all the joy from it. I'll admit, that second part is easier with some technique drilled in, at least for me. But..." she shrugs expressively, adding a bit of swoop to the spin. "Kitsune-san seemed to be having a blast simply careening around the floor the other night, so it's not strictly necessary."

"You are not wrong Nakauchi-san."
Shoan avoids other dancers a little differently, first a death stare and then if they insist, a rising aura of danger that tends to ensure the two some small space on the dance floor

"The Ikoma grieve and laugh and cry out so the rest of the Clan does not have to. Ikoma himself was a..."
Her eyebrows draw down slightly in a frown, a waiter 5 meters away assumes it's directed at him and nearly dives for cover
"...great man, but complicated. His family embraces some of that complication."
The Lion's face returns to its usual neutral On as she looks down at Mumei
"Ah, or are you asking why this particular Ikoma is not so expressive?"
One of her lips twitches, very expressive indeed
"While an Ikoma bard might go to a distant court and tell a story with tears in their eyes, my family stands respectfully behind them to ensure their safety and security. Sometimes if situations escalate there is crying, but it is rarely from a Murame on such occasions."

Cocking her head at that last part
"At least his passion is...pure? Dancing just to dance, not to impress anyone or from a feeling of obligation? It is impressive in its own way."

"Pure?" She nods, "yes that's a good description. It's a joy to watch, honestly."

The aura of menace is not lost on the Osprey. She's standing next to this woman if they're ever in a mosh pit together and she'll be completely immune to trample effects. "That...explains a great deal, Murame-sama. Thank you."

"Are there passions that you pursue with no sense of obligation? Perhaps not with Kitsune-san's abandon, but...freely?" She brings them near the edge of the floor, where the swing of her braid is unlikely to smack anyone in the eye.

"Freely? Hmmmm."
Probably a less energised Shoan might have responded with 'well obviously I do nothing without a sense of obligation to my Clan, I am an honour robot, beep boop'. But with her heart thumping along merrily and the dopamine going...

"Travel, bushido, verbal repartee and...arcade games? Sometimes even other samurai, only when appropriate though."

Now that they're on the edge of the floor Shoan is able to look back and appreciate all the movement and energy that the two had been immersed in. It looked like chaos but....everyone was in tune, somehow.

"Other..." Mumei looks shocked, not so much at the admission, but the fact that Shoan had made it, and her shoulders shake with silent laughter. "Well, I imagine that's appropriate here, neh?"

"That's right though..meant to ask which video game did you get to take home...well 'home'? That was the prize the other night, right? Are you rooming at the Wisteria? Because that would be tough to fit in those little rooms." She slows their spin, sticking to a basic groove as they focus on the conversation.

Drily "I do hope it is appropriate or I have a pretty long round of apologies to embark on. I suspect honesty is the best approach....I suppose I will not know if that is the case until the miai is concluded."

Slooooowing groooove
"I collected a Bassui Pro Baseball Striker cabinet, it seemed fitting given it was the game I was luckiest on. I am at the Wisteria and it has been....tight. Last night I woke up pressed up against the thing, but I will not countenance selling an ancestral arcade cabinet."

Mumei laughs, letting go of Shoan's hand to swing outward, hinging on the hold and pressure of palms near shoulder blades, for a side by side advance that lets each find some individual expression around that connection. "It's a tough prize to take home. I guess you could gift it to someone deserving and able to take care of it if it's not possible to transport. But that's such a fun thing to have from this whole event."

Sobering slightly in demeanor, she lets out a slow breath. "Yeah...we'll all know when it's over. I'm mostly trying not to think about it too hard since it's not my decision to make, you know?"

Individual expression? Shoan looks like she's doing some impossible standing version of the worm
"I will get it home, wherever my home will be. I hope one day my children will be-" Deadpanning the game's voice announcement 'Number one!'."

Mumei's slight change of tone gets a quiet look over from the Lion
"Forgive me Nakauchi-san, but I do not whole agree. You're not some item to be collected, you live, you breathe, you dance. If someone unsuitable pursues you, let them know, directly if necessary. Likewise...."
She trails off for a few moments losing focus and missing a few beats
"....If you have met someone you have a connection with, a high flying sky rider or the like that....is worth pursuing. You might have to look to another to select you, but you can tell them to do so."
Cocking her head
"I certainly intend to, if it comes to it."

There's a short laugh at Shoan's impression of the cabinet. "I'm sure your children will treasure the ancestral cabinet, and the stories behind it."

"As to building those stories here? I can, hopefully, affect those who might chose me, but the choosing won't be in my own hands." Her shrug does not much affect the hand pressed against the Lion's should blade. "And those for whom I am a...shugenja, a Navigator to be, a piece on the board, are not necessarily going to be dissuaded by any words of mine."

That example though...she finds herself on the wrong foot and double steps a correction before swinging back around into that face to face hold. "That's an oddly specific example, Murame-sama." She keeps her tone light, even a bit teasing. "One of those passions you're pursuing?"
______
I will forever treasure the image of Shoan doing a standing version of the worm. ^^

With a certain honest firmness "It is not appropriate for a priestess to be treated in such a way. If someone attempts to, any honourable samurai should be....direct with them."

As for Mumei's doublestop, well, Shoan probably doesn't even notice as she lowers her voice so as not to be barking in the Osprey's face.
"It is specific to a certain aviator wearing and nicely biceped Shinjo samurai."
A quick glance away
"He is...not unpleasant."
Looking back with a twinkle in her eyes
"Did he take you up on a 'sky date', Nakauchi-san? "

There is little point in hiding it, she can't keep a nervous smile from her lips anyway. "Ha...not by that name, but, yes." She takes a breath, let's it out with some force. "not unpleasant at all, no. Well...other than the giant lizard at the end there.*"

Her hand at Shoan's shoulder remains entirely professional, despite a rueful cast to the Osprey's smile. "You, as well?" That's what a miai is for. That's how it works.

There's an honest gratefulness in her tone as she adds, "thank you for reminding me of the dignity my position is due, minor clan or no. It is helpful to hear from a member of the Lion in particular."

_______
*I mean, I'm probably not a ghost?

((If you are, the scene becomes that much more hilarious . crazed Lion mime dances around the club! ))

"A giant lizard?" playfully "He did not provide me with a giant lizard, I am disappointed. But yes, me as well. He's very charming isn't he? Good looking too, easily confident, from a good family."

A rueful sigh
"You two would make a good match."
She gives the Osprey's gentle shoulder at the mention of the dignity of position.

She nods once, pacing their turns to the slowing tempo of a tune winding down. "I am surprised at how good," she says softly. "the way his eyes shine when he's flying," she shakes her head.

"It's hardly fair that he didn't find some deadly wildlife to show you, though." she chuckles. "This planet has enough to pick from."

"Pretty sure you'd be a fine match too, since he sounds like a heck of a warrior and honorable as well." She steps apart with a deep bow in the pause between tunes.

"I...think I could use another drink..perhaps less bittersweet* than the last."

_______

*ok the purpose of that drink just now dawned on me XD

(( ))

Shoan bows back respectfully.

"It is....complicated when there are so many potential partners. Perhaps another drink could be of use, if you would like me to remain. "

"I remain happy for your company, Murame-sama, if you wish to stay." She was hoping this would not become a two refusals and an acceptance kind of thing, so she says, "And if so, grab a table, I will grab drinks," and heads to bar to argue for two cups of plain, chilled shochu to bring over to whatever table is chosen.

She is very confident that she'll have no trouble spotting Shoan.

__
OK, I feel like I criminally undersold the deadly lizard encounter to Shoan now. XD Mumei also did not have nearly enough to drink at the start of this thread...saving zeni for non-shredded clothing, I guess.

"I remain happy for your company, Murame-sama, if you wish to stay." She was hoping this would not become a two refusals and an acceptance kind of thing, so she says, "And if so, grab a table, I will grab drinks," and heads to bar to argue for two cups of plain, chilled shochu to bring over to whatever table is chosen.

She is very confident that she'll have no trouble spotting Shoan.

__
OK, I feel like I criminally undersold the deadly lizard encounter to Shoan now. XD Mumei also did not have nearly enough to drink at the start of this thread...saving zeni for non-shredded clothing, I guess.[/quote]

(( Mumei is just that cool. "Yeah, my tights got shredded on a date today by a dinosaur, my partner nearly died. Anyway, wanna dance?"))

Shoan opens her mouth to begin refusing...and then the Osprey is already gone, clever girl.

It doesn't take the Lion long to find a stool to perch on as she waits. One or two other patrons try to make conversation with her but get absolutely nowhere and quickly search for less glary pastures.