“Yes, I thought I’d managed to name the issue. Hmmmm.”
She rubs her chin slowly, gears slowly turning in the Murame’s head.

“Perhaps you could send them an anonymous letter? Something traditional and with poetry. That way you can see if your interest is reciprocated without fear of rejection?”

"Ignoring the fact that I can barely write poems, how would I know what their thoughts are?"

“Everyone can write a poem, just.... say what you mean, but flowery. And their thoughts are easy. You post up a letter with a pseudonym, perhaps ‘Still water on moonlit night’ addressed to them. And if they want to respond they will post a public letter back to your pseudonym. It’s the traditional method of flirting at winter courts.”

Nozomi fidgeted with her glasses. "I don't know. I can't write a good poem. I think anyone could find out that it's me."

Firmly”You think too little of yourself, far too little. You are a lion, not a mouse. You are a priestess, not some weak willed merchant.”
Okay, maybe a little too strong.
“If you wish, I can assist on the poetry if quality and identity are issues. I see you have many fine qualities, it is simply a matter of highlighting them.”

The Kitsu froze there, like a deer in headlights, as Shoan made her speech. She did a bit of a stretch and started to run again. Not super fast, like she was fleeing, but she it served as a good distraction. "Ah, well, maybe. I don't know!"

“You cannot run away from your problems!”
Shoan hurries to catch up
“Okay, well technically and literally you can. But you should not! You really should only run for fitness and when it’s a tactical necessity.”

"I certainly can't outrun you," Nozomi said in-between breaths. She slowed down her pace and looked away. "We still have like half the miai left to figure out who to marry anyways."

“Well, I run a lot and am very stubborn. Perhaps it’s a dangerous combo.”
Shoan nods, opening her mouth and then pausing
“.... you’re right. There’s still a few days left. It’s not as though most samurai have paired already, there is time.”
The Murame looks like they want to continue but instead she quietly folds her On back to its usual passivity, only the slightest beetling of the brows signifying any concerns.

"Yeah. Half a miai left," Nozomi said, copying a thumbs-up and big smile expression she had seen from some Unicorn piece of media before. "That was weird, I'm sorry. At least it was weird for me."

“Think nothing of it, miai are a little weird by nature and it’s normal to be... tense.”
Shoan frowns slightly before shooting a hesitant finger gun at the thumbs up.

“We will simply focus on training you until you really can run away from me. It seems like a good incentive.”

"Yes. Tense is a good word for it," Nozomi enthused with both her words and nodding her head. "But, uh, sure! I suppose I can continue running."

“Good”
Was Shoan smirking slightly?

“We only have a few more blocks to go before we need to circle back. We can do sprints on the hills.”

((Good to fade to running there? ))

"Sprints on the hills? Oh no," Nozomi murmured. She took a few deep breaths and looked around for any distraction.

There did not seem to be any such distraction.

/Fade to Black... But not in that way