"Not the back of your neck, the line of you neck." He raised a hand to trace the area from her jawbone to her shoulder, though he didn't get close enough to risk touching. "It;'s got a certain elegance to it?"

"I see... and I never would of suspected, as things are quite different in Mantis lands. Tattoo's are something many of us get, and often have a meaning. Showing them off is pretty common, and the best artists can charge an exorbitant fee."

“Your own jawbone is not unattractive. Perhaps one day we will compare them?”
Whatever that meant....

“Well.... Mantis customs are... different. It is nice to know I would not be considered a thug there because of my appearance. I should like to be considered a thug on my own merits.”

"Perhaps?" Whatever that meant.

"Well, I should probably say that most of the empire think of the Mantis as thugs whether they tattoos or not." He flashed a smile. "It is nice to be judged by your actions and not your appearance though."

“Indeed. I had another samurai speak to me on the same subject earlier... although rather than thugs his concern was ‘traitorous subhumans’ which I suppose is a much worse moniker. Of course, sometimes someone’s experience can tell you a lot about who they are....”

He blinked. "Wait, someone was calling the Mantis traitorous subhumans?" His eyes hardened slightly. "Could I ask you who?"

“Oh no. No it was a spider who was concerned... please do not go and shoot anyone needlessly.”

"Ah..." He paused and frowned for a moment, beforr taking a deep calming breath. "As much as I would like to shoot all my problems Ikoma-san."

"It's not usually my initial reaction." He finished, a bit of teasing to his tone.

Approvingly “A samurai should never flinch from defending their clan’s honour. Whether that involves shooting or not is a case by case matter..... uh, sorry for implying something like that...”

He chuckled at that. "Don't worry about it." He let out a soft sigh.

"You've probably know me well enough at this point to realize that shooting things is all I'm really good at. So it's not surprising thats your first reaction."

“Really?”
An eyebrow arches masterfully.
“I think you sell yourself short, unless this is some way of arguing that modesty is one of your greatest talents in which case... bravo. If all you do well is shoot then I don’t even have that.”

That caused him to pause. "Apologies Ikoma-san, I didn't mean to belittle your own skill." He offered after a moment.

"It's just..." He frowned for a moment. "A insecurity of mine I suppose you could say... I've never had as much success with anything else as I have had with shooting."

"Perhaps? But does a master artist consider himself a failure because his greatest talent by far is painting? Does he worry that he must solve all the problems of his life by the stroke of a brush because it is his only great talent? We all have lots of little talents Tsuruchi-san."

Now her turn to tease
"I for instance am quite talented at following orders, waiting around and reciting my talents."

"Are you?" His own smile was teasing. "I think i recall having to ask a few times before you revealed your own talents."

He sjook his head a half smile on his lips. "But thank you for reminding me, Ikoma-san. I am fairly certain I told you words that were at least a little similar on our first meeting.
"

"Repetition is the best way to learn, Tsuruchi-san. And, to be fair, you are an excellent shot."
Shoan seems content to spend some more time wandering the garden alongside Hayato, although ocassionally she does peer around when she thinks he's not watching, trying to spot where he'd dropp all the supplies.

He didn't fail to notice the looks, and it wasn't like he had hidden the spot. So in short order they arrived. It was a bit tucked away from the majority of the garden, a small clearing you gained access to by crossing another.

There was a tarp spread out, its dark green visible under the beige if the blanket. The grey cooler they purchased the day before also evident. There was also a small sealed bag, though steamed no longer wafted from the edges.

"Thank you, Ikoma-san." He offered as they entered the ckearing. "You're an excellent hunter. Honesty out it as bad luck neithet of us placed yesterday."

She twitches her nose
"My senses are sharp as a blade when dinner is concerned."
sniff sniff sniff
"And I think you're quite correct, it was just sheer bad luck.....or possibly the skill of our opponents. Although it's hard to imagine any of them choosing such perfect camping gear as I see before me."

"I suppose I'll have to keep that in mind in the future. Perhaps have you find the location of the meal by smell alone?

Her latter comment brought a small smile to his lips. "I don't any of them treat camping as more then just a past time. It's no surprise they can't compete."

Sniff sniff sniff
"Well, that and you leading me here, that was the last piece of my hunting puzzle."
Eyebrow waggle

"They're missing out, without camping how will they eat and sit outdoors in new and exciting areas?"

She was most definitely hungry, so he gestured towards the tarp. "Well you have brought is here now, so why don't you take a seat and ill get everything together."

"With picnics maybe?"" He offered after a moment of thought. "It's nowhere near as exciting mind you, but I've heard its popular."

"Picnics are alright, I suppose. But not only is 'camping' more fun to say, it conjures more...active images. When you go camping you're doing something. When you 'go picnicking'....well you ate food."

Shoan plonks down on the cloth and draws her legs up under her as she tries to work out what was in the bag? Otori? Everyone on the planet seemed to like eating Otori.