Sloan would have a few minutes to practice before she was joined by Yul. The young man was casually dressed in his non-formal uniform, Unicorn colors obvious. He paused at the entrance a moment, giving a quick bow, his eyebrows going up in mild surprise as he studied the surroundings.

His head swiveled as he spotted the Lion. "Oh. Hello." He said, smiling casually. "Wasn't sure I'd find anyone else here, but there's always one or two, huh?" He gave a bow, as casual as his smile. "Shinjo Yul. Don't let me get in your way. I'm just here to do a few exercises." His daisho and sidearm were on a Unicorn-style gun belt; he began the slightly onerous process of putting all his gear on the nearby rack.

"Shoan of the Murame who serve the Ikoma."
She returns his bow politely more rigid in style, the Lion a touch more reserved as she runs her eyes over the Unicorn.

"One or two good samurai is enough. Akodo-kami taught that a samurai should either be training or serving at all times, and that included mornings."
Satisfied, she nods sharply, as though welcoming Yul into the prestigious 'good samurai' group

"You are here for the miai?"
Not one too waste time, the Lion continues her simple kata as she speaks, practicing an overhead strike with her blade over and over and over again, seeming to find some small fault in each swing.

"Murame-san." Yul blinked in mild surprise at the unfamiliar name, but it was gone in a moment. He nodded at her words, acknowledging without comment; one didn't really comment on Akodo-kami's words to a Lion.

He smiled casually. "Sure am. It's funny, huh, the miai?" Yul shrugged, as he stepped to his own section of the dojo; close enough to talk, but a respectful distance.

Now divested of all his weaponry, Yul began a stretching routine, legs and arms both. "I'm guessing you're here for the miai too. What do you think so far?" He gave her another casual smile, but this one had a curious look attached to it.

Slight frown
"HIA!"
More repetition of strikes

"I am not sure how it is humorous Shinjo-san, although I have been told that perhaps I have a slightly different grasp of what is amusing. For example, corduroy, that is hilarious."

Finally the Lion seems satisfied with her strike and she lowers her blade to a resting position as she sucks in a few deep breaths as her vibrant red tattoos peak out from beneath the Gi
"As for how it the miai is progressing thus far, I would say it is....adequate. I would not want to insult our guests by saying otherwise, even though....."
Another frown
"...Shinjo-san, are you sharing rooms with other participants?"

Yul's forehead creased. "No, not funny like... funny-strange, is what I mean. You know. It's a miai! Find who you're going to marry! I feel like I'm in the biggest dogfight of my life." One hand came up, miming at pulling a stick, guiding a fighter into a tight turn...

Eyebrows went up again at the tattoos, but vanished as Yul bent, reaching for his toes. "Uh... yeah." He grunted. "A few. Haven't had a chance to talk with them yet. Didn't see them when I got in, and everyone was asleep when I got up."

He straightened. "How are yours?"

Dryly
"A spider who I believe is some kind of....child actress. A Moto musician and a scorpion with a position so honorable I find it suspect. I did not think my reputation had become quite so poor as for our hosts to believe I would fit in with such a group."

Turning to face Yul and finding herself talking to the top of his head for a few moments
"You are right, it is all very strange indeed. The thought of marrying one of them....is strange, yes."

"Huh." Yul paused, hands on his hips. His stretching routine was pretty energetic; his breathing was already a little quicker than usual. "Sounds like an interesting bunch." He frowned. "Spider, huh? I wonder how many of those will be here."

He shrugged, as he began twisting back and forth. "Moto are alright, though. Honorable, just different. Loud." He flashed Shoan a quick grin. "Was it Ganbold? I met him on the transport in. Good guy, obviously seem a lot of action."

Yul sighed. "I wonder who I've got. Hopefully they'll be alright."

Honourable 'and' different? It sounded very dishonourable!
"I believe they are Moto Ruhe?" Shoan isn't quite sure if she's getting the name right

"I would prefer less Spider, rather than more. The thought of being married to one." There's no shudder, but some of the hair on her arms does stand up slightly
"Hopefully there are many honourable samurai, maybe you have a selection of Crane samurai in your room? Or even Phoenix?"
Her tones implies that even that is scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Yul frowned a moment, then shook his head. "Nope. Never heard of him."

Stretches complete, Yul went into his exercises, which seemed to be fitness oriented rather than weapon oriented, starting with some lunges. "Yeah..." He grunted. "I mean, don't know if you follow, but Unicorn and Spider aren't exactly best buds right now." A few more grunts as he exercised, although he seemed to be keeping it pretty light.

He shrugged. "Maybe. I met a few on the way in. Two Crane and a Phoenix. Poor Phoenix was space sick." He chuckled, shaking his head, even as he continued to work out. "You'd prefer to end up with one of those?"

She back shrugs slightly, beginning another three strike kata that seemed more focused on warding off attackers than actually inflicting damage. Each time her repetition ends Shoan returns to the exact same spot on the floor to begin again.

"I think I know who I don't want to end up with...but not who I want to end up with. My parents married early and-" Strike!Strike!Strike
"-It was hard for them, a child makes assignments that much more difficult. Do you have an opinion?....Not on my parents, but on a possible partner?"

Yul watched with an interested, practiced eye, as Shoan performed her strikes.

"Huh..." Yul frowned, considering her words. After a moment, he shook his head. "What? Me? No." He chuckled softly as he changed exercises. "I mean, not yet. I know what my Clan doesn't want. I think I want to take my time."

He smiled. "In a dogfight, you have to make decisions fast, or you're dead. I think a miai doesn't work quite the same way."

"It might though, Shinjo-san. Maneuvering rapidly for perspective, adapting on the fly, choosing a target and then homing in on their rear."
Shoan pauses for a moment
"Uh, anyway, yes, lots of parallels there I think. But I am glad that there are other samurai in the same position as me, thank you for your candor."

Yul paused. Slowly he turned, giving Shoan a raised eyebrow. "I guess so. Although I usually target the front." He said blandly. "Head to head, I mean. But yeah, I've used the dogfight comparison myself. The main difference is we get weeks instead of minutes."

He grinned. "You know much about flying, Murame-san? I figured you for infantry." He nodded at the sword in her hands.

Shoan is a good samurai and where she suspects innuendo, bushido instructs her to believe there is none. Shinjo-san was clearly just a brave and unorthodox pilot.

"Oh,uh- I did not mean to lecture you on your own discipline Shinjo-san. I've flown frequently but never as a pilot. I am...was a ground pounder, samurai like yourself were always far off overhead."
Some what self consciously she looks at her own blade too

Yul waved a hand. "No, that's fine. It's not the most common technique. But if you can accurately hit from a longer range than the enemy..." He smirked. "I'm a pretty good shot."

"Yeah? I've escorted transports. Carrier duty, too." Yul frowned. "What do you mean 'was', though?"

"I have recently been reassigned to the Jade Legion. As far as I can tell, nobody in my family has held such a position before."
Her neutral tone makes it hard to tell if that's a boast or a concern

"So my duties will be quite different in the future."

"Oh. That's quite a prestigious posting. Uh... congratulations?" Yul frowned, his forehead creasing again. The congratulations were half a question; she didn't sound that excited about it. Maybe it was a Lion thing.

Brushing his hands off, Yul lowered himself to the ground, then pushed himself into a plank position. "So... you've got a lot going on, huh? New posting, and the miai? Big changes." He grunted, strain audible in his voice, as he held himself off the ground.

"Yes, I suppose I may be married and then redeployed within the month."
Carefully setting her blade back on its stand, Shoan lowers herself into a similar planking position, facing Yul. An implied challenge? Or maybe just feeling awkward?

A little tightness in her voice"Big, changes....although I suppose I might be required to remain home for a period and raise children."
Shoan's cheek twitches and she holds her whole body rigid, working to maintain a perfect position.

The Lion's doubt gets the better of her as after a short time she winces and sits back on her heels, her core muscles complaining mightily

Day 1, contested stamina fluff roll 1: 3d10o10k3 9