There's a quiet irony in that Shoan had spent the whole day feeling awkward and out of place, and the one act she doesn't without thought or self consciousness is stripping down, padding into the bathhouse's hot pool and then quietly sighing as she feels the painfully tense muscles in her back start to relax.

It's probably the barracks living.

Mumbling "What a disaster, not knowing about the eyepatch is no excuse. And then the way I treated Asako-san...even if there was dirt on the ground."
The Lion sinks lower into the water until her eyes and nose barely break its surface, as though she was actively trying to disappear from Asakaze altogether.

A relaxing bath after the social requirements seemed like a fine idea, and spending some time at the bath house before it closed for the day seemed like a better choice than the shower back at the Inn.

Undress, remove accessories, store it away. Move to scrubbing and cleansing (make note to pick up one of those herbal soaps for personal use later because it smells good)... and finally, joining the hot pool.

This certainly was better than being on a cruiser.

"Good evening, samurai-san," she said in a curt voice to the other occupant as she put away the neatly folded towel and sank into the pool herself.

A nose and a pair of eyes turn to Hyeon-ju and then the samurai's head partially emerges from the water
"And to you-." She instinctively looks for a mon...rank insignia...anything. This was so much easier when she knew everyone in her company
"...-Samurai-sama?"

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and leaned back, enjoying the pleasant heat of the pool for a quiet moment before she'd respond.

"I'm Utaku Hyeon-ju, hohei of the 7th Sky Rider Wing. A guest here for... the miai." Hyeon-ju looked forward to the time in a couple of days when she wouldn't have to introduce herself all the time. Hopefully by that time she'd gotten to know the most important people worth knowing.

In comparison to the rest of her day....Shoan felt that had gone rather well.
"It's an honour Utaku-sama. I am Shoan of the Murame who serve the Ikoma. I servee as Hohei in the 1st Jade Legion...and I am also here for the miai."
She seems to relax slightly, bushi were more predictable than courtiers by far, and Utaku were a known quanity as far as the Muraume was concerned.

"Hmm... this miai seems to be drawing in visitors from all the clans. I've seen plenty of Crab, Spiders, some Crane, and Lion even a Scorpion..." she hadn't seen any Dragon, but she hadn't met all the guests yet. "Had the honor of speaking to your fellow Lion Matsu Chiyoko earlier today at the meet and greet."

The Utaku seemed approving at least of the Lion. "Seems like the Phoenix invited a lot of bushi here. Interesting, isn't it?"

Rising a little more out of the water so she could actually hold a proper conversation
"I do not know Matsu-Chiyoko-san personally, but I was trained in her family's school, there are few finer samurai."
Hopefully she'd done a better job representing the Clan

"I had thought it was unusual to see so many bushi, even the dojo in the morning was busy. It's my first miai though, so...uh-, not that I'm implying I will attend a second miai, just that I am not fully aware of who usually attends such gatherings."
And she sinks back down a little

She gave a shrug of her naked shoulders. While she didn't have the physique of a Matsu, or a soldier trained by the Matsu, she still seemed very fit and sturdy.

"Beats me, I've never attended a miai before either. I guess I thought it would be more... courtiers and pompeous folks with important bureaucracy positions or something. Not that I mind this though, I much more enjoy speaking with fellow soldiers than aforementioned bureaucrats."

Well, that was good.

Shoan by contrast has the broad shoulders of many Lion, although they are covered in red and black tattoos that seem to stretch from wrist to neck to chest.

"It is easier Utaku-sama, I agree. I was not trained for the courts and sometimes I think...I know I come off as unskilled in such areas. Early today I-" cutting herself off "It has been a long day."

She raised a neat eyebrow, regarding the Murame with silent judgement before speaking. "Did you not say that your family are vassals of the Ikoma? Surely you can't be completely untrained for social interaction?"

She swallows but refuses to sink any lower
"My family are guards of the Ikoma. We live to protect meetings such as this, not participate in them. I would be slandering any other clan's courtiers if I claimed to have their skills despite training as a bushi."

Well... Hyeon-ju wouldn't claim that her clan made sure that all the Moto knew how to behave either. Really, 2000 years or more, and many of them still acted like they hadn't even seen a starship...

"I see... well... consider this a crash course perhaps? You might be needed to learn such, depending on your spouse and where you end up after this miai. Half of us here will be marrying out of our clans, after all."

"...."
Internal screaming. Why hadn't she been focused on that??! Out of the clan?!?!

"Yes, yes you are correct Utaku-sama. I had not given much thought to that."
Images of having to wear a silly veil and weird figure hugging clothes, or having to talk about Daigotsu like he wasn't a monster or worst of all....just being a Mantis in general.

Shoan squares her shoulders

"I will serve any clan or family I find myself in with honour. I have been reading about the duties of a spouse and am familiar with what may be required of me."

She was surprised that Shoan hadn't paid any attention to that. It seemed like the most obvious thing... the clan didn't spend resources sending their samurai on a love vacation to another clan's planet only for them to hook up with eachother instead of strengthening alliances and trade deals with others.

"... Uh... what do you mean reading?" Hyeon-ju had been so lost in her own thoughts for a moment, that the declaration took her by some surprise.

"Matsu Buru's guide to spousery. It sets the standards and expectations of marriage within the Clan."
She supposed it made sense nobody else in the empire had read it, the Clan has spent millenia just trying to get them to read Leaderhsip

"It is a useful guide to the basics: How to negotiate arguments, how to make time for one another, even which kata and styles are most complimentary in a relationship."

Maybe marrying a Lion wouldn't be that great after all, she thought, as that guide sounded absolutely dreadful.

"I'm... sure such a guide is useful for marriage between Lion samurai. I suppose I'm of the opinion that each couple need to figure out how to make things work for them - who will be primary caregiver, who will be the leader in the relationship. Things like that..."

"Oh, that is covered as well. Generally if those matters cannot be negotiated, they are decided by status or in extreme cases, some kind of contest."
Who said Matsu weren't the masters of interpersonal relationships?

"My parents had a memorable contest when I was young as to who would school me at home and who would leave on deployment. Thankfully they agreed to rotate the responsibilities after the second window was broken."

"Is that... a common occurrence within Lion households?"

Lion was certainly being re-evaluated as a whole if that was the case. This Miai-thing was going to be more difficult than she had initially expected.

"I cannot speak for all Lion. I have been told the Akodo have a more long term approach to marriage while some Ikoma are...very open in their relationships. I do not believe there are very many Lion present on the planet Utaku-sama, it would not be hard to gauge their approach to relationships if you wished."

"Hmm..." she sighed. "I am here to find the best possible match for myself, and my clan, so I might just have to do that. Have you spoken to other members of your clan here yet?" she inquired, hoping to save on some of the work.