"Yeah, I'm gonna need all the help I can get," she nodded towards Akihiko. "I don't know what I should even be looking for, let alone what I should do to get someone interested. So don't feel your opinions don't matter or are uncalled for."

The Lion gunso's face goes from relief to befuddlement. After a moment, he finds his words. "Wait, you don't... Not sure how to get someone interested? I..." He tries to choose his words very carefully. "I'm surprised to hear that. My experience with beautiful daughters of the Lion Clan is that they don't struggle to gain attention. But if I can be helpful, ensuring it's the right kind of attention, of course I am here to help." His concluding words seem more confident than those that came before.

Nailed it? Maybe.

"I haven't heard much of anything about the Phoenix or Scorpion attendees. Perhaps we need to make a point of engaging with them? Trusting a Scorpion may be asking too much, but we should at least give fair consideration to our..." Akihiko pauses, desperately searching for an honest but courteous adjective. "Our hosts, the Phoenix."

Nozomi eyed the Akodo during his speech. She sheepishly looked around the establishment, wondering if anyone else was listening in on the conversation.

She closed her eyes and sighed. Then, she put her pleasant demeanor back on. "There's little to be gained from our hosts, unfortunately. We'd be giving them much more.

"In fact, it might be better for us to marry each other instead. Certainly in the case of the Spider, at least."

The Matsu leaned forward, head tilted curiously at the Kitsu. “Oh?” Hide rose a brow at that comment. “Oh? Got any preferences here, Kitsu-san?”

"I hardly see how that is relevant," she murmured. She cleared her throat before continuing. "It isn't what I'd prefer. After all, there are many potential marriages that would be of a benefit to the Lion. Just, if the stars were somehow to force a marriage to either a Spider or one of you..."

Shoan prepares a memo for the next meeting.

"We cannot all marry Kitsu Nozmi-san"

That should solve things

"I have only met one scorpion so far, they were...eccentric. But I can attempt to reach out to some others, they at least understand the concept of honour, even if they choose not to embrace it."
Which honestly might be worse.

"I've... been in proximity to one of the Scorpion, and I would say eccentric is accurate," Chiyoko nodded her agreement. "Oh. I do have an agreement to fly in an ornithopter with Utaku-san and some others." She tapped her chin a moment. "I'll try to learn more about her during that."

"Oh, yes, I met one. I barely got an impression of him," Nozomi admitted. She shut her eyes and sighed. "Their clan has useful ties. But there are... qualms that I have with their choices."

Akihiko rolls with the eclectic collection of Lions seated at the table, trying to nod approvingly and otherwise encourage them as they move on a more focused path.

"Hai, the Scorpion are quite troublesome. As different from us as the Crane, but without even a facade of honor."

"At a clan level, the Crab and Unicorn are our best, or at least safest, targets. But of course, individual matches in those or other clans may be better or worse, and I hope we can continue to support each other to all do our best for our clan."

"Akodo-sama is wise."
Remembering the burdens of command

"Akodo-sama, is there a samurai you believe would be a good match for you? With your rank I feel as though we should work particularly hard to find a match."
Please by all the fortunes do not let him say he likes the Kitsu.

"Ah, thank you, Murame-san, for asking," he says, clearly uncomfortable, but not trying to hide the discomfort and so perhaps more at ease than before. "I have clearly not done as well as the rest of you in meeting our fellow attendees. I have had nice conversations with two bushi of different clans..." He swallows hard--so much for being at ease. "It's too soon, right? think it's too early." Akihiko looks around the table to see if anyone was convinced. Four dead-eyed stares tell him he has won no one.

Except Hide. Who was very much too easy to convince. “Oh! I guess you’re right. It is kinda early. I’m sure you’ll get quality results, Akodo-sama. Just gotta put yourself out there.”

She then proceeded to flash him a thumbs up. “Show ‘em all what a Lion’s made of!”

"The Unicorn seem to have earned our favor thus far," Nozomi commented as she looked back at the lists.

"It is very early indeed. I wanted to account for the possibility of someone already choosing someone." She winked. "It wouldn't do for us to compete among ourselves."

Idly "Shinjo Yul-san is quite interesting."
Shoan busies herself with straightening the cutlery at her setting.

"I'd be impressed if someone was already set after a day and a half," Chiyoko blinked. "I don't think that's enough time to get to know someone."

Akihiko notices Shoan's behavior, perhaps because he also looks uncomfortable in a similar way.

He smiles, squishing down his own anxiety, and tries to be helpful: "Ah, I haven't met Shinjo Yul-san myself. What experiences have others had with him?"