No one could say that the Otori could not move. Tsugiharu was a bit impressed as just how fast goliath was. Walking to the Lake would have taken hours, but they arrived in a matter of moments it seemed.

He turned back around to see how his companion was faring on her Otori.

With the Otori properly tamed, with something of a bond for Ichika they moved on the easier path, but still kept to pace. Ichika, meanwhile, unaccustomed to it held on tight. Along the ride the occasional laugh could be heard as she might have been jostled around, or what have you.

Once she caught up a bit, the Otori naturally joined by the other. Ichika, meanwhile, caught a breath at the end of a laugh, "This place is amazing Kuchiki-san!" she said, bright eyes glancing around.

"A-are you sure it's safe though?" she asked, looking over with a raised brow. Holding tight onto her bird-like companion.

Around them, iridescent green and blue butterflies fluttered in the air, their antenna thick with hair, resembling more moths than anything else. The air was still, the air humid as the gentle waves washed the shore.

Tsugiharu nodded.

"From what I gathered from our hosts, while there are large predators in the area, they are only active in the coming darker hours. I wouldn't recommend diving into the water and looking for them, but it is a breath-taking view, I'll agree." he offered, dismounting from his own Otori.

He glanced at the butterflies curious about them.

Int?Lore: Nature to identify butterflies: 30

"Oh, okay," she said, distracted as she was by the butterflies. A smile resting on her face as they fluttered around. Glancing off toward the shore, mixing the two, it was a sight she wanted to remember forever..

"My father never really seemed to think that any other world could be as beautiful as home.. or, well, Crane planets. Yet.." she sighed pleasantly, "there is so much beauty here too. Natural, untamed but.." she smiled, and looked down at him. "Well, I'm glad you brought me here Kuchiki-san," she said with a short giggle.

Tsugiharu chuckled a bit.

"I wonder how many generations back we would have to go to find his ancestor that swore nothing could compare to the world they were on when yours was not yet part of the Empire, Doji-san."

He shook his head a bit.

"But I am glad I was able to visit here with you Doji-san. I didn't imagine when I arrived that I would be taking a lovely Crane bird-back riding of all things, but being unexpected enhances the joy, not diminishes it."

"Mmm," she agrees non-verbally. Looking down to him from atop her bird, "Well, I hope I can live up to that praise Kuchiki-san," she said with a smile.

"Do you-" she cut herself short, remembering and furrowing a brow.

"Have my communicator at the ready to snap a picture of you at the lake?" he offered. "I do in fact."

It was a pretty baseline model, but it could snap a picture of the pretty Crane atop her Otori surrounded by the butterflies in front of the lake.

"Oh I-," she paused, the look of recognition played across her face and then she smiled brightly. Shifting, "Not too close though, yea?" she said with a little laugh. Shifting atop the Otori she looked around for the best spot to dismount and then started shifting herself toward getting down.

"As nice as your nose is, Doji-san, I will do my best to capture more than just it." he said with a little bit of a light tease.

The butterflies were flocking fairly close to the Otori, but Tsugiharu managed to snap a picture of Ichikia when one of them alighted on her briefly.

Dropping down from the Otori she turned around as Tsugiharu started speaking. Ichika, wising up, smiled. Just as she was about to say something she noticed Tsugiharu bringing up the holo-recorder and held still for a moment. When the picture was snapped she giggled into her hand, glancing around just in time to see the butterfly fly off.

"A regular artist, Kuchiki-san," she laughed again. "Is it a hobby of yours normally, photography?" she asked, raising a brow.

Tsugiharu shook his head.

"No, I mean there is some amount of recording done with my research, but I don't do much outside of that." he demurred.

And he really doubted she wanted to see pictures of victims of biological warfare.

"But I heard a professional photographer say once, 'The real secret to taking a perfect photograph is to point the lens at the subject and press the button.'"

Ichika chuckled into her hand, "Is that all, Kuchiki-san?" she asked, tilting her head to the right.

Tsugiharu nods.

"It's just the way of monks really. Simple words, simple truths and all that." he said.

"So, shall we walk around a bit?"

"Mmm, I can see that. Yea! Let's take a little walk," she said with a little smile. Walking up to properly join Tsugiharu's side. While the wilderness wasn't quite something she was used to, not at all, she found herself stepping at least one step closer for the sake of some form of safety.

"How have you been since we last spoke, Kuchiki-san? Hopefully well, yea?" she smiled again, looking to him as they surely started to walk.

Tsugiharu chuckles a bit.

"Well, yes, Doji-san, although we haven't been seperated by a grand gulf of time." he said, walking along side her. "Otori riding went well for the both of us, and I sent you my picture of my attempt at xeno-ikebana."

He shook his head a bit.

"Curious that the Phoenix included some plants in that competition that were...risky."

With the gentle winds blowing from the inland, the two samurai find themselves riding through gusts of fungal spores, the fine yellow dust like substance clinging to cloth and skin, the otori seemingly nervous, huffing aggressively as they kept looking towards the treeline.

Tsugiharu frowned at the sudden change in behavior the yellow dust caused in the Otori.

"Doji-san...let's had back to the treeline as it were. I'm not one to ignore the advice of the locals as it were, I'm going to trust Goliath's opinion that we don't want to be out in this." he said, letting his Otori lead back to the treeline.

"Mmm," she vocalized, deciding that all this.. sticking business it was better maybe not to open her mouth to speak if she didn't have to. Looking to Tsugiharu she trusted his lead.

And Tsugiharu trusted his Otori's lead, so back to the city the pair rode swiftly.

/scene!