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| Raga Shrine-Crusher | It's a cool day in Great Forks, and once again the nascent House of Might has taken to looking for instruction from its independently minded leader Raga Shrine-Crusher. In the middle of this particular training session, however, it seems her students have advanced enough to start a sparring session... Of three on one. Raga is easily holding her own as she reads through a book in one hand titled, "Prasad, within and without" while her other hand blocks, parries, and occasionally strikes back with a glancing blow. "Good rhythm, but pace yourself." she says, "...Pure Way my ass." she mutters, before ducking beneath a roundhouse kick that brushes through her hair.
Looking back up, she grins. "Got a good one in, but you might want to come from a different angle next time." she says to the student whose leg clipped above her head. Taking a step back, she lifts a stray stick with her foot and flings it at one of her pupils who brushes it aside before Raga comes up with an open palm blow to the chest that leaves them gasping. "A dirty blow, but you can't expect everyone to be fighting clean." she says, then frowns. "...You good? No sense in continuing if it's just going to hurt you." she observes. "The point is to make you stronger, not weaker by pushing you too far past your old limits." |
| Misa | By comparison, Misa hardly cuts any figure into a scene at all. She's quiet, withdrawn, and only just entering the structure now- and speaking softly with one of the followers nearest to the door.
It seems to have very little to do with the House itself- in fact, hardly anything at all. It seems there was a sizable theft across the road- and this foreign, Lookshyan-looking woman is simply confirming some details with whomever might have seen anything happen- it seems nobody did. Though there is one more quirk, here- her voice is faint, and hardly carries at all, but this newcome woman's accent does ring Prasadi- albeit some while removed from that specific place. |
| Raga Shrine-Crusher | Misa's entrance does catch Raga's eye briefly, but then her voice catches her ear. Snapping her book closed, she nods to the downed student. "Take a few minutes to catch your breath, let me know how you're doing then? 'Choose your battles' gets used as an excuse by cowards, but it's still true." she says before she approaches Misa. "Hey. Got a moment?" she asks, raising her hand. |
| Misa | Withdrawn as she is- and as little an impression as Misa managed to make on one of the followers-slash-students, there's no particular fear in her eyes at the size and physique of Raga as the other woman approaches.
"I suppose I am not necessarily in a great rush," she answers, one eyebrow rising slightly, questioningly, even as she's answering a question. She wears two simple, short blades at her right hip, but her hands do not seem to be straying near them at all. |
| Raga Shrine-Crusher | "You sound like you're from further out than usual." Raga says. "Ever been to Prasad?" she asks. "I've been learning about my people's background, thinking about why they left and what it's like back there." she says, her voice trailing off a little in thought. |
| Misa | "I am familiar with it," answers Misa, honestly if evasively. She looks towards the resting students a moment, eyes never quite ceasing to assess her surroundings despite the focus on conversation at the moment.
"You will perhaps have to pardon me, however, as there are a variety of peoples that may hail from the area. Would you have any specifics in mind?" |
| Raga Shrine-Crusher | "I mean I'd ask about the Veh, but that was a while ago." Raga says, "I guess... Thinking about what it's like. Day to day life, what the average Prasadi thinks about the Dragon Caste and their rule. Someone who doesn't walk immaterial half the time sets themselves up as a god and I get worried, y'know?" she asks. |
| Misa | There's a pause from Misa, as she considers the question. She exhales slowly before shaking her head. "You may find my experiences there... slanted, limited as they were. It is a very formal place- much of one's time is spent among one's own, and outside of that there is quite a bit of ritual to contact between differing... the term there is jati, but caste may be more familiar as a word. It is also ever in flux- as the pursuits of leaders change, and the last century or so of persistent conquest and expansion, so do the requirements of the day shift. I was not affected while there, but I have heard much tell of a given city suddenly needing to add housing for newly inducted citizens, export some of its own into new territory, provide supplies for a passing army, restructure trading routes, or some combination of those." |
| Raga Shrine-Crusher | "Conquest. Fuckin' great." Raga says, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Because beating people up and taking their stuff when they'd never done anything to you is so damned awesome." she complains, before sitting down on the mat. "Then you break up friends and family on top of it all, this isn't painting the best picture." she observes, then stops to consider something. "...Where was Prasad's ancestral land, exactly?" she asks, "I mean... Before this dragon ca-er. Jati stuff. I'm not happy, but people still have a right to call somewhere home y'know?" she adds. |
| Misa | A quirk of the brow from Misa, perhaps more perplexed than anything by this particular comment.
"There are about four answers to a question such as that for any given people. It is the Dreaming Sea- even the coastline is not enduring. Parts of Prasad hail from the Realm- others are from the region they are in now. Others still mix from Ysyr, or Palanquin, or various others. Do you... believe these other peoples in these conquests won their homes in some other way?" There's not so much a sense of defense or affront here as... bewilderment. |
| Raga Shrine-Crusher | "I dunno, maybe? Maybe not?" Raga asks, shrugging. "I mean old is old, can't bring back the dead. I just don't want to see any more, 'Fuck you, you're part of us now and we're going to tear your community apart'." |
| Misa | "I think you misunderstand- family is exceedingly important, in Prasad," Misa explains, head shaking. "The families within one's jati are perhaps the primary social unit. "Those passed away are tended to with great care and put into familial mausoleums, families rise and fall based on their work in unison... the list goes on." |
| Raga Shrine-Crusher | "Wait, then..." Raga says pausing. "I guess I look at the past, look at the Veh fleeing, and I think, 'Wow, this place sucked'. Could also be that I like Great Forks, how you've got a crapton of people here who can each tell you fifty different answers to ten questions and we still don't feel like we've got to punch each other in the throat. Makes me wonder why more places can't be like this. Maybe I should just... Head over there and see for myself. How do they respond to outside visitors?" she asks. |
| Misa | "I would recommend learning the proper forms of greeting and interaction for a given caste, but so long as one is respectful one can do well enough there. You will likely speak mostly with the Caravaners, the caste that deals in merchantilism and treating with newcomers. If you come to meet a member of the Dragon caste- perhaps hope for one of clan Ophris, as they tend to be quite appreciative of novelty and new experience and people. If one of house Burano, mind protocol and manner especially much, it is a traditionalist house by nature and an outsider may well earn favour by having learned the custom of the land well." |
| Raga Shrine-Crusher | "Gonna be honest, it's not about earning their favor." Raga says, standing up. "It's about figuring out what's what, whether I was mistaken about where Prasad's at now or whether they're really a problem. 'Course, punching a nation in the face doesn't work. No face." she says, gesturing to her own face illustratively. "Plus, nations have lots of people. Some of those people are good, some are assholes. Worst case scenario I'm probably going to fight someone arrogant and see where it goes from there. Worst case." |
| Misa | "If you wish to learn, I suggest learning to exist there first," Misa notes, head tilting a little.
"As you say- any given individual may be to your liking or not- and it takes time to get a fuller view. Time that I would suggest remains peacable. I will remind- the princes of the earth rule that land, and in considerable numbers at that. Starting even a small conflict... if it escalates, could draw the attention of decidedly powerful individuals in unpleasant ways." |
| Raga Shrine-Crusher | "Exactly. Rushing into this headfirst is a way to get my legend spread as the woman who got her head on a pike fastest in all of Creation." Raga says, "I mean I've heard about that... 'Thing' where gods aren't supposed to rule people, and I think that's a good idea. Trouble is, the problem starts when people forget who they're ruling. Gods're just more prone to it is all. I'm still fine with gods though, I'm not gonna pretend we mortals don't have our own nonsense." |
| Misa | "I do feel the need to ask," Misa notes, hand coming to rest on her hip absently as she considers the other woman for another lengthy moment. She pauses before continuing.
"Why the interest in Prasad in particular? It is quite far from here, and one could speak of the Realm or Lookshy-- not to point at my own heritage-- or any number of others. Something specific in Prasad?" |
| Raga Shrine-Crusher | "It was more about reconnecting, learning about the Veh and their-no, our past. That, and not liking jerks who demand worship." Raga offers. |
| Misa | "An... interesting contrast to the commentary on letting old things lie," muses Misa. Her voice is intrigued if anything, head tilting the other way for a longish moment.
"A long way to go, as well, as I know all too well. From what I understand this is a following of yours- do you intend to leave that be for the time being?" |
| Raga Shrine-Crusher | "Thinking about it." Raga says, "I guess... Really, I don't plan on avenging anyone. If I were, I wouldn't be asking these kinds of questions about where Prasad is actually at as a country. It wouldn't matter, I'd just be out there cracking skulls in the name of long dead people. Not how I do things." |
| Misa | A slow nod, brow furrowed a little. "Well. If you are being tended to like this here, I presume you have some cause to be so. A spirit parent, or...?" she questions curiously, leaning in just slightly. "I do, after all, understand there are quite the number of... unusual folk in the area, of late." |
| Raga Shrine-Crusher | "Could say that. 'Cept my benefactor's a prick that I had to smile and nod at for a while." Raga says, "I've already talked to Weaver about it, it seemed right considering what she's already done for my people. I mean without my people preceding me I obviously wouldn't be here." |
| Misa | "Then for... a couple of reasons, I would suggest if you meet a high-caste woman named Zehra, you avoid crossing with her. She is... more dangerous than she might look, for one, and someone I owe something to, for another," Misa says simply, averting her eyes for a few moments as she says as much |
| Raga Shrine-Crusher | "She holding something over your head?" Raga asks, frowning as she folds her arms, "I'm interested in helping, but you gotta tell me more if you want that kind of help." she notes. |
| Misa | "The relationship is not so negative as that," says Misa with a slight smirk. "You are assuming in the wrong direction." The careful measure of her voice certainly suggests she's hiding some part of it, however.
"And not to show any disrespect, but I do not require help in that manner anyways. I assure I am quite capable of tending to myself, be it conversationally or combatively." |
| Raga Shrine-Crusher | "Hey, I mean, I like people being able to handle their own problems." Raga says, "It's why I teach these people." she observes, gesturing around the halls of the dojo. "Not gonna push you around looking for stuff to fix anyway." |
| Misa | A pause from Misa, and she returns her attention to look directly at Raga again.
"Well, I suppose I can understand the desire to teach, on some level. Have a student of my own- albeit simply the one. Quite promising, however." |
| Raga Shrine-Crusher | "Sometimes one student takes up more of your time, plus it's not like I'm here /all/ the time. They develop stuff, I talk to them about it, they go back to practicing, I don't teach them /everything." Raga explains, shrugging. "They teach me a few things every now and again too." she adds. |
| Misa | "Well, certainly not opposed to picking up a trick or two in turn," Misa says as though there's some amusing fact behind it.
"I do wonder at that tendency to wander- Prasad is quite some way. Do you worry for these people moving on during such a span?" |
| Raga Shrine-Crusher | "I mean I can probably set something up with Weaver if nothing else." Raga says, "Or... Y'know. Give it some kind of legitimacy before I leave. Besides, I'm mostly going to be checking out their northern border and the nearest city from there anyway. See how they treat the lowest and their highest, it helps paint a certain picture." |
| Misa | A slight nod from Misa, and she glances back at the entrance. "Well, that aside... I should return to the task I was asked before this conversation. It has been... illuminating," she muses, offering a faint smile to the other woman followed by a slight bow. |