(D3, EM) We ride at Dawn (Open)

[Usagi Kaigen]

Kaigen nodded at the Shinjo, then, sword in his right hand, eased the door open with his left.

[Saibankan]

The scene awaiting them was one of slaughter. Whatever meager possessions they had had before were either taken or destroyed. The butchered peasant family lay wherever they had fallen, the marks on their bodies being made my human weapons...though not humanely. Likely the assailants had taken their time to make sure this random peasant family hadn't any secret treasures when their demands for wealth resulted in a handful of fu and what little food or metal the family had....and then continued for awhile longer replacing information gathering with twisted amusement.

Four humans contained a lot of blood, which liberally coated a great deal of the interior of the house, dried though indicating the passage of a couple of days at least.

The only other thing of note was a small blanket covered lump, slightly shivering.

[Usagi Kaigen]

Kaigen stepped in, and removed the blanket.

The killers were long gone, so whoever or whatever this was...

[Saibankan]

Kaigen stepped in, and removed the blanket.

The killers were long gone, so whoever or whatever this was...

...a terrified, underfed peasant boy, somewhere around age 8 most likely who was quite paralyzed on the spot staring at the menacing man.....more specifically his drawn sword.

He might have cried out...might have pleaded for mercy, but if the red-rimmed eyes were any indication, he had just been too scared for too long to make the effort.

[Usagi Kaigen]

Kaigen sighed, and sheathed his sword.

"Sorry, kid... oi! Shinjo-sama! We have a survivor."

[Shinjo Meilin]

Meilin surveilled the scene with a hard to read look.

She sighed.

"Take him outside, Usagi-san, this is no place for children." she said.

She called out to the Utaku as well.

"Utaku-san, if you've got any spare rations and/or spare blanket, give it to him. See if once he's outside, and has a little bit of food and warmth in him if he can give us any information. I'm going to ride back to camp to direct the burakumin here. It's not our mess to clean up, but I'm not going to leave things like this." she ordered before remounting and riding back to camp.

[Utaku Mukai]

"Hai, chui!"

Mukai dismounts, still cautious even though it seems danger has passed, and fetches the requested items from the travel pack stowed on Hachiko.

She was used to dealing with animals and soldiers, not children, but still did her best. Speaking in a firm manner to get through the shock but reassuringly as well trying to win the child over.

(D3, EM: Unskilled Social Earth | TN: ? | Success: 1 / Opportunity: 1 / Strife: 1


Spend the Opportunity to reassure allowing the child to remove 2 strife)

It probably wasn't enough to actually get through to the child, not after all he had witnessed, but at least she likely didn't make anything worse, either.

"I won't say it's ok, you know it's not ok so no point bullshitting you, but you are safe now. Eat if you can."

[Usagi Kaigen]

Given that the kid had probably heard it all happen, Kaigen was sickly amused at the thought of sparing his feelings now.

Luckily, he was used to maintaining his On.

[Saibankan]

The kid was scared...but also hungry, and hungry won out pretty quickly.

He did seem pretty nervous still, while Mukai was trying to reassure him as best she could, he didn't seem quick to trust to two sword wearing strangers. Not after what he'd been through.

Then again, he seemed so badly fatigued, it wasn't like he could run away.

[Usagi Kaigen]

"What's your name, kid?"

[Saibankan]

"What's your name, kid?"

"P

P


P


pei"

[Utaku Mukai]

"Hi Pei, I'm Mukai... I don't actually know Usagi-san's name but I'm sure he'll give it soon enough." She gestures back with her head, "And she's Hachiko." With eye contact with her rider, and a nod, the horse gives a little whinny, steps forward, and gently nudges the child with her nose.

Sword wielding warriors were bad, but here's hoping a farm kid had a soft spot for animals.

[Saibankan]

"B


b


b

b


big"

[Usagi Kaigen]

He watched the horse with a studiously neutral expression.

"Don't imagine you wanna talk to us too much, Pei. Don't feel like you have to."

[Utaku Mukai]

Mukai nods, mainly talking so they're not just sitting there in awkward silence, "Yeah I guess she's pretty big now. She was actually the runt of her foaling season, that's why they gave her to me, but she's proving them all wrong."

[Saibankan]

Pei did at least seem interested in the horse...well, at least after the food was eaten, and the spare blanket was wrapped tightly around him. Given the previous days weather, and the likely timeframe for the killings, he'd probably been cold for quite sometime with the warmest place around being among his dead family.

[Usagi Kaigen]

Kaigen got up and headed back into the house- looking for anything of a personal nature that wasn't drenched in blood.

[Saibankan]

Kaigen got up and headed back into the house- looking for anything of a personal nature that wasn't drenched in blood.

Whoever they were, they'd been through. Anything and everything of value was gone, including any food the household had. Pei's sum total wordly possessions were the shabby peasant clothes he was wearing, and Murai's blanket (temporary).

[Usagi Kaigen]

Well, shit.

He walked back outside, spat onto the ground, and sat down on his haunches a short distance from Pei.

"Bastards didn't leave so much as a ragged doll or a spare sandal."

[Utaku Mukai]

"I'd say they must have been desperate but...."

She looks to Pei and leaves the rest unspoken. Desperate people don't bother with sadism. These were just monsters in human shape.