Jose
Within the grounds of the Ide Residence's armoury, two scouts were performing an experiment.

No, not that kind. Straw *Ashigaru* Had been set up in a row in pairs, getting progressively armoured. Lines on the floor marked effective ranges common for archery and skirmishes. The residence's servants and ashigaru set this up swiftly, but Temujin still offered to help them.

Stepping across from the sacrificial dummies, the lithe outrider stood beside a short but energetic fellow samurai he had agreed to help, unslinging his own bow.

"Alright, Moto-san." Temujin said with a smile. "Now let's see what this... Thing... Can do."

It was an oyumi, a crossbow. A strange device like a bow stuck onto a wooden beam, with a wooden bar releasing a shorter arrow at devastating speed. 

Reportedly, it was quite a lethal ranged weapon. The whole idea seemed odd to Temujin given that he was raised to be an archer, but after a year with the Crab, he knew not to underestimate the power of engineering in war, having heard of what they faced that required huge war machines.

Even so, that didn't mean that he couldn't make small talk.

"So, how've you found the City of Lies, Moto-san?" He asked casually. An impious intent lifted his tone knowingly, adding "Everything the rumours say?"

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Linda
The heavy thing carried by Moto Miho's hands earned a curious bend of her lips. She almost cradled it like a baby, knowing how important the weapon was to the Unicorn. In a sense, this was her first trial, her first inkling of trust from the clan elders. So careful was she that the work setting up the straw soldiers went by unaided. There were too many adjustments to be made. 

It took Temujin's question to break her intense concentration. Peeking away from the notch on the crossbow, Moto made a slight note to favor the man for his willingness to get some dirt on his hands. If he wanted to be casual, she'd give him the full dish. The way only the salt of the land could.

"This city sure has its share of that stuff," Miho confessed. "Course, I've never been to another place as large as this." She extended her hands out to their limits. "So, Shinjo-san, I'd say yer right 'bout it being *A* City of liars. Dunno if it's *The* One. The magistrate's verdict is held back until I experience 'em." 

She rapped the back of the crossbow. 

"Same as my take on this fellow."
Jose
He raised an eyebrow at that reply, though it wasn't disapproving in the slightest. It certainly wasn't at her provincial accent; he could care les about such differences. Ancestry and tradition did have value among the Unicorn, but he thought that a Clan united in how they were *Judged* Should be less apt to look down on those of lower birth.

"Oh? Interesting." Temujin commented as he took his own position behind the line, reaching into a pocket in his tunic and smoothly donning his own carved finger ring. "Most get one whiff of the city's stench and decide to turn and ride away. *Especially* Those in our Clan. Can't say I blame them."

He nocked an arrow to his bow and drew, the ring taking the brunt of the string's tension as it was meant to. He was here to compare the *Oyumi*'s power against that of an archer's, but practice was always good.

"But you're keen to scout out the whole thing first, eh?"

He breathed. Held the breath. Focused. Drew on both instinct and control, both letting the arrow soar while willing its path with skill. And released, sending the arrow into the unarmoured straw soldier propped up with a satisfying **TCHKKT**.

He turned to Miho with a warm smile.

"Pretty fair-minded of you, Moto-san. Consider me impressed."

And while he seemed to always walk and speak with a relaxed and open demeanour, Miho might be able to tell. This wasn't frivolity or social airs; he was speaking from the heart.

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Linda
"Nothin' too impressive about it," Miho said. She was rubbing her index finger against her upper lip. It was obvious that she felt more than a little vindicated about her opinions. Her clan was open-minded compared to the others, but they still had trouble with someone like her. A victory here or there was a much needed one.

"If ya just think about it, right, it's not smart to just deny somethin' outright without tryin' it." She lifted the crossbow. "Reckon my masters would screech seein' me wield this machine. See: I was trained to love my yumi. I wouldn't function the same way if I had to go without it." 

The structure of her body supported the conclusion. Her stout muscles were meant to draw rather than shoot. The bolt struck the dummy nonetheless. The tip buried deep in the straw. Any hypothetical foe would not be walking home anytime soon.

"But I can give credit where it's due. The oyumi is a breeze to handle. Reminds me of the ponies here. Not the prettiest or the best, but ya can train someone faster on it."
Jose
He chuckled to see her so visibly pleased, but offered neither an insistence or a joking denial. As laid back as she seemed, experiences old and recent taught him to be careful with how he complimented or joked with someone.

Even so, he still listened attentively to what she had to say on the matter.

*Bold. Honest. Open-minded. A promising youth of the Clan, and quite the Moto mindset indeed.*

"I think the *Crab* Might disagree," He quipped in response to her initial comment on trying before denying. "But I see your point on both counts. Trained all my life to get arms like these, so I wouldn't like to be outdone by gears and levers."

He saw the bolt sink into the dummy, taking mental notes of the comparison between the arrows. The Shinjo would nod approvingly to Miho and step over to the next straw soldiers in light armour.

"Oh, yes. I can see why Utaku-sama would like these in the hands of our *Ashigaru*. For the best archery, you have to train them from birth. But with this, you wouldn't need years, just months."

He drew back, held, and fired again, this time deliberately at the sections covered by the armour. The arrow still struck true and the horsebow still gave it impressive power, but it hadn't gone as deep. From this point on, he knew that would be the case.

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Linda
"Weeks more like," Miho offered. She bent down to reload the crossbow. The spanning equipment came out to play. Her upper body strength went toward pulling back the strings: sinews stiffed, the blood pumped, and the click was heard. "Not that this weapon is perfect by any means. These ashigaru of ours are probably gonna fetch a heavy koku for their use." 

Putting away the spanner, she said: "Dunno how many oyumi Utaku-sama wants, but no blacksmith I know makes them. Gears and levers are complex. More complex than wood and strings anyway. There are more places where it could go wrong too." 

She aimed and fired at the target. The arrow struck deeper than Temujin's. 

"Still, the cost might be well worth it."
Jose
He whistled to see the *Oyumi* Punch through the armour.

"Pierced it like it was a *Shoji* Screen."

He stepped to the next one. A step up from *Ashigaru* Armour, this was more akin to the light-to-medium set which he owned for when he expected battle, though it was less decorated.

"That's a good point, Moto-san; short of a Kaiu, most would find this tricky to make *And* To repair. And the time it'd take to fix, let alone fire, isn't ideal for speed. But it'd be incredible for skirmishes and holding ground."

He nocked his arrow to the horsebow, also noting that while the *Oyumi* Was indeed easy enough to operate, Miho was able to adapt to it quickly herself.

"Kaiu..." He murmured as he drew, looping his thumb and its finger ring around the string. "Wonder if this is an opportunity with the Crab."

He breathed, drew back more, aimed, and fired. The arrow barely punched through, as expected. The straw soldier would live to fight another day.

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Linda
Miho loaded another arrow. Putting her finger along the string, she said, "Not in a fair skirmish. The length is too short for it." Her mind's eye recalled the span of the yumi; the asymmetrical design was a fresh imprint for her. "We're tradin' distance and speed for *Power* And *Consistency*."

She pointed and clicked.

"Ya ought to be in a safe space and crank out the hits. Fire, reload, fire, reload, fire, reload... No, how to say it, art in it." 

It was the bushi in her speech: the way of the horse and bow, these were more than empty words to Miho. A life like that could not so easily be replaced. The crossbow's faults had to be found. They had to be expanded on. Made plain to the world.

"Does that describe the Crabs for ya, Shinjo-san?"
Jose
Shinjo cracked a smirk at both the bushi's adept assessment and her opinion.

"Ha! Yeah, it does," He chuckled warmly as he sized up the next soldier. "Toughest shells to crack *Or* Move, and as much grace as a lumbering ogre."

He nocked the bow once more, thumb ring looping around the string. But though he felt little could beat the thunder of hooves and the flight of the arrow, he still warmly recalled both his year with the Crab and the Hiruma he trained beside.

"No art, but perfect for the Wall."

*Holds true for both the Crab and the* Oyumi.

He breathed, held, and loosed. With a less resonant thud against the straw soldier's lamellar, the arrow wobbled slightly before sticking loosely. Honestly, he was happy it made it that far; ordinarily he'd be firing in volleys or going for the joints, neck or head.

The Shinjo turned to his fellow scout with a nostalgic look on his face.

"But I think know what you mean. Any fool can take up a weapon and try to kill. But being one with your horse, the wind all around you, and to bring that unity into your bow... Nothing quite like it, is there?"

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Linda
"Not that I can recall," Said Miho. "Course I was born for it. It's stuff like that which sticks deep. Stuff that's pounded into yer heritage. At least that's what the monks say. Geezers the lot of 'em, too fond of their wordplay." 

She leaned into the next attack on the dummy—a pinch of style to break the monotonous cycle.

"Still, the way I see it, it'd be pretty cursed to see a Unicorn spurn a horse and bow. Suppose it'd be the same for the other clans and their special tools."

Resting the crossbow on her shoulders, she said, "Crabs must've gotten the short end of the stick playin' with this, though."
Jose
He laughed openly upon hearing the irreverent comment.

"I like when they get to the point, or when they tell a good story." Temujin admitted in concession. "Less when they don't have a point, or a story."

An opinion he mostly kept to himself after one lecture too many from his brother. Of course he respected the clergy, but that didn't mean he had to hang on their every word!

Now it came. The warrior with the heaviest armour. To Temujin, it was honestly a small miracle that the armoury had it. He knew the Clan could be pragmatic and didn't shy from new ideas, but a full *O-yoroi* Set among the Unicorn was as alien to him as a *Tetsubo* In the hands of a Crane.

*And instead of flanking and surrounding, using volleys, I'm firing right at it. Well, a test is a test.*

He listened to the younger girl's introspection, turning thoughtful.

"Maybe. But I've never met a one who turned from their duty."

The arrow was nocked, the bow raised.

"Heard a Yasuki at court once. He said the Crab want rice, and weapons, and jade..."

He breathed. Aimed. Drew. Fired.

Sure enough, the arrow clanged off the steel with little effect.

"...But they don't want pity."

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