Magnolia
"Alright, nice!"

*Enthusiastically, Ling rings the two cups together, the clash spilling a little bit of sake, which the swordswoman promptly ignored.*

"I think we'll definitely have to go through this one several times. Like any sword drill."

"A laugh is just sound and air coming from the mouth. The wind is no different, just bigger. Hm... The same strength that wields that blade lifts me up, and then I'll have that connect into how her laughs do as well. How's that?"

*Ling blinks, then leans her chin onto her fist.*

"Why am I suddenly having so many ideas now? I've thought about this forever, but I was never able to put it into words. It's like a big spiderweb is being made inside my head and I can't get everything out."

*The swordswoman looks up once more at Ekhali's prompt, looking up in thought. How __would__ she construct this? This was probably where the Tholian would be help her connect all the pieces.*

"I would definitely start with when we first met in the desert. Maybe we can fit something with the mountains, then I would go to the winter, and finally, her laugh. Wait that's 4."

*Ling initially pauses, seeming to be concerned over it, then takes another shot of sake.*

"Ah, fuck it. Fuck tradition. In fact, I'll make it 4 *On purpose.* The number 4 is an unlucky number in my culture, but as the one gifting this poem, I've decided to go fuck that culture."
Keisha
*Ehakli's face leant to gentle humor in the enthusiastic clash of cups, listening for the cues of this illiterate poet's direction. Ling's mentioning of sword drills did remind her of her times in official line cohorts, how one did not be a master of any art to be able to be drilled into the practice of the basics. In the memory of her own drilling, she also recounted to how precious the seldom goods that came to be had were, and rather casually licked the line of sake that dribbled down the side of her thumb from the joining of cups. A fond memory indeed.*

*She listened further, privately enjoying the stirred embers that seemed to have taken flame within this curious Ling. Talks of spiderwebs and fucking tradition in this context encouraged her into words and action, which began with a happy smile.* "It is often as webs, isn't it? How interesting that the same comparison would be used so far from where I am from." 

*The elf's eyes betrayed curiosity on the adherence of traditions around the 4, that were immediately followed by a decision to pointedly rebel against such traditions.* "Casting off the traditions here seems to be something of a usual trait about you, Miss Kazami. I think the decision is both bold, and, more importantly, a subtle thing your lover would know and appreciate about your character, if even a foreigner like me could pick up on this."

*She then looked to a fresh sheet of paper on the counter. Dipping her quill in the inkpot.* "Come to think of it, you make me think of a certain nice little cult of my homeland's faith. Of Ynris, my god of what lays Beyond, there are a minority who see him as a spider, that connects the blind coincidences we make when exploring something new, to tell a story of pattern between the histories of we mortals. They are controversial, as this often suggests that Ynris mocks us in how we repeat the same folly behaviors whenever this happens, despite his lessons that the unknown beyond gives us a chance for limitless possibilities."

*Ehakli gave a quick shake of her head with an open mouthed smile, perhaps a little embarassed.* "Not that any of that matters in this moment, but I bring it up because a younger, curious version of myself was a little intrigued by them, and I found myself in similar spaces. Strangely enough, it was filled with artists and the aesthetically inclined. There was an enamor in those years of a spidery Ynris that gave inspiration to many who would create works to imagine new ways of interacting with things, places, and ideas beyond what we know. Quite lofty, I know, perhaps that's why they're mostly artists, *But*, one thing I learned from that time was a useful little homage to Ynris that is helpful with structure. It is often called spiderweb plotting back home. Allow me to demonstrate."

*The elf took the dipped quill to the fresh sheet, and wrote "A Journey to Love" In Runran, and encircles a ring of ink around it. She then drew a line from the edge of the circle to a seemingly random place nearby on the paper, and wrote "First meet" And encircled that. Then she went back to the "A Journey of Love" Circle and drew three additional lines that encircled "2nd", "3rd", and finally "The daring 4", before returning her quill to "First meet." From there, she drew a line from there, and circled its destination that read "Desert."*

"So it begins in the desert. What of it, from the heart?"
Magnolia
"So this happens in everyone then, huh?"

*A smile appears on the macen's face as Ehakli talks about casting off tradition. Rebelling against the constraints of society was something that she loved doing. Of course, there were certain parts that just made sense or were just polite to do. But Ling would never do something according to __tradition__. That was basically the word of old dead people.*

"I was never one to fit in to tradition. I was the eldest daughter of the 'family', but my brothers were always treated with more respect than I was. I was expected to be polite, stay silent, *Serve*, and do whatever my parents asked me to. At least, I *Was*. If I ever see them again, they won't find the same little girl following commands."

*A fiery hate bursts in Ling's eyes when talking about her former family, then disappears when Ehakli begins to talk about the cult of Ynris. So tradition truly was a mocking of how people repeat the same thing over and over again. Yet, at the same time, they moved away from the main religion and created their own beliefs.*

"Oh?"

*Ling looks closely at the symbols. By now, she was able to recognize some of them, noticing how Ehakli created a drawing of the mental web she had.*

"Heat. Sand. And hot winds. Originally, I was there to study swordsmanship, and observe how the wind was over there. My fighting style is often based off of wind, so I was looking for different sources to see how I can learn from it. Then I found out I didn't pack enough water, and spent days walking to try and find some. I collapsed, and it was then that she found me."