Rei glanced at two, taking in their reactions and silent, meaningful looks directed at one another.  It was quite interesting to her how they already had a connection after a mere symbolic ritual.  Warriors were certainly a strange breed.<br/><br/><span style="color: gold">“Well met, scholar. This one is called by others as Jyuuzou, of the Togishi. The lady sitting with this one is Kaleissa.”</span><br/><br/>Now that she had gained their names, she tested them out in her mind, sounding out each syllable as she tucked the information away and linked them to their appearances.  Kaleissa…a name that rolled off the tongue and brought to mind, to hers at least, the image of a snake, secretive and deadly.  It would take some time to gain such a person’s trust and she would not be surprised is the woman withheld information till later.  Jyuuzou on the other hand, the name felt as though it came out more slowly, solid and strong, like a stone emerging from the depths of a sand dune, gradually getting uncovered by the wind.  He seemed to be a stout warrior who would be a trustworthy ally should he choose to be.<br/><br/>While Rei felt a slight disappointment upon hearing that Jyuuzou had exhausted all his leads, extinguishing her hopes at new information, she found herself not as let down as she had anticipated.  The prospect of traveling with a group for once seemed appealing and could make the road much easier…of course assuming that they would travel together and that they would get along well enough to refrain from killing each other off.<br/><br/><span style="color: gold">“Very well then. This Jyuuzou has no problems with adding another to our group. Tell us then, Rei - where do you think we should go from here?”</span><br/><br/>She smiled at the man’s words, glad to have one less worry off her mind.  It would be convenient indeed to have others around, especially if they had to travel to certain places that required more physical capability than she possessed.  Pursing her lips in thought, she mentally flicked through the list of possible areas to investigate, making a note of the ones she had already traversed.  She took another sip of tea as she continued her thoughts, wondering which kingdom was best to head to next.  Placing the cup back on the table, she rested her chin on her hands, her eyes half focused as she stared off into the distance, looking directly at neither Jyuuzou nor Kaleissa.  If Jyuuzou had already covered the Sabakujin lands then they would have to either head north or south.  After a short pause, her ruby red lips parted as she shared her thoughts.<br/><br/><span style="color: crimson">“Assuming that between the 3 of us, we have covered most of the possible leads in Jakuu, Kanzem, and the United Territories of Sabaku, I believe we should head to either the Northern or Southern regions of the Kingdom of Kaminoyama.  However, given the components of this group, it may be best to first head south, where the people are more welcoming.  It would be easier to not only get around but also to gather information.  Then, if we meet dead ends there, hopefully we would have learned enough or made some connections that would aide us in our search in the Northern part of the kingdom.  I suggest we make our way to the capital, since that is usually the best place to gather intel before branching out to less populated areas.  What say you?”</span><br/><br/>Turning her attention back to the other two, Rei paused to await their input, glancing between Kaleissa and Jyuuzou.