[Star Festival] Keep Your Friends Close... (Jiina)

[Raiyari]

Keep Your Friends Close... 50th of Spring The young Shinya made her way forwards, navigating the sea of people with ease. It felt odd to be out of her uniform, without the familiar weight of her katana on her hip. While she did her best to look at ease, it was clear that she was unused to being dressed in civilian clothing. Dressed in a pair of loose black pants which gave the appearance of a skirt, a white shirt, with her tanto tucked into her obi, Rai looked like a completely normal - if too casually dressed - citizen. As she wove her way through the people, the young woman heard a familar kiai, an explosive battlecry. Her previous unease vanished as she hurried to the dueling ring, peering over the railing to see who the combatants were. It came as no surprise to her that one possessed a familiar face. However, her yelling friend was up against a total stranger. Some man she hadn't met before. Intrigued, Raiyari watched as the two struck out with their blades, testing the distance and their opponent's reaction. The fight was furious, the blades dancing and catching the light of the moon. But it didn't take too long, five minutes at the most. In the end, the man stood over his female opponent, his blade leveled at her throat. The cheers and applause of the onlookers rose high above the regular noise of the crowd, eliciting a small smile from Rai. But her grin only widened as she caught the glance of the female contestant. A fellow Shinya, the woman took one look at Rai's smiling face, and abruptly stuck out her tongue. This was the Star Festival, a time of celebration and remembrance. A time for the controlled merriment of the Lhavitians. Raiyari decided to allow herself a laugh at her friend's antics, stifling her chuckle when the winner helped her friend off the ground. As the next contestant entered the ring, Raiyari propped her elbows on the wooden railing. It seemed the fun was about to begin.

[Jiina]

The duelling ring was always interesting to Jiina. Despite the fact she never really stayed in the Star Festival for very long, the ring gave an insight into much for Jiina. It was usually the Shinya who fought there, or the guards, or the people of Lhavit that had quite a lot of combat experience. It gave an opportunity for Jiina to observe her fellow Lhavitians, see what their skills were, how they fought and what their techniques were. It was informative. Jiina had been making her way towards the duelling circle. She only caught the end of one battle, a woman and a male, swords flashing and clashing into eachother. She watched the girl, primarily. She was a good fighter, that was certain. But she didn't lose because the male was better - no, the male was just as good as her. But she help back, keeping her skills to herself rather than pushing the male into desperation. She stayed defensive, until finally, the male had his blade at her throat and she was smiling sheepishly at a girl watching from the sidelines. As the two got off the ring, and another two moved on - this time two burly men - she decided instead to inspect the girl who had been watching and laughing. It was clear, by the glances they had shared, that the sidelines girl knew the girl who had been fighting. Jiina debated what to do - but this was why Taeto had sent her to the festival. She had not been sent to watch, but to meet Zintila and to suss out the people of Lhavit. To do that, she needed to emerge from the shadows. She sidled up to the girl, pretending at first that she was just watching the two men stretch and warm up, that she had just coincidently ended up next to the youngish girl, though probably about the same age as Jiina herself. She coughed awkwardly, as if not quite knowing what to say to this person she had accidently ended up next to. "Enjoying the festivities?" she murmured. It was an awkward opening, but one that should lead to uninhibited conversation.