While the teens were learning how to craft a riverboat from scratch, Moriko and Kazue were enjoying their time in Ekuilance. They both received some guidance about protocol and manners to help guide them through the few parties scattered throughout their stay, and while dancing they had a lot of fun trading off who was the lead and trying to not giggle too much when Kazue fumbled a little as the lead. There was a reason the taller person was supposed to lead, and even Kazue's greater experience as a dancer couldn't quite make up for the difference.

They were perhaps not quite as decorous as they should be for occasions such as balls, but it was also a strategy. It left them looking harmless in political circles, and thus either ignored or underestimated. There was probably more to gain from playing the game properly, but the amount of effort and training it would take to master their parts wasn't yet worth it. They would only be involved in such matters on rare occasions if they had anything to say about it, and the gains wouldn't be worth the effort.

Moriko showing Kazue around the city was their other major pastime. The shopping continued to be list-oriented for now, as they wanted to wait until the end of their trip to leverage their status as avatar and contractor of the Azeria dungeon to purchase their items, most of which they intended to have shipped to the dungeon directly.

She also brought Kazue to slightly less reputable areas, in part to hit up some dive bars. Not that Kazue could drink a lot, her tolerance had only slightly improved. She had, at least, gotten better about not getting carried away.

The other thing that drew Moriko to the poorer areas of the city was the feeling that this was where she was more likely to find people in need of a little help. Asking for guidance had become part of her daily prayers, and she was slowly becoming attuned to this gentle response. She'd also been meditating on readings about free will and the intervention of deities. Generally, this was the way it was supposed to work; a mortal has to prove that they are dedicated to receiving this guidance, lest this faint brush of the god's will interfere with the mortal's own.

Some gods, whom Moriko wisely refused to name even in her private thoughts, were known to forget themselves in moments of intense emotion. It was probably best to not imagine a younger woman scolding her aunt for letting her passions control her instead of being in control of her passions.

Moriko's first opportunity to help came when she heard a faint commotion, and she and Kazue followed this sound to find a back alley where a group of young teens were having some sort of fighting competition. She had no idea why they'd decided to create a ring of bodies at this intersection and challenge each other to 'duels', but it was probably best to redirect this energy.

They fell back behind a corner and discussed some ideas. In the end, they used a bit of magic to disguise themselves to match the crowd and made their way into the group. While Kazue could use her shape-changing to assume the right size, she'd needed to call up a spirit to access the right magic to shrink Moriko to the appropriate height. And both of them required a bit of illusion to disguise their clothing. Neither of these really fit the type of magic granted by Sakiya's grace.

The first step was to get their attention without scaring them off. That was easily done: She challenged the winner of the last fight, and handily won while being careful to not actually hurt the kid. This set off a chain of challenges which she encouraged by taunting the crowd, even challenging them to take her on two or three at a time. Eventually, her opponents were whittled down to one; a boy with a fire in his eyes that drove him forward to try even when he knew he wasn't going to win this time either.

Moriko giggled as she flowed out of the way of his tired, desperate punch, then grabbed his wrist and held his hand up high, "I declare this one the winner!" The crowd's confused reaction elicited more laughter from her. "This was such a passionate gathering of fighting spirit that you've garnered a bit of attention!" and with that she dropped the boy's hand, stepped away, and whispered a healing prayer, directing a flow of vitalizing energy outward to all within her range.

"Now, this was amusing," she continued as Kazue dropped the spells disguising Moriko, "but if you really want to show your stuff, you should be applying to one of the temples to be accepted into a monastery. Especially Sakiya's, but I might be biased there." Wind stirred by her chi began whipping around her body as she grinned and waved at the crowd, and then turned to the boy she'd declared the winner.

"That was an impressive display of spirit, you really should apply to Sakiya's temple. You can even tell them Lady Moriko sent you!" And with that, she leapt into the air and ran off laughing. Kazue had dropped her disguise as Moriko started wrapping up her short speech and hastily cast a short-lived flying spell to follow her, the flare of Kazue's red hair and tails no doubt sparking rumors amongst the teens.

They set down a few blocks over, well out of sight of the rowdy group. "That was fun!" Moriko said as Kazue shook her head.

"You are badly behaved," Kazue said, trying to look severe despite her smile, "but I think that broke the group up for now. Hopefully, the ones who really want to prove themselves will take up your suggestion. You certainly caught them off guard!"

"A little display of fighting skill and a fun, showy power; why wouldn't they fall in love with the idea?" Moriko flashed her wife a grin. "I think it will be enough to draw a few of them at least. Most of them weren't serious enough about the fight itself, they were there for the show and to mess around I think. Or to not be shown up by their friends. Come on, let's go back to showing you the city."

That intervention was much more fun than another that Moriko had to cope with later that day. A shouting match in a bar turned out to be one person being obsessed with someone who was not interested. A misalignment of passions, one who had too much and another who had none, in this context at least.

It wasn't a particularly fun conversation, but it was hard for the pursuer to argue that a priestess of Sakiya had nothing to say about matters of love. It turned into an impromptu therapy session that included a reminder that one should not let their passions control them and that to push one's passions onto another was anathema to the protection of free will. In the end, Moriko recommended that they seek more counseling at the temple.

This process also gave the other person reassurance that they were right to be true to themselves rather than bending to the desires of another.

That also ended Moriko and Kazue's enthusiasm for that day's explorations.

But the next day was the outing that Moriko had been looking forward to the most: taking Kazue to visit the monastery. In this case, she was showing Kazue off as much as showing the place to Kazue. Bringing one's spouse for a tour of a monastery or temple wasn't exactly a common event, but it wasn't against any rules either, so long as it didn't interfere with any duties or responsibilities. And currently, she had none, so she just needed to avoid messing with other people's duties.

There were more than a few double-takes as they swept along on their tour. They might know Moriko, but she was looking a bit different with fancier clothes and a little bit of training on 'being a lady', and she'd never brought personal guests to the monastery before, so she was not as instantly recognizable when walking close by Kazue's side.

Though some of those double takes might have been from the kitsune having become a little bolder about her wardrobe and she was amused at the amount some people had to struggle to keep their gaze above shoulder level.

Moriko had made sure to bring a spare change of clothes, specifically, her old uniform. After they'd had lunch with Master Theodoric, Moriko asked in a theatrically humble tone of voice if her master would honor her by letting her demonstrate how she'd grown since she'd last been here. His assent came with laughter at her antics.

The training ground quickly had a large audience, and Moriko faced off against Theodoric wearing her gi. The signal to begin was given, and Theodoric simply shifted his feet and beckoned her forward with a serene smile. So she took the moment to offer a short prayer to Sakiya, letting her goddess's grace fill her before Moriko called upon her martial skills.

Her body blurred as she snapped across the training field, her passage leaving a cracking boom. Her leading punch landed with a crackle of electricity, the latest development in her path to travel the skies, but that force did little as her fist was caught by his palm.

She hadn't slowed her flying momentum, however, and simply let that arm relax as she flowed forward, her second punch coming slightly closer to striking his face before it was caught. Now her momentum had been completely halted, and Theodoric twisted his hands to grasp her forearms and used his leverage to toss her away from him.

As he did so, their shadows crossed. And distorted, growing long and stretching out instead of separating. Moriko's form snapped back toward her master in mid-air, and he blocked her sudden flying kick with crossed arms and a smile of approval.

Moriko didn't acknowledge the warm glow that his approval gave her, and relentlessly pressed her attack instead. Wind, lightning, and shadow; those were her elements now, and she flowed seamlessly between them. Her feet never touched the ground as she constantly moved, her will and chi providing enough force to let her kick-off of the air itself.

It was as tiring as if she was sprinting for every second of the match, but that was something she could do too, and hearing Kazue cheering for her was more invigorating than she could have imagined before this moment.

But her master wasn't regulating himself to a matching skill level and was very cautiously on the defensive as he let her try everything she could to break past his guard. Every blow was avoided or deflected, even when she'd managed to attack from opposite sides in less than a second's difference.

The match ended with a flash of fire as Theodoric's blazing fists landed in her stomach and chest at the same time. Moriko felt ribs crack from his blow, and more ribs crack as she struck the arena's wall. Kazue was there an instant later, her hands lightly touching Moriko's skin as she called upon a nature spirit to guide her into a healing spell.

Theodoric had never struck her that hard before. Moriko wasn't even sure she would have survived being hit like that a few months ago. She felt a little giddy from the implied compliment. Or maybe that was from Kazue's kiss once she knew that Moriko was okay. Or both.

Moriko couldn't stop smiling as she got back to her feet and bowed to Theodoric, "That was quite the powerful blow, Master."

He bowed back to her as he replied, "Thank you. You have grown quite a lot, and you seem happy in your new life. I am glad that you have continued to advance in your skills as well as having broadened your path successfully. That elastic rebound using our shadows was an interesting trick I've not seen before."

"I've always been a striker more than a grappler, so I decided to try and work Ozuran's gift into a form more suitable for my style. This is what I have come up with so far. I am pleased to have shown you something new."

They continued to talk for a little while more about what Moriko had been practicing while the crowd dispersed, and then Moriko left to clean up and change back to her dress while Theodoric escorted Kazue to the gardens, where she and Chaxiss enjoyed a conversation while they waited for Moriko to meet up. The kitsune might not have been much of a gardener in her first life, but her experiences as a dungeon had left her with a lot more insight and understanding, and her ability to interact with the minor spirits only helped.

After that, it was time to return to the castle, and tomorrow would be another ball, which would be their last before they left the city to continue their trip.

Zagaroth

 

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