GeneralDirection

@Samurai Oni Silver nods his head, perking up a bit. “Yes, we had this issue some time ago. Thankfully, somepony found a cure, and we made sure to stash plenty of away in case this happened again. We have some back at our house, so when you’re ready, we can head over there. Also, Samurai, I don’t believe you heard my offer earlier, but Charlotte has made breakfast and we wanted to invite you both over. It’s totally up to you, you can stay and eat with us, or do your own thing after we get you the cure.” He suggests.

@Samurai Oni At first, Silver is just as confused as Fukami is, until a thought hits him. “Oh, wait a minute. Samurai, you didn’t drink from the Stream of Silence, did you?” He asks, though based on Samurai’s actions, he was pretty certain of what had happened. “You wouldn’t know what that is because I never told either of your about it. For that, I’m sorry. The thought never crossed my mind.” He admits with a sigh.

@Samurai Oni “Well, actually, Charlotte decided to make breakfast this morning, and we wanted to invite you both over.” Silver announced, walking inside the guest house. “Morning, Samurai!” He greeted cheerfully, but his cheerfulness soon turned to concern as he too noticed that his friend was trying to talk, but he wasn’t making any noise when he did so. “Uhh, are you ok, my friend?” He asks Samurai.

@Samurai Oni (No problem, was just wanting to move time forward.) Silver wakes up, happy to not have had some strange dream troubling him this time. He stretches a bit and grabs his saddlebag before leaving his room. Downstairs, Charlotte is already making breakfast, some pancakes, eggs, and toast. “Tastes wonderful as always, sis!” He exclaims as he grabs a plate of food and digs in. “Thanks!” She says with a smile. “I made extra for our samurai friends, could you go let them know that they’re invited?” She asked. “Sure thing!” He agreed before heading out the door. A short trot down the path would bring him to the front door of the guest house. He knocked on the door and waited for one of his friends to answer.

That's a good point. I have edited my response to add some additional dialogue where my characters stop and interact with somepony working at the trade hub.

@Samurai Oni Silver looks to the others and shrugs. “I don’t think there’s anything we had in mind, I believe you’ve more or less seen everything there is to see here. You and Fukami are free to do as you wish for the rest of the night. Charlotte and I are going to head home and do some drawing until bed. You should find that the guest house is well-stocked with food from the gardens you saw earlier, so feel free to eat as much as you want. Perhaps we should all meet at the blacksmith in the morning, how does that sound?” He asks. Ayla and Charlotte nod in agreement.

@Illiad Easle Nebel nodded and thanked them again before they parted ways. The two unicorns passed an NLR base. Aside from noting its existence, they didn’t really know much about it or the NLR itself. Later, they passed some ruins of houses that has been destroyed long ago. Nebel contemplated checking them out for anything of value, but due to the time-sensitive nature of their task, he felt it was best to keep moving. This would also give them a better chance of not being attacked by any creature who happened to be hiding in the old buildings. Of course, Nightfall would make a comment about how Nebel was a wuss, and how she could take on anything that might be hiding out in the ruins. Nebel paid little attention to her boasting. He had a job to do, and nothing was going to get in the way of that. Later, they came across a trading camp. Unfortunately, neither of them had any money, nor anything of any notable value. The few supplies they had, they couldn’t afford to trade, as they needed them. Thanks to Nightfall, they had water and food, so they would be ok for a while. “You’re not walking by this place too, are you?” Nightfall asked with an unimpressed look. Nebel sighed. “We don’t have anything to trade. Unless you have more secrets hiding in your saddlebag…” Nightfall facehooved. “No, you’re completely missing the point. Did you not see what happened the last time we talked to anypony? We got intel.” She wandered over to one of the stalls. “Nightfall…” Nebel stopped himself, knowing there wasn’t anything he could do to change her mind, and followed her along. “Hey there!” The unicorn filly looked up at the pony looking after the stand. “We’re looking for somepony who may have possibly passed through the area a few days ago. Are you willing to share if I give you some more details?” She asked.

@Samurai Oni “Ah, ok then.” Silver replies. “Well, was there anything you wanted to see or do while we’re still here?” He asked both of the samurai. Ayla smiled at Fukami’s words. “Thank you! I’m glad you like it. Maybe we can meet Ryugane and Denki while we’re back in Japone.” “Plus all your other friends, too!” Charlotte chimed in.

@Samurai Oni Silver stifles a laugh at Fukami’s comment. “Umm…” “What, me? Tired? No way!” Charlotte exclaims, bouncing in place. “I have tons of energy! I also didn’t have to fight some crazy possessed monster earlier today, so that helps!” She giggled. “You guys are free to do whatever you want, and the guest house has enough room for both of you, don’t worry! It’s right next door to our place. I’ll be trying to settle down and do more art, as I usually do.” “Honestly, that sounds like a good idea, sis.” Silver agreed. “I think I’ll be doing the same too, that’ll give our samurai friends a chance to get some much-needed rest.”

@Samurai Oni The two kirin bow and thank everypony for coming out. The crowd dissipates soon after, seems these kirin aren’t a huge fan of partying or staying up late. “Looks like that’s the end of the concert.” Silver commented. “That’s fine, I quite enjoyed performing and witnessing the song our samurai friends did. Perhaps we should get some sleep now? We can check in with the blacksmith in the morning before we head off. We do have a guest house in the village, which you’re both more than welcome to use.” He offers.

@Samurai Oni “Thank you, Samurai!” She replies, returning Samurai’s hoofbump before stepping forward. “Hey there, everypony! We got a hard-hitting number here for ya. Everypony up! Let’s continue the celebration.” Ayla and Silver waste no time and get right into it, them both delivering amazing vocal performances. The samurai and the kurokos can try to fill in as best as they can, but the two kirin continue to the end regardless. After their song, the two step back as the crowd applauds and cheers for their performance.

@Samurai Oni Ayla looks to Silver who gives her a silent nod. “Very well, we’ll go next. Umm, about you following along, my music is nothing like yours at all. It’s…” She struggles for a moment to explain herself. “You remember the song I sung when we did karaoke back in Japone?” Silver asked. “It’s like that, but unique in its own way, of course.” “If you feel you’re up to the challenge then, by all means, you’re free to join us.” Ayla comments playfully. If the samurai wish to join in, Ayla will take her place just to the left of center stage and Silver will stand at the right, both waiting for their introduction. As she waits, Ayla uses her magic to summon her special purple microphone, which appears before her from seemingly out of nowhere.

@Samurai Oni The two began their song, and for a while, it was just the three kirin watching. As the song went on, several other kirin from the village took note of the performance and joined them. The song was quite lively and everypony present looked to be enjoying it. Once they finished, the entire crowd applauded and cheered for samurai’s performance. “Amazing job, my friends!” Silver exclaimed, coming up on stage after they finished. “I’m glad you shared that with us, your culture has such lovely performances and you’re very passionate about them.” “Yes, I agree with Silver, your showponyship is quite lovely. I don’t think that’s something that can be ‘learned’, you either have it or you don’t, and you both definitely have it.” Ayla says happily. “Was there something else either of you wanted to play for us? If not, then I guess Silver and I will go next.”

@14Fan @Aticus the Adequate @Megalobronia @Props Valroa @Saturn Ring @Shiny Silvermoon Those who chose to show up to the information session would arrive at a well-lit gymnasium with a few rows of chairs set up in front of the stage at the other end of the room. As the students make their way over, Aticus and Shiny may notice an acquaintance from earlier has also decided to check things out, Silver Star. A podium has been set up in the middle of the stage, with a table next to it. At exactly 3 pm, a girl walks out confidently from backstage and stands behind the podium. She would wait a few moments for the idle chatter to die down before addressing the group. “Hey, everyone! For those who don’t know, my name is Charlotte, and I’m president of the student council. If this is your first year, I’m sure you’re wondering what this back-to-school party is all about. Rest assured; you’ll get all the information you need to know.” Her emerald green eyes scanned the crowd briefly, as if she were looking for somebody. “So, what’s this party all about? Well, it’s all about you! That’s right, this event is made especially for you to talk and share about what interests you the most. Now don’t worry, nobody has to give a speech, nor are you gonna need to stand in front of a large crowd. This is what I will need from you if you wish to participate.” She picks up a clipboard and places it on the table, pushing a stray strand of long, dark pink hair away from her face. “This is the sign-up sheet for the event. Please write down your name, grade, and the activity that you will be doing. After that, please talk to me about it, so we can discuss what you may need. I will stay up here for a while, so that you can have some time to think about what you’ll do. This event is a great way for everyone to get to know each other better through discovering common interests. Remember, as always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask me. I love to help!” She said with a smile, stepping back from the podium, silently signaling the end of her announcement.

@Illiad Easle Nebel nodded in agreement, celebrating internally that they were able to get more information from the soldiers. He took note of the different routes they suggested on his pip-colt. “I think our best bet would be to stick to the main road going around the mountains.” Nebel decided after hearing his options. “Though it may be the longest option, the relative safety that it provides is worth the longer travel time.” “I’m pretty sure I could handle the railway, I’m stealthy enough, and we’d get there quicker.” Nightfall argued. Nebel shook his head. “Need I remind you of how you barely hit anything during this encounter? Even if you hit them, that small gun of yours would barely scratch the likes of a dragon.” “You also hardly hit anything with yours.” “I never claimed to be a good markspony, just good at surviving.” He remarked, ending the argument. He returned his attention to the soldiers. “Thank you for your assistance. We’ll be taking the main road as I suggested. Unless there was something else, we’ll be on our way now.”

@Samurai Equine “Oh, I wouldn’t really know what kirin music is.” Ayla admits. “I’m definitely the wrong kirin to be asking about things like that. But if you do want to hear the sort of music that I perform, hmm, Silver, think we could do that duet we practiced the last time I was here?” “Definitely.” He replied with a smile. “I think I’ll need a few minutes to go over the lyrics with you, though. Would either of you mind going first?” He asks his samurai friends.

@Samurai Equine Silver smiles. “You guys are really set on doing that show. I guess I can’t really blame you, it is an important part of kirin culture. We’ll head to the theatre, and we can discuss what you’d like to do there.” A short walk later and they’re all standing in front of the theatre stage. “So, what were you two interested in performing?” Silver asks his samurai friends. “I heard something about a concert, that’s always a good time. It’s not what the folks are used to around here, usually it’s a play or something like that. But that’s ok, we can give them something new to experience. I know Ayla will be on board for some singing.” “Uh hu!” She replies enthusiastically. “It’s literally my job. I’m… a bit a of rockstar. I may or may not have a band that I travel with. We’re on break right now so I decided to come back to the village for a bit.” She explained. “Hopefully you don’t mind, Fukami.”

@Samurai Equine Charlotte and Ayla blink and look at each other with surprised expressions as Samurai’s kuroko appears out of nowhere and performs the copy spell. Silver picks up the photo with his magic and inspects it carefully. After a few moments of examination, he comes to the same decision as Samurai. “I do notice a slight difference in the copies.” He observes. "But, I definitely don’t think that somepony would notice it if they hadn’t seen the original in the first place. For our purposes here, this will work fine.” Silver smiles as he puts the copy back on the table and the original back in the photo frame. “Now then, between Fukami wanting to show Ayla around Japone, and this new mission we have to potentially uncover more about the past of the kirin, I think we should head back to Japone first thing tomorrow morning! Of course, we won’t leave until you get your special tool from the blacksmith, my friend.”

@Samurai Equine “You want to get the shogun involved?” Silver’s eyes went wide for a moment. “Sometimes I forget who you know, my friend. I suppose it’s not such a tall order for you. If you think this issue is something worthy of such attention, then I will do my best to help everypony involved. If either of you are capable of making a copy of this photo, starting an investigation into this is something I’m very interested in. I just wish I had more information to give you.” He admitted.

@Samurai Equine Silver smiles kindly. “No, no, don’t worry, my friend. There was nothing wrong with the food I had back in Japone, quite the opposite, actually. Gems are more of an occasional treat for kirin. Like I said, I’m not sure what sort of effect that would have on our digestive systems and I can’t say I’m in any hurry to find out. Really, the profound lack of information we have on our origins prevents us from better understanding what we’re capable of. That reminds me, one of the other things I talked to Fukami about, is there theoretically should be a place in Japone where our founder would have rested before continuing on to the jungle. I don’t suppose you’ve ever heard of anypony having knowledge of anything like that, have you, Samurai?” He asked.

@Samurai Equine “That’s fascinating how you absorb fire like that and get reenergized by it.” Silver remarks, returning Fukami’s look with a silent nod. “Ok, here’s something I bet you didn’t know about us kirin. One of the traits we inherited from dragons is their love of gems, and by that, I mean eating them. It would only be occasionally, they’re far too difficult to obtain, and I don’t think our digestive system is designed to consume large quantities of them. It is one of the lesser-known facts about kirin.” He explained.

@Samurai Equine Charlotte giggles a bit as Samurai wakes up. “It’s ok, Samurai! We thought it’d be best to let you rest for a bit, considering everything you went through earlier.” “There’s no problem, my friend.” Silver smiles. “Like my sister said, you’ve more than deserved a rest. Fukami and I have been having some interesting discussions, and I didn’t want to continue without you.” Whenever Samurai is ready to continue, Silver will motion for them to head back to the roped-off section where the original part of the building was. He quickly gives the same explanation as he did to Fukami earlier about this being the house that the first kirin built.

@14Fan @Aticus the Adequate @Megalobronia @Props Valroa @Saturn Ring @Shiny Silvermoon @Silky Bloom A loud, friendly sounding female voice comes on over the PA system. “Attention, students! I’m Charlotte, your student council president! First of all, I want to give a warm welcome to everyone starting their first year here at Canterlot High School! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to your student council if you have any questions or concerns. Now then, I am happy to announce that in three days, we will be holding a back-to-school party! This is a great way for students to meet new friends over a shared activity or interest. We’ll be having a meeting in the gymnasium at 3 pm today for those who want more information. We’ll also be looking for volunteers to set the event up and host activities, so please come down and show your support for Canterlot High!” ⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙ Charlotte’s announcement ends, and the teachers continue their lecture. Eventually, the bell rings, signaling the end of the school day. Anyone interested in finding out more about Charlotte’s event should make their way to the gymnasium and wait for the meeting to start. (OOC: From this point onwards, you are free to do as wish with your character. Attending the meeting and/or event is not mandatory but is highly encouraged! Coordinate with your fellow RPers in the OOC thread to create your own fun and shenanigans, or you can simply follow along with the storyline.)

@Samurai Equine (OOC: So sorry for taking so long to reply, my friend ) “Yep, I’ll definitely let him know. I’ll get the fire going.” Silver said with a smile, moving the barrier out of the way. He floated a few logs over with his magic and produced a flame. “Alright, there we go, that should be good to go for a while.” He says, returning to the others, and waits for Samurai to wake up.