open Cultures Unite (1x1 with GeneralDirection)

[Samurai Equine 49,123]

@GeneralDirection

Fukami listens carefully to the story. His heart breaks a little. Still, with a little wind, he gently nudges Ayla closer and takes her hoof in his, putting his other hoof on top. "Well you don't need to worry about that with me or my fellow ponies. In Japone, you are welcome. Kirin are beloved where I come from. So you don't ever need to feel like you don't belong ever again." Fukami explains, hoping to cheer her up.

--------------------------------

"It's all right. Keep it. I can always make more, if I need to." Samurai explains. He follows Silver on the way out. They should have no problem finding Fukami and Ayla as soon as they step outside.

[GeneralDirection 995]

@Samurai Equine

Ayla looks to Fukami from her deep red eyes. “That sounds… amazing, honestly. I didn’t think a place like that existed, aside from here, of course. Not having to worry about that judgement or feeling of not belonging will be a huge weight off of my mind.” She says with a smile. “Not that I was scared, it’s just comforting to know that I won’t have to deal with that sort of thing, you know?”

Silver decides to put Samurai’s carving in the cabinet up at the front of his shop.  Silver locks the door to his woodworking shop and rejoins the rest of his friends who are close by.

“Alright, we’re heading to the kirin history museum next, you two are free to join us, if you wish.” He offers to Fukami and Ayla.

[Samurai Equine 49,123]

@GeneralDirection

Fukami gives a big smile knowing Ayla feels better and keeps walking with her.

Shortly after, they meet back up with Samurai and the rest. Samurai waves at them before walking up. "Well, I am certainly willing to see how it goes. What about you, Ayla-chan?" Fukami asks. Samurai checks his hoof for a second before running it through his mane for a quick second.

[GeneralDirection 995]

@Samurai Equine

“Well, I’ve seen it before, but I don’t mind tagging along to see what you and Samurai think of it.” Ayla replies.

A short trip across the village brings them to the museum, a building which had been constructed in the side of a small hill. A sign on the front lawn read “Kirin History Museum”. Silver and Charlotte take the lead here and serve as tour guides through the museum’s exhibits.

“So, we’ll start at the beginning, since I suppose that would make the most sense.” Silver considers. “Before we begin, how much do either of you know about kirin?” He asks the samurai. “Just so I know how much information you’ll need.” He explains.

[Samurai Equine 49,123]

@GeneralDirection

With Ayla's approval, they all head to the museum. And upon being asked, both samurai warriors look at each other before shrugging. "Nothing beyond myths and bed-time stories. So feel free to treat us like we don't know anything at all." Samurai says. The blank canvases are ready to learn.

[Silver Slate]

@Samurai Equine

Silver nods in reply. “Ah ok, no worries, you’ll learn lots here today. At least, I hope so. Anyway! We’ll start with where kirin came from. Nopony is sure of exactly where it happened, but kirin were created from a magic spell that went wrong. A wizard wanted to create a fierce creature with the fire-breathing ability of a dragon, the magical capability of a unicorn, and the agility of a deer. However, he made a mistake, and ended up with a… slightly different creature. He cast this creature out from his presence, labeling him as a mistake. He would be forced to wander as nopony in the town would accept him. There’s a photo of him on the wall to our left.”

Silver pointed to a black and white framed photo hanging on the wall. He appeared to have a dark coat and scales, though his horn was quite disfigured. Aside from the horn, he looked a lot like a regular kirin you could find in the village today. The picture was taken in what appeared to be a forest, and the subject looked, well, rather miserable. Understandably so. If either Samurai or Fukami take notice of the trees in the background, they look very similar to the cherry blossom trees they had in Japone. Silver doesn’t notice this and continues his story.

“Word spread fast about this ‘accidental creature’, largely thanks to the wizard making up tall tales about him being a dangerous monster that would set fire to anything or anypony in its path. He would venture a long way away until he found a safe place to recover and figure out what he was going to do with his life. Eventually, he made the decision to head out on his own again and made another long journey until he would up here.” Silver paused for a few moments to allow for his friends to react and ask questions.

[Samurai Equine 49,123]

@GeneralDirection

Samurai finds a place to sit down. As he takes in this lesson, he nods. Fukami tilts head head to the side. He points to something in the photo. "Huh... That looks like... No, it can't be. Must be a coincidence! Mistmane spread those across random places in Equestria, and we've shared the plant with other ruling nations as a gesture of peace.. Unless..." He turns to Silver. "Silver-san, does this image predate The Pillars of Old Equestria?" Fukami asks.

"Believing your race was a mistake... Sounds cruel. How can anypony take pride in that?" Samurai asks, his head tilted down.

[Silver Slate]

@Samurai Equine

“Yes,” Silver replies, “it would be. This photo is very old, in fact, it’s one of the reasons why we know so little about him. We don’t even know his name. With him being an outcast, no other societies felt it was important to document the event. This photo and the stories from our ancestors is all we have. I can only imagine how terrible it would have been to live with that hanging over your head. He didn’t have a family to turn to for support. He trekked through the jungle for days before deciding to call this place home. I can’t help but admire his resilience to keep moving forward despite there being so much hate and judgement thrown his way.”

[Samurai Equine 49,123]

@GeneralDirection

"Does the museum sell copies of this photo? Knowing Samurai, he might want to help you investigate this mystery some day, if you're interested of course. If this photo really does predate the Pillars, then it also predates the age were we started sharing sakura trees with Equestria. This lone kirin might have ties to our culture as well." Fukami explains.

[Silver Slate]

@Samurai Equine

“I wish we had way of doing that.” Silver said with a sigh. “Sadly, this place is a bit lacking in the technology department. I’d definitely be interested in having Samurai look into this. That’s a very interesting point you propose there, Fukami. I would never have made that connection myself, though it does make some sense. I remember you two telling me about the stories your culture has about kirin, perhaps that is where those stories originated. Japone could very well be the place he initially went to so he could get safe and recover. I wonder if there might be any way we could look into this, maybe somepony in your homeland had ancestors who interacted or at least knew of him.” He thought.

[Samurai Equine 49,123]

@GeneralDirection

"A copy machine is not that advanced, really. We could get you one, if you really wanted. Or, if your village prefers to have as little tech as possible, we could hook you up with a copy spell. The magic would help you make duplicates of anything. It wouldn't be a perfect copy, but for stuff like this, it would work just fine. Right, Samurai-san? ... Samurai-san?" Fukami begins, but doesn't get a reply. He looks over and sees Samurai is asleep. It seems fighting a chimera, using up all his magic, and then taking a tour of the village has finally caught up to him. "Oh my... I guess I should have seen that coming, though he did pick quite the inconvenient location."

[Silver Slate]

@Samurai Equine

“No, you’re right, it’s not. Folks here just prefer to have things at their own pace, and I respect that. However, it’s one of the reasons why I have to take time away from here sometimes. If either of you could do a copying spell, that’d be great!” He said excitedly, before noticing that Samurai had fallen asleep. “Oh, well, I can’t say I’m too surprised by that. You’ve both been through a lot today. Perhaps we should let him sleep and wait until tomorrow to continue the history lesson.” Silver suggested.

[Samurai Equine 49,123]

@GeneralDirection

Fukami shrugs. "Are you sure you want to do that? Knowing him, a short nap is all he'll really needs. And this is a museum. Shouldn't he be relaxing somewhere else, at least until he is awake enough to return to the blacksmith?" Fukami asks, curious.

[Silver Slate]

@Samurai Equine

“Oh, ok, well if he won’t be asleep for long, we can just hang out here for a while, then. I mean, it’s not like we get many visitors here, hardly any at all, to be honest. He’s not really hurting anything or anypony by being here temporarily.” He explained. “So, with that being said, should I continue talking about kirin history, or should we also take a break and talk about something else while we’re waiting?” He asked.

[Samurai Equine 49,123]

@GeneralDirection

Fukami bows gracefully, making a show of it. "Lead the way, Silver-san." He turns to Ayla and Charlotte. "Would one of you mind watching him while we finish this tour? Just so he's not alone while he sleeps this off."

[GeneralDirection 995]

@Samurai Equine

“I can stay back, no problem! I’ve seen this place a million times before, so you go learn stuff!” Charlotte replies happily before taking a seat beside Samurai, waving.

Silver nods his head in silent thanks for her agreeing to look after Samurai before motioning for the other two to follow him. In the next room, a small section of the museum had been roped off. Inside this section, a very humble-looking living area was set up. A small fire in the center for heat and cooking, a bed made from vines and leaves, and a couple saddlebags next to it.

“The small area before you actually used to be the original size of this structure. It’s the house created by the first kirin whom you saw in the earlier photo.” Silver explains as he stops in front of the sectioned-off area. “It’s been… expanded on a bit, as you can see. We thought it would be a fitting place to dedicate kirin history to. This is where he would set his roots down, the only place he could feel safe and hidden away from the outside world, and it worked. It’s only been in the last several years that knowledge of our kind has started circulating throughout Equestria. Except for places like Japone, of course, for we have been incorporated into your culture, so we were known there the whole time. I have to admit, with what you and Samurai have proposed, it opens a whole new world of opportunities for us to find some answers to some questions that have been unanswered since, well, forever!” Silver says with excitement in his voice.

[Samurai Equine 49,123]

@GeneralDirection

Fukami bows. "Thank you, Charlotte-hime." He then follows Silver.

He listens closely to what Silver is saying while taking in the sight. "...That reminds me, when it's time to wake Samurai-san, let's start a small campfire. He'll magically absorb it, and it'll help give him a wake up call." Just as a precaution, Fukami examines this original home for any markings, messages, or any left-behind text.

[Silver Slate]

@Samurai Equine

“Good idea, Fukami. We can definitely do that when it’s time.” He nods in agreement, and then notices him examining the display. “See anything interesting?” He asks. “I didn’t set this museum up, that was done by kirin long since passed. Perhaps they missed some sort of reference or clue to who he was or where he came from.” He suggested.

“Now, I’m not sure if you recall from earlier, but we trade our resources with other kirin settlements scattered around in the jungle. You may have wondered, how did these other settlements come to be? Well, you know how I’ve told you that majority of the kirin here have no desire to venture far from the village? A lot of it has to do with how that fear of leaving the safety of the village still lives on to this day. Our ancestors would’ve passed down those tales of how the first kirin was alienated, and it kept them here for many, many years. The few who would dare set out on their own, chose to create villages of their own. So, we trade with them since they are all from the same place.” Silver gestures to a nearby display case, showing off some gems from one of the aforementioned villages.  

[Samurai Equine 49,123]

@GeneralDirection

"Hmm... Just looking for clues to help make Samurai's investigation easier, but I'm not seeing anything." Fukami shrugs for now. Instead, he just keeps following Silver. "Do you plan to include these other kirin settlements as part of the tour?"

[Silver Slate]

@Samurai Equine

Silver blinks. “I hadn’t considered that, honestly. Is that something you’d like to see?” He asked. “They’ll be a bit smaller, and it will take quite some time to get to each of them. You ok with that? It sounded to me like you were in a hurry to go back to Japone, earlier, so just something to consider. Another thing, as you’ve experienced, traversing through the jungle is not easy. I do not wish to discourage you; I just want to be honest with you about the journey.” He explains.

[Samurai Equine 49,123]

@GeneralDirection

Fukami hesitates a second, but waves his hoof. "No, no, you misunderstand. I wasn't asking for myself, Silver-san. I was asking for Samurai. I am sure he would love to see more. Though neither of us would expect you to extend the tour that much in one day. You both can get around to seeing the other settlements on your own time; when the time is right." Fukami clarifies.

[Silver Slate]

@Samurai Equine

“Oh, I see, I understand now, thank you, Fukami.” He replies. “Yes, it could certainly be something that we explore at a later date, for sure. I don’t have any issues going on more adventures with anypony, but for this particular thing, we can leave it for another time.” He turns his attention back to the display case with the gems in it. “I have a question, Fukami, what do you know about dragons? Surely you’ve heard of their love of gems?” He asked.

[Samurai Equine 49,123]

@GeneralDirection

Fukami looks at the gems. "No more than any other pony. Dragons are generally dangerous, ferocious, and unfeeling. It's one of the few lands I won't fly to, even if the wind tells me so." Fukami explains.

[GeneralDirection 995]

@Samurai Equine

“Yes, that is the general consensus that ponies have, and you would be right in saying that. As kirin are part dragon, we have inherited some of their traits. Thankfully, none of the less desirable ones. One of the more interesting ones we did get, was their love of gems, particularly, eating them. They’re a nice treat for us, but nopony knew until one of the other settlements found them, so now we trade with them.” Silver explained.

“Oh! So that’s what you guys do with them!” Ayla said with a laugh. “I had no idea about that.”

“Really?” Silver asked in disbelief. “Well in that case, I shall save you a few the next time we get them.”

“Hmm… Fukami? Are there kirin living in Japone, or did Silver get a lot of strange looks when he was with you all? That’s what usually happens to me when I visit places where kirin aren’t common. Which is most places, if I’m being honest.” She admits.  

[Samurai Equine 49,123]

@GeneralDirection

He thinks about it. "There may have been some surprised looks. You'll have to ask Samurai more about it than me. But in Japone, we loved seeing a kirin, especially after learning Silver-san is no threat to Equestria nor anypony else. I'd say Silver-san was treated more like a celebrity." Fukami explains. "Eating gems... That's an interesting piece of information. Does Samurai know about that?"