[tsusho]

    Leaning in with a curious look, he stayed quiet and watched, more so on the metal she was shaping more than anything else. It was always interesting to see how other Tantetsu shaped metal, such as simply manipulating it like Nashida was, or how some used tools to do it. Without explanation he already had an idea of what she wanted to do, given she had at least in part told him before, but seeing it was something entirely different. It took all of his willpower not to start grabbing and moving things, wanting to see her stop before he gave any instruction.

"I would have to see a more finished product before commenting fully. From what I see and what you explained before, it would certainly be unique, and equally different than the typical armor."

    Tapping at his chin as his eyes narrowed, he got a bit closer and looked at the not metallic pieces she was working with, looking up clearly in thought about something.

"I've seen a lot of different types of armor, but they tend to fit the person and the situation. The lightest I can recall was someone who improved on the idea of the basic flak jacket, replacing a lot of the padding with light metal. He was quite the big guy, but he was also very mobile, so he made his armor specifically to allow movement. You don't need a big metal breast plate or a full set of armor like this puppet back there."

    For all his curiosity he makes a point to never actually touch the armor itself, feeling somewhat superstitious almost about touching someone's unfinished armor given the important of it. There was no clear reaction after her action however, mostly because what it did more than anything was given him ideas, causing his mind to start running through scenarios, prototypes, finally snapping back as he nodded to one of his own thoughts.

"Interesting idea. So, if you are able to have both armor for protection as well as for the location you've got a good start. Having the metal hidden could certainly come in handy for self defense, I like it. I'd suggest talking to a local blacksmith if you start needing more metals or ideas for how to alloy different metals, as there is a lack of other Tantetsu in the area. After I leave that is. Oh and if you can find a tailor, perhaps they can give some suggestions so you won't tear you clothes to shreds piercing it over and over with those spikes. I don't know jack about working with leather or cloth, not for clothing at least, so not much I can suggest for that."

[nashida]

Nashida is excited at least when Tsusho seems to also be taking interest in her method of making armor, especially as it's apparently similar to just one other person that made a flake jacket reinforced with light metal plate instead of simple padding. It's exhilarating to think that her own construction might be a first among the Tantetsu, although it's also quite worrying because she has very little to base any further improvements off of, other than her own innovations in this same field of study, which has been quite short. At least her fellow Tantetsu isn't as discouraging as Kazeo often was, although this was perhaps because he's just as unique in his use of the armor as she is. Or at least, that both Nashida's and Tsusho's armors are at least as non-conventional in the eyes of the Tantetsu clan.

"Hmmm, hmmm. I had another idea for some added stability and defense for the steel, but it would likely increase the weight of it..."

While Tsusho is watching, Nashida floods the steel with her chakra again, allowing her to mold it once more, although she'd probably be surprised if Tsusho claimed that he had rarely seen a Tantetsu clan member molding the steel with nothing but their hands and their chakra. This was likely only possible thanks to the fact that she was singularly skilled in the use of Ninjutsu, and was in particular aligned with her own Koton elemental nature, but this would have only been speculation on her end if she'd come to that conclusion. She's more focused on her work with the steel anyway, so if Tsusho had a look of incredulity in his eyes, she wouldn't have seen it while she presses the corners of the steel into each other, and then past one another, and then flattening the steel so that it would form a criss-crossing, connected - but not directly attached - netting of hard, flat steel, rather like a hard mesh that manages to keep its shape, but has an even easier time of flowing more like cloth.

The idea of getting in contact with a blacksmith for more metals and ores for her armor as well as a tailor or clothier for some ideas on how to keep her clothing intact after making the spikes is a good one, and she's rather lucky that the puncture holes she'd made in the armor before weren't so wide or large that they would have a serious effect on the stability of such thick bear hide, but she resolves not to try such a skill until after she's actually met with such experts.

"Oooooh, good idea. The problem with Yukigakure is... well, for the metals we do have, there's only so much in the island, and it's under thick permafrosted earth and ice. So it's very hard to dredge that much metal up..."

She feels that it's just an excuse, so she chides herself, but it's still a fairly good reason why it might not bear much fruit to go and search out other forms of metals on Yukigakure. Still, she feels certain there must be some ores that she's just plainly not aware of, since she focuses so much on steel.

It's at this moment that Kazeo returns, but his face is lacking the dour, annoyed expression, looking rather more somber and apologetic, though he seems hard-set to not actually apologize. Instead, he looks down at the armor she's made, sees some new progress that he's at least more accepting of, then moves out of the small house. Through a small window, he's visibly going towards the forge, and Nashida shrugs.

"He sometimes goes out there to make kunai or shuriken for Yukigakure. They pay him handsomely for it, and he says it makes him feel like less of a burden. I think he just wants to do something with his hands."

[tsusho]

"A little extra weight never hurt anything. Builds muscles."

    Giving a flex, the bandages on his arm audibly stretched, but it wasn't as if it was impressive for a Tantetsu to be showing their muscles to another Tantetsu anymore than showing off meat to a butcher. It was more a simple reflexive action in truth, and one that was bordering on sarcasm given she was taller and bigger despite their age difference. The fact wasn't lost on him during their conversation thus far, but thankfully it wasn't something anyone had pointed out.

    As he watched, he leaned in again, and in truth it was a bit rare to see a Tantetsu working like this, not because it was out of the ordinary skill wise, or that none ever did, but he was used to see a full setup and tools used. Even though most Tantetsu, or all that he had ever come across with the clan ability to manipulate metals, did so at some point, in Iwa it was more natural for a tool to be in ones hand in some form. Perhaps the way she worked made that harder, or simply wasn't as needed, and given she was working in more precise ways and not hammering large pieces of sheet metal it was just a different way of doing things.

"I assumed as much. Perhaps get in touch with someone back in our home country. It's not as if we aren't used to exporting all sorts of metals and minerals."

    He didn't know any better to disagree with her, but more than that he felt the swell of pride in his country as he spoke on the matter. He was proud not just of the village he grew up in, but the country that village resided in. As far as he was concerned he was as much a part of the land there as any mountain. His eyes shifted and broke his concentration as he heard Kazeo walking back towards them, turning to look, expecting some type of sour comment or glaring disapproval. Keeping his thoughts to himself he simple watched, following him with his eyes all the way back out as he left, not knowing where said forge was and just a bit confused more than anything.

"Out th-oh I see. Probably a bit of both. Rarely a day goes by, when I'm at home that is, when I'm not at my forge. Took a lot of time, a lot of sweat, and a lot of money to build a forge of my own. Not that I necessarily needed to, but pride is pride and all. I don't make any money off of it though, there is no shortage of competition, and far more skilled craftsmen for that sort of thing."

[nashida]

Tsusho's explanation that additional weight builds muscles is about as impressive to her as his musculature. Not that her own physical strength was considered particularly impressive, and in fact she somewhat assumed that if they were to arm wrestle, that she would only have any chance of victory exclusively because of the height difference, and that could probably be circumvented by their difference in experience. All this to say that Nashida was not too terribly interested in much physical prowess. She had the Tantetsu's natural physicality, and that seemed enough for her to not mind any kind of physical improvement that goes beyond protection.

The suggestion of getting in touch with someone back in Iwagakure in order to get some exported materials makes her infinitely more interested. Perhaps there's someone there that would know about lowering the weight of the steel enough that it could be as light as cloth while being stronger and tougher than the basic steel she could get in Yukigakure. So that settles it: some testing alloys and materials from Iwagakure, but combined with the clothwork that Yukigakure has become artisans in, creating a powerful defensive fortress that shows Nashida's simultaneous loyalty to both. The thought of such a work of art is causing Nashida's eyes to sparkle with glee even as her face remains stony and thoughtful.

"Perhaps I'll make my way to Iwagakure, after you've left for this other village that your own teacher lives in..."

She nods when Tsusho mentions that he himself does this in Iwagakure as well, although she's not surprised that there's already quite a lot of competition in such a village, and very skilled craftsman that makes earning a living off such work unlikely.

"In Iwagakure, it is for pride's sake, but Yukigakure has few experts in metallurgy. That's not to say there are none, it's just not terribly common, and although we have an alliance with Iwagakure, the cost of transporting such steel to Yukigakure is daunting, for both the village and for the transportation... In this case, Yukigakure is happy to pay for this level of craftsmanship, if only because it's cheaper than the price of commerce."

As she speaks, she leaves the prototype armor where it is so she can move back over to the table and pour another two cups of hot, steaming tea, returning back with two full teacups that would look like mugs in any other person's hands, but appeared dainty in Nashida's own. She sips from her own, but is starting to feel somewhat bittersweet that their conversation is beginning to wind down; at this point, they're near the end of what Tsusho had come so far north to see, and not many people from outside of Yukigakure tended to stay long. Not that she could blame them; she'd probably overheat quite rapidly during a trip to Iwagakure, as it was a temperature she'd only been exposed to in short bursts while forging steel into a workable form. Nashida knew from experience that a body like hers could take it, but she wasn't sure for how long.

[tsusho]

"Well, when I say teacher, maybe it's overstating things. She isn't a teacher in the sense that Kazeo is teaching you, and more she's helping me with techniques involving my puppetry. So she is technically teaching me, but I wouldn't call it formal. We share a common interest that is otherwise uncommon in the villages we both live in."

    Giving a bit of a shrug he transitions into a heavy stretch as he walked over, and finally, sits down, leaning up against the armor. The weight of it is finally apparently as it seems as study as the wall of the house, meaning either Tsusho is even stronger than he looks, or he moves it in other means, maybe a little of both.

"Are you able to travel all the way to Iwa, though? Not sure about this village, but genin in Iwa aren't allowed to travel outside the village unless they have an escort or missions, again usually with a higher ranking shinobi with them. I barely walked outside the walls of Iwa until I was a chuunin outside of mission specific tasks."

    The longer he sat, the more he stretched, even a yawn he tried real hard to hide until having to cover his mouth. He didn't want to seem bored or as if he wasn't paying attention, but the fatigue was impossible to hide. The cold weather alone was sapping him more than expected, and the boat ride did him no favors as he didn't sleep the entire trip.

"If you can stop by then you should, all the same. See the big Tantetsu setup that puts to shame any forge in any other village hands down. Meet some relatives, gets some tips, all that fun stuff."

    His eyes started to wander around the room again, wondering if he could make jewelry like this, but his mind was pulling and tugging at his body the more he struggled.

"I hope this doesn't sound rude, but I may need a rest soon. Me and water travel don't get along, and I haven't slept in quite a while, and this cold you guys have up here is doing me no favors."

[nashida]

Nashida is a bit surprised to hear that Tsusho's teacher isn't really a very formal sensei, but simply a person with more experience in puppetry. It makes sense, however; from what she'd heard from her mother, Iwagakure itself didn't have such a great plethora of puppet-users. She also notices that the armor doesn't even move when Tsusho leans up against it, somewhat proving its sturdy construction, and since he had mentioned that he was a puppeteer, she had to assume that without the puppet strings to move it about, that the armor itself was as close to a fully inert block of metal as one could get.

The challenge of whether or not she even could travel to Iwagakure was also a bit of a conundrum for her, but she doesn't seem too worried about it. Her explanation is likely to be sound enough that she feels it would be easy enough to justify, surely.

"My sensei has already expressed interest in tracking down missing nin across the world. Presumably, that would take him across Tsuchi no Kuni eventually. And it will be easy enough to press him to spend some time in Iwagakure, as they're a very close ally with Yukigakure, and I highly doubt the Lady will take offense to a friendly visit, especially as my clan lives there."

She finally seems to notice that he's reclining more and more, and likely exhausted from the travel, which he confirms with his statement that he needs to rest soon. Nashida immediately goes to one of the rooms in the middle of the hallway that leads from her sitting room to the master bedroom. Although the master bedroom was at the far end of the house, the middle room was kept as a guest bedroom, warmer than the outer areas of the house, as it's more protected from the weather outside. She returns after having ensured that the guest bedroom is still clean; and no wonder, Kazeo was a strict sanitarian. Nashida returns quickly to see Tsusho beginning to drift mentally.

"You can rest in the guest bedroom. Kazeo will be... 'happy' to sleep on the couch, instead. At the very least, he will understand that he's become accustomed to the chilling temperature, and the guest bedroom is warmer and far more comfortable."

[tsusho]

    Even behind the bandages it was hard to miss the way his face dropped, the smile faded, and the muscles of his jaw tightened. The mention of someone tracking missing shinobi was a delicate subject with Tsusho for many reasons, none he was likely to openly talk about in polite company, but it was a subject he couldn't help but feel strongly enough about to find near impossible to hide his emotions toward.

"If he's going to track down those labeled as missing-nin, I would highly recommend you not go with him. They tend to be highly dangerous at the best of times."

    His tone was obviously serious, clearly missing at least a bit of the context due to whatever it was swimming around in his thoughts. Shaking his head as if trying to shake free of the dark cloud forming from whatever was hanging there, he looked back over and sighed, returning to his previous demeanor for the most part. The tired was certainly doing his mind no good, as he sat quietly after his comments, not wanting to put a foot in his mouth or say more than intended, even standing back up to get the blood flowing better once more.

"Warm and bed were the best words you said in that sentence."

    Clearly the standing didn't do much for his body and certainly not much for his mind either, as he stretched and couldn't with his best effort fight the urge to yawn.

"Not sure what time it is, but I'll probably sleep a long while. I guess wake me in the morning if I'm not up and uh, I guess we'll do whatever it is we can find to do. I'm sure we'll figure it out when I'm not mentally checked out."

    With a slightly less sure footing than when he arrived, he pointed and started heading for the guest bedroom. For all he wanted to talk more he managed to go to the point and extended his arm, chakra strings snaking their way back into the main room as the puppet stumbled down the hall in a similarly tired looking state, stopping at the side of the bed. For a moment all he could managed to do was stare at the bed as if it was a siren calling from the deep, before flopping over.

[Thread Exit]