• In motion excerpt:

    . . . The trail was old, and seemingly non-existant in places, where animals and forest creatures had moved the fast-growing dandelions and weeds to grow upon it. Small patches of the trail remained, churned up by the animals that passed through. The churned ground created aisles and thin, snake-like markings upon the dirt path. Surrounding the path was a small forest of cherry blossom trees, the living representations of Karai's silhouetted kimono.

    It was midday, and the golden sun shone through the canopy, illuminating small spots on the path with its light, only to be covered up as the trees shifted in the wind. Occasionally, the trees would part below where Karai and her horse were walking, illuminating her pink-and-white-and-black kimono and causing the light to radiate around it. The warmth felt good, but it was not overwhelming. The wind cooled as the sun warmed, and it stayed so fleetingly that Karai felt no need to shift. Her eyes drooped lazily, and her grip on her reigns was loose. Her horse seemed undeterred, however, and plodded slowly along, allowing his rider to drink in the serenity of the cherry blossoms. He needed no direction -- he knew where he was going.

    Karai drew in a deep, deliberate breath through her nose, taking in the sweet scent of cherry blossom. As she did, a small gust blew through, sending several leaves into a small flurry that twirled and drew shapes on the path ahead. As she breathed, a rogue petal found its way out of the gust and flew directly into her nose. The samurai started, and sneezed violently, sending the small, now-mutilated petal into her cupped hands. She stared at it for a moment, then calmly cleaned it on her kimono and began to fold it. The petal was large enough for her to fold many times over, and the end result was a flower that the petal may once have helped configure.

    The little flower found its way into the samurai's hair, and she carefully intertwined the stem so as not to stress one point too much. She wished there was a spring nearby that she might see her handiwork and fix her hair as necessary. . . .

    Excerpt from Dialogue:

    . . . The man smiled, "Konichi-wa, Karai-chan," His voice was deep, but had a ringing sound that tricked the ears and made it seem like it was coming from all directions at once. He rose from his half-crouch and slide his ninja-to back into its sheath. He reaffixed it to his back, not moving his eyes from Karai's for even an instant. As full height, the ninja was a full four inches taller than Karai. His sandy-brown hair fell loose and rested just a bit over his right eye.

    "Kit . . ." Karai gasped. She blinked, and then rapidly refocused herself. With a single, swift motion, she sent her hand to his face and slapped him, hard. The force sent the ninja reeling, and he staggered back several feet, turning fully as he did so. He took it with no grunt or cry, but as he rose again, Karai saw the mark she had left on Kit's face.

    Kit blinked back the tear of pain, and recovered his composure before speaking again. "I would have expected a warmer welcome than that, considering I haven't seen you in almost a year, Karai," The ninja's voice was calm, but there was an edge to it that signalled his pain. Noticing this, he cleared his throat and smiled at Karai. "Maybe that approach was warranted; we are enemies after all."

    Karai glanced toward her katana, which was still embedded in the tree. The blade had pierced a cherry blossom, and the leaf that was hanging from it was in the shape of a heart. Her shoulders rose and fell as she sighed heavily, and her look returned to the ninja, who, to her unobservable surprise, had moved several feet closer in that moment. "Kitsuou Anike," she sighed. "You are the worst person I've ever met. Don't you follow your own form of bushido? Have you not the courtesy of revealing your presence before I almost sever your head?"

    Kit's eyes gleamed his rogue-ish charm, and Karai blushed. He shrugged. "I thought your skills needed some testing," he said. "And from what I saw," he motioned to Karai's lost katana, "they're getting a little rusty." . . .

    Excerpt from Grandma's House stables:

    . . . Karai dismounted and removed her horse's saddle and barding. She whispered to him as she took off his bridle. "Oh, Hisune, what do I do?" She hung the bridle on her grandmother's stable, and led the horse into the pen. "Kitsuou and I can never be together as long as he is what he is and I am what I am," In reply, Hisune nickered and brushed the feed bag wantingly with his nose. Karai sighed and smiled, then took it off its post and slid it onto Hisune's long face. She buried her head in the bay's mane, wrapping her arms around his neck.

    The horse whinnied lovingly, and swished his tail happily. Karai sat there, holding her horse's neck as he chewed on the feed.

    After a few minutes, Karai slid the feed bag off of Hisune's snout, and led him to the water trough. The horse dipped his head into the water and drank greedily. The water descended several inches, and Karai slapped his flank. "Hisune! Some of that's for the other horses, too!" Hisune raised his head for a moment to shake his whole body and nicker rebelliously. His big brown eyes turned back to Karai. She gave him a stern look, and the horse sighed and rose.

    Karai smiled. "Good boy. You can have more water before we leave tomorrow," she said, and then added with a softer tone, "And maybe I'll sneak you a bucket in the night," The horse nickered his assent to her proposal, and she laughed.

    She led him into the main barn, and helped him lay on the hay that was to be his bed. She covered him in his favorite blanket (taken from Karai's personal bedding) and kissed the horse's forehead. The horse returned the favor by licking her neck and pushing his head against her thigh. She grunted in surprise, and then sighed. "Fine!"

    She pulled out a small carrot from her pocket, and offered it to him. He gobbled it up and raised his head a bit to swallow. Karai assisted him in laying back down, and re-tucked him in. The horse settled down obediently, and closed his eyes. Karai stood and walked to the exit, turning to watch the horse quickly set his head back down and pretend to sleep. She smiled and walked toward her grandmother's home