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[Silent Poet]

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Field Entry: 478

Sexy Blonde and her clan have just said they would kill Lord Tai and his family.

Field Entry: 479

I will disobey the prime directive to protect the Royal Family.

Field Entry: 480

I have gathered them at the Yew Lighthouse. I now open the sanctuary portal.

Field Entry: 481

Lord Tai and Lady Rryn entered the green portal followed by Lady Jade, Lord Takeda and Lord Flair.

Field Entry: 482

Lord Tai kicked me in the head knocking me back into the green portal. I awake to a closed portal and not remembering where I sent them. I should seek a healer about this head wound.
_________________
"When he spoke, what tender words he used! So softly, that like flakes of feathered snow, They melted as they fell." - John Dryden

[Tai Kwan Leap]

---

Tai's Journal:

He had brought us to a place of sand and the sea.

Tai approached Black Lotus.

"Where are we?"

He had meant to place his foot beside Black Lotus's head, but instead his blow threw Black Lotus into the Green Portal.

As he fell upon it, it disappeared.

Tai turned at Rryn's cry.
_________________
"He's been fired from the Shrimp Boat?" -- Charlaine Harris "Living Dead In Dallas."

[Guest]

---

Rryn had gone thru the strange green portal following her husband.

Upon reaching the other side she felt disoriented. Glancing about she saw sand and strange trees. The seas in front of her more vast then any she had seen before.

She stared dazed upon it suddenly feeling very unwell. A strange sensation pierced the very center of her. As she turned to say something about it she saw the man called Black Lotus as he was kicked into the portal by Tai. Suddenly seized by a pain she had never experienced before , she cried out and sunk to the ground.

[Tai Kwan Leap]

---

"This does not bode well."

Tai worked like a mad man building a structure from the sand to house his beloved Rryn.

As he paused after establishing a 50 foot by 50 foot perimeter of nine foot tall sand walls, he heard Rryn's cry.

He ran up to Flair and Takeda.

"Oi, you two, please go over that hill there and two leagues along that road you will find a temple. There you will find healers. My wife is in labor."

Flair and Takeda seemed stunned at first. Then they both without speaking mounted and spurred their steeds onward leaving a cloud of sand and dust in their wake.

Tai adjusted his sweat soaked kamishimo and went into the sand structure.

Jade had arranged a bed made of leaves and dried grass.

Tai knew they were in the land of the Three Countries. Tai knew he was in the land of his birth. The pain of returning to his lands was the reason he struck Black Lotus.

There at the same temple he sent Flair and Takeda were the graves of his mother Rei, his father Norito, and his brother the former shogun of Otori, Shigeru. Tai also knew that his four uncles swore a second son would never lead the Otori.

Black Lotus had left Tai and his family and friends in a land of civil war with himself marked for death.

He then looked to his wife. Moving softly to her side, he knelt in desai postion and took her hand.

"Do not worry. Master Po will be here soon."
_________________
"He's been fired from the Shrimp Boat?" -- Charlaine Harris "Living Dead In Dallas."

[Guest]

---

Rryn could hear Jade speaking to her in a peaceful and soothing chant. Though she felt the sharp pain come and go and knew she cried out, her meditation seemed to be controlling her fears for now. It had been several hours, yet felt like several days to her. Would this never end?
As the last pain subsided, she turned to look at her husband as he entered the strange structure he had built around them to protect them from the heat of the sun.

He had sent for Master Po. She took hope in these words knowing he at least had some idea where they were. She glanced over his face seeing the worry there for her but there was something more. Something he had not said, another worry that he had not spoken aloud. Before she could question him another pain began to grow. She closed her eyes and squeezed the hand he had given her. In the fog of the pain she heard Jade speak to him that it would not be much longer and she hoped Takeda and Flair would return soon with Master Po and the healers. With her eyes closed she did not see the unspoken words they exchanged nor the look of worry that suddenly came to Jade's face.
Jade merely nodded her understanding of the true danger they were in.

Coming down from the pain, she took several deep breathes.Glancing at Tai, he tried to joke with her that it would soon be over as he shook his sore hand she had squeeze to numbness.

"Would you care to switch places?" She spoke sharply. Where had that come from she questioned herself mentally. She quickly apologized for her sharp tongue but Tai only smiled and said she would probably say worse things before the end of this. Jade placed her hands on Rryn's stomach and made a mental note of the progress.

She did not know if she could continue this much longer. Her whold body felt exhausted and distorted.As another pain seized her, she blindly reached out to grab something to concentrate her pain into.
She heard Jade's giggle at the expression on Tai's face thru her pain.

Tai sat there, his head pulled back. Her deathgrip upon his topknot braids

[Tai Kwan Leap]

---

As if the very shadows had congealed and formed a person, an old man with the milky white orbs of the blind stepped forward.

"Little Ryu, I told you that topknot was nothing more than pride."

He hobbles over to kneel by Tai. He places two fingers on the inside of Rryn's wrist in the venus butterly technique. She slowly releases Tai's topknot and the bells jingle softly.

Her breathing becomes less labored.

Tai, while holding his wife's hand backs up and places his forehead on the floor in front of Master Po. He immediately receives a stout slap across his head.

"Sit up my Ryu. This woman will need your strength during this."

He places one hand gently on top of Jade's hand.

"Lord Otori, your men will be arriving shortly. I am afraid I could not wait for their slowness."

A frown crosses Master Po's face briefly. But he wipes it away with his other hand. He then places that hand on Tai's shoulder.

"Ryu, we have a problem. Your son is presenting breach."
_________________
"He's been fired from the Shrimp Boat?" -- Charlaine Harris "Living Dead In Dallas."

[Tai Kwan Leap]

---

Tai's breath caught in his throat.

He looked back to Lord Flair and Lord Takeda walking up.

"We told him what you needed and he disappeared" said Lord Flair.

Takeda discreetly nudged him and poined to Master Po.

"0-sensei Tai-sama, we await your bidding." Takeda cupped his left palm around his right fist and bowed. After a few moments of staring Lord Flair did the same.

"O-Sensei Takeda, I need the perimeter secured. We are about to have guests. They will not enter without slaying you and Lord Flair first. Do you understand?"
_________________
"He's been fired from the Shrimp Boat?" -- Charlaine Harris "Living Dead In Dallas."

[Tai Kwan Leap]

---

(posted as Takeda on the otori forums http://otoriyotogi.proboards57.com/index.cgi?)

I look at Tai San. Lord Tai, my sensei, I will gladly give my life. To live the life of the samurai is to accept one's own death everyday. And besides this is not the first time I have been outnumbered. *Smiling* I turn and walk away backwards and bow as I leave Tai. Looking around at my surroundings. Trying to find the best vantage points. Thinking back to all the lessons that Tai sensei taught about tactical advantage. Looking around he notices a hill that is higher then any other point with trees. Thinking to himself this will be a good vantage point. The hill will allow me to see all on coming individuals and the trees leaves will act as cover. Climbing the tree Looking around. His stomache turning with nerves as they always do before all battles. Remembering his meditation techniques to calm he starts to ready himself. Looking to the heavens he asks for the strength that he will need to overcome the days events, then mumbles to himself, I must not fail the fate of many rest upon me......
_________________
"He's been fired from the Shrimp Boat?" -- Charlaine Harris "Living Dead In Dallas."

[Guest]

---

"That was a good one " Rryn said quietly as she released a deep breath ending the labor pain. Opening her eyes she saw Master Po. He had just spoken of the problem with the first baby.
" So very stubborn like his father" Master Po said, laughing but with a concerned look upon his brow.
"What does this mean...breach?" she asked. He explained the child was trying to come out backwards, thus causing complications. This could present a real problem during the birth and may have been the reason that her labor had progressed so slowly. She listened as Master Po explain the complications and the risks to her and the babies if indeed it progressed much longer. He assured her once the baby began the final decent, they would know how to ease its transition. She saw the uneasy look exchanged between the two men and raised her brow.
"And how is it we correct this ?" she asked trying very hard to contain her fears.
Before either could answer Lord Takeda and Lord Flair had appeared. They both looked at her then quickly away, selfconciously. She had so many questions she wanted answers to. She slighlty overheard some of the talk between the men as she felt another pain begin.

" We will soon ...guests ...slay..understand" she heard Tai.
"..........gladly give my life ." she thought was Lord Takeda.
" They will seek us .........." she heard Tai.
" Too late to move her now, her time is very near." she knew this deep voice to be Master Po.
" Move man, you gawk like you have never seen a birth before!" Master Po admonished.
She thought she heard mumblings from Lord Flair.
What was going on outside this place? Exactly where were they and who would be seeking them? She had so many questions to ask.
"Soon as I get thru this next pain.."she thought aloud as the pain became more intense.
Jade glanced at her face as she spoke the words and admonished the men to take their talk outside. She placed a cool wet cloth on Rryns brow.

The questions would have to wait. Unable to mask her pain any longer, and too late to fall into meditation, Rryn began to scream as the first child began the final decent, determined to enter the world his way.

[Tai Kwan Leap]

---

"Ryu hand me your best staff while you go and greet our guests."

Tai unstrapped his Mystic Quarterstaff that had been his best companion since the time of the Britain Invasion and laid it into Master Po's hands.

"This is a fine weapon, little Ryu, I see why you like it."

"Hai, Master Po, it is yours as long as you wish to honor it with your hands. Now, I must go and greet my uncles."

Tai leaned over and kissed his wife on the forehead and then stood up straightening his kamishimo.

He walked formally to the entrance he had built in his temporary shelter. Lord Flair and Lord Takeda stood there facing four noblemen brought forth on plananquins and two score of samurai.

Tai placed his hands on both of their shoulders and tried not to blush because he hand to stand on his toes to do so. They both parted and let him pass through.

There stood his four uncles: Ichiro, Takeshi, Shoichi, and Satoru.

Tai covered his right closed fist with his left palm and bowed slightly.

"Honorable Otori, I am pleased you have arrived at such a momentous time."

Satoru spit on the ground and started to draw his blade, but Ichiro, the eldest held him back.

"Fool of a dung worm. He would strike you down with out thinking" said Ichiro.

"Truly my uncles, I welcome your arrival. The Clan Otori is about to have heirs."

As if it had been planned, at the mention of heirs, all twenty samurai drew their blades.

Lord Takeda and Lord Flair did the same.

"O-Sensei, you should arm yourself" warned Lord Takeda.

"Iie. I will meet my past as I was in the beginning." Tai then strips his samurai armor and is wearing only his silk ceremonial gi.

He walked to within five paces of his uncles.

"Who among you think to best me alone?" He looked down the line of his uncles who all turned their eyes to the ground.

One of the Otori samurai stepped forward.

"I wish that honor, Lord Otori."

He stepped back into the standard attack position.


"Honorable Otori, do you wish this be to the death, or until I have defeated you?"

"Lord Otori, I only wish to test my abilities. With your grace, I have a family."

Tai nodded and bowed to the man and stood 7 paces from him.

"When you are ready."

The samurai nodded and then attacked at once. He brought his no-dachi in a swinging arch directly at Tai's unarmored head.

Tai reached up and stopped his swing by clapping his hands on the blade, and then snapped his foot up in a thunder kick to the man's throat stopping short of striking.

Tai released the man's blade and backed away but joined Lord Takeda and Lord Flair.

Two samurai in the ranks brushed past the gathered uncles rudely.

"We wish to try if Lord Otori will honor us."

"As you wish, but I should tell you... It is wrong to tip the vessel of knowledge. However, approach me that you might gain this wisdom."

They slowly and more cautiously approached but the end result was the same. Without his heavy armor, and the benefit of his small stature allowed Tai to move unimpeded. He stepped inside their swing and footswept the one on the left and the put his foot on his throat, and did a nerve strike to the one on the left's throat. He staggered back and then allowed Tai to strike it again so he could breath. Tai lifted his foot from the throat of the other one.

The two men stood up and joined Lord Takeda and Lord Flair.

Tai walked past his uncles who were looking to their palanquins.

"Are there any more Otori that wish to test me?"

They all as one dropped to desai position and put their heads in the sand.

Then their leader stood. It was the old quartermaster Kondo.

"Lord Otori, we thought you dead. Please forgive our ignorance."

And then with a hand signal the seventeen remaining Otori Samurai stood and silently joined the ranks of Lord Taked and Lord Flair.

Tai turned and then went and stood before his uncles.

"I have been told you were responsible for hiring the Hand to kill my mother and brother, the first son. While I may not be Otori Shigeru, I am Otori Tai Kwan. You will from this point forward address me as the Shogun."

The uncles murmured as one and were red in the face.

"This is not over" Ichiro said.

"Honorable uncle. Threaten me or my family or samurai again, and I will gladly second you in seppeku. Now, begone from my sight or I will have you banned from our lands."

Tai turned his back to them and walked back to the men he had now amassed.

"Lord Takeda and Lord Flair speak with my authority. Lord Kondo there is the commander of these samurai. I wish you to secure the perimeter and fortify our position."

Tai stepped forward and they parted to let him enter the sand fortress.

He walked to his wife's side just as his son presented himself feet first.

"He is much like you, little Ryu, not one to wait on formalities" Master Po chuckled.

"Take your staff back, and put on your armor. I do not think we are alone."
_________________
"He's been fired from the Shrimp Boat?" -- Charlaine Harris "Living Dead In Dallas."

[JadeMurasaki]

---

So much had happened in such a short time to Jade and her companions that Jade was surprised how calm she felt inside. She had learned over time that worrying over things she could not personally control would distract her from things that she did have at least SOME control over.

In this case the only thing Jade felt she had any control over was her own reactions to things and to do her damndest to make sure that Rryn, who had gone into full-blown (if Jade's training in such matters was correct Rryn's contractions felt nothing like a false labor that might have occured had she been earlier in her pregnancy and gone through the trauma of traveling through a portal) labor after coming through the portal, and the three little ones still inside her, came through this alive and well.

Jade had helped the others build a shelter out of wet sand until Rryn's scream had made them aware that something was wrong. Without needing to be told why Rryn was in pain, Jade ran over to her and tried to settle her within the shelter as comfortably as she could as she made her initial examination of her, finding that indeed Rryn was in labor and, unfortunately, further along in the process then she should have been since she had had no warning of oncoming labor before they had come through the portal.

Jade was not one to hide information from her patients, particularly not when she knew this particular patient would do better if she did know the truth. So she told Rryn that this was no false labor, but the real thing and that if she had anything to do with it, she and the babies would come through it all right. She also told Rryn that she thought the travel through the portal had brought this labor about, and that although Jade had been helped in births before, that since this labor had been triggered by magic, that it might be a more difficult one then they had anticipated (since it was her first pregnancy and Rryn was going to have triplets she had already been told that her labor might be difficult under the best of circumstances).

Rryn, as usual, took the information stoically, but Jade could feel the fear for the future of the babies override Rryn's warrior training, even if she did not allow thoughts for her own well-being do so. Jade knew nothing she could say to Rryn would dismiss those fears, but she intended to do whatever she could to make those fears not become reality.

It was time to get to work and prove she was the adept healer that the guildmistress in Zento had pronounced her to be months ago. Tai-san had sent Lord Flair and Takeda away to a locla temple where he said they would find healers who could help bring Rryn through her labor. That meant that at least Tai knew where they were, even if he was not telling Rryn or herself.

Jade though, having no idea how long it would take Flair and Takeda-san to get help and bring it back, decided to start turning the shelter into a healer's house. Tai-san had remained behind so that he could stay with Rryn. Thus, he could watch over Rryn for a few moments while Jade gathered the necessary sea grasses and any other soft vegetation she could find to try to create something for Rryn to lie on besides the mixture of wet and dry sand floor of the temporary shelter.

Jade explained to Tai and Rryn what she intended to do, then went outside the shelter and began looking around the beach area and the treelines a little distance away. Jade took off her cape and filled it with everything she found then brought it to the shelter and began to arrange it in a long rectangler pile. It took her four trips, filling her cape up with the grasses and leaves each time to get what she thought was absolutely necessary.

When Jade was finished making the sea grass "futon" she stepped out of the light wool hakama she wore over her armored leggings. She went to her backpack (all she had with her on this side of the portal that she was not wearing was in her backpack) and pulled out a pair of scissors and then a folded, clean under kimono (padded so that she could wear it under her armor) of natural colored raw silk.

Without hesitation, Jade made a few quick cuts in the waist of the hakama so she could lay it out longways on top of the pile of leaves and grasses. The combination of the leaves and grasses, topped by the wool of the hakama material would be the best she could do to sheild Rryn's body from the damp, sand floor of the shelter. One reason for doing this was to keep things sanitary, but Jade also wanted to make sure that Rryn didn't lose her precious body heat, thus making her weaker and less able to make it through the ordeal before her.

Before Jade would let Rryn lie on the makeshift futon though, she would put one extra layer of fabric between her friend and the cold sand below. Jade unfolded her raw silk padded (to wear under armor) kimono and laid it on top of the wool hakama. This would feel softer to Rryn's skin and since it had been washed recently and unworn it was even cleaner then the wool from Jade's hakama which it was true had only been worn for a short time, but still, were not as clean as if they had been taken folded from her backpack as the under kimono had been.

That done, Jade allowed Tai to help Rryn over to the futon and settle her as comfortably as they could. Jade took the cape she had been using to gather the grasses and went outside the shelter and shook it vigorously, making it as clean as possible.

Jade returned to the shelter and laid the cape out on the floor near where Rryn was resting. Jade then turned to her backpack again and pulled out what few medicinal herbs and potions she always carried with her in her backpack (since she had been spending so much time with Rryn as her pregnancy progressed there were more of these related to childbirth then she had carried with her when she had been out training her samurai abilites, although she also had the basics to treat wounds too) and packs of fresh bandages.

'It isn't much to bring a woman and her three babes into the world safely,' Jade thought to herself, 'but it will have to be enough if the healer Tai sent for doesn't come soon...'

*******************

[Guest]

---

Tai had rejoined her and taken her hand , knowing it was time to welcome their first child. Looking back at Jade she observed as she and Master Po prepared for the delivery. Jade was pouring a paste of some sort Master Po had given to her on a cloth and wrapping it about a flat stout stick.

Rryn took the wet, cloth covered stick into her mouth and bit down as Master Po instructed. The sickly sweet taste on her tongue quickly began to absorb into her system making her feel strange. An odd sensation, but one which Master Po felt would best assist this difficult birth. Though she would feel pain, she would feel somewhat separated from it. He would have to move quickly to ensure the baby was born safely. He asked Tai to sit at her head and elevate her slightly, allowing Jade the freedom to assist him in applying pressure to her abdomen. Tai assumed desai position cradling her upper body. Master Po placed Jade's hands and told her what she must do. As the wave of pain began to grow,he told Rryn to push with everything she had. She felt Jade place all her strength into her hands as she applied pressure. Tai whispered words of encouragement. As she pushed she felt a tearing sensation and a pain unlike any she would ever feel again. Unable to contain the pain any longer, she screamed out.
Then just as sudden as it had began, the feeling of relief came. She glanced down to see Master Po as he cleared the baby's face with a clean cloth. Falling back in relief against Tai she glanced at Tai's face, the last sound she heard as she passed out was the outraged cry of their newborn son.

[JadeMurasaki]

---

As Rryn's labor pains came and went, Jade began to act as not only a healer, but began to renew her role as a Shinto priestess and chant prayers to the goddess of safe childbirth, Koyasu-gami. She did not know if Rryn knew these ancient prayers, for they were in a very old style of the Tokunese language, but she was sure that the soothing sounds would help relax her and perhaps even put her in an alternate state of mind so as to make it easier to deal with the labor pains.

Surely, this close to the water, if any of the kami would hear Jade's prayers, it would be Koyasu-gami, whose element was water. Not only that, but Koyasu-gami would have a special concern with children born to a woman who carried imperial blood in her veins...since the Tokunan Imperial family was believed to have descended from the highest of Shinto kami, the Sun goddess, Amaterasu, herself.

Sometimes it seemed if Rryn was calmed by Jade's voice, other times the labor pains seemed so intense that Jade could feel her friend's chi fluctuate and Jade was afraid her patient would lose consciousness.

During a calm moment, Jade had moved to the cape with her pile of herbs and bandages to grab some small bottles of potions that she wanted to give Rryn to give her extra strength, as the poor woman was already exhausted and the first child had not even been born yet. When she did so, Tai-san came over to her, and in a low voice told Jade where the portal had taken them and his worries as to all of their safety as well as giving her the name of his sensei of old, Master Po, whom he believed would be of great help during Rryn's labor.

Jade nodded and said nothing except that she hoped that Master Po would come soon and that she was worried that this due to Rryn's coming through the portal that her labor was proceeding at an accelerated rate. She held Tai's gaze for a long time with her own, not wanting to say too much in case Rryn by some chance could hear her voice, but wanting him to see that things were not progressing as well as she had hoped.

Jade did not tell Tai-san that the last time she had tried to ascertain the position of the babes in the womb, that something had not felt as they should. There was a horizontal mass across the bottom of the womb which would mean that whichever child was to be born first was not in the correct position for coming through the birth canal. She had been trying to lightly massage the side of Rryn's belly to have the muscles push more on one side then the other, thus turning the baby upside down completely as it should be, but the contractions were coming so hard and too often for such a technique to work.

Telling Tai this at this moment would not do any good, there was nothing either of them could do about it that she wasn't doing already, and Jade needed Tai to be strong for Rryn right now and although Tai was a strong samurai and the head of a clan, she suspected that just like any man that truly loved his wife, if he suspected the worst and that Rryn's life might be in greater danger then that of any woman who gave birth in such circumstances, that he might not be able to hide his fears for her in his eyes. Rryn could read emotions very well, and of course she would be able to read Tai's best of all. The last thing Jade wanted was Rryn seeing death reflected in Tai's eyes when Jade was not even sure that her theory that the first child in line to be born was in the wrong position. Rryn needed to believe that she would come through this as well as the babes, any other beliefs at this point in time would only weaken her spirit as well as her body and sway the potential outcome of the future in a way that Jade did not want to ponder on.

Tai returned to Rryn's side, and after a moment where she checked to make sure she had everything she would need for the moment, Jade did as well.

Jade was able to give Rryn the strengthening potions and make sure they stayed in her stomach before Rryn was racked with pain once again. After the worst part of this set of labor pains seemed to pass, Tai made some joke (why did men always try to make a joke about pain? Ken, her betrothed, did the same thing and Jade could never understand why they felt they were making the one experiencing the pain feel better about it) about how it would all be over soon.

Through gritted teeth Rryn managed to say something about how she wondered if Tai would like to switch places with her. Then she reached over and grabbed Tai's topknot and pulled as another pain came over her. This time instead of Rryn crying out in pain though, it was Tai, and despite the seriousness of the situation, Jade could not help but let out a laugh that was a mixture of surprise and at the look on Tai's face.

Jade felt a little sorry for Tai, besides that last lame joke, he'd been doing amazingly well for a man who had to attend his wife during childbirth, most men, unless they were healers trained in the art of midwifery would have not done half as well as he. At the same time, Jade's sympathies were more with Rryn, as she knew she might have done the same were their positions reversed.

She considered saying something about at this point in the process, it was best that Tai only spoke when spoken to, when Jade suddenly felt a fluctuation in the energy fields in the shelter. Someone or something had just entered the shelter and not by physically walking into it.

She heard a man's voice make some comment to "Ryu" and how his topknot had always been an issue of "pride". Jade turned her head slightly to look up to see an old man before her, a man whose chi radiated far beyond his physical body and whom obviously saw much behind eyes that were blind behind what appeared to be thick, white cataracts.

Without having to ask, due to his manner with Tai-san and due to the power of the man's life force, Jade knew that this old man must be Tai's former sensei and healer, Master Po.

Master Po took Rryn's wrist and danced his fingers across it, causing Rryn's grip to loosen on Tai's topknot. Jade noticed an instant change in Rryn's breathing and the severity of the spasms of her stomach muscles subsided for the moment. Jade looked at Rryn's face and saw a look of peace move across it and smiled slightly to see her friend, even if only for a moment, not wracked with pain.

Suddenly, there was a smacking sound and Master Po was saying something to Tai about how he should sit up as his wife needed him to be strong now.

Jade heard Tai shift his position, and then a moment later a warm, dry hand covered the one that she herself held over Rryn's belly. Jade looked up to see Master Po, his face turned towards her own, seeming to look at her, even though she knew he could not see her physical form.

Jade opened her chi up so that Master Po could pick up Rryn's chi fully, without her own blocking it. She also tried to send through thought pictures what she thought may be going on inside the womb and hoped that her talents in such areas were strong enough for Master Po to read so that he would be able to tell her whether or not her suspiscions were correct as to the postioning of the first babe in the womb while he channeled his chi past hers to do his own reading.

Jade closed her eyes and focused on shutting out everything else that was going on around her so that Master Po could proceed with his work. When she felt his chi move away from her from her for a moment she opened her eyes and watched as Master Po spoke to Tai in a low voice.

But Jade did not need to hear the words that passed between the two men, nor did she need to see the grim look on either Master Po's or Tai's face to know that she had been right earlier when she thought the first child was positioned incorrectly, for with the added power of Master Po's chi flowing through her own a picture had begun to take shape in Jade's mind behind her closed eyes...a boy child positioned in the breach position.

Rryn's voice was rough and full of sarcasm, "That was a good one..."

Jade turned her face to look towards Rryn and nodded, glad to see that she was strong enough to make a wry comment.

Then, having heard Master Po use the term "breach", Rryn began to ask questions of what that meant and what that meant to her and the babes. Jade listened as Master Po explained things to Rryn much better then she could have, and was glad to hear (although he did not get to say how this was to be done due to the arrival of Lord Flair and Takeda to the shelter) that he believed they could handle the manner once the labor progressed a little further.

With the arrival of the other men came more labor pains. Jade shut out most of what the men were discussing, trying to help her friend through the pain and keep track of the positions of the children and count the time between the contractions. The contractions were coming closer together, just as the sets of contractions were happening more and more often.

Jade could feel Rryn tense as if for another contraction, although none was yet coming and noticed her friend seemed to be straining to hear what the men were talking about.

Jade shook her head and reached towards a bowl that earlier Tai had filled with fresh water from a container in his backpack and which she had been soaking clean bandages to use as cloths to place on Rryn's head to soothe her.

Jade twisted the bandage and squeezed out the excess water, taking the moment to listen to what the men were speaking of. What they spoke of was not something that Rryn needed to hear right now, whether she wanted to or not.

"Do you menfolk MIND taking your discussions elsewhere so that the first thing the babes hear when they enter this world is not talk of fighting and death?" Jade had never been the most diplomatic of women, and at the moment she was hungry and tired and trying to save her friends' life as well as that of the coming children.

Jade placed the cloth on Rryn's forehead and then gave a pointed look at the men and watched them leave the tent. She'd pay for that comment later, but she could swear that she saw Master Po smile at her before she turned to attend to Rryn again.

**********************

[Tai Kwan Leap]

---

Master Po cradled the crying infant in one arm and reached into a pouch at his belt and brought out a small flask. He deftly unstoppered it with his fingers and then shook out three drops onto the baby. The crying stopped very shortly after that while Master Po rubbed the aromatic oil onto the baby's chest to help warm him up.

After making sure the infant was asleep, he turned and passed the baby to Takeda.

"Hold onto your friend's future with care."

Takeda struggled between saluting and bowing and not dropping the baby, and finally settled on a short nod.

"Hai Master Po!"

"Lord Otori, the next two will be faster. Your wife will need all your strength now."

Tai simply nodded his top knot jingling softly.

In less than an hour's time, with much whispered communication between Lady Jade and Master Po, the two girls were brought into the world and given the same oil massage by Master Po.

Tai left Lady Jade and Master Po to make his wife more comfortable. With a nod towards Lord Flair and Lord Takeda, they each took a child and walked to the front of the enclosure.

The Otori men had formed guards and patrols around the encampment, but the four uncles remained. For without their guards they had no one to carry them in their palanquins back to the Otori castle.

"Know now and forever more. My claim to the Otori title and lands now has heirs. Know also that if you ever approach myself, or my family or my clan in such dishonorable way, you will not leave to see another day."

Tai nodded to Lord Kondo.

"Take two volunteers and escort these men from this place."

"The rest of you close up ranks. No one gets in without the approval of Lord Takeda or Lord Flair."

Tai turned and walked back into the enclosure only to see Rryn propped up in bed watching he and the men approach with the babies.
_________________
"He's been fired from the Shrimp Boat?" -- Charlaine Harris "Living Dead In Dallas."

[Guest]

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Rryn opened her eyes hearing the footfalls of the men as they entered the shelter. She had been resting peacefully, still unaware of the turmoil that had taken place outside her temporary shelter as she labored. She smiled to see Lord Takeda and Lord Flair carefully holding her new daughters, each as cautious as if they held the finest piece of thin crystal in their arms. Lord Flair suddenly let out an embarrassed laugh and held the child away from him. A wet spot stained the front of his hakama-rubbish. Lady Jade laughed remarking to Lord Flair that obviously the little one liked him very much and quickly gathered the baby from him. She quickly unswaddled the newborn and placed an oshime (nappy) on the child. She re swaddled the baby and handed her down to Rryn. She did each child in turn and handed the last child, the boy, to Tai. Glancing at the two men, Lady Jade offered to clean Lord Flair's hakama-rubbish and pointed glanced to the exit, silently asking the men to leave the couple alone for a short time. With a gruff voice Lord Takeda announced to Rryn and Tai that he would be outside assuring the perimeter was guarded. Lord Flair merely nodded and exited behind Lord Takeda. Lady Jade smiled at them as she gracefully stepped outside for the first time in many hours.
Tai sat down beside her joking about what the baby had done to Lord Flair's hakama-rubbish. " Exactly which child was it? We really should name them, eventually they will want to know their names" he laughed. Rryn laughed with him for being silly and again apologized for her earlier behavior and temper. He laughed it off as normal and explained, as he rubbed his head, he was only glad she had not ripped his topknot off completely.

Tai placed the babies in her lap and got up to get his paper scrolls and feather pen and ink. Looking to the first child, a girl, they agreed upon her name , then the next girl, then the boy. With a flourish of his ink, Tai wrote the names down for prosperity. He handed the paper to Rryn and she smiled.