After a day ashore with fresh, albeit foreign, foods, O-washi headed toward the galley. Good as Cook was, she could do only so much with rations...which was why he came bearing gifts in the form of a crate of fresh local produce he'd caged out of the local kami. Beaming and pleased with himself, the big man was whistling as he looked around for a good place to settle the bounty before helping himself to breakfast.

Itsuho had already come into the galley early, having been on the ship over night and all the day before. She munched on some of the basic rations left out for snacking, knowing Cook would be at it all soon enough. She looked up as O-washi entered, standing and giving a slow, low bow to the man, holding it a long moment before straightening and sitting once more. He seemed busy, so she said nothing at the moment.

Kaito came strolling into the galley early merrily whistling a old sea shanty about a sailor out at sea and wishing for nothing more then land. It wasn't a good rendition either the mantis being rather tone deaf but it was still recognizable to most seafarers. Noticing the others present he bows a greeting before taking a seat waiting for the morning meal to be served.

Cook stepped out from behind the stove and took one look at O-Washi, then down at the crate, then back at the Isawa with a raised eyebrow. "What's this then, Isawa-gunso?"

"I come bearing gifts!" The big man positively beamed as he tipped the crate so that the shorter woman could see into it. "Fresh fruit for you to experiment with, some vegetables too, as well as the local rice. Looks a bit longer in the grain than the stuff we get at home but I had some at the Embassy, it's not at all bad. I trust that, in your capable hands, grand things will be forthcoming."

It was odd to hear, but the plump older woman actually squee'd in delight as she rushed over to the crate in question. She grabbed one of the strange fruits and sniffed at it experimentally for a moment before she set it down and picked up one of the new vegetables. "Ohhh, Isawa-gunso is too kind. Too kind."

"Let me know what pleases you most and I'll see if I can get more of it before we leave. Kami willing, I'll have a bit more for you to try this evening."

Pleased, he set the crate out of the way and then gave Cook puppy eyes. "So we get our breakfast now, right?"

Cook looked at the puppy dog eyes for a moment and then laughed. "Hai, hai. Very well. But you'd best regal me with stories from this new land. I've been stuck on the boat ever since we got here and it's most depressing."

Cook started dolling out portions of food. Since they were docked, the servings were slightly larger than they had been while at sea. They had access to more food now, and the eta were less likely to have to clean vomit up off the deck.

"Not much for pleasant tales to be found, sad to say, though perhaps one of our fellow crew here has some amusement to share..." Taking his own serving, O-washi stepped aside for the rest, his gaze moving from one to the next in question.

There were few enough people on-board the ship now, and Seiko felt like she wanted company for a change. That and food.

She slipped into the gallery in time to hear O-Washi mention to Cook something about stories to tell not being too great.

No Hiruma in my ancestry. I have no interest in scouting these new lands and meeting these strange people. What would I say to them?

Mentally shaking her head, she picked a spot where she would hopefully be out of the way and could watch and listen.

Kaito had stopped his whistling when the cook had squealed and approached a moment later to get his own share. At the gunso's comment he flashed a smile. "Unfortunately not Gunso though I'll keep my eye's open for something a bit amusing today."

"Was thinking of going into this tavern of sorts I saw in town a bit later this evening anyways. Might see something strange there."

Cook smiled. "Not all stories are pleasant, Isawa-gunso. But if you'd rather not share at all, I understand."

"Weeeeellll...." The Phoenix drawled out the word. "I suppose you should know so you can tell the crew. Fact is, the land here's at war. All up and down the coast, there are towns that are nothing more than ashes. There will be helpless, desperate people flowing into this port over the next few days, you just wait and see."

The Mirumoto sat silent through all the proceedings. It seemed breakfast would be a moment, something she had no strong care about. She listened intently to what was being discussed though. Having been on the ship since arriving in port, news was quite welcome.

Seiko continued to quietly listen, appreciating the exchange between the gunso and Cook. This talk of war seemed... distant. Like it didn't concern her.

Isawa O-Washi wrote:"Weeeeellll...." The Phoenix drawled out the word. "I suppose you should know so you can tell the crew. Fact is, the land here's at war. All up and down the coast, there are towns that are nothing more than ashes. There will be helpless, desperate people flowing into this port over the next few days, you just wait and see."

Most heimin would have looked terrified, most heimin would have been asking when they could get back to sea where it would be safer. Cook smiled and asked questions.

"A war? Who are they at war with? Over what? Do we know anything about it yet?"

"Not a thing, though it sounds like a continuation of some Mantis war here years ago. I hadn't ever heard of it before so I know about as much as the next man not in sea green." O-washi shrugged helplessly.

"Mantis war? Hmmm. Mantis war... Never heard of that one. Not yet anyway." Cook gets that look on her face that she gets when she learns that there's some juicy story that she hasn't gotten to hear yet. That determination that she'll find it.

"You think maybe the captain might know more about that war?"

"I'd be shocked if he didn't. Seems to me he knows a little bit of everything." The big Isawa grinned, clearly proud of his superior. "And if he doesn't, well, maybe we can cage the information out of one of the older Yoritomo stationed here."

Cook smiled. "See if I can get some time off ship tomorrow and head down to that embassy everyone's talking about. I heard somebody saying they worship cows here."