Moriko dipped her head; she saw no reason not to treat serious inquiries as such. It was one reason she disliked small talk--to her, meaningful answers were preferable by far, instead of chit-chat and prattle about nothing.
('How's the weather?' Well, we live in a desert, so it's hot and dry today. Like it is just about every day. And you would notice if it was raining because it would be torrential. Are you new here?)
The other reason she disliked it is because with her, others her age (and sometimes older--just, ew) would use it to chat her up. Either segueing into asking her out, or something else in that vein. It could get tiring. At least she was old enough that people didn't feel licensed to just barge into her personal space like it was perfectly acceptable. And if anyone did, they'd be the odd ones rather than her for objecting to it.
She blinked and glanced over. Case in point, possibly--people interrupting conversations were the rude ones. And would, clearly, be dealt with summarily. Just as well; she didn't fancy starting something with another competitor in case her temper got the better of her.
"Not to put too fine a point on it," Moriko said, testing the words in her mouth; she didn't like drawing attention to her family, but, "but one reason I do that--that I've thought ahead to do that--is due to my family. We're not all ninja, but enough of us are, and I've seen the results of enough missions to know it's better to be prepared. That's thoughtful of you to say, and good advice."
It wasn't like she could get away from ice--well, Moriko supposed she could do something stupid and blindly reject her entire family and get some, oh, weighted gloves or something and specialize into fire Ninjutsu. It would be dumb of her, but something someone who wanted to wholly reject the Tsurara Clan and their focus on their bloodline traits might do.
She believed in what the Kazekage said? Hm. Most of the credit on Moriko entering, or rather accepting that the Kazekage actually believed what he was saying enough to do all this and be worth it, did go to Tsukiya. But it had, in the end, still been her choice. She had come into this with an open mind, was the point.
It had been a couple of weeks ago and she did have a bit of a scatterbrain about things like that, but it only took Moriko a moment to remember what she had put down--and that, yes, it was still applicable. Though perhaps with a little more nuance.
"It may have...enhanced my intent somewhat, actually, to make it this far," she said after a moment of considering her wording. "At the moment, I am mostly at the point in my training and development of my skills to see how much further I have to go and it is quite a lot. At the same time, I'm aware there is more to rank than strength. If I can stand out as an adept person, showing any strengths and patching up my weaknesses, that is something that I would consider worth entering for regardless of whether or not I'm the overall winner."
It was and it wasn't difficult to articulate. Once she dug at it, the words weren't actually that difficult to speak.
"So I suppose that I intend to accomplish self-improvement however I can. However it takes shape here." She gave a slight, one-shouldered shrug. "I will admit it's my family I intend to stand out from, of course, but I wouldn't be surprised if you and others who read my form guessed that already. If I can be me, noticed for what I can do rather than my surname or appearance, that is all I want."
Moriko had no idea how well that one would play, truthfully, though she'd entered this whole thing with the intent to be honest. Lying was better for other things and besides, she wasn't good enough to deceive most here, probably.
She did not jump when Hekima spoke to her; anyone official here had likely access to the forms or other data on the participants. And he certainly seemed official.
"A glass of water, please, if it's not too much trouble," she said. Politely. Manners. "I can get rather dry sometimes, so thank you for the consideration."
It was better to be polite if you weren't sure of yourself, after all. Offending people takes energy both to do and to deal with the consequences of. And was counterproductive. She had at least learned that much, since being a student--don't make enemies right away.
She only glanced down briefly at her wrist; the CURO was displaying a higher number now, rather than a lower or similar. It gave her a big, feline grin that was somehow familiar--and not from a mirror.
Curious.
[Current Points According to CURO: 65; Status: Smug/Proud]
('How's the weather?' Well, we live in a desert, so it's hot and dry today. Like it is just about every day. And you would notice if it was raining because it would be torrential. Are you new here?)
The other reason she disliked it is because with her, others her age (and sometimes older--just, ew) would use it to chat her up. Either segueing into asking her out, or something else in that vein. It could get tiring. At least she was old enough that people didn't feel licensed to just barge into her personal space like it was perfectly acceptable. And if anyone did, they'd be the odd ones rather than her for objecting to it.
She blinked and glanced over. Case in point, possibly--people interrupting conversations were the rude ones. And would, clearly, be dealt with summarily. Just as well; she didn't fancy starting something with another competitor in case her temper got the better of her.
"Not to put too fine a point on it," Moriko said, testing the words in her mouth; she didn't like drawing attention to her family, but, "but one reason I do that--that I've thought ahead to do that--is due to my family. We're not all ninja, but enough of us are, and I've seen the results of enough missions to know it's better to be prepared. That's thoughtful of you to say, and good advice."
It wasn't like she could get away from ice--well, Moriko supposed she could do something stupid and blindly reject her entire family and get some, oh, weighted gloves or something and specialize into fire Ninjutsu. It would be dumb of her, but something someone who wanted to wholly reject the Tsurara Clan and their focus on their bloodline traits might do.
She believed in what the Kazekage said? Hm. Most of the credit on Moriko entering, or rather accepting that the Kazekage actually believed what he was saying enough to do all this and be worth it, did go to Tsukiya. But it had, in the end, still been her choice. She had come into this with an open mind, was the point.
It had been a couple of weeks ago and she did have a bit of a scatterbrain about things like that, but it only took Moriko a moment to remember what she had put down--and that, yes, it was still applicable. Though perhaps with a little more nuance.
"It may have...enhanced my intent somewhat, actually, to make it this far," she said after a moment of considering her wording. "At the moment, I am mostly at the point in my training and development of my skills to see how much further I have to go and it is quite a lot. At the same time, I'm aware there is more to rank than strength. If I can stand out as an adept person, showing any strengths and patching up my weaknesses, that is something that I would consider worth entering for regardless of whether or not I'm the overall winner."
It was and it wasn't difficult to articulate. Once she dug at it, the words weren't actually that difficult to speak.
"So I suppose that I intend to accomplish self-improvement however I can. However it takes shape here." She gave a slight, one-shouldered shrug. "I will admit it's my family I intend to stand out from, of course, but I wouldn't be surprised if you and others who read my form guessed that already. If I can be me, noticed for what I can do rather than my surname or appearance, that is all I want."
Moriko had no idea how well that one would play, truthfully, though she'd entered this whole thing with the intent to be honest. Lying was better for other things and besides, she wasn't good enough to deceive most here, probably.
She did not jump when Hekima spoke to her; anyone official here had likely access to the forms or other data on the participants. And he certainly seemed official.
"A glass of water, please, if it's not too much trouble," she said. Politely. Manners. "I can get rather dry sometimes, so thank you for the consideration."
It was better to be polite if you weren't sure of yourself, after all. Offending people takes energy both to do and to deal with the consequences of. And was counterproductive. She had at least learned that much, since being a student--don't make enemies right away.
She only glanced down briefly at her wrist; the CURO was displaying a higher number now, rather than a lower or similar. It gave her a big, feline grin that was somehow familiar--and not from a mirror.
Curious.
[Current Points According to CURO: 65; Status: Smug/Proud]
