Working silently in the zen garden, Sakura cleared her mind and listened to the universe, feeling the peace that the shrine held.
Her sandals were off to the side of the court, and in socked feet she had swept the gravel clear. Now with the lightest hold on a wooden long rake, she made delicate spirals slowly and with care. Reaching out to hear what wanted to be heard.


EA7 zen gardening - Void 3 Aesthetics 2, Spiritual artisan tech | TN: 1 | Success: 3 / Opportunity: 1 / Strife: 2

The young Crab sat on a wall watching the Crane make patterns in the sand, there was obviously a reason the Crane was doing this, but Taura could not for the life of her work out why.

"The goal..." Sakura said with a conversational voice, having finally noted the Crab girl, "-is to commune with the universe, to have it speak your truth, to find peace in the moment."
Her footsteps were small and light. The rake continued its designs.
"The art in the gravel is fleeting," her brown eyes tick upwards to the dark clouds incoming. There would be rain soon. "It's not about permanence."
She then paused, and moved to the rim of the garden, holding the rake off the ground carefully, before offering a bow. "Um. Asahina Sakura...?"

Taura hopped down and bowed. "This one is Kaiu Taura, Asahina-san. She does not hear that fleeting voice that you hear and it makes this one sad. This one make things that she hopes will last for generations and help many others."

She bows back, "We're well met! Oh! Kaiu! Um! Builders of the Wall, yes? It's admirable work..."

Taura bobs her head. "Domo, it is a challenging and never-ending task to maintain and build upon our ancestors' fine work. We are humbled by their greatness. This one suspects you find the same with your family's storied history, Asahina-san."

Sakura considers this. "We remind samurai of what's worth fighting for, beauty and serenity, peace...?"

Taura paused, comparing that to her knowledge of the war her Clan fought. "These are worthy things to fight for. But for the Crab, there can never be peace with the Ancient Enemy. It is antithetical to beauty and serenity. Thus, the Wall."

"Oh. Right. No, I didn't mean... I meant..." Sakura frowns a bit, and looks down at her rake in her hands. "I know there are ..situations, that cannot be reconciled. That there are evils that need to be vanquished. I didn't mean to insult your clan and their duty, Kaiu-san. Please accept my apology."

Taura blinks. "This one did not think you mean any insult, Asahina-san. Thus there is no need for an apology. Our duty is distant and, this one is told, poorly understood by the other Clans. This one tends to speak directly, she means no offense, but clear communication is key when building things."

Clear communication? Sakura paled, and raucous ephemeral laughter erupted from the other side of the garden, courtesy of her ghostly chaperone.
"Oh. Um. Yes. Of course, Kaiu-san. Uh. How are you, finding, the championship? I have found the events, um, surprising, enlightening, and um, challenging. But I suffer no complaints? Have you a favourite test? I don't know if I could just choose one."

Taura paused and considered. "They have all been interesting and this one has learned from them all, As to a favorite . . . the test with the horse and the archery. It was so . . . unexpected by this one. That this one actually was able to succeed at part of it made her very happy. While it was not part of the official test, she also found repairing the temple extremely gratifying."

"What of you, Asahina-san? Which two are your favorites?" she asked with a slight smile.

"Oh! I surprised myself with the horseback archery, as well! I mean, I've been training with bow and arrow, but have spent very little time around horses? Let alone riding one! It... was fun?" Was that a question? Unclear.
"As for a second.. um.. a lot of them, I found were stressful in the end? But I suppose that's the whole point? As for what stands out though, being on the Winter's Wind? was a treat? And of course, um, working here.. to restore the shrine, has been a true blessing."

Taura smiles and nods. "This one has enjoyed working to restore the shrine, as well. It is such a pleasure to be able to see the place restored to the glory it deserves. And this one enjoys the chance to work with her hand and make things to please the spirits."

She grinned widely at that, "Oh! Me, too! It's ...one of my favourite things? To be able to craft offerings or tributes to the spirits, myself! It's um, humbling?"

Taura nods. "The Fortunes and spirits aid us, we aid them, it is a virtuous circle, ne?"

"May this one ask are the Asahina are the engineers and builders among the Crane? This one is trying to learn which family outside her Clan fill a similar role to the Kaiu."

"Um. Engineers? Maybe; we focus on bringing art and beauty to the Empire. But builders? I think so? I mean, the Artificers can and do build temples- beautifying, purifying the space and encouraging spirit activity, of course... Um. I don't know about being comparable to the immense logistics of something like the Wall, though?"

"Much of the wall is very simple construction, relying simply upon mass to perform its function as a barrier," says Taura. "There are parts that are beautiful and complex such as the gates and weapon points." She visibly tears herself away from continuing that description. "But the temples and beautiful building the Asahina build must be architecturally sound so they do not blow over in the first strong wind or collapse in the first earthquake, ne?"

She concedes with a small shrug and light smile, "Kaiu-san is right, of course; but should a temple or shrine fall, perhaps it was meant to."

Taura tilts her head and considers that statement. "This one does not think that the Fortunes or ancestors would care for . . ." She almost said shoddy workmanship. ". . . limited planning in the construction of their shrines and temples. But perhaps you are right, they see with different eyes from our own."