[EM3] Tea and contemplation (expecting)

[Asahina Sakura]

"Hai," Sakura confirmed with a nod of her head, "Still, um, learning, always learning. I guess that's the way to be, is always learning. Once you know everything, I think that'd be pretty boring, don't you?
And I would imagine, being out on a ship, on a kobune, where you're at the whim of the winds and the waters, I'd think that's when you'd want to be on their good side most?" she looked genuinely curious as she sipped.

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"Good side, bad side, the sea'll kill you if y'let it. We respect it, but we don't ask it for much. Figure it wants to stop us taking what we need, it'll do it without much fuss."

[Asahina Sakura]

"Hm. Anything will kill you if you let it. The key is making peace with that, and leaving as little business behind as you can manage before you go to avoid being grounded here. Unlike some people," she adds pointedly before taking another sip.

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

Ah. Voices. Right.

Well.

Shugenja.

"I mean, Regret is a sin, after all."

[Asahina Sakura]

"Oh yeah! That's right! It is!" she nodded again, and set down her cup before picking up her chopsticks. Her rice had probably gone cold, but there were worse things.

"How are you finding Tsuma, Kasumi-san?" she leaned in again with baited interest.

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"Well, it's... fancy. Very fancy. Feel like I'm not s'posed t'be here a lotta the time. Everything's so... classy."

[Asahina Sakura]

Munch munch.
"I can understand that. I'm local and I still feel like I don't belong here most of the time."

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"Huh. Can't see why not. Y'seem... refined enough t'me."

Because Kasumi was such a good judge of that sort of thing.

[Asahina Sakura]

Colour tinged her cheeks and Sakura looked deep into her rice bowl, quickly shaking her head. "Oh! Um! No! I... I don't hardly know what I'm doing here..." Flustered! "You seem much more sure of yourself!" Ahhhh! "Just about everyone does!"

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"Look, y'got invited t'compete, right? Means you're good at whatcha do. Nobody gets t'compete unless they are."

[Asahina Sakura]

"Well. One assumes we're all very good at something, and this one looks foreward to seeing all the different skills on display here."
Munch munch.

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"Goes for you too. You'll get your shot at shinin'."

[Asahina Sakura]

Sakura nodded, "If anything, I'm proud of the work done to assist in rejuvenating the temple of the fortunes yesterday? The spiritual activity is returning after the efforts put in, there. It's... pleasing to see," there was a small hint of bashful pride at that.

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

Kasumi chuckled.

"I'm... usually not much 'a one for temples, truth be told. Figure the Fortunes can look after themselves, seein' as they expect us t'do th'same. But it was somethin' t'do, an' the monks sure as hell needed some help when it came t'hagglin'."

[Asahina Sakura]

"Well, sure they can, but it's still our duty to give thanks and offer veneration and ask for guidance," Sakura smiled back at the Mantis' chuckle.

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

Kasumi cocked her head to the side.

"Why?"

Aboard Mantis ships, Fortunes were sworn at about as often as they were sworn by.

[Asahina Sakura]

The smile ticks and falters and Sakura's eyes widen, "I ...I mean ...You don't... Um, why wouldn't you? They're, they're just ...it's just what you do? Like drinking tea, or meditating, or making art? You give thanks for what you have and seek their guidance and wisdom in all things?"

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"We're Mantis, Just about everything we've got, we took. Kaimetsu-Uo had no lands t'inherit, so he went an' took the Isles. The Phoenix gave shelter t'Hida Osano-Wo's killer, so Kaimetsu-Uo went an' took him. We had no status as a Minor Clan until we took it. We're not in th'habit of waiting for thing t'be grateful for."

Sip.

"So, kinda like meditating, it's not somethin' we just do. Oh, we honor Osano-Wo and Suitengu, an' a few stonebound honor Isora, but temples? Those I leave t'monks an' shugenja."

[Asahina Sakura]

Her chopsticks were set down softly, and Sakura thought for a long moment. "Isn't it, um, interesting, like, how many different walks of life there are? I can't imagine the stories you could tell! It's um, incredible really- it's such a collection that, um, the judges have, collected, here?" she flustered again, tripping over words.

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

Very diplomatic.

"Well, it's a big Empire."

She grinned.

"Plenty'a stories t'go around."