[D7 LE] Hunting in the Dark

[Shiba Jiro]

Having borrowed a simple candle paper lantern, Jiro moved alongside Natsuko. His thoughts were flooded with last evening's visit to these woods and with his conversations with Kasumi and Haru.

[Isawa Natsuko]

It was darker here, beneath the trees, so spotting the pale glow of a particular lichen was easier than it might have been. "I still have not figured out how to transfer this glow to paints, but I'm sure it can be done," she says while scraping it from the bark and into a folded bit of paper to seal away.

"I wonder if this is any different than the one that grows near the Sanctuary."

[Shiba Jiro]

He smiles at that. "You want to make glowing paint? I'm not sure how long the glow would last from that after you grind it up, but it might be easier to mix it into a clear lacquer than to try and make a paint or ink from it," he suggests.

"Is there anything in particular you are trying to paint that glows? Perhaps painting landscapes with glowing lichen using glowing lichen to make the paint?"

[Isawa Natsuko]

"Honestly, I think I just want to see if it can be done first. Ink might be nice. Scrolls you can read in the dark." She folds the paper over to seal it in and drops the little parcel into the chaos of her satchel. "Though it may be that they glow due to enough of a fire imbalance that it will never be safe to store glowing scrolls in libraries and will be better suited to other uses."

Straightening, the satchel is readjusted to settle at her hip. Her maimed hand catches the damp hood and scoops it back, hair all afrizz in the damp. "Perhaps just teaching it to grow to mark things in the forests would be nice. Though maybe not as useful in such a fog." She breathes in the cool, moist air, blue eyes seeming oddly bright in the muffling fog. "I suppose the artistic uses would always occur first for you, though."

"Shiba-san, when were you told that you were to train as an artist?" The fog steals volume, and her voice becomes almost sourceless.

[Shiba Jiro]

"An interesting thought on a fire imbalance. Can you ask the kami? Or is there a spirit of lichen?" he wonders. His own presence and the lantern approach closer in the fog.

"And I think you are probably right, my training does predispose me to think in terms of art. The practical uses would be potentially very useful. If it is not a flame imbalance, it's potentially a safe alternative to reading by firelight.

He purposely stands at the side with the maimed hand and offers his own so they can walk hand in hand. "It was a bit later. They identified that I have... soft instincts. That I had difficulty with violence. They eventually arranged for the alternative of the Artist school because of that."

[Isawa Natsuko]

She hesitates a moment, before placing her hand in his with a warning. "Careful. It hurts if I grip much at all." Indeed her hold is very light, thumb just offering enough pressure to be obviously intentional. The raised scar along the outside edge is easily felt.

"A very old lichen might awaken its own spirit, an actual being like our own souls. Otherwise, it merely is made of the elements, and thus interacts with the elemental spirits as any other plant would. I have difficulty calling upon the spirits of fire, though that is one avenue of research that can be done." She is careful of the hand and arm, not swinging it much as the walk. "My nature and self have been somewhat deficient in fire. Were it not for the strong influence of the void, I might be a bit sickly.

"Had everyone expected that you would train with the bushi then, before your inclinations were noticed?" She didn't ask if they'd been disappointed, that's somewhat implicit in not meeting expectations.

[Shiba Jiro]

He is careful as requested. "I will be as careful as I have ever been with anyone." The feeling of the scars was admittedly off-putting for a moment, but he didn't show it on his face.

"Do lichen live long enough for that to happen? Are there any short lived things that have a spirit?" He smiles softly at her admissions of difficulty with fire. "It's something that we can work on if you want."

He looks a bit pensive at mentioning disappointment at him not being a bushi. "I think that they held some level of disappointment, but it's not like I'm the only one in the family history that isn't a bushi."

[Isawa Natsuko]

"We count as short-lived things with spirits." There's a hint of...something...to her tone. Almost amusement? "But we are born with them. Lichen might be too small, and with too little interaction with...hmm...things with spirits, to develop their own, even if they do live for a long time. I am not really sure how long they live, though."

"Are there families that all follow the same path? For all these generations that would be a lot, I expect." There's a pause, navigating a lumpy, slippery batch of roots humping up over hard ground. "Do you feel that your ancestors mind? I suppose I wonder how they will accept a new daughter making offerings. At least..I know some say they feel the touch of their ancestors." A topic somewhat fresh in her mind after the day's tests.

[Shiba Jiro]

He nods about the status of things that develop spirits. He wasn't really knowledgeable to do anything to ask questions that he won't understand the answers too there though.

"I think that my ancestors likely just want me to do what I was trained to as best I can. Regardless of any disappointment about my duty, fulfilling it is more important. And I think they'll welcome your offerings. It's always reason to celebrate when someone new joins a family, whether through marriage or birth."

[Isawa Natsuko]

“Have you sensed their presence or aid before? I am told that happens sometimes.” She glances up at him, as her feet find their way through the spring undergrowth.

[Shiba Jiro]

"Occasionally I have gotten a sense of approval or disapproval, but never any guidance." He looks down to her, but keeps an eye for roots in his peripheral, moving around them. "Have you or your sensei researched your family line to see if anyone had similar gifts in the past?"

[Isawa Natsuko]

She shakes her head slightly, damp curls brushing her shoulders. "I mean, they probably did, but never mentioned to me." Her other hand strays to a cat netsuke holding a cord at the top of her obi, recalling a memory of a blue-eyed boy and all the questions that might never have answers. "Nor have I sensed any ancestors. As a ward of the school...I don't know that I really have any that would know me."

She drops suddenly into a deep squat, hand slipping from Jiro's as she balances on her toes, peering at something near the base of a tree. The two-fingered hand gestures with a come-hither motion. "Can you bring the lantern over?

[Shiba Jiro]

He does as requested, squatting down beside, not particularly worried about invading personal space so that he can get a look. He presents the lantern to help see. "Something interesting?"

[Isawa Natsuko]

Slender mushrooms with wide, ruffled caps seem ghostlike in the fog and lantern-gleam. "Solid smoke, my sensei calls them. to me they taste a bit like the smell of temple incense ought to taste." Natsuko is already rummaging in her satchel for another bit of paper to fold into a small container. "At least that's how they work in tea. They are strengthening and steadying if one has an overabundance of air or nerves in general."

"Actual incense actually tastes awful, of course."

[Shiba Jiro]

"That sounds lovely actually. How long do they keep? If they keep long enough, we could could incorporate them into a tea ceremony. I believe I'm confident enough to handle another participant in the ceremony as well if there is someone you'd be interested in sharing with? Any close friends you have made?" He smiles pleasantly at the offer.

[Isawa Natsuko]

They're plucked carefully, getting as much of the stem as possible, digging into the loam a bit. "Dried, they will keep a good while, and that is how you want them for tea." She breaks a small piece off and holds it out to him. "Fresh, they do not have as much of that...ethereal smoke quality, but there is more of a ...kind of a green woodsy quality with the aromatic part that will mature."

"Oh...it might be nice to share with Suzume-san...or return Kakita Yuji's courtesy. We shared a smoked mango tea that was interesting the other day."

[Shiba Jiro]

"I have enjoyed the company of both. Suzume-san actually asked today about attendance of our eventual wedding. She seemed a bit nervous about it, but I assured her that if you want her there then I want her there. And that is true of anyone else Natsuko-san."

After she has collected the mushrooms properly and tucked them away he pus a hand out for her once more so they can rise together.

"But I am also more familiar with Kakita-san. Haru and I made a painting for him as a gift for his kindness while we have been here, so I will likely meet with him soon to gift that with my brother. Perhaps Suzume-san would be the better to offer the tea ceremony to in thanks for her support and kindness? Also an opportunity to get to know her better, as you two have become closer than I realized before today."

[Isawa Natsuko]

She nods once at his assessment as she closes her satchel, the newly carved netsuke has replaced the bead she'd previously used to fasten it. "Kakita-san did mention talking with you. I thought you would likely have at least art in common."

"I did say I would invite Suzume-san, given the chance. I do not really know how that is all arranged, to be honest. But she has been a pleasure to talk to, with quite a lot of insight on family matters, and it would be nice to share this with her."

She takes his hand in her good one, but instead of rising, she lifts it slightly and leans to press her forehead to the back of his fingers. "You are really nothing like what I expected, husband-to-be."

[Shiba Jiro]

"That sounds like a positive statement. Maybe relief?" he says with a gentle smile, letting her do with his hand as she pleased. "I must say that I had no idea what to expect before meeting you. I am glad that you are who you are though."

The position and gesture were a bit uncomfortable to him, emotionally. It felt like some sort of submission to him. Which is something he completely didn't want.

May as well address it directly.

"Is there some sort of symbolic meaning behind that gesture, or is it simply a connection between us?" His tone was curious, and he was hoping it wasn't what he thought.

[Isawa Natsuko]

"A connection," she says, releasing his hand to sit back on her heels a moment. "The thought is here, and the feeling." She touches the two fingers of her injured hand to her forehead, the other resting against the tree briefly for support as she stands. "I thought...but it sounds like it is unusual. Apologies."

She remains still, hand pressed to the damp bark, everything heavy with fogdamp and her clear eyes steady as they meet his. "But the sentiment remains, and yes I am relieved. I expected a guardian, another sort of wardship, a duty I would learn well because I accepted that it was my duty."

"I am...grateful...to be wrong."