D4EM, A Bit of Brekkie (Expecting)

[Shika Nesshin]

"I've not seen any letters," Nesshin says. "They float around here all the time, really, and trying to attend to them all would be more work than I could spend on a distraction. And I'm not surprised to be featured in one; I try to be a sharing man, and not everybody's necessarily fond of that."

He shrugs. At about that time, the order arrives. "Thank you," he says, and goes on.

"It might be somebody's a bit jealous, too," Nesshin offers. "There've only been so many hours in the day, and so many days, yet; I've simply not had time to talk to everybody."

He grins. "And some conversations have been good to take across days."

[Kitsuki Hajime]

Hajime nodded slowly. "I suppose that's a more positive attitude than some might take to the situation. I hope that it serves you well." He tilted his head. "You aren't curious about who this might have been?"

[Shika Nesshin]

"Idly so, of course," Nesshin says. "But not so much that I'm going to give over other things to finding out. There're other, more important things to address at present, and, again, there're only so many hours and so many days.

"Breakfast, for example. Far more important than a hastily dashed-off letter. Friendship, as well."

[Kitsuki Hajime]

This was rather a surprise to Hajime, whose training among the Kitsuki rather fanned the flames of the curious mind. Baffled but somewhat impressed by the Shika's ability to let things roll off his back, Hajime bowed his head.

"Shika-san is an exceptional person, I think. Many people would not have so harmonious a reaction. But I take his point, this breakfast would have been more pleasant had I not let my mind wander in that direction. Perhaps Shika-san might like to discuss something else entirely?"

[Shika Nesshin]

"What's on my friend's mind?" Nesshin asks, content to let the matter drop and to change topics. "I recall there'd been something to treat."

[Kitsuki Hajime]

"I confess to still being slightly curious about the dangers of the woods," Hajime admitted. "But I thought it somewhat ironic that today people are whispering about spirits in the castle as well."

[Shika Nesshin]

"That's...not a surprise," Nesshin replies. "There's always some of that, really. And it may be that there are some going about; the tales speak of tricksters more than anything else.

"But then," Nesshin adds, "when I was a child, some of my classmates and I would, er, play at being such. So I have to think some of that must be at work, too."

He shakes his head. "Kids."

[Kitsuki Hajime]

"Kids?" Hajime nodded his head slowly. If the Shika children can forge paintings that well, the Crane might be in for a serious surprise in a couple seasons.

"But addressing ourselves to forest dangers, have you found any specific legends that we can put our minds to?"

[Shika Nesshin]

"There are some," Nesshin notes, pulling from memory. "I forget their names, of course, but the same spirits that...misdirect those who approach with ill intent also sometimes...jest with people. And those jokes are not always...comfortable."