Kyuden Shika

In honor of the first day without rain in forever, Mitsuki had chosen to sit at the terrace of the café and to drop the coat in favor of an informal sundress-like style.

She had already ordered tea, cake, and more cake, and so was fully ready to receive her guest.

To distract herself of the food and make sure some remained for when she will arrive, she was playing with her bone dice.

The last roll had given her three horses and one camel. A good but very close to be way better roll. Hard to interpret that.

Inoshishi notices the Moto on the terrace and her eyes go round and wide at the sundress-like style. Now that, that is interesting! Maybe she could copy it. Or just ask to borrow it. No, that would be rude. Have to get to know the Moto first, then she can ask in some way! She hops up to the terrace, oblivious to stairs or any 'no don't do that' signs that might be about. She lands nimbly and continues over, waving and smiling widely.

"Good afternoon Moto-san! How are you today? I'm so excited to get to talk to you! I've never even BEEN to Unicorn lands, but I know a number of my school have been there over the years. You all have the best and rarest stories! I love them!" She sits politely, nearly bouncing up and down in excitement to get to learn Moto stories.

"Hello Agasha-sama.

I'm fine, the day has been nice to me so far. How about you? Your performance this morning certainly was something."

She waved in the direction of the food:

"Help yourself before I actually eat all that by myself. The lack of a clear schedule this week is apparently pushing me toward gluttony.

And I have indeed heard rumors about Dragon monks entering the desert all alone with nothing but their pants on them, and then coming back from it months later as if it was nothing special when anyone else would have died a hundred times from dehydration. Some says it was even Togashi himself who pioneered the tradition.

But these stories are all of the 'a friend told me' variety, with no direct witness of them ever showing up, so for now they remain stored in the low credibility folder inside my brain. But maybe your input can have them move up the ranks... or go even further down."

Inoshishi inclines her head in thanks for the compliment.

"As was yours! I am perfectly content to indulge my tendency towards gluttony alongside yours! Kami know, I need more weight to appear marriageable."

She listens intently. Afterwards, she takes a sip of tea, considering. When she speaks, it's slower than usual and her brow is slightly furrowed.

"While I can't speak specifically to going into the desert, I can say that many of the monks I met did practice extreme self...negligence, is I suppose the word. Which is intentional, I might add. The self is distracting from the Void and from the being. If you can kill the self without the being, you may achieve enlightenment. I have seen monks sit for months under waterfalls. I myself spent a week inside the darkest caves. After that, the High House of Light seemed truly awe-inspiring. It would not surprise me if some among the Togashi kill their selves with such Fire. Most likely those with a Water that is too high for order would seek out such an environment."

She quirks a smile.

"I'm rather happy I was never called to the Order. While I enjoy the cold like all Dragon, I do not relish the thought of sitting on a mountain top in winter. Such is the treatment for too much Fire."

"If you can tell me some more specifics, I will happily tell you if I believe them to be monks of Togashi's order or not."

"I'm not sure I fully understand the logic here. You spent a week in the dark for... what exactly?

I've seen people whose eyes had been damaged by the sun spend a month with a blindfold so their eyes could rest, but that doesn't mean to be the same thing at all. Were the caves not fully dark and you were training your night vision? Did you willingly go without light to better enjoy it afterward?

And, well, regardless of the reason one would want to walk the desert alone, I also don't understand how they can simply survive the trip. Is that one of the powers granted by the mystical tattoo of the Dragon? You seem almost casual about it, while such stories are the stuff of legends in the Sands."

A pout, then a smile:

"But then snow is also the stuff of legends in the desert, so I guess mythical status is always relative."

Inoshishi ponders, debating the best way to answer the question and stifle other questions for the moment.

“Without the light, we see the Void within us better. Spending a day, a week, or even a month in a cave is not a challenge by itself. The cave is, you are. The challenge is in being alone with nothing but the cave and yourself. And the cave cannot speak.”

“But at the end, the lights, the noise of the birds, everything, is as crystal clear and beautiful as that firstly fallen snow the desert peoples believe is mythical.”

The Dragon sips her tea.

“May I ask you a personal question?”

Mistuki wasn't sure she had understood the whole explanation, but left herself the time to ponder about it:

"Ask, you certainly can. I'll wait until I've heard the question to decide if I should answer it."

Inoshishi grins, inclining her head deeply enough that it mimics a bow.

“Well said indeed, well said. These…low-landers, they give their word too much so it means too little.”

She sips as well, recognizing the signs of ‘Ino, maybe be quiet for a moment’.

“Then with your blessing, please, tell me about your kimono. It looks light, airy and easy. These lowland summers are murder to a Mountain girl like me.”

"Oh, it's a simple thing really. Just a very long piece of cloth wrapped several times around the body. Its design is inspired by the sari of the Ivory Kingdoms, a region that has it even worst than here in terms of humid heat.

It's loose enough to allow riding, and quite comfortable in that weather, so it felts appropriate. Only issue is that I'm not good enough with draping to put it on without the help of the inn's servants."

Inoshishi's eyes look fascinated. "Really? That sounds amazing in this sort of weather. If I may make a forward request? Which I assume falls under the same as the previous, so consider that the way I'm thinking about it, in other words, you may of course say no, but...would it be possible for me to see how it's wrapped? This seems like the sort of thing that might make travel through these parts far less...miserable."

She's clearly lost on a map of roads she'd take with the sun dress on at the moment.