D0MA, Patrol (Open)

[Kitsu Murato]

"That's true, but someone has to make that mistake for others to learn the lesson," he said with a chuckle. "Nobody is trying to be the one to eat the wrong mushroom but it can still help others even if they do."

[Shika Nesshin]

"Exactly!" Nesshin replies. "And so we learn from others, if we but attend to the lessons they teach.

"So," he continues, leaning on his spear, "as far as practice, I'm committed for the remainder of the day, but, unless duties demand otherwise, I often practice in the midmorning, if you're still looking tomorrow or after."

[Kitsu Murato]

"Today is not a good day for practice for me either. I'd like to explore the area to be better acquainted, and I think after walking in and then walking around all day, my legs may protest sparring if I attempted later on," he replied. "In fact, I'll likely take a sit down and prepare some gifts and offerings for the ancestors this evening. And maybe a gift or two for some of the other miai participants?"

[Shika Nesshin]

"Oh? Already have your eye on likely matches?" Nesshin asks. "Quite an early start; an eager man does well in romances, I've heard."

He grins. "And experienced."

His eyes cut to the Shosuro again. Are you going to be lippy like the other one? he thinks briefly, then returns his attention to the Kitsu.

[Kitsu Murato]

"I wouldn't say I have an eye on anyone in particular for any matches. I'm not trying to read the future after all." He shakes his head. "But I would at least like to offer a small thanks for the opportunity to speak with some I've met and would like to find opportunities to speak with them again while we're here. That is part of the whole process after all, and I'm not going to avoid the process after the kind invitation of the Shika. I imagine that the the more we interact the better read the matchmakers can get on us."

[Shika Nesshin]

"That's what I'm told," Nesshin says. "And certainly, kindness and consideration do well even outside of marriages.

"Is Kitsu-san trained as a courtier, perchance?"

[Kitsu Murato]

"I am," he replies with a nod. "I was trained by the Ikoma. More specifically, my duty is as a bureaucrat thanks to tutelage from my father. Bards are not generally trained in bureaucracy as part of their standard schooling, but some of us get stuck with all the paperwork." Murato grins at that.

"But I am also focused on spiritual concerns thanks to my family and personal interest, as well as martial concerns because all Lion should be at least a little and I have a mentor that constantly prods me to."

[Shika Nesshin]

"What's the wisdom, 'an army marches on its stomach,' right?" Nesshin asks. "And the paperwork ensures the rice gets where it needs to. Or it's supposed to, anyway."

He shrugs. "Some of my colleagues manage records. It's hard work, I know, and keeps them inside...quite a bit. Not always the best thing, especially on a day like today." He stands up, smiles as he looks skyward a moment.

"But we all serve as is needed."

[Kitsu Murato]

"It is important to the big picture, but is also lost in it. I have no problem with it, but it can be terribly dull. I imagine it as the courtier equivalent to a bushi standing guard at a watch post. You do it, it's boring, you hope for something exciting to break the boredom, but at the same time you hope not because it likely means something bad happened."

[Shika Nesshin]

"Just so," Nesshin agrees. "Boredom means things are going as they should. But that's what off hours are for!" He grins. "And there are some stories that could be told of the events of people's down-time--some might even be true!

"Are there any such that interest you, perchance? Or are you looking to make more such legends?"