(D10, LA) Seeking Blessings

[Kuni Yasu]

(expecting, but public space)

Yasu was ever happier that they had seized time on the one sunny day so far to swim. Today, only a few days from the festival's end, she felt certain enough to come seeking the Fortune's blessing. Her conversation with Bai had offered a bit more insight into Musubi and the sort of blessing they offered. So she comes with umbrella overhead, tools tucked into her scroll case, and the one she'd chose to be bound to.

[Susaki Tanabe]

Tanabe came with the Kuni bereft of any tools or preparations or prior knowledge. All he brought to this exchange was himself and the love her bore in his heart for the woman by his side.

He carried no umbrella and was far too broad to share one so he happily walked through the rain next to Yasu as they entered the temple. He pushed some water from his hair and smiled down to his beloved "Well this is your area of expertise Yasu-chan, what are we to do here today?" He asked having only passing knowledge of this Fortune.

[Kuni Yasu]

Yasu finds a spot that looks out to the courtyard and the wide spreading tree and settles to the very well-swept stones, marveling at the lack of dirt when there are damp, muddy samurai wandering in all day. "We seek Musubi's blessing. It may not matter to the deer's choice. The fortune may not even make their blessing known, to be honest." She looks up into his eyes, painted smile softening to see the glint of rain in his curly hair, resisting the urge to run a hand through it. "At least the water loves you, if we're going to do this in all the rain. I'd have dripping hair plastered to my paint walking without anything to shield from it. You just get cheerier curls and the rain like ornaments all through it."

Carefully detaching her scroll case from her obi, she shifts back a bit to explaining. "I'm going to make do with what I've got on hand since I'm not all that well-versed in Musubi's rituals, and they're an old Fortune, from before the Kami fell."

[Susaki Tanabe]

He grinned and just barely resisted shaking his head to share the blessing of water with her. She likely understood the mischief in his eyes by this point but he behaved himself. For now.

Instead he smiled "Well I'm glad you enjoy it, it mostly annoys me when it curls and fails to behave. Many others also see it as some gaijin trait, which to be fair, it likely is." He said with a mirth that indicated he cared little about what others thought of his ancestry.

He looked up to the tree "Well, it couldn't hurt to see what this Fortune thinks. A blessing from them would surely go well to showing the Deer how much we belong together." He said smiling looking down to her "Is there anything you need me to do?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

[Kuni Yasu]

Her smile responds to the implied mischief with one raised brow of amused warning. "Gaijin or no, I love it, like everything else about you, Tana-kun."

"As to what to do...I'm making it up as I go." She sets out bits of plain paper, bits of string, her inkstone, a brush. Holding the inkstone out to him she asks, "can you hold this out a bit past the eaves and catch some rain? I didn't bother bringing water when there's all this around."

She also starts explaining. "Kaito-san had an observation on the knots that made a lot of sense. the strings are not just two people bound together, the cords are made of a bunch of twined strands. It's their duties, their families and clans, all the people and spirits they're connected to, their lands and battles, their lessons learned and yet to come...all those strands they carry and wind together being woven together by Musubi. So I want to symbolize those strands...write some of them out, for example...to present to Musubi in hopes that they will see them as worth knotting together."

[Susaki Tanabe]

Tanabe nodded as she spoke a vaguely happy, thoughtful look on his face as he worked through her words "Yeah, yeah that makes a lot of sense. A person is more than just themselves they are everything that makes them, everything that shapes them. That's really smart and pretty deep. I like it." he said smiling to her approvingly as he held out the inkstone long arm not needing to move much to escape the protection of the eaves catching enough water to fill the well at the end.

He pulled the stone back and handed it to her "Though I hope Musubi won't judge its worthiness based on the skill with calligraphy or presentation. My mother always told me my writing looked like chicken scratch." he said with a chuckle.

[Kuni Yasu]

She takes the stone with a smile and nod of thanks, letting her fingers slide over his as she accepts it. "Mine's nothing special, so you needn't worry." She pulls out the inkstick she uses for scribing invocations. The deep black of it seems to drink light, save for small, sparkling flecks. Carefully, she passes the end of it through flame, then draws in a deep breath to blow out across the well of water before setting it beside her and beginning the process of drawing a bit of water down to grind the solid stick into flowing ink. There is a deliberation to each movement.

Setting three bits of her calligraphy paper before her, she quickly sketches Musubi's knot on one, Kisshoten's jewel on another, and a rather abstract biwa for Benten on another.

"You may not be marked with her favor, but it's hard to think Benten has nothing to do with you. You're so easy for everyone to get along with," she explains. "And with Musubi and Kishhoten, Benten is the third traditionally invoked in marriage."

"My threads," she says as she begins to write them in tiny characters...crab and Kuni, the names of family back to her grandparents and including the great grandmother whose influence she believes helps her still, the name of her sensei and their sensei and fellow apprentices, geography around her home, Shiro Kuni, Kyuden Hida and the Carpenter Wall. She pauses, but no, she's not directly writing of her enemy on charms seeking a fortune's blessing, instead she inks in the kanji for 'duty' thick and black. After a moment of thought, she sketches an approximation of her mask, though all in black, with only one color of ink to work with.

She works quickly, with small comments aloud as to what she's writing, or who this person is. Afterward, she sets the paper forward a bit to dry with a small nod, then pushes the slip with Benten's mark over to Tanabe with brush and stone. "Your turn, she offers with a soft smile, honestly eager to see his list emerge.

[Susaki Tanabe]

Tanabe smiled "I suppose Benten makes some sense though I spend more time paying to Bishamon." He said with a small chuckle as he watched her work. The large Otter nodded and followed along intently his expression one of warmth as Yasu explained the threads of her life, the people and things that made her who she was.

When she turned over the brush he nodded and put on a thinking face. He held the brush and absent-mindedly used the same hand to grasp his chin while he thought. Nothing seemed amiss but as it clicked and he began to write "Well my threads," Yasu would notice a small black spot on his nose where the brush had left him a small present.

Tanabe seemed unaware of the spot as he wrote Susaki Otter Badger he included the Badger because they were a huge part of who he had become. He listed his family also back to his great grandfather though Yasu might notice that before his father and mother are just ronin names, he lists two sensei one for his Badger training and the other for Otter, his siblings and fellow Otter, his Senpai at Sumai school that guided him, and another name that is marked with a shadow of sadness and regret no story is told only that he was a student that taught him a lesson. the shadow passes as Tanabe writes the names of different rivers and boats, a couple lakes, sumai of course, shamisen, and finally bishamon as a fortune that gave him strength both physically and mentally.

Tanabe looks over the list a few times before nodding turning to Yasu "So now what?" He asks curiously with a soft smile.

[Kuni Yasu]

She quietly watches the tale in brushstrokes set to the little piece of paper, committing the names and places to memory as much as possible.

"First," she reaches for his nose with a grin, swiping the ink off with her thumb, rough fingers resting against his cheek to steady her hand for the procedure, eyes catching his. It's obvious she *could* have just mentioned the ink to him, and chose otherwise.

"And then I make things up as I go." Taking the strips of paper, she passes hers to him and begins making small, complex folds to the sheet Tanabe has written on, demonstrating as she goes. It's painstaking work to crease and interlace the three sheets one, tightly connected piece that mimics the knotted rope images everywhere. Bits of the symbols and kanji are seen, dipping in and out of the many small folds. The piece is passed back and forth as they work, Yasu glancing to the tree from time to time, keeping the work in view of the enshrined kami within.

________
D10 LA: Attempting some creative paper folding to combine pieces for a ritual. Void, Assist from Tanabe per Discord | TN: ? | Success: 3 / Opportunity: 1 / Strife: 2


Opportunity spent for extra notice...preferably from the Fortune

[Susaki Tanabe]

He chuckles at the light touch but smiles enjoying the contact as he watches her fold he takes the paper and tries to replicate it. It's not the easiest thing with his large thick fingers but he manages to not be too much of a hurdle in their mission to fold the paper up nicely.

He smiles as they work enjoying the shared activity and time spent together. He wish for Musubi's blessing though he knew blessing or no it wouldn't change this lightness in his heart that he had when he looked at her.

He makes sure on each pass to briefly brush her fingers with his own and offer her a small smile at each touch.

Soon the work is done and he looks to Yasu and to the tree "so how will we know if it worked?"