((traveling by bird))

As much as Tenma loved going fast and racing, running around on the back of that bird she had kept was hardly her first choice; Animals were smelly and temperamental. Sure people could say bikes and fighters were temperamental too, but that was mostly a matter of good hands and some mechanical knowledge, rather than trying to read the mind and mood of some beast. She wasn't about to trust her positioning in a race to such things.

So, instead, she'd skipped the race and skipped town with the bird; She'd not done as good as she'd have liked at the morning's event, but she didn't blame herself; To sum up, Tenma was frustrated and needed some time out. So she'd asked for the most interesting sites in the area that WEREN'T on that Asako's brochure thingy. The Shrine out here had seemed as interesting a site as any, and not too bad of a ride away, if rumors were true. Amongst other interesting rumors about the shrine and the sect there.

Riding through the rain in her lurex bodysuit, she approached the temple and dismounted, thankful the bird smelled less through the facemask she'd decided to wear.

The temple grounds and structures looked like something that belonged to the feudal days of old. The construction of both the pagoda and habitat structure looked traditional in design, albeit some rudimentary powerlines are leading to what looked like a basic power generator.

It seemed empty and barren here for a moment, save for a lone Phoenix miko who seemed to be meandering the grounds.

Walking across the damp grounds, spotting the young miko and turning towards them. Her feet made plenty of noise on the stones with the mud on them and all the water, Tenma clearing her throat if the young woman did not seem to spot her.

It would almost seem like that the miko wasn't going to see the Scorpion at all and Tenma wasn't even employing stealth. Eventually, she would see the Scorpion and smiled softly as she approached her direction, her sandals stepping and squishing on the same muddy ground without regard.

"Ah, good afternoon, Bayushi-san," she said with a soft voice, expression looking like she just woke up from a dream. She bowed politely to greet her, "Welcome to the Shrine to Mori no Reiou. This one is Isawa Tsugumi, humble miko to these parts. We haven't been expecting you but you are welcome here, please feel at peace."

Tenma gave a slight bow, "A fine day to be outside, monk-san. And just yourself too. I was hoping to dry off after a long ride on my Otori. Is there some place I could do so? You might benefit from warming up a bit as well."

"Of course, Bayushi-san. We are a refuge in the wilderness and we would be remiss in our purpose if we did not open our doors," she said while gesturing to the temple further in from the entrance, her gentle voice never deviated, "first, I must ask you that you take a moment at the basin to purify before your enter."

She then gestured to a stone basin on the side where there were a few ladles, a standard practice in all traditional temples in the galaxy.

Purifying with water while standing in the rain? Well, spiritual rules had never made a ton of sense to Tenma anyways, so she simply nodded and went along with it. Walking over to the basin, she took the ladle and did the usual, cleaning off her hands and mouth with the same old rituals, whether the monk followed her or not.

"Thank you, Bayushi-san," she bowed with her hands together. "Please follow me and I shall take you to the temple. We might even have some tea if you wish, although I have to apologize in advance if our hospitality isn't as grand as the Shiro's."

She began to walk towards the pagoda, which as the tallest structure here. "Are you here for the miai, too?"

"I am. I decided to skip town and see the countryside, get some fresh air. Though I wasn't planning on the weather turning south like this."

She followed along energetically, happy to get out of the rain, even if the place was weird; She was a little weird too, after all. And this was a nice change from the same sights day after day in the city.

"Anyways, who needs grand? Warm tea, some new sights, some exercise. What more could I ask for while everyone wastes their time watching birds race?"

"I can't say I know much about the bird races running today but I could only guess that perhaps Bayushi-san is someone who enjoys the simple pleasures in life, hm? Have you frequented many temples in the past?" she asked curiously as she continued to lead her toward the courtyard.

The courtyard is poorly maintained which might be due to the temple being short-staffed or the alien climate. The ground was uneven with exposed rocky patches and meagre fungal growths. There weathered rock stumps that had religious scripture or hosted a statue of a four-armed being. There was a large structure that seemed to have been built from the earth, blending in with the volcanic rock. It was perhaps the first sight of other people Tenma may have of the place with two burly monks standing in front of the entrance. There were small houses built, which looked like prayer booths.

"Mmm, temples enough I suppose. My home town had three of them, as far as proper buildings went. Not even the temple to Bayushi-no-kami was as large as this though."

She wanted to add that it was better upkept, but decided to be a bit more diplomatic about it.

"It had a lot of monks that ran it though. This place seems... short staffed I suppose. Empty in some ways."

Tsugumi let out a soft sigh and shook her head. "Unfortunately, the Shinri sect doesn't find itself to be a popular movement, even locally. We are young, as old as the founding of the planet when our founders strayed from the first settlers of what would become Shiro Yaoke as we know now. As a result, we try to make do with the minimal support that we receive. Even other modern shrines find themselves surrounded in comfort. However, I would like to believe that our devotion at our court are the real structures here. Our hardships are testament to our focus."

She would lead the Bayushi further into the temple grounds to the pagoda itself. There were wooden holy archways that had large yellow-ish banners that hung from them. Even some of the hand-crafted charms were done with a yellow-ish tinge, rather than the traditional white. The monks here were drapped in cloth of a similar colour. They stood at the entryway had seemed to pay little attention to the Bayushi directly, each having a distant stare about them. The Miko would bow deeply to greet them before continuing through the main doors.

"You are a long way from the city... maybe it's that? I know out of the way, old fashioned things can be forgotten or taken for granted sometimes. And this place certainly seems like it's been around longer than Shiro Yoake itself."

Tsugumi smiled faintly at Tenma, "We aren't older than the Shiro but the wonderous kami in the area and the divine essence of the forest is certainly anciently. We are secluded for a reason as the area is a great conduit to four kami in the great winds from the mountains, the plentiful earth, the dormant volcanic activity beneath and finally, the water of the lake."

She pushes the doors to the pagoda open, revealing a nearly twelve-foot tall humanoid figure clad in a gilded cloak of leaf gold to covers it features. It held a lantern that glowed with a soft yellow light on one of its four hands. There was a great silence inside and their steps on the wooden floor easily echoed as they walked. The interior was bathed in red-ish light from outside, likely from the red clouds that are seen in great abundance today.

"Welcome to the Shrine to Mori no Reiou," the miko said with a gesture to the statue.

Tenma gave a bow to the statue; Not the sort one gave to a person but a more formal type one gave at a temple. Glad to be out of the rain, she looked over at the monk woman.

"So good... Feng-Shuai for the elements? Hm; So maybe the temple isn't so much run down as it is untamed. I can respect that."

Though to be fair, in her book, squeaking floorboards and uneven cobbles meant run down, not rustic. But Tenma was a stickler for symmetry and cleanliness.

"Hai, something to that effect. The original founders have claimed this part of the wilderness for the temple you see today due to its close proximity of all elements. Of course, there is also a need for Void as well and it is said the worshipers are key to that element, their prayers going into the unseen connection to the forests and the great kami within in," she said with a respectful gesture to the statue in the middle.

"I can fetch you some tea, Bayushi-san. Please wait here and offer your devotion if you wish, I shall return," she said before prostrating to a deep bow to excuse herself and then stepping away.

"Hot tea would be lovely, hai."

Giving a nod, she finds a spot to sit; Things were at least peaceful here, even if the weird lighting and statue made things kind of feel less so.

The miko would disappear through a doorway and make her way to a tiny kitchenette that was made to prepare tea for the guests at the temple.

There were many prayer cushions surrounding the statue itself and clustered together. There were two wooden benches that were facing the statue and the statue would look back directly at those seating there, despite not quite having eyes with a cowl shielding its face from any real features. Tenma wasn't entirely alone here as there was the shuffling of feet one of the upper levels of the pagoda and there was a set of spiral stairs leading to it.

Tenma did not feel comfortable with those benches, no sir. But a cushion would be nice, especially after riding in a saddle for a while, something she was not used to. Besides, she could move the cushion, which she did to somewhere against a wall. As she sat with a sigh on the pillow, she looked up at the ceiling; Evidently it wasn't as empty here as she had thought; Not that she blamed most if they wanted to stay indoors in this weather.

Tenma wasn't be left to her own devices for too long and eventually, the miko would return. Her arrival was announced with the clacking of clayware against each other on the tray. She raised her brows at first then she saw that Tenma had moved one of the cushions and made herself at home. However, any further reaction from that transgression wasn't shown by Tsugumi.

"Thank you for your patience, Bayushi-san," she said with a small smile.

She set down the tray before her and joined her where she was seated, without a cushion. A cup of tea would be poured for her in a tiny clay cup. "We have some simple green tea. I hope it does well on this cloudy day. Please enjoy it."

The green tea wasn't particularly splendid. It seemed a bit watered down.