"Oh yes." The young man nodded. "Or that the Emperor rules above us all, or that one should obey one's lord." he added. "But perhaps in this case, the debate can be tolerated. They have been arguing about the most auspicious date for a better part of a week, though I think they've settled on the day before Tanabata. And the discussion about the time. You'd think that the Fortune wouldn't care, but my elders believe the Gilded King does." Saneyuki chuckled. "This time we'll go there ahead of the devout to set everything up. They said that I had a large role to play."

Sniffing, "I suppose the Fortunes can be fickle, and the things they care about may make no sense to us. It might seem," she thought for a moment, "disrespectful to say that the Fortunes do not care about the details." Her tone was questioning, uncertain.

"They also say that Fortunes help those who help themselves." Saneyumi murmured, tilting his head to the side. "That we cannot solely rely on them. No-one just laying on their futon is going to avoid a disaster." he chuckled. "But then, what is 'right action' is awfully good question and a matter of endless debates. The Brotherhood has probably thousands, if not tens of thousands scrolls on matters like his." The young man offered Morik a a gentle smile. "Sometimes, it's fine not to know. Sometimes trying to figure things out is what matters."

Moriko chuckled softly, "you'll have no argument from me, Asako-sama. She drained her glass and rolled it in her hands, "well, do you feel ready to meet an otori?"

"Uh, I think so." he nodded, but she could see that he was still nervous. "Shiba-san will be coming? To the ritual that is?" Saneyuki asked as he stood up, ready to follow Moriko to wherever she'd lead him.

"I am... undecided," she admitted as she led the way out of the air-conditioned common room, the humidity immediately closing around them like a blanket. Moriko strolled, knowing that Saneyuki was nervous, and not wanting him to feel rushed.

"Oh.." Saneyuki sounded a little bit disappointed, his expression morose for a moment. "Understandable..." he muttered, summoning his smile as he walked after her. "How do I keep one from trying to bite me?"

Noticing his disappointment, "I'm sorry, Asako-sama," she debated telling him what she and Hoshiko had overheard, but he already knew the elders weren't telling him everything, should she really tell him that they might be planning on maybe arranging an accident for someone who might be him? "As the end of the miai draws closer, I find more demands placed on time," it wasn't a lie, exactly, she didn't actually say that she might have a conflicting appointment, she could equally have meant that attending the Shrine would be difficult for some reason or another.

"Be calm in yourself, try not to make sudden movements, but you have nothing to worry about. Pippi is a sweetheart, she'd never bite."

"Of course, Shiba-san." he murmured quietly, trying to keep smiling. "I hope to see you at the Tanabata, then." The festival was an occasion on the world, everyone hanging lanterns outside their homes. Most heimin and samurai would have no duties that day and would spend the time either enjoying the company of their friends or drinking themselves silly. Sometimes both happened at the same time.

Many industrious heimin would use the free time to set up small food stalls across the city in hopes of earning some extra coin, the samurai usually supporting this by buying their meals from the stands. The temples would roll out large barrels of sake and when the sun set, bonfires would be lit, people dancing around them. The legends said that if someone confessed their love that night, Benten would bless them.

"Pippi? What kind of name is that?" he chuckled as he followed her to wherever the beasts were kept.

Moriko giggled, "I don't know, I gave her the name when I four or so, it made sense at the time." They were approaching the large birds, they had been hitched to a rail, limiting their movement in hopes of making them seem less intimidating. The girl stopped a few feet away, "good afternoon, Pippi-chan, I would like to introduce you to someone."

"Well, it is a cute name." he agreed, chuckling softly. As they approached the birds, Saneyuki slowed his steps so that he walked behind Eriko, wary of the large beasts. "Uh...hello." he waved his hand at the bird. "Pleasure to uh... meet you."

The otori named Pippi blinked slowly, she looked almost sleepy as she regarded the pair of Phoenix. Moriko extended a hand towards the bird, offering her palm. Pippi sniffed at it, and the girl petted the oversized beak, "let her get a sniff of you," she suggested.

Saneyuki extended his arm towards the otori very, very carefully, trying to look brave and determined while it was rather evident that he was all sorts of nervous. "Like this?"

“Just like that,” Moriko’s tone was encouraging and she sounded almost as if she was proud of him. Pippi, for her part, was unimpressed, sniffing the priest and slowly blinking at them, waiting, unaffected, uninterested.

"So... next what?" Saneyuki left his hand hanging in the air, smiling awkwardly as he turned to Moriki. "She's awfully big, neh."

“Next, you’re going to get up on her back,” the cheerful instruction was firm, it did not invite debate. She didn’t want to make Saneyuki more nervous than he already was, but she needed him to understand the actual dangers. As she led him to Pippi’s side, “an otori is not likely to bite, you’re in far more danger of being kicked.” The massive birds, equipped with equally massive claws, could disembowel a man with a swift kick, not that she was about to tell the priest that. “Never approach an otori from behind. If you must pass behind an otori for any reason,” she was very serious, “there’s a process. For the time being, just don’t.”

Smiling encouragingly, “come and stroke her neck. Otori find physical contact reassuring, it tells them where you are so they don’t have to watch you.”

"Oof..." Saneyuki winced, biting her lip. "If Shiba-san says so." he did not sound too convinced, even if he made no move to step back. "I wouldn't want to get kicked either..." His imagination went far and beyond the call of duty to portray what might happen if the huge claws connected with his insides. "Stroke neck, stroke neck." the young man fumbled, reaching gingerly to pat the large animal, carefully at first but then with more certainty as he realized that Pippi was not going to bite his head off.

“Good,” Moriko smiled, reaching up and stroking the feathered neck as well, her hand scant millimetres from his. “You’re doing just fine, Asako-sama.” Spotting something of interest, Ten woofed, darting a few steps away and assuming centre stance, tail curled tightly over his back, and Pippi uttered a soft kweh of disapproval at the sudden sound, blinking slowly. Nearby, Hana replied slightly louder, tossing her head.

Their hands would brush when Saneyuki was careless, the young man blushing ever so slightly when it happened. "She is still bit... intimidating." he admitted. "But, I think she is not planning to eat me, is she?"

“Neh, she is spoilt and you are too much hassle to eat,” Moriko answered teasingly, “you would struggle and Pippi here would find you more trouble than you’re worth.” She chuckled and, colour coming to her cheeks, let her fingers brush against his, the contact strangely thrilling. “In truth, it is better to let your fear engender a healthy respect for the otori, than to brashly act as though you were invincible.”