(expecting, but public dojo, so...)

She could pace around the inn for a few hours running everything through her head again and again.

Or she could do something useful.

A dojo shares most of the necessary requirements as a dance studio, and is inevitably easier to find on every world, ship, and station. So Mumei has long since learned to be comfortable being the oddball stretching in an iridescent leotard and torn blue leggings amid all the bushi in far more sedate workout gear.

Down the other end of the dojo, a distant one sided argument can be heard.
"Yes Shiba-sama I am sorry but.......the dinosaur cut outs? Those were necessary.......yes, and the mask to......okay yes, I promise not to do it again.......oh, you liked that move? It's a....."

This had been continuing for some time before a Lion in tactical workout gear (combat clothes that wash well) walked back onto the main dojo floor with a rifle slung over her shoulder.

It was not particularly hard to spot the human shaped blob of bright colour amongst all the other samurai and Shoan looked over curiously, wondering what the Nakauchi was up to.

The downside of a dojo vs a studio...you're kind of stuck with your internal music. Which was fine for the dancing, and kind of dull for the stretching/warmup part of things, so she's hurried through that, ending with slow spins in one direction, and then the other, warming the ankles up, coming out of the last spin into a leap using last of its momentum, arms flung wide to generate just a bit more.

Normally she'd use that to seque into something properly meditative, but with so much nervous energy, that leap felt good and right and she flings herself into a series of them, her center ping-ponging around the invisibly defined space on the mat that was 'hers' for now.

Somewhere in the midst of this, she spots Shoan, who's perhaps easier to miss here in her environment, but still familiar. She pauses, lifted foot dropping mid-spin to a sudden stop. She bows, catching her breath, to have enough for a quick, "Murame-sama."

The Lion blinks slowly. She hadn't seen many samurai stretch like that....well except for that one scorpion who had turned out to be an assassin. That man could definitely dance though.

Bowing politely in return "Nakauchi-san, I hope I am not interrupting your training? You seem.....quite full of energy today."
It was far too early in the day to blame Yul, but Shoan certainly considered it.

"Poor attempt at meditating maybe? But it's not really interrupting what hasn't properly started." She bounces lightly on bare feet, still buzzing with frustration.

Her voice remains low despite the pent up energy, mingling with the distant whine of charging weaponry, the thud and thwack of more traditional weapons, and the shouts of those wielding all of the above. "Yeah..I hit a solid brick wall in my research this morning. If things go poorly, or this thing kicks off backlash, the only real tool we have to handle it is an invocation that's so far beyond my abilities that I can't even read parts of it. It's like throwing thread on the ground and trying to read the 'kanji' it's made." She takes a deep breath. "So...plan D. Let the punchy folks do that and handle whatever comes next as best we can as it happens."


Another breath. "Adaptable. Like water..."

“That’s what we do. Some of the smarter punchy folk have even figured out how to use firearms.”
Shoan’s eyes track up and down, following the bouncing shugenja

“So, you are slightly concerned about the various potential disasters that could occur today? That seems entirely reasonable. If the bushi fail I am gladdened to know the priests will salvage the situation... after some active meditation.”

"Salvage is a strong word. I feel a bit more like we might be able to do the equivalent of pulling a few people from a burning building if the worst case scenarios happen. Well, that's the optimistic view of that scenario" She smiles a bit weakly. "But best case is that nothing at all happens! It's that kind of huge gulf in between that's winding me up."

She pauses. "I'm honestly trying not to think about firearms. They're deluded and going to get people killed, and it's still hard to think about just...shooting through a bunch of monks or something."

"And I'm sorry about your clan-mate, and worried about the monster that killed her, and worried about the people trying to end that problem, of which I only know one for sure."

Blinking, she stills, toes digging into the mat. "Ok, yeah, I'm no longer mystified by all this need to bounce off the walls."

Shoan doesn’t quite smile, but her On does soften.
“I’ve felt the same way in the past, waiting is the worst since it leads to worrying. Once the action starts then the nerves stop.”

Dipping her head.
“Matsu-san’s death will not go unpunished, thank you for paying respect to her memory. Nobody slays a lion with impunity.” With a certain calm inevitability, like a farmer remarking it’s going to rain "Before the day is out the murderer will be dealt with."

A little more gently And I will ensure Yul-san returns safely. I would not want him to be a distraction... and as far as I know he is bringing his rifle this time.”
If he didn’t he wouldn’t be allowed on the bus

“Now, is there anything I can do to uncloud your mind before you dance the dojo down?”

Her own smile is soft. "Honestly, you've already done that. Knowing that corruption it being dealt with is heartening. And it's good to know you'll be beside him there. The difference between knowing he trusts whoever's in the crew, and knowing I do is...well, it's more comforting. Thank you."

"For the rest? I don't suppose you know a local shugenja with say...an extra few or many years of experience and verified as unconnected to the sect up there?"

"He'll be back safe and sound by tonight."

Raising her eyebrows at the question
"I know three shugenja. Yourself, who I believe would probably not count. Kitsu Nozomi-san who will be accompanying me today. She is a skilled priestess but not a local...there is one more."
Almost a little unwillingly
"An Iuchi who has only recently joined the miai, he is a scholar and a researcher. Not one of Asakaze but the Unicorn tend to know....unusual things."

Mumei nods. "I keep meaning to find a way to chat with Kitsu-sama. She seems very nice at a distance, at least. But, she's headed with you, and the blessings of the kami seem very important there."

"Now, Iuchi-sama I've talked to. He seems very nice and helped a bit with the portal research.* I should see if he'd know much more about this rite, though...he's awfully young to be that experienced, so I'm doubtful." Her look is questioning. "unusual things?"

______
*I mean all our rolls were pretty fail that go round, but we tried.

"Uh yes, Kitsu-san is heading with me."
For whatever reason Shoan seems a little unsure of that matter but quickly switches gears.

"He is a unicorn, they have a...different way of doing things, a different perspective."
As Lion go it was a very polite way of naming the Unicorn Clan as bizarre samurai
"None of us at the miai are...particularly old, but if one starts early enough they could be experienced....although likely not."

"I guess I'm a little more used to them. I've worked on a number of Unicorn trading ships." She shrugs a bit. "Talking theology with a death priest was odd, I'll grant. They're kind of intense. Well that one was, at least."

"I'll try to get in touch with Iuch-sama before we go, see if he's more skilled than I'd guess." She smiles a bit. "Well that's one task to use up the waiting time. Any way I can be useful on your end?"

"Well I would...."
Shoan bows her head very formally
"....I would ask if you could call on the fortunes to bless me today Nakauchi-san. Knowing what we are to face it would mean a lot, particularly from a priestess."

"Oh!" She'd actually have expected the Lion to be more comfortable with that from her kinswoman. But against maho? You really couldn't have too many blessings.

"Of course!" A few steps takes her to where her jacket lays, so she can pull her slate from a pocket, and writing materials from another. "I'm not able to call upon the spirits most suited to such an endeavor, but Bishamon and Kisada are certainly the appropriate fortunes, and ...the blessings of air that you might see through the tricks of such a dark creature," she mutters, half to herself as she reminds herself of appropriate sutras, stitching phrasing together.

"I'll leave an offering at the temple as well, for all of us." The strip of paper is quite ordinary looking, but cut to a proper size for simple ofuda. Her little calligraphy pen has, mercifully, not dried out since it was last used. She pauses, and asks for clarification of the kanji Shoan uses for her name*.

______
*note that I do not ooc even know if there's RL clarification needed on that one, but it seemed possible in Rokugani far future kanji.

Shoan actually almost smiles for a moment as she carefully details the kanji for her name, best to be precise for the spirits.

"Thank you Nakauchi-san. I pray more than most samurai, but to have a priest's blessing always steadies me before a battle."
A little wry "The blessings of air is more than sufficient, I am just one samurai and would feel overburdened by the aid of too many kami."

The calligraphy is careful but not artistic, and takes a few seconds for the ink to finish drying. "Hah, no worries, you wouldn't mix elements in a single prayer, some of them play better together than others, and that's just asking for strange interactions." She takes a long, centering breath in, blowing carefully across the ink to set it.

She chuckles. "You've just made me realize I have no idea what a standard amount of prayer is among not-priests. But I'm glad to offer."

"It's not the most frequent request, and I do kind of hate when the consecrated ink in these dries up before I use it all. Seems wasteful This one's Agasha made, so it's not supposed to do that, but I haven't quite trusted those claims yet."

“Well that’s because the Agasha-“
Shoan pauses herself, realising she’ll just end up describing ever non Lion Clans as ‘different’ at this rate.
“...make lots of interesting ink. I am surprised though, I had hoped more samurai I would remember the importance of the spiritual.”
Although maybe the Phoenix remembered it too much because there were dif-... damn it!

“I for one am grateful Nakauchi-san.”

"You're welcome, Murame-sama." She offers over the sturdy paper in both hands, with a slight bow. "And yeah, obviously I'd wish more remembered. There's a lot of superstition on ships, but I'm not sure that leads to any true connection to the spiritual, or just fear trying to find meaning and control where sometimes there is none."

Shoan accepts the paper with both hands and a matching bow. She very carefully slides the paper into a thin pocket over her left side.

“It might not make for pure consideration of the self and the heavens, but it is at least.. pure in its desire to recognise the forces that shape the world around us? Any port in a storm as a Mantis might say.”
...Hayato would totally say that

“I am sure those who study the tao feel the same way, even if it not perhaps the way.