"I don't if the monks don't. Blends with the incense, anyway."

She tries looking up into the hood of the figure. "It is odd, the four arms and...well, I'm glad someone else thinks the signs are...off. Wasn't sure I trusted my impression."


______
never did add a lighter to inventory. XD Was aiming to light it off previous incense or candle here.

Izumi didn't look impressed by the smoking, but as they were in 'civilisation' and not the Wild he let it go. Instead he looked for a bell or gong to use to announce their presence to the monks.

Failing that he'd just walk right in.

As the group loitered around the area, their first interaction with the temple came in the form of a young miko. She brought in a lot of creaking with her as she dragged her handle cart in tow, trapped haphazardly with a tarp that sagged to the bottom. There were a sheer cloak and naginata as its only contents for now.

It seems the was preoccupied with her own thoughts and content with watching the ground until she happened upon the visitors. She ducked under the handles and bowed deeply to greet them. "Oh...Good morning, welcome to the Shire to Mori no Reiou. This one is Isawa Tsugumi."

Koseki offered Mumei his lighter. "Always be prepared. I'm sure that's a Firefly motto."

The arrival of the Isawa was met with a polite bow. "Pleased to meet you Isawa-san. This is Kitsune Izumi-sama Nakauchi Mumei-san, and I'm Hotaru Koseki. Interesting temple you've got here." He cupped his hands and lit a smoke.

The Isawa miko gave the Hotaru a faint smile with her eyes downcast, looking like she was personally humbled by the compliment regarding the temple.

"Thank you, Hotaru-sama...we don't exactly have much around here but we would like to think that we are able to provide a calming and welcoming refuge within the wilderness. Please feel at ease here. How can I aid you today?"

"Well yeah, it's a nice spot. Good views of the bay." Few hiding places for monsters. "I'd love to know more about the construction. Is this all carved right out of the rock or was the stone brought here? How old is this place anyway?" He took a long draw on the smoke.

The Firefly had asked all the questions that had immediately come to the Fox's mind so he kept quiet. Discussing why they had gibberish daubed on their walls was not a question he was going to ask as he fully expected a Full Togashi answer.

"I would be more than happy to answer your questions, Hotaru-sama," she said in a rather smooth and serene voice, casting a small smile. "I could give you all a small tour of the grounds, if you wish. Your appearance came as a surprise and everyone is mediating right now, you'll have to forgive the reception."

She gave a gesture to the shrine itself in the distance. "The sect is as old as the Phoenix landing on Asakaze and construction of the temple followed shortly after almost one hundred years ago. We've split off from the colony at Shiro Yaoke in our origins but we do maintain contact with the Shiro when it comes to supplies and the occasional help. Visitors come rarely but we welcome them."

Koseki looked to the Phoenix and nodded. "Well I would love a tour Isawa-San, thank you. I'm a fan of construction work. Never really had much success with meditation though." Another draw on the smoke. At least there was a breeze here.

"IsitaTaoistorFortunistsect, Isawa-san?"

The Kitsune knew how to meditate . . . it just didn't match with the Hyper Fox lifestyle.

Mumei takes a while to clue into someone else in the room, eventually turning to listen. "A tour would be lovely. And...is this a local Fortune? It's so different."

She gave a slowly shake of her head at the Fox. "No, not quite, Kitsune-sama. The sect's focus is more centred around the elements and nature around us, more specifically the kami that calls this planet home. We revere and honour the kami spirits in many ways I'm sure shugenja are familiar with. The are tenants that are core to the Phoenix and the framework of all worship. One of the manifestations of the local kami are of course in the elements and natural wonders, both giving and taking. We take it upon ourselves to accept both and become closer to the essence of the world."

"Please follow me, minisama." she said with a gesture to follow her.

He nodded. It sounded appropriately spiritual to someone who didn't know much about such things.

"So is there anything unusual about the 'essence' of this world then?" His eyes were drawn again to the rocks of the temple and he imagined what it would have looked like before they got started. "It's only my second planet."

The Firefly's question encapsulated Mumei's own, sort of, about how the local kami manifested with four arms. She'd worry about that specific later though, and followed along.

"The water kami seem particularly present here, is this a world in balance, or does it lean harder on some elements?"

The Kitsune seemed to disagree.

"Somuchlife, evenfungallife, musthaveastrongEarthbasetogowiththeWater."

"I can't say that I've served in the same capacity on any world before but all worlds are sacred, something that the Phoenix have known for a very long while. All worlds are willing to have a conversation but often they voices are muddled and directionless. On this world, the conversations are direct and are for the reason we are where we are today, thanks to the early settlers who founded this path." She explained to the Hotaru.

The group would be led to a small stone basin with water. Tsugumi took the lead with the custom, perhaps to show her guests in case they weren't familiar with the tradition, they were foreigners after all. She would wait for them to follow the same lead before continuing.

They were led toward a rough-looking courtyard, much of the ground are uneven patches of rock, fungal patches, and mud. There are a few short rock stumps that aren't taller than most people's waist. Either there isn't much care to the grounds or it was some attempt to make the place look more ancient than it really was. They did pass by one of the statues in questions with four arms.

"Here is the courtyard where we perform our training routines. The founders choose this land because of its connection to four elements, earth and water are quite obvious as you can see," she gestures with her hand. "There is much thermal energy found beneath us, much of it is actually responsible for the rock formations you see around us. Finally, much wind travels through the cliffside and the pagoda creates an excellent conductor and vantage point."

Koseki followed along with the conversation as best he could, some of the philosophical stuff flowing over his head. He got interested by the idea of the early settlers and their building ideas. It was the thermal energy talk that really caught his imagination though.

"Huh, so are you powered from a heat sink then?" Volcanic activity could generate some nice minerals you tended not to find in deep space. 'Course you could also end up with massive eruptive traps causing a mass extinction event so....

"That sounds amazing for elemental studies and staying in touch with all of them. Do you mind visitors coming up here to commune away from all the hum of the city?"

Again, the four-armed fortune. Mumei looks it over as they pass, choosing not to overwhelm their guide with another question just yet.

________
(Thanks for that image of how the miai will actually end XD)

Now it was Tsugimi's turn to look a bit confused at the Hotaru. After a moment, she gave a shake of her head at the question. "No...ano, we have specifically chosen not to disturb the earth here. We've been making do with what we have. Most of the power comes from either the sun panels or on more cloudier days, we do burn some dry stalks for our generator. We're rather simple here and very unlike what you may be used to in Shiro Yaoke."

Truly, it seemed like the temple grounds here were part of another timeline and everything here was incredibly rustic.

"We do welcome visitors here, Nakauchi-sama," she nodded at the other woman. "I suppose we might not be the best receptionists all the time but we would welcome someone who especially wishes to commune with the elements here as we do."

As they walked, they pass back a portion of an outcrop of volcanic rock which hosted a roofed structure that was built right into the rock. It almost seemed like either the house was unearthed in an excavation or it managed to bloom from the ground. There were also several small huts and tents that seemed to be parked outside the entrance of this structure. There was a strange eerieness to the place at it almost seemed like they were the only ones here.

Everyone is busy meditating, that's all. The hairs on the back of my neck are just annoyed at all this volcanic earth action, yep.

"It really is rustic. I wish Suzume-san could have come to see how much it matches what her clan's preserved back on the world of the ancestors." Mumei muses as they listen.

"Why four arms for the fortune I've seen depicted? Haven't seen that before, and I've been to a few worlds now."