Red, Black, White (D15, LA. Open)

[Togashi Saruko]

She really wished she had brought along the makeup Doji had insisted on giving her some years ago, for it would've come in handy now. But Saruko hadn't expected that she'd have to get a bride ready for marriage out her, let alone one that would become her bonded sister.

Luckily, she had figured out how to make the three colors that Doji had used for her marriage. Red from flowers (thank the lucky stars she had collected flowers during the trip before they reached the Shadowlands), black from burnt wood. For white, they didn't have any rice like Doji had used, but she knew some women back in the tribe had used the pearls and seashells they got from trading to make a powder that brightened the skin when applied. So she had spent a good while grinding that down as finely as possible with a mortar and pestle. It had cost her many pieces of her bracelet, but... it was worth it, she hoped. To help Reiko get something of a wedding worthy of her hopes, and for Mother Sun to be pleased.

Perhaps it was because she had just finished embroidering Doji's symbol that she had luck with her in this little project.


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D15 LA Artisan: Cosmetics/Awareness to make a little bit of makeup for the wedding. +1k1 Void. 1 raise. TN 20: 6d10o10k5 30

[Miyako]

Milling around the camp after all the hustle and bustle of the morning discussions and planning, Miyako departed her tent to walk around the campfires. She detected nervous energy among the various groups gathered around the crackling flames, but even with that there appeared to her eyes to be the usual talking, drinking, arguing, playing of music, and other activities that people did, though perhaps with a slightly different air about it all. She wandered from campfire to campfire and to different parts of the camp, pausing her meandering and smiling when she came across a familiar face.

"Hello Saruko! I hope you have been well considering the day," Miyako greeted warmly and without elaboration: the sense of foreboding around the camp, the ominous weather, the stress of plans upon plans, she figured, need not be mentioned.

"Making something good? Medicine?" the tribeswoman asked, pointing at the mortar and pestle work that was going on, her bone-and-stone bracelets clinking together as she did so.

[Togashi Saruko]

"Miyako, it's good to see your spirits are still high. I'm as... good as one can be in this place, I think. I hope the same for you," she smiled and looked up from her work. The Dragon lady seemed to be keeping busy with quite a lot.

"Ah, no, not medicine. It's for the marriage tomorrow. Red to color the lips. Black to line the eyes. And white powder for the face." Saruko gave a shrug. "Lady Doji introduced me to this when I got married, and when attending some other weddings as well, so I figured that would be something right to use in a wedding ceremony where we're trying to get Lady Sun's attention."

[Miyako]

"Oooh, so like warpaint then! Except instead of looking intimidating it's meant to... attract attention? Make nice lady look pretty to others? That sounds like fun either way!" she exclaimed as she set her pack on the ground, knelt behind it, and started to rummage through it. "In here somewhere... ah, here! I can help if you want." And from her pack she pulled out her own mortar and pestle set and held out each implement to show her; the outside of the mortar and top of the pestle appeared dark grey in color, smoothly polished and shaped, and otherwise free of decorative elements, but inside the mortar and the bottom of the pestle were nearly bright white from what was likely years of solid grinding of the two against one another.

"I've used this plenty of times to help my aunt in crushing herbs for her medicines and some seasonings she's added to her food dishes. She gave me these to take for the journey, said I might need it," she explained. "What ingredients are you using for the different colors?"

[Togashi Saruko]

"Yes, to prettify," she chuckled. Maybe the Chinsei didn't have a strong culture of makeup either.

"So far, I'm using these red dried flowers for the red. I've seen similar method used before for tinting nails and lips with a color..." for a moment she looked a little sheepish. "I was collecting these flowers closer to Great Mountain City, and I pressed and dried them, in plans of bringing them home. But this is a better use for them."

She could always pick new ones when they returned. If they returned.

"Black is the easy one. Just burn some wood, and used the blackened soot from it! That one I've seen done before in my tribe. The white powder... some women in my tribe would grind down pearl and shell to a fine powder, and said it made their faces look paler and glowier. I only had one pearl and a couple of shells though, so... hopefully it's enough."

[Miyako]

"Bone bead or three will help!" Miyako held up her wrist and wiggled it around to point at a couple of carved white beads on her bracelet surrounded by colorful stones. "I can offer these and it is no trouble. These are softer bone, from a chicken maybe, to make it easier to carve, but they also break easier which is why I only wear this one around the camp rather than when on patrol. If I smash these hard enough they'll dust up in a little bit. Bone from bear and stag is much sturdier, but takes much longer to carve: very popular and in high demand from the shamans for their rituals and warriors that defend our forest, so it's very hard for me to get one of those from the bone-carvers. I like that you have shells though - add nice sparkle to the white maybe?" she asked, sitting on the ground nearby and putting her mortar and pestle aside while she dug through her pack some more.

"Hmm... I don't know much about nails, but for lips you might want these too maybe?" The tribeswoman pulled from the pack a small loosely-bound pouch. She pulled lightly on the string and when it opened up she revealed what was inside: a handful of reddish berries, most of them bright red but a couple of them having turned a darker color already, sitting on a finger-pinch or two of red-orange clay dust that settled to the bottom.

"I found some clay while out hunting by the river before we departed the big city, and I found these berries in the jungles almost a week ago - picked out ones that weren't so ripe yet so they'd keep their color longer. I wanted to make some Chinsei warpaint for when the time came. Smash many berries and you get very deep red; smash fewer and add couple drops of water, get lighter red. Mix with the clay dust and it will stick wherever it needs to for a long time: put it on the lips, marks on the cheeks and forehead, arms, whatever skin you want to paint," she described and gave a very knowing nod.

"For the start of hunting season in fall, I like to use two colors: take a big handful of berries, smash them good, mix clay, then I take the fingertip and put in the middle here, make a very nice deep red spot." And she put the tip of her index finger to cover her top and bottom lip just underneath her nose. "Then, use water, make lighter color, and fill in the rest." And she put her fingertip again to her lips, this time sweeping from either side of the middle of her lips all the way to the edges. "Maybe look nice? Haven't thought of it that way before, though."

[Togashi Saruko]

Saruko put her hands together in delight and surprise. "Miyako, you truly are a marvel. I think with our ingredients combined, we'll be able to make something suitable for the bride-to-be!" She seemed rather happy that they were able to make the most of it in the situation they were in.

"I'm so glad that so many of us are coming together to make this... well, if not a dream-wedding, as good as it can be, given the location."

[Miyako]

She grinned at the compliment. "She will look very pretty," the tribeswoman said as she slid her bracelet from her wrist and started to unstring it, take off the bone beads, and string it back into place, a couple colorful stones in her pack that she kept as spares to replace broken beads or change colors at her whim filling in the gaps. "Will be a most interesting experience, witnessing and wishing and praying for good ties-that-bind out here, but we will make do to make it the best that we can, I agree. Will this ceremony be like ones that those from clan-tribe do or different because of circumstance?" A pause. "Does clan-tribe have ceremony or is it like tribe-tribe and different from place to place?"

[Togashi Saruko]

Her hands moved diligently to help with the preparations.

"We're trying to emulate the ceremony that the Kami introduced as much as possible, as we're trying to earn the blessing and attention of Lady Sun - so it reasons to do it as the Heavens would like it. I've only seen it done a few times myself." Her own wedding, some of the other weddings. "They've been all slightly different each time, bringing in some of the traditions of the tribes their spouses came from. Which works of course if your tribe has traditions in regards to marriage."

Saruko chuckled with some humor at that. "My tribe never really had anything as fancy as wedding ceremonies. If two people wanted to be together, it was as simple as that, and the celebration usually saved for when a child was to be expected. Some people would stay together for a few turns of the seasons, others were bonded for life to eachother... life is different for all, really."

[Miyako]

Once she had her bracelet back on her wrist, Miyako took the bone beads, put them in the mortar, and started to smash at them with the pestle, her other hand covering over the mortar just in case they tried to bounce out before they could start to wear down into the fine bony powder she intended to make. "Ahh, that makes sense," she answered in-between crushes. She took her hand away after a couple moments to see if she was getting anywhere - at least one had started to crumble, but the others would clearly need a little more muscle into them. She positioned them closer together in the middle of the mortar before starting again.

"Chinsei weddings are a big celebration in most of the villages, probably as big and as rowdy as any festival we have, and that's because people from the nearby villages tend to get invited by the village elder. The actual ritual comes in two parts. The first part starts in the morning when the two to be united wake up, grab their bows, and head to the edge of the forest to meet the shaman and the escorts, usually friends or family members chosen by the couple, and they march together to the ancient part of the forest and the village's sacred place. The escort wears their armor and also comes with their bows and other weapons - it's a ceremonial escort, but the march to the sacred place has occasionally come across bears and other creatures that need to be warded away from the couple. Sacred spot is where Chinsei spread the ashes of the dead in the forest, so the shaman leads the whole group in prayers to the ancestors to watch over the couple-to-be." Again she checked the bone beads, and she nodded at the progress she was making.

"That usually happens through most of the morning. They carry a small meal with them to eat for early afternoon, more than needed so that some is offered to the ancestors - this also acts as the invitation for the ancestral spirits to come out of the forest and return to the village to join the celebration that evening. After final prayer to the ancestors, they all return to the village where most of the villagers are waiting and have been spending time cooking food, decorating the village square, and so on. Shaman and village elder address everyone as the couple stand before them, final prayer is said by shaman and everyone holler and couple is then now married! And then party goes well into evening and night, and when it gets really dark out some claim they see the spirit ancestors also party!" She paused, checked her work again, and looked up.

"Maybe they had too much berry-wine and seeing funny things, though."

[Togashi Saruko]

She laughed at the end remark about berry-wine. "Some of the Kami are pretty fond of drinking too when it comes to celebrations. You should see Hida-Kami." She had never thought someone would bring that much drink for just themselves for a party!

"It sounds like quite a romantic ceremony, and peaceful too. Well... except for the bear-attacks. The more I hear about the forest of the Chinsei, I can understand why many are reluctant to leave. Some of it remind me much of the Ayakashi valley. The abundance of nature and the closeness the people have to it..."

Saruko sighed wistfully. "I hope that the appriciation for nature is something that will still remain as the world changes... not that I'm too worried, though, as Doji-Kami seems to have a great appriciation for it too. But as more tribes come together, I worry a bit about those who see nature more as a resource and less as a part of the world that co-exists with us."

[Miyako]

"I hear Kami Hida of Clan-Tribe Crab is really really big, holds very much wine in the belly, and can still down twenty strong men, pausing not to catch his breath but so to drink more wine," Miyako said of what she had heard about the man. Again she checked her work, lifting up the mortar to show Saruko and smiling: about half of the beads were now a coarse white powder. "Once you get the rest of the bone down, you keep going and it'll get less like grain." Assured of this, she set it back on the ground and kept going.

"Lady Doji Kami sound like she knows well the beauty and bounty of Nature. Balance in all things, however, and the Chinsei have learned to live in balance to preserve for the future. Hunt too many stag and hare and bear and all the creatures of the forest and soon there are none left, and no meat, no fur, no bone, no antler to be had. Cut down tree in order to make the bow, make the hut, but like shepherd tends to flock of animals, we must shepherd growth of the forest: too many trees gone and then no more forest, no more wood, no animals, no anything. Whether tribe-tribe or clan-tribe, all Man and Woman must be good shepherds of the forest lest the land become desolate like this place, only without the Evil. And though no Evil... much sorrow, and Nature cries."

[Togashi Saruko]

"Ah, I see... I'll have to remember that in the future!" she watched with fascination as the more practiced Miyako worked her craft.

Saruko nodded along as the Chinsei woman spoke, enjoying the moment of learning more about this reclusive tribe. "Mm," she was thoughtful for a moment.

"Have you had the chance to think more about where you see your future going, after this?"

[Miyako]

Miyako continued to grind away at the bone, but after Saruko's question her pace slowed somewhat, distracted as she thought about it. "Some. Your words gave me much to think about, dwell upon, contemplate. I talked some with Jiyo Ayumu too about plans for when we venture home, what might be in store, plans for the distant future - his words give me much to think about too. I think..." she trailed off, and after a couple moments her grinding came to a stop as she thought about what to say.

"... I think what I come away with in speaking to both of you and learning many things and spending nights in tent thinking about things is that my future is like book of paper with pages some written yet some blank, and for long time I think Chinsei write the book, but after much talk and contemplate and think I find now that I write the book. Chinsei tribe and Chinsei ways mean lots to me, and I to them, but if Great-Clan-of-Empire is the future with clan-tribes and tribe-tribes fade away, I know now that I need not fade away with tribe-tribe if tribe-tribe stubborn to way of the next rising Sun and want new future. I think I still want Chinsei find harmony together, but I don't know if I can help that. But if I can't, though... I know I can go my own way." Miyako looked off to the side for a moment, trying to find the words to say.

"Jiyo Ayumu shared his story about how he was tribe-tribe of Isawa - I don't want to share what he might not want others to know, but short part of story is that he told me how and why he serves Kami Shiba, Emperor of Great-Clan-of-Empire, while tribe-tribe Isawa is still Outside, Jiyo Ayumu's family still Outside, yet he find Courage on his own to be part of newness under Kami and clan-tribe despite that. It tells me the same is very well possible for me. Some Chinsei already join clan-tribe Scorpion under Kami Bayushi, but not all. What if others not want follow and stay clan-tribe? Want follow different Kami and clan-tribe? Some cousins do not wait: they tore sleeve and follow Kami Bayushi without waiting for what village elder thinks village should do. Maybe village elders wait forever - maybe village elders wait too long. I think what the future tells me, what you and Jiyo Ayumu tell me, is that I need not wait if I see myself elsewhere, that it is okay to be like my cousins and make my own decision." Again she glanced off to the side for a moment and sighed.

"What that decision is... that I still need to think about. But I know now that I am not the Chinsei - I am Miyako of the Chinsei. And I might be something else if I want to be."

[Togashi Saruko]

She listened with full attention, hearing the thoughts and the conclusions Miyako had come to, as well as hearing the concerns she also seemed to have.

"I... think there are always ways that can allow us to keep what many of us grew up with, in different tribes, given that they're not conflicting with the unity within the group, and also follow the Kami. Speaking only for myself, it's true that I have learned many new things, and I try to embrace the new teachings of the Kami, but I've not found any of it yet to be at odds with the beliefs I grew up with as an Ayakashi."

"When I've spoken to those of the tribes here, I hear that many of them are afraid of losing the ways they had, but not everyone is willing to seek out the Clans to actually learn what things are like. But, as you say, Miyako is the one who fills in the blank pages in the storybook of Miyako - not anyone else."

Saruko smiled kindly to the woman, feeling that the two had found a lot of common ground. "If you would consider it as your path forward, I would gladly offer you a place within the Dragon. Togashi-Kami has given me his blessing to teach and lead those who would rather follow my path than his or Wu's, and to care for them and look after them as if they were my tribe and family."

[Miyako]

Miyako nodded throughout as she listened to Saruko, eyes closing for brief moments on occasion as if she was contemplating things.

"I am not concerned about losing the Chinsei way so much as I fear the Chinsei as a whole being lost, that the caution of my elders turns into stubbornness, foot-dragging, and those that have not already joined clan-tribe are either brought to heel forcefully by clan-tribe or fade into obscurity in war with another tribe-tribe or something along those lines... that Chinsei wasting their chance to not only step forward but step up in the new land, be leaders, carry Chinsei way with them all the while. I hope the book-writings of the past would say 'Chinsei were a tribe that walked carefully but found identity in new world with many clan-tribe people tracing many roots back to Chinsei' instead of 'Chinsei were a tribe and they faded away like ghosts in the forest, never to be heard of or from again.'" She looked down inside the mortar at the bone dust and looked back up.

"Jiyo Ayumu told me much of tribe-tribe Isawa and their struggle to find their place, many Isawa still Isawa but some Isawa slowly walk away to find their own place among various clan-tribes because Isawa leadership seems to want to try and stay a tribe-tribe longer. I don't want that struggle for the Chinsei - but like Jiyo Ayumu, I cannot wait forever for the rest of the Chinsei either if they truly don't want to see the forest for the trees." She set aside the mortar and pestle for a few moments so that they could talk without the distraction of the light crunching of the beads.

"I know some of the others in the tribe-tribes are as you say, scared and afraid of what they might lose rather than what there is to gain, but I know I am not that. Though I am still Chinsei, when my cousins of clan-tribe Scorpion come wearing their Kami Bayushi sleeves to the village to talk of the Great-Clan-of-Empire, each time I have come forth to listen and to learn. I... am still trying to find my place, with the Chinsei, without the Chinsei, and in either case I listen and learn." She placed a hand underneath her chin, her head lightly resting on her index finger as her thumb rubbed her cheek.

"I know not much of the clan-tribe Dragon other than what you described nights ago about the mountains. What is the Path of Saruko and how different is it from the Path of Kami Togashi and Path of one called Wu?"

[Togashi Saruko]

Saruko gave a thoughtful 'hmmm'-sound before responding, and she took a moment to check on the progress of their work.

"The path of the Dragon is... one for those who seek it, specifically. We don't actively try to recruit followers like many of the Clans do, but rather, we want people to seek us out out of their own free will - as a choice they have committed to. It is a path of many paths, so to speak, as the path to spiritual harmony is different for most."

"Wu is a warrior, but he is also wise and scholarly, especially with an interest in knowledge about metals. As a warrior, his approach to much is with the mindset of a warrior; no wasted movement, or emotion, and what I've heard of his philosophy is one that encourages tempering one's emotions and living a simple life." Despite how different her philosophy was to Wu's, she spoke with a high opinion of his work and beliefs.

"My teachings are more towards embracing doing good in the world; uplifting spirits, as it were. I believe that something like a beautiful song, or a well-told story is kind of like nourishment for the soul. Likewise, I believe strongly in that we should all have the opportunity to learn more about the world, about different thoughts, about new ideas, so we can grow and find a greater understanding in life."

"My husband's teachings is not a path many have been able to follow so far, as it is a diffcult journey of self-exploration to find one's true self - and to unlock one's true potential. Those who manage it manifest powerful abilities."

It was a bit of a mouthful to go through all three, but she hoped that gave more of an idea.

[Miyako]

"Mmm... come to mountain if they want rather than you coming to them. Interesting path for clan-tribe. And I'm sure it appeals to some: those that want to find their place, find their center, find themselves, they climb the mountain. And with Path of You and Path of Wu and Path of Kami Togashi, much opportunity for many to find themselves among those that speak best to them. Like one called Nadare I see. Strange one to me, but yet I see he is surprisingly good and mending and tending Nezumi wounds as if he know Nezumi body and bone all along. He carries himself like he has found his Way," she assessed with a nod.

"Your offer is a kind one, and I thank you for it. I will certainly consider it. There is much of the land I would like to see after all this, other forests, great plains, edge of desert, and of course I will come and climb the mountains. Of course I will come and visit the mountains! And see the valleys and waterfalls, views as far as the bird-eyes can see, experience warm welcoming waters in cool air..." she trailed off, reaching by her side to pick up the mortar and pestle.

"And who knows? Maybe I will find Myself there." She smiled at that and then started grinding the remains of the bone-beads.

[Togashi Saruko]

She chuckled warmly. "Perhaps you will. All things in time, of course. For all we know, when you return home, a handsome lord will come and swoop you up in his arms and you will instantly be smitten, as he carries you off to his cloud-palace over the sea. Where he'll gift you with precious robes and gems, and all your food will taste as fresh and as wonderful as they do in their best season."

What kind of girl hadn't had that fantasy, or a similar one, at least once in their lives.

[Miyako]

"Mmm, wouldn't that be just soooo nice..." she swooned, crushing of the beads slowing as she started to daydream. "Past the ocean blue, a palace on a cliffside by the shore, the breeze of the sea in the open windows lightly whipping fine silks hanging in the window, the nearby bay a bounty of fresh fish both scaled and shelled for the table each night..." she described, continuing the daydream for a few moments before shaking herself out of it and looking down inside the mortar.

"Ah! Here we are - I think this should do nicely!" And she reached out to show Saruko her handiwork: what had once been four carved bone beads was now a relatively fine powder with few chips or lumps left behind from its former life. "Add that with your shell and pearl and you should have enough to cover entire face without problem now. As a nice touch, I think shell and pearl combined will create nice sparkle effect all over; bone ensure nice fine white so that the sparkle isn't concentrated in any one place on the face... I think. Never really worn this much covering on the face before, but maybe should work nicely? At least look beautiful when light of flame bounces off the face and sparkle really shows through."