[D8, EE] Mane eating meeting (expecting)

[Agasha Yuna]

Yuna decided to look for Otomo Marikio-sama in the time before the art show. She was now dressed in the green kimono with a field of flowers on the back, with some in red and black.

She asked at the imperial quarters and was directed to the Inn of the Golden Mane.

She arrived and saw Otomo-sama sitting at a table enjoying a meal.

She walked over and bowed deeply to her. "Otomo-sama, it is good to see you. Would you like some company?"

[Otomo Mariko]

"Ah! Agasha-san," she says, and she gestures to the seat opposite her.

As Yuna sits, at Mariko's gesture, a servant pours a drink for her and refills Mariko's cup. It is clearly not the first time the latter has happened this evening.

"What brings you to me this evening?"

[Agasha Yuna]

"It is always a pleasure to see you, Otomo-sama. I thought to thank you for your help in supporting the deal that included my engagement. I am very glad. Thank you."

"And I do have two more proposed marriages for your review, if you do not mind."

[Otomo Mariko]

"I suppose I will be seeing many different faces next winter," Mariko says, "given how many new parents there seem soon to be."

The servant refills her cup again. When had it emptied?

"So, of whose nuptials do you speak?"

[Agasha Yuna]

She smiled and took a sip of what they were drinking.

"I pray I am so blessed that I already have a babe, and do not attend for that reason. Or am so close to it that I am not up for travel. Ah, I did not even thing to ask if you had tips on having many healthy children!"

"Here is the first proposed marriage."

"Related to a trade between the Dragon and the Crab, the marriage proposed is delegate Hiruma Daichi's cousin, Hiruma-ke no kashin Tetsumura Rumiko (bushi, female, status 1), marrying into the Dragon. She will marry our delegate Mirumoto Ikio (bushi, male, status 3)."

[Otomo Mariko]

The drink is strong.

Mariko drinks it as if it is a mild tea.

"There do seem to be a lot of Crab leaving their Clan," she says. "One wonders what strength will remain on the southern border once it is all done.

"Why her, though, and why him?"

[Agasha Yuna]

"The primary reason is that Hiruma Daichi and I are the two delegates who negotiated the deal. And he had the goal of finding a match for his cousin out of clan."

"He did not specify why he might wish a life for her away from their Wall and great work." But she could imagine why. A slight pause for the unspoken and unspeakable.

"The advantages to us to the match with Mirumoto Ikio-san are that he is just high enough in his service to merit a wife marrying into him, that a match of bushi to bushi will produce strong warriors and that is important to the Mirumoto, and she is the right age to expect children."

"Mirumoto Ikio-san is here and had communicated the hope to wed a young bushi."

"Lastly, Hiruma Daichi-san is a fine young man. So it gives me a good impression also of his family and the other children they might produce."

[Otomo Mariko]

"Those are not bad reasons," Mariko says, "although there might be better ones."

Her cup is refilled again. Where does she put it all?

"You asked about 'having many healthy children,' as well," she adds. "A young woman will not have had many, necessarily, but after the necessaries are addressed, a mother maintaining her own health is of great importance. And a good husband will help with that, ideally without needing much prompting."

[Agasha Yuna]

She nodded at Otomo-sama's words.

"Still, I do hope you will bless the match. I should perhaps add that the marriage is important also because of the exchange of goods it seals. Our jade, which they need. For their tea and a bit of their sake, which we need."

And then, the other topic. But the threads were interwoven.

"The Dragon are not known for producing large families." If anyone already knew that, it was the Imperial Matchmaker. "The Crab are. And that is a reason we value Crab brides, beyond their other virtues."

"My own mother had three children." She was glad for that. Relieved by it. Better than many dragon families. "But I did wonder if there are ... cultural differences that account for it. You watch the matches. You have a unique and excellent vantage point. If you are aware of elements to consider... I have thought of diet, the degree of physical exertion, and early and often honoring of Kisshoten-o-kami. But perhaps there are other ideas - or best practice in those domains."

[Otomo Mariko]

Mariko smiles.

"I do think the Dragon are hindered by thin air and cold," she says. "Either in themselves or in what they tend to bring with them.

"But you are correct; there are more social pressures on the Crab for large families than among the Dragon. And some of that is an issue of how easy it is to get from community to community in those lands--one needn't descend a mountain and scale another, for example, to visit a neighbor."

[Agasha Yuna]

"If it is a matter of environment - the thinness of the air, the isolation, the difficult climbs - that I can be quite excited at the impact of the smooth sands and gentle waters."

She smiled. A breath of relief.

She lifted her drink. A happy toast to a promising future, with one more anxiety relieved.

"Do I have your blessing for the Crab marriage? Should I move on to mentioning the other marriage?"

[Otomo Mariko]

"I believe the one you've mentioned will work well," Mariko allows. "What else did you have for me, dear?"

Again, a refill. Is one of her legs hollow?

[Agasha Yuna]

"The second one is between the Dragon and the Fox."

"From the Fox clan. Kitsune-ke no kashin Reizei Kimihiro (Status 4). He is a bushi. Skilled. Easy-going and affable. He will marry into the Dragon."

"He will marry our Mirumoto-ke no kashin Tsubouchi Yoko (Female, Status 6, Age 24). She is an administrative prodigy and the Governor of Yakeishi Province. She needs to remain in place as the Governor.
Yoko presents as female and lives a female life, she was assigned male at birth. Their children would need to be adopted."

"Kitsune-sama agrees that detail is fine, and will work fine for Kistune Kimihiro. The Fox clan are comfortable with adoption as the route for them to have children."

"Advantages to each. A very good fit of puzzle pieces together. Like the one pair of shells in the shell-matching box." A wedding tradition! She would have one, at her wedding.

[Otomo Mariko]

"If the Dragon are willing to take in a stray from one of the Minor Clans," Mariko says, "they may do so. An act of compassion is virtuous, after all.

"I shall pray that sharp teeth do not bite the offering hand."

Her cup is being refilled yet again.

[Agasha Yuna]

She smiled. "Thank you, Otomo-sama."

"And that concludes the business, so we can simply enjoy the meal together." She prayed the woman had already eaten and had some food in her to balance the alcohol.

"I am curious about you." She liked Otomo-sama. She genuinely did.

"Can you tell me more about yourself? Is there an art that you particularly enjoy? To practice yourself or enjoy when another does?"

[Otomo Mariko]

Mariko's cup is empty again, and she answers with something of a smile.

"Oh, my husband was such a dancer!" she says, the tone almost confessional. "I remember one performance, and his hips were just--" and she actually blushes. "Well, you'll find out with your own soon enough."

[Agasha Yuna]

"Oh! Dance is such a fine art. You would not believe how I made use of it today!" A hint that there was a story there.

"Was... Is he so much older than your twenty-seven year old self that he is no longer as limber as he once was?
No longer able to perform?"

[Otomo Mariko]

"You'll have to tell me about your own dancing, Agasha-san," Mariko says.

"But, yes, husband-san is a bit older than twenty-seven," she admits. "He does still serve a fine dessert, though!"

[Agasha Yuna]

She smiled.

"A good dessert is important! I'm glad you two are so happy." A fortuitous happy marriage was part of qualifying to be a matchmaker, if she remembered correctly.

And then she paused. Was the dancing anecdote a wise one to share? It perhaps danced dangerously close to a place where she and Otomo-sama might well have different goals. The winds business was fraught.

Careful.

"My family, the Ageki. We did not have much of a focus on art or any kind of performance, except to the extent it mattered to a relationship with the earth kami. So we've had sculptors in past. Our occasional artisans. My uncle the goldsmith. But few performers indeed. But, our rituals, our spiritual offerings, do involve dance! So I learned to dance. But only these earth kami dances. They are about endurance, balance, steadfast performance - hours at a time, often laden down with weights. Showing our empathy for the earth's patience and the weight it bears."

"I fear ... the movements will not ever be a source of delight or affection. Not like your husband's hips."

[Otomo Mariko]

"So, you like your desserts, too, Agasha-san?" Mariko says. "Someone will have to let your Shiba know about it, help him train his tongue to your preferences.

"But you'd be surprised at what an audience will appreciate from a dance," she continues. "There are many who appreciate what a woman can bear."