Lady Doji's method of conducting court tended to involve waiting patiently at the Crane table for people to come to her. It was the natural response of being noticed wherever one went and whatever one did. If one is going to be watched in the hallway, why not simply be watched without having to walk about all over the place?

Lady Doji was traditionally flanked by senior members of her delegation, and from time to time had been joined by her first cousin, Doji Noriko. And, to add to the homey atmosphere of this isle of stability in the sea of court, a small grill had been set up to boil water and serve tea to any who happened to drift by.

And perhaps it was that very homey-ness that drew Chou-sin. That's what the official narrative would have you believe, anyway: the Abbot of the Four Temples drew near to take part in a quiet ritual of communion with the Crane clan and, inadvertently (of course), bumped the table.

"Oops!" he cried, as the table lurched, the pot of boiling water fell to the ground, and Lady Doji's tea seat cascaded in a glinting, cacophonous torrent, disgorging its contents all over the floor, the well-appointed cushions, and the laps of the assembled Crane.

Otomo Tooru wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 18, 2024 5:01 pm

Otomo Tooru's benign expression changed into one of naked concern as he raised a hand to forestall debate.

"A moment, please, delegates," he said as he peered in the direction of the table traditionally claimed by the Crane delegation. "It seems that something demands our attention."

Lady Doji looked up from where she was dabbing gently at her kimono to combat the stain. Great. Now, what?

Otomo Keihime wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 18, 2024 5:20 pm

"How unfortunate." Otomo Keihime's voice was the first to cut through the silence. "It would seem that the Crane have made a mess of the audience chamber." She frowns deeply. "Doji Noriko-san, would you be so kind as to clean this up? We need to keep to the proper decorum."

Chou-sin took this opportunity to make a quick /exit.

For her part, grim-faced, Lady Doji began to rise...

...only for Doji Noriko to arrest her progress with a gentle tug on her sleeve and a slight shake of the head.

Noriko rose, the stain on her kimono from the spill clearly visible to the entire court, bowed once, deeply, to Keihime, and then took up a handkerchief and sank to her knees. Her posture erect, her bearing nothing less than noble, she began to clean the floor at the Advisor's command.

Kami, how low have the Otomo fallen. And the monk? Savages, all of them. Silly tricks. Should that creature, Otomo Keihime, with her disgusting ways, become Empress, Rokugan will probably be cursed by Heavens and ancestors alike.

The Crane says nothing, she just silently, with no fuss or intention to draw anyone's attention, helps Doji Noriko out.

Ryu stared for just a moment, and then knelt wordlessly to clean as well. He'd done worse before.

Ryu's action spurs on Hikaru, who makes a similar show of getting his kimono stained.

He remains wordless. The action says enough.

Thats right, the prissy Crane don't care about getting dirty. We do not leave ours hanging out to dry.

A tall Dragon in brown with green inner layers to his kimono pattern arrived. Not to clean, he wasn't that guy, but to do what he did best. Bamboozle. Confuse. Hoodwink.

"Hello my great and excellent friends. In a few minutes I am going to make an abbot very unhappy. I am hopeful someone is willing to twist the knife, I mean...willing to straighten the bamboo? I don't know. Metaphor. Other metaphor." He said knowingly to the group of Crane and then began winking rapidly. It probably looked like he was seizing.

Mirumoto Jinkan wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 20, 2025 10:44 pm

Snip

Sae, who had been quietly observing but not cleaning (instead controlling what had been a nearly murderous feeling of rage) turns to the familiar Dragon and bows.

"Mirumoto-san? Are you alright?" Frowning slightly and lowering her voice. "What exactly do you mean?"

Shinnosuke, hands full of wet, broken ceramic he's been picking up and piling onto a tray, looks up with a mild expression of consternation. "Excuse me?"

Once the tea was cleaned up, Ryu sat there, frowning for some time.

Finally, he turned to Sae, bowing, then to Minehime, likewise bowing. And with that, he would slip from the room, as unobtrusively as possible...

(taking the minor breach to join the event)

"Maybe the court should consider clarifying which person in the Brotherhood will be responsible for assisting in the charity work called for on the second day of court. One imagines, by default it might pass to certain people." He nodded toward where the tea had fallen. "Maybe it should instead pass to less clumsy hands. Like, say...Abbot Do."

Sanjuro, observing the scene and hearing his kinsman, nodded in agreement.

Mirumoto Jinkan wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 21, 2025 3:30 pm

"Maybe the court should consider clarifying which person in the Brotherhood will be responsible for assisting in the charity work called for on the second day of court. One imagines, by default it might pass to certain people." He nodded toward where the tea had fallen. "Maybe it should instead pass to less clumsy hands. Like, say...Abbot Do."

Sae rises an eyebrow ever so slightly, looking back at the scene of the crime for a moment.

"I have met the Abbot, he did seem a very fine mine to me, and he is well regarded too. If the Dragon believe him to be the most appropriate one to handle such a task..."

Well, the Dragon were the Empire's experts on monks.

Masaki, standing with the Crab, but relatively close to the Crane delegation - as the space of the court would allow, of course - immediately shifted her eyes to the focus of Keihime's play when the "accident" happened.

She takes a first few slow, tentative steps in their direction - her face mostly hidden under a fan, but the eyes and the small part of the cheek that do appear suggest a very serious expression as her eyes search for Keihime's, averting themselves only moments before someone might consider the gesture improper. Her look towards the Crane, on the other hand, is one of quiet support.

Seeing the two Dragon come closer, she holds her movements while still some steps away, and apparently turns her attention to the matters being discussed. For now, at least.