The first formal court session of the season demands the most perfect cleanliness, especially after being up rather late last night following the Lion Champion's reception. Along with his other ablutions, Shinnosuke washes his face gently (Crane skincare 101!) but nevertheless thoroughly to remove all traces of sleepiness. He winds up his long white hair into a topknot held with a simple wooden pin to keep it from getting too wet (no time to air dry afterward, and one shouldn't show up to court with wet hair) and climbs into the hot pool on the men's side, emitting a contented sigh as the water washes up over his chest.

(expecting, open)

Daichi had worked up a good amount of sweat during his morning practice, and while that sort of thing wasn't unusual, he'd need to clean up before making his way into court. He took nowhere near as much care getting himself as clean as some Crane might. But then, cold mountain streams generally encouraged quickness in your cleaning routines.

He did tie his hair up; it didn't dry the quickest and it probably should be dry if he wanted to make it to court. Someone somewhere had probably mentioned that to him anyways. Making his way to the hot baths; a treat on a cold morning, he gave a nod towards the other occupants as he stepped into the water.

Shinnosuke nods as Daichi enters the pool. There was this one problem with baths at a busy court early in the season with lots of people you didn't know, though... if you weren't looking the right way when a fellow came in and got undressed, you'd have no idea who on earth he was. Complete blank slate.

Well... not completely blank. The newcomer is rather physically fit, with hands and arms that definitely suggest "sword guy" to Shinnosuke's mind. But that's not much help; there are piles of bushi in Kyuden Ikoma, from the palace guards to the visiting delegations to the imposing Seppun. So the best Shin can manage is:

"Good morning, samurai-san."

"It is a pretty nice one given the time of year." Daichi replied as he shifted a bit to get comfortable. White hair, what looked like blue eyes, pretty for a boy. The fellow might as well have been wearing a Crane mon around his neck. "So good morning to you as well, Samurai-san."

"Though I suppose introductions are due as well. I'm Hiruma-ke no kaishin Tetsumura Daichi." He continued with a polite dip of his head.

"Ah, then good morning Hiruma-san," Shinnosuke revises his greeting, smiling. "And I am Tanaka Shinnosuke, of the Doji. Now we're introduced properly, for this most informal of settings at least." He leans back, resting his shoulders comfortably against the lip of the pool. "The one place in Winter Court where no one is counting the layers of your robes and judging the colors."

"A pleasure to meet you Doji-san." The crude joke about how some might still try and judge something wasn't voiced as Daichi instead nodded in agreement. "It is a pleasant spot to get away from all of that. Though, I wouldn't be too surprised in some brought business ever here."

"Might be the type of place most wouldn't think of for that sort of thing." Especially if you were a fan of cold baths.

"Business? Well, anywhere can be a battlefield in the war of the courts, sure, if you really try." Shinnosuke smiles rakishly. "But some places are at least truce sites in the war of fashion. Out of necessity." A gesture of his wet hand takes in the area full of people in a state, of--mostly--complete and soggy undress.

"I'd say a truce on that benefits me far more then you Doji-san." Daichi replied with a chuckle, he could dress well enough but even then, a Hiruma's height of fashion was about two decades behind a Cranes. "So maybe I should consider having all my meetings here." He joked.

The Crab let out a slow breath. "But then again, these baths are probably a bit too comfortable to want to drag any business here and make a mess of it."

"Some things should be sacred," Shinnosuke agrees. "And that means I'm relieved of having to talk to you about armaments and rice and betrothals and all the rest of that stuff when we've just met." He chuckles and brushes a loose strand of hair, damp and a little fuzzy from steam, back behind his ear. "What should we talk about instead? Hm. Where are you from, Hiruma-san? My family's estates are on the Tangu River south of Golden Sun Bay and the Capital, but my theater troupe is based in Kyuden Doji."

"The lands of my own family are in the Twilight Mountains in the Hissori province of the Hiruma." Daichi replied, though he knew that wasn't the best description there weren't a lot of landmarks nearby. Unless a certain mountain was really impressive it didn't tend to get a name known to any but the locals.

"Currently I am part of a mixed unit of infantry and scouts patrolling a portion of our lands southern border. Though for all intents and purposes you could say I'm stationed at Shiro Hiruma."

A slight line appears between Shin's brows for a moment. Our land's southern border puts the scars on the other man's arms in a different light, doesn't it? Maybe he's lucky just to be alive.

"That certainly sounds, ah, exciting. In a rather different way than going on the stage in front of an audience." He speaks a bit diffidently, not sure how this will land.

The Crab smirked; the Crane wasn't wrong after all. "Life is full of different types of excitement, it would be strange indeed if they felt exactly the same no matter what type of activity you did. That doesn't mean they aren't exciting though."

"Added to that we all serve our Lords the best we can, no matter what ways our abilities manifest. Whether it be on the battlefield, the court, or on the stage. So, it's no wonder we run into different types of it."

"Are you a very great warrior, then, Hiruma-san?" Shinnosuke asks with an engaging smile.

"That's something of a loaded question, Doji-san." The crab replied with a wry smile. "I'm better than some, but worse than others. Which means my skills have been adequate for my survival, though I can't deny that sometimes it feels like I have the fortunes to thank for that." He had after all seen better warriors then he die, that was part and partial with his duty though.

"And there is always room for improvement as well." He lifted an eyebrow as he raised an eyebrow. "And are you one of the premier actors among your clan?"

"Not yet, but I hope to be in ten years or so. Perhaps fifteen," Shinnosuke says in a frank and straightforward manner. "Well," he adds with a more deprecating smile, "Jurojin, Fortune of Longevity, permitting, obviously. Nothing is certain. But it's as you say," he stretches, rolling his shoulders and enjoying the effect the warm water is having on his muscles, "there's always room for improvement, so I mean to improve."

"When the will is in the right place, Improvement is only a matter of time." He replied with a firm nod, that much he knew for certain. "It could be it might even take 1o years either." Hopefully not, that sounded like an awfully long time to strive for something.

"Though I suppose nothing of worth comes to you if you rush either." Hoss head tilted to the side slightly as his features turned thoughtful. "Or at least I think I've heard a monk say something like that somewhere."

"Mmm." Shin nods. "You can't rush maturity. In my line, experience of the world and years of practice tell a great deal, and one's voice grows as one ages. I can't measure up to the truly great actors in their thirties and forties... yet." He grins, then sobers a bit. "I suppose fighting for your life is a different kind of affair, but surely age and wisdom still count for something."

"Anyway, I prefer thinking that greatness is ahead. If you're already at your peak, what's the point in going on downward?"

"Age and wisdom do count for much." Daichi agreed, his lips curling into a smirk. "I've met old scouts that could read a trail I couldn't even see, the type of thing that comes with many years of practice."

He reached a hand up to rub the back of his neck. "That is a good point you make? Maybe to see how long you can stay at the top? Or how far you can push your art past the imagination of others?" Admittedly he wasn't really the type to think that far ahead, so it hadn't really struck him what the point might be.

"The climb sounds so much more more fun than balancing all wobbly on the top." Shinnosuke muses, leaning his head back against the rim of the pool and sinking a bit deeper into the water. "Perhaps if you're really good you can just... keep climbing? I don't know. Maybe at some point you get old and lose your ambition and just want to grow flowers or something." He chuckles, his exposed throat bobbing above the steaming water.

Old scouts probably want to retire at some point, if they live that long. Old actors? Shin might be in the habit of thinking a little further ahead than Daichi, but usually not that far ahead.

"Aren't some young Crane interested in that though? Growing flowers all day?" He asked, perhaps a bit jokingly. "You have a point, but I've also heard that the view is best from the top of the mountain." Daichi tilted his head to the side, quickly straightening up as he recalled we was trying to keep his hair dry.

"That doesn't really have a time frame to it though."