[D2 MM, open] Location Scouting

[Doji Shinnosuke]

It's early morning--well, early for Shinnosuke, on this particular day, when all the courtiers had been obliged to stay out late the previous evening drinking, nibbling, and chattering at Lady Akodo's party--and Shin is out for an enlivening walk in the short window between breakfast and preparing for the afternoon Court audience. He's heard there is a sort of garden with a sort of theatrical stage back here, although Lion attendants being, well, Lion, he hasn't been able to get a very useful account of its qualities. He definitely needs to see the conditions for himself.

Right now he's just about finished looking over the stage--though he hasn't climbed up on the wooden platform itself, as doing so would require removing his sandals, and he's not positive his socks are perfectly dry after his stroll through the morning-dew-bedecked grounds. The sacred space of the stage shouldn't be dirtied, at least not casually, so he settles for thumping his palm on the boards to simulate a foot-stamp and test the acoustics a little.

Meanwhile, a small white dog is bobbling around the seating area near the stage, his silken leash trailing forgotten behind him, though he isn't straying far from his master. Plenty of interesting smells right here!

[Kuni Shiori]

Shiori was likewise meandering the interior of the keep proper prior to the opening session of court. The keep interior was much larger than she expected, at least when it came to access for the guests. She expected most of the areas would have been guarded and kept off-limits to those outside of the Lion Clan. At least, that's how she projected those expectations when it came to hospitality.

Her walk through the banquet hall would eventually wind and bring her to the courtyard. It was easy to admire the work they've put into maintaining the garden but it was the lone roaming dog that caught her attention. She would walk towards Haku and bend down to curiously inspect the creature as she intercepted his path. Were roaming canines a feature of the courtyard? She thought that the leash would say otherwise as she reached out to take hold of it.

[Doji Shinnosuke]

As Shiori reaches down for the leash, Haku--either misinterpreting her movement, or interpreting it perfectly well but possessing his own priorities--eagerly wheels around and aims his nose for her hand, ready to give it a good damp snuffling if she doesn't avoid him.

Shinnosuke, meanwhile, gives the stage boards another sound thump with his open hand, hums something to himself, and begins to turn back around toward his wayward hound.

[Kuni Shiori]

Haku was indeed quick and Shiori found herself surprised to get a handful of dog snout when she thought she grabbed the leash. She gasped and flinched her head at first in a defensive measure but when she quickly realized that the small dog wasn't making a move to bite her, she could offer her hand for inspection...if that's what he was aiming to do. She supposed that the fail case is that a bite from a dog this small shoulder hurt too much at least.

She raised her brows when she finally noticed Shinnosuke, making her stand once more so that she could greet him with a bow. "Good morning, Doji-san..Is this your pet?"

[Doji Shinnosuke]

Haku does inspect Shiori's hand carefully, making the best of his snub snout. If she doesn't retreat he will also lick her fingers as a further doggy greeting.

"Hey! Haku! Get back here, you." Taking in the tableau, Shinnosuke looks a bit sheepish for a moment at being caught leaving his loyal companion unsupervised in somebody else's garden. "Yes, he is mine, Kuni-san. I apologize if he's inconvenienced you." He bows smoothly, no amount of sheepishness being enough to compromise a Doji's manners. "Doji Shinnosuke, at your service."

Haku looks doubtful about these orders. The nice lady might scratch his ears for him if he stays over here...

[Kuni Shiori]

As much as she wanted to remain cool in the exchange of greeting between human and dog, she found herself a bit unprepared for the lick that was given to her fingers. This made her fidget a little to break that stoic expression of hers. It seemed like she knew how to greet a dog but wasn't wholly experienced in actually doing so. Well, this was a sign that she was seen favourably, right?

"Not at all," she said with a small smile on her lips. "The exchange was a bit...interesting. I can't say I've met a breed such as yours before, he's quite a small one. Some of my kinsmen are known to own dogs but they are nothing like Haku here. Pleased to meet you, Doji-san. Were you also inspecting the grounds here?"

Her gaze did drift back to Haku momentarily, a bit bemused that he was still standing closely, despite his orders. He was small and cute but also disobedient. Very peculiar for a dog, in her limited experience.

[Doji Shinnosuke]

When Shiori looks over at Haku again, the little dog is staring back up at her. His fluffy waterfall of a tail waggles appealingly.

"Oh, for..." Shinnosuke sighs, then whistles--a short high sound that is nevertheless almost as melodic as his voice--and while Haku is looking around to see where the noise came from, he strides over quickly and scoops the end of the silken leash from the ground. "I suppose your kinfolks' dogs are more martial sorts," he says with an apologetic smile. "Haku is a beast of, er, civil culture. Haku, leave the lady alone if she doesn't want to be covered in your blessings." He looks down at the dog, giving the leash a gentle tug.

"The pleasure is mine, of course, Kuni-san. Yes, inspecting is not too strong a word," he adds in a judicious sort of tone. "I'd been told there was a stage back here, but I needed to see the actual conditions for myself."

[Kuni Shiori]

Shiori looked a bit uncertain of what to do with Haku, wondering if she should aid in sheepherding him back to his owner or appease him with the pets. It would seem it would go against his purpose to stop him from following his owner's orders. Then again, it's not like Haku was fulfilling the purpose of a work dog or a Kuni attack dog...

"...Yes," Shiori chuckled softly and inclined her head once in confirmation, a bit impressed that Shinnosuke managed to guesstimate her experience with dogs. "They are popular for...hunting in the wild, often used for tracking and subduing targets. I suppose, I have heard of the Yasuki with similar pets much like Haku but this is my first encounter with such a breed. It's fine, he has done no harm here. He's very curious."

There was a possibility she didn't mean Haku's nature.

Her gaze was about to drift to Haku before she looked up at the stage where she found Shinnosuke earlier. "So, I see. And what are favourable conditions do you typically look for in a stage for your craft?"

[Doji Shinnosuke]

"He certainly is curious about you," Shinnosuke says, smiling with a hint of mischief. He clicks his tongue at Haku; the dog, after bumping against Shiori's shins one last time (probably leaving some white hairs on her kimono), reluctantly bobbles back toward him.

"Oh, acoustics are the most important," he ticks off the priorities on his fingers meanwhile. "Then sight lines, and it should be spacious but not too spacious--you can't see very much when you're wearing certain stage masks," he explains,"so you must be able to keep your place by sighting off the pillars and the edges of the stage. Then--atmosphere, I suppose you would call it. For an outdoor stage like this one, the environment must be serene but not too wild, composed but not too cramped. This one... well, it'll do."

[Kuni Shiori]

Shiori couldn't help but smile in amusement when Haku finally made his way back to his owner after yet another request. She gave a shake of her head, while Haku was doing a good job of taking her attention, she turned to give the Crane his undivided attention now.

She listened quietly to the list of perimeters Shinnosuke gave out and slowly raised her brows as they mounted in specifics. "Masks, I take it that your craft is noh, then? It seems like if just something is off then it might affect the entirety of the performance or its intended message. I would have assumed that the Lion wouldn't have built this stage before such a well-maintained garden if it didn't fit those requirements at a minimum. Then again, I've found myself realizing that perhaps they don't quite see as much Noh plays around here. I recall their craft of choice is typically storytelling or speech, much less demanding when fulfilling those purposes."

Her gaze looked about the stage and toward the interior of the keep. "I can't imagine what they could have even done if nothing in the venue proved satisfactory."

[Doji Shinnosuke]

Shinnosuke nods when Shiori guesses he's talking about Noh.

"Yes, one hears that the Lion don't go in for theater, and from what I saw in their towns on the way here, it's all too true." His eyes widen rather dolefully. "It's lucky they have any facilities at all, though this is a Kyuden meant to hold court for the Empress, so if anywhere in these provinces was going to be a bit more cosmopolitan..." he gestures at their surroundings with the hand not holding the leash.

Haku notices the movement, and his little round head tracks the path of Shin's hand as if it might be about to throw a ball or dispense a snack.

"If there was nothing suitable here, well, I've performed on temporary stages before. A temporary stage is often not as bad as a bad permanent one, really. And of course an artist can make do in any conditions, if we really must." He smiles rakishly, unaware that in less than a day this accidental prophecy will be fulfilled when he ends up delivering a dramatic monologue from atop a pile of mining rubble. "It can all make a good story to tell to other people in the profession later on. Over sake, at best."

[Kuni Shiori]

Shiori looked curiously at the stage Shinnosuke had been inspecting earlier. "It's a bit curious at how you're going to be certain at all of those factors you've mentioned earlier, especially without a full showing of the audience and the pieces of the performance in place. I can only assume that you've been at it for a while. I would hope for some foresight on the Lion's part to provide a place where it could generally serve all of their guests' needs. Now I'm a bit curious about the specifics that you evaluate to find out if everything is to your liking, Doji-san."

She frowned momentarily in thought. "...I would have assumed that there would have been some slight obligation on your part to use the host's facilities, at least. Considering, they are our hosts and if their offer to the play here was proposed initially. In some ways, maybe the inadequacies may even come as a great shock to them, would it not?"

[Doji Shinnosuke]

"Oh, yes, if the stage is already there you've got to use it. That's why it's lucky this is adequate. If it was awful... well, I should like to propose a full theatrical performance for the court, but in that case perhaps I would have had to be less ambitious and suggest a simple recital." He smiles. "Fortunately, that won't be necessary."

At this point Haku has reached the conclusion that Shinnosuke is paying attention to the human lady and not, especially, to him, so he'll have to mind his own business. He begins very seriously snuffling at some plantings nearby; as he inspects inch by inch along the edge of the garden bed, Shin's right arm holding the silk leash is ever so gradually pulled outward at a more acute angle.

"As for how one can tell... You're a shugenja, I suppose, Kuni-san?" he asks, looking meaningfully at her scroll satchel and cocking his head with a touch of deference to this sacred subject. "Surely, after much experience, you can tell just by walking around and looking at it whether, er..." Suddenly he's not sure whether this analogy is actually going to work, but he forges on, "ah, whether a shrine is properly configured for the spirits there, for example. If you've seen many shrines before, some that were excellent and others poor, and... like that?"

[Kuni Shiori]

Shiori nodded soundly at that, "It's thankful that you won't have to sacrifice anything when it comes to your performance, Doji-san. It makes me wonder if these plans are still in the production process or something that you're willing to share in passing conversation. I'd be curious to know what sort of mood or theme you would be trying to aim for in such a season, especially with so much going on with the throne."

She couldn't help but give Haku another glance or rather how he was seemingly leading his owner, at least by arm.

"Yes, I suppose that could be a good comparison," she couldn't help but crack a small bit of amusement at that. "Although, shrine aren't exactly the Kuni's forte but the point stands. Our relationship with the kami are a bit one-sided in many respects, as I've found compared to other shugenja. In this case, you're more putting yourself in both the sandals of the performance and the audience, I'd imagine. That takes a bit of consideration of the senses and I take it that you care enough to ensure your audience doesn't quite miss the fine details, especially with some important people likely among them."

[Doji Shinnosuke]

"Oh, of course, it's very important that the audience can see and hear well," he agrees with an earnest nod. "Taking care for both sides has its complexities, but perhaps not as many as you might think. Sound really is complicated--an Asahina priest once tried to explain to me all about the air kami moving sound around, and it was quite over my head. Sight is rather straightforward, though. After all, if an archer can see a target, the target can also see the archer." He gestures at the stage with his non-leash hand. "The blind spots you find down here are a perfect mirror of the ones up there, pretty much."

Without seeming to notice doing so, he shuffles a single step to his right, pulled along by the methodical Haku.

"I plan to make a proposal at today's court session," he explains, leaning in confidingly. "If the Imperial Chancellor approves. Although since there's no hope of finding a professional troupe here, the theme will have to be... whatever the courtiers who volunteer have the abilities to support," he adds with a deprecating smile.

[Kuni Shiori]

Shiori frowned in thought as she looked at the stage and then to the respective position where the audience would be sitting. "So, I see. Thank you for taking the time to explain your thought process, Doji-san. I suppose I found myself just curious if there was some small possibility that sound might drastically affect something beyond mere quality. Perhaps something I could consider asking the air kami if I'm trying to overthink this fine aspect."

There was another gaze given to Haku and she found herself internally sighing at Shinnosuke giving in to his pet's soft demands. That said, Shiori never likely owned a pet before.

"Oh," she realized in bemusement as she narrowed her eyes. "I had thought perhaps you were doing this with a troupe or a number of your delegation in mind. That's a rather bold endeavour, even if there is likely no shortage of able volunteers among us. Have you done something like this before?"

[Doji Shinnosuke]

"Well, yes... at a Crane castle, that is." A much smaller one, it did not need to be said. "And I'm told it's been done at Imperial courts before. Everybody had all sorts of advice about that before I left." He shrugs, but his manner seems rather confident, on the whole. "Entertainments by the samurai at court are held to a different standard than those by common entertainers or experts, of course. What they lack in expertise, they make up for with sincerity of intention and nobility of bearing."

He shuffles another half step to his right. The back of his mind is at work on a puzzling problem: does it seem as if this Crab priestess is... judging him? Whatever for? A quick scan of the conversation up to this moment calls to mind no faux pas, nothing the etiquette manuals mentioned as When speaking with a Kuni, do not [...]. Or is it just the paint that is giving him this feeling? Somehow it has a different effect on her than the face paint of an actor playing a role, making her expressions more mysterious instead of strongly emphasized.

Still, that doesn't derail his conversational momentum!

"Ah! Would you, by any chance, be interested in such a venture, Kuni-san? If it's approved, of course. Do you perhaps dance? Recite? Sing, or play the flute or drum?"

[Kuni Shiori]

Shiori's attention, despite her efforts to do otherwise, was listening to Shinnosuke and potentially giving glances to Haku. It was uncertain if her face paint had specific designs to make others feel like they were being judged but would certainly feel less than coincidental with a Kuni. Then again, Haku was also a cute dog and it was hard not to regard him from time to time. That said, Shiori was indeed doing some passive evaluation of the relationship the Crane had with his pet.

"...You make a good point, Doji-san. That's a possibility I've never considered," she said with some tinge of uncertainty in her tone. It wasn't that she disagreed with him but she just needed to be convinced. If samurai were always sincere and their character was unquestionable, the same could be said about their talents. Well, it sounded a bit off but she wasn't going to knock it before she saw a negative. Her eyes would narrow once or twice as she tried to calibrate herself to keep an open mind on that point.

"Me?" She said with a quick few blinks, caught by surprise with the offer. "...I haven't tried my hand at performing or dancing before. This would be entirely new territory for me. I suppose I could recite, if need be. Back home, it seems the courts seem a bit eager to have me volunteer for the announcements from time to time. I assume a rite of passage for those wanting to be court shugenja."

[Doji Shinnosuke]

"Well, if you're interested in giving it a try, do think about it and let me know." Shinnosuke's lips quirk invitingly. "It needn't be a leading role if you don't want that. There's always the chorus or a secondary part."

He cocks his head, curious about something she'd said. "Court shugenja? Is that your role, then? Not tending a temple or, er. Action?"

Haku is getting really invested in the knotty roots of a juniper shrub, so Shin's sideways trajectory ceases, for now. Maybe some other dog has paid a visit to those roots recently.

[Kuni Shiori]

Shoiri went quiet for a moment as there were some gears that were turning in her head. She supposed that the Doji might have been merely polite and just extending the offer just as a courtesy when talking about his production. He could also be short-handed. Still, it was a presented opportunity to step out of her comfort zone...

After a few more beats, she would merely dip slightly in a half-bow. "I will deliberate on it, thank you for the offer, Doji-san."

"No, not a temple," she momentarily showed a small smile at that thought.

"Nor...action," she said as she narrowed her eyes for a moment, noting the likely polite verbiage on what he meant. "I suppose the aspiration is to become a court shugenja, which is a role that my House is hoping to pioneer with my generation ever since our duties have taken us from the wilderness of the Kuni lands to the heart of the Crab lands. Perhaps aspiration is me being a bit humble if I'm already here in official capacity but as I've found, there's still much to learn."