(D12, LN, Open) The Dawn of a New Day

[Yasuki Taraka]

Dawn was coming. You could hear it as new shifts came on. Bakeries were firing up their ovens. The cleaners were getting their work done under the last bit of cover of night. Somewhere Kuni Sumie was thinking something edgy.

As for Taraka, she'd come to the Kuni Gardens, carrying a bottle from grey carp. She'd take the day off. She'd worked hard to network throughout the conference. She'd danced and sang and tried to secure a better future for her family, her town, and her clan. She deserved a day off. And she fully intended to welcome in that day admist the foilage of the gardens, sake cup ready to toast the Sun.

And then she'd go home and sleeeeeeep.

[Suzume Hitomi]

It had been a long day, opening early so they could close early, letting everyone go enjoy the festivities. The shop would be closed today, long experience telling her that a long day with hungover employees and no customers wasn't worth it.

Even now, you could see stray lanterns out on the water where people had set some floating. She'd watched her own out of sight, and come here with some incense to burn beside the Green Carp Mountain Yam as the sun rose and the ghosts, hopefully, all found their way home.

Her yukata was showing the wrinkles and rumples of a long day of wear. Thankfully, they were a casual looking garment at their fanciest, so that didn't translate to 'unkempt.' All around the hem, little sparrows darted through bamboo on a tan background that merely looked middling pale in the brightening dark.

Seeing Taraka, she smiles an offers a bow, slowed by weariness. "Yasuki-sama! Here to see the new day and...whatever our new economy is moving forward?"

[Yasuki Taraka]

It had been a long day, opening early so they could close early, letting everyone go enjoy the festivities. The shop would be closed today, long experience telling her that a long day with hungover employees and no customers wasn't worth it.

Even now, you could see stray lanterns out on the water where people had set some floating. She'd watched her own out of sight, and come here with some incense to burn beside the Green Carp Mountain Yam as the sun rose and the ghosts, hopefully, all found their way home.

Her yukata was showing the wrinkles and rumples of a long day of wear. Thankfully, they were a casual looking garment at their fanciest, so that didn't translate to 'unkempt.' All around the hem, little sparrows darted through bamboo on a tan background that merely looked middling pale in the brightening dark.

Seeing Taraka, she smiles an offers a bow, slowed by weariness. "Yasuki-sama! Here to see the new day and...whatever our new economy is moving forward?"

Taraka's own outfit...was probably a bit closer to unkempt, it'd been a hard day of celebrating the conclusion of the negotiations. Still, there was a sort of satisfaction about her. She'd had pushed to her limit, and now there was nothing left to do.

She yawned.

"Indeed, Suzume-san. A new day is coming for Nakahama. After working so hard, wondering what it would look like, I wanted to see it before Yumi-do claims me." she offered, clearly tired.

She looked to the Sparrow. She looked to the bottle. She looked to the Sparrow.

"Hmmm, I know it's a Scorpion tradition, but I don't suppose you have a sake cup on you? It'd be nice to have one final cup with a friend to welcome the sun." she offered.

[Suzume Hitomi]

Taraka's own outfit...was probably a bit closer to unkempt, it'd been a hard day of celebrating the conclusion of the negotiations. Still, there was a sort of satisfaction about her. She'd had pushed to her limit, and now there was nothing left to do.

She yawned.

"Indeed, Suzume-san. A new day is coming for Nakahama. After working so hard, wondering what it would look like, I wanted to see it before Yumi-do claims me." she offered, clearly tired.

She looked to the Sparrow. She looked to the bottle. She looked to the Sparrow.

"Hmmm, I know it's a Scorpion tradition, but I don't suppose you have a sake cup on you? It'd be nice to have one final cup with a friend to welcome the sun." she offered.

She looks a bit embarrassed. "Well, not exactly." She rummages in the waistpouch tucked within the traditional obi to pull out a flattened paper cup. With a little poking, it's 3 dimensional again and functional, decorated with the logo of a melon juice vendor at the festival. "There wasn't a spot to toss it when I finished, so...turns out that was a bit of luck. We *could* try weaving together a quick cup out of leaves, but that's probably not allowed; probably would leak a lot; and might even be a plant with interesting alcohol-extractable compounds. So...scruffy paper cup it is. Doesn't matter so much between friends."

She holds it out as an offering. "Hopefully the scruffy cup isn't an omen of that new day being a bit run down," she says with a grin.

[Yasuki Taraka]

Sparrow ingenuity!

Taraka smiles.

"I think it's actually quite an auspicious omen," Taraka offered.

She pointed to the cup.

"Nakahama, like your cup, once shiny with promised juice, but has become somewhat worn, but still functional." she offers.

She hefts her bottle from Grey Carp.

"And here is the promised new funding, ready to breath new life into it's people." she offers, pouring the sake.

"Ah, but also, a friend should feel free to call me Taraka-san. I feel like we've grown closer as neighbors, and I think it's a fitting way to welcome the sun. A new day, and a new friend."

[Suzume Hitomi]

Taraka smiles.

"I think it's actually quite an auspicious omen," Taraka offered.

She pointed to the cup.

"Nakahama, like your cup, once shiny with promised juice, but has become somewhat worn, but still functional." she offers.

She hefts her bottle from Grey Carp.

"And here is the promised new funding, ready to breath new life into it's people." she offers, pouring the sake.

"Ah, but also, a friend should feel free to call me Taraka-san. I feel like we've grown closer as neighbors, and I think it's a fitting way to welcome the sun. A new day, and a new friend."

Hitomi laughs. "I like that! Certainly more hopeful imagery than I had in mind." She lifts the cup toward the rising sun. "To new funding! And the economic growth it brings!" She sips the sake, turns the cup, and offers it back, much like a tea ceremony. After all the toasts to the departed, a chance to toast the future ahead feels right.

"If we're sharing a sake cup, I suppose I can see a change of address making sense, Taraka-sama." She doesn't unbend quite enough to consider the great clan merchant as being equal in status to a Sparrow. I appreciate that this initiative let us get to know one another so much better. I look forward to time spent with Utaku-sama and Kakita-sama as well," she adds, referring to the game group born out of the events of the past few weeks.

"Only fair that you call me Hitomi-san then."

"While I don't think the Alliance was really in the running for the main contracts here, I think we've made enough contacts, and a good enough impression to expand here. I'll likely be called upon to help get them settled, make sure they don't stumble over any local red tape and the like. Though you may not even notice them among all the other new neighbors I think we're about to have."

[Yasuki Taraka]

Sparrow Self Deprecation

Taraka shrugged a bit.

"It is going to get busy. But I think your shop shows that there's nothing minor about you, Hitomi-san. And I hope as the Sparrow who got her foot in the door first before all these Sharks, Osprey, and Fireflies descend, you bring them by my shop. We want to help them get established as quickly as possible. And I want to know where all the new best deals are at." she said with a grin.

She looked off towards the coming dawn.

"Hm, I wonder if Azuma Beach might be revitalized? I know why the locals hate it, but there sure are a lot of shuttered shops there." she mused.

[Suzume Hitomi]

snip

She laughs, "of course! Firefly might have some interesting stuff to glam up a flying carp! And I think the Kitsune might have some ideas about making the beach a draw. I get why the locals might have some ingrained thoughts about the black sand, but I've always liked it there. The views are fantastic. Maybe a shrine would help people subconsciously stop worrying about the spiritual purity of the place?"

Nodding toward a bench with a view to the east and the rising light, she moves to sit. "Beach seems a good place to fly the drones too? Maybe branch out into some plain old kites? Get some concessions and more regular oshidama tournaments out there..." With an amused huff she pauses, "well, that's all good for the commercial council meetings to come. Phew...those are gonna get boisterous for a bit, aren't they?"

[Yasuki Taraka]

snip

Likewise, Taraka moved to the bench.


"Hmm, a new shrine. I'm sure there's some fortune of the seashore we could set up there...it's been too long a day for me to recall an exact one. Still, that might well be the best starting point." she mused.

She got comfortable on the bench, though kept a proper distance from her new friend.

"Oh definitely. I wouldn't be surprised if we got enough factions out of this to make our own edgy role-playing game. City: The Accounting. You'll have folks who don't like any of the outsiders, folks who are mad that they're preferred outsiders didn't win, folks who are mad that the Spider get to be in our city at all..." she said.

She shook her head.

"I think, it will be good for Nakahama in the end. But this is going to be a very Crab sort of economic miracle, where we have to endure a lot to claw it bloodly into existence."