Akodo Kawauso had sworn up and down that she wasn't going to some stranger's wedding, no matter how important they were. Then she swore if she went it would be in her preferred clothing, her hair done simply, like she liked for training settings. Then she swore she would at least deliver a gift reflective of good will from her beloved river people.
Yet somehow, the Lion staff in the imperial city had convinced her she must go, she must carry a gift worthy of the children of the kami, and that she would dress well enough to not offend the Emperor or anyone else as she presented this gift. So, amid the throng of other guests, Kawauso arrived in a shimmering, copper-colored kimono -- technically intended for a man, but needed to accommodate her height -- over black pants, her hair styled up off of her neck in a way that she couldn't even describe, let alone arrange herself. Its only real virtue, which even she had to admit, was it would be conveniently out of the way should swords be drawn.
The tall Lion woman, feeling incredibly out-of-place despite assurances that looking like a person-sized bronze longsword would make her blend in, focused keenly on her mission and its importance to distract from her nerves. In the moment that she stepped forward to deliver the gift, she thought of her people back home and doing right by them, and she found, improbably, the right words to please the stitch-counting, rules-lawyering sycophants and opportunists as well as the kind-hearted true believers in that diverse crowd. No one could complain about the humble Lion's sincere offering of a small glass sculpture in the shape of the yin and yang, one compartment holding earth and the other water.
Kawauso shared that it was one from a special set, created upon Lord Akodo's wedding, and carried with it the Lion kami's wishes for a marriage as blessed as his own. She added that the sculpture had special meaning also for the people of the river, who witnessed everyday the give and take of river shores. Thus, on behalf of the humble people of the Lion as well as their glorious leader, best wishes were conveyed.
And as soon as attention had shifted to the next gift bringer, Kawauso was striding purposefully to get a drink of something to calm her nerves.
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Rolls:
1. Etiquette:
success.
2. Courtier:
success.
3. Sincerity:
success.
3 gifting points, and probably a lot of side eyes and comments about the rube from up river that sounds so sweet in court.