Smoke and Snow (D9, EA)

[Doji Misaki]

Packing up would be in the evening so she could leave tomorrow morning. So, for now, Doji Misaki made her way out to the Palace gardens to take in the beautiful day. She had a lot on her mind at the moment, but the melting snow forts from yesterday and the sounds of nature combined to a much more relaxed and normal sort of atmosphere. While things were melting, she even found the spot she'd looked at in the garden and started to install her prototype fountain.



It was just a simple prototype, but the water from the small pond flowed quite well, swollen as it was by melting snow. She knelt near it, making adjustments as it slowly and quietly clacked away.

[Togashi Satsuki]

Satsuki took a trip to the gardens to look at the letters there one last time.

What she didn't expect was to hear a faint hollow-like sound. Like bamboo hitting against bamboo. It wasn't a troublesome sound at all, rather it was... pleasant? Yeah, that sounds right. Pleasant. Turning away from the last letter, she moved through the garden in search of the sound.

... And came upon the sight of a Crane she had met in passing, but not spoken to properly. "Ah... sorry, I didn't mean to trouble you, Doji-san, but... do you hear that clacking-sound?"

[Doji Misaki]

The distracted Crane actually gave a small start at the voice and caught herself on a hand before she could tip forward into the half melted pond. Breathing a sigh of relief she stood up. This was... A Dragon? No... not just that, wasn't this that Satsuki girl? The one who had...

Still, no need to be rude just because the thought made her sad, "Ah, good day Togashi-sama. Pardon, but you seem to have caught me unaware while I was making notes. I am so sorry."

The Crane woman hold some paper in one hand as she bowed deeply, charcoal diagrams and figures on the paper.

"This one is Misaki of Lady Doji-sama's Crane Clan. Now, you asked me a question?"

[Togashi Satsuki]

"An honor, Doji-san," the girl offered a bow in return, and there didn't seem to be any sarcasm to the words that it was an honor. "I'm Togashi Satsuki of the Dragon Clan, daughter of Lord Togashi and Lady Saruko."

Pausing in her words, she looked around once more as she heard the clacking sound again. "Ah, I... hear this strange clacking sound. Do you hear it too? It's kinda like a nice hollow sound..."

[Doji Misaki]

"Oh! Yes. That's. Well..."

Misaki moved aside and motioned to her shishi-odoshi with her free hand, "After the snowball fight that took place here yesterday, I'd been looking to make some repairs and improvements to the Imperial gardens here, after everything that happened. Even if my castle there is going to take a while to melt..."

She looked over at the snow castle she'd built yesterday, blushing a little before looking back at Satsuki, "I'd been working with the gardeners, but I will admit, this little clacker is my own idea and I didn't ask them before installing it..."

[Togashi Satsuki]

Turning, the Dragon gaped a bit at the snow castle. "Wooow. That's pretty amazing! I wish people did that with snow back home too." Though she was soon enough distracted again as Misaki explained that she was the source of the clacking-sound. And stepping a bit closer, Satsuki was finally able to spot the creation.

"Oooh, that's interesting!" Shifting her robes slightly, she squatted down for a better look. ".... What's the purpose of it?"

[Doji Misaki]

A soft smile, Misaki squatting down as well, "It's to drive away pests, and create a meditative mood. I suppose it's less necessary with a walled in garden like this; No deer or bears wandering in here to eat any of the Imperial gardens plants... I will say, the one at my home seems to work well enough, at least with the locals. Though it doesn't stop the insects of course."

The bamboo tube refills slowly each time, the light clack coming after it reaches a tipping point.

[Togashi Satsuki]

"Fascinating," she seemed very enraptured with it. "There aren't too many deers or bears up in the mountains. The occassional goat. But... yeah, I can see the sound, with a steady rythm, being a part of a meditative mood."

"And you made this?!" Satsuki looked excitedly at Misaki now instead of the clacker.

[Doji Misaki]

A nod, "Hai. I craft and invent various things in my spare time. This was inspired months ago as a need to make better garden protection than straw stuffed dummies or such. Once I concluded sound was the solution I wanted, that was where the tinkering begain. A driving rainstorm and a broken roof spout drove the idea. What is it my sensei said? Every idea is one third inspiration and two thirds perspiration? Regardless, that's probably neither here nor there."

A slight blush as she turns from Satsuki back to the little fountain.

[Togashi Satsuki]

Satsuki watched it in silence until the bamboo-shaft filled up with enough water to tip over, and then revert back to its position.

"How very clever," she spoke with clear fascination. "I imagine that the angle and size of the shaft might determine the intervals in which it clacks, if one want a more frequent sound, or less frequent sound. Do you think you will try to show this off to more people? See if it catches on?"

[Doji Misaki]

"There are other factors as well like the flow of water and where the plug in the bamboo is and such... And I've been thinking about it; I love testing my ideas and such, but I don't like forcing them on people. That's why I have started carrying prototypes around with me like I do..."