The Wu made his way to the one (1) temple of the fortunes at a leisurely pace. There was something to be said about much joy the sound of snowshoes on thick snow could bring.

Zhe took a long breath in the cold air before escalating the last few steps to one of the meditation halls where he would prepare some tea for those he had invited.

Nozomi and Mayumi were not long behind. She'd been informed that Kuu would not be able to join them at this time, but regardless she was fairly certain that she could speak with comfort with the Dragon on the behalf of the order. It was not something quite so delicate as attempting to talk to the Crane, after all. There was a good relationship here, something she wanted to protect and preserve.

Entering the meditation chamber, she bowed to Zhe and nodded, her daughter doing likewise. "Wu-sama. I hope you are well today. You had wanted to speak, had you not?"

Nozomi and Mayumi came just in time as the tea just finished it's infusion to the bored yawn of Shu.

''Ah! Yes Nozomi-sama'' he said with a bow ''Thank you for coming''

She chuckled very softly, taking a seat as soon as it was available and offered. Not mentioning the yawn, she relaxed into a seated position. "This whole event is quite taxing in its own ways, is it not? The refreshment of a little tea is appreciated. I hope the day has found you well, Wu-sama." She could take a moment letting him get around to what he wanted. There was no rush. They were on his time, after all, so she'd let him set the pace.

''Thank you, I hope the day has been good to you as well''

There was another yawn from the red panda lying in a corner who earned a glare from Zhe

''Don't mind him. He just wants attention.''

"It has been... interesting." Which carried all of the connotations of the statement 'may you live in interesting times' being something of a back-handed curse. "But it has been a learning experience, as has all of this winter. Nothing untoward has come. I will take the lessons as I may."

Her daughter, meanwhile, looked over at the panda and waved, smiling. "Can I pet him?" she asked, staring at the oversized, racoon looking panda.

Zhe smiled to the child ''Of course. I am sure he will appreciate the gesture...his name is Shu.'' He turned to Shu with a look that told him to behave before returning to his guest

''Interesting indeed but the people are always interesting in their own ways.'' he began pouring tea ''I have invited you here because of what my delegation has been tasked with. I am not sure if it should remain secretive or not, as Togashi-no-Kami was not specific on the matter, but your order could likely help a great deal in it's accomplishment''

Thankfully, Mayumi was good with animals for the most part, and if she and Shu kept each other occupied, the two could chat in the meantime. She went over with a word of thanks to smile and let the panda sniff her hand before reaching over to pet it.

"One's tasks are not always things that need be handled in secret, Wu-sama. In many ways, some of us operate in public, under the light of the sun and without illusions. Though your master likes his riddles, I could see him being quite forthright and forward in his way of thinking at times." She smiled in turn. "But perhaps a trade is in order in this. If you were to share a little of how we might help you, I think it only fair to tell our neighbors and allies what might be of equal benefit for our own ranks."

Wu nods

''Let me explain, then'' he said as he took a sip ''Togashi-no-Kami asked that four temples be built around Shinomen Mori, at the cardinal directions. Who controls and maintain the temples is unimportant as long as they are built in a specific way.''

Well, that was ... specific. Very specific in fact. It also happened, by and large, to fall within the boundaries of what was requested by her fellow members in many respects. Nozomi reached up and tapped at her lips, her eyes narrowing before she nodded carefully. "Well, it almost goes without saying that the Dragon and Orders find themselves with similar alignment of their goals. It has been a concern to continue to spread the presence of the Order to help the educating of the clans and to bolster our presence in all clans. The more we are among the clans, the better we are able to serve." She was tapping her fingers, closing her eyes, remembering the last map she'd seen.

"I would obviously suggest speaking with the Scorpion, the Stag and the Ki-Rin. Their lands are the closest to abutting Shinomen Forest, and if they were to be the controlling force in each of their respective temples, they might find the influence eases any concerns. The Crane could also be contacted, though I do not know if they would consider it too far from their chosen lands." After all, if the influence were shared in that fashion, it would put the Stag in the Plains above Evil, and despite the fact that Kinsen had lived not far from those lands, she wasn't entirely sure that they wanted to expand in that direction.

"In general, I think the Orders would support the making of more temples to help build the religious presence of the empire, but you understand that two of those locations are very remote, yes? I've been to the plains to the west of the Shinomen. There is very little that is not wild in that place. What is his concern?" She didn't actually expect Wu Zhe to know. It was almost a rhetorical question.

''Lord Togashi remains true to himself'' Zhe replied as a clear indication that he had no clue ''I will meet with one of the unicorns soon to discuss the same thing.''

he paused

''I have met one Stag, Otomo Gusai and might approach him with that subjet. I did not meet any scorpion yet however.''

She laughed and smiled. "He is just like Shinsei in this. He always has a love for riddles and teaching moments. I always feel as if I have more to learn in that man's presence." She didn't specify between Togashi and Shinsei. She figured that she didn't really need to. "And yes, it is good to take the chance. I believe Shinjo-sama's own daughter may be present here, though I haven't had the chance to speak to her yet."

"Otomo Gusai, you say? He is the one to host a Sumai contest this evening, I believe. He seems a good sort. Did he have much to say? As for the Scoprion, you might take time to speak with Bayushi Kogi. She seems a sensible and well trained sort." She wasn't quite sure about suggesting Sasori, however. So perhaps Kogi.

Zhe takes a mental notes of the names

''I will remember that, thank you for the suggestion.''

He took a deep breath and took a sip of tea

''You were at the brunch his morning, were you not? How did you find it?''

She laughed lightly and smiled over at him. "I found it to be an indulgence I had to control myself not to over-indulge myself in, and had to watch my daughter constantly. The food was, of course, delicious. We tend to stick to simpler and salted fare while we travel, so ... it was a bit rich for my taste. Still, it was a good chance to see many of the styles of cooking that are growing among the clans." Her tone was light, but praiseworthy. It had been a pretty innocuous event, and she appreciated such things. "I think the sharing of food is probably one of the easiest ways to share a common cause."

''We all need to eat'' He nods in agreement ''Our population is growing faster then it would normally due to the influx of refugees coming from all over the protected lands. With them they bring many different customs that enrich all of our people even if we are more...independently minded folks''.

''I do hope to reproduce something like this winter hold out when I come back...not for political purposes but educational ones. Holding school in these times seems like a good idea.''

"It is not a terrible plan. You would have many who were unable to work far beyond the confines of the cities in the mountains. So, during the winter it would service as a means to bolster education." Nozomi couldn't find the fault in it. Admittedly, it was more academic than she preferred normally, but that still sounded like a good plan. "I will have to winter in your clan's lands, to see if you end up trying this idea of yours out."

''Well...'' he scratches his head ''There are many ideas getting floated around, mostly in the Wu, I am not sure mine will survive the scrutiny.''

He paused

''A lot of change indeed is happening. But how does your Order? Are you satisfied with it's growth?''

"I am satisfied that we exist, that the Emperor permits us to exist, and that others have taken to learning from the examples of those who came before, and at the master's feet. If it grows quickly, then that is the will of heaven. If slowly? Again, the will of heaven. That we exist at all is a blessing on its own face." She smiled over at him. "So you could say I'm quite pleased."

(OOC: I'm eternally grateful to Kuu/Taochusu's player. They made it possible to even have the Monastic Orders at this stage in history, where it really would normally have come into existence during the second era, and I would have been storing up points over 2-3 games to make it happen.
They sped things up a lot.)

''Interesting point of view.'' he comments ''Are all things the will of heaven or just the fate of your order?''

The notion tickled his curiosity