Say Uncle! (Day 1 Early Evening)

[Togashi Satsuki]

It was still some time left to kill before she had to go to that wedding. Oh, and get dressed too, but eh, how hard could it be to put on those clothes Doji had gifted her?

Still dressed rather plainly with no fineries, with her arms bared to show off the elaborate tattoo, Satsuki asked around until she was directed to the quarters reserved for Sora and his family.

"Gee," she said loudly enough to be heard, "that's a lot of paper-doors here."

[Jiyo Sora]

Phi had been braiding Soryu's hair (as practice before braiding her own- she was seriously trying to angle to be allowed to go to the wedding!) and perked up. But it was Sora who spoke first, in tones of mock-horror.

"Oh no! It's her! Tell her I fell off of a rooftop!"

Shirayuki was already running to the door, which she threw open.

"Cousin Satsuki! I saw you arrive, but then Dad made me climb down off of the rooftop, and then Phi and I had to chase down Hsieh-Hsieh- only he got away!- and then..."

"Why not invite her in, Shirayuki?" Sora sounded amused. "Time enough to swap stories when we're all comfortable. You're looking well, Satsuki-chan. How are your parents doing?"

[Togashi Satsuki]

"Shirayuki-hime!" Satsuki knelt down to offer the younger one a hug. It was a running little joke to call the girls princesses, for how their father doted on them and they got to live in Shiba's palace.

"They're fine. Fine," smoothing her clothes a little after the hug, she followed Shirayuki inside. "Both are busy as can be though... it's why they didn't come here." Her otherworldly eyes looked the old man over, as she realised she was looking down at him. "... Did you shrink?"

[Jiyo Sora]

He grinned.

"Before hard work and harder women wore me down, my head used to bump the rafters!"

"Did not!"

"Soryu, Dad's making a joke..."

"Oh."

"It's okay Soryu, my jokes tend to be pretty bad, your not getting them is a sign that you have mercifully inherited some of your mother's social graces..."

[Togashi Satsuki]

Satsuki laughed softly at the exchange, already feeling homesick.

"Despite your best efforts, your sourness and goat-like charms haven't rubbed off on any of them. Lucky for you guys, Shirayuki-hime." The princess patted the other 'princess' on the head. "You'll have to show me around sometime, I've never visited here before. How's mother?"

[Jiyo Sora]

"Oh, she's... well. Tired a lot, but that was like when Soryu was on the way seven years ago..."

"My fault, really." Sora gave a wry grimace. "Not just in the, ah... obvious sense, but my duties keep me on the road so she has to handle these hellions by herself a great deal of the time..."

"What's a hellion?"

"Someone like you, Soryu."

"Aw, Phi..."

[Togashi Satsuki]

"Ah, that is pretty normal. My mother was like that too, I remember." Barely. Vaguely.

Satsuki pointed accusatory at Sora, though she spoke with some humor. She clearly got that part from her mother. "And yeah, it really is all his fault. Very typical of men!" A brief chuckle as she looked at the little family before her.

"So, everyone had a chance to meet the bride and groom yet? I've so many cousins, I don't even know the names of half of them sometimes..."

[Jiyo Sora]

Soryu piped up. "Dad's said some stuff about them when he thinks we're sleeping-"

"Soryu!" Poor Phi.

"- an' I think he doesn't want us to until we're older."

Sora kept quiet about that one.

[Togashi Satsuki]

"Now now, little prince, it's not nice to spy on your parents." Pot. Kettle. Black.

Something about her features seemed very thoughtful for a moment. Unlike her parents, Satsuki had never had a good game-face to hide whenever she was thinking about something, especially if it was serious.

But she quickly deflected to the kids. Whatever was on the girl's mind, she didn't want to bring it up in front of Sora's kids. "If you're looking forward to a special treat in the coming days, you should see about meeting my kinsman, Takurou! He makes the best rice cakes and sweets and dumplings and... I'm sure he'll happily spoil any of you with things you haven't even tried before, even here in Shiba's own palace!"

[Jiyo Sora]

"Oh, I may have to grab some for Mom..."

"Suck-up!"

"Rice cakes?" Soryu's tones were almost religious in their awe.

Sora cocked his head as his niece. Well. Not biologically his niece, but... anyway. Something was awry there.

Wonder if it has anything to do with what I saw this morning..."

[Togashi Satsuki]

"Yeah! You should absolutely get something for your mother. Having a baby is a lot of hard work, you know. She has to make all the fingers and toes, and the eyes and ears and nose and... at least she did a very good job with you three, neh?" Laughing, Satsuki patted Soryu on the head affectionately.

If anything, her parents had taught her kindness and affection.

"Are you three helping her out every day, hm?"

[Jiyo Sora]

"Yeah! Shirayuki carries stuff for her, Phi opens doors..."

Phi also had started learning how to deflect visitors when her mother was in no mood to deal with any, but Soryu was a little less adept at picking up on that.

"... an' I run and get stuff for her."

Sora chuckled. "Which leaves me entirely surplus to requirements!"

"... What's surplus mean?"

[Togashi Satsuki]

"It means excess. Having too much!" Satsuki explained, trying to make it simple for a child to understand. "Like... you only need a cup of water to make tea, but you have two cups worth of water. So you have a surplus of water."

Now felt proud for a moment on helping with teaching.

"Will you be at the wedding later today, uncle Sora? I haven't met the bride and groom before... are they, uh, a lot like my aunt? Ananzhihime's mother, that is."

[Jiyo Sora]

"Will you be at the wedding later today, uncle Sora? I haven't met the bride and groom before... are they, uh, a lot like my aunt? Ananzhihime's mother, that is."

"For the many, many sins I have committed in my life, I will be at the wedding, yes."

Shirayuki piped up "He's not letting us go, though."

"You're too young to deserve that sort of thing. As for the bride and groom? They're both quite... charming."

[Togashi Satsuki]

"Oh, trust me, little ones. You don't wanna go. These formal things are... dreadfully dull and boring. Just a bunch of people with overinflated egos wearing way too many layers of clothes, and everyone pretending to be happy for the married couple even if they hardly know them and will ever meet them again." Ah there was that firey wit and opinion that so set her apart from her parents.

"What do you mean 'charming'?" she asked Sora with some curiosity.

[Jiyo Sora]

Phi frowned. "But I DO wanna go... the boring events are the ones everyone makes plans at..."

"What do you mean 'charming'?" she asked Sora with some curiosity.

"If your mother were here, she'd know what I meant."

He flicked a quick glance to his children, then back to Satsuki.

"Let us say that some of us have histories that... complicate our relationship with charm."

[Togashi Satsuki]

"Hmmmm... you're going to have to tell me more some other time then, Sora. Can we talk more another time then, maybe? I'll be here for a couple of days still after the wedding."

She chuckled and patted Phi on the head. "Only plans that happens at weddings are more weddings. If you're not careful, that might be yours!"

[Jiyo Sora]

"Hmmmm... you're going to have to tell me more some other time then, Sora. Can we talk more another time then, maybe? I'll be here for a couple of days still after the wedding."

"I think, somehow, that I'll be able to find some time for the daughter of Uncle Baldy and the Monkey Queen..."

She chuckled and patted Phi on the head. "Only plans that happens at weddings are more weddings. If you're not careful, that might be yours!"

"Would that be so bad, though?"

Quite aside from her social interests, the example Phi's parents had set made marriage seem amazing.

[Togashi Satsuki]

"Weeeeeell," she took a deep breath, seemingly ready to go into a long explanation why. "... Maybe it won't be bad for you, neh? You're lucky to be who you are, princess."

Not that her parents would ever press her about her marriage; her father being who he was, and her mother valuing love in any marriage. But she had noticed the talk of others. And how some of her cousins were more in the so-called marriage-market.

"I'm sure my cousin and her groom love eachother very much. Even if he's like... twice her age or so. Sounds a bit gross to me."

[Jiyo Sora]

"I'm sure my cousin and her groom love eachother very much. Even if he's like... twice her age or so. Sounds a bit gross to me."

"Well, if that bothers you..." Sora's grin was a thing of malevolent glory. "Try not to think about the age difference between your parents. To say nothing of everything else they might get up to."