Post by Mai Kobayashi on Sept 8, 2021 21:57:11 GMT -5
- Drip, drip, drip. -
The rhythmic falling of water droplets permeated the quiet solitude. Every so often the bamboo would fill up to the brim and turn over by sheer weight of the water, unleashing it's contents into the hot spring with a splash of vigor. Windchimes played backup in a pleasant and constant breeze. Where it provided the high notes, it was the soft chirping of birds in the forest on the other side of the bamboo wall that filled natures very own chorus in a melody of pleasant relaxation.
The smell of sulfur and minerals from the bath filled the air, the gentle breeze was carrying in the salty tones of the ocean on the other side of the inn. She inhaled deeply, her lips sucking in yet more of a pleasantly fragrant scent from the end of a long decorated pipe. The fragrance of flowers, dried tobacco leaves and a bitter twinge of ash filled her nostrils as the smoke passed through her lungs. She exhaled between touted lips, blowing a perfect circle in the air as she closed her eyes.
Sitting at a table just outside of the hot spring area, Nadeshiko was enjoying the peace and quiet of the a midweek afternoon. A smile crossed her lips as she watched over the bath.On most days, several guests would be enjoying them throughout much of the day and she could not just sit here relaxing as she did now. She could only sit here after all preparations had been completed and before she had to entertain the guests at their meal. It was a quiet moment to herself, a highlight of a busy day where she could take a moment just to be by herself with no thoughts other than the delight of the pipe between her lips.
Right this moment though, it was still early in the day... She took the calm she was enjoying right now as a small blessing. Rather than a sign of business slowing down, it meant that it was the first day of a new month. The inn was closed to guests for a whole day and night for a thorough cleaning and to fix whatever rowdy damages had been done over the past month. The start of a new month and closing out the old one had been a pleasant swift experience this time.
The ledger on the table in front of her showed that last month had been anything but lacking in guests, but the guests she had received were both unusually generous and unusually well behaved. Another blessing to count, larger than this small moment of peace in its scope. She closed her eyes as another puff of smoke exited between her lips, this time eliciting a small bit of coughing from a source other than the inn's owner. The comparatively gigantic woman opened one eye to look at the young girl standing at the feet of her chair, bathed in the smoke that was clinging to the ground.
"Mah, Elisha. Are you alright dear. You should have said something sooner."
She turned the pipe over above a clay jar on the table, inscribed with the character for 'Ash', and with a sharp tap against its rim, the burning coal fell out of the tip of the pipe and neatly into the pot. She covered it with a lid before resting her eyes on the young girl.
"Yes, Okami-san but..."
Before the girl could protest, or rather she seemed to stop on her own knowing that the large pink-haired woman would wave away her protest, and indeed so she did with a soft and generous smile.
"It is alright dear, it is the person from the government right? It's the first after all..."
A stoic nod from the girl confirmed every word the pink-haired giant of a woman had said with a stoic efficiency.
"Yes, as you say.."
A small smile and a courteous inclination of her head affirmed the young woman's words. Softspoken words meant to encourage and chip away at that stoic demeanor gave her firm directions without coming across as a command. There was an efficiency to her kindness that wasn't quite like anything the young woman was used to.
"You may show them here, have Erika and Aishe prepare some sake and a light afternoon snack as well."
Once more a stoic nod and the Mink girl sank to one knee in deference that was wholly unneeded. The large woman closed her one aquamarine eye and sighed softly. It would still be a long road for this one. Her loyalty and manners were top notch but she was lacking in the soft appeal that the customers valued in coming here. She needed a firm hand to guide her towards that realization but firmness did not inspire the qualities she was missing. What a difficult situation... How to best guide this girl... Perhaps...
"Yes, then I will be off..."
Yes.. that was exactly the problem. How troublesome... Well, perhaps a gentle chastisement would help her realize on her own. There was precious little to be learned from being told what to do without understanding why but small steps might be just what was needed by this one...
"Ahh, and dear... there is no need to be so stiff here. Rather than training.. consider it a vacation. This place is different than you were expecting is it not? That is alright, we do things a bit differently here than you are used to. "
Her voice was all kindness, all understanding, even a correction was cloak in soft tender words and carried on a gentle smile and for a moment the dog girl mink seemed burdened by that very kindness.
"But.. If I do not show you respect as a fellow elder my master will..."
The giant woman leaned back in her chair. folding her hands together and looking at the tiny young woman from under her all but closed eyelid. The milky-colored other eye did not close at all though its eyebrow quirked in soft amusement.
"Ara Ara, but I'm not a master my dear. Just a humble innkeeper. You will get more out of your stay here if you smile a bit more."
For a moment the girl seemed wrong-footed by that statement before with great effort producing a very forced smile. The large woman covered her mouth with the back of her hand and chuckled ever so politely at that rather awkward smile.
"Ahh.. I see... Then I will endeavor to do so. Okami-san. Shall I fetch your visitor?"
The girl turned slightly red in her face, that was good. It was the most she had shown of her genuine self since she had arrived so far. There was such a vast difference in methods and philosophy between the other different clans that those who came to study under her from the other parts of the world often found it difficult to fit in at first. All they needed was some patience and some guidance, she had both to share and quite a bit of it. All that was needed was time. But right now someone else demanded that time. She should make preparations to receive her guest herself.
"Please do, I'll depend on you~"
She said as she stood up out of her chair and headed towards the sliding paper door of the inn. The girl had vanished and a soft sigh escaped her lips. Vanishing like that was also something to work on Elisha dear... She thought to herself as she slid open the paper door to enter the inn and retrieve her Shamisen. A bit of music to great her guest would be quite nice...
The rhythmic falling of water droplets permeated the quiet solitude. Every so often the bamboo would fill up to the brim and turn over by sheer weight of the water, unleashing it's contents into the hot spring with a splash of vigor. Windchimes played backup in a pleasant and constant breeze. Where it provided the high notes, it was the soft chirping of birds in the forest on the other side of the bamboo wall that filled natures very own chorus in a melody of pleasant relaxation.
The smell of sulfur and minerals from the bath filled the air, the gentle breeze was carrying in the salty tones of the ocean on the other side of the inn. She inhaled deeply, her lips sucking in yet more of a pleasantly fragrant scent from the end of a long decorated pipe. The fragrance of flowers, dried tobacco leaves and a bitter twinge of ash filled her nostrils as the smoke passed through her lungs. She exhaled between touted lips, blowing a perfect circle in the air as she closed her eyes.
Sitting at a table just outside of the hot spring area, Nadeshiko was enjoying the peace and quiet of the a midweek afternoon. A smile crossed her lips as she watched over the bath.On most days, several guests would be enjoying them throughout much of the day and she could not just sit here relaxing as she did now. She could only sit here after all preparations had been completed and before she had to entertain the guests at their meal. It was a quiet moment to herself, a highlight of a busy day where she could take a moment just to be by herself with no thoughts other than the delight of the pipe between her lips.
Right this moment though, it was still early in the day... She took the calm she was enjoying right now as a small blessing. Rather than a sign of business slowing down, it meant that it was the first day of a new month. The inn was closed to guests for a whole day and night for a thorough cleaning and to fix whatever rowdy damages had been done over the past month. The start of a new month and closing out the old one had been a pleasant swift experience this time.
The ledger on the table in front of her showed that last month had been anything but lacking in guests, but the guests she had received were both unusually generous and unusually well behaved. Another blessing to count, larger than this small moment of peace in its scope. She closed her eyes as another puff of smoke exited between her lips, this time eliciting a small bit of coughing from a source other than the inn's owner. The comparatively gigantic woman opened one eye to look at the young girl standing at the feet of her chair, bathed in the smoke that was clinging to the ground.
"Mah, Elisha. Are you alright dear. You should have said something sooner."
She turned the pipe over above a clay jar on the table, inscribed with the character for 'Ash', and with a sharp tap against its rim, the burning coal fell out of the tip of the pipe and neatly into the pot. She covered it with a lid before resting her eyes on the young girl.
"Yes, Okami-san but..."
Before the girl could protest, or rather she seemed to stop on her own knowing that the large pink-haired woman would wave away her protest, and indeed so she did with a soft and generous smile.
"It is alright dear, it is the person from the government right? It's the first after all..."
A stoic nod from the girl confirmed every word the pink-haired giant of a woman had said with a stoic efficiency.
"Yes, as you say.."
A small smile and a courteous inclination of her head affirmed the young woman's words. Softspoken words meant to encourage and chip away at that stoic demeanor gave her firm directions without coming across as a command. There was an efficiency to her kindness that wasn't quite like anything the young woman was used to.
"You may show them here, have Erika and Aishe prepare some sake and a light afternoon snack as well."
Once more a stoic nod and the Mink girl sank to one knee in deference that was wholly unneeded. The large woman closed her one aquamarine eye and sighed softly. It would still be a long road for this one. Her loyalty and manners were top notch but she was lacking in the soft appeal that the customers valued in coming here. She needed a firm hand to guide her towards that realization but firmness did not inspire the qualities she was missing. What a difficult situation... How to best guide this girl... Perhaps...
"Yes, then I will be off..."
Yes.. that was exactly the problem. How troublesome... Well, perhaps a gentle chastisement would help her realize on her own. There was precious little to be learned from being told what to do without understanding why but small steps might be just what was needed by this one...
"Ahh, and dear... there is no need to be so stiff here. Rather than training.. consider it a vacation. This place is different than you were expecting is it not? That is alright, we do things a bit differently here than you are used to. "
Her voice was all kindness, all understanding, even a correction was cloak in soft tender words and carried on a gentle smile and for a moment the dog girl mink seemed burdened by that very kindness.
"But.. If I do not show you respect as a fellow elder my master will..."
The giant woman leaned back in her chair. folding her hands together and looking at the tiny young woman from under her all but closed eyelid. The milky-colored other eye did not close at all though its eyebrow quirked in soft amusement.
"Ara Ara, but I'm not a master my dear. Just a humble innkeeper. You will get more out of your stay here if you smile a bit more."
For a moment the girl seemed wrong-footed by that statement before with great effort producing a very forced smile. The large woman covered her mouth with the back of her hand and chuckled ever so politely at that rather awkward smile.
"Ahh.. I see... Then I will endeavor to do so. Okami-san. Shall I fetch your visitor?"
The girl turned slightly red in her face, that was good. It was the most she had shown of her genuine self since she had arrived so far. There was such a vast difference in methods and philosophy between the other different clans that those who came to study under her from the other parts of the world often found it difficult to fit in at first. All they needed was some patience and some guidance, she had both to share and quite a bit of it. All that was needed was time. But right now someone else demanded that time. She should make preparations to receive her guest herself.
"Please do, I'll depend on you~"
She said as she stood up out of her chair and headed towards the sliding paper door of the inn. The girl had vanished and a soft sigh escaped her lips. Vanishing like that was also something to work on Elisha dear... She thought to herself as she slid open the paper door to enter the inn and retrieve her Shamisen. A bit of music to great her guest would be quite nice...