With Senshuken asking her to join for an event later in the afternoon, it meant Sumiko had to move her usual bathing time to slightly earlier. Not that she minded, as she enjoyed the quite wonderful baths anyway. Once she had cleaned up, she quickly made her way to the hot baths, preparing herself before slipping into the hot water.

She still gasped. It felt hotter today!

Closing her eyes, she took some time to get comfortable and used to the heat, idly wondering if she'd get some time to herself or if the baths would be busy.

Just Sumiko was settling in her bath, she might have heard the soft padding of footsteps making theirs toward the common baths she was relaxing in at the moment.

"Good afternoon," a confident voice would greet her, while not exactly meant to call out at her directly to disturb her from her rest, there was some formality need to be observed. Nobody wanted to be startled when they were almost submerged in water. It was how accidents happened around here, supposedly.

Sumiko, keeping her eyes closed, offered a bow in the direction of the voice. Giving the person a chance to enter the water.

"Good afternoon. Coming to enjoy the water also?"

"Most certainly the case," her companion would say with a short chuckle at the question and her obvious answer. This was said from a very much a female voice. She would let out a small wistful sigh. "The hotel provides a splendid bath, to be fair, but the facilities seem so much more of an afterthought compared to a proper full bath. The company tends to be less stiff, too."

"I haven't seen the hotel, staying at the embassy myself. The embassy however lacks anything close to this. From luxury to comfort to...well warmth. It's built for function rather than comfort."

Sumiko finally opened her eyes to look in the direction of the voice.

"I've come here every day, so it'll be a shock when I need to return home and not have access to such a lovely venue again" she said with a small chuckle.

It was, someone nobody seemed to have seen actively around the city yet...



It was a woman in her mid 30's, she had a subtle confidence about her that seem to be evident even without clothes and mons. "Oh? I take it here that you're mostly here for politics than business. Of course, the two often go well hand in hand. While the World of Dreams is far from the standard of many Imperial worlds, it is still one of the great jewels of the Empire. I'd say you should spoil yourself whenever you can, within reason of course."

"Hai" Sumiko nodded "although I'm taking my chance to enjoy the sights of this very impressive city. I'm Susumu Sumiko, it's lovely to meet you."

She took a moment to think.

"I've already had a chance to visit the sanctuary, and the Golden Frog. The arcade as well was quite interesting although I didn't stay for long. Have you got any recommendations?"

Miya Kimiko

The woman smiled faintly at the introductions. "Miya Kimiko, executive producer at the Miya News and Entertainment Network. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Susumu-san. I'm familiar with the World of Dreams but not this province. The world is so dense that it's hard for anyone to consider any part of the city a familiar neighbourhood when it's so dense. I'm not too familiar with the arcades...but the Golden Frog is a rather respectable place. If you haven't spent an afternoon at the nearby temple district, I'd highly recommend it, as I'm very sure there's something for everyone. Even if you're not particularly devout, the Garden of Mist is a fine place for a lunch or a quick teleconference meeting on your communicator, although I'd discourage you from doing too many of the latter. It does well to add some ennui to the otherwise ethereal surroundings."

"It is quite big" Sumiko agreed with a nod "bigger than anywhere on Whispers, so navigation has been a learning experience! I have taken time to visit the shrines each morning as part of my prayers though. However, I've never visited the garden...thank you for the recommendation" she lowered her head respectfully.

"The wildlife sanctuary I can recommend if you haven't been yet Miya-sama. It shows a look into the habitat current and past of this planet, and Soshi Kioku-sama one of the researchers is often very excited to talk with visitors. The Artificial Islands are the most impressive sight though, it displays the talents of the Soshi in quite a spectacular way."

Miya Kimiko

Kimiko tucked a wet strand of hair behind her ear as Sumiko talked. "The Scorpions have done a rather admirable job of managing the city. It is easy to get lost but I don't think it's often reported that people might accidentally walk into another province without knowing or a rescue team needs to be called in just because they get lost in the mall."

She raised her brows at the mention of the Soshi. "Oh, I take it that you're personally acquainted with Soshi-sama? I haven't met her personally. It seems like animal shows are trending upwards nowadays. I wonder if the habitat is busier as a result."

"Perhaps they took it not as a sign of being lost, but a sign of being guided by Natsu-togumara?"

Sumiko nodded at the question.

"We have met a few times, and Soshi-sama is very passionate about her work. Going by the popularity of the sancatury, it certainly seems like the Scorpion care a lot about preserving the habitat at least within the sanctuary. I haven't taken a trip outside the city to confirm if they're also releasing animals, or just keeping them protected at the sanctuary. It makes me curious if other clans do something similar in the worlds they live in now. So many native animals that have been displaced over the years, many likely forgotten about."

Miya Kimiko

"Natsu-togumara?" Kimiko said before she couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at the idea. "My apologies, Susumu-san. I suppose I've found that a bit quaint. My family and I visit the temple every week, when possible. I suppose I've never thought of someone being lost here as a sign of Natsu-togumara. With so many city blocks and avenues, some monks could consider setting up a shrine to collect donations and provide directions."

"With the city taking most, if not all, of the world, I believe sanctuaries act as much treasure holdings where nature is preserved. It's easy to build a tower or a holding atop existing foundations but less so when it comes to nature. It's the closest to actual nature many of the locals will find here. Soshi-san proved to be pleasant company, then? Was she personable?" She looked to Sumiko for her opinion.

There was a laugh at the reaction.

"When I was schooling my sensei tested the class on knowledge, then questioned me when I named fortunes from long ago, ones rarely seeing any kind of mention. The stories I've heard of Natsu-togumara always fascinated me, but I've always found history interesting. It may be why I was assigned to a library after gempukku."

There was a nod to agree with the Miyas opinion.

"I suspected as much. Habitats on most planets are going to be the same. As for Soshi-sama, I found her very friendly. She clearly loves her duty, and is passionate about Spiny Drakes more than anything. Native creatures no longer in the wild at all. Very interesting creatures."

Miya Kimiko

Kimiko gave a small nod at the mention of her profession as a librarian. "I suppose it shouldn't be surprising that you've drawn that reference. No doubt the Spiders at the local embassy would be thankful for your skills. Even without being involved directly with Winter Court, it can be easy to assume the administrative work that adds up that could use a librarian's eye to manage."

"The sanctuary might be worthwhile visiting just to make her acquaintance." She nodded once at that. "Although, I'm sure the thoughts of a potential nature documentary shows might be something for the far future than anytime soon. As wide-spanning as we are in the galaxy, it seems that we are slow to capitalize on trends."

"It was very easy to taking on the administrative duties, it comes second nature to me even with not being back at my library in nearly a year. I just picked it up on the ship, or in the embassy here. Old habits right?" Sumiko chuckled "but if it helps, then I'm happy to do it."

There was a thoughtful expression as the nature documentary comment.

"While I can't speak for my kin, I think a nature documentary that was seen galaxywide would do a lot to encourage more to be done for habitats that are disrupted like here. Whispers also is similar, but for different reasons. Has Miya-sama has seen much of the galaxy? Is the situation here similar on other worlds?"

Miya Kimiko

"It might very well depend on the documentary. There is a chance that many will flock out in the world trying to claim a pet on their own and find out that they are nowhere near being domesticated as the ones found in a relatively controlled environment. At least, there was been two notable incidents related to that." She gave a small laugh at that. "However, we're pretty sure to scrub through our material to ensure nothing is taken out of context. There are some advantages to being slow to pick up on a trend. As much as it is a pain for a producer such as myself."

Kimiko lifted her hand from the waters and placed it on her neck before giving Sumiko a small nod to her question. "My job does require me to travel much of the galaxy, managing and scouting for potential talents. The Showa and Rokugan are grand worlds but lack the variety found elsewhere in the galaxy. I have yet to be to any of the Spider systems, admittedly. Places like the Green Carp and New Kalani seem to do well with keeping much of nature around them but it might be less of a matter of choice in those worlds."

"Truly? People went out to claim animals as pets based on a documentary?"

Sumiko shook her head.

"I wish I was surprised. That's a shame though, your work should inspire others to help the environment not take animals."

She paused to think, before continuing.

"I would recommend Longshore if you wish to visit the Spider worlds, I think you'd find many interesting sights there. I've been to New Kalani, I don't think I'll ever forget the sights there. The Tower of Storms is incredible, seeing that tower stand up to nature no matter what is thrown at it. It's a fantastic feat of engineering."

Miya Kimiko

"People do a lot of things based on what you see in media. Our, and I'm sure each respective Clan's media outlets, are powerful in their message. Albeit, that sort of power is subtle and sometimes in ways we even less suspect. For example, someone might run an ad for some chewy candy but the audience finds themselves more enthralled by the characters than the product itself. Just little side effects that I need to observe in my job from time to time but I could go on forever about them. This is supposed to be a relaxing bath." She gave Sumiko a small smile.

"Longshore...I take it that's a developed world?" She asked, hoping that she wasn't recommended to somewhere that was less than tasteful to those outside of the Spider clan. "I spend more of my time under the sea, unfortunately. There wasn't so much time to play tourist, only manage talent and conference with my family with what little time I had in my day. The acquisition of Susumu Yakumo was worth it, I suppose."

"Ah, my apology. I'm very curious about your work but as you say it's supposed to be relaxing" Sumiko lowered her head in apology "especially as you work with my kin."

There was a nod about the question on Longshore.

"It's a developed world, with very large oceans full of marine life. The Shark as well have made their home on a small chain of islands, so it's a habitable world. With your mention of being under the sea it could give you an opportunity to see some more unique creatures that live there. I can't say I've visited personally, but from what I've read anyone that enjoys the aquatic side of life would enjoy their visit."

Miya Kimiko

Kimiko let out a small chuckle. "Luckily for you, I take a lot of pleasure in my job, as stressful and tiresome as it might be. It's a bit of a one-sided relationship, I suppose. And I worked with Susumu Yakumo, last I checked, her contract was perhaps at an eye. I'm sure she'll remain in the limbo of freedom into duty claims her sometime soon."

"That's rather interesting, I didn't know the Spider had an aquatic world of their own. Although I think this time around, I'd rather find myself on the surface of the ocean than underwater. Maybe even a sunny beach, if you have those." She smirked.