Tsuyo wasn't particularly fond of the upper portions of the sanctuary, but the Depths have been endlessly fascinating. There's a party tonight, but for now, Tsuyo choses to unwind in the glass tunnels running through the largest of the sanctuary's tanks. Her densai is out, cane leaning against her leg and pressing the functional denim--making it apparent that the leg was far too thin to be proper flesh and bone.

The red light brings out her freckles and tints her hair an even more garish shade as she peers through the dim water, hoping for a squid sighting and sketching impressionistic underwater ideas.

Deep in thought, Nishida wandered through the tunnels of the Sanctuary. He needed some time for himself and had left himself enough time in the tunnels, in which he had more or less daydreamed.

The samurai he had encountered here had been of less interest until he stumbled, more by chance, upon the demolition artist.

Although he had his bodyguards in tow, this time it was Nishida who invented the conversation. "Fascinating creatures, aren't they?" he asked into the blue.

She looks up from her sketches, hand dropping reflexively to the top of the finely carved cane. Glancing over the crew, she grips the well-worn head and leans into it as she pivots to face the newcomers, before offering an acknowledging bow. "Like nothing I've seen before," the Firefly says, truthfully.

"Hotaru Tsuyo, artisan in residence for just a bit longer. Honor to meet you, Miya-sama." She'd spent enough time around imperials to recognize the mons by now. "Here for the court season? Or have I just missed spotting you so far?" In a world-covering city, that wouldn't be too hard to do.

"You guessed it, I'm here for Winter Court. Miya Nishida, servant of the Imperial Revenue Service. These two are my yojimbo, Seppun Himei-san and the Heimin Akechi." he pointed at both of them respectively.
He looked at them briefly from top to bottom and looked back to the water. "Your reputation precedes you, Hotaru-san. Are you looking for inspiration for your next work of art. " he pointed to the creatures in the water.

An eyebrow lifts dramatically. "IRS? Well, that oughta put a little starch into some of the dealmakin' this season. Folks'll be more careful to keep their paperwork tidy. Honor ta meet you Miya-sama."

"As for my reputation..." She opens her mouth to speak, pauses, then shakes her head slightly. "Eh, it's silly bein' too modest when you could fit all the folks who do my kinda work in one, rather small room." Looking back out to the murky water, she smiles slightly, "more that I'm layering in fertilizer for inspiration to grow from. Can't tell ahead of time how things are going to mash themselves together in my head until they pop out. But some of the lighting effects on those floats, and the glowin' squids here do have me thinkin' about playin' more with light in these installations. Have you seen the squids down here yet?"

"Perhaps it will reassure you that I am here only as a more humble representative for the Imperial Families. I'll take care of the taxes later," he said with a wolfish grin.

"The special species here no, but back when I lived on Green Carp there was also a smorgasbord of strange and intriguing creatures. Have you been there before? The duality of the planet would certainly appeal to an artist like you."

"Green Carp? No. Can't say I've gotten to really visit Crab space all that much yet. My cluster's been mostly contracting in Dragon and Imperial space, and my personal work's taken me to Phoenix and Crane worlds...and now here." Tucking her stylus into the side of her Densai case she asks, "What sort of creatures? And I hope you'll forgive me if I'm not too aware of the planet's duality and ask what you're meanin' by that. I'm used ta thinkin' of the Crab's fortress holdings and worlds, and know a bit about some of the larger mining operations, but..." she offers a slightly apologetic shrug for her lack of scholarship.

"This may apply to planets of Hida and Kuni, but,..." he said, shaking his head, "I'm sure I'm not doing the Green Carp justice with just a short story, but imagine a planet that is mostly a green jungle stretching across the land masses like a wild, untamed ocean. On the other side you have the population centers, the hive cities of the green carp. Epicenters of industry, trade and culture. These two opposites: wild untamed nature and huge fortified urban centers, form a philosophical contrast, not unlike the concept of ying and yang."

"Huh. That'd be somethin' to see, alright. How d'ya keep the one from pollutin' the other? I expect that's a problem here too, honestly, with a city covering everythin'" She taps her densai, "with a new world of our own--well.. shared, actually but you know what I mean, I guess-- Anyway, that's got me lookin' more at how to build on up and keep it nice when it's not a real closed system like our ships."

"It's a dangerous dance of balance on the Green Carp." he said dramatically, "Also, the local wildlife is very,... let's say assertive. There's a reason cities have high walls and guards 24/7."

He was looking at a small squid sucking on the glass hull, "But much is due to the engineering skills of the Kaiu. Without their ingenuity, the cities would not function. In a way, the jungle and the cities are two different planets that share the same space more by chance than anything else."

Tsuyo nods. "Some of the foundational engineering texts we're handed are Kaiu works from a century ago. It all stands up real well. Ought to get more collaboration with 'em though. Given the learnin' curve we'll be running into with Amanoseki." She taps the glass lightly near the squid, which seems to observe the tapped space, though it probably can't 'see' through the glass all that well. It occurs to her that she doesn't have any idea how intelligent the creatures are.

Something else occurs to her and she looks up with a bit of a grin. "Gonna guess you married into the Miya, though I suppose there's some Imperial families at Imperial holdings there and all. Just...way you talk 'bout the Kaiu and such feels a bit more like they're your people. If you know what I mean?"

He chuckled, "You saw right through me. Yes, I used to be known as Yasuki Nishdia. The engineers of the Kaiu, the merchants of the Yasuki, the scouts of the Hiruma, the bushi of the Hida, and the sages of the Kuni have remained in my heart. Of course, now, full of fervor, I serve the Chrysantheum, but it is hard to leave one's old ways behind."

As octopus was one of the more intelligent creatures, Nishida wondered how aware the squid was that it was sitting in a golden cage.

From the outside, the thought Nishdia had was pure irony.

"No reason to leave those things behind. Marriages across clan lines are meant to build ties and build strength. Spread out in our own bits of the galaxy, easy for the smaller clans and families to get a bit insular if they're not careful." She grins. "My wife was born to the Seppun, and we're lucky she was more interested in rocks than her name. Brings a lot to us, and we're grateful, for sure."

A small group...school?...of squid swoosh by in the murk, then back to watch the one near the glass who seems to hover with a gentle undulation of its mantle and minor movements of its many arms, two longer tentacles trailing as it moves toward the other group, beginning to flash as bright and dark bands run across its body.

"The choice of your wife shows courage" agreed Nishida, "My Old Clan gained greatly from my marriage, of course." which was in no small part due to the improved relations and trade conditions he was working on. "But I agree with you, the paths we walked are like rivers that flow into each other and separate again, until one day they pour into the great ocean, only to rise again in clouds. A cycle that changes forever, but remains the same at its core."

Nishida watched the Squid curiously, was he trying to tell them something?

Nodding, she keeps half an eye on the wildlife. "Way more poetic than I'd manage, Miya-sama. but I see the point. I guess court's a bit like that ocean then, with so many folks comin' together."

Her attentions sharpens as the flickering bands glow more brightly, the colors shifting through a dazzling spectrum as the squid floats gently in the dark waters. "I think it's doin' the thing..." Tsuyo whispers. Why is she whispering? It's hardly likely that the creatures on the other side of the glass can hear them.

He chuckled, "Don't worry, I got it from a book by a Togashi poet, though of course it has a kernel of truth."

As Tsuyo began to whisper, Nishida's attention shifted to the little squid, "The Thing?" he asked softly.

"Umm...matin' display mayber? There's supposed to be a Pearlescent Tiger Squid that's just amazin' when it lights up." Yes, she *had* read the information placards on the way down. The tunnel glass catches the light and refracts it, redoubling the rainbow effects around them and into the water surrounding the tube. "No idea if the other squid are impressed, but I am."

"They are indeed interesting creatures. But perhaps they also use the light to communicate? For example, that we are intruders and he doesn't want any here to warn the others?" He agreed, "Have you seen the Spine Drakes? Cute little critters."

"That'd make sense. We do a bit of that in the mines. Colors for caution and the like are easier ta see if your helmet fogs. Readin' can be a bit rought then."

At the comment about the drakes, she grins. "Yeah, I've got a little pest of my own. Dechen was really taken with 'em and Soshi-sama was helpful in getting them to let us have one. Ume's been a comfort with Dechen headed back home before I'm done here." The name was used with the easy familiarity usually reserved for close family.

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ooc: sorry to vanish late-week. Will aim to wrap this thread up since it's back on D2, but thank you for the rp. We should grab some time D6 or later.

"Ohh really? You'll have to show it to me sometime. I could,..." Nishida's phone began to ring.

"Please scram me" he took a few steps away and made his phone call, a few minutes later he came back.

"Sorry, I should be going, there are some misunderstandings at the embassy," he said bowing slightly and furrowing his brow.

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ooc: no problem, I'm out of the loop myself