Her small hand was warm. Enkai briefly lifted his eyes from the cage to her smile. Enkai hadn't meant to look there; he was supposed to look at her for a moment. A glance of acknowledgement to make sure she wasn't going to fall over and hurt herself again. Just in case, he widened his feet, lowering his stance to prepare for her weight. But her touch remained soft and light, like flower petals floating through the wind, taking their time to fall. Her lips were the color of plum blossoms on an early spring day, when frost and snow still lingered on rooftops and fences. Enkai turned his head away from her, saying nothing instead.

The raakgui loved the attention. Its eyes glittered, and it tilted its head, the pupils widening, eyes suddenly looking bigger. Whiskers twitched as it opened its mouth again, calling for attention. It had changed its plan, no longer growling and huffing with indignity. The raakgui plopped down on its side, stretching its paws out towards Misora.

"Don't touch it. It could be bad if you do." Enkai said, feeling like his words of caution felt more like a lie. His mother wouldn't have gifted the intendent a raakgui that would have been poisonous or unlucky. Clearly, it was meant to be looked at, perhaps even snuggled up to. A rare pet. Something to show off. "It looks like it can bite or scratch," Enkai added. Watasena blew out a raspberry. Enkai gave up on finding the seal. Whatever, he was almost there. Nothing worse than the Raakgui escaping could happen now.

"To the Intendent Nuyen. Wata, put it in the cage." The squid gave a little salute, righting itself up to then toss the raakgui into the cage. It hissed, its face morphing to look terrifying, all eyes showing off its many sharp teeth. Enkai shut the cage, locking it quickly with the clatch. He smiled as the raakgui hissed and growled at him, swiping its claws through the spaces, trying to reach him. Just in case, he took a half step away.

"You wouldn't happen to know the best way to the Gold District would you, Misora?"
 
Her fingers tightened at his shoulder, more out of shock than anything else. When she realised she was still holding onto him, her hands snatched away from him suddenly as she took several steps back.

"Nuuu-yennnn..." She repeated, slowly, elongating the syllables. That was her name. That was her mother he spoke of!

He was on his way to her home.

Misora laughed, but it came out near hysterical as she tried to lessen it's weirdness. "Oh! Well! I see..." She began, loosing every ounce of cool, calm, collected.

Her face scrunched and stayed that way for a moment longer.

"Enkai... my name is... Misora Nuyen." And she was a Princess Intendant of the Nuyen family. Of course she knew her way back to the Golden District. "Yes, I do... know the best way back home, I mean, to the Golden District..."

What were the hot broth noodle chances he was going to be at her home?!

"Oh saints." Misora stiffened. Her face went blank as she stared at him. "You are not... you would not... tell my mother of this? That I was outside our District?" Without her guard too.
 
“Huh?” Enkai’s face suddenly went pale, color draining from his face. His eyes were stark black ink stains, lips starting to blend in with his face. Watasena looked up at Enkai and then back Misora, then once more back at Enkai.

“Huh!” She said, and froze like Enkai. She even turned a lighter shade of blue to better mimic his shocked expression. Enkai’s mouth was hanging open.

“Your mom is… she’s the… you’re… her daughter….” It all finally started catching up to him. He took a step back from Misora and gave a deep bow at his waist, staring straight at the ground. He had touched her. She had fixed his ankle. He had her running all about the capital to catch a Raakgui for her mother — INTENDANT NUYEN.

“Please forgive me! If you do, I won’t tell her anything.”

“Forgive him! Inky’s sorry!” Watasena cried, crawling towards Misora, voice warbling like a bad instrument.
 
"Saints!" She bristled, stepping closer to him and swatting at his shoulder.
"Do not do that! People are staring!" Misora feigned a nonchalant laugh but her grip on his shirt was forceful as she helped him stand upright. She stood close to him, meeting his gaze, and for a moment she got lost there in his wide eyed stare.

"Do I look like I am the Princess Intendant out here?" She hissed lowly, her brows furrowing as she tried not to be heard by anyone else. "I need a break sometimes from the expectations of the role I have. Right now, I am not Misora Nuyen. I am... Miso."

Misora wanted to cringe and hide, to sink down into the bottom of a pot of broth and evade the searching spoon scraping the bottom.

Miso. Miso? Why did she call herself Miso?!

If she ever had a chance of catching the eye of a handsome fellow, it was not going to be someone named Miso. Not everyone liked miso soup and what if Enkai did not?

"Mimi... you could... call me... Mimi..." Like the rest of her family and friends did.
 
Enkai's throat suddenly felt tight; his entire posture was too stiff and upright, as if he might be whipped with a metal bamboo stick or taken away and put in jail. Watasena blubbered into Misora, hugging her ankle and begging for Enkai to be forgiven. Not many could see or hear the raakgui, especially when she didn't want to be perceived.

"I mean," Enkai looked to the side, seeing the people that passed them, glancing at them, and then looking away. "Maybe not a princess, but definitely not... regular." His dark eyes went back to her face, nodding his head as she explained. A break, sure. Enkai thought being a princess would be awfully boring -- who'd want to sit inside all day and listen to nothing but people complaining about this or that and reading awfully long letters that were also complaining about that and this.

And perhaps Misora really did need a break, because why would she want him to call her soup? Did she think that made her seem less like a princess? Enkai snorted, limbs loosening at her tumbling words. Her serious face only made it all the better.

"Naw," Enkai said with a grin, "You want to pretend you're not a princess, then you're Miso, something everyone eats no matter how poor." Watasena was sniffling, and Enkai went down on one knee, coaxing the water spirit back to his hand. "It's alright, Wata, just go back. Miso isn't going to arrest me." The smug look hadn't left his face, but somehow it grew all the more when he raised a brow at Misora. "Right, Miso?"
 
That face, staring up at her with all the smugness an idiot could only possess sent a raging boil to bubble inside her.

That face and that name.

She should have listened to her aunt when she told Misora that all the handsome people are not good people.

Misora stared at him, her expression half way astounded and annoyed.

"I... could if I wanted to!" She scowled down at him haughtily. The scowl deepened with a frown as he stood, but one look to the raakgui and Misora's face faltered. "But... no I would not. Only because..." It would be what he expected of her to do, if she were being the Princess Intendant.

Misora crossed her arms. She did not like that he picked up on nicknaming her Miso of all things. Had used it three times now and each one of them only made her grumpier.

No, she could not have him arrested. It would bring attention that she was outside her District and not with an escort as the rules in her household had been ingrained into her. Her mother would find out, and any slice of freedom she could afford would be gone.

She lifted her chin slightly, skewering him with a narrowed gaze. "I suppose I should show you to my family home so that you can deliver the gift to my mother and I never have to put up with your..." A hand waved about, gesturing to him. "... whatever this is."
 
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"Attitude," Enkai quipped, he picked up the bird cage, holding it in both hands and far away from his face. The raakgui still growled and hissed at him, showing its small pointy teeth. It made to swipe at him but its claws got struck the thin wires. He hoped it calmed down once they got to the Intendant's home. He had heard stories about the sort of buildings in Gold District, homes that stretched on for entire streets, high walls with even higher trees to keep the passerby's oblivious to what happened inside.

He suspected that Misora probably found it normal, to have everything she could ever want or did in a family's estate. For a moment, he felt that twinge of envy, but in the next, he pitied her. She probably never got to experience the lazy afternoons of village kids catching bugs, going on exploratory hunts for flowers or pretty walks, or dipping their feet in the river when the afternoon sun got too hot. What did a princess get to do? Dance with sticks that would catch a ankle if one was too slow and get sweaty from it?

"But don't worry, I'll be as sweet as can be to your mother, why she'll be so impressed by my manners that if you told her your hair got messed up from chasing after me she'll blame it on you." Enkai's dark eyes were obstructed by the cage, getting a blurred image of Misora if he didn't focus.

"Lead the way, Princess Miso." Enkai practically sang in a low voice, that shit-eating grin may have stopped growing but it hadn't left his face, even if the mothcat yowled at his audacity.
 
Misora summoned all her ire and her disdain for his attitude, but she did not like the underlying admiration for his determination of not fearing meeting her Intendant mother. She turned away with a roll of her dark eyes, moving past him and setting a pace that might hurt his sore ankle. The way to the Golden District was not far, but the streets were filled with citizens and carts, sometimes slow moving oxen were guided through too.

She weaved through the crowds with ease, even sometimes with care as she slowed down or waited for Enkai to catch up to her. Whenever she waited, she took opportunity to school her expression to something mild and regarded him with an aloofness. It was the only way she knew how to keep an eye on him, to learn more of him... but Misora looked away every time when all she saw was a face she found quite handsome, and that did not align with her annoyance reserved for him and his attitude.

The change from districts was quite the distinct comparison. Great gates towered before them, two sentries waiting to halt anyone going in. Two other sentries were on the other side, not moving to stop anyone from leaving. Misora knew that fact all too well.

Before she could even speak, or their hands coming up to stop them, she saw that they recognised her. A look was exchanged between them. One of them cleared his throat, "Princess, Intendant Nuyen had put a summons out for you... when no one could find you..."

Misora stiffened, but tried to ease her shoulders and pretend all was right. "Well, I will be home shortly and she can cease her worry." She smiled, half turning to Enkai and waving a hand at him. "He is with me. A gift for my mother. Perhaps that will delight her that I am home now."

But that was all a hopeful wish. If her mother knew she was not home, not in the Golden District, there was every change that she would receive a punishment for going against orders.

Even worse, Misora realised as she lead Enkai deeper into the Golden District, when her guards would not be able to tell her mother anything of worth of her whereabouts. Misora had purposefully escaped their notice.

There was one being standing at the small gate leading into an estate. The fence was tall and stately, all the hard work of a Sonshan artisan, but carved into the wooden pillars either side of the guarded gate were words in the native language of the Nuyens. The Palapuan Promise.

I may break, but family will help me rebuild the pieces.

Sometimes it sounded like a prison sentence, sometimes it felt like security.

As Misora gave a bleak smile to the lone guard before the gate, she felt the Promise take on as a threat. It was her mother's captain of the guard.

"She is waiting for you. Both of you." His eyes flicked to Enkai and stared, as if wondering why a young man was escorting the Princess home with a cage and a raakgui.
 
The quiet walk between districts had Enkai straighten. A few times he opened his mouth as if he might say something. He wanted to but Misora was making a face that made him stayed silent, and worse of all, there were times when she was clearly walking too fast for him to say something without the edge of pain in his voice. So he kept quiet and that seemed to help slow her down, his ankle ached less and he could pretend that he didn't notice all the people looking at him curiously with his birdcage and the raakgui that could now be seen by all.

His mother was definitely going to kill him when he got back. Enkai ignored the shiver coursing through him, turned his head to peek over his shoulder, half expecting his mother to be right there, hands on her hips or crossed over her chest. Either pose didn't matter, Enkai knew when his mother was really pissed off she would lean her weight all on one leg as if she needed to anchor herself still before possibly wiping Enkai off of Khurun.

Gold District's grandeur was too much for Enkai to ignore. A low whistle at the sight of the gates. Incredible that he had seen them from far when, not long after he entered Sonshan, and for whatever reason he had just thought it to be a important tower. He glanced at the guards. Idiots, if he wanted to slip through them he could have. Not now of course, but he could have. He looked at Misora and matched her smile. The young shaman didn't know what else to do, not when she sounded like she was in trouble.

And why was she in trouble? Because of him, when he got in her way as she danced with those kids, shooing them off and running around the Red District after a raakgui that was starting to get on his nerves. More silence ensued, and the closer they came to Intendant Nuyen's estate, the more Enkai began to worry about how this looked. What if those snotty-nosed kids snitched on them? Maybe they had for a man with posture better than Misora's was waiting for them.

He was handsome, Enkai thought. He wondered if he was chosen for his position because of his face.

Enkai held out the cage to keep his balance, giving a low bow, bending fully at his waist and then some more, his arms lifting up the cage now, some strain in his back and shoulder. He held the bow for three seconds and then rose up, adjusting the cage with him. The raakgui growled and hiss, displeased at having to see his face again.

"I come from Ash Clan, my mother Ouga Kuuna sends me, Ouga Enkai, to deliver her gift for Intendant Nuyen." Enkai did his best to keep his voice steady, but all of a sudden he felt underdressed, unprepared for something that didn't involve fighting and the shaman arts. Manners, politics? He glanced at Misora and then realized his folly, quickly looking away from her and looking down. He should be walking three steps behind her, instead he was at her side. Enkai took a large step back, hanging his head low.
 
Something inside her was sinking. It was more than just a feeling, but the thought of disappointing her mother left her with an anxiety of what was waiting for her inside. That something fell deeper when Enkai stepped back and away from her, even after his polite introduction.

Captain Tora stared down at them both, reserving his unimpressed expression for the young man. He grunted, stepping aside and bidding them entry into Misora's own home.

The courtyard was quiet, designed to keep serenity and privacy behind the tall gates out front. It looked like every zen garden found in Sonshan, except for the flowering trees throughout. They seemed more tropical, and noted on their wooden placards were the names of each tree and plant and their origin in the Palapuan region.

Misora wanted to brush this off, to not make this feel like she was on her way to be scolded. No, her mother had a way of pointing out mistakes and making it sound like a compliment. If she could do it, Misora would avoid having any conversation with the Intendant, for she could never stand to be subjected to her mother's pretense.

Faint chirping could be heard, and just feet from the open front door was an alcove. A small coop had been set up, shady leaves stretching over the top of this cage providing the shade the small quails preferred. These were Misora's button quails. Two were shuffling about by the front gate, waiting for her to greet them, but Misora fixed her gaze to the open door ahead. She had wanted to show Enkai her little pets, to show him the six she kept and tell him each of their names. The idea of anything fun seemed not worth delaying her mother any more than they were now.

"This way." She gave him a glum smile. Misora slipped off her shoes, picking them up and placing them on a shelf above the slippers she usually wore inside her home. She pulled out some guest slippers, hoping they were not too big nor too small for him to use. Once they were both ready, she would then direct him towards the stairs, where her mother's study was located and the Intendant's chambers on the eastern wing. The western wing of the first floor belonged to Misora, as Princess Intendant, she needed the same amenities as the Intendant.

Everything about the Nuyens' home was homely in the sense of nature and earth filling one with tranquility. When it came to holidays and festivals, the home was alive with laughter and family, as her brothers would come home to spend time with the family. Misora looked forward to those the most, because it meant she was no longer in her mother's immediate focus, and she could breathe easily.

Finding the study did not take long, and Misora made a face outside the sliding bamboo doors. She glanced at Enkai, giving him a wince before knocking on the doors and sliding them open.
 
There was a lot to take in. There was the sense of wealth because of all the space. The gardens that first walked through were beautiful, unlike anything he had seen. As they continued walking, even Enkai recognized that these trees did not belong here with the rest of the trees found in Sonshan. Though his interest was peaked, he kept quiet, continuing to walk behind Misora. He looked over his shoulder, seeing the Captain still looking at the two of them. Enkai turned his head back to the front, doing his best to keep his cool.

He was a shaman. Sure he had never been inside a big, fancy estate with a private garden that was larger than the biggest home in his village. Enkai instead centered himself by looking at the back of Misora's head, at how her dark hair swished with each step. He heard the quails before he saw them, and when he looked over he was comforted by the thought that even the rich kept livestock to eat instead of buying everything from a market.

The smile she gave him wasn't forgotten, even if he only nodded his head in reply. Everything in the home was well curated, from the colors to the furniture. Enkai's eyes were back on Misora, stopping only when she did. He looked at the bamboo door but then his gaze flittered back to her. There was a moment of silence shared between them, Enkai unsure of what to think. Something was up, something that couldn't be spoken out loud. He tilted his head at her before giving her a small, reassuring smile.

She grimaced and Enkai's face went back to what he hoped was a serious yet cool expression. The sort of look he saw in older shaman, the one he could never get quite right. The raakgui in the cage meowed pitifully at Misora as she slid the doors opened. Enkai dipped his head low, eyes on Misora's feet, cage held up high.
 
Intendant Nuyen was sat at a small table, tea cups set before the chairs surrounding the circle. Her hands held onto a tea pot, pouring a pale tea into the three cups waiting. "Come in, anak."

Misora stepped in first, pausing halfway towards her mother before looking back at Enkai. He still stood beyond the threshold, and with an arched brow, Misora gestured for him to follow.

"Mama, I am sorry to—"

"Sit down." Intendant Nuyen did not look up.

Misora flinched, but her cheeks turned red when she heard the raakgui Enkai had in his possession let out a noise. Would he notice the lack of warmth with her mother towards her? That despite her the Intendant's calm, there was a storm on the horizon. She sucked in a small breath and did as her mother asked, her eyes falling onto the third seat and tea cup.

But she dared not speak.

Once her mother had finished what she had been doing, she stood upright and looked to Enkai. Her face gave away nothing as her eyes gave him a quick assessment before nodding once. "Your mother has been a loyal friend to this family. Her gifts are always thought out." Her eyes flicked down to the cage. "Well, set it down for now. Let us have tea first and then I will see this gift after."
 
Upon walking into the room, Enkai made sure to keep his gaze low, head bent at an angle so he wouldn't be tempted to look up. Any Intendant deserved and demanded the ultimate forms of respect. Back in his village, women were in charge when it came to the household. They handled the bills, have the final say in any family decisions, and would be the ones to go to village meetings. But this didn't mean that Enkai was less than his sister because of being a man.

He wanted to be a shaman and could become one, easily. His sister wanted to go into the raakgui taming profession, so she did. If Enkai had also wanted that, his mother would have accepted it openly. His mother was not cruel, strict, yes, but never cruel. Heaven truly did lie at her feet.

But in Sonshan things were different. Sure, women handled the money and made decisions for the entire family. As a man, Enkai had been warned - silent and submissive was the way to go in any situation he wasn't sure how to act in. His mother had also warned him. He would not be given any sort of empathy in Sonshan if he did not behave how the other men did there.

Enkai kneeled on his knees, holding the cage above the ground. He liked that it helped to hide his face. He winced when Intendenant Nuyen took away his only shield. Social etiquette and proper manners were always the sort of things he zoned out on. Now he was regretting it. Carefully he set down the cage without making a sound. The mothcat tried scratching at his face again. A weak, sheepish smile. He hoped the raakgui only acted that way towards him. Did it getting out of the cage make it more aggressive?

In a moment of weakness, Enkai looked towards Misora as if she'd give him a sign of what to do next. She reminded him of a plum tree in winter, icicle-draped and forlorn. His palms were clammy and he lightly rubbed them on his knees. Kneeling down was killing his ankle, but he would bare it, keeping his head low.

Was he expected to speak now? The Intendant had mentioned his mother. If he kept silent would he be considered rude?

"Master Inoue says this raakgui is one of a kind, never before seen." Enkai sounded far more sure than he felt. "It makes sense now knowing you are friends."
 
Misora glanced at Enkai as he spoke, then her eyes went to his legs where she saw the tremble of keeping himself propped on them to kneel. She cleared her throat, and he looked back at her. She tried not to blush under his stare, but she did. Here they were, before her mother, and the moment Enkai had tea, delivered the gift, and was dismissed, she knew her punishment would come next.

She had only hoped Enkai did not pity her.

"You can sit on the cushion seat. Our family... we have our own traditions we like to honour in this city." She supplied, nodding to the seat he was near.

"Yes, please. Kneeling is the correct practice in this city, but I intend to teach my family the culture of our ancestors. As a guest of this house, however, you are at the liberty to choose whatever makes you comfortable." The Intendant's voice was polite, reserved even, but Misora still shrank at the sound of it.

She felt her mother's eyes on her.

"Mimi. You did not take your guard with you when you left the house."

Misora was quiet. She did not want to have this conversation, especially in front of Enkai but her mother was not going to leave her feeling any safety. Instead, she lifted her eyes to stare at her mother. Still, no words stirred at her lips. Meeting the stern gaze of her mother did not instill any inspiration to speak, to explain, not when she knew whatever she supplied would only cause her mother to be disappointed.

"No... I did not." Her eyes fell onto her steaming cup of tea. She wanted to move her hands to it, to let the ceramic cup heat her palms until it was scalding. That action was better than sitting here under her mother's disapproving stare, and Enkai as witness.
 
Brows perked up the offer. It would be rude to refused the Intendant's offer, wouldn't it be? But what if it were a test to see if he was the sort of man who shirked from manners? Enkai glanced to Misora for help, his eyes nearly pleading he saw the stiff resilience in her features. Still the same girl he had meant nearly two hours ago, he knew that, and yet now she looked like an entirely different person. Her shoulders too heavy, a weighty burn upon someone who had never asked for such responsibility, such scrutiny.

"Thank you." Enkai murmured, going onto the cushion while Misora bowed her head towards her mother. The cushion was much softer, easing the stress and strain he felt in his ankle. Enkai adjusted his posture, crossing his legs, favoring the poorly ankle. He glanced at Misora once more, but it was hard to leave the sight of her when the Intendant spoke again. Mimi, like the little ones had been calling her.

A gulp and another back and forth glance. He knew the set up, experienced it with his own mother. The process of going through what was right and what was wrong, acceptable and unacceptable. It was hard to argue because there was never much of a point to it. Mother was always right.

"I, uh, was, escorting her." Enkai piped up, cheeks reddening. "Since I'm a family friend and all, it was only right to keep an eye on her."
 
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