Having slept after the so-called court at the Crane embassy, Tsukimi now found herself awake again as the city was going to sleep.

From underneath the shelter of the shrine's roof, she looked out at the dimming city and the freezing rain still pouring down. And the strange serpentine like figure in the clouds.

Taking a deep breath and leaving her jacket behind, Tsukimi steeled herself for a moment before stepping out into the rain. It was cold. Terribly so. It's not as bad as training in the mountain. Remember Mikazuki-sensei's words; “I will not freeze. Frost is a killer. Freezing is the death that snuffs the soul's flame. I will face the frost. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the frost has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

The monk crossed her legs as she sat down in the lotus position, letting the precious jade artifact she carried with her rest in her lap with a protective hand over it, unwrapped. Perhaps the dragon in the sky would see it and notice, perhaps not. In the end, it was just her, the rain, the jade hand, and her eyes half-closed as her mind focused on the artifact. Were she a shugenja, perhaps she could have had the ability to commune with it or understand more about it and its imminent future.

But for now, she was not a shugenja. Just a monk meditating.

_________________
Dragon Clan • Tattooed • Mystic Warrior • Marked by Destiny (Birthmark) • Gullible • Friend of the Brotherhood • Elemental Balance • Profile • Ballad • JADE
Honor: What is expected • Status: 1.0 • Glory: 2.0
“At times, the voice of peace must ring like Thunder.”

Has: Sacred Daisho, Light Armor (battle), necklace of prayer beads (jade), figurine of Jizo, parchment and charcoal, white cowl. Lion tattoo on left arm, Dragon tattoo on left thigh.