==This piece was drawn in mid-2023. Following my first art commission, my Ko-Fi supporters voted for me to begin uploading art here, including pieces that have been up on FA that I still like. This is one of those pieces.==

The dog shivered, beads of sweat running down his neck. He had met with other Crane courtiers before, many far more experienced failing to shake his will. This one...this one was different.

She sat as a Crane, her eyes gently drifted about like a Crane observing the beauty of the world, and she gently shifted flowers in the vase he’d brought her like a Crane. Her words were soft yet dangerous like a Doji, and her existence was art like Asahina. But yet...she unsettled him even as she tended to her ikebana in the quiet privacy before him.

To start, there was the gentle wave of those many tails, a sign of kitsune blood. Surely, that would make her bloodline Mantis, not Crane? The blood of shapeshifters, of spirits. Many would hide such. She openly bore them, each one swaying in a way a single tail might signal improper temptations. Yet, her poise suggested no dishonor in such.

Her eyes briefly met his between the stem of two roses. It was a piercing gaze, one that swore his every weakness would be hers, one that carried guile and power. Surely...this was a Scorpion?! Only their eyes could strike fear like that into his heart, his tail tucked as he realized the young woman before him wielded that gaze without the comfort of a mask. Even more dangerous than a Scorpion. He gulped.

But here she was, gently tucking a final chrysanthemum into the bouquet. Wordlessly, she lifted the vase, floated to his side, and knelt close by, placing the floral art on the table before them. “What do you think, Ikoma-san?” she asked, her voice like the gentle trickle of a creek through an Imperial garden.

“It is beautiful, Asahina-san,” he acknowledged truthfully, even if there were many superior.

“It is the greatest gift I can give you in thanks for allowing me such an elegant vase to work with,” she said, a soft smile upon her graceful snout.

“No, I cannot accept,” he answered in experienced fashion despite himself, “the vase was a gift to you, and I am not worthy of your art. To have watched your craft was gift enough.”

“But you must,” she insisted, “for there is a flower there entirely in your honor. Would you truly give me your wakizashi? This arrangement is no different.”

His breath stalled, tempted above all temptations to follow her logic and accept the unusual bouquet and its peculiar yet gorgeous choices. “I...I cannot accept,” he persisted for the honor of his family. “Even were it the original Leadership from the pen of Akodo-dono himself, the divine origin of my proud Clan, I would decline.”

“You honor me with such a comparison,” she hummed, watching the middle-aged dog tense with anticipation of a third and final trial. “...very well, I accept your refusal.”

“No, I cannot...wait, what?”

The many-tailed vixen smiled, gently moving her intended gift away. “Your humility and grace has moved me, and I am at a loss. I must acknowledge your refusal as true, lest I insult you further.”

That...that was not how this worked! The custom broken, his face contorted in conflicted emotion. “I...Asahina-san, there...surely you know…” he stammered, never expecting to correct a student of the Doji in proper high custom and thus having no words prepared.

“The great Akodo-dono held his own honor and way,” the woman gently interrupted, voice telling a tale as if it were a song. “When the teacher Shinsei-dono spoke the Tao, Akodo-dono refused to accept it. He honored the son of the heavens, his brother, by bearing the Tao in his dojo, but not once was it opened. The Lion, most honored of us all, followed suit even while they came to know the Shintao, for it spoke to the honor of their ancestors. Custom and the spirit of custom, therefore, were proven by divine right to be not the greatest good. No, so long as the soul of honor remains in highest respect, no broken custom is too far. Would you, then, open the Tao of your dojo knowing it was intended custom by Hatei-dono himself?”

“I would not,” he relented, now more frustrated at himself over the prospect of losing the Asahina’s gift than the breach she committed. “You speak well.”

“So, Ikoma-san, I will accept your refusal...but only should you return the favor.”

The dog widened his eyes. “What...are you asking of me?”

His eyes widened even further as she adjusted the low neckline of her rich kimono even lower. “Why, as I have done to honor you, I ask you break custom and honor me in doing so, of course,” she whispered. “Shall we honor each other, as Akodo-dono and Nisiko-dono once did?”

His cheeks ran red, every bit of training draining from his senses. To call such seductions honor, why, it should have incensed him. Every teaching would have told him to refuse more than the customary thrice. After all, were her word true, she would once more offer her craft after such. The only thing he’d lose was time, time with the young, sultry courtier.

He dumbly nodded. The time with her, he’d later admit to himself, was more than worth his sacrifice.

And he still walked out carrying his vase and her flowers as if it were a keepsake of his most honored wife.

Asahina Michi smiled as she bowed to his journey back home. It was the Doji way for courtiers to leave feeling as though they had gained treasures beyond imagining, after all. But she had a good time and gained a valuable friend in the courts of the Lion Clan.

Without a doubt, she’d won this battle.
______________________________________________________________________

I had a cursory glance at Legend of the Five Rings (4th Edition) a long time ago. Well, a friend mentioned possibly planning a campaign, so I started reading the books. What hit me, like a flood, was a rare case of deep inspiration. Character after character flooded my mind, and, sure, while I have no idea if my interpretations will be possible, correct, or in-line with the canon or my friend's design...I didn't have many avenues to vent my hyperfixation. And, well, I did say I needed to draw spontaneously more, especially if I'm to improve...so...two birds, one stone!

The character:
Michi is another old character of mine that fit the setting perfectly. I did have a hard time deciding whether to place her in Scorpion or Crane, but it was far more important to her to maintain grace and glory than to maintain and manipulate. As a courtier, her words are her greatest weapon. Art is a tool of war. Performance is a deadly duel. But, despite how seduction and temptation are considered dishonorable tools, Michi views it as an exchange of gifts. She sees nothing wrong in desire that doesn't interfere in one's performance as a samurai. And so she'll work for the good of her family and clan...but she's going to have fun along the way.

The art:
This was the moment I think I started having ideas click in my head. Granted, while I want to vary Michi's design a little more (a streak in the hair, maybe detail or two? Not positive), I think this gets across her seductive elegance very well. Perspective, shadows, foreground elements, details, a lot of little experiments going far better than I thought myself capable of. This is one of my favorite results of the lot, and I hope y'all agree!

Art and Michi (c)  MavenTreecat

Please login to post a comment.

No comments yet, make a comment please