Light and Darkness (Chiyo)

[Kitsune Takeo]

Caught off guard by the kick, Chiyo stumbled slightly, stepping back as she was forced to seat herself to recover for a moment. She placed a hand on her swollen belly and felt the protestations from within as she cooed in an attempt to calm the raging child. It seemed, at least so far, that she would have her great grandmother's Matsu spirit.

After a moment, the babe seemed to grow bored with tormenting her mother and rolled over, easing some of the pressure in her abdomen and letting Chiyo return to her feet. She walked to the nearby table that jutted out from the stone of the wall itself. The naga architecture had taken some getting used to, even with the modifications that Ryuuta had insisted be made - like the lone window in the room that had been installed over the naga's objections. The rooms felt cold, which wasn't surprising, given that the stone that formed it had been quarried thousands of years before. She wasn't a wilting flower by any means, but even the accommodations at Kyuden Suzume had been more comfortable, if not the circumstances.

She brushed off the lingering thoughts about the decor and turned her mind instead to the table before her. Half-read letters and half-read replies littered the table in front of her, a fresh calligraphy kit sitting nearby to finish the correspondence. A letter from Isoshi - concerned as always - insisting that she come home, lest the child be born among snakes. A half-written letter to Jirei, requesting a visit in the future, once Murasaki had been born. A finished letter to Tenma that she hadn't been able to bring herself to send yet. Not that it would matter - he would probably decline to attend anyway. He had never been the level-headed one in that relationship. And yet Chiyo had made Muraski a promise to help and she intended to see it through. With a sigh she folded the letter and sealed it, resigning herself to send it out later.

That taken care of, she turned her attention back to the duty at hand and settled into a chair to finish her thoughts.

Half-an-hour later, she sat back and read it over.

Asahina Takehiro-sama,

The negotiations with the naga have gone well. They have agreed to provide escorts through the forest, that we may learn more about them and have offered to help our office with our research into the nature of the corruption that has been on the rise in the Empire of late.

Ryuuta-dono has been a gracious host and friend to the Jade Office in the process and has made every consideration and amenity available to me, given my condition. With negotiations now concluded, I look forward to returning to Otosan Uchi, that my child may be born in the Imperial City. I would be remiss if I did not mention that I look forward to calming my husband's anxiety in no small part as well.

As you know, I have never been one to tarry long when the opportunity to serve has presented itself. Though I will be needed at home for the foreseeable future to see to my daughter, I expect I will soon find myself restless and with a need to do something (lest Isoshi drive me crazy). As such, I have turned my thoughts towards the next project I might assist in.

With the accord with the naga concluded, and the rising threat caused by the elemental imbalance and these enigmatic "Black Scrolls," I thought that perhaps I might offer my assistance in broadening the Jade Office's understanding of these artifacts. Though there is little concrete about them, I am one of the few in the Empire who has encountered such an artifact and trust my past experiences will be a boon in pursuing a deeper understanding of them.

I trust, as always, to your superior wisdom in these respects.

Your humble servant,
Seppun Chiyo


Her letter finished, she considered it for a moment before her abdomen stretched again as Murasaki lodged another protest from within. Scooting back from the table, she rocked herself slowly back and forth, trying to calm the babe inside as she thought of the travel arrangements that would be necessary to get her back to Otosan Uchi.

"Soon, soon my child," she whispered to herself, rubbing her stomach as she did so and letting the folds of her kimono stir a slight breeze to cool the sometimes oppressive heat of Nirukti and pregnancy.

After a moment, her eyes wandered to the window and slowly slid closed. She dreamed of her lost friend Murasaki, of the coming child who would soon bear her name, and of a scroll she had once held in her own hands.