The Wake

Before heading to the wake, I donned one of my best kimonos and crafted an origami crane to gift to General Mak. In our culture, the crane is believed to live for a thousand years. It brings good fortune and longevity. It is the bird of happiness. It's wings carry the souls of the dead up to Yomi. After making our way there and greeting the General, I took out my crane and had it fly and land on his finger. Then Mary enchanted it to sing the song of a Nightingale, which happened to be his favourite bird. The gift seemed to mean a lot to General Mak, and it made me happy to see I was able to make this a little easier for him.
 
The hall was fairly empty, which made the event even sadder. It seemed that General Mak had lost the only person close to him, which must feel lonely. I don't know what I'd do if I lost Ojiisan. I offered to sit with him, as I wanted to keep him company- make him feel less alone. He accepted my offer, and I could see the pride of my Headmaster as I walked towards the head of the table. I was then faced with a tough decision. I could sit on the one side, with my back turned to the Daimyo and Lady Sumehime, but that would be quite disrespectful. Thus I opted for something I later believed was even more of a power move, and chose to walk past them and sit on the opposite side. Astraea decided to join me, which General Mak approved of, and I used my telepathy to enlighten her on some of the social rules. What makes it more entertaining, is that she doesn't know who it is. It's okay to have a little fun once in a while.
 
As the ceremony died down, I decided to perform a traditional Tea Ceremony. I excused myself and went to the kitchen to gather all that I needed to perform it, and found young Timo-chan attempting to get into the liquor closet. I gave him a scolding and told him to go home. That kid is nothing but trouble, but I do feel that he's slowly and gradually getting better- more responsible and such. I did however take a peek inside the closet, looking for any other doors within it. The large doors at the back of the hall and the dragon head above them seem highly suspicious to me. Finding nothing, I gathered the supplies and went back to perform my Tea Ceremony, with which my familiar helped.
 
It didn't go exactly as I had wanted, and I messed up on multiple occasions, but it appeared that everyone was too drunk to notice. And thus came the end of my first day.