Stage 102: A little history, a lot of pain, and a voice from afar.

You open your eyes before Yui-chan is halfway across the temple floor, more because you don't want her thinking you're asleep than any other reason. It's been a little less than half of an hour, and she's carrying two bowls, one with a spoon sticking out of it, the other filled with rice and topped with what are most likely pickled radishes and cabbage leaf. She settles on the other side of Akari, speaking softly.

“The others are still eating, but will be here soon, aniki. The people here are pretty nice. There's a couple of oni-children and a single dragon-woman, but everyone else is human. The dragon woman is Wood too, like the princess.” You nod solemnly, as she prepares the food for Akari, stirring the soup and partly separating the rice. “The oni-children are Water and Stone, but there's only three. They're mostly groundskeepers.”

It's unlikely they'd be anything other than average spirit-children, just making livings and avoiding trouble. They they were anything else you probably would have heard about them at some point or another. “Thank you Yui-niji-chan. That's helpful. Are the beaches off limits?”

She shakes her head. “No, but there's no pearl diving allowed except by the Ama, and that's within special times and in certain places. They don't want anyone hurting their pearl-beds I guess.” she sounds dubious, but then she's not used to the oceans. For that mater, not many dragonettes are – you're an outlier. Smiling you run your hand through her hair, and she relaxes visibly.