16822/New Years Shrine Visitation

New Years Shrine Visitation
Date of Scene:	07 January 2024
Location:	Cherry Hill Fountain
Synopsis:	Damian visits one of the smaller shrines in New York to pay his New Years respects and meets a beautiful mysterious stranger.
Cast of Characters:	Saeko, Damian Wayne

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Saeko has posed:
Donated to the local cultural society to help symbolise the multicultural nature of the city. In a quiet section of the park, the simple wooden shrine with its serene garden and gently carved icons of foxes an Inari. For some? Stories among the community of blessings, of aid coming to them at their time of need and even a kitsune having appeared during the war in the city a couple of years ago...both the devout and the curious had visited and seemed to have maintained the space.

Either that, or perhaps some divine attention kept the modest space looking as it did.

Damian Wayne has posed:
It is the first day on the New Year, and the shrine has had a few visitors. One of them is arriving now for Hatsumode. Dressed in a warm turtleneck of black, wearing a leather jacket over that, coupled with a pair of jeans and hiking boots settles on his feet, Damian Wayne has heard of the shrine here and instead of visiting a larger one - or even travelling to Japan, this is where he chose to make his New Year's visit.

There's a few stalls set up around the park, various foods for sale, along with the omikuji fortune-telling strips of paper and lucky charms offered for safety, prosperity of descendants, good exam results, love and wealth.

Arriving at the altar, Damian reaches into his pocket. Taking out a pair of coins, along with a small envelope with cash within, he kneels down. The envelope is put in the box, the coins thrown in to rattle and hopefully gain the attention of a divine being, before he pulls the small rope to ring the bell. A couple of bows follow, a pair of claps in front of his chest with his eyes closed, another bow and then he settles in to make his silent prayer.

Saeko has posed:
Certainly, it brought a smaller showing than some across the world...but it was different, a new variation on the old in a new space...perhaps that was why Saeko was so fond of it. Of course, were she called to her duties she'd appear anywhere in the world, distance meant little to the Tenko...but she'd come to love this city for the stories it had brought her.

Herself wrapped in a pair of black jeans and a deep red blouse, a dark-haired young woman moved alongs, sweets gathered with her.

Beautiful as she might still look, she seems perfectly human as she moved to sit on the modest benches near the altar.

Damian Wayne has posed:
Damian's prayers are quiet to all but one. He has not noticed the lovely woman that has come to join the benches, his thoughts concentrated for the moment. <<My wishes for the new year are modest. I have grown more used to this life. Of being in the company of my family. I know I have not been the best of company. It is something I wish to correct in this year. To develop deeper bonds, to make connections that others seem to take for granted. I attempted a relationship in the last year. It did not go well. Perhaps I will have better fortune in that this year.>>

A small breath, showing as a white cloud of vapor, before he continues, <<May my family remain safe. May my sisters and brothers find their places and that Gotham is a safer place for it.>> He starts to say more, but the scent of the sweets catches his attention and Damian realizes he's not alone. His eyes open and he turns his head to notice her. "Ah. Happy New Year. I am done, if you wished to make your offering?" he asks her curiously.

Saeko has posed:
So general a pray, so open to things from the outside of his own sphere of influence, one truely couldn't really promise for life without trials or tests. Still, the attentions channeled through Saeko as she 'felt' his prayer while performing her role as a conduit to Inari were enough to draw her attention as she took a small bite of the sweets on a skewer.

Prosperity, hope, luck...perhaps he'd be blessed with them at the right moments, but now? Well, her own interactions were about to become more direct.

"Oh! Happy New Year," she greets, a faint accent on her words. "I have made mine, but I find this place offers a comfortable peace."

Damian Wayne has posed:
Placing the accent, Damian offers the young woman a smile as he pushes himself off of his knees, dusting them off as he straightens. "Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu." Happy New Year, in Japanese. And well, if he's wrong and she doesn't understand a word he just said, he'll just be politely embarassed after the fact. "It is a good place to find peace and balance." he agrees as he moves towards the benches, and gestures. "May I?" he asks.

"I usually come out to the park to feed the animals and spend time out of the house. It's just... nice to enjoy the outdoors, you know?" comes his suggestion and if she agrees to allow him to sit, he takes a seat, ankles crossing over each other. "I'm Damian." he offers in way of greetings.

Saeko has posed:
"Saeko," she offers, the greeting returns as it seems she did indeed understand the language. Of course, technically she understood all earthly languages, but that hardly mattered. Simply coming to shift over enough that he might be able to sit down properly.

"It is wonderful," she offers lightly, "Finding a space and place like this can be helpful for many, even those who do not offer prayer to Inari. Most want joy, wealth and prosperity after all."

Damian Wayne has posed:
"Thank you." Damian offers politely as he takes a seat next to the messenger in disguise. His hands are folded over an envelope in his lap. His lucky fortune for the new year. He's not opened it yet. But his attention is turning as he catches onto a name.

"Inari." he repeats, making sure that he has the pronounciation correct. "What would you have me learn about Inari, Saeko?" comes the curious question, tilting his head to see what thoughts she may have on it.

Saeko has posed:
Did the son of the Bat and heir to the Demon suspect he was seated next to the divine? Maybe, or maybe he'd simply taken her discussion as a local enthusiast or someone devout. Either that, or she was a modern day miko.

"Inari Okami, a Kami of many domains. From worldly success, to tea, to foxes and even the swordsmiths. Goddess, or god, perhaps whatever they desire to be...those that make offerings often pray for success, luck, wealth, fertility...or simply wish to be heard."

A tilt of her head returned, she smiles. "One can understand the appeal, no?"

Damian Wayne has posed:
"It sounds rather mundane when you put it like that, Saeko." Damian points out. He doesn't share his feelings on what this beautiful young woman might be. But he does continue to engage with her, as she speaks. "What would you say is the one thing that Inari would focus on the most, if able? What would her miko believe to be the best way to grace her favor and earn her blessing?"

"I am neither a fox nor a swordsmith. Just a young man with too much time on his hands."

Saeko has posed:
"It is only mundane if you make it so," Saeko offers lightly, another little taste of her treat taken before she continues. "What does prosperity mean to you? Does it mean the same to me? To the kindly old man who comes here wishing for his restaurant to succeed or the police officer who walks into danger each night?"

Another bite, but it was also a moment for him to ponder his answer.

Damian Wayne has posed:
"They all wish the same thing with that." Damian responds. "All of those wishes revolve around having a life worth living, in their opinion. All with different goals, but with the same want and need." he points out. Reaching into his pocket, he unfolds a small packet with chocolate in it and takes a bite. One of the few simple pleasures he enjoys as he considers her. And then turns the question on it's head.

"What would Inari consider a success? Is it enlightnment? One can be prosperous and still not be enlightened."

Saeko has posed:
She actually laughs at that question, a soft delighted noise at the question and a note of humor on her face. "Of course one can. But again, what is desired? What is wished for? One could be successful in making a loved one's heart warmed with a smile in the same day they might fail a business deal, no?"

One more treat, she gently turns the now empty skewer over in her hand. "One can't be certain of how Inari might judge success, or think that it would always remain the same."

Damian Wayne has posed:
"Those are two seperate things. A business dealing is one of the mind. It requires engagement of all parts of tactics and skills." Damian comments. "Making a loved one smile..." a frown and a shake of his head. "That is something that I do not yet understand." he admits quietly. "I thought I had an idea, but apparently I was mistaken." A small snort as he considers that and leans back on the bench.

"And you? What do you see as your success and prosperity, Saeko?" he asks her curiously.

Saeko has posed:
"That is my point, both desires and yet completely different, no?" Saeko muses, still grinning lightly before she draws her hands together, rolling the skewer between her fingers. "And besides Damian, perhaps you should remember that success, like many things can be transient, transformative. You may well have succeeded, but then that success might be part of a story that has ended, or changed to something new."

His question? It brings a little note of amusement, lifting the skewer once more. "Maybe it's just getting myself another sweet, no?"

Damian Wayne has posed:
"Clever." Damian muses as he looks towards Saeko and offers a small smirk. "I suppose you have made a valid point and enlightened me. The least I could do is return the favor and offer proper compensation by offering to purchase you a replacement for the sweet you want?" he asks her, a lift of his brow at the question. "As for myself..."

He lifts the fortune slip he took from the shrine and opens it. Within, on the small slip of paper is written...

Saeko has posed:
There's few things that could escape the notice of one trained by a member of the Bat Family, or the league of assassins. And yet, as the paper is opened and his eyes slip for just a moment, to return them would find that where Saeko had sat a mere moment ago? The space was empty, not so much as a stray sweet wrapper to suggest she'd ever existed in the first place. Perhaps he'd imagined her...or there was indeed more to the mystery conversationalist than there appeared.

Instead he was left with the paper that bore simple words, words that he'd likely be able to translate well enough himself and seemingly truely written by hand in ink from a brush rather than printed.

"Find what you need at your doorstep, grow your garden where you live and you will see it flourish around you."

It might be simple fortunes of a touristy kitsch, or perhaps he'd find it useful, but only Damian himself would get to decide.