>"Thank you for the ride, and the job offer."
>Disembark, and head for the shrine if nothing comes up.
>Aya nods your way. "I'll give you a ring if anything changes between now and then." She doesn't drive off right away, but she makes no furthur effort to delay you, and you being climbing the steps towards the shrine. And there are a lot of stairs. This'll take you a bit. The stairs themselves are a brilliant silver color. In fact, they might BE silver, which makes you shudder at the expense wasted here, even if it does compliment the theme of the element associated with the white tiger, metal. That said, however, the walk is not entirely unpleasant. Forest surrounds the silver stairway, and this time of year, there's no insect activity to speak of. The sound of birds are all around you, and the cool wind rustling through the trees is a tranquil, lovely sound. Fallen leaves dot the stairs, an array of colors, with dull red being the most prevalent. Winter won't be too far away, but before it gets too cold, you ponder coming out this way to meditate.
>Two people come down the stairs away from the shrine, about 3 minutes apart from each other. The first is a statuesque woman with ice blue eyes and very long hair, silvery white in shade. The second is a rather... rotund woman, swathed in green clothes with a gaudy hat, sweating despite the chill. Both wear rather severe expressions, and neither acknowledges your polite greetings. Perhaps they both had a dose of bad news at the shrine. The only other being you see on your way up is a small brown squirrel, which darts out of the trees, stops for a second to look your way, then scoots off again. You wish him well.
>The trip up the stairs is quite long, and despite you being in excellent shape, you're still sweating slightly once you reach the top of the stairs, which are flanked by another pair of statues, these two a silver lion and a gold cat you believe to be a jaguar. Not a common animal for Yamato, but you recall the Metal Tiger was reputed to be the lord of all beasts of the land, Yamato or otherwise. The main body of his shrine lies aways off in front of you, a pathway of alternating silver and gold-colored stones leading up to it. The forest has been cleared out from the grounds of the shrine, leaving about 30 feet or so between the walkway and the woods on either side. A small playground lies to your left, featuring a swingset, sandbox, a jungle gym, monkey bars... Nice setup. It is currently uninhabited.
>A winged figure with wearing a grey and white miko outfit, is sweeping the fallen leaves off the stone path, her long blonde hair blowing in the breeze. As she is facing away from you, you cannot see her face, but you strongly suspect that this is Lily White. Or if not her, someone that looks quite a bit like her.
