Year of the Boar, Seventh Month, Day 1.

I have not managed to communicate with anyone successfully so far. My obvious need for water has been met, in fact, one of the women comes into the tent where I was taken to lie down at intervals of approximately one stick or so and ensures that I drink a huge bottle of it. She then brings a damp cloth to my face and any skin that I have not covered with my clothes. I am finding being looked at directly rather odd; I suppose it is no different than having a servant look after me, but even my most trusted servants do not look into my face unless I have given my permission. The woman wanted to take my clothes (I assume to be washed) and although I must admit that the stolen livery is filthy and getting a little ragged after so many days of constant wear, I feel pathetically self-conscious at the idea, especially since she did not offer a replacement garment. I do feel excited at the prospect of meeting people from outside of the Kingdom and I wish I could communicate with them to any degree but, at the moment, mostly I feel tired. Tired and anxious. I have no way to find out what is happening in the rest of the Kingdom, not without giving myself away at any rate, so I do not know whether my Mother has sent soldiers after me, or whether she has sent messengers to the other Houses, or if in fact, she even cares. I do not know how I would feel if it were the latter, but at present, I am in no position to do anything and so I must continue my journey, at least to Dying Crane and fulfil the promise I made to myself that I would offer what aid I could to the Lady Yuika.
I have been keeping to the tent, the strangeness of the people here does little to ease my anxiety. During the first flush of my excitement at meeting foreigners, I had eaten and felt stronger and desirous of exploring and communicating so I stepped outside the tent with the intent of trying to at least ascertain some names. I had taken but a few steps when some small children noticed me and ran over, shouting. I crouched to be at their level and tried speaking to them and of course they could not understand. This did not bother me greatly until the largest of the boys peered at my face and poked, curiously at my skin, one of the children managed to get hold of a handful of my hair and pulled, twisting this way and that, and when I yelped and made to get up, the children laughed and mimicked my cries. I found that tears pricked the backs of my eyes and I rose sharply and hurried back inside the tent and the children grew quickly bored and ran away laughing and shouting but the incident has disquieted me. My inexperience comes back to haunt me, I am not prepared for travelling about, meeting strangers whose customs I do not know, and although I have never been afraid before, I cannot help wondering about the consequences had the boys been men...
I must send a message to Nanami, apprising her at least vaguely, of my location but that will have to wait until another bird reaches me. I am reminded that I have heard nothing from her since she let it be known that she wished to confide her true identity to Lord Broken Rampart and that as well as having no idea what my Mother is up to, I do not know how the Lady Yuika fares... I will hope that another bird arrives soon, but now, the woman who brings water approaches and I want to hide my papers.