Year of the Boar, Eleventh Month, Day 8.

In the dying light of last evening's fire, I was sure that returing to Dying Crane to speak to Nanami seemed like a good idea; of course in the starker light of the new day, my natural pragmatism resurfaced and I realised that I could not afford to be sentimental. Aoki has begun his journey back to the House and I travel with Haru and Keita towards Silent Thunder; it is now my intention to take the most direct route through the lands of Silent Thunder and from there, into White Lake. 

White Lake promises to be a challenge, of course since I have never managed to recruit anyone there but perhaps Kenji can be persuaded to come to the border of Purple Lightning so that at least I might have some company from there. He can also help with a plan to get me into the House since as yet, I have conceived of nothing which is not likely to get me caught. When we stop next, I shall send a bird to Purple Lightning which should give Kenji plenty of time to come up with an idea and return the bird in time to let me know what it is and where, on the border, I should meet him.

It has been a pleasant day travelling with Haru and Keita. When they allow themselves to forget my status and treat me as one of them, they are warm and funny and were it not for the fact that I am clearly not cut out for physical labour of any sort (and of course the fact that I am painfully aware of how the Ruling Classes of this Kingdom largely treat their staff), I could see myself working alongside them quite happily in a kitchen or laundry.

At times, I have found myself openly howling at a bawdy joke and wonder if this is what it is like to have genuine friends... When all of this is settled, I shall see to it that all of my network are rewarded properly for their efforts; it would be nice to be able to give them options to set up by themselves as Nanami has, should they choose it.

Haru, it has transpired, is really Haruko, a name she detests due to the way her mother used to shriek it at her when she was a child. How I understand that feeling; it gave me pause to wonder why in all this time, I have never considered changing my name, even when I attempt to travel in disguise. Indeed, despite doing our best not to draw attention to our party, Haru and Keita persist in using my full honorific. I wonder what would happen if I told them that they could simply call me Seira... Perhaps, tomorrow, I will. We have several days of travelling together left, if nothing else, it would certainly be an interesting experiement; perhaps I will even pick a new name for myself. I could be a 'Saori' perhaps... or Momoko might suit me... We shall see... For now, I tire and we will have another long day on horseback tomorrow although at least tomorrow's ride promises the reward of a bed in an inn as we should have reached a popular stopping point for travellers...