Utsusemi occassionally came with suggestions to the makeup that would be more aestheticly pleasing for Ru's skintone and eyes, between the other chatter about current Rokugani fashion-trends... some of them she didn't follow herself as it was more for unmarried young women rather than married mothers, but she enjoyed sharing it nonetheless. "Hm, I do wish I could have worn my more traditional ensemble, but the layers would make it too unbearably hot here..." she sighed wistfully.

She was working on brushing the chamomille-oil through her hair as Bellena mentioned the box on the dresser. "Hm? Alright," she nodded, humming a little cheerfully as she looked around until she spotted what must be it.

Carefully, she opened the box to get a look at its contents... "Oh! Goodness!" Utsusemi had to cover her mouth for a moment. "My... I've never seen anything like it."

"In Merenaese culture, when a man asks a woman to marry him he buys for her a symbol of his affection and intent in the form of a ring..." She said with obvious excitement in her voice.

Then there came a scratch and a knock at the door, and when allowed in, there was Ran - flushed in the cheeks and somewhat out of breath. She carried with her three boxes of varying sizes.

"Bellena-sama? This one apologizes one thousand times for her tardiness."

Bellena smiled from behind her dresser panel, her upper chest exposed as she leaned out. "And you are forgiven a thousand and one times my dear! Welcome! Welcome! Do you know the lady Iuchi Rukaya?"

She quickly averted her gaze at the amount of skin Bellena was showing, and blushed immediately. "Oh, um, hai, I mean, no!" Her gaze then caught the unknown face in the room, and Ran readjusted the boxes she carried, finding somewhere to set them down.

"Ohayo, this one is called ..Muhaki Ran," she bowed to Ruqqayah then and offered her a friendly but small smile.

"Ran-chan!" Utsu exclaimed with a delighted whisper. A rare feat, except for Doji ladies where it was almost the norm. "Come and see this!" The Agasha matron was practically abuzz, as she understood of course who it was who had gifted this betrothal-ring to Bellena.

"Good morning, Muhaki-san," Ruqqayah greeted with an open, cheerful smile. "It's nice to meet you."

She moves over to the ring. "I didn't get a good look at this before... That's so exciting!" She looks both thrilled for Bellena and slightly wistful.

The boxes set down, Ran moved to look at the piece of jewelry that Utsu held. "Oh... oh my... This is from...?" Puzzle pieces slammed into place then, as if Ran hadn't realized just the deep scope of Bellena's relationship with her liege until then.

"Congratulations are in order, Bellena-sama! How wonderful!"

She emerged from behind the dresser with her red gown safely on her shoulders now and a smile. "Thank you! I'm quite excited... more than I could have hoped for a few weeks ago."

Utsusemi seemed so genuinly joyous for her friend. "I'm speechless, Belle... and so happy for you two! You two will make quite the pair indeed," she chuckled with a teasing smile. "I could see he seemed very fond of you."

She smiled, "I've spent nearly the last ten years of my life with the man. I've come to know of his quality and he of mine. I couldn't be happier... and I think he couldn't either." She said with a playful smile.

"I'm honestly surprised we never ran into each other, all things considered," she said with a bit of surprise.

"It's been a while since we were in the Jewel. And he and I had been mostly separated for the past two years. You're still quite young my dear. You would have been a little girl when I first met Saionji in the Jewel." She smiled.

Utsusemi chuckled, finishing with preparing her hair to be styled later. The dress would have to come first after all, to avoid upsetting the hair too much.

"I do hope I can attend the wedding," she sighed. "Merenaese kind of wedding?"

She shook her head, "At the Temple of Sadahako after it is completed... so... work faster."

She laughed warmly.

Ran laughed at that as well, and her smile grew.

"Yes, Bellena-sama; for you, anything!"

"Oh my," Utsusemi flushed a little. "We shall have to worker faster indeed! What better way to celebrate the finished work, than with a joyous occassion like a wedding."

"... So... is it going to be made official tonight then?" she looked at the incredibly shiny ring again.

"We will be arriving in public openly tonight, yes." She said with a smile.

"That's fantastic! Oh! Speaking of tonight..." Ran scurried back to her stack of boxes, and retrieved one. She handed it to Utsu, it was a fair size.

"This is to show appreciation for your work on my mask, Utsusemi-sama. A gift, please accept it."

It was hefty. Inside the box was a bonsai tree, a Chinese elm. Ran looked on, proudly. "I recalled our discussion in Dragon's Guard City before our voyage here, you expressed interest in the art of bonsai."

D10 Awa/Artisan:Bonsai Void 1k1 2 CR TN 25: 7d10o10k4 36

Utsusemi's fingers pressed gently against her own lips to quell her surprise at Ran's offering.

"Ran-chan... I couldn't possibly accept. If not for your help, the work on the temple would not be where it is today. You've done so much to make up for my own shortcomings."

At least Rukaya got a front-row seat to a Rokugani gifting ceremony.