[Day 1 Early Morning, Touring the gardens] (open)

[Kakita Haruhi]

"Oh! I'd like that very much. Let's confirm a good time and I'll plan on it."

"Is your father a drone artisan, too?"

[Yasuki Taraka]

"Oh! I'd like that very much. Let's confirm a good time and I'll plan on it."

"Is your father a drone artisan, too?"

Taraka nodded.

"He was the one whose designs caught my mother's attention. Without the two of them, Flying Battle Carps never would have been. He used to work for Kaiu Heavy Industries, making prototypes for military testing." she explained.

She looked up at the rain, not wanting to linger too long on this particular topic.

"And your parents, Kakita-san? What are they known for besides their genius drone artisan daughter?"

[Kakita Haruhi]

Kaui heavy industries. She could only imagine the military uses of drones.

Nothing like her delicate performing replica birds!

She smiled, thinking about her family.

"My mother is best known for being the younger sister of Daimyo ‘Blue Skylark’ Kakita Anane, She does not have her sister's vocal talent. But it surfaced again in me. My mother is a courtier on Pale Blossom, and an instructor at the Kakita Academy. She was rather disappointed that I chose the computer use program, rather than the courtier one. But better to disappoint her once with a single choice, than daily in a classroom."

"My father is an artisan like me. A master of calligraphy and ink painting, sumi-e. It was his paintings of birds and flowers that first interested me in them. They were displayed throughout our home. I brought my favorite here with me. It makes it seem like I could hear his voice from the next room, rather than being so far away."

[Yasuki Taraka]

Taraka nodded, briefly touching her purse. She knew full well the power of mementos. But she really doubted someone of such refinement would appreciate it like she did.

"And some day your drones will serve the same for your descendants, Kakita-san. Quite extraordinary when you think about it. We've had song since....well probably before Lady Doji arrived on the home world. Millions of melodies and harmonies dancing upon the air, only to fall into the silence of history. For while we can pass down the notes and the words, the actual music is never quite the same. But the same song your bird sings for you today can be sung to those who will never get the chance to know you." she muses.

[Kakita Haruhi]

Haruhi smiled.

"It is interesting to think about that. How the recording preserves exactly. Much that we celebrate most is beautiful in its impermanence. But there is a comfort I find in stability and predictability. Anyone can re-play recording of birdsong. That gives many the chance to experience it, to learn more about the bird, to love the bird and want its living counterpart to proper. But the art form comes in combining the birdsong phrases and a female vocal line. That composition is unique and unexpected and, when it is performed, has the one line that requires talent and skill in the execution. Of course, you can then record the performance itself. The combination of the lines. And that too can be heard over and over, without the possibility of change, of new expression. But that is true of all our mass media performances. Most listeners now encounter music as recording first, rather than in live performance. Art itself is evolving."

"But a recording can still be a wonderful keepsake. A preservation of a memory. A voice you would give anything to hear again."

"And I think people still cherish a live performance, for the soul of it, the truth of it, the intimacy of it."

[Yasuki Taraka]

Taraka nodded listening to the Kakita's wisdom.

She cast a glance skyward. No signs of letting up.

"It was truly fortunate running in to you, Kakita-san, but I should probably head over to the store and check in. I look forward to seeing you and your companions there tomorrow." she offered with a bow.