Himeko watched silently as Nico proceeded into the shrine grounds, diligently following the steps of prayer. The shrine maiden hadn't payed much attention in previous visits, but this girl was treating the shrine with a lot of respect. You didn't often see that in people their age.

[i]Come to think of it, she might be better at this than me[/i]. Himeko realised, having ascended to the top of the steps to watch over Nico. She was certainly a little lax with procedures, but fulfilled her duties perfectly. Or... well enough to not tarnish the family image, at any rate. Himeko was almost compelled to act the perfect miko.

After a while, Nico finished her prayer, and was quite surprised to see Himeko still present. She gave a cheery little wave in response, "Nah, you were perfect! I'll have to convince dad to take you on as a shrine maiden. You know your stuff!" The young maiden giggled playfully, and indicated the stairs behind her, "well, if you're done here, we can walk together. If you bump into a god, I can smooth things over~"

Himeko had planned to patrol for a bit, but she could wait a little while to do so. It wasn't like something terrible was going on right now, anyway. Not even the impeding Hex Night was much of a concern at the moment. She had a rough plan of action for the thing, anyway, and stressing over the finer details was a waste of time.

[@Ammokkx]