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 Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 1:59 am
"O'course i's ineres'in'!" Sakn exclaimed as Kiran knelt down beside him. "I wou'dn't play it iffin it wasn't!" he added with an affirmative nod, his fingers deftly setting the game up even as he looked around at 'his group'. He could tell, easily, that the four new comers knew each other, and that the girl who had come with the older boy was definitely not too excited by this kind of thing.
He then turned his attention to the smaller girl, who was talking in an embarrassed tone to the blue-haired boy. It seemed they were greeting each other, and Sakn happily listened in, hoping to learn their names. The girl with the blushing cheeks was Enlei it seemed (another weird name in a sea of strange names!) and the boy she was speaking to now was--- Well, actually. He was slightly confused as to what the boys name was. Kiran or Xiuying?
But before he could ask, Enlei(he hoped he had all these names right!)'s companion (friend? Brother?) had plopped down on the other side of his game, and asked happily for Sakn to teach him how to play.
The redhead's attention was now refocused and he gave the young boy an exuberant thumbs up before quickly starting to explain the basics of the game. And sure, maybe he rambled a little, and what should have been a few simple rules back a couple minutes of partial bragging-partial explanation, but at least Sakn wasn't boring when he talked.
"An' so basicall'," the fisher boy said as he finished his explanation, "Y'jus wanna take ou'awl the other guys pieces! Comple'n'total domination, y'know? Pretty manly stuff." He grinned then, so proud of himself for giving such an awesome run over of his favourite game.
"So, kid," 'Master of Checkers' questioned, giving Enlei's little friend a raised brow and a goofy smile, "Y'wanna play me?"
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Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 10:26 am
Yue Lao received the message that Jianyu wouldn't be stopping by that morning. Yowai, who was in the room with her at the time, said nothing to Chishio about the message. That almost made it worse, in Yue's eyes; that her othermother knew it had bothered her more than it normally might have, and that it was better not to tell Chishio didn't bode well for Yue. Because Jianyu wasn't coming by, Yue Lao waited for her mothers. It took them a little longer than she would have liked to get going, because Yue was such a bundle of energy all the while, but they eventually set out.
Chishio and Yowai flanked Yue, looking like an auspicious escort. Her mothers were formidable together; Yowai always held herself with poise, her chin up, a quite fire blazing inside her. Chishio was her gentle counterpart; it seemed as though where she walked, flowers should spring up in her step. And then there was Yue, with her drunken swagger, none of the poise her mothers had. Perhaps that would come with age. Yue Lao was chaotic, bright, her eyes darting to each new sight.
When they finally reached the festival grounds, they parted ways. Chishio kissed Yue on the forehead and Yowai inclined her head with grace. Yue squeezed Yowai's hand, aware she would show more affection if it was appropriate. As soon as her mothers left for their booth, Yue Lao beelined for the games. She passed by a group, playing checkers. One of them looked like Kiran, but from her angle, she couldn't see him well before she had moved on. Better that way, likely; Yue had also seen someone who looked like the girl from the day before, the Noble one that had tried to cause trouble. Yue wondered, not for the first time, if Kiran was truly of Noble allegiance. If he was, it would definitely be better she not interrupt their game of checkers. It wasn't that she had anything against Kiran, it was that she didn't know the others well enough, and alliance was a big deal, really. Better to avoid any possible conflicts, to protect the harmony of the celebrations.
She soon came upon a familiar face, though. Huang was throwing a dart at a target, and Yue clapped when it met its mark, grinning wildly. "You're much better with projectiles than I ever will be," she said, foregoing typical polite greetings. Much more at ease in her outfit for this day of the festival, she found it easier to be herself. Herself being full of swagger and contentment. Kind of like a satisfied cat, napping in the sun. Her pink scales constantly gave her the appearance of being flushed, and when she grinned at Huang, her eyes slitted even more dramatically. Predatory. Softened only by the open friendliness of her smile.
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Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 3:00 pm
Today was going to be so much better than yesterday. Ishtar wasn't suited for mourning---sadness and gloomy colors always brought out the cynical side in her. This second day of the festival was always her favorite, where she could dance and drink all the memories away. Last night, after Jianyu had slipped away and she had left the loud group, Ishtar had spent a few minutes beside Nil's grave, leaving ten pink orchids---one for each lock of Nilgun Raad's hair Ishtar had chopped off.
Then she couldn't take it anymore. Standing up, Ish had run away from the graveyard and toward the nearest bar, Ichi-koi. It was closed, however, reminding Ishtar that everybody was eating dinner with their families. All except for her.
She had spent the rest of the night gazing up at the stars, writing letters to Jae and the rest of her circus comrades.
How Ishtar wished they had not left her in this city. Loneliness gave way to sleep, and Ishtar finally woke up this morning with a resolve to kill that loneliness.
Today was not going to be like yesterday; already, Ishtar was sober. She was not going to make a half-drunken, prideful fool of herself like yesterday.
Today, money was to be made. Putting on an extravagant new costume, Ishtar's red-painted lips smiled at her from the mirror. Stepping out the door, she grabbed her headpiece, and placed it in her tumbling waves of hair.
Should I dance the day away? Ishtar asked herself, Or should I follow up on that promise I made to Sakngea?
Moving gracefully through the streets, Ishtar felt better in her new costume. Of course she attracted attention, but the stares were flattering instead of just plain obnoxious. She was a performer...and today, she would give these Lunarians a show of a lifetime.
The only problem was that Ishtar couldn't decided if the show would involve a certain loudmouthed, skirt-clad, red-haired Lunarian or not.
"Who's ready for some celebrating?"{{OOC: lol'd Ish's costume link= awkward pose. =w=}}
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Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 7:34 pm
Kiran gave Enlei a funny look when she responded first with his sister's name. No one had ever mixed up their names before, that he could remember. But a moment later, she remembered his name. That was a relief. He would have felt a little disappointed if she had forgotten his name that quickly.
With a smile, he nodded to her. "It's nice seeing you again too. Are you enjoying the Celebration so far?" His attention turned back to the red haired youth when he started to explain the rules of the game. He actually wanted to give the game a try, but Enlei's brother beat him to it. He would have to wait for a chance to ask for a turn.
Xiuying nodded in greeting to Enlei. Then she rolled her eyes at her brother, wondering how long he planned to stay and watch the game. There was still plenty of time to enjoy the rest of the festivities. But Kiran could get too preoccupied with watching people and spend hours at it if no one pulled him away from that hobby.
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Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 7:57 pm
Huang watched as the dart made the center of the target before throwing the next and another one afterwards. He was so intently focused that he didn't notice Yue come up until she spoke and clapped causing him to jump a little. His attention had been so in tune that he allowed even Yue to get close without knowing. Though he settled quickly giving her a small smile.
"It comes with a new weapon I have been training for. My last one was unsatisfactory and this one well...needs to be polished more." Huang stared at the prize selection before choosing a very finely stitched medium sized animal before holding it out for Yue.
"Do you want? I was only playing to test my skill and have no one else that would maybe appreciate it?" He flushed a little at the thought, Girls liked stuff animals didn't they? He doubted Kyung would like it, in fact he hadn't seen Kyung the whole festival and sighed. He missed his love very deeply and today was one of the days to share with a companion.
"These games seem interesting though, and I have not been free enough to play them at past festivals." Huang smiled at Yue again before gesturing to the game stations, "Do you want to play a few with me Lady Yue?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 6:37 pm
Yue Lao was amazed she had startled Huang Fu; she assumed it was only because he had been so deeply concentrated, and the festival grounds should be fairly neutral in the first place. She flashed a grin at him when he smiled. "A new weapon, huh? I feel the same about my weapon," she laughed, "But I guess it's not really the time to be talking about our favourite weapons, is it?" Her eyes glittered. She did, of course, want to discuss weapons, because she had been learning about a new fighting style. She wanted to be strong. Wanted to become a fighter, like Huang Fu.
She laughed when Huang offered her his prize, reaching out to accept it with contentment. She admired its stitching, ran her hand across its soft fabric. She didn't personally keep any stuffed animals, since they had no use to her, but this one would be an exception. Something to mark a celebration, and what she thought might become a friendship. "I'll find a way to repay you for the kindness," Yue said, smiling. At the least, she could get them drinks later. She wondered why he had no one else to give it to, but she supposed the only relative of his she'd met was his older brother, who would probably not want a stuffed animal. She did feel, however, a little like a small child, carrying the animal. She pushed that embarassment aside; she would be proud of the gift, and that was all there was to it.
"I can't say I play a lot of them, though... there is one I never miss," she said, grinning, "I'm almost an expert, by now!" Yue Lao always played this one game, where there were a bunch of different fish swimming around in a pool that the booth owner set up each year. Essentially, the goal of the game was to catch one of the fish in a paper net. It was difficult to be decisive, to catch a fish without tearing the paper net. Yowai had an elegant pond behind their home, which she had comissioned for Chishio. However, it was Yowai that often sat on the bench next to it, reading and watching her fish. Every year Yue got the most impressive fish she could and presented it to her othermother as a gift.
"I would love to stick with you and try some of the games, Huang. Why not? I'm better at wordgames and other less tangible play than I am at festival games, so it should be amusing at least. Hopefully I don't injure anyone," Yue added, clasping her stuffed animal against her hip, leaning her weight on the other leg.
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Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 9:29 am
A..apparently he'd caught that mistake after all, judging from that look he'd given her. Biting her lip, she looked down, scuffing her shoes on the ground. Hopefully he wouldn't take it too personally; she had problems remembering lots of names, though she didn't expect him to know that; they'd only just met.
At least he was asking after her, though! That must be a good sign.
"I guess we are! We just left the house a while ago, though, so we haven't seen much so far. What have you two been up to, today? Any booth recommendations- or plans for the rest of the day? There's so much here, but so little time.. I wish the Celebration lasted longer."
Laughing wryly, Enlei turned to glance at Ruishan, who was completely absorbed in the red-headed boy's explanation. She hadn't paid much attention to it, herself, though Kiran seemed to be really interested.
She was beginning to get just a little bit jealous of the red-headed boy, though, what with his completely monopolising her brother's attention. When Kiran, too, turned his attention to him, Enlei sidled over to Xiuying and stood with her, watching the three boys.
Ruishan, on the other hand, had been seriously listening to the game explanation.
"Comple'n'total domination," he mused to himself, repeating the phrase in Sakngea's strange accent. His sister, the little boy thought, would be rather good at this; she liked being in control of everything.
"I'd love to play, Master," the boy nodded, his eyes shining. To play with a true master of the game! Ruishan couldn't believe his luck. It wasn't often that you got to meet a professional at something, much less learn from one. He would make good use of this chance.
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Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 12:10 pm
Sakn liked this kid. He listened so intensely, and there was a certain respect shining in his eyes. It made the redheads chest swell with pride, even though he didn't know if the kid was mocking him when he mimicked Sakn's accent (though he let it drop, just because today was Celebration, and it was a time of enjoyment).
"Awright," the fisher replied when Ruishan excitedly accepted his offer to play. "Y'can have white'den!," he switched the rocks so that the young boy had the white set before him. "An'den you go furst, mah pupil," he grinned then before leaning back and waiting for the boy to make his move.
And about half way through the game, Sakn felt like the gods hated him. The young boy was doing quiet a good job, and already Sakn had watched a quarter of his black stones disappear into Ruishan's hand. At least he hadn't bet any money on this. "Damn kid," hbe groused, face pouting as he moved another of his pieces and managed to capture two of the boys(though the kid was still winning!), "Y'ur good at dis game."
Seemingly all the kids here were good at this game today.
Of course, if anyone asked, Sakn would cover his rear and say he was letting them win.
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Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 1:01 pm
Kiran found the game of checkers interesting, but it didn't ring any bells of childhood games he might have played. He managed to tear his attention away from the game long enough to realize that Enlei had spoken. When he looked up, he realized she had moved to stand by his sister.
Xiuying smiled when Enlei came to stand by her, but she felt a little awkward. If Enlei was expecting to hold a conversation with her, it wouldn't get very far. Beyond nodding or shaking her head, communicating with people outside her family could be very difficult. When she caught her brother's gaze, she gave him an annoyed look.
"We only just got here too," Kiran admitted and winced. His sister obviously wanted to head off to other areas of the festival. Kiran stood up. "We really haven't gotten a chance to see much of anything yet."
Xiuying gave him a stare that needed no hand signals to translate. She was blaming him for the fact that hadn't visited stands or festivities yet.
"I guess we should go look around some more." Kiran glanced back at the game. He did want to try his hand at checkers though.
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Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 10:04 pm
Huang turned his head before quietly contemplating and then cocking his head still in thought. Why not talk about weapon training? Though today was festivals, it wasn't a damper on the mood to him to talk about his training. Then again he wasn't sure what Yue Lao would like to talk about and though she did like to talk about, maybe she was interested in weapons like he was. His head circled around some thoughts before he realigned and went back to a stoic expression. He walked awkwardly next to her before starting to speak again.
"Ah, Right..." Huang scratched the back of his neck before he tried to think of something else. "No you don't have to worry about that! it was a gift, I don't need any payment...." Huang shuffled uncomfortably, he truthfully had given it to her since he had no where else to put it, and she would enjoy it much more than he.
"Ah, Then we shall aim for that one next! The more games we win, the better we get!" Huang clenched his fist together in a fist pump sort of way and sparkled at Yue, "I like to win at games, it is exciting." Huang was very competitive and though he didn't really like to draw attention to himself so much, he did like the few days he did get to win sometimes...and lose sometimes since he wasn't that good at everything.
"Ah I suck horribly at word games." Huang sighed, "I have only recently found a voice of my own, and though i speak often now, I am more comfortable talking by signs to my brethern. Besides, not many talk to you when all you speak is signs." Huang sighed before signing to her, "But thank you for accompanying me today."
Huang smiled at her as he let her lead the way to the next booth before his eyes caught a group playing checkers. While checkers was a very interesting game in the least, Huang wanted to take a peak at them as well and nudge Yue.
"Look there, I think that boy is beating the other guy!" Huang smiled as he tried to get closer to view them, though his eyes caught a famaliar blue haired Noble. Kiran.
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Posted: Sat Oct 30, 2010 2:23 am
"Well," Enlei laughed, "There's still a lot of today left to play around. Shan and I got permission from our parents to stay out late, at least until the fireworks." Even though they had a pretty good view of the fireworks from their house, it would be the first time the siblings got to watch them properly.
"If you haven't any other plans for the day, we could all explore the festival together?"
Glancing over at the game, Enlei was proud to see that her brother was winning. As usual he was completely focused on the board, taking his time in moving the pieces. It seemed that this round would end soon, though, and then it would be Kiran's turn. His sister looked slightly irritated, as if she'd rather be spending her time at other booths. Enlei could understand that; as much as Shan seemed to be having fun, she wasn't, herself, much of a board-game person. Most of them took too much thinking.
"..that boy is beating the other guy!" Enlei chuckled when she heard someone else comment on the game, and turned back to see who it was.
Her face immediately lost its smile when she realised it was the blue-haired man she'd met yesterday who'd spoken. One of the Captain's friends- and with him, that girl with magenta hair. Another of the Captain's friends. She'd hoped to avoid the whole crowd of them today- after all, it was a festival and she wanted to be able to properly celebrate.
Enlei willed the game to end as soon as possible, so that they could head off somewhere else. Though she was slightly reluctant to leave Kiran and Xiuying, the only friends she'd made so far, she figured it was probably better to stay away from the two people who'd just approached.
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Posted: Sat Oct 30, 2010 10:44 pm
Yue skipped ahead and walked a few steps in front of Huang, facing him, walking backwards. "Now, your face seems blank, but I bet you're hiding something in there, aren't you?" Yue teased. She slowed and stepped back in line with him, though, when he insisted he didn't need payment for the stuffed animal. It wasn't that Yue wanted to pay him, it was that she felt that debts would have to be paid. "We can't play my favourite one yet; I like to save that for the end of the day, because of the prize," she said. It wasn't a lot of fun to carry a koi around all day.
Yue laughed when Huang Fu clenched his fist in a sort of fist-pump, explaining he liked to win games. "Well, winning certainly makes for a better story, doesn't it?" Yue said, grinning. She liked Huang Fu, she really did. Competitions weren't really something Yue worried about. She worried about balance and observations, and was seldom involved enough to care about winning. The war was different. She did care, because she wanted her loved ones to be safe, and she wanted to uphold her duty. She was grateful that Huang shared her alliance, as did Jianyu; they wouldn't ever have to face each other on the battlefield. That would truly be a nightmare.
"Hey now, I happen to like your voice! I know there are interesting things lurking just beneath your surface, Huang! Words, or no. Although I wish I could answer you in sign, admittedly," Yue said, grinning. "What was it you just signed? Can I ask that?" She tilted her head to the side as they walked, regarding him curiously.
She turned and stopped as Huang nudged her, looking at the checkers game and its players. "Is he? I've never played that game before, so I can't really tell," she mumbled, distracted. Her eyes glanced across the players and those gathered around them, until she saw Kiran. Her face lit up, and she didn't even notice that one of the Lunarians there was the strange girl from the day before who seemed to have a real problem with her friends and Yue herself. "Hey, Kiran! Well, you're a surprise," Yue called over loudly, waving, standing on her toes. She turned to Huang Fu and added, "Let's go over and see the game, yes? Just for a little!" Yue grinned, her skin flushed, and swaggered over to the game, heading straight for Kiran. Instead of embracing Kiran like she might have normally, she clasped him firmly on the shoulder, grinning and winking.
"So are you already a champion of this game?" she asked him, looking around for Huang Fu and finally observing the others around the board. She didn't mention having met Enlei before. "I may be interrupting a gathering of friends," she admitted, smiling sheepishly and retreating to wherever Huang had positioned himself.
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Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2010 1:18 pm
Kiran laughed when he saw his sister's eyes light up at the mention of fireworks. She always loved watching the fireworks show. "Our only plans were just to wander around and look at everything. And that's usually more fun with more people." He didn't mind the idea of exploring the festival with Enlei. He glanced at his sister, and Xiuying didn't seem to have any complaints.
Kiran looked over when he heard someone shout out his name. "Hey, Yue," he greeted, smiling as he waved to her. But his action stopped in mid wave when he saw who Yue was with.
Huang.
He frowned and narrowed his eyes at the other Lunarian. The previous day, he had managed to avoid running into Huang. He thought with the festival being so big that he wouldn't need to worry about encountering Huang.
Kiran laughed at the question. "You haven't heard the ballads yet?" After receiving a poke in the side, Kiran looked toward his sister. Her hands moved swiftly through the signs as she asked her question. "She's a friend a met a while back," he explained to his sister. Xiuying responded with look that meant she wasn't convinced by that answer.
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Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2010 1:45 am
Sakn groaned, throwing himself backwards as he lost. Again. The boy across from him was grinning like a fool though and so he resigned himself to being only slightly bitter about the loss. It just wasn't worth being too angry about. "Good one kid," he even managed, though sounding slightly bummed. His eyes then trailed from the boy to the girl who had come with him. Enlei, if he was right.
He was still confused with names.
Sakn opened his mouth, ready to ask if she was 'Enlei' or 'Kiran' or 'Xiuyang' or something completely different when her face shifted. Not much, but a little. Suddenly the girl was on edge, and he furrowed his brow. Why would she be so worried? The fisher boy swiveled his head towards where she was looking and found himself staring at a blue-haired young man and a bright red (or was it purple!?) haired lady. Brows scrunched slightly as he tried to remember if he knew either of them. Or maybe he was wondering why 'Enlei' was afraid of them. It could be either, who knows.
Eyes then snapped to 'Kiran' (he really needed to get these names straight!), since the new coming guy (the one who had, to Sakn's horrible embarrassment!, pointed out that he was losing!!) had stopped in his tracks to stare at him. Sakn was really getting confused now, and was just about to ask what was going on with all the staring when the purple/pink haired girl yelled:
"Hey, Kiran!"
This did many things. It caused Sakn to realize that he did in fact have all his names down correctly, that Kiran knew the pink/purple lady, and that he definitely knew the blue-haired lunarian as well, surely he had to because of the way he stared at the other man (city folk were officially weird).
But that didn't matter, because now they were back on the subject of the checkers game, and Kiran seemed interested in playing. Perhaps this new girl(Yue, he reminded himself while eying her quickly) would also wanna play.
"You haven't heard the ballads yet?"
Sakn raised a brow when the boy seemed so proud, and nudged him with a hand, "Dun' be braggin' yet, boy," he tried to speak like he was older, wiser and totally cooler then Kiran, "Y'still gawta beat me!" because he had totally been going easy on those kids earlier, and he wouldn't feel bad beating Kiran. He was surely man enough to take a serious game. "We c'uld even make it interestin'," there the redhead went again!, always trying to get more than just one sweet bun. Anyway, Kiran probably had more money then any of the little kids around here did.
Hopefully, because Sakn was hungry, and he was totally gunna win!
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