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 Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 6:44 pm
Dagan the miniature camel is dressed up in his harness for carrying things, and has his tether around his nose. He is carrying a wooden half-barrel on one side and a three-foot sapling on the other, its roots bound up with a large clod of dirt inside a tattered cloth. Though he is walking smoothly enough, the slight irregularity in his gait seems to hint that one side is noticeably heavier than the other.
Chourou holds the other end of the camel's tether, feeling a bit strange leading the unfamiliar creature along with its burden... but on the other hand, she is also definitely thankful she does not have to carry the tree herself. The Knight is dressed in her clothing from the Golden World, which is marred with a bit of dirt in a few places, but Chourou herself seems quite clean; her hair is even still a little damp from the last time she washed it.
With a small smile, she glances back to make sure Uki is still there. Not that she expects the girl to run off or anything - just wanting to be a careful mother.
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Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 7:08 pm
Uki smiles back uncertainly, walking along next to the root ball, occasionally giving Dagan a wary glance. She is still not entirely certain that she trusts the strange animal, though she admits that he does seem to be friendly enough. The girl has a simple cord hanging around her neck that she plans to use to tie back her sleeves, should her help be nessecary. Her clothes, after all, are not quite as practical as her mother's.
She smiles more fully as she looks over at the sapling. She thought it would make a good centerpiece for a garden arrangement. Well, once it grew up a little, at least. For now, the sapling was still small, like her sister. Right Mom? Uki offers tentatively.
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 7:21 pm
As they approach the udon-ya, they'd see ahead of them on the street a blond-haired woman in a scholar's robe, holding one package in her arms and very slowly kicking a second down the street. After a moment of this, Rika sets one box down on the other and wipes her forehead on her sleeve, taking a moment to catch her breath and stretch her back. Perhaps it was foolhardy of her to try to bring both packages home at once... sweatdrop
While resting, she looks around... and as she glances behind her, sees two Porcelain and... and animal. Her brows raised and one hand moving to fix her monocle, she stares a moment, then calls, "Hello?"
That outfit looks rather like that of a Bukoku warrior...
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Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 7:57 pm
Small, yes, but a little more stationary, Chourou tells Uki with a soft laugh touched with fondness for both daughters. Ako will have to come with Uki some time to help High Priest Kouyo take care of the tree. Uki likes growing things, yes? She would be better at introducing Ako to the craft than Chourou.
The Knight of Bukoku's attention returns abruptly to the road ahead as she hears the thud-skid of a box being kicked. Wincing slightly with worry for the contents, she lets Dagan's lead slip from her hand, and projects a greeting as she moves forward to aid the other woman - another Porcelain?
"Hello," the woman replies as she comes closer. "May I help you with those? I can take one."
Dagan stops as Chourou lets go of his tether, and watches her and the other adult Porcelain for a moment before turning his head a little to peer boredly at Uki from under his long eyelashes.
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Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 8:14 pm
Uki affirms her mother's statement with a firm nod. She loved her garden back home, and was looking forward to helping High Priest Kouyo make a new garden here.
The girl looks at the blond woman for a moment, pondering why she seems slightly familiar. She then slowly turns to look at Dagan once her mother drops his tether, gazing at him for a long moment until he blinks and makes a minaturized 'chrbhrbhrbhr' sound.
Uki immediatly emits a high-pitched "Meep!" and ducks around behind her mother, peeking out at the camel again after a moment and stepping away from Chourou.
She turns back to looking at the familiar-seeming stranger. Uki could swear she'd heard Daddy talking about someone that looked something like this before...maybe connected to Grandmother somehow? The girl's brow furrows in thought.
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Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 8:47 pm
Rika looks Chourou over -- noting those clothes, that dark complexion, and the similar-looking young woman accompanying her, she considers a moment, then asks, "Chourou?"
She glances down at the box, nodding slightly in reply to the offer of help, though she notes, "I am already home, so it is all right... You already have your own burden, after all.
"... And," she says, adjusting her monocle as she steps away from the boxes and towards Dagan, "I must ask, what is this animal you have acquired?" Though intrigued by the beast, she hangs back, not sure of its temperament.
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 9:26 pm
The Knight nods at her name and smiles. And though she had never met the Fifth Imperial Princess, Chourou has heard about her a fair amount from various sources, in particular from Hiwa. Still, strange to see her here in Gaia, but then with all the others who are already here....
"Imperial Princess Rika?" she inquires, keeping her thoughts politely to herself for now. But even if the Lady of Bukoku has assumed incorrectly, "Our destination is here, as well," she says, nodding to the udon-ya. "Please let me know if I may at least open a door."
As Uki rejoins her, the older woman glances back at the camel and beckons for him to come closer. The commands that Akram attempted to teach her are in his native tongue, however, rather than in Gaian, and she attempts to speak one of them to the creature.
Either Chourou mispronounces or Dagan is less obedient to the Porcelain woman than to his owner and master; rather than coming closer, he carefully settles down onto his front knees, then sits, and squirms slightly to adjust the load of the young tree and planter on his back.
"He is apparently called a 'miniature camel', though I have yet to see a 'standard camel' here in Gaia," Chourou tells Rika, looking as though she had fully intended to tell the creature to sit. "He belongs to a human friend. I am merely borrowing him to help carry the tree here."
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Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 9:50 pm
Uki squeeks and blushes, ducking her head as her mother mentions the princess and keeping her eyes down, though she smiles and glances up shyly. Inwardly, Uki felt like running and hiding, but she doesn't really have anywhere to hide anymore, so she settles for looking over at the camel instead.
When Dagan sits, Uki cautiously walks over to check that the tree and half-barrel did not come detached when Dagan lay down. The girl fusses over the sapling for a moment, looking far too serious for her age, before looking back up again.
Just in time to blink as Dagan looks back over his shoulder at her. Uki smiles weakly and pats him on the shoulder before scooting away from him a ways, now turning her attention back to Princess Rika. She essays a small wave at her semi-famous in-law.
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 10:22 pm
Rika looks back at Chourou from admiring the animal to quirk an eyebrow slightly. "You are bringing this here?" she asks, as if puzzled why Setsushi would need a small tree -- though her mind continues to be silent, kept behind a stony wall.
She glances again at Uki, and noting the wave, nods in return, her face still blank as ever. "Forgive me, but your name escapes me," she addresses the young woman -- Rika knows Chourou has two daughters, but she does not pay enough attention to the gossip mill at court to remember their names.
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Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 1:45 pm
Chourou watches Uki examine the sapling, then gently inquires if it looks like it arrived in good condition? She has been learning more about taking care of plants since she started working at the Gaian landscaping and gardening center, but the Knight suspects that her daughter has more experience with trees.
Then she turns her attention back to the Imperial Princess and nods, but remains silent for a moment to allow Uki time to introduce herself to Rika. To answer the younger woman's inquiry, she replies, "Yes, I thought I would bring it here to give to the High Priest. Do you know if he is around?"
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Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 2:21 pm
Uki nods at her mother. It appears that everything is alright, as nearly as she can tell. She brushes at her hands for a moment, attempting to remove an offending bit of dirt, before turning to respond to Rika.
"My name is Uki, Princess Rika," Uki says uncertainly, blushing and glancing away. "I...that is, High Priest Kouyo and myself were going to start a garden here. I miss my old one..." Uki trails off, too embarrased to continue. She glances up at the Princess, managing another small smile before looking away again. She was horrible at this sort of thing, she just knew it.
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Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 5:25 pm
Rika nods at Chourou and then at Uki, with equal respect (disrespect?) and interest (disinterest?)
"I see. ... However, Kouyo no longer lives at this address." She reaches up to remove her monocle and clean the lens with her under-sleeve. "His house is across the street," she says, gesturing with her head while her hands are busy.
"... Where is your family staying?" she asks suddenly as she replaces her monocle; "Is it far?"
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun May 24, 2009 3:32 pm
"Really?" Chourou says with mild surprise, a smile quickly forming on her lips. "The little bird has his own home now? Do you know if he is there now?" As she follows the Imperial Princess's gesture to the small house across the street from Setsushi's home, the Knight tells Uki that it looks like she and the High Priest will have plenty of yard to fill with flowers.
She then turns her attention back to the Imperial Princess. "Ah, we have an apartment kindly provided to us by our human friend, Master Akram, in exchange for work. He is a merchant here in Gaia, so my husband gets along well with him." Projectionally, the Lady of Bukoku indicates that she likes and trusts the human as well... but also finds him strange. "The apartment is a bit of a walk from here, but not too bad." She laughs softly. "Also quieter, now that many of the humans who live there while they are studying have left for the summer."
From where Dagan sits on the ground, he sticks his head out and cranes his neck to try to sniff at the hem of Rika's robes with mild curiosity.
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Posted: Mon May 25, 2009 8:17 pm
Uki blinks, looking at the house across the street. Now this is a remarkable development. What can we do with THIS, she wonders. The young Porcelain stares at the yard for a moment, imagining the possibilities present in the empty space.
Uki looks back at her mother when she begins describing their temporary new home. She frowns, thinking about how it was especially loud the week that all the humans were moving out. She wasn't entirely sure what someone could possibly find interesting to do at the hours between nighttime and morning, but apparently the humans had managed it. Loudly.
She turns to look at Dagan with suspicion, deciding that it might be best to retrieve his lead before he creates some sort of...incident, with her cousin-in-law. That would be mortifying.
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon May 25, 2009 8:51 pm
Rika keeps still as the creature inspects her, peering back at it curiously but not making any move to attempt touching or communicating with it.
"I see..." she murmurs, thinking. Then, after a moment, she looks up, first at Chourou and then further down the street. "The truth is, if you did not have suitable accommodations, I would have liked to help you buy one of the abandoned properties in this neighborhood. But if your husband has made friends with your host, I wouldn't want to tear you away..."
She rubs her chin, gazing at one of the roofs down the street, one that seems to be half-rotted and full of holes. "... That building would require extensive repairs, anyway..."
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