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 Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2010 4:37 pm
  This is Private RP between Jianyu [Kuro-Mizuki] & CuiYan [Tooaya]
Setting:
The Artisan's Path.
Jianyu is browsing the tables at the market when he runs into someone unexpectedly.
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Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2010 5:04 pm
"That is not a good price." Jianyu said.
The man sitting behind the earthenware stand was looking at him with an expression of great dislike. "That's a reasonable price for my work." he said, with a voice tinged in irritation. "Twenty gold coins for this jar is perfect. Why, it's a steal!"
Jianyu eyed it somewhat suspiciously. The jar was small and stout, made of a dark clay, painted over with red and glossed to make it have a sheen to it. It would be just the sort of thing his sister would like, but Jianyu was not exactly sure he wished to pay that much for a simple birthday gift.
"Fifteen." Jianyu said.
"Eighteen."
"Sixteen."
"Seventeen."
"Sixteen." Jianyu repeated. "That is the most I will pay."
The man was glaring at him. Finally he said "Fine," wrapped the jar up in paper, and thrust it into Jianyu's hands. Jianyu dropped the coins on the table, and stepped away. He still did not particularly enjoy the price had paid, but bartering was an essential part of the Artisan's Path; one that Jianyu attempted to avoid.
It was crowded today; Jianyu attempted to make his way through the thick crowds bustling around him, but it was difficult to maneuver among the dozens of patrons milling about. He found that he was feeling entirely too close to several of the people, and let out an annoyed growl just as he felt himself slam into someone standing in the Path. Jianyu staggered backwards, nearly dropping his purchases (he barely managed to catch the jar before it fell to the ground) and turned to glare at the person in question.
"Do you know that one is supposed to walk on a pathway, not simply stand there?" Jianyu said with some irritation.
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Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2010 5:51 pm
CuiYan was not in a good mood today.
First, he was lectured by his master at home in the morning with the same speech on justice and kindness. Because of the lecture, he was late for his formal class, and was therefore a step behind everyone else in today's project. What made it worse was that he had the ill fortune of being placed in the worst possible group, with several strong-minded brats who refused to listen to his plans. Because they were disobeying him, the project was delayed even further--to the point that he did not finish it before class ended and had to make arrangements to finish it later.
Which meant he had less time for himself, less time to train, less time for entertainment, and generally less time to feel good all together.
The foolish people who regarded themselves as his equal, the nerves! If only they had admitted his position as their natural leader the project would have gone a lot smoother. The young man kicked around the dirt underneath his feet, bitter in recollection of today's failure. He had to come to the artisan's path to make purchase of things needed for the project, despite how much he did not want to. His job was to tell other people what to do, doing for them! With that thought the young noble's feet grinded down hard on the ground, not paying attention to the huge crowd that passed back and forth, and obviously not feeling bad about being an obstacle in the middle of the busy path.
That is, until someone decided to bump into him. Cui staggered and felt his mood plummet even more, and have successfully hit rock bottom when the indecent man decided, instead of apologizing, blame Cui for blocking his path.
Cui rolled his eyes before turning around with a shaded smile.
"I do not, was this rule written somewhere in the great laws?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2010 6:16 pm
Jianyu had not expected the person he had run into to respond to him in that sort of manner. It was a man, with dark sea green hair that curled about his face in gentle waves and golden eyes. He was perhaps two or three years Jianyu's junior on first glance, but he did not give off an air of being particularly young. On the contrary, the way he held himself and the careful, cultured way in which he spoke gave more evidence to the contrary. Either way, Jianyu did not particularly care for the smile that he was offered; it seemed somewhat eerily placed, like it was meant to hide something else. And though he was smiling, it did not entirely reach his eyes.
Jianyu scowled at him. "It is not a rule, at least not in the 'great laws' that you refer to," he said. "However, I assume that you are speaking about the laws of the land, while I am speaking of the laws of common decency and respect, and it is considered rude to simply stand in the walkway where one is trying to walk."
Someone jostled into him from behind, causing Jianyu to stumble forward, knocking into the young man. The parcel in his hands slipped, but once again, Jianyu barely managed to catch it, turning a less than amused gaze back to the man who was, annoyingly, about two inches taller than he was. That did not particularly help soothe Jianyu's irritation and his scowl deepened slightly, as if to say Look what you've started here?
"If you're willing to admit you were in the wrong, then I would be willing to overlook this oversight on your behalf." Jianyu said.
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Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2010 7:04 pm
Cui's eyes narrowed for a fleeting second before returning to normal. This man in front of him was certainly not pleasant, as he was doing a great job testing the limit of Cui's already bad temper. The young noble chuckled lightly to shake off the irratation. "Pardon me, I believe this is a free street. I, as a passenger, am free to decide when I should walk and when I should stop. On the contrary, I shall ask you the same question, is it not considered rude to---"
The young man did not finish his words when Jianyu decided to bump into him again. Out of reflex Cui bounced back, watching as the other managed to catch himself in the process of falling. He raised an eyebrow, not understanding why Jianyu was so angry when he was the one who was provoking.
"---bump into someone and not apologize." He managed to finish the words, although the force of sarcasm was lost in the process. The corners of Cui's mouth twitched as he heard Jianyu's next comment. Instead of releasing his frustration in a mad fit, the young man laughed, then looked at the other man sympathetically, as if he was looking at an unintelligent animal.
"My my, aren't you so sure of yourself. Please allow me to explain the situation more clearly as your brain has failed to register what actually happened, hmm...I, an innocent bystander, was standing in the middle of the street when someone bumped into me. Instead of apologizing, this man decided to bump into me a second time, almost tackling me to the ground, then declared that I was the one who is at fault, and demanded my apologies?" Cui's expression remained gentle, like a wise tutor who was teaching his student. "I think you must re-think on the situation, my friend, or must I remind you that someone who steps on another person's foot is always at fault?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2010 9:50 pm
Jianyu could not quite determine the reason as to why this particular young man was grating on his nerves. After all, it had only been a small slight on his behalf. Perhaps it was because Jianyu was tired, not exactly in his peak physical condition after nearly a weak of nonstop training and his edges were frayed. Or perhaps it was the way he spoke, as if he were speaking down to Jianyu. Or perhaps it was the way that he smiled, as if he were talking with a small child, patronizing and not exactly pleasant.
Or perhaps it was simply because he had laughed at Jianyu; something that made him bristle with irritation. His fingers tightening around the carefully wrapped package in his hands, Jianyu said, somewhat testily "It would have been rude of me, had you not been already blocking the street. However, since you were the one who was in the wrong in the first place, so I see no reason to apologize."
The street was too crowded. Jianyu was beginning to feel almost suffocated, and his head hurt. Turning his gaze back up to the young, green haired man (it really was unfortunate that he was taller than him - Jianyu ground his teeth together in irritation) and felt his expression rapidly darkening. When said that way, it certainly sounded slightly ridiculous that he was getting so overworked over such a small thing. He felt his face flush red, his fingers gripping the jar so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. Breathing in deeply, he attempted to keep himself under control; the last thing he wanted was to be foolish at the moment.
"That patronizing tone of yours leaves little to be desired." Jianyu said, a layer of thinly disguised sullenness evident. "I do not appreciate being spoken to as if I were a mere child. Who are you?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2010 9:56 pm
The young noble sighed, looking at Jianyu with pity. "A child, eh?" He whispered to himself. The idea of seeing this indecent and tactless man as a child had never occured to him, but now that he was reminded...
It oddly fits.
Cui's grin became bigger, the idea amused him, this man's temper amused him. Unknown to the young noble he was so amused by Jianyu that his bad mood subsided into a pure intent of going along with the pointless argument, to see how much more reactions he could get out of Jianyu, this grown-man child.
"I am afraid, little child, that you do not fully understand the law of this land. I have done no wrong, it is you who are solely at fault. " Cui resisted the urge to pat Jianyu on the head. He usually would avoid all conflicts if possible, but at the moment, perhaps because he was in a stressed state, Cui toyed around with the idea of provoking Jianyu even further. Stroking his chin the young noble took a step back and inspected the other. Finally he sighed, and gave Jianyu a bright smile more gracious than dawn.
"Remind me why I should give my name to a dishonest and stubborn individual. "
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Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2010 10:10 pm
Jianyu had almost decided to turn around and just leave the young man to himself. After all, as the other had pointed out, it was only a small mistake and Jianyu was already feeling more than a little ridiculous about causing such a scene.
Almost.
"W-what?!" Jianyu sputtered out, feeling his face flame, his hands shaking lightly with the indignity of the nickname. "How da - did you just - "
Now he could not even get the words out. The sheer nerve of this youth was almost unbelievable. Did he really just call me "little child?" Jianyu thought, staring at him with an expression of disbelief. Though he knew he was somewhat shorter than the average male Lunarian, no one had ever even thought to call him out on it, let alone make a mockery of it.
And there was that insolent smile again. Jianyu was very nearly at a loss for words.
"Please remind me," he said, barely restraining his anger now. " - why I should refrain from shooting you right this moment."
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Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2010 10:21 pm
Little child.
No matter how Cui looked at him, Jianyu was an adult. Yet, his words and action, the way his face flushed, the way his temper rose, the way he threatened him with brute force, and the way he followed the young noble's tone...all of them reminded Cui of an adolescent brat who was in need of some sort of education. The smile on his face dropped a little, not from Jianyu's threats, but from the fact that the man wasn't as interesting as he thought. His actions were so predictable, the amount of holes in his logic were countless.
Cui breathed an exaggerated sigh and shook his head, feigning a headache. He looked at Jianyu playfully, as if he was some kind of interesting toy. If anyone who was calmer and more observant was here, it would not be hard to notice the messge Cui's expression conveyed.
It said "show me more, entertain me."
Not taken back by Jianyu's threats in a bit, the young noble crossed his arms and shrugged, his smile returned almost immediately as it faded. "Very well, I see you have failed to understand the laws of this land again. " Cui chuckled and pointed at nowhere in particular in the street. "What do you think would happen, if you were to shoot an innocent man in the middle of daylight AND in the middle of a busy street? I will leave it up you to comprehend. Oh..." As if realizing something important, the young noble rubbed his palm against his cheek. "I apologize, I didn't take into the fact that you probably lack the capability to think that way."
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Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2010 10:36 pm
Jianyu had the distinct feeling he was acting rather immature, especially from the way that this young man was smiling at him; like he was a child throwing a temper tantrum. It made him feel somewhat ridiculous, and Jianyu felt the flush in his face grow deeper. He had to calm down before he did something more idiotic than he actually was doing already.
Calm it down.
Letting out his breath in a soft, long sigh, Jianyu closed his eyes briefly before raising his gaze back up (that two inch height difference between them was still irksome) to the young man's face, twisted with obvious dark amusement. He folded his arms across his chest.
"You certainly have a way with words now, don't you?" Jianyu said, arching one dark eyebrow and letting his lips curve upwards in a smirk, though it did not quite reach his eyes, the irritation still evident. "And you certainly have a way with finding just the right thing to rub me the wrong way. And since you seem like such a nice young man, why don't you introduce yourself to me properly? Or are you just taking amusement from pretending that you are some sort of impressive, smooth talking man who has the right to insult someone several years his senior?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2010 10:56 pm
Cui raised an eyebrow at the sudden change in demeanor. So this man did have some kind of control in him after all. But at the same time, Cui did not expect him to actually start a physical fight. It would be unwise to do so, he had simply stated a fact. It was likely that the argument had already grabbed people's attention in the first place. A part of him was afraid that the man would stir an even bigger scene, but another part of him was hoping that it would happen.
Ahh..he was in a bad mood after all.
Feeling a little disappointed the young noble inspected Jianyu more carefully. Well dressed and well equipped, the man looked a tier, or perhaps two tiers higher than himself. The thought displeased Cui greatly, the fact that people who were of similar age held higher status than himself. The jealousy certainly did not help improving his impression on Jianyu, thus Cui refused to back down---not to mention he did not sense a single bit of sincerity from Jianyu's expression and words. It appeared that the argument had to continue.
"You must be mistaken, I was merely stating the truth." The same kind of smile remained on Cui's face, void of any friendliness. "What use do you have for my name? I am but a passenger on the street, a stranger forever in your life. If you must know my name, then may I ask for an apology for bumping into me first as a trade?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2010 11:29 pm
Jianyu refused to let the smirk drop from his face, wiping away any indications of his irritation now. If this was the way that the young man was going to play, Jianyu was certainly not going to let him win. Reaching up, he absently tugged on one of the ribbons threaded throughout his hair, moving his hand to tap his chin.
"The word 'truth' seems rather odd coming from your lips." Jianyu said, tilting his head. "I merely wished to know the name of the person who I have obviously offend - what?!"
Jianyu glared at the young man, dropping the smirk abruptly. "No, you may not have an apology! What on earth gave you the idea that I would offer one to you?"
Somewhere in the back of his head, Jianyu realized that he was probably causing a scene. Half of him almost wanted to shove the young man back into the table they were standing next to, but the other half almost wanted to see what the man would say next. Jianyu settled for eyeing him somewhat suspiciously, the smirk back on his face.
"Why are you so afraid to tell me your name?" he asked. "Is there something wrong with your name? Perhaps it is a shameful name?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2010 11:42 pm
The young noble blinked a few times at Jianyu, observing the man's expression from a fake smirk to serious, then back to smirk again. Then Cui gave up, he simply could not hold his laughter for any longer. The young man burst into a series of suppressed chuckles. How immature and ridiculous can this man be? On the other hand, the event certainly have taken an interesting turn. Jianyu learned fast, though only on the surface.
"Why would I be afraid of telling you my name?" Laughter aside, Cui was not about to fall for the man's childish trap. "Rest assured, I simply do not see the need to give you my name. On the other hand, why is it so hard for you to apologize for the mistakes you have made? Not only have you bumped into me, twice, but you have also made a ruckus in the middle of a peaceful street, a disturbance to other people's lives, and more importantly, a shame to your personal dignity." He paused on purpose, eying Jianyu before giving him an understanding smile. "Ah, perhaps that was why you refused to apologize, for a ridiculous thing as a man's pride?"
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Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2010 12:06 am
This man... Jianyu thought to himself, grinding his teeth together. He is taking too much pleasure in this.
He was laughing now. Laughing, without any preamble, without even attempting to hide it. The sound sent ripples of irritation cascading throughout Jianyu stared at him, for a few moments at a loss for words. The flush that crossed his face was involuntary and humiliating, as well as the words that fell from the young man's lips.
I will not get physical, I will not get physical...
Jianyu kept repeating this phrase internally. To get into a physical fight here, in the middle of the street would be a reckless and very idiotic thing to do. He had already likely made a fool of himself in front of this young man and from the look of the patrons standing around them, they also thought so.
"If I apologize then, will you tell me your name, so that I may thank you later?" Jianyu snarled, through gritted teeth.
I think I really hate this.
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Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2010 12:18 am
This argument was taking too long. Cui was surprised he was not annoyed by Jianyu's actions. Sure, the man bumped into him, then yelled at him. Yet, Cui knew he was at advantage. Not loosing his cool helped him to hold a firm upper-ground in the situation, and it didn't look like he was loosing his place any time soon. In fact, he was so absorbed into what was happening that it probably didn't matter much if Jianyu had actually apologized or not. He wanted the argument to go on, simply for the sake of argument.
Cui did not answer immediately when Jianyu finally decided to offer. Thank? What was there to thank? Tilting his head slightly Cui continued to observe the other with a bemused look. If he let things go now, the argument would be over, but if he lingered, then the fault would fall upon himself. Neither sounded pleasant, though for the sake of control Cui decided on the former.
"Of course. I keep my word." The young noble made no attempt to ask Jianyu's name. For him, the man was not worth his effort. Whatever the man's name was, Cui was certain he would not use it even if he knew. Instead, a more fitting nickname would be used, for Cui's own fancy and entertainment.
What should be used? Idiot? Kid? Brat? Hmmmm.
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