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 Posted: Wed Nov 03, 2010 3:53 pm
It was a cool, but sunny day, and though the citizens of Cyrus were bundled up accordingly, it hadn't done anything to diminish the number of people milling about the shopping districts. Including Rylan, who had a busy week ahead and was out to buy what seemed like an entire closet's worth of cloth and trimmings. Before disappearing into what would be the first of many shops for the day, she'd absentmindedly turned Jiang loose in the waterway flanking the street, with a promise to find him somewhere in the district when she had finished. This suited him fine, and he quickly chose to leave the busier main areas- as long as he didn't stray too far down the smaller streets the waterways were still more than large enough for him to move about comfortably.
After a while of aimless twists and turns, he came to another corner and peered up above the water, glancing around at the nearby shops and squinting up at the street sign to get his bearings. He kept a careful eye on the people passing on the street beside him, still wary after that time a younger girl had shrieked and called him a sea monster. He was still a little sore over that one.
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Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 6:03 pm
Keiko needed new clothing for the upcoming cold weather and Mia was a bit behind on clothing buying. Then again, Keiko did wear a kimono, so it had to be somewhat warmer right? The only place she'd seen others wearing such a garment as Keiko's was at The Jasmine Dragon, and she certainly did not want to bring Keiko to such a place. She didn't want the poor little girl swept away by an entertainers life style and look like one of those 'Geisha-types'. Ever. So she'd make due on her own, hopefully anyways. Keiko hadn't minded some of the stuff Mia had brought back anyways, a bit too colorful for her, but she wore them for Mia's benefit. The little girl knew Mia wasn't the riches woman on the planet, but she was a great guardian who tried hard and Keiko was happy with that.
One day however, Keiko really did start needing a new attire to keep her warmer for those chillier days. Mia decided it was finally time to go out, however when the guardian had tried bringing Keiko to stores the little girl said she'd be happy with whatever Mia picked out and that she much preferred to just enjoy the day in the city. Mia had narrowed her eyes, the little girl was taking too much of a liking to city life. Oh course as a child Keiko couldn't leave, but as she got older Mia would certainly have to give her up. Mia shook her head, why was she even thinking about that? Watching Keiko leave, Mia went into the store for some shopping on her own.
If there was one thing Mia had been right, was that Keiko did enjoy the city. It was the place to meet all sorts of different people, and the city seemed to be so much more entertaining then the farmlands. Mia hadn't left her with any pieces so she couldn't really do much but observe other people. What she observed was very odd, a head suddenly popped out of the water and looked around. She was at it's backside and it probably wouldn't see her coming, but it was just so strange. Walking over, the closer she got the more the 'thing' resembled a boy. Feeling slightly confused, Keiko bent over, casting her shadow over him and poked his head. maybe she should have said something, she didn't want to scare the poor guy.
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Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 7:29 pm
Had he not been so focused on peering up at the faded street sign- seriously, did they never repaint those things? It was absolutely unreadable- he may have noticed the shadow cast over his head, turned, and seen the girl without any problems.
As it was, however, the instant the finger touched his hair, the poor thing yelped, nearly jumped out of his skin, and vanished under the water with an awkward splash.
After a long moment, the orange and black scaled face slowly reappeared above the surface, carefully outside poking range, and looking thoroughly embarrassed. "My sincerest apologies," he muttered, "You, ah... startled me somewhat." Understatement of the year.
How lucky that a blush can't show through scales.
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Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 3:15 pm
"I'm sorry," she said quietly, "I didn't mean to."
He'd obviously been more startled then he led on, but Keiko didn't comment on that fact. Instead, she decided to examine his features, he was interesting at all and the scent just couldn't help her self. Though if she starred at him too long, he might actually find her rude. She decided to look at him straight in the eyes, then he might not take offence. Keiko let her scent drift towards him, she'd always been good at calming people down. Though Mia had warned her that if she didn't keep herself in check, she sometimes felt a bit sick.
"Why are you in the water?"
She titled her head lightly, curious as to why anyone would want to be in the water when it was so cold. Then again, he reminded her of a fish with his scales, so maybe he enjoyed being in water.
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Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2010 4:33 pm
He seemed to rally himself fairly quickly once the girl apologized- common courtesy was a familiar ground for him. "Of course," he nodded. "Your apology is accepted." He didn't notice her staring per se- everyone he met tended to stare at him to some degree- but the fact that she at least looked him in the eye said that she had manners better than many. He gave her a small smile to show his appreciation of the gesture, and hoped that she understood. "I do hope that I did not splash any water on your lovely clothes in my, ah, less than graceful retreat." And he meant it- the cloth looked to be of good quality, and Jiang always appreciated fine things- though always more when they were his things.
Her question took him a bit by suprise though, and for a moment he only blinked at the girl, before actually managing a reply. "I find it somewhat difficult to travel otherwise, you see." He turned enough to flick his tail out of the water to emphasize, in case the girl hadn't been able to see his lack of legs through the sun's glare on the surface.
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Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 7:12 am
The girl didn't quite know why he was smiling but decided to smile back anyways, Keiko figured it might have been for her apology. When he mentioned splashing water on her dress, she didn't think he had because she would have felt it. Keiko decided to check anyways, then realized she probably wouldn't be able to tell because her dress was white. "No I don't think so." When his tail popped out of the water, Keiko did stare with her eyes wide and her mouth in a little 'o'. No wonder he was in the water! He couldn't even get out, he didn't even have legs. Keiko actually left sorry for him and apologized again, she should have figured the reason anyone would be in the water was because they had a tail. Though another question did bubble up and she slowly turned her glance from tail back to him.
"What kind of fish are you?"
She hoped it wasn't rude to ask, she hadn't meant it to be rude, she was just quite curious about him.
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Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 11:58 am
Ah, so she hadn't seen his tail at first. Considering her good manners earlier, he ignored her current staring, and waved off her second apology. "How silly. In that vein, I might apologize to you for your having legs, and being unable to breathe water. I am sure you do not feel the lack of these things which you have never had, and nor do I feel lacking in the way I am." Honestly, he didn't have any problems with the way he was, though it did irritate him that other people frequently did. This girl didn't seem to have any such issue though, and he was always pleased to meet someone whom he could speak to without any contempt- poorly disguised or otherwise. "Mother is very accommodating of me, as well," he continued, banishing the aggravating thoughts, "She will carry me if I must go somewhere without a suitable waterway."
By this point, he was beginning to expect her asking of little questions that he found odd, but he didn't get the impression that she meant anything by them other than plain curiosity. "I am a dragon," he stated simply, though it wasn't hard to hear the note of pride in his voice- it wasn't often he got a chance to, well, brag. "There is a variety of ornamental fish colored like myself, however, though I have only seen them in books."
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Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 12:36 pm
Keiko nodded, he was right after all. There was nothing to apologize for after all, that had been a bit presumptuous of her now that she thought about it. He hadn't taken it wrong, which was a good thing because she actually liked talking to him. Keiko hadn't met many people, but she enjoyed the way he talked, so much more sophisticated then Mia. It was pleasant to her ears, and she let her scent drift a bit more, it tended to do that when she was in a good mood. Though she did try to keep it in check, she didn't want to make him sick after all.
"A dragon," Keiko looked utterly surprised, "that is amazing!" She found herself so plain now beside him, and she'd also forgotten to introduce herself. Sticking her hand out towards him Keiko smiled down, "I'm Keiko, I forgot to introduce myself before." It wasn't often she actually forgot something like that, she enjoyed meeting people quite a bit, especially other children who had come from burners. She liked this one a lot, introducing herself should have been her first priority.
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Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 1:09 pm
He was pleased to see that she seemed to understand, and neither had taken offense- though, as he finally noticed the scent coming off the girl, he reflected that of the other oil-children he'd met, even those that looked most human rarely seemed to dwell on differences. He also couldn't help the slight widening of his smile as she reacted to his being a dragon- it was pleasant, to have impressed someone so.
At her introduction, though, his expression shifted into something almost disgusted, though it soon became apparent that the sentiment was directed at himself rather than her- just how had he managed to forget to introduce himself? "Please accept my apologies- my manners are not usually nearly so appalling." He returned the greeting in his own fashion- a bow of his head, with palms pressed flat together in front of his chest- before taking her hand gingerly, careful of his long claws. "I am Jiang-Chen. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Keiko."
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Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 1:45 pm
"I find your manners very pleasing actually." Her tone held a slight purr to it, usually she used such a tone when she wanted something specific from someone, but she really did mean what she was saying and didn't want anything. "There's no need to be apologizing, I forgot as well." Keiko cleared her throat, she really had to keep that tone in check. Mia had warned her about it, something about getting in trouble with boys later on when she got older. Truth be told, Keiko liked to use the tone, she hadn't known any repercussions except getting what she wanted. All the time. So really, she might as well just use it all the time, it might actually be fun; she might actually have fun for once.
"Are you shopping today too? Well your mother." Mia was bound to be found in some store right about now spending to get Keiko dressed for winter. She really hoped winter would be as fun as summer, it definitely allowed her to drink more tea. "Mine is, she thinks I'm going to freeze half to death with only these. She says I could use some color too."
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Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 2:20 pm
He still didn't look all that pleased with himself, though he did appreciate her words. "I thank you- and I will be sure to not be so remiss in the future." He noticed the slight change in her tone, but thought little of it, until she cleared her throat and it disappeared. How odd.
"Ah," that did explain why she was also wandering the district alone. "Yes, Mother designs and makes clothing for the higher classes- the change of seasons is a busy time, she tells me- she is likely still shopping for cloth." By the end of it, she'll probably have made something for him as well, though the changing temperatures bothered him little as long as the water wasn't frozen. "Do you disagree with her assessment? Could you not have accompanied her, and chosen garments yourself?"
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Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 2:40 pm
"Well in the future you won't need to introduce yourself since you'll already know me." Keiko chuckled softly, she did hope she could meet him some other time. She wondered if he'd be able to swim to the farmlands or near there anyways, it would be nice to have someone to talk to once in a while.
"The upper class?" Her mood suddenly turned unsure, Mia had told her about society of course. The higher class didn't mingle with people lower then them, especially people who lived out in the farmlands. She'd never thought of herself of lower class, after all Mia provided her with everything she needed and Mia always seemed to have pieces for her to spend when she went out. Keiko suddenly felt very socially aware of her status in Cyrus and it didn't please her at all. She actually enjoyed Jiang-Chen's company, she didn't want to be unable to talk to him just because other people told her so. She frowned lightly, perplexed by the whole situation, though she'd answer his other question first.
" Well I agree to some point. I don't feel the need to be warmer then I already am. I mean, I'm a bit cold but nothing to cause a ruckus about," she paused thinking over what he'd said about choosing her own clothing, "well my mother says I have no sense of style. I cannot match clothing properly, and she says that kimono's a too much trouble for me to be fussing about right now." Although, Keiko had no idea what kimono's were a bit above Mia's budget. "She does try to get me into regular clothing, but I love my kimono, she won't buy more though." Keiko looked a bit uncomfortable telling him that her mother was a blacksmith, but she didn't have to tell him right now right? Jiang didn't need to know.
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Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 3:17 pm
That did get a bit of a grimace out of him, though it was in good humor. "I refer to my manners in general- I do believe you know what I mean." Knowing someone, after all, was no excuse to be rude.
At her slightly hesitant question, he nodded. "She enjoys working with the more costly materials, I believe, and keeping abreast of the latest styles. She can certainly talk about them for hours on end if one gets her started." There was a bit of fond exasperation in his tone- clearly he had been subjected to the treatment before. "I do not meet most of her clients however- I doubt they would appreciate my appearance." Truthfully, he was probably leerier of the upper classes than she was, and he was technically among them.
Pushing those thoughts from his mind, he listened attentively as she explained her thoughts, nodding occasionally. "The weather will grow colder still, perhaps your mother simply wishes to be prepared for a cold winter?" He barely managed to hold back his snort at the statement about her style though. "I certainly see no fault with your current state of dress- perhaps it is your distaste for more common clothing that leads her to believe your style is challenged. I cannot say I agree with her assessment." He paused for a moment then, taking a closer look at the cloth of her kimono- watching his mother work gave him only limited expertise, but it was knowledge nonetheless. "I do not know that I would want to be dragging the hem of this through the mud and slush when winter does come, however- the cloth is quite fine, it would be a shame to ruin it."
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Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 3:57 pm
Keiko nodded, "I know exactly what you mean, my mom talks about horses all the time." She knew exactly how he felt, the scent didn't think Mia even noticed that Keiko wasn't into the same things her guardian was. Then again she'd never voiced her opinion out loud, but Keiko didn't want to break Mia's heart if she ever did tell her. "Sometimes you just want to tell them that you aren't interested in the same thing, but it's so hard because you can tell they're happy to be telling you about those things."
"If one good thing does come out from this cold weather is that I'll be able to enjoy some tea far more often then in summer." Oh yes, tea would just be the thing to keep her warm during winter, but maybe it was for the best. Carriages could get pretty cold in winter time, and the one's that came to the farmlands weren't the best one's around. "Thank you, I quite like my style too." Keiko was glad that someone could appreciate her style, too bad she couldn't take Jiang shopping and not Mia. "You're right, I just do not see myself wearing pants is all." She didn't like the whole idea of pants in the first place, or having to look common and yet odd in regular clothing. "White does tend to stain quite easily too." Mia had tried to convince her out of her kimono, but had been unsuccessful. Jiang however, had given quite a good argument as to why she shouldn't keep it for winter. The farmlands and the market place would certianly be no place for her long dress.
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Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 5:45 pm
Ah, a kindred spirit. "Perhaps it is simply something parents do." The tone he used said that he didn't expect to ever understand how they thought- considering who he had for a mother, this was probably quite realistic.
The comment about tea certainly grabbed his attention- one of Jiang's favorite small luxuries, he likely drank more of it than he did water. "There is certainly little better on a cold evening, though I must admit that summer weather never stops me enjoying a cup either." ...Drat, now he wanted tea. Maybe he'd see if his mother would be willing to stop at one of the smaller cafes before they returned home today.
He fell silent for a moment as he considered her wardrobe dilemma, then began to muse aloud. "Mother is commissioned for many winter dresses during this time of year, using heavier cloth in colors that are less inclined to take stains. Perhaps such a garment would be more to your taste than pants?" He really wasn't sure what else he could suggest at this point with his limited experience- he, for obvious reasons, had never had to consider the pros and cons of wearing pants.
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