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Lao bowed slightly to Alcyone Teshigahara, the realm's finest kunoichi. If she was here, then he definitely could take a rest. However, the biting tone that she regarded him with was certainly cause for concern. What had he done now? Every time they ran into each other, it seemed that she had something against him, though he had done nothing.

In any case, he still felt the need to continue with his duties, though it was his day off. He simply regarded her in his usual benevolent tone- "It is good to see you again, kunoichi Teshigahara. You are cheery today, as usual. However, I'm afraid that you will have to... put up with me, for the time being. I was invited to this occasion, and I don't like the situation any more than you do. Trust me."

He was referring to the possibility that there was a leak in security, and that this meeting was at risk of being stopped forcefully. If it came to that, their combined force would definitely be enough to neutralize the threat. But if that were to happen, he needed her to actually- well, trust him. The final part of his responce was whispered towards her, as a personal statement:

"So can we please put away the "bladed tongue" routine and at least pretend to be amicable this time? At least for Sey-chan?"

He sighed openly. Hearing the distaste in her voice did not make him feel any better about the situation. He simply walked by, enjoying his time off, when she just came running up from behind him. It was indeed a stroke of luck, and there was much that could have gone wrong... but didn't. And that was what kept him going- to make sure that it would not go wrong.

Still, the slip-up was there, and he had no real excuse. "I accept. Thank you very much. I will not allow this to happen again. In the meantime, perhaps we should inspect the grounds- that is, if you have not done so already."

As he waited for her awnser, he reminded himself to try and befriend the ninja, instead of simply working with her from time to time. After all, it was necessary for them to try and get along, seeing as they would be working in concert occasionally. At least, he thought so.

He looked at Kouji, his eyes full of relief. If he were not there from time to time, who knows what Lao would have been doing at this point? The man was the sole reason that Fei had been able to tolerate the woman of stone, much less try and befriend her. And he would try, though it would just about kill him to do so.

He nodded and smiled, his cheerful expression returning. "Sounds like a plan. With your leave, Hikaru-sama, Seiyumi-dono." He waited for the two of them to lead him to the building, confident that things would turn out all right in the end, whether it came to blows or not.

((Going to bed now. Just drag me along, okay? Nighty. Oh and Alcyone? Try not to hurt him too bad- I need him still sane to keep playing. wink ))

((I'm off to bed as well, I'll respond later. 'night!))

((PS- Alcyone was speaking in the Eastern tongues the whole time. I should have clarified so that was my fault. Alcyone can speak a few western languages but only does so as a last resort. I'll go back and edit if you will too. wink ))

A series of moments could fly by quickly when one was busy. This would definetly be the case with Aasimar. Upon entrance unto the back room the bag was droped to the floor. The bard's right hand would move to undo the buttons of his shirt. The left would also move, though it would head down to the bag and undo the strap holding it shut. His movements were swift to finish the change. It was far from acceptable for an accomplished bard to be seen standing naked in the back of a bar. Luckily, Aasimar's nudity would last for only a moment. Within this moment his blue shirt and tan pants were placed gently in the bag. There was no reason to be rough with them, they were one of the few changes of cloths accepted in Western Civilization. During his time in the East the bard had picked up a number of robes made of various materials, be it silk or wool. Yet here, in the West, formal wear was acceptable.

"I could wear a jester's costume in the West and they would love it..."

These words were muttered with a good bit of meant irritation. This was indeed the truth. He had spent at least two years within the East as of late, preforming across the glorious landscape. Castles, village squares, taverns, even within a small temple devoted to the Air Elemental spirit. Yet in the East they found great pride in the legends of their ancestors, people who fought and died bravely. They adored his preformance even more so upon discovering the bard knew a good deal of the Eastern language. While Aasimar did not possess full comprehension of it, he knew enough to be able to recite in high chant. Yet all of his words came out excessively formal, as if he were a king giving a speech. That was not something that could be lain to rest though, an accent.

These thoughts would continue on even as he pulled out his other suit of clothing. These were far diffrent from those only recently thrust in the bag. Blues, reds, greens, yellows, and a various assortment of other colors blended together into one. It was bright, the colors seeming to spiral in upon each other to create new and intricate shades. It was a beautiful suit of course, though Aasimar despised it. The frown could not be kept from his features as he pulled the pants upward upon his form. These were loose, falling over his boot covered feet. Instantly the very form of his legs seemed to vanish. Too many colors spread in one would offset the eyes and draw attention, something Aasimar took full advantage of. The shirt would be pulled over his head only a moment later, this almost exactly the same as the pants. Yet the cloak would be the greatest of them all. It was not a simple blend, instead it was an intricate pattern of which the end and beginning could not be found. This was a great cloak, despite drawing every open eye within a mile to it. Made in the East by a famous seamstress who was said to hold the enchantment of air, she had worked for a long time on it. And the work she had done on Aasimar's pocketbook with this cloak had nearly been a disaster. Yet this ornament had paid all of the dues attached to it, increasing his fame. In the East he had picked up a number of nicknames due to this ornament, none of them were that appealing to Aasimar though.

It was done after he pulled on his gloves. The same make, the same blend, the same annoyance to his eyes. Of course it was quite appealing to others eyes. Unfortunately, glancing down was nearly a blinding experience for the bard. There was no time to worry about that though. As an after-thought his reading glass's would be removed, placed gently within the bag along with the rest of his clothing. With these gone, and the clothing adorning him, his light brown eyes seem to border upon a hazel color. A trick of color and light, nothing more. The cloak did seem to make him shine brighter though, very much so infact. That was the major annoyance about it. Yet for now Aasimar had more important things to work on. Within his head a list of legends and song he knew scrolled. Each would be taken, thought on, then judged. It would be at least three minutes before he would smile and nod to himself.

"They should find that amusing..."

Still, he was not ready to go out just yet. First came the task of drawing the entire story to mind. Thus a small seat in the corner would be taken within the back room.

Tiel suddenly found an eastern minstrel lad helping her up and looking over her wounds. Lost within her contemplation of the shogun's daughter and the pain of the chair digging into her side, the girl had missed all of the exchange between the lad and the man who had bumped into him. If his intentions hadn't been so obviously good, and she didn't have her father's chair to worry about, she would have bolted...the marketplace at its busiest was the best oppurtunity for thieves and merchants alike.

"A-arigato gozaimasu," Tiel stammered to the boy, assuming from his muttered words that he only spoke the tongue of the east, like many in Laburnum. Her pronounciation was as good as it could be without making any effort to disguise a western accent. "...doozo yorushiku onegai shimasu."

And there, in two phrases, she had used up about half of the eastern vocabulary her mother had managed to teach her before passing away. She knew that thanking the boy was probably the right thing to say, but the second, a ritual phrase asking for favorable treatment, might not be quite right. It was typically said when you first met someone, though, so maybe it would be okay. Tiel knew it was polite, at least.

As soon as she could, Tiel stood up the chair and pulled it over, checking it over for any breaks in the wood. It seemed to be no worse for the fall, a fact for which the girl silently thanked the spirits for. Her father would have her head if she broke one of his good pieces ten feet away from their market stall.

"Icarus," He said without delay, "Icarus... Embersoul," with a content nod. He shifted the large walking stick onto his other shoulder and went on, "I'm looking for fire."

Well, he told the older boy what he was doing. But Icarus had the feeling his answers would plant new questions in the older fellows mind. Which was okay.

"We're going to the market place, there'll be fire at one of the towns forges, right? What's a forge without fire?"

The market place was drawing nearer, steadily, thanks to the quick, forced pace of the young Icarus.