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Friendly Conversationalist
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 Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2008 3:41 am
E G G
o1. Kismet {destiny} (a personal entry)
o2. Sarai Qui {you will be here} (a personal entry)
o3. Deai {encounter} (a roleplay collective entry)
o4. Growth Quest (a growth quest)
o5. Le Carnival {the carnival} (a growth quest entry)
C H I L D
o6. Pas de deux {dance for two} (a roleplay collective entry)
o7. Un regalo de despedida {a parting gift} (a personal entry)
o8. Mahina {moon} (a personal entry)
o9. Njozi {dream} (a personal entry)
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Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2008 4:50 am
o1. Kismet {destiny} The afternoon fog rolled over the streets like a blanket, enveloping the small world in mist and cold. Huan Yi struggled with her red plaid scarf for a moment, pulling her black wool peacoat close to her small frame as the chilled wind stung her cheeks. The walk from the bus stop to the apartments was always an annoyance when the weather was this cold. The girl enjoyed the walk otherwise - it was interesting to see the kind of people that bustled around the city, seeing as she was still fairly new to the area.
'Everyone's so busy.. so different from home.' A bout of homesickness accompanied this thought, and she clutched her hands more tightly around the strap of her book bag. She wondered momentarily how the gardens were doing back at home. She had worked so hard on it with Mrs. Egan, and was curious to see how the foxglove flowers looked next to the trellis. This was completely beside the fact that "home" wasn't home anymore, seeing as the house had been sold to a vacationing young couple from Cornwall shortly after her foster mother's death.
Home was now this place - the city, filled to the brim with bustling people and unfriendly strangers.
Huan Yi longed for the company of her hometown's people, and the friends she had made at school there (and had, consequently, spent most of her childhood with). Because of the past month and a half, she was uprooted and tossed into this chaotic city life with her foster brother. Still no friends, and the people seemed too busy to reach out to others.
"Why is it so hard?" she asked herself, her cheeks flushing a pale pink as a stranger walking the opposite way eyed her and shook his head. It was a valid question, she thought. It seemed that living here made making friends so much harder; she struggled during class discussions to get the teacher's attention, and her peers would turn when she was finally acknowledged, their unknowing eyes boring into her. It was nerve-wracking, to say the least.
The wind whistled again, blowing her knotted scarf free of the confines of her coat. It carried the ends in a westward direction, and the girl followed the direction of the wind with her eyes. They rested on a small park across the street, where a grand archway made of stone greeted guests as they entered the small knoll of trees. Flowerbeds provided a sharp contrast to the green and gray with hues of orange, red, blue, and purple. She sighed, closing her weary eyes.
Perhaps a side trip to the gardens wouldn't hurt. She adjusted her steps, peering both directions down the street before hopping onto the paved roadway and darting across. The gardens always did her well whenever she was depressed. The gardens at home provided a wonderful place for her to clear her thoughts whenever sadness gripped her.
Huan Yi entered below the archway, sadness seeping into her thoughts from the recesses of her mind. Aside from the loneliness she often felt in this strange new town where she had no friends to speak of, she now felt an unsettled curiosity plant itself firmly in her stomach. The stone-paved pathway became a simple concrete path, the dim light of the overcast day being thrown into shadow by the trees.
'The trees didn't look nearly this tall from across the road,' the girl thought, blinking softly as she hugged her arms around herself, rubbing them to initiate warmth. The towering trees clung together at the top, darkening the path before her almost forebodingly. She swallowed timidly, her anxieties drawing up a number of conclusions. While she'd never been to this park, the fact that she was in a secluded portion of town and there weren't others around.. the thought stopped abruptly as a chill crept up her spine.
She had, very clearly, heard somebody giggle.
"W-Who's there?" she ventured cautiously. The wind whistled in reply, but no other noise came. It was suspicious.. all she could hear was the wind in this place. There were no birds, the outside sounds of traffic, nor the sounds of other people. Something was very off-kilter about this place, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
The wind blew again, and the knot on her scarf came loose, sending it carousing down the path. Her fingers were too slow as she released them from her arms with a gasp and reached for the fleeing scarf, barely grazing the cotton. It rolled low along the path as she gave chase. The same strange giggle chorused from the trees around her, darting between either side of her.
It certainly was a strange turn of events! She shook her head and followed the scarf with her eyes, letting a small sigh of relief drop from her lips when it planted itself on the bushes before her. Her steps slowed and she reached out a grateful hand, before her eyes widened in surprise as she saw the scarf being tugged out of sight, followed by the strange giggle.
"Not this time," she replied under her breath, defiant to any disembodied creature that thought to play with her today. Her heart was racing, anticipating the dangers of the physical world, but what if it was something otherworldly? A wild notion, to be sure, but she didn't rule out the possibility entirely. She was a firm believer in ghosts.. could a ghost be playing with her?
She hiked one leg over the bush and hobbled over the rest of the way, watching the tail of her scarf dragging the ground as it rounded the base of a tall oak tree that rested at the apex of a crossroad of converging forest paths. It stayed put, and she stilled, watching it for any sign of movement. A moment passed and nothing happened, and very carefully she crept forward, avoiding foliage and twigs on the ground to the best of her abilities. Whatever it was that had decided to toy with her, the chase was over. She pressed her hand to the back of the tree, feeling the worn bark between her cold fingers, and ever so slowly peered around its base.
An orange tabby cat sat on the end of her scarf, bright yellow eyes peering at her with a strange intelligence. She tilted her head at the creature. Had she gotten worked up over.. a cat? However, the cat's ears pricked, twitching as it turned its head and dashed off, leaving her scarf behind. Shaking her head, she reached down to grab it, and instead felt her fingers brush something else.
Rounding the tree, she spotted what had been sitting nestled in the scarf: a large cerulean blue egg, cool to the touch. The size alone was not the only peculiarity about it; the strange gold marking on the top drew her attention, as well as the small wings that fluttered behind it. It seemed as though the wind enveloped it, drifting around the bottom tangibly. The giggling remained around the tree, hovering just above the girl's head.
"Who's there?!" she called again, this time more boldly, as she glanced up. However all that answered her was a faint giggle, and the wind rustling the treetops. A quiet voice whispered in her ear, brushing her cheek as lightly as the breeze.
"Take care of her." Silent fell once again.
Her eyes returned to the egg, the wings fluttering weakly. She pressed her hands to it timidly, frowning at the cool temperature. Faintly, ever so faintly, she felt a tremor inside. An egg needed warmth, and she had no idea how long the poor thing had been away from what it needed. The warmth of another was necessary, and whatever had guarded it surely had led her here. It was quite an assumption to make, but given the course of events during the past few minutes, who was she to doubt the possibility?
She wrapped the scarf firmly around it, securing it with a knot. Then, with trembling hands, she lifted the egg into her arms, unbuttoning the top of her peacoat to tuck it inside. The egg rested against her chest, and she felt the flutter inside again. A similar feeling rose in her heart, and she tightened her arms around the strange creature.
Perhaps it was a gift from God. She had prayed so hard for friends, or even just one that would be with her. Whatever this was, the feeling of it tucked safely against her body felt right. She could see the bond between them forming, she and this strange egg that smelled of ashes.
"Come on, little one. Let's go home." With a small smile and eyes forward to the crossroad, she began her trek out of the park. 
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 2:03 am
o2. Sarai Qui {you will be here} "I certainly wanted ye to make friends, Huan Yi, but this goes above 'n beyond." William's eyebrows shot up and brushed his hairline as he eyed the egg that now sat perched on Huan Yi's armoire, stationed from his position in the doorway. "Ye have to be pullin' my leg, there's no way what ye said could be true, with all this talk of fairies and the like." Huan Yi remained sitting on the edge of her bed, the pastel-colored quilt bending around the curve of her body. Her cheeks blossomed red from embarrassment, even though she had long conditioned herself for this response. The stark contrast between the world that her educated brother saw, and the one that her dreamy state of mind preferred to inhabit definitely came to the surface once she had burst into the living room a few days before and begun spinning the story about the park.
"As.. unbelievable as it seems, it did happen," she insisted softly. "It wasn't a dream.. if that were the case, then the egg would not have been here the next morning." William let out a long sigh between half-parted lips, before he shrugged off his anxieties.
"Do y'even know what it is?" he inquired, frowning as Huan Yi's head swayed side to side in a negative. The whole ordeal was just overwhelming to him, and part of him had chalked it up the day before as stress. End-of-term exams were coming up at the school he was working at, so the teachers had asked him to help prepare the study guides to be distributed to the students during the following week. On top of grading papers and getting things in order for the junior high's class trip to the local theater (a production of an old Agatha Christie novel was being shown, and judging by the reviews was immensely popular), contending with writer's block for his latest historical novel (a spin on the life of famed Japanese general Masanobu Tsuji) and lack of sleep had put him in an agitated mood.
When Huan Yi had brought the strange egg into his life, he had thought it was a joke. It looked so comically mystical, with its bright blue shell and wiggling wings, that it could not have been real. He even had to question if she had bought it from a toy shop and pushed that story onto him in order to distract him from the stress he was under.
Silence hung between them and Huan Yi looked at her lap helplessly. When the doorbell rang and a series of rapid cheerful knocks chorused afterwards, William gratefully left the room to go answer the door. The younger girl's eyes widened at him, before she scooped up the egg and swept after him.
"We're not quite done here, William--" But before she could advance out too far into the living room, he held a hand up to shoo her back into her room. "How rude!"
"Mrs. Matthews is here, go back to your room!" he hissed as he unlocked the door. It bounded open as his fingers barely turned the doorknob, and Huan Yi yelped in surprise as their neighbor moved forward into the entry way. She clutched the egg to her, unable to move from her spot. The wings fluffed against her chest and the creature inside stirred curiously.
"Good evenin', William. Ye two eaten yet?" The woman that had appeared kept her hands on her wide hips as she assumed a playful stature. The smile that played her lips touched strands of her tousled blond hair that had fallen from its loose ponytail at the nape of her neck. "Look at ye! Ye'll be nothin' but skin 'n bones, next I sees ye! Where's Huan Yi?" Her head swiveled and found the girl stationed in the hallway. "There y'are! What's that y' goot there?"
"I-I.. this is, Mrs. Matthews, uh..." Her arms tightened around her treasure, and the contents of the egg fluttered excitedly at the presence of this stranger.
"That's a might' pretty thing y'got there, and how many times have I told ye? Call me Ciellas!" She moved inside, bending over at the waist to take a closer look. "Did ye get it from the toy store down the street?" She beamed and patted the top of the egg. It hummed under her hands in pleasure at the new, cheerful touch, and Ciellas drew her hand back as though she had just touched fire, her eyes growing large in astonishment. "What in the..."
Huan Yi swallowed, and William groaned, dropping into his desk chair and massaging his temples. She looked to him helplessly as their neighbor eyed the egg suspiciously. Slowly, he swiveled in his chair and turned to face his writing desk again, picking at the books and memoirs he'd piled for reference.
"Don't ye have dinner to make, Mrs. Matthews? I'm sure Kieron 'n Seri are starving," he said with a calm, even tone, as though the egg were no surprise to him. Ciellas blinked and turned towards him, and Huan Yi sighed thankfully at her brother's interference. She could always count on him to placate a sticky situation.
"Aye, that I do... I'd been meanin' to take some to poor Mr. Cartoni down the hall as well... however," she amended, returning her gaze to the girl and egg, "I am still curious 'bout what that thing is. It's alive, am I right?" Huan Yi dropped her eyes to the egg as an embarrassed blush crept over her cheeks. William turned in his chair and watched them, before shaking his head and returning to his work. It was his sign of defeat.
"Would you... believe me if I told you it was?" Huan Yi admitted, and Ciellas nodded slowly, without the slightest air of disbelief. To be honest, it surprised the younger girl.
"The fair folk been callin' on ye, Huan Yi?" Ciellas smiled knowingly, making the girl stammer in disbelief. "If ye don't want me to, I won't tell. However it seems y'got something very special in yer hands. Ye'd be advised to take good care of it." She nodded at her neighbor's words, and the older woman gave her a satisfied smile. "Does this young'un have a name?"
Huan Yi shook her head and William did his best to ignore the conversation, pretending to be immersed in research. "I.. have not found a name for her yet." Wait a second, did the egg just hum at that word? Her. The Chinese girl blinked and shifted the egg in her arms. It flapped its wings excitedly. So perhaps it was a girl, or would be soon enough. Ciellas laughed loudly, the noise echoing in the small apartment, and the two younger tenants had to wonder how she could laugh so easily at something like this. They supposed there was something deeper to the woman next door than they originally suspected.. so what did she know?
"I think it's best that ye get to it, then!" She winked at the girl. "It seems the little one is eager for one."
"I... uhm.. let's see, then," Huan Yi began, delving deep into thought. The name had to fit her, and it didn't seem right to wait until she hatched to give it a name without much thought. Perhaps it was something to think on, but now that Ciellas had brought up the subject...
"How 'bout Tsuji?" William suggested with a sarcastic smile, and the two women's gaze met his as he held up a paperbound autobiography showcasing a shot of a surly Japanese World War II-era soldier.
"Honestly, William, naming her after a murdering general. Ye should give mor--" his sister began, until the egg in her arms flapped its wings and stirred excitedly.
"Seems the young'un don't mind it so much," Ciellas chuckled. Huan Yi could only nod dumbly. So she liked 'Tsuji'. But there are other names out there to be consider, but before she dismissed it entirely..
"Hey brother, what does 'Tsuji' mean? Its meaning in Japanese, that is," she asked, and William leafed lazily through the front portion of the book, his trained eyes scanning the pages quickly behind his glasses. He tapped the page once he had found what he was looking for, scanning the lines for the meaning.
"Wait.. ah. Says here it means 'crossroad'."
Crossroad. So perhaps the name wasn't so ill-fitted after all. It seemed that her life consisted of crossroads - meeting fellow travelers, departing down new, exciting paths. Her old home bore the name of such, and now did her newest friend. She dropped her eyes again to the egg in her arms, which flapped excitedly at the name.
"Well then, I suppose your name is Tsuji now." Huan Yi smiled, and Ciellas gave a short clap of amusement.
"Let me the first to welcome ye to the Cornerstone Apartments," she winked, patting the egg, "We have our own little neighborhood up 'ere on the second floor."
"Welcome to the family." The girl shifted it in her arms and placed her cheek against it, feeling the warmth that radiated from the inside. She couldn't wait for her to hatch, to ask her if she'd heard this conversation, or felt the sensations of being touched, give her thoughts on her name real words. She smiled happily, nuzzling the egg again.
Welcome to the family.
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Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 2:05 am
o3. Deai {encounter}
a roleplay collective entry Quote: [ PRP roleplay ~ Pasayo, E!Tsuji, Houkan, Huan Yi ;; "Waiting" ]
Huan Yi's visit to a favorite cafe brings her to meet Pasayo and Houkan, when the former senses the life stirring inside of the girl's egg. The two enlighten the Chinese girl about the world of magic and the Ashe, while at the same time extending a hand in friendship. Huan Yi, too amazed and thrilled by the opportunity, gladly accepts. They trade numbers before parting ways with a promise to meet again, leaving the girl red in the face from the contact and the egg fluttering happily.
Who knows what the future has in store for their next encounter . . . Quote: [ PRP roleplay ~ Mauritius, E!Tsuji, Hartley, Huan Yi ;; "Please Stop Causing Trouble!" ]
A shortcut through the park brings together a very shy girl and a deer woman, as well as a boisterous egg and a proud Ashe child ...
D I S C O N T I N U E D
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2008 8:41 pm
[ G.r.o.w.t.h. xxxQ.u.e.s.t. ]
Unafraid to make noises and move to garner massive amounts of attention, as of late Tsuji's egg seems to have fallen silent and appears to just...sit there. Did something happen somewhere along the way that could have caused her to just...not care anymore? Or is she waiting for that chance to do something extravagant and go the extra mile?
((Prompt courtesy of Rown))
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Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2008 2:00 am
o5. Le Carnival {the carnival} "I cannae believe it." William crumpled the pink notice in between both his hands and tossed it across the room. The mid-afternoon sun slanted between the half-closed blinds, making the furniture and discarded note cast long shadows against the wall. "Not now." He slumped into his desk-side chair with a tired groan as he rested his head in his hands.
They'd worked so hard to get Huan Yi moved over. There was also the issue of the strange newcomer (whom they had dubbed "Tsuji") that had woven its way into he and his sister's lives.
It was then that he opened a tired eye and looked at said creature. It rested silently on a pillow, wings tucked demurely at its side as the lazy fog continued to drift at its base. This was the most movement William and Huan Yi had seen from it for the past few days, and the young girl was growing concerned. William was also beginning to wonder about the unusual "silence" (if you could call it that) that Tsuji had exhibited for the past few days.
"Did ye see trouble a'brewin'?" He snorted as he shifted his hands to cup his chin instead, the other hand reaching out to graze the top of the shell before laying the palm flat on the surface. It was cold and still beneath his fingers.
A loud rapping interrupted his thoughts, and before he could swivel around to rise up from his seat, the door swung open. His middle-aged neighbor Ciellas stormed in, her arms up in a frustrated pose and her youngest child Kieron clinging to her skirts. Crumpled between her fingers was a note that had matched the one William had tossed across the room only moments prior.
"D'ye believe this?!" she seethed, putting a hand on Kieron's back. "Kickin' us oot with only a month's notice!" The bold black letters glared at William - EVICTION. "What do they expect us ta do?! If they'd planned on renovations they shoulda told us long afore sendin' out these notes!"
"I know," William sighed, his tone even as he crossed his arms. "It's not gonna be easy, for any o' us." His eyes drifted over to Tsuji, and Ciellas lowered her arms as her gaze followed his. Kieron watched the egg quietly, his tiny hands still gripping his mother's skirts as though for dear life.
"What're ye to do about the little one?" she asked, gliding over to where it sat to pick it up in her arms. Her eyebrows shot up. "Been awful quiet these past few days.. poor Huan Yi's lookin' mighty worried."
"I know." William shook his head. Had they done something wrong somehow? He knew how intrigued and attached Huan Yi had become to Tsuji, or moreso what she could become. To know that they had messed up this heaven-sent gift.. "More important, we need to find another home. We all do." He reached out for the egg and Ciellas surrendered it to William's waiting arms, Kieron's eyes following the transition attentively.
"So I take it you both got one too?" A voice from the doorway drew the attention of the two adults, and Kieron's eyes widened as Tsuji's wings perked up just slightly at the newcomer. A young man, holding another pink notice and looking rather exhausted, leaned in the doorway, his eyes concerned.
"Aye," Ciellas nodded gravely. "Got any plans yet, Cal?" William merely kept his arms around the egg, nodding his head as an invitation to Calvin to enter. The teen slid his backpack off his tired shoulder and let it hit the corner by the door as he walked inside. Another soft knock followed as a blonde woman (younger than Ciellas but older than Calvin) poked her head inside with a dreamy gaze, the pink note clutched in her hand. "'Ello, Stephanie."
"So I notice a gathering," she commented airily, following behind the younger boy. Kieron's eyes widened as Tsuji wiggled, as though awaking from a nap. William didn't seem to notice much as he shifted her in his arms absently. "What are we to do about this?" She placed a hand to her cheek in contemplation while Calvin stood next to her, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.
"It took me so long to find a place--"
"I'm home! -- What's going on?" Huan Yi's voice and the sound of two pairs of feet shuffling down the hall made all eyes rush to the door. The girl entered as her excited gait slowed, her eyes becoming wary at the number of people in the room and the mutual expression of distress. Behind her a younger girl in a pink backpack followed, her dark hair pulled into a ponytail but her bright green eyes reminiscent of Ciellas. "Is something the matter?"
The adults exchanged a worried expression and a thick silence filled the air. Tsuji twitched at her guardian's appearance, and this time Kieron tugged on his mother's skirts.
"Mama--" he started to say as her eyes looked down towards him, but his sister butted in from her vantage point next to Huan Yi.
"What is that?" she said loudly, and her hand raised to point at the egg, now struggling in William's arms. Huan Yi and her brother froze; he had completely forgotten he was still holding it.
"I-it's a--a-- u-uh--" Huan Yi stammered as her pulse picked up, glancing nervously at her brother. Ciellas' eyes sparkled mirthfully at the wriggling creature, and Stephanie and Calvin shared looks of curiosity.
"It's awfully colorful," Stephanie said dreamily, her distant eyes widening at the egg.
Belaying all the commotion, the slow shuffle of feet on carpet was muffled by their voices and intrigue. It approached steadily but slowly towards the open door, and behind Stephanie, the face of an elderly man appeared. His age-drawn features were pulled into a vaguely grumpy expression as he peered inside, wondering what all the fuss was about.
All the company was present. Time for the show to begin.
With this final inclusion, Tsuji paused in her wriggling dramatically. Then, rocking back and fourth, she rolled out of William's arms and landed smack on the floor with a loud crack. Huan Yi and William cried out in surprise.
"W-W-William!" the girl cried, feeling herself on the verge of tears. "H-how could--" Ciellas held her hand up to silence her.
"Waitaminute, Huan Yi." All eyes returned to the egg, finding the large fissure that ran directly down the middle. Huan Yi felt pain jab in her chest just by looking at it. Why had it gone so wrong?
The egg rolled onto its side, rocking back and forth to steady itself. It rolled into an upright position, before the wings gave one final flap and a resounding crack filled the air. The company winced at the noise, before curious eyes popped open to watch as the shells fell away. First in large pieces, then succeeded by smaller ones, and a shape could be made out against the mess of eggshell and fading mist. Light russet-brown skin.. a violent shock of blue..
"T-Tsuji," Huan Yi murmured as she fell to her knees beside the strange child. There was so much love in that murmuring, and so much hope.
Her friend. At last, a friend.
The child rubbed its eyes fitfully with tiny fists before opening large honey-colored eyes to peer at the her world. Many sets of eyes were focused on the creature, and for the moment she was the very center of their attention. Rather than shy away from it, she embraced it, venturing a timid smile at first, before allowing a more toothy, cheerful smile. William could only watch with wide eyes. All the doubts he had had about his sister's story, about the egg... all vanished, just as the remnants of the shell had done. Ciellas removed her coat and immediately swooped in to wrap the nude child, which took the coat gratefully as though it were an offering.
She raised her hands to Huan Yi. The girl immediately felt her heart melt and she picked her up into her arms and held her close. To have this child felt right. This child.. her friend.
"Welcome home," Huan Yi whispered. Tsuji hugged her back with an infant's strength, and the smell of wildflowers perfumed the girl's nose as she held her. William and Ciellas looked over at one another with a concerned expression, but Ciellas merely shook her head at him. He nodded.
Worrying could wait. For now, let there be happiness.
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 7:30 pm
o6. Pas de deux {dance for two}
a roleplay collective entry Quote: [ PRP roleplay ~ Salem, Tsuji, Tier, Huan Yi ;; "Midnight at Nine" ]
A late night tussle with troublemakers brings together two new guardians and their newly-hatched "children" ... Quote: [ PRP roleplay ~ Chath, Michael, Tsuji, William ;; "That'll Be The Day" ]
In an effort to escape her guardian's overbearing brother, an Ashe child will make a desperate escape into an internet cafe - a realm that she is entirely unfamiliar with. Chath guides her effortlessly through the beginner's guide in chatroom trolling. They share a triumph, but fate (in the form of their guardians) interferes, putting off their plans for more mischief.
Who knows what the future has in store for their next encounter . . . Quote: [ PRP roleplay ~ Pherenice, Tahlir E!, Huan Yi, Tsuji ;; "Forever Autumn" ]
On an afternoon outing to the park, Tsuji and her guardian make the acquaintance of a very interesting woman, keeping something just as interesting close at hand. The interesting "something" happens to be an Ashe egg, which Tsuji feels an immediate kinship with. A quick friendship was formed between the girls, and a promise to meet again is in the stars.
Who knows what the future has in store for their next encounter . . . Quote: [ PRP roleplay ~ Emile, Morpheus, Huan Yi, William, Tsuji ;; "Jump, Jive, & Wail" ]
A spring festival in the early evening hours brings Tsuji together with a star-speckled Ashe and their awkward guardians under the mantle of a peaceful spring evening with swing music on the agenda ... Quote: [ PRP roleplay ~ Miki, Quinn, Huan Yi, Tsuji ;; "Open Invitation" ]
A break in between a college tour takes Huan Yi and Tsuji to the common area, where music and dance come together to entertain the student population, but there is more waiting there than just club members ready to show their skills ... Quote: [ PRP roleplay ~ Pasayo, Tsuji, Piero, William, Houkan, Huan Yi ;; "Mark It Up!" ]
After being forced to move from their small but close apartment, William brings them to the home of a colleague, whose younger brother and "daughter" Huan Yi seems to have met before ...
D I S C O N T I N U E D Quote: [ PRP roleplay ~ Julien, Tsuji, Huan Yi ;; "Le Cygne" ]
A commercial for a special exhibit at the local museum on ballet sparks a fierce interest in Tsuji, but there is probably more waiting for her there other than photographs and costumes ...
D I S C O N T I N U E D Quote: [ ORP roleplay ~ Pasayo, Tsuji, Salem, Huan Yi ;; "A Place For Us" ]
While one is out looking for work and the rest are at their respective jobs, a teen Ashe and a normal teenager are paired together to babysit two Ashe ...
D I S C O N T I N U E D
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 12:26 am
o7. Un regalo de despedida {a parting gift} It was quiet at this time of day; the lull in time brought on by Tsuji's beloved mother figure and not-as-beloved uncle figure's absence, and one that always made her sleepy. It was a sleepiness she wasn't quite used to: one brought on by boredom or lack of things to do, and quite honestly it made her anxious. Though her arrival had sparked quite a phenomenon among the second-floor residents of the Cornerstone Apartments, life had its way of weaving in through the cracks and keeping everyone away, and the child found this rather boring.
Most of the others had gone about their daily business, surprisingly marking the incident up as a dream or a hallucination from stress. The eviction of the tenants had gone on as planned, and by now most of them had rooms filled with boxes, only waiting on news of new homes or the moving trucks to come by. Because of the situation, it was under general consensus between Huan Yi and William that Tsuji remained on a need-to-know basis, and seeing that none of the other tenants made a fuss about seeing her, this really wasn't too big of a problem.
Tsuji, on the other hand, hated this treatment. She hated being left alone and stuffed away as though she weren't important. Whenever she raised the subject with Huan Yi, the girl insisted that she wasn't ashamed of her, but it was more or less (she puzzled over the word momentarily) easier.
"They wouldn't understand," she said. What wouldn't they understand? She was here, and her being here was important. Why wouldn't it be.. ? Did she make things hard? Or... what was the word...
"Complicate."
Yes, that was it. She didn't quite grasp it yet, still being so young, but William used it a lot (more recently in connection with her). But it also felt as though she'd heard it before, from far off; it was new but not entirely foreign. Did others.. only complicate things? Did she complicate things?
Tsuji was pondering this one afternoon as she sat cross-legged on the freshly-cleaned carpet of their neighbor's apartment. She often spent her days here under Ciellas's watchful and curious eyes, until Huan Yi came home from school to pick her up. Kieron sat across from her as he looked with a pout upon the small tower he constructed - they were the only toys that Ciellas had allowed out between the two of them. The rest were packed up, as was the entirety of the apartment. The only thing that kept them there was waiting for the truck, and perhaps Ciellas's desire to say goodbye before they left, but Tsuji couldn't be sure.
Still, the whole thing made her feel a little sad. Ciellas and her family were the only people who pursued seeing her, outside of her own. She was fond of Seri (who seemed delighted at having another younger to boss around) and Kieron (who followed her like he did his sister - in the manner of a lost lamb), but Ciellas was her favorite. The way the woman looked upon her so fondly made her feel welcome; like she really was a part of her life. It was the same feeling that she got whenever Huan Yi rewarded her for doing something right, or learning something new.
"Remember... complicate... umntanami."
"Alright, ye two." Tsuji was shaken out of her sleepy daze as the woman made her appearance in the doorway, wiping her hands on a dulled dishcloth and giving them a small smile. "Lunch is aboot ready if ye'll get washed up." Kieron was on his feet and racing to the bathroom already, and Tsuji's gaze turned to the blocks he had left on the ground forgotten. Something that had held his attention so intently now left behind.. why did that bother her? "C'mon, youngin', let's go." Ciellas's hands were tucked under the Ashe's underarms and the girl was hoisted to her feet, wriggling a little as she went.
But she had no time to argue as the woman tucked her hand around hers and walked with her down the hall. It was like she was important, the way she held her hand. The way that Mama... no... Huan Yi held her hand sometimes. Today didn't feel right to call the Chinese girl "Mama".. Mama felt like a different person somehow. One who called her something she had never heard before in this life. A voice that told her in her musings and daydreams that others only complicate things.
"Hey..." Tsuji stopped and glanced up at Ciellas. The word.. that last word.. "What does 'umntanami' mean?" The Irish woman blinked at the young girl.
"No idea.. but wherever did y'hear that?" It was a good question, but one that the Ashe had no solid answer for.
"Dunno." She gave a small shrug as she peered at Ciellas with wide, cattish eyes. "I just remember it." Her companion didn't look sated in the least with this answer, and watched over her young charge strangely even as her son came charging from the bathroom, flashing his freshly scrubbed hands before dashing into the kitchen. There was something familiar in the woman's eyes.. concern perhaps?
".. Hold on jest a moment." Her hold on Tsuji's hand slipped away as she turned and moved quickly and quietly down the hall, her footsteps muffled by the carpet. A door opened, followed by the sounds of shifting objects, metal on metal, soft things falling onto hard surfaces. The Ashe blinked curiously at the noise before following, quietly as the one who entered before her. Ciellas met her at the bedroom's threshold, and as their eyes met she knelt and pulled something around the girl's neck. Tsuji felt something heavy fall against her chest, and as the woman pulled away she found a strange gold locket looped around her neck.
"'Tis something I wanted to give ye." Ciellas smiled as Tsuji's small fingers traced the tassles and designs upon it. "It belonged to my ma, who got it from one o' yer type long ago."
".. Yeah?" She drug her eyes from the attraction of the locket.
"Remember that others.. only complicate your heart, umntanami."
"It was a gift for helpin' her." Ciellas's voice cut through the hazy tone in Tsuji's head, and the small child nodded and turned the charm over in her hands. The tassels flopped against her palm with each rotation, cool to the touch. "Ye'll probably be learnin' a lot in the days to come, so if ye are ever feeling stressed, just open it up. And, hopefully, ye'll be keepin' it in memory o' us."
"What does it do?" The Ashe child held it up and squinted at the object. From every angle it looked like an ordinary charm.. did it hold a picture inside? Immediately her fingers scrambled to undo the small clasp but it refused to give way to her needy grip. "It won't open!" She looked up to Ciellas hopelessly, wondering why the woman would give her such a teasing gift. Saying it would open, and then it wouldn't.. how mean!
"Ahh, but ye can't open it willy-nilly." The older woman laughed as she steered her around and nudged her towards the kitchen. "Otherwise the magic would be all used up. It'll only open when ye truly need it." She patted the child on the head. "And only you can open it.. 'less you give it to someone else. Nobody can take it from you and see what's inside."
This last bit of information brought Tsuji a bit of comfort. Something just for her. What was all this nonsense about others complicating her heart, then? She didn't know why she was hearing those strange-but-familiar words, but thinking on it, it didn't make sense. She had Huan Yi; she had this gift from Ciellas (a sure sign that she cared about her); and, admittedly, she had William as well. They were her family.
But still the unsettled feeling wouldn't leave her. Ciellas was right - she probably was going to find out a lot in the coming days, and perhaps bits and pieces would align for her and fill in the gaps about what she was and who she was supposed to be.
An abrupt knocking on the door interrupted her thoughts, and without thinking she followed Ciellas to the door. The face of Huan Yi, cheeks red from the chilly day, appeared from the other side, hands laden with grocery sacks. She smiled at Tsuji, who let the locket slip from her fingers and land softly against her chest.
"Thank you for watching her," she gasped, clearly out of breath from the jog up the stairs. "Are you ready to go, Tsuji?" Despite her smiling face, the Ashe's detached mood didn't lift as it used to upon seeing it, but she gave her a small grin back as she approached, hands tucked coyly behind her back..
"Yes, Huan Yi."
"Remember that others will only complicate your heart, umntanami. You need only me."umntanami - Zulu, "{my} child", noun.
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 2:17 pm
o8. Mahina {moon} Coming soon.
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Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 2:08 pm
o9. Njozi {dream} Coming soon.
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Friendly Conversationalist
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