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 Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 2:47 pm
  Setting:
Bataar's yurt.
In which Jianyu meets someone quite unexpected on a visit to Bataar's.
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Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 9:42 am
It had been a long time since Jianyu had found himself making his way across Lunaria towards a small, tent-like standing just beyond the bustling, busy Main Street; several months, at least. He had spent most of his time away from said structure, stubbornly resisting any and all desire to go and visit, but since the fight he had had with the inhabitant of the tent-like place a few weeks prior, he felt it finally time to set aside any sort of feelings he had had before the fight. It seemed he could finally - and the wave of relief was so thick it was nearly tangible - finally visit the person that he had been wanting to see for months.
His feet making squishy footprints in the damp grass, Jianyu had shed most of his armor for the time being. Today he was just wearing a simple trainer's outfit - namely a pair of grey training pants, a black tunic top that wrapped around his middle, and arm bandages that wrapped around his forearms tightly, securing down the sleeves of his tunic. He still had his crossbow (there was no chance in hell that he would go anywhere without it, even here), but it was held loosely in one hand, the small case that held the metal bolts strapped to his upper thigh.
Jianyu paused just as he was reaching for the flap of the yurt; there was a noise coming from inside; a sort of scuffling sound, some voices, and then a thud. Confusion creased his brow, and Jianyu hesitated only a fraction longer before pushing aside the tent flap, stepping inside of the yurt.
"Bataar? Are...er. Oh."
The Mongol was not exactly alone. There was a woman with him - someone Jianyu had never seen before. And if he could not already tell that they were related by their shared skin color and the ferocity in her eyes, he might have been a little more concerned that she seemed to be throttling his best friend. As it was he just stood there, his head tilted as he regarded the situation with a sort of mingled curiosity, confusion, and mild horror.
"Erm," he said. "Good afternoon."
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Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 12:17 pm
Odval had her fingers locked around Bataar's beefy throat for a reason. "You mean to tell me that--" she was just beginning to hiss just as a man stepped into her son's yurt. The buxom woman paused what she was doing, her single green eye penetrating. It was that Legionnaire captain-- the one her son hadn't been around in months. Was this some kind of resurgence? She didn't need her son befriending this man again, that was for sure. The Jaorets were Nobles-- their name would not be defiled by her idiot son.
"Get out." she growled, loosening her grip on Bat's neck and listening with faint disappointment as he gasped for breath. "I'm not done with you." she added to her son, through gritted teeth. There was still punishment to deal out. There always was with Bataar.
Bataar himself lurched out of reach, coughing and gasping as he went. "Go home, mother." he said hoarsely, although his eyes were much more pleading than his tone. He narrowly avoided a violent smack to the cheek. Jianyu couldn't have had worse timing, as far as the Mongol was concerned. The other man had never met his mother, that much he was sure of. It showed through on the look of confusion on Jianyu's face.
He turned to Jianyu, getting close enough so that Odval couldn't reach him without quite possibly damaging his friend, too. "You might want to go." he muttered under his breath, looking faintly mortified. There were few people in this word who could properly handle Odval, and they'd be lucky if she didn't try to strangle Jianyu just to get a one-up for the Nobles. She was adamant about which side she was on, had lost an eye for it.
His mom wasn't above killing random friends of Bat's to make a point.
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Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 12:52 pm
Odval Jaoret was not really what Jianyu had expected.
For one thing, she was in the process of strangling her own son (though from the very few, half hearted, mumbled words Bataar had grunted out about her, this should not have been that surprising). For another, she gave off an air of extreme confidence, self-awareness, and strength that radiated off of her in waves. A patch - not unlike the one Jianyu himself wore, though much more decorative in appearance - covered one of her eyes. The other was glaring at him with a distinct sense of dislike.
"No," Jianyu answered, quite simply, his eyes moving first from Odval, whom Bataar had confirmed to be his mother with a gasping breath, over to the Mongol in question, who had a mixture of anxiety, irritation, and frustration written across his face. There was the smallest note of desperation in his voice as he moved closer to Jianyu, muttering to him quietly. One of Jianyu's brows arched upwards, but he stayed exactly where he was.
"I don't want to go," he said, as a matter-of-factly as he could, and the old stubbornness was reigning back in again. Bataar seriously could not think that his own mother strangling was a normal family occurrence, could he? He had had some sort of very vague picture surrounding Odval Jaoret, but nothing could have prepared him for how she was up close and in person.
"I just dropped in to see Bataar. Might one ask what you are doing?" Jianyu said politely to her, unmoving from where he stood. The crossbow was still dangling from one of his hands, the other relaxed against his side. He had no intentions of using it, of course, but it at least gave him a sense of familiarity.
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Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 1:59 pm
Odval was now glaring daggers at the Legionnaire captain, looking more than ready to strangle him. "Legionnaires are not welcome here." the shaman spat, her green eye flat with hatred. Bataar couldn't afford to be associating with this man and she knew it. His superiors would be horrified if they ever found out, besides. "Must I clarify?" she asked sweetly, ignoring the thinly-veiled look of terror directed at her by her son.
"Jianyu." the captain whispered loudly, beginning to look pissed off himself. "As touching as it is that you want to see me so badly, I think you'd better leave." he spoke, placing a great deal of emphasis upon his last few words. Odval was not a force to be reckoned with. She had connections he didn't even want to think about, and she was adamant about his not befriending anymore Legionnaires. You did not question that woman, either.
Odval was beginning to look amused, but Bat knew it was an act. That much was obvious to her son, but probably no so much to the other captain. "I am dealing with my idiot son. And you are disturbing me while I'm at it." the curvaceous woman pointed out, her arm darting out to tug upon Bataar's braid. The man started to squeal in pain(hair-pulling was low, man) but stopped abruptly when his mother gave him The Look. "Now leave, or I shall have him deal with you. With the sword, I might add."
Bataar was beginning to look rather white and it was easy to tell, especially given that the woman he was standing next to had just as dark a complexion as he. You didn't disobey Odval. It just wasn't done.
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Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 2:15 pm
Clearly Bataar was under the very large and menacing thumb of his mother; that much was not difficult to discern, especially when Bataar's expression of wariness turned to one of irritation as Jianyu stood his ground. One brief flicker of his eye towards his friend, one of Odval's strong hands wrapped around the braid in his hair, that to say one thing, anything wrong, and the two of them would be at odds again. It was obvious that Odval's hatred for the Legionnaires would make pitting her son against Jianyu very easy for her, and that was the last thing Jianyu wanted.
"Oh good," he said, gaze flickering back to rest on Odval, rather than at her son who was looking vaguely aghast at the situation. "I was looking for an excuse to thank him for the laughingstock he made of me in front of my men. It seems to me that he dealt with them a lot more easily than he dealt with me personally, and my men were quite amused to learn that their Captain had been taken down by a Noble in our last fight."
This was all said rather carelessly, but with a hard edge of bitterness towards Bataar that Jianyu did not mean in the slightest. He gave a small, derisive snort, then bowed (as well as he could in the cramped yurt, that was).
"Forgive my intrusion," he said to Odval, eye glinting blue steel in the dark. "I am due back at my camp, but I will expect your son not to let me down when it comes to his fighting, which means I will see him soon to finish things unsaid between us. Good afternoon to your both."
And with that, Jianyu promptly turned around and left the yurt. Except he didn't actually go back to his camp; today was his free day, after all, and he was not about to leave right when he'd made up with Bataar, after all. Glancing around at the thick throngs of trees surrounding the tent-like structure, Jianyu hoisted his crossbow onto his hip and scaled the densest one he could find, a few feet away from Bataar's yurt. The fact that he was not in full gear made it much easier to climb midway up, and there he crouched on a thick branch, concealed and protected from any view.
He would just have to wait until Odval left, and then he would go see Bataar and demand an explanation.
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Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 9:30 pm
Odval did not seemed either impressed or convinced when Jianyu's words reached her ears, and Bat had the good grace to simply look miserable. He didn't looked ashamed that his mother held so much power over him, however, and it was easy to see why. Odval was an extremely formidable woman and he was in trouble if she chose to harbor too much anger over this surprise visit. Bat watched the Legionnaire retreat with a short sigh, dealing with his mother five minutes more before getting the chance to catch his breath and nurse his slightly-bruised throat as she stormed out of the yurt.
The man sank down upon a pile of furs and stared up at the ceiling, taking a few deep breaths, glad to have air again. He had been afraid that his mother had found out about his slaying a Noble assassin a few days ago, but she had come to bicker about something rather useless. Her threats were the captain's only encouragement and he dealt with them as best he could. His mother was dangerous and a definite asset to the Nobles, especially in part because she was a shaman.
Still, Bataar wished that Odval might leave him be every once in a while. In truth, he was really just relieved that she hadn't yet found him out and he hoped that she wouldn't. Odval would put her allegiance above her son, and he knew it. Besides that, she'd chased off Jianyu, who had managed to see Bat's mom in action for the first time. Hell, maybe he'd even get some respect due to the fact that he'd had to deal with that woman every day growing up.
That was, unless Jianyu wasn't planning on coming back.
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Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 10:26 pm
Sitting up in the tree beside Bataar's yurt gave Jianyu time to think things over. For one thing, he was still vaguely confused over the fact that Odval had been attempting to throttle her own son - although, from the looks of it, this had not been an unusual occurrence. He knew he hadn't fooled her in the slightest with his little act, but he didn't really regret it, and at least he had managed to get out of there before Odval had decided to pit Bataar against him. The pure and utter loathing in Odval Jaoret's eye as she had stared him coldly down had made Jianyu quite certain that she would have no problems doing exactly that, and watching as her son ran his friend through with his sword.
Jianyu was now suddenly quite grateful for his own parents.
It only took a few minutes for Bataar's mother to leave, throwing back the tent flap and stalking angrily out. Jianyu stayed crouched in the tree for a short while after that, making sure that she was not circling back around waiting for him to return, and when he was satisfied that she was truly gone, he dropped down nimbly, landing with a gentle thud on the forest floor. Then he stepped back to the front of the yurt and slipped inside.
"Is your mother always so pleasant?" Jianyu asked conversationally as he sat down beside his friend, settling down into the thick furs that lined most of the floor. "I can see now where you get your lovely disposition from."
He was teasing, but it was perhaps a bit gentler than normal, and his eye was watching Bataar with a slightly cautious expression, almost wary. He did not want to intrude upon anything that was not his business, but at the same time Bataar was one of his closest friends, and his concern for him was genuine, if not well hidden beneath the mild, playful banter.
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Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 9:37 am
Bataar glanced up as Jianyu entered into his yurt, although he couldn't say that he was honestly surprised the other man had shown up. On the contrary, it seemed only natural that the other captain should come and try to figure out an explanation after meeting Bat's mother. Most people did desire some sort of an explanation for their relationship's dynamics. The Mongol wasn't sure he wanted the other man to be here while he was trying to recover from his mother's attack, but he also didn't think he could fully chase Jianyu away. That opportunity didn't really seem to be presenting itself, in any case.
He pursed his lips upon hearing the Legionnaire's question and snorted(although it was a bit botched because he'd almost just been strangled). "You'd do better not to speak of her behind her back." Bat commented dryly, rubbing his fingers across one of the newer pelts that adorned his yurt's floor. "She's a shaman." he felt the need to add, as if that somehow made Odval all-powerful(Tengri knows it may have). Explanations were not his forte, especially when it came to the beastly woman that had just exited the tent.
It might be said that Odval was Bataar's one true weakness.
"And it's stupid to come here, besides." he couldn't help but point out, glowering at the man beside him. As the war advanced it was becoming more and more dangerous to befriend others of the opposite allegiance, and spies and assassins were absolutely everywhere. "Because, y'know, if she'd asked me to stab you, I probably would've." he commented, although he looked disturbed at the thought. Disobeying his mother was out of the question.
He continued, doing his best to follow along with jokes. "It could have made a nice scar. I mean, unless she told me to stab your other eye out, I guess." Ha, ha.
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Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 9:57 am
Jianyu lifted a brow in slight amusement. "A real shaman, eh?" he replied, a little impressed despite himself. He hadn't expected anything less from the woman who had raised Bataar, but the idea that she was an actual shaman...well, Jianyu could at least see why Bataar was the way he was when he was around her.
Sort of. He'd never met a shaman before, but there was at least one thing he knew of Odval Jaoret - he did not want to get on her bad side. It was one thing for Bataar to be angry with him (which happened more often than not), but there had been a deep hatred within his mother's eyes that Jianyu thought wise not to test.
"Don't be stupid," he said mildly, absently pulling a pelt over his lap and tugging at the fur. It was smooth beneath his fingers, though he couldn't distinguish what animal it had come from. "You're my best friend, despite our contrasting alliances, and I am perfectly within my rights to come here.
That's okay," he added, without looking up at the Mongol. "If you'd cut my other eye out, I'd just look more manly. Don't you keep telling me that scars make you manly?"
There was a pause. Jianyu gave a small sigh, his expression wary. "The wars are growing worse, Bataar," he said quietly, picking at the pelt in his lap. "It's becoming dangerous to walk the streets alone, even in the daytime."
There was a side to Jianyu that worried Jianyu could no longer maintain his friendships with the Nobles he spoke with. Bataar was not the only Noble he aligned himself, after all. But he had never hated the Nobles, at least not all of them together. They were just doing what they believed, after all - and Jianyu was doing what he was certain was the right path.
He gave another sigh, leaning his head back. "Well, at least your mother knows how to use her assets," he said, meaning her shaman abilities and her strength and not realizing in the slightest that what he was saying could be taken an entirely different way.
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Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 10:45 am
Bataar nodded as the other man went to confirm that Odval was, indeed, a shaman. "Yep. She kills people, sometimes." In a strange way, he was bragging. After all, not many people had moms as mean or badass as he did. He was probably pretty lucky that he hadn't ended up like the woman who'd just departed. She was bitter, and often cruel. Her life hadn't been simple. Bat tended not to reflect on these facts, however, and preferred just to obey her as much as he possibly could.
"You'll be no one's best friend if you're dead." he huffed, crossing his arms and glancing at the flap of the tent, just to make sure that Odval wouldn't actually be coming back for another visit. Despite the fact that she was his mother, he supposed he really hadn't had that bad of a childhood. Maybe that was because Odval had been busy running the Jaoret clan as best a she could. And then it struck him: the reason that he was so amazing.
He shot the man an incredulous look as he commenting about his other eye. "It's not even cool if you lose an eye." the captain explained, looking smug. In reality, the cogs in his head were continuing to turn as he tried to seek out a thought that seemed somehow relevant to his mother. He thought he might have found it.
Ignoring Jianyu's bleak comments about the war(oh, he knew, alright), he spoke. "I think I'm actually like royalty." Was it just him, or did he sound a little like he was gushing? The comment about his mother's breasts(for that must have been what it was about) was probably only going to hit him two posts from now, after he got over his amazing thought. His mom had, after all, pretty much ruled over the sizable clan. That meant that he, Bataar Jaoret, was a king and just didn't know it!
Amongst all this seriousness, it was necessary for Bat to lay down some maturity, after all.
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 5:58 am
Jianyu resisted the very strong urge to roll his eyes at Bataar, instead, turning the fur in his lap around so that he could look at it more closely. He could hear the note of pride in the Mongol's voice when he talked of his mother, which was both slightly surprising and mildly exasperating, considering the situation in which he had walked in on. Jianyu could not pretend to understand the strange relationship between Bataar and his mother, but at the same time felt it rather a touchy subject to ask about, so kept uncharacteristically quiet.
"I'll come back and haunt you if I die," he said placidly as he plucked out a stray feather that had somehow made its way onto the pelt draped across his legs. "I'll be still be your best friend, just invincible."
Jianyu looked up, giving Bataar a stare that was both withering and borderline startled, mixed with the exasperation again. "I'm sorry, you're - what - excuse me?" he said, swallowing a laugh and winding up coughing, dropping the pelt. "Royalty? What in Lunaria's name are you even talking about?"
It was neither an unusual statement, nor an unexpected one, at least not coming from Bataar's lips. If someone else other than the Mongol had said something like "I think I'm actually royalty," Jianyu would have scoffed scornfully and reprimanded him for speaking so ridiculously. As it was, he just gave Bataar a mildly incredulous look, waiting for some sort of explanation to follow this rather outlandish declaration.
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 12:23 pm
Bataar did indeed share an undeniably strange relationship with the big-breasted woman who’d given birth to him. In a way, he was almost her servant-- he worshipped his mother from the ground up, and dreaded disappointing her, but as of late he’d been taking more chances. As a captain, he was beginning to part himself from the extreme influence of the woman, however, although that was proving to be quite a task given the beatings she was constantly giving out. It was nothing he couldn’t handle, being the bulky man that he was, but it was a little distressing to witness Odval’s rage on any given day.
The thought of a ghostly Jianyu bothering him in his sleep caused the man to grimace, and then shoot a small glare over to the other man. ”I bet I could still kick your a**, even if you were a ghost!” he declared proudly, although his eyes didn’t reflect upon this apparent certainty. Was it even possible to kick a ghost’s a**? He’d have to ask Sarangerel some other day, but for now he’d stick with his claims in order to instill some fear within his best friend.
He looked at Jianyu for a moment before speaking slowly, as if the other man was fairly elementary and he was having to explain something rather obvious. ”I would’ve been leader of the Jaoret clan after my mom.” he replied, puffing out his chest. ”Like, the king.” he breathed, looking deeply pleased with the idea. If his clan hadn’t clashed and split up, he would have been able to snap his fingers and make just about anything happen! The Mongol suddenly looked quite enamored of himself as he thought on it, although he probably appeared to be far more confused than anything else, simply because he was deep in thought, caught up in sudden daydreams.
Bat glanced over at the other captain, trying to make sure that he understood. Maybe he’d even, y’know, start to worship him a little. ”Could you just bow to me right now?” he asked, hopeful.
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 7:47 pm
Jianyu, for the most part, was quite grateful for his own parents. He now seemed quite fortunate for the ones he had; kindhearted, respectable, and supportive of their children, Jianyu had never had to worry about the opinions of his mother and father, the reactions they might have should he stray from what one might deem a normal path. When they had found out about Bataar, for instance - not only another man as his lover, but a Noble nonetheless - all his mother had said was to make sure Bataar took care of him properly.
Which either made Ehuang very wise or very ignorant. Or perhaps both. Jianyu had not quite figured out which yet.
"I'm quite certain you couldn't," he said, lifting a brow at Bataar and smirking. "I'd be too fast for you to catch as a ghost. Then I'd just hang around obnoxiously until you gave in and admitted I'm much more impressive than you are."
Since this would never happen, Jianyu idly tossed the fur back over his lap. He then proceeded to give Bataar a look reminiscent of one trying to figure out if someone is joking or not, and when he had conceded that Bataar, as usual, was quite serious, tried not to look as he just had.
"You want me to - what - excuse me?"
This statement was followed by a look of exasperation mixed with incredulity. Jianyu had to resist the very strong urge to throw the pelt over Bataar's head. "I will not bow to you," he sputtered. "Friends don't bow to each other, ya nimrod!"
After a few moments of this, Jianyu said idly "Does your mother always...er...flaunt her assets as such?"
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 7:56 pm
There was no way in hell Jianyu was going to beat him out in ghost-form-- the idea was, quite simply, preposterous. The captain's brows knit together at the suggestion, and his mouth transformed into a rather expressive grimace. The very thought of the other man coming back from the dead to beat him out was deeply disturbing in the Mongol's opinion. "I bet you'd be the slowest possible ghost. And I'll bet I could slice you with my knife." he declared obstinately, untying the item he'd just mentioned from around his waist.
He was, admittedly, deeply displeased when the other man refused to bow to him. "Jianyu, you're not my friend anymore. You're my subject, and, as such, you must bow to me and not to your nasty emperor." Bat declared haughtily, his nose turned high up in the air as if to make a point of sorts. He'd be perfectly happy if the other man just lowered himself a little, acknowledging his obvious sovereign. Why, he was fairly sure he'd just ended the war!
The war, however, was only just beginning.
"What?" the captain asked, any laughter fading from his face. "You were... you were looking at my mother's BREASTS?!" he gasped, his voice nearly at a pitch that could be classified as a shriek. Things were instantly back to normal between the two men, especially considering that Bataar's fist was now flying directly at Jianyu's face.
It was just like old times.
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