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 Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 6:41 am
A large, bustling and beautiful city, Seidou is as quiet and serene as its surroundings. Surely an amazing oasis at the mouth of a large desert, the new Capital is something wondrous to behold. Watched over by its Castle on the Cliff, it is peaceful and relatively crime free.
((my personal name for this thread; Another Daring Escape. Or; The Runaway Prince))
The guards stared blankly at Tsubasa as he exited his bedroom, making him stop short. He couldn't help but wonder for a moment what he'd done wrong this time... Then he remembered. It wasn't what he'd done but what he was going to do. Curse his parents and thier knowing him so well!
He sighed as he closed the door behind him and stepped into the hall. "Hello again, Gentlemen... I take it you're ready to have another go?" He gave them a wry grin. "Think you can actually do your jobs this time?" As usual, they just stared at him. Boring... Why did his father always have to assign him the ones with the least sense of humor? The least he could do was provide him a little entertainment along with his confinement... Ah, well. "Shall we?" He asked, then started towards the kitchen.
As he walked ahead of them, he made a face. He hated having guards follow him around all the time... It almost made him feel like a criminal. Granted, it was his own actions that caused the need anymore... But he probably would've never started running away if it weren't for his parents placing guards on him so much when he was younger. And it wasn't like he ever stayed gone long, either...
It was a small consolation that the men had to have been waiting outside of his door for at least a few hours before he actually woke up. It was already noon, and this was the first time he had been out of his room today. Honestly, sometimes he wondered why they didn't just have all of his clothing made with bells attatched... It'd make thier lives so much easier. And at least then he'd have music to entertain him rather than these stiffs. And, of course, those would be quite a bit easier to be rid of... But then, perhaps that was why the didn't do it.
He suppressed a slight smirk. He wasn't generally a very cocky person, but when it came to getting away from his guards and escaping the palace in general... Well, they were just lucky that he wasn't actually a criminal. And he would be giving them the slip again very soon.
As they walked down the hall, they came upon his favorite of his mother's vases. It stood to above his waist now, but he remembered fondly when it was a foot taller than he. As was his daily ritual, he tapped it with his foot. The resulting sound reverbrated through the hallway for a few moments, and he paused to listen to it. It was actually a quite lovely sound. Too bad that his mother would flay him alive if she ever caught him doing that...
Right on cue, a scream came from the hallway up ahead. The guards rushed past him, and he smiled to himself. Ah, Taki... How he loved his little sister. He would have to make sure he found her an extra special present this time.
Schooling his features, Tsubasa followed the guards over to the intersection. He couldn't resist it; he had to see Taki's performance. She was such a good little actress... He was just glad that - at least other than her assisting him in his escapes - she didn't use it for evil.
"Your Majesty?" One of the guards asked his sister when they got to her. Tsu leaned against the wall to watch the scene as she gave them a wide-eyed and very convincingly frightened stare. "Princess Takara, what is it?" The same guard added, looking around in confusion. There didn't appear to be anything around that could've frightened the girl.
"I-it was this big barbarous man... He came running out of that room over there..." She said, pointing towards one of the guest chambers. "He... I don't know who he was, but he wreaked of lavender... He patted me on the head and asked me where the barracks were... What would he want with the barracks, sir?" She asked, giving him a wide-eyed and almost hysterical look.
The guards exchanged confused glances before turning back to her. Tsubasa has to fight down the urge to laugh... This was all only too funny. "Please calm down, Your Majesty.... Which way did he go?" The first of the four guards asked her in what sounded like an attempt at a comforting voice.
Taki whimpered slightly and pointed off down the hall, in the opposite direction from her brother's position. The guard nodded to the others. "Allright... You and you, with me. You, guard the prince." He commanded the other three. This, of course, was Tsu's cue.
As the four guards were attempting to assemble themselves properly, he blew his sister a kiss and walked to the wall... And straight through it to the room on the other side, which just happened to be a little-used storage closet. He had had Taki hide some inconspicious clothing in there for him last night, so he quickly changed and pulled the hood of the plain grey cape over his head and face.
After peering out the door to make sure that there wasnt' anyone around to see him leave the little room, he stepped out and quickly shut the door behind him... Just in time to hear the shouting of a few of the palace guards as they made thier way towards him.
Thankfully, the particular room he'd came through was one which travelers seeking audiences with his father often traversed, so the guards ran right past him without even sparing him a glance. He chuckled to himself as he watched the buffoons run off down the stairs ahead of him as he made his hunched way down them. This was all too easy.
It didn't take him much time to make his way out of the palace and onto the grand staircase to the town below. This was the last leg of the journey in which he really needed to worry at all about being caught. As easy as it would be for him to outrun one of his guards, he didn't want to risk one of them hurting themselves. Especially since there were a few that he actually rather liked.
Luckily he managed to scrape through without anyone taking notice... After all, who would suspect someone who looked as poor and homely as he did at the moment? It was laughable, really... He would have to inform his father of the lax security around the palace... Granted, the city was a rather peaceful place, but there were still the occaisional loon that might take it in his head to sneak into the palace for one reason or another... And, naturally, the loon that rather enjoyed sneaking out of the palace.
Once out of sight of the staircase, Tsu threw off his hood and straightened his shoulders. The only danger he was in when it came to the guards now was if one of them realized that it was him and decided to escort him... Which wouldn't be quite so bad, as it was quite a bit easier to give someone the slip in town than it was in the palace.
Ah, how good it felt to be away from those oppressive guards... Honestly, his father could at least give him someone to talk to in his little escort. But he supposed that his father was afraid of him making an ally amongst the guards. Which he, himself, actually rather liked the idea of... It would make sneaking away alot easier to not only have his sister's help, but the help of one of the men that was supposed to be guarding him as well. But, alas, this was not to be. He would just have to continue on as he had been doing for the majority of his life.
As he made his way onto the merchants' street, he felt his stomache growl. It was a good thing that he had brought money with him, otherwise this would end up being a very long day. So, heeding the demands of his stomache, he meandered over to the nearest fruit seller and began to examine the wares. Everything looked so delicious to him right at that moment that he was having troubles making up his mind... He was just glad that there wasn't any meat nearby, otherwise he'd probably end up being too sick to eat anything.
((Tag Subaru.))
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Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 2:28 am
As the young blacksmith brushed away a few of the strands of hair that threatened to fall into the forge, Subaru rubbed his eye slightly, covering it in soot. Having to tend the forge and actually working on the metal was quite a dirty job, but it was something that he enjoyed immensely. It was just... amazing. Taking a lump of rock, and changing it into a thing of beauty. To him, even the most humble of metal tools was a work of art. He took great pride in his work, but it was his more delicate pieces that he loved the most.
Pulling the latest bit of heated metal out of the blaze, a smirk crossed his lips as he began to form it. Not with the hammer, oh no. Not this piece. While Subaru enjoyed the more physical labor, this item was going to be something that even the smallest hammer would not be able to form. A silvery glow appeared on his arm, as the glowing metal began to shift, changing itself into a fine silvery comb. Across the top of the ornament was a lounging tiger, his paws falling down upon the teeth of the comb. It was one of his more detailed pieces. Once he dunked it into a small barrel filled with oil, listening to the liquid pop from the heat, more of the details could be seen. Normally, such a piece would be painted lightly with enamel, to help mimic the flow of the tiger's fur. This one, however, did not. On close inspection, one could see each individual hair in the tiger's fur. Subaru smiled, holding it daintily in his hand. This will be sure to fetch a fine price at the market.
While he normally didn't care much about how much his items sold for, Subaru and his father had been running into a bit of a problem. Unfortunately, the metal around his home village of Ginyama had run out. His father and he were forced to move to Seidou to survive, though it wasn't much better. Now, rather than going to the mountain and mining the neccessary metal, they had to buy it, which made no real sense to Subaru. Why should he and his father have to spend money on metal, when it was just going to be formed and sold again? He pushed the thought out of his mind at the moment, and turned his attention to the other items. He still had many things he had to make before he went to market.
Glancing about, to check to see if his father was anywhere nearby. Finding that he was, indeed, alone in the forge, Subaru laid his hands upon one of the blocks. As the mark glowed once more upon his arm, the metal block seemed to almost disintegrate into a puddle of small silver hair pins. They were very simple, and consequentially, were sold rather cheap. It didn't matter though. Even he used them occasionally, though he never went out of the forge with them in his hair. It was bad enough that he constantly had girls fawning over him, he didn't need males thinking he was a female. One would think the scars that criss crossed his body would be proof enough, not to mention other obvious factors, but considering he had seen one or two women who were even more marked than he was, it wasn't always the case.
Preforming his little trick once more upon another block of silver, Subaru gathered up the pins and put them in a small bag. He had several other items that he was going to take to market with him. These were just the more popular of the bunch. The other objects were blades and other tools neccesary for every day life. Subaru was quite good at those as well, he just didn't enjoy them quite as much. Afterall, nothing could compare to the admiring gaze of a young woman as she glanced at the wares... and the adoring light that just radiated from her cheeks as her beloved buys the bauble. It wasn't his favorite part, but it was one of the best.
As all of his little creations were gathered and saddled upon the back of the horse, which he did truely regret doing. Subaru felt bad putting so much weight upon it's back, but he justified it by remembering to grab a few mon coins for himself. He was going to buy a few apples with the money, and give one to the horse. Afterall, for carrying such a load, the creature should get a treat to know it is appreciated.
After making sure everything was loaded up, Subaru stepped into his house for a moment, to let his father know he was leaving. The older man had caught cold, and was unable to go to market with him today. Which, while Subaru didn't mind too horribly, he did enjoy speaking with his father. He was the only family the young warrior had left. His mother was gone, as his father said. So, he never knew the woman, as much as he wished he did.
There was a small exchange between the two of them, mostly Subaru's father telling him to be careful, since there were pickpockets and theives about everywhere. Subaru had to reassure his father that he would be careful. I'm not a child... I know how to keep track of my belongings. Once his father was properly watered and fed, the dark haired young man was allowed to leave his home.
He had one last thing he had to do before he left the house. Being that Subaru had been working in the forge, he had been marked by soot. He paused in front of the water barrel, looking at his reflection. A single scar marred his face, from the cut of a blade he had been training with. It cut vertically down the left side of his face, and was currently blackened from the dark dust. His hands were also coated in the black powder. It was a simple clean, rinsing his hands in the water and dunking his head in. He looked more cool afterwards, and considerably more clean.
Taking the horse's rope in hand, he lead the creature by it's halter to the main part of the city. Subaru smiled as he walked by the river, taking in the fresh scent. It was a lovely aroma, clean and crisp. That was the only real perk to having moved there. There was more water here than there was in Ginyama. Everything was alive, and green.
Seeing the his small stand, it made him frown. He wasn't quite ready to get to work yet. Afterall, he still had to get the apples for him and his horse. Particularly since he wasn't sure how long it would take for him to sell all of his wares. Once they were sold, or if the sun started to raise again, then he would be able to return home. He knew it must be around noon, which was a bit late. His father was probably rather annoyed by that fact. Subaru's father, Tetsujin, always opened shop very early. No matter how hard he tried, the Byakko warrior couldn't pull himself out of bed before eight in the morning. It was near impossible.
He decided, instead, to head towards the fruit stand. It seemed as if he wasn't the only one searching for the perfect snack today. Glancing over at the other standing near the stall, Subaru could swear there was something about him that seemed familiar. As though he had seen him before. He pushed the thought out of his mind for the moment, and focused himself on the task at hand... finding the perfect batch of apples to last him and his equine companion until after the buying day was over.
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Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2006 12:56 am
As Tsu pondered over which pear he wanted to buy, another young man walked up with a groggy and somewhat annoyed horse in tow. The prince smiled to himself as he listened to the horse. Before they reachecd the fruit stand, it had been grumbling to itself about how rude the human was... But the second it laid eyes on the apples, it started to sound like an eager child. "Applesapplesapplesapplesapples..... Get a green one..." He heard the horse saying happily as it nudged its owner. "Greeeeeeeeeeeeeen one!!!"
Tsu laughed to himself. "I think he wants a green one." He said offhandedly to the other boy as he examined the wares. The horse's ears perked up at his words. "This human's a genius!!! You should listen to him..." It said, nudging its owner again. "Wait a second... How can you understand me?" It demanded, giving Tsu a very horsey accusing stare, to which he just winked in response.
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Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 12:18 am
Subaru had been quite absorbed in trying to find the most choice of fruits for his horse and himself, when the young man next to him mentioned getting the horse a green apple. "Hmmm... I always thought he liked red ones," he said, shrugging as he picked up a few green apples. He turned to the horse, gently rubbing the creature's forehead. He had raised this horse himself, and he did try to keep him happy. "A green apple it is." He was about ready to give one to his four legged companion, when he remembered he still had to pay the fruit vendor. It was a little bit more expensive than he was expecting, so he had to put one back. Well, I guess I only have one apple today.
Pulling out his knife, he cut the apple in half, so that it would be a bit easier for the horse to munch it. "Here you are... enjoy." Subaru couldn't help but chuckle a little as the horse devoured the apple happily. He could make out the happiness in the creature's eye. "I guess you really do like green apples." He turned his head over to the other young man, nodding. "Thank you, for the tip."
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Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 1:53 am
Tsu watched out of the corner of his eye as the other young man put back one of his apples. With a slight smile, he tossed a coin to the vendor and handed the apple back to the man. "Not a problem." He said with a grin as he bit into one of the pears he had just purchased. "Might I ask what your wares are?" He asked, tilting his head towards the bags on the horse. "I assume you are a merchant, that is..." He added, suddenly realizing that he could just be another traveller passing through the town.
"This is one of the few days that I'm.... Er... Allowed to shop on my own." He said with a wry half-smile. "And I'm hoping to find a bauble for my little sister while I'm out." He finished explaining, his grin showing how fond he was of little Taki. "Perhaps you could point me in the right direction...?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 2:18 am
Subaru had been about ready to leave, to get to the shop when the other young man handed him one of the apples. "Thank you..." He was a bit perplexed. Most people didn't just buy him an apple then ask him what he sold. "Well," he said, lifting one of the flaps of the saddlebags on the horse and pulling out the comb he had been working on earlier to show the young man, "I'm a metalsmith, or atleast an apprentice one. So, all of this is various pieces. Knives, swords, blades of all sorts which were made by my father, and then there is my work. Gems and jewels, or just little trinkets." He smiled softly, thinking about all of them. He did have some talent with blades, but he was better with more detailed work.
"Well, if she is a younger girl, I would say go over to the wood worker. He's got some cute dolls and other toys that she might enjoy. Or, if she is a bit older, maybe the stone worker over there. I think I saw an amber comb over there not too long ago that was fairly well done," he said, pondering as he spoke. Subaru wasn't going to mention his own shop, mostly because he didn't want this young man to think he was bragging. While he did have quality pieces, there were only a few things that a young girl might like.
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Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 5:33 am
Tsubasa waved off the other boy's thanks with a smile, and looked with appraising eyes at the proffered comb. He let out a whistle of appreciation. "This is beautiful." He said, grinning as he pondered. That could be a perfect present for Taki. She loved trinkets for her hair. The other things that the young man was suggesting sounded like they would be good ideas as well, but the image of the tiger would be perfect for a Princess of Sairou.
As he listened to the other boy naming off the other places he could go, he noted the fact that his own shop was never mentioned. Humility was something that Tsu valued greatly in a person, seeing as how he hated people who lorder thier abilities or thier lineage over other people... And this young man certainly had bragging rights. Especially if all of his work were that beautiful. "How much for that comb?" He asked thoughtfully, eyeing it. "My sister adores tigers." He added, smiling. "And she loves her hair." He commented. "She's a vain little creature... But sweet, nonetheless." He said, smiling to himself as he thought of his beloved little sister.
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Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 3:45 am
Smiling, he was about to put the comb away when the young man asked for it's price. Pondering for a moment, Subaru tried to think how much it should cost. He prefered to keep the prices for his wares low, leaving only a little bit of money extra to keep them alive. "Hmm... I would say at highest five ryo, though I'll let it go for one," he said, nodding. He was a sucker for his wares going to the right person. If this girl liked tigers and loved things for her hair, then this piece would be the best for her. Though, he didn't know for sure.
"Forgive me if this is a bit awkward, but does you sister have any preference on how she likes her tigers? Whether they be standing or lounging, or something like that?" Even though he couldn't be there to see the girl, so he could properly tailor the comb, he could atleast make it even more to her liking. Seeing the look on the person's face when they recieved the piece was the greatest thing in the world. He just wanted to make sure it would be perfect.
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Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 3:07 am
Tsubasa raised an eyebrow at the low price he was asking. "Hmm... I dunno..." He said, eyeing the comb again, then grinning. "I'll give you two yuan for it." He stated, his voice holding a note of finality as he dug into his money pouch.
"Well, she tends to prefer the peaceful scenes for her tigers... Which makes that perfect. Also, she doesn't usually care for too much enamel... So, again, that piece is absolutely perfect for Takara." He said, grinning as he held out the yuan. "And I won't take any arguments at the price. It's more than worth it, and I don't see how you could possibly survive on charging so little for such fine craftsmanship." He informed the other man simply. "Honestly, I think you should offer your services at the palace..." He added thoughtfully. "If you'd like to, I could help you do so. I happen to know for a fact that there are quite a few women there that would absolutely adore such fine metalwork." He stated, not thinking about the fact that his mouth could very well be leading him into trouble with all of this.
Tsubasa paused suddenly. "I'm sorry... Here I am making suggestions for your business, and I haven't even asked your name or introduced myself..." He said, giving him an embarrassed smile. "Name's Tsubasa." He said, proferring the hand that wasn't holding out the money.
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Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 4:19 am
Subaru was half expecting to haggle the price with the young man when he heard two yuan. He had just opened his mouth to speak when his voice, quite literally left him. Two YUAN... that's... He was stunned. He had never, EVER in his life handled that much money. Two Yuan was an extrodinary amount. A normal farmer got, per day, one Ryo for his hard work. That was enough for a decent meal for a few people. Two yuan was nearly three weeks salary.
He shut his mouth, still a bit stunned. At this point, the horse which had been waiting patiently for the next piece of apple started to nibble on his shirt to show his displeasure. That snapped him out of it. He lifted the piece of apple for the horse, before turning his attention back to Tsubasa. "Well... I'm glad she'll like the pose, but this piece really isn't worth that much. For two yuan, it would have emeralds, diamonds or topaz for the eyes, and accents of gold on the flowers." He was half tempted to take some of the gold off of the Yuan coins so he could do just that. But, he didn't have any gems, so he couldn't do that small alteration.
"The palace? Perhaps..." While it was more financially profitable to go to the palace, he liked selling his wares to the masses. To acknowledge he had caught the young man's name, he bowed his head slightly and took his hand. "Nice to meet you, Tsubasa. I'm Tetsuhiko Seihuuno, though I prefer being called Subaru."
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Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 5:07 am
Tsu smiled. "Like I said, she doesn't care for alot of glitz and glamour. At least not for her hair." He said with a shrug. "And I, at least, think it's worth that much. Besides, no amount is too high to buy something nice for Taki..." He said with a shrug. "If it makes you feel any better, I could choose another small item from your wares to tack onto it to make it closer to the right price in your eyes, but I'd be more than happy to just take the comb for my money."
Tsubasa stared at Subaru in blank shock for a moment. "Did you say... Seihuuno?" He asked, blinking as he attempted to digest this information. "And... Wait... Subaru...?" With that, Tsubasa plopped down on the ground in a sitting position with his head resting on a fist. "Well, I'll be..." He muttered, thinking for a moment. Being the Prince of Byakko, he knew that this young man must be the celestial warrior, at least if he was going by Subaru... But the fact that he had the same last name still confused him...
After a moment of careful consideration, he jumped back up to his feet. "I suppose... Subaru.... That since you have given me a formal introduction, I should give you one as well..." He said, sighing slightly. He hated the reaction he usually got when people found out that he was the prince of Saidou, but he supposed that couldn't be helped. "My full name is Tsubasa Shou.... Seihuuno... Prince of Byakko." He said. Then, to prove his point, after making sure that only Subaru was watching, he reached over and ran his hand straight through the fruit vendor's table, causing the tiger around his neck to flare into being. "And I meant what I said about coming to the palace." He added with an impish smile.
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Posted: Sun Jun 18, 2006 12:52 am
Shrugging, Subaru smiled. "Well, I do have normal hair pins that she might like," he said, pulling out a bag of them, "Or, I could make another comb." It's not as though it would take me long to do so. It was easy for him to do so. It might take him time to go get the metal, but other wise, it was simple.
He was puzzled when the boy asked if he had said Seihuuno. Subaru nodded, confused as to how his name could perplex the other young man. Though, that perplexion soon gave way to realization, and embaressment. P... PRINCE?! Subaru bowed deeply to Tsubasa, a little bit worried. He was the son of the Emperor, and a Celestial Warrior, in a sense. And here he was, talking with him like he was just a commoner. "Forgive me, I didn't know it was you."
Righting himself, Subaru took the bag of pins in his hand, pulled a handful of them out. After showing them to Tsubasa, the mark on his arm started to glow. The pins appeared to melt and reform into another comb, similar to the one Tsubasa had bought only moments before. "Byakko Celestial Warrior Subaru..." Smiling slightly, he nodded. "Though, now I am curious... why do we have the same last name? It's odd."
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Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2006 9:57 pm
"Normal pins would be excellent." Tsubasa rolled his eyes in exasperation as Subaru bowed to him. "Please don't do that... I hate it when people bow and scrape to me, and furthermore... You're a celestial warrior. That makes us equals." He said, sighing.
Tsu's eyebrow raised and he smiled slightly as he watched the metal form into another comb. "Interesting power." He said, grinning. "Now I definitely think you should come back to the palace with me." He continued excitedly. "I mean, you're a celestial warrior... You have a right to be there. Besides... If anyone can explain the situation with our last name, it would probably be my parents... I could've sworn that my family was the only one with the name Seihuuno."
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