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 Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 9:51 pm
Eventually the days began to run into each other and Rin-ji's life returned to dull normalcy, not so different from what he had abandoned in Heshen.
Gone was the excitement of being a student to the infamous Razuten, the first warm face to greet him in the city. Now Li Ren was also nowhere to be seen, or when he did see her the glances were fleeting. His odd jobs and her status kept them apart and he resented that she seemed to not want to put any further effort into finding him. How pathetic that he held on, he thought, and though he said he was done with her he spent a lot of time loitering quietly around the place she had claimed was her other school.
He was once again walking down the old dusty road and it was already getting a bit late. Soon enough he'd need to consider turning around and heading back to shelter and early sleep, ending another fruitless afternoon. It had become mostly habitual by now. Wake up, work, practice stances and drills, wander the streets denying that he was peering at every young noble's face for her, and then return 'home' unsuccessful.
Outside of Khuthulan's school, he was sure it was the one she meant, Rin-ji leaned against a pillar and slid down it to the ground. From there, he felt safe enough in the emptying street to pull out a unique golden dragon hair pin. Probably one of a kind. When the light caught the little ruby eye he imagined it was winking at him.
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Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 10:04 pm
Tsai Shen had been putting his rod away when he spotted the boy. Not a student of his Aunt's. He knew them all by name and face now. It was that pin that really caught his eye though. He knew it, knew it well. It was Hers. He'd never seen another like it, and recently, she hadn't been wearing it to practice.
Had he stolen it? Or was it a gift? Assuming that later, as Tsai wasn't the negative sort, he also assumed the younger boy must be a friend of hers. Interesting. He'd never met anyone she knew.
"Hey," His voice was as warm and smooth as his smile, and the teenager strolled over to prop himself against the same pillar using a large hand. "You're a friend of Li Ren's? She didn't come today, if you were looking for her." Or maybe he'd been refered?
"If you're looking for Khutulan, my aunt's inside. You want to enroll?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 10:21 pm
Before doing anything else he possessively tucked the dragon back into his shirt. He felt nervous to having it exposed, well aware that the average person would think he got it through unsavory means.
"Enrolling takes money," he said with a faint grin, looking up at the new arrival. The other boy was tall, foreign looking and scarred; he looked like he would be right at home in a martial arts school. To hear Li Ren's name from him and be presented with a scrap of progress made his heart soar much more than he would ever admit, even under the severest torture.
"No, uh, you were right the first time." He stood and dusted himself off a bit. He had to try and pull himself together enough to look somewhat presentable in front of someone that knew Li Ren and would probably tell her about this encounter. He didn't want to be described as some grubby looking street rat that came asking after her. "I need to return something to her."
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Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2007 3:42 pm
"Well, then." A charming grin lit his face and the older teen presented a calloused hand to shake Rin-ji's. "A friend of Li Ren's is a friend of mine. I'm Tsai Shen." A pause and he eyed the compound behind his lean frame, chuckling.
"Oh, you don't need money to come to this school. Khutulan is rather uninterested in that. She doesn't teach bending though. Not that it matters to me, I'm an earthbender." A talkative boy indeed. Surprising that he would befriend Li Ren, no?
"Well, I'm assuming you want to give it in person, but if not, you could give it to my aunt. That would be Khutulan. If you do..." Now he frowned, brown eyes growing dark, "I'm not sure when she'll be here next. That bas--Her fiance... He's been coming around more often, I think, and he doesn't know about her fighting. Well," A loud, friendly laugh and Tsai Shen ran a hand through his long hair. "I'm sure I don't need to tell you that! Why don't you come on in? There's tea."
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Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2007 4:09 pm
Li Ren? Engaged? Rin-ji's expression sobered for a moment but he willed a blank smile back onto his face. How could he trust what this Tsai Shen said anyway? Li Ren had never even mentioned him, so who knew how well he actually knew her situation. It could be an assumption -- after all, many young noblewomen were engaged fast. Even young Lady Heshen was poised to marry and she was just a year or so younger than Li Ren.
"Sure, right, she's been busy," he agreed noncommittally. "Tea sounds nice, if I'm not imposing on your aunt. Thank you. I'm Rin-ji," he amended hurriedly, "and I do need to return it to her in person. It's pretty important, so if you see her could you mention that I'd really like to talk to her?"
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