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 Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2010 11:05 pm
 
This is a private roleplay between Jianyu [Kuro-Mizuki] and Enlei [danse-hexe].
Setting :
Artisan's Path
A bad day gets worse when Enlei sees someone she isn't sure she wants to... or does it?
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Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2010 10:24 pm
Ordinarily one might have remarked about the weather and how beautifully clear the sky was, but this was definitely no ordinary day- it was a terrible, terrible one.
Enlei scowled, dragging her feet along the path. She hated the sound it made, but somehow it was gratifying. When one was upset, somehow it seemed easier to get even more upset.
The reason for all this, though? Some cat had gotten into the kitchen early in the morning, caused a huge commotion (and a lot of noise), and frightened the pigeons half to death. When the dratted thing had finally been taken care of and the pigeons calmed down, Enlei had crawled back under her blanket, only to find that sleep would not come back to her.
And so she had tossed and turned in bed for hours, before finally deciding to get breakfast- that, as she found out later, the cat had eaten ('We're so terribly sorry, young mistress, but that cat destroyed a lot of what we had stored'), and the servant girl had been crying so hysterically that Enlei couldn't bring herself to be angry at her.
No sleep, no breakfast- and THEN, her mother had had to rush off to settle some business at the restaurant, leaving her a note that said 'Here is some money for lunch, enjoy yourself!' Enjoy herself, indeed! Every Sunday (except this one, apparently), she would go to town for lunch with her mother, and having to break this pattern was horribly disconcerting.
Walking down the street, Enlei did not feel particularly hungry or tired any more, just really, really irritated.
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Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2010 11:04 pm
Jianyu was having quite the conundrum.
For one thing, he hated shopping. For another, he did not have the slightest idea as to what to buy a girl. And for another thing he hated shopping.
However, it was nearing Mingzhu and Ligiu's fifteenth birthdays, and his mother had all but shoved him out the door to go and get something for them. He had tried to protest, had tried to say that whatever she got them would be acceptable, but Ehuang had insisted that they get something from their brother as well.
So, here he was, standing in the midst of Main Street, with no clue as to where to even start. Jianyu was quite certain he looked like a lost visitor, since he kept glancing around with a slightly confused expression on his face, but the Lunarian Captain's insignia on his chest negated any sort of doubt that he was, in fact, a citizen.
Just a confused one.
A flash of pale blue hair caught his eye, and Jianyu turned his head slightly. A small (very small, he mused) girl was ambling past him, a bored expression on her face. She did not seem particularly pleased to be there, but she was, in fact, a girl.
He could use a girl. Darting up to her, Jianyu reached out, snagging her tiny wrist in his fingers, tugging her to a stop.
"Pardon me," he said. "But I need your help with something."
After which he proceeded to start dragging her in the direction of the Artisan's Path. 
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Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2010 11:37 pm
Well, what now? Sulkily Enlei glared at the rows of shops, giving each one an appraising look as she walked past it. Too angry to eat, too hungry not to. She was glad no one could hear her stomach rumbling over the noise on Main Street.
Still grumpy, she dragged her feet on the ground as she walked. Her mother was always telling her to fix this bad habit, but she liked it, thank you very much. It was either that or stomping loudly on the ground, though she'd learnt long ago that stomping on such hard ground (as opposed to wooden floors) was pretttty painful.
In any case, Enlei, in her rage, did not notice the tall man standing on Main Street, who was looking very lost. She did not even notice him when she walked past him; she was far too focused on shooting threatening looks at little children she passed by on the streets.
She did not notice him until he grabbed her wrist, and then she kicked him hard, as a reflex.
"Let go of me, you fiend!" Struggling to pull herself out of his grip, Enlei looked up to see who her attacker was- and then her jaw dropped in surprise.
"Jianyu...?" She blinked, stunned, but managed to regain her composure enough to smirk at him. Help, he'd said- but what help could a captain possibly need from a student... and a noble at that? The smaller girl managed to free her wrist from his grip, but not before he'd dragged her some distance, towards the Artisan's Path.
"I didn't know you often attacked little girls," Enlei remarked coyly, one eyebrow raised.
"All the same," she said dryly, "I'd rather you not touch me." Though she couldn't really explain why, she had an aversion to being touched- at least by people she didn't know very well, and Jianyu was definitely one of those people.
Hands on her hips, Enlei stared at him. "So, what business do you have with me, Mister Captain?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2010 11:26 pm
"Oh," said Jianyu, glancing down in surprise at the pale haired girl who's arm he was now latched onto. "Enlei."
The kick had hurt - though, not much, considering the difference in their statures. Jianyu flinched slightly, more out of reflex than in pain, but didn't let go of the girl's wrist. "My apologies; I did not recognize you."
He had only met the young Noble during the Festival of Spirits, and that had been several months prior to this particular day. Jianyu was somewhat surprised that she had remembered him, as they had only met briefly and it had been during a rather awkward situation - Enlei had returned Ishtar's ribbon, which she had either dropped or lost during the festival, and it had not gone over well on either side. The light haired girl had certainly proved herself to be much more aggressive than one would have guessed under normal circumstances.
"Er," said Jianyu, slightly bemused. "I am not 'attacking' you. I am merely in need of a female eye, and you happened to be the first that I have come across."
The Artisan's Path was loud this day; there were throngs of people bustling about the various stands and tables, talking, laughing, yelling and even crying (though those were mostly children). Jianyu scanned the crowded street and absently tugged at a strand of his hair with his free hand.
"I am in need of your assistance, Enlei," he declared. "It is my sisters' birthday and I cannot for the life of me figure out just what to get them as a present. Since you are a female, and I am not, I have decided that you should help me."
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Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 10:45 am
"Oh?" Was that all? Somehow Jianyu sounded disappointed when he said her name, and she did not like that.
At all.
Neither did she like the way he was looking down at her, (looking down on her?) though she supposed that couldn't be helped, given the unfortunate difference in height.
"Apology... accepted," Enlei said dryly, "I suppose you have a habit of grabbing little girls you meet on the street.. I would not expect you to remember one out of many."
Though she had meant that teasingly... somewhat, she wouldn't be surprised if that were actually the case. After all, that last time they'd met at the Festival, Jianyu hadn't been lacking female attention, if he'd lacked anything else.
"I would consider grabbing someone's wrist out of the blue and refusing to let go 'attacking', actually." But.. this was interesting, and Enlei would be laughing out loud if she weren't trying her very best to look serious and threatening. He needed help... with... shopping?
Of all things?
Trembling slightly with suppressed laughter, Enlei fixed her gaze on him again.
"Should I... agree to help you," she said as coldly as she could, "How will you repay me? I do not think it fair that you should decide I am to help. The polite thing to do would be to request assistance, though I suppose Captains think themselves too important to have good manners?"
Enlei was probably, deep down, aware of the trouble she was getting herself into.
She was also probably, deep down, aware that she was having more fun torturing (she hoped) Jianyu, and that there would probably be consequences for this.
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 1:52 am
Jianyu did not notice the slight sarcasm in Enlei's voice as she accepted his apology, or he wisely chose to ignore it. Either way, he glanced back at her, raising his eyebrows, somewhat confused. "What are you talking about? I never 'grab little girls I meet on the street.' Seeing as how you were the only female within an acceptable distance, I was rather limited in my choices, so it is you that must accompany me on this errand I must run."
He did not remember much about the girl except for her name and the fact that she had been unexpectedly feisty. Jianyu shrugged at her definition of attacking, waving it off with a toss of his head as he scanned the Artisan's Path, confusion creasing his brow. He had never before shopped without his mother or Yue for anything feminine and had no idea where to even start in the slightest. He turned back to Enlei.
"Repay?" he repeated, tilting his head. "Well, it seems only natural that as a female you should be willing to assist me, but if you agree to help me I shall...buy you lunch. Or perhaps I can have my family prepare something for you that I will deliver later.
"But regardless," he added, turning fully to face her. "The fact remains that I am in need of help, and you are the only one who can help me. Therefore, there is no other course to take other than to assist me in my endeavors."
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 3:16 am
"I might have given you a bit too much credit," the girl muttered, kicking a pebble on the ground. He wasn't responding to her provocations as expected- why, WHY was he so well-mannered, when she was trying to pick a fight?
Enlei listened to him blabber on about how she'd been the only female within an acceptable distance. Well, that was true.. but she didn't like his attitude at all. While she usually didn't hesitate to help people, being forced to do something was rather unpleasant, and hearing him demand that she accompany him on his errand irritated her. She felt like shaking him until he came to his senses... nevermind that she couldn't reach his shoulders.
In any case, the young Lunarian thought- accompany him she would, but as for whether she would actually assist him... Without realising it Enlei was laughing to herself, the sort of laugh that somehow sent chills down your spine.
"-that as a female..."
"Excuse me?" Enlei glared up at him. "Do you think that females exist only to do your bidding? I have no obligations to you- I could just walk away right now, leaving you completely lost and helpless." For a while, Enlei could only stare at Jianyu. Something about the way he was speaking- so matter-of-factly bothered her, and she scowled.
But then she grinned at him, her gaze softening.
"I won't do that, though. After all, it's for the sake of your dear sisters, isn't it? And you wouldn't want to ruin their birthdays. Would you?"
Skipping a few steps forward, she turned to look back at him.
"Aren't you coming, then? Don't expect me to spend more than one day with you."
He would regret it, she decided... Oh, definitely.
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Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 12:12 pm
"You're laughing," said Jianyu, eyeing Enlei somewhat suspiciously. "I'm not so certain as to why the laughter, but it's somewhat odd sounding. Stop that."
He supposed he should be a little more...relaxed around her. But that didn't seem quite the right word for this particular occasion. After all, Enlei was several years younger than he was, three or four at least. So he should not have to feel obligated to treat her with the same sort of temperament he might treat those of his own age, such as Yue or Ishtar.
...although those were not quite the best examples, seeing as how his relationships with those two were vastly different than simply meeting a young girl on the street, and therefore, were much more complex and complicated.
"Er," Jianyu said, a vaguely perplexed expression crossing his features as he stared down at the light-haired Noble girl. "No, those were not my sentiments at all." He shrugged, running a hand through his hair. "However, it is a common fact that females are more willing to assist in tasks such as these rather than males." Unless you are my brother-in-law, and are experienced in such matters.
He left it unsaid (though the thought made him smirk inwardly) and tilted his head as Enlei skipped forward, her grin mischievous. "OF course I'm coming," he said, following after her, into the throngs of the Artisan's Path. "Although I have not the slightest idea of where to go, so I'm afraid that I will have to rely on you to lead me."
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Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2010 12:33 am
She laughed at him again, though her eyes were serious. Look at him, telling her to 'stop that', like a cranky batty old lady
"Odd-sounding?" She fixed her eyes on Jianyu, staring him down. "How dare you call your benefactor's laughter... odd-sounding?"
Turning again, she skipped ahead of him. "It looks like someone forgot to teach you manners, Mister Captain. Or did you abandon those when you earned your position?"
Earn. She pondered the word slightly. What had this man done to 'earn' his status as a captain? She had not found any reason to respect him. Perhaps this would change in the future. Perhaps not.
He spoke again, saying it was more common for.. 'females' to assist in such tasks. Had he meant that from the start?
"Oh? Well, then." Enlei slowed down a little, waited for him to catch up. She grinned up at him as she walked alongside him; "You should have said that first, Mister Captain. If you don't say things clearly, there'll be misunderstandings..." Again she moved ahead of him, ducking through the crowd. She would not let this be easy; how far would he go for his sisters? For some reason, she wanted to know this.
She waited for him to catch up, though.
"What if I led you right into a noble ambush?" Enlei never bothered tip-toeing. It made the difference in height that much more noticeable- it was like chasing after something you couldn't have. A show of weakness. So instead she stared at him again. You could say so much just with a look.
"If you're not afraid, Mister Captain, I think I might know something your sisters will like."
She paused.
"Then again, I suppose I don't know a thing about them. We'll start from there. Tell me- what are they like?" Enlei bent forwards eagerly, her eyes shining.
Here's a chance, Mister Captain, for you to prove yourself.
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Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2010 10:47 am
"Benefactor?" Jianyu repeated, somewhat perplexed by the odd term. "You're not my benefactor. Merely a helpful person whom I happened to stumble upon who just happens to be a very kind person willing to help me out in my time of need."
However, he dropped the issue with a shrug, fingers absently brushing over the bow tied at his hip as Enlei skipped ahead of him, short hair bouncing against her cheeks. She was a lively sort, what his mother might have called "feisty." "I have done no such thing," Jianyu answered mildly, to her comments about his demeanor. "What one constitutes as good manners is highly subjective. I am respectful to those who require it, and respectful to those who deserve it. All others I merely treat with what I presume to be a relatively even temperament."
Someone jostled into Jianyu from behind, and he stepped to the side, allowing them to move past. Moving up towards Enlei, so as to not lose her within the bustling, shouting, laughing people, he said "Ah, my sisters?"
He paused for a moment, contemplating the question. Someone else bumped into him, and he sidestepped once more, still thinking, only vaguely aware of his surroundings.
"Well, they are twins," Jianyu said, after a few moments. "Their names are Mingzhu and Ligiu. Both are turning fifteen this year."
He paused again. How to describe them..? "Ligiu is very beautiful, and has many suitors. She enjoys things such as flowers and pretty dresses to wear. As for Mingzhu...she is a quieter sort, quite like her sister, though without the suitors. She is very beautiful as well, however, but does not enjoy the same sort of attentions as her sister does and prefers to keep to herself. She enjoys reading, I believe, and the same things as Ligiu when it comes to dresses and flowers and other sorts of feminine things."
Jianyu felt rather silly, talking about all of this, but if Enlei was going to help him, he supposed he should just take the entire situation in stride, let the young Noble girl assist him.
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Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 5:53 am
At least he'd conceded that she was helpful. For someone relying on her, though, she did think he ought to be a little bit more polite.
Or at least, more fun.. Relatively even temperament, indeed. He did have that, she had to agree. She wasn't sure it was a compliment, though.
Best to get this over and done with, the girl thought, sighing resignedly. She spoke to him without looking at him; still she walked ahead, and he seemed to be struggling to catch up. They were after all in the middle of a crowd.
"Relatively old, you mean. You speak like a grandfather, Captain! Surely you are not of that age, already?" She frowned at him, wondering how on earth he could keep it up. The distance he maintained between them was a helpful one, most definitely- Enlei herself did not want to get too close to her enemies, but all the same, it unsettled her.
She strained her ears to listen to him talk about his sisters- Mingzhu and Ligiu. Fifteen.
"That's one year younger than me," she remarked, cutting into his sentence.
He sounded so awkward, talking about them- as if he didn't quite know what to say- as if he didn't know them very well. If given the chance, Enlei thought, she could possibly talk for hours about her own brother- but taking what she knew of Jianyu's nature into consideration, she could not expect him to be the same. In any case, she could hear the tenderness in his voice when he was talking about them, and she supposed that was enough.
"So, these sisters of yours- they sound like pretty typical girls. And you haven't the slightest idea what to get for them?" She turned around suddenly to face him, eyes narrowed.
"Is this... the first year you're getting them a present?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 10:14 pm
Jianyu glanced towards Enlei with a mildly bemused, if not slightly amused, expression.
"I do not understand exactly what you mean by that," he said, tilting his head to the side as he regarded the young girl. "But I do not feel as if I speak as a grandfather does. On the contrary, my grandfather was a loud, brash, and raucous man who enjoyed ale far too much and was always seen in the company of several women." He shrugged. "So I do not quite find that metaphor particularly applicable, at least not in my own life."
Jianyu kept a few steps behind Enlei, getting the impression from her that she did not trust him yet. He understood her reasoning; they were, after all, not even friends, and on opposite sides as well. But he was rather desperate, and he had not had the time to go ask Yue to help him, nor could he anyway, since she was away for the weekend. So he had had to rely on people whom he had a slightly less deep connection with.
"Well, I do know they both like hairpins," Jianyu said thoughtfully, before adding, somewhat defensively "No, it is not. However, I usually have my mother or one of my other sisters along with me to help choose something, and I'm afraid that all are indisposed at the moment, which leaves me to the task of picking something out for them. I wish it to be something personal and of some sort of value, though I cannot seem to decide myself. I thought it best to get the opinions of a young woman, since both of my sisters are.""
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Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2011 8:18 am
"Sounds like you'd make a far better grandfather than yours did," the girl shrugged. "I never knew mine, but eh, if you read books, they're all portrayed as.... boring."
She hoped he caught the insult, but.. no matter if he didn't. She'd come up with more, anytime! He seemed to get the picture, too, dutifully staying behind her. How far had they walked now? Enlei smirked as she spotted a fork in the path; would he manage to follow her?
The girl kept speaking to him, even as she walked.
"Hairpins? You can do better than that, Captain. Have you been buying them hairpins their whole lives?" The young girl was taken aback at her own tone; at how hostile she was being. Certainly he had done nothing (as of yet, anyhow) to deserve this. Frowning, she brushed the thought aside, focusing instead of navigating through the Artisan's Path.
"We're here," she announced, stopping suddenly in front of a stall. The first thing that would catch someone's attention was: the sparkle. Windchines, necklaces, bracelets, rings, accessories (yes, hairpins too)- even small models of animals and the like adorned the table, and if they had one thing in common, it was that they were made of crystal.
Enlei beamed at Jianyu, looking extremely proud of herself.
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Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 7:13 am
Jianyu lifted a brow, amusement lacing his voice. "I appreciate the compliment," he said, looking down at Enlei. "But I have no plans on becoming a grandfather anytime soon.
"And they're not all boring, rest assured," he added, missing the insult completely as he glanced around at the tables on either side of them. There were far too many people around, too many items and baubles and trinkets to look over; it was all making him slightly overwhelmed."
"No," he answered Enlei, brows drawing together slightly at the vehemence in her tone, but he shrugged it off. She was a Noble, he was a Legion; it was only natural that she felt some sort of antagonism towards him. "Sometimes I bought them clothing," he said absently, musing over the stall they had just arrived at. So many different things to choose from! "I believe another time my mother and I picked out a stuffed cat, but that merely made my sisters want a real one, so it did not go over entirely well."
The table was laden with jewelry, little glass figurines, pins, and a vast array of miscellaneous objects, most of which were made out of a glittering crystal. Jianyu's eyes moved over the objects, taking in each and every little thing, fingers reaching out to brush over the smooth material.
"Very interesting..." Jianyu murmured, half to himself as his hand slipped over a glass and crystal carving of a bear. "These are very interesting..."
He cast a backwards glance at Enlei over his shoulder, catching her triumphant expression. "Very well done," he said, smiling at her before turning to muse over the objects once more. "Now...which ones to get..."
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