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 Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2020 8:05 am
It had been days since he'd come to the conclusion of the path he wanted to follow. Ujiri figured he would give himself some time to see if he changed his mind but when he didn't he figured he must have picked right. So that meant he just needed to find a mentor to help him out with it. If course he wasn't sure how to go about it in a non-annoying way but he was sure his mom did. One of them at least.
So that lead him to going to find Ujana first. Since it was an earthling class it was more likely his earthling mother would know. "Mom? Mom. Moooooom." He didn't wait between calls since he was excited and wanted her attention now. He had some news to share and wanted to do so right away. And if possible he wanted to get started on training.
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2020 6:01 pm
Running a tavern was difficult, time consuming work that Ujana hadn't honestly planned on.
When the option to start a business of her own in Jauhar came about she'd been ecstatic. It meant a steady income for her growing family and a place where she could party as much as she wanted! At least, that had been the dream. The reality was a lot more paperwork, shipment records, investor talks, and cleaning than she ever realized. Some days she was able to cut out early, others she worked double shifts and it was all dependent on if her damned staff would show up.
She missed the good ol' days. The days of travel and street fighting just for fun. Of course she loved her family, that part of this she would never take away, and yet if she had to admit it she was two second away from selling everything and-
"Ujiri! What, sweetheart? What do you want?" She tried so hard not to sound snippy with the kids, but Ujana was currently bent over the empty bar, paperwork spread out across it's surface, two more invoices away from burning it to the ground.
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2020 6:19 pm
Painted Moose Channeled the inner mom I see. XD I laughed so hard at this! He was used to everyone having that tone with him since he tended to be annoying or play pranks from time to time so Ujiri didn't take it seriously when his mom seemed to snap at him. He hopped up onto a bar stool and looked down at the paperwork that his mother was messing with, though he understood none of it. When his eyes found Ujana's face he grinned at her. "Hey mom." He thought about being silent after just to annoy her farther but there was too much excitement for him to remain so. His hands went to the bartop then and he half wiggled in his seat. "I figured out what I want to do and I was hoping you could help me find a mentor or something." He nodded his head at her a few time as he spoke in a hurry. "I'd ask mama but she's an Alk and I want to follow an earthling path and I don't think she'd know anyone." By the time he was done he was pressing his lips together as if he was holding his breath and waiting for her to understand everything he'd just spat out at her several miles a minute. "Sooo.. can you help?"
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2020 6:30 pm
Ujana prayed for patience with every beat that it took her son to reach her. she loved him, really she did, but sometimes she could just reach out and - "Hey, sweetie." It was hard to stay irritated, even if the end result left her with emotional whiplash. To go from irritated to a sort of resigned, exhausted love was rough. For a moment she didn't exactly know how to handle him sitting by her; he could be helpful, but also up to something, so Ujana didn't inherently trust him.
There was something about that smile.
"Oh." She stood up fully, her eyes widening a little. "I gotta say, this wasn't what I was expecting. I thought for sure you'd cut your sisters hair or something." Reaching back behind her blindly, Ujana found an old, worn stool and pulled it up to the bar for her to sit on. Where does he get this energy from? Is it an Alkidike thing? She'd meant to ask Ariya several times, but every time she thought about it she was either gone or they were on the verge of sleep. "I can try; what kind of mentor are you looking for?"
Ujana had always wondered which path her youngest children would follow. The elder two were sort of locked into their lifestyles; Subira had been raised Alkidike, so she was always likely to follow them, and Eurig didn't have much a choice. Even if he wanted to model himself after Subira he couldn't, but Ujiri...he had options. Harder options, considering his gender, but options.
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2020 6:43 pm
"Cut my sis-.. What? No. Ika would murder me." He shook his head at that one. It might have been something he'd done in the past. Had done in the past actually. But it wasn't something he was up to now. He watched as his mom pulled up her stool to sit on and smiled at her in a genuine way, no secrets behind it. "So, I was messing around with some knives the other day and figured out I ain't half bad with them." He didn't stop to think he might get in trouble for mentioning that he was throwing sharp objects around. "I want to take the assassin's path. I think I'd be pretty good with that skill set." He nodded his head again, this time moving his dreads forward. He paused a moment to look around at the tavern before he said anything else. "Figure if I get really good then I can be the bouncer here and just throw things at the people that misbehave." He wouldn't need to be a brick wall to do that. He'd just need the aim and power behind the throws.
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2020 6:59 pm
"Well that's good considering the only healer in the family is your grandfather and he can't reattach fingers." Ujana's tone shifted from sweet to pointed over the course of her statement. She sank a little in the stool, rolling her eyes up at the ceiling as if some sort of deity could see them now. "Please tell me you were at least being careful. You know I don't mind you training with weapons, but still." It honestly felt weird for her, of all people, to be telling someone else they needed to be careful. Was this how her father felt when anytime he visited her?
"It would be nice to have some extra muscle around here." Maybe having a little help out on the floor to keep things in line would take some of the stress off her? It wouldn't help with the staffing situation, since he wouldn't be busing tables or filling drinks, but at least she wouldn't have to stop what she was doing to kick teeth in. "You're sure about this? It's going to take time to get good at it, and you'll have to practice outside of the house. I don't want anymore holes in the walls then there already is."
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2020 7:22 pm
Mention of fingers and being safe made him grin again. This time it was clearly hiding mischief. His hands lifted up and he wiggled all of his fingers at her. "Yep, all good." After a small laugh he nodded his head. "I was outside and was aiming at a tree." He pointed out so that if there were new holes in the walls they wouldn't be blamed on him. When his mom asked him if he was sure he nodded his head at her again. "Yeah. I mean.. no. Not about the job thing. I might not like that but the knife thing.. yes." Ujiri straightened up on his stool as he looked at her. "I don't mind practicing that. Its fun throwing knives at things. Hey maybe Ika will help me." Another grin as he clearly had some plot in mind to irritate his twin. "Do you know anyone? Or can you help me find someone that will train me?" He knew his mother would be able to press the issue about him being hard to tolerate so it was best if she did the talking on that. If she couldn't find someone then there was truly no hope. "Hey what does Eurig's dad do? Does he throw knives? If he does then he can help right? He handles Eurig just fine." Comparing himself to his brother was like night and day but he did it anyways.
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Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2020 12:49 pm
"I know a couple people but I'm not sure if any of them would be willing to take on an apprentice." Most of her connections were still located in Oba, even after all these years, and Ujana was more than reluctant to send her son that far from home. If it were Subira or Eurig, sure, maybe even Ika, but Ujiri? He was too similar to how she'd been in her youth to risk going that far from home. "I'll do my best to help you, though, if this is really want you want."
Hearing about Odhran brought out a loud snort from the leafling. "Sweetheart, Eurig's dad is a scholar. I think the only blade he's ever held is a bread knife." She sat back on her stool with an amused little smile. Of course Odd had never objected if some of Eurig's siblings wanted to come to Tale; he'd always been helpful like that. Eurig, however, had discouraged it personally because of the book work that was involved. He had a way of luring young minds in with promises of a vacation and working them to death by studying. In a way he wasn't much different than Ujana, just with books and scrolls instead of his fists.
"Why do you think Eurig always comes back with so many scrolls?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2020 9:20 am
When she said that she wasn't sure if any of her acquaintances would be willing to take on an apprentice he looked a little deflated. Ujiri was hoping to find a teacher soon so that he could actually start doing something. "Oh.." He made a face, his lips puckering as he gave more thought to the idea. "I really want to do it. It seems perfect for me. Little effort as far as physical activity goes and its fun." It was no secret that Ujiri was a lazy kid. If he could get away with doing something half-way then he would. The odd pouty face changed when he heard that his mother had had a child with a scholar. It went from disappointment to horrified disgust. "Mom.." He stared at Ujana for a good moment before he blinked and shook his head then asked, "What was wrong with you? I thought for sure you'd have slept with a warrior.." Of course his mother was right, Eurig did come home with scrolls all the time. Which was weird but he always assumed his brother was just into reading. His brother being a nerd wasn't the farthest thing from possible. "I am horrified by this... my tough mom mated with a bookworm. This... this explains so much.." He looked off into the distance for dramatic purposes then grinned as he looked back at his mother. "Well thank you for not making him my dad."
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2020 9:44 am
[5/10]
Ujana rolled her eyes. "Strength isn't everything, Ujiri." It was part of the reason why she'd encouraged Eurig to spend time with her father in his youth. She wanted her son to not only have that family connection she'd never had, but a wide network of educations so he could pick any path he wanted in life. "Odhran is a good man. He's a hard worker, easy on the eyes, and a good father. The fact that I'm taller than he is or that he's a little stuffy never bothered me." Smirking, she crossing one leg over the other and leaned back in her stool. "It was always a one time thing with him, so even if your mother hadn't snatched me up he never would have been your dad."
As much as she was grateful for Odhran being there for Eurig she didn't think she could personally stand being with him for the long haul. While she respected him their differences were just too vast to make anything work.
"So, Ujiri, are you planning on traveling to train or did you want to find someone local to teach you?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2020 9:55 am
"Says my hammer toting mom who is with my spear chucking mother.." Ujiri just gave her a dead-pan look before he shook his head. Both of his mom's were scary when they wanted to be. Ujana more so than Ariya on a regular basis. Which was funny to him since it was the short earthling woman that ruled the house. He gave a little chuckle at the thought but said nothing on the matter. "Well thank Aisha's spirit for that one." How much different would his life be if he had a father instead of two moms? Not to mention he'd lose the alk part altogether. No. No thank you. "Too bad Eurig and Subira aren't half alk too." He was getting distracted with the thoughts of how life would be different if things had worked out differently. The question about travel made him wince slightly. "I mean.. if I have to then I can travel. I'd like to stay close to home if possible." Ujiri didn't feel the need to leave the jungle or go too far from home like some others did. He was content where he was. Although it would be nice to meet new people. "How far were you thinking?" If she mentioned the new land then he was out. Or that weird place with the flying ships. He wanted no part of those. "Like.. to Tale? I can do that. Eurig goes there all the time so it won't be that bad."
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2020 11:52 am
"You think so? I think they're perfect the way they are." Ujana reached over the counter to smooth back his dreads. "If Eurig and Subira were half-alk then they might not like the things that they do, or have the same interests. Our family is pretty weird, but I'm okay with that." She never imagined herself tied to an Alkidike of all people. An Oban, maybe, because of how long she'd spent in their country, but living in Jauhar with a mixed family? Life certainly had taken a crazy turn.
"I wasn't thinking anywhere, I was just asking because when I was your age I was everywhere." Ujana remembered traversing Tendaji on her own at such a young age and while those memories were some of her fondest they also gave her pause. As a parent thinking about her kids working in an Oban tavern that young and getting into street brawls made her sick. Sure the kids helped around her tavern, but she made sure they weren't around for when things got sketchy.
"I'd be a lot happier if you stayed close so I could see you whenever I wanted, but if you ever did want to travel I wouldn't stop you. Just maybe not til you're a little older, okay? Like, your grandfathers age."
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2020 3:09 pm
He thought about it from his mother's point. If his siblings were mixed then they might be different. While sometimes all of his siblings could be annoying he did like them the way they were. "Okay, point there. I like them the way they are. Just wish they were home more." His older sister was off doing spirits knew what with a new tree and Eurig seemed like he was always at his dads, apparently getting scrolls. Or it could just be that he was having issues with everyone getting older and going their own ways. He didn't much like it. "I'd rather stay close to home. That way if something happens or I need help then I know I have both you and moma." Of course when Ujana told him he could travel when he was his grandfather's age he laughed a little. "Grandpapa is old. I might be too creaky to travel then."
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Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2020 2:28 pm
[7/10]
"Yeah, so do I." Ujana groused. "I'm still bitter as hell that your sister left and thought it was okay to leave a note behind. I should just be happy she's safe, that she's doing what she wants, but in all honesty she better be thankful she's in Belrea otherwise she'd be scrubbing pots for the rest of her life." Like she was one to talk. How many times had she just up and left without letting anyone so much as know until weeks later? Still, as a parent now Ujana had those kinds of worries and Subira had put her heart through the wringer.
"Oh come on now, he's not that old." Her father wasn't exactly spry, but he wasn't ancient either. She was still pretty sure that if she tried to pull something in a public venue he would pop up and smack her hands. "Honestly I'm a little surprised none of you picked up on magic. Your grandfather has a knack for it, same with your Aunt, so I expected at least one of you to burn my house down."
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Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2020 3:56 pm
"She only left a note!?" Ujiri hadn't known that! He had only been told that Subira had gone off with a bunch of other sisters to plant a new tree. He figured she's at least spoke to their mothers first. "How is she not grounded!?" Ujiri gave his mother a side glance then snorted. His grandfather was old. There was no convincing him otherwise. "Yeah, okay. Grandpapa is practically withering.." Although, he did enjoy whenever the old man came around. It was fun to get on his nerves from time to time. The mention of magic had him bring his hands up and look at them. "Nope.. no magic. But I mean... I can set the house on fire the traditional way if you want me to?" If his mom had expected fire and had been let down then he'd gladly make up for it. After he got his things out of the house first. He didn't want to lose anything important.
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