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 Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2006 10:32 am
Namkha was enjoying the town he had just arrived in, clicking along the roughly stoned street in his tall wooden sandals. Though a little road weary, the monk took long, smooth strides and held himself in a very stately manner. He seemed to be merely wandering through the city, watching the people that gathered in the busiest streets of the market. Anyone who stared to long at the orange-clad monk would get a smile and a slight bow in response. Nam was most entertained when they looked embarassed and scuttled away. The truth was that his eyes were open for any chance to put a stop to some unknown wrong. He was policing the stalls.
However, it was excessively hot, and as he sighed and moved his hands in a small, firm circle, a brief breeze picked up and washed over him. The breeze felt nice on both his bare shoulders... and faintly he remembered that one of them should be covered still. Nam was a little too zealous calling the wind, and his long shawl was quickly picked up and out of his grasp before he knew what was going on. He didn't have time to catch it and was left gripping onto the tail end of the orange cloth while the rest was draped over an innocent merchant and their wares.
"Hello," he said to the shape under his shawl.
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Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2006 3:03 pm
The day had been going fairly slowly for Chen Shing. He'd laid out the cloth he sat himself and his wares on early in the morning, arranging the things as attractively as he could and had settled in to wait. Lots of browsers, a few buyers, and a lot of bordom later, the boy merchant had decided firmly that he didn't really want to stay in this town for too long before moving on. Business sucked. Maybe it was because he didn't have a stand. Well, why would he, if he wasn't permanent?
So wrapped up in his musings was he, that Chen Shing didn't notice the monk until his vision went black. (breaking merchant rule #2: Always pay attention)
"Oh."
He dragged the cloth off of his head, wearing a half amused, half vaguely annoyed expression. Served him right for not paying attention. Hazel eyes travelled over the cloth up to the monk who was holding it, and paused in surprise before twisting a corner of his mouth up. He should probably make nice.
"Hi. I guess this is yours." He lifted the hand still gripping the cloth.
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Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 9:41 am
Nam began to take the cloth and fold it over his arm as he responded, smiling in a way that almost hid how embarassed he was. He tried to pass the incident off as casual. At least the merchant he had accidentally assaulted was young and seemed to take the whole thing well. He could only imagine the scene if Chen Shing had decided to be less agreeable.
"Yes," he confirmed, mouth quirked into the smallest amused smile, "I'm afraid it has a mind of it's own. Please allow me to apologize for it's rudeness." He bowed deeply to the teenager, using the momentum of standing to toss the cloth back over his shoulder and secured the rest of the length around his waist.
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Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 11:28 am
Chances were, if the market had failed to generate any income at all for Chen Shing that day, the boy merchant would have been in a far worse mood and would have caused at least a minor scene. But that was neither here nor there. And anyway, his shrewd eyes had caught the faintest traces of embarrassment on the monk's face, so he guessed that it hadn't been a distraction so someone else could filch a few of his things.
The small grin increased the tiniest bit, and Chen Shing eyed the orange culprit. "I think obedience school'd be a good idea." He inclined his torso a few degrees to the monk- greeting and an acceptance of the apology combined- and shrugged. "I shouldn'ta been daydreaming anyway. I'm Chen Shing."
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Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 11:49 am
"Chen Shing, don't foresake daydreams. I enjoy them very much myself. Please call me Namkha." He smiled a little more and extended his hand to the merchant. "I don't often come through these lands, but it looks like you don't either," he said with a nod towards the impermanent nature of Chen Shing's stand. Nam imagined the boy could just gather everything into that sheet of his, toss it over his shoulder and move on without a second thought. Not that he was so terribly young, but Namkha wondered where his family was.
"Are you here alone?" He asked after a glance around the market had proved to turn up no people who looked attached to Chen Shing.
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Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 12:21 pm
He shook the monk's hand firmly, and chose not to comment on daydreams. Good as they were, if you daydreamt, you stood a good chance of being a victim of street urchins or worse, he'd learned. Damn thieves.
Chen Shing shrugged again. "I'm just here for a few days before I move on." Namkha guessed right- he could pick up and leave on a moment's notice. He'd set it up for that purpose, after all. Stalls were annoying to clean up, and he didn't plan on getting one.
"I'm alone." He affirmed, and studied the monk. His grin fell for a moment. He waited to see if that irritating attitude of 'oh, the poor dear, all on his own and so young, too' would show up. He'd gotten his fair share of that from almost everyone else who found out, to his chagrin.
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Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 2:35 pm
Nam's reaction was more one of curiosity than pity. He tilted his bald head a little bit and regarded Chen shing with interest, one eyebrow lifting. There was a small part of him that twinged in concern, he couldn't totally deny that. When he was this boy's age, he would have targetted him without hesitation. "I'm impressed. These roads aren't too kind, are they? How long have you traveled alone?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 4:58 pm
Chen Shing relaxed visibly, relieved that he wasn't going to be treated to his most hated reaction.
"No, they're not. But they're not supposed to be, I guess." He'd run into a few scuffles since he'd left home. Mugged, robbed, whatever you call it, and he supposed he made a good target. He was smart enough to know he hadn't run into the worst of it yet- The ones he'd 'met' were strictly small time, so far. "I've been on the road for almost a year now."
"I haven't seen anyone dressed like you around here yet- You're alone, too?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 7:15 pm
"Yes, quite alone. I've been on my own for not much less than you. " He straightened out his clothing again, smiling faintly. He supposed Chen must know what he was doing if he had been on his own for so long. He was not the only young man Namkha had seen striking it out on their own.
"Are you seeking your fortune, then?" He asked with a wry smile.
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Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 7:43 pm
He grinned to match Namkha's smile. "Pretty cliche, I guess." One of the reasons, anyway.
Chen Shing gestured towards the monk. "You've got a reason, too, I'd bet. Are you on a path to enlightenment? Or travelling to travel." God knew itchy feet'd grown in place of Chen Shing's own, over the months.
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Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 8:12 pm
"A little bit of both. The road was calling to me, and when I didn't listen it forced me to come. Enlightenment is making me look for it." Namkha began to grin as well, putting his hands behind his head and stretching his back gently. "Where are you from, anyway?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 11:47 am
Chen Shing unbent enough to chuckle. "The road sure likes to be in charge. Greedy, too. Got me pretty soon after I left home."
He stood up, and stretched briefly. His legs were beginning to go numb, and he didn't like sitting and talking to someone who was standing, anyway. He lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. "I'm from a little noname town somewhere in the middle of the Earth Kingdom. But we're fairly close to a city. You don't look like you're from the Earth Kingdom, though.." The boy trailed off, turning his statement into a question, kindof.
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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 3:56 pm
"Indeed not," he agreed with a wide grin, "I'm from the Northern Water Tribe." It was the first location that popped into his head, and he just gave an internal shrug when he realized that no one could buy it for a second. For a touch more authenticity he added, "Adopted."
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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 5:19 pm
Chen Shing lifted a brow at the hometown claim, but let it down slightly at the mention of adoption. But only slightly. "Really? They're all pretty dark skinned, from what I've seen. Must have been hard to fit in." A touch of disbelief laced his voice. Chen Shing might have only stayed with the Southern Water Tribe when he went to one of the poles, but he'd met a Northerner. From what he saw, they looked pretty similar.
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Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 3:14 pm
"Well, it was occassionally a rough childhood," he said mournfully, "and I couldn't play waterbending games with the other children." Namkha hoped they actually had waterbending games... or at least hoped that Chen Shing wasn't an authority on this. "But eventually it was revealed to me that I was adoped, and so I set out towards the earth kingdom to join the monks where my father once served."
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