[RP]Obake Blade

[Grace]

Katsuro turned at Kyo's call. "She didn't come back last night," he said to the man. "And you lied to me! I spoke with Irithoi. Mom didn't speak to him last night."

 

Standing up as tall as he could, the boy put his hands on his hips. "And let's set another thing straight, shall we? You know words I've only ever heard Mom say. And I want to know exactly why. She hasn't spoken to you. That I know, so you couldn't know them from her!"

 

The look on his face was almost one of fear, but it was mixed with anger and determination to get his questions answered.

[ForceFightWMe12]

"I heard your mother murmur the syllabyles. I guessed." he answered, "Relax. Last I had heard, your mother was going to speak with someone. I assumed it was Irithoi."

[Grace]

Katsuro did not relax, but his voice did soften slightly. "It's not a guessing matter," he insisted. "If the words are not said exactly right, it..." he stopped short. Scowling, he muttered, "Oh, never mind." Shaking his head, he looked up at Kyo. "You called me. What do you want?"

[ForceFightWMe12]

"To go back." he said, "Aya's making breakfast."

 

((Hey guys, I'm not going to be here for most of Saturday and Sunday - going out of town for a while. So, I won't be posting much at all, obviously ))

[JasraLantill]

Raising his head up, his hair all tousled and sticking up everywhere, he said, "I smell bacon."

"Good morning, Carwyn," Aya said cheerily. "And, yes, you do. Bacon, eggs, and oatmeal. You hungry? I've made plenty." She stirred the oatmeal. "My father always said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Can't travel far on an empty stomach and we've got a long way to go today. I reckon we should make the coast by noon, and then, when the tide is right, we'll board and sail across the sea to Ryuu-Tokai." She paused. "Not many folk care to eat aboard ship. Too... wobbly," she said for lack of a better word. "Better to eat now while on solid ground."

 

As she lifted the top off of one of the two smaller pots by her, the aroma of fresh coffee wafted through the air. She breathed in deeply, then uttered a gentle moan of satisfaction as she exhaled. "Coffee's ready." Her eyes narrowed at she gave him a critical look. "Or are you a tea person?"

[Rogue Nine]

"Neither actually," Carwyn replied cheerfully. "I like milk in the morning. Coffee gets me really hyper and I prefer tea iced." He dragged himself up and straightened his clothes. Turning around, he folded the blanket neatly and put it to the side. He picked his coat up off the ground and shrugged it on.

 

Plopping himself on the ground again, he looked at Aya and said, "So, what've we got?"

[JasraLantill]

Aya grinned. "Milk," she said, handing him a drinking skin. "Goat's milk," she clarified, "but it's fresh. I got it for the boy...." She looked over her shoulder. "Wherever he is," she added under her breath. "But there should be enough in that skin to share. And," she said, flipping over the bacon in the frying pan, "I've got bacon and eggs. And that's oatmeal cooking in the other pot over there. Got honey around here, too. Someplace...," she said, while scanning the area around here. "Oatmeal's pretty bland without it."

 

She picked up a tin plate, then met his eyes with hers. "So... what does the ranger fancy?"

[Rogue Nine]

"Hmmm..." Carwyn looked over the array of breakfast foods. "Just some oatmeal with a strip of bacon, please." At the merchant's dubious look, he laughed. "I'm trying to watch my girlish figure," he said, cocking his head back and shifting his body into something that he obviously thought resembled a seductive pose.

[JasraLantill]

Aya giggled out loud at the ranger's antics. "I think your figure's perfectly fine. You're quite fit and handsome," she blurted without thinking.

 

Then her grin slowly faded. Her father had always warned her about giving such compliments to men. But with him now gone, she was finding that it was difficult to know if she was giving the ranger the wrong impression of her. "Erm... not that I've really noticed until now," she added quickly, feeling a flush of embarrassment wash over her face.

 

She flashed him an uncertain smile, then served up his food on his plate and handed it to him. "Just let me know if you want seconds though. It's going to be a long day."

[Rogue Nine]

Carwyn took the food gratefully. Picking the piece of bacon up, he held it in between his thumb and index finger and waggled it at the young merchant. "Y'know, I can't tell which is redder," he began, "your face or this bacon." Seeing her flush again, he hit her with his most disarming smile. "Easy Aya, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I'm just teasing." Biting the bacon, he said, "It was something my mother told me I was way too good at."

[JasraLantill]

Aya visibly relaxed at the ranger's admission. "My mother tells me I'm too trusting and naiive," she admitted. "She didn't want me to go out on the road alone, but there wasn't much choice." She bit her lip, reluctant to say more about her family's troubles. "Anyway, I'm sorry that I reacted that way," she apologised. "I didn't mean to blurt that out, but...." She hesitated. "I just didn't want you do get the wrong impression of me. Being a female merchant, well... sometimes people think there's more on offer than what Bob carries. You know what I mean? And I'm not like that. Not at all."

 

She grinned at him. "And your mother was right. You are good at teasing."

[Rogue Nine]

"Heh, everyone's got to be good at something, right?" Carwyn said as he picked up his spoon and ate his oatmeal. "She always said teasing and thieving cookies out of the kitchen were my greatest talents." He smiled at the memory. "She'd say 'If you worked half as hard on your archery than you do stealing cookies or teasing your siblings, you'd be the best archer in the land.' Me, being the wonderfully precocious child I was, told her that I thought I already was the best archer in the land." His smile grew wider. "She shot the cookie I was holding right out of my hand. So I conceded that I might need a little more work on my archery."

 

Putting his empty plate on the ground, Carwyn stood up and stretched. "Oh, and I don't think I've got the wrong impression of you at all, Aya," he told her with a wink.

[JasraLantill]

"That's right," she said, as she recalled an earlier conversation. "You said your mother was a ranger, didn't you?" She felt a small bond of kinship with the woman she had never met--another 'career' woman. "My father and I never travelled West that often. Is it considered acceptable for a woman to have such an occupation where you come from?"

 

Aya wanted to know. In the far Southern village where she came from, it was more acceptable for a woman to marry and have children, a prospect Aya had neither wanted or desired since being exposed to the life of the open road traveller by her father. Her father had wanted a son first. Instead, he got Aya.

 

But as soon as he realised his daughter had inherited his independent and curious nature, he had taken it upon himself to teach her his business and began to take her with him on the road. And from that day forward, there was no looking back for her. Besides, Aya had a mother and a young brother to support now that her father was gone. And there was no way she was going to shirk her responsibilites.

[Master_Archon]

"I think everyone shall be awake soon," said the woman as he rounded the wagons once more. "Thanks for your hard work through the night. I'm curious now... when do you sleep?"

 

Xan stopped and pondered that for a moment. "When? Just about never when we're on the road," he stated bluntly. "When we get on the ship though, after I help with preparations, yadda yadda yadda, then I can sleep almost as much and as long as I please," he said with a grin under his cloth covered face.

 

Xan was about to go for one last round around the wagons when he halted, he turned his cloth covered face in her direction. "I never caught your name ma'am," he said politely, and as cheerfully as his hard demeaner would allow.

[Jason Skywalker]

Akira waked up, yawning. His hair was a great mess, but he didn't mind. While on the road, he used to sleep with his clothes and some weapons. He brought his sword to his waist and connected the holster to his belt. He hid the daggers on his sleeves and took his bow and arrows and put them on his back. While it was many weapons, he was used to such weight. Although, he often confined them with his long dusted black cape. He put it on and then got out of his tent.

 

"Well, what we got for breakfast?"

[Quanon]

Bora Cho opened his eyes , the camp around him was already busteling with activity . Many fires where relit and most people where eating breakfast .

 

He slowy got up , he is back felt a bit painfull , he stretched a couple of times and started to do his morning exercises . If it was one thing he remembered from his monk training it was to keep you body in perfect condition . One fine body gives a good mind .

 

After practicising his stances and combat moves , he decided to run around the caravan a couple of times .

 

Halfway around he encountered Xan , he saluted the sturdy man with a friendly hand wave and continued his training . As it looked that Xan was in an actual conversation with a women and not waving his axes at her neck .

 

Wet of sweat Bora Cho looked where he could take a good bath , after all it has been while . But he for that he needed some good soap .

So he walked to the merchant , who was bussy cooking breakfast and talking to the Ranger .

 

" Sorry to interupt , but do you have a piece of good soap I could buy . I'm sure you can see it wouldn't heart me ? " : said Bora Cho in slight sarcastic way .

[Grace]

"I'm Takara," she answered. "My son's name is Katsuro. You are... Xan, correct?"

 

----------------------------

 

Katsuro obediently followed Kyo back to Aya's fire and to breakfast. Though he wasn't entirely comfortable with his mother's seeming absence, he knew she could take care of herself... he just hoped she hadn't gotten into deeper trouble than she could handle. And that's when he caught sight of her speaking with the guard, Xan.

 

A puzzled frown wrinkled his face. Had she stayed the entire night out with the grumpy guard? His confusion still showed as he approached the fire where Aya was busy cooking.

[Rogue Nine]

"Well, from where I come from, you just do whatever you're best at," Carwyn replied. "My mother, being a ranger, was naturally inclined to try and get her children to follow her path. I was the only one who bit, though." He picked up his unstrung longbow, running his fingers down the curve. "My sisters decided to become monks, following our father. They pulled me out of some nasty scrapes, those two."

 

He looked at Aya. "But yeah, you should just do whatever you're good at. And more importantly, it should be something you like doing."

[Relenzo2]

Even finished his bacon then went to an out of the way place to sleep of the next bring morning/midday. Hopefully he wouldn't be found and asked to do anything.

[Jason Skywalker]

Akira grabbed a bowl and filled it with oatmeal. He grabbed a spoon and started digging and eating.

 

"The old-fashioned foods are the best," Akira said to himself, then deciding to give some conversation, "Say, Carwyn, you always wanted to be a Ranger or did you sometimes wanted to be something different?"

[Rogue Nine]

"Me mum said I learned how to hold a bow and nock an arrow before I knew how to walk," Carwyn said in reply. "So I guess so." He stretched. "I dabbled a little bit with some of my father's craft, but nothing too serious."

[Jason Skywalker]

"Huh, that's nice. So, i hope you don't get this as offensive, but, so what about your family right now? And is there any reason tied to them that you're going to Ryuu-Tokai?"

[JasraLantill]

"But yeah, you should just do whatever you're good at. And more importantly, it should be something you like doing."

Aya nodded in agreement. "Well, I like travelling on the road," she responded to Carwyn. "Meeting new people, haggling for goods, visiting new places...it's pretty exciting most times. But I always wondered what it would be like to be one of those...oh, what's the word...." She thought hard, but it wasn't coming to her. "Those people that hunt around for artefacts from the Old Times? Sure, it may not be as exciting as travelling, but there must be a certain thrill to discover something that hasn't been seen by anyone in aeons."

" Sorry to interupt, but do you have a piece of good soap I could buy? I'm sure you can see it wouldn't hurt me, " said Bora Cho in slightly sarcastic way .

Aya repressed a smile at the vagabond monk's surprising request. "Bathing soap? Sure, no problem. I've got all kinds. Do you want," she began as she counted out the varieties on her fingers, "lye soap, lavender soap, sage soap, 'heavy-duty-cleans-anything' soap, fruity-scented soap, super-sudsy soap, mild baby soap, herb-infused soap, or just regular soap?" She paused. "If it's for some sort of special occasion in Ryuu-Tokai, though," she added, "I'd highly recommend the lavender soap. It's not that expensive and a very popular fragrance among the city dwellers."

[Master_Archon]

"I'm Takara," she answered. "My son's name is Katsuro. You are... Xan, correct?"

 

"Correct, I am Xan Yuudai, guard of this caravan, as you may kow," he responded politely. "I'll make one more round before sitting down and resting for awhile, but you should go eat breakfast, I'll live without it," he said kindly.

 

"Besides, you haven't seen your son since last night, I'd think you'd want to see him, if only to make sure he hasn't gotten into trouble," he said with a light single chuckle.

 

He made as if to make his last round.

[Grace]

Takara laughed lightly. "I'll bring you some breakfast when I'm finished," she promised. With that, she turned and headed back toward Aya's tent. Katsuro saw her coming and nearly upset his food in trying to greet her.

 

"You were out all night," he accused.

 

"Something strikes me as slightly odd," Takara said to the others gathered near, "that a boy would try to lecture his mother." She smiled at her son. "Yes, I was gone all night. But you slept safe and sound. And I am fully rested. You should have no further objections."

 

Katsuro stared at the ground for a moment before grinning up at his mother. "Breakfast is good," he informed her, setting his own food down to dish some out for his mother.

 

"I'm glad to hear you're well cared for," she answered cheerfully. And settling down as before, on her knees with her cloak wrapped close around her, she accepted the small bowl her son offered.