Wandering In...

[Kokitsu]

The rain was falling in sheets, drenching, heavy droplets that soaked through any kind of fabric and sank into one's very skin. Thankfully, it was a warm day with little to no wind. Thick gray clouds hung low in the late-afternoon sky. It would have been beautiful if it hadn't been for the steady downpour. The city folk in the town had long since vacated the streets, taking to house and home to escape the deluge. Only occasional towns people could be seen, dashing from doorway to overhang in vain hopes of staying dry. Only the desperate or foolhardy were out and about in this weather.

Kokitsu had probably never been desperate a day in her life, so there was really only the second option left open to explain her. She was riding down the very center of the soggy, exposed street, her head tipped back and her eyes closed. She was soaked to the bone, her volumes of normally fluffy white hair now sleeked down into a heavy, liquid fall of silver. Below her, Clop plodded along dutifully, not seeming to mind the damp. Of course, the horse probably couldn't have been bothered to mind a hurricane barreling toward him, but that was another matter. His coat, normally a shining bronze, was dull brown in the wet, his flaxen mane and tail just as soggy and dripping as the woman who rode him. When the horse came to a shambling stop, Kokitsu didn't lower her face or open her eyes to look around for a full five minutes. Then, slowly, she blinked open fuzzy amber eyes, scanning the building before her with curious eyes. It was brightly lit and cheery, inviting in the extreme. Clop had been traveling with Kokitsu for some time now. He knew how to pick out spots for his master's wife to stay where she wouldn't inadvertently get herself into trouble. Surely the flighty kitsune couldn't get herself into any mischief at a place like this?

Swinging to the ground, she patted Clop and handed him off to a stableboy who popped up promptly. If he hadn't shown so quickly, Kokitsu would likely have tried to bring the beast inside with her. Yes, Clop had chosen well. Almost as if she were wandering aimlessly, Kokitsu walked over to the door and pushed it open, entering a room full of warmth and the typical bustle of a busy inn. She wasn't given more notice than a few whispers as she walked through, looking around absently until she reached a small table near the hearth. There she sat, drying slowly in the radiating heat of the fire and staring out into the rainy afternoon.

[Tinh Song]

Cold and wet wasn’t exactly the way to go for anyone, especially when you are needed to be a main character of the cheerful fairy tale. Song with his umbrella as a shield against the pouring torrent, ran as fast as he could to the wooden doors of his inn. Next to him was a girl, short with black hair, running with him towards the inn. The girl was no other then Thuy, one of the maids of his inn. The inn was large and required several maids cleaning almost twenty four seven to keep it in shape. Song knew little of cleaning, but he did know to hire the right people when needed. The girl more or less lived a few blocks down from where the inn. A pretty cozy location, having your house within walking distance from your workplace. Today it was raining cats and dogs, walking was nearly impossible without a umbrella. Being the good hearted worrywart that he was, Song went to check on her when she didn’t show up. Needless to say, with the luck of our hero he was hit with the torrent upon arriving at her house.

The both of them now were racing towards the inn, sharing the shelter of the dinky little umbrella. I shouldn’t bore readers with the details so I’ll say they made to the inn in good shape, of course a bit wetter then expected. Now Thuy was off to work, bustling about the rooms upstairs: cleaning them and such while Song was greeting and socializing with the guests –not even having time to put away his umbrella-. Most of the people here liked him, due to his warm nature and hospitality. Being a key person in the social community, he knew everyone here. Anyone from drifter to lords and ladies has stayed in his inn and he knew all their names. This particular rainy afternoon there was one person whom he didn’t recognize. She had white hair and when he looked at her… the word fluffy came to mind. So the girl was a kitsune, kitsune are canine are they not? I personally don’t think it’s a good idea to walk up to a person and address them as fluffy. Maybe that’s just me, but I think I’d ask for her name first.

(Excuse me for asking, but a hearth is a fireplace right…?)

He walked over to the table where she sat, determined to make friends with this strange new person whom he already mentally nicknamed ‘Fluffy’. In one hand was a small tray, balanced upon the tip of his upright fingers. In the other hand was his wet umbrella. After replying to a few greetings the guest were giving him he set the umbrella down –propped up- a few feet away from the fire for it to dry. I wish I had a fireplace (assuming a hearth is a fireplace), but I don’t so I usually leave my umbrellas to dry in the basement which leaves a puddle that I usually slip on a few minutes later. Unfortunately not all of us have a inn with a fireplace, but then again… not all of us have a narrator narrating our lives. Wouldn’t that be creepy to have a voice coming from no where describing everything we do… even when we take a shower? Back to the story…

“I never seen you around before chi.” He said, setting the tray down. He used the term chi for respect, since the female look about the same age he did… but he never better then to trust looks alone. After all with all the age defying makeup and creams out there, who knew how old a woman was anymore? The innkeeper took the seat next to her. The tray that he set down had a small teapot along with two cups in it. Though he didn’t make a offer verbally, it was already suggested by his actions that he was offering some company and tea. “Where are you from?” Asking where someone was from usually let him know how a person was like. He poured tea into the two cups and slid one to fluffy, the girl he was trying to talk to.

[Kokitsu]

( Oh, yeah, sorry ^^ A hearth is an old-fashioned way of saying fireplace. Nowadays it can also mean the mantle above the fireplace or the rocked in area surrounding the fireplace, I'm pretty sure... )

While sitting beside the fire, contentedly staring out the window at the falling rain, Kokitsu had taken her long, damp hair from its high pony tail. Her tail, extremely long and just as voluminous as her hair, was tucked comfortably and securely around her, her feet drawn up under her on the chair. The long yellow ribbon she'd had in her hair was lying in a puddle of sun-colored fabric on the table, along with a few small chains and odds and ends that had been hooked onto or tucked into the ribbon. Kokitsu's hair, down as it was, covered most of her body in a curtain of white, hanging nearly to the floor around the chair. Plus, thanks to the warm fire at her back, she'd already dried out pretty well. Thanks to this, her normally thick hair was twice as untamed, giving her a true appearance of a very fluffy and happy white dog.

Over the years, Kokitsu had traveled far and wide and stayed in all kinds of areas under all kinds of circumstances. She would easily have been content to doze in the cozy chair by the fire with the soothing rhythm of the rain pattering against the glass beside her. In fact, it probably didn't cross her mind that she could procure a real room and bed to stay in here. Kokitsu was made to live without added creature comforts. After all, her furry tail and hair could easily make a comfy bed in any place.

But really, what Kokitsu did and didn't think at the moment made very little difference. All that counts is that whatever it was evaporated from her thoughts like mist when a young man -- a human by his scent, Kokitsu noted absently -- sat at her table with a tray of steaming tea. She most likely hadn't even heard his first statement, too busy drifting off to be paying attention to random passersby speaking near her. But when he set the tray before her, she perked up a bit, ears coming forward. With a happy smile, she turned her hazy amber gaze to the young man. "Why, hello there," she said amiably, speaking easily, as if to a friend, "Isn't it a beautiful evening?" Her voice was wistful and light as she turned her gaze briefly back to the window, as if drawn to look outside.

A few moments later, she turned back again, accepting the proferred cup of tea with a smile of thanks. She looked back up at the man with her curiously absent gaze again. "From?" she asked, looking almost puzzled. She made a vague gesture in the general direction from which she'd rode in, "Oh, out west this time. Why?"

[Tinh Song]

“Out west?” he repeated absentmindedly before softly chuckling, “I figured as much. We really don’t get much people from out west due to the kingdoms never really getting along…” he sighed and stared off into the burning fire. “Well you seem like a pretty nice person…” he took a small sip of his tea, letting the taste of the blended herbs linger in his mouth for a bit. It was quite relaxing, drinking tea by a fire and a window with a view of the rain that is. Added in the soft patting sound of the rain and the soft talking of friendly people, then there is nowhere better to be. “Well… oh! I haven’t introduce myself. I am Tinh Song. The owner of this humble inn. You can call me Song.” He said offering his hand to her, upon setting the hot cup of tea down on the table.

Time for another aside! This one is to better explain our eccentric hero. Actually he seems pretty calm and normal to me when compared to the ‘angel’ that broke his head. For those of you who do not speak the native language mixture, this will be a interesting culture lesson as well. The word Tinh means feelings, emotions, generally in the positive manner. The word Song is derived from another word which means ocean. When you put the two together it means a ocean of emotions or emotions ocean in the literal sense. Interpret it how you will and apply it how you want to your understanding of this character.

Song was a talkative character, well at least at first when he meets someone. “I believe that people meet they should tell other’s their goal in life or their dream. To me there is nothing more honest and tell more a person then their dream in life and my dream is to create a world where everyone can live together.” He said with a cheerful smile, that beamed the strong optimism that any hero needs.

[Kokitsu]

Giving a shrug of her shoulders, Kokitsu chirped, "Well, nice is as nice does," and took a drink of her tea. Most likely she had no clue what she was saying and was only repeating something she'd heard someone else say at one time. It filled conversation, which is what most people expected of her. She didn't really have a clue what the man was talking about, saying the kingdoms weren't getting along. The people she'd met were lovely and nice. But she'd learned over time that most people didn't really expect an objection in casual conversation. They usually just heard what what they expected to hear and tuned out the rest. Most people lied quite easily and bluffed their way through the rest. Really, she thought often to herself, how many people lied everyday and said they were fine when asked how they were doing?

Kokitsu was busily following her runaway train of thought in circles as she drank her tea. The presence of the young man beside her and their little conversation had slipped her mind. After all, there was rarely more room in there for more than one thought process at a time. She sipped her tea, completely at home with the silence. A part of her mind was reminded of Genji, her husband and favorite cook, and she wondered what he was doing. Then she dismissed the thought like she did most others.

Her attention was called back to the young man beside her when he introduced himself, and she nodded politely, "How nice to meet you, Song. You have a very pretty home," she added. The fact that his home was an inn seemed to escape her. It was simply his home in her mind. "Thank you for having me here." By default, Kokitsu wasn't much of a conversationalist. Once in a while she would chatter, but she usually couldn't keep her attention focused on a conversation long enough to track the subject matter. Still, she was a very polite person by nature and always preferred to answer questions put to her as honestly as she could. Song's query caught her attention enough this time that she actually thought about it for a time before answering. "Doesn't everyone live together already? It always seemed so to me," she said, taking a small sip of her tea. She had always thought the best of everyone she met and hadn't involved herself in warfare or politics enough to see the uglier side of life. She did her best to avoid that part of the world as much as possible, so Song's statement basically went over her head. "My goal... is to make people happy. Everyone should be happy. And since everyone says I'm a happy person, I should share my happiness, right? Does that answer your question?" For Kokitsu, this was a surprisingly insightful opinion. She rarely thought this deeply about anything, especially when it came to her own views of life, the world, and everything.

[Tinh Song]

“Heh, everyone in the world is living together, but it doesn’t mean their living happily with each other.” He said almost sadly before looking out the window as a lightning lit up the sky with jagged spider webs. “I too want to everyone happy, or at least I hope my dream of a united world will make everyone happy.” He said with a little smile before taking yet another sip of the herbal tea. “Sometimes you know… a person’s happiness can be another’s sadness.” With that he set the cup back down. “You know… you really remind me of someone. I can’t place my finger on it, you remind me of him.” He smiled sincerely this time before standing up, “Excuse me, I have to attend to something. I’ll be right back.” He told her before walking off, his mind reminiscing about something that lurked in his past. The man he was thinking about was Barrek, a jin who used to stay here quite a bit. Song and Barrek became friends, but Barrek eventually left for his homeland and Song never quite heard from him again.

“Hey Bear!” Song smiled to the burly man, but well dressed man. Bear’s hands were calloused and looked like they could crush rocks. Bear was the local blacksmith whom was lodging at this inn due to a dispute with his wife. Song offered Bear a cheap place to stay in return for helping around the inn when Bear had time from his shop. “What is it lad?” Bear stood up, towering over Song. Song wasn’t that tall to begin with, but standing next to Bear… he could see why Bear was named Bear. “I need your help carrying something.” Song said with a smile, his finger adjusting his glasses which came a bit disheveled from the hard pat on the back from Bear right after Song made his request. “You know, you should come work at my smith. We’ll put some meat on those twigs you called arms.” Bear joked and the people around them laughed softly as well. Song wasn’t exactly known for being muscular, he was more known for being skinny then anything.

The odd pair wandered off into the backroom only to come back a few minutes later. They walked right past everyone and went to a spot just off to the left of the fireplace which was near where the girl from earlier was sitting. “Just set it right here.” Song said pointing to the place. What Bear was carrying was a large chair, it looked heavy, but the blacksmith didn’t even look the least bit tired. The chair was large, overly stuffed and soft to the point where it seemed that anyone who sat in it would sink in never to escape. However with such a comfortable chair who would want to escape? Bear set the chair down and smiled at Song before walking to back to his table, his ale waiting for him. “You’re nice a boy Song. Just keep up the niceness and put on some meat, you’ll have a girl in no time.” Bear teased him once more at which Song frown. “Oh!” he pivioted around towards the girl from earlier, “All the rooms are kind of booked today. I thought you might of wanted a room since it’s going to be raining all day… but here…” he set down a blanket on her table, “The chair is for you if you wanted to spend the night and I’ll leave the fireplace on for you.”

[Talan Rhodes]

It was a good thing that the cockpit controls were sealed against water as well as the void of space, else they might have shorted out. Talan looked up at the falling ran from inside his craft, it was an odd sight to him since he was born and raised in a weatherless colony. The only time he really saw any kind of weather was when he was flying through a planet's atmosphere and even then he'd never seen rain. Not even when he'd come to this world before. He sighed softly and leaned back in the pilot chair, he'd stopped only once to change out of his uniform and into a more fitting and comfortable set of clothing. Mostly dark blues and black, complete with a trenchcoat as well. He reached up a hand and touched the cold, transparant metal called space glass and for a moment he could feel the soft vibration as the rain hit the cockpit sheath above him.

He'd landed inside the city in an open space at the edge of the city, along a wall. His arrival was hardly un-noticed though he was left alone since it seemed that airships weren't an unusual thing. Finally he decided to head out, he had to begin his search somewhere and this city seemed like an ideal place. He knew Kri disliked crowds and lots of noise, but he needed information and this was a good place to find it. The sheath pulled back and Talan quickly hopped out to the ground. He glanced back as the craft sealed itself again, the atmospheric system would handle what little water got in so he spared it no further thought. The feeling of rain falling on him was strange, it was somewhat like a shower....but alot colder and more random.

Talan pulled his coat a little closer and patted the small device that hung on his belt at the left side. A small gift from the Bydo, a special peice of technology that was used for storage. The Bydo were orginaly contained within a giant holding cell of sorts that was the size of the moon. The Bydo took it a step farther and created a type of folded space in which anything could be placed as long as it fit into the opening. Sort of like compressing a computer file really. It was here that he carried most of his equipment, including his sword. He smiled slightly, that device allowed him to appear unarmed and harmless and thus he would be left alone. Glancing both way, he started off down a street.


And found himself in front of a place called the Chicken Feathers Inn about two hours later. His nose was slightly red and he could feel a slight tickle in his throat as he pushed the door open. Well, how was I supposed to know walking out in the rain could make you sick? I lived on a colony..... he thought to himself as he sought out a place to sit, he found such a place next to the fire and groaned softly when he saw that a young man and a young woman already occupied it. Rats......