| Tea and Silence.; Better combination? I THINK NOT! Ink and Joshua. | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Mar 9 2011, 07:08 PM (186 Views) | |
| Bonga | Mar 9 2011, 07:08 PM Post #1 |
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The Uchiha
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Once upon a time, in a land filled with water every spring and still watery in summer there stood a tea house on stilts. This house was slowly making it's name through out the flood plains as the place with the best tea leaves around, which meant the best tea, which meant they needed pretty women to serve the tea. So, you have a winning combination: Beautiful women and great Tea. Not to mention, this house was right off the side of a main traveling road, which meant it saw a lot of people every day that needed a place to rest or a place to sleep for the night, or perhaps a place for a merchant to sell his wares. Maybe even a place where a man could find love; there were nigh limitless possibilities. And it just so happened that walking down the road to the tea house were two boys who had recently become friends and decided to head out and explore the world for people that think like them, for people as skilled as them, and for people as ambitious of them. What they didn't know was what was so special about this tea house, or even that there was a very special person inside or heading towards the tea house at just the same time they were, though perhaps not for the same reason. One of these boys was Uchiha, Matsuda; this is his account of what happened that day. Matsuda walked slowly down the road, keeping pace with or lagging a bit behind Harutomo for he was in no hurry. In fact, he was almost worried that they would miss something important if they hurried through the region. He thought it was odd that such a road that was clearly well traveled upon was so empty save them and one or two others, but he didn't say anything. He had no real reason to assume anything was amiss, since he didn't know the lay of the land nor did he have enough knowledge about the area to be able to correctly assume something was wrong, and then have some validity to it. He paused, his feet falling silent as he thought and watched Harutomo continue on. He thought about saying something but thought better of it, chosing instead to wait until Harutomo noticed he had stopped. |
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Uchiha, Matsuda Status: In Taking the Long Way Home and Nightime Visitor. | |
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| Joshua | Mar 11 2011, 12:30 AM Post #2 |
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C Rank
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It was early spring in the flood plains. You could see it in the form of water in every direction, standing upon the fields for miles. It looked like a vast ocean, but Haru knew that at most, it was five or four feet deep. You could smell the pollen in the air, plants desperately seeking for a mate, seeds being planted to turn the world green all over again. You could also smell the standing water, wrought with rotting and muddied forms. The only movement that stirred the water were wind currents, as it splashed against the road, raised above any possible water level. You could also hear the spring, though. Crickets and all sorts of bugs, absent over the cold winter, were slowly coming out. Birds were everywhere, it seemed, flying in elongated v-formations. Haru didn't really like the Spring, though he acknowledged that it certainly was pleasant. He didn't have to wear heavy clothing anymore, which was nice. He wore simple black pants, sandals, a tight blue shirt with the sleeves cut off, and a mesh undershirt. Feeling the fresh spring air blow past his clean skin made him feel awake and ready for anything. For a while now, Haru and Matsuda had been travelling upon this road, in search of... something. They weren't sure what, exactly. Glory, money, a poor denizen of the land in need of aid. Anything exciting would work, it could be said. They had been travelling alone for a while, with a few farmers taking to the road every now and then, a horse-drawn caravan passing by, an obvious merchant. But never appeared anyone like them. No ninja were to be seen, it seemed. Haru found this odd, but then again, what ninja would want to be in the flood plains in the Spring? It was all water this time of year! Harutomo noticed that he no longer had someone walking at his side, and slowed to a peaceful halt in the road. His gaze first drifted down, observing the road beneath them. He had yet to actually observe this dirt path, and was surprised by what he saw. In contrast to the endless sea of sandal and shoe footprints, there were several easily identified horse shoe prints. Curious, Haru bent over to investigate further, awaiting Matsuda's comment. "There are horse shoe prints upon this path, Matsuda. Don't you think it odd? But that's not just it. They're war horses." Haru turned to Matsuda, knowing his comrade had something of his own to say first. |
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Haru Murakimi Location: The Pass, moving North. Directive: Grow stronger, gain fame and fortune, gather followers. 1. Solo Thread in the Pass 2. Ink+Bonga 3. Hardcore Mission with Matsuda | |
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| Ink | Mar 12 2011, 01:01 AM Post #3 |
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Aphonic
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((After much post scrapping and rewriting, I decided to make it as if she’d already arrived at the teahouse. Assuming that doesn’t mess with the plot too much.)) From information she had gathered from not eavesdropping on other travellers, this area was apparently called the “Floodplains”. Rather aptly named, too, since it was practically covered in water. Well – it was. Even in the relatively dry areas, it was still damp, with some areas completely submerged. In some places she’d practically had to swim – woe her five foot five inch height. By evening, the sun had gone down, and Takeo had been soaking wet and wretchedly cold. It didn’t help that it had been a windy night; even the stalks of grass had shivered in protest at the constant abuse. What made the entire experience completely unbearable, however, was the stench – the awful stench of rotting, stagnant water. Walking around, wet and cold, in the dark, was not a pleasant experience; combine the constant, ominous sloshing of water around one’s ankles and a scent that rivalled the compost dump near Kenji’s house and it was an absolutely horrid situation. At some point, she’d seen a light in the distance; like any hungry traveller, she’d instinctively quickened her pace, nearly running. By that point, she had regretted ever deciding even to attempt travelling across the floodplains – they were too flat, too open, and most definitely too wet. But alas, it was too late to turn back, and the only thing left to do was move forward and hope that there was an end to the water soon. Upon getting nearer to the light, she had managed to identify an odd little house on…stilts. Takeo had never seen such a curiously built establishment before; most likely because she hadn’t resided in an area that happened to get flooded annually. After regaining her composure, she decided that no harm would come from entering it; it had seemed friendly enough, there were tethers for horses on the outside, and for all intents and purposes it looked like an inn. There was even a little sign with a name that the girl forgot as soon as she read, deeming it unimportant. After entering the inn, she’d immediately been mobbed by at least three women in precariously skimpy outfits given the temperature, all cooing over how unfortunate and grimy the “poor little boy looked”. (she’d felt her eye twitch at that remark, did she really look so pathetic and…unfeminine?) After several minutes of senseless fussing and one cup of conveniently “on the house” mint tea later, one of them had had the brains to realize that they were not dealing with a young (abnormally short) boy. It took several more minutes for them to realize that any attempt to verbally communicate on Takeo’s part was hopeless. One of the women had attempted to touch the bandages on her neck – take them off, merely feel them, she didn’t know – and the girl had nearly outright left after that; as it were, they’d convinced her to stay regardless. Part of it had been the possibility of a room to sleep in, and the other was her lack of desire to cause a scene in what she now knew to be a teahouse. She’d been given a room to sleep in, and so before she’d gone to sleep, she’d taken a short bath, washed all the grime from her hair and body, and, having decided that perhaps she should wash her clothes too, had left them to dry on the floor near the bed. Waking up the next day, she’d put them on – perhaps leaving them on the floor hadn’t been the best idea in the world, since they had still been a bit damp – and then made her way down the stairs. The same three women, along with several others, were serving tea to the now-plentiful customers, and, upon seeing her, asked her if she wanted tea; when she’d nodded in affirmation, they proceeded to list the different teas they had available. Takeo had ended up going with mint tea, the same kind that she had drank the night before, and, after paying the women, and skittered off to one of the few unoccupied tables in the house. Cupping her tea in her hands and staring into the cup thoughtfully, her gaze later wandered up to flicker about the teahouse. She didn’t normally like people. In fact, she preferred to stay in isolated areas. Being in a forest was certainly preferable, but this wasn’t all that bad either. At least no one was approaching her. Good. That meant that she didn’t need to pretend to speak. As soon as she finished this tea, she was going to leave and make a beeline for the first line of trees she saw. |
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Takeo's Profile | Takeo's Activity Log Status: Currently in "A Lonely Road" and "Tea and Silence.". "Actions speak louder than words." | |
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| Bonga | Mar 12 2011, 02:28 PM Post #4 |
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The Uchiha
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Matsuda watched his companion stop and stoop over the ground to examine the tracks left on the dusty, beaten trail. Apparently there were horses that left an obviously different imprint than normal horses. He approached Harutomo's position slowly, looking over his shoulder at the tracks. He didn't really know much of horses, so he took his word for it and was satisfied. "I thought you finally noticed we're walking down a well used road and...we're the only ones on it." He muttered, extending a hand and clasping Haru's shoulder for a moment to commend him for noticing the horse shoe tracks, rather than the more obvious detail of the lack of people. Oh well -- at some points, it's best to have two different pairs of eyes looking at the same situation. He retracted his hand back into his cloak and looked up, his eyes going dark because he did it too fast. Whoa -- careful buddy. And it was then that he noticed, after a bend in the road, there was a house on stilts. From a distance, it looked like it was just a normal house but Matsuda knew better. No one builds a house on a main road -- it's far to dangerous. It had to be a shop of some sort. He looked back at his friend, who appeared to still be looking at the ground, and whistled sharply. Then, without a word, he jumped and lunged forward, taking a shortcut and skipping the bend. When he got there, he didn't wait. Matsuda pushed open the door and looked around, half expecting something terrible to be unfolding. Luckily, there wasn't one. Unfortunately, he was meet with odd looks and deathly silence, which caused him to get nervous inside, though his stoic and expressionless face didn't reveal that he thought his legs were trembling. He coughed when a woman approached with a complimentary mint tea for first visitors, thanking her quietly. He looked around -- every table seemed to be inhabited by one or two other people, and not many looked to be his sort. He looked over at a table and saw someone with red, stringy hair who seemed to avoiding eye contact and sitting a table with two free seats. He stood for a moment, and then slowly approached the table, placing his tea down quietly and sitting down, his eyes firmly planted at the center of the table until his comrade joined him. Something about this red hair...girl? or boy? He wasn't quite sure, seemed to catch his attention. |
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Uchiha, Matsuda Status: In Taking the Long Way Home and Nightime Visitor. | |
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| Joshua | Mar 17 2011, 11:19 PM Post #5 |
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C Rank
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As Harutomo took to grinding the packed dirt between his fingers, his ally took notice of a fairly obvious fact that Harutomo had not even considered. "Well, I'm an idiot..." Haru chuckled, standing upright and stretching his tired back. Just then, he watched Matsuda take notice of something in the distance, and dash off in its direction. Curious as well, Haru followed behind, taking to the pathway and going at a slightly slower pace. Haru didn't want to tire himself out, he was already drained from this extensive travel in a nasty locale. A few moments after the Uchiha dissapeared within the establishment's doorway, Haru followed in suit. He was greeted by a replicant greeting party, and accepted the free tea as was the social norm. Haru took great care in not spilling the tea, and balanced himself with extreme effort as he approached Matsuda and some stranger. Approaching the trianglular setup, Harutomo set his tea down quickly, and threw his ass upon a comfy yellow pillow. Adjusting to comfort, Haru's gaze rectified, homing in upon the stranger's countenance. "Howdy." He spoke casually, a contrast to his intense stare. After a quick moment, the lock of eye contact was lost, and Haru's face melted back into a casual smile. He took a sip of the hot tea, and was pleasantly surprised. This is a great idea. A nice, good-smelling and warm place to relax in the middle of this flooded sewage hole. I hope it doesn't cost too much to stay... As Haru worried about personal finance, a group of men with broad-brimmed straw hats worried about the same, galloping down the large path upon great sable horses. Seven men in total, each cloaked heavily in brown, the color of the peasantry, and topped with yellow straw hats. They made good time, upon quick horses. There was no other possible target along this stretch of road, they were headed for the tea house... "We should be arriving at the Bottomless Tea House within five minutes, Kano." Spoke a rider to the left of the tip of a 'v' formation. The figure named Kano nodded in understanding, and then reached underneath the cloak to brandish a wickedly curved sword. Every single other rider then did the same, and all seemed to be equipped with the same type of armament, differing varieties of the sword. |
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Haru Murakimi Location: The Pass, moving North. Directive: Grow stronger, gain fame and fortune, gather followers. 1. Solo Thread in the Pass 2. Ink+Bonga 3. Hardcore Mission with Matsuda | |
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