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 Posted: Wed May 29, 2013 12:54 pm
Somehow the news of what happened to her childhood home hadn't sunken in. Even the whole way here, Bao Yu was feeling like she could go back to the isle. She just needed to pick up her bags and catch the first boat there.
The news had left her confused, unbelieving and, eventually, broken down. Had any of her family made it? Any of her sisters? Her parents? Friends? It was odd to think these were the first thing on her mind. If anyone spent any amount of time with the horsewoman it was obvious she would put research above all else. With a heavy heart, her feet touched ground in front of her new home. At least, that's what everyone was calling it.
It was nothing like home. There were tents everywhere. The smell was different, and the sights were a stark contrast from what she'd been expecting. Her pink tongue came out and darted across purple painted lips, which then pursed as she gathered her bags close to her sides. These were her only possessions now. She had to keep them close.
"Where do we go?" The words left her lips before she even knew who she was talking to.
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Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 7:12 pm
It didn't feel real to him; he could remember how everyone in his immediate family looked and sounded the day he left, how his grandmother and mother were fussing over him while his father nagged at him about doing the Fu family proud... Did anyone survive? Even if there was just a minute chance that, perhaps, someone was away from the Isle like he was when it happened-
"Home," Guowei answered firmly, his own bags clutched in his hands. They were filled with so much precious cargo - items and paintings that reminded him of his family - that he couldn't being himself to put them on the ground ever since he witnessed the ruins that was once home to his people.
Looking at the horsewoman the question came from, his eyes widened slightly when he realized that she was a familiar face - they were stationed at the same place for quite some time, and had gotten acquainted then. He felt relieved that she was alive, but at the same time, heartbroken; she spoke fondly of home during their conversations, and he could only hope that there were survivors among her family members.
"You're... Bao Yu," He greeted with a small smile, "Shall we look for Conquest tents together?"
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Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 8:52 pm
It had been one of those days where Lifen had departed from her new little home to check the garden that she and Sören had created when they first came to the Lost Clans, and having completed what she started, she was on her way back to the Conquest homebase, enjoying the day's administerings.
As she continued on her way, she couldn't help but catch the quiet voices of a pair of horsemen in front of her, neither of them really feeling as familiar as the ones she had lived and grown with in the last year, but one was feeling very. . . nostalgic.
Taking to walking a little faster, she tried to catch up with the two of them, eyebrows starting to rise, a small hope starting to resonate in her chest.
And then she saw them.
One was unfamiliar to her, a tall man, most likely a noble by the way he dressed and held himself - Mengyao would be interested to know he wasn't the only Lord from Conquest - but it was the one he was with that her on her toes, her walking turning in to a a brisk speed walk, which quickly turned in to a full out jog. It was the legs that sealed the deal - she was definitively related to her. In fact, she knew exactly who it was.
"BAO YU!" cried out suddenly from the little elder artisan, and careening towards her, she basically tackled her sister, going to smother and hug her and just sob and allow the deep seated feeling in her chest out, grasping her close.
"Bao Yu, Bao Yu! You are alive! I was so worried, and Cai was worried and you never showed up and I was so scared that you had gone foever and I was one sister less and . . . and . . ." She realized she was rambling. Turning to the nobleman again, she flushed a little, waving. "Hello."
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Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 9:06 pm
Someone had stepped beside her, and Bao Yu turned her head to find the nobleman she'd spent time with in a city during her time studying abroad. With knit brows, she nodded a little. The look she greeted him with was actually a sad sort, but she was trying to be optimistic about things. At least not everyone was killed. At least there may be family of hers here. Hopefully she had someone to cling to.
"Yes, Sir Guowei," she said, bowing at the waist. With a sigh, she stood back up and gave a nod before she heard rapidly approaching footsteps.
Red eyes glanced up to see who was running towards whom when she noticed a familiar pair of legs. Her heart jumped to her chest and then she saw who it was. The voice sealed the deal and she ran to meet her sister as soon as she could. Uncaring she was in the company of the nobleman, she held her sister tightly to her and let the tears spring to her eyes. Her throat felt dry all of a sudden as she pulled the girl back to cup her face. Lifen. Things had changed with her, but it was Lifen.
"Lifen! Oh, Lifen I was so worried about you! I can't.." Tears ran down her cheeks as she pulled her sister into a hug again. She was trying to not turn into a completely sobbing mess, but it was hard. Her glasses fogged up because of her crying and she gave a hard sigh.
That's when Lifen greeted Guowei. She pulled back with a sniffle and used her thread bare sleeve to dab at her eyes after taking off her glasses. "This... This is Sir Guowei. I met him in another city while I was studying." She looked over to the nobleman whilst putting her glasses back on, feeling she's herself enough of a fool. It took a moment before she calmed down enough to talk more.
"Guowei, Sir, this is my little sister, Lifen... The Artisan I was telling you about before.." Her chest filled with pride as she looked down at her sister. Her little Lifen was grown up. She looked so different, but the same as well. "You mentioned Cai? Is she here, as well?" Her eyes were darting around widely, looking for another sister. Could she be so lucky as to have had two sisters survive?
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Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 12:09 am
He was almost taken aback when she addressed him with a 'sir', but then he remembered that this place - with its rolls of tents and mixing of clans - was their new home... And that it was custom for him to be addressed as such. He was about to suggest that they move out when they were joined by another; her unique legs suggested that she was related to Bao Yu, and the hug that followed confirmed his observation.
"Ah, there seems to be something in my eye," Guowei explained as he rubbed his eyes with a finger, even if nobody had asked him about the tears welling in his eyes. It was heartwarming to see Bao Yu reunite with one of her sisters, although he was also envious... It raised the hope that one of his surviving family members could be out there as well, and as they say, hope can be dangerous.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Lifen," He smiled first at the younger sister before turning to the elder sister, "Bao Yu spoke fondly of you, and I'm pleased to finally be able to put a face to your name... Could the Cai you speak of be another member of your family?"
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Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 9:21 pm
There was something a little unnerving about watching people cry, when you, yourself, could not seem to muster up the emotional response anymore. Lifen had not been able to muster tears in a while, but it did not mean that she could not feel joy, and instead of weeping, she just rubbed her cheek against her sister, before the hug was completed.
"I am just glad to see you are well, and yes, Cai is around - she is busy, we all are, but having another of my sisters is . . . comforting." She answered carefully, picking at her sister's shoulder, at some fluff that may or may not be there as she turned mismatched eyes up towards the man whom Bao Yu was travelling with, tilting her head to the side.
"The pleasure is all mine," she started, giving him a soft little bow - she was still a woman of Conquest pride, even if she was a woman of the Lost Clans more-or-less now. "I am glad my older sister has taken to talking about me, my formal introduction is Hua Lifen, Elder Artisan of the Lost Clans, but you can just call me Lifen, as per." She concluded, giving him a smile, and the ghost of a light laugh.
"I am uncertain if she has told you, but we are two daughters of six, so when if we can find at least half of us, it is a blessing, I suppose you could say. My childhood friend lost his only sister, and seeing the effects that took on him, and all the others from our home, is rather saddening." She admitted. She wasn't ready to tell her sister about any changes in her relationships with the certain friend, of course.
Turning to her sister, she grabbed her sleeve lightly, looking at the ware, tear and inkstains on the beautiful fabric she left home with. "Is it just the two of you, then? Are there more coming, do you know?"
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Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2013 12:08 pm
She must have looked like a crazy person, crying over seeing her sister again, but she'd been so worried. So very worried. With a laugh on her lips, Bao Yu dabbed at her eyes. Cai was alive and well. That made her that much happier. She would definitely have to see her sister sometime soon. Swallowing a little more, she listened to the two converse as she swallowed the lump in her throat. Bao Yu's red eyes looked her baby sister over and took in the differences.
"...What.. happened? Eyes? Hair? Even your skin is different, Lifen," she whispered, touching her sister's hair. Everything had changed about he smaller, besides her body shape. Even then she seemed to have filled out more since she'd last seen her. One of her hands came to push up her glasses, that were still fogged up from crying, but she wasn't about to take them off and miss anymore changes in her sister. "Why did you cut your hair?"
She sounded almost upset over this fact. Lifen's hair was so beautiful when it was long. While the pixie cut was cute, it wasn't what Bao Yu was used to. At all.
Impatiently, she shook her head at her sister's questions and took Lifen by the chin, ever so gently. She was getting serious. "I do not know if there's more than us, but that's not important. What happened to you? Lifen..." She was confused, upset and just really, really worried.
She hadn't forgotten about Guowei, not in the slightest bit. That's why she pulled back and shook his head a little more. "Nevermind.. We'll discuss this when we don't have prying eyes.." Then she realized what she said could be taken offensively and she turned to the noble boy. "No... I'm sorry about that, Guowei. I meant nothing by it. I just realized it is matters that should be discussed in a not so public setting."
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Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 10:40 am
Guowei stood there silently as the sisters caught up with each other after the introductions were done, a sheepish smile on his face; while he was trying his best not to feel that way, he couldn't help feeling like he was in the way of their reunion. Or that it was slowly becoming awkward. Or that he might be forgotten.
... Ah, how cruel...
"I'm sorry about your friend's loss," He could understand those emotions that Lifen's friend probably had to deal with, having lost the people closest to him in one fell swoop; he had never felt so alone before, knowing that he would probably never see or hear them ever again... There were so many families living on the islands that the pain of losing their loved ones must be something most horsemen would be able to identify with, "It's not an easy feeling to cope with."
He shook his head, offering Bao Yu the smallest of smiles; there was still something sheepish about the way he looked, but although he hadn't been forgotten, he still felt like he was interrupting important Hua family time, "No offense taken... Perhaps Lifen could show us around? I have many questions regarding our new home, but firstly, how does go about getting a place to stay in?"
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Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 7:36 pm
"It is a very long story, I would rather speak of it when you are more settled and comfortable." She admitted after a moment, before turning to Guowei. "You are welcome to ask of it in the future also, I am not ashamed of my lack of pigments, it is just wordy." She murmured lightly, rolling her shoulders a bit in a soft shrug before grabbing her bigger sister's hand lightly, hoping that the nobleman wouldn't mind her taking her sister forward as she decided to show them the area together.
"We are known as the Lost Clans now, it's a pretty simplistic name - it doesn't usually come with titles like it used to. Kind of a mix-up of everyone who's remained." She started as they continued, lightly pointing around, it was a pretty vague point, but she meant it, they were like a big circle around a heavy forest. "We are mostly split by clans only by comfort, not necessity - but ranks still somewhat stay intact." Turning to Guowei, she gave him a little smile. "You will still be treated as a higher classed citizen, I can assure you, my friend is a Nobleman himself, and he sure as well is still treated as such." She murmured, rolling her eyes a little, showing that she found it silly, still, but would not insult their ranks, ever.
Lightly moving forward, she brought them in to the Conquest's side-lines, smiling softly. It was simple, still, but it was obvious that those who had found their way here had made it home. "We're surrounded by the other three Clans as you go, but really, as long as you introduce yourself to the Head Priestess, Medea . . ." A pause, kind of giving that a flippant shrug, "Or whomever is available from the head tent, it's pretty easy to stake your claim. For the time being, you are welcome to bring your things to my abode, until you are able to do so. Least I could do." She offered up, hoping that it would help them with settling in.
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Posted: Fri Jul 12, 2013 8:02 pm
To her sister's words, Bao Yu nodded. Seemed it would be a long, involved process, settling in, not that the scholar had expected any less. Rubbing her neck lightly, she continued to listen, taking everything in as she spoke. So they were still separated by classes and clans, but everyone was together? How interesting. Notes would have to be taken as she interrogated her sister at a later day. Looking to her friend, She just offered the nobleman a soft sort of smile and a pat on his cheek before she was tugged forward.
"I see... Well then.... Thank you for letting me stay with you. I had.. planned on discussing if I could with or not." Red eyes glanced back to the handsome nobleman and she let her brows knit a little more. Would he have somewhere to live by himself, or would he have to bunk with someone else? Biting down on her painted lip, Bao Yu sighed and turned back around to face him. "Sir? I'll bring you my notes after I am finished asking Lifen critical questions to help you settle in more quickly. As a nobleman there are jobs you need to understand quickly. I'll be glad to assist you where I can." She bowed after she finished speaking and looked back to Lifen, leaning against her again. She was happy to have something solid to hug against her.
"I suppose we'll be needing to part ways for now, but do not worry..." She was speaking to Guowei still. For some reason her mind was on getting him comfortable. "I'm sure we'll run into each other soon enough."
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