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Post by whitecrow on Mar 12, 2008 20:35:50 GMT -5
Morning had settled on the encampment, only the animals stirring in the beginning while all the flame dancers slept in after a night of revelry. However, their normal routines kicked into gear soon enough. The bonfire was awoken from smoldering embers to a cracking blaze kept in bay by stones and a bare dirt circle. Voices began to rise as the dancers moved out of their tents and wagons. Children woke sleepy eyed and dazed, rubbing the gunk from their eyes as they stumbled out onto the grass, some half dressed, with their stomachs rumbling. Breakfast was a joint affair. Many had gruel and oatmeal for breakfast, warmed at the base of the fire and flavored with fruit slices, fresh and dried. Some women took turns cooking up whatever meat or eggs they had for themselves from their own spoils. While meals were often shared, there was still an idea of who's was whose. Women and older children tended to the livestock while they ate, some with fruits and slices of crud bread bought from the last village, Men set about to hunting early morning prey before returning and getting to work on loading up camp.
It was time to move again.
The twins emerged from their wagon, stumbling down the short wooden steps looking like trash. Dark circles rimmed their eyes, their hair was a mess and in desperate need of a comb, while their bandannas hung around their necks. Li stumbled out first, running a dirty hand through his hair as he still hadn't bathed since the performance despite being near a river. Bai trailed behind, relatively cleaner with a dazed sort of half-smile on his face, like a puppy waking up from his nap. Buttoning his vest, the tarnished brass buttons etched with a symbol long ago worn away, he sighed as he glanced around the camp. With the fire in the middle, the tents circled it at a safe distance, double rowed for the number of them. Some families with numerous children had two or three. Others like Miss Feng, had one and when the camp moved, their belongings were split among the wagons and pack animals. The small number of wagons then encircled the tents, adding protection and in interesting factoid news: Nearly all the wagons had wind chimes on them, used to call for unruly children and to ward off animals.
The twins seperated.. Li-wu headed towards Juning who was speaking softly with some of the older members, tending to some oatmeal for her boys who still.. relied on their mommy for breakfast. Bai-wu however, pushed his bandanna up over his face, rubbing an itch on his nose with the back of his hand. Where was.. Miss Feng? He glanced down at his hip, at the bag of coins tied to his waist. he glanced around again, looking for the petite young woman with the baby attached to her hip. Juning and the 'Grandmothers' would want Tarak ASAP. He had seen booties being knitted a few days ago..
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Post by gijoespouse on Mar 12, 2008 21:10:57 GMT -5
The sounds of birds chirping out to greet the morning sun filtered into the wagon. Auina woke up...groggy at first...but slowly was gaining more awareness. An ache in her joints made themselves painfully aware, eliciting a grimace as the acrobat sat up. She let out a sigh. More than likely she'd need another session with one of the healers in the group. It wasn't as if the waterbenders could make the joint pain disappear forever, but usually the pain would stay away for awhile after each treatment.
How much longer would Auina be able to do this? She'd seen the older men and women in the group who suffered from arthritis. If things kept progressing as they did, inevitably it would mean she'd have to stop performing....a thought she didn't really wish to entertain at the moment. Not on such a nice morning.
The acrobat emerged from the wagon, a hand coming up to cover the yawn that escaped from her mouth. She was clad in a simple beige yukata bearing a dark pink lotus flower pattern, a sage green obi tied about her waste to make sure the garment remained closed. Normally she wore a pair of faded black pants with the light robe, but had forgone wearing them this morning. The mahogany haired earthbender stretched her arms out wide as she yawned once more, before stepping down to the ground. Mingling now with the sounds of the morning birds were the voices of the Flame Dancers as families awoke and began to fix breakfast.
Auina's stomach growled right in time with the thought.
Cappucino shaded eyes glanced about for her mother, and saw no sign of her. Then she remembered something about getting together with Juning and some of the older women...something about Miss Feng's little one, but she couldn't recall. With a smile, she climbed back into the wagon and rummaged around for the oats, a pot and a spoon. Her father would be out with the other men hunting, and would be pretty hungry when he returned. Though normally her mother did the cooking for their small family, on occasion Auina got her chance to dabble in it.
Soon, Auina was heading to the campfire, the oats measured out into the pot and just waiting for some water. A bucket with a tin ladle was set out, one of many...and as she passed one, she paused long enough to dip out some of the water and add it to the pot. That done, she continued on to the main fire. With a sigh, she knelt down and set the pot down to heat. She left to go back to the wagon...and came back moments later with two small bags: one with sugar and one with cinnamon.
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Post by pamuy on Mar 13, 2008 13:55:44 GMT -5
Ah, breakfast time in the caravan. The charming smells and sounds of everyone gathering to eat. Waking from a docile night in the wagon, Pamuy spent a few seconds wrapped in her blanket after her eyes sprung open. The warmth felt so nice on her milky chocolate skin, but she knew the day was to begin. There was no time for dawdling, so she made haste to put on a baby blue hanfu that covered everything it ought. Then in the light of dawn, she headed to the river and bathed the smell of smoke and sweat from the night before. Waterbending made the process much quicker, to her contentment.
Instead of immediately returning her hair to the normal style, she allowed the sepia locks to fall to her mid-back unrestrained. Entering and exiting a wagon in quick succession, she donned a clean Persian green skirt and midnight blue hanfu embroidered with ivory diamond patterns. Geta clacking with each footstep, Pamuy made her way to the breakfast campfire. Bathing had unfortunately made her a bit late for actually making the meal, but she knew cleanliness was worth the delay. She looked a little different with her hair down, and the waterbender found the feeling unfamiliar, but everyone knew it was her anyway.
Spying Auina near the cooking pot, she knelt beside her friend. "How can I help?" Pamuy said with a smile.
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The Lion Turtle
Ishvara Spirits
"Your own spirit must be unbendable."
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Post by The Lion Turtle on Mar 13, 2008 18:45:29 GMT -5
Tarak work her up.
True, he had a cradle they had so generously made for Xia, but some nights, when it was cold, she felt better if he was snuggling into her. And there were some nights when she just couldn't stand not cuddling with him.
Last night was one of those nights. She had let him sleep most of the night in his cradle while she helped the ladies pack up the banners and pick up the trash and other things (for which, with sleeping on the hard ground afterwards, she felt emensely sore all over), when it came time for her to sleep, she laid out her roll, took Tarak out of his cradle, and laid him with her. She had a few extra blankets she padded around his head and sides so he wouldn't roll away nor would she roll on top of him and crush him.
But Tarak had stirred before she did that morning. Not that he was crying; he rarely did that, but he was fussing and gurgling and letting it be know that he was hungry. Xia pulled her head up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, not even bothing to run a hand through her extremely messy morning hair, falling from its braid. She picked up Tarak, smiled at him, and kissed his round, pink cheeks before he started to protest so much that she sighed and nursed him.
"Such a hungry little boy," she murmured, noting that her breasts were a little tender. Tarak loved to eat, as evident by his ample baby-fat, and he always nursed as fast and as hard as his little mouth could.
When he was saited enough to let her go, she burped him and grabbed her wash rag, bucket and bar of rough, homemade soap Juning gave her. There was a river nearby, and Xia had every intention to use it.
She tested the water, debating for a moment, and stripped Tarak of his tunic, pants and diaper, and dipped him in a shallow part of the river. He giggled hard, slapping the water with his outstretched hands. She made sure not to let him stay in too long unless he caught a cold, so she hurried and washed her arms, legs, neck, face and hair, as well as a few privater areas for comfort and hygene purposes.
She plucked Tarak out of the water right when he wash getting cold, making sure he was well-rinsed and scrubbed before dressing him in a warm and simple hanfu with trousers underneith.
Balancing Tarak on one hip and the bucket in her opposite hand, she made her way back to camp for her own breakfast. At her tent, she grabbed Tarak's sling and put him in it across her chest, and picked up her small bag of oats and cooking utensils and walked out to the bonfire supporting Tarak in his sling with one hand. If being a mother taught her anything, it was how to carry everything she needed plus a child with only a little difficulty.
She saw Auina and Pamuy making their own breakfast, but she was a little too shy with them still to go over to them. She made herself her own little niche between two other families, saying good morning very cheerfully and measuring her oats in her pot. She could kill for some honey and butter for her oats, but, in lieu of that, she ate them plain. It wasn't that bad, really, but she did miss the food her mother set out for the family -- rice and pork, steamed vegitables, fish-based soup with chunks of seaweed and tofu, chicken and noodles, oh it was endless. Even living with Jing, she had good, hot foods to eat every meal.
But it was no use lamenting the past. She filled the pot up with water and oats and set it at the edge of the fire to boil. Besides, there was her outing later with Bai-Wu to look forward to...
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Post by gijoespouse on Mar 13, 2008 22:15:42 GMT -5
"How can I help?"
Auina looked up to see her friend, Pamuy, kneeling beside her. The waterbender's sepia shaded hair was down this morning, and was absolutely gorgeous when let it free of Pamuy's usual style. Auina's own mahogany tresses were still up in a bun and braids, though there were some definite stray hairs sticking out here and there. She'd yet to make it to the river to bathe. She would do that after she'd had some breakfast.
"Not much to do but let it sit and simmer," the acrobat responded as she reached in and pulled out a pinch of sugar.
With a bit of a smile, she sprinkled the sugar granules into the pot, then reached into the bag of cinnamon and added a pinch of that to the mixture. She honestly preferred to have much more cinnamon and sugar in her oatmeal, but they were running low on them. Auina made a mental note to ask someone running into Zhy to pick some up for her.
Oh, how she didn't want to work this morning. Her joints were stiff, her muscles sore from performing. What Auina really wanted was to go to the river and get cleaned up...and if the water was warm enough, she'd probably just soak contentedly for a bit.
"Actually, I do need a little help. Once I'm done eating, I'd really like a chance to get cleaned up by the river. If my father and the other hunters aren't back by then, would you make sure he gets a bowl? Apparently Juning and the other older women have something planned, and my mom is in on it. Me and dad have to fend for ourselves this morning it seems."
The earthbender rose from her spot, stretching her arms, extending them fully as she stood up. It was at this point she noticed Miss Feng, her little babe in a sling across her chest. Oh, how Auina had wanted to hold that infant since the mother and son had been taken in by the group. She'd not encroached on Xia though, feeling it a bit rude...and though she wanted to ask to hold the baby now, she knew she needed to clean up first before even thinking about it. Instead, Auina walked over to Xia...
"Miss Feng, would you like some cinnamon and sugar to flavor your oatmeal?" the acrobat asked softly.
Though Auina knew Xia's first name, she'd had yet to really get to know the woman...and rarely had even had a chance to speak with her. She felt it more proper just to refer to her in a more formal matter, until the young mother requested otherwise.
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Post by whitecrow on Mar 14, 2008 15:21:43 GMT -5
As he rubbed his face, squeezing his cheeks together for a moment as he overlooked those who had gathered at the fire. The Twins were too of the latest sleepers in the entire troupe, often pulling all nighters with their work or training, and it showed on Bai's face. His eyes lacked that mischievous glimmer and something about them seemed tamed this morning. Must have still been sleepy.
He wandered over to the large fire, feeling the warmth on this cool morning already from feet away. As he walked towards the cluster of people, he stretched his arms out to the side, twisted the joints through rotations in the air, the muscles slightly sore from the preformances yesterday. They were second nature to the young man know and he rarely hurt from them. He'd hurt more from wrangling Miss Feng's gift than preforming. Ugh.. he dropped his arms to his side with a sigh as he looked through his dark lashes for the latest addition to the Flame Dancers, the earth kingdom woman. He turned his head this way and that way, stepping up to the logs and stumps that had been rolled around the camp, their home for the past two weeks. Ah.. there she was, nestled in between two families with older children, on a solitary stump.
His lips turned down ward into a frown. Now why was she all by herself? That was no way to live in the Flame Dancers. Hm. Bai-Wu slid back outside of the crowds and circled around them, coming up from behind Miss Feng very slowly. As he neared her, he drew in his breath, holding it for just one moment as he leaned down. His bandanna still circled his neck and his large hands held back the tendrils of hair as he, just for fun, blew in the woman's ear.
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The Lion Turtle
Ishvara Spirits
"Your own spirit must be unbendable."
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Post by The Lion Turtle on Mar 14, 2008 16:29:45 GMT -5
"Miss Feng, would you like some cinnamon and sugar to flavor your oatmeal?"
Xia looked up with surprise and recognized Auina speaking softly to her. She smile brightly at the acrobat.
"Oh, well, I don't have anything I could give in return," she replied honestly. She was living off of, more or less, the charity of the other Flame Dancers as it were... She didn't have any talents or skills that could earn her any money. Well, besides emboridery and weaving, but she wasn't very good at it, and she didn't have any materials for it, so she really couldn't do anything but various chores like helping with launadry, preparing food (which she was learning a lot of things she never would have living with Jing and her parents, like skinning game), tending to animals (already had she learned to feed the pigs and milk the goats) and minding other children when she couldn't do any of the other tasks that needed to be done.
She wasn't paying attention to anything but Auina when a breeze flew by her ear. She tossed her head back so fast she cricked her neck, but all she saw was Bai-Wu. Heat rose up to her cheeks, but she wasn't sure if it was embarassment at his prank or otherwise.
"Oh! Good morning, Bai-Wu," she murmured, giving him a look up through her dark eyelashes.
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Post by gijoespouse on Mar 14, 2008 20:41:18 GMT -5
"Oh, well, I don't have anything I could give in return.
Auina would have responded right then...but movement heading the young mother's way caught her eye. Bai-Wu was sneaking up from behind, pulling back his dark locks as he did. The earthbender barely suppressed a giggle. Sure...she was used to childish antics from the twins, but they way Bai had been acting around Miss Feng was just too sweet. When Bai blew in Xia's ear and her attention was diverted, Auina set the bags of cinnamon and sugar down. The bags were small, with not much left in them, but there was enough for a few more mornings.
"Don't worry about paying me back. Just enjoy," the acrobat said quickly, before any protests could be given.
The mahogany haired women looked to Bai-Wu and Xia, smiling at the pair, before she turned to leave them.
"I'll just let you two get on with your morning now..."
She headed back over to where she had left Pamuy, checking on the oatmeal when she did. Her cappucino eyes looked back to Xia and Bai, before moving to look at her friend.
"Don't you think Miss Feng and Bai are cute together?" she asked the waterbender at her side.
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Post by pamuy on Mar 15, 2008 0:14:26 GMT -5
Though she kept her eyes on the oatmeal, stirring occasionally via waterbending, she knew what was happening. Hearing a brief amorous act from one of the twins toward Xia, the man likely being Bai, she made her best effort not to look. After all, it sounded like a breath of air, and she didn't want to consider whatever perverse act Bai just performed.
She wasn't quite thrilled with the fact that Miss Feng, a mother nonetheless, was involved with Bai. Either of the twins, for that matter. In fact, she would have disapproved if Xia were involved with a vast majority of men in the caravan...or women for that matter. That is, except Jaemin. Pamuy herself wasn't fond of women either, though that consideration itself had wondered off from the main point at some time or another.
Letting out a sigh, she noticed the consistency of the breakfast dish was almost perfect. Just a few moments longer. Looking up from her kneeled position, loose and straight sepia hair falling loosely over her shoulders, the waterbender caught sight of Xia and Bai before quickly darting her eyes to Auina. "I think it's ready."
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Post by blackcrow on Mar 15, 2008 17:50:51 GMT -5
He did not expect her to turn her head so swiftly as she pulled slightly fore ward. Their noses nearly touched, that cute upward turned nose almost brushed the slender, long hook of Bai-wu's. His eye lids lifted, revealing the goldenrod irises in their full glory. His eyes were rectangular in shape, their outside corners turning up ever so gently. Both boys had long lashes, that flared out from their eyes in solid streaks that accented the gold. He blinked at her for a moment, their faces so close as his lips turned down in a frown of surprise, not of disapproval. Her eyes were green...
Bai-Wu backed away from her, straightening back up with a chuckle, lifting a hand up to the side of his face, fingers pressed against his temple as his hair fell across his bare arm. "Ehhehheh... Hellooo Miss Feng!" He said cheerfully as he stepped around infront of her, around the stump. His eyes dropped to the infant on her lap, strapped to her chest. His voice cut off suddenly. The young man.. having grown up with children around him.. did not care for children. Afterall..the majority of children in the caravan were all born within the same.. like five-ten years span. They came and went in generations. Babies were just started to be born in the Caravan again.. and Bai tended to avoid them as much as he could.
He knelt down however, casually placing his hand on Xia's knee as he did so. He looked up at her, narrowing his eyes as he curled his lips in a smile. His other arm crossed his knee, everything about him warm in color with reds, peaches, and lively browns. Looking up at her through his eyelashes, he purred "Ready for your surprise?"
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Post by gijoespouse on Mar 15, 2008 21:47:57 GMT -5
Auina didn't receive a verbal answer to her question from the waterbender beside her, but Pamuy had certainly responded. She didn't think much of the twins (...well...she didn't seem to think much of most of the men in the caravan), and therefore it seemed she didn't hold the same sentiment that the acrobat did. The oatmeal was ready, and she quickly filled a bowl for herself and offered some to Pamuy as well as there was more than enough.
Her cappucino eyes watched the interaction between Bai Wu and Xia...and she couldn't help but feel a little twinge of jealousy in her over the exchange. She kept the negative emotion to herself though, as she ate her breakfast.
Li entered her thoughts again, as did the conversation she'd held with Pamuy last night. The waterbender had pretty much said what she knew in her heart. She needed to just move on, because it was doubtful that the Wu twin felt the same. It seemed like everytime she tried though, something like that display from last night would happen. That low dip, the flirting, being close...it would just make her feelings toward the man rekindle.
The earthbender quickly finished off her oatmeal.
"Mmm...okay, I'm off to get to the river. I'll take care of clean up when I get back, but could you please let father know the food is here, waiting?"
Auina didn't stick around for an answer. Honestly? She was ready to get washed up. Her sore muscles would appreciate it, as would her stiff joints...and leaving now would ensure that she would have a chance to clear her head before Li could come around and muddle up her thoughts again. She headed straight for her family's wagon and grabbed some lightly scented soap and a change of clothes, then headed straight out to the river.
Auina glanced around...and was pleased to find that no one else was in the water. Good...she could have a bit of privacy. She took her time disrobing, then stepped into the waters. There was a bit of a pout to her lips, as she found the water to be a bit too chilly for soaking. It wasn't too horribly cold though, thankfully. Soap in hand, she headed into the water and began freshening up.
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The Lion Turtle
Ishvara Spirits
"Your own spirit must be unbendable."
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Post by The Lion Turtle on Mar 16, 2008 16:39:49 GMT -5
Xia was quiet startled to find Bai's face mere centimeters for her's when she turned to him. She nearly gasped, her rose-pink lips parting slightly. She was blushing even harder as she turned away from him, seeing that Auina had left the two bags of cinnamon and sugar near her food. She sighed, took them, and added a little of each to her pot, which was bubbling nicely and thickening.
She felt his hand on her shoulder and glance at him to see him kneeling next to her, his golden eyes looking up through his thick black lashes, a sultry smile on peach lips. It didn't matter how many times either twin did that, it made her heart skip for just a split second.
"Ready for your surprise?"
Ah, yes. The surprise he mentioned last night. She glanced down at the pot of oatmeal and took it off the fire, stirring a second before deeming it done and ladling a little into a bowl for it to cool enough to eat. She thought of the possible answers she could give him, and smiled when one came to her.
"Have I not asked you to call me Xia, Mister Wu?"
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Post by whitecrow on Mar 16, 2008 17:16:50 GMT -5
His lower lip stuck out as his eyebrows leveled out, flattening his eyes as he put his tongue in his cheek so to say, giving Xia a dead-pan 'That was harsh.' expression. Bai opened his mouth to sigh heavily as he lifted his eyebrows high, closing his eyes as he rolled his head to the side, cracking the bones in his neck. "Alright... fine. Miss Xia." He removed his hand from her knee, letting his fingertips drag across the top of her knee cap lightly as he stood. He snapped both his fingers and pointed to the top of Tarak's head with one finger and to the bowl in her hand. "Finish eating and Mother is demanding Tarak for the day, then we can go into Zhy. Alright?"
As he looked down on the sleeping baby, whose head was full of wispy strands of brown head, he couldn't help but wonder about the kid. How would he grow up? He had no father and Miss Feng.. well.. she seemed godawfully overprotective. That wouldn't blow over so well in the Caravan as the kid aged. A kid needed a father to teach woodworking skills..how to catch game and skin it.. how to fend of Frying Pans. And well.. Bai reflected back on his own childhood and how much running about he and Li had done. They had broken bones.. scrapped knees and elbows, gotten lovely gashes on their heads. Bai even took a ostrich horse claw to his stomach once trying to ride one.. that left a faint scar to this day.
He sighed again and dropped both his hands, stepping back.
Meanwhile...
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Post by zahira on Mar 16, 2008 17:50:29 GMT -5
Zahira, however, dispite her late night, had been up for a long time already. She was showered, dressed, fed, and was now skinning a rabbit she had snared for her mother, who wanted the skin and planned to dry the meat for future meals. Zahira was not a skilled trapper, but as she had no father, it was either try occationally or ask another man in the troupe to do it for her. Most tried to bring at least a little meat to the two women, but it was understood between them and Zahira that the men's families came first, and Zahira and Kali got the leftovers.
It was fine, really. Zahira could fish better than she could trap, and she made plenty of money dancing for men at night, plus whatever Kali got selling things she made with her own two arthimetic hands. The two made well with what they had, and Kali had always been creative with her assets.
Kali strode towards her daughter who was kneeling over her kill.
"It has a good pelt... I'll save it and trim something with it," the older woman said.
Zahira nodded, finishing and washed her hands in a bucket of water she brought, tossing her mother the hide to clean and tan while taking the meat and washing it in another bucket of water, untained by her handwashing, finally wrapping it in some clean linen. She still needed to clean it and debone it, but it needed to dry a little before that, so she hung it from the end of the wagon in the sun. Her mother was preparing the jerking spices for the meat, and already Zahira's mouth was watering.
"We need to have rabbit stew sometime," she told her mother as she cleaned up the blood-staind cloth the pair did all their meat preparation on.
"Yes, rabbit stew. If you can catch anything fatter than you did this morning."
Zahira sighed and nodded, going to dump the tainted water out and draw fresh water from the river nearby.
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Post by blackcrow on Mar 16, 2008 18:04:16 GMT -5
Li sighed as his mother gave him a task.. find all the strays and round them up for a real quick meeting. They had decided on where the Caravan was going to head next and wanted to make the announcement by lunch. Li sulked as his mother turned him away to go do his task. it was lonely without his twin who was off escorting Miss Feng to go pick up the cow the Caravan had purchased for her. What was he suppose to do? The young man wandered across the grass, kicking at it with his feet as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. His lower lip pouted out as he walked, muttering to himself with his head down, strands of his dark black hair swinging. Maybe.. he could go find one of the girls..? Auina, Zahira or Sahara maybe? They'd be more likely to hang out with him than the stuffy stuck-up Pamuy. She had always been like that.. ever since they were children.
He huffed and balled up his hands, bringing them up to his chest as he spun around, his hair flying up into the air like a sheet. So.. Where was everyone? Ah.. He saw Zahira waddling with her shapely hips as she lugged a tub of water. His golden eyes lit up and, Feeling mischievous without his twin to calm him, Li jogged towards her. He didn't stop as he ran close to her, instead he bent down and grabbed the small tub with both of his arms, turning slightly as he took the majority of the weight into his own hands. Now..he stopped, water sloshing violently in the wooden tub as he began walking backwards, theatening to overspill. "Heya." He said giving the belly dancer a wink. "Need some help?"
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