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Post by kinue on May 23, 2008 3:44:35 GMT -5
Kin was glad; they were making pretty good time. It was a few hours until sundown and they had made it as far as Ba Sing Sei's Walls seems like like the side of a one story house, just almost out of site. Dashi was perched on Kon's head. He had been there since the start of the journey hours back. Of course, Dashi couldn't complain as he was asleep for the passed hour though just minutes ago waking up. Dashi sluggishly made his way up onto Kin's shoulder.
Dashi poked Kin's neck with his small nose and squeaked catching her attention. "Darling.." Kin looked back then slowed to line up with the nanny. ...Would you mind terribly if we rest just for a moment here, Xuan needs to switch places with me." Kin was surprised, she hadn't noticed Xuan's condition until now; it made her feel like a horrible guide. "Oh, yes! Of course!" Kin pulled on Kon's reined and stopped him. The other ostrich-horses soon followed the pattern.
They pulled off to the side of the path and Kin jumped off on Kon. "Here, I've got something to help.." Kin started digging through her bag. 'Umm...Let's see..... It was right...here....Oh! Ah-ha!" Kin pulled out a small traditional tea pot and started to set up a stand. She pulled out her flint rocks and started a fire underneath. After the water have boiled Kin pulled out a small cup and a small pouch. She poured about a spoonful of the contents into the water. After stomping out the fire Kin walked the cup over to Xuan on the cart. "Here," She said offering the cup, "It helped me a lot when i was still getting used to riding." Kin waited patiently for Xuan to take it. "Umm..." Oh DUH!! Kin had an embarrassed expression on her face, "Don't worry, it's just Ginger Tea! It helps settle your stomach.." She explained. The woman probably thought Kin was going to poison her or something.
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Post by xuan on May 28, 2008 6:31:27 GMT -5
Xuan wanted to protest the change in seats, but she found it near impossible to speak past the wave of nausea and by the time it had pasted just enough for her to get a few words out Kin was off making something or other over a small fire and Ti was at Xuan's side slipping her feet out of the stirrups.
"It's not necessary, Ti," Xuan said in a small voice, afraid to open her mouth very big in case anything from her stomach decided it was an exit.
"Nonsense girl, you are just being stubborn, you shouldn't even have tried to travel in your state," Ti was helping her down from the ostrich horse, holding her gently so as to not upset Xuan's stomach onto Ti's back.
"Is mommy going to be okay?" Bo asked as Ti and his mother passed by his cart; Jiang was nodding next to him, asking the same question in her own way.
"Your mother has just got an upset stomach," Ti said and they continued past, the older woman thought it would be no use trying to explain what was really wrong with Xuan right now, their minds would be content enough to believe that she just felt ill.
As they walked a little farther from the group Xuan's nausea got worse and she didn't even make it to the small hedge which Ti had been leading her before she collapsed to her knees and vomited on the green grass. Xuan hardly felt any better after wards though, her muscles were still tight and even though there was nothing left to throw up she felt like she still had to.
"Here," Ti wiped Xuans mouth with the corner of her skirt and gave her some water to gargle, getting ride of the taste in her mouth. When she had spit out the water Ti wiped her mouth again and produced a small bottle that she had been hanging onto. It was familiar to Xuan, but she hadn't seen in since before Jiang was born. The tiny thing was round at the bottom with a long thin neck and a golden stopper; some clear liquid was visible through the green glass and Xuan smiled a little. "I knew what was wrong with you the second you said something a week ago and I wasn't going to leave this behind while we were on the road, so have a sip dear," Ti handed the bottle over and Xuan took a small sip and she knew it would only be a matter of minutes before the remedy would relax her muscles.
"Thank you nanny," Xuan said and with a nod of welcome Ti helped her back to her feet and they returned to the cart.
"She okay now?" Bo asked looking up from the kitten in his lap and Ti nodded.
"Just a sour stomach was all dear," Xuan said and she slowly climbed ungracefully into the cart and settled between her children. She was half asleep, with help from the remedy Ti had given her, when Kin came over with a ceramic glass.
"Here, It helped me a lot when i was still getting used to riding." She held out the cup and the smell of ginger filled Xuans senses and for a moment she thought she would be sick from it, but it only helped relax her more. "Umm...Don't worry, it's just Ginger Tea! It helps settle your stomach." She said, the girl looked a little embarrassed.
"Thank you, dear, it smells wonderful," Xuan took it carefully from Kin and sipped it cautiously. "It tastes extraordinary, you should own a teahouse," she said with a small smile. "Though I dare say it's not the riding that's my problem," she said with a sincere glance at the girl before she turned back to her cup for another small sip.
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Post by kinue on May 28, 2008 20:44:57 GMT -5
Kin laughed for a brief moment. She had worked at a tea shop for her first job, though, never got good enough to actually make the tea. She just served it and eventually got fired for breaking too many glasses. That's when she got her current job as gate keeper.
When Xuan told her about not being sick from the riding, Kin tilted her head confused. If it wasn't the riding why was Xuan sick...? Wa it because of a cold. Maybe she had caught it from one of her kids. A moment of silence passed. "Oh, you mean.......Oh! Oooohhhhh!." Kin said blushing with her head down even more embarrassed. Today was not a very bright day for her. "Yeah, I actually don't know anything to help with that particular problem.." Kin chuckled nervously her face still flushed with red. As much as she knew about the female body and such, anything like that made her slightly timid and uncomfortable. Although a teen, she still though of herself as just a kid. Kin had also found most of this stuff out by her own, reading books and scrolls about it or hearing her friends talk about it. Her grandma didn't really give her "the talk" and her mom was a little far away to do so.
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Post by xuan on May 31, 2008 7:50:05 GMT -5
Xuan gave a small laugh at the girls blushing face, a lot of girls her age weren't particularly familiar or comfortable with the subject of pregnancy; Xuan having already gone through it twice was well accustomed. "Don't worry to much about it, dear," she took another sip of the tea, "you wont need to do much, Ti has helped me through both Bo and Jiang. I should be more than fine for most of the trip I think,"
Jiang had fallen a sleep on Xuan's lap already and Bo was cradling the sleeping kitten as he leaned against Xuan's side. Xuan had her arm around her little boy and after looking down at them for a brief moment she finished the tea in her cup and held it out for Kin. "Thank you very much for the tea, it was very good," she said, her eyelids were heavy and she was doing all she could to keep herself awake.
"Prehaps we should be heading out again, Kinue," Ti said, she was already saddled up and ready to go on Xuan's ostrich-horse, "It would be a shame to waste the daylight while we have it."
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Post by kinue on Jun 10, 2008 0:46:06 GMT -5
The teen exhaled a sigh of relief. She didn’t plan on helping with anything like that. It must have been nice, though. Having a family all together… Well… Partially. Where was Xuan’s husband anyways? Kin thought of everything he might be. A salesman? Carpenter? Oh, maybe, a soldier? Yeah, that must be it... Kin jumped a little when she was surprised out of her thoughts. She exhaled and nodded. "Yeah, we should get going again." Kinue looked over to Xuan. "Umm, are you SURE you're okay? Cause, you know, we could set up camp for the night…”
Kin crinkled her nose and her brow. Her nosy-ness was KILLING her. “Umm, Xuan? Could I ask you a quest... ion…?” Kin paused through the last word. She wasn’t sure if this was the best idea. What if her husband had passed away? That would make her feel terrible. Kin decided she wasn’t going to say anything further. “Uh…umm... Actually, uh... Never mind...” She blushed and turned to get back to Kon.
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Post by xuan on Jun 12, 2008 13:25:22 GMT -5
Xuan nodded lazily when the girl asked if she was okay. She was doing very well considering, she thought. Jiang was curled up on her lap and Bo was leaning against her side, she wondered what they would think about another sibling. "Umm, Xuan? Could I ask you a quest... ion…?" Kin said, sounding extreamly unsure, and Xuan looked up at her with sleep eyes, "Uh…umm... Actually, uh... Never mind...” Xuan just smiled as the girl turned away and mounted her Ostrich-horse. Xuan was normally very intuitave, but she couldn't imagine what the girl wanted to ask. She supposed it would only be a matter of time in their long journey before she was comfortable enough to say what was on her mind, until then Xuan would just be herself; a mother.
Ti sat comfortably on the Ostrich-horse that xuan had passed over to her and it moved fluidly under her as the walked. It was going to be an agonizing pace to Tachi Dai, she could tell.
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Post by kinue on Jun 26, 2008 11:27:39 GMT -5
Kin jumped up onto Kon and adjusted herself on his saddle. The wind started to blow a soft, cool breeze leaving goose-bumps on her skin. The gates of Ba Sing Sei could no longer be seen and they were getting close to one of the check points. Kin reached into the fold of her shirt and pulled out the map. She'd had this map for a while now, using it to every trip to visit her parents. Kin opened the map and and began shifting her vision from the road to the map. The map was covered in blue and green lines and circles, and maybe even a couple yellow ones. They marks different things so she would have to explain it to Xuan and Ti later on.
As the group traveled in silence, Kin started to wonder about what kind of people her company was. Not that she thought they were bad people, she just was curious and wanted to know more about who she was traveling with. Kin pulled up next to Xuan. "So, if you don't mind me asking, why are you headed to Tachi Dai?"
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Post by xuan on Jun 30, 2008 9:52:53 GMT -5
Xuan was in a somewhat sleep-like daze, she had drank to much of Nanny Ti's mix and though her baby cramps were gone she was ready to fall completely asleep.
"So, if you don't mind me asking, why are you headed to Tachi Dai?" Kin's voice made Xuan start, and she lookd wearily to the side of the cart and gave the girl a small smile.
"The city is no place for children," it had been her reasoning all along and it had taking over six years for her to finally get up the courage to leave, "I will purchase a small house just outside Tachi Dai and raise my children there, the country is far suitable place for them," Of course she would have rather taken them to Omashu where she herself had grown up, but the news she had heard from that direction hadn't been good. The idea was to settle in a more simple place where her children could be free to run and play.
"What about you love, why are you going that way? Family?" Xuan smiled, it was always nice to see young women such as Kin to make an effort to see the people they loved. She felt sad that even living in the same city she herself had made little efforts to spend time with her parents and had never once, since she was married went out to her grandparents omashu home to see them in their finally days.
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Post by kinue on Jul 8, 2008 0:18:27 GMT -5
Kinue listened as Xuan told her about kids. For her, personally, it was the exact opposite. She had grown up in the country being a brat and then moved to Ba Sing Sei learning how to be different since she was being raised by her grandmother. She thought it over. It actually did make more sense like that… Maybe Kin was just a freak by nature. She smiled at that, “Yeah, I can understand that.” She recalled all the luscious green fields she used to play “Enchanted Princess” in. Good times, good times..
When asked why she was going there she smiled and nodded. “Yes, my parents and my brother are up there.” This made Kin realize that she hadn’t seen them in such a long time.. He brother was probably an amazing earth bender by now.. “I haven’t seen them for a while and I was beginning to miss them a lot.. It’s hard living away from the people you love for such a long time..” Kin could hear the sadness in her voice although she tried to hide it. She shrugged her shoulders and crinkled her nose, “But I’m going there now so it’s all good.” She finished cheering up.
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Post by xuan on Jul 11, 2008 17:23:49 GMT -5
Xuan smiled, a small sad smile. "Yes it is quite sad, being away from those you love," she thought of her grandparents, the people who had raised her and she thought of how much she would miss her husband.
"what does your family do, Kinue?" Xuan turned to the girl, she found it strange that a woman would travel so far from home for a job. She imagined them as farmers, she always fancied a life on the farm for herself and her children, but her parents would never have it. Xuan was the duaghter, not to mention only child, of the very upstanding Yen family, to have her run away and raise a farm would be a disgrace.
The sun was making its desent in the sky and spreading its firey glow acroos the green fields. Jiang, Bo and the kitten were fast asleep around her and though she appreciated how mild they were being, but she knew it would come back to haunt her when they were awake in the middle of the night.
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Post by kinue on Jul 30, 2008 12:59:35 GMT -5
Kin was glad she got to know a little more about Xuan. She always enjoyed talking and exchanging little details about life.
Kin thought for a minute, " Well, my father is an Earth Kingdom General, and he and the rest of my family were stationed in Tachi Dai. My brother is going to school and taking earth bending lessons, apparently he's gotten really good these past few years..." Kin sighed, she was always so jealous of her brother. How he got to be an earth bender like their dad, but Kin wasn't. Oh well, you win some, you lose some. "...I'm not sure what my mother does. She used to work at a bath house, but now i think she just does house work. I'll have to remember to ask her when we get there." Kin said following with a smile.
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Post by xuan on Aug 5, 2008 9:18:41 GMT -5
Xuan found it strange and sad that Kin didn't know what her mother did, she figured they didn't keep in contact as much as they probably wanted to. "So, you work in Ba Sing Se?" she smiled a sad little smile, Tachi Dai felt forever away from her home and she could imagine just how sad it would be without her husband. She looked at the brave young girl riding beside the cart, she looked rather happy, but she couldn't imagine how she felt about the distance between her and her family.
Bo shifted his weight in his sleep and the kitten gave a small meow of pain as he rolled on her tail. Xuan carefully lifted the kitten and held it against her chest abover her childrens heads, stratching it behind the ears as it drifted back to sleep, but not before placing a few painful licks on Xuan's chin with her tiny pink, sandpaper, tongue.
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Post by kinue on Aug 12, 2008 14:58:36 GMT -5
Kin nodded, " Yup. You're looking at Ba Sing Sei's number one Gate Keeper," She said mostly to herself with an embarrassed laugh. She had screwed up while on gate watch so many times it was hard to count. She shifted her body a little so she was comfortable... Or, as comfortable as you can get while riding an ostrich horse.
"I've used to work at a tea shop, but I got fired within the first two weeks- I wasn't good around the 'fine china'. But then i qualified for gate keeping, and I've been doing it ever since." She turned to Xuan and smiled. "It's nice too, to be able to see all the families coming home and relatives coming to visit...." She started to trail off.
She decided to change the subject before she got emotional. "So! Are you excited to see your husband? I know I am!.....Er, I mean-! My family." She blushed in embarrassment.
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Post by xuan on Aug 26, 2008 10:31:48 GMT -5
Xuan giggled at the girls sudden blush, she remembered being like that, awkward and easily embarressed. That was of course before she had children, she found that children took away at least the embarrasment aspect of things.
"I am, but you can't tell me you don't have a special someone waiting around for you somewhere, you look like such a heartbreaker," she smiled slyly, the grin spreading across her cute-as-a-button face.
The sun was well into sinking and its orange glow was casting long shadows over the land. Xuan made a slight observance at the horizon and as she hoped the outline of a small town could be seen along the road. She had already decided she would pay for Kinues room, it was the least she could to for someone being so kind.
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Post by kinue on Sept 1, 2008 1:41:25 GMT -5
Kin blushed deep crimson and shrugged her shoulders awkwardly as part of her answer to Xuan's previous question. "Umm, not that I know of!" She giggled. Kin had a few boy friends in the past, but nothing recent - Just public crushes. "Although, there was this one boy once," She started, ".. He was asked me out when I was visiting there and I told him I couldn't since I was leaving that night and he said he'd 'see' me when I got back.." Kin's tomato- red face turned a shade brighter. It was nice having someone to gossip to, even though she could have died from all the embarrassment. "S-so, uhh, we should stop over there, " she pointed to the small village, "tonight. You know, get a good nights' sleep before getting back on the road." Kin rubbed the side of her thighs, " I know my legs could use a good rest!"
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