Life on the Farm <Tachi Dai, Earth Kingdom>

[reed]

Reed gently tapped his heels on the sides of the ostrich horse. Letting the two legged creature kick up dust as it ran. Tachi Dai wasn’t that far away from the port where Kai’s ship was . Maybe an hour inland? Reed held onto the reins like they were his life line. He wanted to get home as soon as possible. He had, after all, been gone for two, almost three, years.

Wind pulled back his hair as the ostrich horse kept its steady pace. Reed was like a small child that was waiting for his birthday, rushing down the stairs for a surprise. Well Reed didn’t want a surprise, he wanted home.

The group made their way over the hills with to find large plains. Reed let the others through the plains. Small, Light greens and yellow stalks popping out of the ground. Even at night Reed knew the way to Tachi Dai like the back of his hand.

Reed turned to the right and saw Tachi Dai. He was finally home. Many buildings and homes have been rebuilt and the city was looking better than before. They rode through the city and towards the back there were many farm houses. Reed turned left one of the road and continued on straight. Now in view was a large farm house accompanied by a barn and a large fenced area for the animals. Reed started to slow down to a stop in front of the house. The large house was a dark shade of brown as was the barn. Reed walked up the porch and slowly turned the handle and opened as a mop came in contact with his head. Reed pulled away the mop, “What the --. . . Ting?” Reed said eyeing the 11 year old girl. She was in a baggy, green short sleeve and beige clam digger pants with no shoes. Her hair was in a pony tail and she stood there with a large smile, “Reed!? I’m so glad you’re back!” She said almost tackling him. “Ting, why are you here, and where’s my mom?” “Hoto and I came to help your mom out until you came back. Oh and Auntie Minge is sleeping right now.” Ting tilted her head to the side, “Who’re they?” She asked pointing to Jialing and Jin. “Oh,” Reed started, “This is Jialing and her dog Jin.” “Whoa. . .” Ting said as she saw Jialing’s bow and arrows. “Those are cool!” She slightly whispered. “Oh, yeah, come on in guys. I’m still putting away food in the kitchen if you all want some. It’s still hot.” Reed walked into the house and slipped off his boots and continued towards the kitchen beckoning the others to come in also. Ting closed the door after everyone and came into the kitchen last. “Help your self to the food. The more you eat the more I don’t have to put away.” Ting looked to Jialing, “I like your bow.. . . Are you good with it?”

[jialingjin]

The ride on the ostrich-horses was long, and boring for Jialing though she did have fun beating Reed at a short race through the fields. Upon coming to Tachi Dai, Jialing grew silent.. She didn't like cities.. even small villages. The crowds frightened Jialing, the noise and all the people. Jialing had avoided villages for the past two years, only visiting when she needed food, work, or something else.
Arriving at the farm, Jialing dismounted and swung her bow and arrow quiver over her back and followed Reed.. looking displeased. This reminded her too much of home.. She could almost see her father working in the fields with the ostrich-horses pulling a plow.. and her brother, Goro sitting in a tree, avoiding work. Jialing in the last few years she had stayed at home, she hadn't been allowed to go outside. "Men prize a milky-white complexion and soft hands" her mother always said, leaving Jialing to work at her loom for hours. Jialing sighed.. and ran a hand through her hair.

When the little girl stared at Jialing and Jin, the dog sat obidently and thumped his tail against the wood porch. Jialing chuckled drly when asked if she was any good with a bow. "Heh heh heh... No.." Truth be told.. she wasn't.

[reed]

Ting’s eyes widened, “Oh, come on! I’m sure you could beat any guy at an archery contest with that.” She said looking away then looking back, “ . . . .Umm.. . . Do you think. .maybe, I could try it?” Reed sat at the table with a glass a water, “Aren’t you banned from all things bow and arrow-ish?” tTing shifted her eyes, “ I don’t know what your talking about. . .” “Remember. . The little squirrel ‘mishap’?” Ting blew a stand of hair out of her face and boosted herself up on to the counter top. “ So I killed one squirrel. . .” “Uh, Ting. . .It was thirteen squirrels. .” Reed chuckled as memories of his last family reunion went.

Little Ting’s nine year old birthday was four days ago and her uncle got her a bow and nine arrows. He was making jokes about her to go get some dinner. Ting took it seriously and ran in to the forest about half an hour later she came running back panting telling everyone to come see. Her mother was the first one followed by many others and there on the ground or pinned to trees were more than a dozen squirrels lay still. Ting’s mother took away her bow and said, “You Don’t get this back until your at least thirty.”

Reed looked over to Kai who was eating while leaning against the counter top. “I was there too, remember?” He said pointing his thumb towards himself. “I still have one of the squirrel skins too.”
Ting rolled her eyes, “ come on! No one’s here and this is a once in a live time opportunity!” Reed shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t have a problem, though they aren’t my bow and arrows.” He finished off.

[jialingjin]

Jialing scoffed, having receeded to a corner of the kitchen and trying to disappear into the wall. Her arms were crossed her chest, and her head down as she listened to the converstations. 13 squirrels eh? The girl must be a natural. Jialing could hardly get one squirrel with 13 arrows. She lifted a brow and glanced over to Reed from under her hair, then over to Kai as they bantered. She then shrugged her shoulders and let the quiver slide of her shoulder and down her arm. Jia then caught the quiver by the strap and lifted out the bow. Her bow was made out of dark wood, with a detactable string that hooked over the edges. It wasn't an object of beauty.. but of function. Glancing at the two men from under her ashen-sepia hair, she grinned. "C'mon Ting.. we can shoot some arrows."

Jialing stepped out of the kitchen in what must have been the backyard for the farm house. Before them were spreadout farm lands, and a barn in the distance. She stood for a moment eyening something to use for a target. Aha! A fence post in the distance had a white peice of cloth nailed to it.. for whatever reason. That would make a nice target. Jialing slipped her quiver back on over her shoulder and exmained her bow. She looped one of the bow string around the curve, and pulled the other end over the curve. She stepped down off onto level ground and plucked a homemade-arrow from her quiver.

[reed]

Ting smile must have taken up her whole face. “You mean it!?” She screamed/ asked. “Ting,” Reed started, “Don’t scream. You’ll wait up my mum and your brother.” “Hehe. . .Sorry,” She said with a sheepish smile following Jialing. Once the girls were out in the back Kai looked out a window. “How many times do you think Ting will hit the target?” Kai asked. “More than a half a dozen in a row,” Reed said looking out the screen door. “Half a dozen. . . in a row? No way.” “You wanna bet?” “Yes,” “Fine.” “5 coppers.” “Deal.” Reed watched as Ting was nearly jumping up and down watching Jialing. “I guess we’re shooting at the ‘1 square acre’ post?” Ting said still trying to put on her little brown slippers. They had fur lining and leather on the outside tied with a small leather string. When Ting finally got them on she watched as Jialing got ready to shoot.

[jialingjin]

Jialing kept the bow low and notched the arrow into the bow, catching the notch in the string. She then lifted the bow upward and drew her hand back to her ear. Standing with her feet apart, Jialing slowly adjusted her angle, closing one eye and tilting her head to the side. With a TWING! the arrow shot upward at a low angle, arching over the shoddily cut grass to the post. The arrow struck the top half of the post straight on, it's feathers quivering from the lost of momentum as the flint head stuck firmly in the wood. Jialing was saving her metal arrow heads for later and those were safetly packed away. She chuckled softly.. Amazing that I can hit a stationary object.. but not come close to a moving object. The young woman sighed and handed Ting the bow and drew an arrow from her quiver. "Have fun."

[reed]

Ting held the bow in her hands like it was a baby . She smiled having the bow in her hands again felt great. She reached for the arrow as Jialing offered it to her. The eleven year old girl held the arrow in her hand and moved it up and down to get used to the weight of it. Ting held the bow firmly in her hand as she notched in the arrow. Pointing her left foot forward and widened her feet. Straightening her left arm, Ting pulled the arrow back and anchored it on her jaw. Ting narrowed her eyes, “You wanna play a game? The only thing you have to do is call your shot and shoot for it. If you get it, it’s the next person’s turn. If you miss, then you get a letter. If you spell SHOOT then you lose,” Ting explained, “ I’ll go first; Top center of the white clothe.” Ting narrowed her eyes even more, then widened them, keeping both eyes open. She let the arrow slice through the air and it nailed the clothe. Top center. Ting smiled at her hit, “Your turn.” She said handing the bow to Jialing. Reed smirked at Kai. “One down.”

[jialingjin]

Jialing chuckled and took the bow, pulling another arrow from her quiver. She could play this game.. as long as they weren't shooting at a moving target. Jialing nodded and smiled, as she notched her arrow again and raised the bow. She spent less time calculating her angle this time, and drew the string back to her ear. The arrow string sang again as the wooden shaft shot through the morning air and with a dude thud, struck the post again, drastically off of her first shot.

Soft Footsteps came down the stairs, an older woman coming into the kitchen slowly. Her dark brown hair was streaked with grey, much it brushed back into a loose and tired bun. The woma's face, pale with greif, was lined and her once bright green eyes, dull and worn. She wore a long mahagony colored dress, with a rounded neck and elbow-lenght sleeves. Over this was a cream-colored shaw wrapped around her shoulders and tied at her neck. She spoke softly, as if still waking up.

"...Ting.. you know your suppose to be cleaning.. Kai, are you back already..?"

[reed]

Ting was ready to shoot. All, in her stance. “Corner top.” She let the arrow fly and nail her target. Ting then heard the soft voice of her Auntie Minge. “It’s ok Auntie Minge. Kai ate it all anyways,” Ting froze. . . Auntie. . Minge. .Ting tossed the bow at Jailing a ran up back into the house kicking off her slippers. “Bow!? I don’t have any bows!!? Who’s got a bow!? Just Jia has a bow! Nope not me, I don’t got a bow!?” Ting said throwing on an apron to clean the dishes Kai had eaten out of.
Reed looked at his mother. She had gotten old after just a few years. Kai straightened up as he wiped the food crumbs off him. “Yeah I have. And I brought some people with me.”

Reed went up to his mother and held her in a tight embrace. “Mornin’ Mom,” He said as she embraced him also. “ Reed, is it really you, Hun?” She said breaking the embrace to look at him. “Look how much you’ve grown.” “Mom, I want you to meet a friend of mine: Jialing,” He said looking over to Jialing.

[jialingjin]

"Reed?" The woman asked softly, her eyes softening as tears threatened to brim. "Oh, Reed! My little boy.." She wrapped her arms tightly around him. "You've become such a fine young man.. oh your father would be so proud, Reed..So proud." She sighed heavily as he parted her for a moment to gaze at the young woman who had followed Ting back inside. She eyed the bow in her hands and then looked over to Ting. "..No ideas, Ting.."

Minge then nodded to Jialing with a weak smile. "It's a pleasure, dear. ..Jialing eh..? That name sounds so familiar.. but I can't recall where from."

Jialing bowed to the woman, unhooking the bowstring from her bow and tucking it away before she slipped the bow into it's holster on the quiver. She gave a weak smile herself, not wanting to say more.. Jialing never liked new people.

"Reed.." Minge said softly.. "You're going to let Jialing have your room correct? Like a proper gentleman?" She eyed her son.

[reed]

Reed nodded his head, "Of course." He said starting to walk out of the kitchen. "Come on, Jialing. I'll you to where you will be staying and give you the upsairs tour on the way," Reed said in a butler like fashion only to see his mother look at him waving her hand off to him. Reed walked down the hall and up the stairs to the second story. Reed pointed to the rooms as he walked by. He pointed to the first door on the left, " Ok. Starting on the left, we got the closet, my parents room, my. . .Mom's bathroom, and the stairs up to the attic.Reed started to walk by pointing to the right. "That's the guest room," Reed stopped, "I don't think you want to go in there. Ting has little 'expirements' and 'plant splicing'that she does. SHe's always trying to create new stuff and cure sicknesses and make new plants so they can absobe water and produce it and stuff like that. It's nothing dangerous, it might smell like old socks." Reed stated, " And that's the other guest room where Ting's brother Hoto is staying. Here's another bathroom, and here's my room." Reed said stopping at the end of the hall and opened the last door on the right. It was an average sized room. At the far wall a large window out looking to plains. A few shelfs to the right with a bed under them. A dresser some chairs and a book shelf. A very green and brown and white-ish feel to it. There were clean linins on the bed and it looked like it was cleaned for Jialing, well actullay reed but that's not the point. "I'm gonna go chack on Hoto. There's the textile the girl from Lochan made," Reed said pointing to the upper shelf then walking out.

[jialingjin]

Jialing listened to him blather aimlessly on and on.. until they reached the room. Jialing stepped inside.. looking around for a tapestry or scroll hanging on the wall.. she wanted to know who this Lochan girl was. She knew the signature marks of all the textile makers in Lochan. There were none hanging, though she did eye the craftmenship of the bookcase with it's vine and scroll design. She stepped aside as Reed turned and walked, and then dove for the shelf where the rolled up wallscroll was kept. With careful hands she undid the twine ribbon and let the cloth scroll tumble open.

It was really a beautiful peice.. a multi-storied palace made out of beige stone, but with a green and gold roof set above a garden pond where a peacock displayed his feathers. Jialing instantly recognized the peice.. and scanned the image for her signature. A small golden bell. It was something she hid in every textile she made.. every single one. Her mind flashed over those 8 years ago when she had made this one.. she had been... 11..? Where did she hide it..? there! A small ruined stone latern had been covered by vines and foliage.. and among the green the slightest hint of a gold bell.

Jialing quickly closed the scrool and groaned, throwing her head back. "No no no no no.." She took a deep breath and retied the scroll and set it back up on the shelf. She then looked down at Jin who had followed them and put her hands on her hips. "Jin, your the only one that knows. His mother doesn't seem to remeber or recognize my name.. so.. play dumb."
Jin whined for a second.. before falling over and twitching.
"I said play dumb.. not play dead.."

[reed]

Reed walked and knocked on the guest room door. "Hoto. . . . .Hoto. . .!!!" He said loudening his voice. A boy about 12 years old ran out of the room in his under wear. He looked almost exactly like Ting. But you know, he was a guy. "What is it! What ha-- Reed? WHy are you here?" Reed sighed, "You do know there's a lady down the hall." "So?" Hoto said. "You're in your under wear. . ." Reed said. "Ah Jeeze!" Hoto said running back into the room for a pair of pants. "ok, now what's happenin'?" Hoto said tightening his pants. "It's time to get up. Breakfast is in a bit and we have work to do." Hoto shook his head, "No. . . I mean, What's with the lady? Is she your friend . . .Or is she your 'Lady-Friend'?" Hoto asked. "Hoto.. . ." "Yeah," "Just go down stairs. . . " "Far enough!" Hoto said marching down the stairs. Before Hoto made it all the way down the stairs he said to Reed, " Oh yeah, and Aunt Zuina's comin' over." Reed cringed, Not that old broad! he thought Now the party can really begin. At Jia gets to know the girl's name she wanted to know so badly

[jialingjin]

With Jin at her heels, Jialing came through the hall in a torrent. She skidded to a stop just behind Reed. Her hair flopped into her face.. "Your room's nice.. I should be plently comfortable." She chuckled softly, before switching back into Sarcastic-Jia mode. "Shame you have to sleep in the barn.. " Jialing pointed out as she sauntered past Reed before racing down the stairs into the kitchen.
Jin followed, but stopped to look up at Reed. He whined.. and then promptly collasped, his back foot twitching. He stayed in 'dead mode' for about a minute, before he lept back up and raced down the stairs after Jialing.

Jialing leaned aginst one of the storage cuboards.. rolling her eyes at Jin. He still didn't get it..

[reed]

Reed looked behind him self as Jialing commented on his room and soon reminding him about sleeping in the barn. Why the barn? Reed looked to his side where Jin flopped on to the floor twitching his leg. Reed stared at Jin for a miute with a ' What- the - heck -? I- don't -think -he -supose - to -be -doing -that' look on his face. Once Jin got up and dashed after Jialing Reed just stood for a minute. Odd acting JIaling, and colasping Jin. . . with a twitchy problem. what in the world was going on?? Reed shook is head and went downstairs to the kitchen. Minge sighed as she saw Hoto, Jialing, Jialing's dog, Jin did she hear?, and Reed following behind them. "It's good to have kids back in the house." Minge walked over to Reed, "Can you making channels for the plants after breakfast, Reed?" Reed looked to his mother, "Hoto and I can do that right now if you want while you and the girls get breakfast go'n," Reed finished standing up. Kai stood up also, "I'll help. It's been a while since I got my hands dirty." "But technacally you don't get your hands dirty because-" "Hoto just go," Kai said taking off his coat and handing it up before heading out behind Reed and Hoto who was stuggling to put a shirt on. Minge turned to the two girls who wants to come with me to get eggs from the hens?" Ting sulked down a little bit and bumped Jialing towards Minge.