Post by Seito Risa on Aug 27, 2013 21:19:51 GMT -5
Risa emerges from the bathroom, dressed in a pair of silk pajamas, gold with red piping and border. Her left arm hangs free, the sling laying on the bedside table next to a large glass of water. As she approaches, the bed is already turned down, her bed slippers are next to the bed. Ichiro sits in a wing back chair, still in his shorts and Phollow the Phoenix tank top. Risa eyes the shirt and shakes her head.
SR: "I still don't know why I signed off on that slogan, but if you say it's the #3 selling shirt since it's debut three weeks ago, I guess it isn't so bad."
Ichiro chuckles. Risa's humor and mood had improved greatly on the ride back to the hotel from the gym. Her spirit seemed to have recovered some, but she could not hide from Ichiro the fact she was no better than she had been at the hot tub. She sits on the edge of the bed and takes a sip of the water.
SR: "As instructed by the doc, I took two advil. It will be odd trying not to sleep with pressure on it, but I'll do my best."
Ichiro nods.
I: "I know you will. I will be right outside if you need me. Just call. Now..."
He stands up and walks over to the bed. She turns and slides her feet under the covers and lays there feeling a bit odd as he turns the covers up and tucks her in.
I: "I know just the story you will want to hear. It will hopefully help your spirit get going again."
Risa smiles.
SR: "I hope so."
Ichiro settles back in the chair and, without a book, begins his story.
I: "Long ago, a young girl was born to a very rich, very powerful family. They were very well off and no one lacked for any material possession. The brothers, however, ignored their sister, not playing with her or wanting her around. They treated her like she did not belong to the family, as she took from them their parent's attentions. The young maiden did not know what she had done, but felt she was at fault. One day, her brothers were particularly mean to her. She packed some clothes into a traveling knapsack and slipped out in the middle of the night. She started walking, across the countryside. Traveling for days. She had enough money with her to get food and lodging when needed, but she tried to conserve what money she had, as it was all she would ever know. One day, as she passed through a farming village, a terrible storm came. The winds and rain battered the poor maiden. While the villagers huddled in the safety of their modest homes, she tried to travel on, but the power of the storm was too great. She was blown off of her feet and carried into a nearby creek. She tried to swim clear, but as she approached the shore, a branch struck her in the head, knocking her cold."
Risa starts to settle in as Ichiro begins his tail, but her eyes open, and get wider and wider as the tale carries on. She winces when the young maiden is blown off and gasps as the branch knocks her cold. She turns her head to Ichiro.
SR: "I've not heard this one."
Ichiro smiled.
I: "I figured you might not have. Anyway. The maiden awoke. She lay in a bed, a simple bed of wood with a not so comfortable mattress of stuffed straw. The sheets were rough and common, yet clean and in an odd way comforting. As she lay there she began to wonder where she was. She looked about her at the room that was probably in a farmhouse. She spied a door and as she looked at it, it opened and in walked an elderly woman. She was so old, the maiden reckoned she remembered the invention of dirt."
Risa giggles, brightening. Ichiro speaks in a not so good impression of an old woman's voice.
I: " 'Well. Glad to see you are awake. For four days you have laid there, gradually getting the color back in your cheeks. A pretty young girl like you should not be traveling alone, much less trying to press on through a typhoon.' The girl swallowed and nearly cried at the sore throat. The woman stepped in and took a pitcher, pouring some water into an old tea cup, she brought this to the maiden, who sipped it. She thanked the old woman and asked what happened. The woman's grandsons had been watching the storm through their windows and saw her get washed off the path and into the creek. Despite her warnings the two boys grabbed a pair of ropes and rushed to the creek, pulling the young maiden to safety and bringing her back to their home. The maiden was thankful and asked if she could stay for a short time, to recover her strength. She was welcomed."
SR: "Awwwww."
Risa smiles settling in now that the scary part of the story had past.
I: "She remained with the family for three years. Never once her mind thinking back to the horrific treatment she had left, only of the love and kindness of the family that had saved her life. The two boys, slightly younger than she, called her Sissie, a playful form of sister. She had been in essence adopted, and had come to love the family as if they were her own. Until one winter, when the cold took the old woman to her reward. It was up to the maiden now, as eldest, to try to run the house. A chore she set herself to with vigor. She had a purpose, she had a home and she had a family the loved her. The spring came..."
Ichiro is forced to pause as Risa, being somewhat vulnerable at the moment to emotions, retrieved a tissue from the bedside table and honked, a loud, wet honk. She blushed and dropped the tissue into the can at the bedside and settled back to her pillow.
SR: "Sorry. That was sad."
Ichiro nods.
I: "The spring came and the maiden set out to work the fields, as she had learned from the old woman. Their plot was small, but grew plenty for the small family to eat and enough to sell at market. One afternoon, the maiden heard her name being called and looked up to find two very finely dressed men striding toward her. She didn't recognize her birth brothers until they stopped and demanded why she wanted to disgrace the family and most of all cause them public embarrassment. She opened her mouth and replied that she didn't care about that. That she had not had a family before. That now she had. The two boys snorted. And startled as the maiden did to a snort and a growl. They turned to spy in the field, a great grey wolf. His eyes the color of the full moon, his fur along his collar the color of the winter touched mountains. His teeth sharper than broken glass."
Risa gasps again and scooches a little under the covers. In part she is playing along with the story, and in part, as this is the first time she has heard it, she is concerned for the maiden.
I: "The wolf stops before the three and locks his eyes with those of the maiden. 'I will guard your true brothers lives if you surrender to me.' He says to her. She takes a step back. She looks to her brothers, who look more frightened than she. Both of them say 'You can have her' and turn to walk away. They make it no more than three paces when two other wolves appear before them, and in a flash of lightning, both boys throats are ripped clean."
Risa eeps. She siddles across the bed a little, tightening her grip on the covers.
I: "Then she hears a yelling behind her. The two young men she lived with charged into the field, waving a hoe and a rake. The two wolves parted like a flow of silvery hair, disappearing into the trees, leaving the great wolf facing the maiden. 'I repeat my offer. Surrender yourself to me and your true brothers will be unharmed.' She realizes now who the wolf speaks of and holds her arms out, stopping the two onrushing farmboys. 'Will you help them survive?' the maiden counters. 'I give you my word they will not want for food or a home. They will know love.' the wolf replies. She takes a deep breath and bows her head. 'I have not the strength to work these fields forever. If sacrificing myself will guarantee your help for my true brothers, then I accept your terms.' The boys argue with her, but she shakes her head. 'It is done.' the great wolf replied."
A tear ran from Risa's eye.
I: "The wolf stepped forward, bared his teeth, and the boys broke past her. 'You will not have our sister, you beast!' one cried. The two dove on the great wolf, swinging their improvised weapons with no aim at all. The wolf seemed amused as he danced here and there between the boys. Finally, as they began to tire, he turned and ran from the field, pausing to give a great howl at the end of the field. 'You should not have stopped him. I would gladly sacrifice myself for my true family.' The boys both took an arm and guided her back to the house. 'Nope.' Said the oldest of the boys. 'You are our sister. We stay together. If he wants you, he'll have to have us, too. And we aren't going to leave you.'"
Risa sniffles, another awwwwww escaping. Ichiro gets up and takes the tissue box and offers it to Risa, who takes a tissue and blows, gently using her left hand to help hold the tissue down. The bruise on her arm already starting to fade a little.
I: "She returned to the field to decide what to do with her birth brother's bodies, but could find no trace of them. Several nights later, as she blew out the small lamp in her bedroom and settled into bed, much as you are tonight, she heard a noise in her room. She looked up and saw a pair of moon lights reflecting back at her. The great wolf stood before her. She started to take a breath to scream, to throw her covers back and run, but she remembered the promise she had made. 'Great wolf.' She said. 'Forgive my brothers. They love me and I them. We would do anything to protect one another.' The wolf smiled, a not-so-unfriendly gesture, she felt. 'That is good.' the wolf replied. 'You know without doubt who your true brothers are. As I know my own. Your heart and mine are meant to travel the lights in the sky united. But not until our time has come. Love your brothers and they will love you. Protect your true family, for that is the most precious of gifts.' The maiden nodded. 'I understand. Family is not so much a name, or sharing blood or sharing even parents. It is about sharing a spirit, a heart. About loving one another and being willing to make a great sacrifice if needed, to defend, protect or help them.' The wolf nodded and turned. 'Look for me no more. I will return when it is our time, dear maiden.' She nodded and the wolf departed. Their spirits now travel the night stars. Where they touch, the stars are a little bit brighter, a little bit stronger, offering their light of love to those below."
Risa is smiling brightly, tears rising in her eyes. She scoots back to the edge of the bed.
SR: "That was a great story, Ichi-kun. Where did you hear it?"
I: "You mean this version?"
She nods.
I: "I heard it...just now."
She smiled and sat up, gently hugging her best friend.
SR: "Thank you, Ichi-kun."
Ichiro nods, tucks her back in and turns out her lamp.
I: "I'll be right outside if you need me."
She nods and settles in, eventually finding a position comfortable on her arm. A smile spreads across her face.
SR: "Family. True family. Like PMN are for each other. Very nice, Ichi-kun."
She then snuggles up to the pillow and in very little time is asleep, breathing regular and comfortable.
SR: "I still don't know why I signed off on that slogan, but if you say it's the #3 selling shirt since it's debut three weeks ago, I guess it isn't so bad."
Ichiro chuckles. Risa's humor and mood had improved greatly on the ride back to the hotel from the gym. Her spirit seemed to have recovered some, but she could not hide from Ichiro the fact she was no better than she had been at the hot tub. She sits on the edge of the bed and takes a sip of the water.
SR: "As instructed by the doc, I took two advil. It will be odd trying not to sleep with pressure on it, but I'll do my best."
Ichiro nods.
I: "I know you will. I will be right outside if you need me. Just call. Now..."
He stands up and walks over to the bed. She turns and slides her feet under the covers and lays there feeling a bit odd as he turns the covers up and tucks her in.
I: "I know just the story you will want to hear. It will hopefully help your spirit get going again."
Risa smiles.
SR: "I hope so."
Ichiro settles back in the chair and, without a book, begins his story.
I: "Long ago, a young girl was born to a very rich, very powerful family. They were very well off and no one lacked for any material possession. The brothers, however, ignored their sister, not playing with her or wanting her around. They treated her like she did not belong to the family, as she took from them their parent's attentions. The young maiden did not know what she had done, but felt she was at fault. One day, her brothers were particularly mean to her. She packed some clothes into a traveling knapsack and slipped out in the middle of the night. She started walking, across the countryside. Traveling for days. She had enough money with her to get food and lodging when needed, but she tried to conserve what money she had, as it was all she would ever know. One day, as she passed through a farming village, a terrible storm came. The winds and rain battered the poor maiden. While the villagers huddled in the safety of their modest homes, she tried to travel on, but the power of the storm was too great. She was blown off of her feet and carried into a nearby creek. She tried to swim clear, but as she approached the shore, a branch struck her in the head, knocking her cold."
Risa starts to settle in as Ichiro begins his tail, but her eyes open, and get wider and wider as the tale carries on. She winces when the young maiden is blown off and gasps as the branch knocks her cold. She turns her head to Ichiro.
SR: "I've not heard this one."
Ichiro smiled.
I: "I figured you might not have. Anyway. The maiden awoke. She lay in a bed, a simple bed of wood with a not so comfortable mattress of stuffed straw. The sheets were rough and common, yet clean and in an odd way comforting. As she lay there she began to wonder where she was. She looked about her at the room that was probably in a farmhouse. She spied a door and as she looked at it, it opened and in walked an elderly woman. She was so old, the maiden reckoned she remembered the invention of dirt."
Risa giggles, brightening. Ichiro speaks in a not so good impression of an old woman's voice.
I: " 'Well. Glad to see you are awake. For four days you have laid there, gradually getting the color back in your cheeks. A pretty young girl like you should not be traveling alone, much less trying to press on through a typhoon.' The girl swallowed and nearly cried at the sore throat. The woman stepped in and took a pitcher, pouring some water into an old tea cup, she brought this to the maiden, who sipped it. She thanked the old woman and asked what happened. The woman's grandsons had been watching the storm through their windows and saw her get washed off the path and into the creek. Despite her warnings the two boys grabbed a pair of ropes and rushed to the creek, pulling the young maiden to safety and bringing her back to their home. The maiden was thankful and asked if she could stay for a short time, to recover her strength. She was welcomed."
SR: "Awwwww."
Risa smiles settling in now that the scary part of the story had past.
I: "She remained with the family for three years. Never once her mind thinking back to the horrific treatment she had left, only of the love and kindness of the family that had saved her life. The two boys, slightly younger than she, called her Sissie, a playful form of sister. She had been in essence adopted, and had come to love the family as if they were her own. Until one winter, when the cold took the old woman to her reward. It was up to the maiden now, as eldest, to try to run the house. A chore she set herself to with vigor. She had a purpose, she had a home and she had a family the loved her. The spring came..."
Ichiro is forced to pause as Risa, being somewhat vulnerable at the moment to emotions, retrieved a tissue from the bedside table and honked, a loud, wet honk. She blushed and dropped the tissue into the can at the bedside and settled back to her pillow.
SR: "Sorry. That was sad."
Ichiro nods.
I: "The spring came and the maiden set out to work the fields, as she had learned from the old woman. Their plot was small, but grew plenty for the small family to eat and enough to sell at market. One afternoon, the maiden heard her name being called and looked up to find two very finely dressed men striding toward her. She didn't recognize her birth brothers until they stopped and demanded why she wanted to disgrace the family and most of all cause them public embarrassment. She opened her mouth and replied that she didn't care about that. That she had not had a family before. That now she had. The two boys snorted. And startled as the maiden did to a snort and a growl. They turned to spy in the field, a great grey wolf. His eyes the color of the full moon, his fur along his collar the color of the winter touched mountains. His teeth sharper than broken glass."
Risa gasps again and scooches a little under the covers. In part she is playing along with the story, and in part, as this is the first time she has heard it, she is concerned for the maiden.
I: "The wolf stops before the three and locks his eyes with those of the maiden. 'I will guard your true brothers lives if you surrender to me.' He says to her. She takes a step back. She looks to her brothers, who look more frightened than she. Both of them say 'You can have her' and turn to walk away. They make it no more than three paces when two other wolves appear before them, and in a flash of lightning, both boys throats are ripped clean."
Risa eeps. She siddles across the bed a little, tightening her grip on the covers.
I: "Then she hears a yelling behind her. The two young men she lived with charged into the field, waving a hoe and a rake. The two wolves parted like a flow of silvery hair, disappearing into the trees, leaving the great wolf facing the maiden. 'I repeat my offer. Surrender yourself to me and your true brothers will be unharmed.' She realizes now who the wolf speaks of and holds her arms out, stopping the two onrushing farmboys. 'Will you help them survive?' the maiden counters. 'I give you my word they will not want for food or a home. They will know love.' the wolf replies. She takes a deep breath and bows her head. 'I have not the strength to work these fields forever. If sacrificing myself will guarantee your help for my true brothers, then I accept your terms.' The boys argue with her, but she shakes her head. 'It is done.' the great wolf replied."
A tear ran from Risa's eye.
I: "The wolf stepped forward, bared his teeth, and the boys broke past her. 'You will not have our sister, you beast!' one cried. The two dove on the great wolf, swinging their improvised weapons with no aim at all. The wolf seemed amused as he danced here and there between the boys. Finally, as they began to tire, he turned and ran from the field, pausing to give a great howl at the end of the field. 'You should not have stopped him. I would gladly sacrifice myself for my true family.' The boys both took an arm and guided her back to the house. 'Nope.' Said the oldest of the boys. 'You are our sister. We stay together. If he wants you, he'll have to have us, too. And we aren't going to leave you.'"
Risa sniffles, another awwwwww escaping. Ichiro gets up and takes the tissue box and offers it to Risa, who takes a tissue and blows, gently using her left hand to help hold the tissue down. The bruise on her arm already starting to fade a little.
I: "She returned to the field to decide what to do with her birth brother's bodies, but could find no trace of them. Several nights later, as she blew out the small lamp in her bedroom and settled into bed, much as you are tonight, she heard a noise in her room. She looked up and saw a pair of moon lights reflecting back at her. The great wolf stood before her. She started to take a breath to scream, to throw her covers back and run, but she remembered the promise she had made. 'Great wolf.' She said. 'Forgive my brothers. They love me and I them. We would do anything to protect one another.' The wolf smiled, a not-so-unfriendly gesture, she felt. 'That is good.' the wolf replied. 'You know without doubt who your true brothers are. As I know my own. Your heart and mine are meant to travel the lights in the sky united. But not until our time has come. Love your brothers and they will love you. Protect your true family, for that is the most precious of gifts.' The maiden nodded. 'I understand. Family is not so much a name, or sharing blood or sharing even parents. It is about sharing a spirit, a heart. About loving one another and being willing to make a great sacrifice if needed, to defend, protect or help them.' The wolf nodded and turned. 'Look for me no more. I will return when it is our time, dear maiden.' She nodded and the wolf departed. Their spirits now travel the night stars. Where they touch, the stars are a little bit brighter, a little bit stronger, offering their light of love to those below."
Risa is smiling brightly, tears rising in her eyes. She scoots back to the edge of the bed.
SR: "That was a great story, Ichi-kun. Where did you hear it?"
I: "You mean this version?"
She nods.
I: "I heard it...just now."
She smiled and sat up, gently hugging her best friend.
SR: "Thank you, Ichi-kun."
Ichiro nods, tucks her back in and turns out her lamp.
I: "I'll be right outside if you need me."
She nods and settles in, eventually finding a position comfortable on her arm. A smile spreads across her face.
SR: "Family. True family. Like PMN are for each other. Very nice, Ichi-kun."
She then snuggles up to the pillow and in very little time is asleep, breathing regular and comfortable.
2013, '18, '23 
2013 