Fantasy NERVOUS WRECK w/Muse

[Fable]

刘白 - [Liú bái]

Liu Bai was the name the snake had taken when he had cultivated and finally achieved a human form. His original form was that of a rare albino serpent. Thankfully such a form gave him protection from humans who had a superstition that white snakes were familiars of the deities. Bai was no such thing but that didn't mean he wouldn't take advantage of such ideas. It wasn't as though he used this for personal gain. He didn't slither up into sacred temples expecting a grand welcome. It just meant he was less likely to be killed if he didn't act vicious towards humans. Sometimes he even went about helping the humans who offered him food or were just simply kind to him.

Perhaps that was why he was finally able to take on this new form.

At first Bai didn't know what to do with himself in this new state. He was clumsy for the first few months. Legs were more complicated that he had imagined as one needed to somehow keep balance upon one foot as the other lifted to step. Walking. The amount of times Bai had slipped and fallen was countless now, but he was also an expert in his human form. All things physical he had mastered quickly and even exceeded that of human ability due to the nature of becoming what some humans would call a 'demon'. Why they called animals who cultivated such a unflattering and hateful word was strange to Bai.

He had spent three months adapting then another three months exploring human settlements so as to better pass off as one, though he did stick out a bit like a sore thumb with his natural colors and had quickly learned a transformation spell from a visiting immortal. The spell wasn't given freely and now Bai owed the immortal and small favor, but that incident reminded him of another he owed; a mortal woman who had saved him from certain death.

He'd returned to the place where he had originally encountered the woman hoping to meet her once again. He owed her a life debt of course and that was something he wanted to be released from sooner rather than later. He walked down the main road of the village asking the other humans about the woman and giving her description as best as he could recall. Honestly, the humans all tended to look the same and so he was constantly directed to the wrong woman. At this rate it would be easier for him to just greet all the women until he found the correct one.

Bai needed a break after being sent to the tenth wrong woman and so he grumpily went to the small teahouse to ease his frustration and thirst.

( Chordling I TRIED MY BEST )

 

[Chordling]

淑美 - [Shu Mei]

The small village where Shu Mei lived was always beautiful in the morning. The sunrise swelled with soft, pink tones, and the native birds sang to the melody of the neighbor's dizi practice. Mei enjoyed these early moments to herself before she would join society's chaos as a tea house server. The job was stressful, to say the least, and it had been a while since Mei was required to work. Over the course of a few months, she did not take long to realize that her traditional practices were becoming old-fashioned. Mei understood that a customer's desires should be met but extreme cases where the customer's word became the law were more normal than ever.

"This customer's tea is disgraceful," a round man declared. His fat hand knocked the cheap clay cup onto the ground and the lukewarm water splashed across the woman's shoes. "Clean this up and get them a fresh pot, now." Shu Mei could not find it in herself to speak back or make eye contact with her manager or any of the other customers. She kneeled onto the floor with a tattered rag and began to wipe up the spilled beverage before the other customers could track the mess any further. This had been the fifth order refusal of the day and Mei was confident that it had not quite reached noon. Mei didn't spend much time making the floor as perfect as she wanted. She could feel the heat from the customer's glare burning into the back of her neck.

"I would be careful if I were you," her customer murmured with a mouthful of food when Mei returned with a fresh brew of green tea. She could only give them a concerned expression. "Don't worry, ma'am, it's not about the tea. This establishment has been downhill for quite some time." Their words were comforting in an ironic way but Mei still remained silent. There was more to be said by the customer. "People keep saying there is a strange man searching for a woman with pale skin and long hair. It could very well be any woman in this village but don't say that I didn't warn you." It was an odd thing for the customer to say to her. Mei considered, just for a moment, to have the tea inspected for ill tampering but the image of her manager barking at her made Mei second guess the decision. The customer was pleased with their tea now. That was all that should matter.

The door to the restaurant swung open and the small hanging bell let everyone know that someone new had just arrived. Mei turned her head to see who it was. This was not a face she recognized.

"Welcome to Chen Wang's Tea House," one of the other servers smiled with a dull greeting, "please take a seat."

Fable

 

[Fable]

-

刘白 - [Liú bái]

Liu Bai sighed in self-annoyance as he brushed locks of hair out of his face as he entered the run down tea house. If he had the patience, time, and skill to learn to paint it his search would probably be more fruitful rather than his tedious game of misdirection. If one more father offered his daughter for a bride to him one more time today Bai was going to snap.

"Welcome to Chen Wang's Tea House," one of the other servers smiled with a dull greeting, "please take a seat."

He didn't even look towards the woman, rather his gave gave a small nod and selected a lone seat at a small table which he hoped would discourage the natives from trying to socialize with him. Humans were so damn noisy and loud. How did they survive so long as a species like this? If a creature was loud in the forest and a predator was nearby they'd be eaten quickly without hesitation.

A different server from the one that had greeted him approached and inquired what he wanted to order. He just settled for some herbal green tea for now. His appetite was lacking after having to watching a human eat what had been announced as chicken testicles with the promise of increased fertility and stamina. The memory caused Bai to shudder in disgust and his stomach turned. As a large snake who was capable of eating a chicken before he attained human form.. chicken was his least favorite thing to eat. Feathers were awful!

The woman brought back a single cup and a small tea pot of freshly brewed green tea and he went ahead and set down his payment for the beverage. He'd learned early on about human currency. It was strange that such small, odd, metal circles - coins - were what humans wanted for their goods and services. He understood that trading livestock would be troublesome, but metal?

He paused as be lifted the tea pot and had begun to pour it into the small cup. A familiar scent invaded his nostrils and they flared to take in a deeper inhale. His gaze wandered the tea house and tea spilled from his overflowing cup. He set the teapot down quickly and rushed over to one of the server women, getting in front of her and blocking her path. Without warning or hesitation he grabbed her face and narrowed his eyes as he stared at her intently.

It was only a second or two that Bai did this before he let go and clapped his hands together, "I finally found you! Do you have any idea how hard you are to locate?" In the next moment he kneeled down before her. "I am Liú Bái, your humble servant until I can repay my life debt to you."

( Chordling )

 

[Chordling]

淑美 - [Shu Mei]
"Shu Mei!" the manager barked. "Quit socializing with the customers, right now. You're already three tables behind orders. Get moving, woman." This time a part of her was glad that her manager ordered her away from the customer. It looked like he had much more to say to her, but you heard the manager, there was tea to be served.

Mei worked between the kitchen and the dining room while the newest customer settled into the dingy tea house. It was hard for her not to notice how odd he looked among the other guests. His complexion seemed foreign but he dressed as if he only lived a few miles out of town. It did make her think about what the customer rumored. Mei tried not to think about it too much as she made her way to serve another table of guests. These folks were at least polite, and their appearance was odd, but it suggested that they were travelers passing through the town. It would have been nice to ask them more about their travels, but her path had been interrupted, and a powerful pair of hands latched onto her face. It took a load of concentration to keep hold of the boiling hot teapot, and even more not to scream. In just a short moment, she realized it was the new customer.

The strange man introduced himself and bowed before Shu Mei. At that moment, Mei's blank face was suddenly shadowed with apprehension, and she wished that someone would come up and pinch her. This must have been another one of her stress dreams. She never recalled meeting a " Liú Bái" and nor had she any memory of presenting a life debt. To anyone. The other customers were all staring now. One of them tossed a cup at Liú Bái bowing on the floor.

"Get out of here, you creep," someone hissed.

"So you're the man who's been crawling around looking to pick up our women. I'll call for the town guards if you don't leave immediately!" another patron added. A second cup flew into the air in Bái's direction. No, wait, and the entire teapot! Mei tried to turn away as ceramic was being tossed through the air but she felt stuck when someone's chair came barreling by, all while trying to keep her own teapot set in tact.

Fable - TAG. YOU'RE IT

 

[Fable]

-

刘白 - [Liú bái]

Bái wasn't sure what he had expected. Well, actually he did sort of have a scenario in his mind about this meeting after finding the woman who had saved his life. It was not supposed to go this way. The woman looked stressed and confused. Perhaps he should have approached her in a different manner?

Then the tea house erupted into chaos!

It first started with a tea cup being thrown at him and called him a creep! The aim was poor and it shattered against the ground inches away from Bái's knee that was against the ground. There were more threats, one announcing he would call the town guards upon him. Now a teapot was heading right for him as well as furniture. How barbarous!

He deflected the thrown items with ease, knocking them away from his person and thrown directly back towards the person who had initiated the attack. He effortlessly swung around the woman he'd introduced himself to and grasped the chair mind air, spun around, and flung it right back at the person who was knocked over on impact.

"Pardon me, but as this has become a hostile environment we'll have to continue this conversation elsewhere," Bái said calmly as he wrapped an arm around the woman's waist. He pushed them forward and practically flew out of the tea house and out of the village. It was not a good first impression to have humans attack him.

As he rushed through the village he heard shouts calling out after him. "Guards, he abducted Shu Mei! A demon took Shu Mei!"

Not. Good. At. All.

He didn't stop until he was certain they weren't followed and wouldn't be bothered by the town guards, and so they ended up in the forest at the mouth of a large cavern, the very cavern where he had encountered the woman as a snake. "Now, I am going to release you. I do hope you understand I will not harm you, I am your loyal servant after all." He released his grasp on the woman and raised his hands up to try and offer some assurance.

"Not the way I wished to reunite with my savior, but it's too late now."
( Chordling )

 

[Chordling]

淑美 - [Shu Mei]
What happened next had been a blur for Shu Mei. Her thoughts were unable to keep up with the mounting action inside the tea house. But the next thing she knew, the strange customer had gathered the will to abduct her, and delivered her to the mouth of a cavern just outside the forest. Shu Mei was too dazed to even think of running away when it was mentioned. She leaned an arm against the nearest tree to catch her breath.

"I think you have the wrong person," Mei spoke through her breathing. "I've never saved anyone in my entire life." She liked to believe that a moment such as that would be memorable. Shu Mei did not see herself as any kind of savior. She also never owned personal servants. The status of her wealth would never reach the requirements to obtain such a luxury. It was one of the double edge swords of living alone. Shu Mei was just another woman who worked in the tea house. But then, with all of this considered, who was she to deny this strange man's determination to help her?

Mei slumped herself against the tree she had found before and squatted onto the ground. She had caught her breath by this point and only looked to relax. The tea house had her on her feet at every second and it was difficult for her to realize how tired her body became until she stopped moving. Her previous considerations made her muse, and ironically, wish she had a fresh cup of tea.

"This is not the usual way I like to meet new people, or interact with my customers," Shu Mei added. "I suppose we can consider this situation odd for the both of us. I still can't say that I trust you." Mei turned her head so she could look him in the eye. Only then did she realize their odd, red color. Something was unsettling about it but she did her best to not let it distract her from what she had to say next. "No good will come to you if you are lying and thinking of harming me. Even then, there is not much this town will lose if you do. My only request is that you restrain yourself from harming my son."

Fable