[ We find Some of Our Heroes in the common room of the Flying Couches home. Tension is in the air! Maybe. ] [ I'll note that this is a bad place to fight, even though it's been meticulously Tia-proofed. If it comes to blows, take it outside, there's a good spot for it not far off. ] ( We'll take it to the roof. ) ( Better for ring-outs. ) [ Kenji and Istvan have ideas they need to discuss between themselves. Let's see how they accomplish this. ] (Beat down!) (And yeah, Pat's since moved his operations elsewhere.) (So roof would be cool.) [ Session Start! ] * HKenji walks into the common room and visibly braces for Tia. * Tia jumps out from behind an adamantine couch and squeezes Kenji in a hug. (Sure, why not? ;P) * HKenji is suddnely glad that he braced for Tia, in spite of her apparently being in her smaller form. Hiya, Kenji! * Istvan walks up from the basement, clothes soot-stained from working the forge. He's been noticably absent the past few days since the dance, sticking to his room and his forging room and not socializing much. And not just because he's ticked at being shrunk along with the building. * HKenji catches sight of Istvan and stiffens up. * Tia waves at Istvan. "Hiya, Isty!" * HKenji nods a little. "Istvan." Where've you been? We haven't seen you in awhile. * Tia doesn't seem to notice Kenji's reaction to Istvan. I was worried maybe you got sick or something... * Istvan grunts at Kenji, then turns to Tia. "Workin'. Lotsa forging to get done. Fell behind when the house got shrunk." Oh... I'm sorry. I hope I didn't knock anything over when I went into your workshop. * Istvan shrugs. "s'no biggie. Haven't felt very social, either, these past few days. Figured it was best I kept away from people." * Istvan eyes Kenji. "Wouldn't wanna say somethin' I wouldn't regret." I should think you do that fairly often, with all the threats you make. * Tia looks worried. "What happened, Istvan? Is there something wrong?" Nah, Kenji. Don't regret any of those. I was making a point... just obviously didn't get through. * Tia blinks. Lemme put it this way. Nice, plain, simple. Tia, you might have to explain this to Kenji afterwards, so listen close. * Tia nods. * Istvan looks down at Kenji, right into his eyes. "You're a good guy, basically. Good fighter. I respect that. But you got a nasty habit of butting your nose into other peoples lives. Some people might not mind. I do. Keep the hell outta my personal life." * Tia blinks again. What'd you do, Kenji? I put my nose where I feel my nose is needed. Just because you feel the need to torture yourself doesn't mean I have to go along with it. ...I don't get it. The girls, Tia. Most guys would appreciate Kenji gettin' all those girls to dance with them. I didn't, and he knew I wouldn't. Because I freaking *told* him I wouldn't. You most certainly did not. You refused to dance with Tia. Quite rudely, I might add. * Tia looks unsure of what to say. I refused to dance with *anyone*. I didn't wanna dance. I wanted to do my damn job, fade into the background, then go back to my room and get a good nights sleep. Instead, I get that aggrivation, go back to my room angry, get no sleep, and wake up an inch tall. Don't be mad, please, Isty? I'm sure Kenji's sorry he made you mad. * Tia glances at Kenji. "Right, Kenji?" * Istvan raises an eyebrow. I most certainly am not. * Tia blinks in surprise at Kenji. "You're not sorry you made Isty mad? But..." * Istvan rolls his head, and deadpans. "I'm shocked. Absolutely shocked." It most certainly is not my fault that Istvan cannot enjoy himself. But you're sorry you made him mad, aren't you? You didn't want to make him mad...I know you were trying to be nice. * Tia looks pleadingly at Kenji. If Istvan wants to be mad, he'll be mad. He is much like a Crab in that regard. You're half right, Kenji. Ain't your fault I can't enjoy myself. But I don't need you rubbing it in. Please don't be mad, Isty, please? Kenji didn't mean to... I'm not rubbing it in. You are trapped in a prison of your own making. I will continue to hold the door open until you are ready to come out. * Tia fidgets uncomfortably and looks upset. I prefer to think of it as a mental hospital of my own making. Not pleasant, but stayin' in keeps me sane. Even the Crab know that a man who cannot relax and have fun is in no way sane. I should hate to think that one of my companions was less intelligent than a Crab. Who ever said I don't have fun? For me, forging is fun. First love of my life. Dealin' with people... usually more trouble than it's worth, in my experience. And yet, you still wished to dance, or I would not have offered. No, I wished I didn't have the baggage I have that made me not wanna dance. Two entirely different things. That's the problem right there, Kenji. You're so sure you understand me. But you don't. Nobody does. And I like it that way. * HKenji smiles a little. * Tia stands glumly, her shoulders drooped, but she says nothing. ... something funny about that? * Tia looks up, glances at Istvan, then Kenji. No. Not at all. In fact, I find it a little sad. ... it is. Not a great way to live life, I'll admit. * Istvan shrugs. "Got no other choice, though. Alternative is something I can't handle." Why are you unhappy, Isty? I think you CAN handle it. You're merely afraid to try. Tried. Failed. Tried again. Failed. Washed. Rinsed. Repeated. And finally adapted. * Istvan looks over at Tia, and sighs. "I got some stuff in my past... not bad stuff, just stuff. It comes out, it makes my life miserable. Easy enough; don't talk about it. But people don't like mysteries. I play the social butterfly, get noticed, people start to wonder. And maybe they start to look around." And then they find out. And I can't deal with that again. It is said that when Akodo prepared to write his great volume on the Way of the Warrior, he asked each of his siblings what they thought was most important in a good man. * HKenji settles into his "storytelling voice" that will let him talk for hours on end without respite. Hida thought long, and finally grumbled, "It is the sense of Duty, or the man will cease to do good, for it is an unforgiving, lonely task." Togashi, high on his mountain, sent his brother word, "Understanding, for the good man knows why he chooses to do right." ... if you're gonna break into a story, I'm gonna go change. Maybe grab something to drink, forge a set of full plate, learn spellcasting... Be quiet and listen, Istvan. This story is short, and to the point. Much like your temper. ... if my temper was short, I would've slugged you a long time ago. But go on. * HKenji nods, mollified. The Lady Doji told him, "It must be Excellence, for in man it is not what he is able to do, but his drive to do better in all things that makes him great." The twins, Shiba and Bayushi, said, "Compassion, for without it the man can do no good for any but himself," and, "Loyalty, for through loyalty does the man contribute to the good that is greater than himself." His sister Shinjo pondered and finally responded, "Family, for only family can redeem his goodness when a man falls." Finally, Akodo asked his youngest brother, the Emperor Hantei, and he replied, "Courtesy, for the man may only know his place in the Celestial Order by the respect that he gives and receives." And then Hantei asked Akodo his own question back, and Akodo considered the many wise answers his siblings had given him. Then he replied, "Courage, for without it the man will never have the strength to try." * HKenji relaxes easily out of storytelling mode. Do you see? ... actually, I lost you at the Lady Doji. Then ponder on what little you can remember, and when you are ready, come to me, and I shall instruct you further. Actually, I got it. Just was hoping you'd fall over or something. Been reading too many comic books. I see. I am sorry to disappoint you. You could still topple over if you wanted, y'know. I am afraid not. Figured. *rubs nuck* Courage. Yeah, courage is all well'n good. But at a certain point, you beat your head against a wall enough, and the wall doesn't budge, coming back for more ain't courage. It's just askin' for pain. Then Excellence. It is not what you CAN do, it is what you _aspire_ to do. I aspire to be a damn good forger. Everything else... don't much care about. And though you may have no blood relations, you have your own small circle that is nearly so close to you. If you fall, they will redeem you. Their success will contribute to yours. You should aspire to excellence in everything. Simply because others can cover your weakness does not mean you should tolerate their presence in yourself. Should, would. Don't. S'why I drive my weapons instructors nuts. They all say that, if I put my mind to it, I got the physical tools to really be somethin' special... I'm happy bein' pretty good. I never wanted to be an adventurer anyway, so why bother? * Alcinoe comes walking down the stairs right about now, an empty box in hand. She's been at work moving in, so not much has been seen of her, outside of coming and going. She blinks at the boys and lets the box partially drop to wave with one hand. "Howdy." In Rokugan, it is well known that a truly great sword cannot be forged by a man who knows nothing but the forge. A truly great craftsman excels in all areas, as does any true samurai. In Moradin's Deep, the greatest forgers don't have to have used an axe to know how to make one. And in case you ain't noticed, I'm no samurai. You cannot master metal until you have mastered yourself. * Tia waves to Alcinoe. "Hiya, Alci." She is still visibly upset, though. * Istvan waves at Alci. "Hey. Don't mind us. Just tryin' to dig through solid adamantine here." In Moradin's Deep, I would wager that the greatest forgers not only know how to use an axe, but have used them extensively. Oh, well. Have fun with that. Somethin' wrong, Tia? Further, I have little doubt that these master smiths excel in many areas. Though their area of greatest expertise is the forge, they can, and do, excel at many other tasks. Some did, yeah. Some didn't. I knew one that never picked up a weapon to fight 'cause he was born with a bum back. Still worked wonders with metal. ... aha. I think we've found our problem. * Tia walks over to join Alcinoe. "Istvan's mad." * Alcinoe blinks in surprise. "Really? What for?" And then she seems to realize he's in the same room as them. "Uh... c'mon, ya can help me unpack." She tosses the box into a corner and heads back up the stairs. You expect everyone to live by the values of your society. And if they don't, you're damn well gonna annoy them until they give in. You are entirely wrong. * Tia calls down to Istvan and Kenji, "I'm going to go help Alci unpack, okay?" Oh really? Then why am I suddenly supposed to be what a samurai is? * Tia looks a little sad. "I'll be right back!" She follows Alcinoe up the stairs. * HKenji smiles a little. "Do you then forge only a single type of weapon?" I forge what I'm asked to forge. Can't run a business makin' one type of weapon. Nor can one live a life doing only a single thing. Bushido is far more complicated than that simple set of qualities of a good man. I would not ask you to follow it. In truth, I doubt you would be capable. * Istvan raises that eyebrow again. "You toss out a lotta insults in these little lectures of yours. But you're prolly right." I live my life how I wanna live it. Is it everything I ever wanted? Nah. But I'm content. At least until you start trying to butt in. Just as you can make many different weapons from a single starting point, those eight qualities can lead to many different destinations. But if you adhere to them, you cannot fail to be a good man. * Istvan rubs his head. "I can't threaten you into leaving me alone, 'cause much as you drive me nuts, I ain't about to really kick your ass for just being annoying. And asking don't work, because you won't honor my requests." * Istvan lets his arms drop to his sides, and rolls his shoulders. "So what the hell are we gonna do about this?" You will begin enjoying yourself, or at least attemping to. And you will let me take care of the rest. You say you have problems with people prying into your past. I will have little trouble making sure that those who do look are swiftly discouraged. I do not know why you have such an aversion to your past, but if you wish it concealed, it is the least that I can do. ... figures. I ask a calm, honest question about how we resolve this mess amicably, and your response is "Do exactly what I've been telling you to do." It is an answer. So's dueling to the death. Not a reasonable one. I would not duel you to the death. I have no right to risk my life in such a way. Exactly my point. I asked if you could come up with a compromise. Your compromise was your exact position from the start. No, you asked what we're going to do about this. And I answered. * Istvan chuckles. Not a happy laugh. "There's that educated tongue of yours again. Splitting hairs. When I said 'we', it implied a mutually acceptable solution." I fail to see what is so unacceptable to you. And that's why you're in no position to be giving advice. 'cause you don't understand. Then show me. Not gonna happen. Whole point of all this is that I don't want my past coming out. I ain't gonna solve that by spilling it. You think I would betray you? Don't get your panties in a bunch. I ain't saying I think you're a liar or anything. I don't trust *anyone* fully. Period. ( Not even me? ^_________________^) * HKenji frowns. "Then I can see no resolution to this matter." * HKenji turns to the door. ... I gotta say, though. Frankly, despite any promises you make... I think that if you suddenly decided that it'd be in my 'best interest' to tell people my secret, you would. And that, Kenji, is why I don't tell you. If I say that I will not, then I will not. It is a matter of bushido. If a samurai says that he will do something, it is as good as done. Like I said, man. I don't trust anybody fully. * HKenji takes on a slightly sarcastic tone, "Like I said, man. Then I can see no resolution to this matter." * Istvan shrugs, and heads back down to the forge. * HKenji frowns angrily and walks out. (Meanwhile, Tia and Alci gossip about them behind their backs.) [ Session End! In here. ]