A cold afternoon

[Guest]

"Nature at one of its finest moments. I've obviously been lead here for a reason, but just what would the heavens like me to do here?"

The Taoist priest, Jun Lin-Mei, asked himself this question a number of times along his long journey away from Xing. He wore the clothing of any Taoist kung fu artist, or secret Xingese special forces uniforms. He carried a scroll in his hand, while a flute hung around his neck, beneath the long blue cloak he wore, and a large item wrapped in velvet was placed across his back. The only sounds that could be heard in the cold streets of this frozen city, which was blanketed in a pure, graceful white blanket, wasthe everlasting sound of harsh winds and the rumbiling of thunder up above. Jun could tell that rain was approaching the city very quickly, advancing forward with great speed. Being the prideless man he was, he quickly took to the nearest building, which turned out to be a cafe. He walked inside and brushed the snow off, removing his cloak and the large staff like item wrapped in velvet, from his body and proceeded to take a seat in a small booth.

"This area is certainly different from home, and far more... modern than alot of villages in Xing... I wonder if they have any good tea..."

A small smirk took to the monk's face as he stared out the window, awaiting a waitress to approach him. Rain began pouring down, mixing with the snow, turning some of it to slush. The sky had become a dark grey, and people fluttered about, heading for protection from the heavy rains. The roads had become incredibly thick and slippery, meaning vehicles might have a hard time moving from one destination to the other. There was beauty in all nature, yet beauty does come with its sacrafices...

[Guest]

James was off Duty from Briggs currently. He sighed as he walked the cold streets of North City he began to think to himself " God I miss the warm , Mild climate of Central now ims tuck up here in this barren wasteland... " He walkied seeing few people walk the streets mabey it was due to the cold he didn't know or care at the moment he just wanted to go to a warm place for a bit. He was in a Suit and a winter coat. He still had his pistol on his side as he always does. He turned the corner with his feet dragging through this deep dright of snow but mabey they were just dragging due to the fact that he couldnt feel them. He saw a Cafe so he figured it was better place than any to get warm in. Mabey he could get a nice wamr cup of Coffee or something. He entered and saw a place to hang coats so he hung up his Winter coat. It was ... was warm in here it was a miracle. He sat down in a booth across a aisle from a weird looking man he really didnt fit in with the rest.

[Guest]

Jun watched as a man walked ito the cafe, dressed in such formal attire and with a weapon at his side. He could only help but wonder why someone would wear such clothing at a cold time like this. Being the kindhearted man he was, he took off his cloak and walked up to the man, handing it to him, yet not saying a word as he returned to his booth. He removed his hat, revealing his hair, which was wrapped up in a bun, and slowly reached up and untied the bow that held his hair up. The long, black strands of hair gently fell down past his shoulders, stopping two inches below his shoulder. He read the menu ad ordered a nice, hot cup of tea... wait, maybe he wanted a muffin too... or pancakes... INDULGENCE!! Such a sin had come to his mind, and he quickly restrained himself, grimacing as he ordered his tea and asked the lady not to offer him any specials. He sat his large staff like item beside him, and stared back out the window, trying to relax himself.

"The strength of the demons in hell will not command me to commit sins and stray from my path. I still have alot of work to do... Like more begging. Now, I'd better work out the costs of living expenses and-Wait... I only carry Yuan around with me... Does Amestris even accept Xingese currency? Holy waters of ZhenHuan..."

The poor monk had become confused and worried. How would he pay for his tea? How would he sleep tonight? Where would he stay? WHat would he eat? WHAT IF HE WAS DOOMED TO DIE HERE!? No transportation, no friends, no family... Jun was doomed to suffer, right? He quickly pulled out his scroll and opened it, reciting a prayer to the heavens, begging them to spare him this one time... For once i his life, he had very little faith in the heavens. The lady brought him his tea, and he sipped it nervously, enjoying the warm taste of the tea. After a few minutes, the lady asked if he'd like a refill, and of course, as to stall, he agreed and awaited his second cup. WHat was he going to do!?

[Guest]

James looked over at the man andd the cloak he gave him. He was slightly confused so he got up and walked over to the strange man with the cloak in hand. He sat down in the booth and handed him back the cloak. " You look like you need it more than me buddy. " James said pointing to his coat hanging up. He looked at the man who was oddly dressed he seemed to be Xingese from his appearance. He looked around he then smirked it was amazing he could feel his feet. His face became plain quickly again. He looked at the man then began to think " A staff what is he some kinda priest of some weird religon he seems to young to need it for walking so ... " He looked how the man hesitantly took sips of his tea something was up " Are you ok sir? " James asked him.

[Guest]

Jun carefully watched as the man placed the cloak before him, but he quickly placed his tea down and pushed it back to the man, shaking his head solemnly. He figured a nice conversation with this man would help him think of a way to pay the cafe for his tea, and so he replied, trying to decipher what little Amestrian he knew. However, before he could reply, he noticed that the man had glanced over at his polearm, the item beneath the long, velevet cloth. He carefully pulled it closer to him, however, this was just to keep the man from trying to look and see what it was. He hated to seem rude, but he had been attacked many times by people who seemed like 'ordinary civillias'. He then nodded slightly, a warm smile piercing through the coldness of the air. Jun had a glow of happiness about him, and he seemed to be truly carefree as he spoke, his voice rather light and feminine.

"Ah, yes. About the cloak, I think you should keep it, it's rather cold for you to just be walking around in that with weather like this. I'll be fine, I'm very used to it."

He sipped his tea lightly, and calmed himself down, understanding that he was making quite a scene. He sighed in happiness, ad felt the tea warm his insides. He'd rather much like to drink outside in the rain, however, he didn't have a spare change of clothes, and it would be rather foolish to get soaking wet in this weather. Ah, there was still the matter of the bill...

[Guest]

He sighed as he was handed the cloak he nodded as if to tell him he accpeted the cloak. This man was just getting weirder and weirder this man talked almost like a woman James prayed to god that this wasnt a gay who he had just sent the wrong message to. He closed his eyes for a moment and hoped he then decided mabey he just had a girly voice yeah that wasd it it had to be. He prayed that was the Answer he figured he would find out soon enough but he had his hand close to reach for his wallet to show a Picture of his Girlfriend back in central just in case. He looked up as he just noticed something " You never answered my question are you ok? " He gulped for the answer which he knew was to come he hoped it was a right answer not anything creepy and Homo. He sighed and got ready for the answer

[Guest]

Jun smiled nicely and nodded slightly as to indicate that he was fine. He noticed that the man had a look of worry upon his face, and also could see that the man's body was tensing up, which meant he was on the defensive. Jun tightened his grip on his polearm, ready for the man to make a move. He should've expected that noone could be generous and carry a weapon around with such hard looks. He was prepared to try and defend himself and then make for a quick escape, but decided he would wait and see how the man would react first. He then placed his kindhearted smile back on his face and placed his hand gently on James'.

[i]"Are you alright? You seem sick..."[i]

Jun's eyes even seemed to smile as he stared at the man with a gentle gaze. His long black hair covered some of the side of his face, yet his eyes were clearly visible. He seemed as if he had no ill intent or any worry at all. The waitress looked at the two and whistled to the chef who also looked over at the two of them. Alot of the guests also began looking, making the situation very akward...

[Guest]

James eyes widened as the strange Xingese man put his hand onto James's he was in shock for a moment. He then quickly pulled his hand away and reached for his wallet quickly he pulled it out a pulled picture of his Girlfriend he has in Central and shooves it in his face with a very akwards and confused face on yet a slight smile but not because ghe was happy it wasa Akward smile and he rubbed the back of his head with his left hand as he held the picture in the right hand. " Ah hehe sorry sir but I ahve a girlfreind back in Central she's beatiful dont you think , uhh oh sorry i fogrgot you wouldn't think so since your not into women , uhh but im not into that kinda stuff sorry sir this is very akward for me and I know you must feel let down and all but .... uhh yeah. " James spoke pretty fast and he was only stopping that way he wouldnt seem like he was Rambling even though he knew that was to late he put the picture down and looked at it showing a tall thin woman with black hair and light green eyes on the picture.

[Guest]

Jun's smile faded away slowly as he listened to the man give him an incredibly long speech. He was only able to translate a few of the words he said, and slowly raised an eyebrow in confusion. Let down? What was he talking about? He retracted his hand to its original position, on his cup of tea, and a short smile returned to his face as he stared at the picture of the woman. She was quite beautiful, and seemed to be very young. It almost reminded Jun of his mother, in which he replied to the mans actions by pulling a picture out of his pocket. He placed it before the man, sliding it infront of him on the table.

"It's the one dear to my life... Unfortunately, she's disappeared and left me behind, but maybe I'll cross her on my travels one day..."

The picture showed a young woman with blonde hair, pink like eyes, fair skin, and in a dress suit standing next to him. This was actually a picture of his wife who he murdered a few years back after finding out that she was actually a spy from Aerugo sent to destroy the temple. When he noticed who was actually in the picture, his eyes slendered, his smile slowly dissipated, and he let go of the picture, placing both of his hands on his lap.

"She was taken fom me... Hopefully, she and I will meet again... But hey, if it was meant to be, destiny will bring us back together again."

Upon his final comment, his smile returned to his face and he sipped his tea once more. Things had seemed akward with this man, then it hit him... The man mentioned that he wasn't interested in women, so that meant he was homosexual, right? Jun's eyes slightly widened, and he whispered a silent prayer to himself, hoping that no sexual urges came over the two. He could not break his bond with the Tao through intercourse at this point and time of his life. He refused to allow such a thing to happen!

[Guest]

James still creeped ut the homosexual Xingese man sitting there he thought when he saw his face get kinda creeped out. He wondered did he even understand what he was saying he looked towards him " Uhhhh sir do you understand me at all? " James asked as he looked at the mans picture. He then looked towards his girlfriend's picture. He sighed at the thought but he quickly caught himself before he drifted off into thought he didnt want to be rude even to this homosexual man. He grinned akwardly and put the picture away. The people in the resturaunt began to pay attention to there own buissness again. He then returned his glare to the homosexual xing man.

(short )

[Guest]

Jun raised an eyebrow, confused by the man's comment. It seemed he misunderstood the meaning of the man showing him the picture, and simply took his picture back, sighing slightly. He knew his Amestrian wasn't perfect, but was it really this bad? He slid the picture back into his jacket near his heart, and smiled slightly, trying to push away any disturbing thoughts. Maybe it wasn't his Amestrian that was bad... Maybe this man was mentally 'ill'. He sipped the last of his tea lightly before looking back at the man, the cup makig a gentle tap sound as it hit the surface of the table. His eyes suddenly widened, ever so slightly, when he realised an earlier statement made by the man. He wasn't calling himself homosexual, but rather Jun. He had become ervous of the Amestrian, having the stragest feeling that maybe, just maybe, he was flirtig with the Xingese monk.

"That is your girlfriend, no? I was just showing you a picture of mine... I have a girlfriend... I like females, and I find them very attractive. I couldn't picture myself with a man, but I'm sure there's someone out there who shares your views of a male and male relationship, so don't worry about this one denial. There's plenty of other men the heaves will present you with, I guarantee you that. I'll even recite a prayer for you if you'd like..."

Jun wondered if he sounded nervous, or even rude. He couldn't find anyway around turning the man down, it wasn't his fault he didn't find men attractive. He noticed that the people had been staring at them, but resumed their business casually. He sighed, hoping, praying, begging the heavens that noone thought that he was swinging the other way. He closed his eyes and took a deep breathm, trying to calm himself. Hopefully his kind gestures didn't lead the man to believing that they were... Oh my, that would be horrible indeed. Jun began to panic again, his hands trembiling on his legs in fear. WHat to do? What to do?

[Guest]

James smiled slightly and then let out a sigh of relief. " Oh thank god I thought you were Homosexual , thats was my girlfriend I showed you , well now that this very , very akward situation is over whats your name , Im James Xivian , Amestrian Military , Sergeant rank. " James asked him still so happy he wasnt gay and he only thought that James was which he wasnt. This sitiuation was a very horrible misunderstanding and he now understood that. He sighed and looked around the room then outside it looked as cold as ever. The waitress came over so James asked her " Ma'am I would like a coffee please " she nodded and then walkeds away with the order. He smiled and checked his wallet he had enought he was good.

[Guest]

Jun too sighed out of relief when the man revealed he wasn't a homosexual making advances towards him. He sipped his tea lightly, and asked for another cup... This would be his fifth so far, maybe these people might be getting a little suspicious. He simply put on a faux smile and look extravagent doing so. His gaze returned to that of the man who revealed himself to be of the Amestrian Military. Jun's enemy, none the less. He was in quite a bit of shock, but refused to let it show, fearing that would only lead to quite a few complications and an avoidable altercation between the two. The waitress poured him another cup of tea, and he thanked her with a slight bow, the aroma lifting his spirits and clearing his mind.

"I am Lao Zhu, but you may call me Lao. I'm apart of a travelling martial arts school passing through."

Jun used a false identity as to not reveal his true status in fear of the man recognising who he was. A man with a history like Jun's is not easily overlooked. He sipped the warm tea lightly, the steaming fluid sliding down his throat like a wave of water crashing into the beach and flowing down his throat, warming his entire body. He regaied what little color he did lose after drinking the hot tea, and reached into his pocket, revealing chrysathium flower and taking a petal and mashing it up into small sprinkles into his tea. He took another sip and a warm smile took to his face, giving him his once, radiate glow.

"I assume you're apart of the Briggs Team, no? They're very famous, even in Xing. Reila Tsukino, Houka Youchi, Daigoro Ito..."

Jun soon realised that maybe he should tone down the amount of knowledge he had on them, or else the man might begin to suspect him. Maybe he should avoid doing all the talking, for now.

[Guest]

James sighed for now since he didnt know the man James would play himself off as a lowly officer rather than his true posistion even though he was new there mit was better to do that than have a pshyco martial artist who happens to be Xingese , of course they were Xingese there all Xingese that was kinda racist but he didnt mind at it was just a joke " Yeah I work at Briggs but Im just some random officer there I hope to get up in the ranks and do something important someday. " He said with a pleasant smile on his face that was all true except for the random officer part. He then noticed something he had no classmates or students near and James hasnt even seen any other Xingese or oddly dressed people in town besides him and working in Briggs they would have heard of something like that plus so would the other people ae despite the racist part Xingese were legendary at Martial arts or atleast supposivly which means people in town would be talking about them wherer they were good or not people would beilive the stereo type. He knew this man was lying he wasnt going to reveal that just yet though he was going to see where he went with this.

[Guest]

Jun simply smirked, as he probably had more information on this guy, but had no time to look at it right now. He knew, however, that the 'random officer' point was a lie, for anyone in the military would strive to make themselves look bigger than the simple infantry they are, but this guy, he acted as if he had no pride. Bad mistake. Jun decided that maybe being in such a place was a threat, but unless things turned out to be really bad, then maybe he would be forced to duel with this strange character. He sipped his tea lightly, yet his eyes stayed on the Amestrian who called himself, James. He made a quaint smile at the man before placing his cup down and speaking.

"There are only a few of us. Three of us to be exact, we're still pretty new to the area, and we were just looking for somewhere to start the business. You seem like a strong, young man. WOuld you be willing to join? I'm sure you have some skill, ne?"

At that moment, his left hand slid onto his flute, and he gripped it tightly, waiting to see what the man's reaction would be. He was going to await an answer, but then it struck him... Since when do Sergeats just become 'random officers'? Briggs is known to have only the best... Jun would know, he had an old friend from the temple who attacked this place, yet retreated after a small matter of relationship came into place. He sighed slightly, and slendered his eyes, seeing that maybe confrontation was unavoidable at this point.

"Sergeant? Is that so? My, I've never known Briggs to only take 'random' officers here. It seems your misleading yourself, Sergeant James. I'm sure my friend, Jay, wouldn't lie to me when he said Briggs only accepts the 'top of the class' soldiers."

[Guest]

James smirked at the comment he had made he then looked towards him " Im sorry but Im not that good at Hand to Hand only what they teach us in the Military That answer was the truth most of his skill was in his Gun and his Brain. He then looked at him " No your friend didnt lie to you but just because your good doesnt mean that you gain rank daily Im skilled in shooting , yes but they take the Top I served In South City before where I admit it was not fun and people were kinda bad there so I was considered one of the top Soilders there due to my shooting Range scores and a Spotless record unlike the rest of the others down there thats the only reason im here I just want to change the world I could care less about my own posistion as long as i do good here. " He stopped that last part was the truth about doing good and the stuff about that. This was getting very , very Interesting. He took a sip of his coffee as he looked back at the man.

[Guest]

Jun listened to the man's story intensely, but simply dismissed it afterwards. This game of chess would get nowhere as long as the two of them were so cautionary in the words they chose. He simply smiled and sipped his tea again, moving his hand back to his lap, and letting the flute fall back into its original hiding spot. His eyes seemed to gaze right into the man's, a short silence befalling the table. Jun had worked out a story upon first meeting the man, so he was prepared for anything James decided to throw at him. This Amestrian would certainly not get the best of him.

"I see... It has been quite sometime since I've served in the Amestrian military, so I suppose things would change. I, myself, retired two years ago, tired of the constant war. Plus, my girlfriend, Luna, thought it would be best too. If it wasn't for her, I might've been your General."

Jun laughed lightly, sipping his tea once more to relax himself. He felt that this man ws trying to search for some hidden truth, however, he would never find it. Jun felt as if he had the upper hand as long as he kept his story straight, and no unexpected questions were asked. He had anticipated this entire moment from the first time he saw the man.

[Aurelius Schwartz]

[Bump~ is this still on-going? or should I archive it?]

[Guest]

Jun sighed after finishing his cup of tea and slowly arose from his seat, leaving the man to pay for his bill. He made a quick get away by casually bowing and bidding the man a farewell before making his way out of the cafe. He would have to pay back the man, of course, but he would do that all in due time. Besides, they would surely be meeting once more. The cold, harsh winds blew through the area and snow piled down on the area, and Jun simply yawned slightly before his teeth began to chatter. He made a run towards the nearest hotel, willing to work to stay in a warm room tonight.

"Sometimes I wonder if being a priest is always worth the cold nights!"

Making a kickstart off his left foot, Jun made a spring like leap forward, taking off in the direction of a hotel he saw at the edge of town. The polearm on his back, covered in a silk cloth, remained, steadily, on his back, while his flute stayed hidden away. His hat, too, was hidden inside his shirt. His long, black hair flailed wildly in the freezing winds, yet a small smirk remained on his face all the way into the foggy distance as he faded from view.

OOC: Yea, I suppose you can archive this. Please and thank you.

[Sponsored content]