Post by Helia Hawke on Apr 21, 2005 9:03:17 GMT -5
Helia sat in the Zento City in, trying to get used to “reclining at table”…the first thought she had when she walked in the door was, “Where are all of the chairs?” In reply, the proprietor merely pointed at the cushions on the floor surrounding the table. Kameko had quickly befriended her, offering to help out Helia in any way she could. For the past two weeks Helia had been sleeping out underneath the stars under a tree on the road across from Kameko’s beautiful marble Zento City home. “It’s how I like it…” she would tell Kameko out of pride, who more than once offered to put her up until she had a place of her own….
…Helia rubbed the sore spot on her back where she had slept on a rock all night long. “Ah me…” she thought to herself, “how true it is. Pride goes before the fall.” In this case she had fallen down and was so “exhausted” from lack of sleep she just lay where she fell…rock and all.
“Smooth as silk,” Helia thought as she took another sip of warm sake. She had discovered the truth of the warning that Kameko had given her… “Never let the sake get cold,” Kameko warned with a grin, “…cold sake tastes like old socky”
Soon after her first visit to the Zento inn Helia had discovered the truth of another warning that Kameko had given her…sake has a way of creeping up on you. In truth, when she fell down on the ground “exhausted” it was the “way too much” sake that had exhausted her.
Helia took another sip of warm sake and gingerly rubbed the sore spot on her back. As she set the cup down, an all too familiar voice came from behind her…
“…if you had taken my advice, you wouldn’t have that crick in your back now.”
Turning she saw her oldest friend (Helia so far having only two friends in these new lands that was not too hard to do.)…Tomoe Gozen.
There she sat. Comfortably resting her feet on a table that she had dragged across the room so she could prop her back up against the wall. She was all dressed in very expensive barbed leather armor, just recently purchased…Tomoe had obviously done well in the last two weeks. Rather than be upset about the scuff marks on the table, the proprietor seemed to not care at all…in fact he seemed rather pleased with the situation.
Helia soon found out why. Tomoe had, in fact done VERY well for herself in the last two weeks…and as a result, she was throwing money around like it was water. In return, the innkeeper was all too happy to accommodate Tomoe’s western habits.
Tomoe gave a wicked little smile at Helia.
“When I heard tales, Tomoe continued, of a stable where there had been a run on horses…and someone who had killed about 20 horses in two weeks I said to myself…like mother like daughter. I KNEW it was you.”
Helia had been busy herself in the last two weeks, if not too successful. She had brought with her the autobiography her mother had written for her…including all of the tales of the secret little treasures she had found…each one in a more dangerous place. In the last two weeks Helia had accumulated a wardrobe of at least 20 death shrouds. It had reached the point where she was on a first name basis with the Zento healer. Mom, Helia thought to herself, had indeed told her of her earlier mis-adventures…of the tales of so many dead horses. She had insisted on teaching Helia the basics of animal training as a little girl. She could hear her mother’s warning now…
“Helia, my daughter, if you at least learn the basics of animal training you will always have free horses. Let me tell you, she continued, I went through so many horses earlier in my career, that in the end, that was the only way I could get horses…stable masters just wouldn’t sell to me any more. In the end, it was none other than Santa Claus himself that saved the day. In his generosity, dear Santa always keeps two horses in the North Pole stables, free for the taking for anyone who can tame them…and they are ALWAYS there.”
At the time, Helia was more excited about the fact that there was actually a North Pole, and an actual Santa Claus.
“You mean Santa Claus is real?” Helia asked her mother excitedly.
Her mother sighed then and asked her if she hadn’t heard anything she said. Helia sighed as well as her attention was drawn from her reverie back to Tomoe.
“…and I expect, Tomoe continued, Helia having missed the first part of the sentence, that is one area in which you are not a ‘chip off the old block.’
Helia grinned back at Tomoe as she thought of what had kept her busy for the last two weeks, and kept her in a steady supply of death shrouds. If there is one thing that gave Helia the creeps…the screaming heebee geebees... it was spiders. So what had she tried for first? Of all the places that her mother had gone to, snuck in to and died trying to get…
The cauldron treasure. A magic chest where a cauldron hanging on a spit appeared.
…guarded by dragons, poison mares, giant frogs and…thousands of screaming giant spider people. She thought that would get her over her fear of spiders. It had, in fact, made it much worse.
“…so where you successful at anything?” asked Tomoe, again drawing Helia’s attention back to the present moment.
“No.” Helia responded sheepishly.
“Still sleeping under the stars?” asked Tomoe.
“Yes.”
“You know, said Tome nonchalantly, I could use some furnishing for the new house I am having built…nice place…two story L shape…east side of town. And unless you really do enjoy sleeping under the stars, why don’t you came sleep in a bed for a change. The house is almost finished.”
Helia smiled with satisfaction as the two women paid there bill and headed toward the east side of Zento. Zento had grown quite a bit in just the short time she had been there. Already there were eight private homes outside the walls of the city…including one owned by none other than Hera herself. The two women turned right at the southeast gates of the city and there it was. A big beautiful house with a garden in the back yard. Workers where just finishing up the final shingles on the roof.
“Come on inside,” said Tomoe, smiling at Helia.
Helia led her through the double doors and there to the left was the beginnings of what was to be the kitchen.
“You know, said Tome looking at Helia, I could sure use a cauldron and spit for my new kitchen. Why don’t we go find one?”
Tomoe paused for a moment and said with a wicked little smile, “You’re not afraid of spiders are you?”
Helia went to bed that night in a soft bed, for the first time in more than two weeks. All the same she didn’t get much sleep. She spent the entire night remembering large hairy spider legs crawling up and down her body…her dead body.”
…Helia rubbed the sore spot on her back where she had slept on a rock all night long. “Ah me…” she thought to herself, “how true it is. Pride goes before the fall.” In this case she had fallen down and was so “exhausted” from lack of sleep she just lay where she fell…rock and all.
“Smooth as silk,” Helia thought as she took another sip of warm sake. She had discovered the truth of the warning that Kameko had given her… “Never let the sake get cold,” Kameko warned with a grin, “…cold sake tastes like old socky”
Soon after her first visit to the Zento inn Helia had discovered the truth of another warning that Kameko had given her…sake has a way of creeping up on you. In truth, when she fell down on the ground “exhausted” it was the “way too much” sake that had exhausted her.
Helia took another sip of warm sake and gingerly rubbed the sore spot on her back. As she set the cup down, an all too familiar voice came from behind her…
“…if you had taken my advice, you wouldn’t have that crick in your back now.”
Turning she saw her oldest friend (Helia so far having only two friends in these new lands that was not too hard to do.)…Tomoe Gozen.
There she sat. Comfortably resting her feet on a table that she had dragged across the room so she could prop her back up against the wall. She was all dressed in very expensive barbed leather armor, just recently purchased…Tomoe had obviously done well in the last two weeks. Rather than be upset about the scuff marks on the table, the proprietor seemed to not care at all…in fact he seemed rather pleased with the situation.
Helia soon found out why. Tomoe had, in fact done VERY well for herself in the last two weeks…and as a result, she was throwing money around like it was water. In return, the innkeeper was all too happy to accommodate Tomoe’s western habits.
Tomoe gave a wicked little smile at Helia.
“When I heard tales, Tomoe continued, of a stable where there had been a run on horses…and someone who had killed about 20 horses in two weeks I said to myself…like mother like daughter. I KNEW it was you.”
Helia had been busy herself in the last two weeks, if not too successful. She had brought with her the autobiography her mother had written for her…including all of the tales of the secret little treasures she had found…each one in a more dangerous place. In the last two weeks Helia had accumulated a wardrobe of at least 20 death shrouds. It had reached the point where she was on a first name basis with the Zento healer. Mom, Helia thought to herself, had indeed told her of her earlier mis-adventures…of the tales of so many dead horses. She had insisted on teaching Helia the basics of animal training as a little girl. She could hear her mother’s warning now…
“Helia, my daughter, if you at least learn the basics of animal training you will always have free horses. Let me tell you, she continued, I went through so many horses earlier in my career, that in the end, that was the only way I could get horses…stable masters just wouldn’t sell to me any more. In the end, it was none other than Santa Claus himself that saved the day. In his generosity, dear Santa always keeps two horses in the North Pole stables, free for the taking for anyone who can tame them…and they are ALWAYS there.”
At the time, Helia was more excited about the fact that there was actually a North Pole, and an actual Santa Claus.
“You mean Santa Claus is real?” Helia asked her mother excitedly.
Her mother sighed then and asked her if she hadn’t heard anything she said. Helia sighed as well as her attention was drawn from her reverie back to Tomoe.
“…and I expect, Tomoe continued, Helia having missed the first part of the sentence, that is one area in which you are not a ‘chip off the old block.’
Helia grinned back at Tomoe as she thought of what had kept her busy for the last two weeks, and kept her in a steady supply of death shrouds. If there is one thing that gave Helia the creeps…the screaming heebee geebees... it was spiders. So what had she tried for first? Of all the places that her mother had gone to, snuck in to and died trying to get…
The cauldron treasure. A magic chest where a cauldron hanging on a spit appeared.
…guarded by dragons, poison mares, giant frogs and…thousands of screaming giant spider people. She thought that would get her over her fear of spiders. It had, in fact, made it much worse.
“…so where you successful at anything?” asked Tomoe, again drawing Helia’s attention back to the present moment.
“No.” Helia responded sheepishly.
“Still sleeping under the stars?” asked Tomoe.
“Yes.”
“You know, said Tome nonchalantly, I could use some furnishing for the new house I am having built…nice place…two story L shape…east side of town. And unless you really do enjoy sleeping under the stars, why don’t you came sleep in a bed for a change. The house is almost finished.”
Helia smiled with satisfaction as the two women paid there bill and headed toward the east side of Zento. Zento had grown quite a bit in just the short time she had been there. Already there were eight private homes outside the walls of the city…including one owned by none other than Hera herself. The two women turned right at the southeast gates of the city and there it was. A big beautiful house with a garden in the back yard. Workers where just finishing up the final shingles on the roof.
“Come on inside,” said Tomoe, smiling at Helia.
Helia led her through the double doors and there to the left was the beginnings of what was to be the kitchen.
“You know, said Tome looking at Helia, I could sure use a cauldron and spit for my new kitchen. Why don’t we go find one?”
Tomoe paused for a moment and said with a wicked little smile, “You’re not afraid of spiders are you?”
Helia went to bed that night in a soft bed, for the first time in more than two weeks. All the same she didn’t get much sleep. She spent the entire night remembering large hairy spider legs crawling up and down her body…her dead body.”