[Action]

[goldenglasses]

[Vash sat up in the woods with a pounding headache. More worrying for him at the moment was the biting cold wind that was hitting his skin at nearly every angle. Once again the Malnosso had left him out in the cold of winter in nothing but new feather pants. Leaving all his scars exposed.

Some days he really hates those guys.

Those out in the woods today might glimpse the rare nearly naked Vash as he tries to dash from tree to tree as he quickly makes his way to the clothing shop to retrieve his trademark red coat back. It's sitting in the shop waiting for him and he's hoping no one is shopping at the store so they won't be shocked at his scars or currently trying on his coat. He really wants that back.

Once fully clothed again Vash will make a quick stop to the grocery store. As he isn't sure how long he's been gone and last he knew he was the only one on his floor. He wanted to make sure there was something worth eating in his place. He also grabs the nicer cat food because while he's sure the cats are good at fending for themselves he still feels the need to bring a peace offering for being gone if he wants to sleep at all tonight.

From there he heads home to the ice building. He's finally happy to be home at last. His head is still pounding with images of shady men and he can't help feeling there's still something wrong. He never gets off from a visit with the Malnosso without something going wrong. He finds out what a little bit later when he's suddenly hit by the hiccups.

Maybe he was just sitting down to a sandwich. Trying to clean his gun. Getting out of the shower. Sitting around quiet. Walking around town. Anytime during the next week hiccups will suddenly come and each time that he hiccups he suddenly teleports somewhere random.

Anytime this week you could have a Vash falling from your ceiling. Trapped in your closet; banging to be let out. Hopefully he doesn't show up in your bath with you. Feel free to find Vash anywhere in nearly any situation that suits your pleasure! Just beware the noise...]

Hiccup!

Comments

[tea_lover64]

[Iroh doesn't react to this with much more than an arched brow. It was a temporary gain which Vash would pay for later. Iroh kept up his defensive build up. If you were going for a more offensive strategy you had to know the defensive one first]

[goldenglasses]

[Deep down Vash knows that this isn't a good strategy, but he prefers people to see him as a harmless idiot. So he forgoes trying to think ahead for this game. After a few more games to give himself a more normal intelligence, or rather an impatient idiot's, learning curve he'll try a bit harder.

It's still only his second time playing so he would have unlikely won even if he gave it his all; so he takes notes on Iroh's moves. When he plays more seriously someday it will be good to learn. He can also appreciate that it's clear Iroh is giving the new player some time to learn and not outright destroying him. Not that he'll ever let on he's guessed Iroh is a lot better player than this.

He takes a small area away from Iroh. A momentary victory he knows, but he grins cheekily as if that area will somehow win him the game.]

Ha! I got you on the run now!

[tea_lover64]

So it would seem.

[Iroh wasn't one to utterly destroy an opponent most of the time. Most of the games he played were close by design, even those against established players. It was part of his more subtle way of playing. It allowed for a closer observation of strategies and what was likely to happen along. For those who were new to the game, it was better to follow along lines that could be grasped without a great deal of study.

He'll consolidate his other areas, in the long run it wouldn't be a game changing move, but it was different at least, and that was the important part, trying new things. Some could prove to work quite well, others not as much. ]

[goldenglasses]

[Vash continues to attack the small area he was slowly gaining. While doing this also "accidentally" not realizing how scattered he's making his defenses as he goes on the not very well thought out attack plan.

He takes another drink of the tea as he makes a move. It was warming him up nicely.] I have to admit, I've never been a big fan of tea, but you're pretty good at making it.

[tea_lover64]

[It would certainly take a few more games for Vash he was sure, but at least this was a little different than last time]

Ah, the secret ingredient is love.

[He gives a grin]

[goldenglasses]

Ahhhh... ha. I'm sure it is. [He's just ROLLING on the floor with laughter.] Think we could get some to the Malnosso? Maybe then they wouldn't be such jerks.

[He grins, joking around of course. He would never fault anyone for trying to spread any idea of love and peace. He moves another piece to try to take over more of the board.]

You're move love brewer.

[tea_lover64]

I'm sure if they spent more time drinking tea and having pleasant conversations with one another, they would be much more agreeable.

[He makes a counter to that move, which should give an indication that it is actually a good one]

I was known as the best tea brewer in Ba Sing Se, the largest city in my world you know.

[goldenglasses]

They sure are a lot who could use a bit more pleasant conversation and peace in their lives.

[He continues to push forward, trying to continue his board conquering, but tending to leave his pieces a bit scattered.]

Really? No lie? The best in a large city? I'd actually believe that with how good your tea is.

[tea_lover64]

Yes, often times people are too fond of weapons and power to take time to enjoy such things.

[It was most unfortunate]

Not just a large city, Ba Sing Se has for many centuries been almost a country in and of itself. It boasts a massive agrarian zone which supports and feeds its entire population, and it would be impossible to walk its entire length in a day.

[goldenglasses]

[Vash can't help but whistle. Gunsmoke he knew had nothing that could compare to something like that Yet, in his learning he had seen pictures of some cities that could fit that description.]

And I get to drink the tea of the man who made better than anyone in that city! Who says Luceti doesn't have it's perks?

[tea_lover64]

[Iroh smiles in response]

Well, I have always thought meeting people from such broad backgrounds and different worlds was a perk. Enjoying time with fascinating individuals is always something to appreciate.

[goldenglasses]

Exactly, my friend! And if Luceti is full of one thing, it's a varity of different people and background!

[tea_lover64]

Yes, it also has enabled me to meet a few people from the future of my world. I am glad to see generally how the world turns out about seventy years later.

[goldenglasses]

Wow, a whole seventy years? That's a pretty long time. A world can do a whole lot of changing in just one year, let alone seventy.

I hope their seventy years of good change.

[He smiles softly as he speaks. Knowing full well that most people only get to see one set of seventy year where he's nearly seen two now himself. He wonders what it must be like, to hear of your world's future and knowing you won't be apart of it.

Then again, he's always believed the future to be blank and is never really sure to think that if anyone came from his future if it really is how the future ends up.]

[tea_lover64]

Yes, it certainly can. A friend of mine is a hundred and eight, and knew the world before the war. I hope he gets to live out the rest of his life in peace. Though Bumi is a bit of a mad man, so perhaps peace isn't the precise right word for what he would be doing.

[goldenglasses]

Really? A hundred and eight. That's an impressive age, but I guess you can't but to be a little mad once you get that old! [Is that what some people might think of him when they learn his real age?] Is that how old he is after seventy years or now?

[tea_lover64]

Currently in my time. From what I understand, Bumi has always been a bit mad, though it has served him well. He thinks outside the usual standards. He isn't the oldest man around actually, but he is certainly up there. Those who practice regular martial arts and maintain a good diet often live to be quite old in my world. The oldest recorded in history was two incarnations of the Avatar ago, a woman known as Avatar Kyoshi. She lived to be two hundred and thirty. It would be difficult to believe if not for her historic interventions.

[He strokes his beard a moment before he makes another move, countering Vash completely.]

[goldenglasses]

[This time Vash's bad move isn't a calculated one. It's an honest goof up on his part when he registers a human living over two hundred years.]

Two hundred? Really? I didn't think a hu- ah, person could live that long. Is the Avatar human? Or are they something else?

[The sever conditions and hostilities of Gunsmoke make it hard for anyone to live very long. Yet, hearing that out in some world there is a human who could live so long- he's not sure how he should feel. He knew what it was like to outlive and know you'll outlive all of your friends. He wouldn't wish that on anyone.]

[tea_lover64]

[Iroh listens and looks in thought for a moment]

Ah, a question that has often been discussed. The avatar is most assuredly human, as they die, make mistakes, create families, and live their lives like the rest of us. All avatars will also be reborn in a strict cycle. They are a unique human with talents which no one else possesses, but they are still very much part of the human world. They serve as a bridge to the spirit world as well, to help aid interactions between the two.

[goldenglasses]

A bridge between the spirit world too? It sounds like a bigger and bigger job every time it gets explained to me. I think I'm glad I'm not an Avatar.

[tea_lover64]

It is probably for the best there is a lot of expectations. Those who have neglected them in the past, usually face harsh lessons about it. Learning from their past lives is one of the greatest benefits the Avatar has. Hundreds upon hundreds of lifetimes of experience to draw upon.

[Iroh continues his strategy. Vash would soon find the aggressiveness before was no longer paying off and his tiles were being blocked and rendered inefffective in the face of a unified front.]

[goldenglasses]

I guess that is a pretty big support group. Then Aang also seems like the kind of kid who would make some pretty good friends for support too. By the sounds of it he's doing a pretty great job of being the Avatar.

[Vash still wouldn't want the gig. He tries a couple more tries to be an aggressor, but he really needs more support. This tiny little army just wasn't going to cut it, but it was going to take so long to build it up to the size Iroh now has.]