Piella would move up toward Lung as he was audibly throwing out ideas. She would join in.
"Yes!" she would exclaim in response to Lung, offering her small, cool-to-the-touch hands, almost like a kid to jump around with during excitement. "Plans! I have so many! And we should definitely go get more dumplings! Is everyone coming?"
She would then look to Yun and Shiro to see what they thought. Either way, she was getting more street food. Piella was positively beaming with happiness at this chance to prove her worth, and it had made her all the more lively looking. After all, there was nothing like an adorable gnome going through cuteness and excitement overload.
When Old Soeji spoke up, she hummed happily, "We'll meet you there!"
"Come Plod," she would squeak out to the fat pony, and as best she could, would try to climb up the saddle herself. Without help, she could get it done, but it was clear it was a painful, difficult process being lame in her leg.
Shiro was rather surprised that the announcement, but not displeased. He enjoyed sampling the wonders of the world and at least had some idea of what good food was. Ideas flowed through the young man's mind, but one in particular stuck in his mind. Baijiu! Any feast is incomplete without a drink to accompany it!
Shiro tried to think of a good place for Baijiu. A hole-in-the-wall but high quality place would be best. With some luck, they could get the best liquor in Xin before anyone else.
Other ideas floated to the surface as well. "Eggs. Roc's eggs would make a high quality ingredient in a variety of dishes. At worst they could be soft-boiled for a truly luxurious, if simple treat. If only we had the time to make century eggs..."
Shiro looked at the monk. "Lung... have you ever had a truly great Monk's Delight(Buddhist's Delight)? Do you think you could replicate it?"
"I could...try..." Lung says, uncertainly. "I know the ingredients, at least."
@Shiro: You quickly recall Mao Mu's, a little known but very promising location to start searching.
You slip away through the crowds and make it to Mao Mu's before anyone else it seems. The shopkeeper, Mao Mu himself, is cleaning up the place as you get in.
~~~
The Soeji Clan household is a small private residence, walled off from the surrounding houses. A small garden grows in front of the property, and the small but wide house's door is wide open.
Soeji Clan members busy themselves in a multitude of ways. Soeji, along with half a dozen of the Clan are busy rummaging through his overflowing and cluttered personal library. Mutters of "No, no, not this" and "Hmmm yes, perhaps. Throw it into the pile" echo from the room.
The other Clan members spread out maps, parchments, and more food and drinks to sate the challengers.
"Are we doing research?" Piella asks after a dumpling-fueled journey home to the Soeji Clan household. Plod was put in the stables and she had hobbled the long distance to where all the ruckus was. After a sigh of pain relief in having made it, she piped up with a smile, "How can I help?" She really just couldn't wait to dig in and perhaps present some of her own ideas.
Lung doesn't even bother asking. "Is that the Cold Mountain Poems of Haoshan?" He intercalates himself among the texts, endeavoring to find the most pure delicacies for the Court.
@Piella: Soeji waves you over and points to a stack of scrolls and twine-bound books. "Everything there's on illusions. Maybe we can use it to add some magic to the banquet."
@Lung: Soeji slides the text over to him. "Keep it. A gift for you."
Soeji shoulders his way back into the library, and after an hour of heaving, groaning, and swearing, he plows back into the kitchen holding a black leather-bound book.
"AHA! I knew it was here! I KNEW it! Gather around Soejis!"
The scrolls were gathered and tucked underarm. Piella would say a thank you to Soeji and scuttle off to read them in a corner, and when done, she would come back for the books. Each one seemed to explain power beyond her grasp. She was no magical expert, but she recalled what her father had said about the magic inherently within her. Having some ideas pop into her head, she did what the manuals constantly suggested: to focus.
As her focus came into being, that raw power within her began to take shape as a small thimble in her hand. It was a created thing--fragile, but there. Excitement once again riddled her and there was a small private bit of dancing in the corner by herself in victory. She wondered how long it would last?
It was about the time that Soeji came back that it faded from view, back into nothingness. As quick as she could, she moved back across the room with the scrolls and twine-bound books to put them back, and then headed back into the kitchen to see what all the fuss was about.
Shiro ducks into the crowd, taking off on his own. He cuts through the crowded market streets and makes his way to Mao Mu's. Taking care not to be followed, Shiro and Gou eventually reach the store. The masked man waits quietly for the storeowner to greet him.
@Shiro: Mao Mu nods and offers up a variety of fine liquors. He goes through the selections but as you ask him about the best possible Baijiu, he seems hesitant to answer.
You get Mu to own up to the fact that he does not in fact have any sample left of the legendary Dahe. He explains that he lost it in a bet to a wandering drunken master who lived high up in the mountains. He gave no name.
Shiro carefully explains the challenge presented before him and the Soeji Clan. He tries to stress the importance of obtaining the perfect drink, one fit for the celestials themselves. The mention of Dahe more than perks up Shiro's ears. Bowing low and thanking Mao Mu for his aid, Shiro runs to reunite with the others.
Yun paid rapt attention to the pronouncement of the Celestials. ”Well damn, I was kind of hoping for a tournament as well.....oh well.”
He strokes the thin wisps of his beard and begins to follow the rest of the clan to Soeji’s residence. ”Magic is out of my expertise. And I’m not quite sure what I have to offer in terms of a banquet, although I’ve picked up a few exotic dishes through my uh......sailing. Theres a dish I heard from sailors called Tonkatsu, its fried pork. You are all more aquainted with food than I am” Yun looks to Lung ”but I know my way around alcohol, and I’m sure I could put together an acrobatic show of some sort.”
Soeji gathers each of you around him, shoves everything else on the table aside and slams the book's cover open pointing down at the page.
"You never know what the Gods will throw at you, so I prepared for almost every eventuality." He gazes back into the library. "Hmmph, maybe too prepared."
He points down at the book.
"The Gods won't be satisfied with just any banquet. They'll want the best. Even more, they'll want something that will knock them off their feet."
"If we're going to make a banquet, we're going to need to make them a meal they'll never forget. In fact, we'll prepare for them food they've never forgotten."
"Untold eons ago, when the gods finished making Yuanzi, legends says they sat down under the pagoda and ate their very first meal and saw that what they had made was beautiful. It is said the gods only ever wept tears on that day."
I propose that we recreate that legendary feast."
He indicates a name on the book in front of him.
"We will be the ones to recreate The Four Flavors of Heaven."
He pauses for dramatic effect, letting the weight of the idea sink in.
"First however, we need to learn just what the Court ate that day."
"Oh no...we don't know already?" she whispered through gritted teeth. "That had to have been so long ago..."
"Old Soeji, you are much more knowledgeable than I am in these matters," she says diplomatically, taking in a deep breath."The four flavors of heaven...in your research, could the flavors of the sea, fire, of wind, and earth have something to do with it? I just couldn't help but notice that Baijiao, Lanxu, Hongwei, and Yinyu seemed to have very represented elements to them."
She would then curl her fingers in her spiraled hair nervously and then looked to the others. "Something we should keep in mind also was that while food is, of course, one of the most important parts, they also asked us for other things if we were listening carefully. Baijiao wants a fighting tournament, so while this competition is about a festival, we will get huge points with him if while they eat at the banquet, we still have it. The best fighting tournament ever recorded! They also told us that for the festival to have performances and have the atmosphere to be perfect." She would take a short breath and add, "We could offer up offerings and ask questions of them as they presented to us too."
"I'm confident there will be fighting down the road, whether we wish it or not. We must acquire these ingredients and recipes before the other clans do. On one such lead, I heard a drunken master has taken the legendary liquor Dahe. He supposedly lives in the mountains somewhere." Shiro explains his visit to Mao Mu liquor store and what the owner told him.
The masked man takes a moment to sit down, scratching Gou's back.
”Well I would I get to shoot something!” Yun cocks his pistol, twirls it around his finger and points it at Shiro briefly before twirling it back into the holster on his side. ”So the first step is obtain these dishes yes? Perhaps I could ask around the docks, sailors are some of the finest purveyors of stories and myths this side of the Celestial Garden.” He smiles a toothless smile, anyone standing near him overcome with the smell of alcohol escaping from the gaps in his mouth.
Old Soeji nods in response to Piella's ideas. "Could be, could be."
He claps Shiro on the back. "That's the spirit! Already going after the best right from the start, that's what I like to hear!"
He nods enthusiastically at Yun's idea. "Perfect. Perhaps you could pry something of use from them. I don't spend much time in Shuishang but perhaps it would be worth a trip."
He strokes his beard, muttering to himself.
"One of the previous challengers did chopose to learn the True History of Yuanzi. If anyone would know what The Four Flavors of Heaven contain, it could very well be his descendants. I'm not sure the Qigang Clan would so readily part with this knowledge however..."
He turns back to all of you.
"We have many options and little time. I will coordinate the efforts from here. I'll be needing the Soejis help to gather and find as many of the essentials as can be obtained. I trust the four of you to recover the Four Flavors, wherever they may be found. You have access to anything you need here of course."
Only time would tell if there was something close in the food as to what she had proposed. A slight chuckle grew at Yun, but faded as he pointed his gun at Shiro. Yun was still in control of himself, but it made her nervous. If he had pointed a gun at her, she would have jumped to dive behind something.
"Maybe my father would know where in the mountains this drunken master is? He is very in tune with the community up there, being a miner. We could go to visit him, and maybe this drunken master, if we can find where he is, on the way to Shuishang? Unless you'd all rather split up?"
She would turn to Old Soeji and ask, "Where are the descendants of the Qigang Clan most likely located?"
Shiro doesn't move, not wanting to risk the drunkard's ire. "You have family up amongst the mountains, Piella? I think it's best we start there, where we have the greatest advantage. Perhaps we might run across the Qigang while there."
At the mention of the mountains, Yun looks slightly dejected, ”If we are going to Piaofeng” he stares at the empty bottle tied to his waist and unclasps it, ”we are going to need a lot more of this before we go up there. Wouldn’t want my family to think I’ve somehow gotten myself together now would we?” He chuckles at his joke.
”Yes yes, I suppose it best to start in the mountains. Should we leave now or spend the night here?”
"Our time is limited and the day is young, Yun. Let's move today, before the others can stake their claims." Shiro's few possessions were already with him, and the young man was eager to move.
Lung looks up from his scrolls, clearly having been lost in thought.
"Dahe. Yes. And if we are in Piaofeng, we will have access to my Mistress' Library, should we visit my monastery. But not all stories are found in books, it is true. Yun, you may be on to something. At times the Celestial Court has been known to leave messages and signs in odd places."
He looks down at the papers spread out by Old Soeji. "Just give me a few minutes to make sure we haven't missed anything in these documents."
"The Qigang? The family estate is in Piaofeng yes. Which sounds very fortunate. If you are all heading there, we may need to get your some faster transportation. I'll have to get the old cart repaired..."
You scour through the remaining documents heaped on the tables, but all information dead ends with the mention of the Qigangs.
"Oh wow...that's wonderful!" she hummed excitingly at the fact the family was in Piaofeng. "I think it's a sign that the Celestial Council has heard our prayers leading up to this challenge." After all, Old Soeji and her were praying that day for a blessing.
"I agree, let us head out right away. When we get there, we can rest at my place. I have couches and floor space we can safely stretch out on. Then tomorrow, maybe we can find this drunken master and even locate some of the Qigang. Are you seeing anything in those writings, Lung?"
If everyone was in, she'd pack a snack ration for the road for each of them from the food provided and then, if everyone was ready to head out, she would go try to get Plod to willingly leave his hay. Not an easy challenge.
"An old cart is fast?" Lung is confused at that statement. He's used to walking on foot for many miles at a time.
Think of a casual way to ask Piella where here home is, dolt. "Your house is in Piaofeng? Perhaps that is where I once saw you...I am sometimes in the fields near the monastery, and at times, in the villages." Good, very neutral. Don't grin like an idiot.
”Bah, fine. We’ll take the old cart as Lung rightly noticed. But I’m sleeping on the cart.” Yun says as he begins to pack his backpack with the little that he had on him. He pauses for a moment, seeing at the top of his bag a small painting of his family. He frowns for a moment, stuffs a shirt over top and continues packing his meager possessions.
"It's an old cart, not a slow cart. Magu and Gongong are the most reliable horses this side of the mountains. They'll be able to take the you up the Shijing Mountains faster than those bricks you call feet."
"It'll take me a few minutes to hitch the cart up. Feel free to take anything from the storehouse." He ponders. "And take Bao, the boy could use some fresh air."
The young boy perks up and immediately begins stuffing victuals into his haversack. In moments he's bouncing up and down next to Piella.
"Do you need anything before you go?" Soeji turns to the group for a moment, his arms full of food staples, a bag of rice raised up as if to underline his question.
"Yes. A way to message you back. A falcon, perhaps?"
The spiral-haired gnome would smile up at Lung and nod. She remembered having met him before. She was very good at recalling faces.
"Of course. We've actually met before on a couple of occasions. I live on the outskirts of Piaofeng, near one of the mines, but I've seen you before in the fields on my longer rides up near the monastery, by the hay fields. I also have seen you in the library in Piaofeng. I'm surprised you didn't remember," she chuckled a bit. "You were probably distracted by reading. You read more than me. Every time I've seen you, your head has been stuck in some kind of scroll."
What Soeji said about the horses and their group's brick-like feet internally made her think to her limp. She knew he meant no offense to her and her speed, and because of that, she tried to hide the fact that his words bothered her by tucking them behind a smile. She instead looked toward Menqin Yun as he packed his gear.
"You may like the Piaofeng outskirts. I noticed you enjoy a good ale. They have some strong varieties there due to the many dwarves and gnomes that work the mines. I think they'd probably challenge your drinking ability though."
She would shake her head to Soeji, "I think we will need these things..." she would begin to lay out the provisions needed for the trip, including the ability to cook them with cooking supplies that she didn't have. After all, some nights they may not have a place to rest their head. "If we are taking the cart, I can just leave Plod here. His fat butt probably wouldn't make it up the mountains anyways."
Cooking Kit
Map of the Areas of Piaofeng Mountains
Map of Shuishang
Rice
Potatoes
Cleaver (for cooking)
Pepper
Garlic
Ginger
Red Chilies
Watercress
Oil
Firewood
Clay Jugs of water
Some rations each
Hay feed for the horses (that Yun can sleep on)
Kit, Grooming
Kit, Shaving
Soeji looks at Lung. "I don't have a falcon but I am sure one in Piaofeng can be found. As for these supplies, I'm sure we can scrounge them up from the house."
A half hour later the cart is ready, well-stocked, and the mounts saddled up.
Soeji leans in closer as you embark upon the cart. "Be careful out there. Competition can be fierce."
Lung gulps at Piella's comment. "Er...yes. I am often reading. But I do love the fresh air, and the mountains and fields."
He climbs up onto the cart. "Our best preparation at this point is speed. I'm ready."
Tightening the straps of his pack, Shiro stood by the cart, ready to go. Gou sat obediently by his feet, watching all the festivities with excitement.
Even if it was clear that Lung was nervous around Piella, she certainly didn't seem to notice. The pretty gnome treated everyone the same. Open, cheery, and with a wide, pretty smile. "Me too," she would respond simply.
After he climbed up so simply, she looked up to the top of the cart. For her it was quite the climb. She had to take care not to hurt herself and not fall. After slowly reaching the seat, she would sit next to Lung since they were having a nice conversation beforehand. Before talking to him though, she would look to Shiro to see that Gou was with him. Then she would check Yun to see if he was indeed going to sleep in the back, and then finally, she would turn Soeji. She gave him a small nod in careful thought and then would wait for Lung to drive the cart. If he didn't want to, she could always try to manage it.
As they went off, in a quiet voice so as not to disturb anyone else, she would blabber on with Lung, or anyone who wanted to talk to her. The road was long, but with the cart, they would make good time. At that time, she would try to dig information out of anyone who would talk to her.
For Lung, she would try to learn about the monastery that he grew up in, what he liked to read, and whether or not he was originally from Paiofeng. However, she would also keep her eyes open on the road.
For Shiro, she would want to know how he met Gou. Why he picked that name and why he usually wore a mask--was it for comfort, or tradition?
For Yun, she would want to know what his favorite thing to drink was. If he enjoyed fishing, and if she learned he was on a ship, she would ask him if he considered them like family--similar to her and the miners. All the while talking, she would have kept her eyes open to any dangers that the road may or may not offer. Who knew with their competition?
Shiro took it upon himself to help Piella to her seat before sitting in his own. Gou was more than capable of leaping up into the cart by himself and did so.
The masked man makes polite conversation, asking the others of their residence and family, but is not willing to talk much about his mask, saying he wears it for personal reasons. On Gou though, Shiro is much more open, saying that the dog was a gift from his grandfather, Soeji himself.
He laugh at Piella's question about Gou's name, saying that it simply meant "dog". Old Soeji wasn't the most creative of namers, but Shiro saw no reason to change it. The two of them had worked together for the past year and a half and were nearly inseparable.
In return Shiro asks Piella about her family, and her career. If her father was a miner, then did she follow his trade? Shiro was rather doubtful that she worked as a miner and expressed as much. He politely avoids mentioning her injured legs.
Shiro also asks Bao about himself as well as his relationship to Soeji. To pass the time, the masked man shows the boy a magic trick involving tossing a coin between his hands and pulling it from behind the boy's ear.
Piella would thank Shiro for the help up. His kindness warmed her heart. Her home was a multistory, but small, as it was a gnome home. She had brothers who all had moved out, and so it was just her mother and father there.
When asked about the mines, as Piella would explain, she once upon a time loved the mines, but they've been somewhat traumatizing for her. Though they may not know it from looking at her, she would explain that the gods and powers that be, spoke to her at times. Piella was born as an oracle, and was given foresight in some events. Many of those events would deal with the mines. There were a number of cave-ins and each time, she would warn the miners when it would happen.
Her leg, she told, was injured in one such cave-in. At that moment, Piella would lift her dress hem up to above her knee to show the scar where the rock fell on her. It was nothing too bad, and the scar was perfectly healed. It looked like a normal, womanly leg. Piella would explain that though the wound was better, it still felt like the injury had just happened. No-one, including the healers, could explain it, but it wasn't all in her mind. It had made her physically unable to walk well. What was strange was, at the same time, she was gifted with powers from the Celestial Council that she didn't have before. Despite this, Piella was never allowed to go into the mines again by her father.
While on the ride, Lung becomes more voluble, no pun intended, while chatting with Piella. "I read everything," he says, then suddenly embarrassed, "Even the chapbooks. There's actually a pretty good one about the White Snake Woman. She redeems herself and fights for Good after a few books!" He laughs at the memory, relaxing a little.
"I'm from Piaofeng, from a fairly well off family. My older brother is a lieutenant, and my older sister is a court mathematician. And my younger sister is a sculptor and silk painter, still in school. Since my brother fulfilled the family requirement of military tactics--he doesn't mind, really, he's brilliant at it--I was sent to the monastery. We're all fairly happy with our lot, to be honest. But I've appreciated the austerity and giving back to villages; it helps me understand the plight of the common peasant. Er, and how about you? Most of my knowledge of gnomes are...from books."
@Shiro: Visibly impressed by the feat of prestidigitation, Bao tries to recall if Soeji is his great-great-grandfather or great-great-grand uncle.
"Well, he's pretty great anyways" he concludes.
~~~
The ride up the mountain trail goes on without a hitch. The weather is fair, and the travelers are frequent. Many make the journey up the slopes during the festival and Soeji's caravan passes many knowing pilgrims.
Frequently they stop to chat, pass on news, offer up some small gift of food. Some pin cloth pennants with their own family crest as support.
By the time you reach Piaofeng almost four days later, your cart is festooned with over a dozen colorful pennants.
Lung, trying to think of something to give to pilgrims passing by, decides to take up some brush and ink and passes out neat little calligraphies to people: usually just a symbol for "joy", "tree", "flight", with smaller symbols underneath if there's room. In the evenings, he amuses himself by lighting up parts of the cart. "It's nothing like your illusions, just a small bit of divine gift from the Dragon, but it's useful at times," he says, near Piella.
"Shiro...can you make a lighted coin disappear?" Lung produces a copper and illuminates it with a smile.
"I think I've read that one!" she would gush and would banter back and forth a little bit about what happened in the story concerning the White Snake Woman. It was clear to see that Piella was passionate about talking, reading, or even something like riding in the cart they were in.
Piella would nod as Lung explained his family and their various trades and careers. Her lips twitched with smiles when he carried on to each new relative, and especially when he spoke about giving back to the villages.
When asked directly about herself and life, a bit bashfully, she replied to Lung, "Oh...hah...I'm just a 'common peasant'. Nothing to talk about, really. We do own our house, but not the land, and we have a small store connected, so I suppose we are doing better than some. My family is nothing so grand. I have two newborn siblings and only a little more than a hundred living relatives spread out here and there. Us Gnomes live a long time compared to humans you see? So I know every one of them and they know me. To them, I'm just a young kid. I'm forty-eight years old though. So to a human, that's like being oh...eighteen to twenty in human years...I'm not sure. Um...well...what else?"
She tapped her little finger on her chin in thought before she placed both hands folded over each other into her lap. "I would say if you were to know something about gnomes in general, it would be that we love life. People, nature, sunlight, birds, rocks...you name it...there is some gnome out there who absolutely loves something to do with something. My father is passionate about clocks because he loves time and machinations. Me, I love animals and nature. My mother loves gardening, and so we have a large garden beside our house. Each of us is a bit obsessive in certain ways."
Piella would accept the gifts given by the wanderers and thank them in kind ways. As they would wave goodbye, she would stand and wave akin to a princess on a parade float until they were out of sight. She watched as Lung cast cantrips throughout the day, and at some point hummed out with a sigh quietly to herself, "I feel like I could do that, but I'm just not able to grasp how yet." She had produced an illusion earlier, but it was all she could muster for the rest of the day.
Shiro looks at Lung for a moment before speaking again, "I suppose so, but let me take these gauntlets off." The masked man gently removes his gauntlets, handing them to Bao to carry. Shaking his hands loose, Shiro says, "Careful with those Bao, they're more dangerous than they appear."
The ninja picks up the illuminated coin and tosses it between his hands again, catching over and over until he throws it high in the air. Shiro catches it once again as it falls... Or does he? The coin is gone!
Bao stares with eyes wide open, clutching the gauntlets to his chest so as to not drop them.
"That's gotta be magic!"
Piella, outwitted this time by the sneaky Shiro, was as dupped as Bao was. This led to a series of claps and laughter in compliment.
"I agree with Bao! Magic!"
Lung pauses, startled, then a slow smile spreads across his face. "I have no idea how you did that."
Lung blushes at Piella's words. "Please forgive me. I forget more inclusive words even after years of being an ascetic--I should not have used the phrase 'common peasant.' We are all people placed here by the Court and we all matter." He scratches an ear. "I suppose I am like a gnome in some ways. I am obsessed with books, and writing, and even in my martial arts, I use my scroll-case. It seems to be a good way to impart literature directly to the opponent's head."
Still grinning, Bao hops out of the cart and seems like he's about to head off before he freezes.
"Miss Piella, can I go and walk around? I haven't been back to Piaofeng in a while. I want to see if the old cat lady still lives here."
Piella waved off the slight toward the common folk with a giggle and a vague wriggle of her hand as though it didn't matter to her.
"I have a right mind to believe you, Lung. That scroll looks hefty. I am sure that if you hit me with that giant thing, I would be squashed like a bug."
It was a four day journey, and in that, the group would notice that Piella was motherly to Bao, loved to drink with Yun (but not get drunk), would be quite talkative with Shiro and Lung, and would take moments of silence for herself to take in the beauty of the nature passing them by. She loved to try to cook, and would make interesting gnomish food that was spicy and had unique flavors compared to common food. They used their spices well.
Also cleanly, Piella would stop by rivers they passed to stay clean, or if they stayed in Inns, she would come down smelling of rose water. Her hair was always brushed and pretty. Shaving legs, plucking hair, and grooming herself in reflections, commonplace. She certainly didn't look like your common worn down traveler. It was clear that she did her best to look her best not only for herself, but for those on the road who encouraged them along. To her, the mission was more than just for themselves or Old Soeji, and she would express as much.
As they finally would arrive in Paiofeng, Bao would hop off the cart and inquire of her. "We can make a small detour along the way, but stay in the cart. Don't go wandering off."
She wouldn't mind having them all go visit an old friend of the Soejis. Perhaps she would have some wisdom as to the whereabouts of this mystery master? But mostly she wanted to please Bao without having him run off.
Bao only looks slightly dejected as he puts a hand back on the cart and hops up besides Piella.
"If you want to go see the old lady, she lives not far from here." He points down a main road. "If you're from here you might have already seen her. She has like, a hundred cats."
Shufen, the "old cat lady" has around twelve cats (not a hundred) and lives in downtown Piaofeng. She works as an apothecary and specializes in medicine for animals and children.
"I don't recall her," says the monastic youth. "Does she come to town often? I do like cats. There was a story once, about a boy who liked to paint cats...I read it long ago. Would you like to hear it?"
Bao perks up. "You bet! I haven't heard that one, and Soeji tells a lot of stories. A lot."