Shen - The one with the choice.

[01:53] <~Deedles> Bourbon was lounging around outside her and Satzu's home at the Storm Dragon estate, right by the small pond that was the home to a few koi fish. She was currently sitting with her back leaned against a tree of sakura flowers in bloom, idly sipping at a gourd containing Spirits know what.
[01:59] <Shen> Shen had walked up to the lake that he had taken Blossom to the day before, before it had held bad memories for him but now it was a place of peace to his mind and soul. He was on his way back to the estate as he trudged down the path into the estate. His ear twitched as he heard an odd humming emitted from the garden, as he got closer he realised it could only be one person.
[01:59] <Shen> "Bourbon." he chimed, using his voice for the first time in a while. "Hiding from Satzu again?"
[02:01] <~Deedles> "Maaaaaybe...." Bourbon replied in a tone that told Shen that she must be wearing a broad grin. Despite him not being able to see she gestured for him to come over. "Why don't you join me for a while?" she offered, patting the spot beside her.
[02:05] <Shen> He wheezed a soft laugh as he approached her voice, it was low so she was likely resting against the Sakura tree. "How could I refuse a sister such as you." he spoke as he felt for the trees trunk with his hands, eventually finding it and Bourbon as he slid down to sit next to her. "I've been meaning to speak to you about some... things." he said as he shifted himself into a comfortable position.
[02:07] <~Deedles> Bourbon didn't move to help him, not out of malice, but because she knew this proud young man, and felt it better not to patronize him. She did seem a bit surprised at what he said as she raised a brow "Oh? What about?" she leaned a bit towards him, her hands coming to rest on her lap; he had her full attention.
[02:09] <Shen> "I wondered how you and Satzu... you know. How you two met each other, what it was like before you got married." he asked, kind of awkwardly. "If you don't mind me asking." he quickly added shortly after.
[02:11] <~Deedles> She smiled slightly as she gained a nostalgic look "Me and Satzu?" she laughed "We actually met because we got into a fight in the playground when we were 5..." she confessed to him "We noticed each other everywhere after that and always competed with each other."
[02:13] <Shen> Shen had a befuddled look on his face. "How did that turn into marriage then? You fought, competed, then got married?" he scratched the stubble on his chin as he was obviously lost.
[02:18] <~Deedles> "I was always rather fond of him, I thought it was fun to have someone to compete against, but we didn't actually admit how we felt until he saved me once." Bourbon told him as she folded her arms behind her head, looking up at the sky. "The previous Earth Mentor sent me on a training mission further up in the mountains, only after I left a large storm brewed and I was caught out in it.
[02:18] <~Deedles> When your brother heard that I was out in the storm he apparently ran right out into it to search for me. Stubborn as I was I still tried to complete my mission, which nearly was the death of me." she gained a soft smile at the next memory "He arrived just in time to stop a lightning bolt from hitting me... he told me that was the first time he'd tried redirecting lightning outside of the training yard in the Earth Temple."
[02:21] <Shen> Shen nodded, listening quietly to the tale of his brother that he hadn't heard before. "He's a hypocrite, but he's far more skilled than me." Shen admitted with a chuckle. "So when he saved you, was that it? Did you both feel the same way?" He had more questions the more she spoke.
[02:24] <~Deedles> "We did, but we're both very proud so it took a little while to admit... Actually, believe it or not, your brother caved and admitted it first." She said with a soft laugh "He said... He had been worried how your father would react to choosing a non-Storm Dragon as his wife, but that after thinking about it he realized he didn't care what Sanru thought as long as he was happy. It was his life, his choice."
[02:25] <Shen> "What about your family?" Shen asked quietly, he had obviously picked something up from her that he was thinking on. "You never speak of them."
[02:27] <~Deedles> "My family..." Bourbon went quiet at that, her expression softening "I don't know much about them. I know my mothered wandered into the village with me as a baby, she was ill and wounded and died shortly afterwards."
[02:29] <Shen> Shen frowned as he looked at Bourbon with his faded eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm asking too many questions." he apologised, feeling like an idiot.
[02:31] <~Deedles> Bourbon leaned close to him, kissing the top of his head "No, you're not. You're my family, my baby brother. You could never ask me too much." she assured him warmly. Sometimes she truly showed why her name is Mother Earth.
[02:32] <~Deedles> Shen could feel her chi, it's not very strong, but he felt a warm and steady energy beside him, it barely moved, remaining static and firm like the earth beneath his feet.
[02:38] <Shen> He smiled faintly at the sign of affection as he listened to her. "Family is everything." he agreed quietly as he ran a hand through his messy hair. "Father said the same to me yesterday." he nodded as he turned to the pond, hearing one of the koi break the surface of the water. "But that's what I am having a hard time with." he admitted quietly.
[02:39] <~Deedles> "Oh?" Bourbon laid a hand on his shoulder as she peered down at him "What's wrong, Shen?" she asked softly, her voice holding concern.
[02:43] <Shen> He hesitated for a while, he obviously still wasn't comfortable with the subject, but he hadn't stopped thinking about it ever since he left Blossom behind in the bathroom. "Blossom..." he said quietly. "Minxia, I mean. The Imperial heir..." he shook his head as he scrambled for his words. "I can't stop thinking about her... more than I probably should." he admitted, finally.
[02:46] <~Deedles> "Thinking about her how?" She inquired gently, noticing his awkwardness about the subject in question, her hand lightly remaining on his shoulder.
[02:55] <Shen> He sighed as he wasn't sure how to phrase it, he'd hoped she'd catch on by now. "I don't know, I just can't get her out of my head. When I wake up, when I go to sleep, even if she isn't there it feels like she is." he shrugged hopelessly, resting the back of his head against the tree. "My heart aches and I just don't know what to do, Bourbon."
[02:57] <~Deedles> Bourbon went quiet as she studied him for a moment before her lips quirked into a smile "I never thought I'd see the day..." she murmured as she shook her head "Why does your heart ache?" she asked, she could guess vaguely why, but had no idea about the details.
[03:02] <Shen> "I feel that fate binds me to her, like it always has... but she's the heir to the imperial throne, destined for great things." he closed his dead eyes with a faint smile as he said that, he believed so much in her. "But I am a Storm Dragon, I am to serve her. At her right-hand side, not the left... " he spoke much quieter. "Even now I find it hard to even think of, it would destroy me and be unfair to her."
[03:09] <~Deedles> His sister studied him quietly, her expression saddening for a moment; he was right, it wasn't exactly an uncomplicated situation for either of them. She exhaled softly "Why would it destroy you, Shen?"
[03:23] <Shen> "Like my father..." he said quietly and cryptically. "One day I would need to step aside as she ascends, marries another, has children, and continues the bloodline." he sighed as he rubbed his head. "What is the better choice? To go through that hardship and say you at least had that then watch from the corner - or not at all?" he turned his head back to Bourbon. "I want to protect her, not become a burden."
[03:24] <~Deedles> She uttered a hum of thought, sliding her arm around his shoulders to hold him close before she asked him, very simply "Who says you would you have to step aside for her to marry someone else?"
[03:32] <Shen> "Don't be ridiculous." he sighed quietly. "For one, I have no desire for that sort of thing. Secondly, I'm a Storm Dragon, and last of all, I'm a bastard." he chuckled dryly, even if it was a sour laugh, he still found some humour in the thought. "Such a thing would never be tolerated, I'm no fool to that."
[03:35] <~Deedles> Bourbon shook her head "So? What if you are all of those things?" she said in reply as she gave him a light squeeze "The way I see it it's her choice who she's with and no one else's, and yet..." there was a pause of thought. "Yet you're the one with the choice here. Her future has already been decided for her."
[03:40] <Shen> Shen went quiet as he exhaled through his nose lightly, "Am I just being a coward?" he asked both Bourbon and himself out loud. "Is that what father was trying to say..." Shen added in a sudden thoughtful whisper as he rose to his feet. "Thank you, sister." he said abruptly, turning to her, his face holding a grateful smile. "You're right, I am the one with the choice."
[04:05] <~Deedles> Bourbon smiled back at him, warmly. "Glad I could help, Shen." she told him before she leaned back against the tree "And to answer your question; No, you're not a coward." she added as her eyes closed and smile widened.
[04:09] <Shen> "...Just an idiot." he said as he walked back towards the house, offering a slight wave as he went and almost stumbling into a bush.
[04:11] <~Deedles> He could hear her chuckle slightly as he nearly fell into the bush. "Talk to you later, dumbass!" She called after him as she waved, feeling content that she seemed to be able to give him some peace of mind, or at least helped him decide what to do.