Shen - A Mask in a Dream

[14:49] <Shen> Shen walked up the path towards the Metal Temple, the spire of white and black metal growing taller as he grew closer. It was the next stop on his miniature tour through the village, having business with its mentor, Meilin. Along with the Wood temple, it was one of the places he had least been to in the village. Feeling slightly awkward about his navigation of it, he made his way into the temple.
[14:51] <~Deedles> "Good afternoon, Shen..." Came Meilin's calm voice as he entered the temple, judging by its source she must be kneeled in front of the altar.
[14:54] <Shen> Shen stepped closer towards the voice as he heard her speak. "Sorry to bother you, Master Meilin." he nodded a greeting.
[14:55] <~Deedles> "It's no bother." The Gentle Blade replied softly, the position of her voice rising as she got to her feet, sheathing her katana as she picked it up from its place beside her. "What can I do for you, young Storm Dragon?"
[14:58] <Shen> Shen stopped near her as she spoke again. "I have a request... of sorts, at least, if its no trouble." he asked awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. Her formality had always ruffled him a bit, especially for the most informal of all Storm Dragons. "I need something forged."
[15:00] <~Deedles> Meilin smiled gently as she looked at him curiously "Name it." she said, one of her hands resting casually on the hilt of her sword.
[15:05] <Shen> "A Mask." he worded simply, though it seemed not to be as simple as that. "I had a dream where I wore a mask, it felt like it was there and not there at the same time." he shook his head as he tried to pull the image from his mind and put it into words. "Something that covered these eyes of mine, hid them from reality.
[15:05] <Shen> The mouth was that of a dragon, in two pieces: The mask itself and a jaw guard that it fitted onto so my breath was unhindered." his head had angled as he thought hard and he turned it back to her. "Is such a thing possible?"
[15:08] <~Deedles> The Metal Mentor was silent for a moment, studying his face as he described the mask he had in mind before she nodded. "I can make it so." she stated as she moved a bit closer, getting a good look of his facial features, roughly measuring his jawline with two fingers as she hummed in thought. "It should take me a couple of days to make, at least. Are you okay to wait that long?"
[15:14] <Shen> Shen nodded soundly. "I will be gone for a while, I am going deeper into the mountain to train with Yoshi and hopefully Jian. We'll be accompanied by some of the other mentors, so take as much time as you need. The finest metal you could possibly make, if it costs too much, talk to my father." his face was hopeful as he looked to her, he knew she would understand what he meant.
[15:14] <Shen> "The metal was like that from a blade, strong but light... I trust everything else to you, Meilin."
[15:16] <~Deedles> Meilin shook her head "No charge." she told him simply and softly "I couldn't possibly ask for money from one who's helped my dear student and Taishin." she said, one of her hands silently coming to rest on top of her own heart.
[15:21] <Shen> Shen smiled faintly at her words. "I wish I could've done more for both of them, but I couldn't stop Jian from... you know." he muttered quietly. "As for Taishan,he is still in the maw of darkness for now. He did much for us, especially Jian, so I still owe him a debt."
[15:23] <~Deedles> "So do I..." Meilin reached forward to lay a hand on his shoulder "Taishin is where he knows he needs to be. We'll just have to do our best to help him in the ways that we can, by becoming stronger and protecting the Empress."
[15:27] <Shen> Shen sighed lightly through his nose as he nodded. "He wouldn't have it any other way, but he's an idiot if he thinks those from the mountain don't repay what they owe." his mouth quirked.
[15:28] <~Deedles> The Mentor smiled as she nodded "That much is certain." she agreed as she retracted her hand again.
[15:36] <Shen> "Speaking of your student, how is Jian doing?" he asked, not necessarily just about his friends well-being. "I told him I wouldn't report what happened in Yumu to the Elders until he spoke to you."
[15:38] <~Deedles> "He spoke to me." Meilin told him as she tilted her head to the side, looking away from Shen as she pondered. "About what happened in Yumu, how the Empress stopped him, and how Taishin helped him too." she emitted a silent sigh "He's still trying to get used to his new chi." she smiled faintly "But Ziulong told me that he's going to help him."
[15:46] <Shen> Shen followed her words as she spoke, nodding. "I'm glad." he too sighed, a hint of relief hidden in there. "I suppose if anyone can help him, Ziulong's crazy imagination can." he chuckled faintly. "Though I still worry for him, I want to help him as much as I can. What happened in Yumu should never happen again, he was almost consumed."
[15:48] <~Deedles> "Yes, he told me as much. It seems Taishin makes a habit of being in the right place at the right time." She studied Shen's face as she went quiet for a moment. "Just keep an eye on him, okay? Remind him that fighting for fighting's sake is never the right way to go. You need something to fight for, something which over-shadows everything else." her hand on top of her heart curled up as she smiled gently.
[15:48] <~Deedles> "Like the safety of others, or the love of another."
[15:52] <Shen> Shen smiled as he eyes faded slightly. "Very funny." he jested at the unintentional pun, his face sobered at the thought though. "That I can do, I would only blame myself otherwise."
[15:55] <~Deedles> "You're a good man, Shen." The Mentor told him softly as her hand came to rest on her katana again. "I'm glad that Jian keeps such good company." she confessed
[16:00] <Shen> Shen shrugged but smiled at her words. "We all look after each other in the end. Besides, he still owes me a spar, until then, hes stuck with me and Yoshi." he clucked, closing his eyes. "If he thinks of dying before then, I'll kill him."
[16:03] <~Deedles> Meilin laughed, it was a soft and melodious sound. "He's got too much to live for to die. He has a clan to repent and a destiny to full fill." she said, glancing towards the entrance of the temple. "I hope he finds love on the way too." she added, her voice quiet and thoughtful.
[16:07] <Shen> Shen nodded as his mind travelled to the estate, to Blossom. "Its a lesson that can't be taught in any temple, any battle... Yet somehow seems to feel like the hardest kind." he chuckled awkwardly.
[16:12] <~Deedles> "And it's also the most precious." Meilin replied with a smile that was both warm and sad. "Whether it be romantic love or that of friends or family. It gives us strength." she shook her head "Those who try to be strong on their own are doomed to fall."
[16:19] <Shen> He breathed out a single small hum of a laugh as he thought about that. "I couldn't agree more." he nodded as he let out a clean, relieving sigh. "You still love him then?" he said quite bluntly, referring to brute of a man.
[16:21] <~Deedles> "Yes." She replied simply and honestly, her gentle smile returning. "I owe him so much, and now I owe him the life of my student too. From what Jian told me he can remember nothing of his life before he woke up in the Imperial Palace, but... while him remembering nothing of me hurts, it means less than little as long as I can help him somehow." as she spoke her smile sobered.
[16:27] <Shen> Shen folded his arms as he listened. "Then make him remember." Shen snuffed stubbornly. "Punch it into him if you have to. Something I realised recently was that some people don't have a choice when it comes to these things, but those of us who do have that choice are truly blessed." he shook his head, unsure of his bluntness towards a temple master but sure of what he was saying.
[16:27] <Shen> "Are you fine with just leaving it like that?"
[16:29] <~Deedles> Meilin shook her head "For now I am, but, if I get the chance to make him remember I will..." she looks down at her katana before unsheathing it, holding the blade forward for Shen to hold. "Open your senses to the blade, what do you feel?"
[16:33] <Shen> Shen was a little surprised by this, at first thinking she was going to stab him in the face, but he caught on and took the blade in his hands, it was surprisingly light for its shape. He slid his fingers across the immaculate steel and closed his eyes, focusing on the object in his hands. Letting his chi surround it to help him understand the object.
[16:34] <~Deedles> As Shen held the blade he felt metal chi move through it, but he could also sense that it was not the same chi as the Mentor before him held. Actually the chi he sensed was familiar somehow...
[16:39] <Shen> Shen furrowed his brow at the strange, familiar feeling before he caught on. "So this is why you treasure this blade above others?" he said quietly, reopening hiseyes and lifting his head towards her. "It almost feels like Taishin himself." he uttered in slight confusion as he returned the blade back to her.
[16:41] <~Deedles> "Until Jian came and told me of the events in Yumu I thought this was the blade that killed Taishin, and... I guess it still is, as part of him is still trapped inside it, but, I wonder, if maybe this could be used to save him now. Return a part of him that isn't tainted by corruption. And possibly his memories too." Meilin explained to him as she accepted the katana, studying its gleaming edge.
[16:44] <Shen> Shen nodded as he followed her trail of thought. "Then we'll make sure to get him to you when its possible." Shen uttered as he decided, realising that the debt he owed could be repaid. "Even if its only theoretical, I feel like it would work."
[16:46] <~Deedles> "I hope so. I think Jian's seal could help protect him from the Emperor, but this... returning to him what was lost will make him whole again." Meilin looked at her sword before re-sheathing it again.
[16:48] <Shen> "And returning him to you as well." Shen smiled faintly. "There's nothing selfish about such a wish." Shen suggested.
[16:49] <~Deedles> She uttered a faint laugh "I do hope, but that is if he can forgive me for what I did."
[16:51] <Shen> "If you already know that man, you already know that answer." he chimed, his smile widening ever so slightly.
[16:52] <~Deedles> Meilin went quiet at that, her hand gripping her hilt slightly as she nodded "I do..." she confessed quietly.
[16:56] <Shen> Shen also went quiet at that, but chose to spoke. "He will forgive you because you are you and nothing else matters, if he doesn't then hes simply not the man you love, nor the man I know." he said stubbornly, though his understanding of the situation was not very good, neither was his sense of defeat.
[16:58] <~Deedles> She smiled softly at that, warmed by the young man's word. She patted his shoulder gently "After what I did I wouldn't hold it against him if he did not love me anymore, all I hope is that he can forgive." she concluded.
[17:03] <Shen> "Although I'm still a beginner to this whole thing, I don't think that's quite how love works." he smiled with a slightly amused chuckle as he returned the pat on her arm and began to make his way towards the entrance of the temple. "You're a good person, Meilin, a lot less scary than I used to think at least. I'll return in a couple of weeks."
[17:03] <Shen> he thoguht of asking her what had happened, but it was not something he needed to know, nor did it matter in the end.
[17:04] <~Deedles> Before he left Meiling piped up "A beginner to love?" She smiled in a mysterious fashion as she rubbed her chin "Has the young Wayward Thunder of the Storm Dragons found love?" she wondered as her smile widened.
[17:16] <Shen> Shen stopped and turned back to her as he stood before the entrance. "You mentors truly are troublesome." he chimed without answering the question, but the smile on his face betraying him. "Its worth fighting for, either way. So yes... I've made my choice."
[17:26] <~Deedles> She returned his smile "Good..." she replied simply, feeling no need to tell him to treasure what he's found, she could see he did already.
[17:41] <Shen> "I'm confident that love will find you again too, as long as you fight." he returned to her as he turned back around to the entrance. "Never give up."
[17:49] <~Deedles> "Thank you, Shen." Meilin replied with a gentle smile as she watched him leave.