Shen - Home Cooking!

[21:23] <@Deedles> Meifen nodded, before pushing the door to the side, as she did Shen was hit by the scent of freshly bake bread and meaty stew. "Mother!" the girl called as she stepped into the house, gently pulling the blind boy along with her.
[21:26] <Shen> Shen followed along, clearing his throat awkwardly as the girl shuffles him into the house. The smell was nice, nothing extravagent or lush, but the humble smell of freshly baked bread pleased him in a homely sort of way.
[21:35] <@Deedles> "Meifen!" came the reply of a woman's voice, followed by the sound of wood scraping and hitting wood, moving in their direction. "You..." the woman trailed off as she peered out of the kitchen and caught sight of the young man beside her daughter. "Have brought a guest." she finished with a curious and confused expression. "Ah, yes." Meifen moved to the side so her mother could get a clear view of Shen.
[21:35] <@Deedles> "This is Shen, I met him in town. He was injured while he was robbed on his way to the village, so I offered him big brother's room for the night." The older woman studied him for a moment, before she gained a sympathetic look. "Poor dear." she said, smiling warmly at him. "Well, dinner is nearly done so how about Meifen can show you to the bathroom, so you can get cleaned up and then get some good food in you."
[21:35] <@Deedles> she concluded, gesturing for her daughter to so do.
[21:42] <Shen> Shen stood still as he listened to the back and forth between the mother and daughter, his hearing peaked as he took notice of the scraping wood and remembering what Meifen had told him about her mother. "Thank you." he offered politely as he found a gap between their speech. "You are both very kind." he said quietly with that faint smile of his.
[21:42] <Shen> "I hope me being here doesn't cause to much hassle." he continued as he turned his head to the daughter.
[21:51] <@Deedles> "Not at all, it makes the house a bit livelier again. With Ichiro gone, and Meifen working all days, the place gets rather empty." The older woman said with a soft sigh as she headed back into what Shen can presume is the kitchen, judging by the smells coming from there. Meifen laid a gentle hand on the basket that Shen was carrying "You can put that down to the side of you." she told him softly,
[21:51] <@Deedles> before beginning to lead him to the back of the house.
[21:56] <Shen> He does so, slowly lowering the basket he was holding down next to him, making sure it was steady in place before he moved away and followed the young girl. He was quiet still, his body was visibly awkward but not shy, he was in the process of letting a faint layer of cool mist slowly and carefull map out the surrounding house as he made his way through it.
[21:56] <Shen> He knew that being here, even if these people were completely innocent, put him and his hosts in danger.
[22:00] <@Deedles> She lead him down the small hallway, a larger room opening up to his right. It had a low table with six cushion seats around it, so probably the dining room. Meanwhile to his left he would sense himself walking past a couple of doorways. She took him through the dining room and through a doorway in the back, which he would sense held a large bathtub-though obviously not as big as the one back home in the mountains-,
[22:00] <@Deedles> a few shelves, and a basin.
[22:06] <Shen> "You have a a nice home." he offered quietly as he followed her. "It must be nice to have so much space with only you and your mother around the house." He had gotten used to silence, but he felt himself uneasy if he remained so for too long, still knowing so little about the village.
[22:10] <@Deedles> Meifen glanced at him, hesitating before she responded, wearing a muted smile "It mostly feels quiet. There used to be so much life and laughter here." she moved over to the basin, laying a hand on it. "If you just want to wash up quickly the basin is here. If you'd prefer a bath then it's right behind you."
[22:14] <Shen> He shook his head a little bit as she finished. "The basin is fine, thank you." Although he did want to take a bath, he would probably wait with that for now. "I won't be long, I just need to... spruce myself up a bit." he worded, the state of him suggesting that was quite the understatement.
[22:17] <@Deedles> She uttered a quiet laugh as she moved back towards the door to leave him peace, but stopped as she was passing him. She turned her head, parting her lips as if to say something, but nothing came other than a silent sigh as she took another couple of steps to reach the door. "I'll be the kitchen if you need anything." she told him, smiling softly, before she slipped out of the room.
[22:21] <Shen> He moved over and rested his palms onto the humble basic, blankly looking down into the bowl that he knew was there in some other dimension where he could see. He wondered what she had stopped herself from saying, finding it a little odd that the girl was so quick to ramble about anything and everything, yet paused at this.
[22:21] <Shen> He hummed into the basin, the low rumble reverberating back to him as he began the much needed task of cleaning himself up.
[22:39] <@Deedles> As he washed himself he could hear the faint sound of footsteps moving into the dining room now and again, usually followed by the sound of china gently being placed on the table in the adjecent room.
[22:46] <Shen> He didn't take long as he had said, washing his face and rinsing his messy hair in the basin water. He had also tended to the cut across his chest, although it wasn't very deep the surrounding skin had began to become very sore, pinging him every time the skin on his chest flexed. It had crossed across his older scar, the one gifted to him originally by Tsuwan, he
[22:46] <Shen> wondered how many more he would collect by the time this was all over. Now he was clean, fixed up and less shambolic he made his way out of the bathroom and towards the room he had assumed to be the dining room.
[22:52] <@Deedles> As he did he could hear the scraping and clattering of wood hitting wood again as Meifen's mother made her way out of the kitchen and into the dining room. "You feeling any better?" she asked him, her voice doting as she was slowly moving towards the low dining table.
[23:01] <Shen> "Much better, thank you." he offered a lazy smile accompanied by a light nod of the head. He didn't want to move around too much, having to restrain himself from doing things that he normally would. Things a normal blind person shouldn't be able to do. "I'm not sure what I would have done if your daughter hadn't bumped into me when she did." he pondered aloud very honestly.
[23:07] <@Deedles> "She takes after her father." The woman said as she slowly sat down by the table, fumbling slightly as she did.
[23:11] <Shen> "So I heard." he concluded as he focused on the woman casually, his faded eyes not quite looking at her even though he knew exactly where she was. "I was sorry to hear of your loss, he sounded like a good man." he consoled genuinely, regretting that a man like him wasn't alive to make this world that little bit better than it was.
[23:11] <Shen> "I wouldn't know what to do if I was put in the same position." his smile both grew and faded at the same time.
[23:16] <@Deedles> "I didn't know what to do either." the mother confessed in return, fiddling a bit with the bowls and plates on the table to make sure that they were all lined up neatly. "I'm ashamed to say that for a while I even forgot my own children in my sorrow..."
[23:24] <Shen> "We're all Human, even a parent." he offered, thinking of his own upbringing and his father. "Grief is always a very personal battle and one we must fight alone." he nodded. "I heard your son Ichiro is out of town as well, I was suprised he didn't want to join the guard here like his father. He seemed like a man with a legacy."
[23:40] <@Deedles> "He did for a while, but he was always a very skilled martial artist, and the Red Phoenix pay better, so since he was good enough to join their guard he chose to." The mother shook her head as she smiled faintly "He always sends his pay here on a regular basis."
[23:43] <Shen> He chuckled quietly at that. "It really does run in the family." he noted. "Though I'm not sure I would feel at ease leaving my Mother and Sister alone here in the village when its so frequently attacked by Tigers." he mused aloud, running the palm of his hand through the light stubble on his jaw. "But I'm a worrier by nature."
[23:48] <@Deedles> "So is he, his letters are always about him worrying." The mother said with a soft laugh. Shen could hear soft footsteps as Meifen came, accompanied by the scent of stew growing stronger as she brought the pot with her. "You're looking much better, Shen." she told him with a sweet smile as she kneeled by the table, placing the pot in the middle of it, before rising again.
[23:48] <@Deedles> "I'll just grab the bread and then we can all tuck in." she said, moving back towards the kitchen while her mother called after her "Thank you for the help, dear."
[23:54] <Shen> He returned a smile of his own to the girl as she spoke, but didn't reply as she again left the room. "Then I guess his destiny is where he is. As mine is with you kind folk, tonight." he conceded without a problem.
[00:00] <@Deedles> The older woman smiled warmly at him "That is very sweet of you to say." she told him, and then continued. "I assume as much, it does seem like his future lays there in one form or another." she said, pausing before she elaborated. "One of his latest letters mentioned him having finally dared speak to a girl he's been sweet on while a now." She raised a hand to her mouth as she uttered a light and affectionate laugh.
[00:04] <Shen> Shen looked amused, laughing quietly. He found it odd, small-talk with a stranger in a village he had earlier only seen as one giant enemy full of smaller enemies. The world went on. "A man grows bold when facing his destiny, maybe it won't be long until you find yourself with grandchildren."
[00:09] <@Deedles> "I sure hope so. It would be lovely to have this house be filled with childrens laughter again." The mother said with a rueful smile, Meifen returning to the dining room the next moment to place the bread on the table, before having a seat beside her mother. "You telling him about Ichiro?" she inquired with an amused smile.
[00:20] <Shen> "She was. She was telling me about how she was hoping for grandchildren. What would you think of becoming an Aunt, Meifen?" his smile widened slightly as his head turned towards her direction.
[00:22] <@Deedles> "I'd love to be an aunt!" Meifen said happily as she smiled brightly. "I really like kids, often take jobs on the side of my usual one to babysit."
[00:32] <@Deedles> The evening went on, the food was consumed with much enjoyement and pleasant conversation. Night soon came and the trio in the house headed to the various room to get a good nights sleep.