InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Wash this!"

basim (ex_basim376) wrote in avatarnation,
@ 2009-08-29 18:25:00

Entry tags:

basim, cheng

Those girls from Ba Sing Se
Who: Basim, OTA
When: Saturday morning
Where: The Jasmine Dragon
What: Bass is serving tea

"It's a long, long way to Ba Sing Se, but the girls in the city, oh they look so pretty..!" Basim sang to himself as he filled the kettle with water, hooking the handle over the fire they used to steam the water. He had the lyrics right, however he always managed to mess up the melody somehow. It never bothered him, he thought the songs sounded better that way, but some people got their trunks in a twist over the little liberties he took. It was late in the morning and the day was just lovely, so far as Bass was concerned. The day was not oppressively hot, but the warm of the Capital City was just enough to keep the ache out of his old joints. "And they kiss so sweet that you've really got to meet those girls from Ba Sing Seeeee!"

"Oh yeah, they're so sweet that you ran away to Awatan Sathit and married a Fire Nation girl," a patron quipped up as he neared the counter to pay for his tea. Bass was often teased about his past, leaving those pretty girls he always painted and moving to the Captial. Bass took it all in stride with a chuckle and a warm smile. He saw no reason to be offended by any of it. He loved his home city and his mother nation, but he also adored his life here, and would not trade it or the memories of Leng for all the tea in the world.

As her memory rose in his mind, Basim turned his eyes to the portrait which hung on the back wall of the Dragon. Her smiling face, even if nothing more than brush strokes on yellowed paper, brought comfort to the old man. "That I did, her spark was just too much for this old man," he teased his customer in return, taking the payment for the tea. "Thank you, and come again!" He waved farewell as the man exited, leaving the Dragon empty for the moment. There was always a lull in business after the morning rush, Bass thought nothing of it. He instead took the time to tidy up the restaurant, ensuring that the tables were wiped down and the teacups all washed.

Once assured that everything was in order, he stepped outside to feed the monkey-birds. He chuckled deeply as the feathered creatures flocked to him with a flurry of color and squawks. A few had learned to mimic words, the most common ones bing "tea" and, of course "food." Within moments of stepping out with a small bag of raisins, Basim had monkey-birds perched on his arms, shoulders, head, and covering the ground before him. They hopped eagerly from foot to foot, chirping, talking, dancing and flirting in hopes of getting the food they so badly wanted. "How could I forget you?" The old man smiled, tossing handfuls of raisins up as he watched the creatures flurry to the little dried fruits. "No need to push, there's plenty for all!" He promised the colorful creatures, the lot of them putting on quite the show for anyone who happened to be near by.

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finetunecontrol
2009-08-29 11:54 pm UTC (link)

And it was a show.

Cheng smiled softly as he approached. His shop was closed as he decided now was simply a good time to stop by the Jasmine Dragon for some midmorning tea and perhaps a game of pai cho. He liked Basim, called Bass by others, because the open and friendly nature the other man had. Basim had been the one to patiently teach Cheng how to play pai cho in the first place. Such a great game, with so many layers and other things that required almost the full force of his attention.

The monkey-birds brought an extra little charm to the Dragon, noisy and talkative and full of character. Basim fed them raisins, Cheng learned, so the old earthbender started bringing a small back of raisins himself to give the monkey-birds an extra little treat.

"My, my, Basim, those poor things look starved," Cheng called out playfully as the critters swarmed the Dragon's teamaster. "Have you been forgetting to feed them?"

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ex_basim376
2009-08-30 12:19 am UTC (link)

A huge grin broke across Basim's face, he waving one hand to the Earthbender. He quite enjoyed Cheng's company, they had a great deal in common, from their age to their mother nation. He was covered in monkey-birds, they nibbling at his fingers to try and steal the raisins, tugging at the hair on his face, squarking and hopping around the ground at his feet, putting on quite the display. To anyone who did not know better, they could well think that the creatures had been underfed, in reality, the were simply demanding.

"I cannot help it, friend!" Bass called brightly out. "They are so demanding of me!" No sooner had he spoken than a red and blue monkey-bird perched on his shoulder reached out one of its oddly shaped fingers and poked Bass' cheek twice. The old man blinked and looked at the bird, silence hung a moment as the two made eye contact, the bird suddenly crying "FOOD!"

Bass erupted in laughter as he handed the animal a small cluster of raisins. It gave a pleased sound and flapped off to eat in private, away from the often thieving fingers of it's fellow monkey-birds. The bag was soon empty, and Bass did his best to wave the animals off his body as he motioned to Cheng. "Come inside, come inside!" He encouraged brightly. "I will pour you some tea. Should I beat you in Pai Sho again?" He teased lightly as he moved inside, hurrying to wash his hands.