A meeting of Heros (Ma Chao and Yuan Shu)

[Yuan Shu]

(OOC: That isn't a lousy post at all )

Yuan Shu was happy when the woman sat at their table. He was also happy when she ignored the others and spoke to him, at least she had respect for him.

As she spoke about his question to Zhang Liao, he replied quickly.

"Ahh. I see. The Tiger of Jiang Dong, Sun Jian's territory. A foolish leader, if you ask me." Shu let that slip. He didn't want to tell his opinion on Sun Jian. Oh well, he thought, as he bit into a rice cake.

"Please let me formally introduce myself, I am Lord Yuan Shu, stylized Gonglu, of Wan and Ru Nan. I am honored to meet such a beautiful woman in this rather plain city."

[link]

"Ah, Master Zhang, as I have just said, it was the most villainous Cao Cao who has murdered my family and brought upon himself the curse of Ma Chao's vengeance."

Picking up another rice cake from the freshly brought tray in the hands of the female waitress, Ma Chao picked one up seeing as he had finished his previous one and as there were enough left there for everyone else, and took another bite out of it, this time much smaller bites than the last. He might as well assist in paying for the simple meal later on; after all, it wasn't the most expensive of food, and if he participated in a fourth of the eating, he would get at least a fourth in paying.

"Apologies for my intrusion, but does anyone want a cup of tea to go along with their rice cake?"

Apparently, the topic had all of a sudden flipped over to center upon the beautiful Lady Nohime, now informing them that she was from Japan. That explained the foreign look. And especially Yuan Shu, he seemed to take great and obvious interest in her. Ha, a nobleman was a nobleman.

[Nohime]

Nohime almost felt insulted by the way he described Sun Jian. As if he truly knew the man. However, she kept her composure so as not to start an argument. Still, she took this opportunity to tease him.

"What's wrong, Yuan Shu? Afraid of a little...competition?" she said in a joking manner. It was then she heard Ma Chao speak of his family being murdered. She turned her attention to him. "I don't know much about this Cao Cao, but if he truly did kill your family, then I wish you the best of luck."

She knew what it was like to lose a family, though absolutely no one was to know about that. Her parents were killed by her ex-husband in a bloody battle. She married him before hand and was forced to assist in the battle. Oh well, no use crying over spilled milk...that was how she viewed her loss, but she could tell Ma Chao's feelings were different. Then, surprising to her, Ma Chao asked all of them if they wanted any tea.

"Oh yes please, I am a bit thirsty," she replied politely.

[Yuan Shu]

Yuan Shu was thinking about his trip as he ate a rice cake. Ma Chao and Liao were having a conversation why he sat there.

Nohime then cut in to his pondering when she said his name... As she teased him about his comment on Sun Jian, Shu laughed.


"Ha, Ha, Ha. You are not being serious, my lady, now are you?"

Gonglu said sarcastically.

Then, Ma Chao offered everyone some Tea. Shu was getting a bit parched, so he gladly accepted.

"Thank you, Chao." He said with a grin on his face. Shu enjoyed the relaxation and atmosphere of the tavern. He was having a good time. He proceeded to listen in on Nohime's comments about Cao Cao, he decided to add to her statement.

"Yes, and don't let it get you down. Cao Cao is a weak ruler, burdened by his own ambition." Shu said, arrogantly, as he took a drink of tea.

[Nohime]

"Oh but I am serious," Nohime replied, trying to make it sound convincing yet teasing. "Sun Jian is a very attractive man. Not to mention very smart and kind."

She smirked to herself, nearly positive her little taunt would be sure to get him annoyed. Afterwards, she quietly took a sip of her tea and took a bite of her rice ball. Let's see, what else could she bring up? Probably not much worth talking about. Then again...

"You know, Wu isn't the only place I've visited lately. I've also been to Nan Pi," she continued. "You know, the place where that Yuan Shao is supposed to be. Sadly, he was a no-show. I would have liked to talk with him."

[Yuan Shu]

This woman was trying to get Shu worked up....

It turned out it was working.


"Hmph, attractive you say? ha!..." Yuan Shu didn't have much of an opinion on how attractive a male was... However when she said smart, he could give his insight.

"In my days of knowing Sun Jian, he isn't very smart at all. He lets his loyalty control him. Weak ruler, too bad."

When she said he was kind,

"And I am not? Kind should not be used as a character trait because any person can be kind, in fact, I believe I am being kind right at this moment!"

She commented about her travels to Nan Pi.

"Hmm..? That is coincidental indeed. Me and my surviving men are en-route to Nan Pi. We just stopped here for a rest."


"I find it surprising you never sought audience with me, the most powerful of the Yuans. Did you think the Elder brother was by default the most powerful? Then that makes you a fool if you thought so!" Shu said, arrogantly and quite loudly as well.

[link]

Ma Chao waved one of the waitresses over, seeing as she was sort of free for orders at the moment. "Four cups of warm tea, give us the best you've got," he ordered as the girl quickly scuttled back away into her culinary areas, only to return a moment later with a tray of four steaming cups of tea. Placing the tray down at the table and putting a cup before each person, she scurried away once more as Ma Chao took the cup and took a sip. Damn, hot, he thought as he simply listened to what Yuan Shu was getting a bit louder about. Apparently his natural-born arrogance never could be completely vanquished, ha.

[Zhang Liao]

Liao took the nice warm tea and took a sip, he was a little to hot but it was good. He looked over to where Yuan Shu was talking about something that was of no importance, he was probably praising himself. he tried to listen to his conversation with Noh, but couldn't make a word of it, so he just grabs a rice cake, takes a little bit, and when he is done with the bite he looks at Ma Chao, So what does Liu Bei have planned for the land, I asked, hoping he would tell.

[Nohime]

Nohime could tell she had definetely pushed a few buttons. She couldn't help but enjoy that. After all, Yuan Shu was starting to act a bit too overconfident for her tastes.

"Why would you have an opinion as whether or not he is attractive, or even have a reaction?" she teased again. "Hiding something, are we?"

"So you're saying loyalty is a weakness, are you?" she inquired. "Well, perhaps you should defect then? If loyalty is such a problem, you should have no trouble on your own."

"I find it interesting that you can call yourself kind when you so easily insult people behind their backs," she continued to tease, referring of course to Sun Jian. "And I went to Yuan Shao because, quite frankly, I hadn't heard of you yet."

She especially hoped that last sentence had stung. She was determined to shoot down everything he had said by turning it over on him. Nothing made her happier than to tear down someone who held himself on a high pedastal.

[Yuan Shu]

Yuan Shu listened, at first a grin on his face, to her statement, as Zhang Liao and Ma Chao continued to speak with each other...

This smile soon turned to a scowl as Nohime countered his statements and even questioned his orientation. Hmph, this girl was daring. Shu could easily have her head, but of course, he was enjoying the freedom of conversation. Though he thought this, his face wouldn't have you believe it.

"If you let it cloud your judgment on decisions, of course it is." Shu said with a sarcastic smirk upon his face. "Defect from what?!" he exclaimed.

"I am a ruler, like my brother and my father before me. Like Sun Jian, like Liu Bei, like Cao Cao. The difference however is, I am a great one." Yuan Shu said with confidence and arrogance.

"Insulting people behind their back...? I am not saying anything untrue. Everyone in He Bei knows Sun Jian is but a spineless ruler in battle."

Nohime then belligerently proclaimed she had no idea who he was.

"Ha Ha Ha! Your arrogance shan't work on me, my lady. I am widely known for my ruling styles and diplomatic skills. Everyone in the land knows me, though I have heard you are foreign. I may have believed that, had you not said that He Bei, Kingdom of my brother, was one of the first you traveled to."

Shu was beginning to get irritated.. yet also enjoying the woman's debate.

[Nohime]

Nohime rolled her eyes. "What I meant by 'defect' was defect from the Han, you old fool," she replied. "Or sever your ties to your family; something to show that you can rule 'independantly'. Anyhow, I severely doubt Sun Jian's loyalty clouds his judgement. If anything, it gives him ideas for how to rule his own little kingdom and how to treat and not treat his subjects. Not to mention, I think if anything is a weakness, it's arrogance. Arrogance gets people angry; arrogance turns friends against you; arrogance gets you killed. Also, don't even begin to start calling me arrogant. Just because I went to try and see your brother doesn't mean that anyone was talking about you."

She then turned to Ma Chao and Zhang Liao, feeling like she had simply given them the cold shoulder. She smiled to them and took another sip of her tea. "So, what are you two talking about?" she asked honestly.

[Yuan Shu]

(OOC: Liao and Ma Chao, I apologize if it was your turn, but your characters are just mainly talking amongst yourselves, anyway)

Gonglu listened to the ignorant woman speak her uneducated talk.

"Pshh.. If there is a fool at this table, I am afraid that would have to be you, my lady. " Yuan Shu said while smirking and sipping tea.

"I, however, am no fool. Why would you even imply that I may defect from the Han Empire...? I am no moron. I know that if I did so, A coalition would form faster than I could explain my reasoning. You have just arrived in this country, and you are already speaking rudely to leaders of the land... Not wise of you." Yuan Shu said, still smirking.

He decided to remark on her previous comment of him being old.

"You call me an old man, but you affiliate with my brother, Yuan Shao and Wu's leader, Sun Jian.. who are both older than me.. You are so insightful, I must say." Shu said sarcastically.


Shu heard her ideas of breaking away from the Yuan family.

"Ha Ha Ha, are you attempting to make me laugh, because if you are, you have proven successful without a doubt." Shu said again sarcastically.

"Why would I ever go against my family? I belong to the most powerful and esteemed family of the land, and keeping ties helps us stay close to each other, The Son of Heaven, and his Empire... Just where I would like to be, my lady." Yuan Shu said politely, with confidence. He took another bite of his rice cake.

She then babbled about Sun Jian once more; how she complimented a man she vaguely knew seemed suspicious to Gonglu. He decided against questioning her further, at least for the time being.

"Loyalty is a weakness, my lady, because, it does indeed cloud your judgment. Look at Sir He Jin, his loyalty to the Court has gotten the Eunuchs angrier and angrier. When it overthrows all other decisions, when you withdraw all agreements because of your loyalty to anything, it does not even have to be the Imperial Court... That is when it becomes a great weakness."

Yuan Shu thought the previous comment was wise and insightful, and did not care what the woman's opinions would be.

"Arrogance is something that comes naturally when you are a great ruler such as I. All leaders of the land are arrogant, one way or another, so I advise you to get used to it."

"You are also arrogant. You think yourself better than all because you come from a foreign land... I honestly think you are as equal as Liao, here, or Ma Chao... or say...that waitress over there."

He could continue, but he figured she would get the point by now. He snickered, and took a sip of tea while listening in, slightly to Ma Chao and Zhang Liao's conversation.

[link]

"Ha, maybe you are asking a bit too much, Zhang Liao," Ma Chao said with only a faint hint of a frown. It was an odd question to ask, when every man sitting here was from different origins, and most importantly different lieges of service. Not that they were enemies at the moment, but who knew? The ally of today can be the enemy of tomorrow, and everybody had a potential to become a foe, as much as they had the potential of staying a friend. It was unpredictable; one could only prepare for whatever hits them.

Taking another sip from his cup of tea, Ma Chao found himself have a bit of hope that he hadn't spoke in an offending manner towards Zhang Liao. It wasn't a sign of rejection or anything, just informing him that there were limits to what one can ask when concerning matters of service and especially those that received the service. By now the group of four had split into two conversations, with Chao and Liao casually discussing matters while Yuan Shu and Nohime were having a sort of debate next to them; and it was heating up.

Ma Chao put down his cup in order to calm the two down when Nohime simply turned away from Yuan Shu and instead asked the two over here what they were talking about.

"Ah, we were just holding a conversation on a few patters of the past and the present. Weren't we, Master Zhang?"

[Zhang Liao]

yes we are, I said knowing that in order to have yuan shu be annoying but having Lady Noh here distracted him, Ma Chao I also found out that my family was destroyed but atleast I still have my mom and little sister, I said as I finished off my tea and I reached for a rice cake and took alittle bite out of it.

[Nohime]

Nohime rolled her eyes at Yuan Shu. "You call that a taunt? You poor thing, you..." Finally, she decided to pay no more attention to Yuan Shu talking so highly about himself. "Anyhow, please continue, Ma Chao and Zhang Liao. I'm very interested in what you have to say."

In a way, still, what Yuan Shu had said to her annoyed her, not so much about equating her with a waitress. She expected that from someone with his personality. She was quite used to dealing with a highly arrogant man like him. After all, her first husband was one, in a way. What bothered her was that he first compared her to Ma Chao and Zhang Liao, and then compared her to the waitress. Did he honestly feel that same way about Ma Chao and Zhang Liao? She almost hoped the other two had heard him. Nothing would make her happier than to have this guy put in his place for, probably, the first time in his life. Suddenly, she couldn't believe what she heard next. She gasped slightly.

"I'm so sorry to hear that, Liao," she said softly. "I wish your mother and sister a long, healthy life."