Pirate in the Tigers Lair (open)

[Tsuki (Ancient One)]

The Red Siren glided through the waters as if it were floating through air, it made barely any sound and it passed the scattered fishing boats like a ghost from a distant dream. Rui stood inside the crows nest and gazed out over the waters at the up-coming destination of Wu's port. Rui could be claimed to be stupid or just incredibly stupidly brave as he neared the home land of the Sun family where the family still ruled.

Rui needed to meet Lord Sun Jian to settle something that had been bothering him in his heart for sometime. The pirates had always been terrified about being sat next to Lord Sun Jian's territory but yet they admired the man from a distance, they always had. Rui had never stepped foot in Wu so it was a new experience for him.

Tsu sat silently upon Rui's shoulder and let her coat ruffle as the breeze unsettled each strand of hair upon her body. Rui's odd eyes watched the land approach and he decided to come down from the mast. Rui being a dramatic man used the rope to swing down to the deck rather than using the safer ladder down the mast. Rui's hands ached a little but he didn't care since his gloves absorbed the worst of the damage.

Rui strolled about on deck shouting commands to the crew and watched as the action returned to the once quiet ghost ship. The Red Siren entered the harbour waters and followed directions from the people working at the dock and soon the mighty ship was pushed into it's parking point. The boarding planks were set up and Rui wandered down on the harbour. He was greeted with guards who were rather edgy about the pirate being there.

Rui showed that he was there on political business and required to talk with the Sun family. He offered to hand over all his weapons and that his crew men would remain on board the ship except any officers that wanted to join Rui mainly to be a second set of eyes and ears. The guards spoke among themselves before agreeing the terms but one went off to alert the Sun family that Rui Takiri, the Pirate King, had arrived on shore. Rui waited at the dock and handed over his knives and sword before sitting tight.

[Sun Jian]

After hearing about the pirates arrival, soldiers quickly rushed to the city entrance and formed a pathway from the entrance to the palace incase any dirty tricks are made. The question on everyone's mind was why they had come here.

As a result of Lord Sun's past with the pirates, the villagers of Wu were not afraid so they continued with their daily work but the soldiers took a little more caution just incase.

When Sun Jian heard of his arrival, he paced the chamber thinking about them. No matter how much Sun Jian did, they'd always have the pirates as a thorn waiting to be pressed in from behind.

Then, Wei Huan charged in and bowed to Lord Sun, before addressing, "Mylord, allow me to give you some time and let me fetch the Pirate Captain", not feeling comfortable of calling him a King. He had once been a Bandit set out to kill Sun Jian, and now there was pirates on their doorsteps.

Sun Jian nodded, "Very well. You may go", before taking out his sword and thrusting it into the floor. He then lifted it back up, "Go sharpen this blade". The soldier nodded and took his sword.

Wei Huan had arrived outside of Wu to greet the Pirate Captain, "I am here to escort you to Lord Sun", with his back straight and his two scimitars in their place ready incase they did come to do a dirty trick.

[Tsuki (Ancient One)]

Rui waited patiently before he was greeted by Wei Huan. Rui bowed to the man before straightening his posture. "I thank you for allowing me to speak with your Lord. Please, lead the way." Rui spoke as he followed along behind the man completely stripped of weapons. He chose only to take his prized monkey with him since he needed the animal to alert him of a seizure. Rui held a serious expression and was oddly quiet.

Rui was terrified of causing a spark among the soldiers, he was defenseless and all alone. He tried to bring together the words that he was going to speak to Lord Sun Jian, he just hoped that he didn't look like a fool in front of the other Lord. Wei Huan's weapons had not gone unnoticed by Rui so he knew that the troops were on high alert. Then again Rui's last move had caused the downfall of Lord Wang Lang so he guessed they had full right to be edgy about the pirates, but Rui's intentions were not to cause enemies.

[Sun Jian]

As he walked back towards the city, he wondered how Sun Jian was feeling. After seeing his reaction before he left, but the best thing he could do was give him time, and unlike other visitors, he had remained in the palace rather than personally greeting them, and the soldiers outside were ready to act if necessary.

Once Wei Huan entered the city, he stretched his right hand infront of the Pirate Captain so he would not go furthur, then he walked forward a few steps, grabbed his scimitars, then stretched one to his left and one to his right, with the blade inbetween two soldiers, "Move aside and give more room", as the soldiers moved back, as Wei Huan, with his weapons still stretched out, walked forward to make sure they did not hit anyone. Once they had spaced out, he put them away, then walked back to Rui, "Come".

[Tsuki (Ancient One)]

Rui followed along behind Wei Huan before being indicated to stop. He watched the man space the men out with the blades which made Rui raise an eyebrow in confusion. Either these men did that all the time or they were just showing off to unnerve him. Rui sighed and continued to follow along behind the man once he was told to. He gazed around himself and glowered at some of the men since a few of the soldiers seemed to show some threatening signs towards the Pirate King.

Rui looked up at the buildings and gave an expression of awe. "This place is impressive, I must admit. I see the people are in good health." Rui commented as he examined his surroundings. He was busy comparing places to his home in Hui Ji. The city was doing well after being freed from Lord Wang Lang's rule but Rui still needed to continue his work back home to make sure the pain and chaos didn't return.

[Sun Jian]

Wei Huan grinned as the Pirate Captain commented on the beauty of Wu, "It sure is wonderful and peaceful under Lord Sun's rule, who personally sees to it that the area is safe and that the people are not harmed. Though I have not been here as long as his officers, I have learnt that he is a kind and generous Lord who does take care of his people and his officers, even those who used to cross swords with him", as he thought back to the time he had attacked him in Jian An but surrendered and became an asset to Sun Jian's forces.

"So how is it back in Huiji?", he asked, seeing that he had captured Wang Lang's old land as his own, and though he had never heard of a pirate owning land, he was curious how he and the people of Huiji were, as not all pirates can be bad pirates, as they continued walking towards the palace. Not far now....

[Tsuki (Ancient One)]

"Hui Ji is improving greatly since Wang Lang was removed from power. The city is cleaner and the people are happier as I've boosted the trade in the city. Also I've been trying to share the money out fairly by delivering more to the poorer communities which has helped them get a foot hold in society." Rui replied, he was indeed joyful of his city but he knew the city was still far from being perfect. He still had a long way to go but at least Hui Ji wasn't run down and mistreated like before Rui came to power.

"I've heard much talk of Lord Sun Jian from the people of Hui Ji and from travellers. I aim to make bonds with Wu and improve trading connections of both cities. At this rate I'm becoming less of a pirate... but I don't care anymore because seeing happy people makes it all worth it in the end, it is a highly rewarding life." Rui chuckled as they drew closer to the tigers lair. Rui was in awe and was a little nervous about meeting Sun Jian in person.

[Sun Jian]

Wei Huan listened carefully to what Rui was saying, but as they entered the palace, and after giving Lord Sun some time, it was time for them to meet and him to leave the picture. Soon as they entered the main chamber, he saw Lord Sun's back turned. He brought his right fist infront of him, then put his left hand onto it to show his respect, as he lowered his head a little, "I have brought Captain Rui Takiri to you sir", before lifting his head back up.

Sun Jian nodded, "Very well, please see to it that you visit the Barracks to continue their training".

"Yes sir", he replied, before turning around and leaving the Pirate Captain and Lord Sun alone.

Sun Jian decided to allow him to speak, as he gathered his thoughts together. The outcome of this meeting would decide the future, so he must tread carefully.

[Tsuki (Ancient One)]

Rui watched as Wei Huan left the two Lords alone, Rui could feel that he was growing nervous once again. He decided to start off by bowing to Lord Sun Jian to show his respects. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you Lord Sun Jian. I'm certain that my arrival must seem unexpected and I'm sorry if I've caused unrest." Rui spoke as he used a more formal tone of voice. He slowly removed his hat and let it hang in his left hand by his side.

"I've come to form an alliance between the Sun family and the pirates. I want to form trading links between our lands and to offer my services to unite the land of the South. I don't want to become the bad guy just because I'm a pirate, I'm not heartless when it comes to looking into the eyes of the suffering people around me. I want to make things better for everyone." Rui poured his heart out into his words hoping that Lord Sun Jian would understand Rui's stance.

[Sun Jian]

Sun Jian listened to his words, then answered proudly, "From a young age, I have vowed to protect these lands from danger, even those that I do not own. When I was 17, many people were scared of a pirate invasion, and I managed to fight them off, and more recently, the yellow turbans tried to spread their ill words into Jiangdong by crossing over to Lu Jiang, but I burnt the Bridge to stop them and made them tremble".

He turned to Takiri, returning to a normal posture, "However, this is the first time I have saw a pirate come to me defenceless and wanting to ally themselves with me, which is...different, but you seem different than other pirates I have encountered. But I do have some doubt in my mind", as he took out a letter and passed it to him.

We are the Pirates of JiangDong and we help enforce trade within the area. Recently our customers have fled the area or have gone into hiding. We finally know this is due to the fear caused by the Yellow Turbans. Well we won't settle for this.

Myself and my crew are for hire to any of the Han Lords. Of course we will need the right price to make us do a good job. We don't cut corners and we can help defend the waters of China.

Everyday my crew is expanding with new officers and troops so we are a worthy asset for any Lords in need of our help.


~ Thanks for reading
Captain Rui Takiri

Sun Jian turned to him to await his response to the letter and to see if he could tell what was bothering him.

[Tsuki (Ancient One)]

Rui looked at the letter as he read it over. It had been a while since he had wrote it, in fact this was before he even held Hui Ji. "This brings back memories. I'm guessing the concept of my growing army and the fact I was asking for a price would cause unrest. I assure you the alliance is the price I seek in this case and I promise this is no trick to lure you into a false sense of security. This is not the day and age for that; make friends and survive, make enemies and you'll fade into the pages of history."

Rui returned the letter back to Lord Sun Jian. "My terms have since changed and I need help... Lu Bu tried to attack my city not too long ago. He took my friend... I'm not the enemy. One day I can see my land being swallowed up by your rule but that doesn't matter just as long as you treat the people right." Rui didn't know if the things he were saying change Lord Sun Jian's mind or if the pirate was just digging his own grave. It all worried Rui since he didn't normally do such meetings which was leaving him in a state of panic.

[Sun Jian]

Sun Jian smiled, "You are indeed turning out to not be so much as a pirate afterall". Just then, the soldier entered with the sword he had sharpened, but saw the tiger's eyes telling him to wait, as he looked outside the window and smiled at the children playing outside, "Even in the land in a state of chaos, it is nice to see children like this play without fear".

He turned to Takiri, having the thoughts of the Tiger of Jiangdong and the Pirates of Jiangdong united, spin around in his head, "You have great courage to have entered my land of Wu to see me, and in response to your proposal, I believe an Alliance will be beneficial for us both".

[Tsuki (Ancient One)]

Rui's face light up and he smiled nervously before bowing towards Lord Sun Jian. "Thank you for considering it. I just want the people to be happy and to be protected from the cruelty of the world. The Yellow Turbans, now Dong Zhou... so many people are suffering. I've been attacked and I lost a dear friend but I hope to gain new ones." Rui spoke as he brushed a few strands of hair from his face.

Rui still remembered how his family told him he would never become a pirate, maybe they were correct but now it didn't matter in his eyes. He could become a mighty leader over the land and hunt down his so called family and make them pay for leaving him to die but he hadn't heard of them since they had left him.

[Sun Jian]

Sun Jian smiled, "With both of us working together, may we bring peace once again to the land and that the people will no longer have to suffer. Currently, the largest threat is the tyranny of Dong Zhuo and you have already dealt with the works of Governor Wang Lang. The Influence of the Han has died in the South but it is upto people such as us, to get rid of the corrupt governors so the people may be able to live in safety", he turned to Takiri, "Though your vessel may be comfortable, you are always welcome to visit Wu", as his smile widened and he laughed a little, "Though you won't have a reception like today".

[Tsuki (Ancient One)]

Rui chuckled lightly and gazed up at Sun Jian. "I just want a happier land to live in. Soon the South will be brought under a good ruler, both land and sea." Rui's expression was bright and he sighed with relief that things had gone so well.

"I'm quite used to being greeted by swords and spears, it no longer bothers me but kindness is a nice thing once in a while. I hope to visit again soon, I must return to Hui Ji and stand guard over the growing city to make sure it is not attacked." Rui explained, he would go home a happy man though knowing that he had made an ally. "Thank you again for meeting with me, soon we will stand on the battlefield together and cure the world of pain." Rui bowed to Lord Sun Jian before he turned to leave, then again he didn't know his way out the palace.