NationStates Jolt Archive

ooc: This is Invite Only, please. Only Watfordshire, ParEcon, and myself may post here. Thank you!

...After a delayed journey, prominent Union of Courtesans member and ambassador, Madame Charity Earnest has arrived on the Eastern seaboard of ParEcon. She has established a small camp with her retinue on the beach itself and awaits the arrival of Mr. I'i Xelinhe before commencing further. Mme. Earnest will be accompanied by two female attendants and will require a simple description of Mr. I'i Xelinhe, and an initial impression of the Xikuangese countryside-journey to the capital. A brief description of her initial lodgings would also be welcomed.

Mme. Charity will respond to any conversational topics en route to Xikuang that Mr. I'i Xelinhe has to offer...

Having been informed of the arrival of the Grand Duchy of Watfordshire's ambassadorial party by ParEcon customs staff, Mr. I'i Xelinhe set out immediately for their location. He had expected that Mme. Earnest and her party would be booked into one of the hotels or boarding houses in the city, and received the news that they were in fact camped on he beach with some bemusement.

"How very interesting these Watfordshirers seem to be." he muttered to himself. "I feel certain I shall like Mme. Earnest."

Some time later, he found himself walking along the sandy beach of the ParEcon shore. Even at this time of year, the sun was warm in the Mediterranean-like country-- very much so for someone who had spent most of his life in the high mountains of Xikuang. He felt compelled to remove his shoes, but some fast-fading attachment to diplomatic decency prevented him. The jacket, however, had to go, and he slung it over his shoulder as he loosened his tie.

Soon he came within sight of what he could only assume was Mme. Earnest's encampment, becoming more and more impressed by the eccentricity as he approached. Looking around, however, he saw no one, and wondered briefly whether it was considered impolite to knock on a tent.

"Hello?" he called, in a slightly quirkily accented English. "Madame Earnest? Anybody there"

ooc: descriptions: I'i Xelinhe is a man in his middle twenties, about five and a half feet tall, of fairly average build, though he tends towards the rather wiry good-only-for-soup build common in Xikuangese. He has thick, rather coarse black hair that could stand being cut, slightly dishevelled by the wind. His eyes are heavily slanted over prominent cheekbones and he wears little round wire-rimmed spectacles a lá John Lennon. He is currently wearing-- well, jacket off-- a dark grey Western-style suit and green tie.

...For a moment, nothing disturbed the still semi-circle of the six, large black teepees. Then, from one of the middle ones, 10 tall men emerged in single file; each wearing a black suit and tie, their shaven heads painted scarlet and adorned with long blue-black feathers.

Silently - their painted faces mask-like - but for their flashing eyes, the men formed a semi-circle before Mr. I'i Xelinhe and simultaneously raised their right hands, before slowly prostrating themselves before him.

Before he had time to respond, the men had acrobatically leapt back up and filed past Xelinhe, as the flap of the central teepee opened a second time.

Madame Charity Earnest, for this was clearly she, greeted the young Xikuangese with a leisurely glance as her two handmaidens busied themselves about him, presenting in a fluster an ornately carved wooden chest and a small leather bound book. Xelinhe attempted to juggle these - what he supposed were - gifts, as his eyes formed their first impressions of the Watfordshire ambassador.

Mme. Earnest stood a full 6 inches above Xelinhe, possible even a foot he noted, if one took into account her large red ceremonial horns. She appeared to be aged somewhere between 50 and 60 for her face was well-lined although it was difficult to make out through the thick scarlet paint, which seemed to cover every visible inch of skin. Her silver hair was scraped back and braided long over a red velvet robe trimmed with the same long blueblack feathers that dressed the ten mens' heads. Mme. Earnest's face appeared stern - quite in contrast to those of her giggling attendants, but her honey-brown eyes seemed to glitter with humour and, what Xelinhe judged to be warmth.

As the two young women carressed each of his shirtsleeves and giggled at a pitch only just within the range of his hearing, Xelinhe felt quite unable to draw his eyes from those of the elderly stateswoman and it was at this point that, in a deep rich voice, she spoke.

"Mr. I'i Xelinhe - please accept these ingredients and recipes of love. On behalf of the Watford Shiree, I thank you for the effort you have made to welcome us here in ParEcon..."
Xelinhe felt his neck prickle as the breath of one of the attendants lightly misted his left ear.
"..My two students, Bindy and Tamai, from the University of Tourism & Massage and I, would like to leave with you immediately for Xikuang. Madame Dianna Molasses will await the ParEconese contact here - I would introduce you, but she meditates in her teepee, and we are eager to travel with, and learn from you as soon as possible. Please - allow me..."

Mme. Earnest finished speaking by gently taking the box and the book from Mr. I'i Xelinhe, and placing them in a black suede bag. She took his hand and clasping it warmly, she kissed him lightly on both cheeks and returned the bag to him.



(nice start fellow! - wherever next? - up to you! :-)

Whatever he had expected-- and he had not been at all certain what to expect-- it certainly hadn't been anything like this. At a subdued gesture from her, no more than a movement of the eyelids, Mme. Earnest's students manually lifted his hands and placed them around the suede bag, giggling softly all the while. His fingers closed upon it, reflexively, but he was, for the moment, transfixed: he was clearly flustered by the attentions of the students, Bindy and Tamai, and overwhelmed by the sheer presence of the ornately attired, horned and scarlet painted woman before him. He found that he could not summon the will to take his eyes from hers, and might have stood there all day had she not broken the spell by smiling broadly, no doubt amused at his youthful lack of worldliness.

He bowed deeply from the waist, raising his hands-- as much as he could so encumbered by the bag-- in the traditional Xikuangese gesture. "I thank you most sincerely for these gifts, Madame. As it happens I have a small token for you as well. A little thing, but hopefully one by which you might remember us." He fumbles a bit, clumsily shifting his jacket and the bag from one hand to the other, and Bindy obligingly steps forward, gently taking the black suede bag from him, fluttering her long eyelashes as she demurely bows her head. Her hands lightly brush his in the exchange, and his cheeks and ears take on a more ruddy hue.

Unburdened, Xelinhe retrieves a small packet from an inside jacket pocket- a rectangular object, wrapped in a deep orange silk cloth, about 6 cm wide by 4 cm high by 2 cm deep, smelling slightly of ylang ylang, which he extends in both hands towards Mme. Earnest.

ooc: A very good start indeed- for the nonce, I am much enjoying the culture shock! I sense interesting times ahead...

Mme Earnest sat in the sand and bade Xelinhe join her. The ten male attendants, swiftly set about dismantling 3 of the teepees while Bindy and Tamai gathered together the various baggage for the journey.
"Thankyou for your welcoming gift my friend," Mme. Earnest stared out to sea as she spoke "I'm afraid until we lose sight of the shore and I experience my first taste of this land, my thoughts are constantly straying towards Watfordshire and the problems we have left behind us"

Xelinhe watched the men fetch a small boat up from the shingle and pack the first diassembled teepee into it, while the two T&M students collected the last of the the baggage (of which there seemed a remarkably small ammount) and loaded it onto a low trolley mounted on two rubber wheels measuring a foot or so across. Below the horizon Xelinhe could make out the vessel that had no doubt brought the Shiree across the sea.

Charity Earnest rose, lightly brushing the sand from her robe.
"Please Mr. I'i Xelinhe - if you would be so kind as to lead the way? - I feel it is time the four of us made tracks..."


(ooc: we can skip lightly over the trip to Xikuang if you wish - I'm hoping ParEcon's going to want to describe their own countryside etc. later - perhaps some conversation during the journey? - :) up to you dude)

Xelinhe sat as directed beside the Shiree ambassador, folding his legs under him in a half lotus, a position which was obviously comfortable and familiar to him. He watches the activity on the beach, but his attention is drawn to the sea. For him, it is a strange sight, and he finds the view of the seemingly endless expanse of water merging into distant sky both oddly compelling and somewhat frightening.

"Indeed, I had heard that there was some concern for the safety of the Hooley nomadic peoples in Aperin, and I understand certain industries in Watfordshire have been a bit disrupted of late. Alas, these things are often inevitable, but I am sure they will be sorted in time. As a friend and ally of the Grand Duchy of Watfordshire, the Most Serene Republic will naturally contribute towards filling any gaps in meeting the needs of your people, and we are not the only ones..." He found himself distracted as Bindy most fetchingly bent low to pick up a small bundle which had been deposited nearby in the decamping process.



Charity Earnest rose, lightly brushing the sand from her robe.
"Please Mr. I'i Xelinhe - if you would be so kind as to lead the way? - I feel it is time the four of us made tracks..."


"Hm? Oh, of course." Xelinhe rose easily, without the use of his hands. "I have open train tickets, so we can go whenever the next train leaves, which is..." -he withdrew a bit of paper from a pocket-- "in about 45 minutes, if we don't mind changing. We might also--" He is interrupted by an insistent beeping from a pocket in his now well wadded-up jacket, and he frowns, then looks apologetically towards Madame Earnest as he unwads the garment, seeking the beeping thing.

"I'm terribly sorry. I have to take this; they wouldn't ring me on this line if it wasn't important." Xelinhe withdraws a rather out-of-date mobile 'phone from an inner pocket of the jacket and withdraws a respectful few feet away before answering. "Weihui?"

He listens, his expression at first puzzled, then concerned, interjecting only occasionally a few inquisitive syllables in the impenetrable Xikuangese language, before making a short statement and terminating the call. His expression is mixed when he returns to Mme. Earnest, and she raises one arched eyebrow towards his in questioning.

"I am very, very sorry." he says, his voice betraying a degree of upset he is consciously suppressing. "It seems there is some trouble in Xikuang, some civil unrest, having to do with the Svea Riga situation... I'm told there's no violence at present, but things are looking a bit delicate, to say the least. This is a very recent development; it couldn't have been foreseen... I'm so sorry, but I might suggest that you may want to rethink your coming into Xikuang." He looks out to the sea again, clearly distressed, not meeting the eyes of the Shiree Ambassador as he continues. "The fact of the matter is that Xikuang has very suddenly collapsed into anarchy. I wouldn't want you to be exposed to any danger."

ooc: I'm enjoying the slow pace, and there's a lot going on-- we might well take the opportunity for character development and such like to go on while we hang about in ParEcon. I'm all for letting the roleplay go where it will! And conversation during any journey is absolutely in order. :)

A red van stopped a few hundred meters from the beach where the representatives from Xikuang and Watfordshire had just met.

A man and a female exited the van. They met with the foreign ambassadors on the beach and introduced themselves as José Moore, the current chairperson of the ParEcon Foreign Relations Committee and Alexandra Jonsson, chairperson of the commune in which the Watfordshire ambassador had landed. In honour of those that fought to make the Federation of ParEcon a reality, Moore and Jonsson hung a red and black scarf around the neck of each of the foreign guests before shaking hands.

"Welcome comrades, to the Federation of ParEcon" Moore said, "we are honoured to have you here. May your journey through our Federation be interesting, fruitful and satisfactory. You may stay as long as you wish. When you wish to leave, I can recommend choosing a flight from Zapatista Airport or you can go by train. If you're curious to see our Federation, I'd recommend going by train."

Xelinhe and Earnest were thus cordially welcomed to the Federation of ParEcon by these elected representatives and were invited with their company to ride in the van.

(OOC: A short one, I know. Hope it's okey...)

The ten male attendants perform an equally acrobatic display of silent greeting as they had for Xelinhe, before Mme. Earnest speaks.

"Comrade Moore, Comrade Jonsson - We a greatly pleased to make your acquaintance, but this is an honour I feel I am denying my companiero Madame Dianna Molasses, please allow us a moment.."

Tamai trots to the central of the remaining three teepees and after briefly dipping inside, returns followed by the Shiree envoy to ParEcon.

Mme. Molasses is younger and shorter than her fellow ambassador, but wears the same ceremonial horns and costume, her long braids blonde rather than silver. Her vivacity as she approaches the group marks a significant contrast to her elder colleague's languid approach.

"Comrades! It is wonderful to meet you all!" Mme. Molasses warmly embraces each of the ParEconians and bows lightly to Xelinhe "You must call me Diana of course!, ah! we have so much to learn - you can't imagine how I've been longing to travel to your continent, and when I was selected for ParEcon! Well.."

"Please Diana.." Mme. Earnest cuts in "Our friend Mr Xelinhe has had some disturbing news from Xikuang and I'm sure he is anxious to get underway, perhaps you can continue divesting your wealth of excitement once we are inside the van?"

The set of Mme. Earnest's jaw is stern but Xelinhe notes the twinkle in her eye and Mme. Molasses - 'Diana' - he silently corrects himself, is clearly unflustered by her benefactors interruption.

"Bindy, Tamai - if you would be so good as to convey our baggage to the automobile.. " Charity Earnest then turns to Alexandra Jonsson and hands her a computer print-out, "...our men shall return to our vessel 'Breakfast of Champions' which weighs anchor in the bay. If you are wishing to send an envoy to our humble nation, or wish to make use of our attendants in any way, please contact them on the channel enclosed, and may I reiterate, Comrade Moore, as my excitable colleague seems to have jumped ahead of herself; we are most pleased to find ourselves as your humble guests..."

OOC:
ParEcon - glad you could join us... was starting to feel like I was trespassing ;-)

RE: your envoys - I forgot I'd already seen this:
"Comrades,

The people of ParEcon sends a diplomatic mission consisting of an elected committee of five citizens, called "The Watfordshire Diplomatic Committee of ParEcon". The committee's members is responsible for four different areas (Trade/Economy, Technology, Cultural exchange and Social issues) and are led by a chairperson (hence a total of five citizens in the committee). Their current chairperson is a ms. Andrea Frideli, primarily responsible for reporting back to us and handling the general picture of the diplomatic mission. The areas of responsibility and the position as chairperson is rotated inbetween the members at a regular basis.

The people of ParEcon are happy to accommodate Mme. Molasses and her staff anywhere within our Federation.

Sincerely,
The ParEcon General Assembly"

still OOC:Perhaps the "The Watfordshire Diplomatic Committee of ParEcon" would like to use the 'Breakfast of Champions' as their means of travel?

"Not at all, not at all." says Xelinhe hurriedly, bowing from the waist to Mr. Moore and Ms. Jonsson, then to Mme. Molasses. "It is lovely to meet you, Madame M-- Diana. Actually, it' s Mr. I'i-- the Xikuangese put the family name first, you see-- but please do feel free to call me Xelinhe." He bows his head respectfully and smiles up at Mme. Earnest. Not that I would feel it in the slightest inappropriate if she called me Liao Xelin-chun*, he thinks to himself, regarding the epitome of dignified grace that was Mme. Earnest. "I know it's dreadfully confusing."

"Actually, Mr. Moore, Ms. Jonsson, it is most serendipitous that you should arrive at this particular time. I have just been informed that things have become somewhat unsettled in Xikuang and that it might be prudent to extend the amount of time I am in the company of Mme. Earnest and her retinue while we are in ParEcon, if of course this is agreeable to them. I would hate for any sort of unpleasantness to spoil this time for them."

ooc: sorry for the short post-- one of those days, you know, CACE forum eating my life, and I'm supposed to be going out in ten minutes. Like that's going to happen.

* a diminutive form of address normally reserved for children.

The van rattled along the coastroad heading north. The seating was comfortable and Tamai and Bindy flitted from seat to seat administering neck-rubs to those who showed willing. An uncomfortable, yet somehow amusing silence had fallen upon the company.

Between commonly dressed workers and scantily-clad students and the Horned and painted theatre of the Shiree ambassadors..... Xelinhe felt a sense of dislocation and alone-ness he had never experienced before.
Selected to greet and meet and escort the bizarre ambassador around his own city, it had suddenly come to pass that he would have to become an ambassador to some foreign city he had a sketchy at best knowledge of. Everyone was subdued after their journeys, he decided. With the Empire situation... It had evidently been a long week for all of the CACE nations that were represented.

The ParEcon delegates chatted amiably with each other in the front of the van.

Mr. I'i stirred restlessly for a while as the darkening blue horizon flashed past between dunes as the van cruised through late evening traffic.... but found his serendipity restored by Dianna Molasses leaning round to him in her seat

"Psst. Xelinhe!...Do you ride?, hey! Xelinhe! do you like horses?"
She asks amiably, and without waiting for him to answer continues...
" 'Chaos reigns' ...as we say in our stables - it's our oldest motto, and horses are simply the best way to travel if you have a long journey ahead... We ... I haven't travelled many times in an automobile before, and I must say - its fantastic that you don't have to leave for Xikuang immediately... we can explore ParEcon together. The idea of cities is fairly alien to us as I'm sure any ambassador who visits the Shiree will find..." Mme. Molasses stops abruptly and smiles.."I'm sorry I'm rambling! please look inside the black suede bag you were given.. there are several remedies included for stress and pressure..."

Dianna pauses for a milli-second and smiles..."Mme Earnest will still want to go to Xikuang you know... even if there IS trouble ahead.... she thinks she can make a difference... even on her own... or with two dumb T&M students anyway....

I'i Xelinhe begins to drift as Dianna Molasses exclaimations continue...he commits an abuse of his own unwritten diplomatic rule... but .. its been a long week etc. etc. his eyelids start to lull ... and his eyeballs start to roll back. And then he's asleep.

:shock: beno

Bindy whispers a few words Xelinhe can't quite make out as she settles on the seat behind him, only the light brush of her breath against his ear registering. Placing her hands on his neck, she begins the initial gentle explorations to find the areas where the tension in his muscles is highest, as her extensive training in the art of massage dictates. She is deft and her hands are strong and graceful, and he is quite tempted to give in, but the natural cultural reserve of the Xikuangese kicks in and he finds himself absolutely unable to keep himself from resisting her ministrations. with all her years of careful study, Bindy recognises his distress and desists, ruffling his hair and giving him a brief, chaste peck on the cheek before leaning over and exchanging a few whispered words with Tamai, whereupon both students are seized by fits of girlish giggling.

His inability to relax only exacerbates Xelinhe's sense of isolation. He feels overwhelmed and alone, and though the honey-coloured eyes of the Shiree ambassador show a warm sympathy towards him as he briefly, somewhat shyly, meets her gaze, he nonetheless feels that he is entirely out of his league. Plus, he is dead tired. He'd not been able to sleep on the train and had stopped at his hotel only long enough to shower and drop off his bags, and he'd not had more than three hours' sleep in the last two days.


"Psst. Xelinhe!...Do you ride?, hey! Xelinhe! do you like horses?"


Xelinhe attempts once or twice to answer Diana, but her effusiveness is too much for his inferior English and his exhausted brain, and he finds that he can't keep up. In point of fact, Diana doesn't seem to be paying much attention to him anyway as she talks excitedly on, watching out the window, occasionally making comments on elements of the ParEcon landscape, and he soon he grows to find the very sound of her voice comforting and gives up on trying to follow the content. He nods, and he tries several times to bring himself back to alertness, but ultimately, the comfortable seats, the soft lullaby of Diana's monologue, and his exhaustion conspire to defeat him.

ooc: I have no idea what you're planning-- but go to! -benedictus es

ooc: no idea what I'm planning either! finding it a little tricky to think of where we go next without making decisions about the location - and that, for the moment is for ParEcon to decide. The more description we get - the merrier I'll be. Mme. Charity Earnest is however, most keen to proceed to Xikuang and Lhai, despite the anarchic state (she grew up in one remember) and will inform Mr. I'i of her wishes as soon as he wakes up


:wink:

ooc: oh, I had assumed you'd sent Xelinhe to sleep because of some devious plan you had... hence my post being essentially the same as yours, to evidence my complicity in aforementioned devious plan. But yes, let's wait and see where we are when ParEcon takes us... um... where we're going...

OOC:

I'm so sorry comrades, but I've been dreadfully busy for the last few days... I've just come home and the time is closing in on 2 am, so you'll have to give me until tomorrow night to write my next post. Again I'm sorry, but I need until tomorrow to think about my post a bit in order to make it good.

So let me just see if I've understood the situation correctly. Earnest and mr I are going to Xikuang and Molasses is staying in ParEcon, right? So what on Earth are the reasons for Earnest not going by plane directly to Xikuang? If I knew that, it would be much easier to write this in a plausible way. Do you see what I'm getting at? I want a logical reason why the delegates shouldn't be transported to the nearest airport and be off to Xikuang. If the actual reason partly is to see ParEcon before going to Xikuang, hell I'd gladly give you the grand tour (and it would be a nice way to make me conjure up the lay of the land).

As for my own ambassador in Watfordshire, I'd just thought of her as going directly by plane.

OOC: All is forgiven! Xikuang is in chaos at present-- we are working towards resolution-- but we will try to keep Ms. Earnest safe. So yes: I'i and Ms. Earnest are headed to Xikuang, but diverted to spend time in ParEcon, because of Xikuangese domestic chaos. Also, owing to emergency town meetings and whatnot, much of the country is effectively shut down... it's quite prudent for us to remain in ParEcon for the nonce, if we can.

OOC: No problem about the timing of this - post whenever you want to. The Watfordshire diplomatic commitee will shortly be welcomed at an airstrip 20km east of BRightOn - the Shiree spiritual capital - I'll start a new thread :-) I guess we're all staying in ParEcon for the moment then. (Xikuang's just stalling ;-)

ooc: I am not stalling, my dear, you put me to sleep! :wink:

edit: chaos has been resolved through careful issue management, but for the sake of nebulous time RP-credibility, I'll play it as if it's ongoing for a wee while, if that's okay.

José Moore, the current chairperson of the ParEcon Foreign Relations Committee, drove the red van away from the beach and into the subtropical, mountinous landscape of southern ParEcon. Being a man of few words, and even fewer while driving, he let Alexandra Jonsson do the talking. As a matter of fact, she was already well underway of presenting the surrounding countryside to the foreign emissaries. Luckily to the people in her commune, her lack in charm were compensated by organisational qualities. Unfortunately, this didn't help the foreign guests from Xikuang and Watfordshire.

"As you can see, comrades, this part of our Federation is quite sparsely populated." Alexandra Jonsson said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. "These areas are very rich in minerals and hardwood, but the Councils have decided to minimise mining and lumbering as much as possible in order to preserve this delicate subtropical eco-system. Most people in these parts of ParEcon live in Liberación, the city where we're going next and the first stop on your journey."

"And where she'll get off." José thought to himself. "I'll cherish this moment of being silent. That way I don't have to speak and at the same time I'll make myself stand out as an utter charm machine in contrast to this personification of boredom. To birds, one stone." A smile quickly danced across his face.

There were a few acknowledgements from the back seat to Jonsson's informative, but objective lecture.

"Unfortunately, Liberación is also where I'll get off. José will accompany you from there."

Silence.

"Ah, yes. The planning of these jungles are administred jointly by a number of Iteration Boards, each one consisting of..." Jonsson observed the puzzled, possibly horror-struck faces of her guests and paused. "Ah, sorry if I rushed it a bit. Perhaps I should introduce you to the economic and political structure of our Federation and then you can ask if there's any questions later on."

"Sounds like a good idea." Madame Molasses replied and added jokingly "After all, I'll be staying here for a while."

"Indeed." Jonsson continued. "ParEcon's economy and polity is based on democratic councils. In neighbourhoods, workplaces, communes, municipalities, states, etc. all the way up to the Grand Assembly at federal level. The guiding principle is that every individual should have a say in everything in proportion to how much he or she is affected. As you can imagine, some issues can easily be dealt with at neighbourhood or workplace levels, such as investment or consumption planning, while other things such as foreign relations - with some exceptions - are run at federal level. Which I'm certain mr. Moore can tell you, heh... 'more' about."

Jonsson waited for any reaction to her joke, but since there were nothing in the group of guests but a slight twitch on Mme. Earnest's face, she continued.

"Our economy is planned democratically from individual to federal level. All jobs are a collection of rote and intellectual tasks in order to make every individual's work as rewarding as possible. This is also decided democratically, along with payment for every person's job, although the actal differences in 'wages' are minimal. As for the actual planning process..."

As Jonsson kept on harping, José dared to take his eyes off the road for a few seconds to look at his passangers through the rearview mirror. They didn't look bored, which was good, but he had to admit it, they didn't exactly look like they were overwhelmed with joy either. Which was probably more bad than good. Luckily, they were only about 100km away from Liberación and yes, liberation from Alexandra Jonsson.

OOC:

Hope that'll do to begin with... :)

excellent. nice to be on the road.

ooc: sorry folks, I meant to post something today but I've been really ill all day. Maybe later tonight I'll get something in.

ooc: well, one of the nice things about spending most of the day curled up on the couch feeling miserable is that you stay up late...

ic:

José stole another glance into the rear-view mirror at the foreign guests being subjected to his colleague's lecture. Mmes. Molasses and Earnest were doing their best to retain a veneer of attentiveness, but the students, Bindy and Tamai, were showing clear signs of boredom, and he could not suppress a smile as he saw I'i's head lolling to the side as the Xikuangese slept. That one, he's got the right idea, José thought to himself. If I didn't have to keep my eyes on the road, why, I'd be out like a light as well.

Alexandra Jonsson's words blearily reach Xelinhe's slumbering consciousness, subtly influencing the direction of his dreaming as he falls into deeper sleep. The language, the descriptions of organisation, the monotonous tone... they send him back, back to an earlier day, and he is a boy again, sitting in Politics class-- as always, near the back, for he is one of the worst students, always saying the wrong thing and perpetually in trouble for it. Ms. Jonsson's words merge with the half-remembered droning of the Lenguese teacher, Mrs. Deng, until he is thoroughly embedded in a bygone day, listening to a dead woman's lecture... "The road to restoration is arduous", she is saying, looking peevishly expectant, her usual expression, at her class...

Xelinhe sits bolt upright in his seat: "But it rewards 10,000 times!" he says, in a tone strongly suggestive of conditioned response. Jonsson stops in her narrative, looking at him strangely, and Xelinhe endures the bemused looks of Mmes. Earnest and Molasses and the titters of the two students as he struggles to clear his foggy brain, finally remembering where he is, registering the puzzled expressions of his companions. His face reddens, and he bows his head apologetically and repeatedly to everyone.

"I'm ever so sorry," he says, the tone of his voice betraying his embarrassment. "I must have dropped off. It's awful of me, and I hope you can forgive it. My own bad timekeeping is to blame-- I should have scheduled time to rest. I'm sorry." In point of fact, a tree had come down, holding up traffic so that he had missed his train, and he had been obliged to take another route, much longer and requiring three changes, to get where he was supposed to be even vaguely on schedule-- yet he cannot help taking full responsibility and blaming the slip on his own ineptitude. His downcast expression tells all to the more experienced observer: the young man is castigating himself most severely in his mind.

ooc: *poke*

Hello?

OOC:

Is Watfordshire about to write something, or what?

ooc: either of you, really...

after you please ParEcon...

OOC:

Ok, I'll try to write something and post it tonight or tomorrow. :)

After a short conversation with Bindy, Chastity Earnest joins Xeline.

'My friend, although there may be problems in Xikuang, I urge you to continue with me to your capital. Mme. Mollases is more than capable of working with the ParEconians and while their hospitality is most generous, I cannot help but feel slightly at a loose end. The truth of the matter is that there will always be problems in Xikuang - just as there will always be problems for all nations to face. Surely an aging Shiree can't add to much to your troubles?'

Xelinhe colours slightly, still a bit flustered. "Oh, no, not at all, Madame. It is your trouble I would hope to save. Not that there would be any violence, of course, but I'd expect quite a bit of trouble with services, resource shortfalls... that sort of thing."

Mme. Earnest raises an eyebrow, showing not the slightest whit of concern over such trivial matters. If anything, there is a twinkle of bemusement in her eye, and Xelinhe relents.

"Of course, if you don't mind, we can go right away.If you'd like to get out at Liberación with Ms. Jonsson, I have already arranged accommodation for yourselves at the same hotel where I am staying. We could leave for Xikuang first thing in the morning." He smiles sheepishly. "To be quite honest I don't feel I'm good for much else today. I'd be grateful for the rest. You must be tired as well."

(hopes Watfordshire hasn't stopped playing or gotten run over by a bus or something...)

more tonight

ooc:

more tonight

You say that... ;)

In your own time, friend. I think some nebulous bopping-around-in-Par-Econ time should probably be assumed to have transpire, just to bring us up with current affairs. A lot has happened... and I think Bread and Honey may have something planned for us.