Drinking on His Day Off

Gysu sat down and ordered a cup of Jasmine, he sat there and saw a beautiful young woman enter the place. She seemed to be somewhat familiar. Oh well, that was another problem for another day. His tea came by and he accepted it gracefully, trying to put his finger on where he had seen her before.

Meili remembered this place quite well, and remained awfully quiet about her movement. she held the same royal grace that she did before, only with a slightly airier step from her youthful age. she ordered herself a drink, sitting next to a man there.

instead of the usual armor that she had worn prior to this transformation, she was clad in the more typical finery of the Earth Kingdom nobility. the elegant sleeves had green and gold designs from the shoulders to the wrists, and her skirts were the same way, though there was a slit that ran to her waist on the right side. instead of the usual stone shoes that she used to wear, she had light slippers, and her hands were bare as well. she was quite the pretty princess at first glance. few would assume that this was the strongest earthbender in the world.

Gysu couldn't stand this unknowing. He got up, went over to the familiar woman and asked, "Do I know you from somewhere? You just seem so familiar." He started to move around uneasily because he knew that he probably sounded crazy. Then he felt her aura, it was the same as it was a couple of months ago, only more powerful, more empowering.

"you might." she replied. "where do you know me?"
she recognized this fellow, but was not about to give her identity away.
"perhaps you know my mother," she said, pulling a ruse, "Queen Meili of the Earth Kingdom? is that where you've seen me before?"

she was giving him a nearly seductive look, if nothing else, for effect. whatever the case, she wanted to see how he would react to her statements.

"I was, unaware that our queen had a daughter. Mind If I ask of you your name? Ah, but where are my manners? It is usually polite to make ones own name known before asking for another. My name is Gysu Lee Frike, and you look almost exactly like your mother. Albeit younger and perhaps a bit taller. Know I will ask you of your name. What is you name?" Gysu stared at her and wondered how she had gotten to look like this.

"most call me Mulanza." Meili replied, "'tis a pleasure to meet you, Master Gysu."
the ruse appeared to have worked. whatveer the case, if bad came to worse and worse came to even worse, she'd attack. but, this younger body also meant that perhaps she had another easier shot at romance--not necessarily with this individual, but just in general. it was an amusing thought to entertain.

"Well, it seems that unlike your mother, you have an outstanding ability to seduce people. Although, your mother's a pretty gorgeous woman herself. If only I hadn't had drunken so much during that contest, things wouldn't have turned nasty and there would be bounties again. Although that is relatively speaking, the government has no power over bounties unless they themselves are the ones that put them up. The true power behind bounties would be the people and the actual criminal themselves. The more people the criminal hurts, the more people want his head. So the bounty rises, the higher the bounty the cockier the crook. The cockier the crook, the more people the crook hurts. And so, the cycle begins anew." Gysu paused for a second, "sorry for rambling like that, you probably found that boring."

"it's only slightly different when the bounty is on the head of the queen." Mulanza noted, "but she is doing well. and I must say..." she giggled, "I did not know I was seducing you... my apologies."
she made sure her dress was not showing any of her leg through the slit, but otherwise continued sipping her drink.

"the will of people can accomplish many things." she continued, "but such is beside the point. was there anything else by chance that you wished of me?"

"Perhaps to take a walk with you around the swamp? It's actually quite beautiful." Gysu simply replied wearing a face of pure excitement. "How's about it? Just a little walk maybe some talking if you want. By the way, you don't need to try to seduce you do that naturally without even trying."

"very well." Mulanza nodded. "lead the way. I hope it does not involve getting too dirty."
a few things would have to be acts if she wanted the ruse to be believable, but, it was a small price to pay in the long run.
she giggled again. "I am not sure if that's a compliment or not," she said, red flushing ineto her face as she stood, awaiting the young man to lead her to the swamps.

Gysu took her hand and led her towards the swamp. Once there he took her inside and then gently lifted her up and carried her over the trees and bushes towards his favorite spot. Once at the spot he set her down and then he pointed towards a certain spot. "If you look right over that way, you can see the natural beauty of the swamp." He motioned over to her and pointed at the blooming plants. The buds were just opening up and you could watch the flowers bloom right before your eyes."This will forever be the most beautiful thing in the world. No matter what happens, I'll always think of this as the most beautiful thing in the world. Not the nature, but the act of showing one such a beauty."

Meili was a small woman, and despite her physique, was still relatively easy to carry. her skin, which, while it had remained rather smooth for her age, was definitely much moreso now, as if she had become the perfect woman through her transformation. she approved either way.

she admitted to herself that such things were new to her, even though she had visited the swamps before.
"it's beautiful." she smiled. "thank you."

"Would you like to see more, or do you want to go back to Gaoling?" Gysu mused to her. "There are some really nice sights in the moonlight. I promise to carry you on so that you won't get dirty."

"show me more, if there is more to see." she cooed. "this is a beautiful place, and I wold love to see more."
she stood up and straightened her dress, waiting for him to lead the way.

He picked her up by her waist and carried her onward towards the center of the swamp. Upon the way they found a group of bandits led by a certain man. "Hey I know you, you're Ratface Zuja. You have a bounty of 300000 copper pieces. That's pretty low in comparison to my usual prey." He set down Mulanza and stepped forward. Zuja sneered, "Name one of your so called 'usual prey.'" Gysu smiled and stated, "Well there's Ryu of the serpents. He had a bounty of 400,000 golden pieces." At the sound of that name, Zuja stepped back, "Come on, let's get out of here!" They all ran off deeper into the swamp. "Sorry about that, hope you didn't get dirty." He laughed and gave her a big grin. He picked her up again and noticed how smooth her skin was, it was like polished marble. "Hope that didn't scare you." Gysu whispered as he carried her off towards the center once again.

Meili hid the urge she had to to jump forward and bash some heads in, and instead stood close behind Gysu in an attempt to not get dirty. She watched the whole thing play out, and looked amused by it. the ruse was not exactly easy, but she was pulling it off.

"well-executed," she approved as he picked her back up. "and I appear to be unharmed. thank you."
she looked ahead to see where they were going, and was curious to know when they would get there.

Within a short while they had arrived at the center. "Watch the leaves, this tree will also bloom as the other spot did. And along with the tree, all of the flowers that grow on it will also bloom. This is something that only happens once every four years." He then motioned over towards the huge tree and as he did so the tree exploded with a dazzling array of colors and it looked as though a glimpse pf heaven was seen during that short moment. "I hope that you enjoyed that. Do you want to go back or do you want me to show you even more than this?"

Mulanza's eyes popped open.
"that..." she exclaimed, "that was incredible! if there is more... then please. by all means, show me more, please."

while she was acting over-excited on purpose, she did, in truth be amused by it, and was in fact curious. but, the ruse continued to work, and so she was content.

"There is more, but it can only be seen at night. Although there is only one more thing to show you that isn't at night. Here, let me show you." He picked her up honeymoon style and then walked off with her in his arms. After about an hour or so he stopped and showed her a small area with some interesting plants. He put her down and bent over to pick one of its flowers. "Here. Take it. Although I don't know why, but this flower will never wither." He handed to flower to her as an offering. "This is your last chance to go before sunset, But if you go, you'll miss out on a lot." Her beauty was so astounding, and yet he wasn't drawn to her by her beauty. It was the feeling of power that came from her aura, he had never felt anything like it before. It was intoxicating.

Mulanza took it, and appeared that she would cherish it.
"I... thank you." she replied. in response to his other question, she responded: "I wish to see it all. show me what remains. my curiosity cannot be sated so easily, even with the wonders I've already seen."

He picked her up again and went off towards another area. When they got there, there were a bunch of animals walking around and they paid no attention to them. Gysu looked up and saw the sun setting, within about three minutes, the show would begin. "Just watch this, as the sun goes down these animals get even more amazing." At the end of his sentence the animal closest to them suddenly glowed bright orange. And then one by one they all light up in every shade of color. "Hope you enjoy this."

Mulanza continued to watch with amazement. she didn't want it to end, and so she continued to gaze with utmost amusement at the scene that was unfolding in front of them. this was certainly going to be a memorable night.

"I..." she began. "thank you. just... thank you."

"Look up." Gysu whispered into her ear. Above them the stars were vivid and you could see all of them through the gapes in the trees. Then, as if on cue, bio-luminescent birds began to fly above them swirling and creating vortexes of assorted colors. Then from below them more bio-luminescent flowers began to bloom. "This is just the beginning." He whispered into her ear.

Mulanza continued watching the light show, though she also rested her head against his chest as if to relax. it was truly the most dazzling and amazing thing she had ever seen, and she was in sincerity grateful to have seen it, even if she was acting overexcited about it.

words would not do it justice, and so she simply watched.

His heart began to race, the closer she was the more of her aura he could feel. He had never shown anyone these things before. "Remember the tree? It's also all glowing. Want to revisit it?" He felt so anxious and yet so at peace at the same time.