008 ~*~ At least she can't drink and fly...

[not_so_great_wall]

[ Action : Olney's Tavern : Open ]
[ If you're a regular at the bar, you might notice a new sigth in one of the stools. A tall red-haired Chinese woman in a plain green dress is making herself right at home, even if the drone workers don't particularly care about serving her anything other than weak, fruity, feminine drinks.

That doesn't mean she hasn't been trying to sweet-talk them into it for the better part of an hour. And by sweet-talk, I mean whining pitifully because she really doesn't want to get thrown out for taking matters into her own hands. ] --c'mo~on. Can't you just pour me something a little stronger? I'm going to need a whole lot more than this. [ She remarks, fingernail grazing the edge of the colorful cocktail glass. ]

---

[ Action : Around Town : Open ]
[ Later, no matter how much she had to work at it, she managed to get herself sufficiently smashed (for a short while, at least)! You can encounter her:

1) Wandering the neighborhood, humming some old tune to herself as she sways.
2) Attempting to enter your home and not realizing why her stupid key isn't working...
3) Napping on your front lawn. ]

Comments

[walking-nuke.livejournal.com]

[Balin holsters the .45 and walks over to Meling, an eyebrow quirked.]

[Then, he nudges at her side with the toe of his boot.]

Yo, lady, what's'a trouble?

[not_so_great_wall]

Hn? [ She rolls away from the boot, swatting at his leg. ] N' now, Flan... m'sleepy...

[walking-nuke.livejournal.com]

[Balin frowns a bit as he takes a step back after being swatted. That was unusually strong for a swat! ... Now that Balin looks at her, he's taken aback by how tall she is. Balin's rarely seen women as tall as Meiling, let alone tall Asian women.]

[Nevertheless, he squats down and gently shakes her shoulder with a hand.]

I ain't this Flan you're talkin' about, miss—c'mon.

[not_so_great_wall]

[ Now she'll reach for that hand and tug whomever is attached closer. ] Just f~ive more minutes...

[walking-nuke.livejournal.com]

Whoa—!

[That causes Balin to lose his balance and fall forward, roughly, on top of Meiling. With her strength, she could've easily been a Guardian or Grenadier back in the AFS!]

[Now he tries to push himself up off of Meiling, grunting with annoyance as he does so.]

Jeez, don't you got a lawn of your own to nap on?! Ain't that what they make hammocks for?!

[not_so_great_wall]

[ That's too big and muscle-y for Flandre. Meiling squirms and blinks the sleep from her eyes, stretching her arm out over her head as she does so. ] Hmmmmm hammocks are nice, but--

[ Oh hello, stranger. ] ...um?

[walking-nuke.livejournal.com]

[Balin's got himself propped up with both hands, when he sees Meiling looking right back at him.]

Yeah. Hi.

[He looks completely unamused.]

[not_so_great_wall]

[ She laughs, cheeks still a bit rosy from the earlier time at the bar. ] You're not Flandre!

[walking-nuke.livejournal.com]

[Now he sits up in a military "take a knee" fashion. Something about the way she looks and talks ... is she drunk?]

Is Flandre your assigned kid or somethin'? 'Cause this ain't your house. This is, uh—847 Goldberg Street.

[Beat.]

What's your name?

[not_so_great_wall]

Pfft, no, silly. Flandre's the mistress's sister! Patchy's my-- [ Big air quotes, here. ] --"daughter".

And I'm... [ Her expression goes blank for a long moment, and it's like she's lost in her own head. ]

[walking-nuke.livejournal.com]

[Balin scratches the top of his head, not comprehending. While she seems lost in thought, he responds.]

Honestly, lady, I never heard'a any of'ose people before. You all from'a same place, I'm guessin'?

[not_so_great_wall]

That's okay~ It just means you're not from the house. [ She leans closer, finger pointing upward. ] We don't have men there, so that's a dead giveaway.

[ Suddenly, she springs onto her feet, legs apart, and puts her hands on her hips. ] My name's Hong Meiling, the Great Wall, the Rainbow Dragon, the Gatekeeper of the Scarlet Devil Mansion!

*had to put on UNL's remix of your theme JUST for that introduction XD*

[walking-nuke.livejournal.com]

[Balin blinks. At first, he thinks Meiling means her house in Mayfield ...]

—No men there? What, your assigned husband's'a drone?

[He watches Meiling spring to her feet, only slightly startled by the suddenness of the act. Yikes, that's quite a title ...]

Oh, that's what you mean by house—you're a gatekeeper back home? An' all those people you mentioned live there?

[Looking up at Meiling from his kneeling position, she does look pretty imposing, especially with that strength she as. It's also quite a view, too.]

You definitely fit'a role of'a gatekeeper. Well—

[Balin stands up. Meiling gave her full title, and Touko treated Balin's name, rank, and MOS as a title, so ... why not tell her? He cocks a thumb at himself.]

—I'm Sergeant First Class Balin Wilbur, Logos Receptive an' Demolitionist of'a Army of Allied Free Sentients.

[He holds out a hand for her to shake, with a grin.]

Nice'a meet ya.

[A demolitionist introducing himself to a "great wall." Nope, nothing wrong with this picture!]

(rock)

[not_so_great_wall]

That's all true! [ Grinning big, she stands posed like that for a minute, but drops back down onto the ground when he reaches out his hand. Standing is hard, you see... ]

Oof. Mm! It's nice to meet you... ... um, I don't think I caught all that.

[walking-nuke.livejournal.com]

[—Ah. Yep, that's definite proof that she's drunk. Instead of offering his hand to shake, he's now offering to pull her back up from the ground.]

Okay, well—my name's Balin Wilbur. I'm a soldier, see, from'a Army of Allied Free Sentients. And my rank's Sergeant First Class.

[Best to take his own introduction a bit slower!]

[not_so_great_wall]

Oh! [ Taking his hand and tugging, which isn't too effective in getting her off the ground, in truth. ] It's nice to meet you, Balin. [ But then she squints. ] ...you were in the army?

[walking-nuke.livejournal.com]

[Balin's not giving up! He tries to pull her up more firmly, putting more of his strength into it.]

Yeah. Army of Allied Free Sentients.

If it doesn't ring a bell we're prolly not from'a same world. Or maybe just from an earlier time than me.

[A beat.]

What year was it for you when you got dragged in'a Mayfield?

[not_so_great_wall]

[ That works better! She stumbles a bit on her feet, but uses a hand on him to steady herself.

What is personal space? ] It doesn't sound like anything I've ever heard of, but I'm okay with that!

[ Headshake. ] When you've lived as long as I do, you kind of stop caring about the time. [ A giggle. ] And I can't remember anyway.

[walking-nuke.livejournal.com]

[Balin doesn't seem to mind—he's helping keep Meiling steady with one arm anyhow, since he already saw her topple over from too much tipple.]

Ahright. Where do ya live in Mayfield? I can help you get home if you want.

[He does, however, look surprised at Meiling's remark about how long she's lived.]

You look around my age. [Balin appears to be in his 20's~30's.] What, you immortal like that Astartes guy? Garviel Loken?

[not_so_great_wall]

[ Reaches up to poke his forehead. ] You can't judge a youkai by their appear--

Ext--

Looks!

[ Grinning, she straightens up and attempts to dust off her dress as she speaks. ] I don't know that name...

[walking-nuke.livejournal.com]

[Balin blinks a bit as he gets poked.]

What's a youkai?

[not_so_great_wall]

I am! [ Puffing her chest up, proudly. ] A dragon, I mean. Youkai can be all different kinds of beings, but we're not human even if a lot of us look and maybe act like it...

[walking-nuke.livejournal.com]

—So wait, "The Rainbow Dragon" ain't just'a title?

[Balin doesn't seem as shocked about this as he should be.]

So, what? Is your real form a dragon an' you're just takin' a human form right now, or—?

[not_so_great_wall]

[ Cheesy grin. ] That's a secret~!

Besides, some people don't trust people like me, so I can't just go spilling the beans to everyone. [ Except, as drunk as she is, she just might. ]

[walking-nuke.livejournal.com]

I guess I can understand that, since I'ma Receptive. It's not like I'm any less human than I was before'a Bane hit ...

[Even though being a Youkai and being a Receptive are two entirely different things. Just then, Balin realizes that Meiling didn't answer his other question.]

—So, yeah, uh—you need help gettin' back home? I don't got a car—wife traded it for a horse an' I can't ride one'a those—but I can help walk ya home or somethin'.