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'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'.

[not_so_great_wall]

[ Home can wait! He said an interesting thing. ] What's a ... "receptive"? [ Glancing him up and down, totally not taking her earlier advice. ] You look normal...

[ Then, she grabs his shoulders! ] You have a pony?!

[walking-nuke.livejournal.com]

Receptives're humans that're genetically capable of receivin' Logos Element information from'a Eloh.

[A beat.]

I don't got my Logos Abilities back yet, though. An' with some of what I can do back home, I ain't sure'a town's gonna want to give 'em back.

[And then—Yikes! Balin's caught off guard by how quickly Meiling goes from stumbling-drunk to grabbing his shoulders.]

Well, uh—it ain't a pony, it's fully-grown. An' I don't think'a wife'd let anyone borrow it, s'pecially not without her permission. It's her horse from her homeworld, see.

[not_so_great_wall]

Ohh...

Sounds complicated![ Thumbs up. ] But just hang in there~

[walking-nuke.livejournal.com]

Well, the concept ain't that complicated.

[Though, inwardly, he concedes it'd be hard to teach someone who's drunk. But, hey, she's lucid enough to carry on a conversation!]

Basically, the Eloh's an ancient alien race, yeah? They developed'a Logos system. An' they taught other races in'a galaxy how to use it. Or in some cases, altered their genes so they could learn in'a future.

That's how it was with us humans. It's like ... well, this ain't really accurate but I guess you could think'a Logos bein' like magic. You know'a kind where you got wizards with spell books an' runes an' stuff?

It reminds me a lot of'at, but not it's not quite'a same thing. Still, though ... I'ma soldier anyhow, I've got enough trainin' in my field to get by without'a Logos Abilities.

An' if what I've heard about'a town is true ... I better not get too used'a havin' 'em if the town gives 'em back.

[not_so_great_wall]

[ She seems to listen intently, and follows along, except that it's evident about halfway through that he's going waaaay over her head.

You can practically hear the gears in her head stop. ]

So... right now you're just a plain human? I could pick you up and throw you over your house if I wanted to? [ It isn't a threat! She sounds genuinely curious. ]

[walking-nuke.livejournal.com]

[D'oh. Yeah, maybe it's not a good idea to discuss Logos at the moment!]

... Eh, guess I'll hafta show ya if I ever get my abilities back.

[And yet ... throw him over the house? Balin looks a bit unsettled by that question. If she really can do that, it certainly explains the strength behind her casual movements, though.]

Well, uh—if you can do that now you coulda done it even if I had all my Logos Abilities. I ain't trained for super-strength or anything like that; that's more a Guardian thing. They're the close quarter combat types.

Me, I'm a Demolitionist.