Arrivals

[tea_bending]

Iroh found his way to the Ermis Suits easily enough. He didn't really have any possessions beyond the clothes on his back and the video phone that he had shoved in his pocket after a cursory examination (He'd look closer at that later.) so moving in wasn't any kind of ordeal. The only thing left to do was meet the neighbors.

So there's a fat, old, balding man wandering about the Ermis Suites with a smile on his face. On running into you, he says "Hello! I'm Iroh...and apparently that's about all I can tell you. I'm still kind of figuring things out here, you see."

Or something to that effect.

Comments

[nomen_est_numen]

He encounters Shen on one of his many walks about the place. He's a restless bird, you see, and has taken to wandering about the place in search of something to do or someone to talk to.

Upon seeing Iroh, Shen looks almost... relieved. Here's someone who isn't a pre- or barely post-pubescent child screeching into a videophone. Well, other then Gordon. Or the intimidating wall of muscle he finds himself calling a roommate. (Honestly? Shen treads as lightly as possible, now, around someone so huge and clearly combat-oriented...) The Peacock might actually smile. Or it might be a trick of the light.

"Hullo," he answers. Well, he also appreciates seeing someone dressed in a similar style to him, as well. "You seem quite cheerful for a man with no memory."

[tea_bending]

Who's he to say a talking peacock is strange? It's not like he knows anyone else right now, except those nice men and women who explained things to him. "It's a chance to reinvent myself without the burdens of the past."

[nomen_est_numen]

Shen's more well-disposed toward you already, Iroh. You don't question his existence. However, the statement brings him up a bit short and he blinks, thoughts striking at him from the back of his mind. Starting over... letting go of the past.... He shakes his head. What past?

"D'you... feel as though your past might be a burden?"

[tea_bending]

He shrugged, "How should I know? Regardless of what my past was, this place seems pleasant enough. I suspect I shall have no problem fitting in and living my life."

[nomen_est_numen]

This just confuses Shen. "You don't want to know who you are? Where you're from?" He shifts his feet painfully and tries to ignore them. Upon looking one would see the badly healed scars of third-degree burns on said feet, now that he isn't wearing the armoured talons he'd come in with. "How can anyone not want to know these things?" He is truly baffled.

[tea_bending]

"Well, I guess I'm curious. It's not going to make me remember any faster though, and it doesn't mean I can't enjoy myself while I'm waiting."

[nomen_est_numen]

Shen realises, perhaps a beat later than anyone else would, that he's already getting impatient and short of breath just listening to the man. And he has no idea why. WHY is he so impatient with content people? Is it because he, himself, is not content? Is it because things need to be done and sitting about being content is nothing more than stagnation? He has no idea and that frustrates him even more.

"NNGH." Then, having sufficiently vented said frustration with that one semiverbal sound, he rubs his brow and sighs. "Forgive me, I.... perhaps I used to be someone who liked everything under control. I find it difficult to see how one can be... content in the face of so many questions. Absolutely everything is a mystery--where am I from? Why did I have sixty-three bladed weapons in my feathers? What happened to my feet?" He lifts one foot in a manner far to effortless for an ordinary being and then drops it again. "Why do I speak the way I do, think the way I do... I question everything and these questions... they drive me mad at times...."

He also has no idea why he's spilling his thoughts like this. Perhaps it's just something about this Iroh fellow that seems so trustworthy.

[tea_bending]

Iroh blinked, but waited patiently through Shen's speech, taking a step back to avoid being clobbered by Shen's foot. After another moment's thought, he replied "I think it would be presumptuous of me to offer answers. I don't remember anything from before this morning. All I can say is that I'm sure there are answers to your questions somewhere, even if you can't see them yet. All it will take is time, effort, and patience."

[nomen_est_numen]

"You're right, of course, you're right...." He runs a wing over his crest. "I just need to... take a deep breath. Calm myself." He starts walking away. "Yes. That's it. Breathe...." he does so. "...and stay calm. I can do this, I can do anything I put my mind to..." the self-assurances fade into the distance as Shen walks away, a very distracted bird.

[tea_bending]

There is a bird that needs to learn to let go, thought Iroh, as he watched Shen go on his way.