Mosaic City, located along China's coast, is quite large city sometimes called the Crossroads Between Nations due to its diverse population. While it was once a large tourist spot, the city was placed under a blockade as the military appeared claiming there was a radiation leak. The true hazard, however, is much more sinister.
The shrine was a holding a special event today. She was eager to see her knight there. And no, she hadn't asked him on a date yet. Never had she asked any boy on dates before due to being raised in a closed-off household and coupled with the fact that they wouldn't dare approach her because of her high stature. Her knight looked past that and just cared about being with her in general. Dressed in a silken dark purple coat along with a white cravat and black gloves, she had decided not to wear her diadem for the occasion, mostly just to be herself without the trappings of regality in itself. Her dark red hair was well-kept with pressed curls and waves in between which was rarely seen until now. She wondered what his clothing for the festival would be like. Probably a tuxedo or just his normal street clothes if he decided not to be formal. The cherry blossoms were quite beautiful at this time of evening with some raining down as if it were snow on a winter's day.
Scarce few were the members of the Yuan family that found themselves opposed to getting their hands dirty with good, honest labor, as it seemed to be one of the few things that had been bred into each and every generation. Zhou, well...Zhou was no exception to this rule on this, the most romantic day of the year. Sweat beads dripped down from his brow to the cold, unyielding earth, frozen by the harsh winter that the city had been experiencing, his messy hair laid flat for once in his lifetime, and yet he refused to relinquish his smile whilst tearing into the soil with an old, rusted shovel. How many hours had passed since he first started this whole chore? How much sweat and exertion had he put into the budding garden he was now construction? Since the break of dawn he had forced his body to drag the fertilizer, the seeds, and now the finishing touches were being done as the fertile earth was being forced atop the twin rows that he planned on planting the most beautiful flowers upon. A labor of love for his family, and a welcome change from routine...he did seem to be taking the lessons learned from Holly to mind, breaking his mold to do something oh so very special for his parents. Plain brown sacks laid upon the freshly tilled soil, the black lettering that had been printed upon the burlap had long since faded, but the extra effort was worth every bit. His parents did deserve the best, and this little garden was a wonderful Valentine's day present for them...though they didn't always get along, they were family, they deserved it.
Long before the light did peak above the skyline of the city, had he discarded his coat in spite of the cold weather, a bit of a cold would be his repayment for his hard work, but it was worth it, looking back on it. Whilst Zhou was certainly no athlete, there were just some things he had to do himself. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, the fair haired Chinese native made his way back into the humble abode that he called home. Opening the back door, he was greeted with the scent of cleaning supplies and a hastily written note in cantonese...all of his handy work would not be viewed today, sadly. A pity. Truly. Zhou had worked hard to make things just right for his parents, but it would seem as if he had all the time in the world today to himself. Heading up towards his room, up the flights of carpeted stairs, he pushed open the wooden door to see that the room was just as he left it, with various notes written in indecipherable shorthand sitting directly opposite of his laptop, his bed neatly made, just as it was every morning. With the bright sun beaming in between the blinds, he could not help but smirk out of a sense of pride...the day had been absolutely perfect in almost every single way. Holly did most certainly have an impact upon him by teaching him to break routine, and Isolde had taught him of the importance of his manners...now, he had an appointment to keep by looks of one of the notes. The whole song and dance was so very routine, so mechanical, as he went about the house doing his various chores, showering, clothing himself...the meeting wasn't to take place until evening, after all.
Most of his day soon turned into a monotonous blur of preparing meals for himself, studying over notes for class and future ventures out into the ruins of the city, followed only by him sitting on the sofa. Passing the time alone was always a chore which Zhou was most hesitant to accept...being alone had always been one of the few things he could not bear. Living with parents such as his, one would think that he would grow used to the loneliness, to the gaping void that was the lack of emotion brought on by the sheer tedium of time spent without any sort of recreational activities. Sadly, this was not the case, as he simply found himself counting the minutes, the seconds, the hours, until his rendezvous with the princess whom had so cast an interesting light onto his otherwise boring, stressful existence...all to the rhythm of the grandfather clock not far from the left end of the sofa. Ticking away like the beating of a relaxed heart, the clock did little to relieve Zhou of the loneliness he felt at that moment...his head was propped up upon one side of the sofa, by his hand, as he had dressed himself in his coat and some fairly new clothes. With the chime of the sixth hour, the messy haired boy sprung to life once more, shouldering a prepared backpack for his outing to the shrine...oh, if only his parents had an idea that he was about to visit a Shinto shrine of all places, the yelling wouldn't be over until someone had lost their voice. As a by-product of countless Japanese immigrants settling in Mosaic City, shrines such as the one where the Valentine's Day festival was being held this year, popped up all throughout certain rural bits of the city...a fact that enraged Zhou's xenophobic parent's to no end.
Setting off from his house to begin the long trek to the shrine, Zhou had no trouble navigating the streets, even as it grew so very dark and cold. Surely he would've made for a grand target by any delinquent at this hour, given his looks, the gear he could be keeping in the bookbag that he had slung over his shoulder, but the city was calm tonight, for the oddest of reasons. Heading northward, Zhou found himself on the dirt path up to Keystone after much in the way of walking, and no small degree of frostbite...the shrine had always been intriguing, to say the least, as it was the one place Zhou could remember being barred from entirely other than Mimoza in his younger days, but...here he was. At the base of a mountain, about to walk to a festival of a culture that he had been told was utterly evil throughout the entirety of his life. With a deep breath and a smile upon his face, something seemed to change from his earlier demeanor, perhaps in preparation for the meeting with the lady fair...after all, what fairy tale was complete without a few boundaries being broken? Without delay his eyes were treated to the beauty of the various cherry blossoms floating through the winter breeze, and after a few steps up some old stone bits...he found himself in the midst of the festival proper. All about him were the trappings of Japanese culture, as groups of people wandered about, played games, forming a continuous hum of speech, activity, the sort of thing that Zhou lived for. The appointment he had made with the princess had to be upheld, for after all, he was her knight in "shining armor" so she had said, but the issue then arose...he had no clue how to find her amidst the chaos of the crowd. Having made the appointment with her during one of their lunch outings, it wouldn't have been wise of him to miss her entirely. Working his way through the crowds, past a few stands with the money he had saved up from his paid internship, he eventually found his way to one of the more well lit tent-like structures, with many folding chairs and tables set up inside of it...sitting down at one, he merely watched the people outside with curiosity lighting up his eyes. A smile was brought to his face as he saw the happy couples going hither and thither, as he knew the princess would find him...she had an unheard of talent of finding him, even in the largest of crowds...he was almost envious of it.
For the few moments that he was left alone to his own devices within the little relaxation tent, Zhou simply kept his head held aloft by placing a hand beneath his own chin, and appeared to be deep in thought from the looks of it...that, or he was bored. There was always a certain joy he took from crowds of people, from seeing familiar faces go here and there through the crowds, though they didn't know him, he certainly knew them. The thought itself brought a smile to his face, and for a moment he shut his hazel eyes to experience the chatter he did so hold dear. Then, the soft voice that he attributed to royalty managed to pierce through the general fog of his thoughts...right on time, the princess was indeed punctual, he had to give her that. Her sixth sense, metaphorically speaking, always seemed to pick him up out of a crowd, and it made meeting her all that much easier...rarely did he have to search, she had a knack for picking him out. Looking over at the lovely red-haired princess, he beamed a grin, as he stood up, pulled the chair back for her to take a seat, and waited for her. Speaking during the brief period between that, his soft, gentle, yet playful voice was a bit louder to pierce through the chatter. "But of course, m'lady. After all, I would have no business at a romantic festival such as this if it were not for you." Moving to his own chair, he tried his hardest to keep from letting out a bit of a giggle...the whole day other than the lonely bits had been sublime, and here he was, having a conversation with the woman he had pledged his life to. Sometimes it still managed to make him question as to whether or not he was dreaming, after all, a princess? In China? Falling in love with not just any commoner, but someone like him? Now that was a hell of a story to tell. Closing his eyes whilst leaning down, he opened just his right to look at her, still sporting a joyous, but slightly mischievous grin...just like always, though that glint in his eye was of a strange nature. "Since I've not been able to contact you as often as of late, my dearest Empress, I thought I would relay to you how things are going. My parents left for the evening...perhaps the weekend itself, and I am alone at my house. Though I do suspect that they are privy to my little expeditions out of the house." With the uttering of that last bit, Zhou's smile seemed to slowly deteriorate, and he opened both of his eyes, he did seem genuinely worried as to what would happen should his parents discover where he had been.
"It's all right, my dearest. They don't have to know that you snuck out." she spoke with a reassuring smile as she took a seat next to him. His parents were gone for the evening which was good. At least now, they could enjoy some alone time together without the burden of his parent's expectations weighing down on him. The question still stands whether his parents will find out if he had been sneaking out just to see her. It was certain that his xenophobic parents would be enraged when they found out that he loved a woman that was not of his own ethnic background, but he didn't care what they would say. After all, he loved her and would stand by her side no matter what. Yes, that was his declaration from the moment he was knighted by her and pledged his fealty to the royal family. She could tell that he was a bit lonely after his parents left for the evening, so she'll keep him company at the festival. She asked, "So, what shall we do, my handsome knight?"
Last Edit: Feb 19, 2014 12:10:37 GMT -5 by Deleted
Isolde's assurances that his parents would most likely not learn of their outing did little in the way of wiping the look of genuine worry off of Zhou's face. One could practically sense the palpable dread that laid under the smile he now presented to mask the fear...but, he was never known to be the type to let a good time go to waste. With that same smile on his face, he lifted his head up a bit higher before speaking to her calmly, his tone masking any remaining bits of apparent worry that permeated his mood. "Well, m'lady, I've scarcely a clue as to how to proceed, seeing as I have never attended any sort of...well, I have never attended any fairs in my lifetime. The closest to it would be the new year's celebrations my family holds dear." Following his statement that he had not attended any celebrations such as this before, he seemed to take on a faint tone of nostalgic bliss when it came to the new year's ceremonies. One could tell that it had been quite some time since those days, and now, now Zhou was here, disobeying his parents to perhaps live that out again with the woman he had proclaimed his love for. Standing up from his chair after a short while, he pushed it into place, before extending his hand out to Isolde. Keystone was foreign soil, so far as his parents were concerned...it was only fitting that the two experience it together, as he spoke out to her. "I was personally thinking that mayhap we could find some games, look around...or...sweets." A glimmer once more appeared in his eyes, utterly genuine in it's intensity, as he apparently started contemplating the plethora of candy at his disposal.
Upon feeling the dainty hand of the princess in his own, her fingers entwined with his, Zhou beamed a delightful smile in the direction of his empress. At almost any given moment the two were together, he seemed to project an air of absolute blissful, childish happiness, and now was no exception to that rule, as he hastily moved with her out of the seating tent. All about them were the usual trappings of a Valentine's Day event, the commercialized trappings, that is...hearts, flowers, kissing lovers all about, all in the public eye. Through the crowds of various attendees, his hazel eyes scanned for the stalls selling the delicious, sugary treats that he so desired, the roar of the crowds attending the event muffling almost everything else...and then he found it. How bright those eyes of his grew the moment that he saw a woman selling sweets from behind a stall front. Moving up to the booth with Isolde in tow, he looked back at her in utter joy, speaking in a giddy, joyous voice that would normally be classified as hyperactive. "Ooh...Isolde, look! They...oh dear, they have chocolates, and-and...is that a cupcake?" He looked back and moved close up to the stall, pulling out a small sum of money to pay for whatever Isolde wanted...and of course for himself. With a fake smile, the woman behind the stall spoke to him in slightly faker pleasant tone, "Hi there, anything you like?" Putting a hand to the side of his own head, Zhou scanned the treats available, taking a minute or two to decide, before paying for a brightly colored cupcake, with a cherry atop it. Turning to Isolde, he smiled, closing his eyes whilst speaking, "What'll you have, m'lady?" His tone was playful enough, as he held the cupcake tightly to himself like a newborn child, holding what was left of his money even tighter. "After all, today is on me."
Zhou was quick to comply with Isolde's request for chocolate, laying down what little money he had left to buy her what looked to be a fist sized chocolate heart that was nearly at the center of the display, wrapped in colorful, festive tin foil. As it was lifted to the counter, Zhou took his change, alongside the foil wrapped heart, and presented it with a wide smile to the princess he apparently held so very dear. All about them, the crowds kept up their hectic pace, visiting stalls, some moving to spots beneath the cherry blossom trees, and others made their way in preparation for the fireworks display that would soon occur...but to the two of them, it must've seemed like it was only them. "Symbolism aside, madame, here you are. I just hope it's as sweet as you." For a moment he stopped himself, put a hand on the back of his head whilst balancing the cupcake on the other, and spoke, "Oh...I...I just said probably the cheesiest thing I've ever said in my entire life." He let out a nervous giggle, before moving that hand towards her's, gripping it gently as he began to lead her through the crowds. "I always love events like this...everyone's always so happy, they group together...it's been so long since I've attended anything like it." His smile remained, as he led her to a particular spot he had noticed, not far from the game stalls, a small clearing outside of one of the roped off areas, not far from the fireworks site. Sitting there on the ground, he looked up at the night sky, letting out a content sigh, before starting to eat the chocolate cupcake, with Isolde behind him. Starting with the cherry, of course, he placed it gently within his mouth, holding onto a bit of the stem, before biting it off, chewing, and letting out a low "yum". Not only was he out viewing the stars with her, like when they first confessed feelings for one another, but soon there'd be fireworks, games...and they had sweets. "I can't wait until this is all over, m'lady...when we can just leave, and be together."
Taking a bite into the rich chocolate muffin, the cream delightfully tantalizing his tastebuds, Zhou peered into the infinite wonders of the starry skies, at countless bright specks of light that he could never hope in all of his years on earth to ever count down, or contain. With another deep bite into the chocolate treat, he placed it carefully in one hand as he laid with his back to the blades of grass, staring up at the night's sky alongside Isolde. "Remember how I told you...that I always wished I could reach up and have a star of my own? Just...this bright little light to keep in a jar, to watch..." With a smile on his face, he extended his other hand towards the sky, at the stars which shone like diamonds upon black velvet, and closed his hand around the north star, the brightest one in sight. "Sorry...just rambling while I stare, m'lady, it's terribly rude of me." His voice was mellow, quiet, but very relaxed, as he slowly lowered his hand from it's upright position, laying it down beneath his head on the grass. "When I was younger...my parents always used to tell me the story of Zhu Rong, and how when he was battling his son, to stop him from seizing power in the heavens, how they fell to the earth in their battle, like a great comet. A bright light of fire streaking across the sky like a beautiful firework...Zhu Rong was the one left standing, having defeated his son, only to return to the heavens. They made up their own childish version to tell me, how Zhu Rong was one of those burning stars in the sky...though I didn't believe them, I always loved that story...he helped separate heaven and earth...established order." There was something about the way he spoke of the tale that made it seem so very nostalgic, in relation to his childhood, though it did not help that he soon after went for another bite, swallowing it before continuing. "I've read much in the way of western literature...but nothing spoke to me as much as that story, either due to the fact that it was just told to me as some folk story of my heritage, or because of how I thought of how grand it must've been, watching the two fall to earth. Zhu Rong...he was the god of fire. I loved that...the moment I saw that my persona used it, I was so happy." With a warm smile on his face, he shut his eyes, having finished off the cupcake. With both hands beneath his head, now that one was empty, he reopened them just to look over at Isolde. "Sorry, I must sound so foolish, going on about little moments like that...but...did you ever have anything like that?"
"Well, my parents used to tell me a story about a princess from a faraway land who could create snow. I suppose my Persona is a result of that. Sadly, my parents aren't around anymore, love." she responded with a sad smile. His story about a mythical warrior was quite interesting, though. He seemed to be enjoying his cupcake while they talked about his childhood memories which he cherished. She had her own where her parents would read to her stories from their generation and how the princess from a faraway land would use her powers for good just like how Persona-users used their powers in a way. She still vaguely remembered how her father would read to her about knights slaying dragons and getting the fair damsel as if he had met her mother that way. Well, not really. Her father had met her mother when she was a detective working at the police station. She wondered if there was a war going on while her parents were dating, but this detail she'll never know.
Zhou's attention almost immediately shifted from the skies to the princess whom sat next to him, whilst he laid on the grass...his smile broke for but a moment as he responded to her in his gentle voice, becoming a bit more on the concerned side. "I'm terribly sorry...it's not truly appropriate to bring up memories like that I suppose..." However, after a moment or two had passed, he followed up his sentence with something much more uplifting, followed by the return of his usual grin. "They would be proud of you, Isolde...for everything you're doing. Going into battle against an unknowable evil, knowing next to no fear, continuing on in the face of overwhelming odds...it's admirable." Turning his head back up to the skies, his attention was diverted by a beautiful display, as a red explosion from one of the fireworks lit up the night sky. Pulling himself off of the ground, he watched as the first firework was followed by a green flowering explosion that extended throughout the sky. "It's so pretty..." In contrast to his usual use of polite conversation, he regressed for the very moment he remarked on the fireworks...they were indeed a sight to behold, as he moved his hand, still having his eyes skywards, to grasp her's. "M'lady...no...no...Isolde..." Assuming it would gain her attention, he turned quickly, and kissed her passionately upon her lips. Spontaneous as it was, the boy seemed so very eager to display his affection towards the young princess. Perhaps it was simply the fact that he was free for the night, or perhaps it was that he was simply so very eager to proclaim his love to her...but there he was, moving one hand behind her back whilst holding her in a passionate embrace, kissing her under the stars. Only after one of the larger explosions did he release her from her grasp, his eyes meeting with hers as he giggled ever so quietly..."I'm sorry...I had to. Perfect moment and all..."
Despite the look of concern on his face, from his mannerisms, his speech, it was quite obvious to most observers that Zhou did indeed seem a bit concerned on having brought up the issue of Isolde's parents...after all, it had to be difficult, growing up without those figures in one's life. Whilst his parents were nationalists to the core, he at least had them. The next logical step in judgement was to assume that he was trying to ease her mind, take it off of the subject, as he spoke to her with a smile. "I have to be quite honest with you, my future empress...I can barely wait until this is over...when we can just both leave this place behind." Moving a hand atop of one of hers, he spoke once more, refusing to break eye contact with her. "Just to see you in your element, with all the regal trappings...it'll be so very beautiful, I think. About the only thing that concerns me is our newly acquired abilities." Naturally he was speaking of personas, out of some sort of concern that their spectral servants would merely be left behind...the mechanics were still so very hazy to him, and yet, the princess was always so very full of knowledge. Slowly, he rose from the ground and extended a hand down to her to help her up. It was time that they simply enjoyed themselves...his questions were innumerable, yet there would be time for them much farther down the line. "Come, m'lady...we did not come all the way up the mountain to just talk about the barbarians at the gates. Let us forget the siege for a moment...let them eat cake."
Upon feeling the gloved hand of his empress within his own, Zhou's typical smile softened somewhat, his tone more gentle than usual, as he spoke unto her. "Though I know utmost and foremost that I am to maintain a gentlemanly air...you make it so difficult sometimes. I find myself more often than not simply enraptured by your very presence...for that I am sorry. With civility and grace, you always appear when I need you, or long for your presence. It's difficult for me to ascertain as to whether or not you are part of some fevered dream from which I do not wish to wake up from...or if this is really happening. If so, I consider myself the most fortunate man on earth." Though not planned out beforehand, the young knight seemed to be baring a bit of the emotions he had harbored for Isolde for quite some time, releasing what he believed need to be said. "I will gladly live, and die, in your service...so long as I can feel your hand in mine." With that, he shut his eyes, letting out a light chuckle before opening them again, making eye contact with her much as they did the first time. "Come now...let's try to have some fun, while we're still able." Leading her back over to the fairgrounds, his eyes flitted from place to place, at the various stalls that laid to their left and right, looking for games, something to talk about...something to spice things up even further. With that ever present grin upon his face, he found himself wandering close to what he thought was a more western themed game...indeed, he had only seen it depicted in photographs about the western world. The game was simple, a gun was held in place by a metal fastening, aimed directly at a few paper targets...from the looks of it, it used actual gunpowder, though it seemed to be a fairly low caliber weapon. Glancing at the multitude of prizes, his eyes seemed to light up upon seeing one thing in particular, a strange prize, it was. A small bronze statuette of a tiger laid on one of the racks, with a little taped on note in Japanese stating that it was a fifty point prize. Digging into his pockets, Zhou apparently found that he had no money with which to give the game a try, and instead spoke over to Isolde. "Ah...a shame. There has to be something we can do around here, m'lady. We just have to find it."
Zhou's face lit up with glee at the mere chance to own the tiger, now that Isolde had offered to pay. His own monetary supplies had ran out with the mere purchase of the sweets earlier, so it would seem, so...now there was the simple matter of winning the sculpture for himself. To thank her, he hugged her tightly to himself whilst letting out a bit of a chuckle, looking at her once he broke the embrace. "It will be money well spent, I assure you..." Standing at the stall, he slipped the ten dollar bill to the relatively plain man operating the stand, whom in exchange gave him change to give back to Isolde...along with a few small bullets to load into the tiny .22 caliber rifle. Looking over his shoulder, he moved his hand to give Isolde her change, clutching the bolted down rifle firmly in his hands...something kicked in then, so it would seem, as he began to look over the rifle proper, and then he looked at the paper targets. China had explicitly stated laws on firearms...highly unusual that such a game was allowed to be played. Despite the possibly illicit connections, his eyes scanned over both the rifle and target for quite some time before leaning in close to the gun. Oddly enough, he pulled the rifle upwards, to the left, down the range...the stall was elongated to ensure that it would be no easy task, the coloring of the sides...all of it factored in when the little twenty two fired, resounding throughout the tent as the lead tore through the paper target, oddly enough, with a little dragon designed on it. There was a bit of shock on the face of the employee when that bullet hit, followed by subsequent shots that struck a star painted on the dragon's head. Five clean shots into the target, over and over, slowly tearing away the paper until it fell to the ground. Scratching the back of his head, the man nervously looked over towards the prize rack.
"The tiger statuette please." Zhou said in a happy voice, courteous as usual. With a sigh, the employee obliged, grabbing the tiger off of the counter and placing it down next to him. Looking over the tiger statue with care, Zhou nodded, and gripped Isolde's hand, leading her away whilst his grin took on a somewhat different nature..."You're never supposed to make the second shot. It's rigged." He said while guiding her over towards one of the other corners of the fair. "Much like some of the ones in America, the coloring of the range is designed to give things less of a sense of depth. There is always a device to catch the bullets once they head through the target, so you have to gauge your distance using that. Couple that with the fact that the cartridges are hand-loaded, the rifle is mounted to the stall...you are not supposed to adjust your trajectory, as a .22 caliber bullet could usually handle that distance without dropping. The casings were light, so he emptied out some of the gunpowder for each round. Just enough to propel it so that you may get one shot on target. From the weight of a few of the cartridges, he adds one normal bullet to every one out of three games. Gives it the illusion of working. Your eyes are fooled, you're not allowed to fully adjust the gun, the cartridges are more akin to a low caliber pistol...it's all about perception. It's funny..." Zhou closed his eyes while guiding her, moving towards another stall wherein one would use paper hooks to dig out prizes, speaking one last bit back to Isolde. "Never fired a gun before in my life. Fun, really, if a bit mechanical."
To say that the statue was a beauty was to do a disservice to the excellent craftsmanship that had apparently been put into the piece. Upon further inspection, it was indeed bronze, coated with a thin layer of patina to further put evidence to it's age...the fact that the man operating the stall expected nobody to ever grab it up was evidence enough of it's worth. On the other hand, Zhou did not seem eager to part with it, holding it in one hand whilst guiding the princess here and there throughout the carnival in search of things to play...it was a festival of love after all. Making his way with the princess in tow towards the station wherein one would fish out prizes with paper hooks, he seemed almost perplexed, his smile stayed, but he observed most carefully how the game was played, eventually speaking out to Isolde after a few observations. "This seems...distinctly Japanese." The whole game was alien to him, but it seemed to be about the only other thing that captured interest, before he spoke to her once more "I do hate how I cannot think of anything to do when I am completely surrounded by activities."
As the princess stood at his side contemplating what their next step should be due to the decidedly foreign nature of many of the games, the would-be knight put a hand beneath his own chin whilst apparently losing himself in thought for a moment. Looking about the fair whilst maintaining this little pose, he gripped the hand of the princess in the other, leading her suddenly towards a few booths that were located to their far left...all about the sides of the stall were various masks of Japanese folk figures, to the side? A rather western, (by comparison at the very least) game wherein one would throw hoops onto empty sake bottles for more of the little toys kept in the stall. The similarities between a few western sources were baffling, however, Zhou didn't seem to mind as his smile slowly returned...the masks on the stall were quite exquisite for being fairground masks, that much was certain. Hannya masks, horned oni masks, kitsune masks, and some looking downright silly, fashioned in the shapes of normal people with exaggerated features. Moving towards the stall, Zhou's eyes were drawn almost instinctively towards the fox masks. All of the masks were remarkably well made, some being made of clay, others of paper mache, the one he looked at specifically was the former, and possessed no remarkable qualities. Merely white, black, with a few splotches of red under the eye-holes, and in the ears, it was utterly plain, but bore quite the smile on it. Four whiskers jutted out above the mouth, merely painted on. To most it would simply appear remarkably silly, to Zhou, it was positively mesmerizing.
The elderly woman operating the stall seemed to take notice of this as she spoke out to Zhou in Japanese. "Do you like that one, young man...? I molded them out of clay myself." With his smile still on his face, Zhou let out a little chuckle before speaking back in Japanese himself. "It's quite beautiful. You don't see this sort of craftsmanship often these days." After a bit of laughter, the old woman responded in kind, "Flattery isn't necessary, child, but I thank you for appreciating it despite the little defects...these old hands aren't what they used to be. I'll tell you what...you can have that mask for free, if you buy your lady friend one, alright?" Turning his head over to Isolde, Zhou spoke in his gentle, calm, English voice. "She says that if you were to get a mask, she would gift the other to me." His eyes lit up at the prospect of owning the mask, but he also seemed to be concerned about something else, which he immediately addressed. "I promise you darling, I'll pay you back. I really am sorry..."