(no subject)

[blackdestroyer.insanejournal.com]

Characters: Kali, Bres
Date/Time: Wednesday morning, September 5th, 2012
Location: CHINA!
Rating: ...all things considered? I'll put down PG-13 as a starting point.
Warnings: Definitely language with Kali's salty mouth.
Summary: Kali is seeking her artifact, with some help from Bres as a translator.

The plane ride into China had been pretty uneventful. Aside from Kali pursing her lips in annoyance at the announcements delivered in Chinese. She looked to Bres as they disembarked.

"...Y'all know what the hell you're doing for this sort of thing, right?" she asked him.

Comments

[kingoftwoworlds.insanejournal.com]

He raised an eyebrow.

"That's a very broad question, Miss Talbot. Do you mean speaking the right dialect. getting us where you need to go, or knowing what it is you need to find?"

[blackdestroyer.insanejournal.com]

"Yes to all of the above, shug," she said, "You seen these things we're supposed to be finding?"

[kingoftwoworlds.insanejournal.com]

Well we'll be heading to Xian, then east from there to where the army's buried. I speak Han Chinese and understand a few dialects well enough." He looks over at her. "I've seen two. Aside from a couple minor differences, they look the same. I'll know it when I see it, though I suspect you will too."

[blackdestroyer.insanejournal.com]

"Let's not waste time. What's the fastest way there?" she asked.

[kingoftwoworlds.insanejournal.com]

"I've got a route mapped out. So long as we don't make any detours, it shouldn't take us too long."

[blackdestroyer.insanejournal.com]

"So, we drive there or what, babycakes?"

[kingoftwoworlds.insanejournal.com]

"To a point, after that we walk," he answered.

[blackdestroyer.insanejournal.com]

"Walking I can deal with. Let's get a car and get going," she said, "Don't wanna be here any more than necessary."

[kingoftwoworlds.insanejournal.com]

"It's a beautiful country, granted the last time I was here at length I was raiding it," Bres mused.

[blackdestroyer.insanejournal.com]

"Raiding it for what?" she asked.

[kingoftwoworlds.insanejournal.com]

"Oh the usual things a barbarian horde pursued: food, horses, wine, women. I was never one for the raping aspect of raping and pillaging, but pillaging was always fun." He realized she'd probably want clarification. "I was a Mongolian warlord in one of my past lives."

[blackdestroyer.insanejournal.com]

"Sound like y'all had a lot of fun," she said with a shrug. "So. You drive. I ain't so good with direction I ain't got a fuck what they're saying."

[kingoftwoworlds.insanejournal.com]

"It had its moments," Bres agreed. He hands her a translation book. "I've marked down a few things in there you may want to know, just in case."

[blackdestroyer.insanejournal.com]

Kali glanced at the highlighted items.
"Handy. Good thing you came, shug."

[kingoftwoworlds.insanejournal.com]

"If you're going to do something, do it thoroughly," Bres replied. "That's what my father always told me. Looks like we're landing. There should be a car waiting for us."

[blackdestroyer.insanejournal.com]

"Good. About fucking time," Kali said, "I just wanna get in, get this shit and get back out."

[kingoftwoworlds.insanejournal.com]

"Keep your pants on, Miss Talbot. You'll be in and out before you know it. Might as well take some time to enjoy the scenery."

[blackdestroyer.insanejournal.com]

"It's fucking China. I ain't here for sight-seeing," Kali said impatiently.

[kingoftwoworlds.insanejournal.com]

"Okay, okay," he placated as the plane landed and people started to stand up. "Stick with me and we'll get this done fast."

[blackdestroyer.insanejournal.com]

"Better. Let's go," she said.

[kingoftwoworlds.insanejournal.com]

After some negotiating and driving later, the two are brought to the site where the Terra Cotta Army was buried.

"This is it. Time to go on foot."

[blackdestroyer.insanejournal.com]

"Walking I can do," she said, and then frowned slightly. "Huh. Must be having problems from the flight. Feels like my damn ears are ringing."

[kingoftwoworlds.insanejournal.com]

"You're not hearing things. That means you're close to your artifact," Bres informed.

[blackdestroyer.insanejournal.com]

"That's comforting," she muttered. "You hear it too?"

[kingoftwoworlds.insanejournal.com]

"Not the same way you, probably because it's not mine, but yeah, I hear it," Bres replied.

[blackdestroyer.insanejournal.com]

Kali's fingers drummed absently against her leg in time to the music in their ears.
"So what is this fucking thing, anyway? What the hell am I looking for?"

[kingoftwoworlds.insanejournal.com]

"Not sure if it's the same shape for everybody, but it'll probably be some kind of ceramic looking..piece of something," Bres tried to explain. "I can guarantee you'll know it when you see it."

[blackdestroyer.insanejournal.com]

"Uh-huh." Kali seemed less than impressed with this advice, but eventually she stopped, kicking at something half-buried in the dirt. "This it?" she asked aloud.

[kingoftwoworlds.insanejournal.com]

"That depends. Is the noise getting annoyingly louder?"

[blackdestroyer.insanejournal.com]

Kali cocked her head.
"Yeah, kinda." She kicked at the object. "Don't look like much."

[kingoftwoworlds.insanejournal.com]

"Neither did the other two I've seen, but for some reason it's important."

[blackdestroyer.insanejournal.com]

"Huh." Kali reached down, clawed away a little of the dirt, and yanked it out. "That's it? Nothing else?"

[kingoftwoworlds.insanejournal.com]

"It's admittingly anti-climatic," he informs.

[blackdestroyer.insanejournal.com]

"Shit. Came all the way to fucking China for a piece of fucking pottery. What the fuck am I supposed to do with this shit?" she asked.

[kingoftwoworlds.insanejournal.com]

"For now just hang on to it. None of us know what they're supposed to, but it's supposed to be down the line. I emphasize with your frustration."

[blackdestroyer.insanejournal.com]

"Fuck it," she sighed, "We got what we came for." She shrugged. "So, now that's done, guess we got a couple days to... see China."

[kingoftwoworlds.insanejournal.com]

"You don't have to. I could probably pull some strings to fly back to the states," Bres offered.

[blackdestroyer.insanejournal.com]

"Well, ain't you sweet, shug?" she teased. "Is there much in China worth seeing?"

[kingoftwoworlds.insanejournal.com]

"it's a millenia-old country, Miss Talbot. I'm sure I could find some things that would catch your interest," he offered, teasing back good-naturedly.

[blackdestroyer.insanejournal.com]

"Yeah? Like what?" she asked, half-challenging.

[kingoftwoworlds.insanejournal.com]

"Well there isn't American boxing, but the Chinese have a lot of ways of beating the hell out of each other if you'd like to see."

[blackdestroyer.insanejournal.com]

"Fuck yeah. Maybe there's something I can use if they ever let me back in the ring," she agreed.

[kingoftwoworlds.insanejournal.com]

"Then let's head back to the car. I think there's a tournament going on not too far from here," Bres suggested.

[blackdestroyer.insanejournal.com]

"That's fucking awesome. Lead the way, shug," she said, following him back to the car.