The Adventures of WanWan and KoroKoro (Slight and Rye)

[SlightPhobia]

"Nn..." He mumbled quietly. Usually if adults told him to forget something, it was a bad sort of word. So, honor must have been one of /those/ words. His lips became a prim line as he mentioned his duties as a healer. Guilt, frustration, and shame were all written upon his face. It almost looked as though perhaps someone had died as the result of his aforementioned uselessness. For the benefit of the demon's preference, the boy remained silent about it though. It wasn't a subject he wanted to talk to... he was a closed book in the face of his past. It wasn't a very kind one. Whose was in feudal Japan though?

Dead?! "EH?" He squeaked, looking around him wildly. Any minute the zombie corpses would rise, right? The minute he offered him to come in, the child burst through the door, practically tripping over the threshold. The door was closed a second later, where he lingered a moment to catch his breath. He didn't voice his fear for the time being, it wasn't really something he was proud of. As the dog proceeded to the rear rooms with a kettle, Shiro hedged by the fire pit and nudged some of the wood. The mention of the berries making him sick forced the boy to lift his brows. "nn... I was sick earlier... Maybe that's why... Why do bushes make bad fruit..." he whined, tossing the berries out the front door-- probably where some poor sod would step on them and stain their feet... or who knows what else.

Dusting his hands off, he had nearly made it back to the fireplace when the dog mentioned his clothes and /smell./ His face burned scarlet; it practically lit up the room. "That's not... I didn't...." He stammered. Somehow he didn't feel very safe about blatantly lying about it. Seating himself beside the fire, his jaw quivered momentarily before a few stray tears finally rolled down his cheeks. So much for a brave front. Smearing them off his face, he turned away from the dog as though to hide the deed. "...D-do what you want to do... I'll...hgh... rice... ngh..." Sentences were good- particularly when they were complete sentences. "...sorry..." Whether he was apologizing about crying or about smelling odd, it was unclear.

Outside of being odd, the boy's behavior was somewhat... infantile. It took him a while to stop scrubbing at his face with his sleeves. Once he had, he scootched down by the fire pit and began pawing through the lumps of wood to see if he could make it into a better arrangement. This really only resulted in him getting much soot on his hands... and face... Once he'd fussed with the logs a while, he screwed up his face and stared at the wood. "...What makes the fire? There isn't any lighters... and there's not a current of butane or natural gas..." Frowning for a moment, he glared the wood down and extended his hand cast a bit of fire magic. The hot, golden glow was potentially useful as an attack, but for the time being, it worked well enough to start a log or two on fire. It would be a miracle if he didn't... set himself (and the house) on fire.

[Rye]

"Yes , why? Dealing with them when they were alive would be a hassle. Besides, no one would have come in here, a lot of bad luck associated with death." he said , death was a fact , it just happened , he didn't see why he was so distressed. He sighed "that was most likely the reason" he said , could this boy take care of himself at all. Sesshomaru watched as he fed the fire "good" he said , feeling he needed some sort of acknowledgement. He sighed when he broke down into sobs and tears "I bet you're cold and upset , I'll help you get cleared up if you make the rice" he said calmly "just take some dried rice , two cups should be enough , and put 9t in some boiling water and let it boil on the fire." he said , hoping he could follow simple orders.

"Your clothes need cleaning." he said as he took another boiled kettle though , finally filling the bath. "Stay here. I'll be out later" he said heading into the bathroom. He spared no time in getting undressed and washed. He wasn't one for taking a long time to relax in a bath so quickly got out and dried , slipping on his clothes , leaving most of the larger clothes off him. He came back out and sat himself down by the fire on the mat "go get washed , leave your clothes by the door and I'll get them clean for you" he stated, not even looking up , just gazing into the fire blankly , although he was probably thinking about something. "Put down the flames and the fire. I'd rather like to keep the house and given it;s made of fire it'll go up in no time with you laying with fire like that boy" he said , now seeing he wasn't just a dumb human , just a dumb demon maybe, many things had that sort of power, it wasn't uncommon among the lesser demons.

[SlightPhobia]

Shiro fidgeted a moment as the dog lord so casually mentioned death and the dead. Death terrified Shiro. As he believed it, death didn't consist of an afterlife for him-- it simply consisted of becoming nothing. Experiments could be cataclysmic... Still, the dog lord had asked why he asked about the dead. "...Mnn," He grunted, shaking his head at least indicating that he didn't want to discuss corpses and spirits. He dealt with those enough.

His crying made the dog uncomfortable-- at least, that's how he viewed it. Pawing frantically at his eyes to try to convince his body to stop, he clenched just about everything and sucked in a breath to calm himself. Upset. Cold. The dog was far more perceptive than he'd originally given him credit for. Quivering once more, he gave the man a very pleading sort of look as though to scream that he indeed was cold, miserable, and tired. Scootching his feet out from beneath the long hem of his filthy hakama, he unveiled his tiny feet. "...My feet hurt from walking in the snow..." Matter of fact, they looked a little freezer burnt. They weren't cracked or bleeding, but they were red and sore. It was a miracle that the boy had showed the dog at all. He detested all things medical. Shots? Forget it! Medicine? No way! Convincing the boy to submit to any kind of examination was... difficult at best.

As Sesshomaru proceeded toward the bath, Shiro lifted his brows. "--Where are you going, Sesshomaru-sama?!" He asked, as though convinced the man would leave at any moment. Why should he have cared? The man had taken him to a house with fire and food.... Surely he could have stayed contently by himself. Children were so odd and needy that way. Even Rin had refused to stay on her own for the longest time. Perhaps he had suffered similar terrors to the girl from the demon's past. Whining, he heard the rustle of water and at least deduced the man had taken to the bath. Left with the command to make rice, he did as he was told, dumping two cups of rice into the pot which hung over the fire. He probably should have put the water in first, for the flame had already heated the kettle and forced the rice kernels to pop and jump. This, of course, made the coward screech once before he figured out the rice wasn't haunted. The water sizzled in the pan before it came to a rolling boil. For a long while, he simply watched it before the dog returned with his Kimono and perhaps Hakama. "Eh? --Should you leave your armor off? Don't you think... it'd be scary without it... I mean... the things that can hide in old villages... Youma... Ikeryo... lost souls... zombies..." Shuddering, he hedged a little closer to the dog. He'd gone and scared himself again.

He had little time to worry about the aforementioned youma. Instead, Sesshomaru insisted he go wash himself. "...I don't have any other clothes," He mewed quietly in response to the command to abandon his clothes. OBVIOUSLY the dog knew that! Apparently the boy had not like to be naked. The boy sighed and resigned himself for the time being. Standing, he walked in a paranoid, sulky fashion toward the bathroom. It was as though he expected to see dead creatures at every turn. Slipping into the bathroom the sounds of undressing seemed to be absent as he... unceremoniously slipped into the bath with all of his clothes on. Yes! Clothes and Shiro washed all at once, right? The only trouble was... wet kids were cold kids. Cold kids were unhappy kids and once he'd dipped his head under the water a solitary time, he slogged out of the bath... likely dripping water /everywhere/ from his clothes. "Ehn..." He whined. Water was nice but... in the winter it was a damned hazard! Shrugging out of his many layers, he abandoned all but his white inner robe, which clung to him in an awkward, wet fashion. He wore no undergarments... He either did no possess them... or they had been discarded for obvious reasons. Padding back out to the fire, his hair left much water in its wake, dripping and pooling water. He had... a great deal of hair. "Now it's ... cold and wet..." he whimpered, staring at the dog for a while. .

[Rye]

"Fair enough" he replied dismissively to his grunt , it was so human to dream of what happened after death. Most Yokai and supernatural beings tended to just go with the flow , and worry about that after. He looked down at his feet "no shoes? You can loose toes like that" he said with a sigh , the boy would have such concerns and worries. Lucky for him very little medicine existed here , most it was really just mashed up plants and animal parts. He wasn't going that far for him anyway. It was best to get him into the bath , he would warm up

"I will get these clothes washed and dried. I'll look out some other clothes you can wear in the mean time." he said , stirring he rice a little before getting up to continue the jobs he had said he was going to do. "if you need help washing yourself , I will help , since no one else can right now" he said , he knew small children needed help with everything , it was rather irritating really. He normally wouldn't have addressed his ludicrous comment about taking his armour off but it seemed everything had to be explained to him "armour doesn't matter if they can;t hit you. Besides , who dare would lift a hand against me." he said rhetorically. He went and picked out some small children's clothes , possibly from a deceased child that lived here , well they weren't using them. He brought them through to give them to him and take his old ones. He entered and saw that he still had his clothes and it looked like he wore them into the bath "no no , this will not do" he said gripping his shoulder tightly and pushing him back to the bathroom , putting the dry clothes down by the door.

He spared no time in practically tearing the clothes off him , caring not for his pride of humility , it didn't matter to him wither he was embarrassed or self concious , it was in the way of his primary goal so it had to be done with force. Once he was starkly naked he picked him up and dropped him in the tub again "now get washed properly" he said picking up the drenched clothes and taking them away with him as he took them to be washed. Shiro was annoying , but if he had put up with him for the night it would be on his terms.

[SlightPhobia]

Shiro, at that point, had envisioned himself as petting the ornate sash he'd been smacked for touching before. His nightly plans did not include returning to the decidedly tepid bath water. It was hot for Sesshomaru, no doubt. It had been warm for him the first time... but now? Now it was probably tepid, though not frigid.

The princely dog asked about his shoes and once he did, Shiro glanced down to his feet and wiggled his toes. "Mnn... I used to have them... but I can't remember where I left them," he explained. How... typical of a child. "Maybe someone else is using them..." he sighed. Well, he at least hoped they were just rotting on their own. "...But now that I think of it, I kind of miss my shoes... The snow makes my feet hurt pretty bad..." He confessed. They were still red and irritated from the frost bite he'd received. Oddly enough, he was of a species that could regrow missing limbs. It was nice to be on the border of plant and animal. --Not that he *wanted* to lose any limbs or appendages.

Shiro lifted his brows and looked at his discarded clothes. "...I can put them in the bath if you want," he offered. It just didn't seem quite right for someone that nicely dressed to do washing. Pity he obviously knew nothing about washing clothes too. Soaking things in water was generally not enough to clean them. His statement probably offered a justification as to why he'd hopped into te bath fully clothed. Perhaps he believed he'd been cleaning his robes as well. Shiro cringed at the rhetorical question. Who would attack him? He could think of a few things, but then again... he had failed to grasp how powerful Sesshomaru was. "...I think bad things like to attack pretty things so... maybe...." Maybe he should be careful was his full thought. With the hope of not offending the man's pride, he shut his yap.

Sesshomaru did not approve of his odd wash job and once he scolded him with a mild 'no-no', the boy cringed again and took a step back from the dog demon. With his shoulder gripped, he yelped and winced, waiting to be backhanded into next Tuesday. Rough handling was sort of something he was used to; something he expected. Not all youkai were good to their kin. Once the dog began ripping his clothes away, the boy justifiably screamed and twisted awkwardly as though to struggle away. Being naked was not on his to do list-- though they were both men in possession of the same anatomy. Shiro was just... smaller and awkwardly thin. The boy had long limbs that didn't look that sturdy. Outside of being long in limb, he was otherwise underdeveloped in all other respects. He was short despite his proportions; short and small in every way.

SPLASH! The boy hardly had time to cringe or hide his nakedness. Instead, he met the tepid water with an unpleasant and floundering splash. It didn't take him long to curl himself up either. Cowering quietly, he was crying rather predictably. Cringing his knees up to his chest, he buried his face against his knees and placed his hands on top of his head as though to shield himself from any incoming blows. No such strikes came though, but it didn't force him to relax any in the water. "...I'm sorry-- I don't know what you want me to do!" he cried. Helpless was a good way to describe the boy... or maybe 'stupid' in darker terms.

[Rye]

Sesshomaru sighed as the boy struggled in the water. He slipped a clawed hand in and wished it back out , it was a little chilled now. Putting up with him was a trial and a half "there will be plenty of clothes here , like I said the previous owners don't need them. I'm sure there are some furs to wrap yourself up in and some shoes for when we leave." he said , leaving briflely to fill and boil more water before coming back and adding it to the bath. It was really no work for him , he didn't get to be lord of all the western lands by sitting about doing nothing. He added another few fettles worth to change the temperature fro tepid to warm , not comfortably warm but warm enough to take the chill off. "It's like you can't do anything yourself" he muttered as he gathered up the child's clothes and took them to the wash room and left them there for him to scrub at later, luckily there was a washboard but nothing to dry them on , there might have been outside but it was probably coated in snow right now , but he could just leave it by the fire and it would hopefully dry.

He came back into the bathroom and stared down at him with his calm unmoving eyes "Just sit there, it's already clear you can;t do much on your own so just sit there and I'll do it. You're more useless than my half brother. I didn't even know that was possible" he said , obviously not caring if he was insensitive or mean. He picked up a cloth and started to gently clean him, taking his arm and rubbing it across it. He wasn't rough at least but he got the job done , rinsing it out every now and a gain. His hair was the hardest , it had all manner of things trapped in it, he tugged at his hair a little as he washed it out, more or less using him as a posable doll , ordering him to old various limbs in place as he washed.

Once he was done washing every part him without a single word or coment he lifted him out , onto the matt and drained the bathwater "there , that's how you get clean" he sighed , giving him a towel "right , now dry yourself off and get dressed in thoes clothes" he said pointing to the pile "and then get seated by the fire and make sure the rice doesn't burn while I get your clothes washed" he said , finally leaving him , wet and naked and soon to be cold.

[SlightPhobia]

The boy might have remained shuddered at the back of the tub in his semi fetal position had Sesshomaru not spoken to him. Roughly holding him under water would have produced feeble results. Shiro was not only a coward, but his will to live was fueled only by instinctual self-preservation programming; DNA, if you will. The boy let loose a fearful breath as though to cope with a blow he expected. Instead, all that came was the dog demon's voice. Slowly, he relaxed, soaking in the words. When 'we' leave tomorrow. We. The boy's eyes flooded with grateful tears as he gawked up at the demon in a sickening fashion. "...You'll let me go with you?" Not that consent mattered to Shiro. He would have followed at a distance anyhow simply to protect himself. Sesshomaru was pretty. Sesshomaru dressed nicely. Sesshomaru smelled good. These were all reasons for the half-wit to follow. Consent was just icing on the fluffy cake.

Sesshomaru continued in what the boy deemed unnecessary kindness. He went as far as to offer furs. Even if they belonged to dead people, he bowed his head and cringed. "...It's alright... I haven't... done anything of merit to warrant those kinds of things. I won't reject your kindness but... I can't accept it either," he mewed quietly. Still, his words were spoken in subservient dialect. Fortunately, his figurative tail tucking didn't last forever. A boy who did nothing but cower and cry was a very dull, irritating boy. He had other, wonderfully irritating qualities! Sesshomaru disappeared from the bath and as he did, the boy shifted to the edge of the tub toward the direction in which Sesshomaru left. "...Sesshomaru-sama?" He called. Even if the man had explained where he was going, it didn't mean Shiro wanted to be alone.

Sure enough, he did return and as he gazed the boy, Shiro fixed his eyes somewhere close to the man's feet. The blood inside of him was somewhere between plant and animal. He was at the very bottom of the food chain. Locking eyes with a predator seemed flat-out stupid. "Until I came here.... I have been indoors... my whole life," he confessed. No wonder he didn't know how to do anything-- no wonder he was so abysmally pale and sickly. "...There was only one room before this... unless I had to come out to the main room to show Mistress where the harlequin were... I wasn't very good at that though... so I stayed inside... I think..." Child abuse was a common story in the feudal era. It was possible, from the sound of things, that he had stayed in a prison like cell.

The boy's skin was unusual. It was soft and velvety like the virgin petals of a fresh bloom. It had no distinct pores-- it had no unsightly oil on it. Literally, it had only whatever dirt he had encountered. Likewise, there was no scent of body odor about him. His urine? It wasn't really urine at all. It was an unfortunate plant byproduct. Harmless to humans, it was mostly water. If anything, it had a sweet smell that was off. What made him stink was the decidedly human things he'd come into contact with. Moreover, his excrement could rot and rash him just as human urine would irritate human skin. He had bruises. He had cuts... but he was mostly a storehouse for whatever he touched rather than a producer of vile filth. His hair was also quite unusual. The boy responded to every touch-- be it pleasant or unpleasant. He responded, no less, in like kind. His hair was very much alive, just as his nails and skin were. It could feel-- and any yank on it forced the boy to yelp. Like his skin, his hair had a very artificial feel to it. It was exceptionally sturdy but had a somewhat plastic feel to it-- perhaps a bit like fire-rat fur as it was fire retardant. The only segment of washing that drew fussing was indeed when his intimates came to be washed. He never directly told the man to stop-- that was foolish for his station. He did, however, squirm passively. He even attempted to squirm /away/ once or twice. It probably wasn't even a challenge though-- not even as the boy professed rough contact with his irritated skin hurt.

Properly washed, the boy was lifted up to stand and handed a towel. "Uu--" He grunted in response. His hair trailed great rivers of water out onto the floor. Glancing down to his clothes, he tipped his head to the side. Well... He supposed it wasn't impossible. First, he took hold of whatever fashion of inner robe he'd been given. Second came the outer robe. Whether he was given a hakama or a straight obi was the tricky part. Any knots he made were very... HORRIBLY done. More to the point, his obi had been tied in the front, like a prostitute. He had no idea of the connotation knots carried but... it was laughable. Underclothes such as trousers were ignored. Any extra, formal ties were ignored. He only knew enough to put on two robes and Hakama if they were present. As instructed, he wandered out to the fire and gave it a dejected gawk. The rice was given a cautious stir or two. Given the haphazard way he leaned over the fire to do so, it was a miracle he hadn't caught his sleeves on fire! Fortunately, no harm came to Shiro-- or the rice. He could only wait for the dog now... and hope not to upset him. "...Do you have a wife, Sesshomaru-sama?" He asked idly as he fussed with the rice. More than stirring it... he was practically playing with it using whatever means of spatula he'd been given to stir with.

[Rye]

"We? Oh?" he said , acting like he meant to say that , better cover his tracks "well you can't stay here , this will probably have another family move in soon, good housing is hard to find in this weather." he commented "But by the looks of it you can;t even look after yourself. I'm amazed that you've lasted this long on your own. You may follow as long as you don;t get in the way" he warned what was going to be a little addition to his travelling. "It matters not wither you deserve it" he said , unaccustomed to refusal. No was had ever refused him , it was a honour to even be offered "you will take it. I don't want you getting cold and irritating. Just wear the fur" he sighed , everything was a chore with him. "Stop you're whimpering , there's nothing wrong with you right now" he said , getting quickly tired of him.

"Inside huh? Explains why you're so useless at any work or any survival skills apart from not drowning and eating, you won't even accept warmth. If you want to stay you are going to do everything I say with little question , understood" he commanded , moving closer and taking his chin , turning it so he looked into his calm silent eyes. There was no tension , he made sure of that , this was a command , not like he could refuse him for any reason. He didn't really care where he lived before , the past couldn't be changed so why care about it, All that mattered was planning for the future and the present. He could only control so much anyway.

Sesshomaru did noticed the skin , it was unusual to find skin so fine on a human , or even rarer on a peasant boy. It was the sort of the fine skin women had when looking for a mate , fine pale skin to attract a man of status. "Stop squealing. You're worse than a girl" he commented as he washed him , he sure was loud and annoying when he touched him , every touch got a sound , like he was a musical instrument or something. When he moved away he just moved closer , it wasn't like he could get away from him, he was getting washed wither he wanted to or not.

When he left him he went about washing his clothes , scrubbing them on the wash board to get everything out of the cloth while keeping it's texture, treating it the same as if it was one of his own fine silks. He had to admit the light blue was rather pretty in a way, not particularly manly , like the boy himself it was pretty effeminate and aesthetic but wasn't even close to being practical or helpful in any way. He wrung the clothes with his strong arms and took them through to the main room and laid them out by the fire "right , that's the clothes and rice done" he said getting out two bowels and served out two portions , handing one to Shiro along with a set of chopsticks. "Look at yourself , dressed like you're presenting" he sighed "but it's just us so I'll leave it" he said with a sigh , picking up a few grains and eating them delicately. "A wife? No , my marriage will most likely be reserved for political gains. It is a duty I must uphold to" he said plainly , his voice like the soft snow outside. He just didn't put any emotion into his voice.

[SlightPhobia]

When life was presented in titles of "is or isn't," it left Shiro feeling quite confused. He'd come from a messed up culture of radical Social Darwinism. Obviously he'd been on the bottom rungs. He was unfit for survival and yet, useful in too many ways to completely discard. That was the philosophy of life he knew. Accepting things without deserving them was something of a bitter fact for him. "U-un," he mumbled in acceptable. He would accept the fur if Sesshomaru insisted like that. Unfortunately, he did have a very... random question to ask! "...Is it your fur?" He had no idea how dog demons worked. Detaching pelt wasn't likely! It was a ridiculous question and yet, the boy asked it so naively. He really was stupid in some respects. Brilliant in others-- but positively stupid in others.

The way Sesshomaru had took hold of his chin had been equally flustering. "...do...what you say..." he replied, turning a very awkward shade of pink. He wasn't used to looking directly into people's eyes. His eyes fished around to try to do ANYTHING but look him directly in the eye, but in the end, he wound up gazing the man's eyes. They were... like a kitty's eyes to him. Fortunately, given that the man was a dog, he kept those thoughts to himself. He did adore cats. He quickly went from pink to red in the face, fidgeting until Sesshomaru released his face.

There was only one comment that could garner some mild defiance from the boy... which may also have been a first for Sesshomaru. As he commented that he was worse than a girl, Shiro twitched. "I am not a woman! I'm a boy! Obviously I'm a boy! Why does everyone say that?!" He protested. While it was a 'shout' for him, the boy never really lifted his voice above normal speaking volume. He was either incapable of it... or just didn't like loud noises in general. The fit passed and once he was dry, they went their separate ways.

Shooed from the rice so Sesshomaru could eat, Shiro seated himself on his knees and began playing with the odd fur he'd been given. The presentation of rice was regarded though and for a moment, he stared at the bowl, wondering if it was poison. "...I can have it?" He asked, unsure for a moment. He might have pounced the rice once he received his chopsticks but Sesshomaru commented on his dress. Presenting? "...Eh? Did I put them on wrong? What's... presenting?" The sad fact was, he knew precisely what prostitution was. It didn't take him long to reach a very feeble: "O-...Oh.... You aren't going to sell me, are you?" He asked, gripping his rice bowl insecurely. It was a very possible fate for a child-- even in feudal times. "...I don't... want to go to those kinds of people... I don't like... those kinds of people. Can't I do something else?" He was so distracted by this thought, the sad notion of the arranged marriage missed him. Of course-- arranged marriages were also very common in his world. A lesser person of his status wasn't even married. They were just used to breed, if even that. Shiro had occupied a status closer to livestock than human. His body language and even way of speaking communicated it. "...I can do better things than that. I can heal things... I can code and un-code, program and speak more than twenty languages... Or maybe it's better to say these include dialects but..." As blundering as he was, he must have been educated. Either that or he was lying. Offering the dog a smile, he did at least prove the language skills by slipping into a bit of mandarin dialect. "Actually, my first language was Mandarin. I had to learn Cantonese and then Japanese next. Sometimes I still mix up characters..." Whether or not Sesshomaru could understand the Chinese dialect he'd slipped into remained to be seen. Just how old was this kid if he knew so many languages?!

[Rye]

"No. Do I look like some beast that has fur. Granted my scarf looks like it's connected but it's not mine" he explained , speaking slowly and clearly for him , getting tired with the constant questions that he could solve himself with a bit of observation. The boy was a real talker , then again he was just curious about the world around him and the only person he had managed to get a real conversation with. He rolled his eyes , very non noble like "because you look like your dressed for sex. Granted most samurai apprentices go through it but they don't dress like they want or like to do it. Try to dress like other boys or men, if you dress like a girl , people will assume you are. Children tend to all look the same regardless of gender." he sighed , giving the same aloof disinterested tone he was using with him and most people he encountered, especially the dim.

He raised his eyebrow a little at the shout "don't shout , it only furthers the idea that you are as stupid as you appear to be. "Sell you?I am above such trades or useless shards of metal and stones. That is the job of the lowers to trade humans so as to satisfy sexual desires." he said "just eat and get warm , you'll feel better." he assured him "you can do what you wish. I have not made any command and as far as I can tell you don't belong to any particular province. Healing is popular for priests. Language is helpful for coastal merchants and coding has it's uses for the emperor , thought not many can read and write. It is a skill for the likes of me and lower." Sesshomaru had concerns about the land across the western sea. A land full of demons possibly more powerful than him. But he had no need to go there. His job was to rule here , he was travelling to get a better idea of the lands he controlled so he may be able to be a better ruler.

Sesshomaru swiftly finished his rice and left the bowl by the fire , the ceramics clinking against the stone work. He fetched the furs and laid them out by the fire. "there , now you have somewhere to sleep" he said , sitting cross-legged on the furs and getting himself another bowl of rice and again eating it grain by grain.