Jiao-long enjoyed his life as a hermit, living in the middle of nowhere and drifting from town to town. For the most part he was able to live completely off of the land, and as far as food would go he could eat whatever he could grow, he could fetch water from streams or rivers and most other necessities that he needed were accessible via his way of living. However there were some things in modern society that just couldn't be obtained without using legal tender, and he had neither the skill nor the means to obtain them without going to a shop and purchasing them. This meant that every so often, Jiao-long would have to venture out of his cave, or wherever else that he was staying at the time, and venture into any nearby town in order to find menial work. Seeing as he abandoned his life as a noble, there was no steady income for him since he had left home, so in order to make any money Jiao-long would have to take menial jobs from shady men for minimal pay. Of course this didn't matter too much to Jiao-long, seeing as he abandoned his easy life willingly, seeking to live more simply and closer to the spirits which he worshipped so zealously.

[216/1000]

Finally, a day that Jian had been envisioning for well over four years was now becoming a reality. Little by little, he'd done what he could to make this happen, however, the target had always proved to be far too elusive for him to track. When your older brother was someone that had been trained intensely in the arts of espionage and subterfuge, one could say that tracking him down wouldn't necessarily be the easiest thing to accomplish. In all actuality, being able to accomplish such a thing by himself was entirely outside of what Jian was capable of at the moment. In reality, this had been a favor that had been granted by the Sinese government.

Normally, when one abandoned their post, as Jiao-Long had, they were forever deemed both a traitor and a criminal. This usually meant that they were to be either killed or apprehended on sight so that they could later be executed. Yet, money and prestige seemed to always have a way of reducing such harsh penalties. Luckily for Jiao, such a transaction was made on his behalf by their father. Of course, Jiao didn't know about this, and Jian never planned on telling him about it. This, coupled with the fact that yet another of the Feng line would be drafted into the military, caused the Sinese government to feel very appreciative towards the noble house. As a favor and a show of good faith, Jian was given the intel that they'd compiled on Jiao, his last known locations, and their predictions on where he'd pop up next.

With this intel in hand, Jian had made his way to Oak as quickly as possible, hoping that he'd be able to run into the brother that he hadn't seen in four years. Once in Oak, he'd made sure to put a few feelers out there to keep him updated, and as he continued to grease a few palms, he managed to get the information that he sorely needed. It seemed just like anyone else, Jiao was in need of work, and he'd soon be making his way to the shop of a Dr. Stephan Mabuz. Jian wasn't exactly sure what to expect from a place like this, but he decided to let his reservations about all of this take a backseat. With no time to waste, he began to make his way to the shop in question.

His hand on the knob of the door, Jian gave it a slight turn and invited himself into the threshold of the shop. Almost immediately after stepping into the shop, the young male found himself face to face with the mysterious Dr. Mabuz as he sat behind a nearby counter. With a quickly manufactured smile, Jian attempted to greet the Doctor in as courteous manner, but this was merely met with a look of disinterest. Taking the hint, Jian closed the door behind him and began to peruse the wares of the shop. Hopefully he wouldn't have to wait too long before his brother arrived.

507/1000

Jiao-long pulled the hood of his cloak over his head, as to conceal his identity as he was still extremely paranoid about being recognized, even though he was so far from home. It was time to leave his humble lodgings in a nearby forest to make his way into the nearest town to find whatever work he could. He walked through a thick forest for a time until he came to a clearing and was able set his eyes on civilization for the first time in a quite a few weeks, possibly even months. What he saw eerily reminded him of the life that he left behind. A few miles away from the forest was an enormous castle with numerous turrets and battlements standing guard over the town which lay below.

Just as he was beginning to completely drift off into his thoughts, which may have something to do with the large amount of opium he had consumed, Jiao-long came across a sign outside of a magic shop which read “Help Wanted”. He opened the door and stepped inside to find a strange little doctor inside peering over some notes, but more strangely he saw a man standing whom he had not seen in many years. A man he thought he might not ever see again. Standing in the magic shop, through some strange stroke of fate, was Jian: Jiao-long’s twin brother.

[448/1000]

As he waited for his brother to hopefully make an entrance, Jian continued to feign interest in the wares of the shop. Though there were many things within it that appeared to be of use, much it paled in comparison to what was available in the country of his origin. His mind began to wander a bit as he continued to peruse the shop, ultimately, leading him to a topic that he'd been a bit worried to think about. How would Jiao actually respond to his presence?

The two brothers had been close all throughout their life prior to Jiao's departure from the family. They were twins, after all. No matter what happened between Jiao and the family in general, there was never any love lost between them on his end. However, he couldn't be sure how Jiao felt about all of this. Jiao and Jian were the 10th and 11th in the Feng line, respectively. Because of this, there'd always been the feeling that they weren't as understood or respected as their older siblings, thus, they had to be around for each other. Jian couldn't help but wonder if Jiao felt he didn't do enough to support him when it came to his disagreements with their parents. Jiao had always been one to stand for anything he'd believed in, and even though Jian also felt strongly about living life different than their parents had intended for them, Jiao was the only one between the two of them that had been willing to rebel. There was no doubt in Jian's mind that Jiao was much braver than he was, and over these four years, he couldn't deny that he'd felt guilty for not backing him.

While lost in these thoughts, Jian had almost failed to be alerted by the opening of the shop door. As his eyes darted away from the occult trinkets within the shop to the door, they were greeted by the sight of the brother he'd waited so many years to see. While he certainly looked a bit "different", there was no mistaking him. It seemed he'd done completely away with the life of privilege that he'd escaped from, and this was something that shone through even in the way that he now carried himself. There were a few moments of silence between the two. Even though it had been something that Jian had been waiting for, he momentarily found himself at a loss for words.

It's been quite a while, brother. It's nice to finally see you again.

Jian decided to break the ice with something simple, and he'd opted to use the language of their country to do it. He figured that the words he'd spoken, combined with the language used, would help Jiao recognize him - if he hadn't already, of course. He began to wonder how exactly Jiao would take all of this. After all, someone showing up that you hadn't seen in four years would usually confuse a few people - especially when they appeared in a manner in which they seemed to be expecting you. Hell, Jian couldn't fault Jiao if he assumed he'd been sent by Sin to apprehend him; as it wasn't exactly something that Sin was above doing. Regardless, there was nothing else that Jian could do besides wait on his brother's reply.

1060/1000

Jiao-long waited for his brother to make the first move. At this point he had made every step that could be made to conceal his whereabouts from just about anybody in his home country. There was no conceivable way that he had been found or tracked so easily. Jiao-long chalked it all down to an extremely unlucky coincidence that he would run into his own twin brother in a crazy town such as this, there is no way that he had tracked him, at least by himself. Jiao-long had to take a second to ready himself, he had no idea at all if his brother recognized him, and even if he did he had no idea what to say.

Luckily, Jian made the first move just as Jiao-long had been waiting for. He greeted Jiao-long by name using their native tongue. Their native tongue? How could he be so careless. Jiao-long was doing his absolute best to stay hidden in plain site, and now his brother shows up and starts speaking in foreign languages in front of strange people. There was nothing that could be done about the situation now. The damage was inflicted. Jiao-long simply had to salvage what he could. He spoke back to his brother, in the Fioran language as not to bring upon any further suspicion.

"We can speak at a later time, for now there is work to be done."

He had noticed on entry to the strange shop a sign which which asked for a mushroom that looked extremely similar to one which he had walked past on his way into the town of oak. Jiao-long walked out of the shop, past his brother without setting a single eye on him. At this point in time he didnt know what he was to think about the whole situation. It was all too bizarre.

After walking for a while he reached into his cloak and pulled out a small pipe, loaded with top of the line opium. Jiao-long needed a small puff to settle his nerves. He didnt notice if his brother was following him or not, but he didnt check back to see. He assumed the Jian would, and he fully intended to catch up with him at a later date. Just the timing of the whole reunion sort of threw things out of whack for Jiao-long, and there was a better time and place to catch up with his not so long lost twin brother. If only Jian had the same mindset. Jiao-long walked for a little bit longer until he came upon the forest he had walked to to gain entry into the town of oak. He somewhat remembered the area which contained the mushroom that he was looking for. He walked for a little while until he came to a clearing wherein lied the same mushroom that the shopkeeper was looking for. He walked over to it and picked it and carefully placed it in his cloak. He walked for a little while longer back into the town of oak, noticing that his brother was still standing in the same shop where he had left him. He turned in the mushroom to the shopkeeper, collected his reward and motioned to his brother to follow him. Again speaking in the Fioran language "Ill split the reward with you. Come get some food with we. We have Much to discuss"

[1015/1000]