Demon in a China Shop

Demon in a China Shop
Date of Scene:	08 May 2013
Location:	Manhattan
Synopsis:	Leida has found work at a small antique shop in Chinatown. By chance her friends stop in to make a few purchases.
Cast of Characters:	Will Sherman, Leida, Emi Dennou, Blackbird

---

Leida has posed:
The soft chime of the door swinging open jerks Leida out of the drifting daydream that her mind has wandered off into. She blinks a few times to clear the fog in her mind and glances around at the dusty old shelves that surround her, each stacked with nicknacks and trinkets of various sizes. Only a modicum of dim light pours down from the lone working light fixture above. The illumination it casts is clearly insufficient and spread thin across the entire shop, casting everything in a dim and almost mysterious atmosphere. The old man who runs this small business never answered her question if this was intentional or merely due to him being too cheap to get it fixed.

Eventually the small girl realizes that she has a broom in her hand and a small pile of grey nondescript dust at her feet. The door chimes again as it swings closed and all at once she remembers where she is and what it is she should be doing.

"A-ah! I will be right with you!"

Outside a hand-painted wooden sign is affixed over the wide front window. The name 'Ming's Memories' is stenciled in white atop green though the letters are worn and faded from age and lack of maintenance. Having finally separated herself from the Shard Seekers and the free room and board they provided, the young princess has been forced to employ herself in menial labor as a commoner. While she did many such chores while living with her family, to work at the behest of a ruler of the land is not nearly as degrading as being constantly berated by the grumpy owner.

By the time she comes around the corner of the back shelves and wanders up to the front desk, Ming is already there. Leida visible winces as he turns a disapproving stare down at her through his wizened half-closed eyes but she knows he will not get on her case while there is business to be done. The girl bows to him as she scampers towards the entrance, moving to find out who it is that has come in so late as their usual customers were part of the day-time crowd.

Emi Dennou has posed:
Emi and Imi are making their way through Manhattan. They're looking for a gift for a friend. Emi has let down her hair for the time being, so they look basically identical, though Imi smiles more. The two are about to step inside when they notice Blackbird outside. "ah--it's you. The Network remembers you." Emi says, bobbing her head at Blackbird. "It is nice to see you again. The Network inquires whether you are going inside? We will be going inside in any event, The Network admits as they make their way inside."

They reach over, intending to prop the door open--they'll hold it open for Blackbird if she seems intent on going inside.

Blackbird has posed:
Blackbird was whirring along Manhatten's streets on her dirt bike getting off from work when she decided on a small detour. 'Ming's Memories.' Hrm. She quirked a smile before parking her bike. Interesting enough to take ten or so minutes to look at. Door open. Knock knock on the glass. "Hello?" She looked about.

Blackbird has posed:
Blackbird smiled at the 'twins'. "And i remember you two. Thank you for your help with the power eating bug things." Then she walked inside and returned the favor by putting an arm across the door for the two girls. "I've been meaning to ask after this 'network business, but that kindof takes a back seat to how you two are doing."

Will Sherman has posed:
Will is just inside.

"Yeah, I'm looking for a specifi-...

"Leida?" he asks, poking his head around a corner. "You work here?" he asks, having had been here from time to time...after all, sometimes he has to look for things for Isaac and for the noodle guy, because the /CART WAS HAUNTED/.

Leida has posed:
The small girl comes into view several moments after the trio step inside, obviously in a hurry to ensure that she greets them properly. Instead of her usual garb, Leida is wrapped in a simplistic but pretty cheongsam of red silk or velvet. The dress hugs her slender frame in a manner obviously designed to emphasize the curves on her body, an effort that is ultimately futile as she has very little to emphasize. Golden trim and a large black and white 'ying yang' symbol on the chest add a little flair to the outfit but it is clearly a cheap knock off or mass-produced uniform of some sort.

There is nothing on her head to hide the demonic princess' horns, which may or may not be surprising to some, and the quartet of crimson wedges jut up from her neatly bound hair which is tied into a pair of buns on each side of her head. The final touch to her ensemble is a pair of strappy high-heeled sandals which she is clearly having trouble with.

Leida skids to a halt as she rushes into view, her eyes going wide at the familiar faces. "Welcome to-- o...oh! What... what are you doing here...?!" Her shoulders slump and she looks away, clearly embarrased at being caught doing such common work. "Um... well... I have to pay for my apartment somehow so..."

Blackbird has posed:
Blackbird quirked an eyebrow at Leida's horns but made no overt comment. Instead she focused on the hair buns. "Wow... the princess Lea style actually being worn outside of cosplay." Real astoundment at that little factoid. After all how many people do you see wearing earmuff hair buns?

At her embarrassment at being seen working she gave a sympathetic smile. "Magic is a wonderful thing but everyone's gotta eat and I've never figured the trick of 'Summon Food." This accompanied by a vague waggling of fingers. ""Now that i"m here though." She looked around the shop at the Antiques and the foax tourist glitter. "I'm actually in the mood for a little new furniture."

Emi Dennou has posed:
Emi says, "Sure, we'd be happy to talk about it, The Network is doing well, however, and thanks you for asking."

She pauses, hearing Will's voice. It's Will! She smiles briefly, what a pleasant surprise. Wait--that name he said. Leida too? Incredible! What a terrifying coincidence! Emi realizes that Blackbird has elected to hold the door open for them and guides Imi in through first, Emi steps in after.

"It's good to have work." Emi adds, once she spots Leida, smiling over at her. "The Network enjoys participating in jobs like this all the time."

Will Sherman has posed:
Will grins a little, "Work? What's that?" he kids, smiling towards Leida. "No that's alright...we all gota eat." he says, "Though, you know, if you're ever a bit short and need a meal, I'll have to subject you to our witch. She makes food...though a bit veggie for my tastes.." he says before someone else came in..

Talk of magic, Will frowns...seriously, not a high magic place, people! Why do people /not get this/. It's like...can you not walk five seconds in the world of ruin without falling onto a thunder spell?

Then Emi and Imi! "Hey guys! And yes, you all seem to work so much. I wonder how you have time to have fun.."

Leida has posed:
As usual, none of them seem to understand her feelings of the situation she has been put in. Working a job might seem commonplace for those from modern times but to the feudal princess it's one of the worst blows to her pride she's suffered yet. However, the entire reason for her moving to this abominable place full of machines and technology was to be closer to the Network and with two of them standing before her she cannot seem to muster up much will to complain.

Her pale cheeks blossom with red as she gives a timid smile to Imi and Emi in return. "W-well... I suppose so... I will keep your offer in mind, Will-san." Leida fidgets uncomfortably for a moment before remembering that these people are customers even if they are her friends. "Ah! I almost forgot..."

The girl bends at the waist and gives them a quick bow, her hands pressing against the bottom edge of her one-piece dress, which is rather scandalously short, to keep it from riding up too high. "Xiawu hao! Welcome to Ming's Memories..."

Blackbird has posed:
Blackbird giggled at Will's frustration at magic. "Uh.. Will. I learned what magic i know from an elf in central park. Then again everything kinda went all lopsided I mean I'm originally from LA and first i knew of magic was after the worlds started doing a thousand car pileup on each other."

Then her attention turned to Leida and bowed to her. "Hello I'd actually like a few things for my apartment. Clay Glazed Teapot, rugs, maybe something to hang on the wall. Not all of these of course i mean I only have so much money, so maybe start with the tea pot?"

Emi Dennou has posed:
Emi sighs. "Will, please, some of us enjoy it." Umi, of course, looks avoiding work to the point that she works at it. "Nevertheless, it is important to enjoy that which keeps you alive." She looks over to Leida thoughtfully and then admits, "Of course... this one suspects that if offered a life of leisure at the expense of never working again, this one would still choose to work."

When you're friends with The Network, one should expect some shocking experiences.

But of course Emi does not understand the blow of 'working' to one's pride.

Imi smiles back at Leida. "I'm always glad to see you about. It must be a strange experience for you."

An elf in central park??? Emi decides that's a mystery she'll leave for others, instead turning to examine some wares.

Will Sherman has posed:
"Elf in Central park?" Will asks, "Huh..." he says, "Not like...armored and sort of a <GOOSEHONK> right?" He just wants to make sure...

Seith was kinda a <GOOSEHONK>. Of course, he just perfectly described Seith...

"Well, that's good Leida." he says, whatever one has to do to survive...but he'll make sure to look out for her. Tis' what the lord of hobos does for the people, underprivileged people of course, of his city.

"Ha ha...I bet...but I guess if that's how you like to live, then that is good for you! I, on the other hand, live the life of forced poverty." he grins. Of course, one has to wonder...Will is So lucky, he could win anything he wanted...why doesn't he?

"Oh right...so I am looking for a strange thing..." he pulls out a crumpled piece of paper. It kinda looks like a ornamental Chinese broach.

"I'm running an errand today."

Leida has posed:
Leida straightens up and nods sheepishly at Imi. "Yes... it was challenging to adapt to this place b-but... if I can... I mean... um... be closer..."

Her awkward attempt to convey the purpose behind her move is interrupted by Blackbird's expressed desire to be shown merchandise. Almost as if summoned by the prospect of a sale, old man Ming is suddenly towering behind the small girl with his arms crossed. Dense smoke billows from the long pipe clenched in his teeth and Leida's eyes widen at the sudden presence.

"S-Sorry! Right this way!" Leida practically yanks the program along after her as she darts towards the section of the store containing their Chinese cooking paraphernalia. Ming grunts as his head swivels to follow after her but the rest of the group is left in the presence of the wrinkled and sour old Chinese owner.

He gives them each a quick appraising look before reaching up to take the pipe in his mouth by the far end long enough to speak. "You all friends of that girl?" He doesn't sound particularly interested in the answer, nor does he wait for them to give one. "Buy something or leave. No discounts."

The piece of paper is snatched deftly out of Will's hands almost before he can unfold it and Ming stares at it with a quirked eyebrow. "Might have this. You wait here, I go see."

Blackbird has posed:
Blackbird headshook at will about the elf. "Nah. Kindof a Legolas lookalike. i mean i never understood why people think that's pretty but other than being kind of horrified at me eating meat nice enough."

Legion made her blinkityblink and make a sortof Que? face.

On seeing Leida's mild panic at having Ming loom over her Blackbird gave an apologetic look. Then when she was shown the cooking section her face lit up. "Oh wow..." There was a small giggle. "I'd expected maybe some artsy 'use only twice a year' stuff but this's great." She reached over to tentatively pat Leida on the shoulder and whisper. "Look I'm sorry if you're not used to work. Trying to help. Could've just gone to Wal-kong or wherever and pick something up but I like little shops like this. More personal. What i want is a decent Wok, A Tea Kettle, and a few other things." She fished her wallet out and counted out a dozen bills. ""Will this be enough for what i want to buy?"

Emi Dennou has posed:
Emi blinks back at Blackbird. "Mm"

Imi's eyes widen. "...Is that why you're here now? You don't have to do that, Leida, especially if it's difficult for you. We'd be happy to come visit any time you'd like."

Emi looks to Ming the Merciless and opens her mouth. Oop no time to answer. She blinks twice and then adds, "Speaking of strange lifestyle choices." She turns her head to Will. "Could you perhaps give me some advice. What do you think Max would like? He has been so troubled lately, and frankly this one expects more trouble around the bend. If this one can alleviate the matter a bit..."

Will Sherman has posed:
Will frowns as the man takes the paper from him. Well, whatever...but he might have to come back with a lesson for him...

Will, was sometimes a little spiteful, but maybe it was also perhaps the best way to get back at him was to make sure Leida succeeded.

"Huh...normal elf then. Weird." he shrugs, "Really, they need to stop messin' with our world and teachin' magic...heck, magic's rare enough here as it is...the last thing we need is it becoming common and having street gangs with that wack bunk." he says, and looks back towards Emi.

There was a question.. She was always fond of the guy... "Hmm...I am sure anything you got him he would like Emi, even treasure. Max seems to be that kinda man, and he favors you alot. It's easy to see, even without my eyes. I just wonder if it'll be enough in the end.." Will says without thinking. He's worried but...there was a string he saw...a certain inevitability. Max would decide his fate..good or Ill, but it doesn't mean Will won't worry...or try and change.

"...Maybe a party? Like get all the TDA guys together?"

Leida has posed:
Sighing with relief once she is out of sight of her unpleasant boss, Leida shakes her head up at the woman. "O-oh... no, that is not your fault. I am... not accustomed to such things, is all..."

She glances at the money for a moment then looks down at the ground with a distraught expression. "I... Ming-san... I mean... Mister Ming... handles all of the money... I-I just show people around." She's too embarrassed to explain that she doesn't yet understand how American currency works. Counting money isn't something she's ever really had to do before as a princess and the Shard Seekers paid for everything while she was living with them.

"However... I can show you his wares... if you like..." Leida walks a little further into the depths of the shop, pausing every so often to make sure the customer is following until they arrive at a long shelf lined with tea pots. Most are cheap knock-off ceramics but there are a few decent pieces that look to be atleast high quality fabrications. They are, ofcourse, much more expensive.

Ming trundles into the back room, puffing away at his pipe as he goes and leaving a small cloud of pungent smoke in his wake. The sound of intense rustling and shuffling of objects quickly drifts back out from the cracked doorway, complete with ominous crashes and even the annoyed yelp of a cat as it gets pelted with the flying refuse.

Blackbird has posed:
Blackbird nodded once to Leida and pocketed her money. Instead she just started picking up things as she passed. "Don't worry miss." She talked while comparing wok, hefting one in each hand before putting one of them back and moving on. "Before the world pileup I never thought I'd end up playing gopher for a group of squatters living in an abandoned pub but here i am getting things they need since I'm one of the few with a job that pays in money instead of favors."

She seemed to shrug at one of the tea-pots. "I don't care if it's reproduction or actual antique so much as whether or not it's functional in a day to day capacity. No sense in buying a thing when it'll break a week later."

Emi Dennou has posed:
"We do not have treasure." Emi says. Unfortunately 'anything will work', while accurate, doesn't feel helpful. She wonders if that is because she is over-thinking it. Oh well, these things happen. But in truth, it's not just enough that he'd like it. If he likes anything, then there is no meaning to getting him anything. It has to be something stronger than that. Right? Maybe she needs to think about how gifts work more.

"We will have to consider further." She says eventually.

She pauses a moment and glances to Leida. "You.../are/...getting paid, yes?"

Will Sherman has posed:
"Emi...when someone says that, they really mean get them something that YOU think they'd like. Something from the heart. Sometimes you can't put a value on something...even if it's something you made yourself, on something that comes from your heart. Max likes you alot, like family, I am sure you'll know what to get him...you really probably know him the best." Will says, with a smile. Emi is like a sister to him, and her tale is one that inspires both triumph and sadness...she is in some ways the embodiment of human's desire to grow, and their abject cruelty to one another.

He watches Leida struggle with life...yeah, maybe he'll...mess with things a bit. Everyone needs a hand...

And he frowns back towards the back room...

He laughs at Blackbird though, "Squatters eh? I know quite a few...sometimes better than you think they are."

Leida has posed:
Leida looks up at the tea pots helplessly, not really sure what to say. She's hardly an expert on these things so she eventually just points at the one that looks prettiest to her. "Um... h-how about this one?"

The princess turns and peers back down the aisle at Emi frantically waving her hands in a placating motion as if trying to quiet her down. "Aa-ah! Y-yes... I am getting paid, Emi-chan," she says barely loud enough to be heard over the racket coming from the back room. There is a pause which causes her to seize up with a fearful look but eventually the old man mutters something then goes back to digging through old boxes.

Leida exhales softly and looks relieved. "Ming-san does not like it when people talk about expenses..."

Blackbird has posed:
Blackbird looked the offered pot over, smiled at it and touched this and that before putting it in her bag. "I like it. Thank you."

Then to Will she laughed. "I know. I find a lot of good people out and about. It's like Mister Rodger."

Emi Dennou has posed:
Emi nods once. "Well, as long as you are getting paid. We can talk about how much later." She can't of course be sure she's not getting her fair share, but she's worried about it. The way this is going.

"Mm...Then what would I think he likes?"

Imi facepalms.

"That is a good question I must face, I suppose." She sighs.

Will Sherman has posed:
Will smiles a little.

"Sometimes Leida, being the best at your job requires a bit of...bluffing. Pretending to know things as opposed to actually knowing things. If you look like you know what you are doing, people follow that confidence." he says, with a nod.

He nods towards Blackbird, "You'd be surprised..." he says, "Man...Rodger, that's a reference I haven't heard in YEARS..." he laughs and nods once to Emi.

"Maybe we can try that party thing too."

Leida has posed:
Leida looks skeptical of the advice and she crosses her arms. "T-that sounds like being dishonest, Will-san..." Plus saying that right infront of the person she's trying to sell to doesn't seem like a winning strategy.

The girl bows to Blackbird and leads her down towards the next section to find a wok she might like. There are, unfortunately, only a handful of selections and most of them look really old. This is an antique shop, not a market after all.

Ming emerges from the back room finally and makes his way back over to the front of the store with a dusty old case in one hand. He shoves the box at Will and crosses his arms, chewing on the pipe while he waits for him to inspect the contents.

"You lucky. Have only one left. Very rare."

Blackbird has posed:
Blackbird laughs soft. "C'mon. The guy'd been around for ages. Sure it's a kids show but good advice is good advice right?"

She stretched and started towards the register with the random brickabrak she'd collected. When she looked at Ming she smiled warmly. "I could throw in a free install of a security system and add you guys to the patrol route the guys I'm organizing go on to try keeping everything in line. Y'know make hte cops job a little easier so they can focus on the really bad stuff instead." Shrug. "But if not that's fine too sir, this is a very good shop. Good selection." Not that she believe the 'last one' line for a moment. "Of course," She added after a moment, "There IS a portal open to ancient china I think. Could try seeing if I could get the guy I know to get you an in wit ha supplier or three from there."

Emi Dennou has posed:
Emi smiles. "We'd like to have a party for him as well." She goes quiet for a bit after that, looking back to the wares. She glances over to Ming. She supposes it isn't fair to mistrust someone PURELY because they seem unlikeable and cruel. Maybe they're just grouchy. That's okay. Not illegal or anything.
rImi of course continues to be chatty, she hasn't really stopped smiling much at all since her arrival. "Well, some jobs--dishonesty can just be another name for 'customer service'. Some jobs require that you not act as yourself but something similar that only contains pleasantness. This one supposes it is not unlike politics in that regard."

"Of course politics might be then said to be a bit common." Emi jokes. "Customer service is a common job."

She looks towards the case, then back towards Will. "---Isaac wanted this?" She asks.

Will Sherman has posed:
"It's more about trading for something else.." Will asides to her.

Will opens the case...stares at the item for a while...

"Hmm..." he says, "I Dunno...it doesn't look all that rare to me..." Will says, "I mean, I could probably go down the street...that guy always seems to have what I want in stock.." he grins inwardly, "But I like this place. One hundred."

Leida has posed:
That analogy makes Leida pause as she draws up to the group once more, following quietly along behind Blackbird as she moves to check out. Politics is something she understands atleast a little. Her time in court wasn't much besides sitting around and listening to people heap praise or complaints on others, most of which was composed of hollow sentiment or hypocritical whining. Fortunately, she never had to make any important decisions or actually deal with the dignitaries.

Ming grunts and heads over to the counter to take care of Blackbird's purchases and Leida uses his distraction to scoot closer to Imi. "So... you think it does not matter if I am honest... just... polite?"

Ming makes a face as he punches numbers into the register, adding even more wrinkles to his face. "He probably get them from street thug who steal from honest businessman like me. One fifty," he says back without looking away from his task.

Blackbird has posed:
Blackbird nodded to Ming. "You obviously care for your shop sir." Sher gently took the items she'd bought after putting money down, plus a generous tip. "I wasn't trying to use that talk of importing from China as a bargaining chip. Given the shards have limited resources we need to trade with each other right?"

Emi Dennou has posed:
Emi nods to Will, taking in a slow breath.

Imi blinks a few times. She scratches at her cheek, tilting her head. "Well." She says. "This one thinks Leida should be herself, but working is a strange thing, you know, now that you mention that. This one supposes it is a matter of practicality rather than a matter of philosophy. It is always better to be yourself, but it is important to not starve because you could not feed yourself because you couldn't perform in aspects of the job that are required or asked for. Survival can be rather dark sometimes, but you can't be yourself if you don't survive."

She looks over to Emi and adds, "How would you strike a balance between being oneself and being polite?"

Emi thinks it over and adds, "Well, this one wants to be a prosocial person while being themselves, This one was helped by such people so this one supposes she would not have to 'pretend' when it came to customer service. This one genuinely enjoys it and supposes that if someone were to make her 'not' enjoy serving them while at work, she may be a bit unpleasant. Of course, this hasn't happened considerably often. Perhaps by genuinely enjoying it, The Network has a little more freedom to be honest with customers because high quality performance in exchange for low wages renders me troublesome to replace. One lost customer is sometimes inferior to a valuable employee."

"Hahaha," Imi laughs. "You're really ruthless about this sometimes, Emi!"

Will Sherman has posed:
Will stares at Emi...

Will is vaguely afraid of her sometimes...but generally because she reminds him of Melody. Melody was frightening...

In a good way, but still frightening.

Slowly, he looks back towards the old man, and shakes his head, "Product is product, getting it cheap is good, One ten." he says, offering a counter offer. "Besides we both know I can hear out if it was illegal or not, I've returned how many of your stolen artifacts?"

Leida has posed:
Leida stares at the two Legions and exhales softly with an awed sound at the long-winded explanation. Clearly they have thought this through much more thoroughly than she has or perhaps they're just better at difficult social things like this. She really doubts that being herself is the best course of action in the long run as everyone is constantly telling her to be more confident and bold, two things which are very much not like her natural inclination. Likely this is just one more hurdle she'll have to struggle against.

"You make it sound so complicated..." Leida lowers her gaze towards the floor in defeat.

Ming mostly ignores Blackbird now that he's taken her money. The cash is stored away carefully in a reinforced lockbox before he makes his way back over to the small group at the door. Despite being mid-negotiation, he takes the time to glare down at the princess and give her a push towards the back of the store.

"Not paying you to talk, just give smile and nod. Now go clean something." Leida eeps and quickly complies, scooping up her broom once more and disappearing around the corner with a final wave to the others.

Ming turns back to Will and grunts in annoyance at his rebuke. "Cheap good for you maybe but I have bill to pay. One twenty five."

Blackbird has posed:
Blackbird grunted at Ming. "Work tends t ogo better if you allow help to interact with customers. Talk lets them feel like it's a person, not just a salesdrone." She took what she'd bought and headed for the door. "I'll be back tomorrow for a few other things i saw."

Emi Dennou has posed:
Emi reminds Will of Melody? She would take that as quite the compliment! After all, Will married Melody so that's /probably/ a compliment. She'll take it. Emi does not know Melody. Though she does remember, at this point, her conversation with Isaac. She wonders what her life in her home world if she did approach the TDA of that reality.

Oh well, she thinks, if she had a knickle for every what-if she could think of--she'd have her own moneybin.

It's also possible that Emi overthinks things. Which, really, is probably true when she could have just said 'unemployment sucks, but if you want to be unemployed Will may have some advice for you'. Of course, Will isn't /really/ unemployed by Emi's reckoning, he just doesn't have a job. Except he sort of DOES have a job in the sense that he does things he feels obligated to do? Hmm. THe philosophy of work is something Emi will have to think about further, along with the many kinds of 'work' and 'employment' that are not traditionally seen as such.

"Emplomyent is as complicated as people are." Emi says. "There is no perfect employee, but if we were to start from the beginning, being polite isn't the most important thing. The most important thing about employment is to work hard. That is the simplest way to view it. Even skill is often considered less important than effort. Many skilled people lose jobs to people who don't know what they are doing but work hard."

She pauses for a moment as Leida is pushed away. Buy something or leave, she was told, and she hasn't seen anything quite like she'd like, so maybe it's time to start leaving.

"Will, it was nice to see you again. Omi got hurt recently and Umi is feeling pretty down. IF you could...you know..." She rests a hand on his shoulder and squeezes it lightly.

"But you know, even though Umi is more your type, it seems, this one--also sees you as a dear friend. This one apologizes for not stating so clearly before."

She steps back a bit after that and turns for the door.

Will Sherman has posed:
Will looks up at Ming.

"I will pay that, on one condition. You treat her better than your last one." Will says, "And don't gimme that crap about doing it." Will says, with a tone...a TONE.

"I'm not gona hear you complain about driving off another pretty young lady because you're being insufferable." he says... "Lan wouldn't have approved of this at all, Ming." he says, pointedly.

Emi squeezes his shoulder, and he looks at her, He frowns, and nods once, "Of course...I'll go cheer them up.." and then.. "Hey, you're all like little sisters to me, and I'm glad you're here with us, alright? You've all helped me when I needed it, and that's basicly what friends do?"

RELATIONSHIP INPROVE!

Leida has posed:
The old man's eyes narrow slightly at the mention of that name. A mixture of bitterness and regret flows through his wrinkled features for several moments. Smoke puffs from the slender tip of his pipe at regular intervals, slow at first but quickly gaining in frequency as Ming chews on the words as well as the wooden tube.

Eventually, he grunts and removes the pipe from his mouth, staring quietly at Will. "Alright, you win," he says in sudden flurry of annoyed motion, waving the pipe about in the air above the young hobo. He turns about in place, muttering to himself in Chinese and by the time he's made his way back around to face Will once more he seems resigned. A boney old hand is held out for the money.

"Now, pay up and go. You stink up my store."

Will Sherman has posed:
Will puts the money down.

"So see you next week?" he says, with a sad smile. He takes the box and waves...