<LI>
::he waited patiently, his expression fading slightly into a warm mildness while he waited for Val to speak. and then Val stopped playing with his glass and looked up at him. and spoke::

::something about Val's expression, or perhaps the delivery of his words combined with his tone and expression made Li pause. his face went still while he processed that unidentifiable element that startled him somewhat::

...So we did. ::he answered agreeably after a few measured moments::

::but since that didn't feel like enough to say, he added:: But if you're suggesting we locate some sparklers and screamers and set them off inside, I'm afraid I simply must protest. ::and he smiled again. this time with a protective layer of frost::

<Val>
Haha, no... ::he laughed somewhat reservedly and putting on that air of pretentiousness that gentlemen have when they themselves would try to sheild themselves socially from something. He also resolved to sitting back, appearing to let what could have been described as impending intensity in his demeanour, subside.:: That would be rather daft. ::But he seemed, despite his loosened tongue, to have also decided upon holding back some impulsive suggestion. Was it perhaps... some sort of modesty...? He just kept a pleasant look on his face to suffice.:: :3

<Li>
::he felt somewhat more comfortable when Val put on the pretentious act and it resulted in Val's intensity subsiding. but he didn't relax::

::he was quiet for a moment, only nodding in agreement to the fact that it would, indeed, be 'daft' to set off fireworks in the cabin. he took another sip of his drink, closing his eyes so he could once again focus on the taste of it. when he opened his eyes, he set his glass aside and turned his head to look over at Val::

Then what were you going to suggest, Captain? ::this wasn't at all what he had meant to say. he looked surprised and confused that he had said it - as if he'd woken up in a room he didn't remember falling asleep in and he were trying to figure out how he had gotten there::

<Val>
::Val lay back as far as his chair would allow, stretching himself over the chair, and his legs resting on the top of the table. He stared at the cabin ceiling nonchalantly. And answered in an equally nonchalant voice.:: I was going to propose we procure our own fireworks from some unsuspecting merchant, run off with them and set them off somewhere down on the beach. But not too near the ship. XD ::he sort of giggled to himself here, as if the idea would only remain an idea and nothing that could possibly be followed through, for it was far too rash, surely! Val tilted his head - with his hands linked behind it - towards Li, in milder search of his point of view.:: :333

<Li>
::he looked over at his friend, his expression still rather frozen except for a flicker in his eyes. disappointment? irritation? it would be difficult to say. Li didn't even notice it himself. as far as he was concerned, he was staring at Val with utter incredulity. except that wasn't actually what was registering on his face::

...Oh, if that's all. ::he blinked slowly. then he stood, picked up his glass and drank the last of it before tossing his ponytail over his shoulder so it hung properly down his back:: I know where we can find one. ::he took a few steps towards the cabin door; then stopped and looked back with a faint frown. "are you coming?" his expression asked::

<Val>
As do I... :] ::He did the same with his drink, though instead of his ponytail being tossed over his shoulder it was (without thinking) his glass. There was a minor crash as Val's crystal goblet inventory of twelve was reduced by one, but he didn't let himself waste much time being too worried about it. Or too worried at all.:: Eleven is a better number. That's two ones! Much more companionable - suited to each other. ::he chittered randomly with some amiable, drunken satisfaction before heaving himself onto his feet (using the table as unneeded support) and following Li to the door. At the expression Li projected towards him, Val simply grinned.::

<Li>
::though his lips thinned with slight disapproval, Li said nothing in reaction to Val destroying the crystal goblet - though he did think it rather a waste. perhaps that was why Val started speaking about eleven being a better number::

Mmm... ::he commented as he strode out of the cabin and onto the deck to the gangplank. on his way, he automatically checked inside his sleeves to make certain his knives were properly stored and then checked both pouches - one with his powder and the other with his hidden gold - to make certain he had 'enough' of each. he relaxed slightly into his usual smile when he discovered he had a satisfactory supply.::

I suppose I have no particular quarrel with the number eleven. :)

::he paused on the gangplank before seeming to orient himself in the strange port. he nodded and - with only the slightest bit of a wobble in his step to show he had been drinking - headed down the street::

There was a man who sold fireworks with a cart this way, Captain. :)

<Val>
::Val sauntered on after him, ducking to check his reflection - and that he was at least barely presentable, meaning stunning - in the small mirror that hung outside the cabin door. This involved a quick fixing of the hair before replacing the tri-corner hat, but nothing that hampered the speed at which Li set them to walk into the port. He caught up quickly.::

Yes, I know. ::he said, still cheerful. Almost provokingly. Val strode next to Li, grinning at the drunken new years revellers as they passed them in the street.:: Do you know what his name is? :D

<Li>
::He slanted a look over at Val. one that was just-short of irritated. but his smile was a little more real than false::

...I don't suppose that if I didn't know, that you would know? ::there was a warm note in his question that could otherwise be taken as sarcasm::

::he actually didn't know. the name of the man was probably on the side of his cart. Li knew there was a name painted on the side of the cart, at least, but he hadn't paid it too much attention when he passed by earlier. but he didn't feel as if he should go ahead and admit that he didn't know the name. and this was less from sulkiness and more from playfulness on his part::

<Val>
I never said anything about me... ::he replied, peering with mild curiosity into the shops they passed - the ones with lights in the windows at least. Val continued to walk with his hands clasped loosely behind his back, in a carefree and confident stride.::

If you didn't know then you could have just said "No, Val, I don't know his name. :c". If you did, then it could have been a "Yes. :)" ::(He did this with fitting facial expressions, it was to be noted, especially with the second answer, which provided the perfect opportunity to imitate Li's smile in the most amiable way. It was something Val didn't do often, but enjoyed doing when he could, so chances like these just lessened the likelihood of being met with absolute violent disapproval in return. Maybe.)::

::Val glanced sideways at his companion, grinning.:: But I'd be guessing that you didn't, otherwise you wouldn't be dancing around the subject - as shifty as you are - trying to mask the truth being your lack of knowledge. ::he tilted his head so far so as to attempt to look at Li upside-down that his hat almost fell off. Val stumbled to regain his posture, catching said hat before it fell from his head completely.::

<Li>
::he walked alongside his friend towards one of the sections of town that had shops. most specifically, toward the edge of a rougher section of town. it was where legitimate business-people from exotic locations gathered their shops together in places they could afford. which was usually a 'rough' section of town they changed into something more respectable. as Li was dressed in one of his typical Chinese merchant outfits, he probably 'fit' in this neighborhood better than his friend did at a strange port, for once::

::hearing himself immitated, Li looked over to watch Val do so. Val immitating his smile made his current smile a little brittle for an instant, but upon thinking about it - it was Val, not doing so maliciously, and was rather an excellent replication of the smile - Li smirked in response. it probably helped Val that Li was tipsy, had powder in his system, and Val had treated him to a very thoughtful gift. so Val remained in Li's good graces. XD::

As shifty as I am. :) ::he was extremely agreeable to this. perhaps suspiciously agreeable. before Val would have had an opportunity to register more than mischief in Li's expression, he tossed his hair and closed his eyes a moment:: Yes, I suppose I am. :) ::he seemed to find this very amusing::

Mind your hat, we're almost there. :) ::he'd noticed a sign for a pub ahead that he'd remembered on his way back to the ship. "The Golden Eagle" was still open::

<Val>
::He followed Li into the gaggle of exotic traders, trying to keep his hands in his pockets, or on his sword. He failed on occasion, especially if there was something displaying on a table (or not actually being displayed at all) that caught his eye. This earned Val a foreign threat or two, at which he recoiled apologetically, but the pair of them managed to reach their target at very far end of the messy convocation. Messy, because everyone, more or less, was in riotous celebration mode, even though the stalls still operated like a kind of night-market.::

<Li>
::he ignored the vendors as much as possible, even though several of them addressed him in Chinese - fluent or otherwise - to try to get him to look at their wares.::

::he had no interest, you see, in purchasing anything but the fireworks. though he did wait patiently whenever Val dallied at a booth or stand to look at something.::

::the noise did not appear to bother him much. moreover, he was ignoring it as he ignored the vendors. he'd got the idea in his head that Val wanted fireworks on the beach and he was set on this goal. probably it was the whiskey making him particularly narrow-focused.::

::when they finally reached Master Jimmie's AMAZING Fireworks stand, Li looked at the displayed fireworks with a certain amount of intensity, ignoring the older Englishman who was beaming at them with expectancy::

What sort of fireworks are you looking for, Val? :) ::carefully not saying "Captain" out of disinterest in having the price jump simply because of the implication of wealth. it naturally occurred to him, somewhere in the back of his head, that their clothing implied a certain amount of money, but thankfully they weren't exactly in their best clothes and for all the fireworks merchant knew, these were their best clothes::

<Val>
::He was about to open his mouth and happily declare his answer when Master Jimmie slammed his palms on the counter of his rickety stall and yelled (much louder than he needed to, and in a surprisingly Asian accent for someone who looked like an old Englishman as much as he did)::

<Master Jimmie>
SOLD OUT!!!!!!

<Val>
::Was sent reeling with momentary fright and surprise. He had his hands up like cat's paws, and a mildly horrified look on his face.:: Excuse me?

<Master Jimmie>
I SAID SOLD OUT!!!

<Val>
::He turned to Li with a rather prominent and indiscreet gesture that involved Val making a ludicrously incredulous face and twirling a finger at his head that could either have signified "this man is a crazy loony", or, "hearing-aid". The old codger was old enough, at least. But it was Li's call if he wanted to properly find out, or simply ignore Val's (somewhat ill-mannered and childish) responses.::

D:

::Granted, there were fireworks being displayed at the front of the stall, so what on earth could old man Jimmie have been on about?::

<Li>
::as Li was focused on awaiting Val's response and certainly would never expect that sort of sales tactic at this particular juncture, he flinched and took a startled, skuttling skip to the side, away from Master Jimmie and his table. with bewilderment, he stared over at the old man and blinked several times, trying to regain his composure::

::it was really too bad that he was also startled by the crazy vendor. the reaction of Val's was hilarious enough that Li probably would have giggled drunkenly. XD like his mun is. without the drunken part. XD::

::he would have thought it too rude to ask Val "are you saying he's crazy or deaf, because I believe both are equally plausible!", so instead he turned to Master Jimmie::

Are you crazy or deaf? Because I believe both are equally plausible. ::he said this very clearly, though not especially loudly. since he generally spoke in a low tone, I suppose you would say it was "loud" for Li, but barely louder than the average person's speaking tone. and he asked his question with a very wide, very pointed smile, his eyes narrowed a little with suspicion::

<Master Jimmie>
WHAT? ::The cranky old man narrowed his own eyes at Li:: Youu from mainland China? ::He picked up a small rocket-launching stick and waved it at Li like a laser pointer:: What are you doing here? Lost? Looking for wenches? Golden Eagle is just over there. ::The perfect yet perfectly mis-matched accent only served more bizarre and amusing the longer they stayed there while Jimmie spoke. Then he noticed Val reaching for one of the rockets that hung from the frame of the stall, and flicked the stick against the captain's wrist with remarkable accuracy:: No touching!!!! Go away!

<Val>
Aow! D:>!!! ::He withdrew his hand with a now horrified and bemused expression adorning his - (very handsome, I must admit, for description's sake) - features. Val clamped his other hand over the offended wrist.:: You crusty old fart! What do you mean "sold out"? There are fireworks right here!!!! ::he attempted to reach out again to point at them but was promptly beaten back by the old man's deft hand, which had picked up a little bamboo fly swatter to use as a more effective weapon.:: D:!!!!!!

<Li>
::his eyes narrowed still further and his smile grew more pointy (and thus dangerous)::

::in beautiful, fluid Chinese, he responded. he spoke very rapidly and with complexities that would be difficult - if not beyond - someone who was not native to the language. his tone was completely pleasant while he spoke::

Indeed, you cranky old faker. I grew up on the Mainland. I'm shopping for fireworks - not lost, wenching or looking for drink. If you hit my friend again, I'll remove a joint from your finger for each blow. Plus two for the ones you already gave him.

::a faint color came to his cheeks as he worked himself up into a small little fury. it was perhaps made more mellow by the powder, though it might not have existed at all if not for the whiskey::

::he reverted to English and turned to Val:: Let's go. I'm sure legitimate stalls are still selling fireworks. And in better quality. These look like rejects from a shoddy factory.

<Master Jimmie>
::In a fashion only the truly old could seem to adopt and pull off with formidable success, Master Jimmie did not appear in the least bit fazed by Li's suddenly threatening expression. In fact, he glared back at him with such fearlessness as only a cranky, ancient old man could know how. Obviously the threats Li made were completely bypassed. Without batting an eyelid Master Jimmie counterattacked the younger merchant's fluid chinese with an old man's reprimand and an almost-obliterating fluency of his own.::

I grew up in Singapore, you diminutive little twat. My wife is Chinese, we've been married 60 years, and I've been around the world probably more times than you've washed your own hiney. I can pick you mainland people out from anywhere, usually in a bandit-ridden carriage or wooden boat, - or commanding one ::he gave a half sort of wheezy laugh at this, it was obviously a witty joke:: - a mile away. You should look after your friend, he'll get himself in trouble if he keeps poking around like that!

::And with that, he gave Li a hearty swat with his fly swatter, making it quite clear he did not discriminate between Caucasians and Orientals when it came to hitting them with household pest-control items. In English, he said::

You're too tense! You need massage? Or wench! I'm telling you, Golden Eagle!

::And threw the fly swatter at Li as only a disgruntled old man could, whereupon it bounced off his chest and onto the ground.::

<Val>
::despite having just been attacked by the crazy old man, he began to giggle. And then it sort of escalated into a full-fledged guffaw as he leaned across the counter to throw an arm around the shoulder of Master Jimmie, who suddenly looked very thrown-off and surprised.::

AHAHAHAHA!!! Oh Jimmie, I always knew you were prankster! It's so good to see you again!!!! How's the old bird? Is she still crowing? When are you going to make me another batch of your famous green tea pork and beef dumplings???

::he seemed to be laughing so hard and with such happiness that he almost cried, but continued to hug the confounded old man, who was adequately bemused, as the truth was he hardly knew him.::

::When Val was certain Li had figured out what he was doing, he used one hand to reach back and toss him a few dragon rockets. "Hide them!" >:3333::

<Li>
::he was not entirely surprised the old man spoke Chinese. but he was still very surprised - and quite a bit shocked at how fluently he spoke the language. so he stared back at Master Jimmie for several moments, his mouth gaping open and no immediate reply on his lips.::

::he flinched at the swat and did not retaliate. he was not even at this point angry. but when he had the fly swatter thrown at him and it bounced off onto the ground, Li colored very darkly, but amazingly, did not go for his knives immediately.::

::instead, he was distracted by Val's giggle-to-guffaw. it was the sort of sound that meant bad things for someone and Li wanted to know which of them it was. he was as surprised as Master Jimmie when Val threw himself at him and hugged him::

::for a moment, Li was convinced that Val actually did know this old bastard and he was resolved on murdering them both and going back to the ship without even the body of his friend. but Master Jimmie's own surprise, coupled with the fact that Li knew Val as well as anyone really could know Val and his moods and quirks made him pause. and then he remembered perfectly well that Val had this annoying ability to alight upon strange details of someone's life or personality that always turned things in his favor. and from Master Jimmie's expression, this was one of those times::

::so when Val reached back with a handful of dragon rockets, Li took them immediately and hooked them to his belt to be hidden in the loose folds of his pants and covered by his long, dangling red sash, and he would continue doing this with any fireworks Val passed him - hooking it from either his belt or stuffing them up his sleeves - until Val stopped passing them to him::

::but the entire time he eyed Master Jimmie with a dangerous smile. he would remember Master Jimmie and he had quite a few words to say to him::

:)

<Master Jimmie>
::Caught by surprise in the foreign young man's joyful embrace, Master Jimmie sputtered a bit at first, and tried to reach around Val to readjust the position of his glasses, which the captain had dislodged in his enthusiasm. He only really succeeded in flailing helplessly, because despite his strength (and it was substantial, do not be fooled by the old-man-suit), Val's currently was much more overbearing.::

Aaagh! Who are you?! What??? Dumplings?? Are you playing a joke? Don't tell me you are one of Lu-Bao's friends!!! That little scamp! Marrying my daughter....

::and Jimmie continued on like this until Val let go, satisfied with what he had pilfered from the front of the cart, and patting Master Jimmie on the shoulder heartily.::

<Val>
Ohhhh it was so good to see you again!!! Send my regards to Lu-Bao! >:B :D

::and, after a split-second of thought,:: And your daughter. <3

::Val couldn't help but let slip a sly, cheeky wink and smile that implied everything it looked like it was implying, just to top off the act, as he stepped back, discreetly stuffing a last spinning flare into his pocket.::

::But that, however, was one move that did not go unnoticed by the sharp Master Jimmie, who had bumblingly fixed his glasses in a huff to turn a furiously baffled eye back to the impudent stranger who had just hugged him.::

<Master Jimmie>
::Had only become even more furious at the wink, just as Val intended, but more to his immediate concern was the firework he saw being stuffed into the pocket of the horrible young man.::

::With ultimate swiftness, he shot his arm out and shook a pointed and threatening finger directly at Val, who was already backing away swiftly with Li, waving his farewell and grinning cheerfully.::

YOU!!! THAT'S EXPENSIVE!!! ...YOU PAY FOR THAT!!!

::but Master Jimmie couldn't seem to leave the counter of his stall, so he couldn't actually get anywhere to run after them, even if he wanted to.::

:x !!!!!! THIEF! OY!!!

::it was unfortunate that everyone around turned out to be either also a thief of some sort (that's what you get for setting up shop in the cheaper end of port) or engaged in drunken New Years revelry. So Jimmie's cries were as unheeded as last week's tabloids after a recent celebrity scandal.::

<Li>
::he was somewhat amused at Val's complete and utter disregard for Master Jimmie's feelings. In fact - he highly approved these aspersions cast upon the honor of Master Jimmie's daughter. It was unlikely to actually damage her reputation in any way and only served to upset Master Jimmie, the right bastard. so he smiled quite merrily and even stopped smiling pointily long enough to giggle at the antics::

::he had a moment of unease as Master Jimmie decided to shout for assistance at the theft, but since no one seemed inclined to intervene, Li laughed out loud and fished around in his pocket, pulling out a coin. it wouldn't even half-cover what they had stolen, but perhaps it would have covered the price of the one Master Jimmie currently knew about. this coin he flipped through the air, hoping to have it bounce off the old man's forehead, but if it hit him anywhere else, Li would have been just as delighted::

For the firework, you old faker! You're not a merchant at all. ::sneers with a smile:: If we meet again, mind your fingers, for I may want to collect them! ::he childishly stuck his tongue out at Master Jimmie (the powder combined with the whiskey and high spirits from accomplishing their goal seemed to have lightened his mood considerably)::

::he grabbed Val's sleeve by the elbow, pointing down an alley:: This way! ::his expression was vastly, honestly amused and he lead Val deliberately away from the direction they intended to go. so instead of towards the beach, he lead them away from it so they could come to the beach by a circular route in case Master Jimmie did manage to attract the attention of some sort of port authority and they were chased after::

<Master Jimmie>
::The last that either of them heard of the disgruntled old man were shouts the likes of "Troublemakers!!!" and "You pay for that!!!" all of which proved of course nothing but the futility of his exertion.::

:x

<Val>
::Was subsequently led astray by Li, whom he cast a smiling glance at when he could. He barely had time to properly witness Li's reaction to the whole debacle, but he knew he had made some sort of positive impression on the face of his stern friend.::

I wouldn't take him too seriously, Li. ::said the captain to his friend, as they hurried out of sight of the traders commune.:: He's, simply put, a crazy old guy, trying to keep up a living. I suspect he's already secretly well off, he just does this for a hobby.

::They kept on their little deviating course until they reached a dark and desolate street near the outskirts of the town. When it was completely clear, Val jogged to a stop, eventually turning to face Li, and had on a certain expression of his - his eyes wide and sparkling and his lips, though pressed together almost by force, curved up at the edges in mirth that was impossible to hide. It was an expression that signified Val being so amused and thrilled at a recent achievement that he was on the verge of keeling over while clutching his stomach, to burst into helpless, merry and extravagant laughter. And that is exactly what he did.::

Bwahahahahahahahaha!!!!! Come on now that was gold!!! --What did we get? :D :D :D ::Almost before he had finished with his laughter he was already rifling through Li's clothes in order to retrieve and review their catchings.::

<Li>
::Master Jimmie was as far from his thoughts as other unimportant things the moment they were a street-length away. but he enjoyed fleeing from the fireworks booth anyway. and seeing as other people were running around, he had no fear that they would be stopped and questioned. the one good thing about doing something wrong on a holiday was that people just assumed you were running around from high spirits. particularly if you were laughing or smiling as you ran, which Li was::

Oh - ::he replied as they jogged, the fireworks bouncing against his hip and within his sleeves:: -I'd have to think so, yes! His merchandise is actually quite good, you see! But if he is no longer sailing to retrieve them himself from larger ports than this, he may not have the ability to replenish his supplies very quickly - thus his dis- ::he stumbled slightly on the word 'disinclination':: -dis...like of selling!

::when they reached the edge of town, Li slowed to a stop when Val did, only slightly winded. for someone as naturally disinclined to physical activity, he was still in perfectly excellent shape. perhaps from all the running around he had to do when around Val, and the fighting of pirates and occasionally merchants or natives or drunken soldiers or - well, others in general - while sailing with the crew of the Esperanza::

::he noticed Val's expression and smiled back, straightening his clothes and hair and then sliding his hands into his sleeves while Val laughed in his merry, over-the-top way::

Yes - ::he began, quite cheerfully:: It wa- ::and then his clothing was rifled with and his cheerful expression fell off his face like an anchor being dropped at port:: Stop that at once! ::he ordered, slapping Val's hands away. or at least trying to. XD his expression iced over::

<Val>
::At being fended off by Li's fussy motions, Val stepped back, holding is hands in the air in surrender - and also to automatically show that he had touched or taken nothing. His face, however, was still grinning, as he wasn't offended by this shooing-off of his person at all.::

Oop, I want no trouble from you, ::he half-quipped, half-warned, half still giggling in amusement (and now amusement at Li's stiff-collared reaction). Yes, that made one an a half. Which was perfectly suited to the amount of happy, carefree energy that was buzzing in Val at that moment. It was as if he'd never drunk a whole bottle of rum and a portion of that whiskey at all.... if it weren't for the playful and swaying tone he used to answer to Li that indicated that he was indeed slightly drunk...::

:D

::he let Li retrieve the rest of the fireworks so they could look at them. XD::

<Li>
::he was not immediately mollified by Val's 'surrendering' pose or that he'd backed off. in fact, he double-checked his supplies of powder and gold, because he knew how light-fingered and sneaky Val could be sometimes. finding them safe and secure, Li looked up suspiciously, his expression completely dubious. he even checked a few of the coins to make certain they hadn't been replaced with something of a lower denomination. but, again, he found himself in possession of his things, so he attempted to regain his composure and straighten his clothing. only then did he look around.::

::there was a small shrine area nearby with an area for travelers to rest a moment. it had a seating area made up of a rough wooden table with even rougher, very poorly treated benches. though Li did not sit, he did lay out the fireworks on the table, his expression very closed and severe as he did so. he didn't speak because he still hadn't forgiven his friend for invading his personal space in that way. hanging off of his person was bad enough, but rifling through his clothes??::

::thankfully for Val, at least, Li didn't seem to mind Val's giggles and breezy quip/warning. and he actually began to have his ruffled feathers smoothed by the time he'd laid out their loot.::

There. :) ::though his smile was, of course, meaningless except to indicate he was no longer pissed enough to forget to smile::