Herbalry
tagged: emi, shuai

It started to look like staying over night at the shop was becoming a habit for the raven haired man. Yuuta never intended to work more than he should, but it just happened sometimes and with the whole craze of Equalists, it seemed like less and less of a safe idea to walk home at such late times. The shop wasn't too far away from the shared apartment with Shuai, but enough to make it a difficult and scary journey for him at such times of the night. He always managed to keep himself busy burning the midnight oil to study up on his herbs and the different remedies for the same kinds of illnesses. It was remedial and very basic, but at least it kept him busy. He could never sleep on those darned mattresses in the sick room especially with the thoughts that plagued him of catching something that could weaken his immune system.

"Bah! Get up," he heard his master say, taking Yuuta's cane to hit the metal frame of the bed. The cane clattered to the floor and he was left with a buzzing noise in his head and a headache. The apprentice swung his legs off the bed and held his head in his hands. He could never hate his master for such behavior since the old man dealt with his nasty attitude all the time, but there sure were times like this that he wished the man was a bit more of a stranger and didn't treat him so casually. He'd never voice these thoughts as it would accomplish nothing, it was just something that kept him sane for a few moments.

Yuuta left his cane next to the bed, knowing he wouldn't need it anytime soon so long as he didn't overwork himself, as he headed to the back room. The room smelled strongly of herbs and salt, a bit too strong, but the smell managed to relax him as he neared the bathroom. With a quick wash of his face and a comb through his hair, he deemed himself ready for the day despite the obvious lack of sleep. Oh well, today was one of his days that he didn't have to work at the warehouse -whatever day it might specifically be- so he would just head back 'home' earlier than usual to get a bit more shut eye. And as his stomach growled loudly, he made the mental note to eat some of those leftovers Shuai brought back from her work for a meal when he returned. It was never up to his standard of food, but it was at least something to fill his stomach temporarily.

As he left the bathroom, he realized he had lost the ribbon that kept his hair out of his face. The idea of searching for it passed but was quickly dismissed. He knew he had it last night, so it had to be somewhere in the shop; he would find it sooner or later on happenstance. Yuuta took a seat in the front of the shop behind the cash register, instantly putting his mind towards the check book that needed to be balanced though his head was still foggy from waking it only minutes ago. Even if he had woken up minutes ago, he doubted that the store had just opened. His master had seemed somewhat frustrated when he woke him up, so it was probably a few hours after opening, give or take. And with that and a long sigh, he tried to focus on his work.

Herbalry
tagged: emi, shuai

People seemed to be getting stingy with their money these days. They barely broke even yesterday with people haggling their prices down so they made a single yuan's profit, if they were lucky. In one way or another, they still had the register full of money. It wasn't bursting, but at least it wasn't empty. Was it something to do with Among? No, that couldn't be the case; more than half of their customers were nonbenders. The other half were not-so successful benders that couldn't afford waterbending healing. Usually they were firebender stuck at the electricity companies on minimum waged jobs to provide energy to the rest of the damned city. And yet, it seemed like those were the guys Amon was after, the providers of the city. Or did he intend on keeping only firebenders around for that one purpose?

Yuuta jumped when he heard a voice and a paper bag was shoved in his face. "Shuai," he growled, though taking the bag of food from his roommate. "Please, don't sneak up on me like that," he said, heaving a sigh and pinching the skin between his brows and his eyes shut tight. After a moment to regain his wits, he opened his eyes and searched through the bag. Leftovers from her restaurant again? Not that he was complaining about a meal being delivered to him, but he didn't like scraps that no one else wanted, either. Oh well, he thought to himself, I am starving. And she had been nice enough to bring it even though this was the time she normally slept at.

Pulling out a bit of the food, he pushed away the checking book and began to eat slowly. Surprisingly enough, it tasted good, but that mainly because he hadn't eaten anything in a while. "To what do I owe this pleasure to?" he said with a hint of sarcasm. Yuuta was most definitely not a morning person. But, reluctantly, he added, "Thank you." Sure, he was a grump, but it didn't make him a jerk. Knowing as much as he did about his roommate, getting here would have been enough of a problem, let alone giving up her sleep time. He looked over his should, straining his neck to see over one of the counters, trying to see if his master was there. He was.

"Is there anything you need?" Yuuta offered kindly, hoping she would ask for something along the lines of cleaning salts. With his fear of getting sick, the idea of uncooked food germs still sticking to her hands and passing ithem to everything she touched. The thought was revolting to the young man.