(no subject)
Series: CLOUDBEARDS
Prompt: CLOUDBEARDS
It was just after his two hundred and nineteenth birthday when General Iroh passed away quietly in his sleep, and opened his eyes to an indigo blue sky.
Furrowing his brow, he pulled his lips into a frown, feeling the cool, soft space beneath his back as he thought backward. He was absolutely certain that he had fallen asleep within the royal palace. Absolutely certain that he had bid goodnight to both of his nephew's children and all five of the grandchildren before climbing into bed and departing for the spirit world. And yet this strange place bore no resemblance to the un-living lands that he had visited so long ago: clear skies and clouds and white wisps of land stretching far into the distance.
“Well, you must be the newcomer,” a voice boomed above him, coming, it seemed, from a somewhat scraggly looking man with a rather impressive beard. The man leaned out over him, grinning ridiculously under the dark mess of facial hair. “Hm. Not quite what I'd expect.... but if you're here, then you must have the - ah - skills we're looking for.”
Iroh coughed once, quickly gathering his confusion into polite bow. “It is an honor to meet you, sir..?”
“Oh, don't worry about my name; nobody really cares up here.” The man leaned town to help him to his feet, and Iroh tried not to dwell too long on the fact that he had done so with the edge of his particularly long beard, then curling it back in on itself before offering a small pile of colorful, round balls. “Want a Skittle?”
“No, thank you. But... I would appreciate a pot of Jasmine; traveling always leaves me tired.”
“Oh, yeah, sure; once we get you settled in. Now,” And the man paused momentarily, squinting into the distance as he lead them in a lazy loop. “I think we can set you up over there, right next to Dumbledore and Grindewald. I'd watch out for those two though-” he whispered, leaning in close as he wrapped his beard around Iroh's shoulder. “-They're gay.”
Somewhere up the way, he spotted the distant forms of several men chattering among themselves. They waved, he bowed in return, and then decided that he had been for far too long without an explanation, and had earned the right to be a crotchety old man until he received one. Which he promptly informed the strange bearded man with the candy.
“Well, it's really simple,” The beardman replied, scratching one ear idly with his facial hair. “You have a particularly nice beard.”
“Hmmm...” Iroh mused, patting it thoughtfully. “It is one of my best features. Or at least... that's what all my lady-friends tell me.”
“And so that's why you're here, where all of the best beard-growers in the world end up in the end. We've got Gandolf, Barbosa... a whole sub-area devoted to various elves and generations of Santa,” he replied, ticking off points on his fingers. “I mean. Those clouds don't grow themselves, you know.; that's where you come in. So let's get you set up. Oh hey, don't forget that Tuesday is movie night. And Dennis the Elf likes to host beard wrestling every other weekend. It's a sweet deal.”
And it turned out that they did in fact have Jasmine tea in the land of Cloudbeards.
Prompt: CLOUDBEARDS
It was just after his two hundred and nineteenth birthday when General Iroh passed away quietly in his sleep, and opened his eyes to an indigo blue sky.
Furrowing his brow, he pulled his lips into a frown, feeling the cool, soft space beneath his back as he thought backward. He was absolutely certain that he had fallen asleep within the royal palace. Absolutely certain that he had bid goodnight to both of his nephew's children and all five of the grandchildren before climbing into bed and departing for the spirit world. And yet this strange place bore no resemblance to the un-living lands that he had visited so long ago: clear skies and clouds and white wisps of land stretching far into the distance.
“Well, you must be the newcomer,” a voice boomed above him, coming, it seemed, from a somewhat scraggly looking man with a rather impressive beard. The man leaned out over him, grinning ridiculously under the dark mess of facial hair. “Hm. Not quite what I'd expect.... but if you're here, then you must have the - ah - skills we're looking for.”
Iroh coughed once, quickly gathering his confusion into polite bow. “It is an honor to meet you, sir..?”
“Oh, don't worry about my name; nobody really cares up here.” The man leaned town to help him to his feet, and Iroh tried not to dwell too long on the fact that he had done so with the edge of his particularly long beard, then curling it back in on itself before offering a small pile of colorful, round balls. “Want a Skittle?”
“No, thank you. But... I would appreciate a pot of Jasmine; traveling always leaves me tired.”
“Oh, yeah, sure; once we get you settled in. Now,” And the man paused momentarily, squinting into the distance as he lead them in a lazy loop. “I think we can set you up over there, right next to Dumbledore and Grindewald. I'd watch out for those two though-” he whispered, leaning in close as he wrapped his beard around Iroh's shoulder. “-They're gay.”
Somewhere up the way, he spotted the distant forms of several men chattering among themselves. They waved, he bowed in return, and then decided that he had been for far too long without an explanation, and had earned the right to be a crotchety old man until he received one. Which he promptly informed the strange bearded man with the candy.
“Well, it's really simple,” The beardman replied, scratching one ear idly with his facial hair. “You have a particularly nice beard.”
“Hmmm...” Iroh mused, patting it thoughtfully. “It is one of my best features. Or at least... that's what all my lady-friends tell me.”
“And so that's why you're here, where all of the best beard-growers in the world end up in the end. We've got Gandolf, Barbosa... a whole sub-area devoted to various elves and generations of Santa,” he replied, ticking off points on his fingers. “I mean. Those clouds don't grow themselves, you know.; that's where you come in. So let's get you set up. Oh hey, don't forget that Tuesday is movie night. And Dennis the Elf likes to host beard wrestling every other weekend. It's a sweet deal.”
And it turned out that they did in fact have Jasmine tea in the land of Cloudbeards.