Children will look to you for which way to turn to learn what to be. [Closed]

[myfavoritetea]

Characters: Iroh and Brooklyn
Content: In which after all these months, Iroh finally get another strategist to help with the workload and promptly invited him to tea. To tell him his duties, of course
Setting: The Strategist's office
Time: After Antrim
Warnings: None that I can think of. Extremely nice old man meets tough-acting gargoyle!

Comments

[mrfastandsteady]

Well, he'd jumped right into the fray hadn't he? Joining this crew just days before the disaster-zone that was the town of Antrim meant that Brooklyn hadn't had the chance to adjust just yet. But now that was over, and they were almost no worse for the wear. Almost.

Meeting his coworkers was the first thing on the gargoyle's agenda. He'd asked around for the location of the strategist office. It wasn't that hard to find, the layout of the ship was the one thing he had been able to check out.

The door was shut, and the it was dim underneath the gap. He knocked once just to be safe. Then opened it without waiting for an answer.

[myfavoritetea]

Iroh did not wake at the knocking. Sleeping lightly was an old military habit he had availed himself of breaking as quickly as possible. Taking advantage of any 'down-time' for a nap, however, was one he'd held on to.

He did, however, open one eye as the door opened. When he saw he had a visitor, (and one he didn't know) he sat upright and tried to make it look like he'd not been sleeping at all. Hopefully, the silhouette-effect would disguise that. Right?

[mrfastandsteady]

"Anybody home?"

The room was just as dark as he'd expected it to be, not that this was a problem for him. The only light came from something against the back wall. It was the second thing he registered.

The first thing was a dark form taking up the space behind the desk. The light was silhouetting somebody, and since the sole sphere of light in the room was mostly taken up by a black person-shape, it was painfully hard to miss.

But the shadow was only a slightly startled-looking old man. Brooklyn's face widened for just a second.

[myfavoritetea]

As soon as Iroh realized he had company, the fire brightened. The amount of light was not sufficient for Iroh to fully take in the features of his guest, so with hardly a thought, he stretched out a hand and fire sprung to life in one of the lamps on the other side of the room. Firebending as as good a way to introduce oneself as any.

He rose from behind his desk, smiling warmly up at the very obvious demi-human. "Greetings. I am Iroh." He bowed a little, making him seem even shorter.

[mrfastandsteady]

The fire didn't phase him much, the gargoyle had seen tricks like that before.

He considered trying a bow but thought better of it. "Greetings. It's Brooklyn." Even know that he'd gotten a good look at him, he couldn't help but give Iroh an odd look. "You're. . . one of the ship's strategists?"

[myfavoritetea]

"A pleasure to meet you, Brooklyn." He smiled. Most people didn't know what to make of Iroh, or else dismissed him out of hand as a useless, washed up old man. He did little to alter first impressions. They would change enough on their own. He was an old man, after all, but only occasionally useless.

"I am. What can I help you with? Some tea, perhaps?" Tea, of course, was never in short supply in the strategy room.

[mrfastandsteady]

Tea? Iroh must not have recognized his name. Maybe no one had told him about the position being filled. It seemed inefficient, but maybe it was normal on ships like this?

"No thanks," Brooklyn said. As for what the old man could help with, "I don't know where to start. I'm your new, uh, partner, if that helps."

[myfavoritetea]

Iroh blinked for a moment, and then his smile widened. "Of course!" he said brightly. "Welcome, Brooklyn. You must forgive an old man's memory... it is hazy at times." Iroh's wits, of course, were as sharp as always, but one of the things Iroh had learned in his retirement was that it never hurt to make people think you were less competent than you were. Then they had fewer expectations of you.

"Please, allow me to make amends by showing you around."

[mrfastandsteady]

"Oh sure," he blurted, before he had the chance to explain that he'd explored the ship pretty well on his own already. It didn't make any difference. This was his goal after all, right? To get to know whoever he was going to be working with.

Even if what he'd seen so far hadn't exactly filled him with confidence. "So, how long have you been on the Convoy?" he asked.

[myfavoritetea]

"Oh, several months now. It is hard for an old man to keep track." He said, rubbing his head with a quiet little laugh. Then, because Iroh always believed that it was best to share something about yourself if you wanted to learn something about others, he continued. "I joined this ship initially to keep an eye on my nephews, but I also own a tea shop in Melior."

He eyed the taller demi-human, intrigued. "And why did you decide to join us, Mr. Brooklyn?"

[mrfastandsteady]

So Iroh hadn't been here that long himself. And he had family, even. Brooklyn couldn't get past the thought that there was something all too familiar about this guy. Not that saying so would mean anything.

"I'm looking for someone," he said. There was no reason to keep that much a secret, "This seemed like the best way to cover ground."

[myfavoritetea]

He nodded. "It certainly is that. We have been to so many different places already that sometimes my head spins." He laughed.

Waving a hand almost absently, he raised the level of illumination being given off by the lamps. "Well, let me see... this is the strategist's office, and I suppose yours is the desk across from mine. When I am not using them, I keep most of the maps over here..." He gestured to a large secretary desk in the corner. "Rolled, of course. I cannot stand folded maps..."

[mrfastandsteady]

"Good to hear. Sort of." Not that he new exactly how many 'so many places' was supposed to mean, but it sounded promising.

His own desk was something new. But it was something he could get used to, he thought. "So. . . it's just the two of us?" Brooklyn asked.

[myfavoritetea]

Iroh nodded. "There was a lovely young lady working with me for a while, but she is no longer on the crew. The role of strategists involves long periods of inactivity interspersed with brief, extremely busy times. Fortunately we seem to have more of the former on this ship."

He chuckled a bit. "But when they occur, the active periods are very active. I almost ran out of tea trying to keep myself awake for the last such time!"

[mrfastandsteady]

"That's, uh. Inspiring."

So he was replacing somebody. It wasn't much of a surprise really. Somebody had to be here before him, right? Still, Brooklyn felt like it gave him something he needed to live up to. Not that he wasn't up for a challenge. Idly, he wondered what his predecessor had been like.

Then, for the sake of conversation he asked, "So what do we do when we're not busy?"

[myfavoritetea]

Iroh smiled. That, of course, was his favorite part of the job. "I prefer to keep my wits sharp with a thrilling game of Pai Sho! If I feel the need, I will also hone my battle skills in the combat training room... or see what my nephews are doing. And I enjoy hosting tea in my quarters."

Other than that... Iroh did not do much. But in his mind, he was retired, and an old man. Less was expected of him. "Of course, if I feel the need to do excess work, I ensure the maps are up to date and make contingency plans."

He did not add that he also was the head of an extremely large and well-networked secret society designed to gather intelligence and keep the continent from destroying itself. ... But Brooklyn hadn't specifically asked him, so...