Chapter Seven: Dumplings
The rhythmic knocking on the metal door of his cabin alerted Rui to Cheng's arrival. "Door's open," he called out, setting his pai sho board on the table. By now, he could really use some alone time, as he'd been around the other guards all day and he felt he needed to spend some quiet time alone so he could think about the exchange he'd had earlier with Liling. He'd been stupid to ask her if she still thought of him as an enemy. Of course she still did. He'd be lying if he said that some part of him didn't still consider her an enemy as well. That's why everything was so confusing. That's why he needed some time alone to think.
He'd promised Cheng they'd play a game this evening though, and he didn't want to disappoint his friend. He'd expected his friend a good half hour ago, so the tea he'd made had gone cold, but that was hardly an issue for a firebender. He could really go for some saké now, but they weren't allowed to have alcohol while on duty. In a way, Cheng's tardiness was a good thing, because it had given Rui at least half an hour of peace and quiet to regain his energy. Cheng entered the cabin, slamming the door shut behind him, and flopped down by the table. Rui raised his eyebrows. "You look bummed, did someone set fire to your dinner?"
Cheng crossed his arms over his chest and made a face. "No, but someone ate it. Well, not my dinner but my second dinner. You took all the leftover dumplings? What's wrong with you, man?" Now it was Rui's time to frown. "How was I supposed to know you wanted a second serving? And what's second dinner? What do they teach you guys in the minor islands?"
"Well," Cheng replied with a deadpan expression, "for one, they teach us not to eat all of the dumplings, in case someone else might still want some. I've been thinking about an extra portion of dumplings the whole day and then you barge into the kitchen and just take them all! I'm hurt!" Rui reached out and roughly ruffled his friend's hair. "Can I make it up with cookies?" He always had a steady supply of cookies, courtesy of his mother and her bakery. It seemed his mother worried he wasn't fed properly, or maybe she just wanted him to fatten up a little. Cheng immediately grabbed a handful.
"Seriously though," he said with his mouth full, "what'd you need all that food for? You're not pregnant and eating for two, are you?" Rui smiled, remembering earlier that evening. "I had a good reason." Cheng waved his cookie around at waist height, "Your good reason wouldn't happen to be about yea high? With freckles?" Rui threw his hands in the air. "So you got me. Have another cookie and shut your pie hole about it, will you? Don't get me in trouble with the warden." Cheng grinned. "Course not! Although I'd like to see the warden try and throw you overboard!"
With the pai sho board and tiles set up, they began their game. It was a mystery to Rui why Cheng liked pai sho as much as he did, considering how awful he was at it. Still, it was nice to have a friend to spend some time with, even if they were polar opposites in most other respects. Pai sho was the second thing they realised they had in common.
The first was their mutual dislike for warden Yin, or Ashpot or Stinkface as Cheng liked to call him. On the day they'd both arrived at their new job, Rui having previously guarded one of the villages in the valley and Cheng fresh from the homeland, it had taken the warden only a few hours to go on a true tirade against Cheng, who'd had the audacity of smiling at a prisoner. He may have even wished him a good day. Cheng always smiled, to the point where Rui thought it might be some sort of defect in his facial muscles.
That one outburst had been enough for Rui to immediately dislike the warden, but Cheng had instead, for some reason, assumed the warden had acted that way because he was stressed and needed to simply lighten up a little. Needless to say, Cheng's attempt to apologize to the warden and cheer him up had backfired tremendously, and actual fire had been involved. Word of the incident had spread quickly and the new guards had known not to get on the warden's bad side –or try to get on his good side. Even Cheng had had the common sense to stay well out of the warden's way.
Cheng grabbed another cookie. "Why'd Freckles get so much food for anyways? You plundered the whole kitchen!" He waved the cookie in Rui's face. "I'm having all of these. To get even." He took a demonstrative bite and chewed loudly, frowning at his friend. Rui shrugged. "It's her birthday, so I thought she deserved something nice." Cheng's frown instantly turned into a smile. "I see! Say congratulations from me next time you see her, okay? Hey, you like her, don't you buddy? How does she feel? You need more friends. I can't be the only person you talk to around here."
Rui shrugged and sighed. "I think I screwed up. I think she's angry with me." Cheng shook his head. "Nah, she's just a prisoner. They don't like us in general, don't take it personally! And besides, you just stuffed her face with dumplings, nobody can stay mad at a person who brings them good food! She'll come 'round, you'll see… oh, these cookies are so good. You gotta tell your mother to send more! I wanna save the last one for later…" That turned out to be one of Cheng's many fleeting thoughts, because within a few moves on the board, he'd eaten the cookie anyway.
It was a mystery to Rui how Cheng ever thought it was a good idea to enlist in the army. He was a great guy and people naturally took a liking to him, and vice versa: Cheng never thought badly of anyone and was always ready to extend a helping hand. It was ironic how these qualities that made him such a likeable person also made him such a terrible soldier. Add to that the fact that he was often lost in his own thoughts, had trouble paying attention and tended to carry out his orders haphazardly and leave loose ends, and it was clear that Cheng, as a soldier, was a recipe for disaster, especially given their current superior. Rui had taken it upon himself to keep his friend out of trouble, which took considerably more effort than he'd expected.
With the cookies now gone, Cheng seemed somewhat more focused on the game. "Man, you always beat me. Can't you be a pal and let me win for once?" Rui shook his head. "Couldn't if I tried. You're awful today, is something wrong? You're not still on about those dumplings are you?" His friend yawned. "I just had a long day, and I didn't sleep very well. You have no idea how lucky you are to have your own cabin."
Most of the crew slept in 4 bed dormitories, only the warden, the captain and Rui had their own cabins as they were ranking officers. Cheng, being only second lieutenant, shared his cabin with junior lieutenant Kuno, who was known to talk in his sleep. Sometimes his unconscious babbling was funny, sometimes it was disturbing and sometimes it was just plain weird. Rui moved his tile across the board, putting Cheng in a tight spot. "Sorry," he said as he saw the expression of surprise on Cheng's face. "Was Kuno at it again?"
Cheng sighed, and made a surprisingly good counter, seemingly without realising. "Oh yeah. You know what he did? He gave me a real scare this time! I was sound asleep, middle of the night, and then I get this feeling there's something looming over me, you know that feeling? So I wake up and there's Stringbean, just standing right next to my bed looking down on me. Motionless." Cheng made a dramatic gesture with his arms and leaned in.
"Just standing there, staring. Eyes wide open, not even blinking. Dead silent. So I stare right back at him with eyes the size of tea trays. What do I do? Do I punch him, say something, hide under the blankets? Then finally he says something, know what that idiot says?" Rui shook his head. "Cheng, he goes, Cheng, what bed do you want to sleep in?" Cheng laughed out loud, his shoulders shaking, and Rui smiled.
"What did you say?" Cheng barely composed himself. "I said, I wanna sleep in this bed, the one I always sleep in! I've been sleeping in this bed for three years! And then Kuno said alright and he just wanted to make sure I was happy!" Rui chimed in. "Well, it could've been worse. Imagine waking up with warden Yin standing over you!" br / Cheng was now doubled over on the table. "Oh no," he grinned, "I can't handle that on an empty stomach!" The tiles were all over the table now, and both men considered their game best left unfinished. Cheng sat up again, wiping his eyes, and then a devious grin spread on his face. "If only I could wake up to something nice, say… you standing next to my bed, holding a tray of delicious dumpl-ouch!" He rubbed his forehead where the lotus tile had hit him. "Keep dreaming, dumpling."
