A Scripta

Names:

The Hmong have only a certain amount of names to choose from. There are 18-19 clan names and a small number of traditional first names for boys and girls. Because of this, there could commonly be more than one Lue Xiong in the same village. Therefore, many times, they are given nicknames or are called "So and so’s father's son/daughter" to differentiate them.

Once a woman is married, she assumes her husband’s name and is considered part of the husband’s clan, and is then publicly called "Wife of –" (The same word means "aunt"). Her husband is usually the only one who calls her by her original first name.

Sources:
Wikipedia: Hmong Customs.
http://www.cal.org/co/hmong/hlaos.html

Blackie – Lue’s father
He’s considered uncaring about the rest of the family and its customs and has "a black heart".

Jumping Tiger – Xang, Lue’s cousin
He is a highly competitive martial artist.

Sparky – Teng, Lue’s cousin
He’s an electrician by trade.

Cuisine:

The weird food you hear people eating in Third World countries is common in the markets. Fried grasshoppers, moths, boiled goat heads, roasted fetal pig is not unusual. The Hmong and Lao both consider glutinous rice to be a staple of a meal, such as bread with Westerners, and are usually eaten at all meals of the day. Breakfast and lunch are often the same type of meal, with dinner after sundown.

The most popular beverages are beer and coffee. Beer is drunk at all hours. Coffee is usually served in glasses at room temperature, with a layer of sweetened condensed milk at the bottom.

Desserts are mostly packaged and very sweet.

Wikipedia: Hmong/Laos cuisine
http://www.tamnaklao.net/mains.php

Lue and Grim were sitting across from each other at a coffee shop just down the street, when Lue finally spoke. "They wanted to use me. Just like at home."

Lue looked so forlorn, that Grim just wanted to hold him. Instead, he glanced around to see if anyone was noticing and took Lue's hand and squeezed it. He looked up at Grim, his eyes sad.

"Oh, love," Grim whispered, a hitch in his voice. Grim wanted to take the pain in his eyes away. He held onto Lue's hand with both of his own, no longer caring who saw. "After this, we'll go back to the house and pack, and practice some of the things Thao taught us?"

Lue squeezed Grim's fingers wrapped around his hand. "I know what you're trying to do, Grim." Grim pulled Lue's hand to him and kissed his knuckles. That got a slight smile out of Lue. He said quietly, "You're the only person I can trust."

Grim smiled and kissed his hand again. "I love you." He released Lue's hand, though Lue didn't pull it back immediately. "We have five hours until the flight. I still want to at least see the deep-fried grasshoppers."

Lue sat back with a gentle smile, "All right, all right. Finish your coffee, we'll go to the market."

For once, it wasn't raining. They had to pass by the house on the way. Lue and Grim glanced toward it, and saw more cars parked in front. They looked at each other. "No," Lue said, and kept on walking toward the market.

Although he started looking through the wares there, Grim was preoccupied with how to avoid a confrontation. He got to see the grasshoppers - they looked like french fries, too. They really didn't taste that bad - they were crunchy like the moths, without the papery aftertaste. Lue also picked up some red-colored strings of what smelled like some sort of meat. Grim regarded Lue, "Okay, what're these, worms?"

Lue laughed, "No, they're fried pig intestines."

Grim took one - it had the rubbery consistency of fried calimari and the spiciness of black pepper. "Do you guys deep fry Twinkies, too?"

"They probably would if they had them," Lue said, eating more. Then, lastly, Lue picked up one more thing - chunks of cold shiny red meat in a thick red sauce. He also got a side of more hot sauce, which Grim could tell was hot because he saw the pepper seeds floating around in it. Lue sat with Grim and plucked a piece off the plate with his chopsticks. He offered it to Grim. Grim reached for the chopsticks, but Lue said, "Go on, I'll give it to you."

Grim smiled, and let Lue feed it to him. It had the consistency of liver; it was smooth and slimy, and pretty much tasteless. Lue took a piece for himself and dipped it in the ever-present hot sauce. "Okay, what was that?"

"Blood bouillon."

"Blood?"

"Yes." Lue motioned to the hot sauce with his chopsticks. "Want to try it with this? It's got some taste."

Grim's stomach roiled, but he swallowed. Lue watched him, concerned. "I'll be all right," he said. "I've had blood pudding before, this is just, well, different."

"It's cold, for one," Lue said, taking another piece. "We're getting you a set of chopsticks so you can learn how to eat properly." He grinned.

"You're the barbarians, you don't even use forks!" Grim hit Lue's shoulder playfully. "Yeah, let me try it with the sauce."

Lue smiled and fed him again, lightly dipping it into the hot sauce. "Better," Grim said. "You can have the rest."

Lue finished it. "Can't wait until you get home and have a regular cheeseburger?"

"With pizza and a Coke."

Lue chuckled. He pulled out a huge wad of bills. "We still have a lot of kip left. I want to get a few pounds of chilies because I like these better than the ones at home."

"And the chopsticks."

"Right." They headed off into the market and got five pounds of chilies. Next they went away from the food stalls and toward the other part of the market, where there were assorted wares for sale. There was plenty of jewelry, silver and gold bangles and earrings, bolts of brightly colored fabric, along with scarves and sashes, pipes and Buddha statues. Grim saw a tapestry hanging up that he liked - a blue square of cloth with people and animals sewn throughout it. The woman saw him admiring it, and immediately extolled the virtues of the piece, explaining that it was a Paj Ntaub Tib Neeg or a story cloth. It illustrated Teng Chu, the son of the first man, putting up the sun in the sky. Lue saw that Grim liked it, so he started to haggle. Lue got her down to a reasonable price, and Grim happily took it.

Next they got a leather-like box with a pair of chopsticks. They were onyx and red, with symbols of good taste and fortune along the side. Lue again bargained. Grim stood and watched Lue, smiling. Grim took the chopsticks from him after he bought them. "You're good," Grim said, and smiled warmly.

Lue blushed slightly. They walked on a little more, while Lue counted out the kip. Grim stopped at another booth and saw a set of wooden bowls. However, they were colored like marble, with light wood and dark wood intertwined. "Lue," Grim said, "we can get these for your grandfather."

Lue slowly smiled and sidled up to Grim, close enough to get in his space without touching him. "That sounds nice."

This time, Grim haggled. Grim didn't do such a good job. Lue complimented him, anyway. They handed over the rest of their kip - even though it was more than what Grim had haggled for. Eventually they started to the house. The cars were still there.

"I can create a fog," Lue said.

"And I'll make the house look dark from the outside while we pack."

Lue nodded. He made some hand signs and they started up the path. Grim peeked into one of the cars and grabbed Lue's sleeve. One of the men in the back seat had a pistol lying across his lap. Lue pulled Grim to the house, and they went inside. Grim hissed, "They're going to try to kill you!"

"Both of us," Lue said angrily. He looked torn - should he go outside and wipe them all out, or should he avoid the confrontation? Lue stared at the door, waiting for an answer.

All Grim could see was Lue leaving behind a path of blood as he went down the street. And then they'd have to get past the police, and the resulting manhunt, and how would they get on a plane? If they travelled back on their own, they needed to somehow cross the ocean, and it could take a week. No, it did not bode well. Grim put a hand on Lue's shoulder, "Please, love, let's just get out of here."

Lue's shoulders slumped. Grim knew that wasn't the answer he wanted, but it was the safest one for now. If they were closer to home, it might have been different - Grim would have let him do it under the cover of darkness. Finally, Lue turned to Grim and nodded slowly. The men packed up quickly. Lue created the fog again and stepped out of the front door. "We'll go down a few blocks and call a taxi," Lue said quietly.

Grim stayed well within the fog, as they both slunk past the cars and down the street. There was a pay phone there, and Lue called for a taxi. The taxi came in twenty minutes, and, of course, had to drive by the house to get to the airport. Grim pulled Lue down against his protests and held him there on the back seat.

Grim swore he would never come to this country ever again.

Grim had closed his eyes and the next thing he saw was sunrise. Lue had also fallen asleep in his arms and was breathing deeply. He awoke moments later, even though Grim hadn't moved. "We...fell asleep," Lue said groggily.

"Fully dressed," Grim said and yawned. It was getting hot in the room again. "Dammit, is it ever cool around here?"

Lue made a couple of hand signs while they still lay there and a constant breeze flowed across both of them. Grim smiled and hugged Lue. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Lue looked up at the clock and lay his head back down with a groan. "Seven-thirty..."

"Three and a half hours to showtime."

"Must you remind me?"

Grim kissed Lue's hair. "What are you going to tell them, love?"

"I'm sure it's already been told."

Grim looked at the ceiling. "Oh." As he usually did, Grim searched for a way to make him happy by distracting him with humor. "Hey, can we go back to that market again? I want to try the grasshoppers."

Lue chuckled, saying, "I'd much rather stay here." He snuggled against him for emphasis.

"We can order out."

"At seven-thirty in the morning?"

"C'mon, you guys have running water, you don't have 24 hour delivery service?"

"We don't have that at home either."

"Which goes to show the necessity of it! I should tell Rorri."

Lue shook his head, chuckling. "Grim, I love you."

"I love you too, Lue." Lue raised his head, and looked with longing at Grim.

They discovered that the bed was sturdier than it looked.

=======================

Tao Xiong paced. Long Cha, the bride's father, looked worried. Mee Cha sat with her mother and two younger sisters in an adjacent room, oblivious to what was going on. Rumors had reached Long that Lue had arrived from America, which threw all the plans in disarray. Originally, the four negotiators would come together - two from the bride's and two from the groom's - have a few drinks, and negotiate the bride price and the dowry. What was to be exchanged was a mere formality, and an excuse to have a party. A wedding would be performed in absentium and Lue would be informed by mail that he now had a wife. He was honor-bound to accept her.

Now, it was all wrong. Lue was here, and he was going to refuse her. That part of the rumor mercifully did not reach Long Cha, though Tao wouldn't be surprised if it was making its way through the guests right now, and it would only be a matter of time before Long would come up to him demanding what was going on.

At five of noon, the door to the hall opened. Teng and Xang should have been the ones standing there, ready to begin negotiations. Instead, it was Lue and his alien friend, Kim. A collective gasp came over most of the hall, as the two men walked side by side down the aisle that was created, heading toward the booth at the end of the bar, where Cha's negotiators now stood to greet them. Both men were dressed formally, as was expected, and both of them looked very serious.

Lue walked by Tao, heading right to the booth. He whispered something to Kim, who stood back as Lue continued up the three steps to the booth. Lue said, in a clear voice, "I wish to speak to Mee Cha." It wasn't lost by the assembly that he didn't call her "my bride".

Long Cha looked at the negotiators, who were looking at him. One of them turned and went to the room the women were in. Kim stood alone in the middle of the floor, his hands behind his back, waiting. The door to the other room opened and a young, pretty girl came out. She looked about Lue's age, with raven black hair and gentle brown eyes. Lue wasn't wrong in saying that she was a kind person, because she exuded that sort of aura about her. She smiled at Lue. "Lue Xiong! They said you'd come here." She smiled happily. She was probably expecting a ragamuffin, and instead saw a very handsome man.

"Mee Cha," he replied with a small smile. Mee came forward and hugged him. He returned the hug, then held her at arm's length. "I must tell you something."

The smile faded slightly.

"I'm sorry, but I must refuse this marriage."

"Wh..." The entire hall gasped again, and Grim saw that some women had put their hands over their mouths in shock. Mee's smile totally disappeared. Grim watched Tao turn from the scene and head toward the bar. "Wh...why?"

"I am a hero in Paragon City, in America. I am a hunted man there. I won't have the time to devote to you, nor will I be able to protect you. Your life will be in constant danger. I cannot be responsible for that."

She looked ready to burst into tears. "You won't take me to America?"

Lue stared at her, stunned, and so did Grim. Grim whispered, "Son of a bitch."

Lue whirled and faced Tao, "Is that what this marriage was about, for me to take her to America?"

Tao said, a drink in his hand, still standing at the bar, "That was the bride price."

Lue's eyes were dark; Grim knew that meant fury. He took a deep breath and turned back to Mee. "I am sorry you were caught in the middle of this and mislead--"

"I want to go to America! And bring my family!"

Grim said quietly, "You're making this worse, honey..."

Lue said coldly to her, "That's not going to happen, at least not with me." He turned from her and headed back down the stairs, going to the door.

It was then that he saw Xang and Teng, along with some of the men from last night flanking them. Teng stepped forward. "You want to know the real reason, Mee?"

Grim started a spell that would cause him to lose his voice for half an hour. Lue heard him and put a hand on his arm, shaking his head.

"He likes men."

That caused an audible gasp in the room. Lue waited for some time then folded his arms and regarded Teng. "Are you finished?"

Teng was slightly taken aback. He was probably expecting Lue to adamantly deny it, or at least start an argument. He was ready for that. He wasn't ready for Lue's cold acceptance of the accusation. Teng blinked. Lue nodded his head toward the door, and Grim followed.

"Coward!" yelled Xang.

Lue turned around. "You are the real cowards. At least I have the bravery to follow my heart." Lue summoned a wind to throw open the doors before them, and both of them walked out.

As he flew, Grim let the rain cover him in a shield, about a couple of centimeters away from his body, like a second skin. He had warmed it up to his body temperature, so it wasn't cold and he could barely feel the drops. His head was full of the water knowledge, how to pull it from the very air and everything around him, how to manipulate it, warm it, change it into steam or ice, how to make it disperse in a violent explosion, how to part a lake or hold back a wave, how to create a tsunami and a localized storm, and how disperse them all. Thao alluded that anything liquid could be manipulated like this.

Including blood, which gave Grim all sorts of ideas.

He also alluded that this was only part of his knowledge, and he would share as time would go by. But he believed he wasn't much longer for this world. Grim, in all his honesty, silently agreed. However, Grim did leave Thao with a rune: the rune of liquid refill, which he thoroughly enjoyed with his Lao Lao - fermented rice wine.

They landed two blocks away from the house. It was dark again, Saturday night at midnight, and both of them were exhausted mentally and physically. They walked slowly to the house, and saw were a few cars parked in front of it, people gathered at the stoop. Grim could see well in the dark, and Lue could sense shadows, so both men stopped at the same time half a block away.

"We have a welcoming committee," Grim said.

Lue peered and Grim watched him close his fist to extend a long spine out of his knuckles. "Let's go see."

The men walked slowly, and the people started moving down from the stoop. Grim counted ten. More came out of cars. He counted six more. Lue kept his hand at his side. "What's wrong, Xang? I defeated you so now you've brought some friends?"

"We know why you can't marry Mee Cha. You're a homo."

Grim's translator changed the French word pedále into homo. Grim guessed there was no Hmong word for homosexual. Grim watched Lue for a reaction. Then someone grabbed Grim's arms from behind and yanked him back, away from Lue. Lue with a roar immediately exploded into spikes, and moved like a whirlwind, stabbing Xang straight through. Grim for his part yelled a spell that cast the entire block into pure inky blackness, with a howling of angry spirits all around them for additional effect. He was released, so he turned, seeing easily in the dark, and cast tentacles to hold three men down.

Meanwhile he heard men screaming as Lue let loose. Grim reached for the ley line - he was going to be doing some healing tonight. It wasn't as pure as the one near Thao's house, but it would have to do.

Grim pulled the darkness up like a curtain, and five men lay bleeding at Lue's feet. Three men were frozen in fright in tentacles. The rest of them were running blindly away. Lue was crouched over the bleeding men, not even winded, his venom dripping on them, but not causing them any further harm than the spikes had. Grim walked into Lue's line of sight. "Let me take care of them, love," he said quietly.

Lue stood up and nodded slowly, the spikes also slowly sinking into his body. Grim bent to Xang first, healing the hole in his chest, then putting him to sleep. He moved from one to the other, his hands glowing blue, healing as he went along, feeling slightly sick to his stomach as he did because of the taint of the ley line. Lue approached Xang and woke him up, then lifted him up by the front of his shirt. Lue pulled his face very close to his own and made sure that was the first thing Xang would see upon waking.

"Cousin," Lue said coldly. Xang opened his eyes and they went wide. "You are very lucky that Grim is a caring man, because I would have let you bleed to death on this street for daring to touch him." Lue let him go, Xang stumbled and fell. Lue looked around to see Grim finishing up healing the last person. Grim stood up after grounding; he looked pale and shaky. Lue went over to him, putting his arm around him to help him stand. "Are you all right, love?"

"Yeah. Magic isn't so organic here."

Xang had gotten to his feet, and was hugging a car, backing away from them. "You have brought dishonor on your father, your family," he yelled at Lue. "You disgust me!" He jumped into a car, and they let him drive off. The others started slowly returning. They stepped aside as Grim and Lue headed up the path to the door and went into the house. Without putting on the light, Lue went right to the bed. Grim followed, and the two of them held and comforted each other even after they heard the last car drive away.

Now, this is what Grim expected when coming to Laos. They were fifty miles north of Phonmouang, in the "highlands" of Laos. The road had turned into a brown slow-moving stream with banana-shaped boats scattered through it. The water came up to Grim's waist when he landed lightly.

"You're not supposed to go swimming until three hours after eating, love," Lue said, chuckling. The water swirled around him, not touching him.

"Oh, hush." Grim uttered the spell that Lue had taught him and the water also started flowing around him. A boat was coming their way, and the man driving it was waving at them. "Gondala taxi?"

Lue laughed, and waited for the boat to come by them and they climbed in among the freight. There was assorted produce scattered throughout the boat. Lue handed the boatman some money and the two men sat at the his feet while he chatted about the lack of rainy season and the lack of produce. Grim raised an eyebrow - if this was lack of a rainy season, he really didn't want to know what the real rainy season was.

Lue kept his eyes on a lookout. To Grim, all the brown houses on stilts looked the same, but Lue tapped the man's foot and pointed. "That one, right there."

"Ah, you go to see the Watermaster." He looked at Grim. "Is your friend ill?"

"No, we seek his wisdom."

"Ah, that's unusual for those of your generation to look to the elders for guidance."

"Wisdom comes in many forms." Lue looked at Grim and smiled. Grim smiled back.

The boatman left them off pretty much at the door, where a man sat in a rocking chair whittling at some wood. He watched the two men disembark onto the porch of the house. With a final wave, the boatman continued on his way, as Lue turned to the man in the rocking chair. "Greetings, friend," he said, and bowed. Grim copied him. "We come to see Master Thao Pang. Is he available?"

"I'll see. Who comes to visit?"

"Lue Xiong, son of Toua Xiong, grandson of Lang Xiong, great-grandson of Kue Xiong."

The man had got up from the rocking chair. "Come inside," he said. Lue followed him and they stood in a foyer, where it looked like wet clothing was hung up to dry on hooks. Grim kept his hands in his pockets. He reached and touched a ley line very close by, and retreated quickly. This one was much cleaner than the one in the city.

The man returned. "Come with me."

Lue and Grim followed him, and Grim was assaulted by the smell of cigarette smoke. They found themselves in a bedroom, where a really old man sat up propped up on pillows, smoking a cigarette. "Greetings son of Xiong," said the man. "What brings you here?"

"We come for your counsel and guidance, wise one."

He motioned with the cigarette and ashes went all over his blanket. "Sit, sit."

Grim found a chair and Lue sat on the edge of the bed.

"Shut that off, young man," he said to Grim, pointing to the TV. Grim turned it off and sat back down. Thao took a long drag from his cigarette. "Now, what exactly? And what have you brought in payment?"

Lue pulled out a wad of bills and set them before Thao. The shaman didn't even pick it up. "We wish to stop Tub Ci, he is the leader of the Tsoo, a gang of killers in--"

"I know of them," he said. "You are a sorcerer." He pointed to Lue's tattoos. "Many of us know of this Tub Ci. He has gone into the spirit world and taken knowledge from parts of our spirits for his use."

"I know. We must stop him."

"Son of Xiong, the first thing you must do is guard the spirit world from his encroachments." Thao looked at Grim. Grim raised his head. "You and the Soul-Eater."

"I promised to help him," Grim said.

Thao said, "You are joined thrice: by your body, in the spirit, and at the heart. You have no choice, Soul-Eater. Nor you, son of Xiong."

"We need help," said Lue reverently. "We need knowledge of things he does not know. We haven't seen anyone use water-based abilities."

"You wish to learn them."

Lue nodded. "I can make it rain, but Grim, he doesn't know--"

"The Soul-Eater also?" Thao suddenly smiled wickedly. "How badly do you want to learn?"

Grim slowly let a grin spread across his face - this man was challenging him, and he never backed down from a challenge. "As badly as Lue does."

"Do you know what else has water in it that is always in a pouch?"

"Blood."

"Very good."

Thao raised a hand, muttered a spell, and a layer of water appeared on the bed. Grim could feel the air was drier now, but no less hot. The water flowed off, through the slats in the floor, and probably outside. The used cigarettes were gone. Lue, still sitting at the foot of the bed, wasn't even wet. "How long are you here for?"

"Another evening. We fly back home tomorrow night."

"Then I will teach you some things that will help you against Tub Ci. But the Soul-Eater must pay."

"What do you want?" Grim asked. "I can show you some of my magic."

Thao waved his hand absently. "I am too old to learn new magic. Promise me this in payment: Teach this to no one else."

Grim blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"This magic is dangerous in the wrong hands. It should die with me."

Lue looked at Grim. Grim nodded solemnly. "I agree."

The old man threw back the covers. "Then let us begin."

Grim put a hand on Lue's shoulder after they landed. Lue was dry, while Grim was soaked through and had goose pimples. "Dude, I think I need a cheat sheet here."

Lue muttered a spell, and the water flowed off of Grim to puddle at his feet. Grim shivered, and Lue smiled at what the shiver showed through the tank top. "What do you mean?"

"The translator is giving me words instead of names. Like your father's name is Blackie?"

"He is called that because some people have said he has a black heart." Lue stared into Grim's grey eyes. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"Of course, love," Grim said. He went to reach out and touch his face, but stopped himself. "Whenever you're ready."

Lue nodded and turned to face a red brick townhouse with only two windows. Grim sighed - another closet, this one with one window.

He didn't even have to knock on the door when it flew open and an angry shirtless young man glared out at them. He was lithe and well-muscled, easily a fighter. "Get in here," he snarled.

Lue again held the door open for Grim. "Nice to see you again, too, Xang."

Xang turned around and glared angrily at Grim. "Who the hell is that?"

"He is my friend from America."

Grim bowed, ignoring the palatable anger in the hallway, "My name is Grim."

"You consort with aliens," Xang growled, "and you look like a hoodlum."

Grim muttered in English, "Maybe you should just hand them a piece of paper explaining things, it'd be a lot faster than repeating yourself."

Beyond Xang in the kitchen was another man, no less angry, but not quite as built as Xang. A few other women and children were gathered in another room watching TV, but obviously eavesdropping, since there wasn't much room for them to go.

Lue had already gone into how he was no longer a member of the gang, and Xang went into how the entire family had planned this and already. "There are 75 people coming to this! You're expected to marry her!"

"You can still have your party, just no wedding," Grim said quietly, and the translation stone picked it up. Xang glared angrily at Grim. Lue slapped Xang's shoulder to get his attention away from Grim. Xang turned at Lue and threw a punch at him. Lue caught it easily and twisted his wrist back. Xang also moved his off hand to hit Lue in the kidney, but Lue caught that one, too.

Lue's jade eyes turned dark green with anger. "Don't," he said coldly. He released Xang's fists.

The other man moved from the other room into the hallway. "Easy, Lue, we're not going to beat you up." Lue glanced at Grim who nodded that he was all right.

Xang stepped back to give himself distance. "So, Lue, you think you can beat me?"

Lue slowly turned his head to face Xang, and Grim stepped back. Lue would explode into spines any second now. "Yes," he said, with a predatory smile. "If I defeat you, you will accept that I will not marry Mee Cha and you will not stop me from refusing her." He looked at the other man. "Both of you."

Xang said, with a cold smile of his own, "And if I do defeat you, the negotiations go on as planned."

"Agreed."

"Come downstairs."

The four men headed into the relative coolness of the cellar. At the bottom of the stairs was what looked like a weight room and a medium sized mat in the middle of the floor. Xang took his position in one corner. Lue kicked off his sandals and Grim picked them up. Grim heard thumping from above them, and watched as the stairs filled with kids who all sat down quietly to watch the proceedings.

There wasn't enough room for them to do much more than circle each other for a moment. Then Lue struck out with his hand, and followed it up with a kick. Xang blocked the hand but didn't see the kick and got hit in the kidney. Then Lue was relentless. Grim slipped into mage sight for a moment, and saw Lue covered in shining layers of green, almost like scales. The tattoos superimposed themselves on the green, the nine-tailed fox he had drawn along with a snake from his back joined together and flowed among the scales. Quickly Lue got Xang down.

Grim blinked and studied the two men in real sight, Lue with one knee on Xang's chest and the other dangerously close to his crotch. "Well?" Lue demanded.

"You can refuse her," Xang snarled.

Grim said, raising his hand, "Excuse me? Can I make a suggestion?"

Lue got up from Xang and held out his hand for him. Xang took it and Lue helped him up. "What, Grim?"

"I think I remember Tao - Right? Tao?" He looked at Lue for confirmation. Lue nodded slightly. "Right, Tao - he said something about a dowry? That's when you pay for the bride, right?"

"The dowry is included in the bride price," Lue explained.

"Why don't you just give her the bride price without marrying her? Let her keep the dowry and be free to marry someone else."

"That's an insult!" roared Xang.

"Okay, look, I'm sorry!" Grim held his hands up and backed away.

Xang turned to Lue. "Did you tell him nothing of our ways?"

"He is only trying to help," Lue said. "I follow the traditions to a certain point."

"So long as it is convenient for you. What's the real reason you don't want to marry her?"

Grim said quickly, "He has someone in America."

Lue flushed brightly, and Xang stared at Lue. "An alien?"

"Yeah," Grim answered for him.

Xang sighed in frustration and headed to the stairs. The kids all jumped up and climbed back up the stairs. Xang looked at the other man while the kids moved. "Teng, he doesn't need negotiators. Tell my cousin and his mouthpiece to leave my home." He stormed up the stairs.

Teng looked sorrowfully at Lue. "You heard him."

"I did." Grim handed Lue his sandals and they trudged up the stairs, then quietly left. Lue stood out in the rain in the middle of the path to the door, not bothering to utter a spell to keep himself dry.

Grim embraced him. "Lue," he said, and kissed him. Lue put his arms around Grim, returning the kiss. Grim stepped back for a moment, blinking away rain drops. Lue put a hand on Grim's cheek and pulled the water off both of them. "Say, what about that guy you wanted to see?"

"Thao Pang?"

"Yeah, we can go get some lunch and then go find him."

"Sounds good." The two men separated and started walking down the path. Neither of them noticed the two women and child staring out the window at them.

Lue knocked on the door of a wooden pagoda house. Although slightly fancier than the one they were using, it wasn't much bigger. Grim wondered why people liked to live in closets.

An older woman opened the door and peered through the screen at him. Lue smiled. "Aunt Tao Xiong, remember me?"

"Lue Xiong?" she asked. "Blackie's son?"

Lue's smile faded. "Yes." Grim tilted his head at the direct translation - he thought Lue's father would have had a normal name, but this was obviously a nickname.

She scoffed. "We didn't honestly expect you to come." She looked him up and down. "We thought you would have stood her up."

"I have more honor than that," Lue said coldly.

"You have more honor than your father, that's for certain." She shoved open the door. "Well, come in." Lue held the door open for Grim and they stepped out of the rain into the already sweltering room. The woman moved through the house calling, "Tao, Blackie's son is here."

"Really?" Lue and Grim found themselves in a doorway to a small living room with a TV.

An older man sat there, a man with dark hair and equally dark eyes. "Uncle Tao," said Lue, and bowed respectfully. Grim looked from the man to the woman, slightly confused. They both had the same name? "Please meet my friend, Grimaulkin."

Grim turned to the man and also bowed. "They call me Grim."

"Kim," said Tao with a nod, then looked at Lue. "So, what did you bring for Mee Cha?"

"I am not marrying her, uncle."

Tao gazed at him. "This has been arranged since you were born in America. You are both of the same age and are of different clans as expected--"

"Uncle, I can't."

"Why not?" the man thundered. Grim stared at him - he was pretty loud for a small guy.

"I love another."

"Love doesn't have anything to do with it!" Tao yelled. The woman stood behind the two men, her arms folded with a very disapproving look on her face. "Status, and ability to provide children, and to continue the family line is what it has to do with it!"

"Uncle, believe me when I tell you, I cannot father children."

"Says who! Western doctors? They don't know anything! A shaman can find that part of your soul and bring it back to you, and you will be able to father many children on her. I'll even pay for it!"

Lue looked up at him, his jade eyes flashing. "I said no, I will not marry her."

"You're just as insolent as your father! Look at you, covered in tattoos like a Triad member. Is this what's in America, becoming the member of a gang?"

Grim was already angry, and the gauge had just gone up to furious. He clenched his fists at his sides and knew he was exuding the dark pitch aura of fear. It wouldn't take much to push it at this man, to make him cower screaming on his couch, as Grim would stand over him and pummel him with visions of pure horror...

"I am not a member of a gang anymore," Lue said quietly.

"Which Triad are you a member of, Lue? Or is that your name? Did you choose a different name now that you're in a gang?"

"I am not a member of a Triad, uncle," Lue said more forcefully. Grim's gauge went from furious to livid. Grim took two steps and Lue held his hand out to stop him.

Tao nodded to Grim. "Is he your enforcer?"

"Stop it!" Grim commanded. He glared at Tao, and Tao whirled his head to stare at Grim. "You have no idea - NONE - of what he's gone through the last couple of months. He left his gang, his clan, his family! They tried to hunt him down! His own brother tried to KILL him!"

"You left your clan?" Tao turned to Lue.

"I had to, uncle. They all fell under the spell of Tub Ci, who commands a gang called the Tsoo."

Grim could only hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears. Tao looked at Grim for a moment, then back at Lue. "And they did this to you?" He motioned to Lue's tattoos.

"Yes," he said quietly.

"My father must have been angry with you."

"He is not."

Tao didn't question that any further, because then it would have gone into the mystical, and Lue had already told Grim he really didn't want to go into explaining that to members of his family. "You still honor him?"

"I honor all my ancestors, uncle."

Tao glanced away and squeezed past them to a small room off to the side. Set up kitty-corner was a rickety table with burning candles and assorted things on them. Grim looked at Lue, who was smiling. "You have grandfather's wallet."

"One of them." Tao handed the wallet to Lue, who took it reverently and went through it. "He gave it to me before leaving for America."

Grim backed out of the room, feeling that this wasn't his place. He turned and was in the face of the woman-Tao. He smiled at her. She did not smile back. Grim side-stepped and took his place in the doorway of the TV room while the woman watched him warily. Grim stuck his hands in his pockets and leaned against the doorway.

Lue and his uncle talked in low tones, and he heard "Kim". Finally, the woman looked at Grim. "I am making some coffee."

Grim watched as she turned from him and went to the stove and started up an old-fashioned percolator. Grim smiled at the retro moment, launched off the doorway and walked a little closer to her. "Do you need any help?" he asked.

"I've been making coffee for longer than you've been alive."

Grim spread his hands. "My apologies."

Lue came out of the room and gave Grim a small wink. The female-Tao looked at the male-Tao. "Mai," said Tao to her, "please serve our guests."

Mai started taking out plates and some cookies out of packages, and pulled down three glasses. Tao made a motion to a chair at Grim and he sat down. Tao said to him, "Kim, so how do you know Lue?"

"When he left his clan, he came to our home. We helped him against the Tsoo."

Lue said, "Mostly Grim did." Mai set a glass of dark brown liquid before him. At the bottom of the glass was some carmel-colored liquid. He said thank you, but she gave no indication that she heard.

Tao sipped his glass. "You will be coming to the negotiations?" he asked Grim.

Grim looked at Lue. Lue said, "Uncle..."

"I know, I know, that's what you've said. But you haven't seen her since you were children."

"That does not matter. I've made my decision."

Grim sipped his liquid; it was coffee, similar to Jack's version of coffee, but much sweeter. It was also much cooler than normal coffee, but not ice cold. He could get used to it.

Tao merely sighed. "Her family is not going to like this."

"I know, which is why I will make my intentions known before them all."

Grim glanced around and saw that Mai had disappeared. Tao was continuing, "Your cousins Xang and Teng would have been your negotiators. If you want this man to be one instead, you will have to teach him some of our traditions quickly."

"We're not even going to get to the negotiations." Lue set his glass down. "I am going to refuse her immediately."

Grim was quiet as Lue told Tao about the family in America, about Tub Ci and what he had done to them. He left out key parts - such as what he himself had gone through to satisfy his father, his clan, and the Tsoo. He left out killing Zhao, saying only that he had been killed in a gang fight. He left out his war versus the Tsoo and the details. Tao for his part went into the health and welfare of Lue's multitude of cousins and uncles and aunts. Grim realized that most of Lue's family had remained in Laos for different reasons, most of them having to do with not wanting to be tainted by American life. However many of the new generation were striving to go to America.

Speaking of which, the phone rang and Mai appeared from seemingly nowhere to answer it. "Naim," she said to Tao, "It is Jumping Tiger."

"Xang," he explained to Grim, "It's Tao's third son, and he's two years older than me."

Grim nodded, and Tao took the phone. "Yes. Blackie's son is here. No one is more suprised than I. He is refusing her. I explained. You want to explain? I'll send him to you." Tao handed the phone back to Mai. "Jumping Tiger wants to see you."

Lue said, "I have made my decision - "

"Well you're going to have to explain to him and Sparky why." He nodded to Grim. "And figure out which one your friend is replacing."

Lue sighed and got up. "Might as well get this over with now." Grim followed, and then Lue hugged Tao. "I will see you tomorrow."

Tao nodded. Grim bowed and followed Lue back out into the rain. Lue nodded toward an alleyway, and they took off again, heading west.