Re: Through the Earth Kingdom VII « Reply #320 on Oct 17, 2009, 12:40am »
Kizo mumbled something Hayase didn't quite hear. She turned to him, only to find his eyes closed, his breathing more shallow than ever. When she tried to rouse him his head slipped off her shoulder and fell into her lap, sending a dull drumbeat of pain up her thighs.
Unnecessary panic ensued for a few moments before she was able to call back a face of professional calm; though gravely wounded, Kizo was still alive and would remain so for the time being, Hayase having finished all preliminary healing procedures. There was little she could do about his fatigue here however, so it was no surprise that he'd finally collapsed.
Hayase hesitated, then reached down and gingerly brushed a strand of sweat-soaked hair away from Kizo's forehead. He had done well. Let him rest.
------
With the youth Ying-Xiong's help, the three of them managed to throw together a patchwork stretcher for Kizo out of some branches and ice, which Kawara covered with Kizo's own shirt to shield him from the cold. She was saved from any girlish impulse to blush furiously as his bare chest came into view by the myriad of old battle scars criss-crossing his skin, a sobering sight. Her fingers brushed a few of them as she pretended to adjust his position and she sighed, wishing she could have been there to prevent their making. The three then took to the road.
The Lanying villagers had a sizable head start on them, but their number was few and even the task of carrying Kizo along posed minimal hindrance to their progress. They found the villagers again before evening set, whereupon Hayase gratefully turned Kizo over to one of the earthbenders who had been in charge of transporting the injured. Kawara reunited with Shaolu, Ying-Xiong was recruited by Bandao for some task or other, and Hayase settled down beside Kizo's upgraded earthen gurney to watch over him.
Her sleep that night was a fitful one, so she rose early the next day to check how well Kizo was healing. After breakfast, Hayase encouraged his recovery with another healing session, then followed the refugee train on the last leg of their journey to Lyogu.
------
Northern Earth Kingdom - Lyogu
They arrived in the afternoon, the sun high and blazing above their heads, but even the harsh weather couldn't burn away the villagers' renewed spirits at having finally reached safety. A few drifted from the crowd to find relatives who could shelter them and the rest went with Shaolu and Kawara to visit Lyogu's mayor. Bandao and Hayase accompanied the worst of the injured over to the town clinic.
Kizo was given a bed at the far end of the room against a window that faced away from the sun, allowing a breeze to enter yet keep Kizo's body shaded. The atmosphere of this house of healing was a familiar and welcome one, and Hayase drank it like a person dying of thirst. Just being here seemed to instill her chi with fresh energy. Declining the clinic personnel's offer to assist, she gave Kizo another healing session, then seated herself by the wall to continue her vigil.
Within minutes Hayase was asleep, her breathing deep and far more peaceful than it had been the night before.
Her nap was short-lived. At first she wasn't sure what had woken her, but when she automatically turned to check on Kizo she realized he was awake, inspecting himself with an expression she couldn't see in the soft light; it was evening again and one of the staff had lit a couple of lanterns, their light made dim by the distance to Kizo's corner of the room. Cricketdoves hummed outside, a gentle breeze still coming in through the window.
Hayase brushed a finger against her eyes, a warm smile of relief spreading across her face as she stood and leaned over his bed. "You're finally awake. You've been sleeping for more than a day. How do you feel?"
Then it dawned on her that he might be wondering why he was inadequately dressed. Heat poured into her cheeks and Hayase stepped back, quickly (and reluctantly) averting her gaze to the floor. "Ah, one of the clinic staff removed your clothes. Um, if you're cold I'm sure they have another blanket to spare."
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Re: Through the Earth Kingdom VII « Reply #321 on Oct 21, 2009, 6:25pm »
That one place
Many hours had passed since the end of today’s training. Now under a starry blanket, the banished prince was given the opportunity to relax, and to gather his strength for tomorrow’s exhausting ordeal On any other day he would have been able to calm down and rest, but this trip was one revelation after another; just an onslaught of shock and trepidation. To think that only a few days earlier he hadn’t known the things he now knew was mind-boggling. His life was just full of surprises.
As he scanned the heavenly lights, he tried his best to make out the constellation. There was the dragon, between the moon and part of his nose, unless it was turtle duck. No wait; never mind that; they all looked exactly alike. Little bright specks, nothing more nothing less. Sure, they were called stars, and their origins were wrapped in myth, but there was no way of ever finding out what made them or where they came from, they were eternal mystery.
The pale youth turned left, uncle was still sound asleep not literally of course. Between them was the fire, still alive and bright, uncle said it was to keep the predators away, but the man’s snoring was enough to do that. Instead, it was nothing more than an obstacle to keep him awake. Like the many that littered his head. This whole experience, this trip; there were no words to describe its lasting effects. Hopefully, it would affect him positively. Truth be told, that was expected. According to uncle, all of this was to empower him with the strength he needed to lead the Fire Nation away from the path his forefathers lead it down. There was no way of sugar coating it, because that task would not be an easy one. Considering how his people viewed the war, it was an almost impossible task. They were told that they were doing well; by fighting and conquering the world they would share their prosperity with everyone. The Air Nomads, their extermination was explained by the simple idea that they didn’t want to be a part of the world, in a sick way it was true, but to murder them all and then to say that the world was better for it was even sicker. The Water Tribes, they just wanted to be stuck in ice and snow and to use their craft to remain mindless; they were beyond aid, according to many of the doctrines. The only real people that could be helped were the Earth Kingdom peoples, but they would fight to remain stubborn so the Fie Nation had to fight to instill knowledge and wealth in them. With those simple ideas, they were paving evil. It was really sick in a way, when one group of people were no longer seen as fit to live in the world, the Fire Lords had them wiped out and basically lied about the reasons. Given enough time, the people of the Water Tribes would go with the Air Nomads, and then when this Colonial experiment became too costly the same would be said for the Colonials of Earth Kingdom decent. They would probably be called “savages” or “incapable of being civil” with that logic the only alternative was genocide. Maybe, that’s why their insignia was often described as being a tear-shaped trident; it was a reminder of how they lived. Their red now more likely symbolized blood rather than pride. Who wanted that kind of nation? Not him, given the choice, he’d choose the life he had, before Ba Sing Se. That simple pauper life, it wasn’t what he initially wanted, but now that it was gone he could only dream about it. If things went as he had planned, that was all it would be. After this, he would be the Fire Lord and be given the responsibility to undo all of those errors and to wipe away the blood that stained his nation. He wouldn’t be alone; the Avatar would be up by then. Maybe, together they would be able to remedy what ailed the world. If he ever got up that is.
With that in mind, the firebender pictured the world’s savior still bandaged and out cold in a bed somewhere in some nameless village. Although his responsibilities were heavy, they failed to stack up to the Avatar’s heavy weight. He had to restore balance to a world that was incredibly unbalanced. It might even prove to be an impossible task, considering what his people did.
“He’ll do it,” he whispered to himself, trying not to think too negatively about that part.
Still, there were so many obstacles to overcome before then, the prime one being his father, but his contender was his daughter and the pale young man’s sister. How could he bring himself to do it? It had to be done. There was no other way. If he beat her, she’d come again, regardless of what he did she would always come again and again. She’d spring to life a constant cycle of bitter bloodshed; there was just no other alternative when it came to dealing with her. She had to die, and that was the problem. Regardless of what she did to him, he had lived with her for almost his entire life, and for many years was constantly told to love her and protect her because what she was to him. In all honesty, they’d shared numerous fun times together, like the one time they snuck into the kitchen to get sweets even after mom said they couldn’t have any. It was Azula’s idea of course, but he enjoyed being a part of it. That being said, there were more bad moments than good ones with her, but his mother had always instilled that idea in him; she was his sister he had to love her and protect her. But there was no other way, father was the Avatar’s responsibility, and she was his. As uncle said, it was his decision, but he didn’t want to make it. She stole his son, and tried to him on many different occasions; she had to die. The world would be a better place without her. That was still a bitter taste, not bittersweet just bitter. It wasn’t right. What he was doing, just then, was that right? To justify killing her, like the Fire Nation justified genocide, was that right? After all, who was he to judge her as being worthy of living? She judged him, and has proven that she won’t hesitate if she were given the opportunity. But she did have the opportunity, back in Ba Sing Se. They were all at her mercy, and she didn’t kill any of them then. This dilemma wouldn’t be solved in one night. To kill his sister, his own flesh and blood sister; he couldn’t be fickle about it. The options had to weighed, and a decision had to be made.
In frustration, the soon to be Fire Lord closed his eyes, and weakly said to himself, “I have to do it.”
He leaned his head back, and let his frustration’s worry wash over and hopefully out of him. They didn’t, instead, they lingered and prodded him as he tried to fall asleep.
After what seemed like an eternity, he turned to his side and touched the orange tinted earth he lay upon. It was cold a stark contrast to its daylight feel. Even as he did this, his burdens were still weighing heavily in his heart, and with this worry he right hand gently slid across the colored earth’s surface until it too was dusted a brown orange. The color and texture were vaguely identified by the burden man. Although his yellow eyes stayed in sight of his hand, he wasn’t concentrating on it. Instead, his mind continued to flutter with his predicament. Only a few days left, thought the aching father as he glanced his uncle just beyond the dancing flame. Soon, he would be gone to Ba Sing Se, and in his place would be some random guy from that flower group; no they were Pai Sho people. That didn’t matter, the point was, uncle would be gone, and his counseling no longer a comfort as it previous had been.
Absentmindedly, he rolled back over and looked up at the stars. They never changed.
Funny, how he thought about Azula’s fate when he never questioned his own. They were about to assault the world, them a few small group of benders and a bunch of old geezers. This small band of people was going to change the world? It seemed impossible really. Attacking Sabaku, that part seemed like a possibility, but the rest was really optimistic. Even if they could get to the capitol, then they would still have to mount some sort of an assault in order to do anything there. Uncle, at least, said he would try and see what kind of resistance was alive in Ba Sing Se before he did anything. But he and everyone else who was going to go to the Fire Nation, seemed to be blinded by naïveté. The entire plan, even when laid out as it was, still seemed to be full of holes. There were so many incongruities present in the operation that it would take a miracle for it to all work out. Even then, it still seemed like an impossibility.
Re: Through the Earth Kingdom VII « Reply #322 on Oct 22, 2009, 8:54am »
WATERFALL LAKE
With a fire lit and and fish freshly caught it was time to set them to cook. Water flowed from him freely as he sat down by the fire. Hyouden strung the fish up to cook, pushed himself back up to his feet and waved her of a bit. "I'm fine, these fish are nice and meaty."
With his meal strung and slowly cooking he lay back crossing his arms behind his head closing those piercing blue eyes and readied himself for the wait that he had before him as his meal cooked through. Her offering of part of her supplies was a generous and kind offer but not one he was so ready to accept. At least not now. His faith in people was slim. Ever since an incident long in his past. Images would flicker passed his closed eyes leaving a slight grimace on his face.
Despite his still wet cloths he was quite comfortable laying down in the dirt of the like side. He was beginning to itch though. Around this time he would normally practice his bending, a major reason why he always made sure to camp by a body of water. And if none was readily available he would continue on for the night and not set camp at all. A hard life style few were capable of upholding. At times this meant for him to travel by shoreline to assure himself a proper place to camp. Her unexpected presance however kept him from practicing openly, he was wary of allowing someone who now acted friendly but in no uncertain circumstances in his mind could turn foe, view his bending style in its full glory.
[OOC: sory for the crap post and delay, I was having serious writers block... the only way to get past it is to power through it. *bows deeply* ^^;;;;]
Re: Through the Earth Kingdom VII « Reply #323 on Oct 26, 2009, 3:31pm »
Waterfall Lake
Lu Shan's smile flickered as he declared his own catch to be sufficient enough for his supper. She slowly retracted her arm and turned the sweet potato over in her hand, as if looking for some imperfection worthy of his rejection. It was still warm from her cooking. A second too late, realization struck and her eyes widened slightly. It was probably for the best he'd said 'no'; Lu Shan could be a smooth talker when the situation called for it, but even she would've been hard pressed to explain how she managed to get her food piping hot without building a fire first.
Curling her knees to her chest, Lu Shan balanced the sweet potato between them and continued to chew on her jerky. Soon the tantalizing scent of frying fish wafted through the air and she glanced over at her unlikely companion. Hyouden had lain down, firelight dancing orange and gold across the surface of his dark silhouette like sunset against a backdrop of mountains.
He was the quietest person she'd spoken to in a while. Usually Lu Shan's naturally bubbly personality was enough to draw out even the most reticent of fellow travelers, warming her lonely heart with some much needed friendship at least until they invariably discovered the truth of her heritage, but her instincts told her ol' Hyouden would require some extra effort. As always, the most cautious corner of her mind issued a warning: the man was darn good at waterbending and all likelihoods pointed at him launching an attack once, not if, he found out she was a firebender, so why bother trying to earn the honor of his company?
Lu Shan's expression softened as her thoughts drifted to a faraway place. She was a wanderer, not a recluse. As much as she enjoyed being alone with nature, the feeling never lasted more than a few days before the call of civilization pulled her back to some town or village to find a real live human to chat with. She wondered if Hyouden was immune to that feeling. He certainly had the aura of one who'd cast off such mortal needs long ago.
Smiling to herself at the private joke, Lu Shan crossed her legs and patiently peeled her sweet potato. The popping of the cinders wasn't enough to fill the silence and so she decided to pose a very simple, innocent question.
"So, where are ya headed?"
Even if most on-the-road encounters had ended badly for her (and by most, she meant all), that minor detail wasn't one to stop Lu Shan from trying again and again.
Re: Through the Earth Kingdom VII « Reply #324 on Oct 29, 2009, 12:20am »
It didn't take long for those fish to cook, and their thick skin made it easy to cook it through without actually burning the meaty interior. He would roll to his front facing the fire and reach into it with a seemingly careless, motion, as his hand entered the fire he blew softly into it, it was a chilly breath, that subsided the flames enough for him to retrieve the fish. The moisture still collected on his body did its fair share as well as steam was rising from his hand where the moisture once before was now not.
Sitting up hyouden shook his head slowly and began to work on his meal, slowly tearing the skin from the meat, eyes seemingly cold looked her way before he answered. "I'm not headed anywhere. I no longer have a path to follow." With his answer out there for her he ripped a piece of the fish from its skeletal frame and took it into his mouth. Chewing slowly he stared deep into the fire.
His pupils dilated slightly as he lost himself within the fire, eating only absentmindedly as images danced over his vision. Fire, from every side, the attack was sudden and no one had expected it. Before long he had finished the fish meats and was crushing he bones within his hands. Like splinters of wood they broke effortlessly. At that same time the eyes transfixed on the fire closed tight. Dropping the bones he held his head between his hands. a deep sigh escaping his lips, it was over the nightmare had come and passed once more like it did every night. And like each other time, it left his mind a wreck, the scar on his face burned as if it was fresh. It irritated the great sized man and the stress caused him to breath deeper than earlier.
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Re: Through the Earth Kingdom VII « Reply #325 on Oct 31, 2009, 4:21pm »
That one place, yeah that one
Something was up; Iroh rolled over, and got to his feet. Instinct took over and before the retired general could even come to his senses he was in a fighting stance. Peering through his heavy eyelids, the jolly chap slowly gleamed his surrounding and was able to read the story they had to tell.
Before him, a many feet before him; his nephew lay on the floor brooding in failure as a black bloom rose and faded away from them both. A foot further he noted the charred earth, its black a stark contrast to the loamy orangish color that pervaded everything in this wasteland. The seconds tolled on, and in time his vision slowly sharpened until it could no longer pass the effects of age. The fire that should have worn off any predators was no longer burning, mere cinders now chirped where it once roared. The sun, much like him, was beginning its daunting voyage across the pale sky, and in the background the sounds of their mount announced its fears. Noting the signs of failure, and the absence of danger the firebender lowered his arms, yawned and then proceeded to grab whatever still remained from their food stock. His cacophonous bites were the only other sounds to stir the silence from the youth’s disgrace. With somberness, he sat himself down next to the bag that contained their sustenance.
Iroh’s face was weathered, beaten and battered by the ages and yet it still shimmered, like a child’s joyous smile. As such, in order to plant any grimness in him required some great movement; a stirring of his soul. And before him was such a thing. His nephew tried harder than anyone his age, and yet his results were still limited to his fingers. Even he, now aged had little difficulty with his training. In about a week, his shirt now had folds were there was tension. His success required half of the effort his nephew exerted into his training, and yet Zuko still struggled. If only he could trade him results, then there would be some relief.
After finishing his breakfast, the elder of the two benders stood up. He marched slowly to his nephew, placed a hand on the young man’s shoulder and then began to speak, hoping to calm him, “In time Zuko. Do not force it; nobody gets it the first time or uh… seventh time. He he. Besides, I’m going to teach you something that not even Azula knows…” He smiled, fiendishly as his nephews peered at him from his non scarred side. “How to redirect lightening.”
Re: Through the Earth Kingdom VII « Reply #326 on Nov 2, 2009, 1:39am »
Waterfall Lake
His eyes glittered like chips of ice in the firelight as he looked her way, and Lu Shan felt a chill come over her that had nothing to do with the cool evening. His answer was short and simple, giving away almost no information at all, yet she suspected even that vague statement revealed more about Hyouden than the man would've liked.
Aimless. She knew a little something about what it was like to be unanchored, the freedom it afforded as well as the intense loneliness. When she'd first started traveling, the euphoria of it lasted about a week before she began to sorely miss her mom's cooking, terrible as it was. Even these days, Lu Shan looked forward to every new village or town she wandered across, but from time to time her thoughts would wander backwards to the multitude of places she'd left behind. It always felt like something was missing, something nameless but tangible, and the only way to fill in that aching hole was to look for it, no matter where it might carry her.
A bite of her food went down the wrong way and Lu Shan coughed, jarring her attention back to the present. She glanced over at Hyouden again. The remains of his dinner snapped with a light sound, like he was popping his knuckles.
The mood was getting way too somber for her liking. The young women cleared her throat.
"Well, as long as you're not headin' anywhere, you wanna come with me?" She offered him a charming smile. "Strength in numbers and all that, and somebody to chat with does wonders for passin' the time. I was thinkin' about checkin' out Chuan He, I heard they're holdin' a summer festival down there or summat. Could be food and games," and he looked like he could use some cheering up but she wasn't about to say that out loud. "How about it?"
Re: Through the Earth Kingdom VII « Reply #327 on Nov 2, 2009, 2:30pm »
Waterfall Lake
Shaking his head a little to clear it further he looked back to her with a slightly raised eyebrow. She ad just asked for his company, He was not exactly sure how to respond to such a thing. The bestial instincts that had formed told him it was a suspect idea bout to end badly for one or both of them. However the remaining natural thought process that still lingered inside him tickled the concept deeper, a chance to feel like he had felt ages past. Yet a paranoid sense would overwhelm all of it with that feeling that gripped his mind and heart tightly. The fire nation would take it away again if he allowed himself to get close to anyone.
His emotions were torn at this, though he did his best not to show the mixing complexities that swirled onward behind his frame of strength and beast like power. Tossing the scraps left over from his meal he sighed a little and shrugged his broad shoulders before pushing himself to his feet.
"I have been traveling alone for quite a while now. And I do not know how I would handle such a gathering of people that a festival would bring... I will... think about it." With that he stood and turned to the water, stepping forward to the point where its waters just graced to toes on his large feet.
Re: Through the Earth Kingdom VII « Reply #328 on Nov 3, 2009, 10:30am »
Waterfall Lake
He looked over at her again, one quirked eyebrow the only change to his otherwise stony face, and for a moment Lu Shan thought he might throw something at her for even daring to suggest he tag along on her merry little festival adventure. But she knew how to turn on the charm, oh boy did she ever, and her sunny smile remained in place as she waited hopefully for an affirmative answer.
It didn't come. Although, he didn't exactly say 'no', either. Her face fell a bit at his reply, but she nodded and settled back on her sleeping bag, finishing up her own supper in silence. Hm, he had a fine point; it was a little difficult to picture the hulking waterbender participating in a festival the proper way, snacking on skewered grilled meats and playing trivia games with gusto for cheap prizes - on the other hand, Hyouden and his hammer would be a fine sight at the test-your-strength game...
Festivals were no fun alone. She didn't suppose she could drag him over to Chuan He anyway? No no, the last person she'd tried that with hadn't been appreciative at all.
Lu Shan grinned to herself at the memory and lay down, folding her hands behind her head. "I'm tuckin' in, then. G'night, Hyouden." And with that, the young woman turned onto her side, her open back to him. Apparently the notion that he might mug her in her sleep or worse never crossed her mind. Or if it did, she didn't believe him likely to do such a dastardly thing. He'd dried her map for her, right? He was a good guy.
Re: Through the Earth Kingdom VII « Reply #329 on Nov 4, 2009, 10:09pm »
Waterfall Lake
Looking back at her a brief moment he confirmed she was going to sleep and drew in a deep breath. Taking a few steps forward into the water he stepped up exhaling as the water beneath him froze like a path allowing him to walk the surface. With her going to sleep, he figured it would be fine to work on some bending before turning off for the night himself.
At the center of the lake he placed him palm down onto the frozen platform forming a pillar of ice down to the floor of the lake giving him a sturdy foot hold to practice on. With this done he drew his hands in a wide flowing circle drawing them closer as he rotated them, as the became close to touching in front of his core he dispersed them out to the sides at the same time a dense fog flowed over the water.
Obscured by the mists he motions were blurred from view but soon the waters would stir. The waters would rise like a dragon snaking around in a wide circle around him. It was at its heart an exercise in increasing the amount of water he could control at one time by himself. The effect was essentially a writhing water dragon from the waters around him. Jumping up into the foggy air and diving down into the waters with little sound as it was all controlled.
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Re: Through the Earth Kingdom VII « Reply #330 on Nov 7, 2009, 4:43pm »
Hinh stepped foot on the dirty sand on the outskirts of the Si Wong Desert. She was just beside some old oasis, with a small pile of ice that was slowly melting, and rats around it, either feeding on the ice, or on the various spilled stuff around it. The sand felt very warm under her toes, it could have almost felt good if the sand wasn't so rough, and if she had cared about it at all. There were many kinds of people. Some looked rather civilized, but she wouldn't be surprised if they had strange plans in mind, for coming here. And the others... well, she wouldn't be surprised either if those others were actually bandits or criminals. That thought made her sigh. 'Another place of lost souls... One that I can't cure.' She thought. She walked towards a cantina, where she was hoping to find something she could eat. A couple of unfriendly looking guys were standing guard at the entrance. They were wearing clothes that covered their whole body, like bandages, and they were looking at the stuff she was wearing, all her gems and crystals. She was guessing they weren't admiring them, but planning to steal off her.
She tried not looking at them while she was entering the cantina, because she didn't mean to be rude, even to them, and also because she didn't want to look at them directly. But once she stepped inside the cantina, she could feel their gaze on her back. And she realized that two seconds later everyone in the place became silent, except a few drunkards at the bar, and they stared at her. It was probably their first time seeing a priestess. Or maybe it was because of her jewelry that they were looking at her, like those guys behind her. Her pale green eyes took a good look around the place, then she walked directly towards the counter, and everyone went back to their businesses.
"I'd like a scoop of orange, please." She told the swordsbartender. He nodded and drew his swords. Then he began making complex moves, that Hinh could have appreciated if someone hadn't just touched her thigh from behind. "What do we have here ?" A male voice said behind Hinh. His hand was going for her belt, where she was keeping her purse and other small sized items. The bartender finsihed making her drink, and while she took a coin out of her belt, she grabbed the man's hand with her other hand and took it off her body. "Do not touch me, please." She just said. Then she dropped the coin on the table and picked her cup. "Or else what ?" The guy said, while trying to take the bracelet that was on her wrist. Then he put his other hand on her leg.
Hinh hadn't taken a look at what this guy looked like, but she could tell he was a rather muscular one. What was he after exactly ? She was wearing clothes that didn't show off her features, so one couldn't say she was very attractive. She took a glance in his eyes, and saw dizziness. His aura had no shape, he'd been lost for a long time now, he'd become a very simple mind, though she could see there had once been something valuable of him. But before she could figure more, her eyes focused on the men who'd been standing at the entrance, as they had brought two more people, dressed the exact same way as them. The man's hand was now going up, like he was going to grab her butt, or her purse. She didn't want to find out either way. So she drank her beverage in one go, and threw the scoop in the air. As she expected, the man's gaze switched to the flying piece of ice, and before he realized it, Hinh had tackled him to the ground. Some men in the place looked at that, and when they heard the nose of the ice scoop falling on the man's head, everyone turned to look.
Meanwhile, Hinh began walking out of the place, but was stopped by the smugglers, who bent the sand from the ground into a door. One of them tried to reach for her necklace, but she grabbed his hand before he could touch it. She made a step backwards and looked at how half of the guys in here had stood up with a glare at her. She took a look at their glares, and let out a sigh. "All of you... Your souls deserve salvation. I shall not hurt you." She said with an emotionless voice. Then she pushed the sandbender she was holding into his comrade, and they were sent to the ground. Their other friends sent a sand attack, but Hinh just stepped to the side and a man behind her got hit, then sent into another guy behind him, who was skinnier than him. She stomped the ground and thrusted her hands down, making her assailants sink in the sand. A knife was sent her direction, which she did not see coming. Nevertheless, she just sank herself in the ground as well, in preparation for tunnelling to the outside, and the knife missed her, to go get stuck in the door.
Once she finally reached the outside, she was surprised to see more Sandbenders about to surround her. Not ready to become part of their merchandise, she made a preemptive strike by grabbing one and sending him into the cantina door with her own bending. At the same moment, some big guy was busting the door open. The result of these two actions was that the Sandbender crashed into the big guy who himself fell over several of his comrades behind him. She glanced at the Sandbenders around her, as they were preparing to restrain her with ropes. And then came more felons with big knives. How much could they want her jewelry ? It's true she was wearing a lot of items made of diamond, but it wasn't a reason for them to act like this, was it ? She put her hands in her sleeves and pulled out big chunks of diamond. She held them lined up like a pole in front of her and whispered something.
"Bring down redemption !" Then she joined them and spun the resulting pole in one hand. When she stopped it, it had turned into a dagger with a rather long and thick hilt. When one of the benders sent his rope at her, she cut through it with her weapon, and then kicked sand to his face. As he stepped back when he got hit, the bender directly on his right sent eruptions of sand towards Hinh. She thrusted her weapon in the same direction to split the eruptions, and then did it again, making the hilt turn into a pole that had three times the size of the hilt. She held the pole with both hands and spun to the side, then struck the ground with her weapon, sending a shockwave of sand in the group's direction. They all got covered in sand and brought to the ground, but quickly recovered, as sand was not very lethal. Hinh took a defensive position, thinking she could use some help there. "Your souls are corrupted. Be gone and seek redemption."
Joychi - Black Earth Spirit. Di-Jei - Dark Firebender. Del - Di-Jei's little dark angel brother. Akita/Agita - double minded Waterbender Hinh - Diamond Piece of Art General Hao - The leader of the Council of Five.
"I'm not a pessimist- I'm a realist. It's not my damn fault the world really is this bad." Shen Yu
Joined: Aug 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 8 Karma: 1
Re: Through the Earth Kingdom VII « Reply #331 on Nov 7, 2009, 5:33pm »
Si Wong Desert
Shen quite liked this place. It combined an abundance of people with an intrinsic respect for everybody's privacy, or at least for their right to go about their illegal activities without being bothered. The food was as he liked it- cheap and simple but not bad. The drink was something that even he would not wish to taste, however, so he'd stuck to his sake. All in all, he felt quite contended. Even the climate was suitable, having the warmth that he'd slightly missed from his homeland coupled with much prettier views.
The background noise got slightly louder, indicating that some sort of ruckus was starting: by the time he turned around to look, an ungraceful brawl had begun to get into swing. Enjoying the serenity of his pipe, Shen cast a critical gaze over the combat. Several sandbenders against an earthbender: on paper, the combat sounded like it had promise, but it was quite dreadful to watch. None of the combatants had any connection with the artistry of their bending styles whatsoever, the men being particularly crude and amateurish. The woman was resourceful, sure, but it all delved from pragmatism at this point: there was none of the beauty of earth, the stubbornness and unbendingness, like a mountain framed against the glorious sunset. It was not bending as he would think of it: it was a mere brawl.
She was effective, he had to admit, even if he hated her inartistic style. And he had been looking for someone to teach him some stances from that element. Unluckily, at this rate it looked like his potential instructor would very well be in no shape to teach him anything. There was no choice but to help. Shen stood up, nervous. He knew he could take any of them, including the woman, in a duel. But this was just a brawl, and it was deadly, and he wouldn't be able to keep his eye on so many combatants. But for his bending....
Shen thought sour thoughts to himself about the evident stupidity of anyone who got into a fight with an outnumbered force. At least he wasn't doing this for anything like altruism.
The firebender walked into the mist of the fight (now at an impasse) with his usual demeanor of apathy. He really did not like this, but he forced himself to seem calm. Shen suspected that if he seemed anything less than casual the spell would be broken and the fight would start again. Gazing with contempt at all the assembled brawlers (at least that part was easy- for Agni's sake, look at their stances), pinpointed where the female earthbender was and breathed in the smoke from his pipe.
This was a trick, really, that he had developed: a pipe was quite a useful tool to refine the breathing and control techniques for any firebender, if you were imaginative. He'd developed the following technique to practice his breath control, to see how much power he could get from one full set of lungs. Shen breathed in all the smoke from his pipe and concentrated in his stomach, the center of a firebender's chi, and merely concentrated on building the heat and steam. It was simple, like all basics, but like all basics it was the base of all advanced techniques and took dedication and practice to perfect.
it was not something he could have done to any proper extent where it not for the confusion of the combatants giving him time, and now they looked impatient enough to act. Shen blew out a concentrated breath at the nearest sandbender and heated smoke flew out at his face: an artistic distraction, nothing more, that drew the attention of all combatants for a brief moment and gave him time to make his next move.
Pivoting on his heel, Shen dropped down in a fluid motion and let his other leg sweep along the ground in a quick but almost gentle movement as he carefully drew out his breath for the length of the attack. His fire swept the ground, rather sour in the way it lashed out at the enemy. It suited him and looked well, too. Shen now repeated the action with his other leg- that should keep the enemy at bay.
No need to stay and fight: there was no artistry in a brawl, so there was nothing to see here. Turning around he ran and grabbed the female earthbender as he went by, her unexpected weight almost unbalancing him. As he dragged her along, he risked a glance back: the men seemed to have been quite delayed by his tactic, but it was not something he expected he could repeat without surprise, inexperienced as he was in a real fight.
He really didn't like the effort involved in such a scrape. Hopefully this would not come to a real fight. it would be very frustrating to be beaten by such damned idiots.
Joychi Spirit World Dweller King of the Carnival member is offline
Stay your blade from the flesh an innocent, move in secrecy, and do not compromise the brotherhood
Joined: Apr 2006 Gender: Male Posts: 1,760 Location: Trying to find myself nowhere Karma: 378
Re: Through the Earth Kingdom VII « Reply #332 on Nov 7, 2009, 6:47pm »
None of them was moving anymore. And neither was Hinh. She knew exactly why she wasn't doing a thing, but she really had not idea why they had stopped. With some luck, it was because she had drawn her weapon out. The spear form of her diamond weapon was pretty effective against multiple foes, and she was certainly skilled enough not to hurt any of them while fighting this out. Maybe they had decided to stop after what had happened to all those guys. She wished she hadn't drawn her weapon, because they were going to feel threatened, and become more aggressive. And besides, this weapon was actually made for exorcisms, not for fighting, even though it turned out very effective in a fight. She wasn't supposed to use it this way.
Luckily for her, maybe she wouldn't have to right now. Some guy stepped out of the line behind the Sandbenders and approached one of them, like for a sneak attack. Was he really going to help her ? Itwas really kind of him, and maybe Hinh had misjudged the people frequenting this cantina. But doubts began ringing in her head as she saw that he only had a pipe. She wasn't supposed to judge people by their appearance, but she was wondering what exactly he was going to do with this pipe alone. Her gaze went to the bender behind her. She looked at his eyes, and saw his gaze was focused on her weapon, though she couldn't tell if he was dreading its power, or trying to measure its value. She had crafted it herself with pure raw diamond, and it was finely shaped, even when transformed from diamond chunks as she just did. He couldn't guess its value, whatever he did.
She observed her helper as he breathed smoke into one of the benders' sight. Judging by the smuggler's reaction, it was not normal smoke that he got in his eyes. That seemed like a nice tactic, but maybe the man hadn't realized that those guys were wearing clothes covering every part of their body, so if he was trying to make them choke, it was a miss. However, the effect his smoke had on that poor man made her wonder if he was a Firebender. An answer soon came to her eyes, as the man was shooting fire with his feet. She lifted her hands to create a pillar high enough to shield her feet from the fire, even though she had so much sand on her feet that she probably wouldn't feel the heat. Not only that, but it didn't seem like that man was an expert in his ability... 'What to think of this ?' Hinh asked herself. What kind of person would join a brawl, on the outnumbered side, and when they don't have much skill ?
Hinh took time to look in his eyes while he was stepping in a stance that allowed her to see them. She saw impressive things, maybe not as impressive as in a Fire Nation General, but impressive nevertheless. At least, he was neither foolish, nor lost. But it was possible he was looking for his way around. Otherwise, he wouldn't be helping her right now. Once his little performance was over, he began running... with her. She didn't have a say in that matter, he was just dragging her along. Hinh held no grudge against Firebenders, so she was okay with him trying to save her. But she was wondering if he knew what he was doing right now. There was a faint scent of sake around him, so she had doubts about his insight. But on the other hand, his tactic had kind of worked. They had already run pretty far from those guys, who still hadn't started running after them. So while they were running, Hinh turned the spear back into a dagger, and stuck it to her arm inside her sleeve.
She looked around them, but all she could see was sand, and a few dunes in the distance. This desert was extremely big and large, so one couldn't really tell if they were inside or not. But Hinh had the feeling they hadn't stepped in yet. However, she feared that this man, as a Firebender, whom she doubted had ever set foot in a desert, unlike her, knew his way around. So she stopped running and pulled him to a stop. "I wish to thank you for your action." She said, before bowing. Then she let go of his hold. "We shall not continue this way. The Sandbenders know this place a lot more than we do." She took a few steps backwards. "This is where our paths must split." She pointed in the direction of the sunset. "You should meet civilization again by following the course of the sun. Thank you again." She said, before bowing again. Then she raised her hand over her hand, and brought it down fast, making the sand that covered both their bodies go back to the ground. "The Seirei's blessings be upon you." She added as a goodbye, and then stood there, waiting for him to leave, so he wouldn't see that she is headed for the desert.
Joychi - Black Earth Spirit. Di-Jei - Dark Firebender. Del - Di-Jei's little dark angel brother. Akita/Agita - double minded Waterbender Hinh - Diamond Piece of Art General Hao - The leader of the Council of Five.
"I'm not a pessimist- I'm a realist. It's not my damn fault the world really is this bad." Shen Yu
Joined: Aug 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 8 Karma: 1
Re: Through the Earth Kingdom VII « Reply #333 on Nov 8, 2009, 11:11am »
Si Wong Desert
Shen stopped running as soon as the female earthbender stopped him, making it evident that either they were no longer being pursed or she had decided to fight the men anyway, and either way he'd have to stick with her if he wanted to learn anything. Looking around, he could see that they were alone in the desert. That was good. He hated brawls. What on earth had possessed this woman to start one? At least he always traveled light enough to carry all his processions with him.
"That was idiotic of you." Shen introduced himself to her. "Why would you get into a fight- when outnumbered, too?"
His comment did not seem to affect her, as she went on to thank him for his help. The firebender examined the woman. She seemed remarkably calm at the fact that she'd just been in a fight, while he had only now got himself under control, but she seemed a bit too- not naive and certainly not inexperienced, the fight had shown that, but... open, yes and probably had some sort of annoying and idealistic view of the world, if her comment about 'saving souls' or something during the battle had been meant in earnest. Definitely not like him. All the better, he supposed. An instructor with similar views would've been dull. And when she managed to clear the sand from him in one easy mood, Shen had been too surprised for his practiced cynicism to come to his guard and felt something approaching impressed. That was direct work, and it looked delicate too, though he was no expert- or even an amateur- in earthbending.
As soon as she had said her blessings, Shen couldn't take it anymore. "Hold it." He snapped, starting forward. "I'm not leaving you with the wrong impression of me. I'm a selfish bastard without a bone of altruism in my body, so I certainly didn't rescue you because you needed help. I've been looking for a competent earthbender to teach be a few things- defensive stances, to be precise. You don't have the art of the element, but you do seem competent, so I'll take what I can get. That is, if you'll be willing to teach me."
This was all stated directly, honestly and without touching tact with a ten-foot pole. Shen wouldn't have had it any other way. He wanted his teacher to at least be able to work with his abrasive personality, and disguising it would lead into no good, and would be dishonest to who he was. Shen at least gave her time to think on what he'd said before speaking again.
"Now, if you don't wish to teach me, I can take that. But I've been traveling alone for some time, and while it was relaxing I would not mind some company. If we don't get along if we talk, that's all fine- I don't mind walking in silence with someone. But I like company. As incompatible as our personalities seem, I hope we agree on that last point. I'm Shen, and as you can probably tell I'm sour and tactless, but I'm company."
The firebender stood back a little, enjoying his pipe, and was about to take a swing of his sake when he stopped and instead offered it to the woman. "There's no rush for an answer. I quite like some silence every now and again, too."
Joychi Spirit World Dweller King of the Carnival member is offline
Stay your blade from the flesh an innocent, move in secrecy, and do not compromise the brotherhood
Joined: Apr 2006 Gender: Male Posts: 1,760 Location: Trying to find myself nowhere Karma: 378
Re: Through the Earth Kingdom VII « Reply #334 on Nov 8, 2009, 6:24pm »
It seemed to Hinh that the man was more or less out of his senses. What made her think that was that he had no manners when he was speaking, and because he seemed to believe she had begun fighting on purpose, which was not the case. If he had seen the whole scene, he would have realized she was only defending herself, and she hadn't done much either. But she didn't really, care, a long as the two of them could go their own ways everything was fine.
"Hold it." He snapped, starting forward. "I'm not leaving you with the wrong impression of me. I'm a selfish bastard without a bone of altruism in my body, so I certainly didn't rescue you because you needed help. I've been looking for a competent earthbender to teach me a few things - defensive stances, to be precise. You don't have the art of the element, but you do seem competent, so I'll take what I can get. That is, if you'll be willing to teach me."
What was it now ? He actually wanted her to teach him ? An Earthbender teaching a Firebender ? That was totally out of place, and not just because of the war, simply because of the two natures. It sounded ridiculous the way he was saying it. And he wasn't making a good job of selling himself either... Besides, he was being totally rude. Hinh wondered if he himself knew what he meant by 'art of the element'. He did not know what he was talking about - especially to her. She did not answer to that. There was no need to, because the first part had given an answer to the last sentence. She made a step backwards, about to turn round and leave.
"Now, if you don't wish to teach me, I can take that. But I've been traveling alone for some time, and while it was relaxing I would not mind some company. If we don't get along if we talk, that's all fine - I don't mind walking in silence with someone. But I like company. As incompatible as our personalities seem, I hope we agree on that last point. I'm Shen, and as you can probably tell I'm sour and tactless, but I'm company."
Hinh stopped her move. The things he was saying could have been interesting if she had actually wanted company. Going through the Desert with someone else did not sound like a very useful idea. He said he was okay with walking in silence - she had doubts about that - which was fine with her. But that's not what made her stop. He had told her his name, which meant it would be rude from her to leave without saying her name back. She figured he was not telling his name just like that, he was really trying to bond. She knew the first step in bonding was telling names, but she didn't want to know him at all ! Were all Firebenders like him ?
Hinh sighed, just as he handed his bottle of sake to her. Now that she thought about it, teaching him defensive stances would probably not take more than a night. Maybe she could just do this and then they'd be done. "There's no rush for an answer. I quite like some silence every now and again, too." He was saying. "You talk a lot." Hinh just said. Then she pushed his hand holding the bottle back near his face so he could drink. "My name is Hinh Thoi. I accept to teach you what you call 'the art of the element'." She added, with a bow. Then, in case he wanted to reply something, she put her finger accross her lips. "Keep things simpler." She said.
She took a glance at the sunset. Firebenders were weaker at night, which meant if she wanted to train him both better and quicker, she needed to use the night. She took a few steps backwards, so she could have a good feeling of the space she would use. "I shall start now." She said, before making a whirl motion around her with her hands, then thrusting them down and stomping the ground. This made the ten feet radius area around them turn into quicksand. "Steady and stable." She just told him as her own feet began sinking in the sand, yet she did not make a move. She could perfectly well float atop quicksands, but what would be the point if she meant to teach him ?
Joychi - Black Earth Spirit. Di-Jei - Dark Firebender. Del - Di-Jei's little dark angel brother. Akita/Agita - double minded Waterbender Hinh - Diamond Piece of Art General Hao - The leader of the Council of Five.
"I'm not a pessimist- I'm a realist. It's not my damn fault the world really is this bad." Shen Yu
Joined: Aug 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 8 Karma: 1
Re: Through the Earth Kingdom VII « Reply #335 on Nov 9, 2009, 1:00pm »
"Keep things simpler."
Shen smirked at this, his expression partially hid by her finger over his mouth. This was something of the directness that earth valued so much, and of the kind needed if you where to reach- or teach him, at any rate. He paused a moment, collecting his thoughts and watching his breathing as so to bring his chi under control and make himself ready for the training. After three seconds, he bowed his head to Hinh and stepped back, ready to learn.
Shen was startled as the ground beneath him suddenly liquefied, and he almost lost his balance straight away. Managing to barely regain his footing, Shen scowled at himself. This wouldn't do. Concentrate! The earth never needed to prepare as it was always ready, a technique that could easily benefit his own bending. But one thing at a time.
Firmness would be needed: if he was tentative in his stance, he would fall anyway, and this way if he failed he would at least have done it in the right way. Right, breathe. Shen closed his eyes and concentrated on his body and his breath, keeping it steady and slow to compliment what he tried to do, which was hold himself level on the sinking ground. He carefully spread his feet more apart -so they were just beyond the shoulders, yes? That felt uncomfortable, but safer- and adjusted his arms into the stance that he would use to land balanced after some aerial displays of firebending. The stance kept him more or less steady until the ground lurched in a way he hadn't expected and he nearly lost his balance again.
Again. What had been wrong there? No one part of his body had given out, but the whole had almost fallen. He had been too stiff, that was it, brittle and liable to shatter at a strong enough strike. He remembered some of his bending stances in action, how his body would flow with the movement of his chi as it sprang into fire beyond his reach. Something like that, but different.
His adjusted posture felt steadier, safer. Breathe in, hold, out. In, hold, out. Keep it steady. This was important, and it required patience, endurance, and a bull-headed stubbornness to keep on holding the stance no matter how difficult it got. Well, he knew he had that last quality, at least. There was another lurch, but this time he managed to move with it, however awkwardly, and remained upright.
He managed a minute or two before a particular movement in the sand sent him flying face down into the ground. There was some muffled swearing before Shen grimly pulled himself up, searching for his dropped pipe.
Joychi Spirit World Dweller King of the Carnival member is offline
Stay your blade from the flesh an innocent, move in secrecy, and do not compromise the brotherhood
Joined: Apr 2006 Gender: Male Posts: 1,760 Location: Trying to find myself nowhere Karma: 378
Re: Through the Earth Kingdom VII « Reply #336 on Nov 9, 2009, 3:37pm »
Hinh didn't make a move. She didn't say anything either. She was standing on the quicksands, her arms crossed over hr chest, watching her new student trying to manage to stand still on the quicksand. She was not using any Earthbending to keep still, because if she was supposed to teach him, she needed to be an example. Her own feet were sinking in the sand, sometimes unbalancing her, but she wasn't any rookie at that. She was preemptively adjusting her stance with small slow motions from her hips, everytime she felt that her balance was leaving. Other than that, she was totally rooted to the sinking ground.
She kept observing the man in front of her. How he was doing his best to take a position that would hold him steady, as he was carefully making the movements he needed in order to do so, and also how he was failing to maintain his balance just as he was getting stable enough. He was doing decent job at not sinking, but the result was still very far from what she was expecting him to do. Maybe he hadn't understood what this was supposed to do. She hadn't really explained him either, but the words "Steady and stable" sounded clear enough, didn't they ?
At one point, he was able to get it, more or less, and stood still for a couple of minutes. Hinh thought about ending this lesson right now, because it might be as far as he would ever go, being a Firebender, but just at that moment, he fell again. She wondered why he wanted to learn defensive stances from Earthbending. That one lesson was to teach him how to be rooted, but Firebenders were not meant not to move. He was going against his own nature by doing this. Hinh had a smile at that thought, because it was admirable. She had had to do the same at one point during her Templar training.
As he was looking for his pipe in the sand, Hinh felt it was time to speak up and help somehow. First, she made a sidewards motion with her right foot so that the sand that had absorbed his pipe would come back, and his pipe would reappear. It seemed to help his focus, which was important. "What are you doing ?" She asked, although her tone didn't show any wish for an answer. "I said 'steady and stable', but you are missing the point." She then unfolded her arms and instead joined her hands behind her back. "You must grow roots if you want to succeed this." She told him. It was the point she had wanted him to figure out himself, in order to get a better understanding of the basics. She could also have just told him to take a strong stance and hold still while they were on solid ground, but Hinh's way was a lot more useful, although quite brutal.
Her feet were now totally covered. "I want you to keep your balance while standing exactly the way I do." She said. Then, to make things a little more interesting, she lowered her head a little and joined hands in her sleeves in front of her, like during a prayer. "I hope you are not feeling any hungry, because the both of us will be staying right here until only our head is not covered. This should leave us about half an hour." She added. This one was even worse than before, but if he could take advantage of everything she had told him up until now, even before they started, he would probably manage.
The sun had not totally set yet, but soon everything would get dark until the moon rose. Then she closed her eyes, and began praying. "Spirit World dwellers, may your presence in our thoughts bring us the serenity we long for, that we humans may meet our dear losses once again in joy..." She began whispering.
Joychi - Black Earth Spirit. Di-Jei - Dark Firebender. Del - Di-Jei's little dark angel brother. Akita/Agita - double minded Waterbender Hinh - Diamond Piece of Art General Hao - The leader of the Council of Five.
"I'm not a pessimist- I'm a realist. It's not my damn fault the world really is this bad." Shen Yu
Joined: Aug 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 8 Karma: 1
Re: Through the Earth Kingdom VII « Reply #337 on Nov 11, 2009, 4:28pm »
"Well, excuse me." Shen muttered more to himself than to Hinh, searching in the sand for his pipe. "It isn't as if I'm doing this for the first time and having to go against more than a decade of training." As the earth parted to show his prized possession, Shen picked it up and carefully dislodged a lump of sand from it and then taking a couple of tobacco leaves from one of his pouches. With a careful, almost gentle breath he lit them and dropped them into his pipe before returning it to his mouth, now content to listen to his teacher and try again. The pipe was a tool that helped him concentrate as well as being a mere enjoyment of his, and now it seemed a good idea to make proper use of it.
Shen watched his teacher as she briefly explained what from the tone of her voice seemed to be very obvious ideas, or at least ones that were at the core of earthbending. It was quite informative and interesting, even if it was lacking in information. Shen examined her stance: it showed her confidence- not the confidence that came from bravado or swagger, but from simple competence. It wasn't intentional, either, but nor did she think that showing such ability might possibly hurt the feelings of anyone she taught, and already she was planning to push him, sticking him here in the quicksand without easy access to food nor water. Shen smirked again at this. He and Hinh were proving much more compatible as teacher and student than he'd first expected.
Shen righted himself with quite a bit of effort, making sure his pipe remained firmly in his mouth. His pheasant's garb was throughly covered with sand and more than a little uncomfortable. Shen nodded to his teacher. "You give me those instructions as if they should be obvious. They probably will be to someone who can feel the earth with their chi, but I am fire, and I do not intend to go against what I am, ever. I am looking to apply this move to firebending, as a solid stance is often needed for proper channeling of the chi., along with some rare defensive techniques- shields made of fire, for example. Like I said, I'm a selfish bastard. Leave learning the elements to that legend. I care about my bending." Shen stopped and smirked yet again. it was an expression that naturally suited his face. "I hope you disagree. Debates are very enjoyable. Lots of chances for me to be disagreeable. But before I can apply this, I must learn it. I won't waste any more time."
Find his roots. Right. In terms of fire, what did that translate into? Shen looked at her stance, comparing it to what he had done to see his mistakes. he could see, now, that in earth inaction was as important as action. Hinh did not make any unneeded moves, using her upper body to adjust her stance and thus keep her balance. And that was it. Fire endures. The wind may blow at it, the water may dose it, the fuel may leave it, but the spark was still there, ready to erupt if needed. Fire flickered with the wind, fought the water directly, turning it into harmless steam, and if the fuel was taken then it would use chi instead. Fire would fight when it needed, with water, bend when it had to, with wind, and keep a solid core in it's chi.
Breathe. In, hold and out.
Shen placed his feet on the ground, determined to get it right this time. At first he took the basic idea of the earthbending stance that he'd seen Hinh do, until he was comfortable with it. he kept a solid center of gravity, using his hips to shift his weight were needed, keeping his legs and arms solid but bend and so ready to absorb any impact. He kept in this position for a very long time, until he felt certain in it for now -not that it couldn't use improvements, everything could always use improvements, and he was only beginning- and then switched into something that looked like an ungodly mockery of both earth and firebending styles, mixing the two and collapsing quickly in a flurry of limbs.
Shen struggled his way up out of the now much higher sand. Fire never gives up. Fire fights. Righting himself again, his pipe still in his mouth due to keeping his teeth clamped firmly on it as soon as he changed stances, Shen placed himself into the earthbending stance.
In, hold and out.
This time the earthbending stance was better, and it no longer hurt badly to keep in position, just the familiar ache of putting his body into new and unusual positions. By no means did he not risk falling over now and again, but the stance was firm. And then he changed stances again, less extremely this time. There was more of the earth in it than the fire, more of a balance between the forces. Shen kept his feet and legs rooted to the ground in the same position, but his upper body now took a shape resembling a firebender's ready stance, the one they used when waiting for an attack, ready to exploit any opening and return the favor. Solid stillness of earth at the base, the movement of fire at the top. he'd be rooted to one place but able to retaliate to anywhere around him- theoretically.
The stance was very awkward at first and Shen half-fell very quickly, but used one arm to lever himself up again. He was lucky: had he fallen properly he wouldn't have been able to get up again and would have been at risk of suffocation. Now his upper body moved, flowing as fire flew, with a strength of motion, trying to find the right stance in which he could fully manipulate his lower body. There was the risk of falling throughout, but being this close there was no way he'd be defeated now.
In, hold, and out.
he'd lost track of time now, and idly wondered if he had any time left. Shen struck a stance and held it for a minute or two before allowing himself a brief smile and returning to the earth stance that he'd taken at the beginning. He opened his eyes. "Needs work."
Joychi Spirit World Dweller King of the Carnival member is offline
Stay your blade from the flesh an innocent, move in secrecy, and do not compromise the brotherhood
Joined: Apr 2006 Gender: Male Posts: 1,760 Location: Trying to find myself nowhere Karma: 378
Re: Through the Earth Kingdom VII « Reply #338 on Nov 11, 2009, 6:49pm »
Hinh kept repeating her little prayer. Her new pupil was once again making a speech, but this time it sounded more like a complaint. 'He does talk a lot.' Hinh thought. Everything he was saying made sense, though she wouldn't say he's a selfish bastard, and what he was doing right now was not trying to learn Earthbending, but it was a matter to disagree with. Maybe he was getting the thing, but misinterpreting it. "You are not applying here, you are learning." Hinh said between two prayers as he was preparing to go on.
She didn't look at him while he was trying, because she had kept her eyes closed, and she was still repeating her prayer. But from the noise she could hear coming from his side, he was neither doing as she said, nor doing a very decent job. He seemed to respect her as his teacher, but not her method of teaching. She could understand, it was a very unorthodox method, even more for someone who did not bend earth, but fire. But the sand was coming higher and higher, and it didn't sound like he was getting what she meant.
Now that she thought about it again, the way she said it did not apply to a Firebender. He might have wasted a little less time if she had explained correctly. It wasn't a complete failure, though, as he had stopped falling. But he was still making too much noise. As she had said, he was not applying here, but learning. So she couldn't blame him for making noise while doing the stuff. He was a Firebender after all. Besides, nothing could disturb Hinh while she was making a prayer, unless she let it disturb her.
At one point, when her arms were already touching the sand, she stopped saying her prayer and opened her eyes, looking at Shen. He... was in a rather strange stance, but at least what she had said had more or less been understood. They had now sunk to the level of the stomach, and after he was able to partially successfully keep his roots, Hinh decided it was time to move on. "That will be enough, then." She said "I must apologize. I realize I did not make it clear enough for you earlier. I believe I should have said 'You must stand your own ground', as it actually applies to all elements." She clenched her hands and slammed them on the quicksand, which rose their feet go to the surface of the quiksand. She had other plans for Shen, now. "But since you have learnt it, now is the time to see you apply. Here is the next lesson."
Then she raised her hands and left foot, about to bring them down, but stopped in mid-air. "Remember to keep things simpler... And keep still while I prepare the field." She added, before stomping the ground, sending a shockwave through the ground that made all the quicksand become solid like earth, and once it was done, bringing her hands down, making the ground cave in everywhere but under Shen and her. She had made the pillars under them about ten feet high, to ensure the need of doing the exercise right, as well as ensure he wouldn't get hurt if he misstepped.
She looked at him while she sat down. "This is another exercise that will be much different. The stability of our pillars will be compromised at some point, as it is standing over sand. I believe you know what I expect from you right now... With that said, I do not really expect you to do anything special. You may do as you please, as long as you do not fall. Speak to me if you wish, but I might not reply." She then closed her eyes and joined her hands, in a meditation pose. "Rest if you need to. We will be hunting afterwards." She added.
Joychi - Black Earth Spirit. Di-Jei - Dark Firebender. Del - Di-Jei's little dark angel brother. Akita/Agita - double minded Waterbender Hinh - Diamond Piece of Art General Hao - The leader of the Council of Five.
Shio Master Bender [g]That Mod Over There Who Is A Power Hungry Maniac[/g] member is offline
All hail the supreme overlord Oprah! Bow down to her power
Joined: Oct 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 2,397 Location: Some where at some time Karma: 447
Re: Through the Earth Kingdom VII « Reply #339 on Nov 15, 2009, 2:41pm »
That place with the people and the earth and the fire shootin’ out their heads
There was a grey overcast come noon. The once clear and somewhat burning sun was now smothered behind a dull sheet. Thankfully that wasn’t bad. The sweltering heat was now muffled, and cool breeze across the sweaty young firebender as he leapt and moved across the rust colored wasteland. Quite a distance away, his uncle was also drenched with training. Hopefully, this rain would provide some much needed bathing opportunities for the both of them.
The youth, now a bit bronzed by the sun, halted his jumps. Assuming the proper stance, he inhaled, exhaled, inhaled and then exhaled a powerful stream of fire from his left fist. When it approached the mental line he envisioned; he extended his arms and pulled it back with a breath. His yellow eyes were cemented on the fiery spectacle before him. His flame seemed to slow down, form a ball in the air, and then extended itself as it was made only it was headed back to its creator. It was still his; he could feel the energy from his flame. If he wanted, he could end its fly right then and there, but that wasn’t the point of this. Before, he had fought fire with fire, but that would no longer prove effective. What he was intent on performing, although more costly than his previous technique, could be more effective. The waterbenders did it all the time, and the only reason firebenders didn’t was because they were instructed not to.
The fire reached the halfway point, the banished prince severed his connection and then braced for its impact. His right leg stepped back, behind his left; he bent his knees, outstretched his palms toward the flame, and then concentrated on the heat and energy of the fire. It was wild, untamed, alive, really. Were all the elements like this, did water have a softer energy than fire or was it dead? Did earth behave stubbornly? Was air difficult to shape and bend? Never mind that now, Zuko clenched his fists upon gaining control of the flame; he pulled his arms inward as the flame rushed closer and closer. At three feet, he clenched his jaw, and fought valiantly against the momentum of his fire. It was getting closer; slowing down, but getting closer all the same. The intensity of the flame was startling, it felt like being in the bright summer sun for an hour, and it ushered forth a waterfall from his pores. Then with a grunt, the future Fire Lord stepped forward, and punched the fire back out. This time, it raced off with a roar and was greater in size than it had been. That was his job. He had to take control of his opponents flame and then launch it back at them with greater intensity. It was less chi intensive than making an equally sized fire blast, but more difficult to achieve because of the precarious routines that fighting required. Against his sister, he could sacrifice five seconds as he had here. That kind of a fight required that technique to be executed in under two. It was probably easier to just dodge, but with this she would have to go on the defensive. If he could get Azula on the defensive, then that would all the reward he needed. That would definitely psyche her out more than if he just matched her blow for blow. To be bested, that was an acceptable loss, but to lose to someone weaker than you was unacceptable, and to be burned by your own flame… well, that was just dishonorably embarrassing. He would do this for as long as he possibly could, and then once more. With Azula, those would be the circumstances. With one mistake, he could lose both Nikuro and Karena; and the world would suffer the horrible fate of her succession after his father’s. There wasn’t any room error, and barely any room for rest.
Water; Earth; Fire; Air. Long ago, the Four Nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all Four Elements, could stop them; but when the world needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years passed, and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar -- an Airbender named Aang, and although his Airbending skills are great, he has a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone. But I believe... Aang can save the world.
Accounts that have been inactive for 30days or more as of 06.31.09 and 07.16.09 have been deleted!! Members who had 20 posts [not including OOC areas] or more and have been deleted have their post count information saved. If you find you cannot login, please re-register with the SAME username you registered with originally. To those who registered their original accounts before 2007, the current registration name rules do not apply to you. If you have any questions, please send a polite email to the core staff at: theavatarrp [at] yahoo [dot] com.
03.25.09
The Rules and FAQ threads have been re-formatted!! Please check your PMs for further information, and be sure to read the new threads! Some of our information has changed.
03.23.09
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02.18.09
With much thanks to Raikou Harukai, we're happy to announce that we now have a Character Journal board! If you're interested in keeping a journal for your character or characters, then this is the place to do it! Concerning Profiles - anyone that still has an unapproved profile, that was written before 01/31/09 needs to contact Toph A.S.A.P. so we can get you approved! Thank you for your co-operation and continued patience.
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