Tera253
Gran Gran
In Soviet Russia, post writes you
Posts: 588
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Post by Tera253 on Dec 31, 2008 15:14:29 GMT -5
chapter 31; back to Katara... she's a really erratic character in this series. I really don't know what to say about her at this point...
CHAPTER 31: UNLESS SHE SURVIVES Katara’s situation got slightly better, but for the most part, she was not fond of this new life. Orzon and Ayumi had told her that they knew where her brother was (which, incidentally, they did) and this gave her hope; However, she did not know that they were actually making sure that he did not find her, as he had become deeply rooted in The Avatar Guard during his time apart from his younger sister.
Katara’s loyalty to The Order was held up by that thought nonetheless, but Zhin’s planning far, far away had reached Ayumi and Orzon, and they planned to do something about it.
“We clear her mind,” said Orzon, “before she was calmed she was fierce; hated everyone.”
“Ferocity and hatred” said Ayumi, “those terms are right in my arena.”
“And that is the problem,” said Orzon, “she knows you are relentless, and that you hate her. If you try something of that sort, she’ll likely attack; and we both know that her raw power is far greater than any of ours, and so the obvious outcome is...”
“And that was why we took her, is it not? That girl’s power will eventually consume her. She lacks the control needed to harness it. If she lives past 20 I’ll be surprised, so let’s make use of her while we can.”
“And that is why I will be the one to clear her mind, Ayumi; she trusts me more than she trusts you. I’m known for my convincing game.”
Ayumi grumbled and muttered something under her breath before disappearing, leaving Orzon alone. He went to Katara’s room a few minutes later to find her unconscious on the ground. A little bit of looking around told her Ayumi had been there.
Orzon knew his wife, and how she operated. She had a deadly tactic that if she used on a person, would make them faint. The fact that there were no cuts or bruises on Katara other than her scars meant that Ayumi had done her work, which actually saved him the time.
Katara woke up in a dark chamber, tied down, and still exhausted as always. Surprisingly, she wasn’t as scared as she probably should have been, as Katara Altina II was used to being treated badly, having been treated such most of her life (save by her brother).
Her eyes darted around, but only saw a dim light in the distance. Orzon, the holder of the light, was approaching her. The light Orzon had was revolving around him, and it caught Katara’s eyes, and the hypnotism used by the Dai Li of old was coming back around and into effect on young Katara.
“This war,” said Orzon, slightly disguising his voice, “was caused by the avatar. It has separated you from your family; left you all alone. The Fire Lord is here to help you.”
“The Fire Lord is my friend,” Katara asked, as if she doubted, though eventually, his hypnotism would end up brainwashing her; “why,”
“This was the man who took you in,” Orzon replied, watching as Katara’s eyes followed the lamp that was revolving around him in what was otherwise darkness, “he is here for you, and will help you find your family. He trained you to become able to defend yourself without getting hurt.” He paused, and noticed that Katara’s eyes had gone blank.
“Is this true,” Orzon asked her, as he had repeated those lines several times to her, and was hoping for a result,
“Aye,” Katara replied, “Fire Lord Orzon is my friend—isn’t he?”
“Aye,” Orzon replied, “and with your power, you could run the world as you wished it. You wouldn’t even need your friends to help you. You would not even need the avatar.”
Katara had a very strong-willed mind, and it took Orzon a long time before he was able to do what he had been hoping to do. By the time all was said and done, Katara was thrashing to try and escape, and freaked out when people touched her.
Before her brother had left, he had spent much of his time trying to calm down his sister, who suffered from the stress of losing her father as well as the stress of knowing that if she was not consistently improving her control, that her power would overtake her and that she would die. Previously she had calmed down, but now Orzon and Ayumi’s brainwashing had changed her back to her original erratic behavior.
“Let me go,” she snapped, “let me go NOW,”
Orzon did not hesitate, and Katara’s bonds were broken.
“You have my services,” she said, “for now.”
Orzon’s job was finished, and Ayumi, who had insisted that she ‘work on her’ afterwards, and so Orzon gave it the OK.
However, upon seeing her, Katara got into a defensive stance. There was some part of Orzon’s brainwashing that had affected Katara, but the exact results of the events that had just occurred were unknown. Katara now just seemed much more erratic and unpredictable.
“Woman,” she said, seizing Ayumi by the throat, “when is the next war you were planning to send me off on,”
Ayumi was shocked at not only Katara’s bravery, but the fact that she was “assaulting” the Lady of the Fire Nation. She slapped Katara’s arm away from her neck.
“Don’t touch me like that,” she said, “remember who your superiors are.”
“I do,” Katara replied, “and with power like mine, I’m the most superior person in the world. Now tell me about this next war if you want me to remain on your side. Your little brainwashing shot did well.”
Ayumi’s expression was hard to interpret, as it was a cross between surprise, hatred, fear, and arrogance.
“It is two days from now,” Ayumi replied, “and if you touch me again like that I will have you put to death, regardless of your so-called “power”. When you understand that you will be much better off.”
Katara however, did not reply. She was heading for her room, for she was tired. On the way, she met the giggling servant girls. By this time they knew her name (though she had never wasted her time trying to learn theirs) and so they taunted her as usual.
“Katara’s in trouble,” they giggled, but soon realized that this was a mistake. Unlike Orzon or Ayumi, who had authority as well as power, these girls had nothing except their numbers.
“You want to go,” Katara said, clearly not in the mood, as she was back to her people-hating attitude of her past;
The girls crowded together, and they actually called out a few different names. A few moments later, they were accompanied by 4 young men who were probably the boyfriends of these young ladies.
“Don’t touch our girls,” they said, showing off. Perhaps these girls were also weak firebenders, as once the boys showed off some of their skill (which, compared to anyone from The Avatar Guard or The Order of the Avatar Slayer, was nothing) the girls did too.
“Or what,” said Katara irritably, “you’ll try to out-firebend me?”
Katara responded by making two huge fireballs on her hands. This caused them to get on edge, but Katara’s next reaction was something that did not involve firebending.
Katara did not firebend to attack when she didn’t have to, for she usually hurt herself as well. Therefore, her next movement was a series of surprise attacks that involved her fists and her feet. Within seconds, they were all down, but not out.
“You monster,” one of the girls yelled, her eyes watering,
“Whatever,” Katara shrugged, and she made her way to her room without another word. Upon getting there, she slammed the door and locked it. Orzon had corrupted her mind, bringing her past self back. She still seemed to be on their side, and planned to fight with them in the next war. Ultimately though, she sort of was now on her own side.
“Sokka,” she muttered, “mother; I’m coming for you both; The Avatar Guard; The Order of the Avatar Slayer; neither of them means anything to me right now. I want to see my family again.” Katara threw herself onto her bed and fell asleep, thinking only about her family, as was typical.
“She’s dangerous,” Orzon warned, “if she learns that we are keeping her brother and mother away from here she will turn against us, and with power like that, she will defeat us. We need to make good use of her while she’s still on our side.”
“That is why we are sending her to war with the others, Orzon,” Ayumi replied, still angered (and possibly slightly humiliated) by the incident she had had with Katara earlier; “she needs to die, as she’s a danger to everyone around her, herself, and the rest of the world, the avatar included. We need to make it look like an accident though. Perhaps a non-existent retreat calls for the other soldiers. Let her fight alone.”
“If you want her alone,” said Orzon, “bring up her family before she goes in. she’ll never retreat if she thinks they are on the line here.”
“She’s a stubborn young woman,” said Ayumi, “I’m sure that such a thing will work. For once we might have to hope that the avatar decides to bring with her a challenge. Katara Altina II is altogether dangerous.”
“And either way,” said Orzon, “this will work to our advantage, for she will deal heavy blows to The Avatar Guard before she dies. If she refuses to retreat, her only other option will be to fight to the death, and that means she’ll be dealing damage.”
“Then it is what we shall do,” said Ayumi, “unless of course, she survives; what then, Orzon? What then?”
“that is a question I must think about,” Orzon replied, “chances are she will die, therefore everything will be alright Unless She Survives.”
~Azula~
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Tera253
Gran Gran
In Soviet Russia, post writes you
Posts: 588
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Post by Tera253 on Dec 31, 2008 15:14:55 GMT -5
Why is it that my chapter 32s are always dark and evil? oh wellz. but yeah, definitely gonna be an explicit version of this one, which will bring out the battle into more detail...
until then, have fun guessing who The Warrior of the Black Hand is.
CHAPTER 32: THE WARRIOR OF THE BLACK HAND It was a few days later that the armies of The Avatar Guard and The Order of the Avatar Slayer were ready for combat. However, much to the dismay of The Order, Katara was gone. However, they were greeted by someone different—a person who had long since been thought dead.
He was clad in black Fire Nation armor, and was completely covered from head to foot, including his hands, which on normal Fire Nation armor, was exposed. He had been a notorious warrior known only as The Warrior of the Black Hand, or “The Dark Warrior” for short. He was seen on the evening before battle by Orzon and Ayumi.
“I have come again to serve in battle,” he said. His voice though, seemed different from the way they remembered it. It seemed higher and slightly raspier, but the armor was unmistakable. The Dark Warrior had been notorious for being able to remain unseen when he wanted to, and since the armor had been cased away in the Fire Nation Palace, they figured it would take someone of his skill to retrieve it.
“Are you here to join our forces,” Ayumi asked, with a tone of interest in this powerful firebender,
“Aye and no,” he replied, “it is the same as before. I will fight as I please.”
Ayumi and Orzon both looked slightly disappointed, but continued.
“You sound different,” said Orzon, “you almost sound like a girl.”
“Are you here to question my logic,” the Dark Warrior asked rather tersely, “for if you are I can take my services elsewhere.”
“No, no,” said Ayumi, almost scared to lose this soldier;
“Then perhaps learn your place when it comes to raw power,” he said, making a fireball on his hand, “and keep that trap of your shut. Times change and so do people. My voice is not an exception.”
“Aye,” said Orzon, “but now, Sir Warrior, a new threat arises: a threat in the form of a 15-year-old girl.”
The Dark warrior laughed, “I do believe that I have heard of her,” he said, “for I disappeared when she was but a child; Katara Altina II is her name, and I know of her deeds. She lacks control. She cares for nothing save her family; and she is more powerful than both of you.”
“You seem to know a lot about her, Orzon commented,
“It is my duty to decide what I learn and refuse to learn,” the warrior replied, “for I take interest in the powerful ones.”
Neither Orzon nor Ayumi said anything to this, as if they were waiting for him to continue. Incidentally, he did.
“And I shall take up lodgings here if it is alright with you; in return you shall have my service for a time. Do we have a deal?”
“Aye,” said Orzon, calling for a servant girl to show him to a room. With all of that out of the way, they slept, war on their minds.
The next morning, the Fire Nation Capital was awakened by attacks from The Avatar Guard.
“Remember,” said Zakura to Koroda and his men, “Katara Altina II may be with them, if it is possible, capture her and bring her alive. If you must, then kill her. Only kill her if it is your last option though.”
“Aye, Princess,” said Koroda, saluting,
“Call me Zakura,” Zakura responded, looking over the city as the armies raced towards each other just outside of its gates, “and we shall soon join this fray; for I feel the young Kyoshi Warrior behind me is getting a little bit restless, eh, Taki?”
“I want to make them bleed,” she said, grinning and whipping out her trademark brass Kyoshi fans. Although Taki was a very outgoing and generally friendly woman to everyone, she had a cocky nature and a strong sense of bloodlust. However, the only people she was interested in killing excessively were her enemies.
One of the near unique things about Taki was that unlike most Kyoshi Warriors, she used her fans not only as weapons, but as her primary weapons. She had a while back sharpened the edges of them to become razor sharp, and they were able to cut through flesh easily. When folded up, they worked as knives.
“Hold on, Taki,” said Zakura, as General Koroda led his division out in the back, “let Aiku and Koara go up first.”
“You’re no fun,” said Taki, crossing her arms, and Zakura chuckled.
“I’ll race you,” she said, and took off, as she and Taki were in the back and were among some of the last warriors to enter the battle. Taki shot off after Zakura, fans drawn; swinging wildly the moment she got into range of her enemies.
The Order had a few Kyoshi Warriors in some of their divisions, but nowhere near as many as were in the 21st Division that The Avatar Guard had. Most of theirs were Fire Nation Soldiers and Earth Kingdom Soldiers; with a few Water Tribe Warriors, and the occasional Zuroc Sensei. However, they did not have a Fully Realized Avatar on their side.
Conversely, The Avatar Guard did not have a Fire Lord, and their Fire Lady (Zeruda) was abroad at the moment.
The battle raged, with blood appearing everywhere and people dropping on both sides rather quickly. It seemed that both sides were rather violence-crazed right now.
Aiku was using his glider and airbending prowess to his utter advantage, flying in to attack and then taking back up to the skies to distract enemies; Koara was using bloodbending on the more resilient warriors, and powerful waterbending attacks on some others. Taki was slicing at anything her arms could reach, and using her powerful legs and extreme flexibility and speed to her advantage. She often was bent into positions that it seemed impossible for any normal human to do, and yet there was nothing supernatural or magical about Taki; she was just that flexible.
Zakura meanwhile, had not entered the avatar state yet, but had already revealed through her bending moves that she was the avatar. They were starting to advance towards the Fire Nation Palace, and actually thought that they might have a chance to overthrow it. All the men (and women) who were with The Avatar Guard were watching out for Katara, but there was no sign of her anywhere.
The Order was also looking out for her, for they did not know where she had gone, and they figured that her sudden disappearance meant that she had betrayed them. Nonetheless, Katara’s presence or absence did not seem to affect the battle in any way, so it continued like a battle would, with both sides killing members of the other side, the attacking side (The Avatar Guard) trying to drive the defensive side (The Order of the Avatar Slayer) back as far as possible and then wipe them out.
Suddenly though, out from the ranks of The Order marched a new figure—a warrior clad in black.
“I don’t believe it,” said Koroda, “that cannot be...”
“Who is that,” said Zakura, as she and Koroda were a little clear of the battle by now because neither of them were able to be slaughtered; The Warrior of the Black Hand had “died” when Katara Altina was almost 4, which meant that it was over 12 years ago, which also meant that Zakura was about 9; a little child, so she did not actively remember him and the destruction he caused.
“That is the Dark Warrior,” Koroda replied, “also known as The Warrior of the Black Hand. He was just about as powerful as the Katara girl you speak of. Legends of him have been passed down in military lore, so issuing a warning about him is unnecessary. Perhaps you should tell that Kyoshi friend of yours though.”
Zakura nodded and raced to Taki’s side, where she was still swiftly cutting her enemies up rather well. She hit her to get her attention and pointed at the soldier.
“Stay away from him,” she warned, “he’s powerful—too powerful.”
“Fine,” Taki shrugged, “if you want to kill him, just ask.”
Zakura was surprised that Taki bought it so quickly. She was relieved, and left her to her business, pursuing The Dark Warrior herself. However, not only was the Dark Warrior powerful, but he was also fast—much faster than he looked. Incidentally, there were several soldiers who tried to come at him at the same time, but anyone who got too close to him was wiped out by powerful firebending blasts.
“there’s still no way he could have survived the death he got,” Koroda muttered, “either that or it’s that Katara girl; but there’s no explainable way as to that armor. Hmm...”
The Dark Warrior continued to lay down destruction on The Avatar Guard. Even Kyoshi Warriors who teamed up were unable to bring him down. They realized that they would have to order a retreat unless they wanted the rest of the 21st Division to go down.
Most of the 9th, 10th, 13th, and 18th Divisions were already down after that period where The Dark Warrior joined the fray. Others had been smart enough to retreat. When all was said and done, a retreat was ordered. They watched as The Order started celebrating their victory already, but Zakura noticed the Dark Warrior disappeared.
They left with a majority of Division 21 (the one with the Kyoshi Warriors) intact, while the other divisions had suffered huge casualties. All in all it was a huge loss for The Avatar Guard.
“I can’t believe we lost,” said Zakura, feeling like a failure, “it’s my fault.”
“No,” said Koara, “it is The Dark Warrior’s fault. Nonetheless, I don’t think it’s the same person it once was. There was no way he could have survived it. Nonetheless, I cannot prove anything. I am sorry Zakura,”
“Don’t sweat it, Koara” Zakura muttered darkly, “I still can’t believe that we lost though. We didn’t lose to The Order; we lost to The Warrior of the Black Hand.”
~Azula~
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Tera253
Gran Gran
In Soviet Russia, post writes you
Posts: 588
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Post by Tera253 on Dec 31, 2008 15:15:28 GMT -5
an obvious shot at the last name of our little shy scar-faced female firebending friend. (haha, alliteration.) so, now you know. =3
anyhoot, chapter 33. I still do not see my ending in sight, so bear with me. that said, this is sort of a filler, but we do get to see some emotional character development, and some of Tenoko's drunken stupidity, so enjoy. =D
CHAPTER 33: THIS WAS KIMIKO NAGISHIMA Zinjamyn’s group did not really have any objective for the next day or two except for to do their own thing and to be prepared should the warning be sounded. Zinjamyn was off with Tenoko discussing more war tactics, Mulan had given her baby to the caretakers of a medical establishment in the village, for she could not take her infant child into war. After knowing of how the Serenes waterbenders acted based on what she observed from Lehran, Mulan could have sworn that the nurse she left in charge of her child was a Serenes herself.
The nurse had promised with her life to take care of Mulan’s baby girl, and this left Mulan at peace. Once that was through, Mulan was just mingling with the others, and this village was swarming with Kyoshi Warriors at the time. Cheng was talking with some of these women, many of which knew Taki. From this Cheng learned that Taki was one of the highest ranking Kyoshi Warriors in the world, which would also likely explain her skill in battle.
“How do you know Taki,” one of them asked him,
“Well,” said Cheng truthfully, “Avatar Zakura was the one who got us properly introduced to each other. She told me to take her out, and since she gave me the money to do so, I did. From there, our relationship developed. That about sums it up,”
Cheng might have been talking friendly to these women, but ultimately, he knew that his loyalty was to Taki, and was not going to do anything with these women that would upset Taki (or any woman for that manner). Taki was actually a popular subject of talk among the Kyoshi Warriors, and so Cheng took a liking for the girls, many of which were only 18 or so. Others were much older, but they all had several common traits, such as being fast, flexible, powerful, and fearless.
Lehran meanwhile, was playing with his sister, with Kimiko idly sitting a few feet away watching them. She looked at them longingly, wishing to see her own family again; to hear them laugh with her and hug her the way Lehran was embracing Altina. She closed her eyes.
Lehran didn’t pay attention to Kimiko; for he knew that she liked to be by herself for the most part, and respected her privacy. However, right now, what Kimiko wanted more than anything was for someone to love.
It was actually when she started sniffling that Lehran looked up. Even little Altina stopped giggling.
“Are you alright,” Lehran asked, standing up and walking towards her,
Kimiko naturally did not respond. Lehran could tell what was on her mind. He knew her story, and figured that after a shattering event like that, that there was a 90% chance that that was what she was thinking of. Lehran sat next to her, with Altina playing with some water on the floor in front of them.
“You miss your family, don’t you,” he said gently, putting one of his hands on her back and gently rubbing. Kimiko said nothing, but her eyes started to water. Her scarred eye even got slightly wet, which was not normal, for some of the area around it had been damaged when it had been burned. Now, Lehran was a smart man, and was not going to end on a sad note like the death of poor Kimiko’s family.
“I want someone,” said Kimiko, now sobbing, “just anyone; someone to care for me like my family did; someone to comfort me; someone to dry my tears. My family... they were everything to me. To watch them die with my own eyes... it... it was the worst thing I could ever witness. I’m afraid to talk to anyone. I feel if I ever say anything out of place that it will force me to watch their deaths again.”
“so why are you speaking with me then,” Lehran asked curiously, wondering what made him so special that she was actually talking to him when she would talk to nearly no one else;
“I...” Kimiko stuttered, “I just feel so safe around you. You seem like the sort of man who puts others before himself; I’ve heard the legends of the Serenes Waterbenders, and they sound marvelous. It’s like a fantasy of mine almost. I mean, I’ve seen the way you treat little Altina; it’s something I’ve always looked up to, Lehran.” Lehran was sort of surprised that Kimiko had said so much, and being shy himself, was not sure as to how much he was going to say,
“Well Kimiko,” said Lehran, “I’m a man who does not like to see others distressed. If you ever need someone to lean on, I’ll be here for you. It’s how I am to anyone. I’m trying to teach Altina to grow up to be the same way. The fact that she is already able to waterbend worries me though, for if The Order is not stopped, she will be targeted.”
“Not while I’m here,” said Kimiko with gritted teeth; there was slight anger building up in her; something that had long since lain dormant; “not as long as there is a member of the Nagishima family that still draws breath, Lehran. Something about Altina gives me a certain drive—a drive to protect her like she was my own sister.”
“There is something about you,” said Lehran, “that I admire. It’s that trait of perseverance. After everything that has just happened to you in recent times, you’re still sticking to your beliefs without faltering. A sense of loyalty like that is something I have always admired in a person. You are no exception, Kimiko.”
Kimiko put her arms around Lehran and laid her head on his shoulder.
“Don’t ever leave me,” she said, “you remind me too much of my own brother. I don’t want to have to lose him again.”
“So long as your loyalty remains the same and I am still able to draw breath, lady Nagishima,” said Lehran, who had an odd tendency to use a person’s last name once he learned it, “I will not. You have my word as a Serenes, I assure you.”
Kimiko continued to rest her head on Lehran’s shoulder. She did glance up at little Altina, who was now running around in circles again. Eventually the little girl got dizzy and fell down. Right as she did, the door flew open with such force that Lehran and Kimiko both jumped, and even Kimiko’s left eye flipped wide open. It may have been able to open normally as wide as her other eye, but it couldn’t get much wider than that except on rare occasions. They both looked towards the doorway and saw Chief Tenoko standing there.
“Howdy, kids,” she said, and though she was trying to look at Lehran, her eyes were going in and out of focus; she was clearly drunk again. She looked down and saw Altina and picked her up. She had been playing with some water at the time, and surprisingly, when she was lifted up by Tenoko, she held onto it, putting the water in her mouth.
“Well aren’t you the cutest thing in the world,” she said, hiccupping; Lehran and Kimiko were both too shy to tell Tenoko that she was drunk. Luckily for them, little Altina had an answer; the water that was in Altina’s mouth suddenly ejected and then landed in Tenoko’s face.
“Guuhh,” Tenoko snapped, “crazy kid just spit water at me. Take her, boy.”
She abruptly handed Altina to Lehran, and then Zinjamyn appeared in the doorway, chuckling.
“There you are, Tenoko,” he said, laughing, “here, come lie down for a while. You’re clearly drunk.”
Tenoko just laughed, “You haven’t seen the last of me,” she said, laughing oddly; she was not going to ever actually attack Lehran or Kimiko; she was just that drunk. Zinjamyn led her out and got her to a safe place where she was able to lie down and rest, and then returned to Lehran and Kimiko, the same calm expression on his face.
“Sorry about that,” he said, “she’s just a bit off sometimes. She’s not going to hurt any of you. She didn’t do anything, did she?”
“No,” Lehran replied, and his right hand was subconsciously running up and down Kimiko’s back (on her shirt of course) “She just thought Altina was cute, that was all”
“Well,” said Zinjamyn, smiling at the little girl, “she kind of is; but aye, I’ll leave you two alone for now. Again, I apologize for letting that drunken Water Chief out of my sight.”
With a slight chuckle, Zinjamyn closed the door, and again, Lehran and Kimiko were alone. Kimiko looked up into Lehran’s eyes, and Lehran smiled. Altina started tugging at Kimiko’s pant leg, and Kimiko took that as the sign to pick her up, and therefore, she did.
When she did she squeezed her really hard, and Altina, still known mostly as “that cute little blue ball of fluff” giggled each time Kimiko squeezed her. Lehran watched Kimiko’s face closely, and noticed that she was smiling, something no one had seen her do in a very long time. She set Altina down on the counter that the two of them had been sitting on, and she sat down behind Kimiko, leaving an opening between her and Lehran, which Lehran closed as to be able to reach Altina better (or so he said). He looked at Kimiko and smiled.
To his surprise, she smiled back. It was a weak smile, but a smile it was nonetheless. The fact that he too was incredibly shy meant that for him it was an incredible feat. Not only had he made a new close friend, but he had gotten through to someone who no one else was able to. This was no random person he got through to, This Was Kimiko Nagishima.
~Azula~
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Tera253
Gran Gran
In Soviet Russia, post writes you
Posts: 588
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Post by Tera253 on Feb 26, 2009 14:07:06 GMT -5
CHAPTER 34: MALAK WAS NO EXCEPTION Malak woke up feeling slightly dazed, and her gut still hurt from being kicked around so much by the Water Tribe Warriors. She sat up on the edge of her bed and idly swung her feet back and forth, trying to recall everything that happened. Everything seemed just like an illusion to her now: Zeruda, that Fire Nation boy, Maric’s betrayal, The Avatar Guard Secret Service; everything.
She blinked a few times to try and get the room into focus, but like the room where she had been tied up in; there was little light in this one either. She stood up, but almost fell back down again from dizziness. However, her good balance and fast reflexes prevented this, and she remained on her feet. Suddenly, the door opened, and in it was that Fire Nation boy that was always with Zeruda.
“Oh,” he exclaimed, “you’re awake.”
Malak said nothing. She just sat there swinging her feet, and looked up at him. She was curious as to what his name was, but didn’t feel like she should ask. She was still rather frightened in this new environment.
“Oh,” said the boy, “my name is Reyson by the way. Sorry for not introducing myself earlier.”
“Its fine,” said Malak, “you actually didn’t have to. I was technically at the mercy of you and Zeruda earlier.”
“Well,” said Reyson, “we weren’t going to harm you at all. Zeruda just didn’t want you falling into the hands of The Order. You have talent, Malak. She knows it, you should know it, and even I know it.”
“How do you know it,” Malak asked,
“I actually just took the avatar’s word for it, as she recounted the story to my mother, and I was there to hear it.”
“Who is your mother,” Malak asked curiously,
“Well, Zeruda is,” Reyson replied, “and the old Fire Lord was my dad. I call her Zeruda because if anyone finds out I’m her son they’ll come after me. I mean, I’m the next heir to the Fire Nation Throne if Zeruda is able to be set back up again.”
“That’s neat,” said Malak, smiling, “you would probably make a good Fire Lord. I thought at first that you were just trying to hook up with me or something. I mean, being tied down like that, I just felt so vulnerable—like she was going to pull out a knife on me or something.”
“Zeruda,” Reyson exclaimed, “nah, she may seem firm, but she’s real nice to people as long as they don’t support The Order.”
“Oh,” said Malak, turning slightly pink, “I guess I was just scared then.”
“Well,” said Reyson, “you sort of had the right to be. Zeruda did say she tried to make it seem more intimidating for you to help get more information out of you in case you refused to talk.”
“I just wanted to get out,” said Malak, “I mean; I didn’t have any life-changing information on me. I’m just another Water Tribe girl.”
“Who are your parents,” Reyson asked curiously, “or is it personal”
“it’s a bit personal,” Malak replied, “I mean, everyone called me and my brother the Dragmire Twins, but that’s the name of the Water Chief. I’m not sure why the tacked her last name onto us.”
“You’re the daughter of Tenoko Dragmire,” Reyson asked; for Dragmire was Water Chief Tenoko’s last name;
“I don’t think so,” Malak replied, “I mean, I’ve only seen her once, and she didn’t seem to recognize me or my older brother Maric, so I think it might be coincidental.”
“Well,” said Reyson, “I’m no expert, but I’ve overheard Zeruda talking about Tenoko before, and she has always said Tenoko had a weird name to match the weird woman that she was.”
“Thanks for that,” said Malak, looking down at her knees, (which were under her dress and pants of course)
“Oh,” said Reyson,” sorry. It’s kind of weird though that you and the Water Chief share the same name. I mean, it’s not that I think you’re related to her, it’s just that I’ve only heard the name Dragmire in reference to Tenoko.”
“I don’t know,” Malak shrugged, “I’ve always thought that that name had a sort of dark feel to it”
“Well,” said Reyson, “I don’t know too much about Tenoko except that she drinks a lot, so I can’t tell you if she’s “dark”. Of course, she’s part of the Avatar Guard Secret Service with my mom Zeruda, and then Iresu of the Earth Kingdom as well, so I think she’s good.”
“How do you know so much about the war,” Malak asked, honestly curious and clinging to every word Reyson said,
“From my mom,” Reyson replied, “I mean she’s obviously a big time member of the Avatar Guard, so she gets a lot of information, and since I’m always with her she tells me everything.”
“Oh, alright,” said Malak, “so, now that I‘m here, what are you going to do with me? I mean, is there a battle or something?”
“Well,” said Reyson, “there was one at the Fire Nation capital in which we lost severely according to our latest reports, but the avatar and her company escaped alright. As far as you entering combat, it’s up to you. Technically, you’re too young, as well as I am, but because you’re a prodigy, The Avatar Guard leaves the choice up to you. If you were part of The Order you would have no choice.”
“Well,” said Malak, “I’m not switching sides. I was just wondering how things work around here. I’m so new to all of this.”
“What dragged you into the war,” Reyson asked, “I mean, there’s always something, right?”
“Aye,” Malak replied, “my brother and I were dragged in after an invasion of the northern Water Tribe in which our parents were both killed. We were a poor family, and so racking up the money to sail away from the Northern Water Tribe was quite a feat, and it took us a while. From there we came to the Fire Nation, ‘coz after that attack we sort of... well, you see how it ended up.”
“Ah,” said Reyson, “well, although I can’t say anything about your brother, I’ll assure you that you’ll be okay with us. I actually came up to see if you were awake, ‘coz we’ve got dinner on the table.”
“I could use some of that,” said Malak, almost cracking a smile. She put her hand on her stomach, but then immediately recoiled.
“Are you alright,” Reyson asked; being raised with his mother for the most part, he was a “motherly” young man, (aged 16) but was not a ‘sissy’ by any means. He was being trained to become a caring Fire Lord who would be loved by the people should Zeruda be restored to the throne and Reyson as her successor.
“I’m fine,” said Malak, “just a little tired, and still hurt from the attack. Try taking over 52 kicks to the chest without falling down,”
“52 hits,” Reyson exclaimed, “Malak, that could be worse than we expected. There’s probably more internal damage than we detected.”
“Its fine,” said Malak, feeling like a burden, “you don’t need to be my mom, Reyson. I’m 14. I can take care of myself at least a little.”
“Sorry,” said Reyson, “I kind of do weird things like that all the time. I guess it was just the way I was raised.”
“Well,” said Malak, “you’d likely rear up good children, and would probably be a popular Fire Lord as well. You seem like a good people-pleaser, and yet not enough to bend to every whim”
“Thanks, I guess,” said Reyson, scratching the back of his head near the black ponytail of hair he had,
“You’re welcome,” said Malak, smiling, and standing up, “now how about that dinner? I’m starving.”
“I’m in,” said Reyson, and stood up. He noticed though, that Malak had a slight stagger to her step.
“Will you be able to take these stairs alright,” he asked, “I mean, oh, there I go again. Sorry.”
Malak giggled. “You’re fine, Reyson,” she said, “I mean, look, you’ve even got Malak Dragmire smiling. You’re obviously doing something right.”
Reyson chuckled, and went down the stairs. Malak staggered down them, almost losing her step, but she had god balance, and was able to catch herself and land at the bottom in one piece.
Zeruda was off doing other things, but she had made them dinner with resources they had around the base; and for a girl of Malak’s social class, it was all food she normally didn’t get.
Reyson and Malak had the table to themselves, and Malak began quietly eating. She was hungry, but she wasn’t shoving her food down like some people (namely people like Sanaki, Meili, Zakura, Cheng, Taki, Tenoko, or the likes) would have if they were as hungry as she was.
Reyson began eating, and being raised as the prince that he rightfully was; he ate politely as well. Once they finished, Malak smiled.
“That was delicious,” she said, “tell Fire Lady Zeruda I said that.”
“Alright,” said Reyson, watching her gently get up, “are you just going to go back to your room again?”
“Aye,” Malak replied, “I’m still really tired. Thanks for everything though. I really enjoyed it.”
“You’re welcome,” Reyson replied, still seated, watching her go back up the stairs to her room. The interesting thing about The Avatar Guard was that they were always hospitable no matter where they were. They were a resourceful group like The Order, but when there were people new to their organization, The Avatar Guard, unlike The Order, would actually treat them well and care for them. Malak Was No Exception.
~Azula~
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Tera253
Gran Gran
In Soviet Russia, post writes you
Posts: 588
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Post by Tera253 on Feb 26, 2009 14:07:53 GMT -5
CHAPTER 35: NOT GOING AS PLANNED Incidentally, Alzar, Shinon, and the rest of the group at Ba Sing Se received an objective sooner than they thought. It was 2 days after Meili had finished recovering that there were signs of an attack in the Northwest area of the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se.
Nowadays, soldiers of either organization were able to come and go into Ba Sing Se (via earthbenders opening the walls) if they knew which places to enter. Naturally, areas patrolled by The Avatar Guard would not let Order soldiers in, and areas patrolled by The Order of the Avatar Slayer would not let Avatar Guard members in. granted, if one organization were able to take over the titanic city’s walls completely, they would be able to be well-protected, but in this day and age, division was everywhere, and now the walls of Ba Sing Se were merely a landmark on the globe.
“Prepare your selves,” said Iresu, bursting into the hideout, “although they are not coming for us here, they are attacking this part of the city. Pretty much what the soldiers are telling the citizens is “join us or die”.
We must fight. I’ve been out all day marshalling some of my Earth Kingdom Soldiers. There’s a good chance though that we will lose much of this area, for their numbers are many, and the time I had to marshal up the 46th and 51st Divisions was not enough. The 53rd, 54th, and 48th Divisions would not be able to make it here in time, and the 57th, usually stationed here, is abroad in the southern area of the city.”
“Well,” said Ryuka, “in that case, here is what we are going to do:” They all gathered around, including Iresu and Royota.
“Brother and Sister will lead the armies,” he said, not pausing, though Alzar tried to get his attention, for there was something she wanted to ask him. However, he ignored her, and continued.
“The blind girls will be trying to warn as many citizens as possible about the attacks. The armies will do most of the fighting for the time being.”
Now Alzar had another question, (this one simply was to ask if she was one of the “blind girls” or if Ryuka was just referring to Meili and Sanaki) but once again, Ryuka punched her aside.
“Stop it,” he said bluntly, and Alzar lunged towards him, but was stopped by Shinon. Alzar was glaring at Ryuka with fire in her eyes, trying to break out of Shinon’s grasp.
It was not that Ryuka was a mean man, it was just that he was very serious all the time and hated being interrupted, which also explained why he was by himself a lot.
“Alzar, Shinon, and I will make sure that the blind girls don’t get killed while they go around, and we’ll all beat up anyone who tries to stop us. Is this understood?
“Aye,” they all replied, including Meili and Sanaki, who didn’t seem to mind being called the “blind girls”. Alzar was the only one not to respond, and Shinon let her go.
“What do you want,” said Ryuka, and he sounded irritated,
“All I wanted,” said Alzar “was to ask you what you meant by “Brother and Sister”; is it REALLY that difficult to take 7 seconds of your ‘precious time’ to answer that question, or have you been inhaling too many fumes from your forges again?”
“No,” said Ryuka, “When I get down to business it comes before all. Summed up, shut up until my plans are finished.”
Alzar was not going to put up for that.
“Why you...” she snapped, and Ryuka, aware that she was about to shoot fire at him, whipped out one of his many swords and began deflecting her blows. The others knew better than to get in the way of one of The Four Benders, so they figured that this battle would just have to play its course. Alzar was fiercely bending, but Ryuka’s weapon skills and deflection tactics worked like a charm.
Eventually Alzar stopped firebending, and drew the dragon-hilted sword that was her trademark weapon, and the two of them began clashing blades. Alzar was incredibly fast, and Ryuka was much faster than he looked. Steel hit steel and sparks literally were flying.
One thing about Alzar’s fighting style was that she constantly switched which hand her sword was in, and she was often darting around really quickly, her bare feet generally rather far apart in her stances.
Even with her sword, Alzar used her powerful feet quite often, launching eye-level kicks towards Ryuka. Eventually she ended up kicking Ryuka’s sword from his hands, and the two of them were locked in a fist fight. Alzar was not weak; she just about matched up to Shinon or Aiku (Zinjamyn was the strongest physically out of The Four Benders), despite looking like one of those delicate high-class ladies. Having been with people of this sort all her life (these wee her best friends) her sort of took after them. Nonetheless, Ryuka had strength that was not to be underestimated either, and he took no regard to Alzar being a woman. Generally in this day and age though, no one did, as women were generally just as good as fighters as men. They were usually faster, while men were usually more powerful.
Ryuka slammed Alzar to the ground, pinning her, and with one fell stroke he has swiped a knife across the soles of Alzar’s feet, cutting them open. Alzar yelled from the pain and stopped trying to attack. She acknowledged defeat.
“The more we wait, the more of the area The Order will cover,” said Iresu, now that the fight was over, as trying to talk to any of The Four Benders during one of their fights was near impossible. “We need to stop fighting amongst ourselves and get out there.”
“Aye,” Royota added, frowning at Ryuka; he then turned to Alzar though and answered her question.
“He called Iresu and I Brother and Sister because we are related. Iresu is my younger sister. I had rights to the Earth kingdom Throne, but I turned it down in favor of the military. I could not rule a nation, for I lack the political skills that my sister has. My leadership skills belong with the military.”
“Was it that hard,” Alzar yelled, clearly very angry, “one simple question and you have to treat me like I’m trying to kill you. Get a life, Ryuka, get out and GET A LIFE.”
Her next reaction was so sudden that Ryuka did not quite catch it. She jerked forward to throw Ryuka off of her, and then she limped away, leaving bloodstained footprints behind her.
“I’m staying with her,” said Shinon flatly, “Ryuka, your battle tactics are good, but your people skills are disgraceful. I wish you all luck in the battle. And please, don’t treat those young girls as pawns or spirits help me, I will hunt you down. Don’t ever treat Alzar like that again.”
Ryuka said nothing, and he, Meili, Sanaki, Iresu, and Royota left to fight in that part of the community.
“What an insensitive jerk,” said Meili bluntly to Sanaki, obviously talking to Ryuka, “I bet the only reason they let him in was because he was good with weapons. What a freak.”
“Well,” said Sanaki, “he’s clearly not a bender, and aye, he doesn’t seem very nice; poor Alzar though... that made me upset too.”
Ryuka was listening to the, but said nothing. He had sort of made himself look really bad just now, and knew he was going to pay for it one Aiku and Zinjamyn returned as well, for they would side with their lifelong friend Alzar long before they would side with him. They left the hideout, and with the exception of Shinon and Alzar, it was completely deserted.
Shinon followed the bloody footprints and found Alzar in a room by herself. He heard sobbing as he opened the door and found Alzar in there bawling. This was something no one ever saw, not even the other 3 Benders. Alzar almost never cried in front of anyone, let alone bawled. And yet she had left the door open a crack; as if she was inviting Shinon in. she would lock the door when she wanted to be alone.
Like Sanaki Li Chan from whom she descended, Alzar was not immune to the traditional emotions of a Sanaki-descendant. Shinon knew that she needed comfort right now, and lots of it.
Surprisingly, both Meili and Sanaki were actually sort of ‘pumped’ for their upcoming battle. They were actually part of the Avatar Guard’s fighting Force, but they understood that Ryuka had given them a generally non-fighting task, as instructing underage figures to fight was something the Avatar Guard was famous for not doing. However, Meili and Sanaki were both willing to fight, and their tasks had the chance of enabling that for them.
“You ready for this,” said Meili, smirking slightly,
“Aye,” Sanaki replied, “blind people are the best.”
They both laughed at their joke as they headed towards the part of the city. Iresu and Royota saw the armies marching towards the place just outside the area they had targeted as their marshalling point before the war. There were mostly Earth Kingdom Soldiers, but there were also several Zuroc Sensei in the mix—a rarity, but not unheard of.
“So this is it,” Ryuka muttered, “hmm...”
Alzar and Shinon not coming was a damper in Ryuka’s plan, but he knew he wasn’t going to back out of it. He had to go through with this action for the sake of Ba Sing Se, despite things Not Going as Planned.
~Azula~
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Tera253
Gran Gran
In Soviet Russia, post writes you
Posts: 588
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Post by Tera253 on Feb 26, 2009 14:09:03 GMT -5
CHAPTER 36: YOUNG KATARA'S MOTHER Shinon was both sad and angry at seeing Alzar bawling into the bed the way she was (for once again, Alzar had gone into a bedroom). Alzar never did this. Something was really wrong.
“Alzar,” said Shinon, knowing that although her feet were bleeding profusely, that this was not what was making her cry the way she was, “what’s the matter? Talk to me, Alz; I’m here.”
He procured some water and began gently massaging Alzar’s feet with a combination of healing techniques to close the gaping wounds.
Alzar just continued bawling.
Shinon sighed. “Alzar,” he said, “come on. You know that the only way I can help you is if I know what the problem is. Talk to me, Alz. We’ve been best friends since we were kids. You were always able to talk to me; and if not me, then Ike or Zinj.”
Alzar still did not respond. Shinon growled, mostly to himself though. None of it was directed at Alzar.
“I hate seeing a grown woman cry like this,” he grumbled, “Ryuka; I swear if you ever treat Alzar like this again it’ll be you who winds up crying.”
Incidentally, Alzar was known for getting into a lot of fights, even as a kid. Because she hung out with lower class people than her, many of them thought it would be fun to try and “jump the rich kid”. The problem with this logic was that unlike most “rich kids” this “rich kid” actually knew how to fight, and she knew how to fight well.
Shinon sat down on the bed next to her and lifted up her face. Alzar’s cheeks were red with tears. One of her hands instinctively moved her bangs over her eyes, as was another trademark of any descendant of Sanaki Li Chan—the ability to cover one’s eyes with one’s bangs.
However, Shinon noticed how red her eyes were before she could hide them. Alzar actually proceeded to undo her topknot as well, just letting her hair fall into her face. Shinon moved Alzar’s bangs out of her face and looked directly into her eyes. Had Alzar not been blind, she would be looking right back at him.
“I thought he was my friend,” said Alzar after a moment of silence. Shinon had no reply for this. Ryuka had sort of crossed the line this time considering what he had gotten mad at her for.
“I’m sorry Alzar,” said Shinon, “you know how Ryuka is though... he’s sort of apart from all the rest of us; he’s always so aloof.”
“He’s too serious,” said Alzar, “I’d actually be willing to say he’s secretly serving The Order.”
“I doubt it,” said Shinon, “he just doesn’t like to be interrupted.”
“It was just a simple question,” said Alzar angrily, “he could have taken 7 seconds out of his ‘perfect schedule’ to answer me.”
“I’m not saying this is your fault, Alz,” said Shinon, “I’m just saying that that’s what Ryuka does. I’m not saying you have to accept it... I... I don’t know exactly how to solve it. I am going to take it up with him though. He has absolutely no right to treat you that way.”
“Don’t do that,” said Alzar, “it makes me seem like a squealer.”
“Alzar,” said Shinon, “don’t be ridiculous. You telling me this didn’t change my views any. I thought that that whole act was outrageous upon seeing it. I care about you, Alzar, and I don’t want Ryuka’s seriousness to trump your importance. He really does need to ‘get a life’ as you put it; he’s too aloof and in his own world.” Alzar did not say anything. Shinon smiled and lifted Alzar into his arms.
“I remember Zinj, Ike, and I used to do this with you all the time,” he chuckled, “you always were light.”
Alzar didn’t say anything, but she sniffled again. She started to take deep breaths and tried to wind down.
“How are your feet,” Shinon asked,
“Better,” said Alzar, “but they still hurt. It’s just... now I’m confused. What’s gotten into Ryuka? He’s never done that before. What made him snap like that? That bothers me—a lot.”
“Maybe we should take a walk,” said Shinon, “let’s get out—get some fresh air; stretch a bit;”
“During a battle,” Alzar exclaimed,
“There’s always one going on somewhere, Alz,” Shinon replied, “but this one was not on a large enough scale to do real harm. Sometimes it’s just best if we let fate play its role.”
Alzar shrugged, “alright,” she said, and climbed out of Shinon’s arms.
“Come here,” said Shinon, putting his arms around Alzar; they might have both been all grown up now, but there were some things that they had been doing for so long that it made no difference.
Granted, Shinon, Aiku, and Zinjamyn had done this with each other before, but only because these four (the three and Alzar) were practically siblings. To see one of them putting an arm around another was like a brotherly relationship, and nothing more.
Alzar returned the favor, and the two of them went out and about. They headed in a southwest direction away from the war, but they figured that minor wars like this probably happened all over the place (and were right. this was not a huge deal).
“So where are we going,” Alzar asked,
“Do you have a destination in mind,” Shinon asked, facing Alzar (though she was facing forward, her blind eyes not pointed at anything)
“No,” Alzar replied, “I didn’t—oh!”
Alzar bumped into a woman who looked to be in her mid-to-late 30s. She was a Water Tribe woman with a stony face, and she had long, dark brown hair that was impossibly curly and ratty-looking.
“She feels familiar,” Alzar thought, “as if I have felt a person like you before once.”
“My apologies,” said Alzar, “I suppose I should be more careful.”
“It’s okay,” the woman replied, “I need to stop daydreaming.”
She looked upset. Shinon was still observing her face, mainly her eyes. There was something familiar about that face, but the eyes seemed different. Shinon blinked, and for a split-second, he saw the woman in red. At once it clicked as to who this was.
“Katara,” Shinon exclaimed, and the woman paused.
“How did you know my name,” she asked, looking at him with a familiar look that Katara Altina II gave. Naturally, Shinon had guessed her full name was Katara Altina I because of her similarity in appearance to Katara Altina II. This was Katara’s mother.
“Do you know Katara Altina II,” said Alzar, suddenly catching on with Shinon. Katara II’s fame was widespread, as a powerful bender such as her was hard to go unnoticed.
The woman’s eyes widened.
“You know where my daughter is,” she exclaimed,
“Actually,” said Alzar guiltily, “we... err... don’t. well, she was last seen in the Fire Nation, and that’s the latest report we’ve received of her.”
“But is she alive,” said Katara I excitedly, “is my baby alive?”
At once Alzar and Shinon both knew that Katara II meant a lot to her. They also knew that Katara II had a brother.
“We do know of the whereabouts of your son though,” said Shinon, “Chief Tenoko of the Water Tribes says he is stationed at the Northern Water Tribe right now.” Katara I looked ready to cry.
“My babies,” she said, though they were 18 (Sokka) and 15 (Katara), “I... I don’t know what to say. I would never have guessed they were still alive. I need to see them again.”
“Well,” said Alzar, “we have sort of been searching for an objective, and so if that means going to the Northern Water Tribe to find your son and then to the Fire Nation to find your daughter, then so be it.”
“Please tell me you’re not joking,” she said, “for I could not take that. It is not something I would be able to take lightly.”
“We aren’t joking, Katara,” said Shinon, “we honestly have nothing to do. If you want to come with us, then we can start making arrangements right now. Just come with us.”
As a result of all this, Alzar and Shinon’s ‘walk’ did not last long, but they didn’t mind. They had found a valuable character that would likely bring Katara II back to their side, wherever she was. According to Zakura’s reports, she had not been seen since The Dark Warrior showed up. It seemed that Katara Altina II was on the run.
They ended up going back the long way to their hideout, and by sundown that day, the others had returned, looking rather battered. Ryuka said nothing, but went into one of his back rooms, and was limping. Meili and Sanaki were for the most part unhurt, and Royota and Iresu had only sustained minor injuries.
The Order had only taken half of what they had expected to, so this was a plus for The Avatar Guard. Shinon stayed there to introduce Katara I to the rest of them, and Alzar went off to find Ryuka and clear her side of the story. If Ryuka did not want to apologize as well, then all the guilt would be his.
“Look Ryuka,” she said, entering the room, “I’m sorry for overreacting with you telling me to shut up, but honestly, you took it too far back there. Is something wrong?”
“I have no excuse,” Ryuka replied flatly.
“Still,” said Alzar, “you need better people skills. If you treat your friends like that you’ll be left with no friends. Luckily Zakura beats me up enough that I’m able to put up with lots of crap. However, too much crap and even I’ll crack. You got that?”
Ryuka said nothing, but merely nodded. Alzar stepped out, her job done. She returned to the lounge, where Katara I was. She was still surprised that they had found Young Katara’s Mother.
~Azula~
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Tera253
Gran Gran
In Soviet Russia, post writes you
Posts: 588
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Post by Tera253 on Feb 26, 2009 14:09:41 GMT -5
CHAPTER 37: IT WAS HER NATIVE ELEMENT Orzon and Ayumi were surprised to find Katara back inside the palace. She was asleep, and unfortunately, Ayumi found her before Orzon did. She was rather upset, and for no good reason really.
“Where did you run off to,” she snapped, after jerking Katara awake. Katara was naturally startled at first, but she composed herself as best as an emotionally unstable 15-year-old girl could.
“I was away,” she replied, “and I heard that The Dark Warrior was at your battle winning it for you, so I don’t see why you’re complaining.”
Katara’s disrespect for the Fire Lady would have cost anyone else their life. However, Orzon took a fancy for the girl, and even he understood just how hostile Ayumi was.
Most people respected her out of fear, for she was powerful. Katara on the other hand, had been declared by the Fire Lord himself as more powerful than them, and so it was logical to assume that Katara was not put to death because she would be able to fight back—and win (provided she didn’t blow herself up).
“How did you know about The Warrior of the Black Hand,” she asked, “you were not even at the battle.”
“My Lady,” said Katara, actually showing signs of respect for once, “I WAS the Dark Warrior.”
Ayumi actually stopped in pure disbelief. Naturally she did not buy this story. No one would have likely done so, as the destruction caused seemed far too great to have been done by a 15-year-old girl.
“You lie,” she said, not ready to accept this,
“Aye,” Katara shrugged, “I do, your highness. Everyone does. This was just another one of those lies. I know The Dark Warrior because I ran into him once as a child. And I knew he was at the battle because news of your victory spread like wildfire, and much of the credit was given to that man. I mean think about it; I couldn’t do something like that could I?”
“You could match him,” Ayumi replied flatly, “he mentioned your name several times. He had the same sense of disrespect that you do.”
“So why don’t you kill me,” Katara shrugged; at this point she probably would not have cared if they did; “I mean; such disrespect for The Fire Lady shouldn’t go unpunished.”
Ayumi stopped for a split-second, and was rapidly processing this thought. She knew the answer, and it involved the phrase “because you would fight back”; and chances are, that Katara would. It may not have been intentional fighting back, but her instincts would kick in and her firebending reflex would go off somehow like it usually did. This was how Katara would sporadically ‘blow herself up’.
“Picture my attacks on you as punishment, girl,” she replied hotly, “and watch yourself. Even the most powerful fighters can be taken down if they go unaware.”
“The same holds true with you, Fire Lady,” Katara muttered under her breath, but Ayumi either didn’t hear her or ignored, her, for she stepped out of the room without another word. Katara got up and quietly followed behind her, just curious to find out where she was going. Ayumi went into the Fire Lord’s Hall, where Katara assumed Orzon was, and after she shut the door with a ‘boom’, Katara returned to her room. She gathered her few belongings and actually left the palace.
She didn’t really have a destination in mind, but she left the Fire Nation Capital. She had taken a bit of money, which she justified by saying it was ‘pay’ for all the trouble they had put her through (all of her training sessions were pretty much like her first) and was gone. She boarded a ship that was heading south, and thought no more of it. At the moment, she was thinking of The Dark Warrior. Which side did he fight for? Where was he, and why did he find her power so interesting? Katara was actually asking herself that last question while on the ship.
“Why am I so powerful,” she thought, wandering around the ship as it made its way presumably towards the Southern Water Tribe, “how is it that I, a 15-year-old girl with no proper training, am better than the Fire Lord himself? I taught myself what I know, and yet, he himself said I was better than him. How is that possible?”
Katara was deep in thought for much of the journey. She also seemed on edge, as if she was waiting for something to happen, but as evening set in, nothing did. Nonetheless, Katara was ready for anything.
* * * * * * * *
Not far away, in the village of Toku; Cheng, Mulan, Zinjamyn, Kimiko, Lehran, (and Altina) and Tenoko, among the others, were prepared for battle, for as the sun had gone down, they had seen lights on the horizon, which they figured were the ships of The Order. They knew The Order was going to attack them, and since this was not a surprise attack or anything, it was more of a warning.
Incidentally, there were no lights on in the water tribe village other than a few that made it look like normal village life was going on there. Unless a person was in the village itself, they would not have had any idea that it was swarming with Kyoshi Warriors. Among them were Cheng, Mulan, Zinjamyn, Tenoko, Kimiko, and Lehran. Altina was on Lehran’s back, much to the surprise of some people. Altina was a durable child though, and was set in a snug enough manners that she shouldn’t get hurt by Lehran’s fast movements during combat. Lehran was next to Kimiko, and Kimiko’s soft hands were both clasped around one of his.
“Are you frightened,” he asked her gently, and she looked up at him.
“Aye,” she replied, “just a little.”
“It’s okay to be sacred,” said Lehran, “I myself am not necessarily comfortable either having a battle on my doorstep. Just stay with me and I’ll protect you.”
He took one of Kimiko’s hands and clasped it between both of his.
“Your hands are cold,” he exclaimed,
“They’ll warm up,” Kimiko replied, “I just need to get some fire flowing through them. I’m waiting for the battle.”
“Alright,” said Lehran, “I was just worried a little.”
Kimiko turned back to facing forward. She was to his right, so he saw the scarred side of her face. He couldn’t notice very well in the darkness, but she had another weak smile on her face. They waited for a while longer in silence.
The ships actually ended up landing in the port, and this was where the battle began. They knew an ambush was here, but they were not aware of the exact magnitude of it. On board their ships were Water Tribe Warriors and Fire Nation soldiers. They sprung out and started to attack anyone nearby. Luckily all the villagers had gone into hiding, so the only people to attack were the Kyoshi Warriors.
To the surprise of Zinjamyn’s group though, a lone figure had shot into the fray in front of the Kyoshis and fighting furiously. It was a firebender, but no one could tell who it was, except for Lehran.
The only way he knew who the firebender was, was because moments earlier, she had been standing next to him. It was Kimiko.
None of them had seen her fighting style up until now, and they at last understood why her family had been targeted and why they were prominent members of The Avatar Guard. Kimiko had made a huge dragon out of her flames, and using it, she was wreaking absolute havoc. Waterbenders and firebenders alike were trying to either pull it apart (firebenders) or put it out (waterbenders), but to no avail.
“We strike at once,” said Zinjamyn to Tenoko, and she passed the word along to the Kyoshi Warriors that were in the back and more hidden. They planned to finish their enemy with overwhelming force. Kimiko, still fight with her flaming dragon, beckoned Lehran and told him to commandeer the ship that was directly in front of her.
“What about you,” he asked, still surprised at what she was doing,
“I’m fine,” she replied, “take my word for it, Lehran”
Lehran used some skilled waterbending to take himself right through the enemy and up onto the edge of the ship, which he scaled with no difficulty; a surprising feat. Cheng was on one side, and was commanding a group of Kyoshis to surround them, and they were doing so quite effectively. These Kyoshi Warriors were not afraid of anything, and many of them were waterbenders even, so seeing some take to the waters was no surprise.
Cheng was a pretty good firebender himself, and slowly but surely they surrounded their enemies. Lehran, once he had commandeered the control room of one of the ships, turned it towards one of the other ones and had rammed it, damaging both ships, and eventually they both began sinking.
Lehran bailed out and began running towards the back of the ship, which was closest to the shore. He lunged off the boat and used waterbending to pave himself a bridge which he glided down and back onto the icy coast of the village. He thought for sure he would be surrounded, and he was—but by the Kyoshi Warriors, not The Order.
With two of their three ships taken down and the rest of the armies either dead or surrounded, the victory at Toku was easily secured by The Avatar Guard. Their plan had been a success, and the Kyoshi Warriors comprising the 35th Division were much more effective than Zinjamyn thought. Kimiko’s move though, was the most surprising. Because of how un-shy she was while she was actually fighting, it seemed that It Was Her Native Element.
~Azula~
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Tera253
Gran Gran
In Soviet Russia, post writes you
Posts: 588
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Post by Tera253 on Feb 26, 2009 14:10:46 GMT -5
CHAPTER 38: WE'RE BACK TOGETHER AGAIN “So we lost,” said Taki, sitting up in her bed; she had gotten some nasty wounds from the fight, and it was Koara’s healing magic that had saved her. She just needed some rest. “Do we just dwell on that fact or do we move on to a new frontier?”
“I’m surprised you’re the one to talk,” Zakura chuckled, “you’re half dead. Cheng-Cheng might be disappointed if he can’t have his Taki.” Taki giggled. “That’s the spirit, Zak,” she said, “I don’t care if I’m hurt. Your objective’s more important than mine.”
Zakura looked at her and raised an eyebrow;
“But can we meet up with Zinjamyn’s group soon?” she said, almost sounding like a little child, “I do want to see Cheng-Cheng again.”
Koara, who was also in the room, raised an eyebrow. Taki whimpered and gave Zakura puppy eyes. Zakura laughed.
“Fine,” she said, laughing, “Provided you think fast.”
Unfortunately, Taki didn’t, and before she knew it, Zakura had dislocated Taki’s jaw. Naturally, it hurt Taki, which only added to the pain she had suffered from the war. She whimpered again, not getting angry like Zakura had hoped.
“Awww, don’t make me feel bad now, Taki...”
But before Zakura could do anything, Koara had stepped in and repaired Taki’s jaw. The technique Zakura used to “break” someone’s jaw actually only dislocated it, and with a simple waterbending technique it was easily fixable.
“Taki,” said Zakura, “what do you call a woman with a dislocated jaw,”
Taki didn’t answer. She expected it had something to do with her. “I don’t know what you call ‘em, but I’d call her Alzar.”
Taki chuckled. “You don’t need to make fun of Alzar to make me feel better though,” she said, “just give me my Cheng-Cheng.”
“I wasn’t making fun of her,” said Zakura, “tell her that joke and she’ll probably just challenge me to an Agni Kai. It’s what she does. She’s outgrown getting mad at me about it. Shinon might get annoyed though.”
“Well,” said Aiku, stepping in, “you do seem to bust her jaw quite often,”
“You know why too, I presume,” said Zakura, “but hey, enough bickering. I’m gonna go get us a boat out of here. I’ll see you all in the Southern Water Tribe.”
“This soon,” Aiku exclaimed, “whatever for,”
“Maybe to tell the reinforcements I ordered from the Southern Water Tribe to call it off,” Zakura replied,
“Wait,” Aiku exclaimed, “seriously?”
“Of course not, stupid,” Zakura replied bluntly, laughing, “I’m the avatar. I do what I want. And right now I want to go to the Southern Water Tribe and find out how our friends there are doing. I wonder if they’ve won their war or not.”
“Ooh, bloodshed,” Taki exclaimed, her mouth twisting into a huge grin, “let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”
“Calm down, Taki,” said Zakura, “I’ll twist your arm if you try to go in fighting in your condition. You need rest.”
“What,” Taki snapped, “I’m fine. I’ve never felt better.”
“Stand up,” said Zakura, grinning. Taki did so with no difficulty.
“Try not to buckle,” Zakura warned, and then snapped a piece of cloth at Taki’s thigh. She winced in pan and went onto her knee. She did the same thing to Koara, and she didn’t flinch. It was just to prove that Taki was still pretty badly wounded. She stood back up. Zakura poked her stomach, and she again flinched heavily.
“Ouch,” she snapped, “ooh...” she pulled her hand away and pulled up her shirt. The bleeding had stopped, but she still had a nasty wound on her stomach. Koara said that it would close up to the point where it would almost be unnoticeable, but for now it was going to hurt.
“Well, Taki,” said Zakura, “Get dressed. We’re still going, even if you are hurting. You know that I couldn’t stop you on one of your bloodlust crazes anyways—or rather, I wouldn’t waste my time trying.
Taki laughed and began putting her Kyoshi Armor back on (she was obviously not naked before that, but she was also obviously not sleeping in all that gear)
Within 15 minutes Taki was completely decked out, but even in her Kyoshi armor the noble warrior was limping and staggering. She was clearly badly injured. Nonetheless, Koara had done all she could; Taki just needed rest to let herself heal. Nonetheless, within the next hour or so their group was on a small boat headed for The Southern Water Tribe. With them was what was left of the 9th, 10th, 13th, and 18th divisions. The 21st Division remained in the Fire Nation for the time, as it was the one that was mostly intact.
Since the Order invaders were coming from the east (and were stopped at Toku before they could reach the Southern Capital) and Zakura’s group was coming from the west, they had no trouble reuniting, and good friends met once again.
Aiku met back up with Zinjamyn, Zakura said hi to Mulan, Lehran laughed to see Koara unhurt, and Cheng actually jumped on top of Taki, being completely ignorant that she was in great pain from her injuries. Luckily for them Taki was just looking for a room and happened to find Cheng in one, (therefore they were in private) because before Taki was able to explain how much she was hurting, (especially after getting knocked onto her back) Cheng’s mouth was all over hers.
Although Cheng was too absorbed in the moment, Taki was trying to push him back. She needed to tell him how much she was hurting right now, but naturally, Cheng didn’t want to stop. Taki was actually fine with it as well, but she needed to tell him something.
Unfortunately for them, Zakura ended up passing by, and all she heard was Taki’s groaning, which came from her trying to push Cheng back. However, to Zakura, they had a completely different meaning. The door suddenly flew open and Zakura was standing there, grinning. Cheng pulled back, and Taki stopped.
“Wow you two are good,” she said, “I’ll leave you be now.”
And surprisingly, Zakura left, but she was laughing to herself.
“Cheng-Cheng,” said Taki earnestly, “I just wanted to tell you something”
“What’s wrong, Taki,” he asked, looking slightly worried based on the tone she was using,
“That really hurt,” she replied, and she pointed to the places on her body where she still had sensitive wounds; “I as hit here, here, and here,” she said, “and well, getting tackled to the ground wasn’t the nicest on the wound on my back either. All I’m asking is can we ease up or go somewhere more friendly than the floor?”
“I didn’t know you were hurt, sweetie, he said apologetically, “I just missed you is all,”
Taki giggled. “You don’t think I missed my Cheng-Cheng,” she said, starting to fake-whimper, “I... I’m hurt.”
Cheng laughed, hoisted Taki gently into his arms, and, despite all her heavy gear, Cheng lifted her up with little difficulty. From their, their time was their own.
“So,” said Zakura, “I take it from the surrounding area that there was a glorious victory here as opposed to our glorious loss in the Fire Nation, am I correct?”
“Aye,” Koara replied, “Kimiko in particular was incredible.”
“Really now,” said Zakura, raising an eyebrow, “what exactly did she do,”
“Well,” Koara replied, “for one thing she reminded me why her family was so prestigious. That girl had talent just as much as they did.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” Zakura laughed,
“She used a dragon,” Koara replied, “it was huge and fiery. I forgot that the Nagishima family had been famous for their ability to make dragons of fire. She almost single-handedly held them off for the first while. I wonder what sorts of other secrets that kids has...”
“I see,” Zakura replied, “but now I have another thing to ask: do any of you here know of The Warrior of the Black Hand?”
This caused Tenoko to move, as she had been snoring in the corner, her head tilted back and a line of saliva dripping from the corner of her mouth. She snorted and stirred, but didn’t wake up.
“Tenoko,” Zakura barked, just to wake her up, but she soon learned that that was a dumb move. Tenoko sprung awake and instinctively threw water at whatever was directly in front of her, which happened to be Zakura, who was now soaking wet, her arms crossed.
“I’m awake,” she said, “hand me another drink.”
“Alright,” Zakura replied, and bending the water off of her, she threw it back at Tenoko, who spluttered, and now was REALLY awake. Zakura asked the question again, and Tenoko’s eyes popped open.
“The Warrior of the Black Hand,” she exclaimed, sounding serious for once, “aye, I knew him. I was the one who ended up defeating him.”
“He’s back,” Zakura replied, and Tenoko’s jaw dropped. Her reactions were a little more extreme because as always, Tenoko’s mind was not all there; nonetheless, she was aware of what Zakura was saying.
“How,” Tenoko exclaimed, “he’s dead.”
“That’s what I theorized,” Koara said, “but the black armor was unmistakable. I believe someone else has taken that name, but who is powerful enough to do that other than that one girl,”
“Katara Altina II,” said Tenoko, still thoroughly soaked, “no, it couldn’t be her, could it?”
“If it was,” said Koara, “she did a good job at controlling herself and covering her voice. I guess we’ll worry about it when we see her or The Dark Warrior next, you know?”
“Aye,” said Zakura, “let’s enjoy this victory while we can. I mean, sure there’s gonna be more hard times coming, but at least We’re Back Together Again.”
~Azula~
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Tera253
Gran Gran
In Soviet Russia, post writes you
Posts: 588
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Post by Tera253 on Feb 26, 2009 14:12:54 GMT -5
CHAPTER 39: THEIR WEDDING DAY Cheng and Taki were happy to be alone again. Taki was relaxing on the bed at this point, Cheng next to (or rather, most likely on top of) her. Right now though instead of their usual activities, they jus seemed to be starting into each other’s eyes.
“You’re gorgeous,” Cheng exclaimed, “I’ve never seen a woman as beautiful as you before. I mean, I thought it was just my drive for your body at first, but... this is different. It’s just... I...”
“You what,” Taki asked, “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” Cheng replied, “it’s just... I... I think that I... I love you, Taki. I honestly love you with all my heart and soul.”
“y-you do,” Taki exclaimed, “I mean, I knew from the moment I met you that I was attracted to you, but I just thought it was natural. I didn’t know what that feeling was before meeting you.”
“Have you ever been with another person,” Cheng asked,
“Well,” said Taki, “if you’re saying that in the context that I think you are; then no, I haven’t. If you mean have I been out on dates with other guys, then my answer is aye. I assume you have before as well?”
“The same way,” Cheng replied, “and yet never in the other context; it’s almost like we were made for each other or something,”
Taki smiled, “I like the way that sounds. In fact, no, I don’t like it—I love it. I love it the same way I love you—sincerely.”
“So, um,” Cheng stammered, “about what Zakura said,”
“Um,” Taki stammered, “what about it? I mean, do you really think,”
“No, I,” Cheng stammered, “It was... um... was it? Do you really think you and I should... do that?”
Taki paused for a moment and sat up, staring him straight in the eyes.
“Do you mean it,” she asked sincerely,
“Aye,” Cheng replied firmly, “if you desired it the way I would, I would agree with you completely and immediately.”
“It’s just that we’ve only known each other for such a short time.” Said Taki, “It just seems like a legend—or like in a few months we’d break up or something. It actually sort of worries me.”
“Do you trust me,” Cheng asked, “do you feel that I would betray you?”
Taki paused for a moment,
“I do,” she said, “I do trust you. If that trust was ever broken, I’d... I’d...”
“Taki,” said Cheng, planting a light kiss on her cheek, “if you trust me, then worrying about me betraying you wouldn’t be a problem.”
Taki smiled, “would you ever betray me,” she asked, “even if you did find a woman prettier than I was,”
Cheng laughed.
“Taki, don’t be ridiculous,” Cheng, “I didn’t first fine you interesting because you were attractive...”
Taki just glared at him.
“Okay,” said Cheng, scratching the back of his head, “maybe that was what got me to first start liking you, but now it’s much more. Now, I don’t care how pretty or ugly you are. Right now, what I want is the personality inside the woman of my dreams. The fact that she’s also the most beautiful woman in the world is just an added bonus. I would never ‘betray’ you, Taki. If mythical women prettier than you really exist like you say they do, (though I doubt that they do) I could care less. This is the woman I want to me mine... all mine...”
“So,” said Taki, “you don’t just want me for my body,”
“Of course not,” Cheng replied, “you’re much more than that. You always played hard to get. That’s a sign that you weren’t just trying to offer yourself up to the first guy who you liked. I respect that.”
Taki smiled. “You’re the first man to ever tell me that,” she said, tears forming in her eyes, “and now I’m certain that I want to be with you—for all time and eternity.”
Cheng smiled; “in that case, maybe Zakura will end up having a wedding to crash after all. Would you really want to, despite us only knowing each other as short a time as we have?”
“Aye,” Taki replied, “to be with you for all time and eternity... death cannot separate us; I want that. I need it.”
“I do too,” said Cheng, putting his arms around her, “I was around the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors while I was here, and we talked about you a lot—mostly me. Do you know why? It was because you kept coming into my mind. I couldn’t stop thinking about when the next time I was going to see you were. And well, when I DID see you I had no further control. I just wanted to be with you—to hold you in my arms.”
Taki smiled again, sniffling slightly this time.
“I love you,” she said, squeezing him and resting her head on his shoulder.
“Taki,” said Cheng, “If I could have just one wish, I would wish to wake up everyday to the sound of your breath on my neck, the warmth of your lips on my cheek, the touch of your fingers on my skin, and the feel of your heart beating with mine... knowing that I could never find that feeling with anyone but you.”
Taki was in tears by the time Cheng finished.
“That...” she started, “that was beau...” but broke down before she could even finish the word.
“Now do you understand how strong my love for you is,” he asked, “it’s not just a game of being all over each other, Taki Masahiro; this is love.”
“Then I want more of it,” she said, tears still flowing freely down her face, “I need more of it.”
“So be it,” said Cheng, smiling, “time and all eternity it is, then.”
Ironically, Cheng and Taki didn’t even have to tell anyone that they planned to be married. It seemed that somehow, someone (Taki had a *very* shrewd idea as to who this ‘someone’ was) had found out and had told everyone, for when they came out of the room together the next morning [fully clothed of course], they received a congratulations from Koara, who happened to be walking by.
“Congratulations on what,” Cheng exclaimed,
“On your and Taki’s marriage of course,” Koara replied, “Zakura seemed particularly happy for you two.
Taki grumbled a little.
“What’s the matter, child,” Koara asked,
“She gets into our business too much,” she said, “it’s like she set us up.”
“Hey,” said Zakura, “don’t be breaking up just yet. I just saved you the stress of all that organization. It helps being the avatar. It doesn’t take very long to organize things when you’ve got cash.”
“How long were we in there,” Taki exclaimed,
“Just a night,” Zakura replied, “don’t ask how I did what I did, just play along. Would I really be doing this if I didn’t want to see you two together? You two are cute. I admire that.”
Both Cheng and Taki were speechless. They were still trying to figure out why on earth Zakura was so obsessed with putting them together. And yet, they both wanted it as well; they just could not figure out the avatar’s logic. What was she thinking?
“Is there something you want from us,” said Taki, deciding to be the one to talk, “I mean; it seems that you’ve been pulling all the strings in mine and Cheng’s relationship. What’s going on?”
“I just think you two make a cute couple,” Zakura replied, “maybe it’s just something I don’t think I’ll get. Be thankful, and most importantly, be happy. Do you honestly think that I’m some sort of matchmaking service? I’m single myself, so I’m obviously doing something wrong if I am.”
“But why,” said Cheng “why us? Did you know we were this compatible?”
“no,” said Zakura, “I initially just wanted you two to like each other so I could annoy you about it, but then you two started to not be scared to admit you were fond of each other, and I grew fond of how cute you two are together. So go on, kiss the bride.”
A week later, Cheng was told similar words by the sage who was marrying them. Zakura had literally planned everything for them, and it went out without a hitch. Needless to say, it was not a mere kiss that Cheng landed on his bride, but rather a full face-locking.
“Now hold that pose,” said Zakura, laughing, “I’ve got a little friend here who’s gonna make you something.”
Zakura’s “little friend” was a teenage girl with long, impossibly curly brown hair. She kept her face hidden most of the time and was frantically scribbling something down on a piece of paper. Cheng and Taki “held that pose” of lip-locking for several minutes, giving the young girl plenty of time to finish what she was obviously making—a drawing. Once it was finished, Zakura took it and showed it to Cheng and Taki. It was a very accurate depiction of them (making out).
“Who’s the girl,” Taki asked, looking at it,
“Just a water tribe girl,” Zakura replied, “I paid her to draw you two kissing on your wedding day. Did the avatar deliver, or did I deliver?” Cheng laughed, “thanks, I suppose,” he said, smiling alongside Taki;
“Welcome,” Zakura replied, “now have your fun. The party is gonna start in a few moments.”
Taki meant to get the name of the girl who drew the picture, but she had vanished into the crowd, her blue clothing blending in with that of the other tribes-people who came.
Nonetheless, Zakura really had provided them with quite the treat, having planned everything over the last week. Now they were enjoying it. it was good to know that, even thought they were in a long-time war, that that war was not even able to stop Their Wedding Day.
~Azula~
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Tera253
Gran Gran
In Soviet Russia, post writes you
Posts: 588
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Post by Tera253 on Feb 26, 2009 14:14:05 GMT -5
CHAPTER 40: SOMEONE WAITING FOR THEM The earthbender that Zinjamyn and his gang had ‘talked’ to in Gaoling was nothing like they expected, and ironically, they never expected to see him again. Incidentally, he was only there on a trip of some sort, as shortly after they had departed, he had returned to Ba Sing Se.
It was around this same time that Alzar and Shinon were back at one of the local taverns getting drunk, and maybe by coincidence, he was often seen doing various things around this place.
Meanwhile, back at the base, Katara’s mother was still in awe about the place, for it was huge. Additionally, the fact that she had met 2 of The Four Benders and that they had volunteered to take her to the Northern Water Tribe to get her son out of there had her happier than she normally was.
Sanaki on the other hand, was wondering where Meili had gone. She was a rather outgoing little girl, and so when the only person she felt in the room was Katara, she approached her anyways.
“Do you know where Meili went,” she asked, for Katara had obviously been introduced to everyone (courtesy of Royota) by this time.
“Meili,” said Katara, thinking and remembering who that was, “no, um, I don’t. I did see her leave here a while ago and she hasn’t come back as far as I’ve seen, and I’ve been here since then.”
“Oh,” said Sanaki, “okie. Thanks anyways.”
She smiled at Katara and then turned and she too actually left the base. Katara smiled weakly back as Sanaki skipped away. Royota appeared shortly afterwards, followed by Ryuka.
“Where are you two going,” she asked curiously,
“I’m not sure about Ryuka,” said Royota, “but I need to go find Alzar and Shinon, both of whom are most likely very drunk.”
Ryuka said nothing, and he didn’t stop when Royota did, so Katara assumed they were on different missions.
“I guess I’ll go with you,” she said, standing up. Her clothing was much like that of young Katara’s, except it was Water Tribe style, as she was a waterbender. (Her husband had been a firebender, which is where Katara II picked it up from)
Having known The Four Benders most of his life, Royota knew exactly where they would be. Along the way they ran into Meili and Sanaki, who had met up sometime while they were out. They both looked a little beaten up, but were grinning.
“What happened to you two,” Royota asked them, though he didn’t seem angry in the slightest,
“Alleyway brawl,” Meili replied, “someone thought it’d be fun to steal my cash, and Sanaki nudged me and we went after ‘em.”
“I take it from that small, burning mountain I see that you two had some fun there?” he said, slightly chuckling, and Sanaki giggled. Meili grinned.
“Sounds about right,” said Meili, “but hey, we’re alive. Be thankful.”
“I was not worried that you two would be killed, Meili Meisha,” said Royota gently, “I just find it amusing is all.”
“Alright then,” said Meili, and they continued walking, Royota in the lead. Right as they rounded a corner though, Meili’s glazed eyes popped open and her left ear twitched like it so usually did when a certain person was in her vicinity. This wasn’t a bad thing, but Meili’s left hear would twitch whenever she felt the presence of...
“Mom,” she said, turning around, and to the surprise of the others, there was Zuki Meisha, complete with an enormous happy smile on a face whose left side held the notorious scar that held many shades of red. Some said it made her more attractive. Zuki however, as always, was just clueless about it, and everything else. She was widely known as The Two-Faced Lady because of how different she looked when looking at her side view from the left compared to the right.
It was much different than the scar Kimiko had on her face—Zuki’s covered most of the left side of her face, while Kimiko’s was just a decent-sized area around her left eye that extended back a little.
“Meili,” said Zuki, holding out her arms; and Meili’s instincts as Zuki’s child were to run into her arms, and she did.
“Mom,” said Meili after they had embraced, “what’s Zuki doing here?”
Zuki often got confused when someone addressed her with ‘you’. The easiest ways to talk with Zuki and have her understand you were to use her name whenever necessary, even if it made you sound stupid. However, Zuki did recognize her children of course, and when one of them addressed her as “mom”, she knew what they meant.
Other than that though, Meili was like Zuki’s motherly figure instead of the other way around. It was slightly ironic, but neither Zuki nor Meili minded. Meili did protect her family’s honor, and didn’t hesitate to beat up anyone who tried to degrade her mother’s honor.
“Zuki doesn’t know,” Zuki replied, “Zuki thinks she was looking for someone. Zuki was looking for her friend.”
“Who’s Zuki’s friend,” Meili asked her,
“Zuki’s friend’s name is Da,” Zuki replied, and suddenly they heard someone coming, and a huge man rounded the corner. Zuki’s face lit up.
“Da,” she exclaimed, and she ran to meet him. The others were pretty much just watching, as they didn’t want to interrupt Zuki, and, like Meili, they knew that Zuki was not someone to leave by herself.
“Da does mean ‘big’,” said Royota, “so I can see why they call him that”
Da was about 7 feet in height, and, like Zuki, was incredibly strong. Unlike Zuki though, who did not look very strong (especially considering how pretty she was and that she was usually wearing a dress), Da had the look and everything. He was a beast of a man. Royota looked at him closely as he grabbed Zuki in a crushing hug that made Zuki yell, grunt and laugh as his arms constricted her.
“ZUKI,” he said, still almost crushing her. Zuki was still laughing.
“Is she going to be alright, Mei—Meili?” Sanaki exclaimed, but Meili was gone. She was behind Royota, who was chuckling.
“Aye, I remember this man,” he muttered to himself, “Da,” he called out, “Come give uncle Royota a hug!”
Da dropped Zuki, who landed rather sharply on her back, and ran over to Royota. Of course, Zuki was alright; but because she looked so fragile it worried some people. Da got Royota in one of his “bear-hugs of death” and after he was done, he targeted Meili. Luckily he must have figured that Sanaki was more delicate than the likes of Meili, for he was much gentler with her.
Surprisingly though, Zuki got up and bear-hugged Da with enough might to make him yell, and this had everyone but Meili surprised. Zuki let Da back down (Zuki was about 5’9”; Da was about 7’0”, so Zuki had to lift him into the air—something she was able to do remarkably easily) and then Meili got his attention.
“Da,” said Meili quietly, “make sure she stays safe, alright?”
“Da make sure Zuki get home okay, Meili,” he said, smiling,
Meili smiled back.
“Thanks,” she said, and then turned to the others.
“Alright,” she said, “I’m done here. Take care, aright mom?”
Zuki turned and smiled.
“Zuki stays out of trouble this time,” she said proudly, and Royota and Katara watched them leave (Meili and Sanaki couldn’t watch obviously, being blind and all).
Alzar and Shinon were found out cold in an alleyway. They seemed totally drunk, battered, and slightly bruised.
“Are you two alright,” Katara exclaimed, as they were the two people who she was most likely to talk to, since they had brought her in. Alzar was unconscious on Shinon’s shoulder, and Shinon was barely around.
“We had a bit too much to drink,” said Shinon, “and some of them caught us off guard and took us out.”
“You didn’t fight back,” Royota exclaimed,
“Aye,” said Shinon, “we did, but things are a bit harder to focus on when you’re wasted. The only reason they didn’t take us was because we were two of The Four Benders, and they know that we could whip them.”
“Who are “they”,” Royota asked;
“We don’t know,” Shinon shrugged, standing up, and putting his hands underneath Alzar’s armpits, hoisting her up. She seemed asleep (as sleep is unconsciousness), but slowly came to consciousness, enabling Shinon to let her stand on her own. “They did do something to us though, but what exactly they did to us slips my mind at this time.”
“Let’s get you back home then,” said Royota, “Katara, can you take Alzar for me, please?”
“Aye” Katara nodded. Though she was generally low-spirited because of the extended separation from her children, Katara I was still a rather friendly woman, for she mostly kept her own troubles to herself. Unfortunately, her daughter was the same way, but on a much more extreme level, being a young woman who dislikes getting help from anyone in general; even when she knows she needs it.
Nevertheless, Royota hoisted up Shinon, and Katara hoisted up Alzar, and together, they, Meili, and Sanaki returned home.
“Are they gonna be Okie,” Sanaki asked earnestly
“They should be,” said Royota confidently, “I’m not exactly sure what happened, but I guarantee they’re not going to die from it. They’re far too tough for that.”
“Oh,” said Sanaki, “okie then.”
They had left the base in the late afternoon, and after stopping to talk with Da and Zuki, and then finding Shinon and Alzar it was nearly dark. When they got back to the base, night had fallen. Upon their re-entry though, they had quite the shock—there was Someone Waiting for Them.
~Azula~
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Tera253
Gran Gran
In Soviet Russia, post writes you
Posts: 588
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Post by Tera253 on Feb 26, 2009 14:14:28 GMT -5
CHAPTER 41: THIS IS AN ADVANTAGE In front of Royota and Katara stood Ryuka, Zuki and her family, and an earth kingdom boy clad in green and gold. He had tan skin, green eyes, dark brown hair and a mouth that looked like it hadn’t been opened to talk in a long time.
“So there is some good in you,” said Meili bluntly to Ryuka, “strange. After what you did to Alzar I’m amazed you’re still even here.”
“Like I told Alzar,” said Ryuka, coldly, “I have no excuse. It is past.”
Meili’s family was all excited to see her again, and she was glad to be united with them for a time. Sanaki went with Meili and was socializing with Meili’s family as well. Although Meili and Sanaki were the same age and both had 6 siblings, Meili was the eldest in her family, while Sanaki was the youngest in hers.
Alzar and Shinon were sound asleep, and they didn’t look like they felt very good. Nonetheless, Shinon had enough consciousness to say that they were still going to go north tomorrow, regardless of his and Alzar’s condition.
“We made a promise to you, Katara, that we would, and we’re not about to break it. We were stupid last night, and we don’t think that you should have to pay for it.”
“What about Alzar though,” Katara asked, “She looks worse than you.”
“She’ll be fine,” Shinon replied, “just ‘coz she’s a rich girl doesn’t mean that she’s weak stuff. We’re all pretty tough kids, but I personally think that Alzar holds the most surprises.”
“alright,” said Katara, shrugging, “just remember though, I certainly miss my children, but it’s not like going a few extra days without seeing them is going to have much of an impact on me, since I haven’t seen them for a few years anyways.
“Don’t worry about us, Katara,” said Shinon, “If it’s been that long then you deserve to see them as soon as possible. We’ll be leaving tomorrow.”
Katara smiled weakly and left the room, returning to the main lounge. She saw Royota, Iresu, Ryuka, talking to the earth kingdom boy, but he wasn’t talking back or responding at all. He did seem to move his hands a lot though. Katara figured either he was a prisoner or that he was unable to speak. She sat down next to Ryuka and asked him.
“He’s the kid who came to me with the Meisha family,” he replied, “and aye, he can’t talk, so he’s a bit hard to decode.”
“What do you know about him so far,” Katara asked,
“Not much,” Ryuka replied quietly, “just that he’s one of those prodigy kids. He’s 16 if what he told me is right.”
Katara remained there and watched Royota and Iresu talk to the boy.
“Vigo’s your name,” said Iresu after a while, “Vigo Zakatau? That clears things up a little. I’ve heard about you before.”
Vigo nodded. He then made signs that implied that he wanted to join their “group”. Technically, people were not “officially” part of The Avatar Guard until they were 18 years old, but there were some exceptions, namely notorious bending prodigies such as the ones that Zakura had stumbled across, such as Meili, Sanaki, Maric, and Malak.
They told this to him, and he nodded.
“So,” said Royota, “though I’m not saying that I am bothered at all by their presence, where did the Meisha family come from?”
“Ask Vigo,” said Ryuka, “he was the one who told me they ere in danger.”
“But that means that you led them here,” said Royota, “and that was a very kind thing for you to do, Ryuka Satoru. That mother is prone to The Order’s clutches. She’s powerful, she’s just not aware of it.”
“She’s the mother,” Ryuka exclaimed, “she acts like a kid. How old is she?”
“If I recall correctly, she’s 38,” Royota replied, “she’s one of those special spirits though, Ryuka. She’s precious, make no mistake about it.”
“Precious,” Ryuka exclaimed, “her kids boss her around. What kind of mother lets her kids do that?”
“Think your words carefully,” said Royota, “for she is right behind you.”
And sure enough, there was Zuki, standing right behind them, smiling at them with her traditional innocent smile.
“Zuki loves her babies,” she said, smiling, and Royota smiled back,
“That’s very good, Zuki,” he said in response, “you’ve raised them well.”
Zuki smiled and hugged Royota, and he returned it.
“Run play now, Zuki,” said Royota, “I need to finish talking about a few things, alright?”
Zuki nodded. “Okie,” she said, and she trotted off, possessing a certain grace which came from her beauty, the dress she always wore billowing as she walked, the shoes on her feet not making any noise as she skipped away. She had her arms spread out, so the long sleeves of her dress almost looked like wings.
“So where did Vigo come from,” Royota asked,
Vigo looked at them, pointed at Ryuka, and made hand and earthbending movements that told his story. He had recognized Ryuka as part of The Avatar Guard, and knew that the Meisha family, who he knew, were in danger, and thought he could help, and it turned out that Ryuka could in fact help, so it all worked out in the end.
“Welcome to the club then, I guess,” Ryuka shrugged, and Vigo nodded.
Nothing else happened that night, and luckily Alzar and Shinon slept peacefully for the most part.
The next morning, Katara was preparing to leave with the others. Zuki wanted to go with them, and Royota figured that since Meili could keep track of her, and that her curiosity might get her caught, they figured that could take her along.
Zuki Meisha was perfectly capable of defending herself because of her amazing strength; she just needed to be informed that she was in danger. A few moments later, Alzar and Shinon showed up, and they both looked clearly miserable, Alzar more so than Shinon.
“Don’t mind us,” they said, “we’re still coming with you.”
“Sweet spirits,” Katara exclaimed, “you two look absolutely miserable. You look almost like you’ve been poisoned.”
“Look,” said Alzar, “we’re going with you all. We’re fine...”
But right when she said that, she nearly fell over.
“Alzar, Shinon,” said Katara, “look, I’m not going to be hurt if you two need to “hold us back” a few days. I haven’t seen my children in years. It’s not like a few extra days are going to impact me any. I miss them, but I don’t want two of The Four Benders to die on my watch.”
“That’s what being one of The Four Benders is about, Katara,” said Shinon, “we put our own personal concerns aside for those of others. I mean, if we didn’t, chances are we never would have taught Avatar Zakura anything. She was terrible at first.”
“Terrible,” said Royota, “I thought you said she was the fastest learner you ever saw.”
“That’s not that I meant,” said Shinon, “I meant that she was cocky and thought she could treat us like crap and get away with it. The problem was, was that she was so good that she probably could.”
“Ha,” said Royota, chuckling, “she certainly gave the avatar a new name. She’s definitely a stubborn Earth Kingdom girl...”
Shinon and Alzar smiled.
“Well,” they said, “let’s get going. Cho Ling and the rest of their gang can watch over this place.”
“What about Sanaki,” said Iresu, “Meili might be able to adapt to the cold climate, but Sanaki uses heat to see.”
“It’s okie,” said a little voice behind them, and it was Sanaki of course, “I want to go with you all.”
“Hey,” said Meili, also stepping up, with Zuki behind her; they seemed to be waiting to leave. They were all technically ready at this point; “if Alzar and Shinon are going to go there’s not a good reason to hold Sanaki back either.”
Royota shrugged, “I’m not the one trying to tell people to stay back,” he chuckled, nudging Katara.
“What,” said Katara sheepishly, “I’m just concerned for their safety.”
“And that’s fine,” said Iresu, “but they’re stubborn. They’re going to come too unless we chain them down.”
“Well,” said Katara, trying to take on the humorous spirits that the others had, “I think we could do that,”
“Oy,” Alzar exclaimed, “none of that,”
“Then let’s just shut up and go,” Meili laughed, and ironically, that was what happened next. Zuki and Meili waved goodbye to the rest of their family, and later that afternoon they were bound for the Northern Water Tribe. It wasn’t a very long voyage, but Vigo noticed something different about it.
“What is it,” said Ryuka, who seemed to be the man that Vigo turned to when he wanted to tell the group something. He took out a map and pointed to the destination of the ship. There wasn’t a point marked on the map, but according to Vigo’s knowledge, that was the location of one of The Order’s bases.
“So is this going to work against us,” Meili asked, “I mean, we kind of just walked into Order territory by boarding this ship,”
“Not exactly,” said Iresu, “because according to Chief Tenoko’s logic, she said that the Serenes Waterbenders were taken somewhere near their home in the Northern Water Tribe. So basically, assuming Tenoko’s drunken logic is correct (which, if I recall has never been wrong), then we are heading right towards them.”
“So was that your ploy,” said Ryuka to Vigo, but he just shrugged, indicating he had no idea.
“Hmm,” said Royota, “very interesting. I didn’t expect it to turn out this way, and yet, This Is an Advantage.”
~Azula~
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Tera253
Gran Gran
In Soviet Russia, post writes you
Posts: 588
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Post by Tera253 on Feb 26, 2009 14:15:05 GMT -5
CHAPTER 42: REYSON AND MARIC Malak woke up the next day with pain around her abdomen, most likely from where she had taken extensive damage. It hurt for her to bend, so she had trouble going from sitting to standing, and had trouble bending down. She had fallen asleep fully dressed, so when she got up she was ready to start the day.
She walked towards the stairs leading down into the main room, but as she bent slightly to descend, she cringed and actually lost her footing, sending her painfully head over heels to the bottom, which ended in a face plant. She grumbled and groaned from the additional pain she was now in, and decided to just lie there a while.
Luckily for her, her “while” didn’t last too long, as Reyson showed up a few moments later. Apparently, he had planned to go up and check on her. When he saw the look on her face (and knew that she wasn’t in any critical condition) he chuckled.
“Up a bit early, eh” he said, and Malak grumbled.
“I blame your stairs,” she said, “after all; it makes life a lot easier when you can tack the blame on something else.”
Reyson laughed and held out his hand, “here” he said, “let’s get you back on your feet. You seem to balance better.”
He took Malak’s hand and helped her up. His hands were gentle with hers, and once she was back on her feet he clasped her hand with his other one as well.
“You have soft hands,” he commented, “they’re nice to hold.”
“Um, thanks, I guess,” said Malak, and paused.
“You can let my hand go now,” she chuckled, and Reyson did so without any hesitation. He could tell it made Malak feel slightly awkward.
“Eh,” he said off-handedly, “sorry about that.”
“Don’t be,” Malak chuckled, “it was a cute gesture for a man to help a lady back onto her feet.”
She turned around and began looking for a way out. Reyson was following her. Eventually, Malak noticed this.
“What are you doing,” she asked,
“Well technically,” he said, chuckling, “I’m wondering what you’re doing. You’ve wandered around in circles for several minutes now.”
“I want to get out of here,” she said bluntly, “I want some fresh air.”
Reyson laughed. “You do realize that you can ask for help every once in a while, right,” he said, “I mean, even my mother’s asked for help before.”
“I don’t want help though,” said Malak, “I’m old enough to do things on my own. I don’t need someone next to me all the time.”
“There’s nothing wrong with having someone next to you, Malak,” said Reyson, “those people are usually called friends. Besides, I think you’re pretty. You don’t deserve to be walking all alone in a world like this.”
Malak turned around and glared at him.
“What are you trying to pull,” she asked, a clear tone of suspicion on her face, “are you hitting on me?”
“No,” said Reyson, “but when I think that someone’s pretty I’m going to tell them. Besides, what harm does a compliment do?”
“You really are weird,” said Malak, giggling. Luckily though, Reyson’s feelings didn’t get hurt by such remarks.
“I know,” he said, grinning proudly, “and proud of it.”
Malak hadn’t been expecting this. Now she was determined to beat Reyson at this mind game the two of them were having.
“You’re flirting with me, aren’t you,” she said suspiciously,
“What makes you say that,” said Reyson, chuckling, “or are you one of the rebellious princess types,”
“I’m no princess,” Malak replied, “just another common Water Tribe girl.”
“A common Water Tribe girl with an uncommon talent, and in a *very* uncommon part of an uncommon place;”
“Where exactly are we,” Malak asked, looking around at the torch lit room. There were paintings on the walls, and it was much higher than it first appeared. This place was enormous.
“We are in one of five places in the world where schemes are born,” said Reyson mysteriously, “many a dark operation have been planned down here. This is the western base. There is one in each of the Water Tribes, one in the Earth Kingdom, and one near the Eastern Air Temple. Great and terrible things have come from the histories of these places.
The Avatar Guard was once like The Order of the Avatar Slayer as far as brutality goes. I would go on about the things my mother has told me about the Secret Service Bases, but I probably shouldn’t there were things that shook me.”
Malak looked around. The flickering torches made this place seem eerie.
“Are they all like this,” Malak asked, “all the bases?”
“Aye, pretty much,” Reyson replied, “since I’m going to be part of the Secret Service once I come of age, I know a lot about it.”
“I...” Malak started, “can you show me the way out? I want to see the sun again. All this darkness is making me feel... uneasy.”
“Of course,” said Reyson, whose tactic here was similar to Zeruda’s insomuch that he was trying to make Malak feel uncomfortable being where she was, “but you’ll have to let go of my wrist first. You’re cutting off circulation to my hand.”
Malak instantly realized that Reyson was right, and immediately pulled her hand back, blushing fiercely. From here, Reyson showed her how to get out and get some fresh air.
They did so, and headed southwards. They were not aware that as they headed south that they were getting closer and closer to the Order’s Western base. However, a town was in their way, and though they didn’t run into the Order’s base, they did run into...
“Maric,” Malak exclaimed, “you... I... Da...” and she was speechless.
“Who’s he,” Maric asked, pointing at Reyson.
“My name is Reyson,” Reyson replied politely. I assume you’re Malak’s older twin brother?”
“Aye,” Maric replied, “and I take it that she’s been in good hands I hope?”
“Depends on what exactly you define as ‘good hands’,” Reyson replied, for he knew that Maric was part of The Order; “she’s been well taken care of if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Good,” Maric replied, “because I’m done down there. I take it she’s told you everything about what I did,”
“Aye,” Reyson replied, “and that was why I said it depended on what you saw as ‘good hands’, for she was and is in the hands of the Avatar Guard. Do not worry though, Master Maric, as she is safe.”
“It’s not that I don’t trust The Avatar Guard,” said Maric, “well, not anymore at least. I had a few bad experiences with The Order while I was there. I figured I didn’t have to out up with it, and so I just straight up left. I told no one. Granted, they’ll be after me once they know what I did, but hey, I know what’s what now. I’m done picking sides. I side with my sister in her cause.”
“Speaking of which,” said Reyson, “where did she go, anyways?”
Maric looked around, and sure enough, Malak was gone.
“I thought she was with you,” Maric protested,
“She was,” said Reyson, “You saw her. But then we started talking and she must have snuck away. You’re not going to blame ME for YOUR sister running away, are you?”
“Well,” said Maric, “what exactly happened? Did you say anything to her that she might not have liked?”
“Well,” said Reyson, scratching the back of his head, “I did say she was pretty, and I’m going to stand by that.”
Maric laughed.
“There’s the problem then,” he remarked, “she’s got some sort of absurd psychology where she hates looking presentable. She doesn’t like being all neat and clean. I still wonder why she got cleaned up when we came down here. Ah well, I guess I better go find her.”
“I’ll come with you,” said Reyson, “I mean, I care about her; and her condition isn’t the best right now.”
“Alright,” said Maric, heading for the hills in the direction they assumed Malak had gone; with Reyson behind him.
Malak had in fact found a way to enjoy her self, but had literally put herself in a sticky situation. She had gone up into the hills of some ancient ruins, where a Sun Warrior Tribe had once dwelt before they were chased out by The Order several hundreds of years ago (though the Sun Warriors themselves were not eradicated).
However, they were known for their booby traps, and Malak had triggered one that pinned her against the wall covered in a sticky black substance. Ironically, she was chuckling.
“You two certainly took long enough,” she said. She could only move her head, hands, and feet, and was a mess.
“You alright,” they both said to her simultaneously,
“Of course I am,” said Malak, “I’m trapped spread-eagled against a wall and am covered in some sticky crap; what more could I ask for?”
They couldn’t tell if this was sarcasm, for her tone seemed to be sincere.
“we’re gonna have to get you down and get you cleaned up,’ said Maric
“No way,” said Malak, clearly loving her situation, “I’m enjoying this. This stuff is strong. Look, it’s holding me up off the ground.”
She was right. Her shoes were a few inches off of the ground. She was still fully dressed, but her exposed hands and face were also smattered with the sticky substance.
“So aye,” said Malak, “I’m comfy right here. You two go get to know each other a little better. I’ll still be here if you need me.”
Granted, Malak could have used her waterbending prowess to remove it, but she didn’t care. She was glad that they were all on the same side, and that there had been a reconciliation between Reyson And Maric.
~Azula~
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Tera253
Gran Gran
In Soviet Russia, post writes you
Posts: 588
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Post by Tera253 on Feb 26, 2009 14:16:05 GMT -5
CHAPTER 43: BACK TOGETHER AGAIN
It took Reyson and Maric a while to un-stick Malak from the wall. Luckily she had been trapped near the outskirts of the ruins, so running into more traps was not likely. Nonetheless, even with Maric’s waterbending force on Malak, it was slow to come off. Malak, who didn’t care how dirty and sticky she was, naturally refused to let him continue, as all it did was get her wet.
“So,” said Maric, “where to now? I mean maybe we should get Malak cleaned up and such...”
“I agree,” said Reyson, but Malak stopped dead in er tracks and crossed her arms stubbornly.
“Mm-mm,” she said flatly, shaking her head; “I’m not going to waste my time getting clean when I’m just gonna get dirty again.”
“Malak,” said Maric, “don’t be ridiculous,”
“Then why won’t you both stop trying to boss me around? I’m not a baby. I’m as old as you and only a couple years off of you”
She was referring to Maric for her first statement and Reyson for her second one, since Maric was only a few minutes older than she was and Reyson only a couple of years different.
“Malak,” said Maric, “stop this. If I was able to understand my mistake of joining The Order, then you can swallow a little bit of that stubborn pride of yours, girl.”
“I’M going back home,” said Malak, “considering that I’m tired and still have internal pains in my gut;”
“Well you might want to wash your clothes then,” said Maric chuckling, “as I heard that that stuff eventually will make them disintegrate.”
“Are you kidding me,” Malak exclaimed,
“Would I tell a lie about that to you, sis,” Maric said, chuckling, and Malak didn’t even answer, but she ran until she found a source of water, and began frantically trying to take it off of her. As she was frantically taking it off of her clothes, Reyson turned to Maric,
“Will that stuff really do that,” he asked,
“Nah,” Maric replied, “and I lie to her all the time. She shouldn’t have fallen for that, but hey, it gets her clean, and whatever works, right?”
“Just when I thought I’d be able to understand girls,” said Reyson, “one comes along that breaks all trends. She doesn’t care about looking pretty or impressing anyone. I like her attitude.”
“You do,” Maric exclaimed, laughing, “I can’t stand it. She’s too rebellious. It sort of gets annoying after a while.”
“I think I might have to agree,” Said Reyson, “I mean, about her internal damage. I think it’s much worse than she wants to admit. Look at how she’s staggering.”
“Guuhh,” Maric groaned, “Malak, you can be such an idiot sometimes. We all can, which is why I was the way I was before...” Malak eventually finished, but naturally was soaking wet.
“Guess what,” said Maric, “I lied. I just wanted you to get that stuff off. I didn’t like the smell of it.”
“You WHAT,” Malak exclaimed, “You lied to me?”
“Of course I did,” Maric laughed, “we used to “lie” to each other all the time, remember? I never said I wasn’t lying, I just asked you if I would tell a lie about getting clean to you. The answer is aye,” Malak though wasn’t finished.
“You, me, bending battle; right here, right now.” She snapped, “Alright,” said Maric, and then he turned to Reyson, “stand back Reyson, these things *always* get ugly.”
“Alright,” said Reyson, standing back, though chuckling. He watched as the twins went at it. Maric was powerful and offensive, while Malak was swift and defensive. Reyson noticed that both twins were exceptionally good at what were called Dragmire Flips. They were named after their most famous user, Tenoko Dragmire (and as a result, they were also sometimes called Tenoko Flips).
A Dragmire Flip was an incredible series of handstands and spinning kick flips that brought up a unique waterbending style. Reyson noticed that they used their feet just as much as their hands when waterbending. Shards of ice and blasts of water were flying in every direction.
It seemed that Maric was doing most of the attacking, and Malak was blocking or dodging. She was exceptionally nimble, always light on her feet and never losing her balance. The second her feet hit the ground she had already started another flip, and so was corkscrewing and spiraling through the air at high speeds to avoid getting hit.
Maric usually intercepted her, but even when spiraling through the air, Malak would block his moves. Maric back-flipped into the air, spun around and began rapidly shooting projectiles of water at his sister, and her retaliation was a blast of water that she kicked out and retracted. It worked as a reflector, sending some of Maric’s attacks back at him. Maric intercepted some of these a 3rd time and sent them back at her. Neither one was able to hit the other. They really were waterbending prodigies.
Reyson meanwhile, felt like he was being left out of the fun. He flared up his hands and jumped between them.
“I hope you like the heat,” he warned, but the twins shut him up with blasts of water at him, knocking him aside—or so they thought. Reyson had quick reflexes and blasted himself into the air and over their attacks. Using the fire on his hands to keep himself in the air, he began spinning his legs around, shooting fireballs at the twins, who now seemed to have teamed up against Reyson, thinking they could take him down.
However, Reyson was not just a prodigy, but he was a son of the Fire Lord and Lady, and was thus a royal prodigy. He was able to use some of the skills that were harder to learn, such as lightning (though Alzar was the greatest firebender in the world, being on of the Legendary Four Benders.) and he was good at it.
Reyson seemed better than the both of them, for though he was not an expert at the Dragmire Flip, he had a roundhouse kick that could deal good damage when firebending was attached. It was this that knocked both Maric and Malak of guard. Malak blamed the bank, as she slipped and fell into the stream. Nonetheless, Reyson had them both at his mercy. He chuckled, looking at the fallen boy and his sopping wet sister.
“Game,” he said chuckling, and helped Maric up. Malak didn’t want him to help her, but she was stuck.
“Want me to leave you there,” he asked, laughing at how funny she looked trying to pull herself out,
“Aye,” Malak replied, but Reyson just laughed.
“Too bad,” he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her up, “you need to realize that just because someone wants to help you that it doesn’t make you helpless. You’re going to hurt yourself, Malak.”
Malak didn’t say anything, but followed them grudgingly home.
“So,” said Reyson to Maric, “what made you change your mind about The Order of the Avatar Slayer?”
“The story of how our parents died,” Maric replied, “I had been told a lie. We were neutral, so buying that The Avatar Guard were the ones who attacked us was believable. We didn’t know who was who.”
“You mean it was because of that story,” Malak exclaimed, “you weren’t there to see it?”
“I actually ran, Malak,” Maric replied, “and that was why I survived unscathed while you were nearly killed.”
“And so that was what caused all the rifts between us,” she exclaimed, “that was it?”
“Aye,” said Maric, “and you know us. We’re opposites. When I would lie, you wouldn’t. The problem is, is that YOU never tell people anything. You could be dying and we wouldn’t know. Malak, you’re way too stubborn for your own good. If an outsider notices it (no offense, Reyson) even, then you know it’s too far.”
Malak sighed. “I just hate being treated like I’m made of glass,” she said, “because I’m not. I’m a waterbender, not a sculpture.”
“I know, Malak,” said Maric, “but telling you that you can’t do everything by yourself is not unreasonable. Everyone needs help, even the Avatar.”
“I thought you hated the avatar,” said Malak,
“You can’t be in The Order and not hate the avatar,” said Maric, “but those twisted days are over. I don’t hate the avatar anymore. Knowing what she did and my response to it...”
“Hey,” said Reyson, “bad things happen to good people. Why do you think the Fire Lord, the Earth King and the Water Chief were killed?”
The Dragmire twins remained silent the rest of the way back.
“Well,” said Reyson, “we’re back. Sorry about all of that, Malak. And Maric, just make yourself at home here.”
“Alright,” Maric replied. He seemed friendlier to Reyson than Malak did, but then again, Malak was sort of acting hostile towards everyone lately. Using this logic, Reyson assumed that it was because she was hurting. “When people are hurt they are less tolerant” Zeruda had told him, “usually they just need time to rest or time to recover.
“So yeah,” said Maric, stopping to talk to Reyson, “um, about me being part of The Order before this; surely Malak told you a little about it?”
“Aye,” Reyson replied, “and naturally they’re going to hunt you down like they do all traitors.”
“I know,” Maric replied, “but I don’t care. I want to be on the right side; the side with my sister. Aye, I’m through with The Order.”
“Well,” said Reyson, “you chose the right side to ‘desert’ to. You’ll find much more forgiveness on our side.”
“Thanks,” Maric replied, “oh, and sorry if my sister gave you any trouble”
“Not a problem,” Reyson replied, “and I’m sure Zeruda won’t mind either.”
Maric smiled. He was glad to be with his sister—Back Together Again.
~Azula~
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Tera253
Gran Gran
In Soviet Russia, post writes you
Posts: 588
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Post by Tera253 on Feb 26, 2009 14:17:26 GMT -5
Zakura goes back to the spirit world! yayz!! of course, things start out funny. I mean, who's to say that the avatar has to be boring and serious all the time?
but then we learn some heartbreaking truth about Zakura, and also the names of the avatars since Aang. (and Aang gets referenced) so yeah, chapter 44. more of Tera's Order of the Avatar Slayer splurge.
CHAPTER 44: IT WAS ZAKURA'S WEAKNESS
Zakura woke up to find herself in a familiar setting that was not the same one she went to sleep in. she looked around and this time knew where she was.
“Alright, Lahka,” she called out, “the joke’s old.”
“Not for me it isn’t,” said a voice, and Zakura laughed.
“But it’s not about you,” Zakura protested, “it’s all about me. I’m the Ava—wait. Crap!”
Lahka laughed, wherever he was.
“But Zakura,” said Lahka’s voice, “I’m the avatar too.”
“Hence the reason I shut up,” Zakura replied, “but hey, just get your Water Tribe rear out here and enlighten me with your spiritual gibberish again. I’ll pretend to act like I understand what you’re saying.”
“You play a tough game, Avatar Zakura” said Lahka, appearing next to Zakura; “you *almost* had me that time.”
“That’s more like it,” said Zakura, “now enlighten me, old man.”
“Alright,” said Lahka, “sit down, short stuff and I shall bestow upon you my spiritual gifts of spirituality.”
Both Lahka and Zakura were straining to keep from bursting out laughing. Lahka had had a good sense of humor like Zakura did; and there wasn’t a supernatural rule or anything that said the avatar couldn’t have fun every now and then. They were and are the spirit of the world in human form, which means that even with the abilities they were granted, they were human just like the rest of the world, having their own likes and dislikes, personal matters, and such.
“Whoa now,” said Zakura, “calling me short has gone too far,”
“Calling me old has gone too far,” Lahka retorted;
“You’re 115, Lahka,” said Zakura, “that’s 92 years older than I am;”
“You’re a head and a half shorter than I am,” said Lahka, who was actually also taller than average, “you’re the shortest avatar since Avatar Aang, and he died at a young age if you recall.”
Zakura lowered her head.
“That was low,” she said, now fake sniffling, “I’m... I’m hurt.”
“Ha-ha,” said Lahka, “then it looks like I am still dominant over you.”
“Do with me what you will,” said Zakura, “but I’ll never talk; ever!”
They both cracked up from this.
“Speak to me, avatar,” said Lahka, and then he said to himself “I am speaking. What do you want?”
“I want you to slap some sense into that woman avatar;”
“But she’s the avatar too,”
“I didn’t say slap some sense into that woman; I said slap some sense into that woman avatar. She’s a woman, and she’s an avatar.”
Zakura punched Lahka’s arm.
“And yet you still never fail to make me wonder about you, Lahka,” she said, laughing, “where’s Wen, your predecessor?”
“Now you’re speaking my language,” said Lahka, and when he said this, an airbender avatar appeared next to Lahka.
“Hello, Avatar Zakura,” said Wen, who was obviously the airbender, “do you know yet why you are here?”
“So Lahka can talk to me about how short I am,”
“Well” said Lahka, smiling slightly, “if that were the case I would possibly throw a few words in about it too...”
“You know what, cue ball,” said Zakura, laughing, “I don’t have to put up with this. I’m the avatar too, you know.”
“And a very talented one at that,” said Wen, “you mastered in 7 years what took some of us up to 20 years to master. When we say that you literally have the best teachers in the world, we mean it.”
“Aye,” said Zakura, “I’ve come to recognize that finally;
“And *that*,” said Lahka, “is one of the reasons you are here: to applaud your strengths and overcome your weaknesses.”
“What is my weakness,” Zakura asked, “I mean, I’m not trying to brag (though the opportunity pretty much yells at me to do so) but I haven’t found anything that I have trouble against.”
“Your weakness, avatar Zakura,” said Lahka “is not a physical technique, attack, or anything of that sort. Your weakness is an emotion.”
“What,” Zakura exclaimed, “like arrogance; or maybe being so freaking awesome that the world can’t take it?”
“Heh,” said Lahka, “you wish;”
“Alright,” said Zakura, “so what is my weakness then;”
“Your weakness,” said Lahka “is love.”
“Love,” Zakura exclaimed, “what are you talking about,”
“it is in your reactions;” Said Lahka, “I apologize in advance for anything this might do to you, Zakura, but we are going to take a little trip back into the past, starting with Avatar Kai, who lived over 1275 years ago.”
“I’m going to have to watch a 1275-year-long play,” Zakura exclaimed,
“No,” Wen replied, “this is different. We are going to look at the childhoods of your past lives, and this will reveal your weakness.”
Suddenly in front of Zakura’s eyes was a tiny water tribe girl in the arms of a woman who looked almost exactly like Avatar Kai. This was baby Kai Serenes II and her mother (for Avatar Kai’s full name was Avatar Kai Serenes II)
“She had a mother who loved and cared for her every step of the way,” said Lahka, “and now we shall move on to Avatar Kada.”
Avatar Kada was shown to Zakura was a child of about 3 years; she was playfully throwing little rocks at some of her older siblings, who were laughing and playing with her.
“She may have been orphaned,” said Lahka, “but she had loving siblings watching her as she grew older. And now we move to Avatar Himoto.”
Avatar Himoto was shown as a girl of about 12. She was being crowned as princess of the Fire Nation, and would soon become its queen, despite her avatar status.”
“She was their heir” said Lahka somberly, watching as Zakura gazed with a straight face, “they loved her eternally; now on to Avatar Imalek.”
Imalek was shown as a baby being raised in the Eastern Air Temple by monks and sisters who were not her real family, but such were the ways of the air nomads.
“The air nomads all had pleasant childhoods, as they were and are friendly to everyone,” Said Lahka, “and now we shall move on to Avatar Koroda” (the same man who General Koroda would be named after several hundred yeas later)
Young Avatar Koroda was seen as a young child just learning how to hunt; being taught by his father. He was smiling as he harpooned a fish of some sort and held it up proudly;
“He was a fine hunter, taught lovingly by his father,” said Lahka, still looking at Zakura’s unchanged face. She seemed to be closing her eyes for longer intervals. “Now we go to Avatar Fa Su”
Fa Su was raised to be a Dai Li agent before his parents learned he was the avatar. Nonetheless, hard times and the strength of The Order of the Avatar Slayer required him to fight undercover.
“He lived a happy life as a Dai Li avatar,” said Lahka, “and reduced The Order during his later years. Here is a character that you might relate closer to, Zakura—Avatar Zuroc”
Zuroc was seen as a young girl talking to some people her age, winning them over as her friends.
“Zuroc was a very influential woman,” said Lahka, “she won her friends by persuasion, and once they sided with her, they learned that underneath that fierce woman was a gentle and kind one. She also created the Zuroc Sensei of course.
Now though, we move on to Avatar Reyson, another air nomad.” (And after Avatar Reyson, that name became a lot more common, particularly in the Fire Nation) Reyson’s story was similar to Imalek’s, and was just as happy.
“The Air Nomads are a loving people,” said Lahka, “and so was Avatar Komae of the Water Tribes.”
Avatar Komae was seen as a little child socializing with various people.
“Avatar Komae was beloved by all,” Lahka commented, “and her successor, Avatar Harami, was similar, though The Order started to appear again during his days.”
Avatar Harami was shown as a young, hard-working boy who was raised with a poor, but loving family. By this time, Zakura’s eyes had watered slightly, but she was still sitting there, gazing forward.
“Once again,” said Lahka, “he had a loving family. Avatar Lu Xing was similar as we’ll see...”
And he was. He was from a military family, but even as a baby his father, a tough-looking general, was seen cradling him lovingly.
“Do you see the pattern, Zakura,” Lahka said, “for now we come to Wen’s childhood, which was good like all Air Nomads’ usually are.”
And it was. He was a happy boy growing up.
“And you know now, that it comes to me;” said Lahka, “and there I am with my family.”
Lahka was in front of Zakura now, but as a baby being adored by family members and tribe members alike.
“And finally,” he said sadly, noticing Zakura was gritting her teeth and shutting her eyes, “we come to the sad tale of Avatar Zakura Ishiko.”
Zakura was seen as a lonely child. Her other three siblings seemed to taunt her because of her bending prowess, which she longed to use but couldn’t in front of anyone. It then flipped a few years ahead to a 16-year-old Zakura using said earthbending to escape the palace and run away; never to be seen by her parents again up to this day...
This was the straw that broke the bison’s back for Zakura. She broke down crying—sobbing to be exact. If anyone but her past lives had seen this, she would have knocked them squarely out, but this was different. This was Zakura’s soft point—love—something she had never had until The Four Benders came into her life.
Love—It Was Zakura’s Weakness.
~Azula~
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Tera253
Gran Gran
In Soviet Russia, post writes you
Posts: 588
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Post by Tera253 on Feb 26, 2009 14:20:49 GMT -5
CHAPTER 45: THE SPIRIT WORLD AGAIN Avatar Lahka had succeeded in showing Zakura her weak point. When she was told about or shown other people who had had happy childhoods, it hit her in a sensitive point like this; Naturally, Zakura of all people would never, ever cry, except for from something like this.
“Zakura,” said Wen, “there is something you must know: if a parent does not love their child, they will not care what they do, but may restrict them from their favorite pastimes.”
Zakura was too busy sobbing. It sounded almost unnatural because of her low voice, but here was Zakura, a fully-grown woman; a mighty, fully realized avatar with enough physical strength to knock a person out with one hit, crying like a child.
“My parents never loved me,” said Zakura through her tears, “they never cared what I did. I could leave for days and not tell them and they wouldn’t care. There’s something I want you two to see.”
Zakura changed the scene to show her at 16. She had been to the spirit world the night before, but wasn’t aware of what it was; she thought it was just a dream. Nonetheless, it got her thinking that she might be the avatar, and in a family so deeply rooted in The Order, this naturally worried her. Would they still want to kill the avatar if the avatar was their own child? Zakura decided to find out.
Naturally, when she got her parents’ attention, they sounded relatively indifferent. She then asked them the question that changed her life.
“How far would you two go to kill the avatar,” she asked them,
“We would go to that point even if it was one of our relatives,”
“Even if it he or she one of your own children,” Zakura exclaimed, her face changing into one of genuine fear; something Avatar Zakura of all people almost never showed.
“Aye,” Zao Lin, Zakura’s mother, replied, “The avatar must be stopped at all costs. Abuse of that power would lead to single-handed world domination, and we cannot have that.”
“Isn’t that what Xin Shing is trying to do,” Zakura asked,
“If it was, why would he set us up here?” said Zhang, Zakura’s father, “he obviously seeks for equality.”
Zakura opened her mouth to say something, but then paused, rethought it, and said something else instead.
“So you mean to say that you think one of your own children, would turn against even you two?” Zakura exclaimed, her eyes beginning to water, for at age 16, Zakura was not too much different from an average teen-aged girl; this was before her “rough-and-tough” attitude.
“From the way you’re talking, Zakura, you’re making it sound like you’re the avatar. Is this the case?”
Zakura certainly wasn’t going to say she was, even if she did know it, so she shook her head.
“I... I need to lie down.” She stammered, and did everything to keep from frantically running out of their sight.
Once she got to her room she immediately bolted it, her eyes wide, her breaths short and tense, and her heart racing. She was horrified at the malice of her own parents. What if she really was the avatar?
“I ran away that very night,” said Zakura somberly, “the more I thought about it, the more that spirit world trip seemed less like a dream.”
“I understand your troubles, Zakura,” said a gentle voice from behind her. Zakura turned around and saw that she was surrounded by all of the avatars whose childhoods she had just seen, from Avatar Kai to herself. Kai was the one speaking.
“However, Avatar Zakura,” she said, “There is more to the story. With trials also come blessings.
Kai continued Zakura’s story, showing a 16-year-old Zakura tearing away from the Earth Kingdom and running into a forest on the outskirts, where four familiar faces (and one not-so-familiar face) showed up; they looked about 7 years younger than Zakura remembered them (and the other face stuck in Zakura’s mind for another reason)
“Alzar, Shinon, Aiku, Zinjamyn,” she whispered, and was soon watching the story of them meeting her, and the revelation that she was in fact the avatar. The woman who told them this, a supernatural woman named Tera, had vanished after announcing this. However, the faces of The Four Benders had lit up after learning this.
“We’ve been looking for you, avatar,” said the younger Zinjamyn, “we have long wish to pass our skills down to the next avatar;
“w-who are you,” said a slightly frightened Zakura,
“We are The Avatar Guard,” said the younger Shinon, “we are also known as The Four Benders.”
“The Four Benders,” Zakura exclaimed, “the greatest in the world?”
“That is what they say,” Said the younger Aiku, “but do not worry. We do not wish to harm you. We wish to be here for you.”
“For me,” said Zakura hopefully, “you mean like friends?”
“Aye,” said the younger Alzar, “friends—and bending teachers.” The young Zakura was left speechless.
“You are the most powerful avatar to walk the earth in thousands of years, Avatar Zakura,” said Kai ion her usual serene voice, “you literally had the best teachers in the world. Remember to give them thanks the next time you can see them all at once. You owe it to them.”
“What do you mean,” asked Zakura, but then another avatar stepped up: a fierce-looking Fire Nation avatar—Avatar Zuroc.
“You treated them like crap,” she said flatly, “they put up with you a lot more than I would have.”
“Keep in mind though,” said Lahka in Zakura’s defense, “that Zakura never had a real friend in her life until they came around. She was never trying to honestly hurt them; it was just a game to her.”
“Of course,” said Zakura, “I never did anything to them just to torment them; and aye, I admit that I treated them pretty badly.”
“That is why you just need to talk to them about it;” said Kai, “just get them together and then follow my advice.”
“I know, I know,” Zakura sighed, “I know I treated them badly. You don’t need to remind me of it. Do you realize how much it hurt to know just how much they cared about me? They’ve told me before. They were determined to teach me, no matter how ignorant or cocky I was, and granted, I acknowledge that I’m cocky and often ignorant. I don’t want to have to relive me tormenting them.”
“If this is truly the case,” said Avatar Lahka, “then my beckoning of you to the spirit world has been a success, for you have acknowledged and overcome one of your weaknesses.
“Hey,” said Zakura, “it doesn’t mean that I’m done bragging, because I’m awesome and have the right to brag.”
“Good,” said Lahka, chuckling, as the mood of Zakura’s environment was brightening up, “you being humble would be like Zuroc being timid.”
“I resent that,” said Zuroc bluntly;
“And I don’t care,” Zakura laughed, “because he’s right.”
“I’d cut off your head if I was alive,” Zuroc laughed, “If it stood but a little higher off the ground.”
“Shut it, knife girl,” Zakura, “please don’t tell me we’re going to get into one of THESE debates again, eh, Lahka?”
“The avatars have no leader,” said Lahka, “my word weighs only as much as everyone else’s.”
“Well my word is law, because I’m Zakura and I said so. So suck it up all of you and deal with it!”
“Heh,” said Lahka, hitting Zakura’s arm, “you wish.”
“Right-o then,” said Zakura, “you have learned from one of your later incarnations—never listen to an avatar.”
“That’s about right,” said Wen, chuckling, “for remember, the avatar is only human, just like the rest of the world.”
“I know that,” Zakura replied, “I mean, I pretty much was and am the demonstration of that.”
“We knew that a while ago,” said Lahka, hitting Zakura again,
“Wait,” said Zakura, “I’m confuzzled. Why am I still here?”
“Fine then,” said Lahka, “just leave us like that—feel free to give us the cold shoulder.”
“If you insist,” Zakura laughed, “I mean, being human, I too require sleep, and I think said action is beckoning to me.”
“Farewell, Avatar Zakura,” said Lahka, still chuckling, “just remember, it is but a weakness. Trials will help you to overcome them.”
With those words, Zakura woke up. She thought of Avatar Lahka and smiled. She was also thinking about the Four Benders.
“Those benders are my family,” she thought to herself, smiling, “Zhang and Zao Lin might be my blood family, but Alzar, Shinon, Aiku and Zinjamyn are my real family.”
Zakura was pretty tired, so she ended up falling asleep rather quickly again, and remained that way until the morning. She didn’t even bother thinking about what Cheng and Taki were doing now that they were married (ironically, they were asleep), and was out like a light.
Zakura may have seen some heartbreaking event sin her life, but she didn’t mind anymore. She knew that all of the avatars before her had their own trials, and she figured that was might not matter to her might be a big deal to one of them, and this helped her shake her problems off.
She also knew that if her past lives acknowledged that she was the most powerful avatar to appear in thousands of years that with those trials also included blessings or talents. Zakura appreciated her teachers a lot more now, and also appreciated her past lives, who had given her inspiration and wisdom. She was glad that she got to go to The Spirit World Again.
~Azula~
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