Avatar - The Search (Started, Applicants Welcome)

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Random Fella

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"Tell me what you know about the location of the Avatar, then I might just let you head back to your Commander."

Tao was surprised by the young man's threat, not being used to such immediate confrontation.
There was no stagger in his pose however, as he took a completely defensive stance.

"Hmff, I see nothing in my way of simply walking back to him and..."

His words were silenced by the girl's interruption, it seemed these two didn't have the same interests after all.

"and I'm afraid the rest of your men are... dead, in an ambush with several Fire Nation Soldiers. I'm very sorry for your loss, but fighting like this will get us nowhere!"

Dead?
"No, it, it can't be." Tao's voice became one of pain as visions of the battle came back to him.

He looked back at Anish, he seemed oddly familiar...
Suddenly a realisation hit him, he was the man he'd seen at Taku, with the same orange tunic. He'd followed the squadron here, and had questions about the Avatar, it seemed clear in Tao's mind that he was...
"A fire nation spy!" Tao yelled, pointing at Anish, stomping his forward foot on the ground causing a small pillar to quickly rise from beneath Anish's feet.
 

JokerboyJordan

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"A fire nation spy!" Was the young man's cry as his foot lurched forward to stomp the ground, causing Anish to immediately perform an evasive manoeuvre the moment he felt the slightest hostility in the air. Just about in time, for as soon as an earthen pillar shot up from beneath where he had previously been standing, Anish had already moved.

Seeming to almost pirouette, he strafed around the attack and, using the momentum from the spin, flung his chakram from his back in the same fluid movement. He then immediately began chasing after it, using Airbending to lower the air resistance around his body and set up his projectile's return as he rushed towards the soldier.

If I can just get inside his guard I should be able to overwhelm him..,
 

CrazyGirl17

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Sep 11, 2009
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Nauja was startled when Tao suddenly just up and attacked Anish, who retaliated with the swiftness and skill of an Airbender. Despite herself, she couldn't help but watch, transfixed. It was only when Anish charged towards the young man that she snapped out of it.

"STOP IT! This won't get us anywhere!" She shouted, but was pretty much ignored. With no other course of action, Nauja uncorked her water gourd and began drawing out the water within, hoping to stop the battle without causing any serious harm...
 

Random Fella

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Tao's frustration changed to that of surprise, the young man completely avoiding his attack, his movements weren't like a firebender's, he was...
Airbending? Tao thought to himself as the strange hoop was manipulated by the Anish.

"STOP IT! This won't get us anywhere!" The girl shouted to them in the midst of the chaos, she was beginning to draw water from it, bending it. It also explained the healing, no herbalist could do such a job on the burns he vaguely remembered.

The situation began to become much more confusing to Tao, why would these two be allied with such a nation.
With a quick upwards movement of his hands, a small wall of earth sprung up in-front of him.

"Halt! You two aren't fire nation." He shouted.
"If what you say is true, then perhaps I'm already too late to act on the information you desire."
 

JokerboyJordan

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"Halt! You two aren't fire nation." shouted the young man, raising a wall of earth in front of him, just before finding Anish's chakram bury itself in it.

"If what you say is true, then perhaps I'm already too late to act on the information you desire."

Hearing Nauja and the soldier's call for a stop to the aggressions caused the Airbender to decide to bring his sprint to a stop. If the misunderstanding could be resolved with words rather than fists whilst still extracting information, then he held no qualms about the method.

"Perhaps too late for you..." Anish began loudly, as he walked slowly up to Earthbender's wall. "...but I still have the advantage in both speed and stealth," He paused as he wrenched his disc from the earthen barrier before giving it a few knocks, impressed with its sturdiness. "After all, I tracked your group's 'covert' mission alone all the way from Taku."

He placed his chakram back on its holster on his back, taking a moment to glance over at Nauja, where he saw her manipulating the water from her gourd as a precaution against the hostilities, before turning back to address the soldier.

"So I say again. Tell me what you know, and I'll ensure the safe retrieval of the Avatar myself."
 

Random Fella

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"So I say again. Tell me what you know, and I'll ensure the safe retrieval of the Avatar myself."
Tao brushed away the airbender's comments, he hadn't had many meetings with their kind, but he imagined they weren't usually so foolish and brash. To follow a group of soldiers from a city that ordinary civilians live in was no astonishing feat.

Tao instead turned his attention to Nauja.
"Show me where it happened." His speech was clearly impaired by the idea of what she was saying to be the truth.
"Perhaps it will bring back my memory."
 

CrazyGirl17

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"So I say again. Tell me what you know, and I'll ensure the safe retrieval of the Avatar myself."

Eyes wide, Nauja looked from one person to the other. "The... Avatar?" She asked. Nauja had heard about the newest Avatar, born at one of the Air Nomad temples. And from Anish's words made he wonder if something had happened to the boy...

"Show me where it happened. Perhaps it will bring back my memory." At Tao's words, she swallowed despite herself. She wasn't sure what would happen if the soldier returned to the scene of the battle (with the bodies of the fallen still remaining, perhaps picked apart by scavengers), but she wasn't sure what he would do if she refused.

"A-alright, I'll take you there." If worse came to worst, it wasn't like she couldn't fight back, right?
 

Random Fella

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"A-alright, I'll take you there."

Tao replied simply with a quick nod, finding it difficult to bring words to the situation. If what the girl says is true, well, he only hopes this is some sort of trick.

It took only a few minutes for them to arrive at the clearing in the forest.
The scene was as they left it early, as if the sear had left it intact.
As Tao drew his vision over the scene, his fears became reality.

There they were, a group of Earth Nation and Fire Nation soldiers, laying in their graves of ash.
Tao approached Kanan's body in the center of the clearing, falling to his knees, memories of the battle and his loss of control came back to him.
"I could have saved them, if only I'd..." Tao took a trinket from each of his comrades, placing them in his parcel.
'I'll need to get these back to their families' He thought to himself.

He stood up, drying a couple of tears from his face with his arm, facing the two that had come with him.
"You saved my life" He said to Nauja.
"For that i'm happy to tell you what I know, though there are more important things to attend to."

He paused to take his breath, seeming to be focusing on something, he concentrated on scanning the area to examine any that may be listening in, but found none.
"We were sent down to search for the avatar, he was supposed to be going to the Eastern Air temple from his Southern home, however, he suddenly disappeared. No reports of his location were made past that..."

"We were ambushed here, I detected their explosives a few seconds too late, if I had only shielded them from the blast rather than myself..."
His head hung down in shame.
"I'm not sure how I managed to survive, I lost control in the midst of the battle, if you hadn't been there to throw the archer off, I don't know if I'd be alive right now."

He corrected his pose, taking a more serious tone.
"Another thing, one of them said something about a comet, I don't know what he meant of it, but it sounded like a serious threat. And judging from this kind of attack, I fear this is the only the beginning of the hostilities."

"If they know about the avatar too, then they'll most likely be looking for him, and he's likely the only one who can bring peace between the nations again."
Tao looked back at his fallen comrades.
"I won't give up searching for him."
 

Random Fella

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"Well it's about time you told me what you know" Anish interrupted before begging to walk south from the two.
"Don't try to follow me, I'm going to find him myself, you would only slow me down." He commented before leaving as swiftly as he came, moving surprisingly fast, foliage jumping in a breeze following him.

"What a fool, how does he expect to find the avatar by himself, what if he's imprisoned by a whole squadron..." Tao commented before pausing at the realisation of what he just said.

"How do I expect to find him on my own?"

He turned to Nauja after having almost forgotten she was there with the bodies laying on the floor and Anish's comments.
"Thank you greatly for helping me get better, and bringing me here, I owe you a great deal." Tao said as he bowed to her in great respect.
"But now I must leave, if I'm going to continue out my mission I'll need to find others willing to help me."
"Perhaps there's a regiment in Omashu I could report in to..."
 

CrazyGirl17

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Seeing no other choice, Nauja led the small group to the spot where the attack had taken place. She couldn't help but wince at seeing all the bodies lying in the clearing; it was clear that the battle had no real winners or losers. Quietly, she watched Tao going over the bodies of his comrades. She had no idea what he could be thinking at the moment, but let him be.

As he turned to face them, wiping his eyes, it was clear that he was ready to talk.


"You saved my life. For that i'm happy to tell you what I know, though there are more important things to attend to."

"We were sent down to search for the avatar, he was supposed to be going to the Eastern Air temple from his Southern home, however, he suddenly disappeared. No reports of his location were made past that..."

"We were ambushed here, I detected their explosives a few seconds too late, if I had only shielded them from the blast rather than myself...
"I'm not sure how I managed to survive, I lost control in the midst of the battle, if you hadn't been there to throw the archer off, I don't know if I'd be alive right now."

"Another thing, one of them said something about a comet, I don't know what he meant of it, but it sounded like a serious threat. And judging from this kind of attack, I fear this is the only the beginning of the hostilities."

"If they know about the avatar too, then they'll most likely be looking for him, and he's likely the only one who can bring peace between the nations again."

"I won't give up searching for him."


Nauja could feel a lump in her throat at his words. If the Avatar was missing and the Fire Nation was moving to attack... was it a coincidence or not?

Anish spoke up next. "Well it's about time you told me what you know. Don't try to follow me, I'm going to find him myself, you would only slow me down."

And with that, he was gone. Nauja was surprised to find herself glad he left, for an Airbender he didn't seem to be very nice. After a moment, she realized that Tao was talking to her.

"Thank you greatly for helping me get better, and bringing me here, I owe you a great deal. But now I must leave, if I'm going to continue out my mission I'll need to find others willing to help me.
"Perhaps there's a regiment in Omashu I could report in to..."


Nauja stiffened, her hands clenched into fists. It didn't take long for her to make a decision. "Wait!" She shouted, "Let me come with you! I..." The girl swallowed hard. "If something bad has happened to the Avatar... and after all I've seen and heard, there was no way I could just stand by and do nothing..."
 

Random Fella

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"Let me come with you! I... If something bad has happened to the Avatar... and after all I've seen and heard, there was no way I could just stand by and do nothing..."

She sounded serious, as if she had currently gained the same drive Tao did, but she was still just a healer in his mind, at least that's what he'd heard about female water benders.

A small accepting smile came across his face, even after seeing what this war will be capable of, there are people who will risk their lives to end it.

"You're welcome to come with me, but..." He paused, attempting to find the right words to put it.
"It won't be safe, and I'm not sure your healing abilities alone will be able to protect you, are you sure?"
 

Random Fella

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Admiral Lee's Outpost, south of the lake's coast.

"All right everyone, rise and shine, lets get some grub and get moving." Ran exclaimed to the group, a few agitated grunts came from Ding and Shaw in reply.

It was the evening, and the sun was beginning to set, giving the group opportunity to move under the cover of darkness.

The group came to a room just by Admiral Lee's quarters, the food was average but clearly based to sustain long journey, the eel hounds were waiting outside fully geared and loaded for a long journey.

"Good, you're all up." Lee commented as he entered, seeming uninterested in the food. Ding however had already started to stack his plate.

"Save some for the rest of us" Shaw nudged at him.

"Everyone have some food, we leave in ten minutes" Admiral Lee stated, he seemed so serious about this mission, the success of it was clearly personal to him.

Soon enough the six got on the Eel-hounds and set out south toward the large stream.

"Admiral." Morishita began. "Do you have an update for the mission? We were told we would be briefed on arrival."
"Ah yes." Lee replied, seeming to gather himself before continuing.

"The Earthbenders were sent down from Taku, where your Admiral, Chan, was supposed to be tracking their patrols. Thankfully, some of our spies in the mining town happened to overhear their discussion. Turns out they were sent to find the Avatar, who had apparently gone missing. Thus in an effort to fix his mistake, we sent a large squadron into the forest just south of the river to intercept the five, that's where we are heading now."

"So there were five of 'em, and thay took down all yer' men? What kinda benders are we up against here?"

Admiral Lee clenched his fist on the reigns of the Eel-hound.
"Supposedly it was going to plan until one of them lashed out, taking out several of my..." Lee paused, attempting to hold back any emotion from his wordings. "men..." His mind turned to his son, the idea of his life being taken by that filthy mud gatherer, it stirred a great fire in his heart, he would not rest until he found him.

"Four of them were confirmed deceased, now we need only find the one, chances are with the loss of his men he left to report to his superiors, we can't let them discover our actions, not yet, it would ruin our plans to bring this world into a state of prosperity."

The others gawked at the idea of this bender being able to face a group of assassins alone after his comrades had perished.

"He must be a great Earthbender..." Ran commented in disbelief.

"No dirt pusher is a great bender!" Lee replied in frustration. "They'll all see soon enough that their ways are inferior and barbaric, that's all he is, a barbaric fool who will soon get what's coming to him. With these hounds and your tracking abilities we'll catch the animal in no time, then we'll let Shaw have a bit of fun with him."

A small chuckle came from Shaw in response. "It would be my pleasure Admiral."

"And if he lashes out again, I expect you to put an end to it Kajiya."
 

Evrant-Knight

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"Admiral." Morishita said as they got on their Eel-Hounds and set off. "Do you have an update for the mission? We were told we would be briefed on arrival."

Admiral Lee then went into detail some of the specifics regarding their assignment, they would be heading towards into a region of forest just south of the river where a group of five Earthbenders were spotted; apparently these five were sent out to look for the Avatar.

"So there were five of 'em, and thay took down all yer' men? What kinda benders are we up against here?" That question appeared to make Admiral Lee choke up a little when saying that one of the Earthbenders had taken out several of his troops; obviously someone very dear to him was among the deceased. Kajiya was a mix of emotions at that point, not sure what to think. Yet he like the others was surprised that a single person had managed to take on a group of assassins alone.

"He must be a great Earth-Bender..." Ran said in disbelief, that comment really set the Admiral off, claiming that no one from the Earth Kingdom was a great bender, and that their ways were inferior. Kajiya wanted to point out that the Avatar before the mighty Roku was an Earth-Bender, but he didn't want poke the armadillo bear with a statement like that.

Admiral Lee then mentioned that once they tracked this last one down, Shaw would, in Lee's own words "have a bit of fun with him", which naturally lead Kajiya to think of interrogation, and probably torture down the line; though he hoped for the earth bender's sake it didn't lead to that.

"And if he lashes out again, I expect you to put an end to it Kajiya."

"Understood Admiral, if this one is as powerful as you are making him out to be, it shall be interesting."
 

DragonofDecay86

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Kohaku was running, sprinting through the dense foliage of some strange area of land he was definitely not familiar with. The small rucksack on his back holding down his naginata and the cloak he wore whipping about him were not the only noises to be heard in the forest. Some distance to the north of Kohaku there were the sounds of ruffling leaves and branches being snapped and broken as something pursued Kohaku with persistence. Kohaku's lungs burned, as did his face, arms and legs. He didn't know how long he had been running, he only knew that to stop would mean his death, and this fueled Kohaku with the energy to keep running despite the protests of his weary body.

In truth, Kohaku didn't quite remember how he had been spotted by Fire Nation scouts, he only knew that the moment the alarm was raised in that out of the way village he had needed to run. Kohaku had only stopped briefly to eat and try to figure out where he was. He hadn't actually slept in almost two days at this point, and his body was nearly at its limit of functioning semi-normally. After a few more moments of full-out-sprinting, Kohaku had to stop, practically falling to the ground when he felt he had gained enough distance between him and the scouts. Kohaku had no idea how many scouts were there, nor did he know how well equipped they were to deal with the kind of trek both parties had just endured.

"They've got to be getting tired now don't they?" Kohaku panted to himself through shallow gasps for air, his eyes closed as he tried to calm his breathing. Speaking was more to keep himself focused and awake than to actually elicit a response, something he knew he wouldn't get out here.

After a few seconds of gaining his breath, Kohaku pushed himself gingerly to his feet, and looked around trying to find out where he was. He knew that he had passed by a river at some point, possibly two, but the days had all blurred together for him so he himself wasn't sure. Where he was now was in the center of a few small gnolls in the forest floor, deep enough for him to be hidden by anything that was running past but not quite so deep that he felt he could remain here to try and hide out from the Fire Nation scouts that were behind him. The sun was high in the sky, so Kohaku decided that it must mean it was near midday. From the gap in the forest canopy, Kohaku could just vaguely make out mountains in the distance, how far in the distance he wasn't sure but he knew he'd come to them eventually and possibly even be able to hide in them to escape. There didn't seem to be any wildlife around him, he must have scared it off when he crashed down in the divot. Kohaku grimaced as he heard the sounds of breaking branches behind him again, knowing that meant he'd have to start running again.

I'd better make it to those mountains... and soon, otherwise I might not make it to them at all. Kohaku thought to himself as he started running again, his legs aching and ready to give up, but pushing through the pain anyway.

A fair amount of time passed, sprinting through the forest and dodging gorges and cliffs however took away that sensation of time passing, before Kohaku found himself on the cusp of the mountains, the feeling of relief that swept over him almost a complete revitalizing boost to his drained stamina and muscles. He broke free of the forest that had so agonizingly eaten at his stamina and his nerves, only to feel the world around him tilt and then flip. There was a split-second of realization as Kohaku tumbled out of the forest and straight down the edge of a small cliff, not having seen such a thing in his excitement to be rid of the forest behind him. Kohaku tried his best to roll with his fall, but landed hard against the cliff wall, smacking into the hard surface and losing what little wind he had left in his burning lungs. He rolled to the bottom of the cliff, the naginata strapped to his back making the tumble as physically uncomfortable and painful as possible, yet not snapping or bending under the pressure of his weight.

Laying at the bottom of the cliff, Kohaku struggled to gain some small semblance of breath before pushing himself to his feet wearily and struggling up a small rocky path that led to what appeared to be an outcropping above. His body was even more worn now that he had taken his tumble, but he fought off the urge to collapse, for he knew that the Fire Nation scouts were still out in the forest and they couldn't be that far behind. Climbing up the small path was no easy feat, as many of the smaller rocks gave way under Kohaku's weight and tumbled down the cliff to rest in the small gorge below. A few moments of tedium and weary climbing, and Kohaku found himself at the top of the path, only to realize where he was.

A large cave opening stood before him, nearly pitch-black inside once the light of day had been devoured by the lingering blackness of the cave's innards. The cave entrance was no natural entrance, nor was the tunnel from what little could be seen from standing outside of the cave, and above the cave's entrance read something Kohaku knew even without having to look at the words.

"The Cave of Two Lovers? No... that can't be where I ended up. Of all places why did I have to run here?" Kohaku said, a sad tone of defeat prevalent in his cracked voice. Kohaku stared up at the cave entrance for a moment, thinking to himself whether it was a better option to die within the cave or to allow himself to be captured by the Fire Nation to be brought back to the Capital for his certain execution.

As the sounds of shouting could be heard from behind him, Kohaku knew what the answer to that question was, and without even looking back to the Forest below, Kohaku dashed into the cave, swallowed up by a blackness he had never once known in his life. Kohaku kept running until he could no longer see the entrance to the cave, no trace of light could be found, before he collapsed on the ground panting and exhausted, knowing that those outside wouldn't dare to follow him into the cave for they knew that all who entered the cave died within its stony walls.

Kohaku allowed himself to rest finally after two days, his legs refusing to move for the moment even if he willed them to, and his lungs refusing to push his body any further. Kohaku managed just barely to push himself up against a cave wall and sat there, slowly letting himself drift off into sleep. He knew he was by no means safe from harm, but he knew that he couldn't push himself any further without at least a little rest. As he drifted off into sleep the same nightmare that had haunted his dream for months once again resurfacing and making sure he wouldn't be getting a peaceful rest at all.
 

CrazyGirl17

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"You're welcome to come with me, but... It won't be safe, and I'm not sure your healing abilities alone will be able to protect you, are you sure?"

Drawing herself up to her full height, Nauja smiled and tried to seem casual. "Don't worry about me, my Waterbending skills are just as handy as my healing ones!"

From the bag at her side, Miki squeaked to remind her of his presence.

"Oh! I almost forgot, this is my little friend Miki. He wants to come along too!" Nauja had trained him a bit, maybe he could come in handy...
 

Random Fella

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"Don't worry about me, my Waterbending skills are just as handy as my healing ones!"

A bit of shame came over Tao's face as he heard this, he had assumed all water benders to be males, and that the females practiced healing. Then again, it was very rare to see other benders around these parts, and he had already met all four types in a single day.

"Oh! I almost forgot, this is my little friend Miki. He wants to come along too!"

Tao smiled at Miki, the Sugar Glider was small and cute, though it didn't distract him from his main goal.

"Thank you." He simply said to Nauja, bowing once again.
"I just have to get my Ostrich-Horse Jojo and my things from the village and then we can depart, Omashu isn't too far from here, though Jojo isn't used to carrying so much weight." He commented, before a short pause and a blushed expression surrounded his face.
"Not that I'm saying you're heavy! It's just because there's two of us, I assume you're very light! A lot lighter than me anyhow!" His words were rushed and clumsy. Before finally collecting himself.

The trip to the village was again a short one, Anya greeted them both as they came to the small house.
"Hello again! How are you both doing? Where's the nice young man that was with you before?" She questioned with a smile.
"I am doing well, thank you for everything Anya." He bowed to her with respect.
"The young man had important business to attend to, and we must leave with haste also."

Anya sighed, almost upset that the two wouldn't have time for her to make them some food.

As Tao was collecting his items and beginning to leave with Jojo and Nauja, Anya came out with a basket, in it containing various foods.
"Please take this, you'll need to eat to keep up your strength after such a state."

"You are far too kind." Tao responded, with a smile. "I know you have done so much for me, but there is one thing I must humbly ask of you. To the west there is a clearing in the forest, laying there are a few earth kingdom soldiers, if you could collect them and notify the nearest outpost, I would be forever in your debt."

Anya's eyes widened in shock to what she had heard.
"Of course." She answered him.
"Wherever you two are going must be important, so I won't keep you any longer." She smiled to the both of them.

Thanking her again, Tao set off south with Nauja.

A few hours pass before it becomes obvious that Tao isn't taking the usual route to Omashu.
"I know a shortcut to Omashu" Tao spoke up.
"There's a cave up ahead, it's usually bypassed due to an old tale, but I know how to navigate it, that's where my group was going to head through as well."
 

CrazyGirl17

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"Thank you. I just have to get my Ostrich-Horse Jojo and my things from the village and then we can depart, Omashu isn't too far from here, though Jojo isn't used to carrying so much weight. Not that I'm saying you're heavy! It's just because there's two of us, I assume you're very light! A lot lighter than me anyhow!"

Nauja giggled despite herself. "That's alright, I think I get what you mean. Shall we get going, then?"

-

The walk back to the village went by quickly and soon they were preparing to leave. Before then, Anya emerged with a basket, saying, "Please take this, you'll need to eat to keep up your strength after such a state."

"Thanks." Nauja said, "We certainly appreciate it."

"You are far too kind." Tao added, "I know you have done so much for me, but there is one thing I must humbly ask of you. To the west there is a clearing in the forest, laying there are a few earth kingdom soldiers, if you could collect them and notify the nearest outpost, I would be forever in your debt."

Nauja swallowed hard, realizing that what Tao had gone through must have been horrible. Was he still dealing with the pain in his own way?

"Of course. Wherever you two are going must be important, so I won't keep you any longer."

Nauja bowed respectfully, then the two of them left.

-

Hours later, the odd group was still heading to Omashu, but the air was quiet between them. "Um, are you sure this is the right way?"

"I know a shortcut to Omashu. There's a cave up ahead, it's usually bypassed due to an old tale, but I know how to navigate it, that's where my group was going to head through as well."

"I guess so," Nauja replied. She was a bit wary about this, but he seemed to know what he was doing...
 

Random Fella

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"I guess so,"

Tao could see Nauja wasn't completely comfortable taking an unknown route, he pulled a breadbun from the basket and took a bite from it, turning to her.


"Don't worry" He smiled in an attempt to reconcile her. "It's called 'The Cave of Two Lovers'" he exclaimed.
"It's just the name though." He corrected himself. "I'm not trying to coax you, not that someone wouldn't, uhh..." His words began to trail as a thought of someone digging a large hole came to his mind. "Let me demonstrate" He quickly got back to the point.


He dismounted Jojo, standing on the earth, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes.
"There's a reason my shoes have no bottoms" He began.

"Earthbending is more than just the physical movement of earth, it's about feeling the earth around you, and reacting to it at the right moment. At least that's what a very wise man once told me." He slid the bares of his feet along the ground, changing his stance to a strong, low one.

"I once knew an Earthbender who was completely blind, and yet, could see better than anyone I've ever met." The air around him grew silent.

"I can feel the movement of the birds as they come to the ground to feed." His eyes still shut, he pointed behind them, at the birds taking advantage of the soil they had just disturbed.

"I can see the several rodents beneath the ground scurry between holes and tunnels they have constructed." He slammed his foot against the ground, and about twenty yards from in front of Nauja popped out a small Ferret-Mole, that quickly scurried back into the earth.

"Even now I can feel the several caverns inside of the cave, like an easily solved maze" He paused for a second, opening his eyes.
The entrance to the cave was only a few hundred meters from them by now.

"Though it requires a lot of concentration, but it's quite easy to do something as simple as go through a cave" He laughed.
 

CrazyGirl17

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"Don't worry, It's called 'The Cave of Two Lovers'. It's just the name though. I'm not trying to coax you, not that someone wouldn't, uhh..."

Nauja couldn't help but smile, her companion's awkwardness was strangely refreshing. Seemingly aware of this fact, Tao decided to change the subject. Nauja listened with rapt attention as he talked about Earthbending in a way that she had never thought of before, leaving her in a stunned silence.

"...Wow." She said at last. At least she didn't have to worry about getting lost, now...
 

Random Fella

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Nov 17, 2010
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Admiral Lee's Squadron, Forest Clearing

The group had arrived at the scene of the battle, it was a reasonably short journey due to their mounts.
The area looked as if the men laying there had only just fallen, almost preserved by the ash they lay upon.

"What a mess" Ding mumbled at the scene, bowing his head in... Respect? Or perhaps disgust.

Lee got off of his Eel-Hound, the others quickly followed.

"Ran" Lee spoke up.
"On it." Ran replied, and began observing the scene, from an open bag he had on his back popped out a small Fox-Dog, it instantly began sniffing around.

"Looks like the Earth Kingdom Soldiers were well trained." Morishita exclaimed as he walked up next to Kajiya, in a silent enough tone so that Lee could not easily hear him.
"Blimey" Shaw responded, the scene not appealing to him either.

"Seems like he headed towards a town..." Ran began. "But something's wrong here..."
"What?!" Lee demanded.
"There were at least two of them, could be more, since there was an Ostrich-Horse too."
"Damnit!" Lee began. "We'll have to tear down a whole town just to find the mudgrabber!" Lee replied furiously.

"Are you sure that's an option sir?" Morishita asked, before being quickly interrupted by Lee, "You dare question me?! If I say we burn down five villages, then that's what we do!"
"I didn't mean any offence, forgive me" Morishita bowed in response.

"That won't be neccessary." Ran spoke up.
"Fresher tracks show two of them heading this way..." Ran pointed to the feint Ostrich-Bird tracks embedded into the ash covered soil, and then to the south south-east.

"Then we should follow them at once." Lee replied.
"The people in the village might know more" Shaw interjected. "Maybe if we disguise ourselves as Earth Kingdom Soldiers we could find some information. Cut them off before they reach their destination."

Before Lee could respond however Morishita sprung up. "Someone's coming! Hide!" He said in a hushed tone.

As the group hid behind several bushes surrounding the clearing, a lone old women came to the site, seeming to observe those in it, saying some words as she came to each Earth Nation body, seeming to trickle some sort of herb over them.

"I've got a clear shot" Morishita whispered in suspense.
"Hold it, maybe we won't need to go to the town to find more information..." Lee replied.

The others in the group gave him a confused look, before he finally arose from their hiding.
A shocked expression came to the elderly ladies face.

"Who are you?" She asked. Just then Lee motioned the others to come out.

"I'll ask the questions here..." Lee responded. "How did you come to find these bodies, you look prepared." He questioned.

"I-I'm a herbalist" She stuttered as the other firebenders emerged. "I found them as I passed by, noticed their unifo.."
"She's lying" Shaw interrupted the elderly woman, to which she did a 180 and began to run, only to be stopped by a pillar of flame in her path bent by Lee's hand.
"Now what reason would you have to lie to some kind strangers?" Lee asked in an ironically friendly tone.
"Please, don't hurt me!" She cried, putting her hands infront of her face.
"Just tell us the truth and we won't." Morishita imposed.

The old ladies face came to one of shame, she wished to keep information from them, but was clearly too afraid.
"My name is Anya, two young men and a young lady came to my house, one of them was..."
"Information! Not your life story!" Shaw interrupted, slapping her with the back of his hand, a loud *thud* came as she hit the ground.
"Now hold on Sh." Ding began, walking toward them before being pulled back by Morishita's hand resting on his shoulder, an expression on his face exclaiming to not get involved.
"Who were they? Were where they headed? How long ago did they leave!?" Shaw asked in an aggrevated tone.
"One of them was an Earth Nation soldier, the others seemed more like roamers." She cried.
"They left this morning, but I didn't ask to where, it seemed important... He only asked I contact a nearby outpost about the bodies. I know no more, please, leave me be."

A look of anger crossed Lee's face. "Where are they headed!?" He demanded.
"She doesn't know any more." Shaw answered him. "But perhaps someone else in the village does."
"No!" Anya responded. "They spoke to no one other than myself, there's no way anyone else would know any more." She cried, now holdng her palms over her face in distress.

Lee looked at Shaw with a questioning look, Shaw responded with a nod, affirming that she was not lying.
"Ran." Lee began. "We'll need to follow that trail, get on it at once." He commanded.
"Y-yes Admral" Ran saluted, and got to work with his Fox-Dog.

"As for the old bag..." He began. "Kajiya, take care of her, we've wasted too much time already."

"Please!" Anya faintly screaming, tears running from her eyes, she fell to the floor, looking up at Kajiya with a face of anguish.