One Thousand Steps [Closed, Started]

[Green Shoes]

[HEADING=1]Burnt Paw Island[/HEADING]

Oktaru's sandals crunched the hot sand beneath them as his staff made the occasional circle on the beach. Chewing a recently procured sweet-roll, the morning breeze occasionally blew the odd grain of sand into his eyes, making him squint and raise his hand. As he did so, he almost dropped his roll, letting it slip to his fingertips. There, washed upon the beach, were several figures and the wreckage of a ship.

Grabbing his staff, he hastened to the bodies, calling out as he did so. His beard caught the wind and was thrown over his shoulder. Eyes wide and brow raised, he hastened to the figures, pushing questions and thoughts out of mind for the time being.

"Are you alright?!"

Setting his staff in the sand, he drew the waves in over them, chilling them, hoping to shock them into awakening. The walk back to his shack was long, and the village further still; setting off to warrant more help would take too much time, and by then any help he could offer would be ineffective.

Hoping some drifting fisherman or trade-boat would come by and help, he continued to pull in the waves, hoping that they would awaken. Biting down on the roll to keep it in his mouth, he grunted as the circular motion of his arms threw his sleeves to and fro.

 

[StormShaun]

Souzin Storum and crowd.
Location: Boat to Kyoshi Island.

Water, water, this was the liquor of life that ran and filled the world full of life. It was one of the biggest powers in the world, with earth, air and fire, a curious man on a busy boat was gifted with one of these elements, the element of fire. This element, fire, it was known to be destructive, to burn all that came within it's path, yet Souzin Storum thought differently, he had thought that fire was the spark to the life, the fire within someone, the element which bought something to the world but could also be used to protect.

Yet it was still a force of destruction, this was something Souzin knew well.

The time before darkening, the boat was a very busy and crowded place. Kyoshi Island was the destination for many people here. A man was on deck, pants up to his knees which were coloured blue, and a green jacket which had a green hood which covered a face. "Ah, this is taking a while." Souzin muttered to himself, squished in-between two parties, obviously annoyed with the lack of personal space. Yet keeping to himself still, focusing his eyes on the water for it intrigued him greatly.

For a first boat ride ever, Souzin's experience was not exactly going to be good, especially due to the weird feeling that covered Souzin's stomach. Looking over to the water-benders closest to him, something was certainly up and suddenly a rogue wave hit the vessel. Holding tightly on, Souzin noted the clap of thunder, not scaring him, yet weirdly calming him. Holding on tightly still, an explosion rocked the ship which surprised the man, this was not good certainly since that he had let go of the railing and slipped into the water below.

The lessons from his siblings in his mind, Souzin used all his force to get up to the surface, yet the only thing he saw was a nice leather bag head straight towards him, and somewhere inside himself, Souzin did not like where this was going.

Souzin Storum and Okataru.
Location: ?

"Are you alright?!"

Water, something that was now chilling him. Opening his eyes slowly, the sight of sand, a standing figure and some other blurred figures dotted the eyes of Souzin. Slowly closing them once more another water blast hit the cold back of the fire-bender immediately made him jerk up with a deep gasp. "Aaah!" Was all he could say before spewing up some water. Looking to the side a bit more, a old-like man entered the vision. Caution rose up within Souzin, part of him wanted try and crawl away, yet the heart of his body told him that this was someone not bad ... well at least for now.

Getting up slowly to a kneeling position, Souzin took a long look at his surroundings, the black dots were certainly other people. Giving a curious look to the man, Souzin's mouth looked like it was almost gagging from not just the seawater, but from the dehydration that had come upon him. "Uh ... hi." Is all the quiet Souzin said, obviously with a bit of fear and mostly awkwardness deep within his voice, yet it cracked due to dehydration.

 

[Drummodino]

Boat to Kyoshi Island:

Leaning over the rail, the young man grimaced as he wiped his mouth and watched his lunch float away. Satoru hated boats, not being able to trust the ground under his feet left him feeling incredibly vulnerable. What business did an earthbender have at sea anyway? He couldn't wait for the journey to be over, yet at the same time he was almost hoping they would never arrive.

"Ugh, this year is gonna suck so hard... What is there to even do on this backward rock? Do they even have hot showers?

Wallowing in self-pity, Satoru didn't notice the rising swell until a giant wave crashed into the vessel. Losing his grip on the railing, the next impact sent him flying over the side, down into the tumultuous waves below.

[hr]

Burnt Paw Island Beach:

Darkness. Cold, indistinct, yet strangely comforting. Satoru floated here, somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness. It was peaceful, just drifting without thought. This tranquility was not destined to last however - a very cold, very wet sensation invaded and shattered the darkness. Coughing and spluttering, Satoru opened his eyes to be greeted by harsh sunlight, coarse sand and an old man. Dazed and confused, the youthful earthbender sat up slowly, only to be knocked down again by a surge of water. The shock of that brought him back to his senses somewhat.

"I'm alright, I'm alright," Satoru muttered as he got up again, still coughing a little. As he did so, he noticed that several others were strewn along the beach near him, most of whom he recognised from the boat.

 

[CrazyGirl17]

On the Boat to Kyoshi Island

I have a message about the state of your family. Come to Kyoshi Island if you wish to know more.

Guiren crumpled up the note in his fist, wondering just who sent him this letter and what it had to do with his family - a family of farmers in the Earth Kingdom had few enemies. Well, his ancestors had been warriors who had taken part in the Hundred Year war and retired when it was finally over, so maybe that had something to do with it?

So lost was Guiren in his thoughts that he barely noticed the boat starting to shake. But he did notice the explosion that rocked the ship. The next thing he knew, he was being tossed about as the boat began to sink. Desperately, Guiren tried to hang on, but a large back fell on his head, knocking him out cold.

Burnt Paw Island

Guiren came to slowly, feeling gritty sand under his body, and hearing the sounds of waves crashing and seabirds overhead. With a muffled groan he pushed himself up, coughing up saltwater. The beach was dotted with with bits of debris and the bodies of other passengers.

"Are you alright?!"

Guiren blinked, seeing an old man standing nearby, his arm movements suggesting he was a Waterbender.

"Y...yeah, just give me a moment..."

 

[DarkRawen]

BURNT PAW ISLAND

Zira was found lying straight out, her hair still somehow gathered up in a bun, and with her hairpin having miraculously managed to hold on, though her bag and money had been lost in the sea. She woke up when the first of the waves hit her face.

"Are you alright?!"

Zira opened her eyes, and, as she saw the second wave right above her, rolled out of its way. She then leaped up, a little too quickly, making her disoriented and dizzy. Her head hurt a little, and so did her throat, though the first thing she did was to look around for any clues as to where they were. That was when she noticed the old man who had yelled, and probably given her that wet, salty shower as well.

"Morning," she said, though it was quickly followed by her falling on her face, legs giving in. It wasn't until now she realized how tired she really was. Sitting up, she brushed sand and other things out of her hair and off her clothes, only now noticing the other people. She'd yell, but her voice still hurt.

How did this happen again?

She asked herself. The boat had... what had happened on the boat? She knew why she had been there, but...

"Ouch." Her head hurt again, and Zira rubbed the spot that hurt. Just thinking seemed to make it ache, and there was a large bump. It was better not to try to find out what had happened, she supposed. Instead, she looked around to see if someone needed her help, ready to stand up if they did.

 

[IFS]

On the boat to Kyoshi Island

Amala's excitement had only grown when she learned the boat she had snuck aboard was headed to Kyoshi Island, it was after all the home of one of the greatest past Avatars, as well as a place of great importance on her great grandfather's journey. She wondered if she would be able to ride the giant koi, or get to see the great serpent that she had heard talked about in the stories.

The boat shook suddenly, and she clutched her staff tightly with one hand, another grabbing a railing for balance. What's happening? Where did this rough patch come from? The swells grew in strength and ferocity, and she found herself thrown from the vessel, managing to take a deep breath before hitting the water she clutched her staff tightly and hoped she would be able to ride out the storm.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Burnt Paw Island

"Are you alright?!"

She groaned as she heard the voice, and coughed up a bit of water before standing up. It seemed her staff had helped her stay afloat through the worst of it, though the ship itself seemed to have crashed. Where am I? she thought to herself, looking up to see the man who was checking over each of them, using waterbending to wake them.

"I'm fine I think, just a little wet," she said, looking down at her wet clothes for a moment, before taking a deep breath and letting it out, using her airbending to dry them. It was mostly effective, though it did also kick up clouds of sand at her feet.

She looked around at the others, there weren't many of them. Did others make it off the ship? Maybe in a life-boat or something? I hope so.

"Anyone need help?"

 

[booksv2]

On the boat to kyoshi Island

Koazon Was feeling a mixture of interest and worry as he sat on one of the bench's on the ship. The weather worse than he had expected when he and gotten on this boat. I was sure this was a good idea. After all, its an island iv yet to be to and more than that its fairly famous. Shaking his head and gripping the bench under himself Koazon considered helping the ship benders keep the waves back but decided not to from their reaction to that same suggestion before when the waves had started to build.

Pulling his pack from under the bench Koazon flips it around and puts his arms through the straps, hoping to keep it from being swept over the side. Going back to holding onto the bench he shakes his head as a rogue gets past the benders holding back the waves and wash's across the deck. Come on! Do your jobs and keep those off us. Shaking his head hard and closing his eyes he doesn't see the other wave come from the other side and sweep across the deck, taking many of them along with it. Including Koazon.


Burnt Paw Island

Floating in a sea of darkness Koazon couldn't think of anything, struggling to get out of it. Not getting very far before he is jolted out of the darkness by a voice yelling and cold water drops across his body.
"Are you alright?!"

Jerking up and taking a deep breath Koazon gets the next wave right in the mouth. Coughing and spitting water he rolls over on his hands and knees and slowly crawls away from the water. Looking up towards the voice he catch's sight of a man who seems to be making the water come up and hit the shore, which have several people laying and sitting and standing on it. Spitting out water and sand a few more times he gets up on his knees and waves at the man who was bending the water.

"Doing ok, just need a second."

 

[Chilifro]

BURNT PAW ISLAND

This was one of Wei's worst nightmares come true. He wasn't afraid of death, per se -- he had discarded that fear years ago, during the long, treacherous treks in the mountains he had made. But this -- floating in a sea of blackness, his five senses completely disabled, and his thoughts echoing inside of his mind incessantly, passing in and out of what felt like his head forever and ever. This was the kind of existence he dreaded, because for one it meant he had not been accepted into whatever afterlife there was for the people of this land, or he had been injured so badly that he had been rendered completely disabled. Fear stabbed into Wei's soul then, and he thought dully, fighting through the echoes of previous thoughts, that he would give anything to be given one more chance, and at least stay alive long enough so he could see his grandmother.

And then suddenly, ice filled the blackness, and for a moment Wei felt himself buried in bright blue moisture, which seemed to fill his entire existence, becoming his world for a fraction of a second. Just as rapidly as it had pervaded, the blueness dissipated, and colors floated back into Wei's world, followed by the sky, the smell of the ocean, the feel of the sand on his wet back, and the sound of a man concernedly shouting "Are you alright!?" Wei took in a sharp intake of air, launching into a coughing fit that would frighten an Avatar. Slowly some of the water in his lungs made its way onto the sand, and Wei coughed out a strangled "Fine" before coughing up the rest. After another minute or so, the coughing subsided, and Wei found the strength to push himself to his feet with a grunt.

"Where are we?" he asked, looking around at all of the other people on the beach, who were either also recovering from the storm, unconscious (or perhaps dead), or they were this one man standing before them, bending the water around the beach in order to wake up the rest of the unfortunate sea-goers. "I doubt very much that we happened to wash upon Kyoshi Island."

 

[Green Shoes]

Oktaru was relieved as a few of the strewn began to get up and move about, despite being obviously battered and bruised. The young, dark-haired girl revealed herself as an air-bender to his astonishment, instantly drying her clothes, but managing to send a handful of sand straight at Oktaru's eyes. Unable to rub his eyes as he continued to try and wake those still unconscious, he spoke in a friendly if somewhat perturbed tone.

"I'm not sure if the others will wake. In the meantime, you might as well dry the others; don't want a chill setting in."

Turning his head to address the rather imposing man, the water-bender rubbed his eyes on his sleeve before speaking.

"Kyoshi? No, I'm afraid not. That's further North. This is Burnt Paw Island..."

Frowning, Oktaru pondered as his arms continued to move in their cycle. Had they all come from Kyoshi, or were they heading in that direction? What happened to the boat?

Casting his eyes towards those still immobile on the sand, he bit his tongue, as pulled the water in more forcefully.

Would the others wake up?

 

[StormShaun]

Souzin Storum, Oktaru, Wei, Koazon, Zira, Amala, Satoru and Guiren.
Location: Burnt Paw Island

Spotting some of the other figures pick themselves up, Souzin also picked himself up but immediately looked into his pack. In the satchel bag, just about everything was water and ruined, this included his important clothing, items and family photo (or drawing). " ... I need to learn how to dry stuff." Souzin quietly muttered to himself about his own bending level. Feeling the cold and wetness of his own clothing, depression was slowly coming over the man.

"Kyoshi? No, I'm afraid not. That's further North. This is Burnt Paw Island..."

Was the next thing heard for Souzin, facepalming, Souzin did go on that boat to travel, and travel he did, but not the the destination he wanted. "This is what I get." Once more said quietly to himself, checking his pack once again and seeing everything wet, he looked towards the Airbender who had just dried herself. "(Go me.)" Was the only thing Souzin sarcastically thought before approaching the girl.

"Anyone need help?" She had said. Coming to her, Souzin seemed a whole lot more awkward. "Umm ... uh, can you help me?" He said in a quiet voice, holding his bag in one hand and a small picture-looking item in the other. The quiet adult Souzin only hoped that no one would question who he is for now, but he would certainly give the girl the information if she surely helped him.

 

[booksv2]

Staggering to his feet Koazon makes sure he is steady on his feet before he open his pack to look inside. Almost everything looking alright, inside the waterproof pack and then the other things inside the waterproof tarp also. Closing the pack again he looks down at himself, soaked to the skin and dripping from fist being tossed into the ocean and then having more waves dropped on him by a bender. Making a face Koazon takes a deep breath and taking a half step draws the water from his clothes. Making a nice sized water ball in front of him, which he shakes his head at again "Gah, all this on me?" he lets it drop to the ground and puts his pack over his shoulder again as he looks around at who else may be here.

Walking a few yards up the beach out of the range of the waves Koazon turns to watch an air bender dry herself, someone else walking up to apparently get some help in that regard. Catching a snatch of conversation from over that way he slumps slightly.
"Kyoshi? No, I'm afraid not. That's further North. This is Burnt Paw Island..."
Not Kyoshi. Well, its a good thing I'm just traveling and not going there for something.

Watching the man bend the waves so they splash the people still on the beach passed out Koazon walks over and nods at him.
"Need any help there?"

 

[Lolscilla]

Boat to Kyoshi Island

Li stood in a cabin shoulder to shoulder amongst frightened men, women and children. Staring blankly out the window, Li watched the water benders fight off another onslaught of waves and smiled to himself.

"What are you smiling about?" a voice asked, sounding almost offended.

Without looking at the source Li responded, "I was just thinking that, even with all their power these benders are just as useless as the rest of us when nature gets bored with you." Li slowly turned around and looked at who had addressed him, a small homely women with a young boy clutching her leg in fear. With a look of shock followed by a sound of disgust, she broke eye contact allowing Li to return to his thoughts. At that moment however, a cry of "LIFE RAFTS!" echoed through the cabin.

Everyone started moving quickly towards the door and Li was pulled along by the current of people out into the harsh elements. Desperate to escape the mass of people, Li moved to the side railing, and watched as people tried to claim a spot on the rafts at the expense of others.

"Man kind are truly sheep at stressful times."

Li turned his attention to the rough seas only to see the water bender's next challenge. The smiled returned as the wave crashed into the ship washing over the rails and into Li, his last thought as the sea swallowed him, "Silence".

[hr]

Burnt Paw Island Beach

Gentle rocking relaxed Li, "Why am I so comfortable?" The thought puzzled Li but he was unsure why. He could hear people calling out, followed by the occasional breeze. Slowly Li's mind started to piece the previous events together, but not as fast as his stomach. Li eyes shot open and he rolled over to discharge whatever dwelled inside. "What on earth happened? Is that a starfish?" Amused, Li stared laughing as he crawled out of the waves, ignoring his surroundings and rolling onto his back as laughter consumed him.

 

[Drummodino]

Getting to his feet with a groan, Satoru took a good look at the rag tag group who had washed up alongside him. They seemed a pretty diverse bunch, including what appeared to be an airbender - a rare sight in this day and age. Seeing her dry herself caused Satoru to become aware of his cold, dripping form. Moving away from the water's edge, he took his jacket off and vainly tried to wring the water out of it.

Giving up and spreading it on a nearby rock, Satoru opened the rucksack that had miraculously not been torn from him by the sea. Pouring the water out, he pulled out his spare clothes and placed them alongside his jacket. The packaged food he had brought seemed to have survived the ordeal, however his final item had not been so fortunate.

"My pro-bending guide! It's ruined!" thought Satoru, as he fished the tattered magazine out of the bag. Throwing it aside with a sigh, he put the bag down and wandered over to the old waterbender, clothes still dripping water.

"Hey there Gramps, thanks for the wake up. Anything I can do to help?" he asked, adopting a cheerful grin. Hearing an unexpected sound behind him, Satoru turned around to see one of his fellow survivors lying flat on his back and laughing for no apparent reason.

"Uh, you okay buddy? Sea spirits didn't steal your wits did they?"

 

[CrazyGirl17]

Guiren staggered to his feet, struggling to remain upright.

"Kyoshi? No, I'm afraid not. That's further North. This is Burnt Paw Island..." Mentally groaning, Guirne turned to face the old man. "Great. Is there a boat around here? I really need to get to Kyoshi Island."

With that said, he began scanning the shoreline for any sign of his possessions. Well, the spirits must have been smiling on him, because his bag had washed up nearby. Guiren took a moment to check and make sure that yes, all his belongings - including his family's kukri knife - were all there, albeit soaked through.

Maybe he could get a local Waterbender to dry it out for him?

 

[IFS]

"Kyoshi? No, I'm afraid not. That's further North. This is Burnt Paw Island..."

Burnt paw? I don't think I've ever heard of this place. She thought, not noticing that her airdrying display had gotten sand in the man's eyes. She was moving along the beach to check on some of the others that had ended up there, the waterbender was still trying to wake them up. Hope it works, I don't really know how to help with that either. She put the thought aside though as another one of the survivors approached her meekly.

"Umm ... uh, can you help me?"

"What do you need help with?" she asked, the man looked fine, though his belongings were certainly wet. I guess I could try drying them, not sure it'd work as well though, its easier with my clothes seeing as they're right on me. I might just end up sending them flying. Still he asked so I should at least try.

"I can try to dry them, just make sure you hold onto them tight," she said, taking a deep breath and steadying herself before releasing a steady blast of air, not terribly powerful out of fear that it might blow his things away, but still quite strong. She kept it up for a few moments before stopping, not sure how effective it had been.

 

[Chilifro]

Wei listened to the man explain where they were, nodding somberly. He had expected this, of course -- he had been to Kyoshi once, and this looked like none of the places he had explored on that island. This bitter knowledge gained, Wei looked around at the rest of the survivors, taking a mental headcount for future reference. How coincidental, he thought with a grim smirk, that all of them should wash up on this same exact beach, in the same exact way, and that they should all be found by the same old man. Wei also noted the presence of an airbender, which caused him to raise his eyebrows in surprise. It had been years since he had seen one of them.

Shaking his head clear again, Wei turned back to the old man, folding his arms. "Burnt Paw Island, eh? Sorry to say that I've never heard of it. Seems like a nice enough place, though. I can't stay, though -- I have some urgent business to attend to back home. You wouldn't happen to have seaworthy transportation 'round here, would you?" he asked, trying (and failing) to keep the anxiety he felt out of his voice by making his talk light and easy. All that came out, though, was a slightly rushed and jumbled mess; still understandable, but one that revealed every single emotion the big man was feeling right now.

 

[StormShaun]

Souzin Storum, Oktaru, Wei, Koazon, Zira, Amala, Satoru, Li, and Guiren.
Location: Burnt Paw Island

Seeing the effect and bending of the air, Souzin was surprised yet intrigued of airbending, all the information he had heard about them usually came from stories of Avatar Aang and the air nomads and their rare race. Having closed his eyes and feeling the air stop, Souzin opened his eyes and it seemed that his picture was perfectly dry, opening his bag in excitement it had seem that his documents were dry as well. The clothes he wore were mostly dry and the extra clothing in his bag were a bit damp.

("Amazing.") Was all Souzin could think as he examined his items some more before remembering that the girl was still there. "Ah, thank you very much for that!" Souzin answered in a fast pace before giving a formal bow, still sounding awkward while the so. Lifting himself up from bowing, Souzin looked around, his hood from the green jacket he wore was off. "Now ... what happens?" He said to himself as he examined the surroundings and the people that surrounded him.

Inside himself he felt like he wanted to talk to the airbending girl some more, wanting to know more about them and to hear even more stories of the foreign land he had not visited for all of his life. Right now Souzin was looking around, coming to girl, it did indeed he wanted to say more, yet his voice did not project and the look on his face was only described as scared.

 

[Lolscilla]

"Uh, you okay buddy? Sea spirits didn't steal your wits did they?"

Slowly Li's laughter fizzled and he sat up to look at the boy who questioned his sanity. He looked like he had earth nation roots underneath the soaked-through clothing and dehydration, but Li assumed he didn't look much better.

Li sighed before answering, "My good man I do believe the sea spirits had a taste of all our wits but decided they were too bitter for the evening's meal." Li's smile returned and he stood up facing the boy, "You wouldn't have any water would you? I have a terrible thirst, I'm sure you understand."

 

[PrinceOfShapeir]

Compared to huddling on the streets of Republic City for weeks stowing away on this ferry was like a stay at the Hotel Omashu. It must be tourist season, because it was packed, and no one much noticed her after she stole a bath and clean clothing, leaving her more or less free to roam the ship as another apparently paying customer.

Not that she was any more sociable for it. People tended to keep their distance from the scarred young woman with the haunted eyes, and that was fine with her. She had nothing to say to them. Kyoshi Island was her destination less out of any real desire to go and more because Republic City was no kind of a safe place to be. Equalist soldiers like her were being rounded up daily by the police, and flight was a simple matter of survival.

On the other hand Kyoshi Island did sound like a viable place to start again. Small Bending population, isolated and quiet.

She shifted her legs around to a different position atop the crate she lay upon in the cargo hold. No one came down here, it was a good place to go to be alone in the quiet to think.

Her reverie was cut short as the ship began to pitch from side to side. Not the normal ebb and flow of the ocean, this was a storm. Or worse.

The ship seemed to halt mid pitch as she slid down to the wall, then began to fully flip over. "Oh shit." She scrambled to get clear, staggering as the ship shifted and causing the crates to strain and snap the ropes holding them, turning the hold into a crude blender.

A litany of curses escaped her lips. She was, for the moment, safe. The hold was at the bottom of the ship, which meant she was now well above the waterline. But the ship couldn't hold like this.

She had to get out before it sank, and she didn't have much time. She began scrambling downwards, if she could get above the normal waterline she could...

Too late. A hideous cracking sound filled the ship as it began to split, the tear going right through the hold. It was a long shot, but if she was still on the ship when it went down she was dead. Getting to a lifeboat or anything of the kind was already out of the question. She took a running start and a deep breath, then dove in, sliding smoothly into the water, gritting her teeth at the sudden cold.

The ship was fast sinking around her, threatening to pull her into the depths with it. In the back of her mind she remembered some snatch of conversation she had once heard about being sucked down by sinking ships even if you aren't still inside. She had to move.

Every iota of her strength, every synapse in her brain pushed her - faster, faster, another stroke. The water began to pull her, and in an instant she was under.

A lesser soul would have panicked and died. But Shana had trained to fight a living God. Fear was an icy knife in her chest, as painful as the cold waters around her sapping her strength, but she kept fighting, kept pushing to get a little further away.

Then as though she had passed through an invisible barrier she shot back up to the surface, gasping in a breath before a wave slapped her back under. She cast about, grabbing onto a piece of debris and clinging on. Opening her eyes, she suppressed a laugh - it was the crate she had been lying on only minutes before.

She pulled herself back atop it and clung on tightly, every so often being slapped by the cold waves.

* * * * *

She must have fallen asleep somehow. After the first hour or so the seas calmed and her fearful cling seemed less necessary, a momentary rest that had apparently gone several hours. The crate was bumping against a shoreline, the water perhaps up to her knees.

She had survived. And as she took a look around, was not the only one, a number of others scattered along the beach. She slif off her box and got to her feet, her legs shaking. No doubt she was covered in bruises, but that and fatigue seemed to be the worst of it. For once she was lucky.

There was a man doing motions, all too familiar ones, apparently of the opinion that what anyone needed after a night spent being tossed about on the sea was a little of the hair of the dog that bit you. Shana didn't really see the good sense of that approach, but then she wasn't a doctor. Or a bender.

Being aided by a bender was an amusing bit of dramatic irony, given what she had been up to not so long ago, but it was probably best not to mention that. She approached him, but kept quiet for the moment.

 

[Green Shoes]

Need any help there?

Hey there Gramps...

"Gramps?"

Oktaru let his arms drop to his sides as the last of the shipwrecked got moving, and looked over at the fellow Waterbender. While he certainly looked as if he was from the south, there was no way to tell for sure. Even if he was, it was unlikely they had any close relation. Speaking to both the waterbender and the Green-eyed youth, he shook his head.

"No need, I think. Everyone seems to be alive, at least. And as for transportation..."

Looking over at Wei, he gave a sympathetic shrug. In the distance he could a dark blanket of clouds approaching, hanging low over the ocean.

"Your best hope would be anyone that's pulled into town recently. There's a village not far from here, though I don't know if anyone will be sailing out soon. Meant to be a fierce storm coming in..."

Picking up his staff, Oktaru's countenance changed to one of serious contemplation. If the storm hadn't come in yet, what happened to their ferry? Capsizes were a very rare occurrence, and total obliteration seemed nearly impossible. Freeing himself from his thoughts, he gave a short bow to the group, before pointing behind him with his staff.

"The village Tempen is about an hour that way. I think it'd be good to get some food and rest before setting off to Kyoshi. Oh, where are my manners. My name is Oktaru; shall we?"