[[T a b o r. S c h w e r t.]]
"All we do crumbles to the ground though we refuse to see." - Dust in the Wind, Kansas
The darkness behind Tabor's eyelids was deep and spacious. It felt as if he were floating in a warm sea of nothingness, thought it was not an empty feeling. In fact, he felt surrounded by a familiar feeling as memories flooded in from his subconscious. Images moved in front of his eyes as if he were watching a movie that he was also a part of. Phoenix's whiny voice bounced off the inside of his skull as the shadowy figures in his mind sharpened and gained features.
"So explain to me again what we're gonna do? Holy s**t! Ah! What the hell is that stuff?!" Tabor's voice barked as the strong smell of chemicals became quickly apparent and he felt Phoenix's gloved hands run quickly through his hair.
She rolled her eyes and shook the bottle as she dispensed a small amount and rubbed it into his hair, "It's dye, Tabby. I told you, we need to be in disguise or they'll catch us right away. Or maybe I just always wanted to see what you looked like blond, it's a fetish of mine." The dripping sarcasm in her voice was nearly as intolerable as the stinging liquid she rubbed through his hair. He glanced up at the mirror in front of him, he looked like a new man though all he'd really done was shave. His transformation was nothing compared to Phoenix's though. She was barely recognizable as the sassy fire user he'd become so familiar with, now with a golden mane styled high like a cheerleader, she would easily pass for a stranger.
The scene dissolved and changed to a few hours later. Both Tabor and Phoenix were outfitted in clothes neither would normally be caught dead in. Phoenix wore a patterned dress that looked like something out of a 50's sitcom, and Tabor wore a striped button down shirt tucked into a pair of khaki shorts that rose up just a little too high for his liking. Neither of them made a fuss, they both knew it was to give them an advantage and keep their disguises true.
"They'll be expecting us." Tabor said sullenly as they made their way toward the Water Village. "I don't know how long they'll be fooled by a shoddy dye job and a change of clothes."
Phoenix glared up at him, her eyes piercing like a blade, "We'll be fine, just don't lose your cool."
The scene changed into something that looked like it was out of a war documentary. They separated almost at once when the fight started. Tabor stood his ground and sent powerful tremors into the flimsy foundations of the buildings around him. Most were damaged severely if not completely leveled. He felt a cold stream of water hit him square in the chest with the force of a fire hose, nearly knocking him over but he held his breath for a minute and stood against it. Multiple attacks were launched his way and though he managed to deflect some of them, a large well-aimed chunk of ice hit him straight in the back of the head. He bit his lip hard, breaking the skin. It distracted him long enough that an ice blade managed to make a deep cut in his forearm. He gritted his teeth, spat a stream of blood into the dirt and launched a large boulder at the group of Water Users who were teaming on him. They were knocked aside like bowling pins, at least one of them never to get up and fight again. The memory began to lose focus and fade, forces were staggering in numbers, streams of ice and water jetted passed, the searing heat of flame exploded like a bomb and the last thing Tabor remembered was being airborne for a moment before smashing into a stone wall.
The world outside his head flooded with light, and a bright hue of red illuminated his vision. Teetering on the edge of consciousness, he squeezed his eyes shut and groaned; he easily could have been a sleepy middle-schooler fighting the clock for five more minutes of peace. He was brought to full consciousness by the sound of hurried whispers and light footsteps rushing from the room. He opened his eyes slowly, allowing them to adjust to the sunlight that came in from a far window. It was a white room, he would've thought it was Heaven if he wasn't already pretty sure he was going to Hell.
Before he could say anything, he felt a hand clasp around his mouth and heard a quiet voice whisper harshly into his ear, "You need to get out of here before they come back, do you understand? I know you're hurt, but I also know that you're strong. Come on, quick quick!" His eyes darted toward the figure at his side, she was peering up from the side of the bed, a hood obscuring her features. Tabor didn't question her, honestly at this point he just wanted to get out of here and figure out what was going on. He ripped the IV needle from his arm and followed the woman out through an obscure back passageway. As they got away from the building, Tabor looked back and saw it was some sort of clinic but with bars on the windows.
"Oh s**t, they locked me up already? Figures, cheap bastards will take a man while he's down." He commented, though the woman didn't respond. The scenery was unfamiliar, the lack of rubble made it clear that they weren't in the Water Village but it was too rural to be Valhalla either. "Where are we going?"
"I can't tell you. Just keep following, you'll find out soon." The woman's words were concise and Tabor noticed her glance back at him a time or two.
[******** blond hair, I look like such a douchebag.' he thought and then his mind wandered to Phoenix and where she could possibly be. She wouldn't have died in the fight, right? No way, she'd never let herself get killed by the water tribe, she couldn't...
