A:TLA ~ Crossing worlds

[Alessja]

YEAR 17, MONTH 08, DAY 01, afternoon ~ (18r50)
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Three months had passed since she left everything she had, and things proved to be harder than she thought the day she made that decision. Iris sighed staring at what she now called home: it was a small structure made by wood. She followed all the instructions her old teachers gave her when she was in the military academy but something was terribly off. A crack noise came from the roof, and then it collapsed inside the kitchen, for the second time that morning. She kicked her small house, destroying the whole living room with just one move. Now she was getting really angry: not only that damn thing was smaller than the bath tube she had at the Royal Palace, it was as stable as her father's politics! Sozin laughed, apparently amused. "At least you're having fun" she sighed, grabbing her almost two years old son... and when she did it she couldn't help but noticing he smelled awfully. And his clothes were dirty. Again. "We're not supposed to live like this" she complained, thinking about what she left behind. Her servants... her daughter, all alone, sourrounded by snakewolves who just waited for the perfect occasion to get rid of her. A vague sensation of guilt took her and she shook her head, trying to get rid of it: she had to take Ilah away from the her enemies, away from that traitor called Antkantos. But how could she do such a thing without putting Sozin in danger? Without revealing herself?

She crossed the field she used to grow vegetables; it didn't look very good, but no one ever taught her how to grow plants and she had to figure that out by herself, though though took too much effort and very few results. It was clear she couldn't rely on that the next winter. Luckily she was a good hunter, but her experience told her she had to do better if she wanted to survive without help. She climbed down to the river and put down the child on the riverside. "Time for a bath, little prince!" she announced, moving the rocks to create a pool inside the river.

don't mind the year/month thing, I'm just too used to get rid of it xp it helps me think chronologically

[Shadow_DarkPhoenix]

Kai Terra

Kai paused for a moment and looked around. It had been a while since his friend and love, Amy Blue, a Water Bender, had given her life to protect him from a group of Fire Benders, and even longer since he had left his family and Ba Sing Se. He had grown as a man and as an Earth Bender, but only had one regret: losing Amy. He let out a small sigh, shifted his pack on his shoulder, holding the handle with just one hand. Around his left wrist hung a blue necklace, Amy Blue's necklace, which she had given to him. He knew that he would need some water soon and continued walking, trying to find a river or something to refill his water skin. He heard the sound of talking and, when he looked in the direction, he noticed a woman, who looked a little older than himself, Kai being only 26 years old, and a young boy, who he guess was her son. He moved closer and cleared his throat, then, out of respect, he bowed to her. "Hello there." He said. "Is this your river? I'm just looking to refill my water skin." He then said politely. He turned one foot on the ground and pulled his free hand up, a small pillar of earth rising up. He put his pack onto it, then returned his attention to the woman.

[This is just basic, I know. I planned more, but when I wrote this, I was tired.]

[Alessja]

YEAR 17, MONTH 08, DAY 01, afternoon ~ (19r50x2) +150
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Iris was so busy she barely noticed something moving next to the river, but she didn't pay much attention to it, sure that it was Sozin, playing around with pebbles. Who else would get there, in the middle of nowhere? That was precisely the reason why she decided to move to the mountains: no one around, no questions about her past to answer. Then she heard a voice, and she realized immediately it couldn't be Sozin, speaking like that: she jumped up and stepped in front of the baby, ready to fight in order to protect him. To tell the truth the other guy didn't look like he meant to harm anyone, but she couldn't be sure. He looked like an Earth Kingdom citizen and that was more than enough to suspect about his reasons.

"Hello there" he said, bowing respectfully. Iris blinked, confused. She wasn't used to people treating her with respect. Well, not in the Earth Kingdom, at least. "Is this your river?" he asked politely, probably without even knowing how ironical that question was. She wondered about it: well... from a certain point of view that was actually her river, and her land. The whole world was supposed to be hers. She sat next to her child and moved a light gesture towards the river, allowing the earthbender to go forth and refill his water skin, with her mind still busy on that thought. She waited till the young man was far enough from her, then she took the baby and holded him tightly, without even knowing why she felt so scared. The earthbender didn't look like an assassin, nor a pirate and she had no reason to fear them, moreover since everyone believed her dead. She kissed Sozin's head glancing uncertainly towards the foreigner.

She waited for him to come back from the river, then she stood up, still holding her son: "I'm sorry for my poor manners" she apologized. "We don't see many travellers on these mountains. You're the first in months, actually... and I'd appreciate if you didn't tell anyone you met us here" she added, looking a little more nervous than she wanted to.

no problem, and forgive my grammar, English isn't my first language and sometimes I just can't get it right wink

[Shadow_DarkPhoenix]

Kai Terra

Kai gave a small smile and bow, then retrieved his water skin, opened it and knelt by the river, dipping the open water skin into the flowing water, the blue Water Tribe necklace around his wrist flashing slightly in the sunlight. Once he felt that it was full, he replaced the lid for it and stood up, then placed it back into his pack and turned his attention to the woman and nodded. "That I can understand. And don't worry, I won't tell anyone about that you're both here. I mean, I have nothing to gain from doing so, and I doubt anyone would believe me." He said, then pushed the pillar of earth back into the ground and picked up his pack, slinging it back over one shoulder. "Anyway, I should get going. Thanks again for allowing me to refill my water skin. I need to find somewhere to rest and build a temporary home." He then began walking away, but paused and looked back at home. "Earlier, I felt something collapse onto the ground. It wouldn't have anything to do with you, would it?" Kai was just curious. He had felt it through the earth.

[Alessja]

YEAR 17, MONTH 08, DAY 01, afternoon ~ (19r50) + 200
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Something flashed on the guy's forearm and Iris couldn't help but staring at it. It looked like one of those Water Tribe necklaces the girls used to show off they were engaged, like they didn't brag about it more than enough. It was at least curious to see an earthbender... a male earthbender... wear one, though she didn't say anything, that was none of her business anyway and she had bigger problems so far... such as finding a place to sleep. "I won't tell anyone about that you're both here" said the guy. Iris nodded: "thanks" she answered politely, while she took Sozin's clothes off: the baby was still wearing the blue tunic he had on when the pirates stole him, but it was now dirty and ripped. The woman gave it an unpleasant look as she dropped the tunic to the ground, unhappy to realize there was one more thing she couldn't do: she didn't like her son to go around dress like that, but as much as she hated it she couldn't do anything about it, for she had no idea how to fix a ripped tunic... that wasn't exactly what they taught her in the military: she was trained to lead men in battle, not to do a servant's job. And it was only now, she realized all what they did for her. She tried not to think about it, moving fastly towards the river.

"I felt something collapse onto the ground. It wouldn't have anything to do with you, would it?" asked the guy, reminding her what happened, once again. Iris snorted, pushing Sozin into the cold water. The child immediately begun to cry, but she ignored him, forcing him into the pool she created till she cleaned him properly. "Maybe it has" she retorted, yelling louder than her son, annoyed.

Only when the dirt came off Sozin's face Iris finally grabbed him back, and took off her dark green over tunic to wrap him inside and wipe him up. As he felt his mother embrace him Sozin's sobs became less frequent, till he stopped crying. "It was that damn storm, yesterday. It soaked the wood that I used to build us a repair and now it collapsed" she answered angrily "it took me more than two weeks to build it! It seems I just wasted my time" she added frustrated. She didn't use to talk that much to anyone, actually. She grinned at that thought: it was curious how her secluded life made her appreciate the sound of human's voice.

[Shadow_DarkPhoenix]

Kai Terra

Kai remained impassive as the woman spoke. By the tone of her voice, it was obviously a sore subject that he had touched on, but then again, if he hadn't asked, then things would've gone a different way. "I'm sorry to hear about your home, and I apologise for touching on it, but I can help you there. To repay you for allowing me to refill my water skin, I'm more than happy to Earth Bend, Sand Bend and Metal Bend you a sturdy house." He said. "It's the least I can do, and besides, you both definitely need somewhere decent to live." He then added.

[Alessja]

YEAR 17, MONTH 08, DAY 01, afternoon ~ (3r20) + 220
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Iris rose her head, looking perplexed. "Why?" she asked bluntly, then her gaze softened up: "I mean... we need a decent place to live, that's for sure. But why are you helping us? You don't know who we are! We could be bandits... or worse" she pointed out, suspicious as ever. Then she picked up Sozin's tunic, and without taking her eyes off the guy she went back to the river and did her best to clean it. Not that much was left to clean; she shook her head, disappointed at that sight. She could get back to the closest city and then buy him something better to wear, but what if anyone recognized her? Everything she did to protect her son would have been wasted. Sozin, lying on the ground with his mother's tunic wrapped around, was now trying to free himself, kicking furiously the cloth. Luckily, if he even was a bender, he was too young yet to use his powers.

[Shadow_DarkPhoenix]

Kai Terra

Kai gave a small smile at the woman, as if he knew something she didn't. "Well ma'am, there are three ways that I can tell that you're not anything like that. Firstly, I've been using the earth to, well... 'see' how your words were affecting you through vibrations. Earth bending stuff. Secondly, there were plenty of chances for you to attack and take me down, and thirdly..." He held up his left hand, allowing the Water Tribe necklace to dangle free. "I've learned to keep an open mind about everyone. I believe that you aren't anything like that."

[Alessja]

YEAR 17, MONTH 08, DAY 01, afternoon ~ (3r20x2) + 260
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Iris blinked, surprised. She didn't know much about earthbenders. Most of what she knew about them was that people in the former Earth Kingdom didn't grieve as they should have for her death. Nevertheless that guy was right. The times when she attacked people just for looking at her in the wrong way were long gone, and she didn't care much about what they thought either. She squeezed Sozin's tunic to drop the water. "You didn't fully answer my question, though. You explained why you trust me, but what could you possibly gain by helping me?" she pointed out, addressing the earthbender.
Meanwhile the child actually managed to free himself; he sat down and took one of the pebbles on the riverside, then threw it into the water, splashing his mom. He seemed to find that amusing since he laughed and took another pebble. He tried to repeat what he just did, but this time the stone almost fell on his head. Iris reached him quickly and she picked him up once again. "No! Bad thing!" she angrily scolded him. "Baadin" he repeted, looking so sad she rolled her eyes. Maybe she was too hard on the child. On both of them. "Listen... I'm sorry, I'm just tired. I'd really appreciate your help" she told the earthbender. "Let me start this over, properly: my name is Anthea" she lied, bowing politely as people in the Fire Nation used to do.

[Shadow_DarkPhoenix]

Kai Terra

Kai shook his head. "I'm merely a travelling Erthbender. I have nothing to gain from helping. I'm just helping because you could use some help." He said. "Besides, it's been a while since I wanted anything." That time, he spoke more to himself. He then heard the apology and smiled, waving it away, then he bow in his own Earthebender way. "My name is Kai. And I've had worse. At least you didn't attack with physical weapons Athena." He said. When Athena had given her name, Kai had immediately felt the vibrations that indicated that she was lying, but decided to go along with it. "Anyway Athena, if you'll show me the way to where you would like the place to be built, I can get it done." He really wanted Athena and her son to have a proper place to live, and once that was done, barring any event that may occur, he would move on and try to find somewhere to camp for the night. Something was telling him that Athena was more than she appeared, but whether it was actually the truth or him keeping an open mind about her.

[Alessja]

YEAR 17, MONTH 08, DAY 01, afternoon ~ (3r20) + 280
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"Anthea" she corrected him. "Teea" confirmed Sozin, pulling his mother's hair, that was now shoulder lenght. She didn't have it cut since she left the home land, five months before and she really missed all the elaborate hairdos the maids made for her. She sighed, reminding herself again why she decided to leave: at least no one tried to poison, stab or try to murder them in any other way in the last three months. "This way" she said easily climbing the cliff with the child in her arms; that was another good reason she had not to regret the life at the royal palace: no paper work to do, more time to train. Even her firebending skills improved and were now really close to perfection... if only she could show it off with anyone but an 18 months child!

She crossed her field, not caring much about the bad looking salad she had there: she wasn't going to eat that thing anyway. There was a pile of wood partially standing against the rock wall; she showed the earthbender "Well... this is what we have left. Perhaps... could you make it bigger?" she asked, moving away with a sparkle in her eyes.

[Shadow_DarkPhoenix]

Kai Terra

"Right, sorry Anthea." Kai said with an embarrassed chuckle. He glanced at the child for a moment before smiling, then followed Anthea, making sure that his pack was still with him and securely closed. He noticed that the crops growing weren't in the best shape, but decided to avoid saying anything about it. He noticed a pile of wood and took a moment to think, then glanced at the rock wall and rubbed his hands together. "Yeah, sure thing, just... stand back." He said as he put his pack down and walked over to the wall. "Did you want the wood and all that kept?" He asked, then, while he waited for an answer, he quickly put his hands against the rock wall, his fingers going into the wall, then he gripped and pulled back, pulling a large block of stone out. "Earthbenders tend to use the earth, stone and all that to make their places, and I'm no exception." He explained, then began working on the inside, motioning and stomping to bring sections of the stone either down or back into the base wall and worked on making different rooms. Using his Earthbender was freeing for Kai. It was a part of him.

[Alessja]

YEAR 17, MONTH 08, DAY 01, afternoon ~ (15r50) + 330
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Iris stepped back, leaving room to the earthbender. "Did you want the wood and all that kept?" asked him. She shook her head: "I don't mind. That was just the only thing I could find to build us a repair... but as you can see by yourself it didn't work out anyway" she answered, watching him pulling walls out of the rocks easily as if he was moving paper panels. "Well, you spare a lot of time this way, that's for sure" she answered, not particularly impressed. She was one of those people who firmly believed that firebending was the only worthy bending in the world. She knew that a skilled earthbender could beat a firebender, but still that was never her case, so she ascribed that to the incompetence of the firebender more than to the bending itself. Besides... how could anyone think to compare such a dirty and lowbrow bending to the refined power of firebending? Sozin didn't seem to like that kind of bending either, because as soon as the ground begun to shake his eyes filled with tears, and he started crying again.
Iris hugged him tightly and rocked the child, trying to stop his tears: "it's just earthbending, sweety. There's no reason to fear it" she whispered to him, following the earthbender inside their new house. Now was less claustrophobic than the hut they used to live in, but was still less than half the room she had at the royal palace. "Hey you!" she addressed the earthbender "please, don't think I'm ungraetful, but... could you make it twice this size?" she asked with a confident smile on her face.

[Shadow_DarkPhoenix]

Kai Terra

Kai soon finished creating Anthea's new place and walked over to ask her what she thought, but then he heard her request and nodded a few times. "Sure thing. Just... be careful. This part is actually a different process... at least, for me." He then ran to one of the sides of the stone house and jumped, kicked it with both feet and jumped off. The two feet kick had pushed the wall out. He repeated this process with the other walls and the roof, which took a couple of hits, then nodded. The stone house was now double the original size. He looked around and nodded a few times. "Well, that was fun." He then chuckled at his own words before turning to Anthea. "Anything else you want to add or change?"

[Alessja]

YEAR 17, MONTH 08, DAY 01, afternoon ~ (15r20) + 350
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Now, that was more like a living place! Iris nodded, touching one of the smooth, solid walls. Finally she didn't have to worry about the roof collapsing on their heads while they were sleeping. She never liked so much a plain rock wall before. Iris gave the guy a happy smile; "Anything else you want to add or change?" asked the earthbender. There were actually a few things she could think of... "Well..." she mumbled, while trying to hush her child "can you use your bending to carve some furniture? This little explorer does his best to put himself in danger every time I'm doing anything but watching him..." she explained, looking at her son. "I could really use a crib. Oh! And a fireplace! Maybe more than one. I bet this place gets quite cold during the winter... and a bed for me. Maybe you could separate the rooms and... water! I know something about hydraulics... if I'm drawing you a sketch... do you think you can use your bending to create a plumbimg system?" she asked, getting more and more excited at every word.