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Rp entry In Earth Kingdom territories

Summary: Ina meets Avani and insists on getting stories from her.

Solo rp--

"Ina! Quickly, help me raise this mast!" the girl was like a bolt of lightning, shooting off the starboard and racing to the indicated mast. The sailor smiled down warmly at her. He'd once been a soldier, but he was now past his time to fight and found solace in the sea.

He could've been her father, possibly even grandfather, now he thought on it. Of course, if he had a grand-daughter he'd hope the girl wouldn't be anything like Ina. Fond as he was of the girl, she was too much like another of the guys and too little like the proper dutiful women he was accustomed to. Undoubtedly this had something to do with being raised on a ship, but it was still something he didn't think he would have been able to deal with if it were his own flesh and blood.

The girl shoved her small frame against the weight of the mast, sending it towards the direction it was meant to go. Her arms were bare, she was dressed in little more than skivvies. It was simply too hot to wear much more, and the guys were used to it by now. Besides, there were no passengers for this voyage, only cargo.

She had already taken stock of that, and had been about to start mopping when the old ex-soldier had called her over. She supposed it'd been because no-one else was around-- the rest of the sailor boys were belowdecks gambling or somesuch thing that she'd never really taken an interest in-- but she sometimes wondered that he seemed to like to single her out. She was pretty sure it was less because of who her parents were than because she was a girl, perhaps, or for some other unknown reason.

In fact, the man singled her out primarily because he liked to make her feel useful. He wondered sometimes how her parents could be so blind. How could they raise a young girl in such an environment? What must it be like for her, who had never had any proper friends, had never gotten to go to a proper school? At least when he gave her tasks to do, she had something to keep her mind busy.

He tied the mast in place, watching her. She was getting bigger every day, it seemed. He still remembered when she was small and he and the other sailors were instructed to watch out for her, and teach her about the ship. He remembered when they'd first discovered her ability to fire-bend and nearly set the ship ablaze. He wondered how her learning was going. She hadn't had an instructor for quite some time.

She leaped onto the edge of the boat, a dangerously small perch for her feet-- one false step and she'd be in the ocean, drowning in the water as the ship took her under, more than likely-- but she liked it that way. The more dangerous, the better really. She lived for the thrill of adrenaline rushing through her body. It was like shocks of excitement in an otherwise thoroughly boring existence. Sure, she had moments where interesting things were happening, but that was only when there were passengers on board.

Her favourites were world-weary travelers and fire-benders. The travelers always had the best stories, and the fire-benders kept her entertained by teaching her new tricks. Good tricks. Stuff that helped out a lot in the rare fights that broke out, or when the ship was attacked by bandits. Being attacked was an even rare occurrence, but a lot of fun.

She contemplated what to do next. She no longer felt like mopping, and the deck didn't really need it anymore anyhow.
"Would you work with me on my archery again, Shiro?" she asked.

The man sighed. A proper little girl wouldn't want to learn archery. She'd want to pour tea and arrange flowers and do whatever else it was that little girls did. Play with dolls, perhaps? No, Ina was probably too old for dolls now anyhow. He nodded,
"Go fetch the bows."

Well, the least he could do was keep her entertained, anyhow, even if he didn't approve of her source of entertainment. What else was there for a girl like her to do on a boat trip with no passengers anyhow?

RP Entry In the Fire Nation still

Summary: Ina and Tsai Shen match wits and exchange stories and baubles.

Growth to Teen

Solo Rp-

Eighteen years old. Ina was nearly an adult! She whistled into the air as she scrubbed the wooden planks that served as floor for the boat. Her parents were sure to buy her something magnificent for her birthday. Maybe it'd be a new set of calligraphy inks. She was running out, and she had asked them for some. There were some really pretty pens she'd spotted in Ba Sing Se a couple months ago. Hand-carved and everything. She'd love those.

And maybe a new book to write in. She was running out of space for her stories. There had been more passengers than usual over the past year, and she'd collected so many stories it was becoming difficult to keep them all straight in her head. A water tribe adventurer had either ventured discovered ancient ruins or run into fire nation territories during the war, she couldn't remember which. It might've been the earth kingdom bender who'd discovered the ancient ruins, now that she thought about it.

At any rate, a new book would be lovely.

"Ina, your parents would like to see you out on the dock," Shiro had a strange expression on his face-- one she hadn't seen since she was quite young. She set the soapy water on a ledge and headed off to the docks, ignoring it. She hated when he got those looks-- it was like something important was happening that she didn't know about, but which made him sad. A lot of things about her seemed to make him sad, though, and she tried to ignore it as much as possible. What was she to do about it, afterall?

Her father and mother stood near what looked to be a beautiful brand new ship. It was a small thing, but serviceable as a merchant vessel. She had to admire the thing-- she wondered briefly if it belonged to her parents, but it was really too small for their purposes. Why would they need a new ship anyways? She knew they loved their ship, and it was still perfectly functional. Maybe not brand new, but still in good condition and would probably serve them the rest of their lives, if not hers.

"Happy birthday, Ina!" Her mother came to her and gave her the gentle barely-touching sort of hug her family always seemed to use, kissing her gently on the forehead as she did so. She let the girl go and ushered her towards her father.

"Happy birthday, daughter," he said, not even bothering with the hug but instead bowing to her,
"We know that you wanted a calligraphy set, but your mother and I feel that perhaps this birthday is too important for something so small."

Ina blinked. Her gift was going to be bigger than a calligraphy set? But then how would she fit it on board the ship? And really, what could she possibly need other than that? Her father motioned towards the boat beside him, and realization dawned on her,
"You...I..but...really?" she all but squeaked out her surprise, rushing forward to look at the boat.

Her father laughed, "Yes, Ina. Your mother and I felt it was time to perhaps let you begin your own ventures. We will do everything we can to help you get started, of course. And this is only for when you feel you are ready..."

Ina wanted to scream, to run, to throw herself at both her parents. But, she knew it would be inappropriate and unappreciated by them. They would be much more pleased if she kept her composure,
"Thank you, father! Mother! It's beautiful!"

She took stock of the boat, assessing it fully. It really was a lovely vessel. And now all her dreams...she could sail wherever she wanted, be free as the wind and the sea! She could set off in search of new treasures and adventures and exciting new things!

It was certainly the best gift they could have given her.

RP with Toshiro here

Journal Entry:

I've met a couple of really interesting people lately. Dao Rui of the Airbending nation is absolutely a fascinating individual. At least, she -was- an airbender at some point-- because she's got the tattoos and everything-- but she doesn't act like any airbender I've ever met before. She's tough and smart. She helped protect my parents' ship, though I still am not positive why we were being attacked anyhow. It was a very odd couple of days, to be certain, when she was on board.

And then I met Toshiro. He lives in the Fire Nation, and is attending some sort of soldier school. He's veeeeery serious, though. I got him to lighten up a little, which was fun. I think I'll be seeing him again, too. I mean, he -is- in the Fire Nation, and my parents spend more time there than even in the Earth Kingdom.

I also met this fortune teller in the Earth Kingdom. He put me in the direction of some possible crewmembers for my ship. The man he directed me to seemed really excited about the idea. So, I now have..uh...about three sailors ready to go.

I'm still trying to build up some funds to get my ship started, though. We'll be making a trip to the Water Tribe territories soon, and I have a bit of a stockpile of things to sell there, so hopefully that'll give me something to start with. I still think it'll take another year or two before I can really set sail, though.

Travel Log:

Water Tribe territory

(To come)

Rp at the Spirit Day Masquerade here