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Zumei

Solo: Family Issues

While Zumei had been keeping up her training she hadn't gotten any further in her search for Korra. She had been so distracted by finally figuring out what she wanted to do in life that she had completely forgotten her initial goal. Maybe she was doing the wrong thing by staying and training. She swore to her father that she would go out and find Korra, and where has she gotten with it? Absolutely nowhere. She hadn't encountered anyone that could give her useful information on where to find her, nor had she heard anything about her whereabouts. She was starting to think that all her searching was for nothing. She loved her cousin and wanted to see her again, but with how it was all going she'd never bne able to find her. Maybe she should just give up and try doing something else. She was working really hard with her training and enjoying it immensely, but there was still that constant nagging in the back of her mind that said she needed to find Korra. She had to be somewhere, she just didn't know where that was. She hadn't seen her during the fighting with the Alkidike. She honestly didn't even know if she was there to begin with. She could have stayed out of the fighting and continued traveling for all she knew. There were just so many possibilities that she didn't know what to do. She wanted to prove to her father that she could find her and show that she wasn't just pushing her luck adventuring, but she had nothing to show for it at the moment. Just a hammer and a couple of scars from the war. Though even those weren't really that impressive. She knew if she returned empty handed her father would find some way to scold her. Not that they didn't love each other or anything, but he had said from the beginning she shouldn't go, but she had rebelled and leftt without warning. No she had to go back with either information on where Korra was, or with Korra herself. She didn't think she could face him if she didn't have one of those things. She missed her father, but her pride was getting in the way of her going to visit him. Was it a bit childish? Absolutely. It was probably the one childish thing she refused to let go. She just really wanted to prove herself to him and show that she could keep her word though, even if it took longer than she had originally planned. It wasn't all bad though. She had grown up a lot while adventuring and met a lot of people. She'd even learned some new skills surprisingly enough. Now she could fight with a hammer, knew how to be a waitress, and all sorts of other things! When she returned to her father she wouldn't just be a child anymore. She'd be an adult who knew what she was doing with her life. Maybe once she finished her training she would suck it up and go visit him. She could tell him all about her adventures while she'd been traveling and show off her new skills. It may even be enough to make up for the fact that she hadn't found Korra yet! She could only hope he wouldn't be too mad after all the time she'd spent away from him. At least it would be easy enough to find him. While most wind people were fairly nomadic, her father had always liked staying put. It was comfortable and didn't put as much stress on him, or so he had said. She on the other hand was all for exploring and going out to see new places. It was why they had butted heads so much when she was still living with him. He didn't want to go out and visit anywhere. He just wanted to stay in his nice little home away from everyone. She wasn't sure if that's what he had always believed, or if it was something he came to be like after her mother died. Either way it was one of the big things that drove a rift between them. She just wanted to get out and do things even when she was younger, while he always tried to hold her back and keep her protected. Eventually she'd had enough of all that and told him so. Her father wasn't exactly a meek man, so when she had told him her plan he had not been pleased. There had been a huge argument between them and lots of yelling, and boy did she really hate it when he yelled. Since he was such a burly man when he got angry it was incredibly intimidating. With all of the issues they went through when she left, even after everything she still wanted to come back. She was just afraid to. Her family meant everything to her, and to her it felt like she had been the one to ruin things. She couldn't find Korra, she couldn't face her father, she couldn't even survive very long on her own without getting someone's help. Or so it seemed anyway. She had made all these friends and everything, but in a way she felt like she relied on them too much. She had relied on Eije the entire time they were fighting the Alkidike, she relied on Kauff to show her the way to Zena. If she went back to her father now, would he think she had grown up over the course of her time away, or would he still think she was a child relying on other people to help her get by? All of these things had been playing on her mind and she just didn't know what she was going to do with herself. All of these family issues were driving her crazy and she just wanted everything to work out and be okay. Soon she would go back to him either with Korra or without, and then she would know how she stood with him.

Zumei

Solo: Breaking Point

There came a time in everyone's life where they had to make a decision. Zumei had thought she had already made that decision in the form of picking what she wanted to do with her life. It had taken her a long time to figure out, hell it'd taken her going to war to figure it all out. Still it felt like there was something missing with it all. Sure she'd been training, but it didn't feel satisfying. She needed adventure, fights, all sorts of things. She couldn't do that in her current state though. She had become restless in her master's care. It had gotten to the point where she was picking fights wherever she could. Being rebellious was one thing she was used to, but this was way worse than even that. She'd pissed off the wrong group this time and now she was paying for it in the worst way. It was how she'd ended up chained up where she was now. It turned out the little thugs she stopped weeks earlier had friends. Lots and lots of friends. They'd come for her in the middle of the night while she slept, bagging her before she could even fight back. She'd been useless and flailing, more panicked than she liked to admit. It hadn't even crossed her mind that the thugs would come after her after she threatened them, but she should have known better. It was what she got for attacking before thinking things through. She was really good at not doing the thinking bit. Great at the fighting bit though. The fighting bit was her favorite part. If only she could do that more without any consequences. As it was she was paying dearly for not thinking, so maybe it was time to set herself straight. She didn't really know how thinking would get her out of this mess alas. Really she thought her only option was to go in fighting and hope for the best. That would require her escaping her bonds first. Oh the joys of getting caught in a bad situation.

"Come Zumei. Think, think, think. Use that shriveled little brain of yours and get yourself out of this mess somehow. This is no time to be stuck here when there are far more exciting things to do!" she chanted to herself, attempting to wiggle out of her chains. It was no use unfortunately. She should have known that wasn't going to work out all. How was someone going to wiggle out of metal chains? She could maybe break them somehow. Smash them against a big rock or something rough to get them open in some form or fashion. That was a little bit better than her attempt to struggle out of them. She just needed to figure out where exactly she was. Everything was a bit dark, with only a small candle lighting the dim room. She really hoped she was in the same town. That was a stupid thought she realized after it went through her head. It was still dark out. It was way too cool for it to be sunny outside. She'd have to be way far under ground for it to be that dark if it was day time. If only her teacher would bust her out. The old man was sure to be around somewhere. Unless, oh. She really hoped the thugs hadn't harassed him to get to her. That thought alone sent her into a slight panic. What if they had gotten to him? He was just an old guy, surely they wouldn't get after him because of something she did to them. They were thugs though. There was a good chance they would do just that. Fearing the worst, Zumei really was determined to free herself now. If her master had gotten hurt because of her she would never forgive herself. No, this wasn't the time to be sulking about getting caught by these goons. It was time for action in one way or another. There was talking upstairs. She could hear it, faint, but there even so. She couldn't make out anything other than muffled grunts, but she could only hope that they were distracted enough to not hear her trying to escape.

Even through all of this, she still hadn't thought of a plan! There was a wooden chair nearby. Maybe close enough for her to reach if she tried really hard. It was an option at least. Straining herself, she nearly yelped as she felt something pop in her arm. She had to just stretch a little farther though. Almost there and....ha! Her foot managed to hook the chair and drag it close enough to her to settle on. She was chained up sure, but the chain was hooked onto the wall, she supposed in case they needed to remove her and transport her somewhere else.

"You just need to balance on the chair long enough to get yourself down. Then me and the old man run off to freedom. After showing those crummy thugs whose boss of course. There's no way they're getting away with this!" Zumei nodded, eagerly trying to hop up onto the chair and instantly regretting it as she slammed into it roughly. Luckily she caught it just in time before it toppled over, but if she wasn't careful the noise alone could draw their attention. She had to be smart about it all, but boy was that hard for her. All she wanted to do was smash everything and be done with it. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself before trying again. Ever so slowly she slid up onto the chair, struggling as it wobbled on two legs. The chains began to lift as she raised her arms, just a little more and she'd have her sweet freedom. After several failed attempts and nearly losing the chair for good, the wind was free. For the most part. Her hands were still chained together, but at least she could wander around and wasn't stuck to the wall. Thankfully her weapon wasn't too far away. Really, who were these guys just leaving weapons lying around? No wonder she had been able to beat up a couple of them the first time with no trouble.

There was no way out from where she was, that meant she would have to go upstairs and knock some heads around to get out of there. Exactly what she needed at the moment. She hesitated as she made her way towards the stairs, pausing as she heard the voices clearer now. From the sounds of it there were only a couple of them, but who knew if the rest of them were asleep or simply gone for the night. She hoped it was the second option more than anything.

"Y'know I was expectin' more of a fight from the old man. He didn't do much of anything. Just sat there waitin' for the beating," one of the thugs laughed, nudging one of his companions with his elbow. Zumei could feel her blood begin to boil at their comments. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. They really had gotten to her master after all. Of all the rotten things to do that was the worst. He was a quiet man who had done nothing wrong. The old man was still fine. They just ruffled him up and that was the end of it. They were after her anyways, if anything they should want to hurt her instead. If they had so much as done a single thing that couldn't be healed she would make sure they never left that room ever again. Growling lowly, she tried her best to not let her anger get the better of her. It was a time to think. She just had to keep reminding herself that. Now that she knew the old man was in the same boat she was she needed to change her strategy. If they knew she had escaped they would surely harm him more. She had to somehow get up there without them knowing and get him out of there.

Creeping up the stairs, she spotted the two she had heard earlier. The others had indeed left, and they were the only ones in the building. Besides another body sprawled out on the floor that was. The body was not moving, but she knew just who it had to be. Her master was here, they had said so, and that had to be him there. Before she could stop herself she let out a sharp cry, barreling up the stairs and towards the two men. The surprise attack had left them unguarded at least, to the point that they'd only managed to get a stab at her in before she plowed them over. With the two of them now in the same position as her master, she leaned over the man trying to see his state. One look told her all she needed. She was already too late. She'd screwed up badly getting into it with them, and now she'd paid the price for it. Not only was he gone, but the other two who had done it him were long gone as well. She'd disposed of them without thinking and now she had all of their blood on her hands. She was horrified and numb, going through the motions of leaving the building. She had to escape. She couldn't stay. They'd be back for her and now they had even more of a death wish for her. Everything was her fault and she wasn't sure what she should do other than to run. So she did. She ran and never looked back. She made her choice to be a reckless fool, and now she had to deal with what came with it all.