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 Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2006 8:23 pm
Her mismatched eyes observed the trio but eventually landed on the elderly man. A smile rushed across her lips and a hand rose to wave in return. Guardian landed but she remained mounted, attention momentarly shifting towards the lad who took flight. Impishly she snorted, bending just enough air to send the lad for a surprising loop. She knew the kid had been up to no good, simply by the fact he was retreating so quickly. Maybe that would teach him to think twice in whatever he had done.
Her attention snapped back to the now pair, her head dipping down slowly. A single, unclothed hand rose to curl fingers about her straying hair that was catching the wind and constantly getting into her face, carefully tucking the strains of titan behind a ear. That smile though, it never left her face, "Salutations. Are you seeking the warmth of the temple?"
Please say yes! Her mind just about screamed it out as she spoke the words. She was pale from the cold but the sheer fact that she could feel the melted snow wetting her garbs was about driving her nuts! It surely didn't help with getting warm.
She kept a distance from the pair, mostly because..well..she didn't know them. Who knows where they are from..what they are carring..if they are friend or foe..And in these ages..it was always best to be prepared.
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Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2006 8:34 am
The old man smiled, and nodded. "Yes, after our travel from the north pole, it would be nice to be in a decently heated area. Miss...?" Taizen had since averted his gaze from the lady who had dropped from the sky on a giant tiger.
Well, if he was to guess. A tiger-pigeon, but he didn't want to voice the question, as it might have been disrespectful. He smirked as the girl made a small motion, and the boy's glider wobbled, quite obviously shocking; or scaring the boy. Maybe this woman wasn't so bad. "Speaking of warm places, you look like you've fallen through a pond of ice. If it would comfort you, then let us head over to the temple immediatley, before you become an airbendersickle." The old man raised an eyebrow at Taizen's last word. Was that the slightest mention of humor within Taizen?
"I comply with my pupil here, if it wouldn't be so bold I would bend the damp right out of your clothes. But I do not expect you are used to the customs of the northern tribes, and might feel this... imbreaching upon your privacy." Taizen had to roll his eyes, he had no reason to think the old man was a pervert, until now of course. Yes, children who had no bending skill did seek benders out in order to avoid frostbite. But the old man... by La!
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Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2006 9:35 am
"Niima," she lightly responded if not to finish the elder man's sentence, "I am also a few weeks old into this area but I know it well enough to guide you to the temple. The monks here are quite friendly."
She noted the one who looked around her age to look away quite quickly. Good grief did she look THAT bad? And when mentioned of the 'airbendersickle'...she mused on it for a moment then fronted a innocent look. "Airbendersickle? I've no idea what you mean sir. But yes, lets head inwards."
She blinked at the old man, apparently his offer either went right over her head..or she was playing dumb. But truly..did she seem the type to miss exactly what he was saying? After a moment she flashed a smile. "No need! I will be nice and warm once we are at the temple." Almost as her words spurred him on, Guardian whipped around and started heading towards the temple. The sudden motion nearly knocked her off but her hands where quick to straighten her unsteady waver from the movement.
After a few feet she looked over the feathers and to the two, waving a hand in motion for them to follow. Once she was settled her arms folded and she began to rub her upper arms. She didn't realize how cold she really was until after she had been reminded..And she was indeed..quite cold!
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Posted: Sun Oct 29, 2006 5:22 pm
Taizen nodded, at her name, it was foolish, but he found he was increasingly... critical. He had labeled Kazuki as a man-woman. And thinking back now, the fire bender they met a while back was overly sensitive. Ryain was a drama queen and.., Well, this girl seemed way more normal. "Define normal." He thought, reflecting back upon himself. He was selfish, solitary, and before he went to the north pole, he spoke only in phrases. And quite frankly, he scared people away. "I'm not normal." He concluded. Following Niima.
The old man stretched out when they reached the temple, rubbing his lower back in a covert fashion. He looked very serious, and Taizen wondered if the climb up had been too strenuos for him. The old man smiled at the warm temple, and Taizen almost coughed as he sent a cheesy and lecherous grin at one of the elderof the female monks. (Taizen was wondering if the front of they're heads was bald out of custom or if it was because of age).
The old man then turned his attention to his frosty clothes. Taizenwas already remedying the damp in his clothes by bending it out. He had closed his eyes, and was moving his hands around an imaginary ball. The snow on his body melted into water, and said water drifted up inbetween his hands, creating a ball of water.
The old man did the same as Taizen. Once the two were dry, they raised they're right hands up into the air. The water ball stretched out into a whip, and together, the two benders turned and shot the water whip out into the snow. "Oh, forgive me, we have not properly introduce ourselves." The old man said bowing (Taizen noticed the old man grimace) "My name is Taikai Kashikoi, and my pupil here, is Taizen, Nagare."
Taizen bowed as well. "It's a pleasure." He said roboticaly. When someone says it's a pleasure, they usually say it with a smile. Taizen was smart. But he didn't seem to think he embreached upon any unwritten rule. Taizen wasn't trying to lie to Niima or anything, but he just wasn't the kind of person to show much emotion.
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Posted: Sun Oct 29, 2006 6:38 pm
Once they had reached the steps of the temple Guardian came to a stop and she was quick to leap off in dismount. With a breath of a whisper her feet touched ground and she turned on her toes towards the pair. While they where busy in the process of drying off she wandered off a few feet to snag one of the more familiar monk's attention. It wasn't long before she returned, her head craned to the side as she watched the performance.
She smiled softly in admiration for the teacher and student bond the two seemed to share. The smile didn't fade as the elderly man turned his attention to her, finishing what started as introductions. She was quick to notice the old man's discomfort and she was well aware between the cold chill and the hike up, they both had to be sore.
"A pleasure indeed," bowed in return. Apparently she didn't seemed, if any at all, affected by Taizen's impartial nature. She remained her usual cheerful self and would help if she could, "Master Dyn has said there is a room down the hall that you two are welcome to use during your stay. I'm sure both of you are exhausted. I can show you the way if you wish."
While she spoke she divided her attention to watch the large feline trot off, in the direct her room was. Probably going to take a nap now that she was up. gee, thanks! Shaking her head she looked back towards the two.
"May I suggest you both visit the bath house to sooth your aches. The steam room is quite refreshing." She was somewhat worried for the two. They looked as if they where well travel worn..Ah but who was she to them? A stranger and nothing more. Can't befriend the world..she learned that the hard way years ago.
She waited for their reply on leading them to the quarters, busying herself by removing her bandana and using it to tie back her hair. It would of helped if she had caught all the hair but several strains where missed and where determind to frame and cling to her face.
Maybe it was time for a haircut...
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Posted: Mon Oct 30, 2006 4:43 pm
The old bender made to bow again, but Taizen beat him to it. "Thank you for all of your hospitality and help, and if I can help in any way with chores. It would be a pleasure." He said his mouth turning up into a smirk. Taizen held his hand up to his face and with some difficulty changed his smirk into a smile. "Eh, Taikai, you head on to the steam house. I'm sure the heat and water would do wonders for your-" The old man shot Taizen a glare. Then gave the air benders a smile before walking off towards the bath house. He did not like being labeled as weak, or neccesary of different treatment.
Taizen winced before becoming impassive again. "That hypocrite... Learn to be humble... He's one to talk with his pride..." Taizen hoped the airbenders hadn't noticed anything. He tended to push people away because of peoples beleif in they're own judgement. It was better to be Isolated, than be with a bunch of people ready to stab you in the back for a wrong action, or even for voicing a 'wrong' thought.
"It would be nice to to see the room Miss Niima. If it would not inconveniance you, I'd also like to spend some time with the airbending teachers here, in order to think more... Airbender-like." He finished lamely, his battle with toh jing still fresh in his mind.
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Posted: Mon Oct 30, 2006 7:30 pm
Ohhh She had noticed the teacher shooting a look towards the student. But most held their pride close, such was the way of a true warrior spirit. And thus she just offered the elder man a light smile, almost as if apologizing. After all she was the one that brought up the bath house.
There was a pause before she looked back to Taizen and her head slowly craned to the side, much like a feline that was confused. "I appricate your offer, but the chores are my duties. And would be ill of me to agree to let a weary traveler to do my duties. If you want chores to help out I am sure the monks will gladly give you something to do." She couldn't help but grin at that, her head returned to normal position and her hands clasped at the small of her back.
"I'll be glad to show you the room...but..You will have to ask the teachers if you can observe. After all, I am still just a student myself. I am sure they won't mind you watching practice and such. You can even go out to the fields, some airbenders tend to play airball which will let you observe some techniques." While she spoke a hand moved, raising to a single digit towards the direction of the airball field, her face holding somewhat of a thoughtful look on it.
As her hand slowly to her thigh she turned on her heels and started off towards the direction of the room she had eariler spoke of. There was a small pause in step as she looked over her shoulder and at Taizen. And here was something he most likely wouldn't like...she tended to be very blunt, regardless if others liked it or not. After all..if not to speak what you are thinking would only be lying. "This way to the quarters. And..you do not have to pretend around me. Be yourself.." Yeah it was kind of easy to tell he was having trouble with smiling. In fact he looked as if it was a heavy struggle. She smiled softly then turned away, she wasn't bound to admit the smile was kind of cute, struggle or not. Her hand rose again as she started to walk, "This way," she chimed as she motioning for him to follow.
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Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 9:11 pm
Taizen nodded making a mental note to help the airbenders in any way he could. Listening to Niima, his head followed Niima's finger out onto the area where a large field of poles had been erected, he thought he saw movement at the top. He nodded, and followed Niima.
When Niima spoke of acting normal around her, he did not know what to think, immediately he felt vulnerable. Surely he had given no clue to him acting differently. Taizen quickly recovered his senses and smirked. "I am acting normally. Who's to say I'm not?" He asked Niima with his trademark smirk. Smirking was his way of smiling. He was just so used to smirking at people that he couldn't smile.
The smirk vanished. "By Twee I don't know how to act normal." Taizen said immediately giving up on his pride, this girl was an incredibly kind girl. He couldn't help but feel guilt at trying to scare the girl away.
Taizen's logic was this: He was not going to live at the northern air temple. After his time there, he'd leave, and maybe never return. What did it matter if someone saw Taizen, without a guard.
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Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 9:29 pm
Tilting her head at him she flashed a roguish grin. "Do you normally force yourself to smile with your hands?" She swatted a hand as if to dismiss his words of not knowing how to act normal, the grin slipping into a smile. "I meant only, if you do not 'smile' on a norm, then do not force it. Don't force things that are out of your normal."
She didn't seem to realize that she was prying at his guard. It came with being blunt at times. Scratching her head she slowed in step, just now realizing her clothing was still soaked. And yeah, she was currently feeling the chill. She blinked as if realizing and shook her head, resuming her normal step.
"Sorry. I tend to be overly blunt. Not meant to offend," She slowed to a halt at the doorway to the quarters she had spoke of. In a swift movement she turned on her heels to face Taizen, "If you want I can go get something for you to eat. I am sure you'd rather rest then make way across the temple for food."
Hee. Actually it was more of a excuse then anything. To change into something warmer. She was surprised her toes where not blue from the cold! She knew she looked as if someone had thrown her down the mountain side..wait..someone did or atleast close enough to it.
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Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2006 10:59 am
Taizen huffed and crossed his arms. "I 'smile' just fine, thing is, I don't smile correctly." He said as though it were some kind of disease rather than a habit. "When I normally smile, people think i'm conceited. apparently" Taizen smirked to emphasize his point.
"I'm fine, we had provisions when we were coming to this nice temple." He said, he was beginning to wonder how Niima could bear guiding Taizen through this temple when she was soaked head-to-toe, and pale as snow! "You wouldn't happen to have some distant ancestory to waterbenders do you? Because you look like-" He stopped, realizing how foolish he was being. "You've got snow all over you! Have you got any common sense? Get going! Head on over to the baths, or something, you must be freezing!" He exclaimed pushing herin the direction Taikai had gone.
Taizen was definately not the stereo type for normal. But if normal people would harm themselves for other people, he was positive he didn't want to be normal. "Get going!" He shooed, making a sweeping motion of his hand, and apparently, 'sweeping' the snow off her body out a window at the same time.
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Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2006 11:34 am
Her lips parted as to say something about his terms of smiling but found herself being shooed off. As he pushed her along she shifted sharply, dodging the push so to step aside.
"Trying to get rid of me are we. I see how it is," She lips curled up in her own lil smirk, swatting a hand in his direction. The smirk faded and her features became un readable rather quickly. "Fine I'll go, but I am not heading to the bathhouse. I was just going to go to my room and change after getting you some food. But seeing how I'm being..'dimissed' I guess I'll just take my time now."
Was she teasing? Or was she actually offended? Was kind of hard to tell by the way her features just slumped into a tonless mask. She was of course playing around, knowing fully well it was probably going to come back at her in a bad way. Ah well. She pretty much could figure Taizen wouldn't be staying long. Vagabonds rarely did.
Turning on her heels she started back the way she had came, hands clasped at the small of her back. "If you need anything, my room is on the opposite side of the grand entrance, fifth room on the left." And she left it at that, walking idly along the returning path. More then likely he could hear her chuckles echoing off of the walls as she moved away.
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Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2006 7:07 pm
Taizen smirked. "Be like that, it'll remind me not to worry about other people!" He said, as Niima washed the emotions from her face, and began to leave with her pouty mood. "You're wasting your time, I'm the creator of that emotion!"
He called as she left. He wasn't entirely sure if he hadcreated the 'emotion' but he couldn't think of anything to call it later. "I'll see you at those big pillars in three hours!" He called asshe turned the corner to leave. "I might, 'need' your presence" He called, the smirk returning to his face, he was of course talking about the air ball field.
He returned to the room Niima had directed him to,looking around it, and placing the flask of water on his bed, while tucking his flask of wine underneath the bed. So that any curious teachers, or some young aribender could not find it.
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Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2006 7:58 pm
They seemed to get along somewhat. They could tell when each other 'joked' atleast. Which was good in her case, she tended to overplay at times. Her head poked around the corner after hearing his words and she playfully stuck out her tongue before disappearing once more around the corner.
"Try not to tear down the temple with your snoring." Apparentley she figured he said three hours because he was going to take a rest. Then again it could be a joke on her about how long girls usually take to dress. But she liked her's better! She chuckled to herself as she made her way to her room, looking about the nearly bare room until her eyes settled down on her mat...which was covered by a certain feline.
"Tsk. Leave me to take care of the guests are we?" She smiled a bit as she moved to her her rucksack, opening it and digging through it. Since her stay at the temple she had been given a few personal items which was nice. Now she actually had stuff! Changing from her wet clothes and into something drier which ended up being simple airbending garbs. Not that they strayed far from her normal cold-weather wears. Flopping down next to the feline she began to put on her boots, sighing a bit.
Seeing travelers made her nostalgic. So many of her own years where spent in traveling and she would of admitted it to anyone, she kind of missed it. But having a static place, even for a short period of time, was nice too.
Shifting the grass and bead bracelet around her wrist she looked at Guardian. "He's strange isn't he?" She grinned a bit as Guardian simply answered by dipping his head between his paws, pretending to sleep. "Yeah..I know..I know.." He was a stranger that would leave, so why grow attached, right? She was trying..really..
Untying her hair she began to come the wet locks with her fingers. Did he really mean three hours? After a few moments she pushed to sit up, deciding to relax and get in some simple 'practicing' in. Legs crossed she placed her wrists onto her knees, palms up. Eyes closed for a moment but one would crack open and she looked over at her wet clothes. Fluid motions of hands circling outward and to the left where made until her palms where outward from her body. A swift motion forward to the clothes and she sent a strong gust of wind to dry the clothes. Lazy..yes..but still a mild way of using her airbending skills. She mused as she looked at her now tossed clothes. Okay so not lazy..resourceful..
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Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2006 8:16 pm
Taizen fell onto his bed Exhausted, he had felt like nothing had tired him, but he just realized how tired he was. His eyes were beginning to feel Heavy, And Taizen stretched a bit, and fell asleep. Content in the soft bed.
He woke up as he heard snoring. The old man had entered the room while he was sleeping, and chose to sleep. Thus, condemning Taizen to the torture of the world of consciousness..(Is that How you spell it?)
Taizen Stood up, cracked his back. And went through one of the fastest practice motions for waterbending. That, at most. Would consume two of Taizen's movements. Taizen tapped where he stood, making a mental note where he stood now, was where he would be standing, after the movement.
He brought his hands up to shoulder height, moved to the left, put hishands out. took a half step back, and a half step more to the right. He pushed the invisible water near him, and then pulled back. Then, he stepped back, and then repeated the pushing and pulling motion. Then, turned and raised his hands to greet the moon, which would begin to rise in... Taizen stopped his movent upruptly, and looked out the window.
The shadows implied that the sun would be setting soon, he even thought he saw the shadow of the moon. He ran his way to the bath house, finding the mens bath. And taking a rushed bath. Quickened with waterbending. He had felt sore from his climb up, and thought that a trip to the bathhouses would help soothe his body. After drying himself off. (With yet more waterbending) He put his clothes back on, and looked up at the sky. The sun had begun to set. And the moon had begun to rise. "Good, Times almost up..." He said, walking towards the air ball field.
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Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2006 8:37 pm
Minutes passed. And hours passed. At some point in time she had lounged back against Guardian and passed out. Darn feeling for waking her up early! She was woken up by a nudge of a cold nose to cheek and she creeped a eye open to look at Guardian. Ears flattened against his skull she could only imagine..he was hungry..
"Go get your own food. You know the monks in the kitchen will fee-" THUD! As she spoke, Guardian had gotten the idea and quickly left it's position as her pillow, leaving her to land on the floor. The feline took no time to paw it's way out of the room to find food.
Sitting up she rubbed her head and faked a sneer in the feline's direction. "You are lucky I adore you!" was called out as the feline left. She slowly stood and raised her arms, stretching them longly over her head before they collasped to bend over her head. Head tilting she looked out the window, staring blankly for a few moments. She dazed out for several long minutes before snapping to attention. Ruffling out her hair she begins to move towards the door, pausing as if forgetting something. Shrugging the forgetful feeling off she started out of the room.
"Wonder how late I am.." she mumbled to herself, still not quite awake as she made way to the pillars she was 'required' to be at. Circling one of the pillars she would find comfort by leaning against it's structure and slowly sinking down to sit on the ground. Looks like she made it first so she would just wait. Her head bobbed slightly until her chin lowered to rest against her collarbone and her eyes closed. No not sleeping! Just..uh..resting her eyes..yeah that's it.
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