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 Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 1:24 pm
If she had seen Taizen keeping tabs on her, she might of barked out at him to pay attention. But seemed now he was going with a new vigor. Once she had gathered enough air she drew her hands out from each other separating the air she had gathered. A burst of air sent to the water along the edge of the other side of the boat, dipping it slightly in that direction. With the other she sent at the sail. The boat rocked violently and thrusts to one side. The air current drifted under the boat, colliding with the waves that Taizen and Taikai had been pushing, causing a momentary flat surface. Mentally she apologized to Musei for being so vicious, knowing the poor kid was probably sick from the moment.
She had little time to do the next step but she was quick to slide her feet apart, hands going to one side as she takes a heavy horse stance. Inhaling deeply she thrusts her right elbow to her right side, pulling air back to her only to thrust it out. Taizen and Taikai would feel the side of the 'air shield' burst past them as she focuses all her strength and will to create the shield big enough to encircle the boat. She kept recycling air, pulling it in only to shove it back out. She was attempting to give the water benders a breather before they took their turn to make a bubble or keep the waves off. She felt beads of sweat form on her forehead, it was a strain but she wasn't going to let up. In fact it was like someone lit a flame under her and she was going to help save her friends. Or die trying!
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Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 8:01 am
Musei groaned, pulling himself to a standing position. He staggered a little, the rocking of the boat wasn't improving much, but his sea legs were. That was, of course, until they were yanked from under him. When the boat was tossed, he had nothing to hold onto.
His first stop was the wall adjacent to him, slamming into it with an unkind fury known only by nature. His head collided with the cieling shortly only to fall right back down on his rear, splashing into the thick placement of water beneath him. A bucket swirled past him, and a lightbulb flashed on. I'm no use up there, but I can be helpful down here.
Musei scrambled to stand, and grabbed the bucket. He walked over to where it floated down and saw another bucket hanging on the wall...but just barely. He took it as well and got to work. In the decently-sized space, he swiped both buckets across the ground, the momentum forcing the water into the buckets, filling them up.
He walked up the stairs, both buckets in tow. Sure, it wasn't as efficient as building a shield but at least he was preventing it from sinking. He ran to the edge and dumped both buckets over the side. He picked them both back up and ran back downstairs.
At least it's better than doing nothing. I'd be going crazy!
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Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 9:47 pm
Taizen would have given a full out grin rather than a smirk atNiima's genius, she was practically waterbending! This is what he meant when Air was an element behind the scenes, air could manipulate water, just as any waterbender could, if only at the cost of extra energy. The waves were sslackening where Niima was working, and the rocking of the boat was nothing to the waterbender's who had frozen they're legs in place, and had not stopped they're bending for a moment. Now The ship was moving, not just being bashed upon wave after wave, back and forth, Niima was the third hand they needed to brave the storm, rather than just lie on they're stomachs at it's mercy.
They continued like this, slowly making progress, the rain was slackening, but the waves were still roaring, the sea mist made it seem like the rain hadn't deadened at all, and was still at full swing, Taizen could even make out the occasional figure of a small child throgin bucket of water out, Taizen could feel just a bit of pride for Musei, which was strange because he'd not really felt pride for anyone but himself, and he also felt angry, because the stupid child was risking being thrown off the ship. But he didn't stop him, not that he could physically stop him anyway, the ocean demanded his and Taikai's attention, Niima was indeed a deciding factor, but they could probably stay afloat till the end of the storm, if not as a pile of drift wood that the Waterbender's bended to safety.
The waves were crashing, angrily as bits of light filtered through the sky, the storm was soon to end, but the waves had not yet earned they're pound of flesh, and still battled on, intent on making the boat they're victims before the clouds lifted, and the wind died no longer gave them the ability to rise 20 feet in the air. As it was not yet that time, the waves grew once again, this time from two sides, Taikai and Taizen made desperate attempts to disperse them, but they simpply crashed alongside the boat, to be reborn where it crashed, finally, as the two waves came crashing over the boat, Taikai and Taizen broke free of the ice anchors they'd created for they're feet, and threw they're hands up.
Turning, spinning, and making the same circular motions with they're arms just as before. They're bodies practically doing somersaults as they formed yet another bubble, to save the boat and it's occupants from the two waves crashing over head. The two benders continued doing this for some time; in the bubble, the sound of crashing waves could be heard, ten times magnified, the light filtered into the bubble was greater than before thanks to the lightening up of the clouds. Taikai and Taizen were both sweating, though the sweat was hard to discriminate between water and brine, and the heavy clothing they wore was now heavier still with water. They both made the upward thrust of they're arms as before, breaking the bubble just as before, though the clear sounds of the storms that greeted them were different from the ones that met them the last time, the sounds were less loud... The storm! It was close to it's end!
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Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 10:05 pm
Their bubble came at the perfect time. The crashing waves not only pounded at her shield but her energy as well. The shield dropped just as the bubble went up, her shoulders sagging as she breathed heavily. She was so hankered down that the sway of the boat hardly had any effect on her. She allowed herself to rest for but a moment before hands started sweeping in circular motions, causing air to sweep along the deck and push off any water gathered. The movements where a big sluggish, the muscles in her arms tensed so tight that one could literally see the muscles coiling the flesh tight.
She hardly paid attention. In fact it was like she was not even there..she was on autopilot. Even as the bubble broke she continued to 'sweep' the deck free of water, ushering it over the edge.
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Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 8:10 am
Musei went up a final time, panting a little from the exertion of going up and down the stairs all the time. He poured out a single bucket of all the water; though it only had half it's capacity.
He paused, looking up at the skies. He smiled, light rays popping down between the breaks in the clouds; appearing almost as if a peace offering from nature after the brutal beating.
Musei sighed, leaning on the railing. It wasn't so much the exercise that drained him, but the fear of death. The fear of falling over the railing and into the black beyond of the crashing waves that he could merely hear and not see. It was truly scary; falling into the unknown. "Please tell me...that that's it."
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Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2007 8:49 am
Taikai was panting, almost stooped over as Taizen went to the helm of the ship, he was still moving quickly, but they didn't seem so necessary anymore, as he wavedhisarms back and forth, occasionally, turning and directing awaveof water in the oppositedirection. Taikai wasn't needed anymore, the waves were angry that they're prey hadgotten away fromthem, but they no longer had the power to batter the ship like it had moments before. Taizen could divert the waves by himself, the boat barely even rocked any more. The storm clouds had been replaced by white ones that were scattered about, it seemed the storm was over, Taikai slowly lay down on his back, right there on the deck, panting, and yet, he had a grin on his face. His eyes were closed, and the way his chest heaved with laughter, fatigue, he must have looked ages younger. Any memorieshemust have had,must have been in his prime, and those memories, gave him the experience and energy to drive back the waves with Taizen, through out the whole of the storm.
Taizen did not stop his bending, but turned his head, and called out on deck- though with a smirk similar to the grin Taikai had on his face- "Is everyone okay?" How could the two waterbender'sbein such high spirits? They almost drowned! What if the storm crashed them into some rocks hiddenby the waves and sea mist? The poor airbender's must still be in shock. Because though a rainbow couldbe seen in between theclouds, and icebergs began to pass by the helm of the ship, the prospect of ending the voyage becoming a sweet thought. The waterbender's had laughed at they're near-death experience!
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Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2007 10:05 am
If at any point she had fell off she would of been screwed..royally. Not only because of the tossing waves but for the fact..Niima cannot swim! And yet here where the two waterbenders..laughing it up. They must of been use to this or something. She on the other hand..was not. She had a sullen look on her face though with her back to the waterbenders, it was hardly noticeable. She kept 'sweeping' the dock, ever so often sending air to the sails to drive them forward. She was keeping herself busy so not to think about what had happened. What they laughed at..she feared. And she was half tempted to snap at them both!
Hearing Taizen she kept her back to him, pausing in her 'sweeping' to give a brief swat of her hand to let him know she was alive. No okay..but alive. Then she kinda just went back to cleaning. She had saw Musei so there was no reason to call to him to let him know it was safe.
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Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2007 1:23 pm
Musei just sat there, letting his breath bate a little as he looked at the rainbow above. Laughing. They're laughing. Musei sighed a little. It was excitingly scary, deathly wonderful; the near-death experience just then.
Musei was assured that he would have his first heart attack at twenty-five if this persisted throughout more of his travels. I followed at a whim...it should be worth it. But, it wasn't much of a whim. He had nowhere else to go; no one else to go to. They were, in such a short amount of time, some kind of detatched family.
Probably the longest relationship he'd ever had with anybody.
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 9:04 am
Taikai, being the only vocal person at that moment, slowly answered. "Y-yes, Taizen! We are all okay...!" He managed to gasp out. He was sore all over, no doubt Taizen was too, but wearyness could not stop the thrill the two waterbender's had experienced, especially for the younger water bender who wanted to test his mettle every chance he could. For the waterbender's, the storm was justan unpleasant challengethe sea and moon had createdfor them, though admittedly, they had cheated with the aid of the airbender's, though it wasn't asthough they had anychoice, without they're help, and someone probably would have been washed off deck, or the boat itself would be thrown into a bunch of rocks.
The icebergs were beginning to appear more frequently, slowly, but surely, surprisingly, the storm- thanks to the bender's prowess, and efforts -did not take the boat off course, but rather push it forward. Much forward. The trip that would usually take at the least five days, was cut to three days. On the third day, Taizen calledout to everyone deck, "Were here!" Although his tone of voice had lost much of it's relief and joy from after the storm. The southern water tribe was out in the open, from the ship you could peer down into the low walls that were meant to protect the small village from snow and storm. There was many hovels there, if one had to determine it's size from that glimpse, you could conclude that it was just a bit more than the northern air temple. And yet, compared to the north, it was a hut. When they docked, there was many surprised faces to greet them, the village was small, and closely knit, if someone knew something everybody did. So of course, the welcoming turn out was large. "Welcome to the south pole..." Taizen greeted the airbender's dully, before before casting the rope ladder over and beginning to climb down.
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 12:00 pm
They where both goofs as far as she was concerned. After a few hours she had calmed though somewhat withdrawn at the aftermath.
During the rest of the travel she was mostly quiet, spending a majority of her time teaching Musei basics brought down from her village elders and to herself. Mostly to keep himself balanced. Focusing. Control. Things that could be placed into a daily routine. Other then that and her own practice, she spent most of her time into helping the boat along. There was little rest for the girl. Alteast that she allowed herself to have. She could rest once they where there...
On the third day she was in the middle of practicing a simple motion of bending when she heard Taizen. She slid out of her position and started over to the railing, looking over the quaint little village. It reminded her much of her home. Though the village she came from was larger..the close knit of the village and the grapevine where the same. Her eyes turned towards Taizen, somewhat surprised by the dullness in his voice. Wasn't this..his home? Or was that the North Pole? Urg..she was so tired she didn't know which was was left or right at the moment.
"Kind of reminds me of home before.." Was softly whispered to Taizen. She cut herself off knowing well he knew where it was ending. Hands clasped at the small of her back she would wait patiently for everyone else to get off first.
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 5:13 pm
Musei had been at the back of the ship, even when Taizen yelled for land. He sighed, watching the water. The three days were incredibly long, but they weren't filled with boredom. He was constantly being trained by Niima, the only rest he got was when Niima went to do something or the night came over the sky.
Then, when the ship finally docked and he noticed it stopped moving, he stood and gripped his staff with both hands as he ran forward, jumped onto the railing, and lept off the side. It was after this fact he realized that there were...people gathered there.
A lot of people. His eyes widened as they easily moved to allow him room to land. He stood there on the dock and slightly froze up. It was cold, yes, but the fact that everyone was looking at him was...well...incredibly unnerving. That and he changed his outfit. Normally he wore his bland grey outfit with the coat, but this time he actually wore the blue shirt and shorts that Niima gave him. It was kind of a stalemate, Musei at the end of the dock completely silent and the people only feet away staring at the new, unknown, seemingly crazy child.
This doesn't...they don't seem so...friendly.
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Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 8:21 am
There was a murmur that quickly spread out through the crowd when Musei jumped down from the ship. Most of the younger kid's opened they're mouths gaping, they'd never seen airbending before, and to find a bender in such a small child like them; well it might have sparked a larger interest in the outside world for them. But while most of the kids were astounded, some of the adults had grabbed they're child back and whispered anxiously to the adult standing next to them. Apparently, the thought of a ship bearing airbender's was a fearful thought. In a world where war was whispered almost eagerly among people, sending a captured water tribe ship into they're home, and taking them by surprise couldn't be too far-fetched.
"Home isn't a place, it's a feeling...?" Taizen managed to ask with a sort of humor. A small smug smirk managing to reach his face, before he turned to give Niima an analyzing look, like that of a doctor and a patient. "Are you okay...? He asked. Leaning over the railing to get a bit of a better view of Nima's face. the peering eyes of the water tribe noticed the blue hue, and the brown hair, sighing with relief, this couldn’t be an ambush. Taikai shuffled across the deck, his bag slung over his back, as he slowly made his way over the deck, a grin on his face, he had finally reached the south pole! He cast two teens a cheeky grin and a wink. Apparently, this meant that A) He was happy they had all arrived there in one piece. And B) Since he and Musei were leaving the ship, they could stay on and do whatever they wanted. Hint hint, via. Wink.
Taizen gave him a bemused stare as he left the ship. Such a silly man, he was lucky he was a master bender, otherwise Taizen wouldn’t have even tried talking to him. Once Taikai reached the ground, the water tribe called out to him cheerfully, greeting, and calling. Taikai cheerfully explained everything that happened, and who he traveled with. Even specifically introducing Musei to the water tribe, The water tribe greeted him with various hello’s, and nods. The children immediately swarming up to Musei to talk tohim, and ask him questions. “You can air bend?!” “How do you air bend?!” “Whats the air temples like?” And the like. The water tribe was anxious to greet this brother from the northern tribe. And yearned to know what lay instore in the vast world so far off from they’re tribe. And oh yes, Taizen was back, always a reason to be happy.
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Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 9:27 am
Musei was astounded. His jaw bounced up and down, trying to find an opening to speak if he could even manage to do such. Finally he just gave up and closed his mouth, letting them ask the questions over and over again.
Finally they died down a little, Musei's ears were still ringing however. He looked up at Takai and how warm he was acting with the people, and decided to try and loosen up. "W-Well, I suppose I can air bend. I'm not that good, b-but I'm working on it." All the children gasped, and huddled closer. "I suppose...the only way I can describe it is...grabbing the air around and inside you to use it." They all looked at each other and murmured. Musei smiled a little, more embarrassed than happy.
All the children fell silent again, and Musei sighed. "And the air temples...they...are giant stone buildings carved into mountains. Long, winding paths to reach the actual temple, they sit above the clouds." He was using his hands to lay out the temple, trying not to think on the fact he had an audience. "The air is pretty thin and...the views are amazing."
The kids were slightly astounded, they didn't know exactly how to picture it, but rest assured they were all trying their hardest to imagine what it looked like. In each of the images, there was an abundance of snow, it covered everywhere. But, what could you expect from overactive imaginations that lived in snow almost all the time?
They kept badgering him, they wanted to see air bending. The chatter of the children was starting to become somewhat annoying. His train of thought was that if he did some, they'd leave him alone. God, all he wanted was to be alone. Or at least with a smaller crowd. He pointed at a drift of snow next to the waters, drawing all the small one's attention towards exactly where he pointed. He extended his whole hand and began spinning it in a slow, deliberate circle. He was thinking as he was moving, that none of this would be possible without Niima. He learned so much, in so little time.
Slowly the snow began spinning, narrow at the base and wider on top; a snow tornado. All the young ones squealed and ran through the crowd of adults towards the bank where the tornado was. They jumped around it, through it, and into it. They didn't know that it made it incredibly harder for Musei to keep it up. Slowly it dispersed, and Musei sighed. At least they're gone now. And they were, for about five seconds. They returned, asking for more 'air bending tricks'.
Musei groaned.
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Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 11:39 am
A soft laugh escaped her lips a bit, seeing poor lil Musei getting swarmed. It was good for him to interact with children his age though. If anything will thrive his patiences. Taizen's voice tore her from her thoughts and she tilted her head to him. Home isn't a place..it's a feeling..? Her eyes closed. Didn't she say that to him at one point? Her gaze finally opened to look at him and she would simply nod. "I am fine. Come your people await." She lied. Niima actually lied. She was not fine. But she wasn't going to show it or let it be known either. Why? Why let them know she was exhausted? She would just deal with it on her own. Like apparently she was suppose to.
Her palm turned to usher Taizen to leave the ship next, seeing Taikai was already off and getting swarmed as well. Taizen's turn was next! She would follow close behind and silent.
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Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 1:42 pm
If it wasn't for Musei's moderately deep reserve of patience he would have begun yelling and smacking the children with his staff. Instead he hopped over their heads and began running off of the dock. He could hear them following and wanted to scream in frustration. However, he remained composed as he made a tactical retreat, his destination unknown. Anywhere but being bombarded by children. He slid his staff through the loops in his pack as he plodded across the snow, sliding every now and then.
He was surprised how well the other kids traversed the white plain, but that wasn't a good thing for him. Picking himself up, he began sprinting all over again. As he looked for a hiding place, he began thinking upon why they were so crazed over him. Their older counterparts were receiving them normally, so why were the kids 'freaking out'?
As he flew towards the village, he shouted towards the ship; aimed towards Niima and Takai. "HELP MEEEEE!" This err in his concentration caused his feet to land in the snow awkwardly and he fell facefirst. This was just the opening the kids needed, and they swarmed him once more. Musei remained there, hoping they would be just like animals and lose interest when the thing was not moving.
No, they just began poking him. He kept waiting, and noticed that his face, legs, and arms were becoming numb. This was where he began wondering why he decided to go with them. It was an extreme form of pondering as the kids' attack of pure annoyance didn't let up in the slightest.
I'll just sit here until I can't feel it anymore.
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