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 Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 6:48 pm
(This RP is set up for the four kidnapped children only. Ayla was recently included in this tally along with the three boys.)
Down in the very last floor of the dungeon of Hiyama's military base, four children will wake to find themselves. They have each been placed in a single cell, though all of them are side-by-side, and any weapons or other loose items have been taken from them.
The bars look old, but they're sturdy. Judging by the rest of the long, poorly lit hallway outside their prisons, and how unclean the area around them is, this floor of the military base hasn't been used in quite a while. In fact, chances are it's so long forgotten none of them, even the children from the Fire Nation, will recognize where they are.
The floor is far enough down no one above will hear them should they yell out or scream.
Have fun, kids!
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Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 6:59 pm
Shen-Ru was groggy. Surely this couldn't be a normal sleep he was waking from. The boy slowly blinked his eyes open, struggling to get his vision to clear from the fuzzy mist that had apparently overtaken him, certainly not helped by the dim light. He sighed softly and moved to roll over onto his side, reaching for where his lamp would be beside his bed, only to realize a few things.
One. He was not in bed.
Two. The soft cloth was not his lamp.
Three. This was NOT his room.
The boy scrambled to his feet quicker than he thought himself capable, only to trip over his own unresponsive feet and his robe, tumbling to the ground with a hiss of pain and unhappiness - how ungraceful and embarrassing. But that wasn't the concern at hand, certainly not. He really needed to figure out where in heaven's name he was. So he fought with his vision more, trying to adjust to this dim light and see what it was that he had touched in his search for his lamp that was not there - what a surprise it was to find that it was another child, boy or girl he couldn't quite tell yet.
What was going on?
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Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 7:16 pm
Ah... so another was awake now. Toshiro didn't say anything, amber eyes simply watching as the young boy in the cell next to him- Earth Kingdom, if his clothing was any indication- stirred. The young archer had awoken quite a bit earlier- perhaps two hours ago? Two days ago? His head still ached from the blow he had been dealt, so he knew that enough time had not passed for healing to begin, at least. But other than... he had no idea where he was. He could easily be in the Earth Kingdom, but the other children- two others, or so he could make out in the dim light, thanks to his heightened eyesight, were all of different origins... Another Fire Nation, like him, and another thin frame further down, but it was impossible to determine gender or allegiance. Clearing his throat, which was parched, he tried to gain the attention of the young one that had just awoken without alerting any possible guards.
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Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 7:30 pm
Tingzhe awoke to the sound of a boy clearning his throat, and the memory of screaming. He shot up, tensed to move, sure that the smoke would smell and the lights must still be falling and people were running everywhere, he had to get to Lu Lu, he-
Ugh. No. What?
Tingzhe felt fuzzy. Fuzzy and funny and wrong, with his limbs too heavy for his body. It was cold. There was not enough light for him to cast a shadow.
So Tingzhe got to his feet, ignored the throbbing of his head. Rehearsing flips on a strained knee was way worse, and the ol' man would never let him get away with slacking off because of a few aches and pains.
"Awww, man." Tingzhe sighed, whipping his head back and forth to take in his new surroundings.
Then he loudly destroyed any attempt Toshiro might have made to to be subtle.
"I don't got time for this."
He ran his hands down his torso. Coat, yes. Whip, no.
Tingzhe blew a thin, weak stream of fire at the lock on his cell, then kicked the bars below it, stubbing his toe. The brief flare of light showed that there were three other kid-shaped things in there with him.
"What the heck!?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 9:52 pm
A soft groan left the girl's lips. Slipping a hand beneath herself, she pushed herself upright, her other hand pressed against her throbbing head. "What happened?" Frowning, Alya rubbed at her eyes, while attempting to recall her thoughts. She...had been playing outside with her ball...and then what happened? Everything between now and then was a blank.
Her eyes flew open as she belatedly realized that there were scuffling sounds coming from around her. Was there someone else there? "Brother?" She asked, pressing a hand against the cell wall and standing up slowly. The legs ached in protest, having been unused for some time, but she ignored it.
The next thing she knew, someone was speaking rather loudly right beside her, and a small, flicker of light came and went. The light lasted long enough to make her realize two things however. One, the others she was with were all complete strangers, and two?
She had no idea where the heck they were.
Alya was completely silent, running her hand though her short hair nervously before finally saying, "Mm, pardon me, but who are you guys? And where exactly are we?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 6:04 am
Shen-Ru had jumped when another cleared his throat, turning quickly to face the source of the sound, trying to see the other. Then there were more who were waking, and he watched with wide as they all realized they were not where they belonged. There were too many here, too many strangers, and it caused Shen-Ru's breath to hitch and his panic to rise, hands clutching tightly at the sleeves of his coat. Nothing moved in it - his brush, his small book for writing, his ink, it had all been taken apparently, which made him even more unhappy.
The Earth Kingdom boy scooted aside a little, trying to put a little more space between himself and the others, not responding as he was asked his name. He saw no reason to give his name, because, hopefully, they could find a way out and never have to deal with this sort of situation again... He hoped.
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 11:49 am
Toshiro winced as the other began to speak. Still, it helped him judge how many others were stuck down here with him. He wished he had his journal, to jot down his observations... But he wouldn't have been able to use it anyway, given how low the light was. With a scowl, he shifted from his position against the wall, and moved as quietly as possible to the cell on the other side, where another boy- a Firebender, though Toshiro doubted his skills, given the rather weak display- was being kept. "Keep your voice down," he said, voice soft, but firm. "We don't really need to be alerting who through us down here that we're awake, do we?"
The young archer didn't know why they were down here, who had put them down here, or even if 'they' were even still around, but he wasn't willing to risk further harm to himself- or any of the other's- by completely blowing the only advantage they had. And it was an iffy one at that. Awake or not, their captors obviously had the upper hand on them. "It would be best if we all stayed quiet for a few moments," he added, his voice slightly louder so that all of them could hear him, if they bothered to listen.
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 1:10 pm
Tingzhe caught the bossy boy's eye, then deliberately turned away.
"'Cos we're gonna be fakin' out the Firebending ninjas?"
He spread his hands in supplication to Agni, white coat fanning out behind him, before rolling his shoulders and setting about pacing the dimensions of his cell. If he couldn't jump, he'd pace. Moving was thinking.
Ten paces down. Ten paces across. The bars pressed in. Tingzhe felt like a shirshu cub at the zoo, pacing his cage and dreaming of testing his claws in the open fields.
This was going to SUCK.
The young Firebender stopped his pacing on the girl's side of the cell and bright his hand up in an extravagant chopping motion, creating a cascade of flickering lights. There was more art than power to his bending, but the results were unquestionably pretty, shimmering against the dark grime of their dungeon.
Tingzhe made out the form of an Airbender girl, before the flames sputtered out. She looked very, very young.
"Tingzhe Ma," he introduced himself, with an impish grin and an extravagant bow. It was easier to summon up his stage persona than to be angry, or hurt, or scared. The ol' man would tell him to stay in character, no matter what! The stage was all about discipline. "White Star of the Yongjia Circus. I know why I'm here. I'm valuable. So don't worry, okay? If ya got grabbed with me, I bet you gotta be valuable too."
Yeah. Yeah, right. That was the ticket.
"Hey- hey, didn't mark me up, did they?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 3:59 pm
Squinting a little, the girl could just barely make out the features of the others in the dim light. Her gaze drifted in the general direction of a boy's voice. A small frown found it's way to her face as he spoke. "Alerting who threw us down here?" Alya repeated, softening her voice. "Then...we've been kidnapped, or something?"
She was rather slow.
Running her hand through her hair once more, her fingers brushed lightly over a small bump on her head. Well, kidnapping seemed like a logical explanation.
Noticing the sound of soft pacing, the young airbender shuffled closer towards the source of the sound, stopping in front of the other cell. Through the bars, she studied the boy as well as she could in the darkness. The moment the cascade of lights had appeared, however, Alya had let out a startled yelp, stumbling backwards and landing rather ungracefully on her bottom.
Looking up just before the flames disappeared, Alya caught a brief look at the other boy, and...
What a cool coat! She'd never seen an outfit like that. Momentarily forgetting their situation, Alya let out a soft, almost whispered, laugh as he introduced himself. "Nice to meet you! I'm Alya," A pause, "I like your coat." Ah, and a circus, was it? She had never been to one of those...though now was not the time to think about it.
"...Valuable?" The girl repeated, knitting her brows together. "I...don't really think I'm valuable? I mean, I'm not really in show business or anything like that..."
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 5:33 pm
Shen-Ru scowled a little as he watched the group, finding them all so... so different and strange in his mind. He sighed now and moved to press himself to the nearest cell wall, wrinkling his nose in distaste, since he had a feeling he wasn't going to enjoy the future conversations that would occur.
Why did this have to happen to him? He really didn't understand. "Silence would be good," he commented quietly, glancing at the other three and frowning a little. "People could come anytime. Speaking is pointless."
And then he was quiet again, slumping against the cellwall again and scowling once again.
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 6:09 pm
The young archer sighed, and smoothed his hands across his head, moving a few stray strands of hair out of his eyes. So much for trying to keep quiet and lay low. When the young girl spoke up, Toshiro nodded, even knowing more than likely that she couldn't see him. "Why else would we be down here? Someone had to bring us down here." He carefully touched the knot on the back of his head, where the man- he'd never even learned the curr's name- had hit him viciously enough to knock him out. Damn it, if only he knew more about this whole thing... Who had taken him? And where had they taken him too?
"Do any of you have any idea where we are?" he asked finally, his voice still quiet, but more out of habit than seeing any real need to keep his volume down. He was a soft-spoken, serious young man, after all, and he saw no reason to change this now. "I'm going to venture a guess, and say that we're in the Fire Nation... But I don't know how long I was out, so I suppose your guesses are as good as mine."
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 6:28 pm
"I was in Omashu."
Tingzhe stood up on his hands, then fell into a backbend. It was an oddly absentminded gesture; not that any of the children could see well enough to tell.
"On opening night. Opening night. I can't believe it! I'm missing the whole show."
And Lu Lu, who'd smelled like rotten meat on the roasting pit, bellowing out her agony. Their crowd stampeding. The ol' man somewhere Tingzhe couldn't reach.
He was glad no one could see his face. Especially not the little girl. He was a boy, right? A Fire Nation boy. People could say what they wanted about players having loose morals and whatever, but they had honor too.
"I'm doing my thing - real slick, right? I practice all the time - and this guy comes out off cue. I figure he's a new hire, yeah? But he- he was a bender, and- it was so messed up- it-"
He forced a laugh, pulling back up into a crouch.
"He threw me off my timing, is all. It was tragic. I was on fire like you would not believe."
The pacing resumed. He'd thought they'd want money. From the ol' man, maybe. Like a highwayman would demand. But this was-
What if Lu Lu didn't make it? Or the tent started on fire? Or the ol' man-
No. Ringmaster Zhen was fine. The show would go on without Tingzhe. He wasn't sure if that was comforting or not. The idea that they'd take his name off the billing like he'd never existed- it made him ache.
Tingzhe rattled the bars again. They were old, but there wasn't any chance that they would budge.
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 7:23 pm
Standing back up, the young girl proceeded to do stretches, to loosen her rather tight and cramped muscles. It also helped distract her from the situation. "It's going to be okay." She murmured to herself, in her most cheerful voice. "There's always a bright side to things, if you look at them from a different angle."
The young airbender found a thoughtful frown spreading itself over her face as the other Fire nation boy spoke. "I suppose you're right," She said slowly, hesitantly. "But...why?" Why were they taken?
When he spoke again, Alya found her heart skipping a beat. Swallowing, she shuffled her feet nervously. "The...the Fire Nation? Why would you say that?" If that were true, that would mean she was rather far from home. What about her parents? Her elder brother? Were they alright?
"Bright side of things, bright side..." She whispered to herself, again. It was easier said than done.
Tingzhe's story hadn't helped calm Alya's nerves either. On the contrary, it did the completely opposite, and the young girl gave a small flinch. She didn't know what to say. If she expressed her sympathies, would she just somehow be adding salt to a wound? Instead, she decided to keep quiet.
Watching Tingzhe in the darkness, her gaze drifted to the bars of her own cell, and the tightly shut cell door. Moving towards it, she gave her own door a little shake, before frowning. Oh, there had to be some way to get out of here, but she couldn't think of anything...and her airbending wouldn't be of much help now, would it?
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 7:38 pm
"The Fire nation, yes..." murmured Shen-Ru, speaking for the first time and lifting a hand to fiddle nervously with his earring, glancing at the other three, from one to the next, as they each spoke, before he bit his bottom lip and tilted his head back against the bars, closing his eyes. Ugh... it was so strange, so stressful. He needed to write, but he couldn't, because his ink, his pen, his scrolls and papers had all been taken from him. Leaving him all on his own and with his thoughts tumbling about in his head without any sort of control or flow to them.
"It seems likely we are there. I wish we were free." Shen-Ru squirmed and moved to fiddle with his braid now, feeling jittery and awkward, so awkward. The boy looked towards the bars. Was there any chance that he could get out? Hardly. He was quite weak... He moved, though, to try his bending, to see if he could shift anything with any of the minor training he had with it.
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 8:02 pm
Toshiro shrugged again, knowing full well none of them could see. They would need to remedy that soon... Sight was always an advantage, wasn't it? The boy next to him, the one prattling on about some circus... He could firebend, something that he had never picked up in his lessons at school. If they could find something to light... His thoughts were interrupted when the young girl questioned him. "I say Fire Nation simply because that was the last place I was. But since Tingzhe- that was your name, yes?- said that he was last in the Earth Kingdom, so obviously our last locations isn't anything to go by."
He paused, and moved closer to the cell that contained the circus performer. "You can firebend, I saw. Can you find anything maybe to set fire too? A little more light would help in judging our surroundings." He forced himself to speak at what would be considered a normal volume. Now wasn't the time to be quiet. Not when something serious had obviously happened to them all.
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