Welcome to Gaia! ::

So, I recently undertook the task of writing a story, about one of my oldest characters, Smew.
And, here is Chapter 1, haven't had it beta'd or anything, so, criticize me if you wish. :3

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The Adventures of Smew, Or, The Traveling Jester.

Chapter One

“Eva flies away
Dreams the world far away”

A lone figure walked down the country road, humming the same tune over and over again, seemingly walking aimlessly down the road.
His appearance was dark at first glance; his long overcoat was weather-worn and quite raggedy, his outfit underneath did not attest to much more either, his white undershirt was dirty; in fact, it looked like he had worn it for quite a few months.
His black slacks looked passably clean, possibly from wading in the water.
His face was well shaped, most of his facial features angling upward, giving him the appearance of an elf, or a prince, his eyes were a deep red, showing untold knowledge, and he had a scar angled upwards on his right cheek.
Thanks to his dark appearance, be it planned, or otherwise; many of the passerby’s avoided him by walking on the opposite side of the road.
If you had asked any of the villagers, they would have sworn to you he had been walking up and down that road for days, which would be mostly true, he had been walking up and down that road for days, nobody knew quite why, only that he stopped at sundown, began at sunrise, and spent the night at the local tavern.
This particular night holds some significance to the story, as on this night there was a rather rowdy posse of ruffians taking refuge in said tavern.
As the wanderer finished his daily rounds on the road, he made his way to the local tavern, taking mental notes of everything he saw.
He walked inside, shuffling past a few drunken men brawling with each other, before having to pull one drunken, passed out man off a stool and tossing him aside onto the floor.

“Round of Vodka if you would, Barkeep.” He said, huffing himself down onto his chair.
“Right away, Sir.” The barkeep said, bustling about the counter, cleaning on his way.

The brawl soon escalated to a higher level, nearly 15 men fighting, half of them wearing matching coats.
The noise kept growing and growing, and soon the wanderer shouted out.

“Hey! Hey! Hey! Would you guys please shut the hell up!?”

But still the fight raged on, and as the largest man drew closer to the wanderer, he stood up, and gave him a swift jab right across the chin.

“I said, shut the hell up!” he yelled, staring down at the man on the floor.

The man slowly stood up, and turned around and stared at the wanderer with such rage, it would be unbearable to any man.

“And just who the hell do you think YOU are? You little twerp!” The man said touching his jaw to make sure it wasn’t broken.
“My name is none of your business, but if you refuse to be quiet, I will force you to be.”
“Sonny, do you know who you’re messing with!?”
“Are you going to shut up or not?”

At this, the man took a swing at the wanderer, which he evaded by ducking, and then punching the man straight in the kneecap, causing the man’s knees to buckle as he fell straight back down to the floor.

“If you want more…” he said, standing back up straight, “Go ahead and get back up, otherwise, as I said before, shut up.”

As he said this, the large man sprawled on the floor became even more enraged, so much so, he immediately hopped to his feet, and attacked the wanderer’s legs, which caused him to fall face forward onto the ground.
The large man jumped on top of him and they began wrestling back and forth, neither gaining an advantage over the other, after a few minutes of the wrestling, the large man had finally pinned down our hero thanks to his size.
2 of the man’s friends had gathered around, and were pulling out their daggers, and they began closing in on the helpless wanderer.
But not for very long, as he managed to get one wrist free, and palmed the large man straight in the chin, sending him flying off of him.
The wanderer then hurled himself up straight, walking a few feet forward to regain his balance, before turning towards the other two men, and staring them down.

“We’re gonna cut you up good, we are!” one of them shouted, thrusting forward with his dagger, before dropping his dagger and grabbing his wrist in pain as the wanderer smashed it with another open palm strike.

“Ow! The hell was that for!?” He screamed, staring back at his other buddy.
“Ey! Why don’t you take a swing at him!?” he yelled at his friend, who was looking quite terrified.
“..No, No way man! I’m getting out of here!” he yelled back as he began to run out of the tavern, quite drunkenly.

The wanderer dusted off his hands before looking down at the large man and stating; “Oh, yeah, my name is Smew.” With that, he regained his seat at the bar.

As he slowly downed his vodka, he noticed that the room had grown much quieter, in fact, most people had taken seats, and all eyes were on him… Smew.
The night went on slowly, and without much trouble, the music began playing and the merriment was continuing on, no thanks to the gang of ruffians who had finally quieted down.
Smew simply sat and paid no heed to all that was going on around him, he simply needed to think, was that note real? Could he really be expecting… her..?
He shook his head, the letter had no basis, nobody could have tracked him down like that! And why would he be of such interest to her at this time?
She? She was a phantom from his past, a dark illusion of what he once was, she was... Scarlet.
He had to know the truth though, it bothered him to no end, but he wouldn’t know for another few days, which is why he spent them pacing the street.
The clock struck midnight, and most of the drunken people were wandering off to their rooms.
Smew still sat and thought, before finally throwing his hands up in frustration and getting up from his seat, he couldn’t think, not with so much bothering him.
He walked off to his room, telling the barkeep to put it on his tab, which had grown rather large in the past few days.
He walked up to room 14, unlocked the door, and went inside before shutting and relocking the door.
Smew wandered over to his bed and sat down on the side of it, he wouldn’t be able to sleep with the state of mind he was in, nor would he get much rest otherwise.
He then snapped his fingers and decided to take a walk; perhaps visiting a peaceful sight would calm him.
With that mindset, he opened his window and silently climbed out, they would be locking up the tavern by now, and he wouldn’t be able to get out through the front door.
The streets were silent as he walked, nothing was in his way, and nobody was there to stop him, he had no distractions.
He walked to what seemed familiar, a lone tree on top of a hill, the moon high above, it rested only a mile or so from the tavern, and it seemed to be peaceful enough for him.
As he sat upon the hilltop, and rested his head down in the grass, his thoughts began to wander, and the questions bogging his mind down began releasing their hold, and he was free to think once again.
As his thoughts wandered farther and farther, and the hill he sat upon began feeling more and more familiar, until finally, he closed his eyes, and began to dream.

It was a warm summer night, the moon was full, and they were but two lovers enjoying their time together.
They had decided to take a walk together, to get away from the festival, and so they had walked all the way to this hill-top, where it was just them…
Smew laughed as he looked at her, such beauty he had found! No other man could be this lucky! She had to be the one he was going to marry.
She slowly looked up at him, a devious smile on her lips.
“What?”
“Nothing… It just amazes me every time I see you.”
“What amazes you, dear?”
“How beautiful you are…”
He always knew how to make her blush, how to make her heart rush, how to turn the bad into good, and he always made her feel oh so good…
“Wow… It’s beautiful up here, Smew.”
“Isn’t it?” he replied, moving one of his hands around her back.
She blushed a little, staring up at him, he simply stared off into the moon, she had to touch his face, she reached up, and slowly ran one hand over his right cheek, feeling the smooth skin, not even any stubble, he must have shaved for her, she giggled at the thought.
He looked down at her, a soft smile upon his lips.
“Yes?” He whispered, his voice was still commanding, but soft at the same time.
“I don’t know, I just… wanted to touch you, I had to make sure you were real…” her words drifted off as he took her hand from his face into his, and gripped it tight.
“My dear… I am real, And I’m right here in front of you, we’re together, and that’s all that matters.” He smiled as he said the last part, staring into her eyes, showing her that he could never lie about that sort of thing.
“Oh… Smew.” She said, gripping his hand a little tighter.
He loosened his grip on her hand a bit as he sat down on the cool grass of the hill, helping her down as well.
She leaned over onto him, smiling, a very small smile, but still noticeable, she shivered a little.
Smew wrapped his arm around her, trying to warm her up, as it was a very cold night.
“What’s on your mind, hun?” He asked, petting her arm.
“I don’t know… I’m just glad I’m here with you, that’s all.”
“Oh? Well… That’s good, I’m glad too, we haven’t been able to be alone in quite a while, and I’ve missed the feel of your skin.”
She giggled a little, and he turned to her, his face very close to hers.
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing.” She smiled a bit wider, staring into his piercing red eyes, they were beautiful.
He couldn’t speak, she was so beautiful at that moment, he couldn’t help himself.
He leaned forward, very slowly, and planted his lips on hers.
This was his first kiss… he wasn’t sure what to expect, what he got was more than he expected, as she met his kiss with one of her own, moving her lips along his.
They simply sat there, the kiss not going anywhere, before they broke away from each other, staring into each others eyes.
“Wow…” They both said in union, staring at each other, before Smew couldn’t help it anymore, and practically pounced on her.
She seemed to be willing to fight back though, as she quickly pushed him over onto his back, playfully pinning him down, pressing her lips to his, kissing him passionately.
It continued for a few minutes, and was intensifying with each second, nothing held them back, in mere minutes, Smew was at her entrance, ready to take the plunge.
He stared at her, there seemed to be a little fear in her eyes, as he looked down at her beautiful face, her body… her…
“Are you ready..?” He asked; the deepest kindness in his voice.
“I… I think I am…” She said staring up into his eyes, her hands gripping his arms tight, she wasn’t sure if she could do it.
“Alright, I’m going to do it…” He said, flexing his muscles, before an unfamiliar voice spoke, and darkness was all that was left.
“Smew… Smew… Wake up.”

Smew shot straight up, wiping the sleep from his eyes, an unfamiliar figure standing above him.
“Took you long enough.” The voice above him said, she sounded familiar, too familiar.
“Who..?”
“Doesn’t matter, what does matter is the events taking place, Smew, time’s drawing near, and so is the blade, you must choose your path.” The figure said, adjusting her weight.
“What in the world are you talking about? What blade? What path? What’s going on?”
“The blade of time spares no one Smew… and you’re the one chosen to save those whom you can.”
“How do you know my name? Answer my questions! I will hurt you if you don’t stop!”
“Silly man, I’m the one talking here, as for how I know your name… I’ve been watching you for a long time, we all have, but that’s not important either, Smew, you must choose, yes or no?”
Smew blinked, the girl hadn’t even asked him a real question yet, what was she talking about?
“Just who the hell are you!?” He raised his voice, standing up straight, towering over the small figure.
She must have been around 5 foot, short red hair reaching to about the bottom of her head, it seemed to be spiked back and forth, she also wore a mask on her face that was half black, half white, a devious smile painted onto it.
“You don’t need to know yet, just answer, Yes, or no, Smew?”
He blinked again, in the blink of his eye something had changed though; she now had a katana in her hand.
“I’m going to have to ask you to hurry with your decision, time is short, Smew.”
“How am I supposed to answer!? I don’t even know what the question is! You’re insane!”
At the word insane, her posture seemed to change, was she going to attack?
“A simple yes or no will do, will you save, or will you die? Time is short, and death does approach, so give me your answer, now.”
Death was approaching? What did she mean?
“I don’t quite get what you mean… Explain yourself damn it!” He cried out.
“Smew, Answer the question, there is no time!”
“I can’t answer your question! I have no idea what you’re talking about!”
She sighed, putting her free hand to her face, and then looked back at Smew.
“Fine, I’ll give you a day to think on it, just remember, you hold the key between life and death, yes, or no, simple as that, I expect to see you in this spot tomorrow night.” And when she said that, she simply stared at Smew, before he blinked, then she was gone.
What was she… who was she? What did she mean by ‘they’? Smew was about to fall over from such pressing questions until he heard something, it sounded like many men, and they were headed in his direction.
“What now?” he said, sighing to himself.

As he looked down to the base of the hill, there was a group of around 15 men, all with weapons, and at the head of them was the man from the bar.
When they saw him at the top, they began running, weapons raised, did this have something to do with that woman? Is this what she meant when she said death was approaching?
He shook his head, he had no time to think about that now, and he didn’t care how good of a martial artist he was, he couldn’t take on that many men with no weapon, so he picked his coat up off the floor, and began running.
He needed even more time to think now, and what’s worse, she would be there in a few days, he had to get away.
And so he just continued to run.

And chapter 3!

Chapter 3

Fallen Grace


The Water Kingdom, one of the largest kingdoms in the world, next to the Earth Kingdom, these two kingdoms are always fighting for power and land, to give one nation the upper hand over the other, the Water Kingdom has in its hand a lot of power over the other nations, due to holding a strong grip on trading routes through the ocean, and various other water-ways.
Deep inside the water kingdom lays a town called Shiro, it is a rather small town, and it’s not very important, the people there live very peaceful lives, never having much trouble besides family disputes.
The community was very tight-knit, everybody knew each other, and they could always call on one another for help.
It is the fourth day of the seventh month, and the town is abuzz with activity, a young man was just found dead, the police announced it was murder.
This fiasco involved two of the town’s most famous entities; they were in fact two friends, just entering adult-hood.
Elizabeth Miri was the first of the two, her 18th birthday happened three days ago, she’s a strong-headed, compassionate girl, who was always there when you needed her, she always seemed to have what she wanted, and never seemed to fret at the sign of trouble.
Through her life, she had grown up alongside one of the most amazing boys in the town.
This boy was the murder victim, he was only 17 years old, but his birthday was in less than a month.
His name was Jacob Milapas, he was kind, enthusiastic, virile, altruistic, and at the same time, very nutty.
He had always been a helpful boy; always willing to work and help, he lived to serve others.
Upon his turning 18 he and Elizabeth had planned to travel the world together, working together to try and make the world better.
Sadly though, this dream was now cut short as Jacob was dead.
The only suspect was no other than his best friend, Elizabeth Miri.
As shocked as the town was, it was true; she was the only person who could have murdered him, and evidence pointing to her was all over the crime scene.
As such, the leader of the town visited the local police, and began to devise a plan to capture Elizabeth.

“Good day, officers.” He said, walking up to the men and bowing.
“Hello sir, I heard you know where this girl is, how do you plan on us capturing her? I heard she was a powerful Water Bender.”
“She is, however we can find some other Water Benders to counter her Bending, once she is unable to fight back, you will take her into custody.”
“Sounds good, sir, if I may ask, I had heard that the suspect and the victim were best friends through life, what motive would she have had to kill him?”
“Jacob was an orphan, and until just a week ago, we had not learned where from, he’s an Earth Kingdom child, whether or not he could Bend we do not know, our best guess is that this news shocked Elizabeth so much that she had to kill him, despite being a very loving and helpful girl, she has always been prejudice against the Earth Kingdom.”
“Ah I see, well, when should we carry out this plan?”
“As soon as possible, I can go round up a couple of Water Benders right now, you two just start heading towards where she’s at, alright?”
“Will do.” The first one said, as they began to walk away.
“Hm, now I just need to find some Water Benders.” He mused for a while, until he suddenly snapped his fingers and walked off towards the center of the town.


Elizabeth sighed as she hugged her knees, they would come for her soon and they knew where she was, holed up in her room crying.
She couldn’t believe he was dead, gone like that, and right before their trip, who could have done this? And why?
She bowed her head in thought, nobody in this town had any reason to kill him, he was a kind hearted and sweet boy, he owned nothing of great value, besides his life, and he had such a promising future…
She shrugged before crying again, it was too much for her to handle, what was she supposed to do now? They would be coming for her soon; she had heard that she was the only suspect, for what reason? Only they knew.
She sighed, and stood up, she couldn’t let them arrest her like that, she had to prove herself innocent, and she needed to find the real killer.
She stood up and began packing a pack of things she would need, she would carry out her plan, albeit a little earlier than they had planned.
She bustled about the room, filling her back with necessities, before she heard a small growl.
She suddenly turned and saw the one thing she was forgetting, her pet dragon, Fluffy.
Fluffy was only a baby dragon and due to an accident at birth had no wings, so Fluffy looked more alike to a lizard than a dragon.
Fluffy growled again before hopping straight up to Elizabeth’s shoulder, due to the fact that she had no wings, Fluffy was very strong in other areas.
Elizabeth giggled a little, the first time in a while, and stroked Fluffy on the head, at least she wouldn’t be alone during her trip.


The mayor of Shiro marched down the path towards Elizabeth’s house; he had gathered many water benders and was prepared to take her by force if he had to.
The police were also ready for the same thing, she was the killer, they all knew it, and justice would be served.
To them, it was simply a matter of time.
First they busted down the front door, then they charged up the stairs, then they burst into her room, and nobody was there...
Somehow, in all of his calculations, the mayor hadn’t expected this.


Elizabeth ran as fast as she could down the narrow dirt road, she had to get away, and she was doing it in the fastest way she knew how.
Fluffy was perched on her shoulder, enjoying the feel of the wind in her face, never having been able to experience flying, this was as close as she would ever get to the rush of it.
Elizabeth had been running for a good 20 minutes before having to stop and rest, she was reasonably fit for a girl her age, but she still had limits.
As she sat, she stared into the sky, what a way to begin her journey, no companion, no money, and she was a fugitive.
She smiled and stared at Fluffy, softly speaking.
“What a way to go, eh Fluff?”
Fluffy simply looked up at her and growled a little, a friendly growl of course, she was a very tame dragon, and it was rare for her to be fierce.
Elizabeth smiled and picked the small dragon up, staring her straight in the face, before laughing a little and planting a small kiss atop the dragon’s forehead, the two had their own language they seemed to speak to each other.
Elizabeth than stood up and stared at her surroundings, she mused on which way she could head, she could go north and catch a boat to the air temples, or she could head east and try to rough it in the fire country.
“Or, I could smuggle myself into the earth kingdom, maybe I could find out something about Jacob there…”
She went deep into thought before she bent over and picked Fluffy up, she was going to get into the Earth Kingdom somehow, Jacob had mentioned a name to her just a few days before her birthday, a name he suspected belonged to his real parents, and she would track that name down no matter what it took, she then smiled and looked at Fluffy.
“Not like we have anything to lose, right?”
Fluffy only nuzzled Elizabeth’s hand before jumping to her shoulder and resting herself there.
Elizabeth gathered her things, and then began walking south, she would do this for him, no matter what she had to do.