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 Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 8:31 am
She hopped off the boat, covered in more clothing than she was at any other port she stopped at. She did find the thick, heavy fur coat a little constraining sometimes, but it was worth it not to catch pneumonia or freeze her fingers off or anything.
Besides, she liked the Water Tribe territories. Sometimes she thought they were her favourite-- though she had these thoughts about all the Nations, and so they were really rather invalid. Still, there was something nice about the cool crisp air and the pure white snow-- so different from her homeland full of fire and molten rock.
And the people of the Water Tribes were always so -nice-. She didn't have to watch her purse the way she did in the Earth Kingdom, or the Fire Nation. A little more here than in the Air Temples, but there was -no- chance of losing your money to an Airbender, and even the Water tribes had their few bad eggs.
She shuffled along, kicking up the snow a bit to enjoy the sight of it falling in tiny particles back to the ground and melting back into the sleek covering it had been before. Where would she go this time? There was the marketplace, of course, but she always hung about the marketplace when she was here, and she was in the mood to -not- see her parents haggling over prices. Besides, she wanted a bit more excitement.
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Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 8:50 am
An expression, mostly unhappy, stared back up at its wearer from the clear waters. It had been a long time since Anyu looked or felt excited about anything. The last time he could remember was when Whisper suggested they move to the Northern Tribe to find a new teacher and train together. He loved the idea of getting out of here, finding adventure in other lands, leaving behind the boring, overly adorned life of his wealthy family. But even after all their planning, even after getting his mother's permission and every little thing, she hadn't showed.
The morning they were supposed to leave, he'd waited anxiously outside his home for her to come. When hours passed with no word, he'd searched the village for her orphanage. And even when he'd finally come across it, he couldn't find her. No one seemed willing to help him out. Internally, he wondered if she left alone.
Lips curled further into a frown at the memory. Ever since then, he'd become more withdrawn and unwilling. His bending, completely neglected, was probably worse than before. Swatting a hand at the water before him, he stood, brushing snow from his pants. In the distance, he could see an unfamiliar ship. Although it really didn't interest him, he began wandering towards the docks anyway. After all, with no friends and a bad relationship with most of his family, he had nothing better to do.
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Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 8:54 am
Ina caught sight of the boy shortly afterwards. She had a sort of radar for negativity and made a beeline towards him-- really now, what was there to be so sulky about? He lived in the Water Tribe territories! There were lots of beautiful and exciting things here!
"Hello!" the teenager beamed at the boy, attempting to radiate positivity,
"You look like a boy with a story. Care to share?"
Her book of stories -was- still looking a little bare. She hadn't added a new tale in ages-- been too busy trying to outfit her new ship. Besides, the more connections she made, the better. Perhaps he even knew of some sailors looking for a ship! She'd have to hire crew eventually, afterall.
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Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 9:13 am
As always, he had to lift his head to see her face. He was used to that by now, even if it still annoyed him when his siblings mocked his short stature. Time hadn't given him much in the way of growth, either. Maybe a few inches. Regardless, he looked rather unfriendly as he stared up at her.
"Is that something you ask everyone?" he questioned idly. The positivity that she gave off felt nearly tangible. Anyu had the urge to lift a hand and swat it away. "I don't think it's really your business." At this point, he was completely unwilling to go sharing his life story with someone he'd just met. Honestly, he wasn't sure who would be willing to do such a thing.
After all, he certainly didn't have the urge to tell her that his family was too large for its own good. He didn't want to say that most of his siblings treated him like dirt and his father's personality was smothering and hateful. And he didn't want to mention that his best and only friend had likely abandoned him. It would only sound like he was complaining.
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Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 9:24 am
She shook her head,
"Not exactly. I just collect stories, so I try to ask everyone if they have any-- eventually I'll have whole books full, I think."
She shrugged. He seemed like he'd needed someone to talk to, but obviously that wasn't quite the case. Still, she wasn't about to let him go -that- easily. There weren't a whole lot of other children about just now, and she rarely got to be around anyone close to her age anyhow.
"I just thought I'd, y'know, look about for anything exciting, and if you knew of something, I might go investigate it."
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Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 9:39 am
As he watched her and listened her her explanation, Anyu began to wonder why anyone would want to collect stories like that. Hearing about other people's lives all the time, he figured it would get old after a while. "Why don't you just make your own stories?" he asked, sounding almost thoughtful for the first time in their short conversation. If his plan with Whisper hadn't fallen through, that's what he'd be out in the world doing. Well, at least the world of the Northern Water Tribe.
"Nothing interesting happens here," he revealed dully, looking away from her and watching the water for a moment. "At least not to me." She'd have more luck with a real member of the tribe, someone who worked for the people and had adventures under their belt. Interesting and exciting stories didn't often come packaged with the youngest member of the richest family.
Snerking, he crossed his arms and looked back to her. There was one place, a place his brother showed him, that she might enjoy investigating. But seeing that secret place would definitely have to be earned. "I'm Anyu. What's your name?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 10:00 am
She giggled,
"I'm Ina," she said, "And...well, as far as making up my stories...well, can you keep a secret?"
She leaned in close, seeming unconcerned as to whether he actually could keep a secret or not and not waiting for a response as to whether or not he could,
"I like to collect real stories, 'cause one day I'm going to sail about and investigate them. Like...treasures and ruins and stuff in the stories."
That was what she -really- wanted. True adventure! Sailing about, finding ancient ruins and treasures and hints of the past. That would be perfect!
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Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 10:40 am
It's not like he really had anyone to tell secrets to. Keeping them wouldn't so difficult, he figured. No one had trusted him with something like that before. Of course, as he thought on it, she moved closer. He suddenly felt uncomfortable and wanted to back away. "You don't have to make them up," he muttered, moving back just a bit, although they were still closer than he would've liked. He supposed it would be interesting to investigate other people's claims. Maybe.
"I've never been anywhere outside of the tribe, so I can't help you with that one." Anyu finally took the initiative and backed away further, leaving a socially acceptable space between the two of them. "But do you really think the stories about ruins and treasure are always completely true?" Or is that what she was trying to find out? If people's crazy tales held any truth.
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Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 10:58 am
She nodded,
"I think there are bits and pieces of truth to the stories. They may not always be -completely- true, but there's always something in 'em that is. And that can lead to a lot of more interesting discoveries."
She brushed a hand through her hair, began tying it in a braid for no particular reason other than that she liked to have something to do with her hands. The girl seemed completely oblivious to the fact that she was making him even the least bit uncomfortable.
"Of course, it'll be a while before I start on that. I have to finish outfitting my ship with crew and cargo, first. Make a bit of money so I can travel around for pleasure, you know?"
She seemed to have lost just a -tiny- bit of the childish immaturity now that she was talking about her ship. Still, for an eighteen-year-old girl, she seemed pretty...wild. Probably it was because she spent so much of her life trapped on a boat with people twice her age, so when she got out, she all but exploded in energy. Or, even more likely, it was just because she was a product of the Fire Nation gene pool.
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Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 6:20 pm
Looking away from her, Anyu took in the sight of the ship again. With nothing better to do, he'd wandered towards the unfamiliar vessel, only to find this girl who, despite her obvious status as the older one in the conversation, was more excitable than him. Idly, he wondered if wandering this way had really been a good thing or not. Ah well. It was too late to change that now. All in all, he supposed it wasn't a terrible way to waste his time. Even as he continued, eyes remained trained on the ship.
"It looks like a nice ship," he commented without putting too much thought into it. After all, he'd never been inside a ship before and had little knowledge of them otherwise. "Doesn't it already take a lot of money to take care of a ship?" Again, he really wouldn't know, but he thought so. "Isn't it hard to keep sailing if you don't have enough money for a crew and supplies?" His questions were blunt, although there was a hint of curiosity in his voice. Finally returning his gaze to Ina, he shrugged slightly before she had a change to explain anything.
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Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 9:09 am
The girl nodded,
"Yeah, that's why I'm not sailing it yet. That's my parents' boat. We're stopped here to stock up on some supplies for the upcoming Spirit Day Festival-- they like to have lots of things from all the different kingdoms for people to buy. Especially masks and stuff, since there's going to be a masquerade this year."
Ina was pretty excited about the Masquerade part. She wanted to see if her friends would recognize her in costume! Perhaps she'd dress up as someone from the Water Kingdom. That'd -really- throw them off.
"But yeah, I'm still raising the money for a crew and supplies and stuff for my ship. My parents gave me some money and trade items and stuff to start me out, so it shouldn't be too long before I can set sail."
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 6:39 pm
"Masquerade?" he questioned, blinking up at her with an unknowing expression. Yes, he'd known the festival was nearing. It was all his sisters went on about most of the time. Despite his understanding that it was an important day of celebration, he couldn't help but block out the thoughts and attempt to escape the girls' constant chatter. Still, he had no idea there was going to be any such party on any of the continents. All in all, he assumed it was just the simple fact that the Southern Tribe was out of the loop most of the time. Information took longer to reach here.
The idea of a big party with crazy masks for Spirit Day felt a bit silly to Anyu, though. But his opinion hardly mattered, considering his sour disposition kept him from taking most things seriously. "Where is it?" he asked next, dropping his gaze to the ground in an almost thoughtful manner. "And what's it for?" There had to be a reason he was missing.
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Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 6:48 am
Ina nodded, well, obviously the boat wasn't interesting him anymore-- too bad, water tribe made the -best- sailors-- so, Masquerade discussion it was!
"It's in the Fire Nation capital. Well, really it's all over the Fire Nation, but all the big stuff takes place in the capital. There's lots of exciting things-- dragon dancers and the Yu Yan archers usually do a display of their skill, and then there's the firebending competitions..."
She never got to compete in those. Never qualified, as she just didn't know enough bending because she never had a teacher longer than a few weeks at a time, and rarely the same one.
"And you dress up in costume. I have this fantastic dragon mask this year."
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Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 7:12 am
At the mention of the Fire Nation, he made a face. There were some bad memories concerning that place. Not because he'd been there. No, he'd never left the Southern Tribe. It was because of Razuten. Perhaps it was bad to lump the entire nation in with a single person, but that unfriendly firebender had left a bad taste in Anyu's mouth. And although it had been a long time and he'd calmed down quite a bit concerning that event, he still remembered the fear he felt and how foolish the older bender had made him look.
As she continued, it seemed he was only half paying attention, lost in past thoughts. "It sounds like a big mess," he commented dryly. And it did, in all honesty. But, at the same time, it sounded interesting. Much more exciting than staying here in the village. Looking out to the ship, he made another face, this one more thoughtful than the last. "I guess you'll head over after you pick up some goods?"
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Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 8:01 am
Ina shook her head,
"It's not a mess at all! It's very organized. I mean, there're a lot of people, but the Fire Nation is nothing if not organized!"
She followed his gaze to the ship, and, as if a light bulb suddenly turned on in her head, she grinned,
"D'you wanna come? We'll be setting out in a couple of days-- they have to finish their transactions here, and I had a couple of things I wanted to sell later after I'm finished investigating the area, but yeah, we'll be heading out in time to make it for the Festival."
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