Avatar: TLAB (Still Accepting/Started) Owned by: Hotaru987

[Catterjune]

Hotaru987 feels really bad about posting, so this post was rushed to meet the four lines required for every RP post.

She awaited the return of the general upon the docks. It felt like an exceptionally long wait, probably due to some unfulfilled and deep seated desire to see the Avatar's fall. She stood for everything that I-FORGOT-MY-CHARACTER'S-NAME-I-THINK-IT-WAS-KIHOMI-OR-SOMETHING-LIKE-THAT disliked. The privileged upbringing, the ties to the fire lord, and most of all, the fact that her miserable life and destiny were the reason Kihomi's father was murdered, and her life had been so unhappy and miserable.

Assuming .:Blue:. doesn't mind me godmodding his character much, he eventually showed up on the airship blimp place, not surprised Kihomi had arrived ahead of schedule since she's all super driven and awesome like that, and he let her on board. A part of me thinks the reason he's not posting is 'cause he has 2222 posts and wants to keep it that way for a while to be cool, so there's that.

Umm... so someone, post already and get this story moving! >_>

[~Demyx~]

Kyo finished his packing, and he looked at the clock. It was time to leave. He put on his backpack and left his room in the barracks. He ran out of the barracks and looked around. This could be the last time he would be here in this village. He looked sadly around the place. Then, he face stiffened as he ran towards the place where he was supposed to meet General Hanza.

Soon, he saw the blimp in sight. General Hanza stood there, waiting. He walked towards him and bowed. "General Hanza, thank you for bringing me on this mission. I will not fail you" he said, and he walked on board the blimp.

[.:Blu:.]

((lol Pika, I like your post, but I was waiting on ty. Since he has now post, I will continue. And yes, I did think that it was a bit cool to have 2222 post count XD))

Hanza, after making sure everyone was accounted for, allowed everybody to board the blimp. The blimp is rather small when compared to other Fire Nation war blimps, but that's because war wasn't this blimp's purpose. A blimp like this is used for surveillance purposes. The small size of the blimp made it easy to hid while flying as the areas it would be flying around usually have large clouds that could easily be used as cover. However, this blimp is out of commission. Even so, the blimp is still in excellent shape and Hanza thought it could be put to good use. The blimp is even big enough to have a few rooms. Hanza entered the blimp, and the guard closed the door after Hanza had entered. Walking to flight deck, Hanza noticed that everyone seemed to be quite settled.

Entering the room, Hanza moved to the group. "Now that everybody is settled, we shall depart...." Hanza explained as he gave the signal for the pilot to start the blimp and depart. Hanza then turned towards Kyo. "I heard you are a spy.... If that's the case, then I will need you to report to my office later. I will need to speak to you about a special assignment...." Hanza then turned to face Kihomi. "And I heard you are quite skillful with a blade.... After we land at our next destination, I would like for you to take some time to train the other soldiers a thing or to about swordsmanship.... Their firebending may be powerful, but sometimes you need to know more then just fire bending...." Hanza explained.

[Asriel Dreemurr]

OOC: Alright guys, sorry I haven't been around. Finally getting to posting again.

IC:

Kiokama nodded his head slowly as he listened to Izaria's concerns, a look of understanding upon his face as she spoke of the fire lord as her father. It was impossible to tell what he was feeling, but not so much so that he was thinking, as if trying to find the correct thing to say at that moment.

"In our lives, we all must do things we do not want to," He said, following a long pause after the end of Izaria's sentence, "some things which are small and some things which are immense. You may not have to kill your father, merely knock him from his throne. Now, as for whatever help you'll need, there are your teachers. My daughter Akihana is likely the most skillful Fire Bender in the empire, equal in to her brother's skill and power. There are others too who will aid you in the end, just keep an open mind and an open eye."

[i]Meanwhile...[/i]

Akuanzaku had finally made his way to the docks, the sight of General Hanza's take off not lost to his trained eyes. Shaking his head, he made his way towards the familiar immense form of the black steel warship that functioned as his flagship. The intensity within his gaze was enough to seriously unnerve the guards who were overseeing the loading of the vessel itself. He had some knowledge of the order in which the Avatar would need to learn the control of the elements, and that would work in his favor. The Avatar already had a fire teacher in the form of his sister, that could not be helped, but she would likely seek out an Earth Teacher next, a scenario which would work well in his favor due to the situation within the Earth Kingdom.

[Quiksilver]

OoC: I'm back in the game!

Sun bit his lip as he heard Akihana speak. "But isn't the Spirit World, like, all dangerous and stuff...?" He asked, looking a bit worried. His hair fell across his face as he regarded the seemingly-sleeping Izaria below him, a nervous frown adorning his lips. He pushed the hair back slowly. Finally, he turned back to Akihana.

"...But I know Iz will get through without a scratch. She learned from the best, after all." The cocky grin that had replaced his frown seemed to make it look like Sun wasn't afraid for Izaria anymore, but yet there was still a strange look in his eye.

[Hotaru987]

Izaria thought about what Kiokama said, sretching the silence at the end of his sentence to the fullest. Finally she smiled, "I guess you're right...I don't have to kill him. I can just subdue him, and if I'm lucky I'll learn how to do that trick Avatar Aang did on Fire Lord Ozai. As for my firebending teacher I'll ask Akihana-That is if she still wants to be my teacher. I didn't exactly thank her for risking her life to rescue mine." She scratched the back of her head, "Guess I really will have to do this....I don't like it but....Sun was right. I can't just sit back and let my dad destroy the world when I know could do something. I have to at least try."

As if reacting to her words her entire body began to glow blue, and become transparent. "Am I...Going back?" She muttered staring at her hands in question. She could feel it. Her connection to this world was begining to ade, and the physical world was becoming more clearer. To her it was like the worlds were over lapping one another. "Thanks for your help Kiokama. I needed that." The light grew stronger, filling the surrounding area to a blinding point, and when te ligh was gone; so wa Izaria.

She was back in the real world, in the exact same spot where she first entered the spirit world. There was one problem-

"Where's my body?" Izaria' body was still tat tanparent blue, so she knew she wasn't competely out of the spirit world. Though as quickly as her question was made, an answer was given. Her spirit shot towards the mouth of the cave and entered her body; another gow of liht followng afterwards. Though, she still didn't wake up; too tired to wake up, so she stayed asleep.

[b]Next Day[/b]

[Quiksilver]

[b]NEXT DAY[/b]

Sun quietly began to gather up his things that he had thrown around the cave for the night. Almost a couple of seconds after Sun had spoken the night before, Izaria had begun breathing normally again. The peaceful night was not ripped apart by the shouts of Fire Nation soldiers or the sounds of trampling feet, so Sun assumed that they had either given up the search or had missed the cave by merest chance. Despite this, Sun had barely slept the last night, always keeping one ear open for danger, jumping at the slightest noise, which usually turned out to be a Toucan-Puffin or some such animal. There had been one heart-stopping time when a long, large figure had actually entered the cage, with a flying bird at this side; these, however, this turned out to be Lǚyo and Fènnù, both reporting back to their master. Fènnù had immediately left after affectionately nipping Sun's nose to find a place to roost for the night; Lǚyo, on the other hand, who had always had a soft spot for the princess, had snuggled up against Izaria. With their arrival Sun had felt a little more safe, but still not enough to get a good night's sleep. And so, when he had finally woken up the next morning, he was both tired and befuddled. A grin still danced across his face, however.

"Hey, Iz," He said tentatively, not looking behind him to make sure she was up. After the argument last night, things would still probably be tense between them. "You get a good night sleep? Count sheep and all that? 'Cause I think we're going to have a big day in front of us...

***

It was with an unusual grace that the girl fell from the air. She landed softly, barely making a noise on the dirt road. Dark, shiny eyes looked out from dark brown locks, examining the houses that lined the road. All were silent and gray in the early morning air, though doubtless they would become bustling and loud in a couple hours, when the Sun would rise and sunbeams would align themselves on the roofs of these Earth Nation houses. In the distance the last remnants of smoke twisted their way up into the sky; however, any Fire Nation guards that might have been there did not immediately respond to the woman's presence. For now, the young woman was alone.

The girl's eyes grew cloudly for a moment, as though she was struggling to remember something. Then, her eyes refocused, and with a determined place she set off down the road. Her eyes no longer swept side from side; they were fully affixed on a rather large house on the edge of the road. At one point it might have been a Fighting Dojo; but now the only purpose it seemed to serve was as a residence. With light yet hurried steps the girl made her way across the courtyard of the house, up to the doorway of the house. Looking side to side to make sure no one was watching, she knocked on the door.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" The woman unconsciously brushed the rice hat off her head and onto her back, and her face was fully exposed for once; a pretty and delicate face looked expectantly at the door, with the beginnings of a blue arrow striking down the middle of her forehead, though many could not tell, being covered by hair as it way. "I'm looking for a man named Kin. My name is Yun Wu. We need to talk about...about the Avatar." The girl continued, though she felt quite foolish talking to a door. Yun repeated herself, this time using Soundbending to make sure her voice would be able to be heard throughout the house. This accomplished, the girl sat back on her heels and started to wait.

[~Demyx~]

OOC: Sorry about this, but I'm going to assume that General Hanza is in his office right now. If he isn't supposed to be in there, then I'll edit.

"Understood," Kyo said to the General. He would visit him in his office tommarow. It was already late, and Kyo needed some sleep, like the other soldiers. He opened a door, and led the other elite soldiers in. This area was where they slept. He smiled, walking towards a bed and getting in.

[b]The Next Day...[/b]

Kyo opened his eyes. It was morning. Another day of work. Most of the other soldiers were still asleep. "[i]Figures. I got to report to General Hanza for a special assignment. Probably about spying or something like that[/i]" he thought. He quietly opened the door and slipped through. Nobody who was awake noticed.

Kyo looked around the deck. "[i]Kind of impressive for an old piece of flying trash. Better find his office[/i]" Kyo thought, looking around. He saw another door, and opened it quietly. It was General Hanza's office. Sitting on a chair was General Hanza. He quietly closed the door, then bowed. "Now, what is this special assignment?" he asked General Hanza behind his desk.

[.:Blu:.]

[Next Day]

Hanza had awoke quite early in the morning. Even so, his face didn't show any signs of being tired. Being a man that had fought in many high profile battles and wars, Hanza is accustomed to waking up at early hours. Looking over some paperwork, Hanza noticed Kyo entering his office and saluting. Finally after saluting, Kyo spoked to Hanza about the special assignment Hanza had mentioned yesterday. Hanza's eyes narrowed and glared at Kyo with a sign of irritation before he began to speak. "'Now, what is this special assignment?'" Hanza began in his calm voice. "Is this how you speak to your commanding officer? Your level of respect in your question to me reflects just how much I can trust you with this special assignment...." Hanza continued. "I expect that you speak to me in an orderly manner.... Now, onto your special assignment.... Being a highly-skilled spy and assassin, I would like for you to go on a solo mission to find and capture the Avatar...." Hanza stopped to let Kyo take in the information Hanza had just given him.

-Meanwhile-

The morning came in the town of Guangshang. With its arrival came the blissfully peaceful rays of sunlight that seems to almost gleam as it met the rooftops of each individual house. The special material the rooftops were made out of contains a special mineral that sparkles lightly when it met the sunlight. Even though Guangshang has now been taken over by the Fire Nation, they culture of proud Earth Kingdom citizens lives on through the architecture, lifestyle, and most importantly, the people. Even so, culture may not survive for long in a place that is basically run by an evil man like Kin. Kin's house and dojo are empty on this particular morning. The sounds of roosters crowing could finally be heard throughout the town nearby Kin's house. Still, Kin and his subordinates are nowhere to be seen.

As with every morning in Guangshang, the morning rush hour was beginning. The hardy vendors and everyday shoppers began to emerge from their respective homes to start a new day. The same can't be said for the Fire Nation guards. Due to the fact that all earth bending gangs, and more to the point all earth benders, have been basically wiped out from Guangshang, leaving the Fire Nation guards with little worry of an uprising. Due to this, the Fire Nation guards spend the early hours still asleep.

At the local brothel, where men come to eat, drink, and have fun with the brothel women, Kin was asleep on a chair with the upper portion of his body resting on a table decorated in a beautiful silk table cloth. The table and chair is located in one of the brothel's many private rooms where customers and their lady-of-the-night or ladies come to have their private parties. Kin was in quite a deep and peaceful sleep. If one didn't know, they would probably think Kin is a peaceful and quiet person. Suddenly, a hand lightly tapped on Kin's shoulder, hoping to get Kin to wake up but to no avail. Once again the hand tapped, and was finally able to get Kin to wake up, slowly but surely.

Kin turned his head to look at the person tapping his shoulder, and to no surprise was his right-hand man and most loyal subordinate, Pao. "Uhhhh, what is it Pao?" Kin asked in a very tired voice. "Brother Kin, it's already early morning. We should get back to the manor." Pao said. "Oh really? Alright, give me five more minutes...." Kin said weakly as he fell back to sleep. Twenty minutes later, Kin and Pao walked out from the brothel. "Alright, let's go back to the manor. I got some things I need to take care of before I go collecting money." Kin said to Pao while fixing his sleeves.

However, instead of going back to his house as originally planned, Kin decided to browse the market place a little. "Move aside! Hey old man, I said move aside! Can't you see Brother Kin is walking?!" Pao yelled at the towns people traversing along the busy morning rush. Kin just walked with a cool and intimidating look on his face as usual. He didn't seem to care who Pao yelled at, even if it was a little child or an elderly person. Then, Kin's path was blocked by a man moving his cart of cabbages along. Pao quickly rushed in front of the man. "Hey you! Are you blind or just stupid?! Don't you see Brother Kin is walking along this path?!" Pao said as he pushed the man's head in the direction of Kin. "Oh, my bad, sorry." the man said with a nervous smile.

Kin's reaction? A mere thumbs up with a pleasant smile which caused the cabbage vendor to become at ease. But then, Kin's smile formed into a frown and his thumbs up rotated to become a thumbs down. Then Pao pushed the cabbage cart over, causing most of the vendor's cabbages to roll across the dirty ground. "My cabbages!" the man shouted grabbing onto his head with both hands and falling to his knees. Pao then quickly pushed some cabbages aside to make a path in which Kin can walk through, Kin moved on casually.

[Quiksilver]

OoC: Lolrecurringavatarjokes

Suddenly a gust of air flung itself out and contoured itself into a tight fit around all of the unruly cabbages, before the wind promptly changed direction and swept back into the man's cart. Stepping out of an Airbender pose, Yun composed herself and stepped forward, staring directly at Kin. It was a bit anticlimatic, seeing this rather ordinary man after having waited around three hours at the house before she had finally tracked Kin down. You would have thought that after all this work the least thing the universe could do was offer up a more interesting specimen.

"Now, why..." Yun finally spoke. "Did you do that?"

[Hotaru987]

Izaria had woke up feeling quite refreshed, and feeling calm despite what happened the day before. After sleeping on the talk she and Kiokama shared in the spirit world, Izaria felt even better than before. It was a strange feeling; noting like the histerics she felt yesterday and the idea of going up against her father, but instead a calm that spread throughout her entire body. The only thing that seemed to be throwing a monkey rench into her strangely calm state, was the fact that Sun had decided to run off to god knows where.

Though she was awake she didn't move, instead opting to remain by Lǚyo's side enjoying the warmth the loving animal provided. Izaria feintly remembered waking up during the night, when Lǚyo first moved by her, making the princess'-or ex-princess- sleep much more comfortable. Sometime later Izaria sat up without a sound-

Hearing a voice she wasn't expecting; Sun's.

Her head shot up. The movement she heard earlier, she assumed it was Akihana but the voice was so obviously Sun's. He said something about "Counting sheep", or something like that; though she didn't care much to think too hard. Sun hadn't checked to see if she was awake-Which was a bad move on his part. Cause she was instantly on her feet and practically attacked him with a hug-Lǚyo watching curiously behind them- knocking them both over. "Sun! I was so worried about you! I thought you wouldn't come back and you would hate me, and get captured by the fire nation cause you helped me escape and then I wouldn't ever get to see you again." Izaria rambled on and on, not realizing her grip on his neck was becoming tighter each second.

"Sun?" She looked at him. "Sun what's wro-OH MY GOSH!" She instantly released him, and clumbed off of him also seeing that her knee was on his back, which couldn't have been helping matters.

"I'm sorry! I was just so excited to see you didn't leave me." She quickly launched into a series of "I'm sorry", apologizing for how she acted yesterday, and that she didn't mean what she was saying. "I was just angry and really confused. Please don't be mad cause I really, really [i]really[/i] am sorry." She was sitting in front of him head down waiting for him to start yelling at her. How could he not be angry with her after how heartless she acted yesterday? She was no better than her father.

[.:Blu:.]

Walking away, Kin noticed a rather strange breeze behind him. This caused him to turn around to see a young girl walking towards him and staring directly at him. Kin was a bit surprised at how she just approached him so casually as if she had never heard of the infamous "Evil Kin" before. She then proceeded to ask him "Now, why did you do that?", leaving Kin to just stare blankly at her for a brief moment. Kin then stepped back next to Pao. "Hey, who the heck is this?" Kin whispered to Pao. "I don't know. I've never seen her around Guangshang before." Pao responded. Kin then stepped back towards her with a devious smile on his face. Kin then began to click his two rings together to create a clicking rhythm. "Why would I do what? Are you referring to me having my subordinate push over that cabbage cart? If you are, then I have an answer for you. Because-I-want-to. Got it? Now go away before you annoy me even more than you already have." Kin said before turning the other way and walking off.

[Quiksilver]

OoC: Oh crap, how could I switch up cabbages with orthodox? XP

"Gah!" Sun gasped when Izaria finally released her chokehold. "Erghh, I knew you were mad at me, but not that mad..." Izaria had started up some rant immediately after she had stopped hugging Sun, but it took some time after she started- courtesy of some ringing ears- to release that she was apologizing. [i]To him[/i].

"Wait a second, hold on!" Sun held up a hand, and although Izaria didn't seem to hear him, so into her apologies she was, she got quiet. "You're apologizing to me? I'm the one who ran off on you! I shouldn't have been so insensitive...not that I am usually very sensitive!..." Sun gave an slightly embarassed smile, his other hand awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. "I'm the one's who sorry. I should have never abandoned you." Sun looked down, this time fully embarassed. In an effort to change the subject, he asked, "So...where are we going from here?"

***

"Stop right there, Kin." Something in the girl's voice, something almost...unnatural, seemed to strike Kin with the force of a hammer. The villagers on the side of the road stopped and stared at the woman; the force of her voice has struck them to. For her part, Yun was slightly displeased her Soundbending voice was attracting attention- she wanted this to be between Kin and her alone. In an effort to get some privacy, she took three long strides and stood right at Kin's back. Whispering she said, "That is not the way you treat people, Kin. All life is precious and [i]no one[/i]- no matter how important they feel- should be treated like that, no matter how insignificant they seem." Yun said, her voice quietly disapproving, like a schoolteacher. "But I am not here to argue with you. I'm here...to ask for your help. Help...for the Avatar."

[.:Blu:.]

Walking away, Kin's face showed signs of annoyance due to being approached by some girl so easily. It was apparent to Kin that this girl didn't know who she is dealing with. Suddenly, Kin stopped when Yun's voice blasted him as if being hit by something. It didn't produce any physical harm to Kin, but it did indeed got Kin's attention. Pao and the other townsfolk also noticed this and stared at the girl as if staring at some type of weird creature. Kin just tilted his head and stare at Yun with a surprised expression on his face. Walking towards him, Kin continued to walk, trying to ignore the girl. But once the girl began to lecture Kin on how to treat people, Kin stopped and turned around, looking at the girl with annoyed eyes. "Can you shut your trap already? I don't need a lecture from some brat got it?" Kin began in an annoyed yet calm tone.

"Nobody, and I mean nobody has the guts to speak to me like that. Now go away before I make you go away." Kin said before trying to walk off again. However, Kin's movements stopped and his eyes widened once he heard that Yun needed help for the Avatar. "(T-The Avatar? Who in the world is this brat? Huh, maybe I can make use of this little brat to get to the Avatar, then, hehehehe.)" Kin thought to himself as he turned around with a pleasant smile. "I'm sorry, where are my manners? I can never refuse to help a pretty lady out. Please, shall we go somewhere more discreet to discuss this matter at hand?" Kin whispered kindly to Yun, keeping his pleasant smile.

[Quiksilver]

Yun was about to angrily retort to Kin's comments, when the man suddenly switched tactics and started being nice to her. Wait, he had gone from calling her a brat to a pretty lady? She had a funny feeling about this sudden switch in desire, but since she needed him and the talk was starting to go the way she wanted, there was little she could do about it.

"All right, do you have a place in mind?" Yun asked cautiously, her eyes darting back and forth to make sure he wasn't setting her up for an ambush or something. She even went so far to look over her shoulder to make sure there wasn't a large thug sneaking up on her- though, considering her Soundbending skills and the fact thugs weren't the stealthiest of adversaries, this movement was rather unnecessary.

[.:Blu:.]

"Yeah, there's a place we can talk where no one can interrupt us." Kin responded. Kin picked up some signs that she is being weary of him, but Kin has a talent to earn people's trust and manipulating people to do what he wants. Kin simply turned around and continued to walk. "Well, follow me unless you don't want to continue our discussion." Kin said walking off with Pao following diligently behind. Soon later, the three arrived back at Kin's manor. "Alright Pao, you have the day off so you can go do whatever you want. Remember not to cause too much trouble. Afterall, these people are the same like us and we should treat them with respect even though they can be annoying at times alright?" Kin asked with a raised brow. "Yes sir Brother Kin!" Pao responded before walking off. Kin turned to face Yun. "Alright, I got rid of him, and my other disciples aren't here today so we have this whole house to ourselves." Kin explained before opening the large wooden door to enter the estate. Arriving at the living room, Kin walked towards the kitchen. "You want a drink or anything? You drink alcohol?" Kin asked.

[Quiksilver]

"No, thank you." Yun said stiffly. "I am a Eastern Air Mage. I'm afraid I do not drink alcohol." Yun was becoming quite loath of this man- his use of her words, paraphrased, only made Yun more mad. But she was here on business. Quietly taking a seat in the living room, she turned to Kin. "Now then, to business." Yun began. "You're probably wondering why I'm here; well, it's because of the Avatar. I aim to seek him or her out. You see, I recently had an encounter with...someone...who told me that I was destined to be the Avatar's teacher in the ways of the Air. This someone also told me to seek out a man who lives in the town of Guangshang, a master of both words and Earth. He was to be the Avatar's Earth teacher. I went looking around, and I found mention of a man named Kin living in Guangshang who was, apparently, quite the skilled charismatic- when he wanted to be." Yun avoided mention of the other rumors, which called the man sharing the house with her "Evil Kin". "...So I am here. Any questions?"

[.:Blu:.]

"What no alcohol? You gotta live a little, but I understand." Kin said before going to his couch and sitting down. "An Eastern Air Mage huh? That's pretty rare to see in these parts." Kin said. Kin listened to her explanation with a curious expression on his face, but of course, that curious look is just to decieve Yun. Kin has no intentions to help her or the Avatar in any way, he's just trying to find benefits for himself. After Yun had finished her explanation, Kin's expression became one of regret. "I-I see.... I'm sorry for how I treated you back there, I would've never guessed that you're of great importance to the Avatar. This world has once again gone to hell thanks to the damn Fire Nation...." Kin began with a remorseful voice. "The Avatar.... Maybe there's still hope...." Kin whispered.

"Are you sure that I'm the person you're looking for? To tell the truth I'm probably still at a basic level when it comes to earth bending, but if it means helping the Avatar, I will do my best. By the way, you know my name, but I don't know yours." Kin said.

[Hotaru987]

Izaria could hardly believe that Sun felt as though he should apologize. The ex-princess felt as though he had every right to act like he did, because what she said was heartless and cruel. She smiled, "We were both idiots, but the only thing that matters is that we're back together again." Then in a teasing voice she added, "I knew you wouldn't be able to resist my feminin charms."

Then the all important question of "What now?" was asked. "Well-" Izaria suddenly became serious, which Sun knew was pretty rare for Izaria. "I have decided that I will do whatever I can to stop my father. To do that I will have to learn all of the four elements in the order of; Fire, air, water, earth. My dad made sure no one would be able to learn firebending after Avatar Quan's defeat, and because of that I've been set back by a whole lesson. Luckily Akihana is here-" She looked around, "Where is she anyway? I need to apologize and ask if she is still willing to be my teacher..."

"But anyway, direction wise we'll be heading to Shingue City. It's fairly big so sneaking in and getting some things for the road shouldn't be too hard. We'll just need some disguises, and if we have to we'll steal." Izaria crossed her arms pouting, "At the moment I don't care much about the Fire Nation." It suddenly turned to a grin and she faced Sun, "So are you in? There's bound to be a hell of a lot of fighting, and getting into trouble. Sounds like our kind of thing, yeah?"

[Quiksilver]

"Oh you know me, I can't resist swooning girls." Sun said with a crooked smile. Then Izaria went on to talk about Shingue City. "Definitely sounds like our thing!" Sun exclaimed. "But finding disguises...that will be kinda hard to do." Sun rubbed his chin musingly for a while. "Well, maybe we could hijack a caravan or something...I guess we'll come up with it as we go along, eh?"

***

Yun looked at Kin askance. "You're not a developed Earth Bender?" Yun sounded incredulous, then her voice became calm again. "Well, then, I guess we should test your abilities, then! Just to see how far along you are. So- a practice match." Yun said efficently. She stood up instantly. "Do you have somewhere good for this sort of thing?"

[.:Blu:.]

Hearing the idea for the practice match, Kin stood up and looked at Yun as if she was out of her mind. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up there." Kin said before moving closer to Yun. "I don't think that would be a very good idea. The reason why I don't practice earth bending is because of the Fire Nation soldiers and guards here. They thought they had eliminated every single earth bender. If they found out that I am an earth bender, they skin me alive. That'll happen to you too if the knew you were an air bender. There are just some things you shouldn't risk, and one of those things is your life." Kin explained. "Besides, the soldiers are probably out patrolling now. If they hear the noises of our bending then you know." Kin said before sliding his finger across his neck in a cutting motion.

[Hotaru987]

"My thoughts exactly." Izaria stood up and looked around. "Now I need to find Akihana, and beg for her to become my firebending teacher. I don't think I'll be able to find another one whos willing to help me very soon." Maybe she had already left, and was long gone by now. Izaria quickly ran to the mouth of the cave, swiviling her head left and right, searching for any signs of the woman. If she had left then Izaria really messed up. Now where was she supposed to get a firebending teacher? "And Sun is just as useless as I am when it comes to bending."

[~Demyx~]

Kyo listened to what General Hanza had to say. "[i]There's no need to get overreacted, dude. I only asked you a simple question, it's nothing to get worked up about[/i]" he thought, but of course, he didn't say that. Instead, he looked at General Hanza and lowered his head. "I'm very sorry, General Hanza. I will not do it again" he said. Then, he realized what he had actually said. "[i]So, he wants me to go on a solo mission? Can do. All there is to do is capture a little girl. To easy![/i]" he thought. Then, he looked at General Hanza again. "General Hanza, thank you for giving me this mission. I will not fail you" he said to him, bowing. He obviously didn't ask about how much he was getting paid for this.

[.:Blu:.]

Hanza glared at Kyo, his eyes showing a bit of dislike towards him, but it quickly subsided. Hanza isn't here to judge other people's character or to harbor hatred for others, Hanza is here to complete his mission of capturing the Avatar. Hanza's expression returned to his usual calmness. "This mission will be carried out by you alone, that is, if you think you won't be able to complete it by yourself, I will allow you to take some of the soldiers along with you. It is your choice. You will begin this mission once we landed at our next stop. Make sure to prepare all of your things. Once we land, one of the soldiers will escort you to the rendezvous point where you can head off on your own to find the Avatar. A man will your talent should be able to track down the Avatar I hope. Once you successfully capture the Avatar, you will bring her to me alive...." Hanza explained.

"And the people who are following the Avatar.... Take care of them, and take no prisoners.... Of course, in the event that General Akuanzaku or myself have captured the Avatar first, then I will send a messager hawk to deliver you the news, but you have nothing to worry about, either way, you will be payed...." Hanza explained.

[Asriel Dreemurr]

Akihana was, in fact, just standing there with her back to the cave, having been up earlier to watch the sunrise over the canopy of the swamp. Hearing the sound of frantic footsteps on the stone behind her, she turned her head with a smile on her face to look Izaria in the eyes. A short moment later, she turned around completely, bowing her head deeply to the Avatar as if there had never been anything negative between them.

"It is a good thing that you have returned from the spirit world, Avatar Izaria," she stated as she rose out of her bow, coming to once more lick gazes with Izaria, "Have you reconsidered my offer to teach you fire bending?"

[i]Meanwhile...[/i]

Akuanzaku had not slept for the entire night, standing at the bow of his ship which was now patrolling the shoreline of the main island of the Fire Nation. His eyes were alternatively shooting back and forth between the sea, sky, and shore. The smoke from the many cooking fires, and likely the local blacksmith, of a village that was still several miles off could be seen against the pale morning sky. His face showed no emotion, when he was in fact almost boiling with anger held deep within. The only thing on his mind at the moment was the capture of the Avatar.