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Post by haukea on Mar 31, 2008 15:37:41 GMT -5
Haukea kept her gaze skyward as Hebirei went inside. Her mind was still jumbled and tangled up around what had just happened. The romantic tales she loved so dearly didn't deal with arranged marriages...well, at least the ones from the Earth Kingdom didn't. There was a true spark between lovers. There was real love there. Love so strong, that marriage was the inevitable path. This wasn't the case for Haukea though. She didn't even know Hebirei, and here her parents expected her to marry him?
Haukea looked up as Hebirei handed the cup to her. She swished the liquid in her mouth, then spat off to the side of her. She did this a couple times, until she felt sure that the rancid aftertaste was gone. With a flick of her hand, she attempted to bend the mess away as Hebirei had....and pouted when she was unsuccessful. Her brow furrowed as she attempted it again. The third try was the charm though, as the mess was sent away from the pair.
The scrawny scribe let out a sigh...and then looked to Hebirei. A smile was on her face now, as the girl did a complete 180 in attitude. Haukea rarely dwelled on her negative emotions. There was no stopping the wheels that had been set in motion by their parents, so might as well start thinking positively about it, right?
"Well, since we're going to be married and all that, might as well get to know each other a little bit, right?" Haukea said, somehow someway managing to sound cheerful.
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Post by Nanuk on Mar 31, 2008 16:51:05 GMT -5
Hebirei silently critiqued the girl's waterbending skills, or lack thereof. He was almost glad, because he wasn't exactly very prideful, but one thing he did take pride in was his bending. If he was going to marry this girl, he would have to feel he was the dominant one, a problem he has always had. He was suddenly very skeptical of her, though, why was she suddenly so cheery? A slight frown crossed his face, now that she was over her problems, it allowed him to dwell on his. He was going to be a husband. The thought resounded through his mind until he couldn't think about it anymore.
He turned his head back toward Haukea and gave a fake smile, and said, "Well, I suppose we should use this time as best we can. When I walked in there, I heard something about 2 or 3 weeks until the wedding..." He sighed and looked at his feet. There really was nothing they could do about it. "Well, what can I say? I am 16, and I have two brothers, one now passed. There is my older brother Nu-Doru... He left home awhile ago.. and my younger brother Ookami, who was lost during the first raid." It was paining Hebirei to bring up these memories, and it could show on his face, even though he was trying to hide it. "Well, what about you? Have any siblings?"
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Post by haukea on Mar 31, 2008 17:10:33 GMT -5
Haukea listened to Hebirei, taking the smile she thought to be geniune as a good sign. When it faltered at the mention of his younger brother being lost in the first seige, she wanted to say something like sorry for the loss or something along those lines. She didn't really get a chance though, as Hebirei shifted the focus of the conversation on herself. When the question came her way, she brought a hand up to her chin. Where to start really? She moved her legs so that they were in front of her rather than under her, smoothing the skirt of the brocade long gown she wore with her hands. She brought her legs closer to her, resting her hands on her knees.
While Hebirei's talk of himself had been relatively short, Haukea...well...
"Wow, where to start? Um...well, I just turned 16 on the solstice. I'm an apprentice to Master Taartoq at the archives. My family is the biggest trading family in the North, doing a lot of business with the Earth Kingdom. Well, that is until the Fire Nation came recently. The Harta ships were ordered to stay in port so that they could be used to help defend the city."
She looked over at Hebirei a moment.
"Oops...sorry, kinda chased a rabbit there for a sec," the talkative girl said by way of apology. She didn't wait for a response to the statement though, as she looked back up into the night sky.
"Let's see...I have 8 older brothers and no sisters. Ikaika is oldest and has a wife and two kids. Kai is next oldest...married as well. Then there's Iakopa and Kaleo, who are only a year apart. They're also married, and Kaleo's wife just had a little boy. Then there's the triplets, Keoni, Kimo and Kekani. They're not married yet, but Kimo's got a girl he's sweet on. And then there's Pika, who's only a couple years older than me."
She let out a bit of a giggle, glancing back to her husband-to-be.
"Pika's the only one out of the boys that hasn't gone off to sea with my dad and the other men. He's a water bender, and is still training under Master Pakku. He's really good at it, too."
There was an unsaid 'better than me' to her tone, but she didn't. While she knew her bending was absolutely horrible, she wasn't jealous of her brother's talent. She loved him, dearly.
"So...what'd you do during this last seige? I had to help with the healers..."
A bit of a shudder ran through her...
"It was terrifying..."
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Post by Nanuk on Apr 2, 2008 16:25:21 GMT -5
Hebirei's eyes widened as she talked, and boy, could she talk. He had figured that she had siblings, most people did, but she had eight? Eight? He was really surprised, to say the least. "You have eight brothers? I really hope they're nice... if they're not, I'm in for it." He allowed his right hand to wander, bending some snow off of the ground, and twirling it in the air. He was also genuinely surprised to see that she only had one brother that could bend. He glanced around, still listening to her, until he saw a cut on his right arm. He quickly melted the snow between his hands and started to heal his arm. He then forgot that Haukea didn't know he was a healer, and in response to the comment about Pika, said, "Yeah, I am decent at healing, but I am not the best at it's offensive counterpart." Hebirei silently wondered how good Pika was, and if he was better than him. He probably wasn't, but he couldn't help but be competitive when it came to bending. He then heard her bring up the second siege, and she mentioned that she helped the healers. "Well, actually, I spent most of the siege getting to know your master, Taartoq. We played chess, and... hrm, I need to have a rematch with him, we still don't know who won. We were in one of the shelters, and I would have liked to have been helping the healers, but my family made me stay, and I'm really not good enough yet..."
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Post by haukea on Apr 2, 2008 21:18:25 GMT -5
Haukea couldn't help but surpress a shudder as Hebirei talked about how he'd spent his time during the seige in one of the shelters.
"I wish I could've been in one of the shelters. It was terrifying! Much more than the first time the Fire Nation attacked us."
She brought her knees closer to her, and continued, looking sullenly off in front of her.
"Warriors seemed to just keep coming in," she said somewhat distantly. "And we would patch them up...and they would go right back out if they were able. I'm a horrible healer, terrible at bending...so the best I could really do was assist the other healers and make the wounded comfortable. And the bombs..."
She shuddered again, closing her eyes.
"It seemed like for a while they were never going to stop."
The scrawny girl grew quiet a moment. She didn't like dwelling on the Seige. It was too disheartening. It was bad enough she was having to help with repeat treatments with the remaining injured warriors, without having to verbally relive it. So...with a sigh, she imagined the horrible memory escaping like the breath that now turned to vapor in front of her. When she turned to Hebirei, she was smiling again...and definitely ready to change the subject.
"As far as my brothers go, you probably won't see the much once the ships put out to sea...well, with exception to Pika anyway. And Pika is fair...then again, my opinion is a little biased I guess."
The girl giggled, which seemed to bring a bit of a sparkle to her carolina blue eyes.
"So, you played chess with Master Taartoq? I'm surprised he played with you. I mean...nothing against you, but I don't see him doing that with anybody. Except maybe with another adult or something."
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Post by Nanuk on Apr 2, 2008 22:00:23 GMT -5
Hebirei thought back to that day when he had played chess with the archivist, comforted that small girl, fought with that sour man's family, and met a new life. He really had wanted to be out there healing... but that really wasn't an option. If only he were a year older, then he could make these decisions for himself! He shook his head, thinking about the tribe's customs. At sixteen, you could be married, but you weren't free from your parents rule until seventeen. It's like giving the parents a year to do whatever they want, then freedom for the teen. He finally just stopped thinking about it and replied to Haukea. "It must have been hard for you, I am sorry."
Then she changed the subject, but he was fine with that, and he was also glad that the only brother that he would see a lot was nice. "Well that's good. And as for the chess match with Taartoq... well, it wasn't exactly normal conditions, that may have constituted it. I really only interjected and asked him for a game because he was about to start an argument with another man. Besides, I may not look it, but I am pretty good at games like chess. I almost won, but a bomb knocked everything over."
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Post by haukea on Apr 3, 2008 8:27:33 GMT -5
As much as Haukea admired Taartoq, she knew that the man's nature tended to rub others the wrong way. So when Hebirei mentioned that he was about to start an argument with someone while in the shelter, she wasn't all that surprised. She was surprised to hear that Hebirei nearly had him beat. That was no small feat, in Haukea's mind.
"Wow! You must be pretty smart then, if you almost beat Master Taartoq!" she commented.
Her gloved hand reached for one of her braids, and she began fidgeting with the sepia locks. She wasn't bored or anything at this point...she just felt the need to keep her hands busy.
"I saw you bend a little bit ago, to heal a cut on yourself," she said...just now getting around to comment on something that had happened a few minutes ago. "I thought maybe I recognized you from somewhere. I think you were in some of the healing lessons I was in."
...yeah....leave it to Haukea to not remember the face of the only male healer to attend her healing lessons.
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Post by Nanuk on Apr 3, 2008 13:46:56 GMT -5
Hebirei could almost feel his ego start to swell when she complimented him on his chess skills. He had to find a way to shrink it now, before he got obnoxious. He merely said, “Yeah, I’m pretty good, but I wouldn’t consider myself too smart in a sense. It’s more like I am clever… I suppose.” He couldn’t help but notice her twiddling with her braids, and he also couldn’t help but notice how nice she looked. Now that the conversation had taken a lighter turn, he allowed his natural instincts to come back. When she brought up his healing though, his ears perked up.
“What, this?” Hebirei then pointed to the small little mark that was left on his arm. “This was nothing; you are looking at the only male healer in the Northern Water Tribe after all. I have been training for four years now… Now that you mention it, I think you were in one of my classes.” Hebirei cut himself off before he could say, ‘you were the one that wasn’t any good’. His ego was really getting too big, so he stopped talking and took the cloth that held his wolf-tail up out. It was starting to tickle his ear and was getting annoying, he would need it cut soon. He would need it cut for the wedding anyway, he thought bitterly. He really couldn’t get the concept in his head completely.
Then, as if on queue, Kouza and Hayashi came outside and beckoned for the teens to come back in. They both strolled back in and were told to sit. Kouza, Kaimana, Hayashi, and Noelani were all standing in a row, looking at the teens. First, Kouza piped up, “Your wedding will be in 20 days.” Then Hayashi, “Hebi, you are to make a betrothal necklace for Haukea.” Kouza next, “Also, in due time, son, you will have to take warrior training to protect your new family.” Hayashi again, “And in 5 days, you will both be fitted for your wedding attire. Noelani and I will take care of planning the wedding, you two just have to make sure you are ready.”
Hebirei’s head started to spin, it was all coming so fast…
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Post by haukea on Apr 3, 2008 15:26:18 GMT -5
Haukea was about to giggle as Hebirei gloated a little about him being the only male healer, but she brought her hands up to try and stiffle it. She didn't want to make him mad or anything. The near laughter seemed to fall by the way side though, as reached up to mess with the cloth that held his wolf tail up. Her hands lowered, and her smile was still beaming. Hebi (as she decided to start calling him from now on) didn't seem too bad. Maybe this arranged marriage wouldn't be that bad?
Soon, Hebi's parents were asking them both to come in. With a sigh, she rose to her feet and followed her fiancee into the Dangan home.
"Your wedding will be in 20 days."
Wow...the way it was said was just so...so final. That little bit of silver lining she'd started to see shriveled a little bit, as the logistics of the thing was layed out before the pair. 20 days. 20 days and they would be wed. Five days from now, they would be getting fitted. And from the sounds of things, the teens would have little to absolutely no involvement, aside from just showing up. She felt that knot of nausea building up in her again, and was sure she would have to go outside to throw up, yet again. Things were moving so quickly! And then she looked over at Hebirei...
He looked like he was going to pass out right there. Her slender hands, covered in her mittens, reached out and took his. It was sort of a quiet, 'hey, it's okay, don't worry' gesture. That bright and sunny attitude of hers peaked out, as her mother started talking about fabrics for their wedding attire. Haukea wasn't listening (something that isn't that big of a stretch to believe) as she just smiled at him.
Things would be alright. It was looking kind of cloudy right now, but the sun would shine through soon enough. It had to.
Discussions went on for quite awhile, and it was getting late. Eventually, plans were set for fabrics to be picked out during the days before the fitting. As the Harta family left, Haukea's carolina blue eyes glanced once more in Hebirei's direction.
It would be alright, she forced herself to think. Hebi didn't seem all that bad...so...maybe things would work out alright?
Haukea has left the thread.
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Post by Nanuk on Apr 7, 2008 17:38:53 GMT -5
Hebi merely nodded while his parents talked, it was finally starting to set in completely. He was going pale and could feel his stomach starting to unsettle. He thought he was going to completely lose it, until he felt something brush up against his hand. Hebirei looked down to see Haukea's gloved hand holding his own, as she gave him a silent assurance. He must have been looking very sick, and meanwhile Haukea was smiling to him as if to make him feel better. He started to shake his head slowly, almost like he was shaking all the pressure off of himself.
He knew this whole thing was going to be difficult, for he would have to make a betrothal necklace and take offensive bender training, which he had always hated. He silently started to wonder who would be training him, and then he started to tune out the adults. He just couldn't take in anymore, it was too much. Instead, he glanced casually over to Haukea, who still had her smile on, and smiled right back. It would all be fine. It had to be.
Thread is over
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