Trying to Get Back Into the Fight<Shai City,NPole>

[boragan]

“So cold here,” Bora Gan grumbled as he walked through the streets of this icy city.

Shai City, the capital of a nation that Bora Gan mostly respects. Their tribal customs hold much weigh to Bora’s mind, much like his past when he was a warrior for his tribes.

A tear ran down his eyes as he thought of what had occurred in the last few days. His Thunderfist Battalion scattered from their lost to Azula and the Fire Nation military. Their warriors torn asunder from their monstrous machines. Before leaving, Bora issued that they have their last stand at Ba Seng Sei. If the capital will fall, he ordered all of the survivors to go into hiding until they were called to arms once more. Until then, Bora was not here for vacation.

He knew that his wound was deep. His loss to Zilong took a mental toll on him, especially with the loss of his prized tetsubo that was given to him by his tribal leader back in the days of old.

“I’m gonna beat that @$$hole,” Bora grunted. A deep void sank into his heart. He felt that he was abandoning his men to the wolves. Leaving unauthorized like that in the middle of a war would be classified as abandonment and would be killed if he was caught. He didn’t care. He needed to die while finding a solution. He couldn’t just sit there ill and watch his kingdom get destroyed by the enemy. He needed to get healed.

Bora breathing deepened as he continued to wander. His armor made him stand out from the rest. He couldn’t leave that behind for the Fire Nation to take. He has much pride in his armor, he won’t have that taken away. He watched his breath fog as it exited his lips from the icy atmosphere.

“Damn it. Why is it so cold?” Bora hissed as he wandered.

“Sir, you need to keep warm,” a voiced called. The voice was soft to the ears. Bora turned around to see an old woman near a kiosk. Her wooly coat was an aqua blue in color and her hair was peppered in color and tied into a bun in the back. Her grey eyes were gentle and reflected light like water in the sun.

“No kidding ma’am,” Bora rudely replied, “I can’t believe something so white and beautiful could be so damn cold.”

She looked disappointed and saddened by his remarks. She looked down toward the ground. Bora took a few seconds to figure out why she acted like that, then knew why.

“I’m sorry ma’am,” Bora apologized, “That was really rude of me to do. I would like to make it up to you.” Bora looked at the kiosk to see that she was selling coats made of blue fur. Chances are, it was a rare color of seal-walrus that are blue in color.

“How much for one of the coats ma’am?” Bora asked her. She looked up to him and smiled with a glowing radiance of the sun.

“Kind sir, they are much too small for you,” she answered, “But I can try to accommodate for your size.”

[boragan]

“So are you saying that you have enough fur to cover myself with?” Bora Gan questioned the old woman.

“Of course,” she replied, “My son is an excellent hunter. He knows where the hot spots are for hunting. Will you please come with me my dear?”

She extended her hand out to him. Bora looked confused. Here he is in a land which was different from his own. He stood out drastically and looked suspicious from everyone else, but here is an old woman who fully trusted him. Bora didn’t know what to think. All he could do is trust back. His giant hand reached out to her and both hands met. Bora tried his hardest not to crush her hand. She led him to the back of her kiosk. There she set up a standing blind so the others couldn’t gawk at the both of them.

Feeling even more cautious than ever, he was forced to take off his armor in order for her to take his measurements. With his armor off, the old woman took the measurements he needed.

“Now if you don’t mind my young man, this will take a few days to get the materials ready for your new coat,” she told him.

“Very well ma’am,” Bora kindly replied, “I saw come back in a few days to pick it up and pay for it.”

Bora bowed humbly to her and she replied back. Bora turned around and walked away, thinking of her kindness.

“Why did she have to be so kind?” Bora thought, “I was a total stranger to her, but she treated me with kindness. Why was that?”

Before he could think it over, a few guards approached him.

“You, stranger,” one guard called out, “You don’t belong here, so therefore, you are here to spy on us.”
The guards pulled out with what appeared to be staffs that were made out of a long bone of a large animal, “We demand you to come with us for questioning.”

“I didn’t do anything. Do you know who I am?” Bora bellowed. The guards took a defensive stance as they inched their way toward him.

“Frankly, we don’t care.”

[boragan]

The guards were getting closer to Bora as they inched their way up. They thought of him as a spy. Even if he wasn’t from the Fire Nation, they didn’t care; they needed him of questioning anyways.

Without his trusted armor, Bora felt naked. It was too late to try and put it back on. He looked at the guards with his steel gray eyes in fury.

“From the looks of it,” he thought, “Military trained guards. No armor and bones for weapons. Possible waterbenders among them. No contact with the earth, so earth bending is out of the question.”

People from their ice shanties looked at the commotion with a combination of fear and curiosity. They never had an attack on the city since the last Fire nation invasion with General Zhao. They were untrustworthy of outsiders with the exception of the Avatar and his group of friends.

“What’s a matter?” Bora goaded, “I’m defenseless. My armor and axe is over there. If I run, you would still catch me. Afraid that an old man like me could take you bare handed?

The guards were even more intimidated. His large stature was enough to get them on edge, now a threat and an insult to cut even more into their honor. One guard couldn’t take the suspense anymore. He charged forward with a battle cry. The other guards verbally tried to stop him, but it was too late.

Bora Gan waited for him. His fist was balled tight as he waited for the assault. When he finally approached, he took a low stance and spread one foot back and one foot forward while simultaneously thrusting his fist into the belly of his opponent. The guard easily went down as he tried to gasp for air.

“IF YOU WANT ME, YOU BETTER TAKE ME DOWN!” Bora Gan screamed. The other guards at the same time charged forward to Bora, hoping that all together, they could take him down.

[ukaleq]

It had.. been few days since the second seige had ended, and the City of ice and snow was on high alert, the warriors pacing nervously, awaiting an attack that might never come. The young noblewoman was not aware of how the water tribe's success had been made, nor did she really care much given the relative safety of her family. Her Mother had been the first to return, exhausted and drained of all her spiritual energy from the constant healing she had been doing during the battle. She hadn't sustained any injured, but both her Father and Brother had. Qillaq, her father, had been beaten up so to say, suffering a burn across his arm which took him out. Quanah had received a nasty wound to his stomach from a Fire nation bayonet and their Mother and Father had now been tending to it round the clock to try and keep infections at bay. Other than that, the family was back together once more with the return of the young girls, Ukaleq and Naira.

Now, this morning found Ukaleq trying to return to some sense of normalcy as she went around the city on her daily walk. She found the walk a peaceful meditation even before the sieges and even more so now. She often wandered down in the lower rings, sometimes taking a Gondola around the city instead. As she shuffled along the snow-covered path, she stepped out into an open area of the city, a large square that was empty save for a fountain, a few totems carved with the spirits of the Water Tribe and people. There was a strange hushed silence among the citizens. The women whispered among themselves as they stared onward. The men frowned in disapproval, a few shouted things towards.. towards well whatever was going on.

She bit her dark lip as she drew her head back, her dark blue eyes looking away from the crowd for a moment before curiosity got the best of her. The dark skinned noblewoman approached the clustered citizens, a wall of blue before her. Small in statue, she managed to find a small opening between a couple of people and she stepped forward. She lifted a hand to her lips at the sight of the soldier.. a strange soldier. A gasp tried to escape her lips, which she quickly halted, furrowing her dark brows and causing a serious of lines in her forehead. Her free hand held her elbow to her body, the grey rabbit fur of her parka pressing against the dark Prussian blue that made up the body and sleeves of the parka.

A scream went up from the crowd, a yell, as one of the warriors went down, subjected to a punch from the stranger man in the gut. The crowd visibly went back, some of the younger men in the crowd beginning to get testy, a few of them even rushing forward when their mothers, wives, and betrotheds couldn't keep them back. In addition to the employed warriors in their matching, uniformed parkas, now the young men of the tribe, some of who were training for warriors, were beginning to get into it. Just what was going on?! Ukaleq's face turned, her pudgy upturn nose defining her profile as she glanced to both sides, stepping back and away as she felt a man shove her shoulder aside. This was crazy!

[boragan]

"I can't believe you would attack me, even if you have no idea why I am here," Bora exclaimed. He set himself up with a defensive stance as the charging soldiers moved in. He needed to turtle up from the overwhelming forced that were coming at him. If he had a heavy weapon in his hand, this would of been too easy. However, he never fought so many with his bare hands before, especially with no earth around him.

They launched a volley of strikes toward him. With some quick maneuvering, he managed to avoid many of the hurtful blows. With his right hand, he lunged forward toward one guard and thrust upward toward his jaw. The cracking of enamel could be felt in the air as he was driven upward.

The force of the blow agitated his wound. He felt it go all the way up his back. He writhed in pain and yelled. He touched the wound and felt the blood oozing from the cut. He went down to one knee from the agony he felt. He looked to the crowd and saw the sight of horror in their eyes. They all thought he was the enemy. With that feeling, he felt some guilt in his heart and shared some of that horror with everyone around him. Two of the guards took the opportunity to take advantage of the situation. One kicked him sideways at the wound he touched while the other took a piece of the bone staff and hit him over the back of the head with it. Both of these blows was enough to put Bora Gan flat to the ground, helpless from the guards waiting to apprehend him.

[ukaleq]

She turned her head away, holding her slender gloved hands to her face as she closed her eyes tightly, dark lashes dotted with teardrops. How could they be so cruel? The man, whoever he was was alone with no reinforcements..he wasn't a threat and could be easily apprehended without this being necessary! Her stomach turned the crowd swelled around her, pushing forward towards the man with blood on their voices.
Granted, Ukaleq hated the Fire Nation.. with a passion. They had hurt her Father and Brother, threatened the safety of her dear little sister and the lifestyle of the Northern Water Tribe. She opened her eyes, peering down at the snow and ice which always seemed to be tinted like a pale turtle's egg. Mercy was something that had never been shown to the Water Tribe's warriors or so she had heard from her Brother and Father. She had read the records, the archives, the folklore that told of battlefield atrocities and then of battlefield mercy.

Their was a story from hundreds of years ago from when the Northern Water Tribe was not united. The snowy permafrost was stained with blood by the time the Water tribes' healers, mostly women, stepped out together. The fighting stopped as they spread out, healing the wounded that laid trampled, and tending to the departing souls of the dead. For a day the fighting stopped while the women went to work, clearing the field and tending the injured, even it they were from another tribe.

Naira would have done that. The little girl was not a healer, but her words and heart were larger than any healer's.

Her hand fell away from her dark skinned face, eyes fearful as she even considered what she did next. The young woman turned back towards the shifting crowd, raising her fur-trimmed hands up as she pushed aside the others. She popped through unscathed due to her short statue. The pleated and ruffles cream colored skirts were kicked up by seal-skin boots as she ran forward, decorative rabbit fur trim fluttering around the hem of the parka. The noblewoman threw out her arms as she stopped in the middle of the pack, her dark face absolutely terrified and fearful as she bit her lip, tears welling in her eyes. After a moment's pause.. she began to lower her arm, her entire demeanor becoming like a frightened and cornered deer elk. "Please let him speak..? He is alone and defenseless. " Her voice was soft, cracking in pitch as it wavered and fluttered as her gaze dropped. One of her hands came to rest at her collarbone, fingers gripping on to the looped braid that sat on her shoulder before it dropped down to her side. What a stupid thing she had done..

[boragan]

The cold snow eased the cuts from his body. He could feel the soothing water creep up into his wounds. A welcoming feeling this was. Their attacks stopped. The Northern Water Tribe guards were satisfied at the work they have done to this broken warrior.

“Alright,” one guard spoke, “Pick him and drag him somewhere for lockup.” Two others complied with the order and galloped over to Bora’s broken body. They picked him up by his arms and dragged him to where he needed to go. Bora’s skin was getting numb from the cold in the area.

"Please let him speak..? He is alone and defenseless,” one voiced called out from the crowd. Bora slowly raised his head to see who called out for him. From what he could vaguely see, it was a tribeswoman who he believed felt a sense of mercy for his broken spirit.

The guards looked at her strangely, then continued to drag him away. Before they could take him very far, his booming voice called out to her. He summoned up the rest of his energy to speak.

“I am…… Major Bora Gan,” he spoke loudly, “I am…… an Earth Kingdom warrior. I am…… the leader of…… the Thunderfist Battalion.”

His head lowered violently as one of the guards backhanded him in the back of the head. There isn’t anything he could do. All he could do is let him drag his broken body and broken spirit to whatever fate they send him to.

[ukaleq]

How dare they ignore a Ulloriaq! was her first thought, surprisingly even her as it popped into her head. The young noblewoman watched with an ever growing shock and and dismay at the way the Warriors of her tribe were acting. She stared at them with wide eyes, her eyes flickering from their faces, to their wolf-tail hairstyles, to the drudge-colored grey of the man's armored form. She grimaced at the strike, lifting a glove hand to shield her eyes from the blow. The noise sickened her to her stomach and she felt her stomach clench.
Through the tuffs of lace-like flowers she wore on her ears, a bright spring-green in color, she heard his name. So he was an Earth Kingdom soldier.

She had to tell Father. Forcing her stomach back down into her gut, Ukaleq grabbed the cream-colored hem of her skirts, lifting them up from dragging on the snowy ground. Her Father could do something.. before the man froze in the cold of the North pole. She still clutched her face as she jogged away from the yard with it's totem statues and fountain that never froze. The City's 'streets' were either canals or open walkways often traversed by the deer-elk used as transportation in the city, She ran along one of the Canals, muttering pardons to those who had to move out of her way. The two braids that hung along her back folded into loops bounced as she ran, tucked into the lined hood of her parka, the feldgrau grey of the rabbit's fur a contrast to her dark chocolate colored hair. Her father could sort this out.. yes he could. he was a chieftain in fact, a remnant of the divided tribe.. a lesser chief. He would look into this.. Yes.. he would. Despite being burned in the siege.. he would help, wouldn't he?

[boragan]

The crowd of people started to slowly scatter as the fight between a wounded Bora Gan and a few Northern Water Tribe city guards came to an end. The victors dragged Bora’s semi-conscience and semi-limp body to what looked like a prison. The entire prison was made out of ice, The walls and bars were all naturally made with the frozen water around them. The ice itself left an opaque color, so no one could see inside of it. One waterbender lowered the bars of the prison cell as he saw the guards with another prisoner. They dropped him off inside and left him to lay. The watchmen then rose the icy bars and trapped him inside.

“Could I at least get something warm to wear? It’s a little cold than what I’m use to,’ Bora asked grumpily.

“I see they roughed up another one,” the watchman said, “I really wish they’d take it easy on people that show up at the city.”

Bora sat up onto the wall with the remaining energy he had. The watchman looked no different than the other guards. He had the blue fur coats that they all wore to keep warm with fur hats to keep their head warm with. Unlike the other’s however, this one was hospitable than the others. He had a fire nearby with a kettle on top of a grate. The watchman lifted up a kettle and poured a cup of tea for himself.

“Sorry friend. I’d like to share, but it’s against policy,” the watchman smiled.

“Can I at least have someone gather my items from somewhere? They are important to me and I need them near,” Bora asked.

“I’ll see if I can get into it in the first place,” the watchman replied.

[ukaleq]

It had been hard for the young woman to try and get a moment alone with her father, to get his mind off the fight his only son had barely won for his life. Quanah, it seemed would now live and so the precious time that Ukaleq could grasp from her father seemed spared. The elder, his forehead creased with worry and his dark bistre colored hair streaked with shades of khaki, had not come easily with his daughter. Even now his hollow cheeks were drawn across his bones, mouth set firm as they walked together, one arm held strapped to his torso, a wrap of fur placed around the bandaged forearm, a wound from this most recent attack by the Fire Nation. He could sense the urgency in his daughter's steps. A Earth Kingdom warrior had been taken in custody? There had been no Earth Kingdom Citizens in the Northern Tribe for years..! It was a idiotic statement and one that he would have never believed had it not come from his own daughter, always honest.

Few words were spoken between the Chieftain, an offical under the Cheif of the Northern Tribe as a whole, as his face was well known and his name, Qillaq Ulloriaq respected. Eyebrows were raised at the prescence of his daughter, the ever-quiet and humble Ukaleq, at is side. She glanced away from their faces as the men spoke, staring down at the ground as her Father gained access to the prison for them. He placed his hand along her shoulders, and guided her in, an escort led the way into the prison chambers of ice, the air inside even colder than outside, and the empty cells without furs and blankets. Only one prisoner had been delivered recently.. well relatively recently when you considered the prisoners taken during the Seige. However, the Firebenders were stored elsewhere.. until it was fit to execute them.

They approached the wall of icicles, the shadows cast by them a chilling reminded despite the beauty of the ice. The cheiftain glanced downward to his daughter, her eyes finding it hard to look at the prisoner she had brought him to see. She felt her blood heat up in her cheeks, feeling suddenly very small and insignificant in the world of men. Honestly, what right did she have to bring her injured Father in this matter? She spoke very quietly, and gently to break the uneasy silence, glancing up for just a moment at the figure inside the cell. "That is him, Father. The Earth Kingdom warrior.."

[boragan]

A few hours went by since Bora’s capture. Shivering on the floor, he wiped his cuts from the fight to present a little cleaner look to himself. He looked over to the watchman who was watchibng him like he should.

“So, when are the items I requested showing up?” Bora asked, getting a little impatient.

“Sir, we are under no obligation to retrieve any items from you. In case of a case in the courts, then we will use those items we found for evidence,” the watchman explained politely, “So to answer your question sir, I don’t think we will be retrieving those items.

Bora looked upon him stoically as he relaxed on the ground. He almost fell into a sleep when he heard some footsteps coming from the hall. The watchman turned him head to see who it was, and saw the look of surprise on his face. He stood up from his stool and bowed deeply to whoever he was bowing to. Two people presented themselves in front of Bora’s cell.

“Elder, it is a pleasure to be within your presence,” the watchman humbly said as he left for the corridor. From what Bora saw, he saw an elderly man in front of him as well as a young woman. They both were wearing the traditional clothing of the Water Tribes which is blue fur coats to keep themselves warm with.

“That is him, father. The Earth Kingdom warrior,” the young girl said.

Bora slowly raised himself from the floor. With a few painful grunts, he was able to lift himself up onto one of his knees. He breathed hard as it was a big effort to even move with his substantial injuries.

“I must apologize if I cannot stand to bow to you, but I’m at a little bit of a disadvantage here,” Bora said coldly, waiting to see what their business is with him.

[ukaleq]

Qillaq looked at the man in silence, assessing his build and structure from his higher vantage point. A shaved head and a thick beard surrounded rough features and a nose that looked like it might have been broken at some point. They were not much far apart in age, the Chieftain discerned by the grey that speckled the man's beard. He wore no armor..

He glanced down at his daughter, who stood very still with her chin drawn back. Her eyes watched the imprisoned soldier with worry, their dark depths showing grave concern. Her heart was large. The chieftain turned back to the soldier, to Bora Gan and spoke. "My daughter says you are an Earth Kingdom soldier, moderately injured. What brings you to the North Pole? Did the Fire Nation abandon you when our warriors drove them from our shores a second time?"

Ukaleq felt her heart pounding in her chest as her Father asked the questions. She felt.. so nervous. What if she had wasted her father's time? What if this man was Fire Nation? Pressing her lips together, she glanced upwards to her father without moving her head, then back to the man. Strands of loose hair hung infront of her face, casting thin shadows across her forehead as they curved inward and just touched her skin.

[boragan]

A glint of agitation could be seen in Bora’s eyes. He couldn’t tell whether the old man was calling him inferior or left overs for them to discard. A flash of heat grew inside of his heart as he lingered his question. He didn’t know how to respond to it either.

He saw the girl by him, who from the looks of her age, is probably the new generation of his family. Due to because she was here, he had to mind his manners, no matter how much on edge he is and how much he hates being polite.

“First off, no Fire Nation soldiers would ever leave somebody like me anywhere far away without them putting me in a prison cell,” Bora scoffed. He then took a look around and noticed the irony in his words, “Second, I came here out of my own free will, hoping to see if I can get some help, and all I got were a bunch of guards attacking me without question and putting me in this freezing holding cell!”

He wrapped his arms around his chest to keep the warmth from wandering far. The cuts and scars on his arms show how many fights he ever were in, which was a lot.

“Also, can I please get some damn clothes on? It’s freezing around here,” Bora hissed. The anger inside of his heart made him forget his manners and acted as he normally would back at home.

“Nobody knows who I am around here, which I can understand. So I guess I can finally tell someone that actually has a mind around here. I am Major Bora Gan. Major in the Earth Kingdom army and leader of the Thunderfist Battalion. Now, is it possible that I can get my armor and weapon from that old lady I was talking to earlier before I ended up in this cell?”

[ukaleq]

The chieftain nodded, closing his eyes as he murmured. "I see, I see." He folded his arms behind his back, puffing his chest out as he breathed deeply. After a moment's pause, he brought one hand up to his chin, stroking his beard. "Guard." He snapped his fingers and turned towards the watchman. "Fetch this man furs and summon a healer." The Chieftain commanded, his daughter glanced up at him as he gave the orders. A subtle smile crossed her lips she watched him summon over another watchman and command him to remove the bars. The bender complied, though with a mild bit of confusion on his face but how he could refuse the order of Chieftain Ulloriaq. The two nobles stepped back as the ice bars lowered and were reabsorbed into the ground.

Qillaq nodded towards the Major and stepped forward and his daughter bowed in a slight incline towards him. "Forgive us, Major Bora Gan." The Chieftain spoke. "The Fire Nation recently launched a second siege against us and our guard is still high."

[boragan]

Raising to him feet slowly from his wounds, Bora Gan stands on his feet. His mere size was colossal compared to most men. He looked down to the elder and his grand daughter.

“Our country gets raided each and every day, and you have the excuse to attack anyone after only a second attack?” He balled up his fist and slammed the bottom of his fist onto the wall. Bits of ice from the cell wall fall to the ground and crashed with a chiming tune upon shattering.

Before Bora could get anymore upset, the healer shows up to heal his wounds.

“Now, while this lady heals my wounds, what are we to do with this slight that has been brought upon me?” He sits down to relax himself as the healer does her magic. The water bending of healing works on Bora’s body. The small cuts on his body healed up over seconds while his larger and deeper wounds took a little longer to heal.

“Now,” Bora asked while in a calmer state, “How long would it take to get my armor as well as some furs for me so I don’t get sick from this cold?”

He still felt a little bad for himself for losing to those guards. If he was in his best shape at the time as well as with his tetsubo, he probably would have given them a run for their money. A look of disappointment could be seen in his eyes.