Market Days <Shai City, North Pole>

[ebele]

Reindeer-hide mukluks sank into the fresh snow as the storyteller began her journey to the market. It was a good day. Calm. It had snowed the night before, and it lay fresh and thick upon the ground and the chill in the air was refreshing. The young woman pulled her white shenyi robe closer about her, her hands tucked into her deep, bell-shaped sleeves as she walked up the frozen, snow-packed steps.

It was early morning, and Ebele knew that vendors would just be opening up their carts. She sighed heavily, a puff of cold air exiting her parting lips. She smiled warmly as her foot finally stepped on the last step of the stairs and she entered the market. It was busy with vendors trying to set up their things before their buyers came. She readjusted her hands in her sleeves and walked forward, head raised high. But the vendors knew her well. At least, the ones around the fountain she normally sat at knew her well. One greeted her with a wave, and she waved back.

"Got a good story today? You look confident," the vendor called as she set out some fresh winter apples on her cart.

Ebele stepped up to her cart, smiling brightly. "Yes, I do. I feel quite confident d'at d'e children will enjoy d'is story."

"I thought." The woman nodded and turned her back to Ebele. Ebele, who wasn't quite at the cart yet, suddenly tripped. She caught herself on the cart, eyes wide. The woman turned around, curious. "Are you alright?"

"Fine, fine. Just tripped a little." She slipped her hands back into her sleeves, a smirk finding its way onto her lips.

The vendor began to turn around, then paused. She turned back toward Ebele, a scowl on her face. "The apple, storyteller," her hand was outstretched.

Ebele grinned, and pulled out the apple. "No food for de poor around 'ere, aye?" The vendors eye twitched. Actually twitched. That made Ebele laugh and she tossed the apple back at the vendor. "I see how it is. No problem, ma'am. I'll just be headin' to my station now."

She began to walk off. "Storyteller!" Ebele paused and turned, just in time to catch a winter apple. "On the cart. Go on and entertain the kids."

Ebele waved the apple to the vendor. "Much d'anks, ma'am!" The woman nodded, but a small smile was there. Ebele saw it. Smirking, Ebele situated herself on the fountain just as people began to enter the market place.

[hotaru]

Morning practice as usual had ended as the moon set, as the moon set the sun began to rise, people began to walk about and life was breathed into the city. This also meant the young girl no longer had to hide as she watched the bending boys, how she pined to be able to bend water like that, twisting it and turning it in the beautiful light of the moon. A year or two ago she remembered journeying to watch the training of the young boys and was mystified by the art of water bending itself, though now it seemed to become more interesting for an unknown reason.

Maybe it had to do with the actual boys bending the water… still she envied them for doing what they did so openly.

She couldn’t even learn how to heal with water, nothing more than watch it or drink it. The child’s brown curls bounced as she ran towards her next destination of the day, her blue eyes shining with the early morning energy though younger than fifteen receive. Her aunt and uncle were busy, her parents were off on a trading something or other. It didn’t matter, that meant more freedom. All she knew was that later in the evening after appearing for dinner she’d need to run off and try everything that she saw today.

“Sifu Ebele! “ Baggy pants encased her small legs, and a large parka settled against her body, no doubt a hand me down from her uncles more youthful days. Laughing and waving in the early morning air she could spot the older woman, it wasn’t too hard to pick her out of the crowd. As she ran down the icy steps she visibly stumbled once or twice but she always caught herself. Coming to the fountain the young girl smiled and hopped up on the rim of the fountain pulling her thick gloves off, shoving them in her pockets. She was older than some of the other children gathering, but she wasn’t the youngest.

"what kind of story will we hear today?"

[ebele]

Ebele took a bite of her apple, leaning back on the ice-coated fountain, holding herself up with one gloved hand. The other hand, ungloved, held the apple to her mouth, savoring the taste. Ah, it was sweet. She loved winter apples. They were just in season, too. She sighed and looked around the market. It was the early crowd. The older people, mostly. Older people don't like crowds. She tapped one gloveless index finger on the smooth red surface of the apple as she took another bite, looking around for one face in particular. There was always one...

“Sifu Ebele!" The young voice made Ebele look in the direction, grinning as she set her apple down in her lap and waved welcomingly to the small, eleven year old girl. She was so energetic; Ebele remembered when she was like that. Oh wait, she was never really like that. She kicked herself mentally; Be happy today! So she just smiled and waved.

"Hotaru-chan!" she called in welcome. Ebele flinched when Hotaru tripped a few times, but calmed herself down. Children fall and scrape their knees plenty of time. Its only when they turn twelve that they realize that its not sunshine pouring from their cuts and bruises, but blood.

The young girl hopped onto the fountain rim beside Ebele, pulling her gloves off excitedly. Hotaru was one of the older children that came to hear her. "What kind of story will we hear today?" she asked enthusiastically.

Ebele just laughed. "You'll have to wait and see, Hotaru-chan!" She looked at the apple and then offered it to Hotaru. "How's your Aunt Hotaru-chan? Is she doing well with the baby? When is it due?" Ebele had met Hotaru's aunt once or twice before, but always asked about her. The little woman was so gullible sometimes, but so kind. She didn't think she had made a good impression on the woman though. Ebele seemed to remember herself being a bit too sarcastic with the woman when they had first met.

[hotaru]

“Soon, real soon, she doesn’t leave the house much anymore and Kaden is constantly worried. People say if he slacks off anymore he’ll get fired but I think it’s silly, he’s excited.” She smiled softly and shook her head at the offer of the apple, her new little cousin would be cute, and hopefully it would be a he, that’s what they wanted but they wouldn’t throw a girl away, that’s how things were, nothing wrong with being a girl.

It’s just inconvenient.

People generally disliked Mica because she was from the earth kingdom, her hair was a sandy brown and her skin was a few shades lighter than everyone else’s though it was a touch darker than her own. But Hotaru had always been pale. The woman tried her best to fit in though, everyone did. Still it was true that her aunt and uncle loved one another, when they were apart you could see how it affected them, when they met up again it was obvious all was forgiven and they were once again complete. Kaden used to be looked down upon, that he couldn’t find a suitable water tribes woman. But as people got to know the couple they started to drop all the accusations.

Even in the ice and snow she couldn’t help but feel hot, she always felt hot. There was nothing wrong with it at least… especially her hands, they were toasty warm with or without gloves but when she went without people worried and claimed her fingers would freeze off. Her legs lazily swung back and forth on the side of the fountain with the comforting rush of water bringing peace to people’s minds. Well only if they paused to listen to it.

Back to the topic of the stories Hotaru pouted and let out a slightly depressed sigh, “How long am I going to have to wait? It’s not fair” She tried not to smile through her little act, it was difficult and the little kids making faces at her didn’t help it at all

[ebele]

“Soon, real soon, she doesn’t leave the house much anymore and Kaden is constantly worried. People say if he slacks off anymore he’ll get fired but I think it’s silly, he’s excited.” Ebele laughed and set the apple back in her lap. She loved babies; Hotaru's Aunt and Uncle were very lucky.

"D'ey are very lucky, your Aunt and Uncle," Ebele said softly as she smiled at the little girl, "I bet you are excited."

She had known that Mica and Kaden had been targeted for criticsm the moment they had married. It must have been hard, going through all that. An Earth Kingdom wench marrying a well-liked Water Tribesman...and it must've been hard for her, moving away from everything she was used to, to come to a place blanketed in white frost, where women are looked down upon. Well, they weren't looked down upon. They were just barred from certain activities. She wondered about Hotaru. Was she inconvinienced from any activites at such a young age? Ebele remembered having to talk her father into letting her help him fish to gain more money. It had taken her weeks to talk him into it. And even though her mother didn't like it much, he had relented.

She wondered about all the girls in the Northern Water Trive constantly. It's hard being a woman in a man's world, Ebele thought seriously, we are sent off like seal jerky in a trade. Whoever places the highest bid, or makes the prettiest necklace, gets the daughter. Its sad.

Ebele was brought back to the conversation when Hotaru continued, her legs beating against the side of the fountain. “How long am I going to have to wait? It’s not fair!”

Ebele laughed. "Not fair? Child, not'in' comes easily! Look now, de o'der children are beginin' to show!" And indeed they were, parents were dropping off their childrens with small waves to Ebele in acknowledgment before they shuffled off to marketing. When there was a sufficient amount of children sitting around her on the ground, Ebele smiled and said, "Now, are you children ready to hear the story of a princess and her prince in a land, far, far away?"

[hotaru]

Hotaru watched the story teller weave her tail allowing herself to let go of the real world in favor of discovering a new one, in the back of her mind she wanted to know more about the different kinds of benders, with the siege of the north hardly a year behind them she was curious about fire earth and air bending. There was more than enough of water bending in the North Pole, they were skilled, some of the best. How could she help but to keep it in the back of her mind?

Fire was evil and yet the relied on it as much as the water or the air. Earth bending was something she’d only seen a few times from being in the earth kingdom. It was too strange to bend the earth; there was little of it here. Mainly ice, snow and cold. An entire land of earth dirt and sun was hard to imagine when so much of the North Pole was often bathed in the moonlight. Blowing a puff of warm air into the air she watched the breath rise and eventually vanishes. Her eye widened a bit. "sorry! I have to go home I forgot my chores!" That said the young girl took off down the street reflecting on the city itself

Being up here, where everyone knew one another, foreigners were disliked and distrusted almost all the time. Just as the swirls of burning breath faded to the wind and the clamor of the city fell upon her deaf ears, the imagination kicked in, her mind was numb to the outside world and only the story existed

--due to nothing going on Hotaru had left --

[ebele]

--Aah, sorry. There was some seriously bad family problems going on, and I couldn't get on. Post closed. Sorry---