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Post by suki on Jan 15, 2007 23:36:32 GMT -5
The girl beside Hoji, Hana by name, continued walking with her eyes set straight ahead. Only when the Water Tribe ambassador called the fighting ability of the Kyoshi warriors into question did she glance his way and smirk. Hana continued to look at him for several seconds before darting her yes up ahead toward her leader.
Suki had her head turned enough to catch her gaze and she gave the slightest of nods. Hana noted the gesture and then looked back at Hoji, her hand reaching for one of the fans tucked into her sash. She held her hand there for several seconds, smiling far too sweetly at Hoji for a moment until her hand snapped forward and pulled the fan from its place. A flick of the wrist opened the fan with a ring of metal, and the bronze-colored fan sprang open a few inches shy of the ambassor's nose.
Hana quickly pulled the fan back, tucked close to her chest as she waved is slightly to create a breeze toward her face. "We will blow any opposition away with more than just our looks," she answered the presumptuous noble from the North. The Kyoshi warrior snapped the fan shut with another rapid movement of her hand and tucked the weapon away. "And if you think that fans are all we have to fight with, you are sorely mistaken."
On Hoji's left side, the other Kyoshi warrior flanking him slid a jingum free of its sheath, deliberately letting the back edge of the blade slide against the metal throat of its scabbard to draw Hoji's attention. The weapon had been hidden away under her traveling pack, as were several other swords belonging to the rest of the party.
Behind them, just for fun, Aoi decided to join in by releasing the catch on her shield and letting the folded up fan on her arm uncoil into a solid disc. The sound of the metal sliding into place would have also caught the ambassador's attention to show him that they were by no means defenseless little girls.
At the head of the group, Suki marched on confidently, sharing a smug grin with the girl beside her.
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Post by wordbender on Jan 17, 2007 17:24:46 GMT -5
Hoji raised an eyebrow as Hana looked at him. He smiled for a second, thinking he had one of Suki’s precious warriors speechless. His smirk quickly disappeared as he caught the nod that passed between two of the girls and Hana smiled all the sweeter. Suddenly, his ice-blue eyes widened and a quick inhalation of breath came out of his mouth in a hiss as Hana snapped her fan in front of his face. Even with only a few seconds of observation Hoji could tell these fans were sharp, deadly, and extremely heavy.
Well I’ll be dammed, fans are good for something.
Quickly regaining his composure, Hoji was about to reply to Hana when she abruptly took the weapon from view. The action seemed to signal the girl to his left who pulled out a sword, causing Hoji to raise an eyebrow in surprise. It wasn’t the only surprise he received, the sound that Aoi created with her shield was enough to make him turn around, a slight look of disbelief on his face. He didn’t look stupid, just unbelieving that girls would be allowed weapons of any kind, and to such an extent.
He shook his head, turning back to face the front, a slight upward turn of his lips visible. He could tell Suki was proud of her group, she stood a little straighter and walked with a little more authority. Hoji almost rolled his eyes. A small display of weaponry had momentarily stunned him to silence, but just a show wasn’t enough to startle him for long.
“Well, you are all certainty armed enough.” He said, his former amusement coming through his voice again. “But the clothes don’t make the women, right?” He said, now more for his own self-assurance than to insult the girls. Hoji heard a stream gurgling softly, coming off from the left side of the path and his eyes widened.
“Suki! What do you say to a friendly spar? There’s a small river nearby where the others can rest. It could be fun.” He said, lacing his words with honey and anticipation. Hoji wanted to let off some steam and pretending to fight this girl might be fun. “Don’t tell me you’re scared?” A challenge. There was almost no way she could back down now.
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Post by suki on Jan 17, 2007 19:46:56 GMT -5
Suki actually balked at the unexpected challenge. She stopped in mid-step and pivoted to face the Water Tribe ambassador, regaining her composure before she even completed the turn. The rest of the Kyoshi warriors stopped within a moment to regard their leader. Some of them wore smirks, while others had more serious expressions. Suki kept her eyes trained on Hoji though, absorbing the reactions of her comrades through her peripheral vision. Beside her, Keiko crossed her arms over her chest in a clear sign of her opinion.
"You want to stop the march already for something as pointless as a sparring match?" Suki finally asked Hoji. It had taken her several seconds to suppress her desire to drop her pack and draw her fans to slap some sense into the impetuous young man. His last comment had nearly made her do just that, but the responsibility she had toward her fellow warriors had kept her feelings in check. "How could she call herself their leader if she put her pride before the mission at hand?
A smirk appeared on Suki's ruby-painted lips, and she even placed a hand on her sash and she titled her hips slightly. "We're here to escort you," she went on, "and the Water Tribes are our allies. I have no intention of breeding any hostility between nations by embarassing the ambassador." Around them, Suki could see the smirks or smiles on the faces of her companions and that knowledge reinforced her decision to avoid an immature sparring match.
However, as her gaze locked onto Hoji's, there was an unmistakable glint of challenge in her eyes. Even if her mind knew it was foolish, her warriors heart wasn't backing down an inch from the fight.
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Post by wordbender on Jan 17, 2007 19:53:53 GMT -5
Hoji nearly laughed. He had to literally bite his tongue to keep his facial expression in check. Suki was mad, or at least irritated, and Hoji had invariably succeeded in makeing the girl lose at least some of her cool. An opponent that had alreadly let their emotions rule their actions was one that could be easily beaten - Suki being a girl only made her weakness' more apparent.
"We're here to escort you, and the Water Tribes are our allies. I have no intention of breeding any hostility between nations by embarassing the ambassador."
Hoji raised an eyebrow. Of course. You make a lie with one good reason and a supporting detail. The detail this time just happened to be an insult. Not thinking that the demeaning comment - it wasn't really an insult unless you believed the person after all - required a retort, Hoji tilted his head and smiled slightly.
"I'll take that as a 'Yes at a later time'?" Hoji asked, his infuriating smirk placed lightly upon his face as the Kyoshi warriors began to march again.
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Post by suki on Jan 18, 2007 0:05:09 GMT -5
"If we haven't left you by the wayside before we arrive at Ba Sing Sei," Suki replied without missing a beat, "then I'll honor you with a duel." She shifted the pack on her shoulders then and resumed their march. "Until then," she called back over he shoulder, "save all your energy for your legs. Only my warriors are allowed to complain about cramps..."
Aoi couldn't help but let out a high-pitched laugh at that comment, and Suki smirked despite herself.
******************************************************************
While the group continued on their way, a set of olive green eyes watched from the cover of the copse of trees on the opposite bank of the stream. The figure who the eyes belonged to was hidden in the foliage of the sparse forest as well as camouflaged by a wide hat made of stitched-together leaves. He released his grip on the hilt of his hefty da dao and stood slowly once the travelers were our of earshot.
Nearly 20 feet down the way, another figure stood up from a crouch behind a bush and glanced back at the first. "I guess waiting for them to refill their canteens isn't going to work," he said to the first masn as he approached him. "They just left the city a few hours ago. They won't need to replenish their water for a while." Around them, eight more men came out of various hiding places and vantage points, most carrying old or stolen weaponry, including a few Fire Nation spears and swords.
"It was too perfect an ambush location to not give it a shot," the camouflaged man replied. "But no matter... The trail splits up ahead and turns East. We'll cut through the woods and set another ambush around the bend."
"How do you know they're heading east?" one large, dirty man asked, sptting off to the side after he spoke.
"The West takes them to the Fire Nation-controlled port cities, and the East takes them toward Ba Sing Sei. The Water Tribe guy they got with them -the one who looks like he brushes his hair more than the girls- don't look like he'd have any busniess in the West... The must be headin' toward the capital." The rest of the bandits nodded at the logic, no one finding any real reason to object. "Go get the ostrich-horses and let's get moving. We got less distance to go, but we're still cutting through the woods."
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Post by wordbender on Jan 18, 2007 21:00:16 GMT -5
Another weakness women so often displayed. Hoji sighed and continued marching. Suddenly, a few branches cracked over to his left and instantly his demeanor shifted. He relaxed as they passed the place where the sounds had come from, realizing that the path did travel close to a stream. It was probably just an animal coming for a drink.
Not realizing his shoulders had tensed at the sound, Hoji forced himself to relax, taking deep breaths and lowering his eyes to watch the dull ground as it passed underneath his feet. He quickly regained his composure, but was still wary of the surrounding forest. Hoji realized that it might not be as safe as he thought it was, and these girls, for all their talk and weapons, probably wouldn't be the best bodygaurds. No, he would be better off without these 'warriors'.
Mind made up, Hoji continued walking, his gait relaxed and laid-back while his eyes darted around the woods, trying to take in every detail, every sound, every annonymous movement. He looked relaxed, but his hands were itching to feel the power of his waterbending, to send a hailstorm of needles icicles and waves into anyone that would dare oppose him. No, these warriors would not protect him.
It took another hour or so to reach a crossroads. One went to the west, the other to the east. Hoji looked ahead at Suki, but she seemed to know where she was going and immidiatly veered to the east, keeping up the same speed as when they had started.
Hoji's gaurd was down, at least for the moment. Then, something to his right snapped and his eyes . The other Kyoshi warriors heard it, the girl to Hoji's right pausing to sneak out her compacted shield. Another sound.
Hoji's eyes widened and his hand flew up, water coming from his pouch in an instant, forming a small circle of ice over his head. An arrow protuded from it, it's crude fletching obvious.
"Ambush," Hoji growled, his eyes narrowed in anger, his voice a complete foil of that which he had used to charm the girls before. Instantly his water was out of his bending pouch and his canteen. A pause and the forest was quiet.
"Maruishi?" No one but the ambush leader could hear.
A nod.
Suddenly the girls were surrounded by six men, the archer having stayed in the trees, waiting for another chance. Maruishi, the obvious leader, came out of one side of the forest, his grey eyes narrowed and his face smiling with the air of one in control.
"Now girlies, do you want to just hand over the goods or do you want to have us beat you down for them?" Maruishi said, the men around the girls and Hoji tightening their grip on the weapons.
Hoji didn't know what Suki would answer, what she would do, but he was swiftly evaluating the situation. There was one with an axe, a few - three - with spears, that one had the stance of an earth bender, one with swords and another with two knives in each hand. Plus the archer. Hoji's blue eyes narrowed. He was still hiding.
Hoji's eyes traced the outline of the man who was the leader. Earthbender, large, middle-aged, dressed in almost perfect camo.
No problem.
Hoji smirked.
"Get out of my way." He muttered to Suki, standing in front of him, his water out and his entire body yearning for a fight. "These children are nothing."
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Post by suki on Jan 18, 2007 22:10:26 GMT -5
Suki's eyes swiveled rapidly around, surveying the battlefield in every direction with a sweep of her head and quickly understanding the layout of the ambush. Behind and beside her, Hana was looking upward and off the side of the trail out of the corner of her eye. "Find him?" Suki asked quietly, hardly moving her lips. Hana remained quiet for another few heartbeats before tapping twice on the metal of her shield.
Suki gave the slightest of nods and smirked at the man who'd come to stand before them. "You're obstructing the path of an ambassador to the Earth King," she said, speaking loudly and clearly. She shifted her stance ever so slightly, stepping forward with her right leg and dropping her back shoulder ever so subtley. The shoulder strap of her pack slid to the edge of her shoulder, and around her, the rest of the girls took up similar postures. "If you have an ounce of patriotism, you'll let this man pass so that the Water Tribes might lend their aid to the war effort."
Maruishi laughed at that remark and unsheathed the da dao at his side. Holding the thick-bladed weapon up and pointing toward the girls, he said simply, "I'll take that as a 'No'."
"Shields!"
Even before the word left Suki's mouth, she and the other warriors shrugged the loosened traveling packs off their shoulders and fell back into a tight circle around Hoji, shields uncoiling from their forearms in unison. In an instant the Water Tribe ambassador was surrounded by a wall of steel, followed momentarily by an arrow and a spear thudding against the barrier.
After the first wave of projectiles, the girls broke ranks and sprinted off to engage the bandits, pulling swords from their sheaths as they went. Hana, however, stalled a moment in order to remove a fan from her sash. In a single fluid movement, as she'd done earlier on the march, she pulled back her hand and lashed it toward the treeline. The heavy metal fan flew true and hit the concealed archer within the tree. A yelp of pain was heard, followed by the sounded of rustling branches as the man fell off his perch and got caught on the branches below. His bow fell from his grasp though and hit the ground beneath the tree, removing his missiles as an immediate threat.
Suki, meanwhile had run directly for the leader of the bandits.
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Post by wordbender on Jan 18, 2007 22:30:45 GMT -5
Hoji was livid as the girls closed ranks around him, their metal shields guarding him from all sides. He wasn't merely an ambassador, damn them! He was a warrior, a fighter, much more than these girls knew! The Kyoshi warriors broke away to engage in their own fights and Hoji smirked. Finally.
Maruishi shifted his stance as well, making sure he was firmly attached to the earth he was connected too. Seeing Suki run at him, the man brought his swords up and stomped his feet, raising a boulder and pushing it towards the girl, not waiting for a response he rushed in after the large rock, hoping to surprise Suki with both the boulder and his swift sword attack.
Hoji targeted the bandit not distracted by another girl. He was a man of large proportions, wielding a fire nation spear. Hoji's smirk grew as the man lowered his weapon at him. As if the water tribe didn't have spears? Hoji sidestepped the quick downwards stroke and sliced through the wooden shaft with a crescent of sharpened ice, he then slid underneath the broken staff and kicked the mans feet from under him, pushing on his collarbone with a solidified wave of water.
The man was down hard and a swift kick to the nerve on the neck was garenteed to keep him down.
Hana was having trouble. Taking down the archer had lost her a fan and given the axe-wielder an advantage he didn't need. Her shield quavered as she parried another blow from the wicked weapon. She saw from behind the shield that the man would try another attack, this time one that would take out her shield and leave her defenseless.
Suddenly, she glimpsed the man being thrown back. Looking up, Hana saw Hoji bend water around the man and freeze him to the tree. Stopped fast the man struggled and gave up, cursing under his breath.
"Your water! Open your canteen."
Hana quickly obliged and Hoji acquired some more of his element to work with. Hoji swiftly looked around.
"Go and help the girl with the earth bender! I'll help out Suki!"
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Post by suki on Jan 18, 2007 23:01:50 GMT -5
Suki pulled up from her charge when Maruishi stomped a decent-sized rock from the ground. Her front foot slid along the ground, stalling her advance in order to lessen the impact she knew was coming. The earthbender shoved forward with his swords and sent the boulder her way. The experienced fighter, wise in the ways of redirecting an enemy's blow, pushed off with her toes into the slightest of hops and turned her body at a 45 degree angle to the rock. The boulder hit her shield hard, but the angle deflected the blow rather than absorbing it, and she was pushed to the side where she finished the spin and came around with her sword at the ready.
Maruishi came at her fast with his hefty war sword, chopping a powerful diagonal cut. Suki leaned back to let the blow miss her shield completely, but was surprised at how quickly the man reversed the direction of his sword and followed it with a backhanded slash at her middle. The Kyoshi warrior picked off the attack with her shield, though, and lifted her arm up in the process taking Maruishi's sword up high. On most opponents that would have left them exposed to a counter thrust from Suki's longer jingum, but the skilled earthbender would not be dispatched so easily.
Instead of trying to withdraw, the man stepped into the riposte and stomped his left foot on the ground, opening a small fissure in the dirt that ran right under Suki's legs. She gave a surprised grunt as her foot started to sink into the trapped, but managed to pull her leg up and plant it a few feet to the side on firmer ground. The reaction cost her her balance and she fell forward, planting her hands on the ground to keep from hitting her face on the dirt.
Sensing his victory Maruichi grasped his sword, still up high, in both hands and started to bring it down in a mighty chop. Suki was already aware of what was about to happen and could think of one immediate solution. She tucked in her right arm and rolled onto her back, hiding under her shield. The bandit leader's sword collided with it, rattling the shield and Suki as well, but the verteran Kyoshi warrior saw her opening and took it.
With her sword in hand and Maruishi's feet planted just above her head, Suki swept her arm hard along the ground over her head. The blade bit hard into the shin of his left leg, nearly cutting through the bone, and opened up a gash along the inside of his right. Maruishi howled in pain at the wound and fell backward, dropping his sword to the ground. Suki quickly rolled to her feet and looked around for another opponent to do battle with.
Her eyes settled on Kopa and Aoi standing back-to-back between a trio of men who surrounded the pair. She started toward them, bashing the bandit leader on the head with her shield as he tried to sit up and reclaim his weapon.
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Post by wordbender on Jan 18, 2007 23:20:14 GMT -5
Hoji came back up to Suki just as she finished with Maruishi. He frowned, not caring enough in the present situation to come up with a quick comment. He quickly flicked the dao sword even farther away with a flick of his water, and then followed Suki.
He had disposed of two, Hana the archer, Suki the leader, and then Hana and that other girl again had teamed up on the other earth bender. That left the other two spears and the knife thrower.
He aimed for the more experienced-looking of the two men, quickly chopping the spear shaft into kindling with his sharp ice-sickle. This time, he aimed a punch at the mans gut. The man dodged and kicked at Hoji, hitting him and pushing him away.
Hoji growled, the kick had only connected with his upper arm and would cause bruising, but nothing worse. Shifting swiftly into a proper stance, Hoji pushed the water he had at the man, who tried to duck to battering ram of liquid. It didn't work and the man was rammed into a tree, his head hitting the hard trunk and knocking him unconscious.
Hoji then turned his water onto the knife thrower, forming a whip as he slid forward, his feet and hands manipulating the water expertly. He knocked the knives out the air and then knocked the man down with the whip. A few drops turned into a needle and stuck into the mans neck, making his eyes roll into the back of his head. Hoji turned to see how Suki fared with the third man, trying to survey the damage.
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Post by suki on Jan 19, 2007 15:25:53 GMT -5
As Suki approached, one of the three men surrounding her friends turned to face her. The bandit was a lanky man wearing a bandana over the lower half of his face and wielding a spear. Seeing the man disengage, Aoi and Kopa took that moment to attack the remaining two bandits on their own.
The man's spear swiveled in a series of deceptive feints as Suki stalked toward him. He was no novice with his chosen weapon, it seemed. He stabbed out quickly with a few rapid thrusts, pecking away at Suki's shield. The warrior weathered the light attacks, but cut at his spear after his last thrust. The bandit moved the weapon down and away from the sword that could have removed the weapon's tip, and rotated the spear around swiftly to swipe at her diagonally from above. Suki raised her sword in a high parry and held the man's spear up as she charged in to shield rush the bandit.
The man pulled his spear in close, gripping it for tight combat and managed to stop Suki's shield from punching his chest. The Kyoshi warrior pushed forward another few steps, trying to knock him back, but the bandit proved stronger and planted his feet to stop her rush. Instead, Suki tried to stab around her shield and into the man's ribs with her sword, but a deft twist of the spear's shaft pushed the tip of the blade aside before it could skewer him.
However, the move had left the man with his upper body twisted and his weapon to the side while Suki was still pressing her shield against him and standing squared. Lifting her front foot up, she lunged forward and kicked hard on the inside of the man's leading knee. The leg buckled and the man collapsed awkwardly, falling sideways in an attempt to keep his footing. Suki follwed him quickly though, and delivered a hard chop with her sword that snapped his spear in half when he raised it in defense. Without even breaking her momentum, she followed in the wake of her attack and stepped on top of the man's chest and head as she ran over him to aid Aoi and Kopa.
Kopa seemed to be wearing her opponent, a man with what seemed like a wood-cutting axe, down systematically. He had numerous cuts on his burly arms and face and his right eye was nearly swollen shut. Kopa was only using her fans now, and it seemed like she would be fine.
Aoi, however, seemed to be favoring one leg and was fighting defensively with her shield and sword against a man with a pair of dao. Suki started his way.
The other girls seemed to having a tough time with the earthbender. One of them was sunk up to their wasted in the ground, struggling to get free while the other two did their best to flank the bandit. He was throwing rocks at each of them alternately and occasionally raising chunks of stone from the ground at their feet, turning the area around him into a jagged landscape.
On the opposite side of the fighting, however, the archer that Hana had knocked out of the tree had reoriented himself after the fall and climbed down the rest of the way to retrieve his bow. He looked around for a target, and Hoji's bright blue clothing was the first thing to catch his eye. He nocked an arrow and started to take aim.
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Post by wordbender on Jan 19, 2007 21:34:26 GMT -5
Hoji narrowed his eyes, instantly seeing the source of most commotion. It was the earth bender, this one taking on two of the warriors at once, having already incapacitated another. The archer, however, Hoji failed to notice and as he started towards the bender, he heard a sharp twang.
It was too late for his to react, but he half-turned towards the sound, taking an arrow in the shoulder. Hoji grimaced, his face contorted, then regained control of his composure, turning across the clearing to bear down on the archer. The other man quickly loaded his bow again and let off another arrow, this time, however, it was blocked by a shield of ice Hoji bent in front of himself. Hoji winced again, growling under his breath. It was getting hard to use his left arm.
Before the archer could nock another arrow, Hoji jumped up with a yell and threw his arm out, bending the water into a sharp arc that snapped the mans bow into two splintered pieces. As Hoji fell towards the ground, he brought his arm around, slicing through the branch the archer was planted on.
The weedy man fell on the ground and tried to crawl away, but the water-whip Hoji controlled knocked the man onto his back. The water tribe warrior was suddenly in front of the mans face, his booted foot pressing down on his neck. He held his water steady in his right hand and looked contemptuously down on the archer. Hoji's frown only deepened as the man began to gurgle and claw at Hoji's leg. Then, a small yell came from behind Hoji and he glanced over his shoulder.
Just in time, Hoji brought his hand up, moving his hand to form a hard shield that deflected the decent-sized boulder that the earth bender had hurled his way. Giving the archer one last disdainful sneer and a sharp kick, Hoji turned and ran back to the earth bender, bending water from the canteens on two of the downed earth bandits.
Two of the Kyoshi warriors were incapacitated, one secured to a tree with hard earth-ropes and the other still sunk in the ground. Hana was still left standing, with a single fan, a broken jingum and a severely battered shield.
A sharp pain shot down his arm as he deflected another array of rocks, but Hoji ignored the damage done to his shoulder. He would take care of the silly thing later, the shaft having broken off, but left the arrowhead and part of it's wooden arrow sticking out of his tunic, a small rose-pool of blood spreading from the puncture wound.
Hana had her back to him and Hoji came running up behind her, slightly to her right side, and as she winced as a large boulder was thrown from the jagged ground Hoji quickly wrapped his water whip around Hana's waist, pulling her towards him and away from the boulder. The girl looked up at him, her eyes wide.
"I'll take care of him from here." He said softly, his voice deep and his icy eyes fixed on the earth bender. The man smirked at Hoji and spat to his side, settling into a sturdy stance, legs far apart and arms held parallel to the ground, hands in fists and elbows bent at a ninety-degree angle.
Hoji's eyes narrowed and he slipped his arm from around Hana's waist, ignoring a flare of pain that shot down his left arm and shoulder. He too took a stance, slightly askew, one hand up and the other by his waist, holding the water out at an angle, his hands open as he waited for the earth bender to move.
The elder man smirked and shifted forward, hands pushed out as a row of rocks jumped up from the ground, then sped forward aiming at Hoji. The water bender quickly slipped a foot ahead, putting his weight on his front leg and his hands moving around him, blocking the rocks and pushing them to the side, one at a time. He had to slide his back foot around and did a full turn, his circle of bending water effectively deflecting the missiles.
Hoji needed to get closer. Most bending techniques didn't work at close range, and Hoji had an few tricks up his sleeves that this man wouldn't be able to anticipate.
A quick jump over a pair of ragged rocks, he blocked another small barrage of boulders that the man sent his way. Hoji took a stance and then pushed his water straight at the man, who quickly raised a corner of earth to block the wave that came at him. Hoji's frown deepened and he ran in closer, pulling his arms in tighter to his body.
Just as he expected, the man exploded the walls of his enclosure towards Hoji. Hoji allowed himself a small smirk as his water that had just been cut by the mans defense came back from behind the earth bender, pushing him down as Hoji sidestepped the now unguided earthen walls.
The water bender ran up to the man just as he got up, his water flowing across his hands to make swords out of icicles. Hoji ducked under the mans first few blows, then tried an upper attack. The man predicted his movements, however, and brought his knee up to kick Hoji hard in the ribcage.
Hoji heard something crack as he was tossed backwards, but he ignored it, sending his icicles shooting at the man as soon as he was hit. They made their mark and the earth bender was stabbed through his right collarbone and out his back and again trough his left thigh.
Trying to get up, Hoji winced and stopped now on his knees. He coughed and a few splatters of blood stained the jagged earth.
Damn. What was in that kick?
Hoji forced himself up to look at the man, who had fainted from a combination of pain, shock and blood loss.
"So that was it." Hoji muttered, looking at the earth benders legs, the torn fabric exposing armor underneath, eyebrows furrowed in a deep frown. "Metal shin plates under his pants."
Hoji took a deep breath and sat down, taking deep breaths and inspecting his wounds, seeing that most of the action was over. A bruise, an puncture wound and a broken rib.
Another deep breath.
"That was disgusting." He said to himself. How could he let himself get so badly injured by only bandits? It was unthinkable, it was unbelievable and a disgrace. Hoji shook his head, angry at himself.
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Post by suki on Jan 20, 2007 11:10:57 GMT -5
Near the edge of the battle, the large bandit with the axe let out of a growl as a Kopa ducked under a tired swing and slashed the edge of her fan across his eyes. The man faltered back a step and the nimble warrior closed in, kicking rapidly to the inside of his legs with a snap of her foot and driving them apart. She then brought that foot down and used it to pivot as she delivered a powerful spinning back kick right into the bandit's groin.
He let out a high-pitched yelp and his axe clattered to the floor. Like a tiger-dillo, he simply curled up as he fell to his knees and rolled to his side in a fetal position. Kopa smiled with her workl and fanned herself lightly as she looked around at the battle that was all but won.
Suki was within a few yards of them man when she gave a whooping war cry to catch his attention and draw him away from the apparently injured Aoi. The man with the daos immediately disengaged his attack and half-turned toward the newest threat, moving his swords in a defensive weave incase Suki was about to attack him.
However, the leader of the Kyoshi warriors pulled up short and simply held her ground. Her shield was raised and her sword was held out high behind her. Aoi was breathing heavily and flashed Suki an appreciative look. The bandit looked back and forth between the two girls, then shifted his gaze around the rest of the battlefield. His eyes widened as he realized in an instant that he was the last one standing.
Several seconds past. Suki was slowly inching herself into a better position to flank the man, and Kopa had started moving towards them as well to cut off the man's retreat. That movement wasn't lost on bandit, though, and he realized there was no way he could win if he stayed to fight. He cast the lot of them a spiteful glance and then bolted for the treeline. Kopa started somewhat, about to chase after him without hesitation, but Suki stopped her with a call of "Hold."
Kopa halted and looked at Suki, awaiting some kind of explanation. "We can take him," the younger girl sad, looking into the woods at the receding form of the bandit.
"Yes," Suki replied, "But I don't want any more bloodshed. Give him ten more seconds and then we'll make sure he stays gone." She turned to look over her warriors and the Water Tribe ambassador, noting several injuries. Hoji's arrow wound was the most severe, it seemed, and she frowned somewhat at the sight of it. After all, she'd entered onto this mission in order to protect him.
"Aoi," she said, facing the firl, "Go get your wounds patched up and then help the others free Tsuya from the ground. And Have some one tend to Hoji's arm too." Aoi nodded and started towards the others, walking with a slightly limp on her left leg. "Now let's go get him."
Suki placed her sword on the ground and started folding up the shield on her arm as she started off at a light run into the forest. Kopa was beside her in an instant, still holding her fans at the ready.
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Post by wordbender on Jan 20, 2007 12:07:25 GMT -5
Hoji was breathing heavily, more from pain than exhaustion. He narrowed his eyes as Suki and another girl ran off after the last bandit. He looked over the other girls, two of which had come over to help him. He waved them away.
"The girl who was limping." He muttered, standing up and taking another deep breath, fighting a wave of pain that shot up his side. "She was injured, fighting the man with the swords."
Aoi came forward, her face furrowed in confusion as she tried to help Hoji, who had succeeded in standing.
"How badly are you hurt?" He asked her, trying to remove emotion from his voice.
"It's a bad cut, but it'll heal in a few weeks. I think I might have sprained something as well." She said, leaning on her right leg heavily, the other Kyoshi warriors taking the incapacitated bandits and pushing them in a pile, stripping the thieves of most of their valuable possessions, including food and the remaining canteens.
Hoji frowned. At least it wasn't broken, like somethings. He nodded looked around the clearing, noting a small piece of shifted rock that would make a good chair.
"Come on, let's get that healed." He said, taking slow steady steps towards the earth. Aoi followed him, eyes wide with confusion. Hoji stopped to pick up a full canteen from the pillaging pile, and a few of the other girls stopped to see what he was doing.
Making Aoi sit down on the earth-chair, Hoji kneeled down so that he was on her left side, uncorking the canteen. It was obvious where she was cut, down her thigh and the back of her knee. Hoji took a deep breath.
"This may feel a little funny, but try not to move." He said, bending the water and wincing as his left arm shot pain down to his hand. The water swiftly coated his hands and began to glow softly. Hana and , one of the older girls, had come over and both their eyes widened as Hoji displayed a feat of water bending that they had only heard about.
Hoji took another deep breath, his hair falling into his face and his eyes closing. He placed his hands over the cut and Aoi blushed. Slowly, his left and right hands held closely together, he traced the large gash with the palms of his hands, concentrating on mending the skin and muscles, duplicating the blood and focusing on making sure that there wouldn't be too much scar tissue to hamper the girls movements. It was a clean cut, thank the gods, but it was long and took Hoji a couple minutes to finish.
Once done, he sat back and looked up at Aoi, whose wide eyes and white makeup couldn't hide either her blush or her amazement. Hoji removed his hands from her leg and bent the water back into the metal canteen, were the glow slowly faded away.
"That should be-" A pause as Hoji took a deep breath, "Better for you. I can't do much for a sprained ankle, though it seems fairly slight." Hoji looked at the other two girls, Hana had her mouth open in awe and Aoru had an appreciating look on her face.
Hoji tried to get up but his legs began to shake and he sat himself back down, his legs tucked under him as he took deep breaths, trying to get his strength back. Healing, in any form, was always a little tiring, that combined with a broken bone and his arrow wound made him weak.
Hoji narrowed his eyes and tried again, not waving away the help of Aoi and Hana as the reached for him under his right arm and side. He winced as Hana tried to put her arm around his waist, and shook his head, waving her off.
"Here, sit down and let's see that arrow wound," Aoi said, guiding Hoji onto the earth stump she had previously been sitting. Hoji glared at her, his eyes icy and angry.
One of the younger girls, the one that had been sunk into the ground, had been helping liberate the articles from the bandits then came over and whispered something to Hana and they both had to raise a hand to stifle their giggling. Hana looked at Aoi and they shared a small glance, Hana looking amused and Aoi blushing.
Hoji raised an eyebrow at Hana, his hands on his thighs as he supported his body. Aoi nodded at Hana, encouraging her to speak first.
"Hoji. . Well. . .if you wouldn't mind-" A smile "Removing your shirt, we can have a look at that arrow wound and see if we can help."
Hoji's expression as he looked up at the the three girls on his right side was a combination of confusion and amusement. Taking another deep breath, he sat up straighter, wincing, though not because of the puncture wound. He quickly untied his sash and then slipped out of his blue tunic, exposing his toned torso and back to the girls. The reaction to his well-muscled body was that of a furious bout of giggles from Hana and the younger girl, Tsuya. Aoru rolled her eyes and waved Tsuya away to get her medicine kit.
Hoji was still bent over, so the girls didn't immediately see the mass of bruises that covered his right side, the were showing up already, black and blue splotches that marred his tanned skin. It was only when he sat up that a gasp came from Hana.
"What happened?"
"That looks horrible!"
"You should have said something!"
The onslaught of female bereavement continued until Hoji bent down, gritting his teeth, to pick up the canteen. Tsuya was already taking out a small knife that she was going to use to open up the shoulder wound and remove the arrowhead.
"I can do that." Hoji muttered, holding the canteen with his left hand and letting the water flow out again over his right hand and wrist, he lifted his arm and let the water flow down over his shoulder and onto the arrow, it's shaft still protruding from his muscle. Hoji winced and his right fingers twitched, the water flowing into the wound. He froze the water in a light casing around the arrowhead and with his jaw tensed, flicked his fingers, the weapon coming out with a slight noise. Blood began to flow but was quickly stopped as Hoji made the water glow, taking a deep breath, Hoji made the skin around the wound re-form, patching up the muscles and blood vessels that the arrow had cut through.
"Doesn't that hurt?"
"Sometimes. Just a little." Hoji smiled, more out of remembrance than anything else. He looked up at Hana, his eyes half-closed. "Yeah. Hurts like hell."
Taking another deep breath, his left shoulder still aching, he moved his hands from his shoulder to his ribcage, wincing as he remembered that he had a broken rib.
"I hate metal." Hoji muttered, the glowing water pulsing as he spread his hand over the break. At least it was a clean snap, nothing complicated. It would take a while though, even with the added bonus of healing himself, which was generally easier than healing another person.
"This might take a while." He said, subtly hinting that he wanted to be left alone. The water pulsed and glowed as Hoji pushed the bone back in place, and continued to move and flow as it repaired his body.
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Post by suki on Jan 21, 2007 1:03:36 GMT -5
Even if they'd given the bandit 10 minutes to flee, the trail he left was so easy to follow that Suki and Kopa would have found him anyway. However, that didn't matter either for their pursuit came to an end barely two hundred feet into the woods. The pair of Kyoshi warriors arrived upon a small clearing in the forest that had the appearances of a frequently-used campsite. A ring of stones surrounded the ashes of a campfire that hadn't been lit in at least a week, and half a dozen large stones and a few felled logs were placed around the edges of the clearing.
They found the bandit across the way, fumbling to untie the reins of an ostrich-horse from a low-hanging tree branch. There were two of the creatures tied there, both of them laden with a few packs. However, the moment he saw the girls enter the camp, he abandoned the knot and hopped onto one of the mounts. Pulling one dao free of its sheath he cut the rope free and started to reach for the second set of reins to take the other ostrich-horse with him. When a spinning metal fan sliced through the air a few inches from his extended hand, the bandit recoiled and decided it wasn't worth it.
He kicked his legs into the side of the ostrich-horse and yanked hard on the reins, directing him to the side and spurring him into a sprint. Suki and Kopa watched him go for several long moments until they were satisfied he wasn't coming back.
"Good throw," Suki remarked as Kopa moved to retrieve her fan. The elder warrior began walking slowly towards the remaining ostrich-horse, holding her hands low to her sides with her palms showing in an unthreatening gesture. It shifted its feet on the ground somewhat and snorted lightly a few times, but made no overt signs of hostility as the girl approached it carefully, giving a disarming smile and looking into its eyes. "That's a good boy," she repeated soothingly as she made the final few steps toward the animal, extending a hand to stroke his neck.
The ostrich-horse threw its head back once, giving Suki pause, but she continued on after a moment and ran her hand down the creature's neck. It stopped its nervous behavior then, and Suki smiled a bit wider. "You're a very good boy," she said again, reassuring the mount that she had no ill intentions. The Kyoshi warrior continued to stroke and pet the ostrich-horse for nearly a minute until it seemed to stop considering her a threat. In the mean-time, Kopa had returned to her side, her fan tucked away into her sash.
"Think he'll let you ride him?" she asked, joining in the petting. Suki patted the animal once more and relinquished that duty to her fellow warrior as she moved to inspect the leather saddle and carrying bag that was slung over the ostrich-horse's back.
"He seems tame enough," she replied, even as she reached into a pocket and pulled out a handful of stale bread and a few pieces of jerky. "But the only time I expect anyone to actually ride him on our journey is when they're injured... Otherwise this guy will just be carrying our bedrolls and food." Suki reached into another pocket and pulled out a map of the region that appeared to have been marked with the routes and schedules of numerous trade caravans that used the roads to transport their goods.
"In any case," Suki said after a moment of studying the map, "Let's get back to the others." The two warriors untied the ostrich-horse and led him back toward the remainder of their group.
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