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Post by wordbender on Jan 21, 2007 18:30:33 GMT -5
The water that had spread over Hoji’s right ribcage pulsed as it glowed, it’s color fading from bright to dull with the water benders heart rate. Hoji let his mind be absorbed by the task at hand, concentrating on making sure the rib healed correctly.
It wasn’t like this was the first time he had to heal one of his bones – breaking things was all part of the job. It just happened to be his second time healing this bone, and re-forming an already re-formed piece of bone and marrow was a lot more difficult than Hoji remembered.
Taking a deep breath, Hoji opened his eyes and visually surveyed the damage. There wasn’t anymore swelling, the bruises had all but disappeared and there didn’t seem to be any other forms of discoloring. Standing, Hoji began to stretch, moving his muscles and joints around his torso and around his shoulder, making sure that all the muscles had gotten reattached correctly.
Not bad, Hoji thought, twisting to the right and then to the left. He would have to give his ribcage some attention over the next few days but it should be alright by the end of the week. Looking around, Hoji saw the Kyoshi warriors relaxing, waiting for Suki and Kopa to return.
A couple where going through the bandits things and Aoru and Hana were talking among themselves. Hoji walked over to the two younger girls, grabbing his shirt but not putting it on, realizing what a nice day it was and how good it felt to be outside and not have to wear layer upon layer of clothing.
“What will you do to clean up here?” Hoji asked them, indicating the thieves. “Will you kill them or turn them into the nearest rewards station?” He asked, looking around at the bandits. “They don’t seem worth any of the effort, honestly.” The man said, looking back at Hana and Aoru, who were smiling slightly and still trying to answer Hoji’s question.
“We wouldn’t kill them,” Hana explained. “But it all depends on what Suki wants to do with them. We would normally just tie them up and leave them without their weapons, of course, until they figured a way out.” She said, shrugging.
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Post by suki on Jan 21, 2007 23:50:49 GMT -5
At that moment, Suki stepped out from the treeline leading the ostrich-horse by the reins while Kopa followed close behind. The aurburn haired girl called out to the others, "Looks like we have one more member to add to our entourage." That drew the attention of the others, who seemed both surprised and amused by the acquistion of an ostrich-horse.
"They certainly won't be needing him anymore," Kopa added as she cleared the trees, referring to the fallen bandits.
"What about the last rogue?" Tsuya asked, dropping a broken spear into a pile of the outlaws' weaponry.
"He ran off on a second-ostrich-hourse," Suki informed her. "It's just as well... I had no desire for any more blood, and he looked like he had no intention of even looking over his shoulder any time soon." She had walked the newly acquired mount close to the rest of the warriors and handed the reins to Kopa for the time being.
"What should we do with our would-be assailants?" Aoru asked, holding up one of the men's satchels questioningly.
"We'll take their weapons and toss them into the nearest ditch, tie them to a tree, and leave whatever coin they have." Aoi glanced her way with a bit of skepticism.
"Why shouldn't we take their money?" she asked, making sure to keep a proper amount of respect in her tone. "They would have had no problem taking ours, and at the cost of our lives no less."
"True enough," Suki conceded with a nod, "but a lack of coin is probably what keeps these men preying on trade caravans. At the end of the day, we're trying to help this Kingdom and its people. We have enough gold in our purse to make it to Ba Sing Sei. Disarming them will do for now. Besides..." she smirked as she glanced at all her warriors, "they won't soon forget this defeat to a bunch of girls. I imagine they'll think twice about their career choice after today."
The rest of the girls smiled or laughed and seemed to generally accept the decision. Aoru placed a handful of silver back into a pouch belonging to one of the bandits and dropped the leather satchel on the ground beside the groaning form of a beaten spear-wielder.
Suki finally turned toward Hoji, taking note of the fact that he was still shirtless. With a sort of dettached amusement, she cocked her hips and asked, "Did you work up too much of a sweat during that little scuffle?"
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Post by wordbender on Jan 22, 2007 19:30:37 GMT -5
Hoji watched, somewhat aloof, as Suki made her descision regarding the bandits. Not what he would have made, of course, but it was a wise choice of action, considering the situation. Hoji looked again over the thieves, noting their ragged clothing, gaunt frames, the poor quality of the weapons and the near-emptiness of their moneybags.
What must it have been like for them to live like that? Stealing from their neighbors, friends, maybe even their own brothers. It didn't seem like it would be worth it even to survive, if betrayal was what your life cost. Hoji was hit by this wave of apathy unexpectedly, and it startled him.
There were the destitute and poor in the North Pole, true. But things of this kind, of people turning on their allies, on their own nation, it was a certain dishonor that Hoji just couldn't comprehend.
He watched the girls reactions to their leaders ruling, noting that they all seemed satisfied, if not pleased by the outcome. It was strange, how easily these girls worked and understood each other. They all seemed to actually. . .care.
Suddenly, Hoji realized that Suki was talking to him and he turned towards her.
"Are you complaining?" He asked, slightly amused. Hoji smiled and shrugged. "It was your warriors who told me to take off my tunic in the first place. I needed to do some tricky healing anyway, so it was only convienient at the time." He said.
"By the way, Aoi had a nasty cut, and a minor sprain. It might be best for her to ride on our little friend over there," Hoji said, indicating the ostrich-horse with more than a little uncertainty.
"It is our friend, right?"
Hana had overheard Hoji's conversation and walked over, concern in her face.
"What about you Hoji-san?" She asked, drawing the boys attention. "You had a broken rib and a serious arrow wound just ten minutes ago! You should be resting, not marching through the woods!"
Hoji sighed. How to get out of this?
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Post by suki on Jan 23, 2007 12:36:17 GMT -5
Suki unintentionally saved Hoji from an awkward response then by providing an answer of her own to Hana's question. "The healing ability of the waterbenders is a very powerful skill," Suki said to Hana, though her eyes still rested on Hoji, "From what I understand, a talented bender can even restore a warrior in the shadow of death into fighting shape like that..." She snapped her fingers for emphasis and then smirked slightly at the Wtaer Tribe ambassador.
"But if Hoji isn't quite a master of healing, then he can rest his injuries while riding the ostrich-horse with Aoi." Suki gestured back to the standing mount where Kopa was feeding him a piece of fruit and making childish faces at him.
"I think we should call him Popo," Kopa announced, hearing Suki refer to her new friend by his species. The rest of the Kyoshi warriors paused what they were doing for a moment to regard the youngest of their group. Suki shared an odd glance with Aoru.
"Sure," she said finally, her face and tone making her slight confusion evident. "Popo it is..." She looked back towards Hoji, given her head a slight shake to reset her expression and clearing her throat. "So, is that arrangement acceptable?" Suki asked the waterbender, referring to her suggestion that he and Aoi ride the ostrich-horse, now known as Popo, for the remainder of the day.
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Post by wordbender on Jan 23, 2007 17:48:55 GMT -5
Hoji's eyes narrowed at the ostrich-horse as it stamped at the ground, a small breath of hot air condensing in front of its nostrils. It looked the farthest thing from a 'Popo' that Hoji had ever seen.
"I might not be a master, but I definitly learned from one. Besides, I'm pretty much whole again." Hoji said, shrugging. "I'll be fine walking. I wouldn't want to burden the beast with both my weight and Aoi's." He explained, smiling and looking over the strange creature again. He was nearly healed anyways and there was no way he was getting on that thing.
The confusion and obvious surpirse that Suki displayed while naming the beast didn't escape Hoji's gaze. He mentally brushed it off, considering to ask the girl about it later. He walked through the battle ground and found his pack, everything still in place. He slipped on his tunic before picking it up, not bothering to secure it and letting the shirt hang open, exposing his torso. It seemed to him to be getting unnaturally hot, mostly because of the high sun and being used to the icy poles rather than the heat of the Earth Kingdom.
Suddenly, something fell out of his pack. Hoji noticed it only after it fell, the item giving a small clack as it hit the earth. He looked down and sighed, his bright eyes narrowing as he saw the necklace lying in the dirt.
"Oh Kavik." He muttered, bending down to pick up the necklace. Hoji held the delicate thing in his hand, marvelling again at the time and effort Kavik must have taken in making the necklace. The other boy probably slipped it into his pack, giving Hoji one last slap as he ran away.
Tsuya noticed Hoji standing still as the Kyoshi warriors prepared to beging the march again. She walked over, briefly seeing the blue engagement necklace before Hoji's hand closed over it. She didn't recognize it for what it really was, but Tsuya knew enough to realize that it was probably given to Hoji by a lover.
"Hey Hoji!" She said, walking over as Hoji stuffed the necklace deep into his pack. "Ready to go? We're going to try and get another couple hours on the road before we stop."
Hoji nodded.
"Thanks." He said, smiling and walking with her back to the group. "I don't know your name, by the way, what is it?"
Tsuya blused. "Tsuya. Nice to meet you." She said, nodding and ducking behind Hana as Hoji bowed slightly, his forced smile still lightly on his face. Tsuya waited until he looked away before whispering to Hana, gossiping about what she had seen.
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Post by suki on Jan 24, 2007 12:37:24 GMT -5
Several hours later, the sun hung low in the sky and the light was starting to dim. The travelling warriors, now numbering eight with the addition of Popo, slowed their march and found a suitable campsite to spend the night. A few minutes of scouting found the Kyoshi warriors a small pond a short ways into the woods beside the trail where the trees were spaced widely enough to allow them to set up their camp in relative seclusion.
By the time the sun was down, the Kyoshi warriors had a ring of six make-shift tents that consisted of tarps hung over ropes that were tied between trees and their ends nailed to the ground. A single bedroll was placed underneath each one while Popo was tied down to a thin stump and feasting contently on a handful of berries that the girls had foraged. A small, but warming fire burned by the edge of the pond, and the girls were starting to prepare for bed.
Suki had just finished securing the last corner of her tent when she looked around at the state of the others. Some had taken off their armor and overshirts, feeling content to walk around in just the light green, tight-fitting kimono's underneath. Although, Suki noted, they wisely kept their fans tucked into their sashes. Hana was still in full warrior regalia, though, and was busying sharpening and oiling her sword. The Kyoshi warrior gave her a nod as their eyes met and she looked on at the others. Tsuya and Aoru were talking about something, apparently in regards to the possible security of the campsite by the way Aoru occasionally gestured at their surroundings. Aoi had retreated under her tent for the moment and Kopa was off somewhere foraging for more berries for her new animal friend.
She finally turned to regard the Water Tribe ambassador and started toward him. As bad as her first impression of the young man was, he fought admirably and was still technically under her protection. "Are you all set for the night, Master Hoji?" she asked him, unable to keep a bit of a sarcastic flourish out of the title she gave him.
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Post by wordbender on Jan 24, 2007 13:50:26 GMT -5
Hoji looked up from where he was spreading out his bedroll and nodded at Suki, ignoring the title and the sarcastic undertones that she put underneath it.
"Yes, but it hardly seems night, nor does it feel like it," Hoji said, standing and lightly brushing off his pants, then raising a hand to push a stray bang out of his face. "Up in the Pole, it is normally either day for most of the time, with very little dark hours, or night for almost the entire time that you would call day. It might get confusing, but most tribe members just don't get a lot of sleep." He said, shrugging.
He looked around the camp, noticing the relaxed scene of the site.
"Will we be making a fire?" He asked, "Or will that draw more predators Suki-kyoshi?" Hoji said, smiling slightly. He didn't know that Suki and her friends came from Kyoshi island, but knew the terms of martial arts ranking placed upon some in the Earth Kingdom. Apparently renshi was an advanced master, or the best, which was what Suki had just called him, and then kyoshi was just under a master.
Tsuya noticed them talking and quickly turned to Aoru, deciding to change the subject to something a bit more interesting.
"You'll never guess what Hoji-san has in his bag!" Tsuya hissed under her breath, her green-grey eyes widening in delight as she began to gossip. "It was a necklace! And he didn't put it on or anything, it just fell out and he looked at it with this really strange expression. Then he just picked it up and put it away!" Tsuya finished, slightly breathless.
"What do you think?"
Aoru rolled her eyes. "It's his buisness, what should I care about whether or not he likes jewlry?"
"Not that! Who do you think it's for? It can't be his, he doesn't wear any decorations, not even any status symbols. It must have been a gift." Tsuya said, her vioce soft and whispering.
Aoru frowned, looking over the water bender. "I guess. But it's still none of our buisness. . . " She said, still running her eyes over Hoji.
Tsuya sighed. "Oh you're no fun at all Aoru."
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Post by suki on Jan 25, 2007 13:51:29 GMT -5
Suki ignored the pun on her rank, but gave a slight huff anyway before answering the main question. "The fire that's going now will be sufficient," she said, glancing toward the flames burning inside a ring of stones. "It'll keep any passing creatures out of here as well as provide a little warmth." Suki paused for a moment and leaned a bit to the side, looking past Hoji and toward the road they'd been taking, though she was unable to see it through the trees and the thickening darkness.
"We're also far enough into the woods that it shouldn't attract any sinsiter types travelling the road at night," she went on. The Kyoshi warrior let out a breath as her mind ran through a checklist of things that needed to be done. She'd been doing that for the last hour or so, and was at last satisfied that everything had been done as it should.
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Post by wordbender on Jan 25, 2007 14:32:38 GMT -5
Hoji shrugged. It wasn't like he would be able to get to sleep early anyway, he was used to staying up late and waking up before sunrise. He turned again to his pack and dug out his thin parka, glad that he had traveled light rather than to bring out all his arctic gear. Slipping on the overcoat, Hoji noticed the sun going down and sighed.
"It really is much prettier in the North." Hoji said, looking at the slowly setting sun. Suddenly his eyes widened and he blushed furiously, something strange for the normally stoic young man. He shook his head slightly then regained control of himself, the red tint fading from his cheeks.
Oh gods. . . if I never remember that again it will be too soon. . . Hoji thought to himself, trying vainly to drive away the memory of an incident about six months ago between himself and Kavik. Any description would have to be censored due to the blatant innapropriatness of the incident.
"Right! Well, let's get some food cooking, ne?" Hoji said, smiling akwardly and heading over towards Aoru and Tsuya, who seemed to have stopped talking about the security of the camp and be more interested in their nighttime meal.
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Post by suki on Jan 26, 2007 14:24:32 GMT -5
"Any food you want to cook yourself you'll have to catch," Aoru told him, seeming less than thrilled herself about that. "We've got a good supply of bread and cured fish and meats, and we're going to forage and fish every chance we get." Tsuya made an obviously disgusted face as her fellow warrior mentioned their food stuffs.
"I don't like the taste of anything pickled or smoked," she lamented. "I'm just sticking with the bread and berries until I've got no other choice." Tsuya tossed a smile Hoji's way as she took a seat on a log with her back to the fire. "So, what kind of food did you have to eat up in the North?" Aoru rolled her eyes ever so slightly at her comrades obvious attempt at small-talk with the waterbender. With a slight sigh she ducked into her tent behind her and began unstrapping her armor.
Suki, meanwhile, had taken a seat outside her tent and near the fire and was looking over a more detailed map of the region for the next leg of their journey.
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Post by wordbender on Jan 26, 2007 20:24:50 GMT -5
"Well," Hoji started, glad that he could finally talk to someone who would be willing to listen to him without wanting to strangle him. He sat down near Tsuya, leaning back and enjoying the fire. Food was a fairly safe subject. "We eat lots of fish, of course. Lots of seafood, meat when we can get it. We raise some cattle just for that." Hoji shrugged. "I've lived for over two weeks on just seal jerky, so I don't think I'll have any trouble making it through this trip."
Hoji finished, smiling slightly over at Tsuya. "This might be inconvienient, but it won't be any big deal. Besides, I hate to admit it, but my mother did teach me how to cook. If we can find the right ingredients, it wouldn't be hard at all to mask the smoky flavor." Hoji said, looking back at the fire. He didn't know what kind of spices or herbs grew around the Earth Kingdom, and living alone had made a nesscesity out of learning to cook. Hoji didn't outwardly show it, but inside he winced. He hadn't exactly lived alone.
Hoji looked over at Tsuya and shrugged again. "It doesn't matter anyways."
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Post by suki on Jan 27, 2007 12:51:40 GMT -5
Tsuya smiled at Hoji as she leaned forward a bit, planting her elbows on her knees. "Maybe somewhere on our trip you'll have the chance to show us some real gourmet Northern food," she said with a slight laugh. "My people eat a lot of seafood too. Maybe we can do a sushi-swap?"
On the other side of the fire, Suki used the width of two of her fingers to estimate the distance covered by their first day of travel on the map. Figuring that to be a constant distance, she counted out how many finger-lengths and divided to estimate how may days it would take to reach ba Sing Sei.
"Ten days," she mumbled to herself, double-checking her measurements. Kopa was finally taking a break from pampering her new animal friend and heard Suki say something as she was heading for her tent.
"Hmmm?" the younger warrior asked, pausing beside the leader and leaning over to look at the map. "What was that?"
"Another ten days of travel at least," Suki repeated so Kopa could hear her. She turned the map so her fellow warrior could see and she traced the currently-planned path with her finger. "It's over two hundred miles to Ba Sing Sei. We have to cross a river, hike along the base of a mountain range for a day, and if we're lucky we can barter passage on a riverboat for the final 50 miles of the trip."
Kopa's lips twisted to the side in a gesture of thought and she stood up straight, tapping her chin. "Well," she said after a while, "I guess I better get some sleep while I can. 'Night."
Suki bid her good night as well and rolled up the map, standing up as she tossed a glance toward the Water Tribe ambassador.
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Post by wordbender on Jan 28, 2007 14:18:25 GMT -5
Hoji shrugged, not really caring anymore about the conversation. The girl wasn't dull, but she sure wasn't interesting enough to hold his attention.
"Maybe." He said noncommitally, leaning back and streching his legs out in front of him, pushing his boots closer to the fire as it snapped and crackled in the night. Tsuya got the hint and stood up, smiling slightly.
"I'll turn in as well." She said, seeing Kopa walking away towards her tent. "Good night Hoji, Suki." Nodding, she followed Kopa and crawled into her own covering, getting ready to go to sleep. Hoji watched as she walked away and then turned back to the fire, watching it. He noticed that Suki stood up and looked up at her, his bright eyes watching her.
"Ten days you said? We'll just continue straight from here then, without any stops?" Hoji asked, tilting his head to the side as he spoke. "What will you and your-" A short pause- "Friends do once your reach the capitol? Will you gaurd another person, or are you going back to wherever you come from." Hoji frowned and looked over Suki again. "Where are you from anyway?"
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Post by suki on Jan 28, 2007 14:59:07 GMT -5
"Ten days of travel," Suki responded to Hoji's initial question. "Regardless of how many breaks we take, it'll require at least ten more days of solid walking to reach Ba Sing Sei... If luck is with us, we may be able to catch a boat for the last leg of the journey and save a day or two." She paused for a moment as she sat back down and placed the map on the ground. "Once we're there, I suppose we'll just try and find some other place where we can help. After a few while if we can't find anywhere we're needed then we'll just set out again. Though we won't be heading home anytime soon..."
Suki picked up a stick on the ground and poked at the fire, breaking off a piece of the charred wood to let the flames feed on some fresh fuel. Then after a moment she realized she hadn't answered Hoji's final question. "We're from Kyoshi Island, far to the South. Not far from the remaining Southern Tribe, actually."
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Post by wordbender on Jan 28, 2007 15:16:52 GMT -5
Hoji nodded, scowling slightly. At least ten days then. Why couldn't the girl be more specific!? Always with the wierd little generalities and groups. Hoji sighed and then looked back up again at Suki. She was playing with some of the embers before she spoke again.
"We're from Kyoshi Island, far to the South. Not far from the remaining Southern Tribe, actually."
Hoji raised an eyebrow. They had traveled a long way, across a lot of unfamiliar and probably dangerous territory. He didn't want to admit it to himself, but Hoji was actually impressed that this girl could have made it, leading her group through the Earth Kingdom.
"That's a far way for a bunch of girls to walk." Hoji said, smiling slightly. He didn't mean it as an insult, but the added amusement in his voice would probably suggest otherwise to the girl. "Do you know anyone from the Southern Tribe?" The water bender asked, watching the girl for a reaction.
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