The Prison March <Wilderness, Earth Kingdom>

[jingko]

"Disgraceful," Jingko wanted to fume again if the noonday sun had not been so fierce.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Jingko then slowed the war lizard he rode until it brought him shoulder to shoulder with another rider. "Hurry them along, now," he ordered coldly, pointing his trident spear point forward to a bend in the wide dirt backroad that would lead them from the open field towards the edges of forest whose branches leaned over the road.

The ordered rider looked over of his shoulder. Behind his saddle was a bamboo pole fastened to saddle of another rider. Between them were five prisoners, the Kyoshi Warriors, who had certainly seen better days. Unwillingly they marched with hands over their heads, their wrists crossed and lashed tightly to the bamboo pole above them. Yet that was not the only method by which they were bound, from neck to neck they were connected by a length of rope while iron shackles cuffed their ankles with a length of chain connected between each shackle. By neck and by foot they would discomfort one another if any lost paced or resisted their bindings. Barefooted, the girls' clothing was reduced to cheap, shoddy material that was big for them, intended for adult prisoners. Off-white colour trousers and long sleeve shirt with a ragged soil-coloured, sleeveless robe that looked more like a sack that just had holes cut into it and called a robe. In fact that is what it actually was.

"Little dirt urchins should have stayed home and played with your dolls," scolding the line of girls before urging his steed forward towards the head of the prison train of lizard riders that made up his entire cavarly unit.

"If those boot-stompers of the 502nd Infantry Division are so damn proud about capturing a bunch of toddlers then they should be the ones dragging you across the this backwater continent!"

"Pick up the pace!" He almost bellowed at his men, "the faster we hand these trollops over to a warden the sooner we can ride to Ba Sing Se!"

[suki]

Her plans of escape were becoming harder and harder to hold onto as their situation seemed to grow continually worse. Suki had spent their last night together in the camp picking locks, but even after she actually managed to release one of her shackles, the realization finally settled in that there was no way of actually getting out unnoticed. Begrudgingly, she was forced to hide her hairpin and just sit down in her cage to be relocated with the others. As their leader, she felt as if she'd failed them.

The next day was not so pleasant either. Having their clothes confiscated and substituted with unfomfortable, shapeless potato sacks that the army called 'robes' was disgraceful enough, but being forced to change under armed supervision was just humiliating.

Now she found herself at the front of the coulmn of prisoners, tied by the hands to a biece of bamboo and linked by the neck to her fellow Kyoshi warriors. Right up front, she could look the bitter Fire Nation officer in the eye as he continually took verbal shots at the female warriors. If she weren't so out of breath the mild asphixia caused by their bonds, she would have certainly shot back her own hurtful comments. But instead, all she could do was try to keep her posture straight and her chin up.

As depressing as their situation might be, she was the leader of this unit and would now show weakness in front of her fellow warriors. The last thing they needed was to give in to despair.

[hanabanana]

Risking a daring and damaging escape from the cage they had been in for so many days had been a total bust. Instead of picking the lock open, beating the living hell out of the scummy Fire Nation guards, and stealing away into the night (or day), Suki, her beloved leader, had abandoned their only chance at freedom when it became clear to her (and, as far as she was concerned, only her) that the lock on the cage door was simply not going to be picked. It was an upsetting fact, yes, but it was time to face the music: they were caught and they weren't getting away quite so easily.

And so, her arms strung up and aching from the awkward position they had been put in for the last few hours and the uncomfortable potato sack scraping against her skin, Hana trudged along with her fellow warriors, a determined little frown set into her face. There wasn't much she could do in the cage besides silly little exercises to keep her busy, yet now that they had all been removed from captivity and had their hands tied up to a rack above their heads like some kind of caught and killed hunting game, the absence of even the silly little exercises was starting to wear her down. She didn't know how much longer she'd be able to stand this...plus, her hair was in her face, which really got on her nerves.

"Little dirt urchins should have stayed home and played with your dolls," one of the military men sneered before heading forward on his ride.

Hana rolled her eyes, murmuring "big-headed fool" under her breath loud enough for the Kyoshi Warriors and even a few other guards to hear. Biting her tongue was no longer necessary, she believed. Anything to keep the girl's morale up, even if it was a snarky comment. Anything.

Suki at the front looked certainly worse for wear, and while that in itself was not a comforting thought, she couldn't help but worry slightly more over the condition of Aoru, whom she could not see. Obviously she was somewhere behind Hana, but with her neck swaddled in iron, the simple act of turning her head was out of the question.

[jingko]

"And what did you discover," Jingko demanded, not bothering to slow his steed once a scouting rider returned.

"We'll have to move through the forest, sir," slowing and turning about his war lizard then attempting to match pace with Jinkgo's steed.

"Road forks into the forest. We take the other way and we start passing by farms."

"Inhabited?"

"Sorry, sir. I don't know--didn't investigate--"

"Wouldn't take that path anyway," Jinkgo interrupted. "Take two others with you. Scout out the forest road further. Find us a spot to camp for the day and not to far from the farms. We can take any needed food and water from the fields as needed."

"Keep your weapons at ready," Jingko raised his voice towards the others while the three scouts skittered off with a cloud of dust rising in their wake. Laying the trident across the saddle, Jingko then began to load his crossbow before leaving it in his lap. "One eye in the forest and another on the children," he sighed.

[suki]

"Arrogant cow-pigs..." Suki muttered as she listened to the exchange ahead of her. The way these people spoke about just taking the farmers' crops as if it was their divine right just made her want to plant a foot across the officer's temple. If only she wasn't bound by the hands, neck, and feet, she would be sorely tempted to do so...

But yet again, she was reminded of just how bleak their situation had become. Suki could think of nothing better to do than bide her time and wait for an opportunity to better the situation to present itself.

The leader of the Kyoshi warriors suddenly found herself wishing that some old friends would happen across their path and come to their rescue. Suki blinked for a moment, wondering where that thought came from. She was always very self-reliant and not prone to wanting other people to bail her out of difficult situations. But even so, her mind kept drifting back to the Avatar and his Water Tribe friend in particular. After all, it had been their visit that had inspired her and several others to travel to the Earth Kingdom. Maybe it wasn't so farthfetched to think they'd meet again.

[farong]

The march had been long, but it was soon coming to an end. Ba Sing Se was near, or so Rong’s superiors had said. Despite her time in the army, Rong still hadn’t seen the walls of Ba Sing Se. She was a little excited at the prospect of it. So excited, in fact, that she’d made certain that she was at the front of the march, much to her captain’s chagrin, as it seemed she couldn’t stop asking how close they were to the city. As the army marched across a plateau overlooking a small forest filled canyon, Rong felt it was getting about time to ask again but as she opened her mouth to do so, something caught her eye. There was movement in the canyon below. Curious, she stepped out of formation and moved to the edge of the plateau, peering downward. The first thing she spotted through the thick foliage were mongoose lizards. A Fire Nation patrol? No…there was something else. In the middle of the mongoose lizards was a single file line of people. Soldiers didn’t march in e single file. Those had to be prisoners.

“Fa! Get back in formation!” called her captain. “Fa!”

“But sir,” she said, pointing into the canyon. “I think there’s a Fire Nation prison convoy down there!”

“Damn it, Fa,” the captain grumbled, getting out of formation and moving beside Rong to look down. “Yeah, I suppose it is. But we don’t have time to deal with that now. We’ll mark down the location and report it when we get to Ba Sing Se.”

“But there aren’t that many guards! We could free them and be on our way in minutes!” Rong protested.

“You don’t know how many there are. The trees are too thick,” the captain countered. “Besides, we need to be at full strength when we get to Ba Sing Se, and…”

Unfortunately for the poor Captain, it seemed as though Rong wasn’t listening. Before he’d finished saying “Ba Sing Se”, Rong had jumped and began to slide down the canyon wall, using her eartbending to stabilize her descent.

“Fa!” her Captain called after her in vain, his face swelling with anger before whirling around and pointing at a group of soldiers. “You seven, come with me! Everyone else keep marching!”

A few moments later, six more people were sliding down the canyon wall in pursuit of Rong, who with her head start, had already started work her way through the forest, heading towards the group of mongoose lizards and their prisoners.

[jingko]

"About blasted time," Jingko grumbled, half turning an angered eye at the young Kyoshi Warriors. A fuming hiss between his teeth at their plodding pace.

Across the Fire Nation cavalryman's forehead slit the the open palm of his hand then shook to waggle the sweat off. The heat was no less unbearable amidst shade, Jingko deduced to himself, as the wagon wide, dirt road teetered along the treeline of the forest's edge. But at least he was grateful not to have the damnable sun trying to burn through his skull.

"What is it?" He demanded, not turning around to the war lizard that swiftly skittered alongside him.

"Rockslides," the cavalry man who came from the rear reported.

Jingko tried to look from himself, unable to discern the cliffside above the forest now shrouded by the treetops from his position.

"Just heard one at first," he continued. "Then we heard a lot more a few momnets later but didn't see anyone--"

"Ride ahead and find our scouts," Jingko immediately cut him off. "Have them be on the lookout. Go now!"

Forcefully turning his own steed about and riling everyone to move faster, starting with the riders that marched the prisoners between them. "Faster!" he demanded of all of them, swatting one of the prinsoners on the rump with the flat of his spear's blade then shoving another in the back with the butt of his spear while galloping down the length of the escort. "Into the forest, quickly! And on your guard!"

[hanabanana]

Speeding up to a harried, frenzied trot, Hana grit her teeth and bit back a cry as she felt the blunt end of a spear jab her rather painfully in the backside. She shot a malice-filled glare at the man responsible, presumably the leader of that particular unit, and swore to herself that the second she was out of those chains, she would beat more than just the ass of the Sergeant with more than just a spear handle. That is...if they ever made it out. Hana herself was beginning to lose sight of hope. It looked like no one was going to come along and rescue them, and though the Kyoshi Warriors were all very capable and talented fighters (not to mention a sassy bunch!), they were still out-numbered and chained up. Crap.

Hana sighed and tried to peek, although she was quickly forced to give that up as the collar around her throat allowed only the barest of movement. Still, that didn't mean her curiosity was completely dampened! "Suki!" she whispered, hoping her voice was audible over the march of the fleet's mongoose-lizards, "can you see anything up here? What're they saying?" She glanced to her left and right, checking if anyone was listening, then licked her lips. "Is someone coming?"

[suki]

With the distance between them, Suki could only overhear a portion of the FIre nation officer's exchange with the scout. But from nothing else than their expressions and the Liutenant's reaction, she could guess fairly well what was happening. The man turned his lizard and moved along down the line of cavalry, rallying his soldiers to be ready while some other Fire Nation soldier took the liberty of tuggin on the bamboo that bound the Kyoshis together.

Suki winced at the sudden pressure on her neck, but managed to stay upright as they were led closer to the trees. She heard Hana's voice behind her, and oddly enough her questions reflected everything she'd just come to deduce about their situation. Unless she missed her guess, they were about to have some company.

"Stay alert," she whispered back to Hana, turning her head as much as the bindings would allow. "And be ready if an opportunity rises..." Her own heart was already beating faster with anticipation. Something had spooked their captors, and she thought she had gathered the word 'rockslide' from the officer's conversation with the scout. It didn't take much imagination to connect the presence of earthbenders...

[farong]

It was not in the character of Fa Rong to do things half way. So, when she entered the forest, she did not move slowly, advancing at a light jog. It was not in her character to be particularly stealthy either, and so as she spotted the first of the Fire Nation scouts atop their mongoose-lizard, she immediately shot her right fist down to the earth, dragging it momentarily and letting the stone form a cone around her fist.

Only when she burst through the underbrush did the man atop the beast notice her and begin to turn, but by then it was too late. As soon as greenery no longer surrounded her, she stomped her foot hard into the ground in stride, and then thrust her other knee upwards. The ground rose sharply and quickly below her, and she was catapulted towards the rider. A moment later, her new stone fist collided with his face, sending him flying out of the saddle even as Rong flew over it. A second rider rounded a thick cluster of trees and turned towards Rong as she landed, but she immediately whirled towards him and punched forward with her stone covered fist. The stone shot towards the man in a flurry of small stones, and while about only half hit, the ones that did were enough to finish him, sending him slipping out of his saddle with blood running down his face.

Fully engrossed in combat, Rong didn’t hear the calls of her captain or his men as they started to catch up with her, and instead of listening, raised a small piece of earth beneath her feet and used it to glide forward across the ground, kicking up a large trail of dust as she headed in the direction of the rest of the caravan, though she could not see it yet.

[jingko]

Even as the mongoose-lizards continued to trod forward, their riders became motionless statues. Lethargically, Jingko's neck tilted. His head leaning forward to catch the slightest sound. His stare at the road ahead and its surroundings became a glare.

Did the children hear it? The distant yelling. The sound of rolling thunder close to the ground--moving earth.

Bah! It matters not! Jingko swiveled his head towards his men. As long as his men were just as well aware was of concern. They better be! If they could not or missed hearing such then their eyesight and intelligence better damn well be in working order! The bare, uniform movent of treetops in the distance and scattering of birds from the same direction were a telltale sign.

"You three," pointing the forked spearhead at three random riders. "Remain." Five to remaind with these children, he thought, counting the two riders that carted the bound Kyoshis.

"Sir!" Replying to his cold tone.

"The rest with me," violently jerking the reins of his mount and causing the creature to kick dirt up into a Kyoshi's face."Single file!"

The others immediately rode after him in full gallop. Once they were far enough away not to be seen he passed a command maneuver down the line. Alternating, the a mongoose-lizard dashed into the underbrush on either side of the road. They road perpendicular from the road then doubled back towards the prisoners where they would then ambush any would-be rescuers.

[farong]

Rong did not slow on her approach, even as she caught the site of the mounted Fire Nation soldiers growing larger as she closed the distance. Only three? This would be a piece of cake. Thrusting her arms down and stretched to the side of her, Rong increased her speed. She could vaguely see the prisoners lined behind their captors, but didn’t bother to get a good look at them. She was far more concerned with the fireballs headed her way. Zig zagging back and forth in wide arcs, she gritted her teeth as she focused herself, glaring at her attackers from under her helmet. Finally, the middle mongoose-lizard charged snarling and snapping as it went.

Still, Rong did not slow down, nor did she veer from her course. The distance between the two became less and less, until finally it was meter meters. The beast roared, and in that instant, Rong struck. With a roar, she thrust both hands upward, palms open, coming to a complete stop…and sending a large spike of earth into the roof of its mouth. The creature hissed and flailed to no avail, bucking its rider off in its death throes. Wasting no time, Rong immediately started to sprint towards the rider to the right. Completely wrapped in her berserk state, she failed to notice the movement from the surrounding trees…

[suki]

It was enfuriating to be so restrained while waiting for a battle to start. Suki wanted to drop into a defensive stance in preparation for a fight, but even that seemed an impossibility given the shackles and bindings on her neck and hands. The ground rumbled slightly, and almost out of nowhere an earthbender streaked into view from further down the trail.

It all happened so fast. Within a few quick seconds, the few Fire Nation soldiers unleashed several blasts of fire at the newcomer, and then one of the mounts was struck with a sharp spire of rock. Suki's eyes widened a bit as the mongoose-lizard reared up and bucked off its rider. She tried to hop back, but the bamboo rod she was lashed to held her in place. All she could do was tip-toe away as the rider landed heavily beside her and groaned from the impact.

Suki almost fell from the awkwardness of the dodge, but the moment she regained her balance she raised her leg as much as the chains would allow and stomped hard on the down soldier's face. He shouted once more and managed to roll out of her reach, but from the crunching feeling of the kick,Suki was sure his nose was broken.

It was only a little contribution, but it was the most she could do as the rider still holding onto the bamboo between the kyoshis was keeping them stationary.

From behind her, however, Aoru managed to shout out to the Earth kingdom soldier, "It's a trap!"

[hanabanana]

Movement and action and excitement exploded in front of Hana's face, a colorful, swirling mass of bulging muscles, creaking boulders, flying fireballs, punches, kicks, groans of pain, cries of victory. A battle was going on right in front of her, a real good one by the looks of things, and the only thing Hana could do was stand around like an idiot and watch. Chewing excitedly on her lip, her gaze flickering from the small earthbending troupe to the Fire Nation unit to her tied-up Warriors, she began to struggle earnestly against her bindings for the first time. She herself knew she wouldn't be able to break free on her own, but perhaps if she tried hard enough, and some of the other girls started chiming in, maybe they could weaken the ropes enough or splinter the bamboo.

Hana stumbled and pitched backwards as Suki threatened to topple over, but quickly flashed an appreciative grin at the leader as she not only regained her balance but broke a man's nose with a well-placed stomp. "Nice one," she complimented, kicking one foot out as far as it could go (which wasn't very far, to be honest) in an awkward attempt at snapping the bamboo. Seriously, she wasn't getting very far. This was starting to look hopeless. Hana really wanted a piece of the action. Siiiigh!

[jingko]

Flithy little dirt-footed trollop! Jingko clutched the stock of his crossbow.

Useless, good for nothing firebenders! He continued fuming.

His men were almost found out and those he left in the open were wholly unable to put up a fight against one earthbender.

Remarkably wasting away half of a perfect plan, Jingko thought. His nonbending riders had dashed into the underbush on either side of the road, out of sight of Kyoshi and incoming attacker alike. He was certain, much like himself, that the others had soon dismounted from atop their steeds as they doubled back to the prisoners. And much like himself, they were now likely prone, on their bellies, crawling through the underbush and taking up position. Dao in scabbard, spear lying at one side and crossbow in hand, waiting to pull the trigger the moment he did.

The firebenders that were left behind however were supposed to hold off the Kyoshi's rescuers just long enough for Jingko and the others to take up a hiding spot and attack at once. And now...

Jingko tasted blood from his lips, having bit down upon the lower one in anger and being forced into patience.

Certainly patience was its own reward, like 'they' and as it was proving now, but that did not make Jingko like it any less. Himself and his remaining men not allowing sign of themselves to be noticed, not even a glint of metal in the noonday sun, clutched the forest floor while the gargling whinny of a mongoose-lizard sounded through the treeline followed by the creature itself. It jerked, bucked then pulled free and was darting onto the road, dragging an empty boot alongside it as swerved about the Earth Kingdom fighters before running down the road and out of the forest.

One of the scouts that were supposed to warn them, Jingko assumed while half-aiming at the offending earthbender from his well kept hiding spot. He wanted to do it, pull the trigger of his crossbow that would cause the others to do likewise but instead forced himself to wait. Half-waiting to see if there were anymore of the Earth Kingdom's regulars marauding about and half-developing a new plan within his mind.