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Post by meatandsarcasm on Jun 19, 2008 21:49:00 GMT -5
Sokka’s grin widened as he heard Aang’s voice from the sky, and deftly caught his boomerang before dropping to the ground into a low crouch, allowing Aang to attack the Fire Nation soldiers around him. Grinning from ear to ear as the Fire Prince was thrown backwards along with his lackeys, he scanned the sky momentarily, expecting to hear Appa’s roar as the beast landed to pick them up…but it never came.
“I’ll handles Zuko, get to the rooftops and flag down Appa!”
Sokka looked at Aang with an eyebrow raised. Aang had come on his own while Katara was elsewhere? That wasn’t very tactical…but then neither was Aang. He realized he should have expected this. Making a note to get his own bison whistle, Sokka reluctantly abided, scrambling up some boxes to get to the roof of one of the buildings. He put a hand over his eyes to shield them from the sun as he looked for Appa, and after a few moments found him descending rapidly to the ground just south of them. Aang must have given Katara the bison whistle. Unfortunately, that meant they’d have to wait until Appa picked her up to escape themselves. Glancing down at the street below, Sokka saw Zuko shoot a burst of flame in Aang’s direction. The Prince could never beat Aang one on one, Sokka knew that, but the longer they hung around, the longer other soldiers had to come and help. Glancing at the sky to find Appa still not approaching, Sokka decided to give the Avatar a little bit of an edge.
Scrambling over the edge of the roof, Sokka hacked at a wooden pole supporting a large sign placed in between Aang and Zuko. After two hacks, it started to bend, and he gave it a strong kick, sending it falling to the ground.
“Heads up, Aang!” he called.
With any luck, Aang would realize what Sokka was thinking and use his airbending to send the large wooden sign flying at Zuko, hopefully taking Angry McJerkface by surprise.
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Post by blindgirl on Jun 20, 2008 10:53:51 GMT -5
Katara tucked herself low and rolled out of the way of the stampeding beast, Toph as well had little trouble evading, she even took up a stronger stance about ready to dispatch of the soldier who was dismounted from the creature. Before she struck a grunt flitted through the air urging Katara's eyes skyward with a beaming smile gracing her face. It was Appa, they could get out of here and grab the others before it got too dangerous. As the large bison swooped down Katara grabbed hold of him pulling herself up into the saddle with a bit of effort. All that was left was Toph now.
As much as she hated the little girl she couldn't leave her to the fire bender...
Toph erected a rock wall acting as a shield to whatever the bender sent at her, a smirk on her face. Oh yeah she'd show him what a real earthbender could do. Her hand raised to her cheek wiping off some unseen itch and moving to make another strike. If anything else the soldier seemed more like a boy, one who didn't much know what he was doing at that.
" Toph!" The blind girl froze her sightless eyes wide, it wasn't the voice of the annoying water tribe girl, nor the cheeky older brother of said female. It wasn't twinkle toes either. Startled, her mother got out of the carriage looking at her little girl bending with shock written over her features. Her father, still in the carriage was more surprised. They were a bit away, enough to be out of the direct line of fire unless they were specifically targeted
Toph panicked, she needed to keep them safe and get herself out of here. Turning from the fire bender she pushed her palms towards them and thrust them up walling off the street they were on from the street she was still in. It would have to do for now, her eyes hardened and her body shifted back towards Sho with a menacing aura about her.
That was until Katara flew by with Appa, the bison tilting his body enough that Katara could snatch the back of the blind girls shirt pulling her into the saddle and taking off for the sky. Startled Toph kicked at teen but soon calmed. She never expected her parents to be here so quickly, her head drooped quietly, there wasn't much she could do now... only moving her lips she shook her head mouthing " I'm sorry...."
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Post by airnomad on Jun 25, 2008 22:44:08 GMT -5
Aang was ready and waiting when Zuko moved to strike. The Fire Prince unleashed an arc of flame at him with an explosive spinning jumpkick. The fire took up much of the narrow pathway, but it was a few feet off the ground. Aang's immediate reaction had him stepping forward into a wide stancewith his upper body bent low toward the ground. He swept his hands out to his sides as well, tucking his staff under his back arm as he used his bending to stream a current of air along his arms and over his shoulders.
The flames rolled over him, deflecting safely like water off a turtle-duck's back, and the young Avatar swung his body upright in the wake of the attack. Aang wore a slight smile, proud of himself for the successful counter though he would not allow himself to become overly confident.
About that moment, he heard Sokka's call from above and glanced aside in time to see the falling sign. It took a split second to realize what the Water Tribe boy intended, but before the boards fell halfway to the ground Aang had spun his staff into a ready grip and pointed it at the ground beneath the falling sign. With a quick swivel of his hands, he formed a spinning cushion of air beneath the sign. Caught up in the mini toroid, it stop falling and rotated for a moment. Then, with a sharp flick of his staff toward Zuko, Aang batted the sign with a second jet of air and send it rocketing toward the prince.
Whether or not Zuko actually got hit by the awkward projectile, the airbender figured that it would distract him long enough to allow for his escape. At his back, a few more Fire nation soldiers had noted his location and were coming to help their commanding prince. Aang spared Zuko once last glance before taking a running hop that propelled him right up and onto the rooftop of the building near Sokka. With any luck, they could be on Appa and out of harm's reach in a matter of seconds.
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Post by zuko on Jul 3, 2008 18:54:31 GMT -5
Zuko was disappointed that his first attack didn’t do any damage, but that didn’t stop him from dashing towards the Avatar with all due speed. However, he was concentrating so hard – his eyes fixed upon the boy ahead of him so determinedly – that he barely had time to react to what happened next.
A shout from the water peasant atop the roof didn’t catch his attention, but when a previously over-hanging sign suddenly fell into view, was caught by the Avatar, and sent rocketing towards the prince’s head, he was thankfully on his toes. Zuko only had time to see the rapidly spinning object for a split second, before his mind and body immediately reacted to spin and dodge. Thankfully, the sign had caught enough air to give the prince just enough room to press himself against the wall and pass by it unharmed; however, the sign moved so quickly and so closely, that as it flew by, Zuko nearly felt the side of the object brush his cheek.
The troops that had been following their prince down the alleyway were not as quick to get out of the way. The sign roughly smashed against the first group of unsuspecting men, and as they were sent howling backwards, they smashed into the second group just behind them. Some soldiers stumbled to get back up; others remained dazed or unconscious on the ground.
Zuko furiously growled after watching this and spun back around to send an attack at the Avatar, but the boy wasn’t there. His heart almost dropped in panic, but as Zuko looked up, he could see the Avatar atop the roof with his companion. He didn’t stop to think – he simply knew he had to go after him.
The prince ran to the end of the alleyway where several boxes and barrels were stacked upon one another. He jumped and hopped from one to the other, and then placed his foot upon a windowsill and thrust himself up until he grabbed the edge of the roof. Very quickly, he swung up and over – and although landing shakily – made it to the top of the building with the Avatar and his friend.
Zuko didn’t waste a second; he ran down the tiled roof at full speed and immediately punched a blast of fire into the boys’ way. This time he felt he was much closer than before.
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Post by sho on Jul 3, 2008 21:25:19 GMT -5
Sho, startled by the sudden appearance of three unfamiliar characters, could only watch in utter bafflement. After his attack had been basically ignored it was so ineffective, Sho had slouched in embarrassment, only to jerk up in surprise a second later as a whoosh of wind alerted him to the presence of a magnificent, flying animal. Of course, this analyzation came in retrospect; right off (though he would never admit it) he was downright terrified. The only things he had ever seen fly were mechanical, and this beast was just as big!
And, as Sho was distracted by this, a woman called out. Blinking out of his shocked daze, Sho shifted his attention to a distant carriage, and the opposing earthbender as they seemed to have a tense confrontation. Sho shifted, unaware what of to do. He wasn’t going to attack the innocent (and probably defenseless) carriage riders, but, he might as well try to grab the girl…
Suddenly, Sho sprinted off at a full run, trying to ignore the aches and pains of the day that were already starting to catch up with him. He tripped only once, but it was all in vain anyway; just as Sho was coming close toward the girls and great flying bison, the earthbender was pulled into the sky along with the other, and they were out of reach.
Sprinting over the spot where the bison was rising in the air, Sho jumped, his hand outstretched, breathing heavily.
“Hey!” He gasped, but his voice was weak. How embarrassing.
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Post by meatandsarcasm on Jul 6, 2008 1:17:20 GMT -5
At first, Sokka smirked with glee as his and Aang’s little manuever at least partially succeeded, but his glee turned to panic as Zuko immediately began to pursue. Damn, that guy sure could jump around a lot while wearing that armor. It was really annoying. Even before Zuko and reached the roof, he’d taken off at a full sprint towards where he’d seen Appa dive to the ground. He looked over his shoulder just in time to turn to the side, barely avoiding the fire before adjusting his course. Hopping to another rooftop, he saw Appa rise into the sky again and called over his shoulder towards Aang.
“Aang, let’s go!” he called, before turning his attention back towards Appa, flailing his arms and yelling. “Katara! Down here!”
True, the yelling was probably unnecessary and useless, but he felt that the situation called for panicked yelling of some kind. After all, there was still an angry scarred person shooting balls of fire at them. Until that business was done with, the panicked yelling could certainly continue.
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Post by blindgirl on Jul 6, 2008 10:25:52 GMT -5
Katara had no problem spotting Sokka with him flailing his arms like he did, Appa was ahead of her in the game anyway as he dived down towards the roof. Katara leaned herself over the saddle holding her hand out to her brother while the remaining appendage attempted to keep her in the saddle through the entire rescue attempt. Her hair loopies brushed against her cheeks caught in the winds that were generated as the beast moved through the sky. " Sokka!" Hopefully if everything worked as it should she'd haul him into the saddle and they'd take off, Aang would evade the Fire Nation easily and catch up, still her chest hurt with the mild worry that always flooded her when her friends were in this sort of situation.
In the back of the saddle Toph sat clinging to the rear of the platform with her knees to her chest and her forehead to her knees. She didn't know if she should be angry with her parents for showing up, worried that they were in danger or guilty for leaving home without more than a word. The prospect of being a runaway was a lot easier when she didn't have to see their face. Still she kept to herself in the back her clothing lightly tugging in the wind as her bangs did their worse blocking out her face and sightless eyes.
On top of her own problems she was in the air and couldn't see a darn thing. This day was certainly going from bad to worse.
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Post by airnomad on Jul 20, 2008 10:10:41 GMT -5
Aang could see Appa heading towards them, and a small wave of relief passed over him. The safety of his friends was almost assured, and then they could hightail it out of the city. The sky bison swooped down near them, barely slowing at all. The Avatar figured they must not be intending to stop, and so he decided to give Sokka a little boost to help him in the saddle.
"Hold on!" he called out to the Water Tribe warrior, just a moment before swiping his staff in an uppercut and sending a rising jet of air under Sokka's body. With the extra lift, he just had top make sure he grabbed hold of his sister as they swooped by.
However, Aang could follow them immediately. Before he could take a step to leap after them, he heard the sound of flames roaring to life behind him. The airbender turned quickly and swept his hand across his body, unleashing a hasty current of air to defend himself. The flames were uncomfortably close though, and while the air kept him from getting burned, he was still pushed back by the clash of elements. Aang's feet slid over the roof tiles, and by the time he slowed to a stop he was almost over the edge of the roof.
The avatar flailed his hands briefly to try and keep his balance and avoid falling off the roof, and then looked at Zuklo with his eyes wide. This prince just didn't quit...
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Post by kataraa on Jul 26, 2008 13:12:17 GMT -5
Reaching out for her brother, Katara watched as Aang assisted him in his reach for the bison. Appa's grunting echoed in her ear as she continued to stretch as far as she could. If she or her brother missed one another, Sokka would fall and Aang was now occupied with Zuko to help him. In her state, Katara managed to look back at Toph and instantly her heart sank. Though she detested the earthbending girl, she felt a sudden flash of sympathy for her. Katara couldn't imagine what life would be like with parents that sheltered their daughter so much. How could they not be proud of the young girl and her amazing abilities? With these things in mind, Katara told herself to start being nicer to the twelve year old despite the anger the girl caused her.
"Grab on Sokka!" Katara yelled, turning her attention back to her floating brother. They only had a few moments before one of the Fire Nation soldiers noticed them escaping and started attacking. The waterbender then gazed out, straining to see Aang through the smoke-filled street. It was then that she spotted him, flailing on the edge of a roof. Gasping, Katara watched as he straightened himself out and she let out a sigh of relief. This relief was minimal, however, for the Fire Nation Prince continued to attack the young Avatar. Worry gathered around her. All she wanted was to help Aang in any way she could, but she knew that getting the others out of there safely was the main priority.
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Post by meatandsarcasm on Jul 26, 2008 22:00:24 GMT -5
Sokka saw Appa descending towards them at a rapid speed. Was…was he supposed to jump onto it? Two perilous leaps to escape certain doom in one day was past his quota, and he didn’t think he could make it anyway, so what was going to-
He heard Aang call out to him, "Hold on!"
Sokka started to turn his head, “Hold onto whaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
The question had immediately transitioned to a scream as he was sent flying up into the air by Aang’s bending, flailing his arms wildly. He saw his sister reaching for him and summoned enough composure to reach out desperately for her arms. His left hand missed completely, but his right found her forearm, though he slipped down to her wrist before he could get a strong enough grip. Grunting with effort, he pulled his body slowly upward with his right arm, and with every horrible second became more and more convinced that he should have done a lot more pull ups. Finally, his left hand found the saddle, and from there he managed to pull himself up onto Appa’s back. With a dramatic sigh of relief, he flopped onto his back, gasping for air.
“When Aang gets up here…” he panted. “Tell him never to do that again.”
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Post by zuko on Jul 28, 2008 14:40:40 GMT -5
Zuko was surprised to see the flying bison swoop in, coming close to the rooftops, and almost panicked at the thought of the Avatar getting away so quickly. But luckily, however, the young airbender seemed to be successfully pushed back by the flames – almost falling off the roof, even. Although the Avatar’s friend had seemed to escape on top of the bison, Zuko simply saw it as one less problem to handle. The Avatar had not escaped yet, and the prince only felt more raging determination inside him at the thought of never letting him have the chance to.
He almost wasn’t sure of what to do, but he was never the type to think things through entirely. He wanted to rush – there was no time to think – he just had to hurry. As much as the prince dreaded to think about it, every time the Avatar escaped from his grasp, it meant he was getting farther and farther away from achieving his honor. Every time meant less opportunity, because deep down, Zuko knew he was loosing.
He then sprinted quickly back towards his target, seeming to have caught the Avatar right on the edge of the roof, but at a least perfect time. Wanting to continue holding him in his place, Zuko breathed deeply, and with as much strength as he had, he punched another raging ball of fire at the airbender. Perhaps Zuko hoped he would fall and land into the awaiting hands of his soldiers right below, but he almost doubted it.
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Post by airnomad on Jul 28, 2008 22:28:07 GMT -5
Aang had barely regained his composure before another ball of fire was swiftly approaching him. The young Avatar sucked in a quick breath and then leaped up as high as he could, using his airbending to provide additional lift. His clothing was perfectly designed to catch the updrafts like a set of mini parachutes.
Zuko's fireball passed under him and dispersed over the open air past the roof. Aang couldd feel the rising heat from the passing attack, and he realized that the Fire Prince was not kidding around. He really wanted to hurt him.
Aang's brow furrowed slightly at that slightly unpleasant fact, and as he came down from his leaped he circled his hands rapidly beneath him. The surrounding air convegered into a swirling sphere at his call, and as he dropped from the air he landed with one foot dead center on the spinning construct. With balance honed from years of practice, Aang stayed up right on the air scooter and will it to carry him across the roof with great speed.
The Avatar sped up higher on the slanted, tiled roof, taking a path around Zuko. And if his shear speed was not enough to escape, Aang alsop managed a one-armed swipe with his staff that send a low, wide arc of air across the rooftop.
And if Aang had stuck around long enough to notice, the sudden torrents of air ripping across the roof tore off several layers of ceramic tiles near its center and sent a great many of them cascading down the rooftop. It was like a mini avalanche of shingles that would be impossible to stand on if one tried to take another step.
Once he reached the opposite end of the rooftop, Aang shoved off hard from his air scooter and into the air, popping open his glider as he attempted to take to the sky.
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Post by missery on Aug 4, 2008 18:23:00 GMT -5
Iroh hadn't stayed with Zuko in his pursuit of the Avatar. His attention had been caught by a charming antique store, a favorite place of his. He enjoyed just window shopping which was rarely the case. He always left with a trinket...or five of them. It was his only weakness and their wallets could support it so he saw no reason to try and break such a habit. Besides it had resulted in several pleasant as well as charming porcelain teapots and other objects to lighten the mood of the ship. The soldiers rather enjoyed them as well as himself, so it was a win win buy for everyone involved...well except for Zuko. Iroh had waved the fear of an upset Zuko aside. He was used to his nephew becoming angry about their sudden stops as well as the extra cargo. It no longer bothered Iroh to hear his rants, he always cooled off a few hours later so it was never serous in Iroh's opinion.
Iroh made his way to the antique store he had caught a glimpse of upon entering Little Gaoling. He walked over to the booth, his eyes wandering from antique to antique. A warm glint of awe and pure joy was evident in his eyes as he saw beautiful trinkets. His eyes went from teapot to teapot as he assessed their beauty and endurance. Over the years he had developed quite a keen eye for teapot quality. Something he boasted about rather regularly when others were around to hear him do so. Iroh's eyes skimmed over an intriguing teapot, but quickly returned. "Excuse me, may I bother you with the buying of that specific teapot?" Iroh asked pointing to the teapot that had so sharply grabbed his attention. He smiled warmly as the merchant placed the teapot he had gestured to upon the counter.
Iroh smiled to himself as he handed the merchant behind the counter a few coins. Iroh quickly grabbed the teapot, his eyes lighting up with joy. "This will be a lovely addition to the ship's decor." Iroh said to himself, his tone happy and content. He enjoyed their stops at the small villages. They always had something rare to offer at their stalls. He was somewhat of a pack rat and could never pass up a good deal on something that caught his eye. The item of the day that had completely captured his attention was a fragile china teapot. The elegant ivory white teapot was only complimented by the light hues of red and yellow that made up it's complicated yet intriguing rendering of a dragon. It was two of his favorite things in one simple, useful as well as elegant item.
Iroh ran his fingers over the cold porcelain and smiled warmly to the merchant. "Thank you for keeping such rare and elegant wares so well kept in your stall at such reasonable prices. Most people would want an arm and a leg for such a rare thing, but no not you. You are a true tea connoisseur who wishes to pass on the elegance and charm of such a simple hobby." Iroh said warmly. He turned away from the merchant and slowly walked back to where he had separated from Zuko. Iroh looked around him curiously. "He must have already located the avatar. Well there is no reason for me to run off and look for him. It would only complicate things. Instead I'll just rest here for a while and wait till he returns." Iroh said to himself, his expression actually happy. He didn't enjoy all the running involved in trying to capture the Avatar or his nephew's disappointed glares.
Iroh happily sat down upon the bench and placed the teapot on his lap. He kept his hands on it as he closed his eyes. He patiently waited...well actually napped. Peaceful snores leaving him until he was disturbed by loud noises of fighting. "So he has found the Avatar...I don't want to break this new teapot I just purchased though. Maybe I can just watch." Iroh said indecisively as he rose from his seat. Following the sounds of battle he soon caught sight of all the commotion. He stayed a safe distance away from the battle, he wasn't going to risk this precious purchase of his. He was close enough to "strategically" observe the situation how ever.
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Post by zuko on Aug 22, 2008 21:51:15 GMT -5
Zuko barely had time to think. Before his gaze could stay on the Avatar for very long, the prince had to shield his eyes from the oncoming shingles that pelted him, but what followed next completely vanished his memory on how to breathe.
A force, so hard and so fast, slammed against him and sent him sliding down the rooftop. His eyes were closed, but the feeling of him being lifted into the air was an uncomfortable feeling. However, next felt even worse: the feeling of landing against hardwood, rolling and sliding against the broken shingles.
His heart almost stopped, but he opened his eyes in time just to see himself about to slide off the rooftop completely. Instantly, more instinctively than ever, Zuko dug his fingers into the shingles and stopped himself just in time. The feeling of broken clay in his palms stung like burns, but he held onto the roof with the utmost determination. One foot hung off the roof while the other was still hooked to the top. He looked rather ridiculous from below, but that was the least of his worries.
Zuko groaned - struggling to get back up - when he glanced down across the roof to see the Avatar taking flight on the opposite side. No….this wasn’t right. He was getting away. AGAIN!
The sight of the orange glider - even the way the Avatar’s back was turned to him -angered and filled Zuko with such an adrenaline rush, that he almost didn’t notice that he was already standing atop the roof again on both feet.
The Avatar was taking off; Zuko was once again running towards him. The young airbender was gaining distance and the prince was falling so behind – his goal was getting away!
With a look of slight fear and desperation in his eyes, Zuko jumped, his hand outstretched to the Avatar’s ankle. A slight deja-vu reoccurred to him, but this time the prince wasn’t as lucky as the last.
Zuko’s hand managed to take hold onto the Avatar’s ankle, but the force of gravity was too great; his eyes widened in knowing what was to come, even before it had happened. Zuko’s hand slipped off the Avatar’s ankle at his own weight, only managing to rip a piece of fabric off the airbender’s robes after desperately trying to hold on. But Zuko fell and landed roughly atop a large awning that broke his fall. The awning crumbled beneath him and sent shattered wood and leaves of cabbage that were being sold beneath the awning all over the prince. Zuko groaned and rolled out of the mess after a moment, ignoring the merchant who was yelling at him – something about his cabbages. Whatever. The ringing in Zuko’s ears was thankfully too difficult to hear through.
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Post by airnomad on Aug 22, 2008 23:04:39 GMT -5
Aang had just started to rise with a current of air filling the wings of his glider when suddenly he felt a hard tug on his ankle. The weight of the Fire Prince pulled his foot free from it's spot tucked over the tail fin of the glider. Aang grunted as he struggled to maintain altitude, but he was pulled into an involuntary barrel roll.
However, just as it seemed he was doomed to spiral painfully into the ground, the cloth of his pant leg ripped and Zuko fell free. Aang blew out a deep breath and twisted hard to try and right himself. A strong surge of air swept up underneath him as he leveled out, and he just barely managed to skim over the edge of the building ahead of him. His dangling foot even skipped off the roof as he skirted just above the surface, bringing a stinging pain to one of his toes.
The young Avatar eventually managed to increase altitude, though, and once he began to rise out of harm's way he set his sights on rejoining the others. Appa was already well on his way to the safety of the clouds, and within a minute Aang had caught up to the flying bison. With the coordination of years of familiarity, he matched Appa's speed and then dropped down into the saddle while folding up his glider.
He was glad to see the others were okay, but after such a close call, the first thing he did was lay back against the backrest and let out a sigh of relief.
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