Trekking along with Trackers <Wilderness, EK>

[jialingjin]

A day had passed since the two ragtag rebellion members and their tagalongs, an escape prisoner, and a Kyoshi warrior who had lost her comrades, had left their encampment near a mining village that had been essentially enslaved. They had determined that the four of them together could no way free that village. They were on the fringes of Fire Nation Territory, the army was all around them and such an attempt would be nothing but suicide. The Kyoshi, Tsuya, was her name, wanted help in rescuing her partners, yet again.. the four of them could never take on the army that had captured them and the Fire Nation Princess.

And then they had their stalkers.
Yes, they were aware of them. Tsuya was trained expertly and knew when she was being tracked... the two young women stayed together, with Jin trotting in front of them, whispering back and forth. Jialing kept her bow on her, slung over her torso and the old harness strapped tightly around her, the quiver loaded with the mixture of hand made and bought arrows. After hiking for one entire day.. and loaning Tsuya her bow and arrows so she could actually get them some meat half way through the day, they were still moving.

There was a Rebellion outpost in a town to the south, past the twin lakes of Ba Seng Sei but it was the problem of just getting there. What would have been a fairly easy journey was now made difficult by the two strangers who they were certain were still following them. There was no way that they could... talk anymore. Everything had to be.. subtle.. coded in words. What else could they for now?

[gengoro]

The sun beams down onto the Earth. The wind gently caresses the plains of grass. The birds soar above the horizon. Gengoro and Tseng Wei pitched up camp and followed the interesting group that they encountered the day before. One potential warrior and three others of unknown worth made up the group. Gengoro wished to follow to sate his curiosity. Tseng Wei had no opinion of it, he just wished to follow his master. Tseng grabbed a small leg of an ostrich-horse and munched on it while they snuck behind the group from at least 2 kilometers from the group.

“So,” Tseng started conversation as he munched on the half cooked leg, “Is it possible that you might be interested in this girl?”

Gengoro turned around with a strange look in his eyes like he was silently telling Tseng that he was crazy.

“It’s nothing like that,” Gengoro reassured, “I’m just curious about this group we ran into and trying to figure out their own motives as well as their activity.”
“It sounds like stalking to me,” Tseng said while smiling.
“You’re one to talk. You actually look like a stalker.”
“Now that is harsh. I don’t look that scary.”

Once more, Gengoro turned his head to give him that ‘You must be crazy’ look.

“Anyways, do you know what you are doing?”

“Of course I do,” Gengoro once again reassured, “I stalked people while in my military years. I know a trick or two when it comes to following groups of people, or people in general.”

“Well, whatever you say,” Tseng smiled as he tried to anticipate Gengoro’s movement.

[prodigy]

The Entourage of the Princess had left the camp south of Ba Seng Sei's outermost wall, bored by the lack of activity the army was experiencing as they waited for the completion and arrival of the Fire Nation's Secret Weapon. The three young women, fully capable of defending themselves, had set out against the wishes of the top Generals of the Army, but who were they to deny the whim of the Princess?

Azula was perched on the basilisk lizard, leading the three women through the forests that surrounded the twin lakes to the west. They had been traveling for a day, and despite encountering nothing but marching Fire Nation troops, the princess was still tense. Word had reached that Zuko was to the south.. past the twin lakes. That was much further than she had thought. What was he doing down below the Si Wong Desert? The Avatar had last been confirmed at the North Pole and yet, rumors ran amuck throughout the country side that he was elsewhere and back in the Earth Kingdom.

Azula wanted to find him, the Avatar.. and her brother. Such a disgrace. With her victory on the Earth Kingdom ensured by the presence of the Drill, the Princess had set out on the second mission given to her by her Father.. to bring back the Prince Zuko before became an utter disgrace to the Fire Nation.. The three women rode through the forests, keeping the mountains of the Twin Lakes to their south.

[reed]

Reed kept his pace about five steps from the girls. He and Hibiki were walking together sort of like the girls were, but not as much whispering. “Man, I remember the good ol’ days when me and Jia were too unpopular to be stalked. But now we’ve got you guys and stalkers! What are the odds, huh?” Reed kept his mind on the subject as he continued to walk with the group. Why were these guys following them? And why’d they just leave when Jialing told them they couldn’t stay. Reed thought of many scenarios before coming to one that actually made a little sense. It actually kind of pissed him off a little bit and made him frustrated.

Reed nudged Hibiki’s shoulder and bent down a little and lowered his voice. “Hey, outside opinion… You don’t think those guys are stalking us because of Jialing, do you?” Reed tilted his brow at how he noticed the way he spoke of their followers. Sourness? Spiteful, maybe? ….. Jealousy? Reed shook his head at the thought.

[jialingjin]

It was all suspicious.. whatever was going on. Jialing marched along the faint trail through the woods in stoic silence. Around them, majestic trees rose up, the red sunset streaming though yellow canopy of leaves. The sunlight streamed down in visible beams, catching floating bits of pollen in it's light. Stepping over tree roots and fallen branches, Jialing glanced over her shoulder, hoisting her harness back up where it had fallen. Certainly they had made good progress along the path, the wheel ruts barely visible anymore and long prairie grass grew up between the ruts.

The large paws of Jin thudded on the ground as the dog weaved between the arching trees along side the narrow path. His head was low, but his tongue was lolling out and his feathery, burr filled tail streamed out behind him. He scouted out ahead of them, far ahead, and practically invisible through the trees. The trotting dog paused, raising his head and drooping his tail. His nose twitched, his brown eyes alert and bright.

Meanwhile, Jialing paused, glancing over her shoulder at the boys who followed behind them, She glanced to Tsuya for a moment, her meticulously applied makeup beginning to smudge an rub off. Briefly, she wondered why she didn't wash it off, but decided not to question it. "...Reed.. Hib.. think we should camp for the night...?" She kept her voice low, for once not shouting as she was prone to doing. Leaning out, she looked up at Reed through her crimped and crumpled bangs of warm, tan taupe that framed her voice. Her mud-colored eyes flickered about warily, her hands gripping the harness as it hung over her shoulders. "..Tsuya thinks they're still around..."

[prodigy]

Riding along in silence, the Princess Azula was not stalking any prey. She did not expect to come across any. After all, this was Fire Nation controlled territory and while it had not been annexed yet, the military had expanded it's reach here. While isolated within the islands of the Fire Nation, she had heard the reports of the Generals, sitting in on the War Meetings of her Father, Fire Lord Ozai.. and the princess knew all to well the state of affairs of the military. A front had been established to the south of Ba Seng Sei, a stalemate since Iroh had last breached the walls and the Military had inundated those regions, leaving sparse forces behind to control the lands that had yet to yield 100% to the mighty and powerful fist of Ozai.

It angered her that the peasants this close to Ba Seng Sei often resisted, their hope lying within the walls of Ba Seng Sei and within the Earth Kingdom Army. And now.. with the Avatar. Her lip twitched as she rode, a gentle wave rolling through her body with each forward stride of the basilisk lizard, racing at a gentle canter. Behind her, two others followed, allowing their Princess to lead the way ahead. Riding now for over half a day had left them all quiet. They had come across a few scattered villages and towns, but nothing that seemed anything to worry about. Traveling in such a small group and without fanfare did not make it worth enough to stop and inspect the military forces holding them nor to strike fear into the hearts of the peasantry. It would have been somewhat more interesting than this long ride.. but Azula had been given a mission by her Father.. to find Prince Zuko, the failure and disgrace of the family and to find the traitor, Iroh. Southerly they rode, sticking to a old road that had not been used in months it seemed, perhaps years as it was overgrown and covered with tree roots that protruded from the ground. Wheel ruts were barely visible now, but the path still was cut through the trees.

A hand shot up, her fingers straight and towards the sky as she silently signaled to the other girls. Suddenly, Azula was alert. She lifted her chin, her shimmering golden eyes looking to the side.. and then to the other side. Something.. had snapped a tree branch. And then there was a faint rustling of leaves. Distantly. The Princess narrowed her eyes, turning her head back towards her friends. First, she met Mai's eyes.. and then Ty Lee's. Both of them had heard the sounds as well. A hush fell over the small group of women. Footsteps.. were approaching, getting louder. "..Quick.. behind that river bank." She commanded, swinging a slender hand out to the side as she pulled the head of her lizard towards the dried up river bank their trail happened to run along.

Swiftly, the Fire Nation's darling princess and her companions were off the path, holding their beasts of burden steady as they stealthily were absorbed into the riverbank's thick brush and trees..

[gengoro]

A big yawn was let loose into the air. The source of that yawn came from a weird tattooed man with crimson robes as he stretched his arms while walking. The sun was quite pleasant and the air around him was dry and comfortable.

“Ah, what a pleasant day it is,” Tseng smiled, “Don’t you think Gengoro?”

Gengoro was walking quietly as they continued to tail the group.

“It would be best if you were stay quiet,” Gengoro calmly spoke.

“Look at this area,” Tseng pointed around the area, “The trees are wonderful, the breeze feels good. Look, even the river is tranquil. Look at the pretty fish.”

Tseng smiled at his reflection as he looked down into the river. He looked upon his earthen face as days without washing took it’s toll. Granted, he didn’t have hair to clean, but the skin could only take so much punishment before it started to show it’s effects, “It is completely glorious.”

Feeling the need to satisfied Tseng’s curiosity, Gengoro walked over to see into the river. He looked at his unwashed form within the river. Unlike the feeling Tseng gave of happiness, Gengoro’s expression was more of sorrow.

“So why did you leave the Fire Nation?” Tseng asked in curiosity. Gengoro sighed in sadness as he sat down next to the water.

“I didn’t leave the Fire Nation,” Gengoro replied, “I betrayed it.”

“Hmmm, no wonder you were so quiet,” Tseng told, “How did this happen?”

“I was in their army. A long time ago, a saw a person beat down my brother. I dueled him and won. However, it angered him. He went to attack me some more. I killed him in self defense. The man I killed was a son of a high ranking officer. He wanted nothing but slow revenge for me,” Gengoro continued to explain.

“What happened after that? Tseng asked.

“That I’ll save for later. Right now, I don’t want to talk about it.”

[lili]

Of course they were still around. Tsuya through another glance over her left shoulder and her eyes narrowed as a breeze washed over her face. Hopefully it would cool her face enough to help her makeup hold up better. Its thick consistency meant her skin could not breathe under it; and with all the trekking around certain areas around her eyebrows and forehead lost the smooth and flawless effect the starch white paint gave.

"You don't think we could push out another mile or two?" Tsuya asked, just loud enough for Jia to hear easily. The going had been a slow, though steady, pace. And fairly quiet, in thanks to their "friends" following some unknown distance behind. It gave her a chance to think in between sharing whispers with the older girl. What would she have to say or do to get the rebellion members at the outpost to help? Would they have enough power to be effective? And how long would it all take?

Somewhere ahead Jin was running, hopefully finding any possible danger their group might be able to avoid. Or at least giving them some warning to prepare.

[jialingjin]

Her greasy, slicked back hair was matted and generally nastified, but even so, it held it's thick, tight crimps around her face, some pieces floating off as if they defied gravity. She turned back to Tsuya as they walked, listened at the seasoned warrior spoke. Jialing had not voiced it, but she respected dark pine green uniforms, the arsenic gray body armor and the golden accents. Something had to be said for the makeup.. it provided a sense of anonymity. She couldn't even begin to imagine what Tsuya looked like under the smooth porcelain visage. The woman seemed expressionless..

Sticking her tongue in her cheek, The stick nodded in agreement after considering her suggestion for another 3.14 seconds. "..yeah.. we can do a few more miles before it gets dark." She spoke quietly as they came up alongside a dried river. Jialing looked out to it, seeing it nothing but a trickle if that. ...She sneered a bit out of desperation. They really should camp next to a water source and so, she pulled out a tatter, wornup and barely held together map that was probably a century or two old out of her quiver. An arrow had gone through the middle of it, and she quickly yoinked it out, throwing it back over her shoulder.

"...I think this ..river.. creek.. stream.. runs into this one hee.. and we're heading down. There's a small village on the Eastern lake.. right here.. and apparently it's rebellion friendly. Fire Nation controlled of course.. but so is this whole Rebellion."

[mab]

After however many hours riding astride a basilisk lizard, back sore from keeping up the perfect posture that had been a part of her life since she could walk, Mai was tired. There wasn't even any effort needed for the ride, for her mount was well trained enough that he followed obediently behind the princess and her lizard. The ride had been smooth enough which was small compensation for coming across nothing but some military camps. The young woman's fingers interlaced themselves with the reins. Casting a glance to her side Mai realized Ty Lee had been noticeably quiet for the great majority of their trip. Probably thanks, in no small part, to the mood Azula had set. Her focus and quiet contemplativeness was nothing new but that did not mean one should be in a rush to do anything that might break it. The quiet of the forest they passed through was getting to her, however, and Mai needed something to pique her interest.

The quick gesture of Azula's hand caught her eye. Mai pulled back on the leather wrapped around her hand to slow her mount as her eyes flitted around. Obviously it was the distinct sound of movement ahead that had caught the princess's attention. With a quick nod Mai guided the beast to face a new direction, giving one last look ahead. Then she was down the riverbank, situating herself to sit lower in the saddle's seat.

[mizuki]

Ty Lee was nearly equal parts unhappy and the opposite about leaving the Fire Nation Encampment. Their departure would mean that she would get to spend more time with her friends, but she seemed to get so much attention when with a group of the Military. However, her inner struggles may had been fairing, the little bit of intelligence in her produced the answer to solve the problem. She didn't have a choice.

So Ty Lee waved a cheerful goodbye to the camp as the girls set out. The basilisk lizards settled in to the formation that birds would fly in to migrate, Ty Lee level with Mai and Azula between them, a few feet ahead. The girl gave up attempts to make conversation, for she thought it a failed attempt. Instead, she retired to looking at the clouds, noting what certain ones were shaped like and what others might resemble. However, Ty Lee did catch the glance Mai gave her, probably because the silence that had fell upon the group.

Now, Ty Lee stopped her little pastime and listened to the sounds of the lizards trot and the clicks they made with their tongue. The attention on the task at hand that Ty Lee adopted gave her the chance to see Azula's hand signal. Bunching up the reigns, she steered her transportation alongside her friends and into the underbrush and foliage of a riverbank. Ty Lee was about to slide gently off her saddle to stretch or get a better look at what was happening when she righted herself. Mai was not dismounting, and the knife-thrower was in front of her. Instead, Ty Lee mimicked her friend and shrank deeper into the saddle.

[lili]

Tsuya nodded, a brief twitch of her head that meant she agreed. Looking down at the cracked mud of the river's bottom she noted the sparse collection of weeds already beginning to grow up from the damp soil. She could guess what Jialing was thinking and had to nod again, slowly this time. Watching the other young woman retrieve a map from among her arrows, and trying not to smile at the one stuck in the middle, Tsuya studied it carefully. Following with her hazel eyes the path Jia pointed out she shrugged, the armor making a slight creaking noise as her shoulders moved.

"I don't know the area all that well." Tsuya said after a moments reflection. "If you think we'll be somewhat secure," she cast a glance around the foliage surrounding them. "And that we might have a shot at refreshing some supplies, it sounds fine to me." She inspected the other girls face a moment. The Rebellion was Fire Nation controlled? It seemed hard to believe, but at this point Tsuya had to realize anything was possible. "On we go, then." she sighed and began pressing forward.

[reed]

Reed kept up with the rest of the team as they quickened their pace. He tiredly yawned as he watched his feet step one after the other. He wasn't paying much attention to anything, though every once and a while he'd hear Jia and the little Kyoshi talking about....something. He yawned again, "I don't get it, guys. Why anyone would want to follow us? We're such boring people. We need to go to a bar and ...mingle." He ranted. "Though, I totally doubt there's a bar around here.. I mean, Spirits, there ain't BAD! around here." He wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand and swung the loose strands of hair out of his eyes. The breeze was starting to pick up, and it was about time. The heat of the sun and trekking sucked SO much. Come to think of it, they didn't get to eat either. Damn.. There was a river, he'd have to go fishing later on if they made camp around here. Reed looked at the stream but soon looked up to Jia. He started to space out on her. A few moments passed and he started to grin mischievously. He looked to Jia, then to the river, then back to Jia. Oh the things boys will think of.

Reed smirked, "Jia, Jia, Jia you look so hot, why don't you jump in the river... Without any clothes.. Hell, I'll do it too. And then-" CRACK. Reed stepped on a large, dried out branch making a loud crackle. Birds chirps and fled from the tree tops. Reed winced and looked up to Jia. "Sorry..?" He continued to walk and cracked his neck, soon after going back to his hunched over, bored as can be, stance. He slowed a little still staying behind the two woman. What could he say? The view was good from back there.

He looked over to the river and grinned.

Back to day dreaming..!

[prodigy]

Rebellion? Azula's ears perked metaphorically and her attention rose as she laid flat across the back and withers of her basilik lizard, silencing her own breathing by pressing her lips together tightly. Her hands were pressed against the amphibian, dark inky colored skin. Her golden eyes gazed upward to the lace-like grasses and weeds that hung over the rough edge of the river bank. She watched with an interested expression as the rays of light broken with the moving shadows. She counted.. One.. two.. three.. four.. Four people.. and the princess considered what to do. This might be interesting.. an opportunity to gain information about this 'Rebellion'. Was it the same as the one led by the traitor, Chu Ye Ling?

It had to be. Azula narrowed her eyes and clenched her jaw, following the broken light rays as they move and shifted. Her head whipped around, her hair flying in against her forehead in loose strands, lifting upward. Her torso twisted and the Princess lifted a hand up and directed the others girls behind her towards the walkers.. Her eyes told the whole story.. they were going to intercept them.. and yet, She did not give the command to right out attack, not yet. Rising up, she straightened her back, kicking her heels against the side of the lizard she was riding. The creature let out a squeal, swinging it's lengthy head to the side as it tested the bit in it's mouth. It swung it's tail outward, the ripple riding through it's body as it slithered forward, claws digging into the dirt side of the river bank.

The giant lizard rose behind the group of four, it's length spanning the width of the old road. Azula rode sat up straight in the ornate saddle, resting a hand on the horn of the saddle as she narrowed her eyes at the backs of the 'rebels' walking away from them. They wouldn't be for long as her lips curled into a cruel grin, the Princess bending her head forward so that the sunlight glinted off the red enamel diadem flame insignia perched on her head.

[mizuki]

Ty Lee had simply slouched in her saddle in mimicry of Mai's actions. Really, she didn't know what to do, her senses not as keen as the other two perhaps. But as the bubbly girl spotted Azula flat against the back of her basilisk lizard, she righted herself. Ty Lee's back easily arched over the back rim of the saddle to allow her head resting against her steed's back.

She too noticed with awkward curiosity the word Rebellion. Of course, that is one of the only words she caught, as she didn't realize the quartet was the reason the three were hiding in the first place. Ty Lee forced herself to remain still, it was hard because of her usual hyperactive demeanor. As the voices past, the teenager swung gracefully into a mannerly sitting position and watched the Princesses hand motions. It was a fuzzy plan and didn't make sense to Ty Lee at first. But the acrobat snatched a glance at Azula's eyes and knew what to do. Only a true leader could give a detailed plan in a single glance.

Ty Lee kicked her basilisk lizard gently behind the ribs and it clicked it's tongue. Falling in slightly behind Azula and to her right, Ty Lee smirked in a slightly flirtatious way. No doubt, if the sounds of three pursuers did not catch their quarry's attention, the glint of light falling on them from Azula's red enamel diadem flame would do the trick.