Starting off on a new foot <Earth Kingdom>

[tali]

The night seemed to give Tali some new perspective on things, she was quiet most of the night but in the morning she attempted to smile for the people she was rooming with. Once her hair was brushed and pulled into it's usual style she repacked her things into her bag, a couple things she neglected to pack, they were weighing her down. With the essentials only in her sack she found it to be a much more manageable weight, nik-naks from each town weren't all too helpful. Sadly it was time they all should be getting on their way. Continue on north, that was Tali's thoughts on the matter of where to go. Perhaps she could still see the temple, real air benders were something she should have expected to be a ruse. Logic would have told her that but Tali was never one who would simply follow her head over her heart.

The fire nation must be full of scoundrels and murders to condone the slaughter of an entire race. As far as she'd read the nomads were peaceful, they would never see a genocide like that coming. It made her shiver to think about it. How many of those nomads were children? How many had families and lives. They'd shoved the balance so far out of order that the avatar vanished. As if that sign wasn't big enough.

The yellow sash cinched about her waist and the green dai she often wore felt snug against her skin, she enjoyed how the taught fabric felt against her skin. Her usual Chinese slippers were switched out for a more suitable pair of worn leather traveling boots. Not that one could see them under her baggy brown pants. With a quick twirl in the mirror of the room she felt ready to face the day For once, traveling alone didn't seem like it had to be her only option. Sunil seemed out of the question, as much as she would have enjoyed traveling with him he was headed away from her destination, but Shu-zu on the other hand was going Northward to some town he didn't seem to mention to her. She was more than accepting of someone to walk with even if their paths did wind up separating at some point. She munched on a quick breakfast of fruit and a hunk of bread as she walked, tearing bits off to chew as she meandered down the road, herself on foot while Shu-zu was on his ostrich horse.

She glanced over at him through her bangs curious to spark a conversation, anything to kill the boredom. " So, you live in Ba Sing Se?" The teen smiled at him trying to seem friendly. " have you ever seen the palace?"

[shuzu]

Shu-zu had slept rather well, as he usually did. When he had awoken, he had forgotten for a mere moment where he was, and seemed confused as to why he wasn't in his room back at the shop. After blinking away groggyness, he sat up, prepared himself for the day, and set off. It seemed that Sunil would be continuing his travels in another direction, so Shu-zu said a quick farewell to the man, and hopped upon his mount. It seemed, though, that Tali was to head in the same direction as he, and he wasn't one to turn down company in his travel. With the Ostrich-Horse gently trodding along, and Tali walking at its side, Shu-zu merely kept his eyes forward for the time being. He wasn't sure how she was feeling about the let-down she'd had yesterday.

After a moment, she asked him a question, obviously just to start conversation, not really a question one is extremely interested in. He threw her a quick glance, then a smile, before answering, "Well, I don't live within the city's walls. Though I have been into the city many times, I've never even visited the Upper Ring. I always fathom that some day my business will be good enough to take there, but for now, I'm content where I am. Ah, but I'm rambling. You said you were from Gaoling, yes? What's it like there?" It was his horrible attempt at shifting the conversation away from himself, but he stopped and waited for her to answer anyway.

[tali]

" Gaoling is nice" She started shifting the weight of her pack against her spine, still the weight seemed to be there, quietly pressing down on her but for the time she wouldn't mind it all that much, in the following hours, that was when it would begin to get to her. Tali's head turned to smile at Shu-zu again, it was nice to be walking along with someone other than herself, for so long it seemed she was alone out here, there were run ins with various people of course. The crazy man who nearly broke every bone in her body, the igni, and even the tro the day she was to set out. So many others besides those, it was like centuries ago rather than weeks. " It's got a small town feel, nice and clean, the streets are well cobbled and the buildings are beautiful, a lot of grass and gardens."

Tali's braid was slung carelessly over her shoulder, pooling over her left arm and down past her hip bone mostly to keep it from being caught under her bag which would be painful. Her feet stepped delicately over the terrain even sheathed in boots there was a definite curve to her step that was as sure footed as a gorilla goat over a mountain side. She was able to keep pace with the ostrich horse at least, she didn't think about the implications of her walking and him riding, she was too grateful for some companionship. Hunking the last piece of bread into two bits she chewed on the remains of her breakfast, it'd keep her going through to dinner if she needed it too.

[shuzu]

Shu-zu continued on down the road, only slightly aware of the fact that he was riding, and she was walking. It didn't really bother him much, though, she must have walked the whole way here, a little more couldn't hurt her. Perhaps if she asked, he would trade places with her, but, for now, he was fine with it. Gaoling, where she said she was from, was a larger town around where he grew up. He had been there a few times, but had asked, merely, to sway conversation from him, and to see if it had changed much from his childhood.

From her response, it seemed it had not. He expected as much, although, it was a bit disappointing. Everything was so boring when it only stayed the same, one of the reasons why this voyage to Tachi Dai did not shake him much. It was refreshing to get out, meet new people, and travel. His right heel pressed into the Ostrich-Horse's side a bit, telling it to slow. He wouldn't want Tali to have to exert herself to keep up, that would just be cruel. Also, he figured it would enjoy a slower pace, considering that it was supporting Shu-zu and all his things. The slight shift of weight in the Ostrich-Horse's stride caused Shu-zu's dao to shift a bit in its sheathe, so he reached down to re-adjust it. He really wished he had no need of it, but he couldn't bring himself to leave it at the shop, where it provided a bit of protection. This wasn't the type of world where one could walk around with no protection at all, he had decided that long ago.

His mind drifted back to Gaoling, and back to his hometown. It was a more arid setting there, bordering on the desert, but it brought back happy and not so happy memories all the same. Perhaps he should have performed a very wide arc to visit, but that he shook off as being too inefficient. It was a bad enough idea to swing toward Kei Lan as it was, but he couldn't bring himself to be without the city living for as long as the entire trek to Tachi Dai would've been. "I don't get to see that sort of setting much... I miss it. Back toward the capital, the small outpost that I live and work out of, is very arid and dry, not much plants or grass. It's a bit depressing at times, and very hot almost all the time." He let out a small chuckle at the last part, because of the dry truth of it. Ba-Seng-Sei in the summer could get unbearable, cooped up in his shop.

[tali]

Finishing up her breakfast she swallowed the rest of it down and brushed the crumbs off of her hands, not wanting to get them on her clothes, birds would no doubt pick at the crumbs later." I don't mind the heat, I tend to wear light clothing." To illustrate she tugged at the corner of her shirt playfully showing how thin it was. Honestly the fabric was rather breathable, it was nice to move about in, the boots were cumbersome but she found them more comfortable for traveling than wearing her slippers which would get scuffed and damaged easily. She smiled over at him, finally feeling better though she was still wandering aimlessly north. Tali blew her bangs out of her face idly and glanced back down the road, the city a mere speck in the distance now. She figured they were making decent time, she hoped that her pace wasn't slowing him down at all, after all she didn't want to hinder his progress because of her lack of a mount.

Still there was an urge to reach out and pet the ostrich horse, cuddle it and coo to the creature. Fu was adorable and he wold be missed, the kiwi she'd inadvertently named. She liked animals in all honesty, not that the same couldn't be said of most females. The more she mulled over feeding the ostrich horse the more she got an itch to reach into her satchel and get him something to nibble, there were a couple oranges is her backpack. To keep her hands busy she began smoothing out her braid, finding comfort in the motion.

It was like when she was little and her mother would fret over her hair, unlike her father and older sister her hair was brown, like her mother. Something the woman adored about the younger of the two girls. For nearly an hour every night she would brush and pamper the long chocolate locks into a tamed state. It was so relaxing to have her hair brushed out. It just felt good. " Though it's easier to sleep when it's cool, it lets me snuggle up into a nice warm blanket."

[shuzu]

Shu-zu shifted in the small saddle placed on the Ostrich-Horse’s back, his rear was beginning to get sore from sitting for so long. Perhaps he would dismount soon and walk instead of ride. His eyes traveled down to Tali, it seemed she was fidgeting, if only for a moment, before adjusting one of her braids. Seemed a bit strange in his opinion, but he could always be overanalyzing. “Yeah, I suppose if you wore clothes that were light enough, that you could avoid the heat to a point, but eventually, if you kept along the path of wearing lighter clothing when it got hotter… in my shop, you’d probably end up naked during some of the Summer days!”

Only a moment after the little quip left Shu-zu’s mouth did he realize that it was awkward to say something like that to someone that he had just met. For a few seconds, he began to stutter nonsense to attempt and explain himself, “I don’t mean, like, you know what I mean, right?” Odds were this attempt was in vain, but it was a person’s natural reaction to attempt and fix something that was incorrect, or done on accident. Reflex could be an annoying thing.

Now, though, he felt even more awkward at having appeared so flustered, and cleared his throat before settling back into the saddle. “Well, to put it simply, it gets too hot in the shop for merely wearing lighter clothing.”

[tali]

Tali watched Shu-zu in confusion as he started his sentence. She was some what curious of his point and because of such a thing she was looking directly at him. Of course her feet were still moving, the ostrich horse had no knowledge of the potentially awkward situation the man had just unearthed. Her slim fingers dropped away from her hair as she let Shu-zu continue to ramble on, at first she didn't understand. Yes when it was hot it would be time to remove clothing, the joke was there and she even smiled a bit but his reaction to it gave her cause to rethink what he'd said. She didn't come to any conclusions right away.

It seemed innocent enough to her. There wasn't much attraction towards men other than looking appealing for reasons she was oblivious of or them being strong. On her travels she'd met "cute" men, but aside from Iikagen in the forest her hormones were all but ignored. Even then all she wanted to do was steal a kiss.

" Hm?" She watched him, a gentle prodding in her gaze now, what was he getting at? Idly her hands smoothed down the green fabric of her shirt against her thighs. That was when it hit her, he was making an allusion of sorts to her being naked? It seemed far fetched but she caught a flush of rose across her cheeks. She just nodded to him and let the rest of it drop, it would be stupid to continue on with this topic so she'd change it. " Have you ever been to the ocean?"

[shuzu]

Shu-zu kept his stiff stature atop the Ostrich-Horse, not wanting to move the wrong way or say the wrong thing, he really did feel awkward. But, it seemed, after her realization, which did take awhile, mind you, she was content with ignoring it as he was. She even saved him the trouble of changing the topic, it seemed she wasn’t one to hold a grudge or dwell on one thing. He allowed himself to loosen up a bit, tilting his head a bit, in thought. The thought had never occurred to him, but it seemed that he, in fact, had not ever visited the ocean.

“Well, no, but it’s not like I don’t want to, it just never really occurred to me to ever go.” He turned his head to look back down at the girl while he spoke, and he became more aware of the fact that she was walking while he was riding. Feeling his chivalrous side take over, he felt guilty, especially now noticing the bag she was carrying. They had been traveling for awhile and that bag must have been weighing her down. After he thought about it for a moment, she even seemed like the person who would keep this information in, just not to be a nuisance.

It wasn’t long for his thoughts to make him feel incredibly guilty, and even lead him to offer a ride, “You’ve gotta be tired… If you want… I could slide forward and make some room so you could ride too. I would hate to make you walk the whole way…”

[tali]

" Well since the trip to the temples is all but blown I think that I might want to see a beach before I head home" She mused watching the distance more than watching him. Her feet shuffled along in the dirt and she let out a breath, the ocean might be nice to visit. She could see the surf and maybe ever swim in it, though she couldn't swim, she'd never really learned how, she could wade into shallow water and splash around but in a town of earth benders no one really bothered with swimming. Gaoling was a town placed under pardon by the Bei Fong family, they were almost their own city state with the way things were run. It was good though, it gave her family riches and a stable place in the community.

Once she'd finished fretting over her hair she turned on her bag shifting it into a more comfortable position on her shoulders doing her best not to break stride. She was a warrior after all, there was no problem with a bit of a load. Anything else may spoil her...but then again. Her lips pursed and she tilted her head towards him. Small worries bloomed in her mind, would it be too much for the ostrich horse? Would they even fit. Those hazel eyes at his peered at him before stealing a glance down the road. She didn't see any buildings which meant it must be a bit of a journey before the next town.

" If you think it'll be alright... " Tali murmured coming to a halt and shifting her weight from hip to hip. "If I'm too heavy for the horse I'll walk" She added as an after thought, she wouldn't want the poor animal to have excessive strain, the poor old boy didn't even have a name.

[shuzu]

Shu-zu kept an optimistic smile on the entire time, she seemed like a very nice person. She wasn’t like some people, who may just instantly jump on, not caring for the animal’s well-being, or even worse, people who may have even wanted to kick Shu-zu off for the only spot. Both were rude and insensitive, and yet, she was asking for his assurance that the Ostrich-Horse would be fine. Shifting in the saddle, moving forward, and patting the area just behind him, he said, “Well, this guy’s been good to me so far, and there is room… and, if it does prove to be too much for him, I can always jump off and let you keep riding.”

The more time that Shu-zu spent with this girl, the more he was growing to like her. First of all, the way she was faring with the news about the airbenders was exceptionally well, and how she was so independent, and yet, didn’t mind taking some help from someone was admirable as well. Secondly, she wasn’t half-bad looking, he had to admit. So, as he patted the saddle, he pulled on the reigns to get the animal to stop, and it did, and just as it did, Shu-zu saw something out of the corner of his eye. It seemed like a little brown ball, until it got closer, and he saw that it was the small Kiwi, who’s name was… it escaped him at the moment. It had to be that man, Sunil’s, but why would it have come here? Perhaps he got left behind and was forced to follow the only other person who he was acquainted with, Tali. It was a good thing that Tali was with Shu-zu, because otherwise, he would’ve been going at a pace much faster, and much too fast for the little Kiwi to keep up.

Either way, it seemed the little bird was upon them now, so he pointed it out to the girl. “Is that…” He caught himself, for a moment, and then the name hit him, “Fu? You might want to go grab him… he must’ve gotten separated from Sunil and followed us instead…” And so he sat there, on his ostrich horse, waiting for Tali’s actions.

[tali]

Shu-zu moved forward in the saddle of the ostrich horse reassuring her it was alright and making room for her. She was a little unsure about it, ready to walk when she was proven to be too much of a load for the animal. Her hands moved to the straps of her bag, making sure it was secure on her back before attempting to hop on board with Shu-zu. Her body moved across the short expanse up to the ostrich horse. She set her hands on the animals neck, trying to sooth him and silently apologize for any discomfort he may feel. There was a tender mothering side to the would-be warrior. At least there was a soft spot for animals in her heart.

Just as she was to move into the saddle Shu-zu distracted her, the attention was settled behind her, where a small brown animal was popping through the grass. It's long beak tilted up towards them with it's beady eyes blinking adorably towards the pair. Tali was confused, wasn't Sunil headed the other direction? Her hands fell from the saddle and she turned toward the bird moving up to it curiously. A small cheap came from it and she kneeled down hugging her legs to keep her balance while she let all her weight rest on the balls of her feet. " Hello little guy, what are you doing out here?" The animal rubbed it's self against her thigh softening her curious expression. She used one hand to brace herself and the other one to stroke the birds feathers. He purred happily against her fingers making her melt at the sight of it, she felt bad for taking someones pet but she couldn't let the poor thing wander around aimlessly without someone to protect it.

She scooped the bird up letting a small 'aww' slip past her lips when he snuggled his head against her stomach. The bird didn't weigh too much, at least she didn't think so.... Returning back to Shu-zu she blushed a bit, feeling bad about adding another member to their growing traveling group. " I don't want to leave the poor thing out here." She admitted shyly setting the bird on the saddle before pulling herself up lithely. Her arms supported her weight easily enough,she was flexible and pulling onto the horse was odd but not difficult. The Ostrich horse didn't seem to have more than a grunt of discomfort so she relaxed a bit, settling Fu into her sack and slipping her arms cautiously around Shu-zu's waist.

[shuzu]

Shu-zu had to admit that it was a stroke of luck that the little bird had kept up this far, it must be extremely tired… Luckily, it seemed happy as ever, and Tali retrieved the little guy. She seemed to have quite the motherly feel for the animal, but that would seem consistent with most people, for the little bird was a very, well, cute creature. He sat for a moment as Tali clambered up onto the Ostrich-Horse behind him, placing the kiwi in her pack, and then proceeding to slip her arms around his waist. It hadn’t occurred to him when he asked her to get on, but it seemed that it would have its perks. After all, she was rather good looking, in his opinion, and now she was cramped up next to him on an Ostrich-Horse.

He let a small grin creep upon his face, and he nudged the beast with his left foot, directing it to begin to trot. He wouldn’t be breaking off at a breakneck pace with so much weight on the animal, and they really weren’t in any rush, so a leisurely pace for now was quite fine. His head looked back for a moment, and his eyes wandered from Tali to Fu, and with a small chuckle, he said, “You know what they say, ‘Three’s a Crowd’, I guess that’s right, especially on the back of an Ostrich-Horse.” He allowed himself a few chuckles after his little joke, but stopped before he should accidentally become obnoxious. His eyes drifted back forward, to the road, as the four kept along at a calm pace.

[tali]

The ostrich horse was bigger than she thought and it seemed and strong, still she managed to worry about the weight load on the animal but it gave no more signs of discomfort so she kept her concerns to herself. She was somewhat settled in, her thick braid over her shoulder resting against her back along with it was her satchel with the straps rested over her shoulders. In her back pack Fu curled up comfortably making a nest in her clothes, especially the soft blanket she'd brought for her bedroll. Her hands tightened around Shu-zu as the ostrich horse began to move, it wasn't like she was used to riding and the movement prompted her to press herself to the man not wanting to embarrass herself by falling. Spirits forbid she managed to hurt herself falling unceremoniously off of the back of the creature.

Realizing that her body pushed up to Shu-zu the way she was might not be comfortable prompted her to release him once she'd managed to find her balance in the saddle. Her front which was pressed up to his back craned away from him though her hands still remained on his chest. She didn't want him to be uncomfortable as much as she didn't want the ostrich horse to be overburdened. He laughed and she smiled, a small giggle escaping her lips. " Fu's not taking up much room and if it's that bad I could get off, I don't want to crowd you." The first part was a little light hearted, the second semi-serious. There was no way she'd be able to keep herself on the horse without holding onto him. She didn't know how he felt about that particular portion of this traveling arrangement.

[shuzu]

Shu-zu let himself settle into the new position atop the Ostrich-Horse. He was starting to become accustomed to the new arrangement, and was getting ready for a long ride, until she began to move again, apparently trying to stay some distance away from him. It was reasonable enough, they had only met yesterday. Shu-zu toyed with the idea of trying to get her to settle back to how she was, but saw no need to push it. She would become comfortable sooner or later, for they had quite the ride ahead of them. He was happy, however, to see that he had coaxed a laugh from her too. She seemed to take his jest a bit literally, however, and he decided to douse those thoughts.

"Nah, I enjoy the company up here, you know. It feels more like I'm talking to you, instead of down at you. You'd be surprised how much difference elevation can make in those first impressions. Some people are even a bit wary of me! Can you believe that?" Shu-zu's attempt at small talk seemed to end in him going on a bit of a rant, but he wasn't worried about it. He wasn't worried about much of anything, for that matter. He was rather content to just sit atop his Ostrich-Horse, with someone to talk to.

[tali]

The ride was going to lull her to sleep she feared. There was light conversation but it was nothing too strenuous on her mind. Last night wasn't too hectic but it left her tired. Sharing a room with two boys might fluster other girls but Tali felt at home. There were always boys around at home, she didn't tend to think about them like her sister did. She'd make a habit of getting wandering by with her yutaka's not tied properly to distract people. It was annoying. Especially knowing that most people would take the training seriously. A messy appearance wasn't something to stare at, what attraction was there in the sloping neckline of the top? She never even wore bindings. " You don't seem to be untrustworthy." Tali murmured finally. Then again she had the self preservation of a suicidal fish, what she thought was safe wasn't always that.

Her hands roamed on his chest slightly, mostly ouf of something to do, for a moment she didn't notice but when she did her hands froze in place on his stomach, her senses acutely aware of any more movement to the point where they had become ridged. She raised her shoulders and dropped her head. She was being much too forward it might bother him, was it considered forward? She didn't even know if this was a situation like that. Would it matter? It brought up a chapter in her life she seemingly missed but her mother spoke of. Attraction and love, she didn't even know why she thought of it. Maybe she was just tired.