Starting off on a new foot <Earth Kingdom>

[shuzu]

Shu-zu wasn't exactly looking forward to the next couple of hours that it would take to reach the next village. From a few maps he had "borrowed" from the Fire Nation, he had planned his route quite studiously. Missing nothing, leaving nothing to chance, and keeping to a tight schedule, and his schedule said that after the next couple of hours, he would reach a small village to accomodate him, and not so expected, Tali as well.

He had been going through the route again in his head, when he noticed a bit of movement where her hands had come to rest, on his chest. His eyes wandered down to the aforementioned chest, and looked just in time to see her hands freeze. He chuckled inwardly, it seemed she was either getting drowsy or frisky. The former more likely, and yet, the latter wouldn't have been a problem for Shu-zu either.

Not wanting to come off as a pervert, he assumed the former, and brainstormed for a moment on how to address it lightly. He decided to keep it simple, turned his head to look at her out of the corner of his eye, and said, "You awake back there?"

[tali]

" No I'm awake." She said quickly trying to cover for her nervousness. Her body shifted back against him and she peered over his shoulder curiously. There was a bit of a edginess to her movements, she didn't know what might or might not annoy her traveling companion. Sure she'd like to get comfortable and lean against his back allowing her hands to rest loosely on his torso but that might be improper, after all she'd only just met the boy, would it be okay to do something like that.

Leaving the possible punishment to chance she settled against his back gently with her hands tugging herself close to him if only for the purpose of keeping her from falling off the ostrich horse. " I was just worried I was making you uncomfortable." she admitted feeling a little pathetic. Her eyes glanced up at the side of him from under her bangs. From inside her bag the kiwi began to rouse from it's slumper with all the movements.

It peeked it's head out from under the flap closing the satchel and his beady eyes blinked at the two of them curiously, he made a purring noise then tilted his head towards them before slinking back into the bag to return to the makeshift nest he'd formed from Tali's clothing.

[shuzu]

Shu-zu honestly found the entire situation amusing. Here he was, a rebel on the way to meet with his boss, riding an unnamed Ostrich-Horse, and riding with Fu, such a spontaneous little kiwi, and Tali, such a hesitant girl, in his opinion. It was funny to him, because it was simply unexpected, so a bit of a grin crept across his face, if only for a moment, laughing at himself for being so accomodating. His ears perked at her assurance that she was awake, she seemed to take it a bit literally, but that could be attributed to awkwardness or nervousness, which are completely understandable. The more Shu-zu thought about it, she probably wasn't the strange one, he probably was. It's just been instilled in him to be open, running a shop and talking to people all the time. One had to be friendly to expect to keep customers.

Finally, Tali seemed to make up her mind, and hugged herself close to Shu-zu, which was fine with him. In fact, he figured it would be easier this way, for this way she wouldn't be falling off. Falling off could hurt, and it can be a hassle to get a person back on an animal after falling off once. As she settled against him, the Ostrich-Horse made a small grunt, apparently not liking the constant shifting. He reached his hand down and patted the animal before turning his head to speak to Tali, "Well, I don't mind, but, even if I did, we don't really have a choice anymore. It seems my ride here doesn't like the shifting, so you're stuck there." Following his words, an innocent smile and a chuckle or two came, and then he returned his eyes to the road ahead.

[tali]

He was right after all there was no reason for them to act so awkwardly around one another, they were traveling together and even if they disliked they would be fairly close over the course of the trip. Shu-zu was a nice guy, he was friendly trusting and seemingly easy going. Finally Tali calmed down and let herself lean close to Shu-zu. The ostrich horse was already carrying a fairly decent weight, no need to add to his suffering by moving around like a struggling worm. With one last glance at the road ahead she settled her head against his back gently, her hands tightened the grip on Shu-zu as she stretched her spine and settled back into the saddle. " if you insist." She teased gently, her eyes felt heavy but she didn't want to sleep. Lazily the girl watched the scenery pass by. Tree after tree appeared in her vision and faded almost just as soon,

It was hard to keep herself awake, there was only so much she could do along those lines, it was just so relaxing, the movements of the ostrich horse, the warmth of the boy she was all but on top of... Together with the warmth of the day she was feeling herself slip into a warm mid day nap. A couple times her eyes snapped open as she tried to keep herself awake but sooner or later she knew she'd give into sleep that was hiding in the haze around her vision. In the blink of an eye she was out. Her hands inadvertently slipping lower on his abdomen and her body pressing against Shu-zu's back as slipped into sleep. Gently her lips parted allowing the even breaths of sleep take over her body. She was silent with her mind lost in a hazy dream she wouldn't remember later. Hair hung in her eyes and she didn't honestly care.

[shuzu]

Shu-zu was glad that she had finally become comfortable with him. She had seemed so apprehenisve at first, but, then again, that's probably normal. Now, she was holding firm to him, and he, keeping his eyes on the small dirt road that the Ostrich-Horse trotted along. It really was somewhat dismal to think how this trip would have gone if he had nobody with him. No matter how happy, how self realized, how content a person is, if that person is alone for too long, even they can go a little loopy.

It seemed Tali was being effected by the unchanging landscape and setting as well, for he felt her droop in and out of sleep a few times, and eventually, felt all of her weight rest upon her back, and heard the steady breaths that indicated sleep just behind his ears. He allowed himself a peaceful smile. She really was a nice person, or at least, seemed it. In his opinion, she was a person that could be trusted, but then again, that could've been his open personality clouding his judgement.

He fell into a rythm with the Ostrich-Horse's strides, and everything began to get very peaceful. He even found himself breathing along with Tali unconciously, and inevitably, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. He looked up at the sun, which was in its later half of the sky, beginning to bring a orange glow upon the world. It occurred to him that they should've gotten to the village by now, but he dismissed it due to the fact that the Ostrich-Horse was carrying more weight than usual. It seemed that they would either need to camp out somewhere, or ride through the night.

And, with both of them as sleepy as they were, riding through the night really didn't seem like an option. So, he eventually brought the Ostrich-Horse to a steady pace, until it slowed next to a small creek with some trees and small boulders littering the landscape, just a few hundred feet from the road they had left. Now, how to dismount... it appeared he would have to wake her. He reached his right hand back to try and nudge her, before saying, "Hey, wake up... we need to make camp, it appears the village is farther than I thought."

[tali]

Sleep was wonderful, she was so comfortable that when she woke up there was some confusion as to where she was. Groggily she rubbed her eyes with a hand and peeked her head up at the scenery around her. It was getting a little dark but the sun had a ways to go before it was gone completely. Honestly she was surprised to find herself out in the wilderness and not in a bed at some inn. She groggily slipped out of the saddle and onto the ground, her feet lightly touching the dirt before she dropped her full weight onto the legs.

She nearly stumbled but the Ostrich horse lent her a little bit of support in keeping herself from tumbling into a mass onto the ground. It was taking time but she was waking up, it would have been nicer to stay and sleep for a while longer. Tali rolled her shoulders back trying to rid herself of the stiffness though it was difficult. In the end she wound up squeezing her eyes together to try and right her hazy vision. To no one in particular she spoke. " How long was I out?"

Like a flip book her mind replayed the morning and their meeting before that, nothing too out of the ordinary, she wasn't in danger and Shu-zu was very nice, no reason to worry about him. Her mind settled on something else he said instead, they'd need to make camp. It was practical and with the natural light fading from the sky it was a necessary evil. She turned to look at the clearing he'd picked. It was good as any other, a lack of foliage would serve to keep fire from spreading, the dirt seemed mostly clear of rocks and there was grass near by for the ostrich horse. What else could they need?

When her balance returned she walked over to the clearing and set her bag down near a tree, the Kiwi inside popped his head out and quickly crawled from the bag in confusion. Waddling himself around in a circle a few times he looked at the various occupants of the area and fluffed his feathers in a huff before rubbing his sleepy eyes into the dirt. With a hand over her mouth Tali giggled lightly and shook her head. For a bird he was a rather cute fellow. " I'll work on getting firewood and see if there's water near by, If you want there's some bread and fruit in my bag." She sent a smile towards Shu-zu before she turned, her braid cascading over her back gently as her feet carried her into the forest. Camping was something she'd gotten used to over the last couple weeks.

[shuzu]

Shu-zu found her post-awakening forgetfulness rather funny, but he couldn't laugh too much, because he'd been there as well, as had most people. She seemed to adapt rather quickly however, considering a clearing in a forest is probably not what she had expected to wake up to. After she had dismounted, he followed suit, leaving the Ostrich-Horse untied, for by this time, it was loyal and smart enough to stay around.

As she asked how long she had been out, he tried to tally it in his mind, "Well, I'd say at least a few hours. But, I dont mind, I was beginning to nod off myself, heh." He raised his arms out infront of him, and pushed them out, in a stretch. He had been cramped up on that Ostrich-Horse for too long, it seemed. It also seemed that she was ready and willing to help set up camp, offering to get firewood. He would gladly ablige, it's always nice to have a spare set of hands.

As she was walking into the woods, he called after her, "Well, I'll get the camp set up then!" While she was gone, he gathered rocks in a circle for a campfire later on, began to fiddle with the tent and bedrolls, and waited for Tali to return.

[tali]

A couple minutes of poking around the forest proved rather fruitful. Her arms were full of dried timber, three logs were settled carefully in her arms with a few branches and twigs, the weight was persistent but not too much to deal with yet. During her walks she'd come across a stream a few yards to the east. She attempted to remember the area should they need it for later, fresh water is always an important resource.

Winding her way back to the camp site Tali found that Shu-zu was almost done setting up camp, she didn't have much to say on the subject, her bedroll was tucked securely in her bag and the Kiwi seemed gleeful to roll in the dirt. Coming back into the clearing she cleared her throat so that Shu-zu would know it was her and not some bandit. Thankfully he'd already created a make shift fire pit which she settled herself and the wood down near. She set up the twigs and the sticks to that the fire would be fed naturally for a while.

Casually Tali brushed her bangs from over her eyes and smiled at Shu-zu " There's a stream not too fat east if you need it." Pulling herself back to her feet Tali trotted back to her pack getting out the flint in the front pocket and returned to the fire striking the stones a few times until sparks were created. After that she got down low and blowed on them until some of the twigs and leaves caught fire, rather proud of herself she sat up and watched the fire start to grow.

[shuzu]

Shu-zu was just about done with the setting up of the tent when he heard a large cough behind him, and he looked over his shoulder to see Tali, leaden with firewood. She proceeded to start and fuel the fire while he listened to her speak. She had apparently found a creek that they could use in case they would find the need for some water. That was good, and was something he himself would have set out to do once camp had been established. Looking from Tali’s bag on the ground to Tali herself, he wondered if she would set up her things herself, and thought about it while he finished up setting up the tent. “Good, it’s always much easier to camp when there’s a steady supply of water.”

He finished up putting the rain tarp over the tent, and settled next to Tali, watching the fire. “Well… I suppose all that’s left to do is to settle in for the night…” He then gestured to Tali’s bag. “If you’d like… there’s room enough in my tent for two, and I don’t know if it’ll rain… Just an offer.” It really was just an offer, and he meant nothing else by it. After all, the tent was, of course, borrowed from the Fire Nation, and it was standard military issue to fit three soldiers. It had merely been dyed a different color, and the insignia dyed over as well.

He stood up, and grabbed his bedroll off of his Ostrich-Horse’s back, and strolled over to the tent before throwing it in. He would unroll it later, when he actually went to sleep. For now, he would be fine with sitting down next to Tali by the fire.

[tali]

As she watched the fire catch and eventually consume the smaller twigs and move onto the larger branched Tali listened to Shuzu. Periodically she added a twig or part of a stick to the fire in order to keep it going. Her head tilted up when he mentioned his tent, knowing the consequence of a late night squall and a soaked bag she smiled when he offered to share his tent. Honestly for a girl who was having troubles sitting behind a boy on an ostrich horse she was more than willing to accept a stay in his tent. " I'd like that, thank you" She smiled at him warmly before getting up to sort through her bag, eventually coming up with a pot and a couple of smallish bags full of unmarked contents.

First she managed to find some sticks, setting them on either side of the fire, next she ran a length of branch between the two making a sort of bridge over the fire. She placed the pot over the fire hanging from the branch and tossed some rice and bits of vegetables she'd collected, mostly potatoes with miscellaneous other things, and pushed them around in the pot for a while to cook them before adding the water. " Do you like soup?" She asked, honestly there wasn't much other option right now, she didn't stock up on rations thinking they'd reach town by the end of the day. Luckily she had something and it would be filling and warm, certainly better than nothing.

Her water skin was next to her, she'd use the contents for the soup and refill it in the river when the contents were simmering. One of the bags slightly opened could be identified as flour, a smaller one was salt of which she tossed a small handfull of into the pot.

[shuzu]

Shu-zu leaned back on his hands, his fingers feeling the soft dirt, a slight breeze running through the air. His eyes drifted between the fire, to the metallic pot, to Tali herself. She really was being kind, he thought. In his dealings with customers, his opinion on the generosity of people had suffered somewhat. He had dealt with customers who had treated him with scorn after he had gone to every extent to please them and get their business again. It was very frustrating.

He saw Tali throw a few spices into the pot, making a soup for them, and almost felt guilty. He didn't like to take charity often, but he would not make a big deal out of this. He would act just as he expected anybody he helped to act. "Yeah, soup will be fine!" He then unhooked his Dao and its sheathe from his belt, and layed it on the ground next to him. He didn't feel he would need it, and it made sitting uncomfortable.

"So..." He really couldn't think of much to say, he really didn't know her too well, a fact he continued to forget. He forced himself to say something, so he didn't cause her to feel even more like a stranger, "So...... do you travel a lot?"

[tali]

She was glad he at least seemed enthusiastic about the meal she was making once it seemed to be bubbling nicely she dashed some flour in the pot thickening the contents and she stirred it making sure to mash up all of the gooey paste bubbles the flour made in the pot. Once it was to a consistency she liked she'd add the rice and then cover it leaving it for a bit. But for not conversation was nice. Tali was a bubbly girl, it wasn't as if she'd allow the conversation to drop and become awkward, she was after all dense to that sort of circumstance in most cases.

" Actually this is the first time I've been away from home on my own." Tali cast him a smile absentmindedly pushing the wrapped locks of hair over her shoulder. " I feel I've picked up a lot, met a lot of interesting people along the way too." Sure the destination she had in mind was completely destroyed, she could still go see the ruins she supposed but would it honestly be the same? To know that there might have been air benders there? It still didn't explain the rumors of flying people. " I guess it was worth it in that sense." Wistfully she looked down at the pot pressing the spoon to the side of the pan squishing the last flour clump she saw.

" What about you?" She offered sounding as cheerful as ever, not like she'd been sleeping against his back only minutes before. Her smile was welcoming attempting to seem freindly and urge conversation with the boy.

[shuzu]

Shu-zu leaned back upon his palms, enjoying the time of silence and light conversation. His eyes slowly drifted upward, resting his gaze on the orangish mist upon the sky, casting its twilight upon the world for just a small bit of time. He was listening to Tali, he was, although some onlookers may have said he was sleeping. He wasn't sleeping, but he was however, laying back, and resting his eyes, enjoying the tranquility.

With his eyes still shut, he replied, "Well, you know, they say its the journey, not the destination, that matters." He just lay there for a moment, thinking of how to carefully answer her question. To make it seem like he was merely busy, and not thinking, he reached over, plucked a blade of grass from the ground, pinched it between his thumbs, and blew, producing nothing, before throwing the blade aside and saying, "Well, every now and then I have to do things like this, but usually not nearly this far. I mean... I've had to go maybe a dozen miles out of the city before, but this is completely different. It's somewhat refreshing, a change of pace, and yet, unfamilliar and uncomfortable."

Shu-zu tilted his head up to look back at Tali, before smiling and rubbing the back of his head, "Well, I suppose I've began to ramble, heh." He then laced both hands behind his head and layed back, staring at the orange mist again.

[tali]

Tali giggled a bit and smiled at the boy, she was rather up beat still. It was nice being with someone who wasn't a killer or a phyco, someone she could just relax with. " No, you don't ramble,it;s nice to talk, really." It almost caught her off guard when the thickened stew in the pot began to boil. She turned her head bringing her attention back to the task at hand pouring in the rice and putting the little lid over the pan letting it sit until the rice absorbed the extra moisture.

A while later the sun had set, the sky a blanket of stars and the dishes already scoured in the river of any remaining gremits, her stomach was full and that radiated a warm feeling throughout her entire body. Sure they had expected to be in the next town by now but camping had been nice so far. The girl now sat near the fire snapping a twig into pieces tossing them lazily into the fire, each movement of the flames casting a warm glow on her face and bare arms which were beginning to feel the chill of the night. Even her eyes were getting a little closey which was odd considering she'd gotten a nap. She passed it off as after affects of a warm meal and moved on. There was still a couple little details she was over looking, like sleeping in the tent with the boy which she'd been putting off by sitting around the fire.

Rolling her shoulders back Tali sighed a soft breath and let her eyes close for a second. " it's getting late huh?"

[shuzu]

Shu-zu had moved little in the past hour or two that it had taken it to get fully dark. In that time, the stew had been finished, they had both eaten, and now they were lounging around the fire. Light conversation had continued most of the way, and Shu-zu had enjoyed it well enough. Out here, he didn't have to be nearly as secretive as he had to be in Ba-Seng-Sei. Sure, he didn't scream, "I'M IN THE REBELLION!", but he could actually talk to her for awhile without getting nervous that she would notice a mistake in the product, and ask why there was a flame on it, or anything else like that. He felt sort of lazy, to be honest with himself. He almost felt like he needed to do something productive to atone for his laziness, but he continued to sit there, somewhat next to Tali, at not too close of a proximity, and stare at the flames.

More than once he had felt his lids close, and his head droop, only to be reopened in a sickly sense of half-awakening, that could be compared to a feeling of some sort of dreadful realization. Eventually, he layed his head back upon the grass, and stared at the stars, just about ready to go to the tent and fall asleep right there. His head turned a bit toward Tali's direction as she addressed exactly what he had been thinking about. Just then, he remembered his offer to let her stay in the tent with him, and looked away awkwardly for a moment. This could be bad, if orchestrated incorrectly, or even the wrong thing said.

"Well, yeah. I don't know if you'd noticed, but I fell asleep a few times already, heh." With this, Shu-zu stood up, did a very long stretch that seemed to eminate from his toes, and reach all the way to his fingertips, as he raised his hands above his head. "Well, I'm going to go to bed, feel free to come in if you get cold." It was the best way he could think to phrase it innocently, and yet still it sounded a bit suggestive to him.

So, he simply walked over to his tent, opened the flap, entered, unrolled the bedroll that he had carelessly thrown in earlier in the far end of the tent, so as to leave room for Tali should she decide to enter as well, and layed down, not intending to go to sleep instantly, but perhaps after about ten or fifteen minutes.