Caution and Optimism <Foggy Swamp, Earth Kingdom>

[hok]

This time around, Hok hoped for many things. He knew Yun was in a sour mood, but he figured that maybe, just maybe, he could pay a surprise visit and lighten her day. Never mind that such things never happened before and could likely land him in a hole where he suffered at least one minor injury, but he always tried to keep a positive outlook in light of all these things. There was no sense worrying in what might happen, right? He might trip and fall face-first on a tree trunk and knock out all his teeth, but that didn't stop him from walking all over the place! Likewise, a large tree limb could have broken off from the canopy above him and clunked him on the head! He was certain danger wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

According to her parents, Yun was around back with her henna needle. No doubt she could use a better target than her own shoulder or arm, which could surely be one way to improve her mood. After yesterday, he didn't even know what to expect now. Whatever would happen would happen. Whatever would be would be. It was merely his choice to put himself in the middle. He thought it would be kind of cool to have one of those designs on his back, as long as it wasn't all girlish and flowery. Yun would know not to do that if she didn't do it to herself.

Hok could barely see Yun from where he stood, which made him decide to stand still until he at least attracted her attention. She wouldn't ambush him startled if he didn't sneak up on her. That would be rude of him, anyway.

"Yun?" Hok said, loud enough for her to hear, "yer parents told me yew was back here." He didn't doubt she'd be surprised, but it was still in question whether her state of surprise would be pleasant or harsh.

[yun]

The morning was a rough one, she was whapped a couple times by her brothers for making them search the swamp for her and then she looked in the mirror to find a yellowish patch on her face from where her mother hit her, people insisted it wasn't that noticeable but she saw it and it honestly bothered her. With a sigh she ignored it along with the mild soreness and went about her morning eating her breakfast and crawling back to the swamp witches house. It took a bit to get the woman to agree to take her back but it was on the stipulation that she attempt to control her temper and come back after a week of deep thought and self reflection. What a load of bs that was. Both her brothers were gone for the day, her elder brother with the girl he secretly intended to marry and then Rohit off with his buddies to bug some girls in the next village over.

Yun was somewhat grounded, she wasn't allowed to leave the immediate area of the village since she'd ran off the previous day but they wouldn't hold that up for long. Instead of wallowing in self misery she mixed herself up a new batch of henna powder and set herself to crafting new designs on her hand and arm. She worked slowly fixing the designs that had faded and working a new one on her hand, It was a swamp flower and she only drew it because it was simple and something she could do with her weak hand on the opposite arm.

The smell was pleasant and it soothed her some, the smell of sweet swamp spiked cider, henna powder, lemon and the strong scent of cloves wafted through the air and into her sun drenched skin. It'd been a while since she'd been working with it, no one complained that she was keeping quiet to herself either.

Hok's voice calling out her name was somewhat of a surprise, her cheeks flushed pink remembering the hug but her stubborn bullheadedness did little to help her illustrate just how sweet she was on the boy. Looking over her shoulder she gave him an indifferant slightly smug glance. " Yeah? an' wut about it." Sometimes she hated being mean to him, he did nothing to deserve it but acting as she did was second nature, not much could stop it.

[hok]

"Uuuh..."

Hok was lost. He never knew quite how to answer rhetoric like that at all, much less in terms he could relate back to Yun without her getting offended and shoving his face into the mud. He was very seriously considering a quick, full-circle heel turn and speedy getaway instead of coming into a fuller view and acknowledging her further. That wouldn't have been very kind or considerate of him, nor would it be very brave to flee once things turned to heck. Plenty of people would understand if he did, but Hok's own conscience wouldn't quite garner well to such things. He'd be a wimp in his own mind, which was really all that mattered. Soo or anyone his age could offer as much sympathy as they wished, but his mind wouldn't be changed until he proved to himself he could be kind to and keep calm around a violent and hateful person. That was, if Yun was even going to be the way he expected. Part of her danger lay in unpredictability, as unfortunate as that sounded. Like she were a sleeping viper-turtle coiled up in a log, Hok never knew quite which way to step around her.

Thankfully, he noticed her henna needle was indeed out and in use, giving him a fine opportunity to distract her. "Er...need a new subject?" Hok said with a wistful grin, scratching his underarm.

[yun]

Yun rolled her eyes slightly, not that she expected an articulate answer from Hok, he wasn't the brightest boy in the swamp but he was one of the sweetest and he was kinda cute in his own awkward way. She pushed all of her little teenage butterflies aside in a net leaving them there for as long as she could. She didn't want to be acting all sappy and vixendoe eyed around him. Some girls got like that when they saw a boy they liked, it would be odd for her to do it. She didn't even think she could if she wanted to, the closest she got was the hug a while back. Her imagination turned it from what it was to a gentle embrace though, riddled with underlying messages, being a teenage girl was indeed an odd thing.

The swamp girl relaxed a bit when he offered up himself for her to doodle on. She held out her hand indicating he should sit and she sat up a bit herself. If anything she liked drawing on other people, it would give her some quiet time. Henna was the only thing she could do and be calm with, any sudden movements of bursts of anger could ruin a design after all. Switching the needle back to her dominant hand she watched Hok like a hawk, no smiles, al business though she wasn't as harsh as usual.

" Awlright, where dew ya want it?" The henna on her arms were beginning to dry, the warm wet paste starting to become hard, eventually it would all flake off leaving the image for a couple weeks before it too faded with time. Starting the cycle all over again.

[hok]

Now that she mentioned it, Hok wasn't sure what he wanted Yun to doodle all over his skin. It was so hard to decide, and more than likely that, halfway through the procedure, he may very well change his mind entirely but have no say in the matter. Then all he could do was sigh and fidget, hoping he would grow to tolerate it during the time it took to crumble and fade from his hide. Although, unless it were somewhere completely obvious like his hand or arm, maybe even his leg, it's likely he wouldn't even see it most of the time. It would be there, he'd know it existed, but he wouldn't be too bothered if he didn't have to look at it all the time. That was even assuming he hated it in the first place. It was so confusing sometimes.

"Yew decide?" Hok said, most definitively asking that she pick out a design for him. He had to deal with what she picked, lest he receive the brunt of her punishment over his own regret toward his indecisive tendencies. Yes, that was a fine plan, to let Yun make his decisions for him. He sat before her and shrugged his shoulders. "Jes' nuthin' too girly..."

[yun]

Her eyes followed Hok as he sat down near her, she looked him over and the obvious choice was his back or somewhere unnoticeable, then again how often did she get the chance to do something like this on a guy she kinda liked a bit. His abdomen was in mind but she figured that any plans she had would be ruined by her parents so she'd have to pic something else. Perhaps his chest? a twisted design on his chest and shoulders? It might show off his cool birthmark a bit. That would be interesting, it'd give her an excuse to get real close to him too.

" Alright, nuth'n girly ah promise" Yun smiled a bit and leaned forward half onto Hok, she wiped some of the henna off on a cloth making the needle cleaner for application, she started just below the middle of his collar bone on his chest making a design of a squid shark slowly making some lines thicker and others thin. It was rather amusing to be this close to him, an arm braced on his hips lightly she found herself starring at the patch of flesh she was working on. Her face was gentle and somewhat thoughtful, concentrating on the design more than the boy but it was an added bonus this might be making him somewhat uncomfortable cause she was in a perfect spot. This would take a while so he'd best get used to the close proximity.

[hok]

So now he had to lie there, doing basically nothing but voyage deep into thought. He couldn't move or squirm, unless he wanted the needle's path to stray from tracing whatever artwork on his skin and leave it a squiggled, unrecognizeable mess - that would be embarassing, to walk around with something like that right on his front for so long. It was that way every time Hok became Yun's living canvas for her art, which he more or less considered a good outlet for her anger and deep-seated frustration.

If it calmed her down, it was alright in his book. He could also have some badass design on his skin if he could think of one, but no doubt Yun could suggest one good enough if he let her - not that he'd use it to scare or intimidate people, since he had no need...nor did he really want to attract any teenage girls in particular, but...it would just be so darn cool! How could any teen boy in his right mind turn down something like that?

The scent of that liquid used for the markings was soothing too. Whatever it was, it smelled great; almost good enough to drink, even. It probably nasted nasty in comparison, but he foresaw no harm in asking. Yun would be in a tranquilized state and probably put up with whatever he asked, as far as he knew. "So," Hok looked around a bit, nonchalantly ignoring the fact that Yun's hands were wandering his body more than Master Huu wandered the swamp (it was part of the ritual, right?), "whut'd yew think that juice tastes like?"

[yun]

Instead of her usual twists and twirls Yun managed to make something more masculine for Hok, the start of the squid shark was rather impressive, she liked how it looked and didn't feel the need to go over it again so she moved on. There were a few lines traveling out from the central image, strong strokes mixed with some thinner ones creating something of a dynamic design across his chest creating a painted collar on his body. The strong lines all came from the squid shard design and radiated to his shoulders with enough variety to make it seem interesting.

Honestly it was nice to doodle like this, a lot better than doing it on herself, she eventually ran out of places she could reach and would be forced to stop. Not that she could cover Hok from head to toe in henna tattoos though it sounded an attractive enough idea. The close proximity to someone was nice. Usually when she was close to someone like this it was her brother and she was in a head lock. That was never fun unless she was the one administering it.

From Hok's chest she glanced up at the boy with a bit of interest, she could only assume he meant the henna fluid. She made a face at that and sat up fixing up her henna applicator slightly so she could continue working with it. " Honestly it tastes horrible." It made her smile with a small bit of mirth. When she was little she foolishly put some of the sweet smelling goop in her mouth and assumed she was going to die, the bitter taste was too much for her to take. Moving back to her previous position she went back to work on his tattoo with little issue recreating the same tatoo on the other side of his body. " Ah wouldn't recoment try'n it."

[hok]

Hok may have laughed, hinting how he was gradually becoming eased with the whole situation, but he had to retrace his memory to think whether or not he'd ever heard Yun tell him how she drank henna fluid, or when she did, for that matter. If she ever told it to him, probably either in confidence (to save face) or jokingly (before punching him in the face), it had faded from his mind well beforehand. It was kind of nice to think she would tell him something like that in all honesty, perhaps showing she had lightened up just a bit. Maybe that henna tattooing art she partook in did her more good than either of them realized.

Looking off to the side, Hok chuckled slightly. It was easier to laugh around her now than before, especially because she initiated such things. He fully expected her state to sink into a harsh and violent spiral after she was done decorating his golden-beige hide, but for now he could savor the moment in peace. Or not; some other things oftentimes could occur when Hok sat still and allowed his mind to wander. "Hmm. Yuh think yew'll ever climb the big tree?"

It was the first thing that popped into his head...

[yun]

She was almost lulled into a state of comfort, between Hok and the smell of the henna she was comfortable if not pleased with the wold. Most people wouldn't want to be within five feet of her but honestly it didn't mean she wasn't a teenage girl and didn't want hugs and to go through the awkward phases of first love. For her it was just... different. Her hits were love taps, she would insult someone to hide her feeling or to get some attention from them. Usually it was the wrong kind of attention and more often than not she was just confused when her way of flirting didn't reap any rewards, just cold shoulders.

With henna she had an excuse to be close to people physically anyway. She used the applicator to make careful strokes over his skin, some of the areas she'd started in the beginning were now starting to dry and turn a darker shade. They'd be left on the body ideally until they fell off, the longer they stayed in place the deeper the dye would get and the longer it would stay in place. There was a little perk in that it meant some part of Hok had her mark on it, she was doodling over his heart. Bitterly she admitted it would probably be the closest she'd ever get to it.

Yun looked up at Hok with an eyebrow quirked, her chest brushed gently against his abdomen as she shifted to get in a better position to look up at him. " Ah could climb it now if'n ah wanted to." She said with a smirk, maybe that was something they could do with the rest of the day. It would be a great excuse to hang out with the boy.

[hok]

If circumstances weren't exceedingly unique, Hok would have been more than a little unnerved at all the touching going on. As it stood, he was only slightly unnerved, but still distinctively so. He was beginning to blush when things became uneasy, but at least had the decency to keep quiet about it. Whether it was intentional or not, many things about the situation made Hok feel all tingly inside. He desperately wanted to leave and catch his breath, but he at the same time enjoyed it. Considering just who was touching him all over, he didn't garner well to that idea. He was stuck in a conundrum of epic proportions!

He hummed a bit in recognition, but his heart was beating like a madman's. Not much else could be said after that, even from someone whose array of questions was virtually endless and usually found some idly quandry to make in the most boring environments. But now, his breathing was irregular and left him feeling uncomfortable. His eyes kept twitching from Yun's line of sight to everything else surrounding him. What next came from his mouth was an act of instinct, not as though he had planned it from the start. It was nothing but a knee-jerk reaction that seemed like a taunt. "I dunno...the tree seems pretty high."

[yun]

Honestly she was beginning to wish he'd stop fidgetting as he was. It was hard enough to concentrate. she licked her thumb and took a bit of the goo off a mistake she'd made, it fixed it well enough. The dye hadn't stayed there long enough to allow it to soak in so it wouldn't mar the design. Oh how she wanted to just plop into his lap and act oh so casual about it, but he probably would spook like an antelope fox. She was kind of annoyed with it, possibly enough to shout at him to force him to stay in place. She bit her lower lip, that wasn't the sort of behavior a girl should have but it was just too frustrating! Normal girls flirted but the closest she could come would be an insult, or something frightening.

She sat back wiping off her needle, her torture of him was done much to her own dismay but as a last minute thought she snagged his arm and began to make a band like design around his upper arm to match the collar she'd made. Yun made no hint that it wasn't her initial intend to do this, her eyes were on her work and she didn't do much aside from glance at him coyly. " Ain't dat high." She started, honestly she didn't know if she could climb it but she'd try like hell to do so just to prove she could. Hok would follow, she wouldn't be able to lie. remembering she was grounded didn't help things, the big tree was definitely outside the village, where she would be confined for a week.

[hok]

It became increasingly apparent that Yun either wanted to argue with him, if for a few reasons. She could be doing it just for arguments' sake, she could be aiming to thwart everyhing he said just to shut him up, or she honestly did believe the tree wasn't that high and could easily be climbed. Any of the three scenarios seemed plausible when coming from Yun.

"Uh huh," Hok said in return, his eyes and (to a lesser degree) head still moving about and taking casual note of his surroundings. By now he was deliberately trying to distract himself from thinking unwanted things about Yun, even if they weren't unwanted. That was to say, the thoughts themselves were warmly invited, but the fact that they were about Yun was beyond his zone of comfort. Mixed feelings ensued.

Hok knew he would distance himself from his fellow waterbender as soon as she was finished, but when would that be? She just kept spreading more and more inky patterns over his body, probably not about to stop until a good half of his skin was covered with some kind of design. It would no doubt be a cool design, but it seemed to last forever! His only choice seemed to be to keep talking to Yun. "Yew think there's anythin' up there ah don't know about?"

[yun]

Yun moved the applicator over Hok's skin carefully, tracing lines she made with her mind and taking care to keep the same theme she had with the first tattoo, she wanted them to fit together and act as a group, maybe she should do his wrists as well, but then she'd probably be pushing the limit, as she stood she was working very slow trying to make this last as long as she could.

Now she was on the side of him sitting next to him with her legs folded to the opposite side of her body. Her hip was touching his and some of her body was flushes against his side as she doodled on his arm. Surely she has him in a way that if he tried to jerk away she'd be holding him with a death grip a catagator couldn't match. IT must be a pain to be the object of her affections, especially when she was seemed to have such a vendetta against the world.

" Mnn..... maybe thars sum sorta animal no ones ever seen bi'fur but it could be sum spirits liek they tell the lil' kids." Perhaps climbing the tree would be fun, would her parents catch her if she left the village for a couple hours? her brothers were busy and it wasn't like she was going to do something stupid, it would be "spiritual" or whatever, helping her calm down like Kulap said. That wasn't anything bad after all right? " We should try tah climb it" Yun finally settled looking at Hok with a bit of a cheeky smile, there was no glare her eyes, some might even say she was being cute, but most would know better.

[hok]

Hok definitely had to get his mind out of the proverbial gutter after Yun's hips (of all things) touched his so closely and skewed his thoughts incredibly. By now he'd realized how impossible it was to move without ruining things entirely, but feeling trapped under Yun's control was anything but pleasant. His feelings were as mixed as that pleasant-smelling concoction Yun used to tattoo him, but there was nothing else comparable to it - that was to say, unless being so disconcertingly close to Yun was able to create patterns across his skin that took a few weeks to fade. Maybe it would brand itself into his mind, but definitely not his skin.

That bizarre train of thought stopped when Yun changed the subject, thus halting Hok's mind in a perverse direction, and kept on the subject of the big tree in the middle of the swamp. There were so many beliefs, superstitions, and legends about the tree, but it was probably one of the most revered places in the entire swamp where Hok lived his entire life. From the very, they might even be able to see part of the world beyond their little shire of a home. That thought almost blew his mind, but definitely sent his heart fluttering in slight excitement.

"Ah think that'd be an epic adventure," Hok said to the girl, who by now had taken on a totally different appearance. It was like not only her attitude had lightened, but she started to even look nicer. It was weird to think that way, but it wasn't like Hok's thoughts were normal at that time anyway. He could still do nothing but smile emphatically even though he had to stay down; "Ah say...let's go fer it!"