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Post by hotaru on Nov 5, 2008 10:27:12 GMT -5
It was unnerving to sit quietly while people talked about you. Hotaru didn't much care, she was alright, basically lived one of the back rooms of the healing huts, she got fed and no one made her wear her gloves. No one really made her do anything anymore. Her aunt Mica's visitations at the healing huts were successfully stopped and aside from someone coming to see her now and then there was really nothing strenuous for her. All the time she felt sad though, there wasn't much to stop it, there was just a numb cloud around her and it wouldn't move, not that anyone really tried too much to help fix it.
The past week had been different though, they'd brought her out to the training grounds and she'd watch as various bending masters paraded around her showing her stances and a lot of techniques that she couldn't do. Waterbending teachers didn't help a firebender too much. It wasn't for lack of trying, so far she'd managed to catch things on fire, melt ice and force most masters to give up in a huff. It was to the point that they were thinking about sending her with one of the prisoners who was a firebender under close watch. It usually came down to the same thing " She'd just a child."
Hotaru had since concluded that it was the only reason they didn't have her killed, she was too little, not yet a threat but enough to either train or ship off. It would be a lot easier if they'd just choose. Her parka was a loaned one, loose pants around her old boots and her hair loose about her shoulders. It had a definite straightness to it that was odd the way it was cut gave the illusion of curls though, it was growing out somewhat making it less obvious. The care her mother took in hiding her for what she really was but her skin was so pale it shouldn't have mattered. A small group of men were just on the side of the training grounds as she tried to listen to a waterbending teacher read off a firebending scroll they'd managed to find somehow, it was stressful, she just wanted to go back to her dark little room in the healing huts and sleep.
They hadn't had any sucess yesterday or the day before, there wouldn't be sucess today.
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Post by aden on Nov 15, 2008 22:37:30 GMT -5
It had been a while since Aden last set foot on the training grounds. Even despite his lapse in bending after the siege, he had been so consumed in the rebuilding efforts recently that there wasn't too much time for anything else. Working under his father and among the other utility benders of the city, the young warrior was beginning to learn a whole new set of bending techniques and subtleties. However, as much as he enjoyed expanding his repetoire and spending time with his father, there was a part of him that was beginning to grow restless.
His last three years of warrior training had been fueled by his desire to learn how to fight and destroy the Fire Nation, but even after his personal epiphany about the folly of such an existence, he had to admit that he missed the days he used to spend training under Pakku and the other masters. Learning from his father was fun and interesting, but there was just no substitute for the challenge brought on by facing another person in combat... even if it was just for training purposes.
So when the rebuilding was nearly complete and the workload dumped upon the utility benders was lessened, Aden was afforded a little more spare time during his days. On this first day of the new work week, Aden decided to put his newfound freedom to use by paying a visit to the training grounds. Unless there were objections, it would be great to fit himself into a bending lesson.
The eager young man made his way swiftly up the steps to the training grounds and began to circle around the sparring ring. As he passed by a group of instructor's though, he caught a piece of their conversation and slowed down a little out of interest. He heard the word "fire" being used numerous times, and he also took notice of a relatively pale little girl sitting nearby the instructors. She seemed a little sad, but the situation was beyond his realm of concern.
Aden continued on his way until he came across of of the other master benders. The two met gazes and Aden bowed respectfully. The master nodded in return.
"Master," Aden greeted him.
"Haven't seen you in a while," the older bender replied. "You've been working, right?"
"Yes, master. Somewhat of an apprentice to my father, you could say... I was looking to sneak in a bending lesson, though, to keep my skills sharp."
"Of course, of course. The afternoon session was just about to start. I hope you don't mind that it's mostly younger pupils about this time.. If I recall, you weren't exactly one to hold back."
"I'll do my best," Aden replied with a slightly sheepish smile. The master grinned as well, and in the moment of silence that followed, Aden decided to ask him something. "So who is the girl? And was that a firebending scroll Master Yuuka was reading from?"
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Post by hotaru on Nov 15, 2008 23:21:42 GMT -5
Hotaru breathed in and breathed out, practicing the method of breath that one of her teachers attempted to instill in her, saying it was the foundations of firebending, but that was before she attempted to start a flame and he got nervous and backed out.
It seemed like everyone was afraid of her for one reason or another, and why not. She was weird. Not that she wasn't before her little secret went public but now people had a reason to believe she had something wrong with her. It seemed like her eyes would forever be without their old luster of childish wonder and joy.
The only thing making her happy recently was watching as people would flail about after she accidentally caught their clothing or hair on fire, it was amusing if not somewhat sad. But what could she do, she was an untrained firebender, she couldn't help it.
The men glanced in her direction again and then clamored together talking about something. Even she'd lost interest in it. Some men were tossing a scroll about, it had old drawings on it that meant little to her, pictures wouldn't help her bend so she just decided to give up.
Outside their cluster of madness the typical training sessions were under way, she fondly remembered sneaking up early in the mornings to watch the bending classes before the sun rose and the waterbenders powers waned for the day. There were some cute boys her age in that class.
Perhaps if she wasn't weird or a freak right now she'd be playing with them, possibly getting a crush on one or more of them only to have it fade after a week or so. That's what was going on before the siege and all of this madness started. Fire seemed to take everything important from her. She didn't even know HOW she became a fire bender though she had many theories, most lead to a very unsavory image of her late mother. That was the popular opinion she'd heard from the guards watching her room in the healing huts. Joy, her mother was a hussy.
Getting onto her feet Hotaru looked towards the proper of the training grounds watching as some of the younger benders appeared getting ready to spar and preform various moves in order to perfect their skills. A couple were looking over her way, most averting their gaze once she returned it. The little fire bender shook her head and looked haplessly at the older masters still arguing over the best way to teach a firebender, this was a joke.
Toss her into the ocean and get it over with, it was obviously the easiest choice. Watching the benders was nice though, she traced their movements in her mind, she knew them all. She always wanted to be a water bender, even a healer like the other girls her age, it would be nice to be normal.
She moved herself into a stance but dropped it when someone looked at her. She didn't want any extra reasons for people to think she was crazy. Her hands went behind her back and she continued to watch quietly as the benders went through some warm up drills.
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Post by aden on Nov 16, 2008 18:03:15 GMT -5
Aden could see from the older man's hesitant expression that perhaps he'd stumbled upon something that wasn't his business. Even so, the master considered his response for just a moment before saying, "She is of special interest to the masters. Best to let them handle it."
The young warrior nodded his understanding.
"Very well then," Aden responded, "I'll be on the training field."
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As he made his way up the steps toward the palace, Warchief Hissun felt that he was slightly ahead of schedule. His report on the status of the captured frigate was supposed to be delivered to Chief Arnook, but it was nothing crucial. Just an update to say that things were on schedule and nearing completion in the next day or two.
Hissun spotted several of the city's bending masters gathered together on the training grounds, though, and it was then he noticed the little girl beside them. The little girl whom several of the military commanders were very worried about, and whom others thought could be a great asset. Hissun himself was of a very neutral opinion, and personally felt that the girl needed to be taught to control her powers, but not much more.
He approached the masters and hailed a greeting to get their attention.
"Afternoon," he said to them, exchanging a few nods of recognition, "How goes the little one's training?" Hissun cast a glance over at the girl and offered a tiny smile.
"The wave has yet to start rolling," Master Yuuka responded dryly, glancing up from his firebending scroll and then at Hotaru.
"I see." Hissun took a step closer toward the young firebender, standing straight and imposing despite his kind smile. "Well, Ba Sing Se wasn't built in a day, as the outsiders like to say... I'm sure you'll succeed eventually with the right attitude."
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Post by hotaru on Nov 16, 2008 18:22:01 GMT -5
They looked so graceful in their movements, there were a couple of younger kids, a wide array in the class, an older looking boy was there as well. She'd seen him training before, a year or so ago, he was on the training ground frequently enough that she recognized him, before he looked angry but not right now. He seemed a little different than she remembered, not as aggressive, less focused.
The roar of the "masters" seemed to die down and a new face showed up, it wasn't someone she recognized and he seemed to command some respect from the men, enough for them to stop their arguing for a moment. Several of the men looked at him, one even looked up from the scroll long enough to talk to him. Now Hotaru was nervous, would this man be her newest instructor? She was tired of being bumped from one person to another, it was tiresome and trying, she wasn't even a teenager yet, thank the spirits, that may have worsened the situation further.
Her eyes fell to the icy ground quietly trying to dissuade attention from her but it was too late, the man was talking to her and even though he sounded friendly he seemed frightening, she'd rather deal with someone she was used to. Not imposing men talking down to her. One of the hardest parts of this was discerning if people were talking to her or over her. As she meekly glanced up at the man she was curious , he was looking at her but mostly people treated her like a thing, not a person lately.
After a moment she concluded he was talking to her. She slipped her hands behind her back and kicked at the ice with the toe of her boot. " Whats Ba Sing Se?" A few of the masters scoffed light heatedly and she flushed. Was her question that stupid? Why didn't she just keep quiet like they wanted her to.
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Post by aden on Nov 16, 2008 23:23:30 GMT -5
The bending session began much as Aden remembered. The younger students, perhaps three or more years his junior, fell into line and practiced the motion that the master showed them. Aden had learned this particular move years before, but it was a seldom-used technique that he figured couldn't hurt to practice some more.
After a few moments of going through it by the numbers, the students broke off into pairs and began performing the movement with actual water. At that point Aden found himself as the odd one out when the rest of the class paired off evenly, leaving him as the only one without a partner. He caught the master's eye, though, and waved off any intervention by the instructor to place him into a group of three. Instead he signaled that he would practice on his own.
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Hissun smiled at Hotaru's naíveté and replied kindly, "A city with walls as tall as the sky and people as skittish as a snow-hare." The young girl was obviously not very comfortable in her present circumstances, that much the warchief could tell. He turned his gaze toward the instructors who seemed upset and impatient, and it crossed his mind that perhaps their efforts were fruitless.
Their methods worked fine on people who were training to be waterbenders, and specifically warriors, but for a scared little girl trying to bend water's natural opposite... Perhaps what they truly needed was a new approach?
The alternative was to drill a warrior's mindset into her head and force her to practice constantly until she learned to get it right. It seemed like not long ago Hissun was just having a conversation about such a thing not long ago. In fact...
Speaking of Koh, the recipient of his lecture was lurking on the edge of his field of vision. Hissun turned swiftly to regard the class of young waterbenders practicing nearby and noticed one of the students that stood out like a sore thumb. Someone noticeably older, who seemed to be showing another pair of benders the finer points of performing a maneuver.
"Masters," Hissun found himself saying as his eyes continued looking off to the side, "If you'll indulge me for a moment..."
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"Like that!" Aden said, snapping his hand out after a fluid rolling motion of his arm that sent the water under his control into a whip-like crack that flared the water out into a crescent that could be used as a defense against light attacks.
The two younger benders beside him nodded their understanding. "I see..." one said, "So that's the trick? Master Sejda always said to make it more gentle."
"Well," Aden replied with a ssmall shrug, "It can be done either way, but personally I like to finish with that snap to really put some force behind the last motion so you can use the maneuver as a strike in close range."
"But, I thought it was supposed to be defensive?" the other student asked.
"Depends on how you use it..."
"Aden."
The voice came from behind him, but he knew the speaker at once. "Warchief Hissun," Aden said as he turned around, and he quickly bowed his respects to his former commander.
"When did you start teaching?" Hissun asked, offering adismissive wave to the younger students to let them know that they could resume their training.
"Oh, I just stopped by for some training," the young warrior answered, "I was just giving those kids a pointer."
Hissun nodded slightly, and after a moment of pondering in silence, stroking his chin, he said, "I have a favor to ask..."
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Post by hotaru on Nov 16, 2008 23:40:48 GMT -5
Hotaru nodded to the man, it was an odd through, walls tall as the sky, why would anyone want to build such a thing? What were they keeping out, maybe they were keeping something in, like the skittish people. They might run if the wall wasn't there. It was odd how such a thing could be a double edged sword she didn't even know which would be worse but she merely nodded to the man to be polite. The men seemed amused by it, like there was some sort of joke hidden in his words. She couldn't find it and it embarrassed her somewhat. Stepping back from the group she sat down on the little ice bench. That man didn't leave yet though, he spoke to the men and Hotaru scrunched her face up slightly. What exactly was he trying to do?
He seemed to know something the rest of them didn't, in fact he caught Hotaru's attention, she tilted her head to the side watching as he walked away and towards the students. The puff ball boy seemed to be the one the man was looking for, and now she was curious. Her hands planted themselves on their thighs and she curiously watched the exchange just as the other men were watching it. Everyone seemed to want to know what the point of this was.
"What's he doing?" A man asked and then one of the men leaned over to another master and whispered to him " Think Hissun's finally lost it?" That caused a small chuckle but Hotaru shot them a nasty look, it wasn't as if they paid her any attention but she felt the nice chiefy guy deserved some respect, he talked to her, not about her like she wasn't even there. It was annoying to have no control over your life, even things like picking out her own clothes were out of her hands. She watched them patiently, anything was better than being drilled by the weird old men, it seemed only one master hadn't tried his hands at it. The balding guy with grey hair. She heard something about him leaving though. She didn't know any truth in that or whatever, she just hadn't seen him in a bit.
Hotaru was hopeful though. Perhaps Hissun would have a solution, weather it be a master or someone to just make her a non bender she didn't care but she disliked her current situation. A change would be nice.
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Post by aden on Nov 17, 2008 18:03:09 GMT -5
Aden was unsure what to expect from his former commander. He was used to orders from Hissun, not requests. The fact that the war chief was allowing the possibility of refusal made Aden wonder how out of the ordinary this favor must be that it wasn't simply an order.
"Yes, sir?"
"I would like you to help train the girl," Hissun said, gesturing behind him with a nod of the head. Aden's confused stare prompted the commander to add, "Just for today."
"But, sir..." Aden began, looking from the young girl to Hissun, "She's a girl. I don't know much healing, and it's forbidden to teach her waterbending."
"That might be true... if I wanted you to teach her waterbending."
Aden's eyebrow twitched up curiously, and then at once the pieces seemed to fall into place. The scroll, the masters' interest, even the girl's pale skin...
"No..." Aden said in disbelief, "She's a firebender? How?"
Hissun raised a rand to signal Aden to keep his voice low. "That is not our concern," he said with a tone of finality, "My only concern is that this girl learns to control her abilities for her own good, as well as the tribe."
"So how could I help? I don't know firebending..."
"Trust me," Hissun replied, "I would just like you to try... You've seen firebending up close. Just try to go through the basics and get through to her somehow. You don't need to teach her to shoot fire from her fingertips, just get her started." He paused and glanced over at the other masters. "I fear that the usual methods will not help this girl."
Aden's frown softened a little bit as Hissun spoke and he actually took a good look at the girl. She seemed very uncomfortable and perhaps a little scared. As much as he still harbored an intense distrust of anything to do with the Fire Nation, he found it hard to prohject those negative prejudices on such an innocent-looking girl.
"Fine," Aden said after a lengthy silence, "I'll see what I can do."
"Thank you," Hissun said gatefully, "Now put away that scowl before you scare your first pupil." The old warchief smirked, and then started back towards the group of masters.
Aden was left standing on the edge of the training grounds, suddenly feeling as though he'd just gotten in way over his head.
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Post by hotaru on Nov 17, 2008 20:05:29 GMT -5
The commander walked back over and he explained the proposition, of course they would speak up to shout at him. Hotaru frowned feeling quiet small and found herself looking down at her shoes. This was about her but she didn't feel like speaking up at all. As much as she'd complain it was so much easier to let her controll slip and allow the men to command her.
" You expect us to allow a boy to attempt to train a firebender? Is he even old enough to craft a betrothal necklace?" A man, near purple in the face spat out, his opinion was rather apparent but one of the older men seemed a little fascinated by the idea. He was looking the young bender over curiously trying to access what merit he may have if any. It would be a long shot but honestly nothing thus far had worked.
" Well he was old enough to go to war, and may I ask how many of you have been as close to a firebender as this boy has been in combat?" They all seemed to fall silent, even the man who was complaining before. It seemed that there was little to aruge against. " If he agrees to try then we should allow the boy to try. Hissun's word is good enough for me." The older bender stroked his beard thoughtfully casting a quiet glance to the little girl. Honestly what could hardened bending masters expect? They were used to training boys first of all. Firebenders were destroyers, no healing instructor would have even the faintest idea of how to handle her. This was the next best thing.
A younger bending master walked over to Hotaru and meekly she looked up at him and he tilted his head towards Aden. it was hard to think of her as a little fire demon that she was, She was far too dangerous to treat like the child that she was. It was of course understandable. " This boy is going to try." Hotaru looked at the boy with the puff ball hair sceptically and stood up. It felt like everyone was watching her. Honestly she should be used to it by now. For some reason she just wasn't.
She took a few steps towards him, stopping at a comfortable distance, she was used to the whole thing, a new master every few days were tiring, they were all different and had varying levels of failure. The boy seemed confused though. Like he couldn't believe it or something, her hair was dark, straight, her skin was pale, but she had blue eyes, a pity she couldn't have gotten the art of her mother verses the boon of her father. Hotaru bowed to the teen as was customary and stood silently sheepish of what would come next.
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Post by aden on Nov 17, 2008 22:30:04 GMT -5
Standing on the fringe of the training grounds, Aden paced lightly as Hissun informed the other masters of his decision. The young warrior cast his glance down at his boots, nervously fiddling with a side-braid as he tried to think of what he could teach this girl. How similar could the basics of firebending be to water? Perhaps breathing techniques? Maybe meditation or concentration?
It was difficult to imagine bending an element that wasn't already there for him to manipulate. Water was all around them, but firebenders seemed to generate flames from nothing but their own energy.
Eventually, though, it seemed like Hissun won out and the little girl was sent his way. Without so much as an introduction, the older war chief just cast Aden a smile and a nod and ushered the other masters away.
"Fantastic..." Aden muttered inaudibly. The little girl stopped a little ways from him and bowed respectfully, though she looked like a polar mouse caught in the gaze of a wolf.
Aden bowed as well in response, but maintained the distance between them. "Hello," he said, feeling quite unsure of exactly how to proceed. "My name is Aden... What's your name?"
First things first, he supposed. He couldn't very well address her as 'little girl'.
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Post by hotaru on Nov 17, 2008 22:58:12 GMT -5
She watched him carefully, she was somewhat relieved when he seemed to be as nervous as she was. She usually would be sprung right into either a lecture or a jog or something but he was more laid back than that, the look in his eyes told her he knew about as much as she did. It wasn't enough to calm her down as everyone might have wanted but it was a good start.
The better part of the whole deal was the fact that the war chief was escorting everyone away. They said they needed to observe her but it just made her nervous, feeling the pressure of all their eyes peering at her like some sort of experiment. Without them around maybe she'd do better, or at least feel at home.
Her bare hands fidgeted with her parka and she smoothed it down thinking that it might have been disturbed in some way. Finally the boy spoke up, a little light went on inside her head, he really wasn't going to be like the other masters.
He wasn't some arrogant bender who would tell her what to do and command her around like some animal, he at least had the courtesy to ask for her name. She was hesitant in answering but if he was going to try and help her she should at leas be polite.
" Hotaru," She murmured quietly but after having done so she realized how quiet it was and she spoke up, her cheeks a little flushed. " My name is Hotaru."
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Post by aden on Nov 17, 2008 23:24:17 GMT -5
"Hotaru," Aden repeated, trying his best to sound unthreatening to the girl. He was surprised at himself how little he wanted to shun her for being a firebender. "Nice to meet you."
He eased up in his stance and glanced over at the other benders who were still practicing under Master Sejda. For some reason he suddenly felt like being so close to so much waterbending wasn't really optimal for teaching a firebender. "Well,"Aden started to say, glancing back at Hotaru, "let's move over near the other waterpool to give these guys some room."
He started towards the other side of the training ground where there were less bystanders and waved for Hotaru to follow.
"So...." he started to say as they walked, feeling some need to keep the conversation going as well as get a measure of where this girl stood in her taining, "How much bending have you learned so far?"
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Post by hotaru on Nov 17, 2008 23:40:19 GMT -5
Hotaru trailed along after the boy quickly, she wasn't one to argue too much and there would be no point in complaining whining or refusing to cooperated. What would she gain from it? If she didn't try then they could say she was more unstable then they thought she was.
When they were out of the way of the bending class Hotaru stopped blowing her bangs lightly out of her eyes and looking up at Aden with a silent probing curiosity. He seemed more encouraging than the other instructors thus far so she'd do what she could to no let him down or hinder his attempts at training more than she had to because of her own limitations.
" Well... I can make flames and some fireballs..." She thought it over, it would be easier to show him but she didn't like firebening in public, even though they were away from everyone something as odd as that would no doubt garner some attention from the people on the training field.
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Post by aden on Nov 18, 2008 0:15:23 GMT -5
Flames and fireballs? Well, at the very least she could create the fire. If they really had to start from square one, Aden wasn't sure that he could be much help. But as long as Hotaru could generate some fire on command, perhaps he could help her build upon the basics.
"Sounds like a good starting point," he said as they reached the other pool of water. Aden turned around and casually took a seat leaning against the edge of the pool. His gaze passed over Hotaru for a moment, trying to figure out where to go next. Most of the firebending he had seen seemed very direct and straight-forward. You aim at your enemy and punch or kick flames their way. The only difference between benders seemed to be the strength and speed of their attacks. So perhaps he should see exactly what this girl was capable of?
"Would you mind showing me?" he asked after pondering for several moments. "Just try to make the biggest fireball you can."
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Post by hotaru on Nov 18, 2008 9:41:34 GMT -5
He sat down, just how relaxed was this boy going to get, it wasn't like she was a waterbender, it wouldn't just be a big splash and then some wet clothes, if she was fire bending and it hit him it could hurt him. He should have at least been on his feet in case she screwed up like she always did.
The little firebender took a step away from Aden and looked down at the ground, her hands were closed into little fists and her shoulders slumped pitifully. Firebending was bad, she didn't want to do it and have people see her. She was outright ashamed of what she was, how was that going to allow her to master anything. Like any silly child Hotaru was capable of crying over anything and this was no exception, her blue eyes began to fill up with tears and she hid her face in her hands sobbing to herself, sniffling and genuinely breaking down.
She shook her head. " I don't want to firebend." Hotaru whimpered pathetically into her hands feeling hot tears stream down her face. " it's bad..."
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