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Post by nokose on Jun 23, 2008 2:04:19 GMT -5
"I'm gonna find those kids," Elechuhto said. "I think one of them called himself Aden--but they still haven't paid up. But will you be joining us?" "I am certain I can find time," Nokoseuhbholke relented without a sigh yet cautious, one foot ashore and the other in his docked gondola, hands tucked into the sleeves of his parka.
"Ah good, I'll tell my woman to set an extra cushion," the man nodded while his gondola slowly drifted past Nokoseuhbholke's docked one. Caressing his chest length, salt-n-pepper colored beard as he nodded in approval before a playful grin came to his lips.
Yet before a tease could be made concerning the gathering's participants his co-worker and captain became suddenly preoccupied.
Nokose scooted aside, allowing her room to board. "Greetings again, madame." Hands still in his parka sleeves and intending not to sound elated by her return.
"Night after tomorrow by sundown," Elechuhto said to him while Ukaleq settled in.
"I will be there," Nokose nodded after the older gondolier bowed to Ukaleq then began to drift away down the canal. "Your destination?" Looking to Ukaleq.
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Post by ukaleq on Jun 30, 2008 21:00:25 GMT -5
She was quiet while the men spoke, respectful as all women should be. The young woman glanced to the strange man on shore, looking from the side of her eyes at him before turning her attention back to the gondolier, glancing back up at him through the small tendrils of hair that fell over her forehead. Her lips curled into a smile as he invited her aboard and she complied, lifting the hem of her skirts up as she stepped over the edge of the boat and settled on the floor of the boat. The gondolas were so finely crafted that they often lasted decades before being replaced, a feature that allowed the luxury to be preserved even in times of war. With the multi-tiered city spreading out from the Temple Palace, it was quicker and easier than walking. A system of locks allowed the gondolas access to the different levels, and this particular gondola would be visiting one of the highest levels.
"The Pamit Ring, Please?" She asked politely, glancing over her shoulder at the tall, dark skinned man as he pushed them away from the edge and along the small canal towards the main canal. The Pamit Ring, named after one of the many spirits of the Water Tribes, housed many of the upper class. Nobility and the very well to do. It was located two rings higher than this particular group of Healing huts, almost directly on the same level of the Palace. Ukaleq hugged her package to her stomach, sitting with her legs folded under her, back straight as she had been taught. She loved riding the canals and loved to watch the people as they walked alongside or over the bridges.
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Post by nokose on Jul 2, 2008 0:35:31 GMT -5
The Pamit Ring, Nokoseuhbholke's mind teased and muse with a casual glance over her.
It explains itself well enough, telling himself while "paddling" down the canal way.
Ukaleq's position in life made him ponder who her family is. What sort they were to make her what she is, a little in the physical sense, but mainly her personality. Afterall, her humility lacked a necessity and reservedness a arrogance, some--mostly men--of her status possessed. It felt, genuine.
If only they were like our gondolas, he thought. Even with the uniformity of their vessels, the gondoliers proceeded to personalize them in their own fashion nonetheless. Among them being a meticulous carving upon prow or emblazoning them with a family insignia as they were passed down from one generation to the next, some gondolas even notched with name after name of past gondoliers as a result. Though these were often made unobtrusive, one would have to know they were there and were to look, which usually made such things go unnoticed to the uninitiated, non-gondoliers or those not within the family of one.
For Nokose, such things were a useful shorthand for him, and maybe for many others. Gliding down the canal as he and Ukaleq did on their way towards the nearest canal lock, even if he could not personally greet another gondolier by name as they drifted by, a cursory glance over their vessel could at least tell them which family had birthed them. And with his own family, producing gondoliers along with creating and repairing their vessels, his mind had developed a personal compendium of the families in this trade.
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Post by ukaleq on Jul 5, 2008 4:08:44 GMT -5
Initially used to remaining quiet in the gondolas, Ukaleq found herself.. strangely and for the first time, disturbed the the quietness. She sat in the front of the gondola, the package resting on her knees, as she looked out across the water. The City.. was different now. The siege had left buildings scarred, bridges ruined, and plazas a mess. While many people were out as usual, they were fewer and they were quieter, hurrying about their business instead of lingering to talk with friends and neighbors as usual. It was.. sad.
The young woman's hands rested on her package in her lap as she pursed her lips. It was too quiet now.. and even though she had almost always ridden the gondolas in silence, something just seemed off. Maybe it was because of the young girls she had ridden with earlier that still lingered in her mind. Either way, the young woman quietly spoke up in a curious tone. "...What is it like as a Gondolier, Sir?" Her voice was pleasant, as she glanced back over her shoulder.. trying to ease the uneasy silence.
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Post by nokose on Jul 15, 2008 0:21:03 GMT -5
"Mmm?" Came the slow response from Nokoseuhbholke. His arms slowly waned to the sides of his body, letting the gondola peacefully drift towards the canal lock until deciding to halt it with only a limp raising of his wrists.
"For me..." he began ponderously. "For me it is a civil and peaceful enough life in itself. But a life just like any other inhabited with its own sorts." He then fell silent, believing that was satisfactory enough while above them a small group of waterbenders sealed off the canal lock then began to fill the chamber.
"My family has cultivated this life within Shai City for countless generations," finally agreeing to be a bit more congenial towards her question. "If we could not bend, then we make use of ourselves and aid the family in other ways. We repair. We make. We sometimes detail, though normally other families prefer to do such themselves."
"As for myself... as for myself--for starters, I have lived as gondolier for nearly half of my life. And yet, no two days are truely alike--it would seem they refuse to be such. And every day always presents something different, such as today for example."
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Post by ukaleq on Jul 21, 2008 12:23:53 GMT -5
"Mmm.." Closing her eyes, she lifted her chin slightly, adjusting her posture as the gondola came to a smooth stop within the locks. The young woman felt that perhaps she had pryed to far into his personal life, her concern rising as he paused for a moment before speaking again. Around them, the water began to fall into the lock, pouring over the ice walls at the command of the waterbenders monitoring the lock. Blood flushed to her cheeks, bringing the dark magenta color of a blush to her cheeks as she carefully held her jaw tightly. Ukaleq glanced over her shoulder just slightly, burying her chin in the pale arsenic colored fur of her parka's hold, folded over her shoulders. A brief glimpse was given to Nokose, whose name she did not know. Her eyes caught the ivory rings that encircled his wrists as she looked to his arms lowering down to his side. Her dark eyes settled on the carvings in the thick band but, after a strained moment, she regained her manners and turned away.
Her hands slipped out of her long, thick parka sleeves, thick inner sleeves of Columbia blue bunched at her wrists. Her pale silver gloves touched the bound package in her lap briefly, touching the twine wrapped around it before disappearing down into the long, fur-less sleeves of cobalt blue. Ukaleq lifted her shoulders before letting them fall with a sigh, her head rolling slightly to the side as they neared the top of the lock, the water beginning to calm down. The benders to the side of the 'gate' gently pulled the ice apart at the seam and it cracked and groaned under the movement. They stepped gracefully back, rowing through the air gently as the fragile, yet extremely strong slabs of ice moved, allowing the two bodies of water, now level to meet.
The Gondola was now free to move once more, and Ukaleq dropped her chin into the cream colored, folded over turtle neck she worn as a first layer of clothing. "..I see, Sir. Your life sounds prosperous and happy. That is good. " She commented, unsure how to respond even though her curiosity spurned the comment. "I hope the recent sieges do not deter you?"
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Post by nokose on Aug 8, 2008 2:00:34 GMT -5
"..."
Nokoseuhbholke's lips creased into a thin, flat line. Slow as melting ice, his tongue punctured through then moistened them. He turned from Ukaleq and bade the canal lockmen a parting wave instead.
Exhaling he turned back around, palms pressed together before he sundered them apart. Spreading his arms wide the canal water surged underneath the gondola, pushing it forward from the rear.
"It... it deters a placidity I had learned to find myself beloved to," finally saying.
Seeking, choosing then constructing his words. He thought what he he now did was akin to those artisans who sculpted the ice. Nokose though himself working as they did. Chipping, scraping and carving away at his thoughts: the longer patrols taking them to the furthest reaches of their territory, morning patrols that could last until after the sun set and evening ones that lasted until dawn's first light, the creation of numerous icebergs and massive ice floes that would deter the next coming intruders, the confused faces and chaotic thoughts upon the people and so much lost. He worked away at them, crafting something indirect from what at this moment would swim behind his eyes once he closed them.
"Stone's nocuous deed cast our Tribe upon waves, yet," suddenly feeling rathered embarrassed as he did this. "Still waters return."
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Post by ukaleq on Aug 21, 2008 23:02:19 GMT -5
Hm. Ukaleq frowned a little bit, her back to the Gondolier. She glanced down at the skin covered bottom of the gondola's interior with her dark eyes pondering for a moment his words before looking back up to level. The sun was warm on her face, on her cheeks and lips, as she narrowed her eyes in the light. They rose through the locks, being released by the locks-men in their uniformed-parkas. What he was saying... made absolutely no sense to the young woman. Infact, it made the scholarly young woman among her peers feel.. stupid. She repeated the phrase over and over in her head and could only come up.. did the see a return to normalcy coming upon the tribe?
She sighed, tilting her head to the side.. having nothing really more to say. They were nearing the Pamit ring, another lock to take them up and it was nearing as the gondolier, whose name she did not know, continued to paddle the boat down the canals and through the wide and sharp turns. They moved very easily, the water bending allowing the boat to glide as if it was floating on air. Ukaleq loved riding in the gondolas and did so almost rarely so that she would never lose her love for it.
"Hopefully we will not be bothered again.. though if this war ever ends, I should hope to see other parts of the world. The parts I have read about." She nodded and was quiet again briefly before lifting her arm. She pointed directly at a tower on the upper Pamit Ring, near the locks. It was a watch tower, currently manned, but otherwise unspecific. "There." Ukaleq spoke.. "You may leave me there, please."
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Post by nokose on Sept 8, 2008 0:19:15 GMT -5
Nokoseuhbholke bowed at the young woman's directions, gently steering his gondola into the canal lock.
The upper Pamit Ring, he almost marveled at Ukaleq. Not at her personally... much, but more from the woman's societal status that her body.
The snow atop an iceberg. That is what most of these people, most of these families were that lived in the upper Pamit Ring. Nobles, descendants of past heroes or powerful waterbenders or of chieftains that led smaller bands before the Northern Water Tribe united themselves and lived in Shai City en masse.
"I believe," he began, "I believe that is a lovely endeavour," pushing the gondola on towards the icesculpted watchtower. "Not just to dream of course, but accomplish."
"It would be nice to see what canals are like elsewhere," he then said. "In the South Pole. In the Earth Kingdom..."
Maybe, even in the Fire Nation too, finally admitting to himself.
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Post by ukaleq on Sept 13, 2008 1:11:19 GMT -5
The gondola, a fine little boat with it's tall, sweeping bow that arched upward, glided gently to the side of the canal, gently brushing up to the ice. The young woman with her package hugged carefully to her chest rose to one knee, waiting for the vessel to stabilize before rising to her feet. A free hand swept her cream-colored, box pleased skirts up into her hand, as she stepped over the rim of the low-sitting ship, placing an easy foot on the ice.
Her toes turned into the ice, the textured grips of her calf-high boots easily clinging to the ice. Her hand released the skirts, letting them fall to where they just skimmed the ice. Ukaleq turned, her cheek buried against the soft, rabbit ear grey of the parka's hood that hung over her back, her four looped braids staying behind her shoulders as she smiled at him. "Thank you, Sir." The young woman spoke softly, nodding towards him. She lowered her head for a moment, biting her lip before she looked back up at the tall gondolier. "I bid you good day.." What else could she say? She bowed her head foreward, tipping her shoulders forward as she swept the skirts out from under the knee-length parka to a gentle, easy courtesy, before turning away. She was close to home, close to bringing the herbs and wraps to her Mother and this much closer to her beloved books. The young woman dashed off at a gentle jog towards a nearby home down the street, a smaller canal running through the middle of the street.
[Exit Ukaleq if necessary]
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Post by nokose on Oct 17, 2008 1:55:42 GMT -5
Mentally, Nokoseuhbholke began tacking off the number of days it had been since ferrying someone to this part of Shai City. No longer than a week by his calculations. In the misjudged lethargiciness of a predator, Nokose's body inched as it turned. Slowly he scanned the length of the canal that ran along the quiet bustling of the Pamit Ring. It was improving, thinking to himself. When the war balloons had moved away from the wall and random areas of the canal, temporarily flooding the parts of the city, the bombings concentrated themselves closer to the city's interior. Aiming closer to the lives of those with higher status among Northern Water Tribe society and, eventually, the palace and city temple itself. Though thankfully the spirits Tu and La and even the Spirit Oasis itself remained unharmed when the palace was blown apart and then melted. Less than a week since his last ferry here and this area's scar seem to have healed entirely. Now, nothing but a blemish in the sense that much of the repaired housing was unadorned, undecorated. Nokose took his time. Stalking along the canal waters. His gondola listlessly floating down the canal. As ice sculptors carved and scrapped and chipped to apply their makeup to the icy structures of the Pamit Ring, he knew eventually they would need a ferry home. [Nokoseuhbholke has left the thread]
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