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Post by wordbender on Jan 29, 2006 14:10:30 GMT -5
Hoji remained balanced, even through the aftershock. His feet where planted about shoulder width apart and he was a pretty muscular kid. Not to mention a waterbender, something you needed a good sence of balance to do.
He looked over at his house again, smirking. It seemed as though his swift repairs had done the job, holding the ice building together without any sign of weakness or flaws.
The waterbender rolled his eyes at the new announcement and ignored the worried chief.
Not the sharpest icicle in the north pole, that one. Hoji sighed and shook his head, both annoyed and irritated at the two younger boys that had bothered him. Kavik was an outcast, a reject, the local troublemaker, and this Sai person was probably just a peasant, no one of standing or rank, probably without an inheritance or title to his name.
Neither of the young waterbenders were worth bothering with, Hoji thought, turning to go back into his house.
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Post by kavik on Jan 29, 2006 14:16:30 GMT -5
Kavik scratched his head. "I'm ok. Shaken...but still alive." He sat down and took off his gliders which simple ice skates. "I should haven't glided down through the city today." He stood up and bowed, "I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself." He grinned at Sai. "My name is Kavik, I know Hoji from class, but don't think I met you.."
The aftershock hit sended the class clutz on his back. There was a pause not before Kavik gave a..."Ow..." He stood up reluctantly and shook his head. "I swear this is bad karma for me taking the last muffin this morning." Kavik look at his skates briefly before shouting. "Aww man! The bones are getting loose, I need to fix before skating. So looks like I'm stuck here, do you need help Hoji-kun?" Kavik look at him with the smile. "I want to help,"
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Post by sai on Jan 29, 2006 14:25:06 GMT -5
"Oh, I don't go to any classes that are for high-training. I'm still a begginer. So..." Sai started to pick stuff up himself, and hopefully the others would do the same. He streamed some water from the canal and filled cracks with it. Then, he froze and continued the procces....
Knowing that there could still would be more tremors, he paced himself because he might have to do this all over again. He saw other skilled benders around his doing everything quickly. He frowned and said to himself, "Not a problem for them...." He tried to copy one of the fancy moves this older guy was doing, but he accidentally hit himself with the water and fell into the canal! He swam up to the edge of the water and sat down. "So, I'm sure you guys can do a better job than me...." He looked back at Ayame, who wasn't really doing anything now...
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Post by wordbender on Jan 29, 2006 14:27:42 GMT -5
Hoji stopped and looked back at Kavik and Sai, about to give a smart reply to both younger boys. Then he stopped and blinked a little, trying to clear his head.
Kavik really was a good guy. A little klutzy and troublesome, but actually pretty nice. And he really did have the tribes and Hoji’s interests at heart. Hoji sighed and turned arount to face the younger boy. He was going to regret this.
“Alright.” he said resignedly. “What do you want to help with? My house is okay, I got out here in time to stabilize it.” Hoji looked around at the other buildings in the water tribe.
“Why don’t we try and help them instead? It’ll be good for the both of us, we can practice our bending while we do it.” Hoji said, not waiting for a reply but heading off in a direction where people looked to be in need of help.
"You can come too Sai." he said, slightly irritated at being so nice. "Just don't get in our way."
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Post by sai on Jan 29, 2006 14:36:10 GMT -5
Sai frowned and said, "If you insist... my brothers are probably doing everything at home anyways..." Sai was ready to follow the boys, and started walking across the walkway. He wondered what he could do to help... he could bend large amounts of water, he couldn't freeze / unfreeze so quickly, he could make formations, he couldn't do so many things! All he could do is stream the water, and maybe knock someone down. Now he knew how Ayame felt. She couldn't even bend at all! Thoughts kept racing in his mind.... but Sai realized that he could help with one thing; healing. He knew how to do the basics, and he guessed it could help someone with minor injuries...
... "Soo.... how long have you guys been bending? Is it fun? Is it hard? I can only stream the water, make small waves, you know? I can also heal... can you heal? I taught myself to heal... Am I... talking too much?" This one one of the few times Sai talked a lot... when he was nervous! xD
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Post by wordbender on Jan 29, 2006 14:44:11 GMT -5
Hoji sighed and shook his head again. He really was going to regret this. Looking around at the crumbled buildings he realized that most or all of the building were pretty much repaired. He frowned. Hoji realized he was only looking at the nobles end of Shai city, overlooking the other homes that would house those of little or no prominence.
The boy turned and looked behind him, past Sai and Kavik. He frowned and bit his tongue, looking behind him at all the water benders struggling to rebuild the nobles and wealthy merchant areas of the city.
Shaking with something akin to rage. Hoji ran his eyes over the lower end of the city, having noticed that only untrained benders and those that lived there where helping rebuild the homes with little or no help from the masters that lived in the palace.
"Jerks. Status shouldn't have anything to do with helping people." Hoji growled. The boy shook his head, his black hair going in every direction.
He quickly passed by Sai, ignoring the boys incessant chattering.
"Come on." Hoji said, sounding irritated. "I'm going to teach you how to water bend, just so you can do something to help."
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Post by sai on Jan 29, 2006 15:44:35 GMT -5
"Really!? Thanks! You said status has nothing to do with helping, right? Well, I agree. My family isn't that wealthy, but we are still well-know, well, at least my older borthers... They always leave me behind when they go out to fight, or just help. That's why I don't like how people have status'. Even girls should be allowed to bend when help is needed!" Sai felt he was babbling again.... Then, Sai saw what Hoji saw before, what he really meant by status doesn't matter... "That is SO wrong. Masters are supposed to be excellent at bending. If they helped, then the tribe would be back up by now!"
Sai didn't know why he realized that just now. How stupid was he?! He was getting angry himself, but he didn't want another Katara incedent. He had to keep his cool. "Okay, I'm ready. What will you teach me first?"
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Post by wordbender on Jan 29, 2006 15:56:10 GMT -5
Hoji bit his tongue and held back his sharpened wit. This boy was annoying, but like Kavik, kind hearted enough.
The water bender nodded along during Sai's long tirade, only halfway paying attention, focusing more on getting toward the cities districts that held the most damage.
He stooped and stared at a space in the walkway, noticing the absence of anyone around. The building was entirely collapsed, ice chunks everywhere.
Hoji looked at Sai. "Alright then," He said glancing back at the destroyed house. "You said you knew how to make waves correct?" Hoji asked, not waiting for an answer.
"Well, we are going to create walls, and the easiest way to do that is to bend a wave and the freeze it. You can go over it later, smoothing and stabilizing the ice building."
Hoji took a deep breath and settled into a comfortable bending stance, his feet spread apart.
"I'll show you how to do it, then you'll try and copy me."
The boy took another intake of air and concentrated. His arms moved to the left and a wave was created from the already melting ice chunks. Hoji focused and pushed his arms forward, forming the ice into a square wall bordering another nearly destroyed building.
Hoji wiped a bead of sweat off his neck. "Now you try."
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Post by sai on Jan 29, 2006 17:03:06 GMT -5
"Alright...." Sai took a deep breath. He widened his stance, arms ready... I can do this, I can do this... He closed his eyes, and started to bend a small wave. He opened an eye to see if he was doing it right, and then tried to make the wave bigger.... "Er....so what do I do again?" With a cheesy smile, he waited for Hoji to answer, but by the look of Hoji's face, he knew he wouldn't get one. He brought the wave closer the the building, and the wave ate up more of the ice chunks, thus getting bigger. The huge wall of water was now a watery wall of a building! "Ok, seriously, what do I do?!" He knew he had to freeze the wave, but how! He couldn't keep a strong wall of water... strong, and freeze it! His arms were getting tired. "Please...?" Then and there, the wave collapsed and the water trickled down the cracks into the canal....
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Post by wordbender on Jan 29, 2006 17:24:07 GMT -5
Hoji raised an eyebrow. He was slightly impressed at the boy, despite his mean expression. It wasn't a half bad first attempt after all. The elder boy sighed and walked over to the boy, standing next to Sai.
"If you can't control the larger wave, start small and work upwards," Hoji explained, demonstrating.
He raised his arms to the left and then pushed them forward again, palms outward, fingers bent. A small block of ice raised itself from Sai's failed attempt. Hoji repeated the maneuver and another three feet of ice formed over the existing frozen liquid wall.
Hoji relaxed and dropped an arm, shaping a watery column with the other. He glanced at Sai. "If it's too hard to both control a wave and freeze it you can keep it in the liquid form and gather the air in your chest to solidify it."
The watery column shivered as Hoji took a deep breath and then froze as Hoji exhaled, making a seven foot ice totem pole in the middle of the walkway.
"Thats one of the few ways water and fire bending are alike, they both utilize air and breathing to increase the power of the bender."
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Post by sai on Jan 29, 2006 17:32:05 GMT -5
Sai was amazed... "I have never thought about it that way! I understand waterbending better. Let me try again..." Sai gathered water once more, closed his [now] tired eyes, and brought his arms up. He blew the hair out of his face and started making another small wave. He concentrated hard and pushed the wave up to the 'building.' He took a deep breathe from his mouth, filled his lungs, and thought the coldest possible thoughts. He thought about the sun vanishing, bringing snow to the Northern Water Tribe. He thought about running through piles of snow. He thought about ice gliding with his brother. Finally, he let all that air out causing a mist in front of his face, and the wall of water because a wall of ice. He peeked an eye open and saw his wonderful creation. "I did it.... I did it! Thank you SO much Hoji! Or shall I say Master Hoji!"
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Post by wordbender on Jan 29, 2006 17:48:04 GMT -5
Hoji smirked at the younger boy while he was concentrating, watching with growing satisfaction as the wave of water became a towering wall of ice.
That smirk disappeared faster than money into a pirates purse as soon as he heard the praise issue from Sai's mouth. Hoji was put slightly speechless hearing himself referred to as 'Master'.
"Please, just Hoji." he said, wincing and scratching at the back of his neck, itchy with the heat of the sun. “I’m no master, far from it.” Hoji continued, a little uncomfortable with the expression on Sai’s face. “I just know the mechanics of bending, I have quite a while to go before I even begin to measure up to anyone with the rank of master.”
Hoji sighed and brushed his bangs away from his face again, getting annoyed with the lack of waterbenders arriving from the wealthy end of the city to help.
He nodded, his resolve strengthened. "Right Sai," Hoji said, shifting himself into a more stable stance. "Let's finish the rest of the walls to this building, the other benders can take it from there. I have another exercise I want to teach you."
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Post by sai on Jan 29, 2006 19:57:59 GMT -5
"I didn't know Master had such a meaning... sorry, unless you are overly flattered." The heat was being consistant as a dead man's heartbeat, and the sun now shifting closer to the horizon. "I'll be so relieved with the sun sets..." Sai was still sweating from working so hard on the walls. He streamed water from a canal and splashed it onto is red, sweaty face, and then evaporated the water with a warm breathe.
"Okay, so what do you want to teach me?" asked Sai, hoping it was something as easy as the technique he learned a few mintues ago. Sai wasn't ready for challange with bending yet. He always wanted to get the basics strait, and he didn't really want techniques taught to him. He thought this experience with the earthquake made his learn, not a lot, but a few nifty things, and hopefully his will learn more.
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Post by ayame on Jan 29, 2006 20:23:13 GMT -5
Ayame felt so helpless. She couldn't bend, making her envy he rlittle brother more and more. "Ugh!", she thought, kicking some of the snow under her. She couldn't even fight, even though thta was irrelevant ta the time.
So many young men, who knew what they were doing. Well, that Hoji guy seemed to. Sai was still learning. Maybe one of those guys knew how to fight without bending....
No, she couldn't ask them. She'd rather not get another talk about "knowing her place," it only made her wish she could fight more so she could beat up whoever said that.
Sai had asked her a question, and she was to busy thinking to answer.
"I can't heal," she told him, even though he was probably to busy practicing, (stuff like this never stopped Ayame from talking before, why now?), "I'm not a bender."
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Post by wordbender on Jan 30, 2006 8:24:16 GMT -5
Hoji nodded at the younger boy, glad that Sai had apologized. The water bender took another deep breath and stripped the water from the canal, shaping the liquid into another large wave.
Controlling the large amount of water with one hand, he concentrated, a drop of sweat dripping down his forehead, and the liquid froze. Hoji bit back a smirk and passed a hand over his chest, smoothing over the large wall of ice, making the jagged edges melt into the wall.
He sighed and turned towards Sai. "I think everyone will be grateful when the sun sets today." Hoji said, looking at the younger boy.
"Its more of a training exercise than an actual technique." Hoji explained scratching the back of his head, a little embarrassed that he would show Sai the drill his mother had taught him.
The elder boy shook his head again and turned away from Sai, heading toward the icy arena where he trained with Pakku.
"You're Ayame, right?" Hoji asked, not really expecting an answer from the girl. "You can't water bend, but you still want to help. You can come too, if you want. Just watching us might be good for you."
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