The Voices <Earth Kingdom>

[chinagirl7594]

Lin climbed over a rock looking at the steep valley below.

...Now these voices...they tell me to travel down there... She thought. She slid down from the rock and nearly tripped running down the steep hill downwards.

...Go to the valley...run through the forest...find people to be your allies... the voices whispered inside her head. Lin stopped to look around in the valley. She ran off through the forest.

Meet people? What do they mean by people? Lin didn't know what else to think, so she listened to them, only to find herself thinking that she's totally gone insane.

Yes, you are insane for listening to us, but run anyway! The voices said. Lin's jaw was close to dropping for them hearing her thoughts.

I hate you... She thought again.

Hey, you left the north pole just to see what we were talking about and soon you shall find out what we are talking about!The voices said. Lin rolled her eyes and continued to run, but only to find a dead end... a dead end which had her fight for her life and freedom...

Oh crud...this is what I get for listening to voices in my head... Lin thought. Firebenders, about nine of them, surrounded her at the end of the forest, which led to the edge of a cliff.

"Um...Exactly why is it ME who gets attacked?" She said, but there was no response, except for fire shooting out of all nine of their fists. Lin ducked and ran in between two of the firebenders. They chased after her.

Okay voices, tell me where to go! Anything! I don't care if your words make no sense! She thought.

Pick your nose until they run away.

WHAT?!

Kidding! Yeesh, just keep running and then when you see a stream, jump in it. The voices said.

Okay, but if you're wrong I'm gonna scream in your ear until you go deaf... She thought. She ran through the forest with the firebenders on her trail. A stream was ahead of her, but she was hoping the voices were right. As soon as she was close, she leaped into the Stream.

Now bend, since you're now in water. The voices said.

If you're wrong, I'll-

We know, just do it.They said. Lin sighed with disapproval, but bended a tital wave at the running firebenders. They stopped only to laugh at her.

Okay, now they REALLY ticked me off! She thought angrily. She sent another wave at them making them all wet. Lin blew into the air, freezing all of the firebenders.

Now run and lose them, while they're still frozen. Go before they melt it.The voices said. Lin swam out of the stream and started running again, dripping wet. As the voices said, they melted the ice. But they followed Lin's trail by the wet footprints in the dirt.

Stop running in the dirt you idiot, you're leaving a trail! Run in the grass! The voices shouted in her head. Lin made a sharp turn, but was almost dry. Running through grass, she saw fire coming at her.

Now what?! They're on my tail- Before she could say another word, she felt a hard force strike her in the back of the head, and everything went black. She felt herself being carried before she was completely out cold.

Wake Up! Wake up before they- Then, she was finally completely out cold, and she could hear them no more.

[taren]

One of the problems with Fire Bending was that it produced fire, obviously. The problem was that fire was highly visible, even through the forest's thick woods. And the flare of orange light from the fire Benders attack did not go unnoticed.

As the lead Fire soldier knelt down to check the girl, the very ground under his feet exploded. Spiked shards of stone flew out from the blast, shattering themselves against the armor of the benders. The conflict was over in moments.

The Fire Benders formed up in a flash, true soldiers, ready to defend themselves, but unluckily for them, they were already defeated. As the dust began to settle, the ground ripped open once more, a fissure wormed its way out of the tree line and ripped the path in two.

Earth Bender armor blended perfectly with the green trees and the dusty air, and the Fire Soldiers didn't see the attack until the enemy was ontop of them. It was over fast. Two Fire Soldiers down and out, the rest making a fast retreat.

Standing on the torn, broken ground, the Earth Benders took stock of their situation. One stood above the others, his long hair rustling against his armor. "Sir," said one of the benders, addressing the long haired one, "Captain Taren, this isn't a Fire Soldier. She's... just a little girl."

Taren turned towards the voice and looked down at the girl. The soldier was right, the girl didn't look like a soldier at all. What was she doing in the comany of the Fire Benders?

"Bring her along as well. Shackle the soldier's hands. I don't want any burning surprises if they wake up too soon." The half dozen Earth Benders made quick work and bound their prisioners tightly. Two Earth Benders to each Fire Bender they set off again. Taren feel into step beside the soldier carrying the girl. He would be quite interested to hear what this girl had to say once they go back to base.

[ichi]

The west wind was calm on this day, with myriads of birds singing in one harmonious medley. Ishi sat upon a rock breathing steadily in meditation, taking in everything the wonderful day had to offer.

It was a relaxing get-away from the canyons. His sun beaten face welcomed the cool shade of the trees and his dry mouth was overjoyed from the taste of fresh river water.

After a few more minutes of peace, Ishi sat up from his perch and stretched.
I gotta keep going if I want to make it to the village by sunset. he thought as he began to stride along the dirt road again.

It was a while before he was startled by the snort of a beast that was no native to Earth Kingdom soil.
Rhinos?

Ishi knew that was bad news, so he crept forward cautiously. Slowly lifting his eyes to gaze over a rock, he beheld a small sum of Fire Nation soldiers camping. They were about forty to fifty strong, with five heavy rhinos in makeshift stables.
He quickly ducked his head back down.

"Sir," he heard one of them say loudly, "the scout team we sent out an hour ago hasn't returned yet."

A deeper, more grating voice answered back.
"What? Where are those idiots? Who's out there?"

The soldier answered him with a list of names that were unimportant to Ishi. In the middle of the list, the grating voice interrupted with a shout at one of the pronounced names.
"You sent my son out there and they haven't returned yet?!"
"Sir..it was just a scouting mission, they were told not to..."
The deeper voice interrupted again,
"I don't care! This is deep into Earth Kingdom territory! They were probably intercepted by Earthbenders...ready the rhinos, we're going out to look for them!" he commanded.

Ishi knew that it was time to leave. He got back up to a crouch and darted away, trying not to make a sound.
Oh, this is bad. I better get out of here and to that village quick. Someone needs to warn them.

Just as he got lost in nervous thought, he tripped and fell hard into a thicket.
"RGH!"
"What was that?"
So much for being stealthy

Three soldiers went up ahead of the group and found Ishi getting up from his fall. Before they could call out, Ishi lifted the earth from each of their feet , causing them to fall hard to the ground.
Ishi made a run for it, back out to the side of the road. He covered his tracks and made it seem as if he had ran a different path along the forest. A trick he knew wouldn't work for long, but might buy him some time.

Running back out to the side of the road, Ishi heard carriages and footsteps. He looked up to see a group of Earth Kingdom soldiers and leapt up to start at a sprint towards them.
He must have looked like a crazed fool, with his arms flailing and his words mangled from being out of breath.

"Don't go that way! Get off the main road, Fire Nation troops are here!"
he stopped short in front of a tall man. With Ishi's smaller size, the man towered over him like a giant.
"Excuse me...but...Fire Nation....farther to the east side of the road...coming fast...rhinos and everything...you've got to get off the road..." he said in a flurry panting.

[chinagirl7594]

Hello...wake up you idiot!! The voices screamed in Lin's head.

...wha? What happened? I feel like I'm being moved...She thought.

You are, and they just called you a little girl-

WHAT?! If I wake up seeing them, remind me to smack the one who said I was a little girl! Or worse turn him into a Popsicle!!

I wouldn't do that, smacking is just fine, but if you tell them the voices in your head told you he called you that, they'll think you're crazy.

Then how am I to explain why I was chased by nine firebenders!?

How should I know-

Wait, WHO ARE YOU!?

Fine, I'll tell you once you wake up.

Sure you will...

Of course I will!

I'm being sarcastic! Yeesh, I'm yelling in my own head... Lin's eyes flew open to see what happened, only to see herself being carried by someone...

"What the heck...?" She said.

[taren]

Two things were happening at the same time, and the soldiers were a little confused. The one carrying the girl stood still, unsure if he should put her down or continue carrying her. The others dropped the Fire Bender prisioners and turned, some towards the girl and some towards the boy coming down the path.

Taren remained still as the boy approached, shouting warnings. The captain listened silently, and for a long moment he considered the words. No reason to take chances.

"Off the road! Cover our tracks and get into cover." The soldiers hessitated a moment, then rushed to do as their captain said. The prisoners were pulled to one side by four soldiers and the others moved off to the other side. A wave of the hand hid their foot prints.

Taren took the boy by the arm and pulled him off the path as well, crouching beside the soldier who was still carrying the girl.

"Be silent," said the captain to both of the civilians. "We will speak later. For the moment, do not make a sound."

[ichi]

The commanding officer pulled him by the arm off of the roadway. The other soldiers fell in line, covering tracks as they crept along the side paths. They had gone a good distance when Ishi suddenly heard that familiar snorting sound yet again.

The tall commander seemed to have noticed it as well. Not two seconds later, the Fire Nation soldiers could be seen studying the terraine, looking closely for any sign of a large group of travellers or any sort of remains that their lost comrades might have left behind. One of them lifted something small up to their leader mounted on a large rhino. Ishi could not see what it was, but it sparked interest in the eyes of the Fire Nation officer.

Ishi cuped his hand to his mouth and leaned upwards towards the ear of the large man that dwarfed him.
"Sir, I think one of the Fire soldiers you captured might have left a trail for them to follow us. I know it's not my place to say, but if we keep sitting here they'll definately find us and we'll have to fight our way out." he whispered with concern lighting his eyes. "Or, maybe we could cover our trail even more. Confuse them somehow...just an insight..." he said meekly. Seeing Earth Kingdom soldiers always made Ishi's inner guilt at abandoning them show outwardly.

[chinagirl7594]

Lin stayed silent trying to keep the urge of talking inside.

Now what's happening...? She thought.

Fire Nation... The voices said.

Two things, one, who are you, and two, who's that other kid? She thought.

I'll tell you later

Fine... She thought. Lin raised her head a little and blinked, a little confused on what was going on.

But I was right about one thing wasn't I? You've met other people-

Who aren't allies just yet, I don't even know who they are!

Look, since we're in a tight situation right now, those earthbenders you're with need a distraction for all of you to get away from the Fire Nation.

Then how am I going to help? I'm only just some crazy waterbender girl who gets voices in her head!!

Remember the river? Wait until I...The voices started to speak softly, as if they thought someone would hear them. Lin blinked again, waiting for the right moment to put the voices' plan into action.

[ichi]

Ishi could forsee an attack and the leading officer was just staring out, patiently assessing the situation.
He sighed and turned to see the young girl, water tribe by her clothes. She was staring as well, but not in the same direction of the Fire Nation soldiers. She looked rather spaced out, as if having an unspoken conversation with someone that wasn't there. He was no idiot though, he could see that she was contemplating the option of joining the fight.

"Hey," he leaned in and whispered to her, "We should leave this fight to the soldiers, we'll only get in their way." he turned on heel and pointed past the trees and up towards a mountain.
"I'm heading up there and possibley traveling to Zhy. I can guide you through the mountain pass and get you to a safe road leading to Bai Seng Sai." he looked at her with wide eyes that promised secure tranquility.

"Come with me." he pleaded while starting at a slow walk back towards the forest. "Or, if you'd rather stay here and take risks alongside soldiers. It's your choice."

----------:Ishi Toku has left the area:----------

[chinagirl7594]

Great...more excitment...Lin thought.

I think you should go with him.

Fine, but if you're wrong-

I know. Just go. Lin sighed and started to follow him.

Something tells me he already thinks I'm crazy...

Hey, you haven't told him about hearing voices in your head...

Whatever. She thought, and the voices stayed silent once again, as Lin continues to follow him.

-------------Lin has left the area to follow Ishi----------------

[taren]

Taren silently watched the pair leave. He should have stopped them, but there was no way to do so without alerting the Fire Benders. They would have to simply wait it out.

Time passed slowly. The Fire Benders passed them by twice, trying to pick up their trail, but soldier of the Earth Kingdom were no so simply caught as that. After half an hour of searching, the Fire Benders moved on, farther down the road.

Still Taren waited, until he was completely sure they had passed on before issuing new orders. "Everyone head back to base. Learn what you can from the Fire prisoners."

"Sir?"

"I'm going after the girl and that strange man. They might know something, but more importantly, they know we're here. We can't just let them go. Issu, your in command until I come back."

"Yes, sir."

Taren nodded, and set off, moving the direction the two children had.