Cursing the Day <Wilderness, Earth Kingdom>

[jialingjin]

Morning had dawned some hours ago and being unable to sleep, Jialing was the first of the foursome up. The cluster of blankets was warm, thanks to the body heat from two, but her nose was icy cold. While the sun was up, the temperatures were tolerable in the Northern Mountains of the Earth Kingdom, the foothills to the great mountains of the Northern Air Temple's territory, ransacked long ago by the Fire Nation. After a long internal debate she had, Jialing wormed her way out with a long list of grumbled obscenities and in bare feet, scrambled over to the fire pit, where Jin was curled up sleeping.

They had left the spark rocks out, and they were spotted easily, the greenish glass-like stones sticking out against the dirt plot. As she walked, she grabbed in a swift motion as she squatted next to the fire. Balancing her weight in her butt, she grabbed her knees within the crook of her elbows as she started crack the two pieces of stone against each other.

They sparked again and against but nothing was good enough as she held it near the ground and the dry kindling. A string of more obscenities flowed from her mouth in the early morning until she just fell back on her butt, her legs kicking up into the air as a counterbalance. Defeated, Jialing just sighed heavily as she threw the small stones across the fire pit, setting her feet firmly on the ground and letting her elbows rest on her knees, her hands dangling in the air between them. "...Damnit." She hung her head, strands of bed head hair hanging down across her forehead and into her eyes. Jin had woke up and watched his mistress fail miserably at lighting the fire. It was still chilly out and she was without her typical boots. Her legs looked naked with them, the mid-calf length hem of her pants that were usually tucked into her rabbit-skin boots now made her calves look skinny. Her ankles were narrow and bony, her feet big and toes splayed in awkward directions. The young dog grumbled as he rose to his large feet and came plodding over to her. His skin was a muted gold in the dim sunlight, like dried flower petals. Shaggy and unkept, he smelled like any dog would and looked like one, with dried mud and burrs in the longer sections of his coat. His weary eyes gave one looked to the defeated Jia and then he would proceed to literally flop behind her.

[lili]

No food, no supplies, nothing. Tsuya kept walking, barely stopping to rest, with the clothes on her back and little else. The adrenaline from the earlier battle still pumped through her veins as she made her way through trees and underbrush. Sticking to the paths that were familiar to her memory, Tsuya kept her eyes alert for any signs of danger.

Earlier she had washed her makeup off in a small brook. The cool water had helped soothe her and cleared her head. The sticky feeling from her sweat and tears running down her makeup was now gone. All that remained was for her to devise a strategy. Her task was clear: find allies to help free the Kyoshi Warriors. As Tsuya crunched a pile of twigs under her brown boots she nodded her head to herself. In the process her headband slipped and she paused to right it. If nothing else she would manage to keep herself together.

Morning already? Tsuya thought dismally at the faint light peaking through the woods. Walking for hours on end and she felt as if she had covered little ground. Suki and the others were counting on her. Who knew what the princess was capable of? If she thought the warriors had any information that might be of use Tsuya was sure she would use whatever means necessary to acquire it. The thought made her cringe as she began trudging forward again. She would not allow that to happen.

Tsuya's mind was lost in her wondering and not paying close attention to the direction her feet were taking. So when she tripped over a fallen branch it was a bit of a surprise, to say the least. As she went down Tsuya put her arms out to catch herself, palms receiving much of the force from the hard ground. If it hadn't been for her gloves she probably would have gotten some nasty scuffs. Easing herself up she took a moment to glance ahead. There was something moving in the distance...Whatever it was, it looked rather large. Balancing herself on her knees and massaging her wrists Tsuya contemplated approaching what she had seen. It had sounded like possibly someone was ahead, not just something, and they could be friendly. Hopefully. Would Fire Nation soldiers be out in the wilderness? She doubted it. Besides, she had to find someone sometime. Standing to her full height and dusting her green skirts off Tsuya moved forward slowly, ready to bolt at the slightest provocation.

[gandalan]

Hibiki's dream WAS his father again. Hibiki noted the smoke, and the flames, which were still devouring the place he called home. But he didn't care about that. He wanted to see his father. It didn't make sense, the dream, but he wanted to see him so badly...

His father turned round, took a step forward, and cuffed him hard across the face.

Hibiki fell to his knees. He had FELT it. This was supposed to be a DREAM! Hibiki looked up at his father, who was glaring down at him, and tears came to his eyes. "Wh-wha...?"

"You stupid fool!" his father cried. "What are you doing here? Why aren't you helping them!?" He pointed over to the house, then moved his hand to encompass the whole scene, the dying, the soldiers, the flames...

Hibiki didn't understand. "Help...? But...I'm just-"

His father cut him off, anger marring his once kind voice. "You're just a scared little runt. Too afraid to do anything."

"Dad, why are you doing-"

"SCARED. Too scared to dress himself."

Hibiki's own anger was mounting, as he was both confused and sad, and afraid. Yes, he was afraid.

"Too scared to try and save his own mother, too scared to save his friend, too scared-"

"SHUT UP!" Tears in his eyes, Hibiki got up and screamed at his father. "SHUT UP! I was scared, yeah... who wouldn't be?!"

His father's features softened. "You were afraid. Yes, you did what any child would have done."

The flames disappeared, and the smoke and the world around them was gone. There was only an endless field, which suddenly became a field of corn, which grew rapidly.

His father walked to his son, and embraced him. "Son, you were afraid. You were too weak to do anything then- but now, NOW, when you have the chance! Do not let your fear stop you!"

Hibiki was surprised and relieved to be in an embrace again. It had been awhile. "D-dad..."

"I died to protect you."

"But..."

"I failed." His father nodded. "But I knew I would fail from the beginning. I died trying anyway. Do you think that this Rebellion will free the village?"

Hibiki shook his head.

"I do not think so either. But you must help them, or the little chance they have will be gone." He patted Hibiki on the head. He was suddenly aware that the corn was over both of their heads by now.

His father let go of him and smiled. "Son, you must not let your fear stop you from protecting those you love. Even if you fail. That is the measure of a man. Do you understand."

Hibiki nodded, and wiped his tears away. "Y-yes father..."

His father smiled, as a wind blew across the field. The corn obscured his father from Hibiki's view, and he began to fade. Hibiki sprang forward. "Father!?"

"I need to get back to my world... and you need to get back to yours. Everyone's waiting on you."

And Hibiki woke. He sprang from the sleeping bag, gasping for breath, a cold sweat over his body. He quickly climbed out, and promptly sat down, still gasping. After a moment, he caught his breath, and looked over to see that Jialing was up. Her legs were mostly exposed due to the fact that she had no boots on. It made her look strengely feminine. At his young age, his hormones were just beginning to work- but he could tell that Jialing was quite cute. At least from his point of view at that moment. His face flushed, and he couldn't help but stare at her.

[reed]

Reed shifted in his sleep. The teen was much too tired from all that he hadn’t done the previous day. He recalled the end of the day the best. Both he and Jialing had shared a sleeping bag before; he just liked giving her a hard time about it. Reed also remembered last time how he had done something similar and had a boot thrown at him then, too.

Reed stirred multiple times before noticing he was awake. His eyes were still shut not wanting to expose them to the bright sun light. He heard Jialing rustling about trying to do something, Spirits knows what. He heard the sleeping bag next to him shuffle around. The kid must be up too He thought to himself. Reed heard Jialing start cursing like crazy under her breath. Yep, she had to be trying to start a fire. This happened a few mornings ago when she insisted she could get a fire going. Reed yawned, eyes still pressed closed and rolled over on his stomach with his face turned to the right, “You’re never going to get it to light by yelling at it...” His morning voice was still very much there and he had no intentions of waking up and making it go away.

[jialingjin]

The dull thud of the warrior falling did not even register with the young woman seated at the fire, who sat listening to the deep breaths of the massive dog curled up behind her and to the sounds of animals awaking. The string of obscenities hadn't been that loud yet it still had woken the boys up, she noted. Good. Maybe one of their lazy asses could get the fire started so Reed could fry them up some beans.. or something. They a lot of supplies.. and Jia and Reed could both hunt and fish.. but now with a third.. very hungry.. mouth to feed, it would not last as long as it had.

She sighed heavily, puffing out her cheeks as she lifted her head up slightly, readjusted the angle and then set her chin down on her folded arms again. Damn her feet were cold.. but no.. she didn't want to go over to where the boys were and get her boots. Nope. No way.. not how. Why, Jialing couldn't answer. She just knew.. that she didn't want to move, the spark rocks had given her enough trouble. Lord what she wouldn't give for a fire bender right now and a warm blanket. Her hair was even more messed up than usual, having just awakened a while ago. Tossing and turning through the night was usual for Jialing and she was sure that she had kicked Reed a few times, perhaps even in the head given the amount she tended to move. She lifted a hand to scratch her head burying her fingers in that thick, tough mane of hair which was in desperate need of a wash.

"Since you're both up... One of you boozos over there need to throw me my boots." She shouted loudly and with an dominating attitude. That's right.. do what I say. However, under her breath she grumbled quietly, a simple: ""My feet are cold.."

[lili]

Others were moving around now too, Tsuya could see them through the foliage as she drew closer. A voice, feminine at that, was asking about her boots in a more authoritative manner. She felt like she was upon them now as she could easily make out the figures. Two were just awaking though the female was already up, she must have been the one Tsuya had heard earlier, along with her dog. She paused one last time, filling her chest with air in a deep sigh, as she ordered her thoughts for approaching.

Tsuya had never been one to be shy. But this situation could turn hazardous if they suspected her as an enemy. None looked like any Fire Nation Tsuya had ever seen which was comforting, and as her stomach growled quietly she decided to complete the distance between them. What was the worst that could happen?

Stepping out she held her posture straight and tried to keep a friendly look upon her face. Butterflies replaced the hunger she had felt a moment ago as she searched for the correct thing to say, something that didn't sound too idiotic. "Hello there strangers," Tsuya spoke at last, voice a little tight as she tried to ignore the urgency she felt. There was little hope this small party would be able to assist, even if they wanted to, but perhaps they could point her in the direction of someone who could.

It took some bit of control on her part not to simply blurt out what had happened. Tsuya felt like someone, anyone, needed to know so the warriors couldn't be forgotten. Her boots moved the dirt as she shifted her weight from one leg to the other, awaiting their reaction.

[gandalan]

Jialing generally scared Hibiki, even if he thought she was cute. He quickly moved about to obey her order. She wanted her boots, so he stood up, and grabbed her boots off the ground, and walked them over to her. He wasn't going to try and throw them- he probably couldn't have even made them go all the way to her. The morning was a bit cool, but his layers of clothing kept him (at least) not cold. In a cold, or winter, situation, you never wanted to be 'warm'- that meant you were going to sweat, and then the sweat would freeze, and you would be cold. You wanted to be 'cool', a little less than comfortable- and so he was.

As he walked, the ground felt good under his bare feet. They were horribly dirty (any mother would faint at the sight of him, and then prompty scrub him to death), but it felt nice to be able to walk around in soil, instead of on rock, like he had for so long.

"Hello there strangers."

Hibiki practically jumped out of his skin. That was a voice he hadn't heard before. He ran the rest of the way to Jialing, and quickly moved behind her. He was sort of ashamed, but it was just his mindset- he'd have to work on that. He moved a bit to the side of Jialing, to get a better look at the person who had arrived.

It was a girl, but by the looks of her, he wouldn't have realized that unless she had spoken. The green shirt she wore was of a color not seen around the parts Hibiki lived, and the skirt was something that seemed a bit elaborate. They were both in bad shape, as if she'd been through some hardship recently. The armor she wore over her chest seemed out of place to Hibiki- but then he'd only seen Jialing before as an example of a fighting woman. Women around his village generally didn't fight. Heck, most of the men didn't.

He continued to look up at her, with genuine interest. She was obviously a warrior of some kind, but obviously more experienced that Jialing. And guessing by the shape of her clothes, she'd been through a battle. He weakly asked, "Wh-who are you?"

[reed]

Reed was only interesting at getting more sleep though he didn't succeed. Reed knew he wouldn't be able to get more sleep. He sat up and slowly opened his eyes adjusting them to the sunlight. He stretched his arms across his chest soon after rolling his shoulder and reached over to his boots. Jialing had already received hers from Hibiki a few minutes before. His hair was messy and pointing in every direction, somewhat like what Jialing's hair looked like normally.

Reed stood up, still shirt less, and walked over to the fire pit. He was starting to get goosebumps from the cold winds brushing on his bare skin. He grabbed the spark rocks from Jialing and made a small cove out of the left over brush there was. He raised his right hand and bashed the two rocks violently together causing large sparks to fly off into the withered grass. The brush started to smoke. Reed repeated this two more times. The brush went up in flames and Reed piled more small branches on top until they caught. The boy yawned, "And there ya' go.." He said getting up in search for a clean shirt, though, no luck.

"Hello there strangers."

Reed turned towards towards Jialing. He saw that Hibiki was hiding behind her looking behind him. Reed turned, standing next to Jialing, towards the "visitor". It was clear she was Earth Kingdom from the way she was dressed... That uniform! He had seen similar attires like it... Just in better shape than hers.

"No way!" Reed said exclaimed as Hibiki was in the middle of asking who she was. He folded his arms and raised an eyebrow smiling.

" What's a Kyoshi Warrior doing all the way out here?

[jialingjin]

She thrusted out her hand for the boots as Hibiki approached. Not even glancing up at him, she knew it was him by his light, hurried stepped. Finally..! But then, the rustle of brush, the sound of footsteps on the ground, a cracking stick... And the boy freaking out.
The woman sighed heavily and dropped her hand as he rushed towards her. Dramatically, she dropped her head with an exaggerated sigh before she rose to her bare feet, swiping her boots from Hibiki's hands as she turned to face the newcomer. "..Please don't be fire nation.." She murmured under her breath as she turned, keeping her head down for the moment.
One hand came to rest on her hip, her boots dangling at her side from her right hand. The fuzzy haired girl stepped forward and over the large dog that had been lying behind her, her bare feet dirty from the ashes. Reed had come over and lit the fire, but it wasn't like the woman to acknowledge it or anything. She shook her hair as she stopped, standing in front of 'her boys'. Reed suddenly exclaimed.. a Kyoshi Warrior? Everyone knew of the Kyoshi Warriors..! Jialing lifted her head quickly, her eyes wide in surprise for once as she got her first glimpse at the young woman who had appeared. Well the uniform.. wasn't familiar to the wanderer. Not By a long shot.

So, she was speechless, but Jin was not. The golden colored dog rose to his feet quickly, just on four feet reaching the height of Reed's waist with his withers. Easily, if he stood upright, he'd tower over the half of them. He padded out to his mistress, the woman with the gravity defying hair with ears back. He did not growl yet, but his black-rimmed lips twitched as he halted at her side, his head low and his tail steady.

[lili]

A brilliant smile, filled with relief as well as happiness, spread across Tsuya's lips. At least the one boy seemed to know of the warriors! "This is a pretty long way from Kyoshi Island, isn't it?" she sighed, smile fading. It was easy to guess how disheveled she must appear to them. It was slightly embarrassing for Tsuya who had always felt such pride for the uniform. She was representing her home as well as Avatar Kyoshi.

"We ran into some trouble..." Tsuya began, then pausing. Did she know how much she could trust these three? "My name is Tsuya. May I ask who you three are?" This seemed like a perfectly legitimate question. They all had just met in the wilderness and she was curious about them. Her eyes flicked to the dog stand and walk to who she assumed was his master, the female with wild hair. His stance was anything but welcoming in Tsuya's mind and she had to pray silently he didn't find her to be a threat.

Taking a deep sigh in she closed her eyes a moment to center her thoughts. Her eyes opened when she began speaking. "Alright. I'm just going to tell you what happened, because what other choice do I have? If I can't get help I need someone to spread word to the Earth Kingdom army or something." She paused again, taking a breath as she focused on not sounding too dramatic. "We, the Kyoshi Warriors, met up with the Thunderfist Battalion. We were supposed to stop the Fire Nation army and their Princess Azula, and we were defeated. As far as I know, I'm the only one who wasn't captured. So I'm asking that if you know of any soldiers or groups willing to help me free them, you might direct me to them. And if you don't want to be involved I'll let you be." Tsuya bit her lower lip lightly as she folded her arms across her chest.

[gandalan]

The girl introduced herself as Tsuya. It was, again, a name he was not familiar with. Differing locales were not his thing. He was used to girls who worked the land with him, but that was the extent of what they would do, generally. Certainly, he wasn't used to 'women warriors'.

He waited until Jia and Reed had introduced themselves, because he didn't want to accidentally interrupt them. He wasn't even really listening to them, so much as he heard noise that was human speech, and waited until that was done. Once they were done speaking, he said, "M-my name is Hibiki." Having said this, he lapsed into silence once again, sort of hiding behind Jialing, listening to Tsuya speak.

The day had begun to warm. The sun sprinkled in through the trees, and when the air moved just slightly, the pine trees moved as well, giving the light on the mountainside a shimmering effect, making everything seem slightly unreal. The chill of the night was leaving, replaced by a cool morning breeze. It was pleasant, like he remembered it before the mines.

Tsuya's speech was short, and simple- her comrades had been captured in a fight with the Fire Nation (he had only a small idea of who Princess Azula was, and what the Thunderfist Batallion was, although he'd heard a bit more about the latter). He was extremely disheartened to hear that the Fire Nation was still expanding. Why couldn't they be happy with what they had? Why did they have to make everybody else miserable? Why?

But the second part of her speech unnerved him. She wanted help with rescuing her comrades. He didn't know what to say. He really didn't want to leave- he wanted to rescue his friends HERE, in Tsumei village! If they left, who would help them? And would he be able to get Jialing to come back, if she ended up leaving? He was worried about that, and it showed on his countenance. His face contorted into a worried expression, and the few muscles he had tensed up. He moved further to the side of Jialing, suddenly feeling that they wouldn't be here much longer- from her talk last night, he assumed that she had no real need, or want, to stay.

He sighed helplessly, and plopped down crosslegged. Today wasn't going to be a good day. He could just tell.

[reed]

Reed nodded his head, "I'm Reed." He replied to Tsuya. In his previous trading days, Reed used to travel down the Kyoshi Islands a lot. He remembered the village chief telling him about Avatar Kyoshi and her warriors. It really was an interesting place. He also recalled one particular Kyoshi Warrior that had beaten him in no weapon combat and showed him around the island. Oh, yeah, those were good times..

Reed shook away the memories and listened to Tuya's speech. She needed re-enforcements; who didn't? They still needed to find out a way to help free Hibiki's village. And now would they take on Princess Azula to free Tsuya's comrades? There was a short silence after she finished speaking. Reed nudged Jia forward a little. She would know what to do, since he had no idea. Reed noticed Hibiki discomfort. What was he so depressed about? Reed watched as the boy sat. So what'll happened now.. Reed thought.

[jialingjin]

The expression on her face was priceless as the two young men behind her gave their names. GAVE THEIR NAMES. WILLINGLY! What kind of rebels were they?! Her eyes went wide and her jaw fell agape, her raised eyebrow twitching. Her fingers gripped her boots tightly, the suede-like material crinkling loudly in her palm. The young woman whipped around, her crimped and wavy hair fluttering around her face, off the back of her neck. The daylight caught it, causing strands of glow with a Burnt Sienna color against the taupe color of her hair.
Her upper lip lifted into a sneer, showing her teeth as she growled at them. "What the heck do you think you're saying!?" She kept her voice in the low, threatening octaves, but loud enough that the Kyoshi warrior.. Tsuya.. would be able to hear.

"...Giving your names to STRANGER! She could be FireNation!" Jialing threw her arms out to the side, her boots swinging together from her one hand. Even Jin ducked her flailing hands, sliding around behind her with his tail going between his legs. While Jialing ranted, giving the boys an earful and effectively Ignoring the Kyoshi Warrior, Jin would slowly approach her. The giant dog, resembling a wolfhound, kept his head low to her, his folded over ears back. He did not growl, and each step he took was deliberate as she approached her, stretching out his neck as he sniffed. He could smell smoke on her.. smoke and dirt.. and a storm.. electrical charge? His warm brown eyes, the color of the distant mountain ranges, glanced up at her... and very slowly.. his tail rose.. and gave a small , tentative wag.

[lili]

"Pleased to meet both of you," Tsuya said, giving a small nod of her head to both boys. This might just be easier than I thought. She had pictured them being immediately wary of her and asking all sorts of questions to try and prove that she wasn't an enemy. All that would have taken up precious time, time Tsuya could not waste. The younger looking of the two males suddenly flopped down, his expression downtrodden. She had to wonder at what could be bothering him; surely it wasn't her news.

Then the girl spoke. It was just loud enough for her to hear, and she guessed that wasn't by accident. Tsuya could feel her stomach tighten in anger as she listened to what this girl was saying, what she was practically accusing her of. The breeze blew a few wisps of hair about her eyes as her arms fell to her sides, fingers clenching and unclenching. "Excuse me?!" she said slowly, taking a step forward. "Do you really believe I could be Fire Nation? My friends are back in some camp, enduring heavens knows what from that princess, while every-thing's just fine for you here." A gloved hand moved to her head, massaging her temples. She had to keep a level head, watch herself and what she said like Suki would. Dropping her arm to her side again, her eyes moved over each of them. "Look, believe me or not, I still need to find help. Just point me in the direction of someone who might be of some use and I'll leave you alone." Tsuya's voice was on the verge of desperation now and her stance was less proud.

Tsuya was worried for a moment when the great dog first approached. Between her island home and her brief travelings, she could not recall a dog so large. His eyes did not speak of aggression as she looked into them, and as he moved toward her she held out a gloved hand. The small wag of his tail gave Tsuya the courage to move closer and brush the pads of her fingers on just the edge of his snout, her eyes returning his warmth.

[jialingjin]

Ohno, she didn't. Jialing had her back to the Kyoshi warrior as she took a step forward, her thick boots making surprisingly little sound on the ground. The woman yelled, proclaiming her insult towards being thought of as potential Fire Nation. Well what did she expected?! She had stumbled across a small little ragtag bunch of the Rebellion's newest recruits who had just kidnapped a kid from the Fire Nation-controlled Mining Town. Hell! Jia had just knocked out two guards the previous afternoon.. they would be on their toes a little bit.
The lanky girl let her thin shoulder slouch as her posture went to hell and her knees went weak as she dared to glance over her left shoulder at the Kyoshi Warrior. "..Why Yes, I DO think you could be Fire Nation. For Spirit's Sake, Woman! This is Fire Nation Controlled Territory and you just stumbled across a couple of Rebels! I just took out two soldiers to get this kid last night!" Jialing shouted back, not realizing what she she was saying as she snapped at the woman in the thick, emerald green dress, the grey armor that clung to her shapely form that bore scrotch marks. The long faced woman narrowed her eyes, giving a rather dead-pan look to the world as her lips curled down in an exaggerated frown mixed in with a pout.

"..I just gave everything away didn't I?" She asked rather monotonally, looking towards Reed with a simple movement on her eyes, searching for a nod or a 'Yup'. Well then! She straightened quickly in one movement, bringing a fist up to her lips as she coughed, keeping her profile to the strange woman. "...Alrighty then.. There's no Earth Kingdom controlled villages around here..Every thing's Fire Nation Annexed."

Jin remained at the girl's feet, having stepped closer to get his head under her hand when she had brushed his nose. His ears had since relaxed and his tail now wagged slowly back and forth. His shoulders, covered with wiry fur the color of wheat reached the girl's hips easily. Even the dog had to raise one eyebrow in confusion as his Mistress and her.. expressionable personality.