Post by ryota on Jun 16, 2008 13:29:44 GMT -5
"Well, it was a small village," Ryota started off his tale, fully prepared to bumble his way through without any finesse. "We all knew each other by name, like we were one big family. That's almost what we were."
As his eyes departed from Taartoq, he looked ahead and sighed. That 'family' had suffered plenty of loss in so many ways, particularly by Fire Nation raids. The small tribe was hardly a threat - at first glance - but those who resisted were swiftly dealt with. Ryota had heard the sordid tale of waterbenders who dared fight back against Fire Nation soldiers back in Shuen. They were never heard from again. "The Fire Nation kept their eye on us, and killed everyone who posed a threat. Except for little Katara, there were no waterbenders in our village for that reason alone. I don't even think waterbenders lived in any other village either."
Ryota scratched his head, all but overlooking the irrelevance track his tale was heading down at a phenominal rate. Fortunately, he realized the discussion wasn't about waterbenders to begin with, though he thought the topic may spark interest with an actual, factual waterbender himself. Ryota stumbled a bit when he continued, as could be expected. "We kept ourselves alive, and learned to have fun. There wasn't much around, but we 'kids' could always make up fun games that lasted for hours. Penguin-sledding was a great one."
Letting out a breath, he turned his neck sharply to relieve a bit of tension, a 'knot' so to speak. Such a casual approach always was the norm for the southerner. "Then when I got older, our chief Hakoda decided we should fight back against the Fire Nation. All the men headed to the Earth Kingdom, and we've been there ever since."
Ryota did well to point out the obvious in that instance, but a fairly bashful grin seemed to show his awareness of that fact. "Well...except now. But I already told you everything about that."
Who knew where his next choice, to nudge Taartoq in the ribs, would land him?
As his eyes departed from Taartoq, he looked ahead and sighed. That 'family' had suffered plenty of loss in so many ways, particularly by Fire Nation raids. The small tribe was hardly a threat - at first glance - but those who resisted were swiftly dealt with. Ryota had heard the sordid tale of waterbenders who dared fight back against Fire Nation soldiers back in Shuen. They were never heard from again. "The Fire Nation kept their eye on us, and killed everyone who posed a threat. Except for little Katara, there were no waterbenders in our village for that reason alone. I don't even think waterbenders lived in any other village either."
Ryota scratched his head, all but overlooking the irrelevance track his tale was heading down at a phenominal rate. Fortunately, he realized the discussion wasn't about waterbenders to begin with, though he thought the topic may spark interest with an actual, factual waterbender himself. Ryota stumbled a bit when he continued, as could be expected. "We kept ourselves alive, and learned to have fun. There wasn't much around, but we 'kids' could always make up fun games that lasted for hours. Penguin-sledding was a great one."
Letting out a breath, he turned his neck sharply to relieve a bit of tension, a 'knot' so to speak. Such a casual approach always was the norm for the southerner. "Then when I got older, our chief Hakoda decided we should fight back against the Fire Nation. All the men headed to the Earth Kingdom, and we've been there ever since."
Ryota did well to point out the obvious in that instance, but a fairly bashful grin seemed to show his awareness of that fact. "Well...except now. But I already told you everything about that."
Who knew where his next choice, to nudge Taartoq in the ribs, would land him?