Bringin' In Strangers <Tachi Dai, Earth Kingdom>

[yasu]

Yasu Al, her bow balanced over one shoulder and her quiver draped across her back, hadn't actually thought much of the repercussions of bringing two strangers into the Rebellion base.

How was she supposed to know that Taka-kun and herself, while innocently gathering food for Tachi Dai after a bad storm, would run into a couple and their dog. This couple was a strange one indeed. Both persons seemed as if they had walked right through the terrifying storm, with mud in her hair and dirtied clothes. And while the woman seemed temperamental, almost sarcastic her male companion seemed up-beat, though suspicious enough. And the dog, well --Yasu glanced to the dog sidelong before looking straight once more, heading toward the inn-- the dog was a dog that knew his stuff.

And Yasu Al knew her place in the Rebellion; she wasn't a warrior, she wasn't trusted, she wasn't Earth Kingdom, she wasn't even that powerful and all those things worked to be her in the small sect of "Asset". She was Fire Nation, a noble and a heiress to be precise, and such information she might be able to hold is important. Not to mention the fact that the Rebellion itself was formed by the Fire Nation...no one seemed to understand that, however. They still didn't trust her as much, it seemed. She was still different from the Earth Kingdom citizens; she had black hair and gold eyes and peculiar pale white skin almost like a glass doll.

Yasu Al knew her place, and she hoped Taka-kun did as well. He was no messenger any longer, but they were both still breaking the rules. Yasu was still in trouble for telling the Water Tribe warriors of the Rebellion. She really couldn't afford getting in trouble for this either but she supposed that bringing the couple was a necessity.

Finally, they arrive at the Inn. Yasu bit her lip nervously and glanced over to Taka-kun, searching for any sort of comfort at all. But looking at him only made her blush, at her own stupidity and just because Yasu will always be shy, little Yasu and she looked away.

"Here we are," she says softly, all confidence washed out of her like the storm that had blown in the night before.

[jialingjin]

So.. this was it? Jialing looked less than pleased with the result of the trek. The woman with the near-afro sighed, lifting her hands up behind her head and interlacing her hands in her hair. She puffed out her chest, cracking a few vertabre in the process as she strolled.. very casually in. She stuck her legs out, letting them hang in the air for a second before stepping with them. Inside a few feet.. Jialing leaned over to the side, a full 45 degrees basically, and nudge Reed's ear with her elbow.

"..Well this ain't much, is it now?" She rolled her muddy eyes at him before pursing her lips and looking back over to Yasu and Taka. She lifted her eyebrows expectantly, in only a manner Jialing was capable of. "So.. tricked us into coming in for drinks?" She mused, still reluctant to believe.. that seriously? There was a rebellion in the works and these two were apart of it? Ha!

She threw her hands out to the side, and shouted. "Drinks on Me! Reed owes me some gold!"

[taka]

Taka raised an eyebrow over at the girl, Jialing. Maybe she was clueless, but the Inn was totally empty. Everybody was out rebuilding or repairing buildings that had been damaged by the storm. He looked over at Yasu, with a sort of grimace meaning "Oh Spirits, what've we done now?"

Taka sighed helplessly, and intoned, "Uh, there won't be any drinks here just yet. Nobody is here right now." He shrugged, and then said, "Whenever my father gets back, we might be able to find you something, but don't count on it." He, in fact, did not look forward to when his father would come home. His father would be incensed that they had brought in two strangers who would want to be told about the Rebellion, because they knew Yasu was Fire Nation.

Today just wasn't a good day.

Taka moped into the cafeteria, which, was, as he had predicted, empty. However, he heard footsteps outside, which meant his parents were probably just getting back. He turned to Yasu with a frown on his face. Oh great...

He was certain Yasu felt no better.

[yasu]

Yasu turned to look at Taka again, and he sent her a grimace. Yasu kept in a sigh of regret - Why hadn't she kept her big mouth shut? For someone who was shy and quiet, she had a sure tendency to get herself into some tight places. And she was claustrophobic. Great.

It didn't take long for the Jialing woman to decide that anything they might have said in the past few minutes of their meeting was all a lie. She opened her mouth and simply said doubtfully, "...Well this ain't much, is it now. So.. tricked us into coming in for drinks?" Yasu was tempted to turn to the woman and say, quite plainly: I'm not old enough to drink alcohol. But she didn't, she kept her mouth shut and just stared at the injured building.

"Drinks on Me! Reed owes me some gold!"

"Uh, there won't be any drinks here just yet. Nobody is here right now," Taka explained and Yasu looked at him in dry amusement. He sounded so...well...kind of deflated. "Whenever my father gets back, we might be able to find you something, but don't count on it..."

Whenever his father gets back, Yasu Al mused sadly, we're both going to get it bad.

With that said, Taka trekked into the dining area, leaving Yasu and the two strangers alone. Not really wanting to be alone with the strange couple, Yasu waved them after her and walked into the cafeteria. "Let's see what inside, 'kay?" But it would seem that there was nothing there.

Oh yeah, we were supposed to gather food. Whoops.

Yasu looked up at the sound of footsteps and turned just in time to see Taka's parents enter in the dining area.

"Oh, you're back!" his mother said with a warm smile...but the moment her eyes fell upon the dirty couple her smile faltered and eventually fell into a serious line. "Oh, new guests?" But her tone made it clear she knew they were anything but.

As Taka's father slowly limped toward them, Yasu winced. He seemed...kind of angry. "What is the meaning of this, Taka? Where is the food?"

Taka's mother sighed and rubbed her forehead with the back of her hand.

Yasu bit her lip and stepped away, giving both adults room as she slowly slid up beside Taka, not helping the guilty look that crossed her eyes. It's all my fault. Me and my big mouth.

[jialingjin]

Jialing arched one brow as she looked took the girl who claimed to be a Fire Nation citizen. She narrowed her brown eyes, shifting her mouth over to one cheek in thought. It didn't seem like Yasu or Taka was going to get a good reaction.

She stepped forward, her dark lips spreading into a wide grin on her buff colored skin bronze in the darker light of being indoors. Her hair, raggedy, wild, and crimped in so many different directions one might mistake her for a pincushion actually appeared to be dark enough for her age in the dark. Outside, when it passed off as brown taupe, it aged her long and horse-like face.. but here.. in the dark.. it actually appeared to be a dark shade of cherry colored wood. Pleasant.

She stuck out her hand, turning her head slightly into the stiff Olive colored collar of her over-tunic (whether it was stiff on purpose or because of grime.. we can't be sure). "Why hello there, my good man! So sorry we held up the crew, but we more or less ran into them and.. My dog here? Kinda ate all their food."

Jin yelped at Jialing's work, as if he actually understood them and he looked up at her with both bushy eyebrows up. How dare she betray him! After he had spent two years with her! He whined, sounding pitiful as he turned his wiry haired head towards Reed, more grey starting to appear in the golden coat as they spoke. His wagging, friendly tail dropped between his legs.

Smirking a little bit, Jia looked over to Yasu and Taka with a wink. It wouldn't be hard to believe that Jin had ate all their food, which he hadn't, because if he was to stand on his hide feet.. his nose would be taller than Taka's father. The dog.. was HUGE.

[taka]

Taka's father was still not satisfied completely. Even then, why bring the two here? His son ought to have more sense than that. Why was he bringing in two stragglers like this? They didn't have anything to offer him, surely.

He ignored the woman, and said once again, "Taka, what is the meaning of this?!"

Taka looked down to the ground, shamefacedly. He was in trouble, and he knew it. "They...noticed... that Yasu was from the Fire Nation... dad..."

There, it was out. Taka's father was absolutely furious. "Taka, you absolute fool! You could have gone out in cloaks, but no! In broad daylight, on a simple mission! You too Yasu- you should know better than to do that." He groaned. "Both of you are assigned to the next mission we get as punishment, no matter what it is." He knew he wouldn't give them just any old assignment, but he wasn't going to go full through with his threat. He'd give them something they could handle. Just something lengthy and boring. That would suit them.

He then turned to Jia and Reed, and sighed. "Sit down you two," he said in a tired voice. "You're going to get an ear full."

[yasu]

Yasu could tell by Taka's father's tone of voice that he wasn't happy. And she winced as he turned on her, and she knew he was right. She should have known better, though in her opinion, her past experiences proved that she knew anything but. I'm stupid, stupid, stupid!, she thought, Stupid Fire Nation rebel, stupid, stupid...

Turning to Jia and Reed, Taka's father sighed, "Sit down, you two; you're going to get an ear full."

Taka's mother forced a grin to her lips and lifted an index finger into the air, "Why don't I scavenge up some tea leaves?" she suggested as she passed Yasu and Taka into the kitchen.

Yasu watched Taka's mother pass before propping herself on the counter to listen to what Taka's father would tell the pair, her heart heavy with guilt.

"Ten years ago, Fire Lord Ozai took over the throne in the Fire Nation and began a new reign of terror for the war, as you must already know. Well, it was five years ago that a general by the name of Chu Ye Ling came to realize the evil of the war. No one knows for sure why Chu came to hate the war so, but what ever event had occurred had changed his mind.

"His oldest son, Yeng Ye Ling, was a soldier beneath him and, after witnessing many deaths, joined his father. Both men chose to stay in the Earth Kingdom after their service in the Fire Nation had ended.

"Chu and Yeng, spirited by their anger toward their nation and their hatred for their emperor, began to camp out in woods awaiting a traveling soldier company. At night, they would raid the camps of their weapons and food, hoping to starve the mercenaries into defeat. Of course, it did little for their cause."

Taka's father sighed heavily and looked up to eye Yasu and Taka momentarily before facing the strange pair once more.

"So, you know what they did? To help their cause, Yeng sent messages to his friends, most of who were soldiers wounded in battles. These soldiers had been promised land when they returned from battle, but when they returned to the Fire Nation the land had been taken and they had nowhere to live. So, they themselves were angry at the government and were pleased to hear about their friend's rebelliousness.

"They went to the Earth Kingdom, and, with these new recruits, Chu and Yeng began to change their strategy. From raids, they soon began to attack the camps in the dead of night. In the first mission, which was to kill the komodo rhinos the Fire Nation soldiers often used, Yeng Ye Ling was killed. Horrified and angered by the murder of his son, Chu went on a killing spree.

"It took a year for him to calm down enough. By this time, Yeng's friends had gathered more recruits; other soldiers who had been treated wrongly by the government and who felt the war was wrong. Feeling that his rebellion was in good hands, Chu left the Earth Kingdom to return to the Fire Nation, where he met with his wife. They moved to the Fire Nation Capitol, and in their travels, Chu began to grow his Rebellion."

Taka's father paused here, glancing at the group. "Have I lost you yet?"

[reed]

Reed just took a seat next to Jialing as Taka's father began to explain. Fire Nation rebellion, huh? How is it that possible? All fire nation were the same. That's how they were taught, and that's how they were raised! But as much as Reed listened to the tale, the more he couldn't stop listening. He looked over to Jialing; she was listening too, in her own Jialing way...

"Have i lost you yet?"

Taka's father asked them. Reed was the first to speak out. "So let me get this: This guy just happens to realize what the fire nation's doing to the rest of the world and goes off to right his wrongs against all that he was raised to believe and taught;Takes his son too ..And now it's still making progress..even out here... in the middle of nowhere-Tachi-Dai...." He paused to let an answer get by..

To Reed this was like a dream. He had always wished that there would be a rebellion and he'd get to make plans and go on missions to stop the fire nation. When he was a kid he'd stay up countless nights and plan out attacks and secret missions. and all this time it was just there?? Right under his nose!? Reed sighed and nodded with a crooked grin plastered on his face.

"Yeah.. I follow."

[jialingjin]

"...Sure a Rebellion forged by a former Fire Nation General makes perfect sense! Totally! And the fact that you're telling all of this to two beggars who could give less than two shakes of a moose-lion's tail about the war and just want to make a living..." Jialing gave a cheeky grin, flashing twin thumbs-up signs as she leaned back in her wooden tavern chair, kicking her feet up on the table. "Makes perfect sense."

She tilted her head to the side, narrow her muddy, angular eyes as she looked up at the large man who could probably snap her stick-frame in half. To be quiet honest.. Fire Nation or not, Jialing would have probably harassed Yasu a little bit more and then left them alone. What did she have to gain from the war? A little notoriety? The weaver of the Xiangs did not need to get herself involved in the war more than she already had.. fraternizing with soldiers on both sides if you caught her drift. She drew back her hands, dropping the thumbs up and crossing her arms across her less than impressive chest. Tilting her head down, Jialing lifted one of her eyebrows, rocking on the two back legs of her chair.

"Please, by all means.. continue."

Jin rolled his eyes at his mistress's spark of sarcastic fire that had gotten them in trouble before.

[yasu]

Taka's father blinked at the young woman's cheekiness and obvious love of sarcasm. Any more of her talk and he would probably have thrown a shoe at her, or perhaps the nearest chair. But he turned his attention away from the girl to listen to the young man, who seemed curious enough.

"So let me get this: This guy just happens to realize what the fire nation's doing to the rest of the world and goes off to right his wrongs against all that he was raised to believe and taught;Takes his son too ..And now it's still making progress..even out here... in the middle of nowhere-Tachi-Dai...."

"Like I said, we don't know much about him. None of the Rebels do... not even the division leaders...all except one of course, but that's a different story, I believe, and not one for me to tell..." at this, his gaze turned to Yasu and his son, and Yasu had a chilling feeling run down her spine.

He doesn't know, no one knows...do they? Does he? Why'd he look at me? Oh, spirits, he must know! While Yasu's brain went into overdrive from the sudden realization that Taka's father might have known about her mother's affair, he continued by turning his gaze back to Reed and Jailing.

"He chose the town because it was virtually removed from the map; crossed out, wiped out, elimenated. It would not be so so out of the ordinary for the remaining survivors to try to rebuild the city, and maybe along the way pick up a few un-suspicious travelers," at this, the corner of his mouth twitched as if holding back a chuckle to an old joke, but he continued as soon as he had stopped, "These travelers brought with them new hope, and the hope helped the villagers build their city with ferveronce. Let us not put aside, however, the generous donations Chu sent over seas to help in the rebuilding. So the city grew, and because we were in debt to the man, we agreed to allowing the Rebellion to hide here."

He blinked, as if remembering himself and after a few moments of backtracking, he remembered where he had left off originally. "Now, back to the original story, if you don't mind.

"Once Chu arrived at the Fire Nation capitol, he spent no second without building a sort of fort, a secret base, and the most powerful sect of the whole Rebellion. There, he stays today, the personal leader of the sect, watching over everything that happens. I can't say that the Rebellion has necessarily grown...let's just say it isn't as fast as a tree." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"It's understandable that you would not believe this. Sometimes, not even I can believe a decorated general would turn his back on his nation to start up a rebellious force. But then I look around and I realize: Only that sort of man, so removed from the world, with a vast amount of military and tactical training, could make something so wide-spread."

And he grinned again and he laughed loudly, so booming that it made Yasu Al jump in surprise. "Of course, it is a secret Rebellion and these two will have to be punished." He said this with a smile, but it was directed to Yasu and Taka and made her bow her head in sudden embarassed shame.

[taka]

As his father spoke, Taka listened intently. A lot of this was stuff that he had forgotten, or else never heard. It was all interesting, so he listened to it as well as he could. Some of it was fairly far fetched, but he knew it had to be true. He was fighting for them, after all.

Yasu jumped once or twice during the little speech. Taka scooted closer to her when she did, nudging her a little to see if she was alright, but she seemed not to notice. After the speech, however, Taka's father said that he and Yasu would have to be punished. Taka hung his head in shame. The punishment wasn't going to be great. He hoped that he'd at least get the same punishment as Yasu Al.

He felt his hand wrap around Yasu, which was extremely stupid at the moment. When he realized what he'd done, he immediately retracted it, flushing red. He'd just been so close, and his brain hadn't been working-... he couldn't believe he'd just done that. But nobody had been looking, so he was pretty sure he was safe. Except for with Yasu. He grinned sheepishly at her. "Sorry... I-uh..." He couldn't think of anything else to whisper.

[jialingjin]

Jialing leaned forward to the table, folding her elbows across the table as she inclined her head to the side and towards the older man with the gruff voice. She lifted one eyebrow, then the other, then both them as she looked to Taka and Yasu, then to Reed then back to the man. She extended a dirty hand towards the man.

"Look.. I've been around the Flamin' Fire Flakes stand enough if you what I mean to be able to just walk into the nearest Fire Nation encampment advertising my goods and spill the whole beans on this operation. I'd rather not so could ya please refrain from punishing those two?" She curled her fingers together and jerked a thumb at the two who appeared to be slightly shaking in their boots. She again lifted her eyebrows, in a wagering mood with the man. "Reed and I.. well he owes me and his ship kinda went kaput in that nasty little storm off the coast of Kei Lan, and me? Well I'm doing the thing every teenage girl is doing right now and seeking adventure. So.. You need some hired hands?"

Obviously.. selling herself was NOT Jialing's strong point, ironically. She leaned back, kicking one foot up on the table, a smug look crossing her face. A smudge of dirt rested on her nose and her hair had a few twigs in it. Really.. Who couldn't take her serious? ..A BAD!roach perhaps.

[taka]

Taka's father glared at the young woman's dare to his 'secret Rebellion'. She was certainly headstrong, to think that she could march in and tell him what to do. He was about to go on a long monologue to scare her off of that path, before she again said something- she and Reed would be offered to help the Rebellion. He raised an eyebrow. She didn't look strong, and despite the bow and arrows on her back, there was nothing special about her. Twigs in her hair? Why should he trust her? He had no idea. Added to that that the boy looked like a walking disaster area, and he had no reason to trust either of them.

He glared at her. "Listen to me young lady. First off, you know that this is a life threatening service? We don't exactly give out easy missions." He turned away a moment. "Even the most routine mission can cost you dearly." He remembered that well... his leg-... a story for another time.

He turned back. "Second. What have you to offer us? Battle skill? I suppose your dog would do nicely as a guide, or a tracking dog..." He looked her and the boy over again. "But otherwise you don't seem particularly outstanding at all."

He already had a decision made, however. He had little choice- his hand was being forced. If he let them go, it would set a precedent. Normally, the people would either be killed, or forced into the Rebellion if they found out. He turned away once more, looking through a window. Nobody spoke, and then he turned back.

"One more thing."

He would have to accept them into the fold. If he didn't, they'd simply run off, or they'd do something stupid, and spill the secrets. Hopefully, they'd function well.

But one more thing.

He turned back glaring menacingly. "Don't ever threaten me again, or I'll have you assigned to the most dangerous, deadly mission you can imagine. Understand, Jia?" He hadn't said it directly, but it was quite obvious that he'd just accepted them in. Taka's head popped up in surprise. This had never happened before, and he was a bit excited. Two new members! He actually felt a little upbeat for a moment, before remembering he was about to be punished severely, so he sighed silently and looked down again.

[jialingjin]

She lifted her eyebrows, a spark popping into both of her umber colored eyes. Through the frizzy hair of her head, encircling her hair in crimped waves that seemed to defy gravity or simply were greasy enough to stay put, her lips slowly curled into a grin as the man spoke. OhHoHo.. So high and mighty was he?

No, Jialing wasn't strong, and her aim was so bad you had to be standing behind her to get hit. Jin wasn't trained for anything useful other than simply living with Jialing. No, Jia had little to offer except perhaps inner knowledge of Fire Nation encampments due to her trysts. Hey a girl had to make a living. She wasn't anything but ordinary, and certainly Reed wasn't, the big dummy. She knew this part of the Earth Kingdom well, but she had just wandered around with no goal. Reed's boat was trashed, and they had nothing but their feet to carry them. They were essentially worthless.

But she followed him with her eyes, narrowed as she gave a cheeky grin, her nose wrinkling. She unlinked her hands from behind her head, lowering her arms to the table. She placed her dirty palms on the table, the wrappings on her lower arms needing tightened again as they slumped around her wrists. Absolutely filthy, they were still soaking wet, like her clothes, from the rain even though her hair had dried already. Having kicked her feet off, the rabbit-fur lined boots quite possibly the most expensive thing she had aside from the ostrich hose harness she wore, hacked to pieces to fit, and the bow, Jialing leaned forward into her chair and rose up.

She lifted her head to be eye to eye with him, nothing but adolescent stupidity and arrogance on her face. For a moment, a mere second, she dropped her eyes, opening her mouth just a little bit as her tongue flicked out to wet her lips. She then lifted her eyes, her lips spreading into a cheshire grin as she tilted her head, her eyes not leaving his. "I double dog dare you.."

Yeah. She was in. She spoke not with the threatening tone used before, but with a tone of cheeky confidence, a tone of bribing. A tone that screamed 'Bring it!'. Jialing was ready for a new adventure. Anything but Spirit Damned weaving.

[reed]

Reed pinched the arch of his nose as Jialing spoke. When she disrespected someone, he was always going to be along for the ride. He paused as he removed his hand. Of course, danger, adventure, risks, adrenalin rushes; these were all something he actually wanted right about now. Taka’s father looked like he was about to implode and Jialing wasn’t helping out with that very much. Reed let out a quiet chuckle as he stood closely behind Jialing for support. He could have sworn some of her crazy, recklessness was rubbing off on him. Although, he was sure that everyone was aware of that.

“Actually doesn’t sound too bad,” Reed said grinning ear to ear, “Too good for a rain check, I’ll admit.” He looked over to Jialing and nudged her elbow and whispered, “So this is how you plan on spending your glory days,” He finished smugly.