Dusk and Dawn <Earth Kingdom>

[gandalan]

Hibiki was in a daze, to say the least.

The day had started out normally. He had been forced out of his cage, and told to see how to expand a tunnel. He had, of course, had his friend Arai go along with him- he always did. But this morning did not seem to be kind to him. The tunnel ahead was extremely unstable. To tunnel near it was to doom the workers below it. The overseer was most displeased, and threatened Hibiki with a beating and no food the rest of the week if he couldn't solve it. Hibiki, had of course, checked again, but had found absolutely no way through to the new area that wouldn't cause a cave in.

The overseer seemed to relent a moment, and asked if it could be done from outside the mine- an entirely new tunnel. Hibiki had nervously admitted that that possibility might work. The overseer then ordered out 6 guards to make sure he didn't try anything foolish. Hibiki was, at this point, totally nerve-wracked. He had no idea what to do. If it couldn't be done, he was as good as dead- or he'd wish he was. But if he could, then what? Years and years of more digging.

And then something had happened which wasn't in the cards at all.

A girl had arrived from nowhere, and somehow, with a bow and a gigantic dog, dispatched or scattered the guards. She'd called to him to come. He had been scared at first, but when she glared at him, he saw he had no choice. He didn't know what was going on, but he didn't have a choice in the matter.

And now he trudged along beside her. He didn't know who she was, or what she and her dog were doing there. He was rather afraid of her, since he wasn't sure whether she was a saviour or some kind of a slaver. He was also torn, because the guards had told him that if he ran, his mother would be executed as punishment. He hoped that they took this as something else- he hadn't had a choice.

As they padded along through the mountainside forest, Hibiki gulped. "Uhm... uhm..." He gathered up the courage it took to ask the simple question. "Wh-who are you?" He was that scared, that frightened. He continued padding along beside her, his dirty hair swinging around behind him in its ponytail.

[jialingjin]

She jogged briskly through the woods, sweat pouring down her forehead as her heart thudded in her chest. Just minutes ago, Xiang Jialing had crept into the mining camp after a week's worth of scouting out the small village built on the side of a mountain. Her bow had been strapped to her back, Jin at her heels as she sat above the ground, nestled into a Tree. She was aware of the changes in the mining operations.. a new area stable enough had to be found outside of the current complex.. An earth bender would be sent with a escort to test the surrounding areas for stability. The last thing they needed was a collapse that would threaten the town.

Jialing had watched carefully, wandering into town and then from her tree perches. The damn Rebellion had given her nothing but BAD!ty missions since taking in her and Reed. They had been put through a ton of 'training', if that's what it could be called. Together, the two made a fairly.. okay.. ..pathetic team. Jialing's aim had barely been improved and to be quiet honest, Jin was the worst attack dog the Rebellion had seen. Yet, Something.. perhaps Jialing's giant mouth, kept them in.

This mission, was a simple scouting mission. Go in, see how deeply the Fire Nation rooted the Fire Nation was in this area. Of coruse they had neglected to tell the two eager 'children' that this area was barely worth covering. Lacking in any natural resources save for the metals and coal inside the mines, the Fire Nation had left this area fairly peaceful. The Earth Kingdom too didn't seem to give much care towards this area, having been forced from it years ago. Now Jialing wanted to make a name for herself in the Rebellion, to get them a little recognition. She wasn't earning anything and other than being given a small bit of coin to travel on and stuff, she felt jipped. Badly.

So when she caught sight of the escort, 2 guards and 1 slave heading out, She trailed them above in the trees while Jin kept to their trail on the ground. Amazingly, by some grace of the spirits, they weren't caught. A bird's whistle and Jin was on them like moss on a rock. The golden colored dog appeared like a ghost, fur raised all along his body like an electrical current had been run through him. His head bristled as he kept it low, raising his black-colored lips in a fierce growl. Looking much like a golden wolf, he had put the surprise on the guards who drew their swords. It was now that Jialing strung her bow, the oiled wood bending easily now that she had the proper means to care for it and its string. Her aim was still not a threat, unless she happened to be aiming not at you. The law of Physics rarely applied.

Between the two of them, Jin and Jialing's horrible aim, they had managed to scare off one guard, and knock one out via a mis-judged arrow to the temple of his helmet. The young woman then had swung down from the tree, grabbing the slave by his shoulders and with a shout, she told him and the dog to run. He had first resisted, but a quick swipe to the back of his head to get him running and a glare from those sharp eyes sent him running.

Why had Jialing grabbed him? Who the hell knew? Perhaps having an inside would give her and Reed enough credence to launch a full out operation to free up this town. Honestly though, it'd be a bad idea, given that they were smack down in the middle of Fire Nation annexed land. They had run away from the village at breakneck speed, Jin leading the way back to the far-off camp where Reed was waiting his shift. Now jogging, she hoped he would have dinner ready as her stomach growled. Her pale taupe hair was copper in the shadows of the sunset, her mud-colored eyes narrowed as she kept her nose wrinkled in determination. God, she was soaking her feet after this...
Her thoughts of a home-made spa treatment were cut short however by the impish kid's voice, and she turned towards him. Her upper lip sneered unpleasantly, and she tried to roll her eyes at him but the bouncing didn't help. "It's Jia." She said, short and sweet.

[gandalan]

'Jia' didn't seem in the mood to give him answers that he could understand. He had her name, but that was never what one wanted when you asked 'who are you?'. 'What's your name?' would be the way to ask THAT question to get that answer. 'Who are you?' was a much more important question, one more in depth. What do you do, what drives you, why are you here... those questions were all encompassed. Though Hibiki lacked the words to express this, he knew it, and was frustrated by her apparent apathetic attitude towards him. He was absolutely spent. Malnourished, he had come to the end of his energy. He couldn't run anymore. He gasped, helplessly stopping, slowing to a walk. He was frightened that she would keep going, running on without him. He didn't want to be left behind!

"W-wait!..." He gasped out the words, as he stopped, and put his hands on his knees to support himself. The ground was dry here, with the piney trees jutting out from the mountainside at strange angles, grass growing here and there. Far off, a river could be heard. But though Hibiki was at peace here, his life was in the midst of great change.

His old life as a slave had been cast off. His new life... whatever it was... had dawned. What would be become? What would he do? Where would he go? Those things were to be answered... but he had a new life, thanks to this woman.

He didn't want to be left behind.

He looked up, his hands still on his knees, a pained expresion on his face. "Please... I can't run anymore..." He was still gasping for breath, as he rested a moment.

[reed]

Reed sat cross legged a few steps in front of the fire pit, prodding the burnt pieces of wood around with an average sized stick. Over the fire pit was a medium sized pot filled with the stew he was making. Earlier in the day, before Jia and Jin had left, Jin had brought a floppy-eared rabbit he had caught back to camp so he had decided to use it for dinner.

He was hunched over with his elbow resting on his knees and his cheek on his knuckles looking like he was deep in thought, only to be the farthest from it. With his free hand, Reed stirred the stew with a large wooden spoon. It had a very subtle aroma though you could smell the spices just as well. Although Reed wasn’t the best cook, he could at least make something so he wouldn’t die of hunger.

The teen soon placed the lid back on the pot as the left over ember from the fire kept it warm. It would be a little while longer until it was ready. Reed scooted back until his shoulders were leaning against one of the logs surrounding the fire. “How come I got stuck at camp?” He thought out loud closing his eyes. He relived this afternoon when Jialing had outsmarted him with a loophole in a vigorous argument. She could always do that.

Chirp.

Reed opened his eyes.

Chirp… Chirp-Chirp.

Reed opened his eyes and looked to his right and saw a small sparrow like bird next to him. “You must know how this feels, huh? Being stuck in a nest when the rest of the birds fly away?”

The bird stared and tipped its head. …..Chirp.

“And you have no idea what I’m saying..!” Reed said rolling his eyes at his stupidity.

Chirp- Chirp.

Reed looked at the bird and paused. “Chirp….Chirrrrp…….Oh, jeez, now I’m talking to a BIRD!” He said throwing his hands in the air scaring the small woodland creature away. Reed grabbed his sword. He pulled a rag out of his pocket and started to polish it. “Friggin’ birds.. -You piece…-can’t do it…- nothing!” He mumbled as he awaited the return of his team.

[jialingjin]

Jogging a few feet ahead of him, Jin was the first to stop despite being further ahead of the two humans. The large dog, his shoulders reached most everybody's waist, slowed and glanced back at them. He paused for a moment, dark brown eyes glancing to his mistress, then to the wheezing, thin boy who was trailing behind. His thick eyebrows moved in curiosity and questioning before the large dog came bounding back down the path. His long limbs had him moving quickly, and he breezed past Jialing with her ruddy hair and to the boy's side. Jin could almost look him in the eye when he bent over,and the patient dog lowered his excited tale, giving off a calming air as he pressed his body into the young boy's legs in an effort to stabilize him, to give him something to lean on.

The dog may have had a kind heart, but as Jialing stopped and glanced back over her shoulder, she could nothing but scoff and roll her eyes. Good Lord. Her boots stopped their rhythmic beat as she reached the crest of a little rise that fell off to a sheer face on one side. She dropped her head, breathing hard herself as she placed her long-fingered hands on her hips. She took a breather for herself, then lifted her face towards him. Her hair was wild and it danced around her face, long like a ostrich-horse's but with eyes that pierced like a wildcats. They were narrow, rectangular in shape and famed by dark lashes. Her nose was flat and sharp, flanked by high, flat cheekbones. A frown graced her lips, her upper lip overshadowing her lower lip with a slight twitch.

She tilted her head into the corner of her raised collar, as she walked down the rise towards him, She curved her back back, balancing her center of gravity as she walked the path. She kicked her feet out with each step, hovering an extra moment longer in the air to emphasis the silly little gait. "..Fine." She said snappily in an annoyed tone. "We'll sit for 15 minutes... then we gotta get to camp. There will be food there and Reed and I can discuss more of what we're going to do about that village."

[reed]

The air was thick and warm next to the fire. The day was slowly but surely getting shorter. The stew was still simmering as the fire cracked sending sparks into the air. Reed used his time alone to get some of the chores done, though there weren't many he could handle. He dusted off all of the blankets and collected more sticks to keep the fire going. He even found a couple moon-peaches from a tree when he was searching for a river to fill the canteens.

Fire going, clean weapons, water, food, shelter; yep, he’d got it all. Reed wiped the sweat on his forehead with the back of his hand. His hair had grew more hanging more so in his eyes than before. He’d even gotten more tanned and toned. His life had basically fully changed since he met Jialing and Jin. He let out a sharp exhale/chuckle. Jialing always had a way of making him do something he would normally never think of. Running off into the woods without means of preparation, reeking havoc amongst villagers, getting into all sorts of trouble; it was only then the day started to feel normal. When she was around, he didn’t need anything else to think about, hell, he couldn’t think of anything without a mental voice of her interrupting it. She was crazy! She did anything, anytime, anywhere! And she was rude and snarky, to say the least….

But one thing was for certain. The girl was unique. The girl was herself. The girl was a free spirit.

And the boy had no need to argue.

[gandalan]

The dog seemed to be an extremely intelligent and kind pet. As he desperately gasped for breath, trying to make up for his body's weakness, it came back behind him to give him something to lean on. He looked up in surprise when he felt it back there, but when he realized who it was, he smiled wanly and gave it a few pets on his head, hoping that it would know he was thankful. He sighed. They hadn't had pets back in Tsumei. This was another new experience.

The girl was much less forgiving. She glared at him again, her hands on her hips. "..Fine." She seemed more annoyed than anything. "We'll sit for 15 minutes... then we gotta get to camp. There will be food there and Reed and I can discuss more of what we're going to do about that village."

Reed? Must have been another one like her. He couldn't tell what kind of name it was, it seemed like it could go either way on the gender scale. He didn't really have the brain strength (due to his fatigue) to worry about something that seemed trivial. In any case, he'd meet him soon.

However, the second part of the sentence caught ahold of his attention like a light does to bugs at night. 'Do about that village'? He could hardly hope, but...

He looked up, his face ecstatic even though he kept gasping. "Are you... gonna... rescue us?" The thought that he could be free with his friends again, that he could plow up the earth like his father taught him, live off the land in a peaceful time... it seemed too good to be true.

And maybe it was. He hoped not, but maybe it was. He sat there, still leaning back onto Jin a little, trying to catch his breath, watching Jialing for her response.

[jialingjin]

Her long lanky legs kicked out as she walked down the rise, letting her feet hang in the air before swinging them down. Her hands went to her bony hips, sitting just at the wrapped sash around her waist. Her forearms bore their usual wrappings, torn, muddy and absolutely a wreck. Infact, much of her pallor skin bore smudges of mud, caked on dirt, even a spot right on her nose that probably came from the back of her hand. Jialing tilted her head to the side as she eyeballed the weakling with her narrow eyes, her lips curved downward in a disapproving frown or grimace.

She closed her eyes and opened her big mouth wide. "Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaybe." She stretched out the world, ending it with a self-satisfactory shrug of her shoulders. Crimpled tendrils of hair danced around her long face, clinging to her sweat covered forehead and cheeks. She kicked at a small rock, sending it bouncing down the path they had been running up. Jin raised his head and followed the bouncing stone with his dark eyes, his youthful face turning back to his Mistress whom he was slowly plotting to off one day. Or so Jialing thought that's what she saw in those soulful eyes. The girl stopped in front of the boy and crossed her arms across her chest, arcing her back as she stood and looked down her long nose at him. "If we get backup.. but that's where you come in. The Rebellion will need someone's testimony and information before they can risk manpower."

She let her sentence die there. She wanted to keep this short and sweet. They had to MOVE! The Fire Nation could be tracking them and they had barely made 2 or three miles.. Camp was another hour away and Jialing was hungry. She directed her eyes away from the kid, her thoughts wandering back to her partner Reed. Ever since essentially falling into the Rebellion they had been unseperatable. He was able to take her barbs and on the rare occasion, throw them back and given the few months they had spent together now.. he was getting better. The corner of her lip curled up in a half smile at her thoughts.

[reed]

Reed yawned. He soon looked up to the hot sun and counted down the hands to nightfall. It was only about two hours away. "What is taking her so long?" He asked himself aloud. She had left more than a few hours ago on this scouting mission she said she could "handle herself and a couple fire nation baddies." No doubt Reed believed her, though.

Reed got up and started to pace. What if she got hurt… or... What if she’s in prison someone…or what if-” “-GAH. Am I PACING!?” He yelled in frustration halting to a stop. The birds from the trees around him descended into the sky. He laughed as he took his spot back by the fire, “ Who am I kidding? This is Jialing, no way she’d allow herself to get caught!” He said closing his eyes again and stretching his arms. ….I’ll just go look for her if she’s not back in an hour. Oh, how the boy wished he was still pacing.

[gandalan]

The woman was so cruel! Maybe? What kind of answer was that? Hibiki's face fell as he realized she probably wouldn't be able to help. He was still confused by the rest of the sentence, though. Rebellion? What Rebellion? The Fire Nation controlled the vast majority of the Earth Nation. What kind of Rebellion could they possibly mount? He sighed as he stood up fully, patting Jin some more. "Rebellion...?"

He sighed, thinking of what was going to happen now. She was apparently going to take him to the leaders of this 'Rebellion' and have him... testify?... to the troubles his village was facing. He was actually a little angered very deep within. Testify? They were slaves! Why he should have to 'testify' about that? Why should he have to vouch for a village when it was obviously in trouble? Shouldn't they just come and help them? What kind of a Rebellion picked and chose their battles?

But his great fear overrode his anger. He didn't know what to think about this girl. She seemed so distant from him, like she didn't care. Apparently, this Rebellion wouldn't be much different. Which meant his hopes were quite false.

[jialingjin]

She gave him a few more moments of silence.. relish in it boy, it ain't going to stay. Then, she flipped up the wrist, glancing down at something, perhaps it was a freckle past noon, who know but she lifted her head. "Hop to. Break's over." She commanded in a barking tone, dropping her arms down her side. "Reed'll feed you when we get there." She turned on her heel. She wore knee-high boots that were made of some sort of animal hide, and the inside and the edges were lined with grey rabbit's fur. Quiet possibly the most expensive part of her outfit, they were well worn, the lacing up the front mismatched while patches of the hide had been stripped of their soft suede-like fur. Tucked into the boots were rather plain pants, or pantaloons judging by their size, french beige in colored and stained with Spirits knew what. It looked like she had fought a pentapus and lost. A roughed up tunic of myrtle was worn over her torso, the 'skirt' split up the sides and the waist bound with a goldenrod colored shash and what appeared to be a fishing net. Sleeveless, it had a high collar that was trimmed in worn-away gold embroidery. Apparently she wore a shirt under it, the edge of the shoulders poking out of the vest.

Jialing shifted her weight to one foot as she stood, looking up the rise. A few more feet, they'd crest it and start heading down. Thank the spirits. She threw one foot back, grasping it in her hands as she stretched her thigh out. A few moments of awkward balancing on one foot and she switched, repeating it. "He's a good cook." She said rather quietly, the edging bite out of her voice for once as she set her mouth in a mild frown, a distant look coming over her eyes. She sighed out through her nose and threw her leg down. A hop, another hop and she broke into a jog.

[reed]

Reed checked on the stew again. There really wasn’t much to do after what he had done. Reed lifted the lid and breathed in the delectable scent. He had already added most of the main ingredients like, potatoes, beans, spices, carrots, onions, the meat, as well as some rum he had taken from the rebellion base before they had left. Of course, not enough to get anyone drunk or even tipsy, it gave it a good flavor. Reed pulled out his pocket knife and sliced in some leeks and a few pinches of sea salt. Perhaps he would make something else to accompany his stew. There really wasn’t else much he could make without cutting into the team reserve food.

Reed got up and stretched. He was hungry, but he knew he should wait for Jia and Jin to return. Reed started to wipe the wooden spoons and bowl clean of debris.

[gandalan]

She ignored his question, apparently. He sighed. This was a rescue, so he was thankful, but he wanted to go free his friends. Maybe it was impossible? The Rebellion wasn't strong enough? Maybe that's why he had to go testify? He was young, so he slowly reasoned through to the point that he figured out that a Rebellion probably didn't have the resources to just go and rescue somebody. He sighed. He was too fast to judge, even if he didn't act on his judgements.

"Hop to. Break's over. Reed'll feed you when we get there."

Apparently, it was time to go running again. Hibiki started running again, this time, trying to pace himself. He had to keep up with this woman. He made it up the incline easier than the woman did, using only the tips of his feet- he knew how to do this from years of being in the mountains. His body was nearly horizontal with the ground as he ran. He was really having to exert himself to do this, however, because of his condition.

After they began going downhill, he began to get tired again. How much farther was it to camp? He couldn't believe this woman's stamina. She had kept running for... it must have been nearly 4 miles now. He couldn't do that so easily. However, a smell soon came to his nose... he began to drool a little. Was that the smell of MEAT? REAL MEAT? It smelled like a broth... stew? Was THAT the camp? He quicked his pace, beginning to feel the hunger he'd carried with him all this time. He ran towards the smell, suddenly darting in front of the woman, as if the stew wouldn't be there if he didn't get there fast enough.

They had arrived.

[jialingjin]

Shifting her weight back, her jog turned into a loopsided sort of skip/run down the grade of the hill. The camp they had made was nestled in a small ravine, their sleeping bags tucked under a outcropping of rock while the fire flickered and danced some ways away. The smell of meat floated through the trees and around them. Reed must have started on a meal.. man the boy had good timing.
"Oy! Reed!" Jia cried over the sounds of the forest, of birds chriping and the rustling of leaves as squirrels leapt from tree to tree, frightened off by the two stumbling down. Jia skipped along the ground, leaping from foot to foot with her arms strung out to her sides for balancing, flapping like a bird almost. The large dog raced ahead of her, letting gravity pull him down the hill at a break neck speed practically. He dashed out from the trees like a golden bullet, galloping past Reed as he ran towards the river that ran on the other side of their encampment. He made a wide arc, turning away from the water with just a small splash to wet his feet and get mud on them. After all.. he had to attempt a flying tackle leap at Reed, who had gotten good at dodging them.

Jia meanwhile jumped from a small edge, throwing her heels up in the air as she reached behind herself to catch them for a moment before attempting a landing. It really was amazing how the girl didn't end up with a broken neck yet. She crashed to the ground, her knees and ankles giving way like they usually did as she essentially rolled forward and skidded along the ground. However, despite the fact that her foot was now up around her elbow, the young woman popped up and threw back her head, grumbling about always missing that jump.

[reed]

Reed looked up from the cloth in his hand (that was cleaning the bowls) and around to his left past the fire as he heard multiple, fast paced, footsteps. Before he could stand a small, Jin blasted by him at full speed, heading to the river. Followed by Jia and an odd gangly boy, who looked eleven or twelve. Reed got up and set the wooden bowls down.

"Welcome back, Jia." He said walking over to ask about what had happened and why there was a kid with her. "Haha, somethings never change," He said walking over to offer her a hand up. He paused. Something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. "Oh, no, no,no - JINNNN! " He yelled as the large canine dove onto him sending him colliding with the ground. Jin licked his face multiple times after splattering him with mud. "Jin-! Jin-! Hey-!! Get-! Down, boy-! DOWWNNN-!" Reed tried to say as Jin flippantly hopped off him.

Reed was covered in muddy-water paw prints as well as dirt specks lining the right side of his face. So, basically, his clothes matched Jialing's. Reed stood up and tried to dust himself off. "Jin! Ah, why ya got to do that???" Reed shook his hair, much like Jin would and walked over to the fire.

"well, I'm just gonna let you start, Jia, cause I don't know where to begin."