The Performance! <Zhy, Earth Kingdom>

[blackcrow]

The older twin, just by a few minutes, paused. His hand reached and grabbed his brother's arm gently, and slowly, a impish grin spread onto his face. Li-Wu tilted his head downward somewhat, letting shadows cross his golden colored eyes, his high cheekbones, his peach colored lips which were those of the devil. Oiled stands of ebon hair fell forward next to his face, arcing back over his shoulders and down his back. Gravity pulled a few loose, which swung gently.
Yes.. It was time. His lips parted into a smile, and the elder twin rocketed forward through the crowd. Perfect, Auina.. perfect. She had done everything according to plan, gotten into the middle of town square. A large enough area was laid out here for them to work. The acts and shops on the edge ensured that people stayed here, and at the silent, preplanned signal, the vendors and performers rushed forward, directing the crowd back who did not have a clue what was happening. This was all planned.

His hand rose to his throat, unsecuring the golden clasp that held the cloak closed at his neck. In the sudden breeze, it flew off his back, revealing a body honed by Fire Bending Training and Rough Housing with his brother. Bai-Wu could be seen leaping sideways behind Li-Wu to grab the cloak in mid-air, rolling as he landed and popping back up to help usher people back. Li-Wu skidded to a stop infront of Auina, his bare feet kicking up dirt. His torso turned downwards, dragging one hand across the ground as he came a stop. Dark strands of his hair had fallen across his face, delicate threads across his face, the goldenrod and rolled bandanna wrapped around his forehead doing little to keep it out of his face. He looked up with golden eyes at her through his hair, pure excitement on his face. Ah.. Auina. Such a wonderful little toy.

His free hand appeared under his chest, finger curled upward as the muscles tensed. With a heavy breath outward, flames erupted in his hand, licking the air with their orange flames, the yellow center dancing around his palm. He felt the urge to whisper.. and why the hell not. "Hello Auina dear.." And then, He twisted his torso forward, swinging his hand forward in up in a uppercut. His feet twisted at the ankle, acting like coils to lift his body up following the flame. The light from the fire reflected back on his bare torso stretched out in the dark night as a vertical arc of flames flew towards the earth bender. His opponent.

[gijoespouse]

It was show time. As the cloak fluttered in the air, Auina was drawing in a deep breath, centering herself. A breeze kicked through as Li-Wu came to skidding halt before her, rustling the mahogany braids that restrained her tresses. A wave of excitement rolled through her, as it did everytime she performed. This...this was different though. She was performing with him...with Li...

"Hello Auina dear..."

...that audacious-

Whatever thoughts that might've run through her head about the twins' daring taunt was wiped away as an arc of flames was sent her way, threatening to literally scorch her from head to toe. With no effort whatsoever, the acrobat was cartwheeling to the side, legs gracefully rising above her...and carrying her safely away from the flames. They still, however, were close enough to draw gasps from the crowd.

As the earthbenders caloused feet touched the ground, she was already shifting into a low horse stance. Her joints screamed in protest, but Auina kept a straight face. She had to make it through the performance, and then she could take it easy...

"Arrogant firebender," Auina responded, words well rehearsed...though they still felt foreign to her...

A subtle shift in her footing sent a fissure in the ground racing towards Li-Wu's feet, seeking to force him to lose his grounding.

[blackcrow]

Li-Wu had to admire the earthbender's skills as she cartwheeled out of the way, right on cue. Everything was going smoothly. His feet landed from his leaping arc, his toes just barely touching the ground before that ripple broke through the ground, shifting one half of the ground upwards. Oo, Careful Auina, he thought teasingly as he threw her a glance through his dark lashes. The energy that rocketed through the earth was transferred to his feet and legs, allowing the fire bender to plant his feet firmly on the ground for a moment.

Then he arched his back and threw his arms above his head, flipping backwards with a handspring. The sweat was already glistening on his torso under the glowing light from torches and lanterns scattered around the square. His hands hit the ground with force, propelling him back over to land on his feet once more.
He raised his fists to his chest, holding them out defensively as he crossed his feet, stepping to the side with the plan of circling around to Auina.

"Arrogant Fire Bender? And are you any nobler, scum of the earth?" Li-Wu couldn't deny the truth in the arrogance.. he was. He knew it. He added a vicious lick to his tongue on that, already hearing the fierce "Boo"s of the predominately Earth Kingdom crowd. Yeah Yeah.. he was the hated one this night. He and Auina always switched it up depending on the crowd. Suddenly, he thrusted a fist forward, the flames licking at his skin as they gathered around his curled fingers, exploding as his arm reached the end of it's extension and the energy transferred to the fire. Another punch! Another fireball, two in row for Auina to dodge.

[gijoespouse]

Auina's eyes narrowed as the fireballs came her way. She quickly rose form her horse stance, placing all her weight on one leg as she brought her other knee up. As she moved and brought her fists in front of her, a wall of earth rose to intercept the first fireball. It crumbled to pieces as the acrobat dropped down to one knee, her other leg out before her. Her arms rose up quickly and erected another earthen barrier just barely in time to stop the second fireball.

Watch it Li, that was too close...

As the second earth wall crumbled to pieces, the earthbender rose, grim look of determination set on her features. Yes...she was the heroine this night, not the villain or the victim...and she was certainly looking her part at this point.

"Far nobler than any firebender could ever be," she retorted, having to force an edge into her voice.

The acrobat was shifting back into her crane stance, and as her knee rose, a pillar of earth sent the bender rocketing up into the air. Auina wasted no time on her perch though...as she flipped forward and came plummetting down, her fists clenched above her head. As she landed, the bender brought her fists down in a doubled handed strike. The ground beneath her absorbed both the energy form her fall and form the blow...sending out swell of rock at the firebender and causing the ground around her to bow and ripple just a bit.

[blackcrow]

The tremor that rushed through the earth, rippling across the dirt with the few dry blades of grass on it threw the young man up into the air. The carefully rehearsed routine was going fine, but he still found himself caught by surprise by the force Auina put into her punch. The earth seemed to bear the brunt of the punch, increasing it exponentially and then sending the concentrated force at Li-Wu's foot.

The Crowd gasped, murmurs of aw coming from the huddled masses at the very edge. Various Flame Dancers, clad in Rich Reds and Golds, The few bearing the noble colors of their own nations pressed the crowd further back, keeping order as the tremors from Auina's earth bending faded out just before them. Li-Wu's Fire was also heavily controlled, the young man watching it closely to make sure it did not go to far. Of course, Bai-Wu and another Earth bender were among those keeping order, able to redirect or halt anything that broke the boundaries.

Li -Wu again used the earth to lift to himself up and he rode the wave like one would in the ocean, bringing his hands in closer to his center of gravity as he kicked himself into the air, preforming a cartwheel-like spin through the air. His foot gave him the height necessary, as he swung his lower body up into the air, feet tracing an arc of glowing crimson flames across the sky for the pleasure of the viewers. He landed securely and squarely, feet turned outward slightly as his knees bent to absorb the shock, but only for a brief second as turned towards Auina and pulling his fists together in the center of his chest, only to press them outward as he expelled a breath of flame from deep within his chest towards the earth bender. His knees bent once more, lowering him from striking range into a crouch. A Hop back up, as a ring of Fire was released from his feet, the wisps spreading out radially from his bare feet.

[gijoespouse]

The crowd wouldn't be able to see it, but Li-Wu would probably be able to see the worried glance that briefly crossed her features as the rippling earth surged toward the firebender. She had not meant to put that much into the blow. The excited onlookers didn't seem to mind though, as cheers went up among them.

Rein it in a little, Auina...

As Li-Wu turned, the acrobat was bending her knees, flexing her fingers in anticipation for the twin's next attack. It came in the form in a breath of fire. The earthbender moved with catlike grace,throwing herself into a cart wheel that carried her from the searing flames.

Auina felt more than she saw Li's next attack, a circle of flames. She let the cartwheel roll her twice and the instant her hands met the earth again, she brought her legs straight up and used her hands to spin her body. As she did so, a pillar of rock corkscrewed from the ground beneath her, carrying her above Li's attack.

[pamuy]

Sitting amidst the crowd, the mocha-skinned woman in the blue cloak watched the duel of the two benders. Such fine representatives of the art, it was quite a show and an act they carried out. One would expect it to be convincing, knowing their past, but the skill with which they performed was fine indeed. Though never cheering with the audience or laughing aloud, Pamuy's telltale smile told those around her that she was, in fact, amused.

In all honesty, she was glad her act was over and she could finally start to enjoy the night. Hardly was her solo performance a hassle, but it devoted so much of her mind and attention to resist all anxiety that the relief to follow was incomparable. Rare were the times when Pamuy felt like relaxing, considering her normal mindset, but the waterbender treasured the moments when the cares and responsibilities of everyday life were carefully pushed into the background. Moments like these.

[The Lion Turtle]

Xia Feng had walked away from the camp to catch the middle of Auina and Li's conflict of pretence, Tarak's belly saited, frothy milk still apparent between his fat, wet lips, he curled into his mother's fat breasts for sleep and warmth. She cuddled him as she craned her head to see over the crowd to Aunia's and Li's fight. For a moment, she glanced around, and saw Pamuy, one of the waterbenders of their troupe, and she slid up to the other woman.

"So, who's to win this time?" she whispered. She had watched them practise a few times, but never bothered to consentrate on who was supposed to win in which town. She thought it might be Auina's turn, but she didn't exactly have the memory of someone stating it. She was still getting used to the troupe's way of passing through Earth Kingdom- and Fire Nation-controlled territories, and when they had to be more patriotic to one nation or the other.

[pamuy]

Familiar was the voice carrying between the two women. Before turning her head to see and smile politely, she knew it to be that of Xia Feng. A newcomer to the Flame Dancers caravan, Pamuy knew her to be a kind woman who cared for her baby boy. Not the slightest bit like Pamuy's peers in the troupe, who seemed to value revelry as their priority. Even her dear companions Auina and Jaemin were into that sort of thing, even though Pamuy's strong longterm bonds of friendship lessened most tension between them. Still, she was not keen on knowing what they were up to on most nights.

Xia Feng presented a fine question, but Pamuy was certain of how to answer. Tilting her head slightly, eyes drifting between the duel onstage and the young mother herself, she replied; "I believe it will be Auina this time. She told me so herself."

[whitecrow]

Li-wu was cutting he close, he knew it, but he relished in being in Auina's presence. She had grown in quiet the lovely lady since their earlier relationship a number of years ago, during the Twin's flirting stage. Of course, some would argue they were still in the flirting stage.
He grinned as he passed her, she in the middle of a cartwheel away from the flames that came so close to her skin, licking it with heat. This was what made it an interesting fight and kept the crowds cheering.

He could hear them as his hair whipped away from his face, the whale of straight ebon hair flowing up from his scalp. They were cheering the Earth Bender on, booing at the Fire Bender who was beginning to lose his footing. As the Giant earthen pillar rose out of the ground, summoned by Auina's spiritual might. The earth twisted as she rose up on it, cracking the ground under Li's feet and sending him falling backwards. Just as planned of course, he was prepared for the fall, but still nothing could surpass the instinct to catch oneself.

His bare feet kicked up, dirt smeared across his toes and shins, as his spine curled back. His shoulder blades slammed into the dirt, the dried grass and the cracked dried mud. His elbows failed in catching him, slipping out from under his torso. Finally, his head cracked against the ground, illiciting a wince from him. More show than actual pain given how thick the twin's heads were.

Meanwhile, while Li-Wu was getting his but kicked, the golden eyes of Bai-Wu spotted the approach of Miss Feng, with her baby boy clutched against his chest. She came up to Pamuy who was helping with crowd control. The excitable fire bending twin skipped over, around, beside, and through the people crowded. The tall young man popped up next to the girls, wrapping an arm around Pamuy's shoulder as he cooed into her ear.

"Hello Pamuy." And then, he lowered his arm and gave a courtesy nod to Miss Feng. She was still the newest member of the Caravan.. and a Mother at that.. not one of their peerage girls that they could play with. "Hello Miss Feng. Enjoying my Brother getting his arse kicked?"

[The Lion Turtle]

"Very much," Xia Feng replied, a sly little glance sideways at him and a coy little smile on her pink lips. She hitched Tarak up a little more on her shoulder and looked back at the fight. "But of course it's all just play." She didn't know what to do with Bai-Wu right now, and though her heart was fluttering a little, her mood was still blue, especially with him near her. He greeted her so formally, so coolly... not as warm as he had been when she had been travelling with him and his twin alone for a while (well, not alone -- Fukuo-kun was there). But he had greeted Pamuy so much more warmly... maybe she just wasn't apart of the caravan yet.

She sighed. "Right, Mister Wu?" Oh, she'd play the formal game alright... Mister Wu. She had been using his and his brother's given names for a long while. Perhaps a little coolness on her part will get him to warm up a bit.

Then again, perhaps not. And maybe he'd never warm up to her. After all, she was a mother and widow, and he was just a carefree bacholer... just a boy, even. No, perhaps her little crush will remain just that -- a little crush. Just like the little crush she had on another boy, just after Jing died.

Hot tears pricked her eyes but she held them at bay. She had to maintain her dignity in public, but later, under her warm woolen blanket snuggled up with Tarak on her bed of a blanket and straw-stuffed pillow on the ground, she would let her self cry silently. She had been doing that for some nights now, it may have been weeks, and as far as she knew, no one had heard her do it, because she knew someone would have been poking their nose around and asking her if something was wrong if they had heard her. Spirits knew that she always had someone at her elbow making sure she didn't need anything or she didn't need help with the baby. The caravan was certainly kind, but she'd just die of embarassment if anyone asked why she was crying at night.

She sighed again and turned towards Bai-Wu. "Is this the last act of the night?"

[whitecrow]

He leaned forward, one arm still hanging across Pamuy's shoulder as he looked up at Miss Feng's face. He tilted his head at her, neck stretched out as his shoulders angled downward. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah? Mister Wu? The hell? That was most inappropriate for the two brothers who hardly acted their 25 years. He stuck his lower lip out in a pout at the Mother as he looked at her with his mustard colored eyes, eyebrows tuned upward. Well then!
After a quiet 'huff' through his nose, he drew back his neck and staightened, his hand lifting from Pamuy's back. His large hand, calloused from years of quite, simply being a rough and tumble boy, petted her dark, bistre colored hair.
He stepped forward and slipped his arm around Xia's back, in the small of her back. With gentle pressure, he directed her gaze out across the row of viewers in front of them, to the square where Auina was.. simply put.. kicking Li-Wu's butt. He himself stood up on his tiptoes to get a better view of his brother's defeat. It was half as good as kicking him around himself, but the two were so evenly matched that it was difficult to end up with anything other than a draw. "Yes, last act.. Auina will win. After this.. we'll let the crowd dissipate over the course of an hour before some of us come in and start taking stuff down. Should take a few hours."
He turned his narrow face towards her, his sienna colored lips curled into his mischevious grin. "And Tomorrow afternoon.. I have a surprise for you." Juning and Huang had shared Xia's story with many of the other older members of the group, some who had joined because of similar circumstances having lost all their had due to the war. Many of the older members felt for the young mother with a son who had nothing. Xia had been given a tent after her first few weeks with the group. A barrel had been cut into two and turned into a crib for Tarak, supports nailed on to it so it didn't rock. However, they wanted to do something more to provide for the family. And Juning had given that task to Bai-wu.

[gijoespouse]

The earthbender couldn't help but feel a tinge of worry as Li-Wu struck the ground. True, it was part of the act, but she couldn't help it. This concern for her family - and yes, despite her attraction to Li, he was like family to her - didn't like to see the twin hurt.

It's just part of the act...calm down, okay?

The bun in which pat of her mahogany shaded hair was held in threatened to come loose as the acrobat remained in her handstand for a moment, the braids which her remaining tresses were held falling down about her cheeks. Auina brought her legs back behind her, bowing her back, arching it, as she let her feet touch down on the earthen pillar's top. With one fluid movement, the acrobat straightened, coming stand on her feet. The pillar heaved upward slowly as the bender brought her right knee up, bringing her amrs up to cross over her chest.

This was by far the most dangerous part of the performance. Auina was to bring the pillar down and cause the rock slide it caused to come around Li. The reason why the move was particularly dangerous was because if she lost her concentration, she could accidentally crush him with the rocks, rather than just pin him. The other earthbenders in the audience would make sure that didn't happen...

Auina took a deep breath...then brought her right foot down hard into the rock pillar. It shuddered, shook and looked ready to fall.

Go!

The earthbender brought her arms out to her sides in one sharp motion, sending the pillar crumbling down over Li-Wu. Auina rode the ensuing rockslide as it flowed down to the firebender. Her mind was concentrated on two things: not crushing Li and not loosing her footing.

...on both ends, she was successful, as the rockslide flowed around the twin. When Auina was just a few feet away from the ground, the acrobat pushed off into a flip. Her body twisted in the air and landed in a crouch.

The Earth Kingdom citizens in the crowd were applauding wildly, while the Fire Nation colonists present...well, they weren't exactly cheerful about the outcome at this point, and let their displeasure be known. Their jeers and boos were all but drowned out by the cheers.

[pamuy]

Instinctively, the waterbending Flame Dancer cringed when Bai-Wu first lay his hand on her back. She felt inclined to pick his hand off her back and silently back away, but her discomfort was soon alleviated. Still, the man proved that he needed to grow up. But Bai soon became much more focused on Xia Feng rather than Pamuy herself, praise the spirits. Edging away from the couple, the petite and slender woman continued her task of controlling the crowd. Though unimposing, her notoriously strong will gave her a fair share of clout in the caravan, and could handle a crowd with no trouble at all. But lowering her hands to her front, loosely interlocking her fingers, she observed the mock battle casually.

Auina soon won, but Pamuy merely smiled while the rest of the crowd cheered loudly. Well, most of the crowd. The Fire Nation citizens surely had more to say, but they seemed to express their concern in a more passive-aggressive way. Her sky blue eyes drifting toward a nearby Fire Nation woman, Pamuy saw this fact to be clear. Letting out a sigh, she stayed in the crowd and awaited the next act, which seemed to have escaped her memory at that moment.

[The Lion Turtle]

"Yes, last act.. Auina will win. After this.. we'll let the crowd dissipate over the course of an hour before some of us come in and start taking stuff down. Should take a few hours," Bai-Wu told her. Hours... well, she'd manage. No use whining about something that had to be done.

The Earthbender had trapped the Firebender in a landslide, and the Earth Kingdom people cheered loudly while the Fire Nation colonists booed indignantly. Xia Feng cheered for Auina, too, her hands too full of her son to clap. She smiled for two-fold reasons: one, an Earthbender was kicking a Firebender's rear-end, and two, her did hear Bai-Wu's indignant snort at her calling him "Mister Wu."

"You know, Mister Wu," she said casually, not taking her eyes off Auina and Li's performance, "if you don't want me to call you Mister Wu, then you don't need to call me Miss Feng. Xia Feng or just Xia will do fine. I'm believe I'm a year younger than you, and you make me feel like an old woman!" She drew every ounce of feminine sweetness and politeness her parents had taught her to say with without being condescending, even laughing in what she thought was a charming way at her last few words.

Her eyes flit to Bai-Wu beside her, barely registering that Pamuy was gone. "What sort of surprise?" she asked curiously. Her heart began to thump a little faster now, the blues she had before vanishing temporarily from her mind.