Aimless Voyage <Earth Kingdom>

[jochi]

Without a single warning, Jochi had left, defecting from the Si Wong Desert and the Mogui tribe with the clothes on his back, a jug full of sand at his hip for bending, and a smaller jug that served as a canteen. He was going strong, but had still only left the encampment at dawn that very day. His mood could have been better, but no one would expect anything different from the diminutive fellow. Jochi would do what he wanted, see whatever his heart desired, with no one to tie him down.

Clunking down the dusty dunes, fully swathed with goggles over his eyes, he quite truly had no idea where he was headed. No goal was in sight as the gray-clad sandbender barreled down the path, but his bullheaded nature left him undeterred. Any stranger who happened by would find no acknowledgement, even if they offered a friendly greeting. Yes, Jochi was headed somewhere, but even he wouldn't know where until it was reached. Such was the way of a man so stubborn and proud that he refused any help, but change would possibly rear its head soon enough.

Or not...

[sun]

A mile or so ahead there was a dune, nothing special about it just a lump of sand. Sitting on top of it like a poorly made star on top of a Christmas tree was a mildly annoyed traveler. He was sitting cross-legged in the sand eyeing a poorly drawn map (that he happened to be holding upside down). Growing up south of the desert and having passed through several times one would expect him to consider the ever-changing landscape and realize that the map he drew last time he came through would be useless now. Unfortunately in Suns case, intelligence in no way made up for a complete lack of common sense.

His straw hat was cocked nearly to a right angle to block the occasional gust of sand blown wind and his waist sash was wrapped around his face. Every few seconds he shifted to keep the sand from burying him. His staff, which he had stuck in the land was now a foot lower.

His plan had originally been to pass by Omashu but the fire nations control over it made seem like less of a fun idea. So heading strait south he was now in the dessert.. It sucked.

[jochi]

So close was he to the edge of the desert, but being in another clan's territory didn't phase the sandbender at all. He was far too set on leaving those endless dunes, and he knew by the sun's position that he was heading in the right direction. It was only a matter of time now. Slowing his pace, however, he spotted an unfamiliar person in the distance. Jochi saw his clothes were clearly Earth Kingdom colors, but in gray tones like the short fellow himself.

As the occasional dust devil blew through, Jochi kept standing firm and heading toward the fellow. He had proverbial miles to travel around the sitting man, but Jochi was headed straight for him and didn't wish to veer off the path even slightly. With a gruff and stern face hidden behind wrappings, Jochi headed forward. He eventually reached the man with the staff, who held a map in his hands. Such details were unimportant to Jochi, whose first reaction was to walk right past the man. "Move it!" Jochi snapped, pushing the man out of the way.

[sun]

Sun was just about to give up on the map when something collided with him. By the time he had recovered from nearly being knocked down the dun the barrel sized figure was a third of the way down the other side.
“The hell?” he muttered sliding down the dun partially, “hey kid!” He yelled mistaking the midget for a short fat kid. Once again common sense had decided to sleep in.

“Hey shiney!” he yelled again, getting no response he followed behind the figure with his staff trailing behind. Frustrated by his map, hot, and more than anything.. bored, Sun pulled his cudgel forward and jammed an end into the sand. After a few seconds of airtime Suns feet made contact with the figures shoulder blades. “Say excuse me!” he said driving the figure face first into the sand and practically using him the surf the last dozen feet.

[jochi]

Storming away brought Jochi a slew of troubles. Hearing the man yell out to him, or at least one could presume it was to him since no one else was around for miles, Jochi was ratehr perturbed at what he heard. The man called him...a kid. Despite having been mistaken for one many a time, it still irked him all the same. Welling with anger inside, his muscles tense in fury. The sandbender stopped in his tracks. This couldn't pass unacknowledged.

Once he pulled down the cloth wraps around his head, the man shouted to him again. Now he was making fun of Jochi's bald head, naturally. Jochi didn't really see a reason why so many of his traits attracted teasing and mockery, but he did know that it pissed him off to no end.

But...just as he was about to turn around and shout back, he felt a pair of feet hit him in the back, catching him off-guard and sending him sliding face-first down the sand dune. Adding insult to injury, the man was standing on his back the entire time.

If not for his goggles, Jochi's entire face would have been full of sand, even though the current mouthful was unbearable enough. Nonetheless, he had no time to be concerned over sand in his mouth at the moment. Lying on the floor, he put his hands to the ground. There he pooled sand at his palms, then thrashed wildly to throw the man off. Adding to this, he silumtaneously delivered a rather potent sand blast to the man's lower abdomen. It was clear the two wandering strangers wouldn't become newfound friends.

[sun]

Still holding his staff in his hand her once again jabbed the butt of it into the sand and pushed of the short mans back in time to lessen the sands impact. His abnormal agility and the force of the sand propelled him at least 30 feet into the air.

‘Aha an earth bender!’ he thought to himself as he reached the peak of the flight and began descending in a way that could be described as a bird of prey stooping for the kill. This of course would be inaccurate as it was more like turkey trying to do and impression of a bird of prey.

This would be a rather uncomfortable position had it been the first time he had been sent flying in such a way. When he hit the ground a couple yards from the man he let his legs absorb the impact like a spring, of course this also caused him to bounce like one also and he was forced to tumble for a few before coming to his feet as if nothing had happened.

He then promptly fell on his ass.

[jochi]

Though crouched like a tigerdillo, Jochi looked fairly confused. It was like that single hit sent the moron flying, like a bird or something. In Jochi's mind, however, he only saw it as a testament to his strength. A shame no one else was around, or else he probably would have flexed his muscle showingly. Instead, the sandbender proved he didn't know when to quit. Rather than turning aside and heading to the west, he ran across the dune's edge toward the man.

As usual, Jochi was a man possessed. Overcome with anger, perhaps, or driven by a sense of arrogant pride. Whatever it was, Jochi wasn't taking kindly to the man's sneak attack. As he ran, thrusts of his hands rocketed forth massive streams of sand aimed directly toward the fellow, while an angry howl escaped his parched mouth. Arching up in the air, the missiles fell like violent raindrops on the ground, hoping for just one to hit.

[sun]

Sun looked up at the sand missiles as they went smashing towards him. Gripping his staff to his stomach (he had trained himself to keep hold of it at all costs), he rolled backwards till he was on his knees. ‘Oh joy I picked on a homicidal midget’ he thinks to him self. The two masses of sand impacted his location apparently leaving no time to react.

The impacts sent walls of sand up and outward that obscured all vision for several seconds. When the last of it had rained down there were two indentations that could be called craters. In the center of them Sun was perched on his staff which was now stuck at least a third of the way into the ground. When the two masses of sand had converged he had leapt between them just before impact. He now had his foot planted on the butt end while there other was wrapped below it in a way resembling a monkeys tail.

Shaking himself completely and ridding himself of over a pound of sand he slid down his staff and pulled it out with some effort. Instead of looking aggressive or frightened Sun was looking around distractedly. For a few moments he looked as if he were swatting at flies after which he ran his hand through his hair in a way mimicking that of monkey like creatures. When he did start moving it was on all fours in an usual sideways strafe interrupted by occasional flips and tumbles with his staff trailing with him.

[jochi]

With the flames of anger burned as strongly as ever, Jochi followed up his sand barrage by bounding up the dune at his target. From what he could tell, the attacks struck a large area, though the clouds of dust billowing in the air obscured the staff-weilding man from view. Leaping as quickly as his stubby legs would carry him, Jochi swung his arms and bended the dusty air aside. But what he soon saw was odd.

The man, instead of either laying unconscious or rearing up to attack, was wandering around like some sort of animal. Everything he did confused Jochi, to the point where he had to stop and glare. He wondered if it was a mirage of sorts, although his mind quickly reverted to sharp rage. Regardless of the man's foolishness, he had to pay for his impertinence. Waving his arms, Jochi summoned a whirling sand vortex around himself, then sent a pulse of sand directly at his opponent moments later.

[sun]

Still running and jumping like a simian maniac Sun was in mid cartwheel when the sand pulse came speeding towards him. “Perhaps taking on a sand bender in the center of a desert is the best strategy..” he thought to himself before responding out loud, “oh well,” with a grin.

The mass of sand was within a couple meters when his feet touched the ground but without the slightest delay he shot upward. Once again using his staff to propel him further and faster he sailed over the sand with only a few inches to spare.

Unfortunately when his feet touched the ground he was blinded by the vortex and dropped to a knee. At that point both lost sight of each other for a few seconds as the sand whipped around. By the time the midget had passed sun was nowhere to be found.

exit? =P

[jochi]

The furious whirlwind of sand and dust calmed after a few minutes, but only because Jochi wanted to see the fruit of his efforts. But...there was nothing. No body, no staff, not even a shred of tattered clothing. Zilch. Slowly swiveling his head around the area, Jochi was utterly confused. He knew it had to be nothing more than a mirage, though that didn't explain how that imaginary man could attack him. Making sure his former opponent was nowhere in sight, he loosened the wraps from his neck and tied them around his head.

"Damn..."

After that, he was off. The edges of the desert weren't far off at all, though that scuffle with what was apparently his imagination had caused a bit of delay. The desert had tricks up its proverbial sleeve, but Jochi was no fool - At least he thought he wasn't. He still felt sort of stupid that he got mad at essentially nothing. That was behind him now. No one else would know, and he would soon be gone from that endless sea of sand.

~Jochi has left this thread~