Wayward Gypsies <Open Sea, The Sea>

[whitecrow]

A merchant ship that sailed often between the colonies and the Fire Nation had been charted by the noble family that was sponsoring this voyage. A week had passed already since the Fire Nation-bound Flame dancers had boarded the ship. Wagons had been left behind in the care of others, personal belongings rolled up and brought if they were desired. The ship had been handsomely paid to provide housing and food for the traveling troupe on the journey to and from the Earth Kingdom.

Li-Wu and Bai-Wu were among the Flame Dancers attending, along with many of the younger members. Juning and Huang had come as well, both being native Fire Nation citizens and longing to see the old country once more. However, turning back to the twins.. Bai-Wu was standing on the railings of the boat, his feet on a lower rung while his hands gripped the top most rung, made of metal. His long hair blew in the wind behind him, twisting and forming knots that would later be hard to comb out. The saltry spray covered his face, stinging his eyes as he leaned out over the edge, marveling at the size of the ocean and the waves. He was laughing like a school boy.

Beside him, Li-Wu had a different view of the ocean. He was seeing the side of the ship, white hands gripping the edge of the railing while he bent over it. The wave motion seemed to roll through his entire body, leaving his knees weak, not with joy, but with sickness. He made strange gurgling sounds, breathing heavily and seemingly breathlessness at the same time. His hair was pulled back, his bandanna acting as a hair tie right now thankfully. A greenish tinge came to his face as he once again celebrated the joys of the ocean by emptying his stomach acid on the side of the boat.

[hilang]

Hilang looked at the blue abyss all around him and sighed as he ran his fingers across the splintery railing. A week on this wretched ship, Hilang couldn’t stand this solitude much longer. He glanced to his right and saw the Wu Twins enjoying/throwing-up-in the ocean. He shrugged a bit and was thankful for the fact that he didn’t get seasick. Hilang was so fed up with waiting on this merchant ship; he wanted to see the homeland where his heritage was.

He stepped away from the railing, feeling the old, creaky wood against his bare feet. Stretching out his toes, he felt a quick, sharp pain as he put his foot down. He had gotten another splinter in his foot. In his mind, he tallied how many he had gotten this past week. Was it four? No, more than that...eight? No, not that many, well, this must be the sixth then. It was almost enough to make him wear shoes. Maybe if I get one more, he thought.

His mind wandered back to his father and the argument they had about all of them going to the Fire Nation, apparently, they didn’t care for the homeland as much as he did, and in the end, Hilang wasn’t even sure why he cared, they were insignificant anyway. Lost in thought and frankly, really bored, he wandered over to the twins, patted Li-Wu on the back, and jested, “Hey, does that taste better on the way up!?” He was then overcome with laughter, so he started toward the cabin of the ship, sick of this endless blue.

[pamuy]

It didn't take Pamuy more than a few days to adjust to seafaring, but she had to wonder when it was all going to end. For days had she woken up feeling ill - even if she had her own cot after insisting so firmly - but the ravages of seasickness were ending their hostile reign over her body. Yes, Pamuy was growing accustomed to life on the ocean, but knew it wouldn't last much longer. Any day they would dock in the Fire Nation, where she would be careful never to stray from the caravan.

There she stood by the hull's edge, dainty fingers wrapped around the railing, her gentle blue eyes gazing at the sky and sea. To blend in, the clothes she wore were thoroughly Fire Nation in color and style. She wore a long amaranth robe with repeating patterns of circles embroidered in gold thread, beneath it a full-length Persian pink skirt and her usual wooden sandals, and atop the outermost robe a shawl-like burgundy mantle - consisting of basically a large circle of fabric - that covered the top third of her upper body. She also wore bangles of gold around her biceps and wrists.

As far as she knew, her exotic Water Tribe appearance was far out of the norm in a different nation despite her 'normal' clothes, and perhaps not received as well as in the Earth Kingdom. She had to reflect on how pitiful it was, that people felt the need to judge by apperances instead of peering deeper. While she was confident the trip would be worth it, Pamuy sighed.

[whitecrow]

The younger of the twins glanced over his shoulder as he heard the footsteps of Hilang approaching. Bai turned and put his back against the rail, hands hooked around the metal railing of the mix built ship. The merchants had been reinforced with metal for years now as protection and that was exactly the high quality of passage the Gypsies had been afforded. The twin smirked at Hilang, nodding a greeting to him in typical man style, not feeling too much cause trouble or mischief today. They had pulled enough pranks on land and with Li-Wu out for the trip.. well Bai didn't really have the guts to pull stuff off on his own.

He took broke out laughing as Hilang slapped Li across the back, causing the double over man to retch again. Li was green with envy at their ability to not get sea sick. He muttered something and half yelled it. It echoed off the ship and back to the ocean causing Bai-Wu to lean down to him. "What?" He listened carefully, bent completely over the railing with his feet hanging in the air before nodding. He swung his feet up high in the air to leverage his upper body back into an upright position.

"Hey, Hilang!" He called after him. "Li says to go fug yourself!" And on cue, Li managed to throw Hilang the international symbol of goodwill and peace, while hanging over the side of the ship.

[hilang]

Feeling the glee from his prank pulled, Hilang was sauntering back to the cabin when he heard Bai-Wu break out in laughter and tease Li-Wu a little bit more. Then, he heard the gurgling sound of Li attempting to speak, or, in this case, cuss out Hilang. He wanted to see with his own eyes the results of his prank, and he turned around just in time to see Bai shouting exactly what Li was gurgling and Li showing him a perfect example of the third digit on one’s hand.

He had a spontaneous thought that he should go back and continue some shenanigans, and since he had nothing better to do, he pivoted and walked slowly back to the twins. He slapped Li on the back one more time, just to aggravate him, as if he weren’t already. Then, he chose to make gurgling sounds, mocking the man who was currently purging his stomach. Suddenly, though, his plan backfired entirely, for just as he was pretending to throw up, the ship hit a particularly large wave, and Hilang’s stomach lurched, causing the contents of his stomach to empty right over the edge of the ship, just next to Li.

[nim]

After a week out to sea Nim was not fairing nearly as well as most of the others. She was often sick, though not as much as Li-wu or so she heard, and she found it very hard to walk with the boat always rocking. She felt a bit lonely, having left both her mother and her father back in the Earth Kingdom and she felt for the fisrt time how terrible she was at helping herself. She didn't want to bother the other members with asking them to do this and that for her and so what she couldn't do on her own she went without.

She was sitting on the edge of a cot below deck, trying desperatly to comb her hair which had decided to friz considerably in comparison to its normal curl. She pulled down on the handle of the bone brush and just as she did it snagged in her hair and the handle snapped. Frustrated, she chucked the handle across the room and unwrapped her hair tie from her wrist. In an attempt to put it up in a ponytail she ended with a head band that merely bunched her thick hair behind her in a frizzy crown.

The boat to a particularly nasty lurch just as Nim was standing to acsend the stairs and she fell into them, her left wrist catching the brut of her fall, but worse than the sharp pain that was zipping through her arm her stomach had been upset and she crawled up the stairs in a hurry. Once on deck she didn't even bother to stand she just scrambled to the edge of the boat where she let her morning meal spill into the ocean.

She had hoped no one else was on deck to have seen her vomit, but she heard the laughter of Bai-wu and his brothers puking and she felt the blood rise to her cheeks in embarressment. With the sound of the waves crashing in her ears it was hard to tell exactly where the boys were so she couldn't even turn away from them, so instead she leaned her back against the ships metal railing and looked in a direction hoping it was the right one.

"Li-wu still not doing very well?" she said, trying to put a smile on her face, but it felt more like a grimace as the movement of the boat twitched her wrist and sent a bolt of sharp pain from it.

[blackcrow]

"Ha!" Li managed weakly as he looked up to see Hilang loose it over the side as well. He pointed at him and then patted his fellow vomiter on the back. Li had hurled up all he was going to until he next ate and while his stomach so lurched and clenched, he stood up and looked weakly at Bai and then outward. Already there were bags under his eyes, his face a ghastly shade of white.

He saw Nimuta coming up deck just as a wave hit, sending her too the rail. He winced. Poor girl. Li-Wu looked to Bai-Wu, who like a gentleman walked over to Nimuta. "Hey Girl.. How you holding up? Li? Working like a champ on the world record." He smiled at her. She was looking in the right direction.. good ears over the sound of the ocean. "Here.." The tall man put his hand on her upper arm, stepping beside her and guiding her towards where the others were. He knew Nimuta was fully capable of finding her way around by herself, but this was a new ship and with the rough ocean, he didn't want her to fall. "'Got your sea legs yet?" He mused as he stopped near his Brother, letting his hand drop from Nim's shoulder.

Li-Wu nodded at her., lifting a hand up in a wave. "Hey Nim.." He said in a weak, tired, voice.

[hilang]

As Hilang’s lunch was hurled over the side of the boat, it gave him time to regret what he had done. Sure enough, Li had chosen to repay the favor by slapping him on the back, just causing Hilang’s lurching to continue. Luckily, one purge and he was done, unlike Li, so, when he was finished, he stood up, his knees a little weak and his face with a tinge of green to it. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and looked over to where Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum were.

Apparently, Nim was having the same problem as Li and himself, but that was understandable, considering that at least half of the performers had never been on a boat, or only once in their life. He had an overwhelming desire to get back at Li, and he got a perfect idea. He strolled up to the two, and greeted Nim, “Hello, Nim. Not feeling so good?” Then, for the next part, he chose to get right in Li’s face, so he could smell the puke-breath that was sure to be there after losing one’s lunch. “Juuuust liiiike Liiiii aaaand IIIIIIII.”

Feeling his revenge seeping in, and also knowing that if he stayed, Li would be sure to retaliate, Hilang took off at a brisk pace for the other end of the boat.

[shanghuang]

Oddly enough, Shang found himself easily accustomed to sea travel. He didn’t mind the swaying. It was much like when he’d tried the trapeze as a boy, except there were no nerves to accompany the swaying sensation of not being attached to solid ground. So, he’d taken to reading at the bow of the ship, his bare feet hanging off the front. It was a truly pleasant, peaceful location, with nothing but the sun, sea breeze, and the occasional splash of the waves to interrupt. At least, it was until no less than three people could be heard vomiting behind him. He started to smile, but stopped himself. Li Wu had been feeling sick for the entire journey, and for that, Shang was secretly pleased. At least he had some amount of superiority over the prodigal sons of the Flame Dancers.

When he turned away from his book and over his shoulder to look, however, he found it was not just the Wu twins, but also Hilang and poor Nim, who seemed to have crawled all the way to the side of the ship on her hands and knees just to vomit. He felt a pang of guilt at ever have gloating over the affair. He opened his mouth to ask if everyone was all okay, but it seemed Bai Wu had beaten him to the punch and was as lively as ever. He closed his mouth and turned back to his book. He was still avoiding the twins, and even if just one of them was in commission, that was one more than he wanted to interact with.

[nim]

Nim walked a bit slugishly even being guided by Bai-Wu and she reached for the railing when he let her go. She leaned against the metal, felling just a little more stable with something holding her up. She smiled a little in the direction of Li's voice then turned her head slightly hoping that Bai was actually standing in that direction.

"I don't think I will ever get 'sea legs', I have a hard enough time walking on solid ground," She said with a joking smile as she stumbled a little on the rocking deck. "Though I guess i am doing better than Li, I managed to keep this last meal down for almost a full hour," She widened her grin just a little, as sick as the boat was making her she could always count on the teins to bring a smile to her face.

She turned her head once again, toward Hilang this time and before she answered she heard the drawn out breathy words and she could only imagine the terribly smell since he himself had just vomited as well. She imagine it was directed at someone, but for her the thought was enough and she twisted around and puked over the railing.

It wasn't much since most of it had been ejected in her first vomiting session of the day, but it was just as unpleasent now as it had been then. She wipped her mouth on the back of her hand before she turned around.

"I am going to need a very long shower when we reach land," she said, turniong back the the group, trying to hard to keep her stomache quiet to smile.

[whitecrow]

Li-Wu did not break his composure as Hilang got up in his face and breathed his newly stankified breath in his face. The tired eyed man with long face merely stared, not even tearing up. If he wasn't feeling so weak-kneed and just weak in general, the sword swallower would have just found himself dangling over the edge of the boat. Instead, Li-Wu turned away from him, bracing his hands against the edge of the boat as he leaned against the edge. No.. probably not a good idea. He ran a hand across his long hair that he had tied back with his bandanna as he lowered himself down to the deck, folding his legs and putting his back against the side of the boat's raildeck.

He looked up at Nim somewhat and grinned sheepishly. "I can only hold food down if I'm about to go to sleep..." He had been eating what he could, but cold meals before he went to bed to keep his strength up at least. A finger tugged at the collar of his shirt, loosening up the collar and undoing the first tie of the folded-over vest to give him some air on his damp skin.

Bai-Wu, still standing near Nim had to slap his hands together at the idea of a shower. "A shower.. Really, Nim? Where have you been that you've been so spoiled? I hardly consider the bucket we strap up into a tree with holes drilled into it a shower.. Course not that you can see the difference" He smiled at her, his eyes bright and merry with the girl. He and Li had always enjoyed Nim's company and while they had tormented her about her blindness as children, they had lessened up on it. The two twins poked fun at her still but good lord.. she'd crack that whip and send them running.

That memory clicked into his mind as soon as he spoke, and his eyes went wide as he quickly wrapped his arms around his head and ducked. He cried out in a semi-terrified voice. "Sorry! Don't beat me!"

[pamuy]

Pamuy had the unfortunate pleasure of hearing everything she needed. Bai was so surprisingly making fun of Nimuta's blindness, and Hilang wasn't being much better in that regard. Pamuy wondered what they were trying to prove. Of course, she grew to expect little else from those menfolk. Time to give them what they deserved.

Fists tightening in a clinch, she stormed over to Bai and Hilang. In a predictable turn, she folded her arms crossly. Poor Nimuta, suffering enough from sea sickness like so many others aboard, did not need to be harrassed by those jerks. Whereas the twins and Hilang were total ingrates, Nimuta was a good friend. Looping around the shorter woman's side, she shot a freezing cold glare at Bai. Hilang on the other hand, had long since left.

"Bai!" she said, her slender finger pointed at him. "Your mother taught you better! Don't make fun of people who are different than you!" She knew full well that Nim could defend herself, but she had to say something to settle the tense feelings earned from hearing his arrogance. It wasn't meant to belittle Nimuta, but hopefully she would understand that. Then again, the sightless woman did well in the past not to take too much offense in his childish jibs.

Walking away, she looped around Nim once again. Whispering in her ear, she knew a sort of apology was needed. She had implied that Nim couldn't back, in a sense. "Sorry about that. Now it's your turn," she said with a grin, though that quickly faded to a grimace as her paced grew expedient. She arrived at the other side of the boat in no time, but stopped quickly as she saw Hilang.

Letting out a sigh, she kept a slow pace as she headed in his direction. Maybe he would go away or something, as long as she didn't have to deal with the sheer annoyance that was his existence. Whyever she seemed to treat him more harshly even than Bai and Li could be because she formerly had a crush on him for years, and tensions remained on her behalf. Really, there was no need for her to hold him to such a high standard. He was an ass.

That didn't prevent her from walking his way with her arms still crossed, traveling in a sharp arc and speaking up at the closest point. The only reason she did that was because she was sure Hilang was also making fun of Nimuta at some point, it being in his nature to do so. Pamuy's tone of voice was like a mother punishing her child. "You're not much better."

[nim]

Nim opened her mouth a little to reply to Bai's tormenting, but she was sharply cut of by Pamuy who she hadn't even heard approaching. She wonder slightly if maybe she had been among the group the whole time and had only now spoken up, but if Nim knew Pamuy that probably wasn't the case. She listened with her own arms crossed, leaning against the railing and listened for the girls receding footsteps before she went on.

"Thank you, love," she called to the other woman. Pamuy was nice, sure enough, but often Nim thought she took life a little too seriously. She smiled, hopefully in the direction she had left and then turned her pearly whites on Bai-Wu, "no beatings today I'm afraid, my sea-legs and my sea-stomach just wouldn't allow that kind of movement. Though, I'd watch you back once we reach shore," She spread her smile wider in an almost deliciously malicious way before she gave a small laugh. "Just kidding, Bai, I think you a little old for lashings. As for the bucket, I wouldn't mind being dunked in the waters of the North pole if it meant not hanging around in my own excretions. Though," she cocked her head to the side, "maybe boys like their foul makings, that would explain the smell," she wrinkled her tiny nose and squinted her blind eyes as if a absolutely revolting smell had appeared, all before she broke out laughing.

[hilang]

Hilang was leaning over the railing on the opposite side of the ship, spitting a few remaining nasties out of his mouth. He wondered if the fishing in the Fire Nation was any good, and was glad that he had brought his pole along with him. Perhaps when they got close, he could cast a line out and catch a nice hogfish. Then, as he stood up straight, he heard some footsteps coming closer, yet they seemed to be avoiding him, too. When the footsteps had reached him, he heard a familiar voice, the voice of that Water Tribe woman, Pamuy. She uttered a small scolding in his ear, and he would not stand for that.

He had heard some commotion a few moments earlier where the idiot twins and blindy were. No doubt that was Pamuy’s doing as well. After his early-morning purge, he was not in any mood for being tolerant. “You know, where do you get off telling me how good I am? You’re not even of Fire Nation descent. You should really just learn how to butt out. Besides, what have I done? A little back and forth pranking with the Wu’s? I am completely innocent.”

[whitecrow]

With Pamuy's finger in his face, Bai-Wu contemplated many options. One of them was biting her finger off. The other was a bit more risque and involved seeing if they could get ANY reaction out of the prude, Pamuy. Either one would have been funny. Of course, if this was say... Hilang scolding him, he would have round house kicked him Chyaku Norisu style.. but.. Bai was enjoying more just staring smugly at Pamuy.

In one ear, out the other.

He quirked an eyebrow particularly at the "Your mother taught you better than that!" part. Really? Did they know the same mother? As she turned away, he chuckled under his breath, glancing to Nim who was letting him off the hook this time. Too old for lashing..? Well that's not what she said last week! His lips curled into a grin as he gave the young blind woman a wink he knew she couldn't see. So he spoke very quietly towards her, his voice low so Pamuy wouldn't hear. "..Wink."

Li-Wu however was cringing at Hilang's sudden outburst to the water bender. With the war and especially the return to the Fire Nation, diplomacy in the Flame Dancers was treacherous at times. After being cramped on this boat for.. what was it.. a week now? The Gypsies were probably ready to go at each other's throat. Being confined was unnatural to them, nearly all of them having been born into the group. Li gave Hilang a wary look, narrowing his eyes as he gave him a warning in the tone of his voice.. "..Hilang...."