Spirit Talkin' <Foggy Swamp, Earth Kingdom>

[choji]

The moist air of the swamp lingered in the treehouse of the tribal shaman. Kulap was in the backroom her eyes closed and body stiff and ridged, bowls of steaming herbs and plants were before her as she inhaled the odors. She open her earthy brown eyes and dumped out the center bowl. She tried to decern what was in the bowl and read the mess of tea leaves.

"Hmmmm, sumthin' bad is gonna happen Butch....thats what the leaves say...dunno whut though? I hope thiers nothing stormy gonna happen between me and Dan-Dan." The catgator didn't even growl in response. Kulap scooped up the leaves and stood up.

After the romantic afternoon with Dan-Dan, Kulap has thrown herself back into her work, obbessing over the tea leaves oracle bones and old magic, she has barely had a decent conversation with her husband. Something has been bugging the shaman...what was it was unknown. But what ever it was have made Kulap wake up in cold sweat. And the shaman need to find out what was giving her the willies

[dandan]

The whole day Dan-dan had found himself in good spirits. From the moment he opened his eyes, he seemed to be seeing everything in a positive light. The previous day's storm had left a cloudless, calm sky in its wake, and though the little Swamp village had taken a few minor damages there was no one hurt. Kulap had been up before him, but his wife seemed like she was getting right back into the swing of things. Dan-dan assumed she would probably be mixing up remedies for coughs and flus that seemed to follow storms like this one. With a loving farewell, he departed from the tree house to start the day's work of repairs and fishing.

The hours went past and the smile never left his face. All throughout the day,several of his friends and fellow tribesman took note of his unusually jolly demeanor. Some joked that the rainy day alone with his wife probably had something to do with it, and Dan-dan only laughed all the louder along with them. Any other day, those kind of jibes might have made him chuckle nervously, but now he felt as though a weight had been lifted and he could really joke around with the guys on such topics.

By mid-afternoon the work was more or less finished. The tribesmen were tired of sloshing around in the muddy soil and returned to teir homes with the intent of finishing the job tomorrow. They already had enough fish frozen in storage to go without a fishing run for the day, so Dan-dan simply picked up a few of the pre-gutted fish along the way home.

As the happily humming husband made his way into the tree house he shared with Kulap. it became apparent that she was still in one of her meditative trances. Dan-dan refrained from calling out a greeting, lest he disturb her, and set about the task of preparing a dinner. He took out some flint and kindling and started a fire in the little fire pit at the center of the room. The small depression in the floor, lined with fired clay and ashes served as a nice cooking location in their otherwise entirely flammable home. Dan-dan worked up the fire to a decent size and then skewered the fish of a pair of sticks before setting them over the flame to cook.

[choji]

Kulap heard her husband come back from work, she was deep in the ether of mediation but felt his chi, she knew his chi from the inside out ever since that afternoon. Kulap opened her eyes and got up. The smell of dinner attracted her to main room where Dan-Dan was cooking.

"I smell food...mmm sand perch by the scent..it needs ginger." Kulap said matter of factly. As she took out some pomagrante wine and took a sip from the bottle.

"I feel a darkness coming like a typhoon on the wake. It doesn't look good, something is gonna happen, and I don't know what." Kulap sipped her wine, looked at Dan-Dan with a serious look on her face.
"I'm sorry that I have been so cold lately, I do care about you Dan-Dan, but I have been waking up from nightmares and feel that something is gonna happen. I wish the spirits could tell me something." Kulap leaned over and wrapped her arms around her husband and kissed his cheek.

"I wish I knew what the spirits want with me?"

[dandan]

"Maybe you should take a break from the spirits?" Dan-dan suggested gently as he rotated the sticks that the fish were skewered upon. He had a cup of water by his side that he took a small sip of before continuing, "I know it's yer job, but ya seem a little too worked up... Can't be healthy for ya."

In truth, Dan-dan was a little concerned that his wife was losing so mcuh sleep over something that hadn't happened yet. He was a devout believer in the spiritual connections to be found in the Swamp, but he had never been one to think the spirits were actively involved in people's lives. Even after all his time spent with Kulap, he still suspected that more of her 'powers' came from knowledge than from mysticism.

Every now and then she'd surprise him, though, which kept some part of him attuned to what she had to say as far as predictions of the furute went. Dan-dan simply turned the fish over and reached into a pile of fried crickets that was sitting in a bowl beside him. "Want one?" he offered, extending the bowl toward Kulap as he munched down a few.

[choji]

The shaman cracked a grin and munched on the crickets enjoys the salty and crunchy texture and taste. She sipped her wine and looked at the slowly fading light of the day. She sighed as she closed her eyes and took in all the senses had to offer. The smell of the food cooking, she heard sound of her husband moving around, the feel of the cool breezes blowing. everying was like a primortial mix of "now" and "after". Even though Kulap was feeling better thanks to the drink of wine. She was still worried. Her insticts were very accurate after her near death experiance. She knew something was going outstide the swamp.

"Dan-Dan what do you think is out of the swamp? I never been outside it, have you?" Asked Kulap as she looked at the fish, "They're done." She stated as she took one and munched on it.

"I wonder what it's like...outside of the swamp."

[dandan]

Dan-dan shrugged at the question as he picked up the other fish-kabob and blew on the piping hot fish. "Sometowns, he replied after a few moments of trying to cool down his meal. "Some grass, some mountains..." He took a small bite off the side of the fish fillet and underestimated how hot it was. He immediately let his mouth hang wide open and huffed out a few rapid breaths to try and circulate the hot air before the fish burned his tongue.

Eventually he managed to put the bite down and then scooped up his cup of water to ease the burning pain. He let out a long sigh of relief after the ordeal and smiled at Kulap, slightly in embarassment. "It's nothing special," he finally said, wrapping up his synopsis. "Just... diff'rent."

Dan-dan had only been outside the swamp a few times in his life, and for the most part it was on one of the rare occasions that the tribe had a surplus of food or a need for something they couldn't manufacture themselves, or at least not as quickly as they needed it. He went with his father twice and a few other times with the fishermen and other tradesmen. The outside world seemed like a nice place, even if the people often found their minimal clothing a little unusual, but it just wasn't anything like home.

[choji]

Kulap watched the setting sun and felt the dying light of the day bathe her in a golden glow. She sat on the balcony that was the front porch of the tree house and dangle her legs outside of the railings that serve to protect the those that are coming out of the house.

She munched on the fish and dropped a leaf over the railings and watched it spin to the ground. She did it again and watched it fall. Spinning down to the earthy floor. She giggled as she did another one. The spinning motions interested her and kept her amused.

"It's nothing special," She heard Dan-Dan say. Kulap rested her head on the railing and sighed.
"Yeah, but still. I feel somethin'" Kulap spoke in a low voice like a whisper. She sighed again, feeling depressed, and walked back in.

"I wonder if my ancestors ever have that loomin' feelin' when they were in mah shoes, did they ever have that sicky gut feelin'?" Kulap mused as she sat on the hammock and undid her braid. As she was unbinding her long hair she caught a snag.

"Gods damnit!" cursed as she tried to get out the snag. But the knot would untangle. Kulap got a deer bone brush and comb and try to brush it out but the hair tangled up the brush. Leaving the shaman frustrated.

"God damn hair! One o' these days Imma gonna cut yew. Dan-Dan can yew..help me out?" Kulap asked as her hair stuck out in odd angles and still had the brush in it.

[dandan]

Dan-dan watched his wife pace around as she spoke, still sitting calmly beside the firepit with a half-eaten fish on his stick. Despite the fact that she seemed genuinely troubled, he couldn't help the ghost of a smile still visible on his face. He was in far too good of a mood to be affected so quickly by his wife's anxiety. By the time she finally took a seat on the hammock and ran into trouble in brushing her hair, he'd finished off his meal and had tossed the stick into the fire.

"Sure thing," Dan-dan replied to Kulap's request for help. He strode over to the hammock and took a seat beside her and a little further back. The fisherman waited a moment as the hammock stopped swinging from his added weight and then pushed his wife gently on the shoulder to get her to lean forward a bit. He managed to disentangle the bone brush after a few moments, and he muttered a few apologies when he felt it tug at her hair.

"Sorry," he said after one snag sounded as if it tore out a few hairs. He continued the laborious task for a few moments until the largest tangles were straightened and it just became routine brushing. After his mind was no longer so focused on KUlap's hair, Dan-dan mused, "Think maybe you need a vacation? Ya know... a few days o' rest?"

[choji]

Kulap sighed. She didn't know what she was going to do. But rest sounded like a good idea. Kulap listen to the sounds of the crickets and the holler of the hogmonkeys. With a sigh she laid full in the hammock and pulled the blankets up. "Ar'right Dan-Dan Imma goin' to bed now. I might jest take up yer offer of a vaction. I need one." Kulap blew out the candle on her bedside table. She let the music of the night soothe her as she slowly fell asleep. However as the shaman slept. She began to dream once more, and again the spirits began to beg for her aid.

There were drums every where. The thuding rhythm of the drums was apon her devouring her soul and mind as she danced, wildy to beat in a ancient festivel. Kulap was entranced, she let the heat of the fire consume her as she dance in praises to the gods of the earth and swamp. But then something thing happend as Kulap was at the pinical of her euphoria. The drums stopped.

She opened her eyes the swamp was gone. A desert was left. Everything was was gone and dried up. Corpses of catgators lay everywhere. The stench of the death was over whelming. Kulap gagged and vomited. As she walked she saw the ruins of a house. Something compeled her to run. She sprinted and ran to ruins. And saw the dried body of man clutching an oar.

Kulap screamed awake. Her heart racing. She looked around for her husband as she was panting hard and covered in sweat.
DAAAAAN!!!

[dandan]

After Kulap had decided it was time for bed, Dan-dan removed himself from the hammock to give her some peace and the went about the task of cleaning up after the meal. He tossed his cup into the washing tub and after thinking for a moment, decided to give his wife a bit of a break by taking care of the dishes. His waterbending made the task easier, and in a matter of minutes, he'd managedto powerwash the assortment of dirtied cups and plates that had been soaking for the last few days.

Having completed that, Dan-dan then douse the fire in the fire pit so that the house wouldn't burn down, and then spent a short while just sitting out on the front porch. The Swamp was a dark place, especially at night where even the stars were only visible in a few patches of land where the tree canopy was sparse. However, there was still a bit of a soft glow that permeated the marsh on a bright moon. For a short while, he just sat there, dangling his feet off the edge of the porch. Dan-dan recalled a few choice memories from the days before, and also considered Kulap's behavior as of recent. She was definitely troubled, but he was convinced that some relaxation would be the best cure.

Not long after that, he went to bed, carefully slipping into the hammock without waking his wife... Only to be awaken hours later by her frantic screaming.

Dan-dan flailed at the noise of Kulap yelling his name, flailing his arms wildly and rolling sideways to flop out of the hammock and somewhat painfully onto the floor. Before he knew it, he was screaming a bit himself, nd had stood up onto his knees with his head swivelling around for some sign of danger.

"What is it?!" he asked, a little short of breath, looking at his wife, who seemed like she was terrified and exhausted.

[choji]

Kulap's eyes were wide with terror her heart was thumping deep in her chest. Everything felt so real, but here she was in her house with her husband looking very worried. Kulap laid back, sweat made her hair stick to her neck and it ran in rivers. She got up and drank a glass of water. She walked back and sat next to Dan-Dan.

"I saw sumthin' horrible. Everythin' wus all dried up. Dead. Gone. Bodies everywhere. Dan-Dan...I saw you all dead and dry. Somethin' is parchin' this world. The spirits are really despreat. And I don't know whut to do." Kulap sat next to Dan-Dan her eyes laden with tears. She took another sip and lisented to the crickets.

"We need to talk to Hue, beloved. It's gettin' out o control. I can't take this anymore, I can't somethin' is in trouble and it needs me. Maybe Hue can clue me in." She looked at her husband for anwsers as she got up an got dressed

[dandan]

Dan-dan blinked several times, letting his vision adjust while his mind caught up with what Kulap is saying. It became rapidly apparent that there was no looming danger, and that his wife had merely been rattled by a bad dream. That was both relieving and distressing.

The groggy fisherman wiped the back of his hand across his mouth, removing a bit of drool that had accumulated during his sleep. Kulap was going on about seeing Hue, and by the way she was covering herself up and making ready to travel, she wasnt kidding.

"Hold up," Dan-dan said wearily, rubbing a hand across his sleepy face. He sat upright on the hammock as he followed his wife's movements with his eyes, "I'll go with ya, just gimme a sec'..." Dan-dan took a deep breath and then stood up, fetching himself a swig of water from a jug on their shelf. He placed the clay container back and then scooped up his paddle from its place in the corner.

"All right," he said through a large yawn, "ready?"

[choji]

Butchie cocked his head and proceeded to follow his mistress as she climbed down to the forest floor. Butchie waddled after her growling as he went. This was not aboding well for the catgator.

Kulap walked down with her lamp guiding her as she walked. The sound of her staff, echoing in the dark night of the swamp. Shadows made shapes that distracted the shaman as she made her trek down to the heart of the swamp. She turned around briefly to check for Dan-Dan before continuing. Her pace didn't let up until she reached the Banyan.

"This maybe impulisive and reckless, but then, my instincts are normally on to something." She stated as she climbed. Finally she reached above, where Hue sat in quiet mediation. He opened one of his eyes and looked at the shaman that was bathed in the cool moon, for a minute, Kulap looked more ghost than human.

"Hue sumthin's up and I think you might tell what it is..."

[dandan]

Dan-dan had somehow managed to keep up with Kulap during the midnight trek through the swamp. She seemed like a woman possessed, and he wasn't exactly thinking it the best time to be demanding answers that she herself probably didn't know. Traveling at night was normally very dangerous, but with Butchie leading the way and a fresh lamp, they should hopefully be all right while heading toward a familiar part of the Swamp.

After what must have been an hour, they finally started to reach what Dan-dan recognized as the far-reaching roots of the Banyon Grove tree. And even then, it was still almost ten minutes before they reached the section of the tree that really required some serious climbing.

Hungry and tired, the simple fisherman finally reached the plateua of the massive tree trunk where Hue often spent the night. Standing behind her, he didn't bother to speak, but merely offered a slight wave at the elder man when he seemed to notice them.

[choji]

"Good mornin Kulap, I see your bright an' early fer once. Come to watch the sun rise with me?" Kulap shook her head no, "I have been dreamin' some very disturbin' dreams Hue, I think the spirits have been warnin' me bout somethin', do yew think that I'm goin' nuts?" Hue with calm eyes lisented to Kulap explain what she saw in her past visions, he was troubled by what she saw and how she was reacting to it. Rubbing his eyes he took a deep breath.

"Kulap, calm down, yer jest seein' the present. You might not be aware of this but, there is a war outside tha swamp." Judging by the shock on the shaman's face, she hasn't.

"Now now, don't fret, Fire Nation has to be insane if they're gonna take over this mudhole. However it might be possible in tha future. Anyway don't worry bout yer dreams lady shaman. Right now thats what they are...dreams. Yer intution is just warnin' yew of the war. The War that obviously not botherin' us. Now when those dreams become prophesies then ya worry, 'til now you jest rest, try not to worry bout what yew cannot fix." Hue said to Kulap who just sighed. She was tired and now she felt sheepish. Saying sorry she turned to look into east and saw that dawn was coming.

"Come on Dan-Dan, lets get home."