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Post by sunil on May 18, 2007 15:29:30 GMT -5
As his feet perched on the edge, the pitter-patter of light rainfall around him, a Sunil stared down the steep cliff before him. He was crouched like a cat ready to pounce, merely biding his time before making his way down the plateau's side. Sunil had explored his options for descending the cliff for at least ten minutes beforehand, and found this to be the quickest route to the land below. After all, being an earthbender opened up a number of opportunities in getting to the lower fields that a non-bender could only dream of. Now was a good a time as any to go down the side of this hill...
The view from atop the tableland was wonderful. Below laid water-meadows beside a river not more than half a mile away, and directly beneath the almost sheer hundred-foot drop of a cliff lay a sparsely-wooded area of coniferous trees like the ones that grew atop the plateau. An oft-traveled dirt road was closer to Sunil than the river, but he spotted only a few figures traveling on it on this dreary day. The grand stone outer wall of Ba Sing Sei sat a day's walk in the distance, still clearly visible even through the rain and fog of that day. Sunil smiled at how invincible the capital city of his home nation was and what an encouragement it was to the many refugees within its walls.
"Here goes nothing..." he muttered, narrowing his eyes as his heartbeat increased a clip. This wasn't a frightening feat for the earthbender. He took unnecessary risks all the time, and this was nothing compared to some of the things he would do. Some could call Sunil a sort of thrill-seeker in this regard. Making sure his supplies were in tow, he patted the three leather pouches hanging in a row from the right side of his sash. The one nearest his hand held about a pound of snow plum leaves, buds, and petals, and the one behind it had a pound of rolled oolong tea leaves. The third was empty, in case he found a sort of tea he desired. The third pouch was always reserved for himself, the sorts of teas he felt like drinking.
Then, he took the plunge. In hopes that the rain wouldn't cause a mudslide, he gently slid down onto the softened earth on the side of the steep cliff. He quickened his pace, long legs and large feet holding to the side of the cliff and his mind in careful focus in order to keep himself from falling further. Earthbending was his sole tool of descending the face of the plateau, using it to keep himself glued to the side without stumbling. He leaned forward slightly, using his bending to "magnetize" himself to the slightly slippery dirt he ran across. About three quarters of the way to the ground below, he propelled himself into the air by raising a small column of dirt beneath his feet and inducing a small tremor.
He soared about forty feet in front of the launching spot, then, with a slight midair gesture, he softened the earth beneath himself to prevent injury. He landed flat on his feet, but sunk into mud that quickly covered up to his toes. With a grimace, he realized he had probably softened the ground perhaps a little too much. However, he didn't much care. As long as he was relatively unscathed, he was happy with his successful descent. His heart was still racing, but to settle down, he made his way over to a nearby pine tree and sat beneath its spread branches. He had a clear view of a stretch of the dirt road laying about fifty feet away, but pine trees on his right and left obscured view of any oncoming travelers. He leaned backward, propping himself up with his own straightened arms. Leaning his head back, he took a deep breath of satisfaction. He had successfully made it down the side of the plateau without hurting himself.
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Post by gobei on May 21, 2007 17:43:27 GMT -5
Coming around the bend in the path, the footsteps of an old ostrich-horse could be heard along with the creaking of wooden wagon wheels. Beside the beast of burden walked a heavy-set man with the reigns in one hand and a beaten up old sakalat on his head. The shallow dome hat was tattered from decades of wear, and only one who was alive almost 30 years ago would even recognize the out-of-date style as a soldier's hat. Behind him, in the wagon and under an angled canvas canopy, were two young boys in their early teens.
"Hey dad!" one of them, Yun-Su, called out from the wagon, "Is your hand gonna turn to mud if you stay out in the rain like that?" His brother, Yun-min, chuckled at that, and the elderly man ahead of them looked over his shoulder with a wide grin. He held up his right hand which clutched the reigns so they could see it. It was a solid stone fist, sepia in color, and it was beaded with water.
"If it does then you'll have to hold the reigns," Gobei replied, looking between his sons, "And then I can sit in the wagon for the rest of the trip home!" He chuckled slightly at the twins' groans, and laughed all the louder when one of them offered him a sack to put over his hand and ensure that the earthen fist didn't dissolve. They were joking, of course, since this current hand wwas made of solid stone and not loose earth, but it made for a good laugh.
Gobei and his boys traveled a little while longer, making their way back down the trail toward their farm after a short day peddling their wares at the town market. It was still early on in the farming season, so there was sparse excess food to sell, but they made the trip none the less. Besides, Gobei was the oldest, most experienced bender of the town and its surrounding farms. He often gave out short lessons and prescribed training drills to the up-and-coming benders who lived in those parts.
However, as they passed by one of the high cliffs surrounding the area, Gobei took note of some movement a short way ahead. A figure dropping down the steep cliff-face, sliding and hopping with the aid of bending, caught his eye for a few seconds before disappearing behind the treetops. The old man hummed lightly as he considered the sight, but kept on walking. He wasn't surprised a little down the road when he came across a man sitting by the roadside under the shelter of a tree.
"Lovely day, isn't it?" he called out jovially toward the stranger, tipping the brim of his hat up with his left hand in order to reveal a smiling face. Behind him, the two young boys turned around in their seats to see who their father was talking to.
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Post by sunil on May 23, 2007 1:07:31 GMT -5
A very small number of raindrops escaped the pine-branch sanctuary where Sunil sat, even though the majority of rain was held back by the spread limbs of the lofty tree. He heard a few voices from behind the trees, but the approaching figures on the road were obscured by the pines on either side of the earthbender. It wasn't long before he saw those who were speaking; two teenage boys and an older gentleman.
Sunil smiled as they walked his way, and swept the mud from his feet in a minor display of bending before crossing his legs. The elderly man, obviously a pleasant fellow, soon spoke up, "Lovely day, isn't it?"
Sunil nodded in reply to the stout fellow. "Yes, it is a pleasant day, if not a bit wet...", he said, widening his smile and narrowing his eyes. He stood up as far as he could, but had to remain hunched over to stay in the five-foot space between the ground and lowest branch he sat under. He hobbled over to the edge of the tree and toward the elderly man. "Where are you headed?" queried the earthbender. Perhaps the man and the boys were headed home, and he could potentially make a sale.
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Post by gobei on May 26, 2007 0:53:35 GMT -5
"Home," Gobei replied to the stranger, taking note of his earthbending abilities. The elderly farmer gestured down the road in the direction he came and said, "There's a small town that way, but the market wrapped up early 'cause o' the rain."
Gobei smiled a bit and stroked his beard as he looked up past the treeline toward the ridge where the stranger had descended from. On a whim he decided to inquire, "That was quite a drop you made a minute ago... Dangerous even for a bender. You have enywhere you need to be, or are you just anxious to get out of the rain? There's room at our farm if you're just looking to weather the storm." The old man offered a kindly smile to the traveler. Most folks would say it wasn't wise to offer quarter to strangers, but Gobei aways considered himself a great judge of character. That, and after living through the war all his life, he had truly come to appreciate the bond between himself and his countrymen. Without comradery and fellowship, there could be no hope of victory against an enemy like the Fire Nation.
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Post by sunil on May 31, 2007 14:01:05 GMT -5
Sunil nodded at the elderly fellow at his offer, but regarding the cliff drop, he turned his head to face halfway toward the plateau's face, "That drop was no problem. I take risks like that all the time."
"...And I never truly need to be anywhere." His answer, while true, was somewhat of a mysterious one, even though Sunil was far from being an enigmatic person. He'd sooner tell the whole world his life story than keep to himself.
Strands of black hair lingered over his chocolate-hued face and dark eyes as his statement proceeded. "But I appreciate your hospitality greatly. I would love to stay with you and your family." Offering a friendly bow, he ambled to the wagon where the twin boys sat and waited politely for the portly man to allow him to board. "By the way, you have very nice-looking sons, good sir. Are they your only children?", he said with a wide and friendly grin.
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Post by gobei on Jun 1, 2007 14:26:27 GMT -5
"Just the fortunate ones who were lucky enough to help their Pa bring the goods to market," Gobei replied jovially, tossing a smile back toward the canvas-covered wagon. He could hear the muffled remarks that they gave about being called 'fortunate', but they were good-natured protests. The elderly man glanced back at Sunil and went on sayng, "I've got two other boys and a girl back home. My oldest is an earthbender himself, so he may have gotten some field work done, but I'd bet those three are probably preparing some kind of lunch as we speak."
Gobei shifted his grip on the reigns of the osrtich-horse with his stone hand and gave it a slight tug to make sure the creature followed his lead. "If you're ready to keep travelling we can make it there within the hour," he said, offering another inviting smile.
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Post by sunil on Jun 1, 2007 15:10:37 GMT -5
Sunil nodded at the stout gentleman and began walking toward the creaky wagon he sat upon. The bald fellow had clearly had a lot of life experience, not to mention raising five children adding a certain unique aspect to one's life. Judging by his words, he was a farmer, a good, honest profession. He probably enjoyed a nice cup of tea, at that.
Sunil, after walking about two yards to get to the wagon, moved his foot back slightly on the ground and launched himself into the air in a relatively simple earthbending feat. The height to which he launched himself was only high enough to land atop the wagon, not any higher, or the action would have made it seem as if he were flaunting his earthbending ability. Though considering he could have simply climbed aboard the thing in the first place, he was indeed flaunting his earthbending ability.
As he settled on the wooden section where he was to sit, he turned his face to the gentleman. "Thank you again for your hospitality, but I must ask. Are you very fond of tea?"
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Post by gobei on Jun 1, 2007 19:58:05 GMT -5
"Tea?" Gobei repeated part of Sunil's question, "Well, I enjoy a cup of the stuff every now and then, but as you can see," he patted his hefty gut, "I'm a man who likes to eat and drink in big servings... I make my tea by the mug!" He chuckled slightly as he gave the reigns a slight tug and spurred the ostrich-horse into a walk. The wagon wheels groaned as they began to turn and cut furrows in the muddy trail.
Gobei continued to walk along beside his ostrich-horse, feeling that the beast had enough of a chore in hauling the wagon through the mud without hiss added weight (which made a considerable difference). The farmer gave a slight sigh, and then added to Sunil, "But I have always been a fan of a good green tea. Two parts Green with 1 part Ginseng is a great combination, with a little honey for sweetener when we can find some." He took a few more steps before his subconscious managed to connect a few dots and he made what he hoped was a realization about the traveler. "Are you a tea salesman?" he asked, not accusingly, but simply out of curiosity.
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Post by sunil on Jun 1, 2007 22:11:40 GMT -5
He chuckled at the man's inquiry. "Yes, I am a tea salesman in fact...", Sunil said as he rocked forward in his seat. His pointy fingers ran through loose, thick raven locks, coarse and a bit oily from a lack of being washed for a day or two. A bath sounded lovely at that moment. It would be most welcome indeed.
As the wagon sluggishly moved ahead on the muddy road, Sunil rocked forward again. "That was a good guess, by the way. Unfortunately, I have no tea of that variety in tow. I carry the finest rare and high-quality teas most of the time." He took that moment to grasp one of the pouches hanging from his sash.
"For instance, in this pouch is..." Pausing, he opened it slightly to stick the tip of his large, hooked nose inside to catch a smell. He had a good nose for identifying teas, but such a skill came from years of obsession with such a subject. He didn't want to open the sack too much, lest any rain fall inside and spoil the load, so opening it only slightly was his best option. Recognizing the smell immediately, he recalled what was inside. "...Ah. Snow plum. I obtained it on a high mountain peak not far from here. The flowers, leaves and buds were hand-picked by the local macaques, you know. Its gentle sweet flavor is personally one of my favorites."
He had no need to smell inside the other satchel, since he knew that if it wasn't snow plum, it was oolong. At this point, his words had become more like rambling, but he didn't even notice just yet. Gobei's young sons were looking at him strangely, but he wrote it off as the two being children who didn't know any better. "This other pouch is a fine sort of oolong tea of the Shui Jin Gui variety. It was roasted with care by nuns dwelling in a nearby abbey. I haggled with them so I could buy it at a reasonable price." His words of both stories, while a little incredulous-sounding, were completely true. He didn't take any creative liberties this time...
If Gobei was even listening at this point, that would be a most amazing feat, not to mention a demonstration of a high degree of patience and politeness. Sunil placed the buckskin satchel back where it hung from his sash, and leaned forward yet again, awaiting a reply, if any was in order. If no response came, he could always just watch the scenery.
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Post by gobei on Jun 1, 2007 22:50:28 GMT -5
Gobei offered the traveler a slight nod of the head and raising of the eyebrows. "You sure know your tea," he commented after the man's lengthy explanation, "Or at least you sound like you do..." He chuckled, hoping his laugh would ensure that the last remark was not an attack on the salesman's credibility, but rather a joke about his own lack of knowledge about tea.
For a short while longer, Gobei continued to march in silence, listening to the sound of the ostrich-horse plodding away and the pitter-patter of raindrops on his hat. They seemed content with simply enjoying the ride, until one of Gobei's sons,Yun-su, asked out of boredom, "So where'd you come from?"
"Do they drink a lot of tea there?" his brother, Yun-min inquired further. Gobei smiled a bit at his sons' inquisitive nature and kept on walking.
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Post by sunil on Jun 1, 2007 23:09:11 GMT -5
Sunil raised one of his caterpillar-esque eyebrows and smirked at the boy. A whimsical tone soon laced his voice. "Where did I come from? Why, the Earth Kingdom just like you, kid!", he said, pointing his earthy-toned finger at the boy's nose, at which the boy stared as if he were confounded. About to playfully accuse the boy of saying this because he looked different, he left that notion behind to avoid conflict. "My parents ran a tea shop since before I was born. I guess you could call tea my "first love"...", he said as he leaned back and put his fingers on his chin, feeling the patch of hair running along the bottomside of his lip.
"Anyway...I come from the city of Zhy. They probably don't drink tea any more often than they do where you live, but I like a good cup of tea every day." A friendly grin blossomed on his face as the boy continued to look at him. The boys' father was clearly an affable man, which was a relief. His hospitality was enough to prove his kindness, specifically because the rain was worsening as the day dragged on.
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Post by gobei on Jun 5, 2007 19:16:34 GMT -5
Gobei chuckled at his son's questions and the tea merchant's response and plodded on through the muddy trail. The rain showed no signs of letting up, but it was still bearable, and Gobei was a hardy man. Even if he was saked to the bone, he didn't anticipate getting anything more than a runny nose, and even that could be fixed with a nice cup of tea.
His head picked up a little bit and he looked over his shoulder at that thought. What fortuitous circumstance that was! He almost laughed allowed, but figured that would make him seem a little strange to his new acquaintence. However, he did resolve to embrace this newfound friendship, for the timing seemed a little more than just coincidence to his wizened mind.
"By the way,"Gobei said after a few more steps, "I don't think we've been formally intriduced. My name is Gobei." Heturned his head toward the man sitting on his wagon and offered a wave of his stone hand along with a friendly smile.
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Post by sunil on Jun 5, 2007 21:30:47 GMT -5
"And my name is Sunil.", he said, offering a nonchalant wave in return. But what truly intrigued him, becoming even more evident by his facial expression, was the elderly man's earthen hand. It occured to him that it was no mere glove, gauntlet or anything of that sort, but rather a product of the man's earthbending skill. It explained why Sunil thought the man's hand looked so strange.
He realized now that the man's prior comment about his son "being an earthbender himself" could have just as easily applied to the lad's father just as easily as to Sunil, but only at this moment did he fit the pieces of the puzzle together.
"Your hand...it...how?" Sunil fumbled as he churned out a handful of words that were less than tactful. "I mean...er..." Interrupting himself, he forcefully slapped his forehead in embarrassment. "I'm so sorry. You must get asked that question too often for comfort. Please forgive me...", he said with a slight nervous chuckle as the aged wooden wagon creaked on the muddy road.
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Post by gobei on Jun 7, 2007 23:30:49 GMT -5
"I'm so sorry. You must get asked that question too often for comfort. Please forgive me..." Gobei quickly realized he'd let his stone hand become too obvious and quickly lowered it back toward his side when Sunil started to stammer. He smiled somewhat sheepishly and raised his other head up to rub the back of his head.
"Oh, no, it's no trouble," Gobei said quickly. "I've had this the majority of my life now... Wouldn't have gotten this far if I still got worked up about it."
Behind Sunil, in the wagon, one of the twins decided to add in, "He got it fighting in the war!" Gobei's smile remained, but it lessed somewhat as he looked at Yun-Su with a bit of admonishment. He wasn't ashamed of his injury, but he also wasn't one to go on and retell that specific event of his life without prompting.
"Turn it into a hammer, Dad!" chimed in Yun-Min, evoking an agreeing sentiment from his brother.
"Easy, boys," he told them, patting the air, "Maybe another time... It's not the kind of story that makes pleasant travel conversation." The old farmer gave his sons an all-too-familiar look that told them the matter had been decided, and they immediately quieted down. However, Gobei was not one to let the cheerful mood die so easily, and after a moment of thought he said, "But what is a good story was the time our ostrich-horse got spooked while I was holding the reigns with my stone hand..." He held up the reigns, which were currently gripping the leather strap in a partially open fist. "Dragged me around the farm for a good five minutes before I could use my other hand to pry the stone off the reigns!" The twins chuckled at the memory, though they were both very young at the time. They'd simply heard their father recount that tale enough times that they had such a clear image of the event, they might as well have witnessed it yesterday.
Gobei was laughing himself. "Lotta bumps and bruises that day, but it gets funnier as time goes by. And it taught me not to close the fist completely when holding onto something that can drag me around like a rag doll!"
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Post by sunil on Jun 8, 2007 1:02:17 GMT -5
Sunil slapped his knee and let out a series of chuckles and guffaws at the man's story. The awkward tension was lifted, and Sunil felt much relief that he didn't offend the man. "You, sir, must have plenty of these sorts of tales to tell. I must ask you more about them over a cup of tea at your house. I'd love to meet your other children and your wife.", he said with a friendly smile, showing his pearly-white teeth in contrast to his deep brown skin.
At that point, he turned his head to look at the scenery they were passing by. The plateau from which he plummeted was far in the distance, getting further and further away as the wagon moved. Pine trees still speckled the roadside, but no wildlife was in view. The animals surely were hiding from the rain. There were also no people or vehicles in front of Gobei's wagon. It must not have been a day for traveling due to the light rainfall. But the day was just right for a nice hot cup of tea.
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