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Post by gobei on Sept 9, 2007 12:24:45 GMT -5
Gobei stood back as Sunil went aout his demonstration. The old man's arms were crossed in thought as he watched the other earthbender perform his rather flashy entrance. It was indeed fairly impressive, and it demonstrated a clever use of earthbending that didn't merely throw rocks, but rather shaped the battlefield to your advantage. It was a point Gobei had often mentioned in his lessons, but this was an excellent demonstration to drive that point home.
The old farmer started walking toward the gathered children after Sunil was finished, casually lowering the inclined wall back into the ground with a motion of his hands as he approached. "Most impressive!" he called to Sunil, and the children even afforded the show a round of applause. "I hope you all took notes," Gobei added, speaking to the students, "I'll expect each of you to be able to do that by next week!"
Several of the students turned to regard him, their expressions incredulous, and Gobei let out a laugh in amusement. "Nah, just kidding..." he said, dismissing the assignment with a wave of his stone hand. "But that was an excellent demostration of how shaping the battlefield can provide you with an edge in combat. With your command over the earth you can divide your enemies, create confusion and disorder, and even provide yourself with the high ground or a better angle of attack. These are the things you will not learn from tilling your fields."
Gobei stood at the head of the cluster of young boys and girls with his arms tucked behind his back. He turned his head toward Sunil and offered a thankful nod. "Now! With that said, pair off and form two lines in front of me. We'll be running some drills to counter firebenders today." Gobei stomped his foot twice in order to make a pair of crunching noises in the ground, and the students immediately went about their task.
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Post by sunil on Sept 10, 2007 13:57:57 GMT -5
As the lessons commenced, the little girls and boys formed into rows, while Sunil sprung himself onto the very boulder he stood beside to sit and watch. The children were practicing a style of earthbending that he almost solely used, that of sculpting the battlefield to his advantage rather than heaving rocks at the opponent. While his dark eyes drifting around at the sight, he fondly remembered when he used to train with his beloved late grandfather on the outskirts of Zhy and how much fun he had during those sessions.
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After a few hours, the lessons had ended. Sunil slid off the boulder, dusted off his clothing, then walked around the crowd of children. After commending each boy or girl after Gobei had told them to practive until next time, Sunil then found his way over to the portly gentleman.
"Great bunch of kids you have here," he said with a chuckle, having seen them practice his favored bending style.
He took a second to slick back his raven tresses, took a few steps to the side and stretched his arms. "But now I feel like having a piping hot cup of tea..."
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Post by gobei on Sept 11, 2007 18:49:28 GMT -5
Gobei watched the kids disperse from the area and went about the relatively minor task of putting the upturned chunks of earth back into their former place. He rejoined Sunil and waved over to Yun-Min, who had brought the wagon over to the edge of the training ground during the lesson. With a slight snap of the reigns, the boy directed the cart closer to Gobei and Sunil. The old farmer circled around to the back and took a seat with his feet dangling off the edge. He let out a groan of contentment as he rested his legs, and with no small amount of sympathy he agreed with Sunil's desire for tea.
"I wholeheartedly agree," he said through a stiff yawn. Gobei chuckled slightly, "In fact, I might be tempted to make a purchase from you if you get a pot going right now. A nice soothing jasmine would do just the thing..."
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Post by sunil on Sept 12, 2007 0:03:06 GMT -5
Sunil settled down on the cart as it came by, climbing onto it without any bending to assist him. As he arched his head at odd angles, popping his neck joints in the meantime, Gobei rose his agreement to Sunil's request. The earthbender reacted with a smile, partly at the thought of Gobei needing to purchase tea from him.
"Gobei, Gobei...", he said, letting out a sigh. He leaned forward in his seat, gesturing to emphasize his thoughts, "I couldn't actually let you buy tea from me after all your generousity. I insist, let me give you the tea at no charge."
But he pursed his lips as he came to a realization. The only tea he had on him was not jasmine, but snow plum. In fact, it caused him to realize once more how he needed to expand his inventory. Really, were three pouches, only three sorts of tea enough?
But regardless of what he may have mulled over, he spoke up right afterward. "But I hope you'll settle for snow plum. Though I'd be fine if you wanted to stop in town to let me buy you a pound or so of jasmine tea."
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Post by gobei on Sept 17, 2007 14:43:04 GMT -5
"I couldn't think of it," Gobei responded quickly, shaking his head. "But Snow Plum does sound tasty... I'll give it a try." The elderly farmer smiled at Sunil and hoisted himself off the edge of the wagon. He stood for a moment beside it, stretching his back a little bit more, and then turned around and reached for a small compartment that was built into the seat. He lifted up the planksthat were fastened on a hinge, stuck his hand in, and pulled out a tinderbox.
"Now we just need some..." Gobei muttered to himself as he scanned the area around them for some fuel. "Aha," he exclaimed a moment later, spotting a nearby tree. Within a minute he had gone over, collected some sticks and began setting up a small mound next to the wagon. A bit of bending provided a lip of earth around the wood, and then he started arranging the kindling.
The tinderbox contained some nice dry straw, a piece of flint and a piece of steel. Within another minute or so, Gobei had managed to spark a small fire and then offered the stage to Sunil. Stepping back slightly as he pu the tinderbox back into storage, he said jokingly, "Work your magic."
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Post by sunil on Sept 17, 2007 16:01:08 GMT -5
While Gobei got off the wagon, Sunil stayed on and rummaged through his traveling sack of durable cotton cloth. He pursed the lips of his large mouth and lowered his fuzzy eyebrows while prodding through various items, all the while muttering to himself. "I know I had a canteen in here somewhere..."
In a few seconds - hardly long enough to rouse impatience in Gobei - he found his celadon-glazed stoneware canteen, then sloshed it around to hear it was almost full. Curiously, he popped the cork off its opening and smelled it, making sure it was water and not alchohol, tea, or some other liquid. Taking note that it was indeed untainted water, he grabbed his nearby iron teapot, hopped off the wagon and walked toward Gobei and the newly-made fire pit.
"All right, then...", he said with a face of placid seriousness. Sunil poured the water from his canteen into the teapot, but, realizing he had nothing to balance the teapot on while it boiled, he settled it on the ground and walked over to the tree. Breaking off a suitably-sized branch, he walked back to the fire pit and stamped his foot, rising two small, short earthen pillars on either side of the fire. He then slid the teapot's handle over the stick so that it balanced over the fire. Sunil bended a small earthen lump for himself sit on the in the meantime, as well as one for Gobei and for Yun-min.
In a relatively short while, the water was boiling, so he took the teapot by the handle, and dropped the stick to the side. Grabbing the pouch of tea and untying it from a small robe, he poured a small measurement of snow plum tea leaves directly into the teapot.
While keeping strict watch on it like a hawk, he waited until the liquid inside the metal teapot turned what seemed like the proper color - a pale earthy brown with a splash of red. Then, he poured a cup for himself and Gobei. With a wide grin, Sunil said, "Enjoy!", before lifting his own cup upward and taking in the the wonderful aroma.
But just then, it occured to him. "Now if we only had some tea to sweeten it..."
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Post by gobei on Sept 19, 2007 15:16:22 GMT -5
Goei brought the cup of tea that Sunil offered him up to his nose for a brief moment and inhaled a lungful of the steam. The aroma was quite pleasant, and he wasted no time in taking a sip. The elderly farmer looked out into the distance for a brief moment as he pondered the taste of the tea, and after swallowing h looked toward Sunil in said. "Not bad at all! Probably doesn't even need any-"
Gobei paused for a moment, considering that Sunil had mentioned "adding tea to sweeten it." His face screwed up in thought, and then a smile cracked across his face. "I think you meant honey!" he laughed, taking another sip of the snow plum tea through his chuckling. "But either way, this is pretty darn good." Gobei lifted the cup in a slight salute to the teamaker.
After a few minutes and one more refill, Gobei smothered the fire with a bit of earthbending and circled around to the front of the wagon with his son. Their ostrich-horse was well-rested and harnessed up properly for the journey back and Yun-Min climbed up into the driver's seat. Gobei called back over to Sunil, "Well, it looks like it's time for us to head home."
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Post by sunil on Sept 19, 2007 16:51:57 GMT -5
Sunil could only laugh aloud at himself when he backtracked to realize his slip-up. Really, few things embarrassed him, and he would never beat himself up over that sort of thing. It also helped that Gobei didn't make a huge deal out of it.
When time had passed, the earthbender gathered his belongings and lowered the earthen pillars beside the fire. He nodded when Gobei when the man spoke, and boarded the cart a few seconds after him and his teenaged son. With Yun-min snapping the reins, the wooden cart hobbled off.
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When they arrived at the farmhouse after a while, the late afternoon sun lay low in the sky. The cart came to a halt and Sunil hopped off with his grass-and-dirt stained swamp-green bag slung across his torso. He looked around at the area for a second or two, having pondered on the short trip whether he should depart or stay overnight once more. Gobei seemed a patient man, but Sunil was feeling surprisingly homesick. Perhaps being around a family circle made him feel that way. It wasn't often he was given a chance to stay with a family during his travels. It was a privelege to sleep in a warm bed, to be offered such amicable hospitality.
But now he wanted to go back to Zhy. With a deep sigh, he turned around and walked toward Gobei, who was still seated on the cart. Standing a body's length away, he said, "Gobei, I am very grateful of everything you've done. But now I must go. To be honest, seeing your wonderful family has made me feel kind of homesick, and it makes me want to return to Zhy to see my own family again. I hope you understand."
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Post by gobei on Sept 23, 2007 0:27:16 GMT -5
As the ostrichhorse-drawn cart pulled up in front of the farm, Gobei could see that the fields he'd assigned his sons to plow had been taken care of. He could see the freshly churned earth and it pleased him to know that his boy's had gotten that chore out of the way. And yet, as they came to a stop and Sunil prepared himself to leave, Gobei swiftly hopped down and strode up to the travelling salesman.
"It was a pleasure meeting you," the old farmer said kindly. "I wish you good fortune on the road of head." Gobei extended his stone hand toward Sunil in a gesture of farewell. He normally used his good hand for such gestures, but since he knew Sunil was a capable bender, he figured there was less danger of hurting him.
"Are you certain we can't offer some food for your trip?" he asked as a final thought.
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Post by sunil on Sept 23, 2007 13:01:16 GMT -5
Sunil smiled at Gobei's fond wishes toward his journey, and shook the man's stone hand as he stepped forward. During his firm grasp on Gobei's impressive hand-shaped display of earthbending, Sunil used his own bending abilities to prevent his bony hand from being crushed.
He would embark on his journey home soon enough, but he wasn't averse to taking detours and making small side trips. Sunil was notorious for procrastinating, even during his own lengthy travels. He was never headed anywhere in a hurry, and would let life take him wherever it wanted. Even the experiences of the past two days were entirely unplanned, stemming from a rather random occurance that led him to Gobei's home and to the small Earth Kingdom town.
Thus, Gobei's following offer of a free meal led Sunil to simply shrug his shoulders and grin. He could spare as much as an hour or two before heading back out on the road. Sunil was always willing to spare time. "Sure, I'm up for it. Thanks."
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Post by gobei on Sept 26, 2007 17:42:41 GMT -5
"A nice home-cooked meal for the road then," Gobei decided as he withdrew his hand and led Sunil into the house. My was sitting in the living room with Myuri, and the two seemed busy with some sort of stitching. The elder daughter glanced up at them as they entered and smiled warmly.
"Is the bread still fresh?" Gobei asked the young woman as he strolled toward their pantry.
"It should be," My responded, lowering her needle and thread.
"Good, good." The old farmer opened the cabinet and pulled out half a loaf of bread as well as an apple. He closed the doors and swiftly wrapped those items in a linen cloth and then offered the bundle to Sunil. "That should hold you for a little bit," he said with a smile.
"Sunil's leaving?" My asked, standing from her seat. Beside her, Myuri seemed to be too engrossed in stitching the pattern of a pig-chicken into her fabric to notice what was happening.
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Post by sunil on Sept 26, 2007 19:09:05 GMT -5
Sunil kindly accepted the bundle and peeked inside as Gobei handed it to him. He caught a glimpse of bread and smelled its aroma, smiling. His gray-green backpack was slung over his shoulders, rope tied around his waist, and he was all set to go. He offered a deep bow, almost bending his entire upper body forward, and as he rose, said, "Thank you very much."
The earthbending tea salesman, a traveler of the land, turned his head to look down the road. It was a long path, a long walk indeed, but he wouldn't mind the whole journey back to his home.
"Well, these feet will take me where I want to go. Goodbye, my friend." Sunil said, motioning toward his large feet as he took one last glance at the farmhouse and Gobei. With a wave of his partially callused hand, he turned and headed down the dusty path, and hours later would see the walls of Ba Sing Sei grow on the horizon.
-Sunil has left this thread-
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