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Post by tali on Dec 2, 2007 9:57:55 GMT -5
Tali smiled realizing her assumptions were right, she felt as if she just slipped past the inviable wall most groups of people form. Now she would basically be accepted into the circle. But as soon as she was about to respond a road block was tossed into her way. Why didn't she see that one coming, the girl obviously had tight reign over the other two, infact the boy and that girl seemed disjointed with their own agenda's. The girl straight across from her was the queen bee, the one she'd need to sweeten up to if she wanted to hear anything about their travels. Tali inwardly winced, it would be hard considering she usually found herself coming off too blunt.
Most travelers were more than willing to brag about where they've been, though with a smaller group like this the moral and structure of the single person social classes were much better. With a small smile touching her features she looked up at the girl with a mix of respect and adoration, the boy was all to willing to let her in but without this womans approval she wouldn't get to talk for too long before a fight broke out. Especially, it seemed, with that stuff on the table. She'd seen her father drag himself into one too many brawls over it.
' Those gems are rare, wow! ' No... that one wouldn't work she'd think she was interested in them, saying that would only be broadcasting that she was a thief or something looking into what they may be stealing later. There had to be something to say. " Did you lead them all the way through the swamp? Thats a really hard trek, you must be an amazing leader to navigate it."
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Post by mulaqi on Dec 3, 2007 1:18:45 GMT -5
The smile one Muqali’s face faltered when Manju interrupted his conversation with the Earth Kingdom girl. He hadn’t seen Manju like this before. I mean, sure, she was always poking fun at people, but he’d never seen her so openly and blatantly hostile. When he’d met her in Omashu, she’d approached him right away fairly openly. So why then was she acting this way towards this newcomer? Was this a bad town, or was there something about the girl that was a sign she couldn’t be trusted? Muqali hadn’t picked anything like that up, and Manju, being from the Fire Nation, was as much a foreigner to these lands as he. He was about to tell the Igni woman to ease off the newcomer, but the girl spoke first.
"Did you lead them all the way through the swamp? Thats a really hard trek, you must be an amazing leader to navigate it."
Muqali blinked at the girl several times, looking somewhat shocked. He glanced between Manju and the girl for a moment, as though to make sure who was talking to who, and then finally spoke.
“Lead?” he asked in disbelief. “Manju?”
Though he hadn’t meant the comment in any kind of taunting way, it came across that way a little bit. Manju was a lot of things, but a leader didn’t seem like one of them. Unless making snide comments counted as leading in the Earth Kingdom…
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Post by manju on Dec 3, 2007 1:38:42 GMT -5
Ah, yes...
She could only smile inwardly and outwardly at the girl's insinuation of Manju being leader of the three. Manju did in fact think of herself as a de facto leader, perhaps only because of the apparent wealth she carried on her person at all times. In her mind, she held a certain dominion over the sand nomads. Her smile grew wider at Muqali's utterance of disbelief, at which she would begin her clever speech.
Rising her hands behind her head, she said, "Got dat right, babe. I'm leader of these two slimeballs. Dey're my lackeys and dey love it."
Swiftly turning her head over to Muqali, her head leaning in less than an arm's length away from his own, she somehow maneuvered her foot to push on his shoulder several times. "You dere - Fall to de ground and worship me!"
Immediately after, she swiveled her head at Nasrin with an increasingly demented grin, her slender foot still on Muqali's shoulder as she pointed at the sandbender. "And joo! I command joo to introduce me to dat chick!"
A series of loud cackles erupted from Manju's bizarrely-contorted mouth, enough so to turn quite a few heads in the building. To her, it felt good to let loose all that emotion at once.
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Post by nasrin on Dec 3, 2007 16:10:05 GMT -5
Muqali wasn't alone in his surprise that this new girl assumed Manju to be the leader of their little trio. Nasrin glanced back at the Igni girl, who must have been six or seven years her junior. She seemed to like the title of leader by the look on her face.
Personally, Nasrin didn't think they had a designated leader. The sandbender viewed their relationship as purely symbiotic. However, she really didn't care if Manju viewed herself as the captain of their crew as long as it didn't go to her head.
Moments later, as the Igni jabbed Muqali with her foot and demanded praise, and then instructed Nasrin to introduce her to their new acquanitance, it became apparent that those hopes were dashed.
And yet, if Manju expect even the slightest response from the sandbender woman she would be sorely disappointed. Nasrin contined to shift her gaze slowly between Manju and the new girl, before settling her eyes on the bottle at the middle of the table. Without even bothering to respond to her demands, Nasrin reached forward and grabbed the fired clay container. She casually poured herself a glass using one of the small cups already stacked on the table and then leaned back deeply into her seat.
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Post by tali on Dec 3, 2007 16:55:40 GMT -5
guess I could be wrong.... Tali's face slipped for a moment into what had to be distaste but she quickly caught her falter feeling very much like leaving the table now. The assertiveness she caught off the woman wasn't the boastfulness of leadership, more over it was sheer ego and distaste. What a different image from what she had formulated.
Her assumption that all people were basely good had been challenged. In truth that was what upset her the most, that and she seemed to be making her traveling companions uncomfortable. It wasn't the first time her observed snap judgments were wrong, just like a fight she'd have to re-group and re-assess the situation At least the tone had changed from 'go away'. Though at this moment having it go back didn't seem all that terrible.
" I'm not a chick and my name is Tali, I only assumed you were the leader because your assertive but now I see it's just because your a bitch" She smiled a bit but her mind stopped after a second or two but it was already too late. Once again she had put her foot in her mouth. Maybe picking fights was just something that ran in her family, it wasn't as if she did it on purpose but whenever someone was rude or insulting she had trouble not locking horns with them. Maybe she could talk her way out of it... not likely.
Glancing to the side she ran her hands over her wrapped hair feeling the fabric beneath her fingers trying her best to look like it was just a slip of a lounge, or better that it didn't happen. Her eyes hadn't yet softened though, once she got started it was hard to stop. "Your not from around here and I thought I'd try and be nice." Damn, it happened again, she meant to say something sweet sounding and helpful but it was another pointed insult at the woman... today would not end well...
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Post by mulaqi on Dec 5, 2007 0:32:41 GMT -5
Muqali only partly paid attention to what Manju said. He was too busy being creeped out by her leg bending all the way over her back, and he didn’t even attempt to hid it in his expression. What he caught of her words were ridiculous, but the leg was far too distracting. How was that even physically possible, and why in the world would anyone want to put themselves in that position? He did, however, snap out of it just before the girl, Tali, replied, and that led to a whole new level of shock. He glanced hurriedly from Manju to Tali like someone trapped between a fire nation tank and a mammoth-camel stampede. The girl seemed like a friendly person, and Manju had certainly been a little hostile…but this defined the term “poor decision”. Manju’s temper, from what he’d seen, was quick, and she wouldn’t hesitate to pull out something sharp and pointy if provoked. That needed to be prevented.
Muqali let out a horribly fake laugh and slapped his hand on the table, “Aha, good joke. Because, you know, you were just joking, and we like joking. Right, Manju?”
The Sand Nomad forced an equally fake smile onto his face, only adding to how futile his peace bargaining was. Still, he wasn’t a complete fool, and even as he spoke, he began to reach for one of his tonfa. By the time he was finish, he was gripping it, prepared to bring it out if Manju’s response was…extreme.
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Post by manju on Dec 5, 2007 17:15:10 GMT -5
Her foot slid off Muqali's shoulder when the girl replied, making wild insinuations that Manju had to try her best not to demean with cruel laughter. The girl obviously had a sense of humor, or at least enough of a will of her own to combat the Igni's fiery demeanor. The short-haired young woman was far from offended, but she felt like testing the limits of this situation as she did with many things in life.
Hopping of her seat, a convincing look of burning hatred surfacing in her pointed features, she sauntered over to the girl slowly. A piercing glare formed in her amber eyes, which never left the other girl's lean-muscled form for even the shortest second. As she swung around the front of the table, trying to make her short self look as menacing as possible, she put her hands on her hips and forced a growling huff.
Before taking a few steps toward the girl, she reached up to pull on the knot of the sarong-bandana she wore on her head, tightening it so it wouldn't fall off randomly. And as she stood before her potential opponent, she sounded a painfully simple reply, "Wanna make something of it, whore?"
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Post by nasrin on Dec 5, 2007 19:44:18 GMT -5
Through all the insults and attempts to cover them up, and even through Manju's blatant invitation for a fight, Nasrin merely remaining seated and sipped her alcoholic beverage. She was quite comfortable sprawled back in her chair, and she didnt feel like moving. Already her head was buzzing pleasantly with the effects of the liquour, and other than that nothing seemed to matter too much.
However, the only thing that did come to mind with the rising tension at the table was how close the bottle of alcohol was to the edge of the table. Where the bitter name calling failed to rile her, the potential danger to her liquour supply set off red flags in her mind. And yet, despite the sudden sense of urgency, Nasrin was still too lethargic to even lean forward from her position of comfort.
Instead, she simply rose her left hand up toward the bottle which was about a foot out of reach. After wiggling her fingers for several seconds in an attempt to stretch them long enough to grasp the bottle, she opted to use her bending. With a little bit of concentration forced through the haze of the alcohol, she called upon the porcelain container of the liquour and summoned it into her grasp. The bottle slid off the table, through the air, and came to a rest in her palm.
From there Nasrin merely topped of her cup with another dash of the stuff and cradled the bottle.
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Post by tali on Dec 5, 2007 20:02:45 GMT -5
Tali could feel herself bristle with a small surge of anger rising in her gut and moving up into her chest. Her braid moved against her back and her hands managed to ball into fists in case she went for a hit first. If she wanted to rumble then they'd rumble.
By the time Manju had gotten around the table Tali was already on her feet urging her on. It wasn't in her nature to back down, nor was it in her nature to listen to the small voice in her head telling her to cool it. Usually she didn't get in fights with strangers straight away but this fire-nation trash seemed to be asking for it. Maybe the rumors of their hot heads were right. There was no way she was earth kingdom, they had manners.
If she had sleeves she'd be rolling them up by now but since she didn't she got up in the other girls face. If this woman thought she was cute by acting like a spoiled brat then that was her business, but insulting Talia ShioFeun was out of line.
Tali wouldn't be the one to make the first move but no one called her a whore and got away with it. Young woman cast a glare to the other woman pleased with the fact she had possibly an inch or two on her, though the other girl was stockier than she was.
It might mean more muscle but she hoped it was just her particular build. Either way figuring out weak points wouldn't be too difficult, even without her staff she could knock someone down a few pegs. " You better watch it or you might earn yourself a limp"
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Post by mulaqi on Dec 5, 2007 22:14:57 GMT -5
Manju may have been feigning her rage, but as always, Muqali fell for it hook line and sinker. All he saw was that it looks like everything was going to go just as he had feared it would. He couldn’t have that. He considered Manju a friend, and while he didn’t know this girl, he didn’t want her getting hurt, either. Seeing as Nasrin was more concerned with her booze than anything (surprise, surprise), it was going to be up to him to put a stop to this. Quickly, he pushed out his chair and slid under the table, just avoiding hitting his head as he went. As he came out the other side, he hopped to his feet, coming up right in between the two would be combatants. Smiling awkwardly, he held a palm in each of their directions, trying to stay their anger.
“Wait, wait, wait! Let’s think this through ladies,” he said, looking back and forth between the two. “We’re all friends...well, we just met you, Tali, but, I mean…well, come on! You don’t actually want to fight each other, right?”
Glancing back and forth between the two young women again, he quickly decided that was a stupid question. Negotiating wasn’t Muqali’s strong suit, but he knew when his efforts were starting to really become futile. Unfortunately, though, with his hands focused on trying to create some space between the two women, he no longer was keeping such a close watch on his tonfa. A quick draw was out of the question, at this point. Glancing over to Nasrin, he gave a pleading look.
“A little help, Nasrin?”
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Post by manju on Dec 6, 2007 15:47:25 GMT -5
Where false anger may have dwelt before, the girl was quickly pushing Manju to the point of actual rage. Suuure, she thought to herself, finding it impossible for a girly-girl like the one before her to take on a fully-trained Igni brawler like Manju. This brown-haired girl was asking for exactly what she offered, if not more. Her glare narrowing, a scowl quickly came to her face. "Real cute, skank. I could kill joo twice 'fore ya 'it de ground."
Of course, this exchange of insults would probably never end well in any situation, but Muqali's interference only made things worse. With a piercing gaze out the corner of her eye at the male sand nomad, she growled, "Back off, jerk, or jou're next."
Hands lowered to her side, anger fueled by incredulous claims by some random girl, Manju briefly put her hand on Muqali's chest and pushed as hard as she could. Hopefully, he would take this hint to move out of the way before he got caught up in the tornado. The young Igni woman, foregoing any long taunts, quickly bent her legs and arms into a fierce position that proved her claim was not invalid. Eyes narrowing yet again into the smallest of slits, she grumbled, "Bring it!"
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Post by nasrin on Dec 6, 2007 22:13:48 GMT -5
“A little help, Nasrin?”
The sandbender groaned a sort of incoherent response whose tone unmistakably conveyed the message of "I don't wanna!" She crossed her hands over her chest, bottle in one hand and cup in the other, and pouted like a child who had been told to clean up her room. In truth, despite the fact she was already feeling a little tipsy from the potent spirit, she was really not looking forward to Manju getting herself arrested. Her gone meant the money was gone too, and she didn't have the cash to pay for the bottle in her hands.
But once again, she found herslef not compelled enough to intervene. Even after Manju went so far as to shove Muqali and beckon the other girl to take a swing at her, the most she actually did was say, "Hey, take it easy you.... jungle person."
She thought over her choice of words for a moment, feeling they were a little sub-par of her usual command of the language, but then shrugged it off and took a small sip from her cup.
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Post by tali on Dec 7, 2007 5:58:56 GMT -5
She was finding it increasingly hard to curb herself but a quick glance around the room showed that the few occupants, the girl like a fish dis-cluded, were getting nervous about the two girls. Well the drinking girl and a group of men in the corner hoping one of them would rip the others shirt off, every town had their problems...
Either way the general feeling was that they wanted the fighting to stop. Talia lowered her guard a bit trying to think of a civil way to end this petty argument. Loosing stung in her mind but honestly she reasoned she'd be the one who'd win. Having discipline was better then winning a pointless brawl.
The brown haired girl blinked when the boy got shoved, okay that was it the bitch was going down. Dragging other people into a fight between woman wasn't only cruel but to shove him was just plain rude. This woman needed to be knocked down a few pegs, Talia was the one to do it.
Leaning her weight on her back leg she pulled herself into a low stance borrowing form from earth bending. If anything else it'd keep her on her feet during the match. she could always switch her style in the middle of the fight as she saw fit. " It seems your fuse is as short as that rats nest you call hair"
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Post by mulaqi on Dec 8, 2007 0:08:03 GMT -5
Considering that Muqali wasn’t expecting the shove, Manju had used a rather excessive amount of strength. The sand nomad was sent stumbling backwards, arms flailing as he tried to regain his balance. For a moment, it seemed like he would, but before he could, his legs ran into a chair. At this point, all hope was lost, and he was sent falling backwards. He would have hit the floor had he not collided with another, sturdier object. Turning his head, he found that it was not a piece of furniture, but the back of a very large man with some kind of skull tattooed into the back of his head. In his hand, the man clutched a now shattered cup of alcohol, and when he turned his head to glare at Muqali, the blood dripping from his lip made it clear that Muqali was responsible for it being shattered in the first place.
“Uh, sor-”
Muqali’s apology was quickly cut off, as a massive python of an arm soon wrapped around his throat in a headlock. Sputtering as he gasped for breath, Muqali’s legs scrambled to try and push the man backwards, while his right hand reached down to his hip. The man snarled and continued to glare holes through the back of Muqali’s head, at least he did before the shaft of an iron tonfa slammed into his face with an audible crack. The man released Muqali instinctively to clutch his broken nose, and the sand nomad fell to the floor, gasping for air. Finally managing to recover, Muqali turned around just in time to see the large man raise a chair above his head. Hastily, Muqali dropped to his back and kicked up with his legs. His feet slammed into the legs of the chair before his assailant could bring it down, and the object was sent soaring into the air.
As quickly as he could, Muqali rolled to his right and rose, now with both tonfa out and in a fighting stance. Despite this, his face was one of despair, for he noticed that the chair was flying right towards another table. Before he’d had the chance to shout a warning, it smashed into the table of four men, scattering their booze and making them stand up in surprise. As they looked around for the culprit, Muqali realized that this situation could only be headed for one conclusion: bar fight.
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Post by manju on Dec 10, 2007 18:31:30 GMT -5
The clash and clatter of Muqali's fall was ignored by the Igni, who was focused on beating the tar out of the girl before her. That is, if the girl was even a worthy opponent. For all Manju knew, 'Talia' was a girl whose bark was much greater than her bite. Looks could be deceiving, however. There were indeed many facets weighed by the bandana-clad Igni as her amber eyes observed. Though a growing anger clouded her judgement slightly, it allowed her to still weigh matters as carefully as her fluttering mind could.
Manju lowered her stance, knees bent and feet firmly on the floor. Like a cat ready to strike its prey, she was ready to leap at any moment. So with that, she would allow the girl to make the first move. This would prove everything she needed to know, giving way to the rest of the tussle.
Smirking, she sounded one last taunt. "Gonna blather all day, or is it time to t'row a punch?"
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