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Post by laughingjin on Feb 21, 2007 13:37:01 GMT -5
Jin shook his head quickly at Nat's question, "No, I haven't." He attempted to tare his eyes away from the battle that was unfolding before his eyes between the large man and the horned beast, a Rhino something or other, but couldn't help but be transfixed by it. Even as Lyra made her way behind him, Jin couldn't snap himself out of the horror that was unfolding in front of his eyes. The man had been injured but continued to fight valiantly against the creature, even managing to knock it down.
Slowly he took a smoke filled breath as the injured man fell to the ground. Nat's words had just hit Jin, and he was stuck with an inward debate. Convince the others to help the fallen warrior, or hightail it out of the village faster than a frightened Picken? He took another smoke filled breath before coughing harshly. Nattoku was right, if the Fire Nation raiders didn't kill them, the smoke filled air would. Besides... if anything was for anything, Jin needed to get back to his younger sister. He would not leave Ayumi brotherless.
Finally making up his mind he tore his eyes away from the injured solider, and gave a sharp nod to each of his new friends. "Right... We'll try and find your family once we're out of harm's way, alright?" Jin sounded utterly defeated. He turned on his heal, waiting for the other two to follow, before he began to push his way through the frantic crowd.
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Post by lyra on Feb 21, 2007 14:29:07 GMT -5
Lyra shook her head as Nattoku asked them if they had seen anyone of his family. After Jin asnwered, she watched as her new-found friend decided upon what they were going to do - help the soldier who was now wounded, or save themselves. As Jin started to leave Lyra grabbed his wrist and shook her head. "We can't just leave him here." She said, nodding in the direction of the man. As she waited for a response from Jin she began to cough, covering her face with the sleeve of her robe. "He'll die." She finished, her eyes wide with concern and specked with fear.
Turning around, she ran over to where the man lay and kneeled down beside him, her fingers digging into the ground. Closing her eyes, she strained all of her muscles and concentrated on lifting the slab of earth the man lay on. After a few moments of concentration, the rock still hadn't budged. "Guys, help me." She said, referring to them help her try to lift the man. Grabbing one of his arms Lyra tried to pull him, but she was too small and he was too large, all she could do was hope that her friends would help her.
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Post by laughingjin on Feb 21, 2007 15:22:59 GMT -5
The tall gangly young man stopped dead in his tracks as Lyra's hand enclosed around his wrist. With a sharp sigh Jin turned to face her, catching the pleading in her eyes. He took a shaky breath in watching Lyra go to help the large man. Jin could have left him, with some harsh and severe reasoning, but there was no way under the Earth King that he would be able to leave Lyra. She was right, he would die without their help and she along with him if Jin abandoned her now.
Burying his mouth in the crook of his elbow Jin gave a harsh cough as he ran over to Lyra. Moving quickly, he shrank down to a cough and picked up the large man's arm up, putting it over his shoulders. With a slight grunt he stood, propelled by his powerful legs, and with some effort he brought that arm, along with a good portion of the large man's body, with him. "C'mon big guy," Jin spoke, his voice raspy with the strain and the smoke. Inwardly he prayed to whoever would listen that the Fire Nation marauders wouldn't attack, that they would, by some miracle, be ignored by their attackers altogether. That was far too much to hope for.
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Post by nattoku on Feb 21, 2007 15:52:38 GMT -5
A look of saddness crossed the boy's face as both his of his friends told him they had not seen or even heard his family. He just had to believe now that his mother and brothers had had enough sense to get out early and were safe and sound right as he thought this, maybe even with Jin's mom and sister. All he knew now was that they had to get out.
But, this plan changed when the man fighting for the village hit the ground. He had seemed like he could fight forever, even with terrible wounds. The man hadn't seemed like he could ever be taken down. Now a look of pure horror and fright crossed his face as the man fell to the ground. He didn't know what to do. He almost wanted to do like Jin said, and get going. But then Lyra said they should help him, and Jin agreed.
Nattoku didn't really know what to think. He wanted to get out of the smoke and for a brief second that he knew he would regret later, the teen almost thought of getting out fast. But, he wouldn't be able to stand himself if he just left this man to die. For a moment, he saw his father in this soldier's place. Of course, his father was completely different from this man, but still. He had to have a family somewhere, and it wouldn't be great for them to find out this man had died in the smoke, and though there was someone there to help, they didn't. The boy knew he wouldn't want to hear this from someone.
"What should I do to help?"Nattoku asked, not knowing what to do.
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Post by lyra on Feb 21, 2007 16:26:09 GMT -5
As Jin lifted the man onto his shoulders, she grabbed his opposite arm and wrapped it around her own small body, trying her hardest to drag the man with her as they walked toward the exit. "Nat, just follow us." she said, "Keep an eye out for those fire nation men," she instructed, continuing to drag the man over her shoulder - most of the weight was on Jin though, which made her try to carry more so he wouldn't hurt himself.
"Well, we've only just met and we're already saving lives." Lyra said to Jin and Nattoku before coughing, trying to hold her breath afterwards. She had a terrible headache and she was getting quite dizzy from all the smoke she had inhaled, but she kept walking anyway.
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Post by laughingjin on Feb 21, 2007 16:49:49 GMT -5
A small laugh slipped from Jin's lips at Lyra's comment. He wanted to do more, he was accustomed to doing more, but he couldn't overexert himself. The smoke was bad enough on his longs, now his labored breath was coupled with a labored body, not the best of combinations. Light headedness began to overwhelm him, and Jin stumbled several times, trying to regain his balance. His need to get through this alright, to see his family again, is what kept Jin's stamina, together with Lyra and Nat he dragged the large man to the wilderness, the closest way out of the village.
"Yeah, saving lives," Jin muttered, attempting to smile at Lyra's chivalry. In all truth if it wasn't for her he would have been out of the village by now, but he didn't regret staying. Lyra was right, he would die, they were saving his life, or so Jin reasoned, and it felt nice to do so.
Jin heaved another cough as he trudged on, his vision becoming blurry as his now dulled eyes swam with tears of irritation from the smoke. 'Just a little bit further,' Jin thought, 'a little further...'
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Post by nattoku on Feb 21, 2007 17:11:51 GMT -5
Nattoku nodded and started to go along at the pace they were going. His eyes were beginning to sting a lot from the awful smoke and they were tearing up. He didn't really know if this was from the smoke or from still not knowing where his family was or if they were...well, around or not. The boy shook his head and tried to keep on. He coughed some more, and tried to keep his mouth and nose covered. It wasn't helping too much, but at least it was a tad bit.
He didn't really know what to say to Lyra's comment. He wasn't really doing anything to help, so he wasn't technically saving the man. His two friends were. But that was still cool in itself.
"Lyra or Jin, if one of y'all feels like you are gonna drop him or something like that, just tell me and I'll help him the rest of the way,"Nattoku said, knowing his friends would get tired from carrying the big man and from the smoke intake. And he did want to help out a little. Nattoku looked back and still saw the Fire Nation man on the rhino where he was, but he wasn't doing anything.
Will he come after us and kill us? Or will he just go on to claim the rest of this village?All this was running through the young teen's mind.
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Post by lyra on Feb 21, 2007 17:21:48 GMT -5
This was a bit of a workout for Lyra. Every second or so she would have to adjust her hold on the man, but she was managing which was amazing for she had little to no muscle on her arms. How much does this guy weigh? she thought, but kept walking anyway, every now and then looking over at Jin to make sure he was alright.
Lyra's spirits rose as she saw the forest on the outskirts of Kei Lan. With a smile on her face she said, "Guys, the forest?" she asked, nodding in the direction of the tall trees. The cool night air around her gave her the chills. Her thoughts lingered on this - was it from the air, or the thought of the attack that had just taken place in the city? She had no idea. Looking down she saw that the hems of her robe had turned from an olive green color to a dirty black shade of green. Groaning, she thought of how much trouble she would get in by the other Abatu Bai.
Looking over at Nat she saw how sad he looked, "Don't worry, once the air clears up I'm sure we'll find your mother and brothers." With Jin's little sister and Nattoku's brothers and mother, it was hard for Lyra to imagine being in their shoes - even though she hated footware. She was an only child and her parents were back at home in their big house in Bai Seng Sei and the only people that even resembled being sisters to her were the other Abatu Bai, who were also back in Bai Seng Sei.
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Post by laughingjin on Feb 21, 2007 17:49:02 GMT -5
Jin almost toppled over himself upon setting eyes on the forest. From where he stood right now, it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He nodded at Lyra's question, "Yeah' the forest." The paint on his face had began to run , the black of his eyes now mixed with the white of his cheeks, do to the sweat Jin had began to work up, along with the ash that had begun to collect on his body and clothes Jin wanted nothing more to do than to jump in the nearest lake. He was used to heavy lifting, used t hard work, it was what he was raised on, but never in these conditions. He used his free hand to wipe off the mess from his forehead.
Jin's staff had been hanging useless in free hand, the one he had used to wipe his forehead, and the thought of Nat's offer to help now seemed delicious. Jin ran his tongue over his lips, nearly gagging with the taste of ash as he did so. "Lyra, why don't you and Nat switch places?" Jin took a raspy breath in, wincing slightly. His lungs felt heavy with smoke, and everything inside of him burned. "If those beast do come this way, Lyra could stop them with earthbending, right?" He coughed once, seemingly exhausted. Why did it seem like they weren't getting anywhere?
"Where's a waterbender when you need one?" Jin muttered as they moved on.
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Post by boragan on Feb 22, 2007 0:41:04 GMT -5
He could hear his heartbeat echo in his ears. The feeling of death drags him into the afterlife. The smell of smoke and the feel of fire. It almost was welcoming.
As Bora's vision was more clear, he noticed the same kids dragging him toward the outside of Kei Lan.
"What........are........you kids.........doing?" Bora whispered as he coughed. The pain in his side was excruciating. He just wanted to scream, "Do you.....realize....your in danger?"
Before he could continue, the sound of "thunk" could be heard nearby. When Bora looked to where it came from, he saw an arrow with fire at the tip stuck into a tree. He briefly turned around and see the archer coming their way. His eyes felt really unimpressed.
"Kids, get out of here," Bora demanded, "They'll kill you." He tried to stand to his feet, but just ended up dropping to one knee as the pain continued to throb.
The rhino stopped in front of Bora and the children that were helping him. The cold fiery eyes of the archer looked down upon them like a predator stalks his prey. He notched another arrow onto his bow and aimed for the heart of the beast. The sound of the bow string tightened as he drew back. Bora figured he would die fighting, so he had no remorse of this day. He just wished that the children could still run away.
The sound of another "thunk" was nearby. This time, it was heavier, and has a whirling noise beforehand. When he looked, there was a hatchet embedded into the ground near the archer. The archer looked up and saw another soldier. This soldier didn't look like the other Earth Kingdom soldiers. This one from what it looked like a set of heavy armor donned upon him, almost similar armor. His features on his face looked much more feral as well. Bora chuckled as he looked at the person, then looked back at the archer.
"You better ride away while you still can," Bora warned.
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Post by lyra on Feb 22, 2007 16:16:43 GMT -5
Before Lyra could ask Nattoku to switch places with her as Jin suggested, the man woke up, startling Lyra. "we're helping you." She told him, as if it were the most obvious thing,"We can take danger." She said, a bit sure of herself. Lyra let go of the soldier, watching him try to stand.
As he spoke, an arrow whizzed past their heads, landing on a tree close to them. It was then that Lyra noticed that they were already in the opening of the forest. "They'll kill you if we don't help." she said, looking at Nattoku and Jin for reassurance. It was then that the Rhino Rider was stringing another arrow, aiming it toward them. Before he could shoot, another man appeared behind him, this time with hatchet as a weapon. Smiling, Lyra listened as the first wounded soldier demanded the Rhino Rider to leave.
Backing up so that she was standing beside Nattoku and Jin, Lyra balled her firsts, concentrating on the earth below her. A rock near them lifted and levitated toward the man on the creature - not above him, but close enough to him that with a simple motion, the boulder would fly at him, hopefully knocking him off of the rhino.
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Post by laughingjin on Feb 22, 2007 16:42:56 GMT -5
The young man was going to respond to the wounded soldier's speaking earlier, but the ash and smoke had literally taken Jin's breath away. He was forced to remain silent and save what little air he could force into his lungs for breathing and breathing only. Luckily Lyra had taken the words right out of his mouth, a small smile began to make its way weakly back onto his lips because of that.
Jin nearly dropped the large man as he attempted to stand for himself. "Woah," he chocked out, a fit of coughing following the low sentiment. He carefully moved the man's arm off his shoulder to settle at the soldier's side as an arrow whizzed by. Though the weight off Jin's shoulders was more than relieving, the fact that the rise of rumbling behind him wasn't. One of the rhino creatures had charged its way in front of them, on his back the Fire Nation archer had readied his arrow.
Immediately Jin readied himself, the smile dropping from his lips. Though every nerve in his body was crying out in pain and strain he crouched, holding out his long staff horizontally with both his hands. Inwardly Jin knew it wouldn't have stopped and arrow if the archer had shot, and he knew that with his body this weak, he wouldn't be able to move fast enough to block the others, it was just the first instinct that came to mind. That, and running, but he wouldn't run, not with his friends, however new they may be, in need. But before there was need for anything of that sort a man appeared with a hatched behind the rhino.
Though the situation was unsure, a small smile crept it's way back onto Jin's face, satisfied. As Lyra moved beside himself and Nat and displayed her earthbending abilities once more his confidence grew. Jin stayed in the ready position, repeating his mantra in his head, 'Just a bit further.'
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Post by nattoku on Feb 22, 2007 16:55:29 GMT -5
Nattoku had walked over to where Lyra was to help carry the man and give her a break. But he didn't get a chance. The man came back into consciousness and started to cough. He asked them what they were doing. The boy didn't try to answer. His throat was dry from the smoke and and it would make it worse if he tried to speak. He was relieved the Lyra spoke up and said what they were trying to do.
The boy didn't really know what he should do. He knew they couldn't and wouldn't leave the man, even though he said to. We are in danger as we stay here. But, we have to see if this man needs any help to get away. But, he looks like he is staying here, and will fight until one of them dies. That is what Dad told us about in his letter. How they were being trained to fight and how the philosophy or something like that was that they would fight until their goal is accomplished.All this ran through the teen's mind.
He jumped slightly as he heard the arrow fly through the air and land in a nearby tree trunk. Nattoku's eyes widened as the enemy Fire Nation archer and his rhino were now in front of them, ready to kill. He waited for the arrow to hit one of them, but it never came. Another soldier had come, his weapon a hatchet, and he was going to fight it seemed. The soldier they had tried to rescue seemed very confident.
Nattoku then saw Lyra come up beside him and Jin, and start to earth bend, throwing a boulder at the archer to knock him off the huge animal.
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Post by lyra on Feb 25, 2007 13:49:09 GMT -5
Lyra continued to stand there, her emerald eyes locked upon the man on the Rhino. "You're outnumbered." She said, moving her balled fist a few inches so the boulder moved closer to the man, all Lyra would have to do would be to loosen her muscles and the boulder would drop onto the man. However, Lyra was not one to murder for no reason - she believed in justice and revenge, not homocide.
Turning her gaze to Jin and Nattoku she raised her eyebrows as if asking what they're ideas were. A sudden movement from the new arrived man startled her. Whipping her head around, her gaze landed on the man, her eyes scrunched up in concentration, trying to see if he could be trusted. He didn't seem to be from the Fire Nation, but it would be oh too easy for someone to dress like someone else. Lyra herself would only have to put on a blue robe and she could call herself a Water Tribe citizen.
As she stood there, she thought of what had happened to the day. It had started for her with a simple walk into Kei Lan. When she saw Jin she began to dance with him, gaining money for he and his sister. Then there was the attack on the city, the frantic scramble back to Jin's mother, and then the panic-stricken flow of people trying to get out of the festival. And now here they stood, on the outskirts of the city standing around a Fire Nation soldier.
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Post by boragan on Feb 27, 2007 5:34:18 GMT -5
The wild man continued to snarl at the rider as he slowly circled the opponent. He reached behind and in each hand pulled out another hatchet. The archer watched as he was surrounded by all sides of the opposition. Trying to weigh out his options, the rider reamed back on the rhino and retreated back toward the woods, leaving the wounded major and the other threats behind.
After watching the rider ride off, the warrior sheathed his hatchets and looked toward the major.
"Sir, your hurt," the warrior spoke. "I'm well aware that I'm hurt Batu," Bora grunted, "What of the opposition?" "There are a few units searching in the forest for the remaining enemy." "Very good. Help me up."
Batu grabbed the wounded leader of the Thunderfist Battalion and hoisted him on his shoulder. Batu looked toward the others.
"We need you to be safe," Batu said while looking at the children, "We need you to come with me."
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