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Post by yasu on Aug 29, 2006 21:40:34 GMT -5
Yasu felt nearly proud of herself. So far she wasn't dead. That was a good sign proving that she could possibly live through this until she got back home to the Rebellion's hide-out. Her narrowed his made her pupils fall into small pin-points when she found that the leader was letting his gaze linger on her before turning back to the soldier that had come up with news. He said some things to the man, before the leader turned back to her. She found so badly that she wanted to just pull her bow forward and snap an arrow at him. She knew that the instant she did this, she would be dead. Wanted, perhaps, for killing him. So she held her tongue, but let her eyes linger past the man to the soldiers surrounding her. One caught her eye. While all were tense and ready for anything, looking as if they may die, this one soldier kept his hand on his canteen, but he was so tense and watched the events surrounding her with such a heated eye it made her curious. But before she could linger on this any further, the leader was speaking once more.
""Yasu Al..." he had said, repeating her name and making her cringe. She remembered one thing now from the lessons she had learned about giving out information: Never state your true identity. That deserved a good slap to the forehead. She cursed herself several times before returning to the present. "Interesting name, but it hardly answers why you were out here alone and armed for combat. I have to insist you be more honest with us." She felt his gaze harden on her, and she returned her gaze to him with a forcefully glare to match his. But then her glare slackened and a playful smile crossed her lips. She was never good at lying.
"Honestly, who is honest now adays, Sir? But I won't lie to you about this: I am no Earth Kingdom citizen, as you might have guessed--" one of the surrounding soldiers snorted at this comment, but she merely shot him a gaze and he was quieted down, "--I am, as my golden eyes and pale skin suggest, a Fire Nation girl. Not Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation. And for your information, not all Fire Nation is bad. Some highly distaste the acts of the war." She shrugged simply, knowing that some of these soldiers would deny that completely for what they had grown-up in. But she returned her gaze to the Water Bender that had caught her attention earlier, and she gave him a hard glare before repeating, "Not all of us are bad," she returned her gaze to the leader now with a softer look, but it still held some hardness toward the man, "And that is how I ended up here in the Earth Kingdom, Sir. I was spirited away here by my mother, who hated the acts of the war. She brought me here in hopes that I would live away from the war. Unfortunately, she was caught and killed by Fire Nation soldiers and I have been living with a friend of hers for a few years."
She kicked herself mentally. She was losing herself in this story. She needed to find her way out, for she knew it wasn't true and she was sure that it was obvious it wasn't. She was a terrible liar. "And...the reason I have this bow is...because..." She had caught herself off guard for that, and she kicked herself once again. Why would she be prancing around the woods with a bow such as this? This was a nice bow with nice arrows. It wasn't made for hunting, but for lengthy combat. "...Because I was..." Just then a bird sang off in the distance, and she froze. For it might sound like a bird to others, but for her and other Rebellion members, it was the call for gathering. They were looking for her, and she was just like the bait in the trap for these Water Tribe members. She shut her eyes tightly, wanting badly to whistle to them to tell them that she was safe. She didn't.
"I was hunting." she said bluntly, her eyes glanced down at her feet and then she shut them tightly, knowing full well that this had probably given herself fully away. She just sat there in silence, even when the crack of a twig brought her ears perking forward. She stayed perfectly still.
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Post by aden on Aug 30, 2006 0:25:40 GMT -5
Aden's head twitched reflexively toward the sound of another snapping branch in the woods. The young waterbender strained his eyes and ears as he peered into the brush off to the side of the trail. The miniscule noise seemed to go unnoticed by the others nearby, but it was the same type of minor disturbance that had betrayed Yasu Al's position. Aden glanced back toward the Fire Nation girl as she continue to stammer out a response to his leader's question. The young soldier had been distracted by the noise, but even just looking at the girl it was obvious that she was lying... or stalling.
A second noise -this time a bird call- caught Aden's attention. He popped the cap off his waterskin and then covered the hole with his thumb, making it even more ready for use. Too many things were going on around him to permit him to relax.
"Hunting?" Hissun echoed Yasu Al's final statement after she'd finished. His tone was perfectly even, but the disbelief was obvious in his eyes. "My dear," he said, crossing his arms, "you really shouldn't try to convince others of things you don't believe yourself." The elder warrior gave a slight nod to the soldiers beside him and took a step back. "You will be disarmed and released at the next town we pass," Hissun announced to the scout as a trio of water tribe men approached her. Two had spears leveled toward her while a bender extended one hand to take her bow while keeping the other on the cap of his waterskin.
"Please don't make this difficult," the bender said, flicking his fingers to urge Yasu Al to comply.
Hissun had turned to regard the rest of the war party, most of which had started to gather in that one section of the trail. "I want these woods checked for any signs of hostility," he declared, "Send out four teams of three and check every bush and tree for 50 yards. The rest of us will remain here until everyone returns.... You have your orders."
Aden wasted little time in starting towards the side of the trail where he'd heard a snap previously. Two other soldiers nearby fell in line behind him. The young waterbender, however, didn't seem interested in subtlety at that point and lashed out his arm toward the brush. A stream of water snaked out of his watersking and tore a slash through the bushes, clearing a healthy chunk of foliage. If there was someone nearby, they'd be found soon enough...
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Post by zukosfire on Aug 30, 2006 17:26:21 GMT -5
Li nearly screamed when the water whip cleared the bushes next to her. Crap. She was going to be found, and then what? She'd be accused a spy, and who knows what would happen to her then? Once again, Li quickly reviewed her options, and decided that maybe she should come out of hiding. Perhaps they would be easier if she turned herself in. Hell, she could always fight herself out of it, hopefully.
Anyways, there was at least one Waterbender, so maybe the group of soldiers weren't Fire Nation.
Before the person on the other side of the brush could use a water whip again, Li stepped out of her hiding place with her hands on her head, and turned to look at the three soldiers in front of her, one who had a waterskin and she presumed that he was the Waterbender.
"Don't attack me! If you are part of the Earth Kingdom, then I mean no harm!" she said.
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Post by naru on Aug 30, 2006 18:32:41 GMT -5
As the rest of the soldiers put away there weapons a man pushed his way through the crowd to meet Naru and Liung. The man was breathing hard and told the sodier that was questioning the old man to let him handle it.
"We are sorry, Great August Liung," He bowed his head in shame as he said this, "Please forgive the manners and demeanor of my kinfolk and I, sire. But we have most recently stumbled upon a fire nation scout, and as a retired general to th-"
At this point Liung cut him off to make a correction, "General returning from retirement," The old man stated courteously.
"Excuse me-as a 'general returning from retirement' Im sure you understand the implications of finding even one scout." He nodded towards a few of the Water Tribesmen standing near the trees a little ways back with weapons ready. The man then continued once more, “As per orders from our war leader, you are allowed to be on your way but you are advised to be on guard for any Fire Nation soldiers quite possibly lurking amidst this region. Yet our war leader also extends an invite for you and your grandson to travel under our protection, sire Liung.”
The man was polite and well-mannered as Naru well knew that was a character trait that his grandfather was 'delighted to see in people'. Liung replied in a kind tone "It's not a problem, I am glad to see that todays soldiers are so well trained as to not underestimate their opponent. As for-" The Earthbender was interrupted by a the whistle of a bird. But it did not sound like an ordinary bird, it was a very good imitation but Liung had heard and even used these sounds before it was a signal. The next disturbing sound was the loud crack of a stick this time nearly everyone noticed the sound. Lings senses were drawn in the direction of the sound, he could feel a vibration, a figure. "It looks like we have another visiter, there's someone in the woods" Liung said calmly. Naru looked at his Granpa in confusion. How does he DO that Naru wondered and it wasn't the first time the general's Earthbending had amazed him. Things like this happened all the time, Naru had always noticed that nothing had ever snuck up on his grandfather, at least not any time he could remember. Naru looked over to the forest to see many soldiers walking through. He could see a water whip lash out at and tear a chunk from a bush. Moments later a woman stood up from behind the bush with her hands on the back of her head and said loud enough for them to hear, "Don't attack me! If you are part of the Earth Kingdom, then I mean no harm!"
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Post by chamir on Aug 31, 2006 19:50:36 GMT -5
"It looks like we have another visiter, there's someone in the woods" Liung nonchalantly stated.
"Another 'guest' maybe," Chamir speculated. Unraveling part of his headscarf to wipe sweat from his brow.
Hissun seemed to have reached Liung's conculsion as well. Issuing orders for the entire war party that was slowing to a halt from these interruptions. Those who were not already scouting their way into the brush began setting their packs down. A few unsheathing and readying weapons, just in case, while a few others sat.
Chamir himself stood, mindlessly sliding his machete in and out of its sheath with his left hand, while rocking on his heels. Deciding what to do next he then turning his attention back to Liung and his grandson.
"I believe I should introduce you to our war leader," he finally, naively, suggested. "Please, follow me."
Walking back to Hissun's position he caught sight of a water whip--coming from Aden from what he could see--snapping its way through the brush. With his right hand he reflexively drew his machete while extending his left to Liung and his grandson to hang back.
Before Aden attempted another water whip, a clarion voice called out from the brush. "Don't attack me! If you are part of the Earth Kingdom, then I mean no harm!" And feminine too, Chamir noted as he turned back to the two behind him.
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Post by yasu on Aug 31, 2006 21:56:33 GMT -5
Yasu felt her lips turn into a snarl at the leader as he echoed her reason for being in the woods. His tone was even, and it slightly frightened her at how calm he seemed to be. "My dear, you really shouldn't try to convince others of things you don't believe yourself." Yasu's mouth straightened out and she clenched her teeth.. She had taken numerous lying lessons, just to lie to her father to be able to leave him in peace. Of course, her lie probably only made it worse on her poor, crippled father for she left a few nights later when she had promised she would never leave him. She held back a sigh. "You will be disarmed and released at the next town we pass." Yasu's eyes widened in bewilderment. Disarmed? No! She needed her bow! She couldn't use other one! She snarled at the spear-men that leveled their spears at her, while another man extended one hand to take her bow.
"Difficult?" she growled dangerously. And then she heard Hissun call out to his fellow soldiers to check the surrounding forests. Yasu sighed heavily, this one open, and she relaxed her muscles and began to discard her bow from across her shoulders. She paused, hesitant. She found that she couldn't stand around while the army she had been tracking could be around. Just then the water-bender that had caught her attention earlier lashed out with a water-whip and then a few moments later a young woman was standing with her hands up. Yasu narrowed her eyes, trying to identify the young woman who obviously seemed Earth Kingdom. She sighed and turned back to the water-bender as a spear-man poked her in the shoulder with a tip of the spear. She began to hand him her bow and then her arrows, but with narrowed eyes she looked him closely and said threw a wicked smile, "You will regret this in the future."
Swiftly she fell to the ground and kicked at the water-bender's legs; his stance fell and he stumbled slightly. Then she picked up her dropped bow and swung around to a spear-man, swinging her bow into his head and knocking him to the side slightly. Someone grabbed her shoulders and she did a move she had been taught in one of her classes. She threw her hands up in the air, spun around, locking the man's arms under her left and glared at him. The man was shocked and soon found himself on the ground with a bleeding nose. Yasu was going to make it! She began to run in the directions of the woods when something lashed out at her, and she fell to the ground holding her legs. The water-bender she had hit had gotten back up. He was standing over her in an instant, and Yasu hit her head against the ground a few times in defeat.
"Your bow, please," the water-bender said through clenched teeth, his arm outstretched. She sighed heavily and handed him the bow, keeping an eye on him as he swung the quiver of arrows over his shoulder. The two spear-men, well, one spear-man and a new soldier (the one she had hit in the nose was still bleeding), grabbed her by her upper forearm and heaved her up. Her legs felt numb under her weight and they held her still, glaring at her with cold eyes, awaiting for further orders. Yasu felt completely idiotic. But she hadn't given up yet. She would get out of her, back to her battalion, back to her Rebel Group where she could update on the Fire Nation army she had been following. She could only hope she got out of there soon enough.
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Post by aden on Aug 31, 2006 23:49:19 GMT -5
Aden held his attack when the form of an Earth Kingdom woman revealed herself from the brush. With one arm raised and the stream of water still wavering in anticipation of the next strike, he quickly looked over the latest comer to the gathering. At first glance her heritage was obvious. Her clothes, hairstyle, hair color, eye color, and general features were all consitent with the Earth Kingdom population he'd seen so far.
"Don't attack me!" she said frantically, "If you are part of the Earth Kingdom, then I mean no harm!" Aden had no intention of harming her, but his heart was still racing from the start she'd given him. The young warrior quickly lowered his hands and guided the water whip back into his waterskin.
At that moment, however, he heard a scuffle back on the other side of the trail. Aden turned quickly toward the source, his side-braids flailing out as he did, and he saw Yasu Al attempting to escape. He was about to start heading over to help once she'd dropped two of the soldiers, but held himself in check after seeing the bender bring her down. Within moments she was back under control and her weapons were taken.
Exhaling a sigh of relief, Aden turned back to the woman in the woods. "My apologies," he said to her, offering a respectful bow to his elder, "but as you can see there are Fire Nation scouts in these parts. My tribe is a bit on edge..." Aden paused momentarily and raised up from his bow, thinking over the situation for a moment. He was recalling the other travelers that had been encountered at the head of the marching column and Hissun's reply to their presence.
"You are free to continue along your way," he said to the Earth Kingdom woman, "but you are also welcome to travel under our protection if you wish to do so."
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Post by zukosfire on Sept 4, 2006 19:30:14 GMT -5
Li looked the waterbender over as he withdrew his water whip. "I am traveling to Ba Sing Se, so if that's where you are headed, then I will join you for the time being. Otherwise I will continue to travel on my own." she said, lowering her hands and becoming more relaxed. It seemed like they were not enemies.
Suddenly, she heard a commotion, and saw a girl trying to run away from a guard it seemed like. She was subdued however.
Turning her attention back to the waterbender in front of her, Li continued, "Actually, while I thank you for your offer, I don't want to be a burden, and I can look after myself, so perhaps I will travel alone anyways. I like the solitude actually. It's quite calming. And I'm sorry to have startled you." she finished, surprised she had talked so much.
Li usually kept quiet, but her heart was still beating rather fast over that events of the past few minutes, and she didn't want to cause anymore trouble. Her old childhood habits still haunted her; keep quiet, don't draw attention to yourself, and maybe today the Firebenders won't hurt you.
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Post by aden on Sept 9, 2006 14:16:50 GMT -5
Aden gave a slight nod toward the Earth Kingdom woman after she'd stated her intention to travel alone. "As you wish," he said respectfully, even offering a slight smile, "Ba Seng Se is not our final destination, but our path does lead us toward the great city for quite some time. If you decide to reconsider the offer, you are welcome to join us." The young waterbender put his hands together and gave another curt bow before stepping quickly around Li Liu and starting off into the woods, suddenly back on high alert for any sounds of danger.
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Post by chamir on Sept 13, 2006 16:08:13 GMT -5
Looking at his scabbard while resheathing his machete--how do some people do this without looking, now, he pondered to himself--he began walking to this new woman with Liung and Naru following.
Stopping to bow once the woman took notice of his approach he then smiled widely in greeting. "Why hellooo m'lady," he began innocently enough. "You may call me Chamir or Mr. Season's-Worth-O-Babble--that I am. If you'll be traveling with us for the meantime I suggest you follow me so I may introduce you to our leader Hissun along with your countrymen the Great August General Liung and his adorable grandson Naru--right there behind me."
He tossed his head over his shoulder. "You have no need to worry traveling with a group of foreign men as we're rather behaved and here to aid," he placed a thumb to his chest. "And I've myself have been throughly once upon a time by my dear Chandrakant--may she live in peace amongst our ancestors and the gods--that I have. So there's little need to worry other than us finding a Fire Nation scout so I'm sure it'd be in your best interest of safety for us to accompany you for the time being, m'lady."
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Post by yasu on Sept 14, 2006 20:55:26 GMT -5
Her guards loosened their grip on her upper arms, but they glanced at her suspiciously. Yasu sighed heavily. She had been idiotic; curiosity had gotten the best of her. Now look what she had gotten herself into. She felt trapped. Locked up for what she believed in. Her eyes slowly widened, taking on a distant look as she thought of her mother. Is this what Mother when the Royal Guard came for her? she wondered, her eyes widening slightly, Trapped? Beaten? Betrayed? She didn't feel betrayed, but her mind was now long gone from her current situation. She was remembering the day she had found her mother in the garden, talking to two shadowed people, talking about the Rebellion and their plan to raid the Fire Nation capitol. Yasu had been petrified and dizzy with fever. She had told her father, and her father had gone to her mother himself. She didn't know what happened after that, it was a blur. She wished she had her journal with her, so that she could look back at the old entries to see what had happened.
Her mind had long ago blurred out those certain memories. She was sure that after her mother had been captured, her father had disappeared for a few days. He had been found sleeping at the manor's gates, a bottle in his hand and prickles of a beard on his face. He had looked terrible, she was sure. She remembered Emi grinning, thinking that their mother was just out at a day-and-night spa of some sort letting out some steam. No, their mother would return. When Emi found out, she began flirting. Flirting with any guy she met. Being destructive. Not two months later Yasu was sent off to the Academy where she had then joined the Rebellion out of reflex. Reflex of the nightmares. So many nightmares, she thought. They had petrified her in more ways than one, and she had joined the Rebellion out of guilt and the need of protection.
She sighed and narrowed her eyes, her mind finally falling back into the present though one single tear edged to the surface of her eye. She quickly rubbed her eye against her shoulder, dissipating it. And then she heard one of the soldier's words. He was speaking to that girl who had just showed up. Her eyes snapped open and she threw back her head, yelling exasperatingly, "I'm not a Fire Nation scout, damn you!" She stomped her foot effectively, and then she snarled at the man who had spoken. How dare he! How dare he! Sure, everyone else had said she was a Fire Nation scout, but a Rebel can only take so much of it. "You stupid idiots!" she continued, wanting to stomp around and throw out all of her anxiety and exasperation and aggravation, "I am not, I repeat: not a Fire Nation scout! I'm not the enemy!"
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Post by aden on Sept 18, 2006 19:58:21 GMT -5
Despite the rage that motivated her thrashing, the much larger Water Tribe warriors held Yasu Al tightly in place. Upon hearing her declare that she was not a Fire Nation scout, the man gripping her right arm huffed and muttered, "This isn't helping you prove it!" The two men continued to struggle with her for several moments until Hissun came forth once more after dismissing one of his lieutenants.
"He's right, you know," the elder warrior spoke to Yasu Al, hoping to be heard over the commotion. "Anyone who finds themselves at odds with the Fire Nation would know that the Water Tribe is their ally. The fact that you lie and resist our attempts to proceed peacefully is only evidence aginst what you claim..." The tribal leader stepped even closer, prompting the soldiers on either side of Yasu Al to make sure their grip on the girl was rock solid lest she try to attack, and he lowered his eyes to be level with hers.
For several long moments he bore down at her with his icy gaze before stating, "This is your last chance to tell us what you're really doing here. I only ask the truth..."
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Elsewhere, Aden had already started his scouting run accompanied by two other warriors. One of them wielded a whalebone spear while the other carried a loaded sling made from tanned seal skin. They treaded quietly but quickly as they searched for any sign of the Fire Nation.
Thusfar the search had turned up futile. Aden and the other warriors were still growing accustomed to tracking in dirt and grass as opposed to the snow and ice of their home, but they remained diligent and kept their eyes open for any sign of danger.
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Post by naru on Sept 19, 2006 18:05:33 GMT -5
The man that came to greet them then went over to greet another stranger that had appeared. As he talked Naru wondered, Why does he keep calling grandpa 'August' Liung what does it mean and I AM NOT 'adorable'. He didn't want to be rude though so he simply smiled. It was turning out to be an interesting day though maybe a little boring. Where is the action, He thought to himself. Naru looked over at the girl resisting the soldiers. It was actually kind of funny watching her struggle. If she just calmed down and told them what they wanted to know they would have been a little more patient. As if trying to kill time he looked at the trees around them. The sun shone through the bright green leaves casting shadows on the ground. A tree chameleon crawled on the branches high above. Naru was bored again and thought, Maybe the soldiers are doing something interesting. He looked over and noticed a couple of them walking away from the group to scout out the area. Naru pulled away from his grandfather quietly and hurried off to see if he could help somehow. "Whatcha doin," He said as he came up behind them. One of the soldiers turned around quickly as if startled and whispered sharply, "Keep your voice down!"
"Sorry," He whispered in reply as he picked up two rocks. He began twirling them in the air above his hand. He continued quietly, "So what are you doing"
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Post by yasu on Sept 22, 2006 17:27:50 GMT -5
Yasu was nearly hyperventilating. Her anger rising, her distaste simmering, her very being twitching with anxiety. She just wanted to get out of here. Already she felt locked up. Closed in. Captured. They said she would be released at the next town. How could she trust them? How could they trust her? This was a world where no one trust anybody. Where not even lovers could trust one another. Nobody knew anybody. Anybody was a nobody. Nobody was an anybody. It made her head hurt just thinking about it, and finally she got herself to calm down enough to take a few, gasping breaths of air.
Hissun walked up to her, still being held by the Water Nation soldiers. He spoke to her. She merely glared at him through flaming gold eyes, through one strand of hair that had managed to escape her ponytail. She really did hate him. The way he spoke the truth. She hated all of them. Just like they hated her. Yasu was raised to hate any other nation. Yasu was trying to change that. He made it harder. The way he was right; she was making it harder on herself by resisting. She was only proving that she was the enemy. He lowered his eyes to be level with hers but she stubbornly looked away, her lips slightly pouting like a child's her chin out.
She was never one to act childish. She was very tempted to stick her tongue out at him.
He stared at her with those icy eyes of his before finally asking her once more who she was. What was she doing in the forest? She couldn't tell them. But she couldn't be held like this any longer. It brought hard memories for her. Yasu finally met his eyes, her eyes cold toward him but brave as she held them. "I'm Yasu Al, noble-child of the Fire Nation," she said coldly, "And though it might sound as if I am completely loyal to the Fire Empire, you are dead wrong. As a child, my mother was taken away from me by the Fire Lord. Ever since, I have been against anything having to do with the Fire Nation ruling the world. Fire Nation are brutal, blood-thirsty, power-hungry, and they will take whatever they feel threatened by." She paused and in her normal, softer tone she said, "I have seen what they have done to the other Nations. I'm not proud of it. That's why I left. I came here. To help. You must understand that the reason I resist is only because of what has happened to me in the past." She paused. And then sighed and looked away once more. Not with the stubborn way she had earlier. This was a more sad, honest look. Her eyes scanned the forests and she saw someone looking at her from the trees. It was a Rebel. They met eyes for a moment, before the other Rebel disappeared without a word or without being caught.
They had been cleverly disguised in green clothes, their skin painted to look like leaves. They had left to go tell her division leader of where she was. She bit her lip and looked at the ground, shutting her eyes sadly
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Post by aden on Sept 30, 2006 12:33:43 GMT -5
Hissun stood up straighter after Yasu-AL had given her answer. The presence of a Fire Nation noble was certainly unusual, assuming she was telling the truth. Hissun exhaled deeply as he looked around him at his second-in-command, missing Yasu-Al's breif glance toward the woods. The lower officer behind the leader returned the look with almost impreceptible shake of the head. Hissun held his gaze for a moment longer before replying with an equally minute nod.
"An improvement over the blatant lies of before," the elder waterbender spoke as he focused on Yasu-Al once more. He gave a slight hand gesture to the men holding onto the Fire nation girl and immediately their iron grips lessened. "But I am not yet willing to wager that this is the whole truth..." Hissun gripped his hands behind his back. "My apologies, but we will still proceed as planned to the next town. There you will be released and your weapons returned... Until then, you will remain cooperative and no harm will come to you. And, in the off-chance you should learn the values of honesty along the way, you will be released with enough provisions to reach your next destination." Hissun took a long breath after establishing the terms and settled his eyes on Yasu-Al once more.
"We march once our scouts return."]/b]
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Aden had to restrain lashing out with a water whip when Naru followed them into the woods. The warrior behind him had already scolded the boy, so Aden held his own comments in check. "We're looking for-" Aden's head whipped around at the sound of rustled leaves. His hands snapped into a defensive posture as he looked for some sign of danger. However, all that he saw was a wavering tree branch a short while away.
"I guess it was just a hog-monkey," one of the scouts said after a few moments. Aden kept his eyes trained on the moving branch, but grudgingly returned his water to its pouch.
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