A Hopeless Search <Earth Kingdom>

[aneko]

The sun shone brightly over the forest tree tops, as a few birds chirped on the branches. It was very peaceful and quiet. Almost too quiet if it wasn’t for the birds singing their lovely tune.

Aneko and Akio walked down the dirt path tiredly. They haven’t eaten in over three days and couldn’t find a good place to stay. From the last village they stood at, they made a good amount of money, working in many market stand and fishing boats. They had some food and continued to travel, but ever since then, they haven’t eaten anything. All they did was drink water. Their clothes were dirty, looking old and wrinkled. Their shoes were just as bad. They had much dirt on them and looked worn out.

Aneko’s feet were starting to hurt her badly; the same with Akio. The soles in their shoes were starting to wear out a little as well. Ever since those Fire Nation rouges burnt down their village, including their home and dojo, they have been looking for their leader, Jeng Li. Aneko wanted revenge. Akio just went along because he wanted to look out for his wife.

Aneko sighed heavily as she continued to walk very slowly.

“Something wrong dear?” Akio asked his wife.

“I’m just tired, hungry, and sore all over...” Aneko answer her husband tiredly.

“Me too, but you don’t see me complaining. Don’t worry, we’ll find a village soon.”

“I hope so,” said Aneko.

They continued to walk down the forest path, carrying their supplies. This search for Jeng Li seemed hopeless to them.

[suyuan]

"Daisuke! Stop running so fast!" Suyuan yelled, running after her three year old son who was running through the forest, laughing. She clutched her youngest child, a small infant named Yurika, to her chest and followed Daisuke, an frown on her face. It seemed all she did these days was frown now that they had no escort to show them where to go.

Daisuke shrieked with laughter and continued running, clearly thinking that his mother was enjoying this as much as he was. She held a stitch in her side as she slowed to a jog, wishing she was more in shape. Curse having children. she thought momentarily glaring at Daisuke who was still running, looking over his shoulder at his mother.

Yurika looked up at her mother with amber eyes as Suyuan finally seemed to catch up with Daisuke. Suyuan kissed her infant's forehead, smiling slightly. Whenever she looked into her youngest child's face she could never be angry.

Suddenly Daisuke yelled "Hey, Mommy! Who are they?" as he seemed to slow to a stop. He pointed at a man and a woman who were walking along the path. Suyuan's eyes widened and she grabbed Daisuke's arm and looked at the two people, hoping they weren't affilated with the Fire Nation. She was being looked for by her family who was probably giving out a whole lot of money to who could find her and her children.

[aneko]

Aneko and Akio looked up at the youngster once they heard his voice. Aneko smiled a little. She had a soft spot for children and always wanted one of her own. She also noticed the woman. She looked lost and pretty worried, noticing the small child she held in her arms. Akio looked at his wife. She looked back.

"Should we help them?" Akio said.

"Yes. It's the best we can do." she replied.

Akio smiled softly and walked up to the woman. Aneko followed. Akio smiled a little at the woman and bowed. "Hello, I'm Akio. And this is my wife, Aneko." he said and Aneko bowed at Suyuan as well. "Pleasure to meet you." she said with a small smile. Being strict, Aneko didn't smile so much, but always managed to smile a little when meeting people.

"You seem to be lost and worried. Don't worry we are not from the Fire Nation. See?" Aneko said showing Suyuan her wedding bracelet. It had the Earth Kingdom's symbol on it. She then took out her kamas, showing the leaf carving it had on the blades then putting them away in her thick, cloth belt.

"We are a little lost ourselves. We are heading towards a village right now. We're hoping to find one in this direction. Would you like to join us? I'm sure you'll be able to find a nice inn to stay at with your children." Aneko said trying to sound friendly.

[suyuan]

"I am Suyuan. This is my son, Daisuke and my daughter Yurika." Suyuan said after Akio introduced himself and his wife. Daisuke smiled shily but retreated to behind his mother and grabbed onto her darrk red tunic. Suyuan laughed quietly at her son's antics and gently took his small, pudgy hand.

"We have lost our way also. I asked a merchant who was travelling the opposite way and he said to just follow the path and we would get there. That doesn't seem to be working out, though." Suyuan said, sighing. Yurika let out a small cry and Daisuke sighed angrily, wishing his baby sister didn't cry as often as she did. He gingerly let go of his mother's pale hand and grabbed onto her pant's leg with his other hand, looking at Akio and Aneko curiously.

Suyuan cradled Yurika and said "Thank you for offering. If it isn't too much trouble, I would like to join you. I don't think Yurika or Daisuke can handle walking around like this much longer.".

[aneko]

Akio and Aneko smiled at the two young children. Aneko looked up at Suyuan and smiled a little.

"We don't mind if you join us." she said and looked at her husband.

"I don't mind. We would be glad to help you out." he said bowing a little again.

Akio gripped their bag and held onto the straps of it. Aneko sighed a little and rubbed her forehead slightly. "Well, how about we just keep going in the direction that me and my husband were going in? I think we'll find a village soon going this way." Aneko said looking at Suyuan.

Aneko was very tired and hungry; she wanted to find a village soon. Akio wanted the same thing. They both did. It was getting very old to keep walking like this for three days straight. Aneko felt her stomach growl softly. She straightened her posture and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I think we should keep walking." Akio said as he started walking again. Aneko followed him.

[suyuan]

Suyuan nodded and gently put Yurika into the sling that was tied to Suyuan's that Yurika sat in when Suyuan had her hands full. Yurika finall stopped crying and drifted into a quiet slumber, resting her chin on the back of Suyuan's shoulder. Daisuke sighed, wishing he was small enough to be strapped to his mother's back and be carried around.

"I hope so. It seems none of us would be able to survive walking for much longer." Suyuan remarked, looking down at Daisuke who seemed to be sleep walking as he followed his mother. She kneeled down and picked him up, having him sit on her hip with her arm around him. Daisuke let out a yawn and put his head on her shoulder.

"Have you been travelling around here long?" Suyuan said, wondering if they would finally be able to get to the village.

[aneko]

“Yes. We have been traveling for a few months now.” Aneko said softly. Akio sighed, holding onto their traveling bag. His feet were starting to bother him a lot. He could feel the ache directly in the middle of his foot, the strings pulling hard as he took a step. He groaned a little in pain and continued to walk.

Aneko could feel the ache in her feet too. Traveling did have a lot of down sides. The aches in your feet, traveling day and night, lack of sleep, lack of money, and no food; it wasn’t glamorous. Aneko sighed and looked at Suyuan. She had such cute children. Aneko wished she and her husband had children before, but also she didn’t wish it at all. Traveling to find Jeng Li would in danger their child if they had one. Aneko thought it was too quiet and decided to start a conversation.

“So Suyuan, how long have you been traveling? Also, why are you traveling? I’m just curious.” she asked looking at her, giving a small smile.

[suyuan]

Suyuan tensed up for a moment when Aneko asked her why she was travelling. Quickly she regained her compusure and said "My husband..........died. I am going to meet my brother in Baing Sang Sae to see if he can help us find a home. He stationed there. We have been travelling for only a couple weeks now.". She sighed, hoping Aneko didn't realize how she reacted. I think what I did would probably be frowned upon, anyways. Also, Daisuke shouldn't find out what really happened. I will tell him when he is older. she thought though she secretly wished that she would never have to explain to Daisuke and Yurika what had really happened to their father and why they were on the run from their own family.

"We had an escort to get us out of where we lived and now we are on our on. I wish that we still had an escort though. It made stuff so much easier." Suyuan said, sighing and trying to forget the tiredness in her arms from carrying Daisuke.

[aneko]

Aneko and Akio frowned when they heard her story. Aneko may had been strict and cruel at times from being a master at a dojo, she still had a heart when it came to others.

“I’m sorry for your loss.” Aneko said looking at her.

“So am I.” Akio said.

“Me and my husband have been looking for someone for the past two or three months. His name is Jeng Li. You see, what happened was that me and Akio used to live in a small village, far from here. Akio worked in the market stand business we had and I owned a small dojo in our village. Everything was fine for awhile, until Jeng Li and his ban of rouge fire benders came and attacked our village. Me and other fighters in our village fought them bravely. I fought Jeng Li myself and he burnt down my home and my dojo that I worked hard to build. Our village burnt down, but everyone started to rebuild it again. I want revenge, but Akio didn’t. He came along with me so he could know I was safe. It’s almost impossible to find him, but I have a good photographic memory so I remember what he looks like. I just hope we find him soon.” Aneko said and sighed heavily.

She started to think about what happened that day. It bothered her a lot. It always seemed to come back and bother her. It also made her angry. Akio was angry as well, but not as much as Aneko. She was desperate for revenge and wanted this so bad.

[suyuan]

"Oh. That must've been horrible." Suyuan said, her amber eyes full of sympathy. She understood Aneko's thirst for revenge as she would have felt the same if that had happened to her. But then again Suyuan had always been a vengeful person which she was trying to get out of the habit of. Suddenly Suyuan realized that Akio and Aneko had tried to console her.

"You don't need to feel sorry. I am sick of people feeling sorry for me. It has happened and is in the past." she said, lying slightly. Though she had lost Daisuke's and Yurika's father, it was not her husband. She mentally kicked herself for reminding herself of what she had done. I am going to put that behind me. That would be what Kenji would have wanted. she thought, sighing. Daisuke started to quietly snore as they continued walking.

"Have you had any luck finding him yet? Do you have any idea where he might be or anything like that?" Suyuan asked, curiously.

[aneko]

"Well thanks for your sympathy and no we don't really know where he is. All we know is that he went somewhere in this direction. That's why we are heading this way." Aneko said in a positive voice.

“It’s tough finding him. He sometimes seems to just....disappear. But, Aneko is a very determined woman. She won’t give up that quickly.” Akio said as he then looked at his wife with a warm smile on his face. She smiled slightly back.

“It’s true. I’ve been like that forever. I don’t give up easily and I’m determined to get my revenge for my village.” Aneko said in a strong voice, keeping a positive attitude. Her feet started to bother her again. “Damn...” Aneko cursed to herself in a hushed voice. “Something wrong?” Akio asked Aneko.

“My feet are killing me. Hope we find a place to stay soon.” she said sounding slightly frustrated.

“Mine too. It’s just a little longer. We’ll live.” he said and started to walk a little faster, though the pain in his feet and stomach were getting to him.

Aneko quickened her pace as well, ignoring the pain she felt like Akio.

[suyuan]

"Well, I wish you luck." Suyuan said, forcing a smile. She sighed angrily at the thought of some killer like that running around. She immediently looked down at Daisuke who was had fallen asleep and were quietly snoring, a protective look in her eye. She reached around her head and patted Yurika softly on the head, as if making sure someone wouldn't walk up and snatch her children from her. She was horribly protective for she was a relatively new mother though she had her first child when she was seventeen. Suyuan winced at the memory of her now nine year old, Okita, who was probably wondering what had happened to his mother. Guilt filled her as she continued to walk, the small pale face of Okita sticking in her mind.

"I think the village is up ahead. I can see smoke." Suyuan said, happily, pointing ahead of them. Daisuke opened his eyes, revealing a jade color unlike his baby sister's amber colored eyes. "Mommy, are we finally going to be able to stop?" he muttered into his mother's shoulder. Suyuan nodded and Daisuke fell asleep again, happy with the prospect of not having to travel for a while.

[aneko]

Aneko and Akio looked up ahead. They could see smoke in the distance looking like a dark grey color It was far away, but they could still see it.

"I see it too." said Akio with a smile on his face.

"Me too" said Aneko, smiling slightly as well.

Akio regripped the straps of their travel bag and started to walk faster, almost running despite the fact that his feet were aching badly.

"Dear, slow down!" Aneko called out to her husband as she started to catch up to him. Her feet and her entire body were protesting against this, but she ignored the pain she felt and ran up to him anyways.

"You don't have to run you know?" Aneko said once she caught up to her husband, panting a little bit. She wasn't used to running so much. Being in her thrities now, her metabolisim was going down and carrying some extra weight on her stomach and thighs made her slower than how she was when she was younger.

"I know, but I'm just excited to find a place to stay after three days of walking." he said looking at her with a big grin on his face.

She smiled a little back and looked back at Suyuan, signaling for her to try and catch up with them. "We're almost there.!" she called out to her.

[suyuan]

Suyuan nodded and ran to catch up with them, causing Yurika to wake up and to begin crying. Suyuan sighed angrily and stopped running. She nudged Daisuke awake and said "How about you try to catch up with Aneko and Akio while I tend to Yurika?". She forced a smile and kissed Daisuke's cheek as he blinked, trying to wake up. She gently set him down on the ground. "Mommy, I am too tired." he whined. Suyuan sighed and picked Yurika up from the sling and put the small infant in her arms. Daisuke grabbed onto the loose fabric of her tunic, stubbling along sleepily as Yurika continued crying. Suyuan kissed the infant's forehead and hoped that Yurika would stop crying. The infant soon stopped, looking up into her mother's eyes curiously. Suyuan smiled and ran to catch up with Daisuke tagging along. She smiled apologetically at Aneko and looked ahead of them.

"I cannot wait until we reach the village. I haven't slept in a real bed for what feels like a long time." Suyuan said, yawning and rubbing her sore back. Daisuke unclenched his hands from his mother's tunic and whined "Mommy, I am hungry.". Suyuan sighed and said "We are almost there.", hoping food and lodging in the village wouldn't cost too much.

[aneko]

Aneko saw the look in Suyuan's eyes and smiled back. "It's okay. And we will get there in a few minutes. We can all split the money we have and get an inn. Me and Akio made enough money for a room from the last village we were in." she said and started to walk a bit faster, going ahead of her husband. He caught up to her.

"The faster we go the sooner we'll get there." he said as he grabbed Aneko's hand and started walking faster.

They reached the village entrance and walked inside, looking around. The village looked very average, as if no one from the Fire Nation had come through here. There were a few houses and shacks, about ten to tweleve of them and a few markets stands selling frutis, vegetables and grains of all kinds.

Aneko and Akio started walking slowly through the village hoping to find an inn anywhere. After a few moments, Aneko saw a small inn near the back of the village.

"There's an inn." she said pointing to it. The husband and wife walked to the inn and walked inside. It was a little small, but quiet and there weren't too many people there. Akio walked up to the counter and started to talk to the man behind it to get a room.