Penguin Sledding & BabySitting <Shuen City, SPole>

[rini]

Rini sat in the middle of a stretch of snow, hood drawn up and knees hugged to her chest, as she looked out at the kids zooming around on the backs of penguins. Somehow Jiro had roped her into taking them penguin sledding again, the little manipulator. But no way was she getting on one of those things. Not since the last time, when she'd ended up head-first in a snow drift. Never again, she'd sworn. Jiro would no doubt drag her back into it. The little boy had a talent at that.
Rini sighed and looked out at her charges, all the little hyper boys she was baby-sitting so they didn't bother their mothers. Shuen City was the most boring place on Earth to her. Nothing but ice, snow, and broken people.
Two of their tribe members, only kids, were off saving the world, while she was here watching toddlers penguin sled. Ooh, her life was so exciting, but she would have to deal. Nothing was going to happen anytime soon.

[shizuka]

Escaping the village elders was a much more difficult task then many would think it to be. Despite the fact they were all getting on in years, the women were still strong and had sharpened with age. It had taken Shizuka many attempts over the years to finally develop a system advanced enough to outwit the older women so she could breathe in a little fresh air without getting scolded. She knew their overprotective nature only bloomed from the need to shield her from all harm the cold world they lived in could bring her, but sometimes she felt as though she were being suffocated.

She had left after the third woman of the day had dropped off clothing to be sewn. The older women usually checked on her every hour or so to make sure she was still healthy and breathing, and so ensured her privacy between the said hours. Now that she was free and about – and wearing triple layers – she could finally have a little time to relax.

Shizuka crept into the outskirts of Shuen city, only to find that she wasn’t alone. Some of the smaller children were penguin sledding, a hobby of hers when she was younger and more sturdy in her health. She was so overjoyed to be outside and witnessing the children enjoying themselves, she didn’t even notice the silhouette of another adult in her midst. Much like a child, she jumped up and down while clapping her gloved hands, a look of sheer bliss stretched across her face.

“Ooh, that looks like such fun!”

[rini]

Rini quickly snapped back into focus with the intrusion of a new voice, barely audible, the new arrival was talking to their self and stood a fair distance away.
The figure was female, a few inches taller than Rini, but appearing to be a few years her junior. Strangely familiar, but in a way that suggested only having met the girl a few times or so. Not even met, seen from a distance.
Ah, yes. Shizuka, that was her name, right? That girl that everyone rarely saw, usually stuck in a tent, with the tribal elders bustling about to take care of her needs. Some illness... Something with "winter" in it. Oh well, she wasn't going to remember it anytime soon, why try?

Now of course, Rini couldn't help but laugh at the comment that came from the younger girl's mouth, about penguin sledding being fun. Rising from her icy perch in one fluid movement, she made her way over, coming to a stop into a pose with her hands placed upon her hips. "Yeah, it can be pretty entertaining the first few times. Of course, then one grows up and realizes that their idea of fun isn't being shoved head-first into a snow drift by their little brother while speeding down a ice-covered hill on a penguin at the same time." She paused to consider this, soon amending her little speech, "Though that may just be me, talking from my own past experiences."

[shizuka]

Shizuka had been so happily enveloped in watching the children enjoy themselves that she had remained ignorant of another silhouette in her midst. When she heard the footsteps of another her muscles grew tense at the fear and realization that one of the older women had already discovered her whereabouts. She let out a sigh of relief when she realized that it was another adolescent like her, though she seemed to be matured a few years more then herself.

Shizuka stifled a chuckle from the newcomer’s words,. since the scene that she had described was humorous to her.

“I’m afraid I wouldn’t know. I don’t have any siblings...”

She gave the other young woman a warm smile, happy that she was able to converse freely and here in the frigid cold. Shizuka had taken precautions by adding yet another layer of clothing beneath her father’s parker, but she was slowly starting to feel her face – especially her nose – going numb. However, it didn’t matter to her at the moment. All she wanted was to enjoy her newfound freedom while it lasted.

“Your name is...Rini, right? I always thought that was such a cute name!”

[rini]

Rini tilted her head to one side as she pulled down her parka's hood, in order to see her companion more clearly. The poor thing had no siblings, she'd evidently missed out on so much. The fighting, the scoldings for fighting, and the having to share a cramped tent with the people you'd been fighting with all day.
Reminiscing on it, the young woman really missed those days when she Ichiro would fight and bicker, but then make up while huddled around the evening fire, so they wouldn't be up all night fighting over who was or was not touching the other. But then he grew up and started a family of his own, and Jiro was much too agreeable for such arguments.
Rini smiled at the teen and dragged herself from her childhood memories. Motioning towards Jiro, she said, "Well, I can't say I don't envy your lack of siblings. That's my little brother over there, the crazy one with the braids in his hair. I have an older brother as well, but... he went off to war." She quickly took a chance to change the subject as Shizuka commented on her name. "Yes, it's Rini. And you are Shizuka, no? Much prettier name than mine, which sounds like random syllables slapped together and bestowed on some poor defenseless infant that happened to be myself, twenty years ago."
She giggled in spite of herself, not really able to express the reasoning behind her dislike of her name through words.

[congi]

I haven't done this in so long, it's gonna be fun!

A wriggling, blue scaled fish struggled in Congi's hand as he looked to an army of anxious penguins. They watched the fish wiggle about, clapping their many flippers in hunger, and Congi threw the recently caught fish into the crowd of them. Each of the dived for it, but Congi ran over to one of them that stayed out of the clump, and grabbed its flippers. The penguin moved in protest, but Congi just smiled as he ran over to a steep hill, penguin in his arms. He leaped, into the air gleefully, hugging the penguin to his chest. When he hit the tip of the snow banked hill, he slid down on the penguin's black slippery back. Snow flurries filled the air as he rushed down, and the many boys that had been preparing to go again on their penguins watched in delight.

Once he hit the base of the hill, Congi jumped off the penguin, and landed on his feet, arms outstretched triumphantly. The little boys cheered at his triumphant run, and ran over to see him, and maybe hear a joke or two. He was once again swarmed with similiar questioned than the ones the older ladies posed him with, but some new ones like, "Did you kill Fire Nation baddies?" or "Can we hear a joke, Congi?"

Congi scratched his chin, trying to think of a good, corny, yet satisfying joke. One finally popped in his head, and he gave a wide grin to the boys as he said, "Why did the seal run across the snow bank?"

"Why, Congi?" They questioned, almost in unison.

"Because the Fire Lord farted in his face!"

The boys burst in laughter, the combination of Fire Nation bashing and inappropriate sounds always made little boys laugh, and Congi chuckled along with them. It was good to see people who actually liked his jokes. To add to their giggles, Congi pulled up the sleeves of his parka and shirt underneath and put his lips against his wraps, blowing hard. Fart sounds echoed out, sending the boys deeper into laughter.

"Its good to see you Congi!" one of them called out.

A smile graced Congi's face, "Good to see you guys too, hey, where's Rini? They said she'd be out here with you guys."

Rini's brother raised his hand and told Congi, "She's over there, see, talking with that one girl nobody never see's never. Shiziukia or whatever."

Congi nodded, glancing over at the two women, before looking back at the boys with a grin, "Later I'll tell you about the Earth Kingdom, but right now I'm going to talk to them. You guys have fun, I may join ya for another run later."

Waves from happy boys filled the air as he walked off, and he couldn't help but chuckle. I remember when I was that young... the little daredevil...

He approached the two ladies with a warm smile and said, "Look's like somebody came home, don't I get some reception?"

[rini]

Rini's gaze jerked away from Shizuka suddenly as an explosion of laughing came from a short distance to the other side. It seemed that a small mob of cloth and fur was engulfing a new arrival. Of course, he was much taller than them, making it a mob of dwarfs.
Obviously the boys' laughter derived from this man they were crowding around. This oh-so familiar van. Her eyes widened exponentially as realization hit her. No way.
It was only a few short moments before the crowd dissipated, the smaller part running back to the penguins. The taller part, however, was walking right towards Rini and her companion.

"Looks like somebody came home, don't I get some reception?"

That's him alright. It only took a split second before Rini had launched herself towards the man, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her face into his parka. To one standing close enough, a muffled exclamation of "Congi" could be heard, the word feeling weird on her tongue with not seeing him in so long. She pulled her face back so her speech could be more decipherable, but failed when the words just started spilling out. "What are you doing back here? Did you bring me back anything? Did the others come back with you? Well, of course they did! So, my dad and Ichiro are back, too? Oh! Ichiro has to see his daughter, you too."
She took this opportunity to breathe in as to not pass out from oxygen deprivation, or something similar.

[shizuka]

The sound of laughter rumbled through the frozen tundra like gentle thunder and caused Shizuka to focus her attention towards the source of the melody. Apparently another had joined their party, though he was much taller then all of the people gathered along the hills. The children, immediately recognizing the older man, had flocked to him in such eagerness it was as if he was a long lost family member to each and every one of them. Considering how secluded her people were, that was probably how he was regarded as.

Shizuka took a few steps forward shyly, desperately trying to remember the young man's name. It was vaguely familiar to her, but she had never been acquainted with Congi and she was uncertain on how he would react if he saw the resident 'leper' out and about when it was surely poor for her health.

Then she watched Rini embrace him in jubiliation and she felt more like an outsider than ever. She remembered him, yet Shizuka was still struggling to match his name to the young eager face of his childhood, which would be the only time she would have ever noticed him if he had truly come back from...

Wait, was he a soldier come home from the war?! Shizuka watched in disbelief as Rini and the young man exchanged a few words of greeting and interrogation before quickly running up to the couple, nearly tripping over her own feet as she did so. Her sky blue eyes looked up at him hopefully.

"Does...does this mean the men have come back? Has every one returned home?"

[congi]

Congi chuckled watching Rini's reaction, and he almost stumbled back into the snow as she ran and swarmed him in a hug. He tried to return the hug as best he could, but the shock of her coming and the immediate warmth he felt kept him from squeezing her tight.

"It's great to see you Rini," he rasped out before Rini started her onslaught of questions and comments. Congi knew he should have been expecting this, everyone asked them. Everyone. Even the other girl popped a similiar question. 'Where are the other men?' 'Didn't they come back too?' They beat upon him until his cheeks turned red from embarrassment and he pulled away from Rini slightly.

"I... look ladies. Oh and hi, I'm sorry. Forgot your name," Congi started, looking at Shizuka with a little smile, just a little one, "I came home alone."

The air around them drew into him as his lungs stretched in and out, words began spilling out, slowly and well thought about, "You see, they sent me home to protect our village... since Sokka is gone... they sent me because I wasn't doing so well fighting. I'd... rather not go into that..."

He sighed briefly for a moment, but then regained his happy disposition and tried a grin for them. As he massaged his bad thumb with his hand, he remember that Rini had said, "Did you bring me back anything?" He reached into his pockets and drew out his dagger that was a gift to him in the Earth Kingdom. With a smile he extended it to Rini.

Looking to Shizuka, he noticed he didn't have anything for her, and he really didn't think it right to have her left out. Would she like my boomeraang? It's charred and flimsy, I'm never going to use it again. Hmm...

He took out his charred boomerang and extended it to Shizuka, "This is from the last battle I fought in, we beat the Fire Nation. I'm not sure if you want it, but it's a good souvernier."

"So," he finished, "It's good to be home."

[rini]

It took nearly all of Rini's willpower not to unleash a barrage of questions upon Congi at that very moment. But patiently she waited, one eyebrow raised in question and her arms crossed across her chest, as he relayed an abridged tale of why he was home, none of the other men having returned with him. The skeptical side of her wanted to pester him for every single little detail of why he was sent home, no doubt in complete disgrace. And yet, Rini's sympathetic side was willing to give him his space and let him take his time in telling her the whole story. Of course, that side of her was not quite as dominant as the former side. Though, she could wait until later, because she was just that nice. Under no circumstances would she let the details go untold.

Now, of course, all Rini's suspicions gave way to curiosity as he handed her something very foreign to her. A shining metal dagger in a matching sheath, such extravagant use of metal being extremely rare in such a secluded place as the South Pole. It was all so strange to her, the green leather on the handle and the insignia of such a far-off nation. Shifting her grip, Rini ran a mittened finger over the inscription on the blade before slipping it back into the sheath.
With a smile she placed the dagger back into Congi's hand and used her own to close his fingers over it. "It's very lovely, but I'm afraid it's more your style than mine. You keep it, I insist," she laughed, not sure what use she would have for such an item. In a village rocked by devastation, courtesy of the Fire Nation, everything needed to have a purpose.

As Congi expressed his happiness at being home, she grinned and gave him a proper welcoming back. "And it's great to have you home. The village has been rather... quiet since all the men left. Quiet, uneventful, boring even. You must regale us with all of the... happier tales of your trip to the Earth Kingdom."

[shizuka]

Once Congi revealed that he had returned by himself, Shizuka felt her heart sink into the pit of her stomach. It was her own fault, really; the sight of Congi had her believe that he was physical proof that her mother had returned to her. Hearing the truth quickly crushed what little faith she had in being so wishful.

While Congi and Rini were preoccupied with conversation, Shizuka took a moment to mull over his words. He had returned alone, and her mother was still in the military. Still stuck on a desolate ship, plagued by the possibility of assault from the Fire Nation. Still caught in the rift of war.

Still so very, very far away from home. Far away from her...

"Hmm?"

Congi had spoken to her while she was still trapped in her thoughts. He presented her with a significantly scorched and slightly dented boomerang, the trademark of a young Southern tribe soldier. Shizuka's azure eyes bloomed in surprise; she had never recieved a gift before. While she had no idea what she would ever do with such an item, she didn't want to seem rude. Plus, she was flattered. She shyly reached towards the boomerang, her cheeks a deep shade of crimson and her eyes cast down towards the snow.

"Um, th-thank you..."

Her hands brought the boomerang close for examination. It was war-torn, yet with some maintenance could definitely still be usable. It smelled like the salt of the sea and fire, scents which reminded her of her father. She remained in uncertain silence, simply preoccupying herself with studying the relic now in her possession.

Finally, after some consideration, she decided to cast awya her basfulness and address Congi more confidentally. She was certainly no good dealing with strangers, especially when they were of the male species, but since he had been so kind she was determined to return the favor.

"My apologies. My name is Shi..."

"SHIZUKA!"

With a small cry the girl flinched and looked towards the source of the yell. One of the village elders was standing on one of the slopes and peering down at them like some relentless goddess observing her creations. She looked furious, but of course the object of her aggressions was not the penguin-riding children nor Congi or Rini.

"Get back here this instant, young lady! You're going to catch your death!"

[congi]

Congi's face lit up at Shizuka's reaction to recieving the boomerang. That old boomerang, he still remembered those days back when he was younger; his dad would take him out into the snow outside of Shuen City and he'd teach him to throw it effectively and with accuracy. Congi never remembered getting it quite right, frustration, anger, these things were common in his youth. But what stood out the most to him was the memory of them two, sitting on the snowbank watching the rosy warm sunset, boomerang in hand.

Quickly he snapped out of this dream like trance to notice Rini outstretching the dagger back to him, saying cordially,"It's very lovely, but I'm afraid it's more your style than mine. You keep it, I insist." He laughed pleasantly along with her and nodded slowly, secretly glad she refused. Something needed to remind him of those war days, even if the shame was reminder enough.

Flashing an easy smile to Shizuka, he listened intently to her introduction, admiring those blue eyes when a loud, older, shrill voice broke through the gentle snow wind. Rantings of an elder, obviously angered by Shizuka, were blasted at the poor girl and Congi could only stand it so long.

"Miss, I'm sure she wouldn't catch her death out here. She's obviously capable of standing out in the cold with a couple of friends, why not five minutes longer hmm?" he turned his easy-going smile to the elder, "We've only been aquainted and I'd like to get to know her better."

Charm and a good choice of words didn't get you everywhere in the world, but it sure made up for Congi's lack of boomerang skill or any skill that invovled his wounded hand for that matter. Hoping that string of frendly words and that smile would suffice, he turned back to Rini and Shizuka, giving a tiny wink as the wind chill of the day brushed against his hardened ears.

[rini]

Rini couldn't help but laugh as she glanced around Congi to see the elder standing at a distance, arms crossed and fuming. Clearly she was counting the seconds under her breath, but was too polite to deny the request of a man who had just returned from war.
She lightly punched Congi's arm, not that a harder punch could be felt through the padding of her mitten and his parka, and rolled her eyes, saying, "How do you always seem to know what to say to bend a situation to your advantage like that? 'I'd like to get to know her better.' Oh, karma is going to get you." She stopped to consider that statement for a moment before amending, "Well, perhaps it already has."

After all, he was back home completely unexpectedly, sent away from war due to an event whose story had yet to be told. If that wasn't karma, Rini wasn't sure what would be. But back to the point.
The three didn't have much time before the furious elder dragged Shizuka back to th village. Of course, they could go visit her in whatever tent she was staying in, but the kids would not be very happy about that. Rini had just been dragged back out here, she didn't want to have to go through that again. Well, she could just tell them to suck it up and listen to her, she was in charge because their parents had put them in her care. But Rini's thoughts were getting way off topic, so she reigned herself back into the real world.

"So, Shizuka, we might as well get something out of this time. Tell us about your self." Upon saying this, Rini realized that she herself knew nothing about the girl other than her name. In such a small village, she knew just about anything about everyone. Yet, Shizuka was one of those village mysteries, someone who'd be considered a myth if it weren't a proven fact she was in existence.