That Damn Igni! (open, Sekar/Iikagen)

[iikagen]

The darkness was a great ally against enemies so dependent on their fire. It lit up their positions in the forest like beacons to Iikagen's keen eyes. He was always careful not to stare direclty at the flames or for very long lest his eyes lose their adjustment to the dark, though. And despite lingering close enough to his opponents to eavesdrop on their discussion, he was concealed enough that he might as well have been invisible.

When the injured firebender started retreating back toward the camp with another soldier as escort, that only left two more for him to dispatch before he could attend to his captives.

Iikagen hugged his body close to a large tree between himself and the two soldiers who were now on the move past his position. He could see by their head movement that they were actively scanning their surroundings on all sides. Perhaps they would prove to be more wary prey than the last one...

But even as Iikagen considered how best to circumvent the soldiers' watchful stance, he saw something that made him grin. Another spot of flame out in the darkness, followed shortly by the call of the nurse. Like predictable fools, the Fire Nation soldiers perked up at the noise and called back.

"Doctor! This way!" they shouted, and quickly broke into a jog to intercept the two kidnapped Fire Nation citizens.

The instant their feet started moving Iikagen burst into action. He kicked off the tree and ran after the two soldiers along a parallel path beside theirs. His footfalls were not silent, but they were less noisy than a typical person's average walk through the woods. And covered by the sound of their own armor and footsteps, he might as well have been approaching them through a noisy crowd.

"Docotr Sekar, Nurse Yuka," one of the soldiers called out as they came within loud conversation range. He slowed his pace and the other soldier followed suit as they came within about 50 feet of the two civilians. However, the moment they slowed, the soldier standing behind heard the sound of rustled leaves and dirt. If he had turned a second sooner he might have been able to bring his spear around as a defense, but he barely registered the threat before an elbow cracked across the side of his helmet with a 190-lb airbone Igni right behind it.

The impact resounded loudly with a clanging sound and the sheer momentum behind the blow blasted that soldier to the side and sprawling to the ground. The second soldier started to turn as well, alerted to the sound of danger. However, if he thought he had the time to square up and defend himself, he didn't accurately guage the ferocity of this assault. Iikagen wasted none of his speed on the landing and rushed immediately for the next target at a full sprint. The butt of the soldier's spear came up as a deterrent, but Iikagen managed to swat it down with a well-timed swip of his hand and then barreled into the soldier. His shoulder drove into thje man's stomach and he picked his legs off the ground, carrying him a good dozen feet before slamming him painfully into the trunk of a tree.

The soldier grunted from the impact and lost his grip on the spear but still had the werewithal to try and drop an elbow on his assailant's back. Iikagen ate two of those strikes before releasing the man's legs and popping up suddenly with a vicious uppercutting elbow that likely cracked his jaw. The soldier's arms were still moving, but they seemed to have lost all power and direction. Iikagen followed up that strike with another punch to the man's gut, then another set of vicious knees to the chest and groin. Within seconds the soldiers was reduced to a crumpled body barely kept vertical by the support of the tree trunk, and Iikagen stepped back to let him fall flat to the ground.

He looked to his side to regard the good doctor and his nurse who were barely ten yards away. Still wearing his Tengu mask, Iikagen merely grinned a hidden smile and tilted his head curiously to the side. What would Sekar choose to do now?

[sekar]

There hopes where dashed by the Igni's assault on the soldier that was going to rescue them. Yuka winced at downfall as the soldier (Jaya) laid now unconscious and other three were also probably wounded too. There was no one coming to their rescues and Sekar wasn't a warrior nor was he at his full peak to fight an armed and rowdy saved.

To say that they were screwed was an understatement.


Yuka looked up to the tengu masked man, who could only be the strange Igni...with a look of desperation and fear.
“Please let us go, I don't know what you want from us, but I swear we have nothing of value.” Yuka begged, which was out of character for her. She looked up at Iikagen with pleading eyes and back up slowly. Sekar grunted and glared at Iikagen.
“What the hell is your problem? What do you want from us, is this all just a game to you?” Sekar lit his hand up and raised it high, he was tired and dizzy and was sick of this crap.
“Let us go.”

[iikagen]

Not very convincing beggars, were they? Iikagen had heard better pleas for mercy from fleas he'd picked out of his own hair... back when he still kept his hair anyway.

"Joo not t'inkin' straight, is joo, Doc?" he asked with fake concern as he tilted up the Tengu mask so it rested atop his head. Iikagen blinked a few times and narrowed his eyes to avoid sletting too much of Sekar's flame spoil the adjustment his vision had made to the darkness.

For a moment he looked at the two, soemwhat amused at how they seemed to be trying to shrug him off after his display of man-handling the trained soldiers that were supposed to protect them. After pondering that for a second longer, he turned away briefly and walked beside the first soldier he'd dispatched with the flying elbow. The man was still out cold on the ground, though he seemed to give an occasional spasm of the arm or leg. Iikagen flexed his fingers and forearm of the side that had made the strike, just now noticing a sort of tingly numbness spreading around the limb. Maybe he'd hit his funny bone on the man's helmet? Whatever the reson, he bent down and scooped up the man's dropped spear with his better hand and started walking back toward Sekar and Yuka.

"Joo guy know me!" he said in a friendly tone as he approached them without hesitation. "We go way back, joo and I. 'Course I'm not going to hurt joo." Iikagen noticed from the nurse's expression that his proclamation probably wasn't good enough reason.

"I'm just looking to have a little fun," he explained, stopping his advance just a few feet away from the pair as he leaned against the pilfered spear in a casual manner. "And de best way to do dat, it seems, is to pretend to take joo hostage."

"Pretend?" he saw Yuka mouth in slight confusion.

"Silly, right?" Iikagen went on immediately. "Of course joo won't []really[/i] be hostages. In fact, aside from not being wit de soldiers, joo won't even know de difference. I'll take joo where joo need to go, get joo guys food, set up camp, tell spooky campfire stories.... All dat fun stuff as long as I get to beat de insides out of anyone dey send to find joo."

The Igni ended his explanation with a beaming cheerful smile and a sparkle in his eye. "Deal?"

[sekar]

This was freaking crazy!

Sekar rubbed his forehead and glared at Iikagen and then at Yuka. The suprise on her face was obvious as the wild Igni told him of his plan. This all a damn game. He just wanted to rile people up and the entire entourage was probably useless now. They really had no choice.

"Ok you crazy son of mule-dog, You owe us, I saved your damn life, so if you do anything stupid I am gonna foresake my vow and burn you alive, got it?" Yuka turned her head to Sekar and shook it.
"Doc! Don't agree to him, he coul-" Sekar cut her off.
"Oh knock it, I am fine, my head is clearing, and by the sound of it we don't have much choice. The men are out we're stuck we might as well make the best of a bad situation and run with it. I know we shouldn't trust him, but if he has no reason to hurt us he won't just like last time..." Sekar started at him hard before sticking out his hand.

"Remember Igni, you hurt us, I hurt you, it's a deal."

[iikagen]

Iikagen continued to smile while the good doctor rationalized himself into agreeing with his proposal. The Igni found it somewhat ironic... Sekar was going against conventional wisdom in agreeing to his absurd yet, at the time, honest proposal. Iikagen had meant what he said, but now he felt like punching Sekar in the face just to make the man think twice about assuming he knew his intentions. However, in a strange sort of way, Iikagen then reasoned that reversing his decision would grant the docotr a better look into his mind than he already seemed to possess.

But that didn't mean he couldn't still throw Sekar for a loop...

"In my tribe, we only shake hands before a duel to de deat'," Iikagen said in a tone of complete seriousness, staring directly into the smaller man's eyes. For a moment he remained silent, letting the tension sit uncomfortably between them. And then, with an impressive display of speed he shot his hand forward and grasped the offered shake. Iikagen grinned and raised his eyebrows ever so slightly as he gave Sekar's hand a good squeeze before letting go.

"All right den," he said, stepping back from the two 'hostages.' Iikagen quickly spun the spear in his hands into a horizontal position, grasped it firmly, and snapped it over his knee so that he was left with two-foot long section including the spearhead. "Let's get moving!"

The Igni twirled the shortened spear in his fingers, but lost control and dropped it to the ground. He scooped it up quickly and tucked it into his sash, but took a moment to regard his right hand which was still a little numb. Even in the darkness he could see a trail of blood running down from a cut somewhere near his elbow. "Hmmm," he hummed to himself as he considered when to address this apparent injury. However, for now it would have to wait as he began to guide Sekar and Yuka deeper into the woods and away from the soldiers.

[sekar]

Yuka gave Sekar a look that could only be read as Are you out of your MIND?! As the two followed the crazy, lokian-esq Igni deeper into the forest.

Sekar on the other hand was a little annoyed but not all together angry at this situation. However the note about "shaking hands=fight to the death" un-nerved him but that was the whole crux of Iikagen. Making people uncomforable or unconscious was his MO.

"I am so tired we should stop and rest." Yuka whined as Sekar held out a flame to guide their path. He ignored Yuka and focused on the trail ahead, most of his things were back at camp including his medical satchel and the map.
"Igni, we should head around camp again, I need my medical kit and we need a map." Sekar noted as they continued on ward. He noticed the gash on the Igni's elbow.
"And that needs to be bandage..."

[iikagen]

Iikagen could tell that his new followers would need to stop soon. Though it might not have seemed that long, they had covered at least a mile of ground in the time since he press-ganged them into his command. This late at night, with them probably tired before they even began, Iikagen figured they were ready to drop. After all they were mainlanders, and it was a cold fact of nature that all mainlanders couldn't walk two miles if they were being chased by a river of lava...

Or so Iikagen was convinced.

"Okay, my little turtle-duckies," he said upon hearing the suggestions from the others, "We can stop here for de night." The Igni turned around while still walking and swept his hands around to signify the boundaries of the campsite which was little more than some bare dirt between an uneven trio of trees.

"But we not going to 'swing by' anywhere, Doc," he added. Iikagen reached up and slid the Tengu mask off the top of his head and held it down by his side. "Joo camp is 20 minutes away, if you head in de right direction. Take a wrong turn, d'ough, and joo probably not going to find it all...." Iikagen nodded wisely as he informed Sekar of just how much a chore it would be to re-locate their original campsite.

"Besides, dose soldiers will take care of jour t'ings for joo. And I got all de supplies we'll need right here." The Igni unshouldered his traveling pack that he'd picked up from its stashed location along the way into the woods. After dropping it on the ground, he fished one hand in and pulled out a length of rope. Holding it up in his hand for the others to see, he asked pleasantly, "Who wants to be tied up for bed first?"

[sekar]

After being denied of medical equiment, Sekar did the manilest thing he knew how for this moment. He sulked.

He wanted his stuff so at least through this tromp in the woods they will be covered if someone broke their leg or worse. However Sekar was trained as a field medic too, and could probably scrap anything he needed together.

Life was pain.

However as Sekar sulked like a pro, at the reality of him being lost in the woods even with firebending and being against the most chaotic being in the universe. Some god out there reaaaaally disliked him. Yuka sat on a stump as also pouted realizing she won't get her stuff either. She asked an important question.
"I don't think we know what to call you but "that damn Igni" do you have a name?" Sekar grunted something and gathered wood as Iikagen fished for something. At the question everyone freezed and Yuku and Sekar pointed at each other shouting.
"S/HE DOES!" Afterwards looking at each other with a look of annoyance. Sekar gave a less childish retort.
"Go ahead and tie me up, I mean I can just burn through the ropes if I want..."

[iikagen]

Iikagen smirked at their reaction as he contined to heft the rope in his extended hand. Considering the number of times he had slept in trees or hammocks, the Igni was certainly no stranger to resting while constrained to avoid falling. However, he'd come to realize the rest of the world wasn't quite so keen on the idea.

"If dat's how joo want to play, I could always tie jour hands to jour balls," Iikagen suggested to Sekar after the doctor threatened to escape. "Now if you wouldn't mind..." he added with a wave of the hand toward a nearby tree.

Begrudgingly, and with no shortage of protesting whines, the two Fire Nations citizens walked towards the tree. Iikagen set about the task of binding their hands behind their back. He was sure to tie Sekar's hands tightly and with his hands pressed together in such a way that bending with them would very likely result in some burned flesh before he was free.

"Why do you even have this much rope?" Yuka asked bitterly as Iikagen gave a final tug on the knot of her bindings. In response he grasped her by the shoulders and placed his head right beside hers.

"That's none of your business..." he replied with a similar tone. Iikagen then straightened up and guided the nurse over to the tree where he helped her take a seat at its base. "Though it certainly could become jour business if joo'd like," the Igni added with a wink and a click of his tongue. Yuka's sigh of disgust only encouraged his smile as he took out another section of rope.

Within a few minutes, Iikagen had both his captives securely roped to the base of the tree. They sat on opposite sides of the trunk with their hands behind them and elbows flared out to the sides. Another section of rope linked their elbows to one another and then wrapped around their torsos to prevent any wandering from the campsite. And, just as a precaution, Iikagen managed to tie in a tin can filled with a few pebbles to function as a sort of alarm if the two tried to escape.

"Okay den," Iikagen said after taking a step back to examine his handiwork. "I t'ink dat's all for now. Anyone need a sip of water before I hit de sack? Not too much of course, cuz dere no potty breaks..."

[sekar]

This was certainly awkward. Sekar grunted as Iikagen tied he and his nurse up against a tree. Frowning at the threat of tying his hands to his balls. He was cooperative but still very sulky about the whole deal. Yuka was annoyed and more so at the Igni's lewd remark. She rolled her eyes at the comment and shivered in the cold dark.

"No we're fine." Muttered Sekar not feeling the least bit cold being a fire bender but he could hear Yuka chattering. He was concerned for her and wondered if she would be alright asleep like this. He looked at Igni with a frown.

"Could you get a blanket for her? She is freezing." Sekar said wondering if Iikagen gave a damn. He wished he could at least be next to her so she could feed off his body heat. He inhaled and exhaled a tongue of fire wondering how long this going to last.

[iikagen]

"Blanket?" Iikagen asked, a confused expression crossing his features, "Wha'ssat?" Of course he knew what a blanket was, but he always enjoyed making people question his range of knowledge. Playing dumb just fit so well with the common perception of Ignis as savages that it made it all too easy for him to get away with his feigned ignorance.

Regardless, he didn't even have a blanket to bein with. Even away from his constantly hot-and-humid home, Iikagen didn't find it difficult to bear the chill of the night on most days with anything more than his regular clothes. Considering he often slept sans clothing back on the Ignis, a simple shirt was as good as a blanket to him. He did, however, have an extra shirt. It was large enough to function as a child's blanket, so it would have to do.

"Here joo go," Iikagen said simply as heopened up the shirt with a flick of the wrists and laid it over Yuka's torso, tucking the ends in at her shoulders so it wouldn't fall down. "Nice and snug as a bug in a carcass... Now, if dere no more issues, I will bid'joo good night!" The Igni offered a bow with a sweep of his left hand, and then walked casually across the open space between the trees before taking a running leap and hoisting himself up onto a low branch of the tree across from Sekar and Yuka. He climbed up another few feet before settling on a comfortable enough spot to recline.

Up in his hidden nest, he could still keep an eye on his captives though the dark likely rendered him invisble to them. He also took the moment to examine his injured elbow and eventually settled on just wrapping it with the cloth currently tied around his wrist and waiting until morning to take corrective action. If it still hurt then, he would do something about it.

Luckily enough, he'd just kidnapped a doctor!

[sekar]

The make shift blanket was passible. Yuka made a noise like a sniffle before trying to get comforable. Sekar growled something under his breath as the Igni turned for the night.

He needed to figure out what to do. Apparently this guy was the antithesis of all that is good and just, and was the leftover some mad god's crazy idea. Man was beyond chaotic. Grunting Sekar got into a medatative mind and hopefully use that to rest.

***************************

Morning came with the chittering and ever vocal voice of the woods awoke everyone. Yuka grumbled and lifted her head and whimpered as it was sore. Sekar's own body ached but he could tolerate it.

"Doctor could you burn out of the ropes...I really need to use the bathroom." Sekar looked around to see if the Igni was still watching. Feeling secure he angled hands to the fire would be focused on his finger tips, he hissed as the fire licked his wrists and weakened them enough for both of them.
"Now hurry and break them before he wakes up."

[iikagen]

Being a light sleeper is a trait some might consider bothersome, but for an Igni it was almost a requirement. Being attuned to the sounds of a buzzing mosquito or a hissing snake could very well save one's life if an unwanted jungle creature crawled into their hammock. As such, Iikagen found himself flitting in and out of consciousness throughout the night at the sound of unfamiliar insect or bird calls. Even after spending a few months in the Earth Kingdom, he was still not fully accustomed to the wide variety of wildlife.

It was to his advantage though, that he was already awake with resting eyes when he heard his captives stirring below. His eyes cracked open and he watched them closely through the leaves of the tree. The docotr was apparently trying to break free, and Iikagen frowned at the fact he wasn't already on the ground. He would have liked to keep his ropes unsevered as they were, but he didn't feel like blatantly stopping them... that would be too ordinary.

Instead he allowed them their fair chance to break loose as he contemplated some amusing way to make sure they didn't get far. He also took the moment to survey the damage on his elbow from the night before. Iikagen figured it was the leaping elbow that dented the one soldier's helmet that had messed it up.

The cloth wrapped around the joint was dark in one spot from blood, but it had scabbed over. The Igni flexed his arm slowly and found it to be a little stiff but useable. After carefully unwrapping it, he could see that a stitch or two would probably help, but that it wasn't anything too serious. Only thing he had to worry about was an infection setting in while the wound was still fresh.

Iikagen rewrapped his elbow and looked back at the captives as they worked to free themselves from their bindings. Once they were out of sight he'd need to work quickly to get out of the tree and cut them off... He couldn't risk them getting too far in the off-chance those soldiers had tried to pick up their trail at first light.

[sekar]

Taking the advantage Yuka broke the robes and winced as she stood up. Her muscles cramped up a little last night and limped as she headed to the bushes to the woods. Sekar stood up and brushed off the dirt.

"Now to find help." He muttered as he head in another direction...

Yuka found a spot to do her business in a quiet spot away from the main camp, finished she cleaned up and after looking around she went to find the other camp.

Sekar traveled around in circles. He couldn't seem to find the original camp at all, he hope to the gods that the bumbling group of nimwits didn't pack up and abandoned them. Frustrated Sekar wondered if Yuka returned back to Iikagen's camp. He tried to head back only getting more lost and running into Yuka.

"Looks we didn't think our cunning plan all the way through." Noted Sekar as they both tried to find away back to Iikagen's camp.

[iikagen]

Once the pair had managed to break free of their bonds they wasted no time in trying to escape. Fortunately enough, they didn't even stop to check whether Iikagen was still in his perch. Perhaps they hadn't seen where he'd gone the night before, or maybe they were just in a rush get away from him. Either way, it meant Iikagen didn't have to pretend to be asleep while they tried to flee.

The Igni gingerly picked his way back down to the ground, favoring his injured arm which still felt stiff. Like a ghost he followed the trail of the doctor and nurse, but realized after just a short while that they had split ways. That was something he hadn't counted on, but he decided to follow the footsteps belonging to Sekar. The main reason for his choice being that Sekar's direction would take him closer to the Fire Nation soldiers' camp, and if he got too close he could intercept him.

However, after a few moments of shadowing the doctor, it became apparent that he had no clue where he was going. Iikagen almost smiled when he slowed and eventually turned around. It seemed he wouldn't even need to resort to physical persuasion. Staying low and out of sight among the scarce forest underbrush, Iikagen retreated and allowed Sekar to pass him by as he traced his steps back toward their campsite. Once the doctor was past, he quickly set about taking a different route so he could arrive there before him.

**************************************************

Waiting back at the campsite, Iikagen was given a minute's warning by the sound of Yuka's voice calling out for Sekar as the two managed to find each other in the woods. When at last the two wanderers made their way back within the boundaries of the makeshift campsite, Iikagen hurled one of his shortspears right past the pair so that it embedded itself in a nearby tree trunk. The close proximity of the passing weapon gave Yuka a start, but likely not as much as when she noticed Iikagen himself.

The Igni sat crouched by a tree across the way, facing partially away from them with his pants halfway down and apparently using the de facto restroom. "Don't joo people knock!?" he shouted irritably at the two. Iikagen made no move to cover himself up as he stared back at Sekar and Yuka.

"Well did'joo at least bring some big leaves?" he asked, "Cuz all I could find was dis t'ing." He held up a pinecone and then tossed it over his shoulder. "And it don't look pleasant."