From: Fire Nation --> Destination

[Koneko Kuromira]

XXXXXXXXXXOOC: Swimming... swimming... swimming... on my beautiful eel-hound.

Meili shifted in Yuula's saddle as the eel-hound sliced across the surface of the ocean in steady arcs of her body and tail. The Airbender folded her legs in front of her and leaned back against her pack in an attempt to find the most comfortable position for the journey, which was sure to take some time. The last thing she needed was for her body to get cramped from travel and make her utterly useless upon arrival at the North Pole. She still did not know what she was going to do when she got there. Would she have to fight to defend the Leader of the Water Tribe, or would she be spared combat thanks to her forward warning -- if she got there before the assassins?

That thought left a bad taste in her mouth. Meili did not take well to fighting -- to combat. She could handle herself in a fight -- had proven that before during her travels with the troupe -- but she certainly did not like it. Fighting was necessary to survive, however, so it was something she could accept -- just like having to work with the Avatar. That thought was distasteful as well, as she knew that by going to help the Northern Water Tribe, she would likely have to interact with and assist the Avatar. She did not know much about the man -- she assumed it was a man -- but from the past, she did not want to know. The last Avatar abandoned the world. When the last Avatar died, a new one never appeared. She had decided long ago that such a vanishing was probably out of cowardice, and this new Avatar was no better. She had not seen a single good thing he had done. The world was still a hellhole. Was the Avatar not supposed to fix that?

Meili sighed and leaned her head back. She really needed to get her mind off of the Avatar. It only made her angry, and anger never helped anyone do anything truly productive. It only clouded judgment and made actions messy and thoughtless. She closed her eyes and forced her muscles to slowly relax, easing herself into a meditative state. Peace and tranquility were her only friends -- those and Yuula. Meili smiled faintly, aligning her breathing to match the back and forth motion of the swimming eel-hound.

DESTINATION: North Pole

 

[Koneko Kuromira]

XXXXXXXXXXOOC: Swimming... swimming... swimming... on my beautiful eel-hound.

Meili watched the clouds rolling past overhead. Hours of meditation had helped calm her mind, and now she let it wander to more peaceful places. Sometimes she wondered what it would be like to have a flying bison, but then she remembered how foul the things smelled -- at least, the ones she had met in the past. Besides, they were large, loud, and lumbering things. They might have been able to fly, but they could hardly be called graceful and agile -- at least, not in the way her eel-hound could be. Besides, with how quickly Yuula could run across the earth, the wind in Meili's face and the smooth motion of the eel-hound's gait felt near enough to flying.

She smiled and leaned forward to pat Yuula's neck. "How are you doing, girl?"

Yuula made an odd purring sound, which caused bubbles to trail from her saurian head. Meili chuckled, straightened, and shivered. They must have been nearing the North Pole, if the drop in temperature was any indication. After taking a moment to rub her arms, Meili rose carefully to her feet, her balance perfect on the back of her beloved pet. She turned and crouched so that she could dig through her pack to find her warmer clothes -- a thick jacket and leggings made of a heavier fabric.

Between her Airbending and using her pack as a seat, Meili managed to get into the leggings without tumbling into the water. That would have made matters even worse, should she have then been soaking wet in this cold. That thought made her frown in concern and redirect her attention to Yuula. As a cold-blooded creature, how would she handle the cold? She had never been this far North before, but then again, surely the Northern Water Tribe had some way of handling such a situation and would have somewhere warm for Yuula to stay.

Meili leaned forward so that she lay over the front of the saddle and could rest her cheek against Yuula's scaled skin. It was best not to worry about it now.

DESTINATION: North Pole

 

[Koneko Kuromira]

Koneko Kuromira

XXXXXXXXXXOOC: Swimming... swimming... swimming... on my beautiful eel-hound.

If Meili was chilly before, now she was undoubtedly cold. She breathed into her hands and tucked them under he armpits to rub her chest. "Remind me why I'm doing this again?" Yuula's chest rumbled and she continued to slice through the azure water, which now held the occasional chunks of ice. "Oh right. Because it's the right thing to do. This had better work, Yuula. The Avatar had better live up to everyone else's expectations, or else..." She sighed a puff of mist. "Or else, I suppose the world is lost."

Meili scanned the horizon for any sign of solid and significant land. She needed to get Yuula out of the water and on the run to warm up the poor eel-hound. She could already feel Yuula's movements becoming sluggish. If they stayed in the water all the way to the capital city, she could be in big trouble.

Relief flooded through Meili as, after another half-hour of swimming, she spotted just what she was looking for: land. She pulled on Yuula's reins to alter course toward the outcropping. "Almost there, girl. Just hold on a little while longer."

EXIT to North Pole --->