Kyoshi Island Village

[The Wild Hunt]

As if he were the voice of omens, the Unagi rose from the sea just as he said. Served Sui right, probably, for just stripping down and jumping in unaware. But, of course, Han had a duty to the waterbender. Maybe he could make it his first benevolent act as the Avatar to protect this guy from getting eaten. Problem was, he didn't really have much to his disposal. He could try and commune with the spirits, but that didn't seem like something he could do on impulse. So, how did the past Avatars do it? Did they just exclaim, Avatar state, yip yip?! The earthbender was irritated with his thoughts. Whatever, he concluded. He'd just work in the most base, simple way an earthbender could: by beatin' em up. The Avatar ran to the edge of a hill, and used earthbending to be launched up along the wall and sent higher, and higher, until he reached the edge of a clifftop. He seeked to gain a vantage point, where he could use his high standing to properly aim at the Unagi, or at least distract it. The Avatar then pulled two massive chunks of rock from the cliffside, though not enough to allow it to lose its support.

He sunk his feet into the ground, and aimed his arms outward. These two rocks, comparable to small homes in size, were then levitated until they reached around the Unagi and both smashed inwards, an anguished scream rising from its maw. As a result, the beast's trauma was massive. He would be stunned and sent back into the ocean, giving Sui more than enough time to come out unharmed. This was probably Han's strongest offensive move, so if that wasn't enough and the Unagi rose again, then he'd probably just have a tea break. With that settled, he ran back down the cliff, sliding down the rocky edges and making his way back to the beach. "Your melodrama is legendary," said Han, his knuckles cracking as he watched Sui desperately return to the shore. "So, what do you think?" He asked the waterbender. "I'm a bit of a greenhorn, but I think my Avatar transition is going pretty well." Suddenly, he was a little more enthusiastic. High-speed action had a way of doing that to him, though he'd probably be his regular evasive self not long from now.

 

[JellytheBeany]

He was making good pace back to the shore as he moved double overtime atop the water, but the serpent seemed to be gaining on him with its superior body size. He contemplated several times whether he could buy himself some time with his bending, but thought better of it, as that would most likely cause him to slow down some and give the monster the time it needed to swallow him whole, and the world would definitely not be as fun a place of his sunny disposition did not make it brighter. Or so he had been told before by several someones that were irrelevant at the moment. The last thing that he had been expecting though was to see Banshee stepping into the water. For a while he actually wondered what she was planning to do; if she was about to actually swim out into the ocean or something. Or even better, if she was actually a waterbender in disguise! But such illusions were dispelled once he saw her start to earthbend, hurling giant chunks of rock towards him. Sui took evasive action, swerving around and ducking beneath several of the oncoming rocks that he could have sworn were meant for him, but once he heard the screams of the creature that he now recognized to be the Unagi, he understood that she was actually trying to help, albeit almost hitting him with rocks. The creature's advances slowed some, which granted him a little space.

He was getting even closer to the shore now; just several hundred yards more and he would be there. That was the moment he saw Han create a sort of cliff for himself high above the docks, form two relatively large clods of earth, and proceeded to smash them both from either side at the Unagi's head. Sui didn't look up to see the results, but the results saw him nonetheless as the shadow overheard grew larger and larger, meaning the monster was now in free fall about to crash into him at breakneck pace. He swerved to the right in the water, but he wasn't going to make it. Which was when he felt himself being propelled through the air by a force that pushed him upwards from underneath. He found himself in the air just as the monster crashed into the water and sunk beneath the surface, and to break his fall on the docks he pulled some of the water from the edge of the ocean to the shore, formed it in a swirling motion and then froze it, creating a makeshift slide that he slid down on in a spiral before coming to a halt at Mizu's feet. "Way too much excitement in one day." He looked back into the water and could only see the residual splash that was still several meters high in the air, left behind by the monster's descent. Han just basically called him a drama queen, as if it was his fault why he almost got eaten alive. "I've seen better." He said it teasingly to see what other reaction he could get out of Han. Sui stood up and stretched as if the entire ordeal just now had never occurred. "Thanks a lot kiddo. If it wasn't for your quick thinking you big brother might have ended up having a concussion and forgetting your name or something." He scooped her up in a big bear hug and kissed her on the forehead as thanks. "Thanks for your help too Banshee!" he shouted over to the girl. He placed Mizu down then and turned back to Han. "You didn't have to kill the poor thing ya know. It was probably just hungry and you went and killed it. Such a violent Avatar." Sui was shaking his head in disapproval, though if Han was really listening he would become aware of the playful lull in his tone that indicated that he was messing with him. He was actually really impressed that he managed to fell the serpent with one blow. Sui turned his gaze back to the sea. "Uhh... That thing doesn't have any family we have to worry about does it?" That was his main concern right now.

 

[TDG Super Kami]

TABTAB "Boro, no! Boro, stop! Boro!" It looked like something out of a tale meant to make small children laugh: Zen was racing behind the Wolf Bear as Boro chased after the target: a rather juicy looking orange. The problem was that the orange was being held by a now fleeing child. This scene took Zen through the entire village itself (Damn this child had stamina) and eventually ended up with Boro, once again, getting what he wanted when the child simply dropped the orange and took off down a side alley. Pleased with his prize, Boro took the orange down in one gulp and looked behind him to take on Zen's criticism without much thought. However, Zen was no longer paying attention to his friend. He was instead looking off towards the bay. It was obvious the Unagi was trying to take something as its next meal and failing, but who? The benders from before?
TABTAB Zen threw his hood over his head and walked towards the direction of the commotion, Boro lazily following behind him. Through the trees, and Zen finally managed to find the source of the chaos as the Avatar put the finishing touches on the serpent. How did he know? For all its chaotic nature, the brunette male with the tattoo on his neck's chi, if even for a moment, became radiant. A melody of wild notes strung together to make a well composed chord. That was how Zen knew for sure. There was also the spirit lady following the Avatar's movements. Oh, Zen knew who she was. Zen walked out to the Earth Kingdom native, seemingly walking on the water's surface. It was a game he liked to play with some of the spirits that inhabited the island: they would act as platforms for him to walk on with his bare feet an... well... that was it. It freaked out new comers usually, though. As he did this, he stopped momentarily to slightly bow before the spirit lady following Han, and whispered something that would be inaudible to the group he was approached before continuing on.
TABTAB "No, the Unagi is the last of its kind. However, it has not been slain, merely quelled. Scents from foreign lands attract it." He had stopped walking completely, but seemed to be sliding on the water's surface before reaching the group in question. Once he reached the beach, he began to walk normally. "I don't think we've been introduced. I'm Zen, native to Kyoshi Island." He crossed his arms and eyed each member of the group one at a time. He was not checking out looks, even if some of them were.... he was reobserving chi structure. Especially Han's. "All with the quality needed... and this one's chi is... out of sync. You are bent, not broken." It was at this time Boro made his presence known as he cleared the horizon finally. He, as normal, found a shaded spot to lay in and.... laid in it.  

[The Wild Hunt]

As the waterbender returned to the shore, acting like he often did -- playful, jesting . . . Han's focus was divided. He felt... a sudden rift rise from his emotions, as if something important were leaving his body and making his mind unsound. His vision blurred for a moment, and he found himself totally unable to hear. That scared him, and he professed his fear, whispering quietly, I can't hear. It was so quiet that no one would even notice it, least of all himself. He froze in place, and stared intently for a while, seeming calm though his mind was paralyzed. After not too long, however, the sounds returned to him. He heard Sui call him a violent Avatar, to which he said nothing. He didn't care if he was a violent Avatar, because that was the only thing he could be in such a violent world. "Don't confuse me with an air nomad. I'll do whatever it takes to-"

"Avatar Han!" He was cut off. An old lady ran as fast as her frail body could, down the stone steps and through the rowdy village. She was one of the sages, and he'd met her earlier. She gave him wisdom about how to live his life, and from that, he had become more fond of her than the other sages. It felt painful to see her stress her body like that, running down with risk of falling, screaming his name. Something bad must've happened. And it did, he would soon discover. "The great sage," She caught her breath, stopping her movement as she drew near enough. "Has been burned, completely. Made into ashes. There is barely enough of him left for him to be recognized." She saw that there were others around, but did not bother to silence herself. This matter was too important for discretion, as discretion required time that was not granted to them. The Avatar narrowed his eyes, and spoke quietly, "How did it happen?"

"We don't know. But you might be in danger. This could be the work of a rogue group of benders, trying to assassinate the Avatar-" She, then, was cut off like she did him. "I don't think so," Han quietly said. Despite the situation, he seemed very calm. Perhaps because he had no real attachment to the sage, or because he didn't much value his life. Whichever way you chose to perceive his apathy for the situation, it was present. Like cold hard steel, his eyes remained fierce, and did not shift in place. Their green shade was darkened by the night, but it could still be seen if you looked closely. And if you looked even closer, you could find a glimmer of red light reflecting off of them -- he saw the spirit lady in the distance. But this time, she did not point at him. Instead, she let her arms reach outwards as if trying to make an embrace. She was, in some way, asking for him to join her. But he could only refuse.

"I haven't even been announced as the Avatar yet, and no one knows who you guys are or that we're here. Most people don't even think the Avatar exists anymore. Why would they take enough interest to follow us all the way out here?" He was being skeptical, surely. But he already believed to understand what the problem here was. In his hand sprouted a small fire. That fire, he felt, had just come to him. In that moment where words fell deaf on his ears, and his vision blurred to abstract, he felt a change go through his body. It was nothing much -- just a widening of his eyes. This little fire was all he could create, but this was all he needed. In the prior moments, he was doubting his place as the Avatar, and wishing to find some semblance of proof. And it came to him, sewed flame into his flesh. How could that be described by anything other than the supernatural?

The red-eyed lady had changed, too. And the old man was burnt alive. And the spirits were closer to him than ever; he could feel them all around him. This place must've been cursed. "I'm going to go try something," He said, closing his fists and erasing the flame. His muddied and dirtied boots crunched against the sand, all the way onto the stoney path. And then, he went deeper into the village, and deeper. He heard the old lady's frustrations voiced out, but did not reply. Han also heard something else, right before he left them behind. You are bent, not broken. He didn't know what that meant. The young man went back up the climb from earlier, where the spiritual presence grew more intense the more intensely he rose. There were fruits splattered against the ground from the trees above, and weeds rising high from the soil above. The gates were worn and muddied, and the slightest drips of blood were indented into each and every stone glob up the way. The sky darkened, rapidly. The atmosphere changed, and the supernatural began to present itself. He could hear howls and growls from the distance, but did not fear them. He was supposed to be uncorruptable. He had to be that way.

When he made his way back to the wooden statue of Kyoshi, where her wind chimes swam with the wind and tranquilized the howls, he knew something had to be done. He just didn't know what. This place was corrupted by darkness, when it was once forged through the Avatar's light. A part of him had been corrupted as well, and made into a spectral wraith that would haunt him. He could feel it, eyes watching him. He saw the red glow reflect against the ground beside him, and then he looked back. An old man, plagued with disease. Gout, or some sort of mutation. He did not know. But the eyes looked at him, and then he swallowed hard. And then a great breath of flame emerged, which was shielded by the rising of the earth. When the flames subsided and Han allowed himself a peak, the eyes and the spirit were gone, and the skies returned to normal. What a peculiar change.

He did not know what to do but meditate. With the sage erased from the world, he had lost his one and only spiritual guide. Perhaps he could commune with a higher power and find another to claim. When he settled into his position and dared himself to go quiet, all of the music of life became clear to him. He heard the waves crashing against the rocks, and the birds singing in the trees. The howls went quiet, replaced with the buzzing of the bees and the chirping of cicada. Nature was what connected the world to the spirit world, not the Avatar. He felt that to be true. Unfortunately, regardless of his meditation, or the song of the sea, he could not find the answers he sought.

 

[JellytheBeany]

The kid had some fire in him after all, and that was meant both figuratively and literally as far as what Sui was seeing was concerned. Before Han could say all that he had intended a distant voice screaming his name cut him off. Sui looked in the direction of the lady and noticed that she looked as if she could collapse any second from overexertion in her old age. He listened to their conversation intently and without shame. Pretending he wasn't interested was simply pointless at the moment. Who wouldn't be interested in a conversation between the Avatar and who was most likely one of his sages? From what he could gather, someone known in title as the great sage had been reduced to ash by a group of rogue firebenders who were intent on finding and removing the avatar from history. Nothing new really. It was before long that Han got lost in his own world, seemingly thinking about something so intensely that the world around him seemed to fade from his thoughts. You could say Sui was a bit perturbed by the silence that follow, and he could have sworn he heard something whispering from the sea, but he was certain it was only his imagination playing tricks on him.

It wasn't long after Han walked away from their small group that he noticed the sky starting to darken when moment before there had been no sign of clouds present, and the whispers had evolved into howls that had him whirling around to a spot in the bushes where he could have sworn he had heard it coming from. There was nothing there, not even so much as a rustling of the bushes as the air stood still. Strange. Sui looked back at Mizu for a while with a look that said 'stay right there' before following Han to the statue of Kyoshi, watching the boy as he sat and assumed a meditative position and proceeded to...meditate. Sui found it odd that anyone, least of all someone Han's age, could actually have enough much discipline to do such a thing. He for one was not a guy inclined to sitting in one place for too long, especially not to search for inner peace or some other such sagely mumbo-jumbo, which was one of the many things that made him glad he had not been the Avatar. His childhood would have been spent doing stuff like this and, though he didn't want to say it, he would have turned out as dull as Han was now. The boy needed some fun in his life, away from all the old people telling him that he had a duty to the world. Maybe it really was fate that Sui had encountered Han.

Inching his way closer, Sui stopped only when he was within arm's length of Han, standing on the boy's left and placing his hand on his shoulder, without the unnecessary pressure he usually applied. "Relax." That single word was the one most repeated by Sui to people who took most everything far too seriously. "I might not understand what's going on with all the voices and the freaky weather, but I do know that you can't let everything that happens bother you. Do that and you'll end up like that old lady there before your time." He kept standing and removed his hand from Han's shoulder. Everything was moving way too fast. It was hard to imagine that he had only come here at Mizu's urging insistence, and in the short time that followed he had seen an honest-to-goodness pirate hunting for treasure, almost gotten eaten by the fabled Unagi, and had actually met and was talking to the Avatar, of all people. Certainly far different from what he had planned for the day. "If you don't mind me asking, what exactly's going on? What was that old windbag talking about? Great Sage? Rogue Firebenders?? And what was up with the weather???" So many questions that needed answering, and each more important than the last. It was certainly the longest day he could remember having.

 

[The Wild Hunt]

After not long, his meditation was disturbed by something. He heard footsteps going up the trail, stepping over the leaves and branches and drawing nearer. He decided to not let it bother him, and to continue to commune. Finally, though, it drew so close he couldn't ignore it. When he finally opened his eyes to see, the man had already drawn ultimately close to him, with his arms pressed against his shoulder. Relax, he said, and suddenly Han felt relieved. He needed someone to step in, to overcome him, and to say that exact word. He just didn't realize how much he needed that support until just now. Suddenly, his body's tenseness disappeared, and he broke his meditative hands apart. He looked into Sui's eyes, and then a frown overcame his face. "Do you think I should just ignore everything?" He asked him, before looking down and sighing. "One of the old men just died, and because of me. I have these things after me all the time, and I don't even know what they are. I've been stalked and harassed by spirits all my life, and suddenly they're getting worse. I feel like I'm about to die soon, defenseless against these things. So how can I not let things bother me? If I were to tune it all out, then the world would probably be destroyed." He felt pathetic for his sudden outburst of stresses and complaints, but that was how he truly felt right now.

He tried to remain composed in front of others, like the old lady who depended on him, but this was freaking ridiculous. He was just one kid, and now suddenly people were dying because of him and the spirits were stalking him. And everyone was depending on him. It was... so much. "I don't know anything about anything, so you shouldn't even ask me." He turned away, and looked across the narrow gap between this cliffside and the next. Between the lines, he saw an image in the air. He felt that he saw himself, and his changes. His jaded reflection was staring back at him, and its eyes portrayed weakness. Han felt not even half as strong as he thought he was, and this was an impossible battle.

"You know... I'm actually kind of excited..." He said, and looked back at Suihara. His eyes were stern again, cold and displaying no emotion. "To be the Avatar. It's a dream come true for most people. I can be a great hero who will be immortalized forever. But most likely... I'm just gonna die. How much longer is it before the same spirits that took the sage, take me? They're already after me. They could do me in while I sleep, or while I'm not paying attention. Or even in face-to-face combat. They want me dead, I know it. And spirits will always get their way." He stopped there, and buried his head against his knees, with his arms coming to meet them. "This blows," He whispered, muffled but still clear.

 

[JellytheBeany]

Sui resigned himself to listening to simply listening, as it was something that he was known for. He liked hearing what people had to say and liked helping them through their problems. This crisis was one he had never been faced with fixing before though, and it was even more new to the one who was speaking of it. The waterbender couldn't imagine a life with spirits stalking him and people expecting him to move mountains for them constantly and everywhere. If he had been in Han's shoes, he would have most likely told them all a barrage of words that would put even the most professional of sailors to ultimate shame. "Well of course you can't tune it out. Like you said, the world would probably be destroyed if you did. But no one's telling you that you have to do everything all at once. And especially not by yourself. That would be suicide, and you aren't suicidal are you?" He was making an attempt to lighten the mood, but it didn't seem to faze Han as he continued to wallow in his own self pity. Even going further to say that Sui shouldn't ask him anything. Sui, in his own mind, interpreted that little sentence as Han giving him attitude, but he decided to cut him some slack this once given the newness of all that he was being faced with.

That was when Sui stepped away from beside Han and made his way a few feet ahead and stopped in front of him, admiring the statue of Kyoshi for a time. Han's words drew him out of his reverie, causing Sui to raise an eyebrow in question. The boy's mood seemed to have changed for the better in so short a time, but it did not last, as Sui could plainly see. With each sentence that fell from Han's mouth Sui started to feel more and more depressed. depressed at Han, himself, and life overall. It could not be said to be a feeling that was new to him, but Han seemed to be the master of depression from the way he talked and behaved; as if the world were ending this very moment and there was nothing that could be done. It was too much. The final utterance of 'this blows' from Han was the last straw. Sui crept closer to Han, stopping down with his elbows on either thigh and his head in his hands, staring blankly at the boy's mess of brown hair. Sui's passive stare could mean one of two things. Either he was starting to get pissed about one thing or another, or he was simply bored. This was a sort of mixture of the two. Removing one of his hands from his beneath his chin he outstretched it, pointing his index finger, and proceeded to lift Han's head up from his knee, which should serve it's purpose of getting his attention. "Oi! Enough of that emo bullshit. So you're the Avatar. Cry me a river why don't you. As far as people go in life, you could have turned out to be a lot worse." Han stood up once more, completely unaware of his current state of undress while he stared down at the boy.

"Instead of moping on and on about how bad your life is and how much responsibility you have, remember that there are two sides to every coin. You're possibly the most important person in the world. Being a celebrity from birth makes you the original celebrity or something like that, doesn't it? Everyone wants to be near you, which goes without saying." He swiped his hand through the air upon saying 'everyone'. He was of course referring to the comedy that had been today and how everyone had basically found their way to Han as if they had been drawn by a magnetic force. "Those damned spirits haven't taken you yet right? So why are you stressing so much? They won't get anywhere near you, 'speically now that I'm here for ya. So cheer up kiddo!" He shot Han one of his signature smiles with a twinkle in his eyes that showed the sincerity in his words. Sui reached down with his hand to help Han up off the ground and onto his feet. "And a little thing you should know about me; I don't take no for an answer. So you might as well just do as I say and try to think positive from now on. We can worry about the end of the world when the end of the world comes." That was Sui's approach to life. Let it come when it must and we can deal with it then.

 

[The Wild Hunt]

If he could admit one thing, it was that, through this amount of time wallowing and wailing, he began to feel his pride diminish. It was quite unlike him to react like this to adversity, but part of him felt like he deserved at least to let it all out before he could move on. What made the Avatar special was that they were a human, like everyone else, trying to make the best of their human life. And because he was only a human, he could be scared, like right now. And... because he was only one guy, he could feel alone and without guidance. But one thing about humans was that they found ways to support each other. Sui, who he originally thought was just another party-going idiot, actually revealed himself to be capable of great compassion. When he lifted Han's head from his knees, the Avatar didn't smile or frown, but looked at him intently. The look in his eyes said one thing: thank you. Thank you for the support, he wanted to say, but instead his eyes said it for him.

After some amount of time, and finally after Sui had finished talking, he nodded his head. The Avatar took the helping hand, and rose to meet the tall waterbender face-to-face. "You're a good man," He said, a certain joy glimmering from his eyes. The Avatar then propped up his fist, and socked Sui lightly on the shoulder. Not his usual way of showing affection, but he couldn't afford to get any more sappy after he'd just gotten over acting like a baby. "I expect you to keep up with that promise. If you let any spirits eat me, my vengeful spirit will punch you on the d**k. You hear me?" He had already been told over and again, the Avatar needed friends. Needed help. He wouldn't mind accepting Sui as his friend, and his ally. He seemed like the type of guy to bring joy to others around him, and he was brave and strong. Han already greatly admired him.

"I plan on leaving this island soon, and leaving the sages behind. I have a feeling they're gonna be more harm than help." He sighed. More than that, he didn't want any defenseless old people dying over him. This was a battle for the new generation to face. "I need to find a firebending teacher, which means going to the fire nation. But I heard that they're facing the absolute worst of the spirit's wrath, being ravaged and totally put out of balance. It'll be dangerous. But... can I count you in?" He knew he'd say yes, but he had to ask anyway. Common courtesy and all that!

 

[JellytheBeany]

Upon hearing that he was a good man, Sui couldn't help but get a bit giddy, but all that he held inside as his face was a visor of nonchalance when he responded to the praise. "So I've been told." The playful gesture that followed after those words took Sui by surprise, he had to admit, as he hadn't been expecting the kid to warm up to him so quickly, but he had been reading him two pages behind it seemed. Han was just a bundle of surprises waiting to be made known before his eyes. His little comment about punching him in the d**k and vengeful spirits had Sui in a heap, figuratively, as he guffawed. He held his bare stomach with his hands as he leaned forward and laughed from the gut. It was the last thing he expected to hear come from Han's lips. Full of fire indeed. "Crystal sir!" His own response had him laughing some more.

Sui stopped laughing after a while, wiping away tears from his eyes. He hadn't laughed like all day, so this was a good thing. He got serious again when Han started making mention of leaving the island soon. The sages most did most definitely deem like they would be a burden. Having a gaggle of old men and women following you into the throes of battles seemed like more trouble than it was worth. It took Sui all of a millisecond to figure out where Han was going with this line of conversation, and the whisper of a smile he had been wearing grew in proportion and spread from ear to ear. The Avatar was basically asking him if he wanted to join him on his adventure to master the elements and save the world. never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined. Instead of answering verbally, Sui reached out with his hands to either side of Han, wrapped them around the boy's frame, hugged him in a tight bear hug, lifted him off his feet, and swung him from side to side. If that wasn't answer enough, the elation lighting up Sui's face was all the confirmation anyone would need. Placing him back on his feet, he said "you can count on me little man! But uhh..." It suddenly hit him. "Does that invitation extend to Mizu as well? I can't leave her behind." And she was an excellent waterbender for her young age. He was certain she could handle herself.

 

[The Wild Hunt]

When the waterbender began to laugh, Sui looked at him peculiarly, but then he started to laugh too. They were just a bundle of tears and ha-has together, even while surrounded by angry spirits and dead old men. It was a weird day indeed, and a long day. And most importantly, the start of many interesting days that would change Han and change the world. He was excited. "Crystal? Is that supposed to be some kind of Earth Kingdom pun? Haha!" When they were both done laughing, and Han got out his proposition, he was brought back to staring quietly as Sui weighed his options. Then, when he began to smile like an a**, as he often did, Han knew what his answer would be, and he smiled a little too. But he supposed his show of emotion left him weak, as he didn't even notice he was about to get bear hugged until he was already being flung through the air. He found it uncomfortable, but at the same time comforting, if that made any sense. Even so, an earthbender would never allow themselves to be thrown about by some other man and claim for their pride to still be intact. When he was let down, he did the same to Sui, but this time he twirled him around as if he were weightless, his arms wrapped around his body from ribs-to-spine. The Avatar was content with that, and he let him down. He could count Sui in.

"Flameo, hotman," He said sarcastically, considering they were going to be revving up going to the fire nation and all. Though he wasn't sure about their mode of transport, if they were going to be ditching the sages. As he thought about that, Sui intervened to talk about his sister, who he obviously wanted to come with. Han didn't mind. The more the merrier, though he'd prefer to start off with a small crowd of course. He wasn't really the popular type or the extroverted type, and so large groups like at the beach put him on edge. He wanted to travel small. Mizu would be a good enough third addition. "Brother and sister from the water tribe. It's just like Avatar Aang." He shook his head, stretching his arms while turning around and facing the statue of Kyoshi. "As long as she isn't annoying and doesn't ask me awkward questions, then she can come. Also, she's gotta pull her weight. No excessive sleeping or slobbing around, assertive help in our group operations... yeah. All that." He wasn't sure if she actually was a good bender or if Sui was exaggerating her. But from what he saw of her, she seemed pretty good. Braver and smarter than most little sisters he knew.

Han turned back to glance at Sui, and threw a pouch at him. It had some money and essentials -- the sages gave it to Han. But they also gave him even more money, and more essentials, so he could spare some change. "So, you ready to go, tough guy?" The Avatar's lips were rising and perky. His voice accentuated a tone of familiarity with Sui, who was his first friend in a very, very long time. He would be fine with crossing spirits, if this guy was at his back. The Avatar could imagine them as being quite the team.

 

[JellytheBeany]

He had never thought of it until now, but it made perfect sense, and it only served to fuel his belief that this was all at the hand of fate. His meeting with Han, finding out that he is the avatar, being about to go on an adventure with him. The fact that he and Mizu were brother and sister from the water tribe who were to travel with the avatar. It was history repeating itself all over again, and the coincidence was not lost on him. When Hand turned away from him to face the statue Sui's heart sank, as he felt that the boy was about to say no he couldn't bring his sister along, and that would have meant that Sui himself wouldn't have been able to go either, as he couldn't in all good conscience leave Mizu behind to fend for herself, especially now when he was finding out that the world was such a dangerous place for benders and non-benders alike. Then Han spoke up, and then Sui's heart returned to its place in his chest and his smile took on its usual gusto. "I can't promise that she won't be annoying since she can be such a little brat sometimes, but she won't get in anyone's way." He felt like he had to defend her character as best as he could, though he couldn't not say she was a brat since she was. That girl could make an iceberg shatter from her gaze alone, and that's without her bending.

Sui snatched the pouch out of the air with his left hand and stared at it for a while, then back at Han. He didn't bother asking what it was since it was quite obvious from the sounds the thing made and the way it felt. Most people would have been bashful about someone just giving them money like this, but not Sui. And yes, he pictured it as a gift and not a loan, as no words were exchanged on the topic and he could assume whatever he wanted to. If push came to shove, which he doubted, he would shove back, in a manner of speaking. "Never been more ready for anything," he said in response to Han's question. How the waterbender managed to contain his elation was a mystery to even himself. But he did, and that was that. He started walking in the direction of the docks where they had left everyone behind. They were all probably wondering what all had happened, but then, did it really matter? He managed to make a new friend, such an important friend at that. And beyond being the Avatar, Han was a genuinely great guy who seemed down to earth, pardon the pun. His title hadn't seemed to gotten to his head...yet at least. Wrapping his free arm around Han's shoulder, he started making slow pace back to the docks, but just then he noticed his state of undress, looking down at himself and the fact that he was sans clothing save for his tight fitting underwear that, admittedly, was showing quite a sizable bulge. Not being one for bashfulness, Sui didn't mind, and elected to keep ignoring his nakedness. "Do you have a sky bison stashed away somewhere that we're gonna travel on?"

 

[___youwillknownihilism]

Ban was impressed to see the avatar's earth bending, and just glad overall that Sui wasn't killed by the Unagi. It was another reason sh wanted to leave. She really hated that thing, like with a passion. She couldn't ever be safe swimming as long as the Unagi was in those waters, and it wouldn't ever be leaving. She waded out of the water, now mostly soaked as per all the water bending and splashing, and stood near Hanji and Sui, in view an earshot but not overly close. She heard their plans and figured now would be her last chance to hop on the band wagon. It was either leave with him or end up on some ship to wherever the ******** on her own. She strided over, the water making her dress darker and stuck to her skin. She pulled her hair to one side and began ringing it out as she had earlier before speaking to Hanji and the bending siblings. Do you all have room for one more? I mean, more the merrier right? she asked flashing her heart melting smile of innocence at Han.

 

[A faint smile]

Liana had missed her chance to post and put in something really cool and motivational. It would have been wise words put now they would only fall on deaf ears. Noticing everyone teaming up to head out on their adventures, Liana walked over to Opai the sky bison and generated a gust of wind to lift her upward. She twirled in the air gracefully and landed on Opai's soft head. Liana would make her way to Ba Sing Se from here. "I'm headed out as well, and anyone is welcome to join me. There's plenty of room up here!" She said, lightly tapping Opai with her heels to kick her into gear. The sky bison sauntered forward, deceptively fast given its size and shape. Six legs really helped out in that case. Opai would crouch down and keep its tail straight, allowng whoever wanted to climb it and settle themselves on her saddle.
 

[TDG Super Kami]

TABTAB Zen sighed as his hood remained over his head. One of the most important moments of his life and.... he gets ignored. Regardless, he sensed something special about this Air Nomad. She seemed to be more in tune with spiritual energies than most of the people he met, and he had time to kill. Aisa and the others would understand if he went on an adventure or two before coming back home, so he let out a whistle for Boro, then pointed at the Bison. The Wolf Bear seemed to understand as he stood up, stretched, then took off under where the Bison would be eventually flying as Zen took a sprinting start and jumped up the Bison's tail and slid into the saddle. In hindsight this was a very foolish thing to do, what with them being almost complete strangers and all. Guess it was time to change that. The wind knocked Zen's hood back, revealing the white hair that began to dance in the wind and the silver eyes that seemed to both look at and look through Liana at the same time. "Zen. Native to Kyoshi. It's been a while since I last saw an Air Nomad. I'm glad they still are as in tune with their chi as they were before. It's a beautiful thing to be able to see." Among other things, of course. He had once been taught earthly desires were harmful to one's spirituality. Zen completely ignored that part. A human's body was a gorgeous thing to behold, and so far he had seen quite a few men and women he would have liked to get better readings on; simply looking at one's chi only gave him so much information. For more, he needed to make physical contact with the body's chi routes. Zen looked to his left, ahead of where they were flying. "So... where are you heading?"  

[The Wild Hunt]

The earthbender agreed to take her along, so that was that. He seemed a little fidgety when Sui wrapped his arm around his shoulder, but only really because the man was undressed and he was already feeling mighty weird after that back-and-forth hugging they'd just done. Nonetheless, he ignored the arm-wrapping as he continued down the mountain, instead taking more interest in one of his worries: Sui's clothing. Maybe he wasn't exactly fit to be seen with an Avatar if he looked like an applicant to swimsuit modeling. Plus, he had some kinda bulge going on and it was just . . . unnerving. He elected to feign ignorance to it, but eventually he'd probably say something. He always did. "I don't have an air bison hidden anywhere, sorry," He shrugged. All he had was Hulan, who was really just a big dumb mole who liked to sniff cow pies and dig giant holes in people's yards. She wasn't exactly a good swimmer, either, as she was blind anywhere but on land. "Maybe we'll get lucky and a lion turtle will pick us up." That was obvious sarcasm, as those things only presented themselves when the world was about to get blown up. Oh wait, it was about to get blown up. Right.

As he thought about their traveling options, he was caught by the silent girl from before, who Sui codenamed Banshee. In order to remove any false implications, he threw Sui's arm off of him and nonchalantly erected a sterner posture. To her question, he was actually quite cold. "You're an earthbender, right?" He asked, the question rhetorical. "Probably not. I've already got too many earthbenders in my life. Right Hulan?" The Avatar looked at his badgermole, who was chasing some chickens with a bunch of little kids on its back. Stupid thing loved being the center of attention. "I'm sorry. I hate to turn down some good help, but I want to move in a very small group for now." Those were his last words to her, before he turned away and continued towards the docks. There were some transport ships here, modernized; they were solid, like ironclads, capable of surviving the Unagi. They could take him to the fire nation.

He didn't trust anyone else, so he didn't ask for Liana's help. He didn't think people were made of pure intentions, so they had to be proven. She had not proven herself to him, only Sui did, as far as he was concerned. That was why he got to come. "I'll go deal with the boarding, for the ship I mean. Go get your sister, Sui. This thing here says take off is in twenty minutes."