Kyoshi Island Village

[JellytheBeany]

A crestfallen look crossed Sui's face when Han confirmed that he indeed did not have an air bison somewhere that he could just call to carry them around wherever they needed to go, but then, just as they reached the docks he remember, mostly from seeing it again after having not registering it all this time. Liana was an airbender and she, for a fact, had an air bison right there. He figured that maybe that would be their method of transportation since Han didn't have one of his own. Lost in his own thoughts, it came as no surprise that he had heard nothing that Han had said about the lion turtle. Luckily, Han didn't seem to be aiming to solicit a reaction, so Sui managed to get away unscathed, in a manner of speaking. His thoughts came back to the world before him when Banshee came up to Han and practically begged him to let her join them on their little excursion. Well, not so much beg as try to flirt an affirmative from him. If it had been Sui in the boy's place he would have probably succumbed on the second syllable and let her have the world if she asked for it, but that was him and his undisciplined self. Han was made of sterner stuff though, and after detaching Sui's arm from around his shoulder his voice came out so cold that Sui could almost feel a chill.

The answer was quite obvious even before the kid said anything, but he found a roundabout way of letting her down that, if Sui wasn't over-analyzing it too much, no one was buying. It couldn't have really been because there were 'too many earthbenders as Han put it, but whatever he wanted. A small group it would be. Letting Han gain a bit of a head start when he walked away, he spoke in hushed tones to Banshee that Han wouldn't be able to hear. "Sorry about that. He's really going through a lot. I guess we'll all see each other soon enough." He jogged to catch up with Han, and just then the boy turned and let him know that he was about to deal with the boarding. No doubt he was going to flaunt his avatar status in everyone's face. That was something Sui wanted to see. He would be most disappointed if he missed it, and so he nodded and jogged over to where Mizu sat at the edge of the docks playing with that scary friend of hers that always tried to eat him. He collected his clothes along the way and put them on quickly before reaching her. "Let's go Mizu. We're gonna be travelling with Han for a while. Isn't that exciting?" His own excitement was easily heard in his voice, but when Mizu turned to him it was obvious that something was bothering her. He knew before she said it that she wasn't planning on coming with them. Sui listened to her explain away why she wasn't going to come and he understood in the end, hugging her tightly as a goodbye for now before turning away and walking back to Han. "She isn't coming. Guess it's just you and me for now. And your badger mole friend, if he ever stops playing around that is." Sui watched the creature chasing after the chickens, almost managing to entrap one, but it somehow slipped away. The kids were having a blast.

 

[The Wild Hunt]

Han noticed the waterbender try and console Ban as he left her behind. He didn't care, Sui could be his spokesperson all he wanted. Han wasn't really good with people, or trying to convince them, or telling the truth or lying. He was really only good at bending and studying, which was all he'd ever needed until now. That'd have to change soon enough, and he was sure Sui would be the one to help him learn the ropes. He could at least try and practice a bit on his own, though. Usually the ship wouldn't take passengers so close to its leave, but he did indeed plan to flaunt his Avatar status. He went straight up to the crew and showed them -- earthbending, then fire bending. The Captain came out to see, and they all stared excited and agreed to let him come along. They perhaps thought that maybe the Avatar riding their ship would make it a special one, which may or may not have been true. He didn't really care, because all he wanted was a lift. Sui didn't waste much time, and came up behind Han, with no sister at his side. She wasn't coming, apparently, which did make Sui his sole waterbending trainer, when that time came around.

"Hulan isn't a guy. It's a girl," He corrected him. "I named her after myself. Get it? H-ul-an? Han? Heh." He always thought it was crafty, but it sounded so lame now. It was something he had done when he was very young, around the time when he first got his earthbending back. That was when, as a young babe, the badgermole came to him and helped him grow stronger. It was quite a romantic story if you would care to hear the fine details. "Sorry to hear about your sister, but I'm sure she'll find something to make her happy while you're away. And you'll come back with all sorts of stories to tell her," He nodded affirmatively, then beckoned for him to get on the ship. He whistled a little, and Hulan came running towards the beach, where she swiped her claws outwards and sent herself flying from the ground, launching onto the hull of the ship. Surprisingly, it was a soft landing, a show of her refinement in earthbending.

"We're ready earlier than expected," One of the crew said, opening an iron door to inform everyone of this. "Settle into your beds and we'll be off." The Avatar didn't even turn to look at him. Instead, he laid his back against the badgermole, and stared into Sui's eyes. "Good night," said Han, letting his arms fall to his sides. "Don't let the Unagi bite." With that, he fell asleep, and the ship began to sail. He wasn't accustomed to these long days, where the stress only rose and rose, never waning. He would rid of it all in his dreams.

-- exit to ? --

 

[JellytheBeany]

Sui was no short of dumbfounded as his head snapped around to face Han to see if he was serious. A spell later his mouth fell open and he found that he was in complete astonishment at the revelation. Sure he had already figured that the name was a play on Han's own name, but he had honestly though that the thing was a girl. Boy was he wrong. Clearing his throat at the mention of his sister, the waterbender found himself to be actually kind of relieved that she wasn't coming with them. Not that he didn't want her to since he always liked being near her, and he never really liked being too far from her, but because on this particular quest there would be constant danger. Life-threatening danger that could possibly get someone killed. If she died, especially while under his care, he didn't know what he would do, but he knew he would never be the same again. Things like that tended to shatter a guy's world. Sui shrugged and looked up at the mildly cloudy sky. "Yea. I'm sure she'll be fine. She's going back to the North Pole so she'll definitely be safe there." Whatever the case he was adamant about going with Han. Adventure awaited.

Han, Sui, and Hulan were all onboard when a crew member enlightened them as tot hr ship's current readiness to be away from the island. With that simple announcement the man left and Sui looked back at Han as the young earthbender assumed a comfortable position and told him 'good night'. At the mention of the Unagi Sui opened his eyes wide and actually started to panic a little. It just occurred to him that the thing was large enough to crush this ship that they were on. He did not want to become fish food when he was the one who usually ate them. It would be too much irony for a single lifetime. He wondered if anyone had ever tried kill the Unagi and have it for dinner... It was a strange thought to be having right now but he couldn't help it. His thoughts were all over the place, and he was certain his rapidly beating heart had some part in it. There was no blaming the little thing however. How could he not be excited? He was on a ship going to the fire nation, with the Avatar asleep right next to him. Staring at the boy's peaceful face as he slept, Sui allowed the gentle breathing to lull him into a state of rest, and before long he too was fast asleep.

~ Exeunt ~  

[___youwillknownihilism]

When Han was gone and she was left behind sh sighed and looked to liana. It wasn't so much that she was a second choice but moreso that she wasn't the avatar and Ban was somewhat afraid of being disconnected from the earth below her feet. Still she jumped, the earth raisin below her feet as a stone pillar shot up from below her and she landed safely on the bison, just behind Liana, sitting right behind her and wrapping an arm around her waist like they were on a motor bike. Looks like were travel buddies! ONWARD TO VITORY!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[A faint smile]

Liana had been busy preparing for take off. She had steered Opai to a group of hay meant for horses, who immediately began to devour it. As Zen somehow devied the law of physics and slid up Opai, it gave a queer roar and shook its body, almost tossing Liana off. She giggled and patted the beast on its head, adjusting her position upon it. "Guess you found her ticklish spot, Zen." Liana said, twisting around to get a good look at who it was she would be traveling with. She smiled at him and bowed her head at his compliment. "The Air monks teach us that nature, spirits, people, we're all one in the same. Just different incarnations." Liana spoke as she gazed skyward. Kinai would be coming soon, it never took him long to hunt. She knew he was going to be upset that they were leaving so soon. None of them had really gotten a chance to rest since they left the Air temple. Liana had been so excited that she had forgotten all about her body's own needs. "Ba Sing Se, I've always wanted to see it and we're not far off." That statement was partially true. Ba Sing Se just so happened to cover a huge portion of the Earth Nation, encompassing such avast majority of the land that Liana could have said that regardless of where they were in the world.

It wasn't long after that when Ban Shi Dai decided to join them on their adventure. Instead of sitting on the saddle, as most new riders of a sky bison would choose to do, she sat right behind Liana, wrapping her hands around her waist and holding tightly. Liana's face lit up like a light, and she awkwardly gave a nervous giggle. Her enthusiasm made Liana giddy and she squirmed lightly underneath Ban Shi Dai's touch. "How about we start with a warm meal first?" Liana said with a smile. She hadn't brought any money, so that was going to be quite the adventure. "Hold onto your hats ladies and gents, Opai can seriously haul tail!" Liana said tigthening her grip around Opai's neck and gripping the reins. "Alright, here we go! Yip-yip" Liana tensed her body to rise up through the air, but Opai merely flopped her tail and smashed it against the ground. Liana leaned both ways with confusion on her face. She twisted in Ban Shi's arms and gave waiting signal before leaning forward. "Oh come on girl! I promise we'll sleep soon. C'mon these people have never rode on a sky bison before! Show them just how magnific- Whoa!' Opai suddenly lurched forward and launched herself into the air. Liana stabilized her by tugging this way and that way on the reins. Opai was climbing fast, her tail moving much like a fish's through water. Liana saw what she was aiming for and braced herself, turning her face away as they breeched the clouds. She shivered at the contact and waited for Opai to settle on an altitude. When she did, Liana patted Ban Shi's hands lightly to signal her that she could let go. Opai was lazily drifting through the air, setting a course straight for the heart of the earth kingdom. Liana readjusted herself, knowing Opai would keep a straight enough line for them.

Liana crawled forward on Opai's head and spun around, moving her arms in fast and circular motions. The movements were very smooth, as expected of an Air Bender. She brought her hands together and created a burst of wind from what looked like inside of her. All of the droplets of water rushed outward, and Liana increased the size of this wind wall. As the wall would rush over her new found companions they too would be dried. Once that was over with Liana went about undoing the braids in her hair. Air drying had its perks and drawbacks, one of them being crazy hair. As Liana spoke, her fingers deftly flew through her hair. "So, let's get the awkward intros and feelings out of the way. You might have heard me already, but I'm Liana, clearly an Airbender. This lovely lady we're riding is Opai. Kinai's around here somewhere, I'm sure we'll see him later. As I said before I'm heading to Ba Sing Se, but I'll let you in on a secret." Liana said, leaning forward and winking. "I actually don't have any money. I never really needed it where I lived. So, I'm up for taking odd jobs here and there to get by. I do have some food left over, but I'm not sure if you two will enjoy it." Liana said as she began to rebraid what seemed like abstract strands of hair. "I don't partake in the consumption of meat, so we'll have to exist on fruits and nuts for now." She said apologetically. Liana pointed to one of the many bags near Zen on the saddle. "There are sleeping bags, blankets, food, supplies, and other odd ends I've brought with me. You guys are welcome to share my things. I figure if we're going to be flying together, we're going to end up being good friends." Liana said, standing up on Opai and letting the wind push her forward. She twirled over Ban Shi's head and grabbed the saddle before she flew off. Liana turned around and reached a hand out to the lovely girl now in front of her. "C'mon, let's settle in and enjoy the ride." She said with an easy smile. It may very well end up being a long trip, who knew what could happen in this crazy world.

[/exit]