[IC] Avatar: The Legend of Kya

[Little Fox]

Fire Lord Sozin has long since noticed the prosperity and peace that has befallen the Fire Nation and swells with pride. He believes that this prosperity and peace should be shared with the rest of the world: By expanding the Fire Nation. Of course, Avatar Roku strongly opposed this idea and refused to help him. Several years later, however, Roku discovered that Sozin had set up colonies in the Earth Kingdom and came to rebuke him, leading Sozin to attack him. The two engaged in a battle, with Roku finally destroying most of the palace and defeating Sozin. Roku spared his life because of their past friendship, but warned him never to move forward with his plans again, or it would result in his "permanent end".

Twenty-five years later, Roku's home island was consumed in a volcanic eruption so massive that Sozin could see and feel it from a hundred miles away. The Fire Lord flew in on his dragon to assist his old friend. The two used their bending to try to contain the lava flow, but were hindered by poisonous gases, which eventually overwhelmed Roku, leaving him lying on the ground and begging for his old friend's help. Sozin suddenly realized, however, that Roku's death would allow him to fulfill his plans, and left his old friend to die along with his dragon, Fang.

Twelve years after Roku died, Sozin used the power of a comet to enhance the power of his firebender army and launched a genocidal attack on the Air Nomads in an attempt to kill Aang, the new Avatar, and halt the Avatar Cycle. Aang was not yet aware of his Avatar status and he never ran away. Like the rest of the Airbenders that lived in the temples, he was killed. Fortunately, that was not the end of the Avatar Cycle - Unknown to Sozin, the Avatar must be killed while in the Avatar State.

Without the Avatar around, the Fire Nation paved the way to leading the world into despair, beginning to expand around the world and taking over various places in other Nations. The world had lost hope that the Avatar would ever reincarnate and many had begun to buckle and submit to the whims of the brutal Fire Nation.

But not all of them.

The Order of the White Lotus is an ancient and formerly secret society that transcends the boundaries of the four nations, seeking philosophy, beauty, and truth. They are devoted to the sharing of ancient knowledge across national and political divides. The Order's main purpose is to find each new Avatar, see to his or her training, and provide protection.

Formed centuries ago by the wisest scholars from all over the world, the Order began as a club where these ancient masters could challenge one another on the Pai Sho table. They derived their name from the white lotus tile used in Pai Sho, a key element in their strategy. They communicate membership through the game by placing Pai Sho tiles on the board in a specific manner, forming a bloomed lotus bud with the lotus chip in the center. Now, in the world's most desperate time of need, they seek out the Avatar with the intent of having their apprentices teach and protect the Avatar - The Masters within the Order most are getting ripe in their years and some even hold political stances. If they were to teach the Avatar, they would be spotted immediately.

The Avatar reincarnated in a young Water Tribe girl of the Northern Water Tribe five years later - Kya. After receiving a note from Master Waterbender in the North Pole, the apprentices have gone off to find this so-called Avatar.



North Pole - City of the Northern Water Tribe

Everything was pretty quiet - Quite normal for the frozen city. Women were about doing chores while men stood guard if not training and children were playing now that their classes were over. Except for one class. An elder man was preaching to a class outside that seemed bored out of their minds with blank expressions plastered to their tan faces - Some even drooling. It seemed like your normal Waterbending class; With an exception. There was a young woman sitting cross-legged amongst the boys looking just as bored as the rest. If the fact that she was of the female sex attending this class wasn't enough to deem the image strange, the clothes she wore weren't exactly befitting of the chilly climate - For her blouse was sleeveless and adorned in feathers. The pants that she wore were normal enough, but there were no shoes on her feet. With ebony waves flowing over her shoulders, down her arms, and gathering around her feet, she really didn't seem to fit into this picture.




Kya Ukata

Kya sat quietly in front of Jokka as he droned on to his class about the origins of Waterbending. She already knew all of this - The original Waterbenders had learned from the way the moon pushed and pulled at the tides. They all knew that. Why was he telling them again? Kya often thought that he just liked hearing himself talk, but of course she'd never actually say that to him. He would definitely kill her. She resisted heaving a sigh as her cyan orbs found something else to look at - A group of children playing in the snow. She saw a few young boys bending the snow while two little girls looked on. She sighed heavily, wishing that it didn't have to be that way. That females weren't allowed to use Waterbending to defend themselves. It was stupid and narrow minded. She tried several times to dissuade the gender-roles of the Water Tribes, but to no avail whatsoever. She may be the Avatar, but she couldn't change what was tradition.

Her gaze then fell upon a massive polar bear dog - These creatures were a threat to the Water Tribes and were very vicious, being the reason they were feared and hunted. Kya found Kota when he was just a pup about two years ago. He was injured and stuck between a crack in the ice. Kya couldn't just leave him there to die - So, of course she brought him home. She successfully domesticated him, much to Jokka's disapproval who claimed that she had gone against nature and a few other things that Kya couldn't remember because she didn't care to listen. Kota was being lazy, basking in the sun while exposing his belly to the sky. Kya gave a light giggle, earning a fierce glare from Jokka.

"I'm sorry - Was something I said funny, Avatar?"

She broke from her daze, looking at him with a sheepish sort of expression. "Not at all, Master Jokka. May I please be excused from class? I don't feel well...And there's nothing more you can teach me." She looked away a bit and fidgeted with the feathers on her blouse. "Also, I'd like to prepare myself for departure...I still need to pack and-"

Jokka interrupted her with a raised hand and sighed in an irratated manner - Nobody was ever sure whether he was really irratated when he sighed, seeing as he just seemed irratated all the time. "Very well, Kya. You are dismissed. Though you should have packed by now. How can you expect to carry out the responsibility of being the Avatar if you cannot even pack on time? Now then - " He turned back to the rest of the class, earning a groan from the young males. "Here at the North Pole we -" His voice faded away as Kya walked over to Kota, patting his belly.

"I'm gonna go home to pack. C'mon." As Kota stood upright, Kya hopped onto his back and was prepared to leave until Jokka called after her.

"One last test, Avatar Kya."

A frown caused creases in her brow to appear, but she conceded and dismounted, walking over to the old man where she stopped just ten feet in front of him. The class was glad his attention was elsewhere, quickly moving away to watch the battle with the other spectators.

Jokka took a stance placing one foot in front of the other, turning his body to the side, and loosely hanging his arms at his side.

Kya just stood there. She didn't have a stance. Your opponent could predict your moves from your stance. She was able to create her own style that many called 'The Dancing No-Stance'. Why? Because her movements were often like dancing and she never once ever stood a particular stance that could be identified.

Before one could blink, the combat ensued as Jokka raised his arms and began guiding water from the canal into a stream, manipulating it to speed towards Kya. While the Water Bullet was a simple move, it could be deadly at the hands of a master. Kya wasted no time throwing her own arms up, forcing the stream to halt before encouraging it to freeze, breaking into multiple daggers of sharp ice, directing it all back at Jokka. He smirked lightly and stopped the daggers with a simple wave of his hand, forcing the ice back to a globe of water that he was about to form into an octopus around him before Kya took a step forward. It was with great ease that she froze the globe and shaped it into a pillar, using sliding hand motions to pull the pillar towards and begin to make the ice break apart piece by piece into disks that spun towards Jokka. As the old man began stepping backwards to fend off the attacks, Kya danced forwards quickly in pirouettes, using Jokka's defense of breaking the disks to form a new attack. Her arms made a crescent motion, guiding more water from the canal. The water seemed to take the shape of a roaring dragon. As she spun, she curved her arms and brought them in a downward motion causing the dragon to 'eat' Jokka. Her hands closed into a fist before freezing him within the water around him. Finally, she jumped into the air with a spin landing in a crouch, slamming her fists onto the ground causing the dome to shatter, sending Jokka flying into a wall where she immediately streamed water onto him and froze him there, using the remaining water to form spears that levitated before him.

"I do believe I'm ready." Kya remarked plainly, seeing that Jokka's hands were unable to move, he was tired, and unable to bend from his current position. She hated when he sprung random tests on her. It was like he didn't think that after so many years, she wasn't ready still. It was insulting.

He nodded with a light grimace of approval as Kya released him and walked back to Kota, ignoring multiple cheers. The Tribe was proud of her progression, and so was she. But she was tired now and she needed to pack - The Order of the White Lotus would be here to take her away soon and she hadn't even gotten to say her goodbyes...From the side of her eye, she could see five people that were obviously far far away from home. They were members of the White Lotus. And they were here to take her away to right the wrongs of the Fire Nation before taking on Fire Lord Azulon. Sozin had died some years ago and his son was ten times as nasty as Sozin ever was. While Sozin saw his goals as bringing peace, Azulon wanted only to rule the world. And Kya couldn't let that happen.

She was honored that this all fell upon her. Before now, she was just a normal girl learning to heal and become a productive member of their society. But after discovery of her...Avatarness, everything changed. Sighing, she climbed into the saddle on Kota's back, steering him to a trot to her home. With Kota waiting outside, she went into her house and saw her parents there with a few bags that seemed to be packed already. They were always trying to make things easier for her after Jokka began training her - Despite his protests. Kya's eyes watered as her father wrapped his arms around her in a hug while her mother just outright cried. "We're so proud of you Kya. Of everything that you do. Please write home when you can..." Her father's deep voice made her want to cry. She'd miss him, her mother, the sound of their voices, the way they smelled, the way her father was always harassing Jokka about pushing Kya too hard even though she had long since surpassed the man. She really didn't want to leave - But she really wanted to see the world and do her job.

Sighing again, she broke from the embrace and sat down, putting her face in her hands. There she waited with her parents alongside her, their arms draped over her bare shoulders as the time for the Order of the Lotus to take her away drew nigh. She imagined that they'd be knocking on her door any moment now. Sighing, she drooped her shoulders and buried her face into her father's stomach.

[xHolyLightningx]

Lian Shi

Lian Shi had always been a keen observer, she much preferred watching the world go by than she did doing, of course that wasn't to say she was afraid of getting her hands dirty but there was just something mesmerizing about watching the world go by naturally. Lian had been looking forward to traveling, after all nothing was more exciting that going to travel the world and fully take in it's beauty, at least not to Lian. She watched the children play and took note of the fact only the boys were bending, it seemed a shame that women were forbidden to learn such an amazing art, especially one that could save peoples lives, but it was not Lian's place or her business to question the tradition of the tribe when she herself was just an outsider.

The children seem engrossed in their game and to be perfectly honest the innocent look on their faces made Lian smile lightly, it had been so long since she last saw children look so happy, she almost wished that she could go and play with them but that certainly wouldn't be allowed. They probably assumed that because hadn't said anything that Lian hadn't noticed but she had, the looks, the staring and pointing, the whispers, yes Lian had noticed it all, especially the boring gaze of two men who had been watching her since the very moment she stepped foot into the tribe, probably on stand by in case she started any trouble, but she was certain she didn't look like the type.

Of course one might argue that, that is the most terrifying thing about firebending, someone who looked completely innocent could burn down an entire village in a matter of minutes, firebenders were certainly dangerous. There was never any love lost between the fire and water nation, even before Sozin, but Lian had to admit she was surprised that the people of the tribe weren't at least somewhat prepared for it, The Avatar had to master all four elements and fire was included in that, they must have thought about it at the very least. She assumed the fact that the avatar was in very close proximity would be enough to ensure them piece of mind, she was also sure that the four people she was currently stood with had little to no qualms about striking down a firebender, and surely the fact she had been chosen to teach the avatar in the first place suggested that she was trust worthy, if the fire nation knew of her plans, they would come and wipe out the entire tribe.

Lian sighed rather heavily, she had done a lot to prepare for the prejudice against her, but she wished people would thin more sometimes. Then again she couldn't totally blame them now, could she? Regardless of her intentions, the history of the fire nation spoke for itself, it was crystal clear why they were despised, loathed and ultimately feared. The ink that had been spilled to write the history of the fire nation could never be taken back, all Lian Shi could do was try to seize the pen and write a peaceful future.

As Kya was challenged by her master, she watched the match with critical eyes, if she was going to teach Kya she had to know all she could about her future student and she took great interest in the battle unfolding, almost as if it was a performance.

All the cold from the match seemed to fly in the direction of the group of five observing keenly, it didn't really bother Lian however since she spent a lot of time performing in very little clothing, to be perfectly honest Lian quite like the cold which was hardly expected of a normal firebender right? But then again, could one really describe Lian Shi as a normal firebender? She was going to teach the avatar the secrets of firebending, the avatar would then use said secrets to over throw Lian's nation from power, once it was discovered Lian was teaching the firebending, she would almost certainly be branded a traitor and marked for execution at just the age of 18, one might say she had everything to lose and nothing to gain, so why?

The answer was simple enough, for the two things that Lian valued most: Peace and Freedom. Lian loved the fire nation, but it was certainly far from great under Azulon, out of the five she was probably the most acquainted with his cruelty. People were imprisoned merely for speaking words against the fire nation or of anti-war propaganda, he encouraged the fire nation to do nothing but fight. At the very least Sozin had wanted peace and what was best for his people, his methods were...flawed to say the least, but at least his heart was in the right place....kind of. Azulon searched for no peace however, he wanted nothing but power and that kind of leadership didn't sit well with Lian and that's why she had chosen to take the risk of siding with the avatar.

As the match drew to a close Lian gave a few polite claps of respect, it seemed that Kya used dancing in her style which would make picking up Lian's style easier for her but it was still good to start off with some traditional firebending, since Azulon was a master of the basics, perhaps more so than Lian herself, but still watching Kya fight instilled a bright flame of hope within her, she needed work sure but Lian believed that she could save the world....

[The Man]

Li Sheng

The North Pole wasn't a great place for an Earthbender to be, and Li Sheng was not much different. He missed the feeling of rock below his feet; its feel, shape, texture. He missed being able to feel it with his hands, rub it slightly with his palms and know he was safe. It was his silent friend, his great protector, the source of his bending. But here, it was nothing but ice and water. Li could feel that he was slightly powerless, but in the presence of the others with him, did his best not to show it. It wasn't all bad, though. Sure, being here might have been a great disadvantage for him, but he was still excited to see the North Pole. Li had always loved to travel and see new places. He had been all around the Earth Kingdom since he had discovered his bending, and with his master, he had convinced him to travel around as well. But this was the first time he had been outside of the Earth Kingdom. So yes, it was slightly nerve-racking to not have much bending available, but it was also exciting to see a completely new location than what he was used to. Besides, Li brought a few boulders in the sack he carried over his shoulder, anyways, just in case. Probably an unusual thing to pack, but Li wanted a bit of home with him wherever he went, and to Li, the earth was home.

Li concentrated back on the reason he was here. The Avatar. It was the reason he had been training with his master all across the Earth Kingdom. He was to find the Avatar with the other White Lotus members, and train and protect them. He stood with the other four members, looking off from a distance at a class of Waterbenders being taught by a master. It was easy enough to spot the Avatar, the only female in a class of boys. Li wondered why that was, why more females weren't in class, but instead were around doing chores. He made a mental note to himself to ask someone about that later on, if he remembered. He sighed, bored that they were doing nothing but standing there, watching. He assumed that they were waiting for the Avatar to finish class, but still, the situation couldn't have been more boring for Li. The others weren't much for talking either. They had only just recently met, but he figured since they would be traveling together for quite a while, they would get to know each other. Thus far, however, not much was said among the White Lotus members.

Li hoped that it was simply initial shyness, or that they had a lot to think about on their minds, or something of that nature. Li could tell this group was ready for action on any level, but he wondered how sociable they would be amongst each other. He didn't know if they were the type upon first impressions to be anything more than acquaintances. Li was always quick to judge, though, so he was sure he would be proven wrong. Or at least he hoped. Li put his sack behind his back onto the ground and then sat down next to it on the snow, sitting on his behind while watching the class. He let out one more sigh as he turned over to the other members standing next to him, observing them.

The first one he took a look at was a man with long black hair tied in a ponytail, and a bandanna covering his head, as well as one eye. He could see the outlines of what he believed to be burn marks on his eyes, which might be a reason he covered it. Li was sure he wasn't a bender, or at least he believed he wasn't, but didn't know much else about the man. He was called Wu Leng Shen. He seemed alright.

The second was a woman, Lian Shi he believed she was called. She seemed nice enough, if a bit quiet and...what was the word Li was looking for? Proper? That might be it. But she was the firebender. Go figure. Either way, Li wasn't sure how someone that seemed so elegant and such could be a great firebending teacher. Looks like he would eventually find out.

Li didn't really know what to think of the next guy much upon first impression, an Airbender named Raizo Genken. He seemed tough, which Li liked, but also acted as if he was really pissed off at everyone, which he didn't like. He seemed a bit too serious to Li. But when your race and culture is killed by the Fire Nation, perhaps he had just cause to be like that. Either way, Li wasn't sure what to make of the guy.

The last one was Koizora Hitori. It was hard to really saw what Li thought of her at the moment either. She seemed OK enough, but there was an air around her that made Li feel as though he should watch his back around her. Besides the weapons that Li could see in the open, which included the sword on her back and a number of objects around her neck, Li also felt like she had even more hidden away. Everywhere he looked on her person, it seemed relatively normal, but it almost felt like something would pop out that she could stab someone with. Pretty damn cool.

Anyways, Li assumed time would tell what this group would become. For now, Li turned back to the Avatar, who was now beginning to have a spar with the waterbending master. Li instantly smiled, and sat up. The fight didn't last long, with the Avatar showing an impressive number of moves before defeating the master. "Ha! Avatar's got some moves, don't she?" Li said, looking up to the others with a smile. Li stood up and cheered loudly, almost forgetting his place as he did so. "YEA, AVATAR! Nice going!" He yelled loudly from the distance. Soon, the Avatar disappeared on her Polar Bear Dog, and Li immediately began proceeding down to the direction of her house.

"We'll, we'd better get moving!" Li said to them with a smile on his face. "Come on, I'll meet you guys down there. Let's go!"

He ran down to the direction of where the Avatar disappeared. On her polar bear dog, she was faster than he was, but Li made up time by running at top speed. He had a large smile on his face the whole time, unable to contain himself. They were about to go on the adventure of a lifetime. How could he not contain himself?

Li stopped running as he got right next to the Avatar's supposed home. Li composed himself at the door. This was the Avatar, after all, someone who had restored balance to the world on many occasions. She was a figure of high respect and admiration all across the world. Seeming to try to make a good first impression, he took a deep breath, put up his hand next to the door, and then...

BANG! BANG! BANG! He 'knocked' on the door loudly. "HEY AVATAR!" He shouted as he continued to bang at the door loudly. "ARE YOU IN THERE?! I'm apart of the White Lotus! Come out with us and save the world, and stuff! Hello?! Avatar?!" BANG! BANG! BANG!

[Aesthetic]

Koizora Hitori
The Northern Water Tribe
Standing amongst the White Lotus members was a girl bathed in weapons and poisons, her hair a pale brown. Green eyes flickered to her left and right as she looked over her newfound companions warily. Her hands drop to the hollow of her throat, fumbling with a gold chain.

Koizora led her large eel hound into the city, feeling uncomfortable as she and the other members of the Order strode in. Kuro, the large, lizard-like creature, tensed up, probably from the cold, and Koizora rubbed his neck affectionately. The animal wasn't really hers, but, rather, her fiancee's.

As Kuro padded lightly onto the snow-littered ground, a faint jingling sound could be heard, from all of the extra weapons he was carrying. Koizora had tried to not pack much, but paranoia had gotten to her.

Zora felt fairly comfortable with everyone in her group, with the exception of the Firebender girl, and Zora was sure that it would take her a while to trust the other girl. But she set aside the thoughts for another time; for there was something of priority to be done.

Zora shifted her weight from foot to foot, watching a quick skirmish between a young girl and her master. The girl, barefoot but beautiful, was clearly beating the man, and Koizora quickly realized that she was probably the Avatar.

"Ha! Avatar got some moves, doesn't she?"

Zora's eyes settled on the Earthbender boy, who seemed excited for the upcoming adventures. It wasn't as though Zora wasn't excited or enthused; she was just too tired from the journey to jump up and down, cheering the Avatar on as she sparred. It wasn't that hard to tell, either. The weeks of preparations, the days of travel; all worn into her face. There was a ghostly pallor to her face, but her cheeks had flushed a faint magenta color form the cold. Zora subtly felt for the leather whip at her waist, trying to ignore the bitter chills that nipped at her bare shoulders.

Kuro whined into the nape of Zora's shoulder. He was getting really cold. As a girl from the Earth Kingdom, Zora wasn't used to the ice under her feet, and she almost pitied the Earthbender, Li. Almost.

When he took off running towards the home of the Avatar, Zora just shook her head, a bit baffled by his immaturity. She bit the bottom of her lip as she hopped onto Kuro's back, fitting perfectly against his saddle. Zora applied pressure on the sides of his body using her legs, and the creature sped up, his pace quickening. There was almost no time to waste.

Upon arriving near the home of the Avatar, Zora leaped off of the Eel Hound's back, landing evenly on her feet. She didn't have to tell Kuro to stay and wait while they were acquainted with the Avatar. Quickly but surely, Zora threw her backpack into the air, and Kuro caught it in his mouth. She exhaled deeply, and it appeared as though smoke had escaped her lips.

Zora padded up to the porch of the rather humble home, her arms crossed over her torso in an almost protective manner.

[sixshot]

Raizo Genken

He couldn't hear the crunching of the snow beneath his feet like all the others. Hell, he didn't even know all of their names since their introductions were hurried and he wasn't able to look into all of their faces as their names were spoken to him. It didn't matter much, a mission like this usually leaves only a couple survivors. The grouped moved through the tundra of the North Pole in relative silence even for him. He walked behind everyone else in the group, not out of any wierd sense of submission or caution but because he was just slower than the others in his natural gate. He took several sips from a hollowed out ghord. The red cork popped off and on casually as he drank while they walked, the ghord itself bounced on his hip from a small piece of twine. He had little else on him, save for a small pack and a long staff on his back.

He could feel the cold of the pole penetrating him down to his bones. He hated the cold with a passion, he grew up next to a volcano after all. Even when he traveled he tended to stay in warmer climates, something he didn't really notice until now. He didn't really care much for the others, atleast not yet, but he did have his eye constantly on the females. One in particular caught his eye. She was from the volcano islands like he was, he could tell, though he figured she was raised on one of the islands where the wealthy arisocrats lived. He didn't trust the firebender despite being attracted to her but maybe that was just the alcohol soaking into his brain. It was just another part of him that couldn't decide what it was or wanted.

Raizo noticed all of the others looking off in one direction, most likely watching a duel between two water benders. The young female, most likely the avatar, was aggressively going after her master. Most unusual for a water bender to be that aggressive but her movements were very similar to his own. He didn't dance of course but the fluidity of the movements was very similar to airbending. Her mastery of the air element would probably come easily. A thought that encouragedhim and he lamented over was the fact that she would probably out grow him as a master and have him pinned to a wall with his own attack soon.

"I'll just have to train that much harder." He thought to himself, still trudging through the ice and snow.

The girl showed an immense amount of disrespect and arrogance to her old master. "She will need to learn discipline and respect."

Raizo made the comment aloud, and unintentionally, when the others seemed to be in awe of the child but he couldn't allow that type of childish behavior to thrive. She was the avatar. She had to know that it wasn't right and that type of action easily leads to other negative actions. The girl quickly rode off on an animal of some sort, avatars historically have always been good with animals. It was probably their connection to the spirit world that allowed them to be so close with nature. One of the Males, Li Sheng, the only one who really looked him in the eye when they met, ran off apparently yelling.

"What a Hogmonkey." Raizo thought to himself. That was the kind of thing that would get the avatar or them all killed. What if this firebender was just a mole, a spy, or simply an assassin. They would all have dropped their guard and let it happen. Well, not him, he kept an eye out for anything suspicious.

It was then that the other woman straddled her giant lizard and rode off after him. He wouldn't be surprised if this was all just a bunch of children teaching children. Raizo felt the snow and ice kick up into his face from the lizard darting off. The cold sting of the ice forced him to squint as he wiped his face with the back of his hand. He continued to walk at the casual pace that was already set and took another drink from his ghord before he replaced the cork and let it fall to his hip again.

He looked to the firebender to see what she would do next, though he wasn't sure if his face expressed dislike or interest toward the woman. He was sure to miss the initial introduction, especially if everyone else ran off as well but he didn't much care. The new avatar had not shown him anything he needed to hurry for, nor did she show any reason for him to give his immediate respect to her. That with trust would have to be earned just like everyone else in the group.

[TheMidnighter]

"BANDIT" SHEN

Of course the Avatar lives in the @#%^ing Arctic Shen thought to himself as he tugged the furs around him a little tighter. Why should she live somewhere convenient? The Airbender had the right idea, sipping on something Shen could smell from here to keep himself warm, or at least too drunk to care that he was cold.

For some reason, the other White Lotus members found it of the utmost importance to watch some kind of impromptu bending match between a teen girl and an old man. Because the only way benders resolved anything was with violence. After all, if you could bend the very fabric of the world to your whim and then beat people over the head with it, why would you become a diplomat or a lawyer, right? Shen looked away from the match and to the other members of the group. All vouched for by the White Lotus, which meant he had to tolerate the firebender for at least a while. From what he'd heard from Master Han, there would be a bender of every element except water (since the Avatar was already a trained waterbender) and probably another non-bender there so Shen didn't get lonely.

He put his good eye back to the match, observing the Avatar's movements closely. Studying, cataloging and analyzing for weaknesses. He remembered Han's instructions to him when he received the mission - Keep her safe but keep her humble. Given that the girl would have been raised knowing she was the damn Chosen One, he'd have his work cut out for him breaking her down into something recognizable as humble.

"Ha! Avatar got some moves, don't she!" said Li Sheng, the obligatory Earth bender in the party. Couldn't be fun being so far away from solid rock, Shen supposed, but then the waterbending Avatar would have to adjust to life away from the ocean fairly soon. Shen rolled his eyes at the comment. Of course the Avatar was going to be good at bending because that was the point of the Avatar.

"She will have to learn discipline and respect." commented the Airbender, Raizo. Well, it was good to see someone else was on the same page as Shen at least.

When the fight was over, some of the White Lotus members ran off in the direction of the Water Tribe residences to meet the Avatar in person. Shen sighed and called out "I'm heading back to the ship. Don't dally, we're need to catch the tide." before turning and heading in the opposite direction. He crunched his way back to the Seventh Heaven, which he had to admit was a ship more suited to milder waters. She was a beauty, of course, a two-mast sail boat with a wide deck, plenty of cargo space and a crew that would shed blood to protect her. Most of said crew were currently equipped with poles and hammers, keeping the polar ice from freezing her in place as the captain boarded.

"Avatar's going to be joining us soon, lads. Be sure to let the deck get good and filthy because she's going to be scrubbing it tomorrow." He chuckled to the crew before heading to his cabin to check on the maps. Ten-ten, his chimp, was waiting for him and scrambled up his arm before clinging protectively to his neck. "Sorry, little guy, but you'll have to stick to the dried stuff for a while longer. Not much fresh fruit out here in the wastes." He said as he scratched under Ten-ten's chin.

[Little Fox]

Kya could hear a male calling out for her. HEY AVATAR! ARE YOU IN THERE?! I'm a part of the White Lotus! Come out with us and save the world, and stuff! Hello?! Avatar?! The young man seemed rather…charismatic. Almost childish in nature, causing her to peek up from her father's anorak. Her father looked down at her with the same quizzical look as her own and her mother’s. Shaking their heads simultaneously, they began to say their final goodbyes once and for all. After about four minutes, Kya had gathered up her things: Two water skins of which one had regular water and the other water from the Spirit Oasis, an anorak that she slid over her head and snuggled into comfortably, a dufflebag filled with some clothes and a brush, and another bag with such supplies of a map and compass as well as a travel journal. Taking a deep breath, Kya straightened herself up some and moved to the door, pulling it open slowly. She took a step out into the snow, curling her toes some into the cool flakes under her feet before looking carefully at those who stood before her. The one that was nearest her was apparently the male that had been banging on the door. She tilted her head to the side some, taking in each aspect of his appearance. He was attractive, at least she thought so, but she said nothing as her cyan gaze wandered over to the other – She was a woman that Kya was taken aback by, for she saw herself. Not in physical appearance. But Kya knew from looking at her that the woman was one who was calculating and level-headed. There was something more to the woman, as though she were hiding something. Kya took notice of the woman’s belt and saw that it looked almost like it had…a grip? Her belt was a whip. That made her the Weapon Master. She wondered where the other Teachers were, but kept quiet before finally giving a formal bow at the waist. As she rose up, she lifted her chin some – Not out of arrogance, but because she refused to let the tears welling up roll down her cheeks. “I am Kya Ukata of the Northern Water Tribes. I assume it may be obvious that I am the Avatar. I look forward to this journey and your teachings. I will try my best not to disappoint you as I learn each of your respective arts.” She spoke articulately, moving towards the Polarbear Dog and attaching the baggage to his saddle as she did so. Tresses of ebony swayed around her ankles, just barely brushing against the snow on the ground. They were soon approached by the Chieftain, his wife, their two sons and daughter, and Jokka. Kya smiled some and bowed to them all. No words were spoken as they simply looked upon one another – All words that needed to be spoken had already been spoken days before. Silent still, Kya grabbed the reigns of Kota and motioned for the pair to follow her. Her home was at the far back of the city, directly next to the royal palace – That was because her mother was a Royal Healer and her father was a Royal Guard.

With her parents, her friends, and two of her teachers behind her, Kya lead the way down to the canal where the water level was high. People would stop and wave, calling out goodbyes, approach and offer gifts of food and drink, or simply follow. It wasn’t often that anyone left the North Pole. Especially not to undertake such a journey as she. It was a bittersweet day for them all. Kya maneuvered her way to the pirate’s ship, pausing to stop and glance at the Airbender and Firebender, so far ignorant to who was who, giving a respectful bow. She then looked to the ship and back to her family. She dropped the reigns and immediately was caught in the warm, tight embrace of bother of her parents. She could hear some people crying as she grabbed the reigns once more and lead Kota onto the ship. She immediately decided to keep away from the crew and everyone in general, moving to the bow of the ship where she sat down on the deck, pulling her knees to her chest. Kota plopped down alongside her, causing the ship to rock some. Giving a light huff, she leaned back into his soft fur, watching as men from the Tribe began to pile supplies and gifts of food on board the ship. She just wanted to hurry up and leave. She couldn’t decide whether to be sad or excited, so she settled for both. Though, on the outside, her face showed no clear emotion and instead her expression was more of a dazed look. After everyone would be on board, she assumed that the Waterbenders would lower the ice wall and the water level as well as Waterbend the ship out into the ocean. She would probably take a dive later on, just to clear her head.

[xHolyLightningx]

Lian just sort of watched as everybody raced off to go and see the avatar, Lian was impressed but she didn't especially feel like rushing off, plus it didn't look like the two men watching her would take kindly to her rushing off towards the humble home of the avatar. Lian watched out of the corner of her eye as the bandit left for the ship, Lian could sense that he wasn't exactly friendly with firebenders and the outline of marks on his face provided a reason why, at least if they were what Lian thought they were, and she was almost certain that he wasn't a bender himself, so she made the decision not to immediately follow him to the boat.

She wasn't quite sure of what to make of the other members of the White Lotus, they seemed an interesting group of people, Lian was interested in all of them, but that was neither here not there, she was here to teach, not to make friends with the group. Still it would be nice to have some reasonable company while she was here. Lian's train of thought was interrupted by a group of children whispering.

"Look at the lady, she's so pretty!"

"Yeah but mama said she was trouble!"

"She could attack the tribe."

Lian sighed, she had heard quite enough out of these children, she turned around and started at them as began to cut them off.

"Really! How improper to whisper stories about someone you don't even know, your parent's should've done a much better job raising you!" Lian said in a rather curt tone, she turned back around as she saw the avatar and started heading towards the her with her usual elegant walk, she had better things to do than be the subject of idle gossip for mere uncivil children for goodness sake! She would never dare be so utterly rude, even as a child, her parents had taught her proper manners and respect for others, which was something those children were evidently lacking. Lian hoped that not all children from the water tribe were like this, she would certainly have a hard time trying to get along with the avatar if that was the case.

Lian watched as the various men from the tribe were bringing off gifts and supplies and politely waited for them to step aside for her, once they had done so she walked around over to the bow of the ship, where she always liked to be and boats and noticed the avatar. Lian paused briefly trying to discern the look on the girls face, she looked rather indifferent thusfar so Lian decided to go ahead and make introductions, briskly walking up to her.

"Good day, I believe I'm correct in assuming you are the avatar? My name is Lian Shi, I recently turned eighteen and I have been entrusted with the task of teaching you firebending. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance" Lian's tone was it's usual elegant and warm self, and she offered a bow of respect to the girl, hoping to make a good impression.

[The Man]

Li Sheng

Li stopped banging on the door as soon as he began hearing movement on the inside. He took one step back, and waited. A few moments later, the door opened, and the Avatar came out. Li wasn't able to get a good look at her earlier during her lesson, but now that she was right in front of her, he had the chance. She was beautiful, which was quite surprising to Li. He didn't know what to expect when he would meet the Avatar, but beauty wasn't one of the aspects he was expecting. Wisdom beyond ones years, elegance none could match, a sense of extraordinary power and an air of regal qualities were things Li expected the Avatar would have. Beauty wasn't on the top of the list. Yet beauty she had, and Li acknowledged it like any other aspect of her.

“I am Kya Ukata of the Northern Water Tribes. I assume it may be obvious that I am the Avatar. I look forward to this journey and your teachings. I will try my best not to disappoint you as I learn each of your respective arts.”

Li tilted his head to the side, analyzing the Avatar. He did notice something off about the way she spoke. Maybe it was her natural speech, for after all how could Li know better with someone he had just met, but she seemed a bit sad. This puzzled Li. He couldn't understand what she was sad about. She was the Avatar, about to embark on a quest she was destined to do, and to ultimately save the world. Was she not impressed with her current company? Or was she simple sad over the affairs of the world? Li couldn't know, but as they began to walk back to Shen's ship, it almost hit him like a log. He smiled to himself, shaking his head at his own stupidity. He had been overthinking it way too much. He had been paying too much attention to the Avatar aspect to understand what was right in front of him. She was a girl, leaving home for the first time with a group of strangers, for something she probably didn't want to do, but had to do. Who wouldn't be at least slightly upset about that situation? Li sure as hell would, being told what he had to do. It began to make Li wonder what he would do in her footsteps as the Avatar. He began daydreaming about it on the walk to the ship, a noticeably goofy smile on his face as he picture himself using his 'awesome Avatar abilities' to do all sorts of crazy shenanigans.

Li suddenly snapped back to reality. He looked around, none of the previous people who accompanied him from the house in front of him anymore. He looked around nervously, wondering where they went, when suddenly the first irrational thought popped into his head.

"Oh, crap, I lost the Avatar." He said to himself in a low voice, so the people around wouldn't be able to hear him. He tried to look for her among the people carrying things onto the ship, but couldn't spot her. He began to think of the possible places he could have left her on the journey to the boat, not even remotely considering that it was her that led the other two towards the ship in the first place, or even bothering looking on the ship itself. Li hurriedly looked around, getting more nervous by the second. He suddenly spotted the airbender Raizo, and figured he should alert the others. He tried to walk as inconspicuously towards him as possible, but failed miserably and instead made it seem plainly obvious he was hiding something. He walked right in front of the man and whispered to him.

"Hey, uh, if you see the Avatar anywhere, let me know. I kinda...misplaced her. No worries. She'll turn up." Without waiting for his reply, Li left in search of the others, his eye catching the weaponmaster Koizora. He approached her as subtly as he could, pretending to look at the gifts being brought on board as he edged towards her step by step. He gave her an attempted slight nudge of his elbow and then whispered to her.

"I think we left the Avatar somewhere in the city. She must've got lost when she was following us. Keep an eye out. Act natural, we don't want the people to know we lost her..." Once again, Li departed from the side of her before she had a chance to respond, and quickly boarded the ship to inform the others. He noticed Lian at the bow of the ship, talking to someone next to her, but unable to see at the moment from that angle. He quickly ran up to her.

"Lian! Lian! Ok, don't panic, but the Avatar..." Just as Li began to explain the situation, he turned his eyes down to see Avatar Kya along with her Polar Bear Dog. He looked at her briefly for a moment, and immediately trying to correct his sentence. "...is right here! Hi! I'm Li Sheng! I'm gonna be your Earthbending master! I would show you some of my moves, but...uh, well there's not much rocks around here!" He laughed out loud, grinning brightly at her. "But anyways, I'm sure we'll have a blast, and get along great! He said, still smiling brightly. He patted Lian on the back with his hand, a tad roughly, to show they could all be great friends, hoping it would put the Avatar's mind at ease.

[sixshot]

Raizo stopped walking and remained standing in the snow while he watched everyone disperse. He had no real interest in anything at the moment. He didn't feel any pull one way or the other as far as where to go. He decided he would remain there until something pushed him in a given direction. He watched as the pirate, who was soon followed by the firebender back to the ship. Raizo uncorked his ghord and took another long drink as he watched the small group huddled around the avatar. Many of the villagers were wishing her off and he couldn't remember a time when he felt like people cared enough to see him off. He gasped as he dropped the ghord from his mouth. The ghord was now empty, which made Raizo feel a little empty as well.

He closed his eyes and felt the air around him. To him, everything was dead silent but to anyone else the whirl of the wind and the sound of the villagers in the distance would be more than enough to distract them. He tilted his head back as if looking toward the sky. He felt the tingle of the cold air nip at him from all sides and finally felt the wind push at him. He turned slightly, pivoting on one foot and stopped just before taking a step forward. He dropped his head so that it was level with the ground and opened his eyes. He was directed right at the pirate’s boat. He stumbled along as he walked back to the ship. He had cleared his mind and felt somewhat at ease, though he didn’t know if that was because of his special ghord friend bouncing on his hip or if it was the moment of meditation that created this feeling.

The walk seemed to take twice as long to get back as it did to get there in the first place, perhaps it was the company or maybe just the fact that he was a bit more drunk now that he was before. As he neared the ship he realized the he must have truly been gone for longer than he thought because he saw just about everyone back at the ship, including several villagers as they were loading the ship with the avatar’s things and other supplies that the group might need. Raizo suddenly became aware of the earthbender skulking toward him. He had a curious look on his face and even his gait was suspicious. Raizo was focused on the boy’s goggles which happened to be reflecting the sunlight into his eyes, blinding him while the boy whispered something that Raizo obviously couldn’t see or hear. The boy quickly turned and walked away just as awkwardly, rushing toward another White Lotus member. The glare from his goggles continued to hang as a purple haze in front of Raizo despite how much he tried to blink it away.

When he was finally able to move with four of his five senses again, he made for the deck of the ship. Raizo moved up the ramp and past the villagers still loading supplies onto the ship while still staggering slightly as he past them. On deck he instantly caught sight of Shen, who he only knew of as “Pirate,” and a huddled group of the earthbender, firebender, and the avatar. The earthbender was smiling as if he had just survived a shark attack. He didn’t see the other member of their group or her lizard but he guessed that she was the type that was often unseen until she wanted otherwise.

Raizo moved toward the pirate and stopped next him him casually looking the same direction that Shen was looking. “I’m Raizo Genken.” He spoke with a little slur in addition to his regular speech impediment. His voice came off harsh, like someone who either had not spoken aloud in years.

Raizo instinctively went for his ghord but lowered it again when he realized it was empty. He kept his eyes trained on Shen’s lips so that he could read them and not be left out of the conversation as he really wanted to say more but he was untrustful of telling most people too much information.