---

Her eyes fluttered open this early morning as she heard the people of Ba Sing Sa start their day. She could heard merchants opening up their shops and the early grumble of old men as they walked past her window and going to the coffee house right down the road. She felt something in her gut and knew that today had to be the day. Today was going to be the day that she had to leave her Kingdom, her home and her nation behind to go off and protect others before something too bad or something she couldn't stop happened all around her. She groaned as the sun was now shining through her windows and her father walked into her room. He eyed his precious jewel with a smile and her mother was next to enter, looking at her with a smile as well, taking a stand beside her father.

"Well, Terra, you dock ship today." Her father's voice stated as she nodded her head, sitting up in her bed. "But before you go, how about one more match against your old man." Her father chuckled slightly afterwards. "Dear, she is leaving in a few. She needs to rest before she leaves." Her mother intervened then looked at Terra, raising a brow. "Mom's right, dad. Sorry." Just as she said that, a knock came upon their door and her father wondered who that could be this early as he went to go see. Terra and her mother stayed in her room as she had finally gotten out of bed and started to unpack. Her father came back into her room with his head lowered. "Their here, Avatar Terra." Terra made a face towards her father. "Avatar Terra? Really, dad?" With a grunted laugh, her father hugged her and she did the same to her mother.

Over the course of weeks, Terra had her messengers sent out word to the other nations, wanting them to send their best, young benders, a weapons master and even a Chi Blocker to join her on her journey towards the other nations. She couldn't go on this journey with a bunch of old people because that wouldn't be fun for any other teenager neither. Terra knew that the nations wouldn't disappoint her and she packed her last much needed item and reviewed herself over in the mirror to make sure she looked presentable for the others. She was adorned in traditional Earth bender wear with green flat shoes. Her brown hair tied in a high ponytail with a green, elastic band. Her mother took her amulet from around her neck and placed it around Terra's. "But mom..." Was all she got out while holding the amulet before her mother shushed her and gave her another tight squeeze. Her father soon followed suit as they walked her to the door, where her guards were waiting for her.

As they walked, a multitude of questions shrouded her mind. She couldn't believe that she was leaving home again as there has been reports of chi blocking incidents in the past and now, it was a time to do something. She didn't even know what this new group, this new band of chi blockers called themselves. It was mind bottling to her. As Terra edged near the place where the benders and non benders stood, she saw that one was from the Earth nation and she didn't realize she had sent one to her own nation but it was worth seeing how well his Earth bending was compared to hers. She chuckled softly as the thought then stood right before them.

"Hello, everyone. I am Avatar Terra, as you must already know. I've sent word for you to be here today and to go with me on my great journey to stop the vicious attacks of this new group of chi blockers, or whatever they want to call themselves." She said with the swift wave of her hand while looking toward each one of them then out towards her city. "I know you guys have traveled long and far and I appreciate you guys stepping up to the plate to help retrain me in your respective area of expertise." She flashed a small smile while walking up to each one of them, extending her hand out towards them and shaking their hands as they introduced themselves to her.

Some people she remembered from her time in that respective nation as a kid, others she didn't, which was a bit sad. After they'd introduce themselves, she'd eye them again. "So, shall we begin our journey?" She'd ask while stepping beside them, making her way to the ship. "I've got treats." Her voice would sang and hoped that would get them to scurry a little bit faster behind her. Terra walked up the stairs and onto the boat now. A boy taking her bags and walking them down to her appropriate room. She thanked him and gave him two coins. Terra then walked to the deck and leaned over it with her elbows on the boat. She'd then stand and wave her people goodbye as a few of them were coming out and watching her leave.

As soon as the others boarded the boat, she'd look towards the captain of the boat and nod her head, letting him know that she was ready. He'd nod his head back as they brought up the stairs that closed off the boat then blew the horn and the driver started the engine and gave it a few minutes before he'd start sail, turning the wheel as they boat moved and she'd stumble onto the floor. "Oof!" Was all she got out as she sat there, shaking her head as she didn't picture herself falling before her teachers, which was embarrassing.

He hadn't originally planned to become a babysitter.

No, the young ronin had pretty clear-cut plans for the upcoming month. He had heard of a rather...illegal arena championship going on within the Fire Nation's borders, underground and hidden away from any and all legal trouble that the arena could have possibly ran into. How he got this information? Well...shady alleys and seedy bars spoke rather loudly if you were quiet and anonymous, both qualities in which the black-haired samurai had in absolute spades. He had plans on venturing on over to the championship before it began, and cutting a swathe through any and all opposition before they knew what hit them, garnering him the funds that he could then transfer over to his old village, which was now a, surprisingly, flourishing settlement on the edge of the Earth Kingdom.

Let it be known that he was not a heartless man - rather, he was simply a man that occasionally gave back to the place that both saved his life, and, technically, ended it. Now, however? His plans were pretty decimated, considering he was somehow persuaded into teaching a girl how to hold a weapon. And, not just any girl. A bending girl. Not just any bending girl, either. The Avatar bending girl. He had been cornered when drinking some saki within one of the Fire Nation's Capital. It was his fault - he had not expected for the squad of soldiers to completely forebade any chances of him leaving without cutting off their heads. Even worse, they said his name - his true name, in front of everyone and Gods' know who else, and officially requested his presence in the Chief's office. Long story short? His former village would now be watched over from the constant outward threats of bandits and terrorists, in exchange for his service to the Avatar.

As she introduced herself, the ronin stayed silent, his strawhat shadowing his face completely, his ensemble leaving him otherwise covered, other than his chest, which was recently bandaged, along with his hands, which stayed hidden within the folds of his sleeves. Only his name, 'Feng Shei' was uttered to the woman, and after all was said and done, and the woman began to make her way to the ship, he slipped away. Years of stealth and agility training allowed him to get onto the boat and find himself a nice perch away from any chaos within only a few seconds, and from his dark corner in the top of the ship's deck. He sat in a cross-legged position, Tsukihime resting on his lap, as Feng observed everyone else from underneath the rim of his strawhat.

Only when Terra fell, did his face twitch from it's apathetic mask, the ronin holding back a sigh.

This would be a long boat ride.

"Hello, everyone. I am Avatar Terra..."
Lahe, standing with one hand on her airbender staff which rests on the ground at one end, looks over towards the source of the voice. The tone of voice alone was interesting to her, and not in the good sort of way: when she had envisioned being an air nomad envoy to the Avatar herself, she pictured working with.. well, someone not resentment of a schoolgirl. Lahe looked over the Avatar's features as she continued to speak, her eyes flicking up and down but her head remaining still. She suppressed the urge to sigh - she could only begin to imagine what's to follow in this 'great journey' with a personality like this as the avatar.

"...respective area of expertise."
As the Avatar smiled towards Tahe, Tahe nodded to show acknowledgement and respect instead. Come the handshake, Tahe took the hand intently with her spare hand and gave a firm shake.
"Lahe Hakorsi from the Eastern Air Temple, delegate of the Air Nomads. I look forward to working with you." Lahe idly adjusted her grip on her staff as Terra continued on with the meet-and-greets.

"So, shall we begin our journey?" promoted Avatar Terra, as she went about leading the way. Lahe quietly followed in suite, having nothing to add. Over the walk to the boat she intently looked over the other delegates, plus the two extras: the chi-blocker and the weapons master, in order to size up the crew. Lee Shen, who appeared to be the Fire Nation delegate, struck her goofy but reliable - she made a note of talking to him later and making herself acquainted. Ling Feng struck her as a little odd and out of place - she didn't quite know what to make of him, but feels a little wary. Ming Xiu didn't strike her as anything really - she seemed like any other person at a glance, albeit odd carrying an axe around, which made her a little wary. Tai Song struck her particularly well - he seemed reliable and dedicated at a glance, defiantly someone hardened who wouldn't succumb to big cuddly animals. Lastly, Feng Shei... Whilst she did value a no-nonsense approach, Feng Shei struck her as excessively no-nonsense, and as something of a bother.
She let out a quiet sigh to herself. She knew she should be making friends with these people and not judging them - she'd be with them for a while, after all. For now, she decided to just start with the fire delegate and the earth delegate.

She boarded the ship quietly, stowed her gear quietly and moved back up to the deck quietly, staff in tow the whole way. Without anybody to really wave to that she knew, she moved to the bow of the ship and sat quietly at the head, folding her legs on top of one another with help from her hands and setting her staff in front of her. She decided to meditate until the boat reached the high seas - she'd take the time to gather her thoughts on the party and establish an approach, then go about meeting the other party members more thoroughly.

Ba Sing Se. Lee had visited the great city of the Earth Kingdom before, and there were more than just a few spots in particular he enjoyed. Particularly, the tea shop a few blocks down from Terra's home. He'd stopped there on the way to hers, and had been enjoying a particular cup for a long while, heating it whenever it cooled down with a short burst of fire below the cup. Looking up to the sky, he smiled, watching the sun for a few moments. It looked a little higher than it should've been... Oh, crap, he was going to be late. Quickly, he downed what was left of his tea, perhaps not the best idea considering he'd just heated it back up.

Coughing profusely and panting as he dealt with the sudden burst of steaming liquid running down his throat, he grabbed at his neck and fanned his mouth as he hurried down the streets. "Bad move, bad move." He scolded himself, managing to arrive outside Terra's only shortly after the others arrived, seeing her father at the door, turning back to go get his daughter. Lining up with the others, he looked over them momentarily. The water bender, hm, she didn't look like someone from the water tribes, at least, not as he thought. The air bender looked like most of them did, meditative and quiet. The earth bender he set his eyes on for a bit, he didn't know him, despite having been in the kingdom for some time, but he looked tough enough, maybe a source for a good sparring match. The weapons master looked mysterious enough to almost irritate the Firebender, but he didn't really bother to linger on him. Instead, his gaze went to the Chi Blocker. Ling Feng was possibly the only man in the group Lee had any issue with, his sister's disappearance was reason enough to dislike his kind, but if he was indeed sworn to fighting the others, and helping the Avatar, he'd look past it at least for now.

As Terra came out, he grinned. It had been some time since he'd seen the girl, they'd become friends when she first visited the Fire Nation, and while they hadn't seen eachother a great deal since then, they had sent messages back and forth. As she introduced herself to the others, he grinned, watching as she tried to remain formal and offer him a handshake. Reaching up, he gave her a gentle, semi-affectionate pat on the head. "Good to see you again, Terra." He said with a smile, it was good to see her again, and he looked forward to the journey. Everything was going well as they boarded the ship, he began to plan out what he was going to do during his time, the catch-up he'd do with Terra and discussions he'd have with the others... And then Terra fell face-first.

Holding in his laughter barely, and snickering as he approached her, Lee gently placed his hands on the girl's shoulders to pick her up. "Let's hope you've got better balance when you're fighting Chi-blockers, huh?" He asked with a grin, looking down at the younger girl as he placed his hands on his hips.

Ling was always lucky, be it naturally or because of his father's influence. It just seemed good things happened. He had received word from a fire nation scout that his exile had been lifted after only two summers. Apparently the avatar had needed his assistance and, being one of the few traditionally trained chi blockers left that weren't in league with this new terrorist group (they had sought him out, but he turned them down, afraid of repeating his permanent removal of that poor soldier's bending ability in her arm. Had they visited him more recently he may have accepted.) The letter detailed that the avatar of the earth nation needed his help but didn't detail why. He wasn't a fire bender, so he wouldn't be representing the fire nation, and this letter wasn't sent by the fire lord. It had multiple stamps upon it where signatures would go, none being leaders of nations signatures, but recognizably was the symbol of the temple he trained in chi blocking, the others must be temples around the four nations. It seemed he was well endorsed.

Ling made his way to Ba Sing Se, donning his formal fire nation apparel which now had his chi blocking temple's symbol sewn into it's back, easily sticking out from the crowd. He had a pseudo-nation to represent after all. When he arrived to the door, he saw a fellow fire nation man. One who he didn't recognize from his military time. The avatar had introduced herself and Ling shook her hand. "On behalf of the fire nation and traditionally trained chi blockers, I promise to protect you." Ling said. The amount of dirty looks he had received at that moment were incredible. The group seemed to be all benders after all, Ling should have expected this. The avatar didn't seem to mind but every bender there did. And they had a good reason, chi blocking wasn't exactly a good practice sought after by many these days.

Ling simply kept a straight and formal, military like face. He didn't care much for this new group of benders and didn't feel welcome but he knew he had to keep it together to get back home. He saw another non bender in the group, a man with a katana, a strange thin blade made of metal, he seemed the least level headed but most accepting of the group. It was too bad nobody did much talking. The avatar led the young group to a boat nearby, nobody giving Ling the time of day, but really nobody ever did since he was young other than his father and the chi blockers. Upon boarding the boat, it quickly set off and the avatar fell over. Balance was a key component of fighting and that worried Ling, what worried him even more was what that fire bender said. "Let's hope you've got better balance when you're fighting Chi-blockers, huh?"

"You need a lot more than balance when a chi blocker goes after you. Perhaps I could show you some tricks? Just a quick spar maybe?" Ling suggested. He didn't mind being on the boat at all, he had spent some time on the fire nation's naval boats so this was fairly familiar. He had never fought on one though and as long as the water bender didn't tip it over he could probably hold his own against all here, maybe not win, but probably put up a fight. That earth bender scared him though, he seemed like he could fight for hours and not tire, whereas Ling was more of a quick in and out type fighter. "That goes out to anyone, not just the avatar. I promise not to do anything permanent. Ling couldn't exactly promise to do anything permanent, so that last part was easy. He looked to the firebender, then the air, then the earth and the waterbender last. He didn't glance at the non-bender with the sword, he wouldn't need to worry about his chi being blocked, Ling couldn't even feel his chi move in fact. He waited for a response to his offer, expecting a resounding 'no' from the group.

---

She felt embarrassed when she fell on the ship, in front of the people that were retraining her in their respective area of expertise. Her face turned a bit red and she just sat there as if she meant to do that. She could feel the judging eyes coming from them and she just sat there, sighing to herself. A familiar voice spoke as she was finally helped back up to her feet. It was Lee. Terra blushed of course because she had a mini crush on him. She turned her head to hide it away then turned back towards him when she felt the warmth removing itself from her cheeks. "Thanks for helping me up, Lee. And I hope so, too." She laughed lightly then eyed everyone.

Her face when to Ling, who was a Chi Blocker and she could tell by his stance and appearance. Terra continued to eye him as she walked over towards him, her footsteps soft and graceful. She stood right in front of Ling and spoke softly. "I cannot let you spar anyone on this ship, especially me. If you cannot undo the blocking of a bender's chi then you might not want to suggest something like that ever again." Terra started to walk away then stopped turning her body halfway towards him now. "If my answer wasn't clear, it was a no. Maybe when we're done saving the nations though." She smiled a little then walked over towards one of the workers on the ship.

"Michi is on board, right?" Michi being her Armadillo Lion that she rescued a few years back. She had to train it herself and basically take care of it herself, too. The worker nodded his head as she thanked him and walked back over towards the deck, leaning against it again. "So, I'd like to hear about your respective nations since it has been awhile since I been to them. Lee..." She said while walking over towards him and sitting close so that she could hear him. "Why don't you go first?" She insisted as she couldn't wait to hear from everyone.

"Anything changed in the Fire Nation since my last visit?" She asked with a raised brow then waited to hear his response.

Turning toward the Chi Blocker as he heard his offer, Lee gave him a look, letting Terra say her piece before she moved off. Turning his gaze back toward the man, he shook his head. "Yeah, think i'll pass" He added. Perhaps he shouldn't have been so receptive of the Chi Blocker, but he simply did not trust the man, since the disappearance of his sister, he had not met one of his kind who hadn't meant him harm in some way or another, he had simply become conditioned to avoid and distrust those with his skillset. Moving off, he sighed, looking down to the Fire Ferret who had been napping around his neck. "Why don't we find some food, huh Lan?" The promise of food was more than enough to rouse the small creature from his nap, Lan's small head popping up was he sniffed the air and leaned in a direction. The good thing about a Fire Ferret was that you always knew the way toward food.

After a little wandering about, Lee found a small table set up with some small snacks and bits to eat toward the stern. Picking up a handful of jerky bits, he fed a couple to Lan and began making his way through the rest, he hadn't had anything to eat that day so he was quite hungry. Although, he would have preferred not to have a mouthful of jerky when Terra came out to find him. Giving her somewhat of an embarrassed look, he quickly chewed up and swallowed what was in his mouth as she spoke to him. "Well, the Fire Lord has declared open war on the Chi Blockers and mobilized the army, not that easy considering there's no clear place these guys call home. Really, it's just making our military camps a target, and we're losing men..." He paused for a moment or two, playing it off as taking another bite to eat. He hadn't told Terra about his sister, he hadn't told anyone really.

"There've been a few raids on Fire Nation lands, mostly coastal cities and towns, but they have been getting bolder, attacking better protected areas further inland." Lee placed his hands on his hips with a sigh, shrugging as Lan jumped off his shoulders onto Terra's, the small critter had always taken a liking to her. "On the plus side, there's a new acting troupe that started up on Ember Island. I mean, they aren't great, but it's something." He chuckled, he was short on good news at the time, so he hoped at least the small bit would help make things seem not quite so grim. Sighing, he picked up another piece of jerky and held it out toward Lan, the Fire Ferret making a happy noise as he took the piece and began to eat.

A heavy satchel dropped to the grond, scattering dust everywhere as it landed with a dense thud on the bare walkways of old stalls. Ba Sing Se. She'd only snuck in after purchasing expensive entrance tickets and depleting all her funds only to realize the tickets were fake and her money was long gone. It had been difficult to scale the wall at night, especially when there weren't any plants on the outskirts of the city. She found refuge in an alleyway behind a tavern and slept on the ground. Now, here in the morning light, she'd finally found it. The stall that Qiu had told her her parents had owned when he scooped her up as toddler. It was large, perfect for attracting customers and clearly had been successful. Now, what lay there were burned bits of tinder and skeletal remains of once ornate wooden furniture.

She stood facing the stall, her hands at her sides and her head tilted down slightly with her ordinarily alert chocolate eyes dulled and melancholy. People passed her and filled the air of the market with life and noise that fell on her deaf ears. For Ming Xiu, the world was quiet and devoid of color if only for a moment. This was the stall. She was sure of it. It had to be... Yet despite having come so far, having lost all her money, illegally coming into the city and never giving up no matter how tired of travelling she was; it seemed to have all been for nothing. She'd left months of work undone at the lumber mill. She missed her friends and Qiu.

Ming didn't recall when or how she wound up back in the alley she'd spent the night in, but when she stopped mulling over everything is when she realized she'd walked back to it. The shock had faded, and in its place, she found unbridled rage. The muscular eskimo woman turned her face to the sky and let out an intense battle cry. As her frustrations gave way to energy, she clenched her fist and slammed it into the wall. She panted and brought her forehead to the cold white surface with less aggression but still out of anger. Feeling the coolness of the stone against her skin and pressing her now bruised hand flat agains the wall, she grit her teeth and glared down at the pavement. Dammit. Dammit! Where would she even go from here? What had happened to her parent's stall? Had they been injured? She couldn't even bring herself to care about the actual well being of her parents--they are, after all, strangers to her--but she wanted to know them. To let them know her. She exhaled, closing her eyes and clenching her hands again.

She took a cool, long breath and flipped over, allowing her body to slowly slide down the cool stone as she stared at the sky; her tousled dark hair parting automatically with it. She sat there, allowing her mind to go blank. The waterbender sat there in complete silence, only taking it upon herself to break it. She clenched her eyes shut tightly.

"Come on Ming," She urged at herself, "What would Qiu do...?"

The waterbender could not find an answer.

-----

In the evening Ming had managed to steal a coin purse from an unsuspecting citizen of Ba Sing Se and found herself in the very tavern she had taken refuge behind. Leaning over the bar she sipped from the heavy beverage before her. The answer had indeed come to her. When in doubt, the bar will always have information and jobs available. From what the barkeep had been able to tell her, the merchant Jian and his wife Fu had been viciously attacked for years and an opposing merchant setting their stall ablaze had been the last fear based attack that had sent them fleeing to the Northern Water Tribe. Now that she was alone and the barkeep serving other people, she was left to mull over how exactly to get there.

A conversation behind her, at that exact moment, caught her attention. A man dressed in traditional waterbenders garb sat impatiently discussing a very important meeting he had tomorrow with... the avatar. Ming sat up straight from her slouched over position at the bar, her head tilting ever so slightly to listen better. The man went over the details with his companion about this said appointment. The exact location. The time, the date... Mings breath hitched. That was it. A free ride to the Northern water tribe had to be guaranteed if she went to the avatar. It was part of their training or something right? Not that she'd ever cared to listen in on what was so special about the avatar during her history classes. It didn't matter. Ming lifted her hand and waved to the barkeep. It was time to do what Qiu would do.

Today

"Hello, everyone. I am Avatar Terra, as you must already know. I've sent word for you to be here today and to go with me on my great journey to stop the vicious attacks of this new group of chi blockers, or whatever they want to call themselves. I know you guys have traveled long and far and I appreciate you guys stepping up to the plate to help retrain me in your respective area of expertise."

Ming didn't listen. She barely even noticed how she was surrounded by different benders nor did she care. Her expression was serious and dead set on her goal. Make it to the Northern Water Tribe, nothing more. These people, and whoever this weirdly dressed for an Earth-bender "Avatar Terra" though she was, she was ultimately unimportant. Titles only showed how stuck up someone was anyways; and there was nothing more that Ming despised than stuck up women. Yesterday after overhearing the waterbender talk about the avatar, she'd slipped the barkeep some coins for him to use one of his employees in the back to come as a messenger to the bender and tell him that the appointment with Avatar Terra had been moved to the same time next week. The waterbender had been insulted, angry, but commited himself to grumbling into his beverage while Ming slipped out, her dark eyes glistening and a cheshire smile on her lips.

Now as she stood before this... "Avatar," whatever that meant, she found herself gazing at the door when Terra attempted to meet her eyes. When she was certain no one was looking, her nose wrinkled in irritation. At last, they'd made it out the door. Ming was careful to keep her face stoic and focused on looking out for the real bender that was supposed to be with the group she was now in, not even caring about the conversation as they walked to and boarded a ship. Her attention was only pulled away when the Avatar tripped and fell. Mings eyes narrowed as the firebender helped her up and the avatar blushed at his assistance. She could only perceive a giggling little immature girl that in reality couldn't be less than two years younger than herself acting in the most pathetic manner possible.

She could taste bile in the back of her throat. The plant bender swallowed and smiled thinly. Her grip on her axe, which had been consistent the whole way from the home the avatar had come, tightened. She just needed to play babysitter until they got to the Northern Water Tribe, then she intended to bail. Irritated, she turned away from the group and went to the railing as the ship set out, staring over the sea.

She was going to find her parents, and she'd be damned if she let some ill-dressed bimbo 'Avatar' get in the way of that.

An unexpected turn. Ling had reached out to this group of people who obviously hated them and they responded with rejection and hatred. Ok, maybe it was a little bit expected, but that doesn't make it not rude. He had done nothing to these people but exist, and he acted without malice, yet received malice? It was unheard of, in his mind, to reject a person's offer of help like that and this moment definitely left a sour taste in his mouth that was going to linger and fester like an open unwashed wound. His first interaction being negative wasn't to be ignore. Despite all of this anger and resentment, Ling's face showed none of it. He was expressionless and cold. He stared at the forehead of the fire bender, a major chi point for most benders and imagined how a strike there would topple the man down to size. He obviously had some strong feelings toward chi blockers and Ling didn't care for any of it. He simply wanted to fit in, at least he used to. Now that he was rejected he wanted to be needed, and begged to for a helping hand. Surely they wouldn't force him to come to that point, they just needed time to adjust to him.

As the avatar left and gave him a minute alone to just look around at everyone he noticed a certain, unprofessional and low life attitude coming from the water bender. She didn't seem like she belonged, everyone was so skilled in their respective arts and she just wasn't up to the task it seemed, disinterested in helping the avatar in any way. Ling didn't like her one bit, she needed some discipline in her life and she would get it one day, but she also interested him because of this. She was like a bit of green in a desert of plainness, and it was a great relief. Maybe after the chi blockers attacked her she'd shape up. Maybe he'd ship out with them when they came, they'd be far more accepting of him than this group and both had sent him an invite. But only one promised him the ability to return home, and he wasn't one to just up and leave a job after a little bit of backlash from the co-workers. "Fine, but when the chi blockers attack and I'm the only one left standing don't cry to me. I'll let you poor excuses for warrior pick yourselves up." The words spat out of Ling's mouth like flames, if he were a bender it would have been more visible.

And the avatar returned and asked of the nation's current statuses, and the fire bender detailed attacks on the mainland which Ling was unaware of. Surprising, given his father's detailed reports, but it wouldn't be too outrageous if his father had been lying to him to keep him out of the nation. An early return to join the fight would have been disastrous for the family name after all. His father was in for an earful the second he could find ink and a parchment. "Is the Fire Nation really at that much of a risk? I've been away for quite some time now and would love to talk about this with you more in the future, Lee, was it?" Ling said. He hated this excuse for a firebender from the start, but had to fake a nice outlook on the poor fool for information. If his family had been injured in any way there would be hell to pay for those rogue chi blockers. Worse if he knew them or trained with them at one of the many temples he's visited in his time being exiled.

Ling looked back to the waterbender. She was so out of place, almost as out of place as him. It intrigued him greatly, but he kept his straight face, hiding hints at emotion or curiosity. He'd gotten quite good at the whole apathy thing, emotions had begun to take a backseat in his life as did most other people. He didn't know why and didn't care to find out at the current time. He just wanted to take his new found anger out and if he harmed anyone on this ship he'd be in over his head in his current state. He hadn't trained in a few days in preparation for his trip into and through Ba Sing Se. Too much corruption and poverty for someone to look wealthy there for too long without being scammed. He could still smell the stink of the city from the boat as it drifted away, and Ling hated it. He had high hopes for his first visit, not trusting what others said and just marching on in. Too bad his first visit ended so poorly, it spoiled his second, be it brief visit, even though he did get to meet the avatar this time.

Admittedly, Lahe didn't expect sea sickness at all - mostly because she had no idea it existed, but still. Her meditation at the bow of the ship became something of a fortitude exercise, where she would centralize her thoughts and fight off the effects of the sea sickness. Given the time and left interrupted, her skin went from flushed back to normal as she conquered her illness and gathered her thoughts.

Lahe's eyes pry open as she tilts her head to look towards the other crew members. A brief analysis was telling enough - there was a bit of a scuff which struck her as silly and two people stood by themselves, who seemed like good options for introductions: the earthbender and the waterbender. As Lahe stood and took her staff in hand, she initially went to talk to the waterbender, but after seeing the chi-blockers sparse glares towards her (which Lahe couldn't help but wonder if they were romantic or not), she decided to pace over to the earthbender instead.

Curious and perhaps a little insensitive, Lahe came up beside the earthbender and peered over his shoulder to see what he was reading.

---

Terra listened to Lee as he talked, smiling a little after hearing that the Fire Lord has declared an open war on the Chi Blockers. It was very riveting to hear since she knew the Fire Lord well. Terra continued to listen then looked over towards Tai with a raised brow. 'Was he really getting sick?' She thought to herself then turned back towards Lee as he was finished. "Well, it surely sounds like I haven't missed much." She commented then rose up to her feet, smiling down at Lee. "As a matter of fact, we'll be stopping by the fire nation first." A wink of her eye was sent Lee's way as she walked over towards Tai.

"Are you okay?" She asked even though she already knew that he wasn't. She went rummaging through her small bag then handed him something to get rid of his sickness. "Here you go." She smiled while patting him on the back, getting back up on her feet while looking at Ling, who spoke about them not wanting to spar against a chi blocker then continued on talking to Lee about the Fire Nation. Terra just rolled her eyes, honestly, which wasn't the normal gesture of an Avatar but it was the only thing she could do right about now.

Her eyes peered over towards the Weapons Master, Water bender and Air bender who had all be relatively quiet on this journey thus far. She didn't want to bother them right at this moment but the time was coming where she was going to make her way over towards them and ask what was wrong with them. Terra walked over to one of the workers and made sure that they fed her Armadillo Lion, Michi. The worker said yes they did as she nodded her head with a thanks then walked away from him and back over to lean against the railing, looking down at the rushing waters below.

She was enjoying the small breeze that blew through her and eyed her masters one by one. Soon, a watcher of the ship came up to her, calling her name repeatedly and out of breath. "What is it, Missi?" He breathed then spoke. "A boat of Chi Blockers just..." Before he could even finished, scaling over the railing of the boat were about a dozen Chi Blockers, dressed in black attire even with a mask to cover their faces though had shades so that they could see. Terra looked at Missi and insisted that he get out of here as she removed her bag from over her shoulder and threw it to the side.

Terra walked over towards Ling and whispered. "Is it too late for those lessons now?" She knew that this wasn't a joking matter but she couldn't resist. The Chi Blockers stood there a moment as a man in a white mask stepped through them and commanded Terra to step forth, which she did. "Why are you invading my ship? We were doing just fine without your presence." She said. The man behind the mask raised his hand up and snapped his fingers as his army of chi blockers took defensive stances. "Save the Avatar for me. I do not care what you do to the rest." The man behind the mask said while walking away from the rising fight with his hands behind his back.

Her eyes looked to her masters then back towards the Chi Blockers as she didn't want to waste anytime. She pulled three rocks out of her pocket and opened up the palm of her hand, the rocks slowly hovering over it. Soon the rocks would turn to discs as she threw one of them towards a Chi Blocker and then threw two more towards others. She looked at her masters while saying loudly. "You guys going to help or not." She then took a defensive stance herself, ready and waiting for more Chi Blockers to come her way.

Behind them, more chi blockers were scaling over the railing, too.

Ming Xiu

Waterbender

At last the sense of irritation had dwindled as the appearance of the rolling waves soothed her. As time had passed and the earthbender began to look a little green--something she took note of and chuckled at after giving him a look of sympathy--she realized she was missing on a golden opportunity for a free meal, something the firebender of the group had already started to take part in. As she looked over the spread, her stomach made her thoughts known with a slight growl and her mouth beginning to water. She'd been so busy tracking down the 'Avatar's' house that she hadn't gotten a chance to eat breakfast or even lunch for that matter.

Ming coughed, turning her head away sheepishly. She didn't want to seem needy around these people. She was supposed to be a teacher or something right? Giving rather than taking or... oh, fuck it. Come to think of it she'd been rather hospitable up until this point, right? Yeah. She had been. Besides, that glistening rack of ribs on the table was serenading a sirens song to her nostrils and made her gut clench in agony. Not taking notice of the crew member that went scuttling up to the 'Avatar,' Ming finally turned from the lake entirely and approached the table. Her eyes half closed as her stomach loudly rumbled, a bit of drool appearing on her lips while she outstretched her hand toward the food.

Suddenly, the table was upturned and the food went flying as chi blockers swarmed the ship and knocked over the table of free delicious morsels. Ming froze with her chocolate eyes dulling as they swarmed past her. A masked chi blocker demanded for the 'Avatar' to step forward, which she did.

"Why are you invading my ship? We were doing just fine without your presence."

Ming turned her head like a tin man that desperately needed oil as she stared straight at Terra. Now she really was feeling like she could toss some bile. Was that stupid bimbo TRYING to sound cool? It just made her sound like an idiot. Blood boiled within her. She'd come all the way from the Fire Nation just to be going straight back now.

"Save the Avatar for me. I do not care what you do to the rest."

Ming's breath quickened. Didn't care about what happened to 'the rest?' Didn't care? Ming didn't scale a 90 or something foot tall wall illegally to get into Ba Sing Se and discover her parents being in a different country to be pissed away like this. Her teeth gritted, her nostrils flared. The 'Avatar' fired pitiful tiny rock attacks and from Ming's perspective tossed everyone a smug look.

"You guys going to help or not."

This stupid little girl was tripping over herself as soon as they got on the ship and she already demanded their respect? Ming's face was getting beet red. She'd honestly lied to get into this CHILD'S service? She just lost an opportunity to eat free food because she was being attacked by enemies of this child that didn't even glance at her twice?

A huffy exhale escaped from Mings lips that turned into another that turned into a growl that turned into a screaming battle cry that gained looks from the chi benders. In one motion, Ming twisted her body towards the receding masked master chi blocker, took out her axe and threw it with extreme precision directly into the spine of the master chi blocker. Who, having been expecting a bending attack, fell to the ground in surprise.

Everything sped up after that. Quickly drawing water from the lake, she lashed out it out into a whip motion to any chi blockers surrounding her to throw them overboard as she dove for her axe. However rather than just taking it out and leaving him be, she instead turned the still alive master chi blocker around, his senses dulled by the extreme pain in his spine which went out to the rest of his body, threw off his mask, and after straddling him punched him visciously from multiple sides as she stared, with rage, directly into his eyes.

At last she stopped, being pulled away by chi blockers before spitting onto the master chil blocker.

"You will care about what happens to me now."

Ling didn't have time to hear an answer from Lee, he was surrounded by a disturbing group of masked men. The stances they held were that of a chi blocker, but with less... practice. They were sloppy, and a few noticed how calm he was and ran in for the kill. Or whatever it was they were after, Ling didn't care, he refused to fight them. The avatar had made two very quick mistakes and while he wouldn't hold it against her, he was sure that for now he'd drag out the hatred for he knew it was everyone's first day meeting and they'd all warm up later. Everyone always has a rough first day.

The four chi blockers circled in on him, jabbing at him as Ling dodged their blows, predicting their every move. They were fighting well, anyone without knowledge of their techniques would risk the possibility to lose function in a limb or too, even the best benders wouldn't get out without a scratch. But Ling Feng was no bender, and he certainly was not the best at it. He was a chi blocker as well and he was going to dig that fact into their skulls as they failed time and time again to hit the boy. "You need to move more quickly, and you're aiming too low on my back to block chi to my legs. You might as well aim for my femur to knock one leg out at a time. The formation could use work too, four of you attacking at once is too cluttered and you need space to properly land the hits. Try going two at a time." Ling chuckled as he jumped and rolled, his hands remaining behind his back the whole time.

He looked to the man in the mask as the waterbender ran up to him. The man carried himself well, much better than these other fellows. Ling missed what happened, but his second look wasn't a good one, the waterbender was being pulled away by other chi blockers. Surprisingly they didn't think the disable her so he made his way over. "Another thing, why grab an opponent when three hits to the back removes their bending and ability to move?" He joked again. He looked the the avatar, getting ready to fight this man. He had to admit though, it was getting a bit tiring to dodge these four, and would have loved to take them out, but being offensive against four was much harder than dodging four. Attacking would leave him open at times and he really really wanted someone to beg for help. He gave the avatar a look and nodded before jumping into the air with acrobatic prowess.

He landed a blow on one man's shoulder, cutting off his chi, then the other shoulder and lower back. The three hits were done before he hit the ground. He spun to the other three taking out their hands specifically, making them limp and useless. The one that remained readied his stance. "Wider." The man cocked his head at ling in a curious manner. "Your stance needs to be wider. Your knees need to be bent just enough." Ling smiled as the man adjusted his stance. He gestured for the enemy chi blocker to make the first move, and as his arm jabbed at Ling's, he blocked it, feeling a swift kick to the legs sweeping him off his feet. This man was a bit better than his friends, Ling actually had to try. "Thank you for the help." A voice said from behind the mask before the man charged. This would be a good fight.

"Oh yay, a trip home." Lee said in a sarcastically dull manner, he wasn't upset to be returning to the Fire Nation by any degree, he loved his homeland and had every desire to protect it, but he had left it for a reason, and it had honestly been some time since he had returned, he only knew what he had heard from his mother. Shifting his gaze to Ling, he shrugged, as much as he may have disliked the man, he was a fellow Fire Nation citizen, and so he wouldn't deny him news of his own home. "The Fire Nation has fallen on tough times, we should talk about it at some point. Lee, that's right." He nodded to Ling, spotting the black figures out of the corner of his eye as he spoke.

As the Chi blockers began to form up and Terra spoke to their leader, Lee reached back to the pouch on his belt, taking the metal finger covers he kept with him and placing them over his knuckles, watching the Chi blockers closely, he waited for them to begin their attack, watching as three made their way over to him. Taking a half-step forward, he brought his fist back before thrusting it forward, a stream of fire moving toward the trio, making two split off to the sides while the middle blocker was caught by the flame, stunned for a few moments as he focused on making sure he wasn't on fire. Maintaining the momentum of his punch, Lee brought his right leg up and around in a kick toward the blocker on his left, a trail of fire following his foot before extending out toward the Chi blocker, sending him flying off the rail and back into the water.

The third chi blocker managed to get behind Lee, and move to jab toward his pressure points, though the Firebender was just fast enough to avoid the strike. dashing to the right as he grabbed the man's arm, throwing him against the railing, but the man was able to get a hold of it, and avoid toppling over. Gritting his teeth, he watched the man for a few moments as he began to recover, thoughts began to flood Lee's mind, images of his sister, for all Lee knew, this could have been the very man who took his sister from him, whether she had been captured or killed, she was gone, and it was the fault of this man and his order. Bringing both of his fists back, Lee took a deep breath, thrusting his fists forward as a large plume of flame rolled toward the man, engulfing him as he was blasted back off the ship, severely scarred from Lee's attack, the deck of the ship leading up to where he had been aflame and charred.

Turning back to the last Chi blocker, the man was active once more, and had just thrown a punch at Lee, catching him off-guard as the fist collided with his face. Staggering back a few steps, Lee brought up his leg in a kick to retaliate at the man, cracking the mask he wore and forcing him back a few steps. Continuing after the man, Lee set a punch to his gut, the heated metal of his knuckle-plates burning through the man's clothing and causing a pained gasp from the man, a few more punches and soon Lee took hold of the man's clothing, tossing him aside as another pair of Chi blockers climbed over the railing to help him.

Bringing up two fingers, Lee began to channel his energy, and the anger he was feeling toward these men, his hand beginning to crackle with electrical energy, running up his arm before he'd hold it out toward the new trio, a bolt of lightning shooting from his hand toward the first, arcing between each as they'd be left on the floor, stunned and writhing in pain from the electricity arcing through their bodies, eventually leaving the three unconscious from the pain. Lee was not his usual self in this fight, relying on his anger far more than usual, his bending far more dangerous than it should have been.

Punctuality wasn't exactly Xun's strong point. When it came to anything aside from his music, if he wasn't told directly before an event occurred, he wouldn't show up on time. And there was most definitely an excuse for every situation. Having came to Ba Sing Se to hopefully make it big with his music and potentially show off his talents, he was slightly disappointed when he found out that it'd be near impossible for him to get into the Upper Wall.

He spent many a day just kind of wandering about the city, not bothering to do much. That changed when he heard about something that was potentially going on. The Avatar had been calling for teachers from across the world, and that soon they'd be shipping off to travel the world to fight against some kind of threat. He didn't catch the tail end of the conversation, his excitement was overtaking him. This could be great for him! Stowaway on the Avatar's ship, and go to other Nations. Perform his music for people everywhere, make it big, become a name. A figure.

He dropped everything he was doing at the time, which happened to be a large amount of nothing, and rushed back to his current home to collect his belongings. As he began to gather his things, he realized that he might be slightly discriminated against. The desert tattoos on his arms along with the somewhat ethnic way that he was clothed might end up making someone uncomfortable. Whilst he enjoyed the discomfort of others to a degree, he decided that he'd be better off in his old "work" clothes. It took quite a bit of time to slip himself into the old suit of red leather and dig through his possessions to find the goggles that he wore along with them.

Once he'd suited up fully, and shaken himself off a bit so that he wasn't literally covered in sand grains, he realized that it was much later than he'd intended. He left posthaste, probably scaring a few locals and leaving behind some smaller possessions. Xun picked up the pace, rushing down towards the ferry to hopefully catch the Avatar whilst they were still in the city. As he approached the ferry, he realized that while he was slightly late, he was still in time to slip onto the ship along with the others.

The sandbender stood out a bit in his red suit and with his odd, pane-less goggles, but it seemed that no one was going to bother him much. He reasoned to himself that he wouldn't bother him either. After observing the others on the ship for quite a while, he was surprised to see another ship begin to approach.

It wasn't long before they were all alerted to a large group of chi blockers that stormed the ship and prepared to attack the Avatar. The waterbender, quite the two-headed rat viper if Xun could say so himself, took it upon herself to attack quite a few of the intruders. While she did an impressive job, it wasn't enough it'd seem. Xun didn't want to get involved in the fighting, his urges were kicking in a bit. It was when his eyes caught the mask that hit the floor. I must have it.

It was a near immediate reaction to the lead chi blocker charging, he released the lid on his sand container and used the sand to push himself forward in a near-perfect jet stream of sand. During said dash, Xun scooped up the mask then turned quickly on his heel and used a forward hand motion to split the trail of sand that he left behind into a couple of bursts so as to knock back a couple of the chi blockers. Hopefully free the waterbender as well.

He turned to the lead chi-blocker, still holding his stance, and said in a very calm tone. "The best laid plans of meadow voles and men often go awry. Are you quite sure this is the day that you want to die?"