"So...who will go?"

The sun shined brightly on a rusty yacht carrying upon its back a congregation of bloodbenders whose ages ranged from fifteen to fifty years old. The old yacht was bought second handed off an equally old boat trader that exchanged war ships on the island that was once the Air Temple of Republic City. They had to patch it up a bit before they could take it out to sea; little leaks, pipes in need of fixing, some insulation, paint jobs, that sort of thing. The leader of the congregation had only bought it for a low price, so such a needed fix-up was natural.

So far, it had been running fine. Sure there were a few points where some members of the merry band of bloodbenders had honestly thought the ship was totaled. There were some waves that rocked against the ship's side a little bit too hard. It was fine though, they were safe, and they were sailing towards a new world, a land that they could call home.

A couple members of the merry band have already voiced concerns, most of them happened to be about food and water. It was clear nobody wanted to fall so quickly to cannibalism, a sentiment their leader agreed on. Luckily, a member of their team knew how to fish, and she promptly taught everyone on the crew how to knit nets and cook fish meat. Their first day of fishing went a bit shaky. One of them accidentally let go of the net and they had to knit and entirely new one. Otherwise, they have managed to have at least one meal for everyone on every day of their journey thus far. For water they sent down a bucket, before bring it up and using filtration to purify the seawater. In general, it was smooth sailing.

Baqwis Feng, for all extensive purposes, felt pretty fortunate. He had managed to fall in on what could be viewed as "the right crowd", and had escaped the obligations expected of him by a corrupt home nation. Now all he had to do was help his companions find a permanent place.

They were well on their way too, until a hawk dropped a heavy message on them from the sky. Truly nobody saw it coming.

"How did they know about us? Hell, how did they know where we were?" A concerned member of the gang voiced. All the other bloodbenders sounded their agreement. Baqwis stayed quiet, not sure whether he should be excited or scared. Their wise and glorious leader, Datu, didn't seem at all worried. In fact, he appeared more than determined. Perhaps he had planned for them to join the Jasmine Dragons from the beginning?

"Worry not, my friends. We are not too far from Roku's Island remember. It is very possible that there were some hawks traveling north looking to recruit any bloodbender. Let us be thankful they chose us, and not the servants of the tyrant Master Ro."

Everyone had to agree, that it was a stroke of luck that the invitation fell into their hands. Most of them visibly shuddered, with thoughts of the world being liberated by one of Master Ro's lackeys. That would only serve to make the world worse than it already was.

"This is a glorious opportunity for us." Datu continued, holding out the silver colored token before him so they could all see the dragon insignia on it. "Which is why it is important that we choose who among us will be our representative. As we all know, there is a certain ire that exists against us bloodbenders." This spurned mutterings among the group. Many of them knew the stereotypes. "Bloodthirsty, Warmongerers, Cannibals, Violent, Evil, Barbaric." One of them had to walk back inside the cabin in order to avoid crying in front of their crewmates. Everyone was on edge now. They knew that this could mean the acceptance of bloodbenders in popular society, society not controlled by the Dark Avatar that is. It didn't matter who or what took them in, as long as it wasn't inherently evil. To them, the Jasmine Dragons was the closest thing to the last pure Avatar himself. Many would gladly take their offer.

The only problem was, nobody knew who to send.

"I will go!" Cried one.

"No I!" Cried another.

Truly everyone was willing to bring honor to the bloodbender name. Everyone but Baqwis.

Baqwis truly understood the implications at hand. He truly understood how this opportunity could be beneficial in the end. Yet, he didn't feel worthy. He had been cast out of his own family, left in the streets, because he couldn't bring himself to tell them the truth. He was weak willed, and hated the sight of blood. He couldn't even bring himself to fight. He was pathetic, and now Jasmine Dragon would want him, let alone their leader.

"Hey what about Baq? He hasn't said anything."

It was his former roommate that spoke for him, and in that moment Baqwis truly wanted the sweet relief of death. "Please no." He whispered, as Datu regarded him with interest. "Yeah, what about Baqwis?" shouted another, followed by another, and a another. Baqwis really wanted to just disappear then and there. [i]"Please."[/i]

"Silence, please." Datu commanded, now looking stern. "Baqwis, you are the most peaceful of our group. Do you not deny this?"

Baqwis only nodded, not saying anything. This action pleased Datu, who then continued, his voice kind but eyes stern. "Then you shall speak for us."

"Please, no!"

"Would you rather I send Kidlat." A loud cough was heard from the congregation, followed by a harsh hiss shushing the culprit. "Or Gani?" A loud laugh followed the name, followed by more shushing.

Baqwis retreated within himself. It was true, he was the best contender. But he didn't have any speech skills, and wasn't charismatic like Datu was. "Why can't you go?" He squeaked.

Datu only laughed in response. "And abandon my crew?! I think not!"

The crowd hollered their appreciation for their boss, walloping in their seats. This only served to make Baqwis retreat more. [i]"Okay."[/i] He whispered, [i]"I guess I can go."[/i]

"What was that Baqwis?" Datu hadn't heard his whispers, and a number of the young man's mates that surrounded him leaned in.

"I said I'll go!" Stated Baqwis loudly, quivering.

Datu smiled, "You'll make us proud boy. Remember that."

That night they set their course for the south, south of Roku's Island to be exact. It wouldn't take long for them to get there, and Baqwis was pacing throughout the entire trip, taking breaks to sleep or eat or help with chores around the boat. He couldn't help but fear for the worse. He had his former roommate help him practice what he would do should he meet the Jasmine Dragon's leader, which he doubted would happen. "Edcel, what if I say something offensive. What if I say something that will make them angry?"

"Oh I'm sure you'll be fine." Comforted his friend, throwing a hearty arm around the younger fella. "Besides, you're far too much of a softie to screw this up. No offense."

"None taken." Baqwis muttered, picking at a scab on his left forearm. "I just want us to be happy."

"We'll be on top of the world buddy!" His friend laughed. "No need to be worried at all! Show them just how hospitable we bloodbenders can be!"

Baqwis could only smile in response. He was grateful to have a friend he could confide in. He wasn't sure what he would do otherwise. Going on this journey to begin with was a daring move for him, as a young man who couldn't even use his bloodbending to kill, even if it were a life or death situation. He didn't want to be a killer, he never did. Yet everyone expected him to. Even Datu would sometimes order his men to kill. It made sense of course, life in Jinin wasn't easy. You had to fight to survive. He just wish it wasn't that way, anywhere really. Would joining the Jasmine Dragons truly change things? Would these revolutionaries truly change the state of the world for the better? Or will they make it just as bad if not worse?

Baqwis prayed that it would be the former, to whom it did not matter. All sources of purity was long gone from the world anyways.