[IC] Avatar: Trusting your enemy

[pyroman]

Nikko nodded in agreement. He had of course never been to any of the temples, but he had heard about them. It would probably be pretty scary walking around in a place that hasn't been inhabited in a hundred years. Not to mention the likelihood of there being skeletons all over the place.

He then shrugged and looked up at the sky. "Well, we don't have to live at the temples to be nomads. Thank the spirits..." He muttered the last part to himself. "I guess I could consider myself a nomad as well, and the same could go for you. I was traveling with some musicians that called themselves nomads for a while. All they did was travel around and play music all over the place, when they went through towns, through tunnels, when running from an armadillo bear... everywhere." He said with a small smile.

He wished that she would be able to wear her normal clothing instead of the Earth Kingdom clothes. He had nothing against the green garb, but he wanted to see what a person from the fire nation normally looked like, and not like the soldiers that he had seen when they invaded the north. He wanted to see what the fire nation was really like, what kind of food they had, when they did for fun, things in that sense. "So... What did you do for fun back in the fire nation?"

[tsubasa]

Jaya laughed as he informed her they didn't need to live in the temple to be air nomads. She nodded her head, "I suppose so. I suppose we are more just Nomads than Air Nomads.

She looked at him when he asked what it was that she did for fun. She pursed her lips while she thought about it, "That's... a hard question. Ozai kind of had us under the whip when he was in charge... But I liked to dance. I'd fire dance on the streets with a bowl for money when things got tight..." She smiled, "It wasn't anything special... I mean, if you were a fire bender and could dance, you could fire dance.... I think people here would like it... I saw a circus on one of my trips, people were amazed by even simple fire bending."

She giggled a little at the thought of it, "I loved how gentle the fire looks when you dance with it. It is pure beauty and you almost forget how dangerous it is... I think that is something people need to see. Although, I don't think I'll ever get to show them," She laughed a little, "Maybe, I'll show you one day..."

She looked ahead of them, "I wonder how far away we are...."

[pyroman]

Nikko turned his head to look at Jaya as she mentioned fire dancing. He seemed pretty interesting from the name alone, and he wondered if it was the same as dancing water benders. Dancing while also water bending incorporated many of the forms and styles of water bending. It was slowed down, and more focus was put into the movements of the body to make it seem more graceful than when fighting.

When she looked ahead of them, he did the same and looked onward. His eyes narrowed when he picked up something on the ground, and the young man held his hand up to silently tell her to stop. He moved ahead of her and looked down at the ground. He had seen many animals of the earth kingdom during his travels, but he hadn't taken much time to study their tracks. The Northern Water Tribe didn't have as many animals as the Earth Kingdom, so it was easier to remember what kinds of animals made what tracks. He didn't remember every single type of animal track, but he knew most of them. He didn't know about the one in front of him though, and he was curious to know how close or far away the animal that made the tracks was. He then motioned for Jaya to walk over to him, if she wasn't there already as he wasn't really paying attention to anything other than the tracks, and turned to her. "Do you know what kind of animal would make these tracks?"

[tsubasa]

Jaya looked at him curiously when he held up his hand for her to stop. She did so and watched as he walked forward and crouched to the ground to look at something, that appeared to be animal tracks? She slowly walked up behind him, moving a little faster when he motioned for her to come closer. She leaned over his shoulder a little to look at the tracks. When he asked her if she had any clue what it was, she shook her head, "No, sorry," She said quietly, "But... They are probably pretty new. The sand hasn't covered them yet..."

She smiled and took hold of his hand and pulled him forward, following the track. She looked over her shoulder at him, "And there is always one way to find out."

She grinned and started to move a little quicker, but slow enough that she could stop quickly if needed.

[pyroman]

"Hmm." He hummed to himself in thought after she said that she didn't know what kind of animal made the tracks. He wished that he paid more attention to the animal tracks, because for all he knew they could belong to something scary and fierce. His eyes widened when she took his hand and pulled him along, and the young man stumbled for a moment before getting under his feet. Whatever could have made the tracks probably wouldn't be able to take on a water bender and a fire bender, he continued to tell himself, and he hoped that whatever animal made those tracks wasn't violent.

It wasn't long before he heard something nearby. He wasn't sure what it was, but he was sure that it was the same animal that made the tracks. They were in a location close enough to the desert that sand was common to be on the ground, but trees and bushes still existed all over the place. It was a middle ground between the two main types of terrain that the earth kingdom had to offer.

[tsubasa]

Jaya walked with him until she heard a noise as they began to enter the trees. She looked over her shoulder at him, releasing his hand. She held her hands in front of her as she walked, prepared for something to jump out at her. Sure enough, an armadillo lion jumped out of the trees and growled at them. Jaya jumped a little and held her arm out stopping Nikko from advancing. She looked at the creature, who was growling at them and leaning back onto his haunches, preparing to pounce. In a swift movement of her arms a small line of fire expanded in a line between her hands. She looked at the creature as it seemed to shy away, frightened of the flame. However, it did not back down.

She put the fire out and slowly started to walk toward it.

[pyroman]

Nikko took cautious steps as he walked about a step behind Jaya. His eyes met hers as she looked back at him, and the young man allowed his arm to fall to his side once she let go of his hand. He was not prepared for the armadillo lion that jumped out at them, and the water bender dropped into a half-stance, only wanting to fight the hybrid animal if needed. He did not pull the water out of his pouches yet, and watched as Jaya as she stopped the armadillo bear from pouncing at them. Nikko stayed in his stance as he watched the animal shy away from the fire, but still staying in front of the two of them.

He turned his head to Jaya and looked at her curiously. "What should we do? Try to fight it, run away, what?" He wasn't sure what to do. It might chase after them if they ran, and he didn't really want to kill it, even if the action did give them food.

[tsubasa]

Jaya looked at Nikko and grinned, "I was thinking more along the lines of riding it. Aren't your feet getting sore?"

She turned back to the armadillo lion and slowly started to walk toward it. She didn't bring out her fire, as she didn't want to scare it. She stopped a few feet in front of it and slowly lowered herself to the ground. She sat on her knees and looked at the creature, who was now eyeing her curiously. He slowly walked toward her and she rose her hand holding it out to the animal. The armadillo lion sniffed it, as though it were looking for the fire she had conjured earlier. She laughed a little, her hand leaving the creature's nose and petting the side of its face. He seemed to enjoy it. She slowly stood and took a deep breath, turned and walked back to Nikko. The Armadillo Lion hesitated a moment before racing after her. He stood at her side and sniffed her hair. Jaya grinned and pet the animal happily, "I think we've made a new friend."

[pyroman]

Nikko simply looked at Jaya like she was a madwoman at the suggestion of riding it. He couldn't find the right words to say aloud, but he did have something to think about. "Riding an armadillo lio-RIDING AND ARMADILLO LION! She's crazy..."

He watched with motionless caution as she slowly befriended the hybrid animal, he he honestly couldn't believe what he was seeing. He had heard about people that could tame a wide variety of animals, but he had never seen it himself. He snapped himself out of his thoughts when she returned to him, with the armadillo lion not far behind her. He still couldn't believe it, and nodded at his companion. "Yeah..." He then nervously chuckled as he waved to the bear. Looking back at Jaya, he gave her a curious look. "So, should we give him a name? Or maybe a her, I don't know."

[tsubasa]

Jaya looked at him as he waved, seemingly nervous to the lion, "Its worse to be nervous around them," She informed him, "My dad was in a circus. He tamed animals from near and far," She said in a grand voice before shrugged and petting the armadillo lion's nose, "I picked up a few things."

When he asked about a name, she nodded and leaned over to look under the beast, "Boy," She straightened and looked at the animals face, "Senge," She looked at Nikko and smiled, "It means lion.... I think it is quite fitting for our hybrid here."

She grinned and walked around the creature, keeping her hand on him at all times. After almost doing a small circle, she stopped at his side. Senge looked over his shoulder at her as she grabbed his mane before looking back at Nikko. She smiled, accepting the approval and pulled herself onto the large animal. She patted his shoulders and gave him a good scratch, "Now to see if we can get to where we are going," She managed to get Senge to walk forward a little. She took off her bag, placing it in front of her and held out her hand to Nikko, "Alright, let's go."

[pyroman]

Nikko was surprised to hear that Jaya's father was in a circus as an animal tamer, and even with that bit of information, he didn't feel any more safe or comfortable than before. He simply watched as she circled around the animal, stopping at his side before grabbing his mane and pulling herself onto the now named Senge. He just looked up at Jaya and her extended hand. He wanted to think that she wasn't being serious about this. He was from one of the two Water Tribes, and even though he lived in the one that was more politically active, he was trained in how to hunt, not how to befriend. Slowly and hesitantly, he took her hand and pulled himself up onto the hybrid animal, sitting behind Jaya. "Alright, but if he attacks me, I'll jump right off and walk."

[tsubasa]

Jaya laughed at him as he climbed onto Senge with her. She looked over his shoulder, "Well. he can't exactly attack you when you are on his back," She patted Senge's neck, "Besides, this old lug is practically harmless. We just scared him. That being said, that doesn't mean he isn't dangerous," she squeezed him softly with her legs and watched what would happen. He looked over his shoulder at her and she urged him on a little before he started to walk. They walked for a while, turning this way and that and she let Senge get used to what it was that she wanted when she squeezed ever so gently on the mane in her hands.

She grinned, it had been a while since she had worked with an animal like this. She had debated finding a friend but the animals either rejected her and ran off or just weren't big enough.

When Senge seemed to get the gist of what was happening, she urged him to go a little faster. She looked over her shoulder at Nikko as they went across the plain at a nice jog, "How are you doing?"

[pyroman]

She had a point. Senge couldn't really attack him since he was on his back, and the most he could do was probably rear up to make him fall off. And he was probably only hostile because of Jaya using her fire bending abilities. He wasn't sure how exactly the armadillo lion's brain worked, so he could only assume what was going on in it's head when they met. He was too wrapped up in his thoughts to really focus on anything, but snapped out of it when they began to go a little faster.

"Hmm?" He hummed to Jaya, looking at her curiously. He replayed her words in his head and shrugged. "Pretty good so far. Slowly getting used to riding on top of Senge. you?"

[tsubasa]

Jaya nodded, glad that the nervousness that Nikko was showing before had begun to fade. She turned back to look where they were going, "Quite well... It's nice not to have to walk and I've really quite missed working with animals..." She shook her head, "Which is funny... I used to get so sick of it as a kid."

She reached into her bag, taking her hands off Senge, remaining on merely but her legs. She rummaged through her things a little before she managed to find the map. She looked at it for a moment, trying to figure out where they more or less were. When she had it figured out, she folded it back up and returned it. She stretched, "I think if we keep on at this pace and make a quick stop along the way to give Senge a break, we should make it into town before sunset."

She placed her hands back on Senge's neck, "Although... I don't know where we are going to put this guy for the night that won't make him feel like we've left him... and won't terrify the entire town."

[pyroman]

Nikko looked over at the map that Kaya had unfolded, and gave her a curious look for a short moment. "Want me to hold me map or something while you stee- you got it." He quickly cut himself off when she put the map away, He then nodded at what she planned out, and smiled at how well it could work. "Sounds goof." He said simply, thinking back on what she had just said before that. He found it interesting that she had worked with animals before, and it seemed to be more than just being around a father who worked with animals. He probably would have had a lot of fun doing something like that as a kid, but the chief of the Northern Water Tribe probably would have banned keeping animals as pets because it's fun.

With a hum, Nikko began to think about what to do with the animal that had become their companion. He assumed that they could leave him right next to wherever they would be sleeping for the night, and give him some food as well if he got hungry during the night. "Maybe he could be like a guard or something and sleep somewhere near us?"

[tsubasa]

Jaya nodded at Nikko's suggestion, "That could work... Although, we'd be sleeping outside from now on... Or at least until Senge gets a bit more comfortable with us.... If he decides to stick around.... Maybe we can find a harness of sorts. I find people are more comfortable with dangerous things when they appear to be under more control... which is funny... I feel like too much control... causes them to lash out."

They rode through the back until the sun was high in the sky, beating down on them. Jaya brought them to a stop when she found an oasis of sorts. She climbed off and looked at Nikko, "Let's stop here for a while. I wouldn't mind a swim," She stripped off her clothes, leaving the wrappings she wore underneath on and walked into the water. She turned and saw Senge eyeing her curiously, "Come on, Senge."

The armadillo lion seemed to perk up and ran into the water. She then looked at Nikko, "The desert must be a strange place for you...."

[pyroman]

Nikko nodded. Of course when he first came to the Earth Kingdom he tried to avoid the desert at all costs, but eventually he had to travel through it. His first experience in the desert was dreadful, with no water to be found anywhere, unless you felt like digging straight down until you hit dirt. "It wasn't fun the first time I ventured into the desert, I'll tell you that. I guess it could be like if you couldn't conjure up fire, but not really since you create fire and I bend water." Fire seemed to be a stray when it came to the bending arts. Of course fire could be taken and manipulated, but it could also be created as well. For one of the air benders, air was all around them, so bending was probably the easiest for them. Eath was also fairly easy because earth was everywhere, but Water seemed to be the only one of some sort of limited supply. If there wasn't water, he couldn't just create it like a fire bender could. Water had to be around for a water bender to use it, and in a place like the desert there wasn't any water to call upon.

Hopping off of Senge, Nikko began to strip down as well. He hadn't taken a swim in a few days, and came up with a great idea. He took a running start at the water and bent the water to form around him to propel himself upwards. When he believed that he was high enough, he used the water that he bent to create a slide of ice. He slid down the ice slide and created just a bit more ice at the end to form a ramp. He flew up a little distance into the air before falling down to hit the water. He made a decently sized splash without the use of his water bending, and he hoped that she splash was large enough to hit Jaya.

[tsubasa]

Jaya watched as Nikko ran toward the water and then the water met around his feet, moving him up into the sky. She was a little amazed but it all, she had never really seen water bending. People from other nations didn't tend to visit the Fire Nation, with fair reasoning. For sometime, they didn't really accept them. Jaya was slightly lost in her thoughts as the watched when the water splashed her. She gave a small shriek before laughing. She looked at Nikko, "Unfair," She whined jokingly before splashing him.

She moved a little deeper into the water and Senge followed, lapping it up as he went. She smiled and started to move water up to soak his fur and help with the heat. She smiled at Nikko, "I suppose but you also have the most sub categories of water bending... I mean... healing, ice, then there is rain, water in plants, moisture in air, sweat, I've even heard of blood bending!"

She leaned against Senge, "I think it is more so that you just have to get a little more creative. Fire bending it is just fire, lightning, or tattooing an eye on your face and blowing up stuff."

[pyroman]

Nikko couldn't help but laugh when Jaya called out to him and splashed him. He didn't bother bending the water away from him, and allowed it to his his body. He simply floated in the water, allowing it to cover all of his body with the exception of his head. His head turned to her as she spoke again, and shrugged at her answer. All of those things were really cool, but healing required a lot of training, as only a few people could heal without it, blood bending was disturbing and disgusting, and when you're in the desert, there are hardly any plants, no moisture, and only so much sweat. He could also bend clouds and steam to his will with enough training. He did have to get more creative with his bending, but he was thinking about how little it could be used in the desert.

"Yeah, but you can use your bending a whole lot more in a desert than I can. Sure there are a lot more uses and variations I guess, but you always have your bending at your disposal, even when facing the opposite element. Water benders don't have that kind of thing. While I guess we're the most free when it comes to different bending types, we're the most restricted when it comes to... availability, I guess."

[tsubasa]

Jaya laughed a little and nodded, "Well, that is because I live in the desert. If I was up in the north, I'd be a bit more useless.... With the cold and all. Where are you would be in your element."

She pet Senge's nose before she started float atop the water, "I think I'd like to go to the Water Tribes... I can't apologize for my people to the air nation but I can to the Water Tribe.... if they'd let me."

She held her hands up and looked at them, a small fire sparked to life after a little effort due to her hand being wet, "I also can't defend with fire. It is strictly offensive," She stood, her shoulder escaping the water and presenting a large burn scar that traveled toward the center of her back, "When I get attacked... There is little more I can do than try to attack back..."