[AU RP] [IC] Avatar : A World Unfolding

[Sketching101]

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On a neverending night, unfamiliar, unconscious people dropped on the hills, strangers to that world started falling all around the land. The critters scattered and the beasts hid, all watching with anticipation the strange scene in front of them. On a particular beaten path between four tall pillars, there were no more than eight people, remaining far off from most of the other humans in that world. The only indication of settlement in sight was a small gate leading into one of the pillars, as beyond it, there seemed to be more pillars that went on and on without any end in sight.

25th of September, 573 || 21:14 || A short while earlier
​

"Ladies and gentlemen, we're about to start the final round for the United Republic of Nations' Probending Cup's final match! Here come the Cabbage Corp Cat Deers and the Republic City Raven Eagles!"​

Both the teams riled up their own supporters, getting fired up for the final round themselves. As the referree signalled for them to get in place, they hopped to their spots and took their stances. With the loud, deafening whistle, a stream of water, a stone disk and a blast of fire went from each side to the other, initiating the match. The Ravens' waterbender was quickly pushed back by a stone to the stomach. Their earthbender followed suit, but the Cat Deers couldn't touch the firebender who kept avoiding every shot. As the round got longer, the fans grew more restless and excited. The Ravens knocked off two of their opponents, and everyone but the firebender from the Ravens was pushed off as well. Just as the bell was rung to announce the tiebreaker, the ground rumbled.

"It seems there's a small tremor, but no need to worry, folks! The stadium is thankfully safe from earthquakes."​

After a brief silence in the arena, the muttering of thousands of people echoed all at once, only for the stadium to shake again. A strong light shone from under the water, attracting everyone's attention. In a split second, the light went up, eating up everything in its path.

Luca Senge​

Luca slowly sat up, grasping the bridge of his nose, groaning. Blinking rapidly, the young man shot a few glances left and right. "Wha--" His eyes widened, exasperated. His spatial and temporal sensitivity had left him entirely, leaving him confused in the middle of nowhere along with seven others he had never seen before. He thought back, sitting pensively, trying to remember what had happened last. "The match..." he muttered to himself before looking up to see the strangely bright sky of the night. He mumbled again, getting up to his feet. "What the hell is going on?"

 

[ShiroKiyoshi]

"Oh, my."

Were the words that escaped Shun when he finally entered the arena. He gazed at the many fans present there and stood in awe. It was his first time actually coming to one of these events, but he had heard about them from caravans and people he led through the deserts and terrain. He couldn't exactly remember teams and whatnot so the first name he heard he had decided he would root for them (regardless of their stats in said event). He looked around and spotted a seat near someone, they wore a lot of blue clothing, warm enough for a nice chilly winter. He assumed this was a man and that they liked the cold.

After, someone shoved passed, Shun finally started for the seat next to this guy. He let down his hood as he descended down the steps and scooted down the row to his seat. He gave a friendly smile and wave as he finally sat down next to him only for the announcer to rile the crowd to a stand as they cheered on their favorite teams entering the stage. Shun gave a half-baked "whoo" as the Cabbage Corp Cat Deers were announced and then proceeded to commit the name to memory.

'That's impossible to remember.' He thought irritably to himself.

Shun was completely caught off guard by this atmosphere and he took a moment to look around while the players got ready. It had been a while since he had been around it; the screams and cheers were almost new to him and the sheer number of people were almost unexpected. The odd way his life had turned out being so mellow had served to dull his aptitude for the exciting, if you didn't count the occasional robber during his escorts. In other words: Shun didn't know what to say. So, he just shouted as others did and watched. Though, as the game went on he was quickly able to get into it and found his niche, spouting things with his fist in the air like: "Knock 'em off," or "Throw another rock!"

That's when the stage shook the first time, forcing Shun onto his butt. He blinked for a moment thinking it might be the earthbender actually listening to him and putting his heart into it, but he was luckily able to come back to reality and realize this was not the case. The announcer's comment helped him to figure it out as well, but he wouldn't tell you that. His shouting quickly resumed before he was knocked onto his arse once more and watched a beam of light shoot through the ceiling. Now, being that this was his first match he thought it was a part of it, but soon after he saw the panic in the eyes of the man next to him and realized something was not right.

"Oh, crud."

That's when the guy next to him stood up and stared at the sky in a daze. Shun, on instinct, shoved him to wake him from his trance.

"Did you see what I did? Because if so, right here, is not a good place to be."​

 

[Hemofnoize]

LONGWEI HUANG LI
​

"Argh..."

Longwei grumbled as he slowly picked himself off of the ground, clutching his throbbing head all the while. The last thing he remembered was watching the Pro-bending Cup's final match before a strange bright light consumed the arena. He had no recollection of ever having left the arena of his own will, and this had him very worried. So now, not only did his head hurt really bad, but he was lost, and very lost at that. He clutched his head, and quickly began to think of an explanation as to how he ended up in this situation. "Did I eat some bad forest berries and hallucinate the whole thing? Was I really at the Pro-bending Arena to begin with?" Deciding to calm himself down before making matters worse, he decided to scan his surroundings in search of a clue. The first thing he noticed was that he wasn't alone. Longwei was very surprised to see other people there with him. "Well, isn't this just nice?" thought Longwei to himself. ​

 

[Cerulean]

"Burrrp."

It was the response of a young man to the first tremor. The quake had shaken up his belly that was full of stadium food and carbonated liquids. It wasn't the most pleasurable thing he had ever experienced but at least nothing terrible was happening yet. The match was even going to a tie breaker. This was going to be amazing and the ground shaking shall only add to the ambiance. At least, that was how Karan tried to frame it in his head.

Before he could eat another dumpling, the light engulfed them all. He closed his eyes, but when he opened them again, he wasn't in his seat. Karan felt like he had just fallen from the clouds.

Looking over, he could see a bunch of people he never met but they all looked like they came from the same highschool class so maybe one of them would be able to tell him what happened.

Listening to them, it seemed that they were all as clueless as the other. Then he realized the truth. The terrible truth. The dumplings and soda were gone.

"Oh no...."

 

[Karyra]

MITSUKO CHUUSEI
​

The Pro-bending match wasn't bad, but considering her skepticism of her home team, the Raven Eagles, it tended to lean towards animosity only because she couldn't pick a team and be bothered to stick with them. She liked the ability to not get tied to one team so if they lost then she could temporarily move to the winning team as her favorite. However, the Raven Eagles were doing fairly well this time, so she half-heartedly started to cheer for them from the rail, she draped herself across it in order to get the best seats for very little. Turns out you can lie about getting snacks and then fake returning to your seat in the nosebleed section.

The bell for the tiebreaker rung and Mitsuko had to cling to the rail tightly, hoping that the tiny rumble would be all there was to the arena. She really wanted to know who was going to win now. That was when the stadium rumbled again and light spread everywhere, and Mitsuko only had time to say, "crabpples."

Then there was a sense of the light swallowing everything and then it went dark.

Needless to say, Mitsuko found the light to have very poor timing.

As she slowly came to, she heard someone ask about where they were. Mitsuko laid on the ground, the grass was pretty soft and comfortable considering it was dirt and leaves. Then another guy asked if he'd eaten bad berries and asked the same question.

"Nope. I'm just going to lay here and ignore the scenery because maybe they'll take us back to the match. I really wanted to see if it was worth rooting for the Raven Eagles this time," and she opened her eyes slightly to see the strange, clearly no Republic City scenery and then closed her eyes again. "Nope that was a mistake. I'm just going to keep laying here and now pretending I didn't see anything."​

 

[MixedUpGuy]

Lashong Ra Dadah​

Arriving to the stadium later than he expected and only recently finally getting back into Republic City after his long trip back, Lashong Dadah stopped at the food stand on the first floor. Rather than getting food, he was dropping off the few shanks of Dragon Moose meat that he had been sent on expedition to find for the event. When the proprietor of the shop saw Shong arrive, he held his hands out in frustration.

"Kid, what happened? The match started at least five minutes ago and here I am almost completely out of my good cuts for the kebabs! If you had that much trouble making it in I would have hired you a carriage to at least get you here on time." Clearly the middle aged man running the stand was not all to thrilled with Shong's lateness, but the hunter just rolled his eyes and dropped the heavy shanks that he had cupped under his arm. After opening up the bag he spread the six cuts out and removed the thick paper covering them. The red meat shined in the light as each looked large enough to handle whatever rush would come in tenfold.

With a smile on his face Lashong took a step back to let the man admire the work and saw the frustration leave his face into humility. The man grabbed a coin bag he had hanging off his hip and tossed it to Shong who grabbed it with little to no effort. "Next time you want to complain about my work Bira, remember the last time you got someone else to do your hunting for you. But to answer your question, next time see if you can afford something a little faster than that junker of a boat you had picked out through a friend." Shong said with a laugh as Bira grunted at him in frustration.

Shong decided to take a trip up to see the bending match before he left just to make something of the trip. As he proceeded to go higher up the stadium floors a sudden shaking brought him to a stop. The light coming down the tunnel at him forced him to bring his arms up to block the blinding sensation. When he put his arms down he looked around and saw himself in a different place. This was not the stadium. This wasn't even Republic City as far as he could tell. But seeing other people in the area he knew he at least wasn't alone. He began walking towards the silhouettes, hoping they had an answer to where they were. Dropping in on a conversation about berries and seeing a girl say down on her back made him realize that perhaps none of them knew where they were.

"So based on everyone's surprised and confused looks, I imagine we are all more than a little lost here..." Shong said as he gripped the bow draped over his shoulder tightly, worry now beginning to settle in.

 

[Sketching101]

Luca Senge​

"Huh?" Luca looked at the young man who'd shoved him. His gaze went back to wandering around the strange environment. As the others started coming to their senses one by one until only two remained unconscious on the ground. The young waterbender looked over at the dark haired familiar figure laying on the ground for a few moments.

He looked over at the rest of the group. Everyone their seemed to have their own colorful eccentricity but that was to be expected after whatever happened happened. "Ah..." After processing what everyone said, he spoke up. "This place..." He paused before turning to the door leading into the stone pillar. "It might not be a good idea to linger."

A gentle, whispering voice echoed through the air.

"Well, hello there... What are you little spiderflies doing here?"​

 

[Hemofnoize]

LONGWEI HUANG LI​

Longwei observed as the majority of the various others there with him began to come to their senses. He started to wonder if everyone there was there because of what happened at the stadium. "Welp," he thought "at least I'm not the only one who seems lost." Longwei was tempted to ask if anyone knew what had happened, but decided to remain quiet and observe. Eventually, one of the others spoke up. The individual said that it probably wasn't a good idea to linger around, doing so as he turned toward the entrance to a stone pillar which Longwei, unsurprisingly, hadn't noticed until that exact instance. "Yeah, I thi--" Longwei was about to voice his agreement when a gentle, whispering voice echoed through the air. "Ummm.... hello" said Longwei in reply to the unknown voice.

 

[Tyrannosaurus Rekt]

Gin Jen "GG" Kite​

Why was she even here? Bending matches were pointless and dull. Who cared about these things? Why should they? These were a waste of talent, effort, and money. It would be more interesting if there weren't arbitrary rules to define who did what when. Why couldn't they just go all out? Now that would be a show. GG smirked at the thought of that. But rules, well, they distracted the people and elevated this childish game to something that "adults" would enjoy.

GG placed her heart-shaped face between her hands and firmly pressed her elbows onto her knees. She blew out an exasperated breath. Her mother cheered for the firebenders, being one herself, and her father for the earthbenders. Did the teams even matter to them? Or was it just pure rivalry of elements? Her parents were odd ones. Yet, this beat them trapping her in a dress and wrestling her all the way to a party. At least the rules for the bending matches gave something for people to think about and be amused by. The rules for proper etiquette was like tossing acid on one's tongue and then try to smile.

The tremor brought her out of her thoughts. Huh, this ecological location shouldn't be prone to them, there's no—

GG groaned. Her head throbbed, and her back hurt. She swore she'd been at a bending match, but apparently that had been a pleasant dream and she'd instead gotten carted off to a party. "I am never drinking that much again."

The voices made her jerk up. She glanced around. Alright. Well, this was neither of those things she just thought. Had she really been at that bending match? Where was she now? Had someone drugged her, and taken her away? Sure, her family had wealth, but why wasn't she tied to a chair or something? Had these people done it? Maybe. They looked terribly… poor. Yet, that also looked scared and confused. Was this some sort of young-adult trafficking ring? Ugh. There were too many questions.

It was then a disembodied voice rang through the place. That was never a good sign. That's how many of her father's horror stories began, and they always ended up with everyone dying—even the smart, charming, beautiful one. Of course, she was referring to herself.

"This is scientifically and empirically impossible. But I agree, we shouldn't hang around. And if we get a running start now, we have a higher chance of whatever this is going after the slow ones first." She eyed the green haired man, who obviously wasn't built for a good sprint.

 

[ShiroKiyoshi]

​

Shun pressed is fingers against the bridge of his nose and sighed, heavily. This Luca character seemed empty in the head, almost like he was stuck in a constant daze. It was frightening and not to mention down right annoying. The last thing he needed right now was for a scared man to go berserk, but he didn't think this would happen, for the most part, he believed that the man did not handle shock very well though. He soon let it go and released his nose to take a breath while he popped his hood back over his head and came to a full stand from his previous crouch.

At first the voices Shun heard were only background noise, after all, his attention had been on Luca since before the match and light, but when he suddenly was transported somewhere else and saw Luca his mind fixated on the point of normalcy and trying to secure it. When that was done he finally opened his ears to hear the words of others around him and he wish he hadn't. It was like someone broke a record player and it was replaying the same chorus over and over and over. Popular topics included; 'was it real' and 'we're all clueless'. No dip.

Then to top that off there was someone wearing a hood which just irked Shun. It was his thing, which he understood that people all over the world were bound to have a hood of some kind, but within his circles it was his thing to wear it and now someone just had to come and ruin that along with his day off. It only got better too. Shun took pride in his ability to navigate the land, but he recognized squat around them and all he had for a landmark was door going into a pillar.

"So, just in case anyone wanted to know: this place isn't on any map I know of. So, yeah, lost. Just thought I'd help the sleuths along in finalizing how lost we are and the fact that the best place isn't here. Later."

Shun, growing tired of standing around, started off to figure out where he was and get back to Republic City, but didn't make it far. The universe hated him today, but it wasn't through, no, the universe had a voice that decided to speak up and make itself known. How kind of the universe to introduce itself, at least he had something to yell at now, and possibly stab because Shun's next move was drawing his blade and pausing. Longwei spoke up with a greeting and Shun held his free hand to his face before pointing to him with his sword.

"Hello? Really?" Shun then lowered his sword and sheathed it.

When GG spoke up Shun crossed his arms, but the fact of the matter was they were really lost and just wandering aimlessly without any means of transport or supplies was a death wish. At least they had some semblance of a location with the voice and pillar. So, the normally rational decision of running actually seemed illogical now that she brought it up and made him feel embarrassed that he even tried to go on his own. A trek like that was a death wish.

Shun shook his head and sighed before turning to Longwei who he assumed would get a response from the voice.​

 

[Karyra]

MITSUKO CHUUSEI
​

Mitsuko shot up from the ground very quickly once the disembodied voice spoke, moving behind the woman who had suggested running. She looked fancy and like a target someone could probably fight if it came down to it. Plus the guy with the sword was getting ansy. Swords plus anxiety never equaled anything good in her opinion.

"I don't know if science is a thing we can apply to the spooky forest, lady. I mean, I don't know about you but being called 'spiderflies' typically doesn't sit well with me. What with the whole, insect bit. Plus, oh yeah, none of us know where we are! Not even map man over there!"

Which was about as reassuring as one could guess it was. She didn't even know any of these people either, but this whole situation was something out of a novel. Whatever had happened at the pro-bending arena wasn't normal, and also she wondered what had happened to the thousands of people who had been watching. Somehow, she could only guess that not all of them made it. Mitsuko decided they were all fine. The other option was just too distressing.

"Hey, if we are all done confirming that we are, in fact, lost, maybe we could... I dunno... leave? Ask for directions to leave? Because as nice as the disembodied voice sounds, I would rather just run back to Republic City and finish the bending match. Plus, I've got deliveries to do tomorrow, so I'm all for the 'not sticking around' and such. Who's with me?"

This was all too crazy, so Mitsuko had decided to run away from it, to just leave. But forests usually made sure people got lost in them and so it would be best to ensure a buddy system before just running out into the strange forest. Plus, she'd never really left Republic City before, so she wasn't really super familiar with how forests worked. Buildings, roads, those were easy to navigate and climb. Forests with creepy voices, not so much.
​

 

[Sketching101]

Luca Senge​

"Oh, what a sour lot."​

Large stick-like legs crept around one of the large pillars and shining red eyes started to peak around the corner.

"It seems you humans are badly lost. I haven't seen any of your kind since... Yesterday. Or perhaps the last century. I keep forgetting."​

Luca took a few steps towards the pillar with the gate as the creature became easier to see, hanging sideways halfway up the pillar opposite, ressembling a scorpion beetle with its giant pincirs and stinger.

"I can help you get back~. I just want something in return..."​

The young waterbender turned around as the voice got clearer to see the horrifying creature high up on the pillar. After stifling a gasp, he spoke up. "What do you want?"

"I do so like the mortal world. So many shiny things..."​

The creature's head curtly turned to Shun.

"In exchange for those beautiful metal things, I'll point you in the right direction."​

 

[Hemofnoize]

Longwei Huang Li​

The scorpion-like being that suddenly showed up gave Longwei quite a spook. He'd certainly never seen anything like "it" before. In hindsight, that might've been a good thing. Menacing creatures certainly weren't Longwei's cup of tea. He wasn't as much surprised that the being could talk, as he was that it was apparently hundreds of years old. He was at a lack of words.

"Uh.......nice."

He was baffled, but it seemed like the being knew what it was that caused them to "teleport" to this location. Listening to the conversation that one of the guys was having with the apparently female being, Longwei just stood there. The creature suddenly turned its head towards the direction one of the hooded individuals in their little 'group', and asked for some of his shiny gear in exchange for information on how to find their way back.

"I think you should give the thing some of your gear. We might not want to get on its bad side."

 

[ShiroKiyoshi]

Shun was not familiar with this beast, but it matched descriptions of stories he'd heard during his travels. It seems they weren't stories after all. However, besides recognizing it, now that it had a face Shun was no longer afraid of what used to be a faceless voice. The difference between the voice now and then is now he could hit it. Boy did he want to, but he decided that angering it was not a good idea.

"I do so like the mortal world. So many shiny things..."

That is what it said and at first Shun thought coins, but then it looked to him and asked for those "beautiful metal things". The only thing Shun could think of were the weapons he carried. He then looked over to Longwei with a skeptical eye. The man wasn't unfit and he seemed like he could hold his own. It was possible he was a fighter. Yet, because a bug was staring at him he couldn't make a move and save Shun the trouble.

"Yeah, I figured that. Here."

Shun reached into his pocket and pulled out the kunai before promptly launching it at the beast. The kunai soared through the air and lodged itself in the pillar and Shun crossed his arms. He looked at the beast skeptically, he had an idea of what it wanted, but Shun was willing to dance with this beast to keep his blade. Too much work went into the sword he carried; he wouldn't give the blade up without a fight.

Shun shifted his stance and stared it right in the "face" and pointed up at it.

"I held my end. Now for yours." Shun held his arms out to the trees around them. "How do we get home?"

 

[Sketching101]

Luca Senge​

The creature's face turned to the knife sticking into the stone beside it. As its head jerked back, the glowing dark pink tint of its skin changed into a dark blue and light yellow, glowing still. It stared at the group, the breathing growing heavier and more furious by the second.

Luca took a few steps back, feeling smaller as the creature's enormity became more and more apparent as it moved towards them.

"You dare?!"​

The young waterbender let out a small yelp as the voice boomed.

"It doesn't matter... I'll throw your body into the fog of lost souls after I pry the metal from your hands!"​

The creature reared its body back as its leg dug into the ground, ready to pounce.

 

[Hemofnoize]

Longwei Huang Li​

Longwei wasn't suprised when the giant scorpion thingy got angry. The creature looked like it wanted to get rid of the group from the start. Longwei certainly didn't have "Get attacked by a giant scorpion monster" on his agenda, nor was he expecting it to ever occur in his lifetime, but there's a first time for everything. Tonight had been a night of new experiences for Longwei, but it was pretty obvious that luck wasn't on his side at this time.

He prepared himself for battle just incase the situation worsened. He took his feng huo luns out of his bag, and quickly got into the battle stance he'd learned from his teacher Ao Guan. He'd rather not have to fight this creature, but being prepared for battle is important. This is especially true when a giant, menacing, scorpion thingy is involved.

"I'd really appreciate if someone could do something to fix the situation. I don't think we stand a chance against this thing. It looks like it eats people like us for breakfast."

 

[ShiroKiyoshi]

"It's funny how you think I care. You want this blade? Then take it."

Shun drew his blade, held it in front of him, and got into a stance that seemed ready to sprint in whichever direction he so chose. The beast then took its next step and Shun took one backwards. He gripped his blade as he tried to assess the situation. The beast continued to threaten them through the language of both the body and mouth. Eventually, the one who asked him to offer up his blade drew his weapons, or as the beast called them "shiny things", and this pissed Shun off to no end. However, the situation at hand forced him to forget about it.

Longwei looked like he was ready to fight, but he obviously would rather not. The same could be said for Luca. Shun would seem to be the only one prepared to fight whole-heartily. Shun then stepped up to the plate and took a step forward.

"Calm down it's just an oversized version of the bugs we squash under our feet. Now, listen no use making strategies. Just don't get yourself hurt."

 

[Karyra]

MITSUKO CHUUSEI​

"I've never seen a bug with a face before! I don't know about you," Mitsuko moved out from behind her meat shield. "It's a sword! Just give it the stupid thing and move on. Or better yet, why not give it money! Listen, my last customer paid in change so I have a bunch of it anyway. Why don't we all calm down... and maybe not try to kill each other before we figure out where we are."

Mitsuko would figure out rent later, as she'd been relying on that change for the ability to not get evicted. Survive now, because honestly she didn't like the idea of fog of lost souls any more than she liked fighting a giant spider. Plus, she didn't like the idea of the spider attacking her next because she was noisy or part of the group which had an idiot that didn't think that a giant scorpion beetle was a big deal. Or just scorpion beetles as a whole.

"What say you to calming down, taking a whole lot of money and then we all leave without murdering each other?"

Mitsuko just kind of smiled, but remained out of the way for either of them. She'd duck behind the sensible guy next, but she didn't really want to move too much and somehow get accused of being a part of the fighting when she wasn't.​

 

[Sketching101]

Luca Senge​

"I will take your trinkets, your coins, your knives, your blades, your lives!"​

With a wild cry, the creature leapt at the young man with the swords with its stinger moving down towards him along with the weight of the tail.

Luca looked back towards the doorway leading into one of the pillars and backed up towards it. "We could try to escape through there! It looks like it's too big to go through it," he yelled to the others. The fear of the unknown had left him, as the fear of the giant scorpion-like creature overshadowed it quite a bit.

Down the Winding Road​

@Xaldin
@Lulunopia

People were scattered along the coast, gathering strange little creatures around them who watched the humans with the greatest of interest. Two young women lay away from the rest of the people with a strange, fluorescent creature looming over them harmlessly. It ran from one to the other, sniffing and nudging them from time to time. "Hello?" It stood over the younger, watching the human intently.

 

[Hemofnoize]

Longwei Huang Li​

The large, scorpion like creature suddenly made its move and Longwei was unsure of what to do. He was prepared for battle, but he wasn't expecting the creature to make such an abrupt attack. The hooded individual with the sword was its target, and whether or not to aid him was something that Longwei was pondering. It wouldn't be pleasing to watch someone get maimed via a giant scorpion tail. On the other hand, the guy in question looked like he was nimble enough to dodge the creature's attack.

Meh, it was probably best to lend a helping hand.

Longwei began closing the distance between him and the creature, and decided that blasting it with fire from a fair distance away was a good strategy. The monster looked too tough to sustain any damage from his fen huo luns. "Move!" Longwei yelled at the hooded individual, and raised his leg off of the ground in a high kicking motion, sending a small wave of fire towards the monster.

One of the others suggested escaping into the pillar nearest to them. The creature was indeed to big to be able to chase them through the doorway, but Longwei wanted to make sure that the they got a good opening. There was no need to risk the monster attacking them from behind while they ran towards the door.

"Good idea! We need an opening to make sure we can escape without the threat of this thing attacking us from behind first though!