Avatar: The First Fires

Zypher

Can I transfer you to my manager?
Original poster
LURKER MEMBER
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Invitation Status
Writing Levels
  1. Intermediate
  2. Adept
  3. Advanced
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
  2. Female
Genres
Adventure stories! They can be fantasy, modern, sci-fi, all kinds! Give me some good world travel stories and I'm all over it! I also enjoy romance stories and even though I tend to play females I love playing gay men.
Suzumi Kiyomizu stood on one of the many stoneworked piers of the city Xiu Ying Tse having just disembarked a refugee boat. It had been hard for Suzumi to be on the run so often, whenever she'd find a place to sleep the next day word that the Fire Nation was coming would already be following closely behind her. One day she had heard of Xiu Ying Tse in the Earth Kingdom's northern edge and quickly found her way there. She sighed as she walked forward into the cliff side that the city was carved out of.

Just ahead two Earthbender guards dressed in the typical green uniforms of the Earth Kingdom soldiers slid open a large slab of rock to let some more refugees into the city. Suzumi shook her head and turned down to walk along the beach, avoiding the trapped feeling she'd get if she wandered inside. She'd go inside, just not yet.

On the boat she had heard people talking about the cyclone that her boat had just narrowly escaped had hit the shore around here, taking a couple of what appeared to be Fire Nation boats with it. Suzumi smiled a little at that as she pulled the waves and pushed them back out idly. The sensation calmed her, feeling the waves crashing up towards her as her will deemed and then receding back as she pushed them away. She let out one last soft sigh and sat down, releasing the waves from her control. She listened to the waves quietly, closing her eyes and resting. Soon she'd hear news of the Fire Nation and she'd head to Ba Sing Se or maybe to Omashu but for now everything was calm and quiet, just the way she liked it.
 
The refugees from the coast were dirty, tired, yet upbeat. They had made it the relative safety of a walled city the the raids were behind them. One member however knew that a big city was most likely the worst place for him to be given his particular talent, but to the guard and the rest of the refugees he was just another travel stained face in a long line on new faces since the war began. Only those who he had come from the village knew where he really came from and three of them walked with him.

"Thank you for your hospitality old Mae." Minoru said softly to the ages woman who had tended his wounds and convinced the villagers to treat him as one of them instead of a hostile invader. He shouldered the woman's and laid it down next to where she sat. "I don't thing the city is the safest place for me if I'm found I'll be taken for a spy."

Mae raised a hand and placed it on the firebender's shoulder. "You may try to leave but my old bones tell me you'll be surprised before you reach the gates." she chuckled "You can't run from both sides in a war, sooner of later one will find you." she took his hand and peered once again at the ring that thoughout thier brief time together he had been the most protective, even more so than the ceremonial sword of his rank that he had traded away. Especially when you haven't let go. Good luck Minoru." she turned to go with the other villagers as the firebender took one last look at his aged host that always seemed to know more than the was telling.

He turned around and walked slowly through the market looking at the faces of the people more than the wares, old Mae was right, he needed to choose a side.
 
A hooded figure led an eel hound by its reins through the market. People were wise enough to give the beast a wide berth. Tales often spread of these beasts being spooked in the middle of a crowd and trampling innocent bystanders. She doubted the tales were true but they were useful. She didn't like the idea of them spooking Jin.

Kurai sighed softly. It had been a long trip. She'd been forced to dye her hair dark red to disguise being of the Fire Nation and had gotten a tan in the process. Now she wore knee-high boots and black pants under a long gray robe with a hood with wide sleeves hiding the knives hidden beneath. Her halberd was strapped to her back and her whip was coiled at her side.

Kurai looked around. This market was close to where the ship had supposedly gone down. Someone was bound to know something ... Her eel hound shied away slightly, catching her attention. She relaxed. It was just someone carrying a basket of smelly fish. Then she happened to look over at one of the stalls ... and the flash of signet ring in the sunlight caught her attention ... A signet ring?!

She recognized it right away! Her family's ring! She pulled the whip off and uncoiled it, then with a well-practiced flick, it flew through the air and circled around the wrist of the hand wearing it! "I have no idea who you are! But if you wish to keep your hand you will tell me where you got that ring!" she hissed, loud enough for her voice to be heard over the din of the market. She released Jin's reins but, being the well-trained beast he was, he stayed beside her.
 
Minoru's wrist was wrenched away from the melon he had been about to pick up as he suddenly came face to face with a crazy and dangerous looking woman asking inappropriate questions, questions he could not answer.

"Its mine, and not your business." he said sharply rage rising inside him. He placed his hand on the whip seemingly to stop it jaring his wrist. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly using the anger to feed his bending carefully controlling the heat as the hand that didn't quite touch the whip. Seemingly on its own the leather burned through and fell to the dirt as his eyes met with his interrogators the piece falling from his arm as he unwound it from its still smoking end.

"I don't know who you are but its rude to interrupt travelers with personal questions you might not want to know the answers to." his voice bore a hint of the arrogance of nobility he had striven to avoid as he stared her down. "Now take your pet and rob someone you can handle."
 
That had been her favorite whip! This body-thief was asking for it! He probably stole the signet ring off of Minoru's body and was here at the market to sell it off! That ring meant too much to her to let that happen! Her first reaction was to grab the halberd at her back and make him talk. But he was obviously a bender as her whip hadn't burnt itself into ash on its own.

Kurai smirked. Can't handle?! That was a challenge if she'd ever heard one! "Self-righteous thief, you have no idea who you're talking to!" The steel flashed in the sunlight and then both hands threw two throwing knives each at him, intent on pinning down his hands and feet! Benders couldn't bend if their arms and legs couldn't move! Next, she was running forward. A dead body-thief gave no answers but there was plenty she could do that would make him beg for death!
 
Minoru dodged a split second too late. two expertly aimed knives caught his cloak and pinned it to the wooden melon stall. So she wanted to make a fight out of it, then it was time for her to see just who she was fighting. He pulled the cord that held his cloak closed and pulled away and as the shoppers and stall owners began their hasty departure pulled away revealing the dirty armour of the captain of a fire navy vessel poorly covered in peasant rags.

"And now you know who you're talking too, girl." he fell fluidly and naturally into his stance and as she came running opened both his hands and thrust them forwards sending a wall of flame her way. Not a powerful attack but he was hoping to intimidate her into backing off. Deftly she jumped over the flame with a natural grace and skill that chilled Minoru. This was no simple robber but an opponent he'd have to treat as an equal. The shining blade of her halberd reflecting the sunlight from above and the flames below. Its keen edge sliced through the air in a deadly arc towards his throat and Minoru fell backwards teeth gritted face contorted in the effort of getting as far back as possible. A single fleck of blood shot upwards just before his back hit the ground as his long, untidy hair fell back relieving his birthmark. Out of instinct and self preservation hi kicked out channeling his chi downwards sending a fireblast from his feet at his attacker before she could attack again.
 
No one desecrated her husband, stole her family's most cherished possession, burnt her whip into a pile of ash, AND shot his mouth off at her without getting away with it! He'd probably stolen her husband's armor as well! Minoru's corpse would not be the only body she'd be returning to the Fire Nation with, after all! She was caught up in the heat of the moment--right up until she saw that birthmark! " ... Mi-kun ..." she whispered in disbelief. Mi-kun. Minoru. The man hadn't robbed her husband after all. He *was* her husband! Her eyes grew wide and then something head butted her from the side and pushed her out of the way to avoid the fireball!

Kurai fell back and looked up. There stood Jin, looking down at her as if asking what was wrong. Her hood finally slipping off. Silently, she got to her feet. If it hadn't been for the eel hound's impeccable timing, she'd be badly burnt. She slipped the halberd back. The market was empty. Their fight had sent everyone running. Jin rested its head between her raised hands and she stroked it, seeming to have completely forgotten Minoru, so silent was she!
 
Minoru sat up slowly. he had hit his head so hard he had heard things, his wife calling him. he looked at the sitting figure. She must have been hurt by his last attack, she was looking as if she were in shock, the also seemed confused, maybe he had overestimated her, the was obviously a lucky amateur who'd just suffered her first wound. Standing he spat on the ground, giving her a look of contempt. But he stopped and stared, the light had just caught her face and he felt the pang of recognition. It couldn't be, no she was far away. He just had Kurai on the mind thats was all. Turning his gaze away he reached for his cloak.
 
Kurai clenched her teeth. She glanced over her shoulder. The bastard! The coward! So he was going just like that, huh. Going to run away again. Heh. She'd put an end to that. Permanently! Her halberd came sliding back out! Then she ran forward! "Minoru, you bastard! I'll take your body back for a burial yet!" she hissed! He turned just in time to evade a downward swipe of her halberd! "You said you loved me!" She charged forward, thrusting the blunt end of the halberd's staff for his chest! "That you would return to my side!" She kicked out and knocked him off his feet, onto his back! "Dirt-eating toad!" She raised the halberd over her head and brought it slamming down, to cleave him in half! But he rolled away at the last minute and got into a crouched position off to the side! The halberd stopped just shy of hitting the earth, a testimony to how much control Kurai had over it and how much strength! "Wish to make me a widow in name! I will make it a reality!"
 
Minoru was shocked, both by the sudden attack and her words. KURAI? he shouted as he dodged. So it was her, and... yet not as he remembered her. The moment her halberd was still he jumped forwards, her identity pushed to the back of his mind for a moment an training once again took hold. He grabbed the shaft of her weapon pushing it aside and grabbed her arm rolling his shoulders and tuning. With one heave he threw her over his shoulder. She rolled and was on her feet in a flash.

"I was shipwrecked" he said ducking under her blade, "But at least I showed you who I really was." With a a shower of sparks he deflected her next blow with his bracer. "You on the other hand..." she deftly swung her blade forcing him to jump of lose his lags, proving his point. This was it, he had to do something or she'd keep her promise.

"ENOUGH!" he yelled stepping forwards taking a firm root, the next step solidified his stance as he filled his lungs with air arms circling around as he let go of the anger that fueled firebending and separated the positive and negative energies within him. His hair started standing on end as an electric crackling filled the air. The energies fought to come back together, and he let them directing the force outwards as lightning shot from his fingers. Kurai dodged but the blast showered her with splinters and burnt cabbage leaves as a cabbage vendor's cart exploded. Minoru repeated the process as Kurai was forced to zigzag between arks of crackling energy.
 
"Showed me who you really are?!" Kurai scoffed, brushing off cabbage leaves from her shoulders. The nerve! He was still the arrogant pig she had married! She ducked behind a barrel! "I had to find that out myself!" She threw two more knives at him, aiming to slice off one ear or both! Then she was running forward, dodging more lightning! If she could only get within reach, she would lop off his arms and be done with it! Then the bastard could bleed to death for all she cared! She was cursing herself for having hesitated at the sight of the birthmark. "All this time you were alive and you didn't send a SINGLE word to let me know you were alive! You're going to pay for my suffering!"
 
He saw her coming, the wicked gleam of the knives, the psychotic gleam in her eyes. "No wonder your parents married you off, you're crazy woman and to think I lives with you and didn't see it." he dropped low spinning around sending an ark of fire her way. Too tired and hard pressed to separate his chi he was out of lightning. She sliding under his attack and let a knife fly. The spinning blade met with a rush of superheated air diverting up upwards over Minoru's head. He stepped forwards and lashed out with his fist sending another ball her way. Silhouetted by the burning stall behind her she spun around dodging the blast and sending another knife his way.

"All this time you were over the edge, just like the royal family." he spat meeting her charge twin katars of flame forming around his hands. "I never should have married you even if we were engaged before we were born."

She kneed him in the stomach cutting him off and swung her elbow round to strike his face and her arm a flame katar came up cutting her off. She spun round ducking under his arm and slammed her hand into his back sending his stumbling forwards.
 
"So we're going to bring your uncle into this, are we?" Kurai spat, at the mention of the royal family. She was hurt. She was really hurt! But she had learned a long time ago tears were for the weak. And the weak were made to suffer. She still loved him but he had betrayed her by not returning home, shipwrecked or not. He had sworn neither paradise nor hell could prevent him from returning to her side and he had broken that promise. She moved to strike him down but there was suddenly a green wall between her and him.

"Jin, move," she ordered. She was going to finish this. He had stolen her honor and it would be repaid in his blood. But the eel hound stood fast and even head butted Minoru like he used to. Why, she wanted to ask. Why do you bother to give him another chance, Jin?! She could have struck the eel hound and forced him to move, she knew. She had never struck him before and she didn't wish to start now.

It was a clear, warm day, out in the fields. A younger Jin headbutted Minoru to the ground and a smiling Kurai had leaned over her husband. "He likes you," she said, laughing only for him to reach out and pull her down to lie on top of him. "Not as much as I love you," Minoru told her, cupping her face with one hand, the other hand covering her hand lying on his chest. They shared a kiss that seemed to last a lifetime.


"Tears are for the weak," she mumbled, blinking them away and glancing over her shoulder. She spotted the green and gold uniforms hiding behind the stalls, lying in wait. Earth benders. She knew better than to bite off more than she could chew. She jumped onto Jin's back, refusing to look at Minoru. She'd take care of him later. Then she rode away, jumping over a few stalls before disappearing.
 
The look she gave him s she mounted Jin almost tore his heart out. Hopeless, angry, hurt all rolled into one with a wetness to her cheeks that wasn't sweat. But her glance to beyond stalls made him turn. Just in time. His boots left the ground just before it opened in an instant pit trap.

"Surrender firebender an I'll make sure your cell doesn't have more than a dozen rats."

Rocks rose around him as the town guard closed in around him. One tame towards him and he reacted blasting it apart in a shower of rubble and molten glass. Land in a crouch he darted to the side as two rocks collided where he had been a split second before. He grabbed at the knifes pinning his cloak to the shattered support and pulled them free grabbed the cloth and dodged into an alley throwing the cloak over himself and slipping through the back door of a tea house taking. Walking quickly he took a corner table and adjusted his cloak taking out one of the knives and examined it. Had that woman really been his wife? Did she really thins he'd abandoned her?he would have returned, wouldn't he?
 
For more than a year he had been here, which actually made him not truly one of the war refugees which were now pouring in from around to escape the Fire Nation's advance. In truth he had not expected things to go this far. . . he had always joked with the native Earth-benders that the Fire Nation navy would probably go no further from shore than they could swim back. But now that elemental joke had lost its ability to bring smiles to the faces of the worried and quell their fears. People were coming from all sorts of places to this city, which meant that the advance was steadily growing closer to this location. Soon he would have to fight again. . . his first serious battle in a while.

Orion let these thoughts pass through his mind with the frequency of ocean waves as he swam out further into the ocean on his surfboard. When he had gone far enough out he started to wait for the right type of wave to ride back onto the shore. As it came however, he felt the currents pass out of their natural rhythm as Suzumi briefly took control over them. Just knowing another water-bender had come here filled the wandering surfer with curious wondering as to whether she was from his tribe or another. If this newcomer were not from his tribe. . . maybe they could be friends? Surely other water-benders had arrived as refugees but he did not know who they were and likely did not seek them out on purpose to avoid being found by those from his tribe. They would just make fun of him again. . . and ruin the persona he had built up around here.

Riding the waves onto shore, he purposely directed himself to come ashore where the girl was standing. Now he knew it was a girl after a certain distance since he wasn't exactly blind or possess any other eyesight problems. Orion wasn't wearing a shirt but that was typical of those who came to enjoy the beach, right? Bare feet walked along the wet sand, surfboard cradled under his arm as he walked up to the young girl.

"Hi there. Admiring the scenery?"
 
Suzumi heard a break in the water, someone was riding the water, she opened her eyes to see a shirtless man come towards her. Immediately her mind went reeling back, had he seen her water bending, was he from the Fire Nation, would he try and harm her, but then she noticed the board under his arm and all her worries went away. She had heard of fellow water-benders using similar instruments to sail on the water without wind.

"Hello," Suzumi replied, "I am enjoying it, it's very peaceful." She smiled softly, but was interrupted as a few explosions sounded off inside the walls of the city. Her smiled quickly turned into a frown. It couldn't be the Fire Nation, could it? I thought we were safe here...

Suzumi turned back to the man standing next to her, "I'm sorry, but I should really get inside, I don't...I don't think it's safe right now." She nodded, padding off towards the gate where a man was crying out to the guards, "MY CABBAGES! THEY RUINED MY CABBAGES!" Suzumi ducked inside past him seeing a plume of black smoke where a fire had been set. Coming towards her was a large eel hound with a woman on top. Suzumi panicked for a moment and became frozen to the spot, unable to take her eyes off the woman.
 
Focusing on the pain helped ease the tears and get her back on track. She would return and take Minoru down later. She wasn't done with him yet. Jin was able to evade obstacles as they presented themselves, weaving, and jumping. Whether it was a running civilian, a barrel or crate knocked over in the excitement, or something else, he responded in kind.

Kurai almost didn't take note of the girl she was about to run over because she had just glanced over her shoulder. Green and gold uniform of an Earth bender behind her and then another one suddenly appeared a few feet behind Suzumi! As the two worked together to form walls of earth that shot out from the ground, she muttered under her breath. Flash of steel in the sunlight was the only warning the Earth bender in front of her received before they came flying at him. His arms were pinned to the stall behind him but that one counter attack had left her open.

Two more Earth benders joined the one behind her and they created so many walls--one of them appeared right under Suzumi's feet! But as the wall launched the girl in the air, Jin took a flying leap over it! Instead of falling, Suzumi landed on the saddle. Kurai glanced down. Now there's something she hadn't seen coming! "Brace yourself!" she ordered because it was just as easy to go flying out of an eel hound's saddle when it landed than it was to fly into one!
 
Suzumi cried out as the creature came closer, from behind her she heard the guards come up behind her, legs still frozen in place. She tossed her arms up in front of her a wave of water crashing in from behind her as she pulled it up but it didn't matter because a moment later she was tossed into the air, the ground literally raising up underneath her.

Seconds later she had landed rather roughly into the saddle of the woman's eel hound. Nodded her understanding of the instructions the woman told her she quickly gripped the saddle and held on for dear life. The creature bounded away from the guards, jostling Suzumi a bit as she held on, as soon as Jin had made it past the guards and into a quiet area of the city and Suzumi wasn't in fear of being bucked off she looked at the woman, "What did you do that they're after you?" A look of concern washing over her face.

She looked back to double check that the guards hadn't followed them then the realization hit her, "You aren't the one who made that huge explosion earlier were you?"
 
Kurai felt Jin slow down and reached under to pat his side. He was an excellent mount. He deserved every ounce of the high grade food she had packed for him. She snorted. "No, that was ..." Husband, lover, best friend she had ever had, ran through her mind. "Someone I was after. I'm a bounty hunter, it's what I do. Well, seeing as how I seem to have accidentally kidnapped you, where can I drop you off."

The girl had been in the marketplace so her assumption was that if she had family, they would still be in the city somewhere. She might be a psychotic bitch but she wasn't about to let someone go unescorted.
 
Suzumi pondered the woman's words for a moment, understanding her purpose. She looked around, not knowing where they had ended up. This city is huge, I'm already lost...

"Well, if you want to drop me off it'd be in the refugee quarter, or wherever they have housing for us..." Suzumi drifted off, but then snapped her focus back. "Was the bounty you were hunting...a fire-bender?" She frowned, a serious look across her face, "Because if it is...I...I want to help you hunt him or her, they might have answers about my family. Answers that I need." An angered and pained look quickly crossed Suzumi's face before it went back to a quiet resolve.

"Please ma'am, I wouldn't be much of a burden, and I'm not defenseless. You would have your bounty and I might get some answers...if that's okay with you. I mean, I don't have any reason to stick around here, you know?" Suzumi slid down out of the saddle and bowed to Kurai deeply. "I am Suzumi Kiyomizu and I wish to assist you."