Ask to Join Avatar: The Missing Avatar

[Hecotoro]

Fang raised one eyebrow. Jackpot! He had finally found the perfect woman and all he had to do was be himself. He confidently placed his hands on his hips and puffed up his chest, a giant grin on his face as the world began to revolve around him.

"A fun adventure? Why I just happen to be leading the greatest adventure in history." He stomped his right foot, brining up a rock pillar he could lean against with his right shoulder. "It's really top secret stuff though. I would love someone like you in our team, but sadly, the fate of the world rests on my hands and I can't just go around picking up every beautiful face I see." He stopped talking, baffled by the words that came out of his mouth. "But I could make an exception..." That was more like him, "If you give me a good enough reason as to why we should let a complete stranger join the world's most important squad. I'm sure Nina here won't mind having someone strong enough to wield the status of a Dai Li join our ranks. Right?" He shot Nina a smirk and didn't wait for her to answer. "So, tell me, you good enough to join?"

 

[JoyPaws]

Nina just stood there. She felt like her soul had just left her body as she stared at Minxiu. WHAT ARE YOU DOING, MINXIU! STOP THAT THIS INSTANT!! YOU ARE GOING TO REGRET THIS, OH MY GOSH!!! These thoughts rushed through Nina's head as she stared at the two. She thought Minxiu actually had some intelligence! Was she really- Wait! A new thought ran through her head. Maybe this is some sort of manipulation. But why? Why would she need to do that, though? Nina thought for a moment, but she couldn't find a reason and went back to listening to the two.

Fang stomped his right foot, bringing up a rock pillar he could lean against with his right shoulder. "It's really top secret stuff, though. I would love someone like you in our team, but sadly, the fate of the world rests on my hands, and I can't just go around picking up every beautiful face I see."

Nina's eyes widened at hearing Fang saying this. She was almost impressed. Almost. But that was for a second because Fang soon returned to his usual self. And soon enough, Nina was actually kind of asked a question. "I mean, I don't get what's so important about the Dai Li and we-" Nina was cut off by Fang. Well, I was about to say maybe we should ask the rest of the group! Nina thought to herself angrily. She tried to look on the beach from the group, such as Tazia, Yamato, or even mane hair! Any of them would be acceptable to talk to. She just didn't want to watch this all on her own.

 

[ThePlayfulFox]

Kerrora was silent as she continued with the group, constantly checking in on Koreal to make sure she was fine. It was her responsibility. She needed to make it up to her sister. She needed to become stronger for her. How come she, the talented prodigy of the Tidal Spear clan, be such a failure? She couldn't even properly get answers because she was so incompetent that she allowed her sister to nearly bleed out and get kidnapped. A part of her wanted Koreal to lash out at her for messing up as badly as she did. Like, she couldn't even save enough water to properly heal her! She had to get more water from a nearby stream to finish the job.

Making it to the port town was good, she supposed. Though she was expecting more open water to use, not a small beach area. Getting more water in her reserves was necessary, as she was terrible at conserving how much water she used in bending. She always needed more than she had. How else was one supposed to bend sufficiently? Water benders needed a lot of water. There were already some people there but she chose to ignore them. She wasn't close to anyone there but her sister and she didn't particularly like Fang since he make her stomach twist into several knots and he was the most incompetent person in the group, outclassing even her. And his ego was dreadful. She just hoped he wouldn't mess with her while she was training.

She tuned out the people on the beach, focusing only on her bending and spear formations. The Tidal Spear Clan commonly held their spears in water that they bended. Masters had special spears that required less water to use and was more streamlined, but they were difficult to make so she couldn't get one until she was a master and she doubted that she would ever become one. After all, she ran away before she could complete her training. Besides, I can't even help my sister in a fight, I had a very long way to go before I was a master. She followed all of the forms that she was taught, somewhat editing them here and there to better fit a more defensive style if she needed to act more defensive.

 

[RenzFlintrock]

Koreal regained consciousness in the early hours before dawn broke. In the silence of the camp around her, she felt a sense of unease. The full moon shone down on tents and bedrolls, and the dying embers of the campfire, which must have been relit at some point after she passed out. The last thing she remembered was talking to that man who'd carried her off, and whose name she hadn't managed to get before she lost her hold on herself. She felt a bit angry that she'd been so weak as to pass out, but... she could blame it on the blood loss.

'Oh, shifting tides... the blood loss. Am I...?' She felt a ripple of lingering pain pass through her as she touched the spots where her wounds had been. It seemed they'd been healed at least to the point of closing properly, but they still stung when her clothes brushed against them or she extended her arm. That was alright, though. She could still walk, and maybe even fight if needed. It seemed that whatever had attacked them at dusk had been driven off while she was unconscious, though, as the camp seemed just as full as when she'd been carried out of it. It was good to know that her new traveling companions were competent enough to be able to solve the problem, although she'd have to ask Kerrora about what exactly had happened once her sister woke up.

Koreal laid back with a sigh. It had been a crazy day, and she needed to rest more, even if she had already been doing so for spirits knows how many hours. Dawn would bring new challenges, she was sure. But despite the handicaps and hardships, she'd make sure that she and her sister made it through. With Kerrora by her side, Koreal knew she'd be able to do anything.

- - - - - - - -

Only a couple hours later, Koreal was roused again by the stirring of the camp around her. Some were eating morning rations, others were packing up their sleeping gear or stretching. The spear wielder didn't pay them much mind, although she did keep an eye out for the man who'd carried her away from the fight the night before, and the girl who'd come to help heal her. The latter she wanted to thank for what Koreal assumed were her healing services, and the former... well, she wanted his name. She was honestly a little miffed that he hadn't given it to her before she went unconscious.

She helped Kerrora pack up as best she could, and munched on a bit of jerky before the group set out to walk towards the beach. As they traveled, Koreal did her best to ignore the pain around her shoulder, and to keep pace with the rest of the group. At times this proved difficult, as several of their party were mounted and had no real need of slowing other than to let those on foot keep up. But Koreal couldn't seem weak. She'd push through the pain, and prove that she could keep up with everyone else. After all, it was just a little blood loss and some lingering pain from a healed wound. It was nothing a warrior couldn't handle!

... If she was honest with herself, though, it got harder when she didn't have anything to distract herself. She'd kept herself entertained for a while by questioning her sister about the events of last night, and from her answers had pieced together the general events. Her sister didn't seem particularly happy this morning, although she supposed it could be shyness at all the people around, or perhaps some lingering stress from the night before. Koreal had certainly found her mind wandering back to the fights every so often, wondering what she could have done differently in that situation.

The fight against their leader, Fang, had been... well, terrible, honestly. Sure, it had caught her by surprise. But he hadn't been bending, or even fighting particularly well, for the Avatar's sake! Even with the surprise and the distractions, Koreal should have been able to hold her own. And she hadn't. 'Heh... I guess I'm really that pitiful, huh. But this just means I have to try harder! I'll let my shoulder heal up a bit, and then I'll get right back into training! Maybe I'll rematch Fang next, and prove that he can't take me when I know he's com-'

It was at that moment that their fearless leader fell into pace with the two sisters, and began chatting with them. That shook Koreal out of her thoughts, although she briefly chuckled to herself about talking so big to herself when she hardly noticed him coming this time either. Before long, though, she found herself wishing she were once again alone with her thoughts. The way he talked to the two of them was... unsettling. For a while Koreal thought he was just trying to be friendly, but she couldn't entirely ignore the implications of what he was saying as the conversation went on. When he eventually got to his 'one big happy family' suggestion, she looked at him incredulously and coughed.

"Uh, can you maybe not right now? I'm not really in the mood to talk." She hesitated, not really wanting to play the injured card, but deciding it would be best to use it if it would get the man away from her sister and herself. "I'm still kinda in recovery from the battle last night, and the pain's making me grumpy."

She hadn't really been direct in answering anything Fang had said, and she knew that could come back to bite her later, but honestly she wasn't sure what to say in this situation. Sure, she'd been flirted with once or twice before back home, but not by a random stranger who had cut her arm open the night before, and certainly not by someone who was flirting with her sister as well. For the moment, she simply had to make her best effort to get the guy away from them peacefully.

After that little debacle, though, the rest of the day's trip went relatively uneventfully. She occasionally exchanged a few polite words with the other party members when someone stumbled, or when the group stopped to rest for a while, but overall it was a pretty quiet day. It was a relief to hear the waves as midday approached, though, and the group came into sight of a port town. It was a different port than the one she and her sister had arrived at, but it didn't seem all too different at first glance. Boats coming and going, or tied up at the docks. Merchants loading or offloading goods, shops selling their wares, and a couple of children running together and playing. It was... nice.

Koreal rested for a moment in the shade under a shop's awning, letting the cool sea breeze toss her hair about her face and fill her lungs with the familiar salty scent of the ocean. The group began to disperse around town, some heading for the beach and others for the various shops in the area. Koreal didn't particularly want to buy anything, but she knew she ought to pick up some extra supplies for their trip before she went to the beach. With a sigh and a grunt, she picked her spear up from where she'd let it rest for a moment against the wall behind her, and set out to find a store. Before she found one, though, she spotted something else. Or rather, someone else. Since she was no longer focused on traveling, she figured it was due time to talk to her 'kidnapper', and finally get his name.

"Hey," she called out as she walked up to him. "I never got your name. And, uh... thanks for trying to help me, I guess." She coughed a little, and glanced up at the sky for a moment. "I... I can't lie, I probably did need to at least take a breather. But next time, maybe don't come out of nowhere and distract me while I'm fighting, heh." 'I know I got lucky last night. There's no denying that I could have gotten hurt much worse... but I need to do better. I need to get to the point where I don't have to rely on luck.' Her last sentence was not entirely in her head, but a low mumble. Maybe he'd heard, and maybe he hadn't, but either way, Koreal wasn't going to let him get away with not giving his name this time.

( @Honestly Money )

 

[Honestly Money]

Soro was rather bewildered by the group he now found himself joining. Did he know the purpose of their journey? No. Did he grasp the causation of the chaos that took place the night before? Not a chance. Would he still follow along? Well, the decision took him a night and a morning, but Soro slowly convinced himself that it was - at least for the time being - the path he would take. Regardless of what he considered to be rather poorly organized band of misfits, he simply could not choose to leave the group as he was tempted to do hours before.

There were some rather important reasons for the decision. Firstly, Soro figured the journey would evidently be a dangerous one, and the opportunity to engage in combat with unknown actors was too great an opportunity to pass up. The journey would help him accomplish the supposed main goal of his sabbatical outing in that it would provide unique combat experience to prepare him for the biggest gladiatorial tournament of his well sustained career. Secondly, he could not stop thinking about that blasted Tribeswoman. He was both fascinated and rather irked by the girl who referred to herself as Koreal. She fought with such a powerful spirit, a willfulness directed by purpose, a purpose that had him quite literally mistaking the girl for Teresa, a lost love from another time in his life. It had took years for Soro to stop thinking about Teresa, yet Koreal brought Teresa straight back into his nightmares. Even more compelling, where Teresa lost the light and passion driving her, Koreal's burned brighter. Such a compelling person simply could not be allowed to just be a mere acquaintance in Soro's opinion.

However, even those two reasons were not enough to make him truly agree to help the group in their cause. The third and final reason, the one that closed the deal for Soro, was that the group was headed towards his old home, the Fire Nation. Soro had unfinished business there.

---

"Hey"

He was finishing a deal with a local herbalist when a familiar voice addressed him. Thanking the herbalist, he collected the purchased merchandise before turning to address Koreal with a chuckle and a small grin when she brought up his troublemaking from the night before.

"I promise you my intentions were only good! I try not to make kidnapping and distracting others habits of mine," Soro extended the bag from the herbalist towards Koreal as an offering before continuing, "Consider this an apology, it's a jar of a sweet, perfume scented paste that acts as a pain killer. Even with the finest water bending, injuries I have had like the one you sustained still hurt as the damaged muscle readjusts. This paste, you rub in on the area that hurts and then the herbs will work as a numbing agent, it is a miracle worker."

"Oh, almost forgot, I'm Soro, nice to properly meet you Koreal."

 

[RenzFlintrock]

Koreal chuckled at her kidnapper’s first comment. She knew he hadn’t intended to get her hurt, after all, and the way he responded to her request was amusing to her. He didn’t take it as an unjust demand, but merely took it in stride. That was something she could appreciate.

Appreciated, too, was the soothing salve he offered her, although she had her reservations about accepting it. She was fairly certain that these types of things weren’t cheap. Her family usually had some on hand in case of training sessions gone wrong, but it was always used sparingly. Perhaps it was simply due to the difficulty of obtaining the proper herbs to make it out in the tundra, but there was certainly a steep price for such medicines in the markets back home. This, combined with the fact that her kidna- no, his name was Soro, which was good to know. The fact that Soro was so willingly helping her even though they had met less than 24 hours prior was... unusual, one might say.

Yes, there were certainly good and noble people in the world, and perhaps she’d had the good fortune to stumble upon one of them. But... there were always those with ulterior motives. She was inclined to believe Soro was the former sort, though, and the thought of the pain going away was very nice. She decided it would be worth a compromise.

“Well, Soro, it’s nice to officially meet you as well. And the salve... I really appreciate this, but I can’t take it all. I should only need a little bit... but thank you, really. It’s very thoughtful of you.”

She walked a few paces to the side, leaning her spear against the herbalist’s stall with a glance at the owner to ensure they had no objections. Seeing none immediately forthcoming, she took her hand off her weapon and used her now-freed hand to dip lightly into the jar of medicinal gel. The texture wasn’t unpleasant, per se, but it was a bit different from the salve she had used back home. Perhaps it was a difference in preparation technique, or maybe the blend had different herbs or ratios. Regardless, she carefully reached past her neck and slipped her fingers beneath the top of her shirt. She was careful to lift it slightly with the tops of her fingers to avoid getting the medicine from her fingertips clumped up on the fabric, although some of it would probably end up there anyways. She carefully dabbed around her wounds, wincing slightly when she touched them directly and when she applied a bit too much pressure while rubbing the medicine onto the surrounding skin. She didn’t have quite enough to cover both cuts at her first pass, so she withdrew her hand to gather a few more daubs of the medicinal rub on her fingertips before repeating the process.

Once she was satisfied that she had applied a sufficient layer, she wiped her fingertips on the jar’s rim in order to avoid waste and carefully replaced the lid. She could still feel the sting as she moved, but hopefully the salve would act quickly. Perhaps in a few minutes she would hardly notice it. And at least it smelled pleasant in the meantime. With a slight smile, she collected her spear and offered Soro his jar of salve back.

“Thanks again, Soro. I’m sure I’ll be feeling back to normal in no time.” She paused, brow wrinkled slightly before her expression shifted back into a more relaxed one. “I’ll need to check on my little sister in a bit here, but I was planning to see if I can acquire some extra rations before we leave town. I’m not sure how long this search is going to take, or when we’ll be in town next. Want to tag along?”

 

[Foxex]

Is he real? Whatever, I’ll have some fun. Minxiu thought then smiled sweetly taking a step closer to Fang. She clasped her hands behind her and leaned forward to look at Fang very closely in the face, “Well citizen,” she smirked sliding her hat back on, “I can think of two fun reasons for you to let me join you and your little… posse.” She glided effortlessly across the surface of the ground, standing uncomfortably close for most people, but seeing how Fang behaved, she assumed he wouldn’t mind. She whispered into his ear. “Maybe a third if you play your cards right. Or do you need a more…practical reason?” she slid back in front of him. “Depending on what you want, I can accommodate.”

Minxiu shot Nina a look giving her a quick but reassuring wink and smile.

 

[Hecotoro]

Fang felt his heart beating against his chest, his muscles got tense and he gritted his teeth. Part of him wanted to sweep up the new girl and run away with her, while the other part fought that first part. He clenched his fist as he gathered the courage to be the man the world needed him to be.

"Deal."

He grinned and winked at Minxiu. If he could have it all, why not try and reach it? No point of saving the world if he isn't gonna to enjoy it afterwards. "I accept, with one condition, we can't tell you the true mission until you have proven yourself worthy, until then, you can be under my wing."

He looked over his shoulder at Nina. "We do need more earth benders, so please let everyone else we have a new member." He turned back to the Dai Li member, crossing his arms and trying to look as imposing as possible. "So, would you consider diner under the stars in the middle of the ocean romantic?"

 

[JoyPaws]

Nina watched as Minxiu stepped toward Fang and put her hand on her face in a face palm. Oh my Avatarrrr whyyy Nina thought until she noticed Minxiu give her a quick reassuring wink and smile. And felt as if Nina were about to let out the biggest sigh of relief imaginable, but she didn't. Nina shouldn't. She didn't want to expose Minxiu's plan if she was trying to manipulate Fang. Still wondered why she needed to, but she didn't care.

"I accept, with one condition, we can't tell you the true mission until you have proven yourself worthy, until then, you can be under my wing." Fang said as Nina listened to the two talks to each other.

Nina again was almost impressed! He actually wasn't bursting about the whole plan and making her prove she was worthy! She didn't know what Fang considered worthy. Still, he seemed to be taking at least one tiny step in the right direction, but it probably wouldn't be long before he took a thousand steps back in the wrong direction.

"We do need more earth benders, so please let everyone else we have a new member." Fang said over his shoulder to Nina.

Nina raised an eyebrow. "Is there a problem with not having "enough" earth benders? I think we were at a good amount of earth benders before. I'm not complaining about Minxiu. I think she is just great, and I know some group members who would like her to join. And how come I need to go tell everyone. You're the so-called leader of our group, so why aren't you?" Said Nina as she crossed her arms in annoyance. Nina did have an idea of why he wanted to do it. Probably because he wanted to flirt with Minxiu. Which he just asked her out. Seemed right in character. And her question would probably go ignored if she was guessing correctly.

 

[Foxex]

Minxiu giggled, well that was easier than expected… maybe I will ask for his family to get some accommodations after this is all over…. “That’s understandable, I guess it can’t be helped.” She shrugged, whatever he means by worthy….

Minxiu looked at Nina “Well, being an earth bender is just a bonus, as a member of the Dai Li, I’m in the unique position to give you guys’ access to just about anything within the Earth Kingdom within reason. Either that or… get us instantly on the bad side of some people.” Just depends where we are.”

Minxiu turned her attention back to Fang finding him trying to peacock pigeon at her again as he asked, “So, would you consider diner under the stars in the middle of the ocean romantic?”

Minxiu smiled at his attempt to impress her, “I wouldn’t know, never dined in the middle of the ocean before. I’ve only been in the King’s court a few times and the royal balls at the palace, nothing too fancy.” Minxiu looked at the direction that Fang had approached her from and noticed they sailors there were busy with prep work, “So, Mr. Leader, what are we doing in this town?”

 

[Hecotoro]

Fang placed his hands on his hips as he turned to look at Nina. "Because who has a better relationship with the group? You do. I can lead us, but befriending everyone is more difficult. That's why I trust you." He turned back to Minxiu and placed his right hand against the pillar he had summoned. "Trust me, a date with me is way better than any royal ball."

Fang then realized he had left in the middle of the conversation with the sailors, yet it seemed he had somehow managed to convince them since they were already getting their boat ready. "We are traveling to um, so Island in the fire nation. So, get your bathing suit ready, some snacks for the road and lots of water. We can't drink ocean water before you mention it, I know, I was shocked when I learned that also."

 

[Cmeriwether]

Ahnah looked at Yamato with widened eyes.

"A broken rib that pierced your stomach?!" Ahnah was alarmed, "Please remember, you may want to sleep sitting up, like in a chair, or something, so this can heal properly, I was a healer for a fishing boat. Please be careful, try not to pick another fight."

Ahnah was worried, this was one of the group who was seemingly controlled, and had gotten injured, like that girl, Koreal, if she heard the name right. This young man was someone who managed to be pushing through an injury such as this. She then looked back to the whetstones, and picked one out. She then put together a couple of random items to trade that she had picked up on the way to this town. Akuma had shedded some of his coat on the way through, and she kept the shedding, which she could use to stuff a pillow or something like that.

"Yamato, I'm headed to get this Whetstone sorted out, for sharpening my Boomerang," Ahnah responded, "Was there anything else you were looking at before I get this sorted out?"

 

[DemonicHoneyBun]

Yamato seemed confused about why she was so worried about the injury as he believed it wasn't that bad, but he decided to listen to her anyway.

"Sure, I don't mind sleep while standing up. Your the healer of this group so I might as well do what you say." He said as he began to get his stuff sorted out.
When Ahnah asked what he was looking at he paused for a minute before speaking.

"Nothing much, I was just leaving. Also are you alright you seemed kinda nervous while you were talking to me." He said as he walked up to her.

 

[Honestly Money]

"Sure, this salve was the last thing on my list so I got time to kill. I'd like to talk to your sister as well, think I kinda traumatized her with the whole 'kidnapping' business so I figure an apology would be necessary," Soro smiled a bit, scratching the back of his head in embarressment.

Soro internally sighed a breath of relief. He had been slightly nervous that with the kidnapping ordeal Koreal would immediately shut off and reject the gift and friendship of a relative stranger. Thankfully, Koreal seemed to be willing to trust him which meant he at least had somebody in the group willing to keep him around. Whether she would regret that trust, however, was yet to be decided. Only time would tell.

"Alright, lead the way!"

 

[RenzFlintrock]

"Hah, yeah. I doubt she's happy with you for that, although I can probably get it into her head that you were just trying to help. Even if your methods were a little dubious," she teased, "but... yeah, I'm sure the apology will help a bit."

With his agreement to join her on her errand, she beaconed with a hand and began walking down the street. It took her a minute or two to find a promising-looking shop, but once she did she strolled in. The man behind the counter acknowledged her entry with a nod, and continued to package something for the customer standing in front of him. Koreal began to browse, first taking a look at the dry goods. Those would be easier to pick out, since she already knew the general types of things she and her sister would want while on their travels. Packaged preserved meats, a loaf of bread, and dried fruits. The bread would only last for so long before going stale, of course, but thus far they'd been able to pick up fresh loaves when they came to a new town. Buying bread here rather that at a bakers' shop would mean it would be less fresh, but it saved an extra stop.

Once she'd gathered some of the basics for travel, she checked the rather limited section of fresh fruits and vegetables. They wouldn't last long on the road, but it was nice to have a fresh meal or two every now and then. It was much better than the tedious travel rations. However, she wasn't sure what to pick this time, and since she'd dragged Soro along with her, she decided she shouldn't just ignore him. "Hey, Soro, I usually grab some fresh produce when I get the chance. Any suggestions? Once I figure this out I can go pay and we'll be free to go find my sister."

 

[JoyPaws]

Nina listened and realized he did have a point. Nina had already formed a few friendships with some people in the group, and she had only known them for a bit. So, she nodded. "Okay. I'll go tell them." She made sure not to share that he had made a good point. As she walked off, she did a quick eye-roll from behind Fang so that only Minxiu could see her and walked off.

First, she spotted Kerrora. "Hey. So, I just wanted to say we have someone new in the group. Her name is Minxiu she's an earth bender she's cool. I have to tell the others, uh, see you later." Nina waited a few minutes to see if Kerrora would say anything, then ran off to find the others.

Nina quickly walked over to the group that had yet to go out on their own. Quickly shared with them that they had a new member in the group and then again waited a few minutes and then ran off to find more people.

Soon Nina found Tazia and said, "Hey, sooo, we have someone new in the group. Her name is Minxiu! She's cool; she's even manipulating Fang. She's great. She's an earth bender and got some big ranking or something anyways. I need to find the others. If you see anyone from our group who may not know, tell them for me. If you're wondering why I'm doing this, it's because Fang made a very good point that I am friends with people in the group. I know it's crazy he actually made a point! Anyways I'm off! See you later!" she waited a few minutes, then ran off again.

Nina soon found Yamato and Ahnah and told them the news looking as if she had somewhere to be. "I'll tell you more later. I need to go find more people!" She then rushed off after waiting a bit.

Nina ran toward Koreal and Soro, stumbling, taking some deep breaths, and mumbling, "Oh gosh... I should... have ridden Kreen here..." She quickly straightened up to look at the two. "Hi, Koreal and uhh... Actually, who are you?" She said, looking at Soro. And then continued talking to Koreal, "So Fang let a new person join the group. She's named Minxiu. She's an earth bender with some kind of high ranking. She's very nice. I think she will fit right into the group." Nina finished still standing straight as usual. She stared at Soro for a bit, feeling like she recognized him.

 

[Foxex]

“We’ll see about that claim.” Minxiu said. “So we’re going to the Fire Nation huh? Sounds like fun.” A bathing suit? Well I hope it’s not too risky, mom tends to think so, but hey if a girl has the stuff to strut, then why not?

Minxiu let out a sharp whistle to call Liang-Shui. She slithered out of the water and slowly approached her eyeing Fang. “It’s ok girl. I need you to return back to Ba Sing Se, understand?” The eel hound snapped to attention seemingly understanding her command. Minxiu knotted her reins around her harness so they wouldn’t flap everywhere as she ran and stood back. “Alright girl, you are good to go!” Minxiu gave the hound one last scratch behind her jaw. To her surprise the hound cuddled up and nuzzled into her for a bit before pulling away and dashing away back towards Ba Sing Se.

“Well it's just you and me right now I guess, what do you want to do?” Minxiu asked stretching her arms, she tended to stretch her limbs and body when there isn’t much going on to keep herself limber, at first she felt awkward doing it in public, but she had since stopped caring all together, it was a necessity for her to keep her in top shape, she hated feeling sluggish.

 

[Hecotoro]

Fang was impressed by the eel hound, such a majestic and powerful looking animal, acting like a puppy. That didn't mean it was better than his cat bear, who spent the majority of the day sleeping inside his shirt or backpack, but it the eel hound was something one would consider a great traveling companion. After the animal left, Fang felt a surge of confidence rise through him, he was alone with her.

"Well, if you need to buy supplies for the trip I suggest you get them before we leave. I just need to go talk to the captain of the boat and then we can get ready to depart." He stomped the ground, pulling the earth pillar back inside. "If you got nothing to do, we can always hang out, I would love to learn more about the interesting life someone who hangs with the Dai Li has. Maybe we can exchange some moves, I don't like to brag, but I am a decent bender."

 

[Foxex]

Minxiu gave Fang’s words some thought, going through a mental checklist of things that are important for her to have on the trip, what she has in her bags, and the list that Fang listed. “I’ve got pretty much everything for the trip. Though I might go pick up a fishing rod before we go but that’s a quick pick up. So I’m fine to just hang out for a while.” She picked up her bags she took off of Liang-Shui and slung them over her shoulders.

“There’s not much to the Dai Li, and I don’t just ‘hang out’ with them. There’s not much I can even talk about, since you are either one of us or you someone we’re apprehending. You of all people should know that. Based on how you’re dressed I’d say you’re probably from a family in the upper end of the middle class. One of you parents is probably some type of dignitary at a local level, maybe a high ranking guard… at worst, very successful merchant of some kind.” Minxiu held back her tongue, she was noticing that part of her brain taking over. “Well, if you want me to teach you, you can just ask. I’ll have to see just how decent of a bender you are sometime, I’m quite curious.”

 

[MemoryDoner]

Finally relaxing Luka took a moment to rest. Sitting down he put his hand up to his forehead, rubbing it slowly. Another migraine bursting into his head. These had been common for quite some time in fact. The water bender was able to lead it back to his defeat. Ever since then the tanned man had been afraid. He constantly watched over his shoulder and everyone else's. Most nights he was even unable to sleep. Thoughts filling his head louder than his own voice. What happens if we get found again? What if someone here is a traitor here? What happens if we don't reach the city in time What if..? He was tired, sick to a point he wouldn't admit, and hurting. These people were nice and he was sure he could trust them, but god could they be idiotic. Their leader was inviting any woman he found. The younger ones were all over the place with their opinions and actions. Everything was a mess. Feeling another surge of sickness coming on he stood up. Dropping the majority of his items he decided to go looking for his own ways to sustain. Surely he was just thirsty or hungry?

"I'll be back soon. I'm going to get something to eat or drink. If I don't return by sunset, continue, I'll catch up. And don't let that fire headed kid get us in trouble again."

Slowly limping away he buttoned his coat. Tonight seemed strangely cold.

 

[Honestly Money]

Soro smiled a bit when Koreal asked him for advice about food as the poor girl simply did not know what she was getting into. Not only did a gladiator heavily rely on dieting maintenance as a key factor of surviving the profession, but out of all subject matters, Soro and his siblings back in Ba Sing Se only had one thing in common: being rather unabashed foodies. A socialite sister, an inventing brother, and a brawling gladiator all in a tea shop kitchen, almost sounds like the beginnings of a half-decent joke but in reality was a common occurrence.

Taking in a short breath, Soro prepared to describe the wonderful qualities of powdered vegetables with aged meats and water when he found himself cut off by a newcomer. Soro's mood immediately shifted, his facial expression became tense and rigid; seemingly emanating the aura of a cold blooded killer while his eyes bore into the newcomer with an icy fury.

Then a moment later, the aura disappeared, his face went back to a neutral expression, and mentioned to Koreal that he would buy the remainder of his preferred goods and would gladly share with her and her sister, leaving Koreal to talk to the person.

 

[Hecotoro]

Fang crossed his arms in a way to make his biceps look bigger. He tried not to laugh as his catbear readjusted himself inside his shirt. Keeping a straight face was difficult for him, trying to hide the excitement of spending time with a girl and what a girl! Earth bender, Dai Li and good looking, his parents would be proud.

"Well, let's go check in the boat shall we?"

Fang lead the way towards the boat he was planning on renting. The sailors shot him a death glare. But Fang was oblivious to it, walking proudly up the plank and boarding the boat. The ship was big enough for the group, on deck. The insides were mostly for crates, barrels and a few rooms to rest. The deck was pretty wide though, the mast seemed to tower towards the sky and there was enough open space to fit a very small army. Hailang was at the wheel, shooting a hellish look at the two aboard her ship.

Fang however waved at the captain with a big grin, "We'll take it!" He called out. "Wanna go meet the group?" He turned to Minxiu. "They're pretty amazing, but I can't tell them that, would get to their heads."

 

[Cmeriwether]

Ahnah looked back to Yamato when one of the other Water Tribe members bursted into the shop looking for them. She was told that they got a new person in the group, and the water Tribe member headed off to find the next person. Ahnah was a bit confused at first, but then looked back to Yamato after being practically pounced on. She then looked at the whetstone in her hand, and then back at him.

"I'm not used to talking to people outside of my village, unless under duress, like when you and some of the others were controlled." Ahnah responded, still a bit nervous, but not as much, "I'm heading up to buy this whetstone, meet you at the Polar Bear Dog."

Ahnah looked back, then turned towards the shopkeeper, who took notice of her. She had some money, the shed fur from Akuma and a couple of small trinkets that she had extras of. She then hit the front of the line.

"Hello, I'm looking to buy this Whetstone." Ahnah handed him the money, the fur and trinkets.

The shopkeeper handed her the fur and trinkets there, alongside two thirds of her money.

"This is a small whetstone, which is perfect for sharpening small weapons, is not as much as the larger whetstones." The shopkeeper explained.

"Thank you," Ahnah responded.

She took what was there and headed out with the whetstone. She then waited with Akuma.

 

[Foxex]

“Lead the way.” Minxiu said eyes the moving mass under Fang’s shirt. Some kind of pet? Minxiu let Fang lead her around. The boat was very average to say the least, but then again Minxiu didn’t have much to compare with. All the boats she’s seen are large merchant boats, ferries, luxury boats of the nobility, and occasionally military vessels, and even then her visits to the official Ba Sing Se port had been very limited, only being there a few times to arrest some illegal Black Market Traders and some treasonous politicians that were trying to escape.

The looks Minxiu got from the sailors was rather unsettling, but after a bit she realized that they were not looking at her but at Fang. “I’m sure that they are all interesting people.” Minxiu said to Fang as she handed a passing sailor her extra bags to take below deck after Fang had made his declaration of hiring the crew and boat. She flipped a coin at the sailor before giving him a pleasant smile, “Please be careful with the goods.” The sailor nodded nervously before hurrying off, he had obviously recognized what she was.

Minxiu turned her attention back to Fang, “I’m pretty sure they would appreciate the compliment.”

 

[RenzFlintrock]

Koreal saw her companion's mouth starting to open in reply to her question, but before his lips had fully parted he was interrupted by the arrival of Nina. She promptly delivered a message, telling them that their leader had admitted a woman named Mingxiu into their group. Honestly, Koreal probably wouldn't have noticed if a person had left or joined their group at this point, so the heads-up was at least somewhat welcome. However, glancing back at Soro, she noticed that a slight change had come over his features. He seemed... less cheerful, perhaps even displeased or angry. But a second later he seemed to school his features and return to a look of relative indifference, making the warrior question if her eyes had played some kind of trick on her. 'Was he angry about being interrupted? Surely he wouldn't be so upset over something like that...' She pushed those thoughts aside and turned her eyes back towards Nina, who was standing stiffly, almost as if at attention in a military lineup.

"Thanks for letting us know. We'll wrap up shopping here and head for the beach. Uhh... see you soon, I guess?"

Soro had excused himself already, so she turned back to her shopping. Soro had offered to pick out some things to share with herself and her sister, but she opted to grab a couple pieces of fruit as well. Once she was finished shopping, she waited for Soro to do the same, then went to the counter and paid for the supplies she was purchasing. She also offered to pay Soro back for anything he ended up sharing later, although that transaction would of course have to take place when food had actually been shared.

Supplies obtained, Koreal lead the way towards the beach, chatting idly with her companion as they went. His reaction to Nina still lingered in the back of her mind, but she tried not to let it shape her view of the current conversation. Upon reaching the sandy shore near the docks, she caught sight of her sister a short ways away practicing her spear techniques. Her form was good (Not as good as mine, she thought. She had more years of experience, plus... her attention wasn't split between her bending as well as her weapon. And that was fine.), and Koreal watched her work for a few minutes before approaching with a small round of applause. "Looking good, sis! A liiittle wobbly with that second thrust in the Seaglass Stab combination, but still impressive." She grinned and lightly bumped her sister's shoulder with her fist. "Kerrora, this is Soro. Did you guys meet while I was out last night?"

 

[Hecotoro]

Just as they arrived at the small little town known as Town, they were gone. Hailang had agreed to take them along, of course Fang asked everyone to pitch it to pay for the transport, which wasn't as much divided into so many members of the group. Hailang's crew was pretty easy on everyone, except for Fang, agreeing to help them out with whatever they needed to feel comfortable, some even offering themselves for combat practice. The captain however, she decided to remain away from the group, constantly glaring at them with a suspicious look, specially at Minxui.

"It's getting dark, I suggest you guys take a break, we won't be getting to the Fire Nation until dawn." Hailang called out.

Fang tossed a blanket in the middle of the dock, with some bags filled with fruits and some wine. "On the contrary, I invite anyone who wants to dine under the stars. I bought some fresh fruit and wine, perfect for a night on the sea, Hailang's crew invited also!" He pointed at the blanket and then looked towards the endless ocean on the horizon. "We might not get to spend a lot of time like this once we arrive at the Fire Nation, might as well make the best of it."

 

[JoyPaws]

Nina matched Soro's glare, almost at least. She was annoyed that he was glaring at her for no reason. All she did was follow over, but nooo, how dare Nina do what she was ordered to do. So once Korea and Soro had left, Nina stormed off to find Tazia and Kreen, her snow leopard caribou.

Once Nina had found Tazia, she gave a shrill whistle, and Kreen came running over, shaking off the water from her fur right onto Tazia and Nina... Luckily enough, Nina had been carrying the bags Kreen typically would be carrying, so those bags and what was in them weren't soaked in seawater. They were just sprayed with it... Nina quickly made a few motions with her hands, shaking the water out of the bags and bringing it to one of her water skins. "Ah... Sorry about Kreen just wanted to make sure where she was. But how are you? I just returned from sharing the news with Koreal and that random guy who just joined us. You know the guy, I think... He has pale blue eyes. Anyways I was sharing the news with them. He just glares at me like I did something wrong!" Nina grumbled, annoyed, walking towards the beach, trying to move the two to the beach where the ship would be that they were supposed to get on.

And as soon as they got there, they were asked to help pay for transport. Which Nina begrudgingly agreed to it. Nina just paid for her own transport and Kreen's. It was much easier than expected to get the snow leopard caribou on the ship. It was difficult, though, to get Kreen into the vessel's storage area. But after some time, Nina had gotten the creature to stay put and definitely not need any help from the crew. Nope definitely not. Nina did it all by herself definitely!

After the trouble of getting Kreen to stay put and put some of her bags in storage, she was free to chill out and train a bit too. Nina ended up training with one of the Hailang's crew members, who seemed happy enough to help with training, which made the exercise much more enjoyable. After the training, Nina and the guy talked a bit about training. Eventually, the man was called to help with something on the ship, and Nina was alone again but not for long.

Nina walked over to Tazia and said, "Hey again. I just finished training with someone from the crew of this ship, and they put up a good fight. Anyway, I just had a thought. I think you should meet Minxiu. I think you two would get along." And just then, Nina noticed Minxiu and waved to her calling her over. Once Minxiu had joined Nina and Tazia, she introduced them, "Minxiu, I would like you to meet my friend Tazia. Tazia is a good friend of mine, and I think you two would get along."


It was a bit later when it had begone to turn dark when Nina heard the captain of the ship call out, "It's getting dark, I suggest you guys take a break, we won't be getting to the Fire Nation until dawn." Nina nodded.

And just as soon as the captain called that out, Fang disagreed, saying, "On the contrary, I invite anyone who wants to dine under the stars. I bought some fresh fruit and wine, perfect for a night on the sea, Hailang's crew invited also! "We might not get to spend a lot of time like this once we arrive at the Fire Nation, might as well make the best of it."

Nina looked at Tazia and Minxiu, rolling her eyes. "What do you guys say?" Nina then looked out at the ocean. It made her feel so calm just hearing the crashing of the waves. She closed her eyes and just listened.

 

[Foxex]

Minxiu was cautiously aware of Hailang’s glares keeping a mental note to be on slightly alert. She had spent the early voyage on the forecastle deck sitting on a low stool watching over the ocean and occasionally back at the boat, stopping to watch Nina train with a sailor. As she watched them spar it made her realize that her own earth bending was extremely restricted. She took a mental inventory of what she has access to: rock gloves and shoes, depending on the situation the plates could be recovered, her pouch of small black pebbles, probably on par with the rock gloves and shoes in terms of effectiveness as a weapon, a personal pair of karambit daggers good for close combat rapid takedowns but damage caused is lethal to fatal for humanoid opponents not something she would likely need for anything in the current situation unless the crew turned hostile for some reason or another, a pair of surveyor’s chains currently on her and several more pairs in her bags below deck, again something mainly effective against humanoids and some animals. Maybe I can bend Fang’s sword… if it’s actually made of emerald or crystal… I’m sure he won’t mind if the situation gets that dire…. Minxiu frowned.

A bit after Nina had finished her training session with one of the sailors, she had called her over when Minxiu decided to take a walk around the ship to stretch. Nina was with another girl, obviously fire nation by her looks and accessories, a bit worse for wear though like she had just been though a scrap or two recently. "Minxiu, I would like you to meet my friend Tazia. Tazia is a good friend of mine, and I think you two would get along."

Minxiu nodded at the girl acknowledging her, “Yea sure why not,” Minxiu agreed with Nina, “dining under the stars on a boat in the middle of the ocean, with a group of people I just recently joined, not a experience I’d say that comes frequently.” Minxiu took a seat on the blanket Fang laid out near the mast of the ship, she leaned casually against the pillar holding her hat in her lap.

 

[=Nightshade=]

As Kreen shook out his pelt all over the two girls following Nina’s approach, Tazia let out a sound best described as a squeak, in a combination of surprise and disgust. She formed a flame in her hand and ran it over her body, drying herself off. On the way to the boat, Tazia nodded emphatically along with Nina’s trash talk of the blue-eyed recent recruit (though she had barely even seen the guy, let alone met him), and listened with intrigue as her friend described Minxiu.

Upon reaching the boat, Yael slipped belowdecks without protest at Tazia’s behest, having been on boats before in the past and already knowing he hated it. Kreen took a little more convincing, though, and Tazia did her best to help Nina get him down into storage— not that the waterbender would admit it.

As the boat left port and the deck began to shift below Tazia’s feet, she felt the first oncoming bouts of seasickness. She trained through it, for a while, stubbornly shoving out blasts of fire over the rail of the boat until her breathing was too unsteady to continue, then switched to physical training and muscle toning. Eventually, though, the seasickness won out, and she spent essentially the rest of the day hunched over the rail, trying (and sometimes failing) not to hurl.

When Nina approached her once again, as the sun hung low in the sky, Tazia turned with an expression that said she would rather walk over burning coals with a three-inch nail embedded in her heel before getting on another boat, before forcing a smile. Nina had called the new girl over, and Tazia gave a small wave, still clutching the rail like a lifeline. “I hate boats,” she grunted, in an explanation-that-was-not-an-explanation. “Seasick. I’m not usually this lame, I swear…” The end of her sentence trailed off as she swallowed down another wave of nausea, before her pained grin returned. “Sure, why not? I could… choke down a few bites… heh…” Tazia pushed off from the rail and stumbled a few steps before finding her balance. She walked unsteadily to the edge of the blanket and folded her legs beneath her to sit. Sure hope Yael’s doing better belowdecks…

 

[JoyPaws]

Nina smiled at seeing that maybe Tazia and Minxiu might become friends too. She watched the two a bit and nodded her head when she heard Tazia say, "Seasick. I'm not usually this lame, I swear…" Nina quickly responded, "Yeah, there is no way you're lame."

As Tazia and Minxiu walked toward the picnic blanket, Nina walked close to Tazia, a bit concerned about her. Nina hadn't ever really been affected by seasickness, probably because she was a waterbender plus the fact she was in the Navy. So, Nina was slightly concerned for her friend, watching Tazia's balance as the two walked. "Are you okay, Tazia?" Nina asked her friend worrying about her, but once she had sat down, Nina's concern lowered a bit. Nina sat down, crossing her legs and putting her hands on her knees.

 

[DemonicHoneyBun]

Yamato looked at Fang for a while until grabbing a fruit and sitting far from the blanket as possible. He didn't wanna be anywhere near Fang due to what happened last time and he simply didn't want to be useless if he was in another situation like last time. He began to chew on some of the fruits he had and sat by himself while looking into the stars.

"Maybe I should make a quick visit to my family while I'm in the Fire Nation, it has been a while." He said as he spat out an apple seed only for it to hit his forehead. "My aim needs a little work I guess."

 

[Hecotoro]

As the night began to set in, the group enjoyed their dinner and Hailang tried to stay calm. The sailors finally finished their chores, just a few kept going, those who needed to keep the ship moving, but the rest had settled down to eat or take a nap. Fang had actually slowly ate his food, enjoying every last bit of it and, to the surprise of many, not talking much during it. In secret though, he was just happy to be spending time with so many girls. He was so happy, he didn't want to ruin it by making them fall in love with his smooth words.

"Did you know that there used to be Lion-turtles? I swear, my grandad told me he saw one once." Fang served a bit of wine into a cup, "Said they bring great wisdom to those who listen, but I don't understand how one could listen to a lion-turtle. Anyways, they're supposed to be as big as a mountain, have any of you ever seen something so big?"

Fang leaned back to look up at the stars, which were gone. Instead, the sky was filled with dark clouds, which normally would follow by a rampaging ocean, but instead the water was as still as a Deer-cow caught in headlights. It seemed the night was going to be perfect, just what the group needed. Then, the ship came to a sudden stop.

Fang, who was sitting down, fell on his back from force of the sudden stop in movement. He sat up again, rubbing the back of his head and before he could ask what was going on, one of the sailors broke the silence.

"We're stuck!"

 

[EeveeBlueSisters]

Deep in the fire nation lived a young lady wearing a wolf mask. She was sparring with her training partner Shadow, her eldest brother. He always tries to outsmart her but in the end, she beats him to it. The only difference between the two siblings is that he had jet black colored hair with hers being dark brown and their eyes as his was heterochromic, gold-green but his bang covered the right side being his green colored one and he didn't wear glasses. "Dang sis, I can't outsmart you now can...you become way too good for me..." he said. "Well, you keep using the same tricks on me which is why you fail to outsmart me" she chuckled helping him up as she knocked him off his feet.

"I ran out of tricks to outsmart you sis, I give in" he said chuckling. "Alright that's enough for today brother, I have to get a couple of things from the market mom had requested to get for her" she said. "Well, if that's the case than be careful" "Don't worry I will, let's go Gem" she called her eagle hawk, her messenger bird. She cawed perching on her shoulder waving her brother goodbye for now as she went to the market.

 

[=Nightshade=]

Tazia hadn’t eaten much— her stomach hadn’t felt up to it. Despite constant reassurance to Nina that she was fine, eventually she had to get up and lean over the side of the boat again; but she made sure to time it with one of the few times Fang talked so that, if asked about her wordless departure, she could just say she was tired of him, instead of the truth, which was that her stomach was calling to be emptied in the wrong direction. Tazia was bent over the side, lightly gripping the railing, face pale and a sickly shade of green, waiting for either the nausea to pass or for her to start retching again, when the boat came to a sudden halt.

Her hands were torn off the railing as her inertia continued to carry her in the direction the boat had been going before its motion was rudely arrested. She landed hard on her side, but scrambled to her feet in barely a second. “What the hell?” Tazia exclaimed to no one. On the one hand, the lack of gentle rocking was already clearing up her nausea, but on the other— they were on a boat, in an ocean. Even if they had run aground or rammed into a hefty piece of debris, there should still be some motion in resistance to the stop. But the boat was almost perfectly still, as though some great creature from the deep was holding it fast.

Nah, that couldn’t be it.

 

[Cmeriwether]

Ahnah had settled Akuma, gotten her stuff sorted out, and prepared to make sure everyone and everything was in order. When she got out on deck, she looked at the water, reminding her of home, but then the boat stopped moving. Ahnah, from being on crews for hunting as a on site doctor, figured they hit something, her reaction to the boat hitting something was to maintain her balance, then look to see if she could see anything, but she didn't. As to what the boat hit, she didn't know. Ahnah then saw people around. As she looked, she didn't see anything, but she went to see what people were doing.

"Hello, Yamato, your ribs doing okay?" Ahnah asked as she approached, hearing about family when she heard something.

"We're Stuck!"

Ahnah had already figured out they were stuck, she had kept her balance when the boat stopped suddenly.

Akuma had felt the boat stop, and immediately started growling, not sure what had happened, all he knew was it seemed like a threat to His master and prepared to defend his master.

Mu on the other hand, was dealing with his stomach, much like Tazia, which was why he hadn't been above deck, he seemed calmer when he couldn't see what was rocking the boat, then the boat stopped.

"We're Stuck!"

Mu walked out of his quarters and found sailors, figuring he'd put on his brigandine in case of something being hostile. After that time, he had his weapon at the ready, in case of what they hit turned out to be a hostile creature.

"Ai, be prepared to get everyone's attention."

The Ostrich Horse waited for Mu to give orders.

 

[JoyPaws]

Nina raised her eyebrows, looking unimpressed, "Yeahhhh, I'm sure he did..." Nina ate some food, half listening to Fang say while watching Tazia in concern still. "....... great wisdom ....... listen, but I don't understand ...... lion-turtle...... big as a mountain, have any of you ever seen something so big?" while watched Tazia in concern. Then muttered, "Yep, seen glaciers that big probably. Even seen egos even bigger." She said, referencing Fang's ego. She stood up, heading over to Tazia when suddenly the ship lurched to a stop making Nina fall onto her back. As Nina fell, she quickly pulled her head as close to her chest as possible to hopefully not hit her head.

Nina didn't hit her head, but she got the wind knocked out. She just lay on the ground, trying to catch her breath and listen to what was happening. Nina could feel the ship not moving. In fact, she felt like it was as motionless as the ground.

Nina did soon get her breath back and began to stand up. She walked over to the edge of the boat and looked over to see if anything was holding them. She didn't see anything, but the water was still moving, just the little waves being disturbed from the sudden halt, but everything seemed normal. But it couldn't be. The water was moving like normal, but the boat wasn't. Did the ship hit something? Was the ship pierced?! Nina quickly ran down to the lower decks but found nothing out of the ordinary, so she ran back up to the deck.

What is going on that could possibly make this happen...? Was the only thought running through Nina's head.

 

[EeveeBlueSisters]

She jumped off the roof she was on to get to the market. The market was busy as usual as she was reviewing the list her mother had given her. Gem took the time to look at the list as well since she was resting on her shoulder. "Want to help me Gem?" She asked her. Gem screeched in agreement. "Alright, take this first to pay for the items, now go on" she told her slipping the money into her message holder before Gem flew off. She watched her messenger bird fly off before looking back at the list she was given as she approached a stand to look for what she needs.

 

[Foxex]

Minxiu ate quietly as she listened to Fang talk about Lion Turtles. There was a moment of silence with the exception of the boat slicing its way through the ocean waters. Suddenly, the ship violently jerked to a hard stop. She managed to steady herself, the sudden stopping of the ship startled her, and most everyone else, and causing her to choke on some tea she was sipping on and spilling the rest of it onto the deck of the ship.

"We're stuck!" she heard a sailor exclaim. Way to point out the obvious…. But something was off, there’s nothing ‘normal’ in the ocean that could just dead stop a ship, let alone a ship of this size, and it was highly doubtful that the captain or her crew was incompetent enough to steer a ship into a reef or large a large cropping of rock, both of which were quite unlikely in the middle of the ocean unless they were just that close to an island or destination, both was also not feasible given experience of the crew.

Minxiu stood up and steadied herself taking inventory of everyone and staying near the central mast of the ship, the others seemed relatively ok abet shaken up a bit, the only one that seemed worse than the others was Tazia but even she was starting to improve. No, this was something else. Minxiu glanced at the captain of the ship and around at the crew looking to clues on how to proceed. As much as Minxiu disliked the idea, she was out of her element, literally, and the sailors would know better though the confused and startled looks on their faces did not seem promising. Instinctively she gripped her pouch of stones she kept in her sleeve.

 

[ThePlayfulFox]

Kerrora didn't pay much mind when Nina delivered her news of a new person joining. She vaguely knew it was happening, she just didn't know the details. And what details would she need to know? The only reason she was here was to protect her older sister. How ironic, protect her older sister. What sort of protecting could she even do?! If it weren't about her, she probably would've laughed.

Soon, though, Koreal interrupted her thoughts. Guilt filled her. She deserves to be mad at me. I did practically nothing last time! However, Kerrora was surprised. Her sister wanted to introduce her to her kidnapper? What was wrong with her?! "A bit." She narrowed her eyes at Soro. "Why are you walking with him, anyways?" She opened her mouth to continue but was stopped before she could start her next sentence. Although, she made a mental note to keep an eye on Soro. She shook her head and walked away, hopping on the boat.

****​

Kerrora enjoyed the ocean breeze the ship gave her. It was a bit crowded for her liking though. She had to keep an eye on her sister and her former kidnapper. Why were the two acting like friends anyways? It just seemed off to her. She gave a sigh and refocused on the sea, her arms folding over the railing. Her head was starting to hurt. Was she putting too much on herself? Kerrora tried to shake the thought. No. She wasn't. She was the heir of the Tidal Spears. She told her sister that she would help keep her safe. This pressure, it was normal. It was entirely normal. These were perfectly normal and reasonable expectations that she had for herself.

The ship jerked to a stop, Kerrora finally snapping out of her thoughts as she felt her body almost ram into the railing before she nearly fell over. She didn't need to hear the sailor to know the truth. The ship has stopped? She blinked. This can't be good. I better find Koreal. I can't let anything happen to her again. She left the railing and went to look for her sister, trying not to think about whatever it could be that stopped the boat. However, it was very difficult not to. After all, she doubted it was rocks that stopped them. Was there something more sinister hiding beneath the depths? It was not exactly a present thought, but it was plausible.

 

[Hecotoro]

Silence, that was all that it felt. Its slumber was rarely interrupted, since no other creature in the dark ocean would dare snatch away the monster's dreams. But the water was calm, the world was silent, until IT WASN'T! The Kraktopus grumbled as he felt the presence of something in its territory. That something though, seemed to be carrying some good snacks and he could use one right about now. With a strong stride from his tentacles he began moving upward, emerging from the darkness of the dark pit he called home and into the endless blue ocean. Right above, it saw its prey, a long dark thing with several snacks aboard it. The king of the ocean lunged upward once more time and then turned upside down, it's long tentacles reaching for the ship.

"Is everyone okay?" Fang called out and then cleared his throat. "Can't have my wives being hurt, right?" That was close, he almost showed a sign of weakness. "I'm sure we crashed into a big fish or something, we should be fine we just need to-"

CRASH!

From out of nowhere, a giant long tentacle emerged from the ocean and smashed on top of the ship, splattering wood everywhere as it crushed the sides and began to break the floor under it as it began to wrap around the ship.

CRASH!

Another one, this one gripping the ship from the other side. Both tentacles were making pressure on the ship, either trying to sink it or break it in half, whichever happened first. The sailors began scrambling, like confused ants when you throw water onto their home. Fang had just managed to avoid being crushed by the giant arm, but the impact had sent him flying across the ship.

"Fire!" Like breathing, Hailang was already on the offensive, having loaded the cannon nearest to her and having one of the sailors aim at one of the arms.

BOOM!

The weapon exploded and hit the first tentacle with an impact so strong, the bullet pierced through it and hit the second arm. A load groan came from under the surface and then the injured arm retreated into the water, only to be replaced by a third one that swept the top of the ship, breaking the central toward in half and sending Taiza, Nina and Koreal into the ocean. Dinner was served!

"No!" Fang called out from the bottom of his heart. Without thinking, he grabbed the end of a rope tied to the ships side and dove into the water, hoping to get the rope to the ones who fell overboard.

"Benders! Break us lose!" Hailang called out, "Otherwise we die here! My crew, prepared the cannons!"