Avatar: Years Of Silence - 1x1

[Greirat The Thief]

This is a private Rp between me and princessskye.


Plot:


The Wind Nation is on the decline.  With less births each year, they are Fearful that the end of their line is near. The Air Nation withdraws further and further into themselves, until they cut themsevles off from the rest of the world. The other nations grow concerned. Some of them try to reach out to the Air Nomads. But the Air Tribe pushes them away. Fear starts to creep into the minds of the leaders of the other nations. Thinking that the Air Nation might launch an assault, some of the nations start to mobilize the their troops and fortify their walls. Upon this action, the rest of the nations do the same. Tensions rise as all eyes look towards the Air Nation. But some eyes wander to the other nations; would they attack the Wind Tribe out of fear? Would they attack their neighbouring nations out of the same fear? So...as a plot summary...basically our characters band together and in an effort to not start a war, they set out to find the problem of the decline of the Wind Nation? And in this, the Avatar, let's just say he/she is still young and has yet to be announced as the Avatar?

 

[Greirat The Thief]

Jun sat near a river, just a few miles from the closest village. He had no business being so close to a Northern Water Tribe camp, but it was honestly the only peace he had gotten in a few days. He was a Firebender, water was his natural enemy. Truth was, he had little idea what he was doing out here in the first place. He was 22, he had set off to explore the rest of the world, but had ended up being chased by several Water and Earth Nation Tribes. He just hoped that he had escaped their trackers. Jun began to twirl a finger in the air. Mere seconds later, a small whirlwind of fire began to form around his finger. He looked past the small fire tornado, to the stream below him. 



The Avatar hadn't appeared in years. It was almost 25 years since the last Avatar had been heard from. And things steadily were growing worse. The Air Nation had completely cut themselves off from the world. And no one knew why. The rest of the Nations remained ready for war. There were already stories spreading that skirmishes had broken out between rival tribes. It would certainly only be a matter of time before one Nation declared war, right? A gentle breeze picked up, splashing a spray of water in Jun's direction. Jun sighed and brought his finger to a stop, the whirlwind of fire faded away. The Firebender leaned back on his hands and glanced to the village to his left. He should go there. He needed food, supplies. The dark skinned bender stood to his feet, grabbed his cloth travel bag and proceeded up the hill to the village. 

 

[PrincessSkye]

Emily, one of the few warriors assigned to one of the smaller water tribe villages, sat next to another more burlier warrior. The village sat at the edge of their vast territory, acting as a buffer to trade or any sort of attack, it also worked as a fish market being so close to the ocean.


The warrior next to her let out a grunt and leaned over a bit to blow into his hands to warm them up, "Probably one of the coldest summers we've had for a while.." The old man grunted causing Emily to smile at bit at her mentor, "it's not that bad. I'll take over the post if you want to go get you some of that stew...I know you can smell it cooking even if it's on the far side of the town." The man looked over at her with a warm smile, "I'll bring you back a bowl, I trust you to keep this side clear then." He grunted again as he pushed himself up, Emily standing as well to watch him make his way through the gate and into the village. She tugged the furred hood closer to her face as she turned to look back out over the ice covered ground, the water not far from the edge of the town. 


Strands of blond hair poked out, blowing in the light breeze and tickled her nose. She rubbed at it with her heavily gloved hand, the other holding a club of bone carved to have a rounded edge and a ball tucked inside to cause more damage. It was her best weapon since all she had to do was smash the enemy down, spears and all the other weapons always manages to miss their mark or just fall out of her hand. Emily let out a huff of air visible in the cold chill of the morning, and scanned the horizon. Her dark eyes narrowed as they landed on a figure making its way towards the small village gate, towards her.

 

[Greirat The Thief]

Jun was looking down at his feet as he climbed the hill towards the village. A harsh, cold breeze picked up and the firebender shivered. He wasn't dressed for the cold weather. What was worse is he was still dressed in fire nation clothes, he stood out. He looked up when he felt eyes staring at him. He had just reached the top of the hill when he saw who was looking at him. Jun nearly halted in his tracks, but he pressed forward, fearful that if he stopped he would look like he was going to make trouble. He hung his head and tried not to make eye contact with the person. He didn't want trouble. Jun glanced up to see if the person was still looking at him. And sure enough, the person was. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at the figure. As he neared the small village, the firebender could make out shops and other people. He could also see that the person was a women. Fearing that this person might be a waterbender, Jun stood at the top of the hill for an instant, taking a moment to decide if he should really keep going. He gave himself a confirming nod and headed forward.


A small gust of wind kicked up again and he stopped and hugged his chest, shivering from the cold. Why hadn't he come prepared? Maybe one of the shops would have a coat or something. He quickly dug in his pocket to his small pouch of coins and fumbled with the pouch trying to guess how much he had in the brown leather pouch. Hopefully enough for a meal and a coat of some sort. Hoping the girl wasn't looking hard enough, he cuffed his hands around his mouth and blew a small flame to warm himself up. It worked but it would soon fade away, that Jun knew. He needed to find a place to rest. 

 

[PrincessSkye]

Emily watched the ill prepared visitor start towards her. She noticed his clothes then and shifted to block his path, lifting her club to further stop him as her dark eyes narrowed. "Hold it, fire nation...what brings you here? Why are you on your own?" Emily said her voice as cold as the harsh wind that blew between them. She looked him up and down, noting just how unprepared the stranger was and let out a sigh dropping her club down to her side. She reached up, tugging off her top layer of furs, revealing a layer of cloth a shade of darker blue that covered from her neck down to her armored boots.


She held it out to him lifting an eyebrow, "I leave you alone for a few minutes and you've already attracted a stranger..." Said a rough voice behind her, Emily turned to look at her mentor who now held two bowls of the hot stew in each hand and who was looking quizzically down at the fire nation boy. Emily turned back to the boy pushing her fur into his arms before turning back to the older man and taking her bowl of soup, "I was just standing at my post, he's the one that came up.." She grumbled a little, looking back at the boy and holding out her stew, "Here...I can't let you in without asking a few questions but you should at least warm up...put the furs on they'll help, I promise. And Aunt Julie makes the best tiger seal stew, I'll get some more later, it will help warm up your insides." Emily sent him a small smile, seemingly unfazed by the blast of wind in just her thing clothes. 

 

[Greirat The Thief]

Jun stopped as he saw the club blocking his entrance to the village. He looked at the water tribe member as she spoke to him. Her tongue harsh, cold; as if he was going to burn the place down. The firebender looked behind her at the village, taking note to where the merchants were and where the food might possibly be. Turning his attention back to the water tribe girl as he felt something fuzzy being handed to him. He almost jumped back thinking it might be some creature, but realized it was coat. She handed him her coat, why? Wasn't she cold? And that's when he remembered her asking him questions. He stuttered for answer, mostly because he was cold but also because taken aback by the gesture of handing him the coat.


"I...Well...I." His voice trailed off as the wind kicked up again. He quickly put the coat and rubbed his hands together to keep warm. But he couldn't help but bending a little bit of fire into his hands to warm himself up more. As a rough male voice broke his concentration Jun quickly looked up to see a warrior standing behind the girl. As he spoke he realized that the man must be her mentor. He looked down at Jun and Jun looked up at him. What was he going to do? That's when he saw her grab one of the bowls from the man's hands, guessing that the mentor had gotten it for her. He was shocked when the girl handed the bowl to him. It was steaming and warm to the touch. Jun's mouth began to water as he looked at the soup. But instead of going to eat it right away, he cautiously looked up at the girl and then over to her mentor. He then looked down at the bowl again.


"W-wow. Thank you." The firebender said as he gave a small bow of his head in a sign of thanks. He wasn't expecting any of what just happened. But he wasn't going to eat standing out in the open. He shyly looked around for a place to sit. But Jun wasn't about to move with the two Water Tribe members standing there. He would rather be ushered in, then just wandering about like a lost puppy. Absent mindlessly he began to stir the soup with the spoon, looking at the tiny twirl of soup as the liquid chased the spoon around the container.

 

[PrincessSkye]

The large man turned to make his way to two small chairs made of large twigs and bits of fur, he grunted as he lowered himself turning his mind to the stew in front of him. Emily continued to watch the stranger, her eyebrows lifted now in curiosity as she watched him bend the fire before falling back into silence, now stirring his stew.  "It's not poisoned..." She said unable to hid the smirk now, "you fire nation folk are so paranoid. What's a bender like you doing out here? And so unprepared...Don't you even know how to keep warm with your flame?" She asked shifting to lean on one leg, crossing her arms to watch him play with his food. 


"Let the kid come and sit. I'm sure he's walked a long way." Came the rough voice of her mentor, Emily shrugged turning to tug over a third chair closer to the small fire they had going at the post. "Here." She looked at the boy patting the back of the chair before sitting down in the one next to the man, lifting her hands up towards the warmth of the flame, though as if out of habit then of cold. "So kid, why are you out here?" Said the man looking at him now over the rim of his bowl as he sipped the broth of the stew. "Surly you are not an outcast, you don't look to have any wounds or battle scars, you arn't even in any armor so you're not from an army..." Emily snorted a bit, "He looks to skinny to be any good in a battle anyway, besides he's not even dress properly! Seriously...if you're going to visit the north pole at least have the sense to wear a-" "Emily!" The girl shrunk a bit under the sudden commanding voice of the man.


"Pardon her, she hasn't learned how to keep her thoughts to herself yet. She is just learning the ways of war herself." The man said with a stern look at Emily as she crossed her arms to sulk, "I'm John, this is my apprentice Emily, what's your name, son?" He asks sending the boy a warm smile. 

 

[Greirat The Thief]

Jun followed the man's movement as the warrior sat in the chair. He passively ignored the girl's comment about the Fire Nation being paranoid. The Water Tribe girl was firing question after question at him. She was so curious and annoying. But at the sudden mention of her snarky comment on not being able to keep warm with his flame, his head shot up to give the girl a menacing glare.


He followed the girl shortly after she sat down and sat himself in the seat next to her. He looked at the girl's mentor, half expecting him to throw him out of the village. But instead he received a question. At first he just shrugged as a response to the answer, still staring at his food.


He became annoyed as the girl again, began rapid firing questions at him. But as he listened to her talk, he looked away, almost hurt by the questions she was asking.


Jun's mind flashed a memeory. He had been thrown out of his own home. His father, setting the house on fire with his bending skills. Jun had failed a bending exam, and his father was outraged. His repsonse was less then appreciated. Jun reached up to grab his shoulder, remembering the scar that was there. A reminder, not to come home. The sharp bark of the man's voice interrupted Jun's memory. 


He shrugged at the man's apology for Emily's bombardment of rude questions. He looked at his food and noticed it had gone cold. He picked it up and held it in one hand with his finger tips. The tips of his fingers glowed red, as he began heating up the bowl.


"Jun. Jun Treen." The Firebender stated quietly to John. He glanced to the mentor, seeing his soft smile. But Jun didn't smile back. He turned his attention to the bowl of soup. He wasn't used to being handed things. Not that he was going to deny food, but he still hasn't gotten over the fact that the girl just handed it to him. The Fire Nation boy took a small scoop of the soup and ate it. It tasted good. It was warm and filling. It had been a long time since he had had something this filling. Jun went back to stiring the soup with the spoon again before taking another small bite of it.

 

[PrincessSkye]

"Thats a stupid name..." Emily grumbled hunching a bit at the fresh stare she got from John.


"Jun." He said after a moment looking back at the boy, Emily having turned away her back now to them shoulders hunched in. "Finish your stew, then we can escort you inside the village when out relief comes." John said tapping Emily on her shoulder, "what? What I said was true..." She began to grumble turning back around then blinked when he handed her the stew. "I'm going to go back and inform the chef. I'll get another bowl for myself you finish this. I know you don't have a big stomach." Emily rolled her eyes but started to eat the still half full bowl, her cheeks turning a little red from the warmth of the stew. 


John turned back to look at the boy, "She won't harass you anymore but you need to stay out here with her until I come back with the relief. Everyone one in this town knows everyone so a stranger coming in when there is no trade scheduled will put the whole town on alert. Its just for form..." He said starting back to the gate, sending a warning glance at Emily before he went inside. The girl let out a snort through her nose eating the stew quickly before it got to cold and setting the bowl aside. She met Jun's eyes, her own stormy grey ones narrowing a bit, "So...are you ever going to tell us why you are here? Or are you just going to sit there turning the bowl into charcoal..." Her eyes fell on the blackened spots that where growing up around his glowing fingers. 

 

[Greirat The Thief]

The Firebender looked up at John as he spoke, nodding in understanding. He watched the Water Tribe warrior walk away for a moment. He briefly met the gaze of Emily before his eyes fell back to his stew. 


He stopped his fingers from heating the bowl any further, looking sadly at the blackened spots on the bowl. He sighed as Emily spoke up once more, again asking the question as to why he was here. Knowing he was going to have to speak up about it sooner or later he turned his head to look at the Water Tribe girl.


"I'm just trying to see the world. I want to know what's out there." It seemed like a childish response. But it was the truth. Well. Most of it anyway. He wasn't about to tell her he was homeless. Jun set the bowl of soup aside, his appetite had fadded away. He looked at it as it sat on the frozen ground. Jun hated the notion of wasting food. But he wasn't going to eat if he wasn't hungry and he wasn't going to stuff himself if he was full. They would just have to deal with it for now. Jun would accept what consequences came of it.


"Must you be so talkative?" The firebender bluntly asked the girl as he looked into the fire before him. It was a question that just sort of just tumbled out of his mouth. He didn't think twice about it. But he also didn't care. This girl talked to much. He wanted her to just shut her mouth for a while.

 

[PrincessSkye]

Emily listened to his lame response, frowning a little as he put to food aside. Didn't he know how hard it was to catch enough tiger seal to make the stuff? Let alone the other ingredients? The bowl looked to be ok, save for the burn marks now permanently on the sides of it. She looked back over at him, her mouth thinning a bit as she thought, then turned up into a small smirk.


"You want to see the world? This isn't a good starting point then, stupid boy..." She let out a short laugh shaking her head, "Welcome to the North Pole, princess, where we have lovely furs," Emily gestured to her furs he was wearing covered in places with dried blood and stained, "Good meals everyday." She pointed to his unfinished stew her eyes turning cold now, "and great weather." Emily threw her arms up this time then dropped them to continue to glare at him. "If you wanted to see the world you should've stayed over seas, maybe go to the earth kingdom or something. It's warm there right?" 


She looked away, glaring into the fire now her arms crossed over her, hands rubbing her arms. "Like John said, everyone knows everyone so what is there to talk about? Personally, you are the first person outside of the tribe I've seen...there hasn't been any sort of tradeoff since I was posted here after my training back in the city. And everyone knows that no one but Water Tribe people enter the city...except the Avatar but where is he?" Emily caught herself and closed her mouth slowly to stop her rambling as she glanced over at the boy then back to the fire. "sorry..."

 

[Greirat The Thief]

He watched her as she mockingly pointed out the obvious. He tried to hide a small smile that approached his lips. Be he knew he had failed. He looked away, momentarily thinking of home. Yes, he could have started elsewhere. But why not start at the corners of the world and work your way in?


"Better to start at the ends of the earth, then to have to make your way towards it." Jun stated without looking at her. His smile had fadded back to the somber expression on his face as she kept on talking. He was slightly interested in what she was saying. But most of the words went in one ear and out the other. As Emily realized she had been rambling, Jun sighed at the final opportunity of peace. But after a momentary pause of silence, Jun couldn't help but speak up.


"What's it like? Living out here, I mean? With no one but yourselves to rely on..." His voice trailed off slightly as he realized he knew the answer. He had been on his own for nearly 2 years now. He knew what it was like to have to rely on just your own strengths. To have to do everything without anyone's help.

 

[PrincessSkye]

"Well...we get up pretty much before dawn to get to the good fishing spot...at least I used to before I started my training. Now it depends on your post time. I still get up early though and try to help out around the village as much as I can." Emily let out a huff of air, watching the fine steam rise up and disappear for a moment. "I'm not a bender, though my father was..." Her voice trailed off as she looked into the flame, "He ah...he's gone now..." She said a little bluntly shifting a bit to rub her arms. "Anyway, some of us go fish, other to hunt for the furs we wear, and others make stuff for trade out of bone or small beads. There is a small forest just over the mountain of the city where we can get wood for the few fires we have. In this village its just this one here and the large cooking fire at the center of town." She pointed to the flame then over to the gate of the village to indicate the center.


"I've never been outside of the water nation. What's it like? Is it as hot as they say elsewhere?" She glanced over at him with a sheepish smile, "I've only seen pictures of trees and stuff from the scrolls our small library has, green looks like it would be a pretty color." 


Emily looked over as John came back followed by two more warrior's, both men though one looked to be her age. She stood taking the small fur cloak John handed her and pulling it over her shoulders. "Come on Jun. We can get you some more sutable clothing inside. Just stay close ok?"

 

[Greirat The Thief]

Jun looked at Emily as she started talking about village life. It was quite different from the life he knew, from the life he grew up with. Jun looked down at the ground at the mention of her father being gone. He never knew his mother. He only saw pictures. The Fire Nation boy perked up at the comment of not being elsewhere other then her Nation. But his mind was still on his mother and father. He absent mindlessly comment on it.


"I never knew my mother. She died when I was young. My father was a fire bender, a warrior in the army. I failed a bending test. He..." Jun stopped talking and looked away for a moment. "It's warm in the Fire Nation. Why do you think I came dressed the way I did?" The Firebender said with joking smile, trying to lighten the mood. "I don't know about other places. I haven't visted them."


Jun stood up when he saw Jun and two other warriors come up behind them. The dark haired boy nodded in repsonse, hugging close to John as they entered the Water Tribe village. He peered around John's body as he looked around. He could feel the stares of the tribe memebers and hear whispers of fear and anger. They were, after all enemies, the two nations. It was only natural he would get a response like he did. But it made him hunch lower and hide behind John.

 

[PrincessSkye]

Emily walked beside the boy looking ahead for a moment until she saw him hunch over. She glanced around noticing a small group of people beginning to line the street, sending him looks of ether fear or disgust. She moved a little closer touching his arm slightly, "Don't let them see its getting to you...You are fire nation, yes, but you haven't attacked us yet. And besides you're just a kid like I am, what harm could you do." She sent him a smile, "Besides you're wearing water tribe colors right now." Emily motioned to her furs he was still wearing before tugging the cloak she now wore closer around herself as a gust of cold wind blew through. 


"Storms coming in...Better get to the chefs tent." John said his big bulk almost shielding them both from another gust of wind. The crowd slowly dissipated, moving back to close up smaller tents or quickly push in baskets filled with various things inside for protection.  John stopped at a tent nearly three times the size of those around it and decorated in deep blues, feathers, and beads made from bone. He lifted the heavy flap and Emily quickly ducked in. She immediately took a seat on a small piece of fur bedding, pulling off the cloak, gloves, and arm warmers as well as the armor covering her boots. She shook her hair back combing her fingers through it as John stepped in and proceeded to do the same. 


It was warm inside the tent, despite there being no fire. Instead there was just a pit inside the room filled with hot rocks and a large bowl of water. Every now and then some one would remove the rock and run out to the cooking fire to grab another. Around the large space were furs for sitting, small tables, and a larger fur bed. To one side was a rack full of spears and other sorts of weapons and next to it sat a larger table with what looked to be a map and a few scrolls strewn across it. Emily let out a huge sigh, falling back onto more furs, "Warm...I hope that storm doesn't last forever though...I wanted to try and go hunting..."

 

[Greirat The Thief]

Jun pulled his arm away from Emily and looked at her sternly. He took a small breath and stood up straight, trying to make himself confident. He was a stranger after all, regardless of his Fire Nation origin. I bet they look at all strangers like this. He told himself. He hugged his arms and shivered as a gust of wind broke through and blasted them. Man, it was cold out here. How did they survive this cold winter? Jun looked at the massive tent that they were coming up too. It was adorned with odd feathers and beads, something he hadn't seen before. He wanted to go out and touch it, but thought better of it, thinking that this tent might be the Chief's. He heard John's mention of a storm coming through. But when he looked up at the sky, all Jun saw was a clear blue sky. There were no clouds to be seen in the area. But he shrugged, these people knew better then he did about the weather here. He wasn't going to complain.


As the Firebender stepped inside the tent behind Emily, the first thing that caught his eye was a large pit in the middle of the room. Stones, which he assumed were hot, were placed here. His eyes then shifted to the glinting of metal, spears and weapons. Next to the rack of weapons, he saw a table with maps and scrolls on it. A fuzz of black fur caught his attention on the ground as he was not watching where he was going, he nearly stepped on the rug. It was a rug right? Looking about the room he saw others like it and then noticed Emily laying on them. Beds, perhaps? Or maybe they were just sitting areas? He hoped the latter was true. He couldn't think of laying on such fuzzy fur for a bed.


The boy still stood standing in the room, even as John entered the tent. He wasn't about to sit down, even though he was tired. Fur wasn't his thing. He began to rub his hands together again, flaming sparks danced between his hands and fingers as he rubbed them together. It was a trick his father had taught him to keep warm and it worked fairly well, better even then the academy had taught him. He would occasionally breath into his hands, the sparks growing bigger as he did so. But the sparks slowly died down soon afterwards. He did this for about a minute before he slowed his hands and finally stopped. He looked at Emily and then to John, and finally around the room, waiting for something else to happen.

 

[PrincessSkye]

Emily snuggled into the warm furs as John watched the boy looking around. "You can sit. I see you are still cold, here..." John scooted over patting a fur beside himself, "this is the warmest spot in the tent, reserved for old men like myself but you've been wondering out there form some time now yes?" His expression turned to concern, "Maybe we should have the local medicine woman look at you...you might have caught something..." 


Emily suddenly let out a shriek as a giant white blur rushed passed Jun and leapt on her. Her cry was cut off as it stole the breath from her, and it was soon licking her face as she gasped out giggles trying to push the mass off. "Down boy! Down, Tiny!" The great wolf moved a bit, now sitting on her lap as she sat up smashing its face in her hands. "Silly little pup." She cooed, the wolf's tongue hanging out the side of its mouth. John let out a small laugh, "I see you left Tiny behind..." "He's no good at guarding..." Emily rolled her eyes rubbing the wolf's white and grey spotted fur, it bulk pressed against her tail wagging furiously. "He's a hunting machine though and tonight seemed like it would be good...but the storm seems it will be a bad one...I can smell the snow coming." 


A howl of wind shook the tent slightly, John sighed rubbing the back of his head, "Sorry kid, You'll have to stay here for the night..." He said looking back at Jun, "That storm could kill a whole army when it hits." The wolf turned its great head now to study Jun, one ear ticked back while the other perked up towards him. Then it let out a small bark and lunged at the boy, knocking him down and proceeding to lick his face as well. Emily jumped up with a laugh and tried, rather uselessly, to tug Tiny off. "See? Totally useless at guarding! Tiny stop it, You're going to scare the little fire bender!" She laughed.


"The wolf likes you." Came a voice from behind the two of them, Emily looked up into the stormy eyes of the villages chief and head of the warriors stationed their. His hair was the same sandy color as hers though a few shades darker and his features were more chiseled, but the shape of the nose and the skin tone where the same.  "Uncle." Emily stood, the wolf leaping off Jun and bounding towards the chief who rubbed his head with a small smile. "Now now, calm down boy..." He said before turning his gaze to Jun, "You must be the Fire Nation boy who decided it would be a good idea to wounder around unprepared in these conditions..." He said his face now expressionless as he examined the kid. 

 

[Greirat The Thief]

Jun nodded in response to him being out in the cold for a long time. He looked at the bundle of fur that the man was talking about. He stared at it, not wanting to sit on the thing. At the mention of having someone look at him, he glared at John and snapped at the warrior.


"I'm fine! I can take care of myself!" He huffed in a harsh tone. Jun flinched away from the blur of white that had shot past him and tackled Emily. Instinctively he crouched low, ready for bending if he needed too. But then he saw that the creature was wolf. A wolf? And the beast wasn't attacking them? After he heard Emily giggle and call the wolf "Tiny" the Fire Nation boy realized that they kept the creature as a pet. When the wolf turned towards him, he wondered what it was going to do. Would it attack him? But no sooner had the thought entered his brain that he was hit hard by the dog when it lunged at him. But he wasn't laughing as he tried to vainly dodge the licks from the beast.


"Get off me, dog!" He grunted as he tried to push the heavy wolf off him. But a voice he did not recognize entered the room and with it, the weight of the grey and white wolf fell off of Jun's body and disappeared. As Jun sat up, he noticed another figure in the room. Uncle? What was Emily talking about? But the firebender pushed the thought aside and stood up, looking at what he assumed to be the Chief of the village. But the words that came out of the Chief's mouth was not what Jun was expecting. And as the man finished his sentence, Jun crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes, giving the dirty blonde man an angry stare. But he never retaliated with words to the man in charge. That was something his father taught him; always respect your elders, even if they hurt your feelings. And so, Jun stood with his body squared to the Chief, un-moving in his stance.

 

[PrincessSkye]

"He's no threat, U-" "He's fire nation!" The man snapped cutting Emily off and causing the wolf to jump back slightly at the sudden rage. Emily stepped back, now next to John her eyes downcast as she folded her hands in front of her, "sorry..." John wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "The boy is no threat, Derick....He was lost, cold, and probably starving...what else should the girl have done? Let him die?" The man, Derick, looked as if he were about to say yes, but he moved his gaze from John down to the girl at his side. He let out a sigh, long and heavy, and looked back at Jun, "I'm sure you know as well as I do that out nations are enemys...so why would you even risk coming out this way."


Derick held up a hand before Jun could even try to speak, "Don't even answer that...I don't want to hear you excuses..." Tiny let out a short whine, his ears flipped back and tail tucked in as he crouched down a little. Derick glared back at the boy for another moment before holding out his hand, "I suggest you remove my Niece's furs and yourself from my village." He said, his tone cold. "Uncle you ca-" "I can and will. I do not tolerate fire nation in my village or my nation! We do not even trade with the traitors!" "But-" "Emily." The girl closed her mouth now glaring at her Uncle. She jerked away from John yanking open the flap to the tent, a blast of cold air and snow blew in, "Tiny." She growled and the wolf quickly followed her as she stormed out.


John let out a sigh looking at Derick, "She isn't a  little girl anymore...and one of your best. You should trust her." "Trusting her and knowing whats right for my village are two completely different things." Derick snapped then turned back to the boy, "The furs." He commanded holding out his hand. 

 

[Greirat The Thief]

Jun never flinched at the man's apparent rage and hatred for his Nation. Nor did he make any move to suggest otherwise. He stayed where he was, watching the argument about him unfold before his eyes. He was given no time to answer, let alone think about what was going on. Both Emily and John tried to reason with the man, but no effort would be heeded by the Chief of the village. And that's when Jun realized that the Chief had had his mind set from the very beginning. The moment he heard the words Fire Nation spoken to him, he wanted no part of it. The firebender looked to John, hoping for some sort of last plea by the man; a last ditch effort to make the Chief change his mind. But Jun knew he wasn't going to get one regardless of what he thought. As the Chief, who's name was apparently Derick, asked for the fur coat back. Jun stood there for moment, defying the man's orders. But he soon gave in and slid them off. He gently handed the man the furs and walked towards the tent flap. He looked back to John and gave a small nod, a small gesture of thanks for what he had done. Opening the heavy flap, he stepped out into the cold bitter wind and snow.


The firebender looked around for a moment. There was no one in sight. The village had gone empty. And he certainly didn't see Emily or Tiny. Where did they go? But not wanting to stay in one spot to long and fearing the Chief might be a waterbender, he headed back down the same center they had walked up just a few minutes before. He sighed and stuck his hands in his pockets, already shivering from the cold. He had no idea where else to go. And had found the village on accident. He didn't know how to find shelter in northern lands. Jun looked up to the dark grey clouds above him, weather certainly changed fast here. He sighed remembering John's words that he would have to stay the night. The Fire Nation boy would have to find some way to stay warm and not freeze to death. But he barely survived the other nights without a storm. He hung his head as the icy wind whistled though village, he had a feeling he wasn't going to be sleeping tonight. He stopped as he got to the edge of the village and turned to look back. He could just make out a dark figure standing just outside the Chief's tent. He assumed it was the Chief himself, watching Jun to make sure he left the village. The boy turned and headed back out into the wilderness, hoping he might find a cave or other means of shelter before dark truly fell upon this part of the world.

 

[PrincessSkye]

Emily sat in a smaller tent, her legs pushed up to her chest, arms folded around them the large wolf curled up at her side. She glared at the flap that occasionally opened with a new gust of wind and blinked when she say the boy leave, and without the furs she had given him. Her nose wrinkled in disgust at her Uncle for allowing the boy to leave during such weather conditions. Tiny lifted his head to sniff the air whining a little, "I know...I hate him as well..." Emily sighed rubbing the wolf's head. Then she blinked, getting an idea and turned pushing the wolf off her fur bed. He let out a snort but moved to sit on the dirt ground to watch her as she rolled it up, tugging over a large pack she normally used for long hunting trips. The wolf tilted its large head, as she began to stuff it with various things, bits of food, scrolls, a few spare small weapons she had, furs, and other stuff she may need. The girl then pulled on another set of fur armor, this one a little cleaner, and hooked her club to her hip before pulling the pack on to her back.


"What are you doing." Came John's voice and Emily turned quickly her eyes widening, "I uh..." "Here..." He sided stepping in and adjusting her pack a bit, making it lighter on her shoulders then tugged the fur hood up onto her head, "take Tiny with you..." The girl blinked in confusion as he held a finger up to his lips. "All warriors of the water tribe must have some journey of some sort...its time you had yours...and that boy wont survive the night the way he is." Tiny stood next to Emily now his tail wagging, "I'll distract your Uncle with another argument. But he'll find out soon enough so you better get going.."


Soon, Emily and Tiny had managed to make their way out of the camp undetected and began to walk along the path of snow the boy had made. "Ok Tiny, You got his sent?" She asked as the wolf stuck his nose in a particularly deep foot print. He let out a bark and darted forward, Emily following behind at a brisk walk to help keep her warm. The snow began to grow a bit thinner as they neared the large forest after a few hours, his foot print leading into the darkening trees. "Go Tiny, I'm right behind you." The wolf barked again and sprinted forward catching up to the boy after a bit, running up behind and leaping up onto his back with a yip. 

 

[Greirat The Thief]

The Fire Nation bender had somehow managed to find himself in forest. He had no idea how he got here, but he didn't care. The wind was calmer here, the snow thinner and falling at a softer rate. He would occasionally stagger in his steps, but he kept moving. He knew if he stopped that he would freeze to death. But Jun knew he wasn't going to last much longer anyhow. He was shivering uncontrollably and he had stopped bending fire a while ago, he didn't have the concentration for it anymore. He was completely unaware of his surroundings and completely oblivious to the wolf running up behind him. Jun heard a yip, but before he could turn around he felt heavy paws on his back. His scream was muffled as he face planted into the thick layer of snow. His body kicked into overdrive as adrenaline rushed through his system. He was being attacked by a beast! He had to fight back! He efforts were in vain as he tried to get up. The weight of whatever was on him was to heavy to be moved by his body. Jun tried taking a breath of air, only to inhale snow instead. He coughed and sputtered, trying to move his head so he could breath. 


He felt something lick his ear. Was that a...? No it couldn't be. But then he felt the wet, rough sensation again. It was a tongue! That's when the firebender realized it was the wolf he had met before, Tiny. Jun grunted and wiggled his way under the wolf. As he managed to get out from under the pet, Tiny jumped on his chest and barked at him. Jun grunted and lay sprawled out on the forest snow. It was no use fighting the wolf's strength to get off. He looked at the wolf as the creature looked back at him, his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. Jun couldn't help but smile at him.


"Tiny! Get off!" He yelled, a desperate attempt to make the creature off his chest. But Tiny didn't move, instead he turned to his right and barked as Emily came into the view. Jun looked at her as curiosity fell into his head. Why had she followed him? But it didn't matter, he didn't care. He was just glad to have some sort of company.


"You...followed me? Why?" He asked, still laying on the cold snow, hoping the wolf would move soon.

 

[PrincessSkye]

"Because I apparently take pity on stupid people..." Emily sighed trying to hid the smile as she saw Tiny playing with his new, and slightly unwilling friend. She laughed watching the large wolf circled Jun's chest then flopped down with its cheek pressed against the boys, panting loudly from its run. Emily's own cheeks were red from the short jog of her own and she stepped up grinning down at him. "Once Tiny is fixated its hard to get him to let go. And he really likes you for some reason." The girl shrugged looking at the wolf, "Tiny, heal." she pointed at her feet, it took a few moments but the wolf finally climbed off Jun and trotted over to sit at her feet. 


"Let's get you dressed in some better clothes before you freeze to death. The storm hasn't quite made its way to this area so we should be ok for a few more hours." Emily said kneeling down to pull the pack off her back digging in for a moment before yanking out furs. "You're skinnier than me, but taller, so these will fit a little weird.." She said pushing the furs at him, "I've got enough food for the night and a bit in the morning, its not warm but I'm sure you could fix that." Emily stood again pulling the pack back onto her back as she looked around. "And I managed to snag a small tent. We should set it up soon, just need to find some good coverage from this wind..." Tiny nosed his way back over to Jun, tucking it under his arm to shove him up into a sitting position. 


Emily looked back at him, confusion covering her face, "why are you not dressed yet? We need to find cover and set up camp before the sun sets and the storm comes in. Come on slow poke." She sighed walking over to grab his other arm to try and yank him up to his feet. 

 

[Greirat The Thief]

"Ha." He said with a small laugh as he heard her comment. He looked at her and rolled his eyes. But Jun wouldn't help but let out a laugh. "Get him off." The firebender whined. And to his amazement, with the command Emily gave, Tiny did get off his chest. He lay on his back for a moment, letting himself catch is breath before getting help from both the tame wolf and the girl to get him up off the ground. He took the furs from her and put them on. Sure enough they did fit weird, as she said they would. But they were much warmer then what he had been wearing. He looked at himself with the furs on. I look really weird in this. Jun thought to himself. He shook his head in amusement.


"Greg is never gonna believe any of this..." He said out loud. He then remembered her saying the food might be cold. Fire. He remembered an old firebending trick he saw one of the masters doing. He looked towards Emily. "Hold Tiny and stay back. I'm going to warm myself up a lot and make a fairly large flame in the process." He clasped his hands together and brought them to his mouth. With his index finger and his thumb he made a circle. He took a deep breath and slowed his breatheing. He counted in his head to three... one...two...three... He inhaled the cold winter air one more time and exhaled quickly, producing a large flame from his mouth. In the Fire Nation it was known as an Imitation Dragon Breath. It was forbidden for students to practice such a technique until the last year of schooling. But Jun was so intrigued by it that he had practiced it secretly until the day of the bending test. Using it was what caused him to fail, despite how impressed all the Masters and Teachers were. 


After letting the stream of fire go on for a minute or two, he stopped. He looked at Emily and grinned. "See. I firebend just fine!" He stated jokingly. Jun settled down from his hype from firebending and turned back to a series note. "Right, shelter. Should we head deeper into the forest to look for fallen trees or something? Or should we stay on the outskirts of the forest like we are now?" He asked her, knowing she was more knowledgeable about the land then he was.

 

[PrincessSkye]

Emily watched in amazement, and slightly fear that she quickly hid, as he breathed the large flame. She smiled back clapping a little while Tiny gave a small whine and hunched by her legs, she gave him a small rub behind the ears and sighed. "Yes. We need to head deeper. As far as we can go before the storm hits, and we should go downwind, covering our tracks as much as we can." She looked back at him with a small smile, "I may have run away more then just leaving on peaceful terms..." Then she did something she would rarely do to anyone near her age. She bowed, low her hands on her knees and her hair falling over her face, "I apologize for my uncles behavior...ever since..." Emily trailed off for a moment then let out a shaking breath, "Ever since his brother, my father, died he's has had it out for the fire nation..."


She stood there, bowed, unmoving, while she waited for his response. "Please forgive him...our village...ever since the first attack towards the air nation from the fire nation army everyone has been on guard...I realize how their silence must come towards your people but they would never harm a soul." Emily continued when she didn't hear a response, not daring to look up at him.