Post by kaitokatashi on Apr 16, 2009 23:53:07 GMT -6
Back and forth, back and forth…
The sound of rain provided a pseudo-backbeat for the song the old woman was humming as she swept, but no sound could have been more soothing to her than falling rain. Light from the full moon poured gently into the room, bathing portions of the floor in light distorted by the water flowing in rivulets down the windows. Hama continued humming as she swept the floor of her inn, making the room presentable to any guests that might come in; then again, she didn’t really get any business nowadays, but better safe than sorry. The white-haired woman of 80 needed to do something with her time other than play with puppets and run errands.
Suddenly, a squeaking sound caught her ear.
“Rats,” she muttered, looking around, sharp eyes keeping watch for the rodents. A flash of movement shot across the room and the broom seemed to fall slowly from her hands as she raised them, locking onto the chi flowing through the rat’s body like a koi swimming gracefully in water. It stopped in its tracks as her fingers curled wickedly, and a few motions of her hands had it doing a little dance across the floor.
“You should know better, little one,” she said with a smile creasing her wrinkled face, but it faded when she realized what she was doing. The rat squeaked in terror when it was released from her control, and her hands fell to her sides.
It didn’t used to be this way, she thought bitterly, tears welling up in her eyes. She’d been out of prison for as long as she could remember, but here she was, doing exactly what she had been doing back then.
She had to sit down as the memories came flooding back, most of them painful. She had been happy once, back in the Southern Water Tribe. There was everything she could have ever wanted in life, but all of that had been taken away from her during the Fire Nation raids. Sure, she’d been able to hold her own against the soldiers, but she could only do so much when she had eventually been the last Waterbender of the Southern Tribe. They had captured her, too, and carted her off to prison like the rest of the Waterbenders.
Hot, angry tears flowed down her cheeks as she let out a choked sob. The soldiers had done…unspeakable things to her. The memories were too painful to bear, even after all these years. Her innocence had been brutally stripped away from her like her Water Tribe clothes had been stripped away from her before she was forced into prison garb.
A grim ray of light broke through her sadness, frustration, and helplessness. She had made them pay. Oh, how she had made them pay. If it weren’t for the Fire Nation prison, she wouldn’t have discovered how to Bloodbend. Mastering the powerful Waterbending discipline, despite the fact that the Fire Nation had done everything in their power to strip her bending away from her, had been the only thing that had saved her from complete madness; it had kept her driven and focused on escaping. It had made her stronger. Even though she could only do it during a full moon, the small window of time was all she needed; after all, what else would she have done with her time in prison? Eventually, she was set free by the very guards assigned to keep her in.
They were scum, all of them. The Fire Nation had taken everything from her, and they deserved whatever they had coming to them. She had done her part in whittling the Fire Nation down from the inside, but she was only one Waterbender. It would take years before her work showed any significant results, but she would keep at it nonetheless. She had to survive any way she could.
She wiped the tears from her eyes as she heard a knock at the door; when she got up to answer it, there was an obviously Fire Nation couple standing there, soaked by the rain. She gave them a sweet smile that masked a more sinister grin.
Hello there, little puppets.
The sound of rain provided a pseudo-backbeat for the song the old woman was humming as she swept, but no sound could have been more soothing to her than falling rain. Light from the full moon poured gently into the room, bathing portions of the floor in light distorted by the water flowing in rivulets down the windows. Hama continued humming as she swept the floor of her inn, making the room presentable to any guests that might come in; then again, she didn’t really get any business nowadays, but better safe than sorry. The white-haired woman of 80 needed to do something with her time other than play with puppets and run errands.
Suddenly, a squeaking sound caught her ear.
“Rats,” she muttered, looking around, sharp eyes keeping watch for the rodents. A flash of movement shot across the room and the broom seemed to fall slowly from her hands as she raised them, locking onto the chi flowing through the rat’s body like a koi swimming gracefully in water. It stopped in its tracks as her fingers curled wickedly, and a few motions of her hands had it doing a little dance across the floor.
“You should know better, little one,” she said with a smile creasing her wrinkled face, but it faded when she realized what she was doing. The rat squeaked in terror when it was released from her control, and her hands fell to her sides.
It didn’t used to be this way, she thought bitterly, tears welling up in her eyes. She’d been out of prison for as long as she could remember, but here she was, doing exactly what she had been doing back then.
She had to sit down as the memories came flooding back, most of them painful. She had been happy once, back in the Southern Water Tribe. There was everything she could have ever wanted in life, but all of that had been taken away from her during the Fire Nation raids. Sure, she’d been able to hold her own against the soldiers, but she could only do so much when she had eventually been the last Waterbender of the Southern Tribe. They had captured her, too, and carted her off to prison like the rest of the Waterbenders.
Hot, angry tears flowed down her cheeks as she let out a choked sob. The soldiers had done…unspeakable things to her. The memories were too painful to bear, even after all these years. Her innocence had been brutally stripped away from her like her Water Tribe clothes had been stripped away from her before she was forced into prison garb.
A grim ray of light broke through her sadness, frustration, and helplessness. She had made them pay. Oh, how she had made them pay. If it weren’t for the Fire Nation prison, she wouldn’t have discovered how to Bloodbend. Mastering the powerful Waterbending discipline, despite the fact that the Fire Nation had done everything in their power to strip her bending away from her, had been the only thing that had saved her from complete madness; it had kept her driven and focused on escaping. It had made her stronger. Even though she could only do it during a full moon, the small window of time was all she needed; after all, what else would she have done with her time in prison? Eventually, she was set free by the very guards assigned to keep her in.
They were scum, all of them. The Fire Nation had taken everything from her, and they deserved whatever they had coming to them. She had done her part in whittling the Fire Nation down from the inside, but she was only one Waterbender. It would take years before her work showed any significant results, but she would keep at it nonetheless. She had to survive any way she could.
She wiped the tears from her eyes as she heard a knock at the door; when she got up to answer it, there was an obviously Fire Nation couple standing there, soaked by the rain. She gave them a sweet smile that masked a more sinister grin.
Hello there, little puppets.
