Post by yulan on May 4, 2007 3:20:58 GMT -6
Name: Hayase
Age: 36
Gender: Female
Height: 5’5
Nationality: Northern Water Tribe
Appearance: Hayase’s slender frame lacks visible muscle tone and is unmarred, indicating that she isn’t much of a fighting woman. Indeed, her forte is the healing division of waterbending, so any injuries she received during her lifetime were quickly and easily healed before they could scar. Her skin is a deep tan, her hair a light ash brown, as if it used to be darker but had the color sucked out by time. To keep her hair out of her face, Hayase pulls it into a thick braid that falls to the middle of her back. Two “hair loopies” are fashioned above the braid so that the arcs rest atop the plaits, looking a bit like a fish’s gills. Her eyes are a lighter color than most of her peers’: a thin misty blue, the color of the ocean just after sunrise.
Generally, her outfit includes a light blue tunic with skirt flaps that reach mid-shin and a pair of dark blue pants. The tunic is short-sleeved, but if the weather grows chilly, Hayase will add a black long-sleeved shirt underneath it. The trim on her clothing is white, as is her sash, to which she’s clipped a water pouch on her right side. Brown waterproof moccasins cover her feet.
Fearing that it might be stolen if she brought it with her to the Earth Kingdom, Hayase kept her betrothal necklace at the North Pole, but she does wear a bone hairclip that her husband carved for her as an anniversary present. It resembles a belly-down penguin and is positioned between the “loopies” above her braid.
Rank: Apprentice
Profession: Herbalist/Researcher
History: Hayase was born and raised in the Northern Water Tribe. As her parents were both waterbenders and her three older siblings had also inherited the ability, it wasn’t surprising when she, at the age of six, flung a clump of snow at her brother without ever touching it. Shortly after, her mother sent her to the healing huts to learn from the other female waterbenders of their tribe.
Her parents were traditionalists through and through and taught her in the ways of respect, humility, and silence, all qualities necessary in a good daughter and future wife. In addition, Hayase learned homemaking skills from her mother and came to be quite good at them, especially cooking. Her mother was well-known around the surrounding neighborhoods for the mixture of flavors she put into the food she cooked, so fantastic some said it was like visiting heaven itself. “Family secret”, she’d say with a smile when others asked her to share her recipes. She taught these recipes to Hayase, who could replicate them almost perfectly by the time she was sixteen.
It was at sixteen that Hayase was betrothed to a young waterbending warrior named Tae, arranged and approved by both families. Hayase’s parents were happy because the two would continue their healer-warrior line, while Tae’s parents were happy because they’d tasted Hayase’s cooking and had fallen in love with it, and their son’s new wife would surely invite her in-laws over for dinner fairly often.
The newlyweds began an interesting relationship. Because he was a talented warrior for his age, Tae felt justified in frequently boasting, which caused his companions no small amount of anguish. But for some reason, though bragging about his fighting skills seemed the instinctive thing to do, his ego actually deflated whenever he was around Hayase and he became much easier to get along with. He wanted to impress her with modesty and generosity, qualities that he knew were desirable but didn’t exactly come naturally to him, so he worked genuinely hard to change. Within a little over a year, he matured into a truly decent, honorable man.
Hayase never had reason to fear him. The warrior’s code stopped Tae from hitting an unarmed woman; if there were disagreements, they peacefully talked it out until both could reach a compromise. They were more like good friends than spouses, always exchanging jokes and giving each other advice. They mutually improved each other’s skills: Tae was more than glad to critically review the recipes that Hayase developed and let her know which ones tasted best, while Hayase used her knowledge of the body to help Tae harness his power in the most efficient ways possible during combat. They were happy. There were absolutely no secrets between them.
Their first child, Banso, entered the world two years after their marriage. He was a sweet little boy who took after his father and loved nothing more than the feel of bended water running over his tiny hands. Tae began instructing him in warfare as soon as he was ready, and everyone around them knew from Banso’s good disposition that he would grow up to be an excellent warrior and member of the Northern Water Tribe.
No, Banso caused them relatively little trouble. It was his younger sister who would stretch his parents’ patience to limits they didn’t know they could reach.
At the beginning, Kawara seemed to be as much a gift from heaven as Banso. She was extremely affectionate and seemingly had no sense for danger. Family and strangers were all the same as far as she was concerned; whenever she saw a human being, her first reactions would be to laugh and outstretch her arms, wanting a hug. She threw very few tantrums and smiled all the time. She got along wonderfully with any playmate, regardless of age, gender, or species.
However, as Kawara entered her tween years, she started defying her parents, just lightly at first, but as she grew older her behavior worsened. It baffled Hayase, who had taught Kawara the same moral rules her own mother had taught her. But the now eleven-year-old lacked respect, humility, and silence. She argued with her parents a few times a week. She bragged about her waterbending abilities even more badly than Tae had as an adolescent. She spoke out at home, at the healing huts, at the marketplace, wherever they took her.
The root cause was a certain dissension between Kawara and her parents. Hayase didn’t know how and didn’t understand why, but Kawara got it into her head that she, a girl, would make a much better warrior bender than a healing bender. Banso sometimes showed her a few moves, and when she purposely copied them, even Tae admitted that she was talented. But in their culture, girls simply didn’t fight. That was men’s work. Women were delicate and needed protection. Women weren’t suited for war. Women were healers. But men, men were made for war, naturally designed for it in every way. That was just how things were, but why couldn’t Kawara see that?
The argument boiled and cooled several times over the next few years, during which Kawara finally stopping visiting the healing huts altogether. When this happened, Hayase feared that her daughter had given up bending altogether, but she was wrong. Kawara was heading down a much worse path.
Unable to secure her parents’ permission for combat training, Kawara resorted to spying on lessons and stealing scrolls in order to teach herself. The problem was, while she was a skilled waterbender, she proved to be a horrible thief and was frequently caught. Each time an angry member of the Tribe dragged Kawara back home and confronted Tae and Hayase, it felt to her as if a piece of her soul had been sliced out and dropped into a black abyss, lost forever. It wasn’t just the shame their delinquent daughter brought upon the family, but the pain of knowing that her child, her baby was perpetually distressed and she as her mother could do nothing to help her.
And then the Avatar arrived with his companions, two siblings from the Southern Tribe. Make no mistake, Hayase was very glad that they were assisting in the war, but when she heard that the sister wanted to learn how to fight using waterbending and furthermore had convinced Master Pakku to teach her… Hayase’s heart nearly stopped. This was all the fuel her daughter needed for her side of the argument. Kawara was never going to stop pursuing her insane dream now.
Though their cultural practices hit a significant turning point with the Avatar’s visit, Hayase held fast to her traditional beliefs and repeatedly refused to allow Kawara to take combat-oriented bending lessons.
Tae and Banso eventually left the North Pole with a group of warriors to help the Earth Kingdom. Without the other half of their family around to distract them from each other, it wasn’t long before mother and daughter drove their sanity into hiding and had an enormous fight. Both zealously defended her viewpoint without budging an inch. In the end, Kawara hurled a line of icicles into (and through) the kitchen wall in her fury and stormed out of the house.
A long, cold night of meditation awaited Hayase.
It wasn’t worth it. Standing firm as the last remaining obstacle to Kawara learning combat bending wasn’t worth splintering her family. Kawara had been distant from them for several years now. She was sixteen already; she’d soon marry and move out. There was only a little window of time left open to heal their relationship, and Hayase desperately wanted to. So, after spending hours of thought on the matter, she finally decided to give in. In fact, she would personally see Kawara to a waterbending teacher tomorrow.
But Kawara never came home. By the time Hayase discovered where she had gone, her child was on a supply ship well on its way into the Earth Kingdom sea.
She panicked for two days, then made up her mind to chase after her. All throughout the episode, Hayase’s thoughts were plagued with every conceivable violent horror under the sun, all of which could befall Kawara. No matter what, she had to bring her daughter safely home.
The better part of her first month in the Earth Kingdom yielded dead ends and wounded her hopes. Oh, how far and wide Hayase searched, but the continent was enormous and Kawara could be anywhere. It was like searching for a fish bone dropped into the snow. Hopeless.
Sometime during her sixth week, the distraught mother entered Ba Sing Se. While she was inquiring around the Lower Ring for sightings of a young waterbender who resembled her, Hayase inadvertently got herself into a Pai Sho game with an elderly man outside a tiny tea house. As they played, he recounted a fascinating story of an ancient, ongoing battle that held her interests captive even after their game ended. Seeing her enthusiasm and her potential, the elderly man offered to tell her more.
When she learned about the Order of the White Lotus, Hayase initially concluded that she didn’t have time to waste with them, however noble their case. But then, she realized that these people were well-connected all over the world and especially in the Earth Kingdom. Perhaps if she joined them, they could help her locate Kawara.
As a fresh initiate, Hayase was required to learn the long history of the Order’s war against the Galgori, and what she was taught had a profound effect on her. At every event, in every battle, on every echelon, there had been powerful, absolutely outstanding women who operated as effectively as their male counterparts, sometimes better. These women weren’t mere spectators. They were active participants. Important participants. The role they played was crucial. These revelations changed her view of the world as well as her thoughts about herself.
Hayase saw, at last… Women weren’t too fragile for war. They were as strong and worthy as men, and she too, could make a big difference. After taking the Oath, she was apprenticed into the herbalist/researcher division where her healing abilities would be of the most use.
Her priorities have shifted. She still wishes to find Kawara even as she gives her services to the Order, but now…
Above all else, even if she can’t convince her daughter to come home, the least Hayase can do is let Kawara know that she supports her completely, because she finally understands. And of course, that Kawara can count on her mother’s unconditional love throughout whatever hardships she will face.
Personality:
Hayase is a quiet, gentle soul. She prefers to find peaceful solutions to an argument and will go out of her way to avoid getting into a verbal fight. Patience and respect are the greatest tools one can have when interacting with others, and she uses them very well. Even if she dislikes someone, she tries hard not to make her displeasure apparent. To insult even an arrogant jerk who deserves a harsh word or two would be to insult her parents’ teachings, the same teachings she passed onto her children. Even if her children aren’t present, the need to uphold her morals still lingers strongly in her heart.
If she can help in any way, Hayase is more than willing to lend her assistance. Her first job is that of a healer, after all. Because she was only recently welcomed into the art of combat, she hasn’t quite developed a battle persona yet and still has trouble disregarding the fact that her enemy is a human being with dreams and a family. Fighting makes her uncomfortable, but if she must, she will do it as part of her responsibility. She understands responsibility very well.
Away from home, her husband, and her children, a subconscious but powerful need to anchor herself to friends has seized her. Under normal circumstances, Hayase forged friendships quite easily, but her new surroundings have weakened her confidence when it comes to dealing with people. The Order is now her family in lieu of the Northern Water Tribe, for she doesn’t know how long she’ll be staying in the Earth Kingdom. Combined with her superiors’ mildly frightening warnings not to reveal her association with them, and to hide that she is a bender (who knows when the wrong sort might be paying attention), Hayase tends to be nervous and shy around strangers, suspiciously reluctant to share information about herself. But if new acquaintances prove that they’re not out to hurt her and will call her their friend, she’ll give them her deepest trust.
Other Info:
Hayase has never been in a real battle and thus has no combat experience, but she is highly skilled in the healing arts and is well-educated in the workings of the body, both physical and spiritual. She is an amateur nutritionist and knows a great deal about acupuncture.
Though she isn't very good at wielding it, Hayase keeps a Water Tribe dagger sheathed on her left hip for security. It is her first weapon of choice. Her fists and feet are her second.
She is also a killer cook.
[Character Development post ish here.]
Age: 36
Gender: Female
Height: 5’5
Nationality: Northern Water Tribe
Appearance: Hayase’s slender frame lacks visible muscle tone and is unmarred, indicating that she isn’t much of a fighting woman. Indeed, her forte is the healing division of waterbending, so any injuries she received during her lifetime were quickly and easily healed before they could scar. Her skin is a deep tan, her hair a light ash brown, as if it used to be darker but had the color sucked out by time. To keep her hair out of her face, Hayase pulls it into a thick braid that falls to the middle of her back. Two “hair loopies” are fashioned above the braid so that the arcs rest atop the plaits, looking a bit like a fish’s gills. Her eyes are a lighter color than most of her peers’: a thin misty blue, the color of the ocean just after sunrise.
Generally, her outfit includes a light blue tunic with skirt flaps that reach mid-shin and a pair of dark blue pants. The tunic is short-sleeved, but if the weather grows chilly, Hayase will add a black long-sleeved shirt underneath it. The trim on her clothing is white, as is her sash, to which she’s clipped a water pouch on her right side. Brown waterproof moccasins cover her feet.
Fearing that it might be stolen if she brought it with her to the Earth Kingdom, Hayase kept her betrothal necklace at the North Pole, but she does wear a bone hairclip that her husband carved for her as an anniversary present. It resembles a belly-down penguin and is positioned between the “loopies” above her braid.
Rank: Apprentice
Profession: Herbalist/Researcher
History: Hayase was born and raised in the Northern Water Tribe. As her parents were both waterbenders and her three older siblings had also inherited the ability, it wasn’t surprising when she, at the age of six, flung a clump of snow at her brother without ever touching it. Shortly after, her mother sent her to the healing huts to learn from the other female waterbenders of their tribe.
Her parents were traditionalists through and through and taught her in the ways of respect, humility, and silence, all qualities necessary in a good daughter and future wife. In addition, Hayase learned homemaking skills from her mother and came to be quite good at them, especially cooking. Her mother was well-known around the surrounding neighborhoods for the mixture of flavors she put into the food she cooked, so fantastic some said it was like visiting heaven itself. “Family secret”, she’d say with a smile when others asked her to share her recipes. She taught these recipes to Hayase, who could replicate them almost perfectly by the time she was sixteen.
It was at sixteen that Hayase was betrothed to a young waterbending warrior named Tae, arranged and approved by both families. Hayase’s parents were happy because the two would continue their healer-warrior line, while Tae’s parents were happy because they’d tasted Hayase’s cooking and had fallen in love with it, and their son’s new wife would surely invite her in-laws over for dinner fairly often.
The newlyweds began an interesting relationship. Because he was a talented warrior for his age, Tae felt justified in frequently boasting, which caused his companions no small amount of anguish. But for some reason, though bragging about his fighting skills seemed the instinctive thing to do, his ego actually deflated whenever he was around Hayase and he became much easier to get along with. He wanted to impress her with modesty and generosity, qualities that he knew were desirable but didn’t exactly come naturally to him, so he worked genuinely hard to change. Within a little over a year, he matured into a truly decent, honorable man.
Hayase never had reason to fear him. The warrior’s code stopped Tae from hitting an unarmed woman; if there were disagreements, they peacefully talked it out until both could reach a compromise. They were more like good friends than spouses, always exchanging jokes and giving each other advice. They mutually improved each other’s skills: Tae was more than glad to critically review the recipes that Hayase developed and let her know which ones tasted best, while Hayase used her knowledge of the body to help Tae harness his power in the most efficient ways possible during combat. They were happy. There were absolutely no secrets between them.
Their first child, Banso, entered the world two years after their marriage. He was a sweet little boy who took after his father and loved nothing more than the feel of bended water running over his tiny hands. Tae began instructing him in warfare as soon as he was ready, and everyone around them knew from Banso’s good disposition that he would grow up to be an excellent warrior and member of the Northern Water Tribe.
No, Banso caused them relatively little trouble. It was his younger sister who would stretch his parents’ patience to limits they didn’t know they could reach.
At the beginning, Kawara seemed to be as much a gift from heaven as Banso. She was extremely affectionate and seemingly had no sense for danger. Family and strangers were all the same as far as she was concerned; whenever she saw a human being, her first reactions would be to laugh and outstretch her arms, wanting a hug. She threw very few tantrums and smiled all the time. She got along wonderfully with any playmate, regardless of age, gender, or species.
However, as Kawara entered her tween years, she started defying her parents, just lightly at first, but as she grew older her behavior worsened. It baffled Hayase, who had taught Kawara the same moral rules her own mother had taught her. But the now eleven-year-old lacked respect, humility, and silence. She argued with her parents a few times a week. She bragged about her waterbending abilities even more badly than Tae had as an adolescent. She spoke out at home, at the healing huts, at the marketplace, wherever they took her.
The root cause was a certain dissension between Kawara and her parents. Hayase didn’t know how and didn’t understand why, but Kawara got it into her head that she, a girl, would make a much better warrior bender than a healing bender. Banso sometimes showed her a few moves, and when she purposely copied them, even Tae admitted that she was talented. But in their culture, girls simply didn’t fight. That was men’s work. Women were delicate and needed protection. Women weren’t suited for war. Women were healers. But men, men were made for war, naturally designed for it in every way. That was just how things were, but why couldn’t Kawara see that?
The argument boiled and cooled several times over the next few years, during which Kawara finally stopping visiting the healing huts altogether. When this happened, Hayase feared that her daughter had given up bending altogether, but she was wrong. Kawara was heading down a much worse path.
Unable to secure her parents’ permission for combat training, Kawara resorted to spying on lessons and stealing scrolls in order to teach herself. The problem was, while she was a skilled waterbender, she proved to be a horrible thief and was frequently caught. Each time an angry member of the Tribe dragged Kawara back home and confronted Tae and Hayase, it felt to her as if a piece of her soul had been sliced out and dropped into a black abyss, lost forever. It wasn’t just the shame their delinquent daughter brought upon the family, but the pain of knowing that her child, her baby was perpetually distressed and she as her mother could do nothing to help her.
And then the Avatar arrived with his companions, two siblings from the Southern Tribe. Make no mistake, Hayase was very glad that they were assisting in the war, but when she heard that the sister wanted to learn how to fight using waterbending and furthermore had convinced Master Pakku to teach her… Hayase’s heart nearly stopped. This was all the fuel her daughter needed for her side of the argument. Kawara was never going to stop pursuing her insane dream now.
Though their cultural practices hit a significant turning point with the Avatar’s visit, Hayase held fast to her traditional beliefs and repeatedly refused to allow Kawara to take combat-oriented bending lessons.
Tae and Banso eventually left the North Pole with a group of warriors to help the Earth Kingdom. Without the other half of their family around to distract them from each other, it wasn’t long before mother and daughter drove their sanity into hiding and had an enormous fight. Both zealously defended her viewpoint without budging an inch. In the end, Kawara hurled a line of icicles into (and through) the kitchen wall in her fury and stormed out of the house.
A long, cold night of meditation awaited Hayase.
It wasn’t worth it. Standing firm as the last remaining obstacle to Kawara learning combat bending wasn’t worth splintering her family. Kawara had been distant from them for several years now. She was sixteen already; she’d soon marry and move out. There was only a little window of time left open to heal their relationship, and Hayase desperately wanted to. So, after spending hours of thought on the matter, she finally decided to give in. In fact, she would personally see Kawara to a waterbending teacher tomorrow.
But Kawara never came home. By the time Hayase discovered where she had gone, her child was on a supply ship well on its way into the Earth Kingdom sea.
She panicked for two days, then made up her mind to chase after her. All throughout the episode, Hayase’s thoughts were plagued with every conceivable violent horror under the sun, all of which could befall Kawara. No matter what, she had to bring her daughter safely home.
The better part of her first month in the Earth Kingdom yielded dead ends and wounded her hopes. Oh, how far and wide Hayase searched, but the continent was enormous and Kawara could be anywhere. It was like searching for a fish bone dropped into the snow. Hopeless.
Sometime during her sixth week, the distraught mother entered Ba Sing Se. While she was inquiring around the Lower Ring for sightings of a young waterbender who resembled her, Hayase inadvertently got herself into a Pai Sho game with an elderly man outside a tiny tea house. As they played, he recounted a fascinating story of an ancient, ongoing battle that held her interests captive even after their game ended. Seeing her enthusiasm and her potential, the elderly man offered to tell her more.
When she learned about the Order of the White Lotus, Hayase initially concluded that she didn’t have time to waste with them, however noble their case. But then, she realized that these people were well-connected all over the world and especially in the Earth Kingdom. Perhaps if she joined them, they could help her locate Kawara.
As a fresh initiate, Hayase was required to learn the long history of the Order’s war against the Galgori, and what she was taught had a profound effect on her. At every event, in every battle, on every echelon, there had been powerful, absolutely outstanding women who operated as effectively as their male counterparts, sometimes better. These women weren’t mere spectators. They were active participants. Important participants. The role they played was crucial. These revelations changed her view of the world as well as her thoughts about herself.
Hayase saw, at last… Women weren’t too fragile for war. They were as strong and worthy as men, and she too, could make a big difference. After taking the Oath, she was apprenticed into the herbalist/researcher division where her healing abilities would be of the most use.
Her priorities have shifted. She still wishes to find Kawara even as she gives her services to the Order, but now…
Above all else, even if she can’t convince her daughter to come home, the least Hayase can do is let Kawara know that she supports her completely, because she finally understands. And of course, that Kawara can count on her mother’s unconditional love throughout whatever hardships she will face.
Personality:
Hayase is a quiet, gentle soul. She prefers to find peaceful solutions to an argument and will go out of her way to avoid getting into a verbal fight. Patience and respect are the greatest tools one can have when interacting with others, and she uses them very well. Even if she dislikes someone, she tries hard not to make her displeasure apparent. To insult even an arrogant jerk who deserves a harsh word or two would be to insult her parents’ teachings, the same teachings she passed onto her children. Even if her children aren’t present, the need to uphold her morals still lingers strongly in her heart.
If she can help in any way, Hayase is more than willing to lend her assistance. Her first job is that of a healer, after all. Because she was only recently welcomed into the art of combat, she hasn’t quite developed a battle persona yet and still has trouble disregarding the fact that her enemy is a human being with dreams and a family. Fighting makes her uncomfortable, but if she must, she will do it as part of her responsibility. She understands responsibility very well.
Away from home, her husband, and her children, a subconscious but powerful need to anchor herself to friends has seized her. Under normal circumstances, Hayase forged friendships quite easily, but her new surroundings have weakened her confidence when it comes to dealing with people. The Order is now her family in lieu of the Northern Water Tribe, for she doesn’t know how long she’ll be staying in the Earth Kingdom. Combined with her superiors’ mildly frightening warnings not to reveal her association with them, and to hide that she is a bender (who knows when the wrong sort might be paying attention), Hayase tends to be nervous and shy around strangers, suspiciously reluctant to share information about herself. But if new acquaintances prove that they’re not out to hurt her and will call her their friend, she’ll give them her deepest trust.
Other Info:
Hayase has never been in a real battle and thus has no combat experience, but she is highly skilled in the healing arts and is well-educated in the workings of the body, both physical and spiritual. She is an amateur nutritionist and knows a great deal about acupuncture.
Though she isn't very good at wielding it, Hayase keeps a Water Tribe dagger sheathed on her left hip for security. It is her first weapon of choice. Her fists and feet are her second.
She is also a killer cook.
[Character Development post ish here.]