((Jun, and Toph, I hope you guys realize that I took us into the inn.))

Some Random Village

Jiao eyed their new follower with a little hesitation. Really now, she already got rid of one man, well young man to be more precise, did she have to do it again? Considering what this one said, this Kojiro, hopefully that wouldn’t be required. However, as her cold grey eyes scanned the man it became quite clear that he wasn’t going to be a problem. He had that air to him; all Galgori had this air to them. It was hard to describe, but easily recognizable. The benders had a way walking, their affinity to a certain element granted them a certain style of movement that was so easy to spot, but slaves were almost synonymous in their movements with very little variations. The only exceptions were kin, Galgori. The Galgori had similar sways and swaggers to the slaves, but had an air about them that was detectable only by those who knew how to notice it. Subsequently, upon a thorough review of this man, Jiao was recognizing a familiar blood. He wasn’t a slave; he was, like her Galgori.

Having heard Kojiro’s introduction and having born witness to his blood, the nearly middle-aged huntress took a step back from the map she laid on the table and then spoke to her fellow Galgori.

“Well, I wasn’t being completely serious, but by the look of your garb I’m sure you could be of assistance.” Her eyes turned to Nanashi, hopefully with a glance her fellow Huntswoman would interrupt her if she spoke too many words or too much information for a man they barely knew.

Looking back, she bowed her head and introduced herself, “My name is Jiao, and these lovely ladies will introduce themselves if they so feel like it. But that’s beside the point; if you say you can assist us then I hope you can.” With careful grace, the slender huntress walked the perimeter of the table so as to give the man viewing space. Now opposite her initial position, her slender, pale, index finger landed on their present location. That really was all they knew. The location of the Avatar was what they needed.

“We are here, if you can speak with Koh or hear him for that matter, then I shouldn’t have to tell you what we seek. He’ll guide you to guide us, and I’m sure that for a man such as yourself that should be enough.” Coyly, she smiled, hiding away her doubt. Sure she believed in the spirits, especially their patron, but she always had her suspicions when it came to those that professed supreme insight in their wills or issues.

If this man proved his words true, then perhaps there was some reason for him being there. Should Koh will him to travel their route and bear their weight, then Koh would help this man. Although it was a bit blasphemous to challenge their patron like that, Jiao didn’t want to make another mistake.

Jackpot…

There was no witty little snap back at him, or even a furious demand for his silence. Nope, none of that. All there was was the all too obvious look of pain written all over the young girl’s face and maybe even a few tears starting to glaze over her eyes. It may have been a bit cruel, but his little plan seemed to be working, all he had to do was keep calm, keep the devilish smirk on his face and his eyes open for any hints.

As quickly as her pained look had appeared, it had gone, replaced by an almost amiable look as she turned her gaze up at him. “You’ll regret that.” She whispered to the cocky sailor, her fiery little glare sent a bit of chills down his spine but his confident smirk remained

“Yeah right… and I’m sure you, little miss raspy voice, is goin to make me?” His voice oozed with mockery as he watched her look down at her feet. ‘Keep your eyes on her Takano, there Is no way she is going to shake it off that quickly, ya got her right where you want her, just get ready…’

She looked up once again, but this time her fake little smile was gone, replaced by a twisted snarl, and a look in her eyes that screamed bloody murder, to which his smile grew in response.

All according to plan.

She exploded, her small frame lashing out at him as golden flames came to life in her hands. The boy took a few hasty steps in retreat before his back was up against the wall. His face was overcome by fear as the crazed firebender continued her little charge. He wasn’t scared, not really anyways. It was all an act, something he put on in order to keep this matchstick nice and lit, too blinded by her anger to pay much attention to what he was really doing.

Instinct took over, and the boy quickly side stepped his petite attacker, leaving her to crash into the rather solid stone wall where he stood only moments ago. “Haha watch where you are going to damn matchstick! Or maybe your eyesight is as bad as your voice?” Before the girl could turn about, he drew his shiny steel blade, holding it out only a few inches away from her all the while wearing a confident look on his face.

“Now you aren’t going to move a muscle… and you AREN’T going to come after me… but what you are going to do is put that pretty little quiver of yours on the floor and kick it over…” His roguish grin appeared once more as he motioned for her to follow his orders. “You really did think that you had me there didn’t cha fire flake? You probably had that pretty little head of yours filled with thoughts of collectin some bounty and watchin me rot behind bars right? Well no one gets the jump on me! Specially not some damn hothead…”

OOC: Makaro coming next, then Quan-Li and Akita. They'll have to wait till tomorrow, though.

Lakano rolled his eyes at his lover’s words and actions. Honestly, I think he’s silly enough for the both of us, the Waterbender thought to himself. “I agree with your sister… come back down to Earth, and stay here, will you, babe?” He knew Haru was proud of them and their relationship, but they did have other, more important things to deal with now. This wasn’t the time or the place for such things, not that Haru every paid attention to anyone else if he didn’t want to. He turned towards his boyfriend, giving him a patient look that said that he really should concentrate on the matter at hand. Luckily, Xiao took care of that, literally snapping Haru out of his reverie, and Lakano made no move to remove his lover’s hands from around his neck.

Turning his gaze back towards Xiao after Haru finished speaking, the Waterbender ignored the exchange between the two siblings. He had no idea what had prompted the silent looks between them, and had a feeling that it had something to do with something he knew nothing about. Xiao quickly got back to the matter at hand. “I assume you inferred a great deal from the letter Haru sent you,” he told her, and in essence, Geng Kai, “and the… delicate nature of it. It will involve a great deal of danger. In fact, even hinting at it to the both of you is dangerous for us, and our friends.” Leaning forwards, the man lowered his voice. It was very advantageous to them that the place was busy. They would not be easily overheard. “Some of our friends could be a great deal of trouble if they were found to be involved with this.”

That wasn’t entirely true. In fact, most if not all of them were wanted for various crimes against the Fire Nation. Lakano figured that there was only one or two of them that weren’t on wanted posters. It was why they all traveled secretly, and went in disguise. Their entire lives were dangerous right now, and there was nothing any of them could do about it. Lakano himself was wanted for holding off a few platoons of troops – the forces of Commander Shakhran at Sabaku – all by himself. Even his Haru, who was wanted for treason, betrayal of the Fire Nation when he stood against Princess Azula and her friends to defend Akita and himself. If either one of them could not be trusted, things could go badly for all of them very quickly. The brunet trusted his boyfriend when it came to his sister, but it was her friend that he was worried about.

Leaning back again, Lakano looked between Xiaoyu and Geng Kai. “Don’t take it personally, but I need to know that you two can be trusted not to reveal anything about the nature of errand and those involved,” he told them. “I trusted Haru’s opinion when it comes to you, Xiao, but it’s you, Geng Kai, that I’m not so sure about. In fact, I’m not sure that Haru mentioned she was traveling with anyone.” Glancing between them with his blue eyes, he wasn’t sure to what to make of things. He hope that his boyfriend didn’t get offend. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust him – far from it, actually – but these were dangerous times. They had to be absolutely sure. “Don’t be offended, but you have to understand, before I can bring you to the others, I have to be absolutely sure.” Next to him, Sokka would be the hardest to get past. Karena wouldn’t be easy either, but she was one of the ones that they couldn’t see unless they were sure.

((Why hello Shijin))

Random Village

To be a Galgori was a very interesting thing. The division of the four Nations, for one, was completely insane. In the end, they were only two types of people, benders and slaves. Under this category, the Galgori were slaves, but special ones in that with Koh’s blessings they would eradicate those that kept them bound and shackled. They’d done it before, and they would do it worldwide.

So here they were, trying as best they could to do something about it. This wasn’t going to be an easy task; to find the Avatar’s retinue, and then to hopefully strike up a deal. Then again, the two sides have worked together many times before, successfully. Hopefully, in light of those former instances, their judgments could be correctly swayed into accepting their help. If all went well, and with Koh’s blessing, they would have nothing to worry about. Because with the blessing of a spirit, very little could not be accomplished.

As she looked at the man’s proof, her ears caught the sound of a familiar voice. The voice was coming from outside. With resignation, Jiao pulled herself out of the current scenario, “If you’ll excuse me…”

She walked out the door, down the stairs, and upon opening the door was met with extreme shock. It wasn’t possible. Really, it couldn’t possibly be him. But no it was, and there, right was the other one. Both with tired faces and the heavy signs of serious travel. This was indeed a very strange day.

A smirk crossed her face as she eyed the young man she had assumed to be dead. Indeed, Koh’s wisdom is grand. She thought, upon remembering the faint puffs of smoke from his incense.

“To be honest, I thought you were dead,” uttered Jiao. This was truly baffling.

[[ been awhile huh xD ]]

Random Town with the Hunt

“To be honest, I thought you were dead”

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Amber eyes looked toward the elder hunter, a tad surprised that they had finally found the huntress. It had been weeks since he has seen anyone from the hunt, and he was actually happy he finally had. It was odd considering he was a bender and about half of the hunt's members were galgori. Though after all this time with them he really didn't find himself all that intimidated. At first yeah, but now it was like they were just regular non-bending fighters. Well above regular.

The young bender couldn't help but chuckle when she heard Jiao's words as he looked up at the young hunter. "What did I tell you! Told ya she though I was dead," Shijin laughed as a mixture of annoyance and disbelief came across the young galgori's face.

The hunter just looked at his sensei, still speechless about the whole thing as the bender laugh. "B-but...." the apprentice stuttered, "You honestly sent me to find someone you thought was dead!?" he cried out finally able to get the words out. What kind of sensei did the elder stick him with!? Why would she even want to get rid of him? Sure she didn't look all that thrilled about his having being stuck as her apprentice, and honestly he wasn't to thrilled about being taught under her. He was to old to still have a sensei. Most galgori were full fledge hunters by his age already over and done with their final training. To be stuck with a sensei was almost embarrassing.

"I'm telling you she just wanted to ditch you is all" Shijin commented as his laughing finally came to an end. His attention going back onto the elder huntress, as he pointed an accusing finger at her. "Please, you of all people should know, I don't go down easy" he commented with his natural cocky voice. After all she did train him for a while. [/blockquote]

Just outside of the town of Khuzaymah, in the Si Wong Desert

White Koi was abundant in the Si Wong desert. It was an unassuming little blossom that clung to the shallow top soil in those rare, shady patches where the sand was cool. Adiva sometimes paused beneath the blushing sky to gather these flowers in the small hours of the morning. It was not for their beauty that she did, but for their petals. The paper thin blossoms created a wonderfully effective sleeping poultice when crushed. This is what made them an integral part of the poison she'd invented. It was not a poison that meant death, but it could paralyze a person for hours, and give them horrible hallucinations at the same time.

Whenever her father was not abroad on his visits to the neighbouring villages, he would send her out to harvest White Koi, as well as a variety of other herbs and weeds. He was a healer who knew the desert's medicinal resources better than anyone, but was always too tired to retrieve his own supplies. Or at least, this is what he told her. Adiva had a sneaking suspicion that this was his way of teaching her a small aspect of his trade.

He'd been away for five months now, which was new record, but Adiva was accustomed to feeling like an orphan. She enjoyed wandering out into the deserts before sunrise and feeling sorry for herself. Gathering the flowers up in a veil that served as an apron, she could walk for hours without seeing a soul. Here it was barren and desperate, yet perfectly balanced. Here was an ecosystem that survived with so little. Here, she belonged. Adiva could look out at the shining mirages that wavered on the distant horizon and see her childhood reflected there. She'd grown up like the White Koi and the cacti; months of drought and waiting, then finally the rains would come, and all was right for a little while. She had to store the memories like water during those dry spells.

Adiva plucked up the wilted bloom at her feet and put it with the others. This was enough for one day. Looking up, she could see the sun rising red and hot, swirling with orange tendrils. She had enough flowers for several batches of her poison, and two skins of cactus juice, but she still needed one last ingredient. She only hoped that she had time.

This was her least favourite part of the whole process. Finding and catching the snake was hard enough, but milking it was the worst. Unlike the first time she'd encountered a Si Wong flat snake, Adiva had antivenin. It was not a fatal venom, but when it flowed through the blood stream, it brought a paralysis that could last for half an hour.

Adiva tried her luck by returning to the same burrow where she'd found a snake a week ago, although she had some trouble finding it again. It was a small hole that had surely been dug by some sort of rodent, but its previous tenants had been evicted long ago. That was the way in the desert. You built a home and hoped to the spirits that no one invaded.
Adiva brushed a stray strand of dark hair from her face and knelt down by the burrow, careful not to spill her flowers. Whenever it was that the snake appeared, she would need her mobility, so she undid the veil wrapped around her waist and tied up the bundle of flowers, setting it gently down beside her. Then, without taking her eyes off the hole, she took a small jar off her belt and spared a glance to make sure it was in order. There was a thin skin pulled tightly over the jar, and it already had a number of puncture marks on its surface. Suddenly, she heard the smallest disturbance of sand and looked up. There it was. Long, flat, and speckled, the snake was sliding slowly through the long grass, tongue flicking ahead of it.

Adiva let her instincts take over and lunged forward, grabbing it by the head. There was no room for fear or hesitation. Its tail was flailing, but she had it firmly in her grasp. In one quick movement, she hooked its top jaw onto the jar and let its fangs puncture the skin. The glands released the venom and it quickly collected in the jar. Adiva released the snake carefully, and backed away gingerly as it slithered somewhat bewildered back into its burrow.

The young girl let out a sigh and picked up her things. By now the sun was climbing rapidly, and she would be expected back at the camp. Reaching for her water skin, she found that it was empty, and all her anxieties rushed back. The short leash had run out, and her masters were tugging her back.

Adiva trudged along a trail of rocks that she herself had made in one of her first excursions out into the desert. The heat nipped at her neck, and she drew the purple veil closer about her head. The shrubs began to grow denser, and the soil darker. Stunted trees started to appear, and they were thin and dry as skeletons. Almost there. She could see other workers at their cacti, and in the distance - the fenced off camp with the fire nation flag flying high. She could even here it snapping in the hot breeze.

She had no collar and no chain, but Adiva knew well that she was a prisoner in her own home. As soon as she got back to camp, the soldiers would take what little cactus juice she'd collected, and hopefully they wouldn't find the skin she would be hiding for herself. Then they would demand why she'd brought back the flowers, and she'd play stupid and say that she thought they were pretty. If she was lucky, they would not take a handful of the blooms and stomp them into the ground. Then maybe, just maybe, she would make it back to the shack she shared with five others, and make the poison that would one day help them all escape.

Adiva neared the gate and breathed a sigh of relief. Amin was on duty today, along with an elderly fire nation soldier. She walked towards them with her back straight, but her head down, only glancing up once to give Amin a glare full of blame. Traitor.

-Just outside of the town of Khuzaymah, in the Si Wong Desert-

That dream again, that same dream that had been plaguing him for the past few weeks, that’s what had him wake up in the dead of night short of breath and wide eyed once again. He knew what it was about, he knew why he was having it, and still when he saw all the signs that pointed towards it he stood there and did nothing, standing there like a meerkat-hog in the way of stampeding komodo-rhinos, helpless to the events that were to take place.

The cold feeling of that man’s squeezing hand, the terrifying sensation of that knife slowly skating across his face, it all felt so real. It was because of that dream, because of that memory, that he found himself where he was now; a traitor to his own people, serving those who made prisoners of those he had come to know and care about. But he would not be a slave again, even if it meant that he was hated and mistrusted, he would not be put in that position ever again.

Night turned into dawn, and with the sound of the morning bells came the sounds of shuffling feet, boots being strapped and armor being placed as all the guards readied for the day. As had been the case for the past couple of days, Amin had been up long before the ringing of the bells, sitting up in his bunk with his head between his hands as he tried to forget about the things that had come during the night, but it wasn’t time to sit around and mope, he had to get ready for another day and make the rounds.

Once he got dressed and ready Amin was out the door, the partner that had been assigned to him was waiting outside of the building. He was an older man by then name of Yu-Long, a stern, and experienced man who, like most of the reds around here, wasn’t one to hide his dislike for the people of Khuzaymah and the sandbenders.

“It’s about time you get up you lazy desert rat.” The gnarled soldier scoffed as he turned away “we’ve got to make rounds around the camp, make sure none of your little rat friends are trying to make a run for it.” To this Amin simply nodded his face blank and expressionless as he kept quiet and followed after the man to the labor camp. The first couple of times he had been called a “desert rat” he hadn’t been so submissive, but a few lashes of the fire whip was more than enough to teach the boy to keep his mouth shut.

Like any other day, the first few morning hours were spent patrolling around looking for escapees and things of that sort, and if things went along as they usually did Yu-Long would eventually end up leaving Amin to do as he pleased while he went and chatted it up with his fellow reds. It was around this time that the young sandbender would find a decent shady spot to sit in and just try to ignore the things that went on around him.

But then came Adiva. Every time he saw her she would give him that same look, glare at him with those same angry eyes. Once in a while he would try to talk to her, but most of the time she just glared at him and walked away, but he knew he probably deserved worse for what he had done to her and her brother, what he was still doing to them.

This day was like any other, the rounds around the camp had gone by without incident, and after a couple of hours Amin found himself standing guard at the camp gates, and Yu-Long talking with his fellow reds paying little attention to who or what made its way in and out of the gates, so when Amin noticed Adiva walking towards him he couldn’t help but approach the girl, despite the blameful look she had given him.

His nimble fingers quickly plucked one of the little white Kois from Adiva’s stash and he simply starred at the delicate flower as he twirled it by the stem, his eyes fixed on the spinning pedals for a brief moment before his brown eyes looked up at the flower picker. “You sure seem to like White Koi.” His words quickly followed by a shy little smile as he held out the flower to her. “You know that this pretty little flower is poisonous? I remember that one time Kasim and I had been…” The sandbender’s eyes drifted away from her as he shrunk back. “Just make sure you don’t go making a tea out of it or something like that…”

-Khuzaymah

The reds by the gate appeared to be distracted. The older guard - Adiva believed he was called Yu-Long - had turned his back to talk to a pair of guards on the other side of the fence. The gate was open wide, guarded only by one reluctant sand bender.
It was strange knowing that there were patrols at night, when she could walk in and out of the gates as she pleased. Even so, there could be no mistake; she was a prisoner. The guards marched around the perimeter at night to ensure that none of the captives ran off with enough water to actually get somewhere. During the day the water was carefully measured so that it became a chain - never enough to make it across the desert. Some had tried to escape, of course, but their bodies were often found picked apart by buzzard hawks a few days later. Although Adiva enjoyed the brief hours of freedom in the desert, she always dreaded finding someone she knew, half buried in the sand.

Nobody had attempted escape in the past few weeks, because things were starting to fall into a rhythm. The prisoners went to sleep with the sun, and woke up long before it rose. Some stayed to do small chores, while others went out into the desert to collect the cactus juice. Foremen were sometimes sent out to see to it that everyone was working hard, but the reds were lazy, and hadn't sent a guard out in many days. This is why Adiva was able to gather these other ingredients without being caught. No one wanted to whip peasants in the boiling heat. They all stayed back at the oasis, living in the village. At this very moment, the captain in charge of everything was holed up in Adiva's house, which was the finest town. It was set apart from the others on a slope where it sat beside several palm trees and a shallow pond. Adiva would have rather seen the house burn down than let it become a home for her captors, but she was powerless. For now.

When Amin approached her, as she knew he would, she noted that familiar look on his face. It was that of an animal who'd been beaten many a time, but was still trying to gain its master's approval. Spirits know, she'd tried to push him away, but he just kept trying.
Before she could try to further hide her harvest of little flowers, he picked one out of her skirt and spun it between his fingers, examining it. “You sure seem to like White Koi,” he said with the smallest smile. Adiva said nothing, because she had no interest in idle chatter. She could hardly look at his face.
But then he went on, “You know that this pretty little flower is poisonous? I remember that one time Kasim and I had been…Just make sure you don’t go making a tea out of it or something like that…” He shrunk away with the mention of Kasim, quickly abandoning that painful topic, but Adiva couldn't help but wince and feel a sting in her eyes. She blinked hard and long, banishing the thoughts.
"Actually, it isn't poisonous, she said quietly, so as not to attract attention. It's a sedative - it helps you sleep. Some of the little ones are having trouble sleeping, I'm sure you can relate." She watched the flower come to a stop mid-twirl.
"I've seen you at night, Amin. Sometimes you come out of your tent and just walk around. Even when you're not on duty. I'm going to brew some tea tonight, if you're willing to drink from the same cup." She said all of this quickly, for the two guards beyond the fence were walking away, and Yu-Long was turning back to his post.
"What's going on over there, Amin? Having a nice chat with your rodent friend?" he yelled, giving her a look filled with both lust and repulsion at the same time, eyes sweeping slowly up from her feet.
Adiva avoided his gaze and looked at her flowers. Think fast...
"You have to push me," she pleaded in a whisper. "Just knock me over before he does. Please. You'll look good, and I might be able to save some of these flowers. Make it look real, it won't hurt." Adiva turned her face away and shut her eyes, praying that he'd do the right thing and just get it over with. Better him than Yu-Long, who would trample every blossom. She'd seen him in action.

-Khuzaymah

He froze up, his back straitened up and his arms and legs started to tense up as he realized that he didn’t know what to do or say after his carless blurting and all he could really do was stand there with that dumb look on his face while the apology that he wanted to give her stayed in his head. What good would it do anyways? Saying he was sorry didn’t make any difference, she was still a prisoner, her brother was still locked up in those infernal steel cages, and Amin was still a spineless traitor. His feet were ready to make a hasty retreat as they started to slowly inch back and away from the flower toting girl “Maybe I should just-“

“Actually, it isn’t poisonous,” She quietly answered, leaving Amin attentive and silent as his stiff and rigid posture slowly loosened up as she went on, “It's a sedative - it helps you sleep. Some of the little ones are having trouble sleeping, I'm sure you can relate."

“I can relate?” The sandbender mocked before letting out a nervous laugh as he tried to scrape up what little dignity he had left. He was already seen as a cowardly rat, weak and spineless, he wouldn’t let her add something else to that list. “I’ll have you know that I-“

"I've seen you at night, Amin. Sometimes you come out of your tent and just walk around. Even when you're not on duty. I'm going to brew some tea tonight, if you're willing to drink from the same cup." He was given no time to respond as the voice of Yu-Long boomed from behind him and Adiva averted her gaze. Before he could even respond to the soldier the hazel eyed girl asked him to push her to the ground, telling him that if he were to act the part of the villain then he would save face, and she would keep some of her harvest.” Make it look real, it won't hurt."

He wanted to protest, to tell her that he couldn’t do it, that he couldn’t actually hurt her, but as the sound of Yu-Long’s footsteps making their way across the sand grew louder and louder, he was reminded of all the things that that man was capable of; especially when handling a woman. The gritty old soldier had built quite the reputation amongst the other guards as a man who took what he wanted when he wanted it and so Amin, being his partner, was usually around to see the aftermath.

He gritted his teeth, his hands twitching as his brow furrowed and with one quick and forceful shove he pushed Adiva to the ground, and kicked up some sand and stood between the fallen girl and Yu-long .“Think you can sneak in some extra rations you sneaky little snake? Now handover your cactus harvest and get back to the huts before I put you to good use you bitch!”

Yu-Long’s footsteps stopped their steady advance, and the man simply burst out in a horribly amused laugh at the sight of the usually quiet and reserved sandbender pushing down and degrading one of his own. But the laughter quickly faded out as the old bastard used his rough and boney fingers to wipe away the tears that had formed at the corner of his eyes, “Well you heard him, mouse. Scurry along before the rat or I decide to change our minds.” The intention behind those last few words made clear by the licking of his lips.

Khuzaymah

The ground rose to meet her. Adiva refused to put out her hands to break her fall, for she would lose all her flowers, but her body reacted differently. She clutched her wrap with one hand and thrust the other arm out, making contact with her elbow and rolling onto her shoulder. She ended up on her back, staring up at the sun, blossoms strewn around her. Then the sand was kicked up and she quickly squeezed her eyes shut. “Think you can sneak in some extra rations you sneaky little snake? Now handover your cactus harvest and get back to the huts before I put you to good use you bitch!” Adiva looked up at him as he yelled. Standing there between her and the guard, it was almost as if he was protecting her, but the words stung. She felt shame blush to her cheeks and angry tears fill her eyes, but she pushed them away. There was no time - Yu-Long's voice cracked like a whip through the hot air, and she knew she had to get up.
Gathering what she could of the blossoms, and then cutting her losses, she handed the skin full of juice off to Amin and ran past Yu-Long.

It was not until she got back to her hut on the far side of camp that she let herself breathe. She'd run with her eyes half shut and only one breath in her lungs, but she'd made it back with most of her buds. The first thing she did was go to one corner where she'd dug a pit that was covered by a splintered board, and let the flowers fall into it. Then she took the little jar of venom and put it in with them, along with her smaller skin of cactus juice. Amin's words ran through her head, distracting her from the fresh bruises all down her body. Did he mean them? He said them with such ferocity and hate, but she'd seen that look of hesitation in his face before he'd shoved her down. She shook her head and took a swig of the cactus juice. It was bitter. Then she knelt in that corner for what felt like an age, just closing her eyes and remembering better times.

Adiva thought of her father, wiry and tall with a thin goatee and wise, brown eyes. He was mixing with the old marble mortar and pestle, singing quietly to himself. Then he turned and called to her, "Adi, bring me more of that ragleaf. Would you like to try mixing?"
She ran to him and took the mortar from him, but it turned into a cactus in her hands, and the walls of her house fell away into sand. The sun grew to dominate the sky as her hands began to bleed.
Adiva's eyes flashed open and she found herself breathing hard, head leaning against the wall. Heat stroke and exhaustion. Well...the juice didn't help. But it gave her the most vivid memories before they started to turn bad, and it was all she had in this awful place These waking dreams have to stop. She'd stop drinking it soon. Just as soon as she escaped.
In an hour or so she'd be on packing duty, but she decided it was as good a time as any to get to work on the poison. Adiva picked the petals off the flowers and put them in a clay pot she kept in a crevice in the hut's dirt walls. She mashed them with a stone grinding with a practiced rhythm. Then she added a small amount of cactus juice and the mixture began to become more liquid. She threw in a handful more petals, then added the milky venom. The substance was white an lumpy like paste, but there was one more ingredient to add before it was truly done. Adiva pulled out a small needle from the sole of her sandal and swiftly pricked her finger, then she squeezed a drop into the mixture. As she stirred, it turned a light pink.
There was no real purpose to adding the blood, but it reminded her of what was at cost every time she dipped a dart into the poison. Lives were at stake, and sacrifices would have to be made.

Random Town with the Hunt

“You know, Nuan, be lucky I didn’t task you with finding the Avatar in order to restore your honor”

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'Restore my honor?' the young galgori asked obviously a tad confused. When did he lose his honor? He had never done anything to lose it. He has killed benders despite his hate of it, but his hesitation shouldn't have been that big a deal. The young hunter nodded when he was asked to follow her making him jump off his steed. He handed the reed to the earth bender before asking, "If you plan on coming can you at least put him away before you do so?"

Shijijn rolled his eyes having to be reduced to the animal caretaker. Though he wasn't that much of a jerk as he look hold of the steed, "Yeah yeah sure, though I'm still gonna come to see just how bad she kicks your aft," the young hunter said with a dark chuckle before heading off.

The young hunter just narrowed his eyes at the bender about the insult, though as usual said nothing before he walked off and followed his sensei to behind the building. Blue eyes watched as the elder galgori ran ahead so that there was some distance in front of them, blank eyes just stared for a moment before she finally called out.

“You’re to be my pupil, then show me where to improve you.”

The young hunter than watched as she removed her white clock. Already a sick feeling was getting in his stomach, he had to spar with her? It wasn't like fighting with Mako where he felt sick about fighting with an old man, but to have to fight after two weeks of searching. He was tired and wanted some rest. A frustrated sigh escaped his lips as he removed his staff from his back. He spun it a few times before entering his battle stance a determined look in his eyes. Hopefully he would be able to prove he was good enough to a point where he didn't need any sensei.

With that in mind the hunter ran forward staff behind him before attacking her with one side of the staff with a downward slash, and if she managed to side step it, or was still in range, the hunt hunter would then rotate his staff so that the bottom half would be able to trip the elder galgori.

[[ Man I'm so rust >< ]][/blockquote]

((We are all rusty. Rusty Venture that is.))

Random Village, Random Village

Simple. Straight forward, and a downward slash. He must have been tired. He probably was tired. Well, that was expected, after his fun little excursion into the wild and the lengthy period of searching on a mount, it was bound to leave some effect on the boy. Still, that exhaustion wasn’t excusable with this group or with her. They were the Hunt, the road was always beneath their feet, and their bodies were always aching from the strain of saddleback and travel. It wasn’t an enjoyable life, but it was a fulfilling one. In all her years since his death, life had never been brighter than with the Hunt. Her cause to wake in the morning and survive was meaningful, and her death would be an honorable and whole experience in this conclave. To die for her people was the only death she would have or ever wanted.

The huntress readied herself. In a flash, her hands were at her outer thigh daggers. She was about to pull them out and fight, but against nature, she paused and retracted that thought. No, this was a simple evaluation; there wasn’t going to be any bloodshed. The worst any of them would suffer would be a bruise or a possible, slight cut. With grace, she pushed herself onto her toes, like the gazelles that ran the great planes, she would be nimble.

She dodged his first swing by sliding left, and before she realized it her right foot was being swept from below. Good, his move needed a follow through, it needed advancement. As her cent of gravity was being switched, Jiao reacted with ease. While she fell back, she used what little time left to push herself back with her left leg. She couldn’t avoid the fall, but she could at least land in a less open zone. With her strength, she jettisoned herself a few feet back. The ground hit her upper back hard, and she then forced her underside over her head, and then rolled onto her toes and into a sprinter’s starting position. The momentum still pushed her back, so she clawed into the dirt and kicked off, headed for her apprentice.

There was little reasoning in using a grand blow. He had the advantage, he could jab, slash; whatever, he point was she was really the one on the defensive. She expected a jab, but a horizontal slash was also possible. As she approached him, she pivoted around where she expected the jab, and spun her right fist at his head, for the follow through, her left arm flowed against the right and was aimed at his left arm.

Random Town with the Hunt

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Nuan's tired, blue orbs showed nothing when he was successfully able to knock his sensei off her feet. He was lucky enough to have first hit in this battle although he knew this battle was going to drag on for a while. And he was nearly one-hundred percent sure that she was going to win this sparing match because for one there was over a ten year difference between them, and two he was tired from his travels and at the moment all he really wanted to do was rest. Yeah, that wasn't gonna happen soon.

He kept on his guard as the elder galgori came at him. Normaly he probably would have waited for her to attack and then afterward counter. However he wasn't thinking straight as he jab his staff at her leaving himself completely open when he not only easily dodged the predicable attack, but managed to have her punch connect with him, causing the hunter to stumble back. He quickly recovered from the attack as he regained his footing when Jiao attacked at him again. Though this time Nuan brought his staff up to block the attack as he step forward with a punch of his own at his sensei. Following the punch, he used the momentum of his attack and allowed his body to spin as he swung his staff at her shoulder before jumping back a few feet to get some distance between them.

[[ fail post! Why? because it literally took me a few minutes to actually remember how to spell 'Jiao' don't do post when your tired!]][/blockquote]