Rumi Lee - Good job. Good length. ACCEPTED

Aizaku - Good, but watch out how much internal thoughts you have. You could have done more. ACCEPTED

Tenshi - I'm going to go ahead and let this pass, because the godmoding was minor. Watch it, though, next time something says "No use of other characters". ACCEPTED

Display Name: Dento
Age: 22
Gender: Female

It was an unusually gelid and boisterous mid-December night and a blizzard raged just outside the small tavern. The winds howled as they brushed against the outside wall, threatening to tear the building apart board by board. An icy breeze blew through the once tranquil night air that sent a prickly chill down the spine of any traveler unfortunate enough to get caught in the storm.

Dento had stopped at the tavern for a quick rest before continuing her journey. She had no idea that her ten minute break would turn into a five hour break with no end in sight. She was not that upset at first, seeing as it gave her time to catch up on some paper work she had been meaning to do for several days now, but after three hours, when she finally finished it, her patients was wearing thin. The first thing she had noticed upon entering the establishment was that there were no lotus members, therefor she had no one to speak to, so she decided to pass the time playing a few games of Pia Sho.

Then in the middle of their twenty eighth game the doors swung open admitting a person that gave off an Aurora that made Dento uncomfortable. Her senses prickled, making her on edge. She quickly drew out an I Ching chart and performed a quick reading, but it only vaguely hinted at danger, so she replaced it with a tarrot deck, and put in the normal layout. It predicted danger in her immediate future. She did not like the presence of the newcomer.

Dento - I would like to say that it's a good start. If you had continued this post, and added more depth to it, then it would be better, but that's all it really is now - a start. There's very little about the character at all, if anything, or the enviornment she's in. I know nothing about her after reading this. The length is... okay, as well. Also, there are spelling mistakes, though these were slight (no e on therefore, and an extra a on Pia Sho, and when you said aurora, you meant aura, and it shouldn't have been capitalized). DENIED Please do the Battle Training or Romance Training.

Name: Kimiko
Age: 14
Gender: Female

Miku wrung her hands together, pink points reflecting the anxiety that such a gesture mirrored. Although she fought back a grimace with dignity, she failed to notice the abnormal pace of her breast, which rose and fell as her pulse quickened. Again and again, she laced and unlaced her slender fingers together, entwining them before breaking the mass of churning digits and nails. She parted her mouth to allow her teeth room to press down on her bottom lip; softly at first, but as the minutes crept by the young woman sub-consciously allowed more pressure to fall, until a thin line of blood splashed down from the corner of her mouth. She took no heed, only concerned with the thoughts that flitted across her mind.

"Takehiko-kun..." She silently pined for her apprentice, no longer able to suppress her worry of where he had gone off to. It wasn't that she was particularly fond of him, but he was her charge, and so it was instinctive for her to fret. And besides, she depended on him - if she produced a good student, capable of being an Akatsuki ring-bearer, she would no longer hold the shame of being the weakest link. Well, that's what she had convinced herself, anyway.

Evening had already set in, and night was beginning to make it's presence known; she needed him here before the sun completely faded, for her own peace of mind. She was more than happy to wait - her patience couldn't ever be stretched too far - but the fact that she had scheduled a training session was not to be ignored. Perhaps he had lost track of time in Hakumei? The jungle was dangerous like that - unable to clearly define what time it was, or how many days one had spent wandering in its twilit depths. Pushing the sleeves of her kimono up, positioning once more on her narrow shoulders, she glanced down at the black cloak folded carelessly over a log, which acted as her seat. A kindling fire illuminated the edges of the red clouds patterned on the material, reminding her of the blood she'd shed in order to wear that cloak. She felt the need to vomit.

Miku glanced away, out of shame; a deep flush had set itself on her cheeks, ravaging the last patch of pale flesh with pink. Instead, her orbs sought out the smoldering flame, taking in its unpredictable shape - its grace, its ferocity, transfixed by the element that possessed such savage beauty; it reminded her of kunoichi. She pondered over their likeness, briefly wondering whether she too was like a flame - but decided against it. There was something wrong with her being a writhing inferno - it just didn't fit. Regardless, having a fire lit within Hakumei was not the brightest idea - at least, not literally. The alien heat and light would gain the interest of beings that were not human in the least; teeth bared from within a snarling maw, talons raking earth and flesh.

Miku was only ever interested in high-risk training.

Kimiko - Nicely done! The length is good, and I like the emotion displayed in it. Good job. ACCEPTED

Display Name: Nuan
Age: 19
Gender: Female

'How could I be so stupid!?' the young galgori thought to himself as he sat against the root of a large tree. A look of distress on his face. The sky was dark, and the moon shined brightly in the sky. To anyone else this would be a very peaceful night, but not to Nuan, nor any of his kinsmen. They were on the final night of the Blooding and the bender had still yet to be caught. 'Well he was caught for a while,' he added mentally however still felt horrible as he thought about. How he allowed the bender to get away. He was a hunter, a predator, and his prey a fire bender that should have been dead if it weren't for his hesitation.

With a sigh of stress he placed his hands over his face and slowly let them slide down, trying his best to get over what had happened. How could he though? He had the bender right under him with the knife to his neck, but he had hesitated. And it was because of that stupid mistake his teammates had to hunt down the bender once again. 'Why couldn't I do it?' Nuan found himself asking. It was benders who had taken his family, and his village. It was because of those accursed gifts all benders were given that so many were suffering. So when he had the chance to rid this world of one of its many tormentors why didn't he?

Taking a pause in his thoughts the young hunter retrieved the short sword that laid next to him unsheathing the sharp object, looking at his own reflection within the blade. It was from the clear expression on his face where he learned his answer. It was guilt. The answer may have been clear, but his thoughts were still struggling to understand the reason why. Why should he feel guilty about taking the bender's life? The blooding was something he was looking forward to his entire life, for it was his first step into becoming a full-fledged hunter, and when he had the chance to complete the task he had failed. Was it because he didn't want to be responsible for yet another death in this world?

With another frustrated sigh Nuan placed the blade back into its hilt allowing his head to drop slightly as he tried to think everything over. He took a moment to remember both the disappointed and disgusted looks he received after failing to kill the bender. How they blamed him for letting the bender get away. Nuan felt ashamed for failing his kinsmen, but that wasn't what worried him most. He was worried that when the Blooding was done that they would tell the Elders of his hesitation. Would he be ban for the Galgori all together? And what of his foster parents, what would they think of him learning that he did such a deed? So many questions and sadly there were no answers for him. All Nuan could really do was think back to the stories in which he was told.

'If they didn't give up then neither will I,' he thought to himself a determined look now shining within his bright blue eyes as he raised himself from the ground. His mind thinking back to the stories of his ancestors. It may have been the middle of the night with only one day felt, but he had no intention of wasting it resting. He had to repent for what he failed to do, not for himself, but for his teammates and his family. With this new mind-set burn into his mind the young warrior set off into the wilderness to take down the hunter guilt or not. This was about pride.

Display Name: Iwamura
Age: 16
Gender: Male

---

Iwamura stood with his eyes closed, breathing slowly as he could, all of his focus on his body, the way it pulsed, the way it strained and relaxed; he stood with his hands at his sides, his feet a shoulder length apart. Around him, life was vibrant, pulsing. Before him shone a lake, the softly rippling surface glistened as a freshly polished sapphire would, fish flipping through its depths with a carefree ease most could only dream of. Behind the boy was the forest, deep as it was seemingly endless, the green leaves casting a filter over the ground, dying all that one could see a light green. What little light did manage to break through the cover of the lush leaves fell in small speckles, dotting the ground that it warmed. Birds fluttered happily between the trees' branches, twittering their happy songs. Insects buzzed rapidly to and fro, small creatures scurried through the bushes, crawling up the rough, ragged bark of the age-old trees. The whole place was brimming with life, every animal and plant humming with energy.

When the boy finally opened his eyes, they were glossy, as if he were in a trance. Slowly, he shifted his feet below him, raising his hands. Eyes fixed on the lake before him, he reached towards the water with his hands, pulling the cool fluid towards him. It rose up, out of the lake, a large orb of swirling water, slowly floating unsupported through the air towards him. Iwa kept his breathing in check. Closer and closer the orb came, stopping when it was directly in front of him, hovering at chest-level as it swirled and sparkled. Iwa inhaled.

The moment he began exhaling, the boy's hands snapped at the water. He made vigorous, powerful motions around and through the orb, not so much as a single drop of the water falling to the ground. His eyes, though only half open, were focused intently upon the intricate design that he was weaving with the motions of his hands, as well as the water that followed. His hands zipped through the air, elegantly yet powerfully until, suddenly, they stopped.

Taking in a breath, the boy caught what he'd made, holding it up to the sky as he examined it. He smiled, it was perfect. In his hand, a trident, a flawless pole ending with three perfectly pointed ends, both elegant and dangerous. The weapon, made entirely out of ice, glistened in the sunlight that shone from above.

And then the end snapped off. Eyes widening, he stepped back, the triple-pronged end embedding itself into the ground, directly where his foot had been. He sighed, ripping the ice out of the ground and holding it up in front of him, looking from the two halves of the weapon to the unfurled scroll that lay on the ground. Ever since he'd had to travel alone, it had been thrown upon the young waterbender to teach himself. It wasn't truly terrible, he kept telling himself. Everything that a master could teach him he had, in the form of a waterbending scroll. Using only them, he could learn to be a master, he could, it was just infinitely more difficult. With a master, there would be someone there to tell him what he'd done wrong, to tell him what needed correcting. A scroll couldn't do that. He was left to try everything repeatedly, hoping that he would eventually get it right. A pang of sadness stabbed through him as he thought of his master.

He sighed, preforming a set of slow motions around the halves of the icy trident, causing the broken weapon to melt back into the orb it had been. Taking a deep breath, he let his hands fly, trying again.

Raen and Souichi - Neither of you have accepted profiles, and therefore, cannot do this. Please delete and re-post after your profiles have been accepted.

Nuan and Iwamura - ACCEPTED

Display Name: Anju
Age: 16
Gender: Female

Holding herself still, Paks tried to control her breathing. The ditch she had found was a good hiding place; there was no reason to fear that Tobimaru-sensei might find her. Even as she grabbed at the thought desperately, Paks knew it wasn’t true. For a moment though, she allowed herself to believe so, for hope to bloom hotly in her chest. Then she crushed it, with all the finality of one who had faced reality over and over again and come out the worse for it.

Her hand shook, a minute movement, that she caught out of the corner of her eyes. She glared silently at the appendage, as if she could cow her body into complying with her thoughts as easily as she intimidated others to do her bidding. Paks was young yet and she hadn’t gained enough discipline in her movements. Her hand still shook. The movement dislodging a trickle of dirt and pebbles from the embankment she was leaning against. The small stones clattered to the ground with an audible thunk. To Paks it seemed as loud as if she had dropped a boulder. Her heart began to race again, and even the breathing exercises she had learned could not calm her this time.

Surely Tobimaru-sensei would have heard that? He must have. What then? Was he watching? Hiding somewhere in the trees secretly amused with her lack of skills? Waiting for the right moment to strike and then declare loudly that they failed? Paks narrowed her eyes, clamping down on her stray thoughts and forcing herself to think of something else, something productive. Unfounded worries were forbidden; only a weak minded person would let themselves think such thoughts. And Paks was not weak minded! She had to stay on task; she had to come up with a plan. Something that would get her out of this situation successfully, because she would not fail, she couldn’t. No matter what Tobimaru-sensei did, she couldn’t give up. Failure would mean that everything up ‘till now, her life so far, that all of it meant nothing. A pebble in a stream. Which was unacceptable. Bolstering her frayed nerves with her ironclad ultimatums Paks stilled her hand.

She tensed as she heard Dustin-san cry out for help. His voice rang loudly thought the forest, startling several birds perched nearby into flight. He sounded desperate; Dustin-san would never ask for help if he could help it. That was too close to admitting that he might not be capable of something, which was akin to sacrilege for him. What could make Dustin-san so worried that he would call for her? Startled and shaken more than she wished to admit by the call, Paks leaped out of the ditch she had been hiding in, and slipped through the trees. When she came to the clearing she sacrificed secrecy for speed, darting across the open space instead of going around and keeping to the trees.

Paks quickly bunched the muscles in her legs and jumped onto the large branches of the nearest tree, steadily heading deeper into the forest. The trees flew by in a blur of greens and browns, unremarkable in her sight. She kept her eyes trained straight ahead, towards where Dustin-san’s voice had come from. Relying on instinct and movements practiced for hours on end so that they were ingrained into her muscle's memory to get her from branch to branch. Twigs tugged at her hair, tangling themselves in her loose sleeves and catching at her long sash. She moved onward, her pace unchecked, only vaguely aware of the tugs and small pains, so intent was her focus. Paks slowed as she got closer to where the noise had come from, taking her time now and focusing mostly on remaining silent. She watched her step, keeping away from twigs or heavily leafed trees so as to avoid unsettling anything. It was hard to see past the myriad of trees in front of her. They grew so tightly together that it was almost as if the trees formed a solid wall of greens and browns.

She landed in a crouch on a leafy tree branch, looking down at a scene that surprised her slightly. There was Tobimaru-sensei... and another Tobimaru-sensei, one of which she assumed was a clone. The second Tobimaru-sensei seemed to have created some type of water globe and trapped Dustin-san inside. Dustin-san appeared to be able to breathe, although his clothing and hair looked like it was wet. She ignored the inquisitive part of her mind that began asking questions as to the nature of that jutsu, instead favoring the strategic part of her mind. One of the two Tobimaru-sensei's was the real one. If she attacked the clone, she would leave herself relatively well open. Paks shook her head, it didn't really matter. She would have to attack the one that had Dustin-san captured anyway, since two on one was a bad idea even if they had all been Genin rank. With Tobimaru-sensei being a Jounin that made the odds even worse in her favor. She would need Dustin-san's help. And besides, he was her teammate. Teammates did not leave each other out to dry, even if he did insist on wasting time watching clouds.

This would be hard. Paks scraped her teeth against her bottom lip, thinking quickly, assessing things and watching for small nuances from the scene in front of her. Finally she made a plan. Running through a string of hand seals she looked off to the side where two bunshin appeared, crouched next to her. Nodding after inspecting them, Paks deemed the bunshin satisfactory. They appeared to be perfect replicas. She reached up to her hair, slipping a senbon free, and also grabbing a kunai from her pack. Her movements were fluid and controlled, no motion was wasted. Now that she knew what was going on, now that there was someone she needed to keep safe, someone to make sacrifices for, Paks couldn’t remain afraid. It was simple now; she would rescue Dustin-san and then they would force Tobimaru-sensei into passing them. No other option was valid. Those simple statements meant more than any flowery prose, and Paks took heart in them. She would not fail. And neither would Dustin-san. Adrenalin surged through her veins, trying to get her body ready for the actions to come and filling her with the ecstasy that came before a fight, the hyper awareness of touch, sight and smells and the tingling anticipation.

The tree she was in was only a meter or so away from the three shinobi. Her marksmanship was good enough for that. Without pausing any longer Paks tilted backward, falling off the tree branch. She had made sure to pick a branch that had a clear space beneath it so that she wasn't hitting other branches on the way down, and thus remaining quiet. As the air whistled past her, causing her bangs to partially cover her left eye she deftly cast her hand out, throwing her one kunai at the Tobimaru-sensei whom had Dustin-san captured. Immediately after releasing the kunai she threw her senbon, aiming it so that the senbon was directly behind the kunai and hidden behind the larger bulk of the kunai. She flipped in mid-air, landing delicately on her feet before racing forward, towards the same Tobimaru-sensei as she had attacked, this time aiming a heavy punch towards his face. A frontal assault was sure to get his attention off Dustin-san. Her two bunshin had copied her movements exactly, falling off the tree and throwing sets of kunai and senbon before charging their opponent and punching, the only difference being that they attacked the other Tobimaru-sensei. Paks ignored the bells altogether, focusing only on getting Dustin-san free. After that, well she already knew what would happen afterwards, what she would make happen.

Anju - Wow, I really liked that. The writing was good, and I like how, even though the post was filled with mentions of other people, you never directly referred to them (Dustin said, Dustin looked at her, etc...). Artistic and clever. Great job. ACCEPTED

Display Name: raikou
Age: 18
Gender: Male
_____________


A lone figure slowly walked forward towards the large outer wall of the proud Earth Kingdom Capital, Ba Sing Se. The black hair matted to his head fell down to his eyes, blocking them from the glaring sun. His long, stern face hardened in a continuous frown. A braid of hair fell along the right side of his face, hitting against his jaw as he walked. The black clothes the boy wore didn't make the already hot sun any easier to bear.

The boy's gaze was distant as he walked the dusty path towards the 'Impenetrable City'. Majestic city walls already coming into view as he drew closer and closer to his destination. The rolling hills around him all looked like giant waves threatening to crash down and swallow him in their depths. It was an earth bender's paradise. A little distance off, he could see the great plains leading up to the city.

YOU DON'T DISOWN ME! IT IS I WHO DISOWNS YOU!

The boy's orange eyes closed, the words putting invisible shackles on the boy, weighing down each step. His heart squirmed under the pressure of the guilt and sorrow the memory created. The angry, baritone voice of his father replayed in his mind over and over again. the boy's sole memento of his father's rage, the nasty scar on his right shoulder, still throbbed with pain at each remembrance. It grew less distinct as the days went by, however, just the memory of it was too painful...

Disowned me... he disowned me... the eighteen year old thought to himself numbly as a hand tenderly touched the burned skin. A wince of pain ran across his features as he walked on, unaware the hills had finally stopped and the great plains now rolled on before him. Is it really his fault? I disowned him first... I'm no better than him... No better than a monster... his heart felt like it was tearing itself to shreds in his body, his gut carried inside it a worry he couldn't measure in words, a guilt he couldn't set aside lest it sneak up and devour him. How could he have said that? To The very man who had raised him his entire life... What sort of pain would be great enough for him to even imagine uttering that?

He deserved it... the eighteen year old thought to himself bitterly. He lied to me my entire life! He told me I would end the war... he said that he believed in me... Doubt passed through the teenager. How could his father be so sincere one moment and act completely different another? Troubled, he raised his right hand... his eyes widened as worry made itself known.

it wasn't there.

"Ksu... where is it?" The boy cursed. A frown spread across his face, desperate to find the manifestation of his father's praise. His pace slowed down to a stand still as his hands frantically checked his pockets for the golden ring. "Oh... right..." Raikou sighed as he remembered three nights ago. When he had run away, he had used it as payment for safe passage to the Earth Kingdom. The Fire Nation ship usually wouldn't have come this far out of its way... But the sum of the ring was promising and the captain of the vessel made a special exception for the Fire Nation Nobel. More guilt tugged at his heart as he continued his depressed, weary walk. The silver bracelet slid down his right wrist and rested on the base of his hand.

Mom... If only you were here... The boy's sad eyes closed. If only I knew what you would say...

but you do know...

A tiny voice in his mind spoke to him. He didn't know why he was thinking it, but the thought calmed him a little. A calmness washed through his body, the turmoil in his heart subsiding for a moment.

And you know I'll always love you...

A tear dropped from the youth's closed eyes. How could she say that? hadn't she see what he had done? Didn't she know what he had said?

It doesn't matter... You know I'll always love you...

Display Name: Aizakku

Age: 16

Gender: Male

Sunrise had come. The night sky had started to deplete. The shining stars slowly disappearing, like if the light from the sun was starting to consume them little by little. Fiirikusu was still in bed, sleeping like he always does. As the sun rose up beyond the mountain range, the sunlight had started to seep through his window. Slowly, Fiirikusu’s eyes had begun to open. After finally waking up, he fell back to sleep. He didn’t want to leave his bed. A few minutes had passed as his mother walked into his room. Fiirikusu woke up again once more, this time by his mother. All Fiirikusu does is groan and roll around. All of sudden, Fiirikusu was rolled off the bed and onto the floor by his mother, who seemed to look very impatient. Fiirikusu, once again saying nothing, just groaned once more and walked away from his mother and had started to change to his new clothing. After a few minutes, Fiirikusu had finished changing and now, he needed to pack everything up but before he could, his mother had already done it. She had only done Fiirikusu’s packing mainly because she knew how long it would take him. Fiirikusu then hugged her mom; this was usually his way of saying thank you to someone. He then walked outside and saw his master and many of the other villagers there in front of the village gates, waiting to say good bye to him.

‘Has it really been a year already? I can’t believe that this year went by so fast.’ Fiirikusu thought to himself as he walked towards the crowd of people. Each of the villagers had a different expression on their faces; at least that’s what Fiirikusu noticed. Some where crying, one of them was his mother. Others were filled with joy, others filled with anger, and one filled with worry. It was a girl; she seemed to look around twenty years old. Fiirikusu looked away from the girl and felt a sudden feeling of sadness. He had a little crush on her, but he figured he wouldn’t be good at relationships, seeing as he noticed how he was so lazy and all. As he continued to walk through the crowd and villagers, he started to slow down, trying to enjoy this moment of the people. He finally knew that they cared for him as he was given many things such as, herbs, paint and many other things. Finally, Fiirikusu reached the gate. He turned around and saw the people waving at him. Fiirikusu waves back and continued walking. During the last seconds of his short glimpse of the crowd, he noticed the same girl that he liked. She seemed to have forced herself to the front of the villagers and fell. Fiirikusu smiled and laughed a little. ‘I’m sure going to miss those people. Mainly my master, my mother and that girl…what was her name…Jeez…this is going to pester me for a while…’ Fiirikusu thought as he continued to walk away.

Fiirikusu, now in the forest and all alone, put his bag over his back and grabbed his bow, just incase something were to attack him. Fiirikusu wandered through the path. Fiirikusu was enjoying the view of nature: he found it to be quite wondrous on how nature could be so beautiful. The forest was long and treacherous, but Fiirikusu soon finished his long trek. By the time he was out of the forest, it was already noon. Fiirikusu now was tired. His laziness was catching up to him. He decided to take a ‘nap’ by a nearby tree. After a few minutes, Fiirikusu couldn’t sleep. So he pulled out his bag of art supplies and started painting the view in front of him. He liked it very much. Fiirikusu decided to keep it and hoped he could get a lot of money for it. He put it away in his bag and let the held the painting in his hands. Fiirikusu didn’t want anyone to steal it from him. Fiirikusu, once again unable to sleep due to being worried about his painting, got up and started to walk once more.

Evening had arrived. Fiirikusu finally arrived at a village. Oddly enough, there were a lot of people outside. Fiirikusu, now curious of what was going on, went on to investigate. Luckily, Fiirikusu had run into a carnival. Without hesitation, Fiirikusu set up a small shop. His paintings now out. Fiirikusu had five really well drawn paintings out. Wanting a place to sleep in, Fiirikusu wanted to sell them so he could sleep in the inn. As midnight struck, the stars seemed to shine brightly, now the carnival was over. Fiirikusu started to pack up and luckily managed to sell all of his paintings. The villagers seemed to like them a lot. After Fiirikusu was finished packing up his supplies, he counted his money and found that he probably had more then enough to stay just one night at an inn. He looked up and noticed the stars, shining brightly with a full moon in the sky. The moon was right in the middle and oddly enough, a perfect ring of light surrounding the sky and the moon, which was right in the center of the ring. Fiirikusu was shocked to see what he was looking at. “What a beautiful sight. Probably a rare view too.” Fiirikusu said as he then looked down and gave out a big yawn. “Man…” he said as he then picked up his bag and started to walk to the inn, “…I’ve had a long day. Now! To get some sleep, I don’t know how I can last much longer.” He gave a wide grin as he finally arrived at the inn and opened its doors.

["When in doubt, just wing it" ~Anonymous~]
Display Name: Tenoko
Age: 18
Gender: Female

A thin beam of light shining into Tenoko’s eyes through the crack in the door of her tent indicated to her that it was time for her to wake up, get up, and start the day. She blindly felt around for a skin of water, this one for drinking, not bending. Upon finding it, she rolled back onto her back and took a few swigs to invigorate her body.

She crawled out of her tent to get her eyes used to the brightness of the morning sun. All around her was green; above her was blue and patches of white, with a gold sphere blazing overhead, giving heat and light to the world. She groggily glanced around, and upon seeing and hearing nothing, lazily stretched and yawned. Being alone, she figured that she would throw something over her underthings later. Right now, it was time to find that lake that she had nearly stumbled into the previous night as she was ambling around looking for this clearing which she had set up camp in.

She wandered around aimlessly at first, for she did not have anywhere to be or anything to do, so taking her time was in her list of options at the time. Tenoko had never been one to care about her appearance as a teenager, and so 15-20 years later, little had changed.

She eventually found the stream she had been searching for, but the area she found was not as deep as the area she had been looking for. Sniffing the air, she smelled a distinct odor that made her feel like she needed to take a bath. However, upon turning around, she found herself face-to-face with an old man, only slightly taller than she was. Other then being initially naturally startled for turning around and suddenly seeing someone [especially because Tenoko had thought that she was alone]; she was unfazed, despite being in her undergarments.

“Koy,” she remarked, holding up her hand and making a gesture—this was Tenoko’s style of a greeting; “is this area part of your property or something? ‘Coz I was just passing through for the night.”

“Aye, as a matter of fact it is,” the old man replied, surveying the waterbender with a certain interest as to who she was; “where were you heading? It’s not often that I get travelers, let alone ones who decide to spend the night on my land.”

“My apologies,” Tenoko replied, “If I had known I wouldn’t have stopped.”

“You don’t seem to be from the Fire Nation,” the old man replied, “and so I don’t see it as a big concern. Where are you from anyways?”

“Southern Water Tribe,” Tenoko replied calmly, taking another swig of water from one of her skins [which were the only things she had taken with her from her camp to her current location, “but nowadays I’m just a wanderer who simply tries to get through to the next day, hoping that one day this war will be over.”

Tenoko was also tempted to ask the old man what he had been doing out here, as she had not seen any signs of a house the previous night, and so assumed it was far away. However, since she was trespassing on his property, she decided that she shouldn’t be the one prodding.

“Ah,” he remarked, “war is truly a terrible thing. My two sons are at war fighting for the Earth Kingdom right now; war is a terrible thing.”

“Aye,” Tenoko replied, closing her eyes, “war was what tore my family apart as well—my husband; my babies...”

For a moment, Tenoko drifted off into her own little world, but came back around a few seconds later when the man got her attention again. This was not a subject that Tenoko generally liked talking about, as, although it had been several years ago, losing her husband and children was an event that was naturally not likely to be forgotten by the poor mother. Luckily for her, the old man seemed to understand her problem right away, and so he did not seem likely to press any further either.

“I see,” he said softly, a tone of sympathy in his voice; “perhaps you should get your things together and spend a little time at my place before you depart to your next destination. You seem tired.”

Tenoko was tired in fact, as she usually was a late sleeper.

“Aye,” Tenoko replied, “which is why I wish I could find that lake I nearly stumbled into last night; I need something to wake me up proper.”

“You actually came pretty close,” the man remarked, “just follow this little brook upstream to a little beyond those trees and you should run right into it.”

“Thank you,” Tenoko replied, smiling slightly,

“From there,” he said, “a small path should be visible. Follow it to reach my house.”

Tenoko nodded, and the man started back towards his house. A few minutes later, Tenoko was dressed, her things all gathered together, and she was ready for the road again. However, the man had been so nice to her, and so she did plan to pay him a visit before she went on her way. Moreover, she wanted to clean herself up, and she figured her clothes could use it too.

Upon reaching the pond the man spoke of, Tenoko did in fact notice a little path that she assumed led to his house, but right now, she was going to clean herself up. Removing her pack, [which she was able to cram all her things into] Tenoko otherwise just dove straight in, clothes and all. The water was clear, cool, and refreshing, and it definitely woke Tenoko up. She took her time relaxing, and once finished, stepped off, drying herself by bending the water off of her and her clothes. Other than the initial jumping in, the time between her getting in and getting out was otherwise uneventful, the serenity of Tenoko’s environment only adding to her comfort, and therefore she was free of any interruptions.

She started down the path, and true to the old man’s word, a little cottage soon appeared in Tenoko’s view.

“At least there are still a few good people in this world,” she thought to herself, as she knocked on the door...

~Tenoko~

Raikou and Aizakku - Good job, both of you.

Tenoko - While we allow NPC's in regular RP posts, we do not exemptions. This is stated in the first post. Please do either the Battle Training or Romance Training. DENIED

Display Name:Shen Lang
Age: 25
Gender:Male

The sun shone on the small patch of trees and bushes, casting it in an emerald glow of shadows. The slow turning of the seasons seemed blurred at this time, as the vibrant and new colors of spring started to fade and darken into the solid shades of summer, a mixture that in no way declined the natural beauty of the world. The sound of bird song provided a serene quality to the area, a gentle warm breeze carrying it to the highs and lows of the outstretched plains. It was a hypnotic effect to watch, as the grasses swayed in rhythm as the wind ran across them.

But it was not this sight that held the young mans attention at this time. No, it was the bird perched in the tree by the roadside, nestled in the branches almost hidden from few. Its feathers were a beautiful shape of sapphire blue, occasionally peeking its head out as it eyed the young stranger that was sitting on a rock watching it silently. He had been their for the past hour, patiently waiting with a few scraps of paper in hand, and a piece or charcoal, making marks as he caught glimpses of his subject, which seemed to be a bit shy at the moment. A small pile of bread crumbs lay at the base of the tree, a small offering that had yet to coax it down from its hiding place.

Lang was patient though; he only hoped the blue jay would go for the ready supply of food despite his presence, rather then taking off for a less populated space. His sketching seemed incomplete with only a birds head and no body to accompany it. Finally the creature gave him one last glance before dropping from the tree branch, wings fluttering in the air as it dropped down and began peaking at the few morsels of grain. It was all the incentive Lang needed, as he quickly resumed his drawing, a rough sound of stone on paper just audible over the bird song.

He was just finishing up when he became aware of a rising sound in the distance, a faint distinct sound of irregular pounding that was slowly growing. The blue jay, having had its fill, quickly took flight; quite unwilling to stay on for whatever it was that was coming. Lang froze for a second, thinking of the possibilities. It had to be riders to make that sound, but the nature of them would be a mystery until they came within sight, and in a place like this, they would spot him as soon as he saw them. It could easy just be earth nation riders, but there was always the possibility of fire nation soldiers. He quickly folded up his sketches, grabbing his pack to pull it behind the patch of trees. At times like this he was glad he had switched to earth nation garb, as the greens blended with the plant life, camouflaging him more then the vivid blue of his water tribe anorak was capable of. He knelt behind the trunk of the tree, watching the road for the riders who would momentarily make their appearance…

Shen Lang - a bit too much of the "he/him/his" phrases, try and think of more creative ways to describe your character. EG: this portion - " He quickly folded up his sketches, grabbing his pack to pull it behind the patch of trees. At times like this he was glad he had switched to earth nation garb, as the greens blended with the plant life, camouflaging him more then the vivid blue of his water tribe anorak was capable of. He knelt behind the trunk of the tree, watching the road for the riders who would momentarily make their appearance…" Try and come up with other ways to describe your character. Or better yet, don't start off with a character description at all, start with an action, such as "Kneeling behind the trunk of the tree, he watched..." instead of "He knelt." Or even better still, do a combination of the two - "Kneeling behind the trunk of the tree, the blue-eyed young man watched ...."

Other than that, good job. ACCEPTED.

Display Name: Raen Kagiyuri


Age: 17


Gender: Male



Modern Sample:


The night was calm, or at least thats what it seemed. The sky was pitch black, and the moon had lay itself comfortably on soft cottony clouds of woven white. The moon streamed its caressing silvery mist upon all but the shadows that held strong to the bewitching glow of the moonlights spell.
It was the day before Christmas, so Manhattan was a metropolis, a chaotic cluster of nervous parents finishing some last minute shopping. Shoes of all shapes and sizes clicked fervently on pavement all over the city, and Shopping malls were teeming with people, lines that went down, out the door and almost to the next store which had an identical line itself.
Even with all that disarray some parts outside of Manhattan were silent, except for the occasional car, and some well dresses people entering cafés to sit with friends on Christmas Eve. It was no surprise that the smell of Columbian coffee brought people together with its rich scent it sends raptures through their taste buds.

A young looking boy with a ghostly pale face, that seemed only the age of nineteen walked past an alley that had a back door to a café, but then he backtracked to the mouth of the alley which had two street lamps with chipped paint and flicking near dead light bulbs. The young boy, dressed in tight, dark blue jeans that clung to his thin waist, a simple moss green sleeveless t-shirt and a pair of black and grey stripe converse flats casually walked down to the end of the alley, and sat down in the largest corner that had shadows. He sat there, his legs sprawled, and his head resting against the grime covered bricks. In the shadows you could make out his unusual features: his snow white hair, his shocking crimson eyes, and his face was hawk like and inhuman.
After an hour or two a women entered the alley. She was no younger the eighteen but no older then twenty five with a bright shade of red lipstick painted on her lips. She was dressed in a skintight black cotton, v-neck, tee shirt, a form-fitting candy apple red, leather jacket,a pair of blue, skinny jeans and three inch stilettos that clacked on the rough pavement. That young boy in the corner’s lips stretched into an unnatural smile revealing a set of elongated K9s. He laughed manically, yet softly.
The women turned backwards, and then fast as lightning turned back and walked hastily towards the end of the alley.
“What door is it” she said, her voice silken, with a Texas accent. There were three doors one at the back of the alley, and two others, one to the left and another to the right.
“Why, my dear” The young boy whispered into her ear, he had gotten up, and flitted to her side without making a sound.
She gasped, “Jeez young man you startled me” she said stressing the “e”s and “a”s and then looked into the eyes of the boy behind her.
“For good reason” he said with a little smile, exposing his true nature.
“...vampires don’t exist” she muttered before the effect of the vampire’s seductive, and bewitching eyes silenced her. He pressed his mouth into her neck and took what he needed in less then a minute, of course the temporary sleep she was in would wear off in another minute or so.
The mortal lay curled in the shadowy corner of the alley were the boy had sat, she was unbruised, unharmed, her clothing not even rustled and then she awoke.

“What happened” she grumbled, and got up, shook her head but was unable to retrieve any memory of what had happened, she just sighed and thought, “I should lay off on the cold meds though this cold is sort of bad.”
She knocked on the backdoor to the café,
“Welcome Miss Smith, its a pleasure to have you...would you please sign a poster of you and your band?” the manager of the eatery said, it was clear the manager was honored that she would come to his little café.
“Sure, sure” She said before asking where the bathroom was. She arrived at the bathroom, and noticed two middle sized puncture wounds on her neck and gasped once again; she remembered. She took out a pocket mirror, and took two skin tone bandaids, then dusted makeup over them using makeup to blend them into her skin.
As she sat at her table with a group of her friends she looked outside though a large window. A storm had rolled in, the sky was a field of stormy grey clouds with lighting dancing playfully in neon blue steaks between clouds. Rain came down shortly after, soothing the worries of this Miss Smith, but then, she saw him. A young boy with crimson eyes, white hair and pale face was on top of small apartment complex, letting the rain poor down his hair, his face, and slide down his fingers. He seemed to enjoy it. He had a thin smile on his visage, a softer, less unnatural one compared to the the last. He seemed at peace, and yet the blood matted lips gave him the appearance of a monster. The dolled up women, could then clarified her fuzzy memories of her attacker. His face besides the odd pallor was smooth, unblemished, he wasn't strong looking but if lore was correct he was strong, and a thin dark stone band encircled his wrist with a thin chain hanging from it. He was once a captive, for what she wouldn't ever find out but ideas played in her head causing her lips to raise slightly then drop, he was fascinating, bewitching, was she in love ?

The rain, just like him was immortal. Always running, always alive.

The end.

Display Name: Kyoko
Age: Fifteen
Gender: Female


Darkness hung heavily in the air, so thick that it felt like swallowing mud or sludge instead of air. Despite the sheer thickness, an arctic breeze sliced through the still air. Suddenly everything breathed with its own life.

The trees, nothing more than darker blurs in the dark, lashed out at the brunette as she dodged through them. They raked their sharp barky talons along her goosebumped arms mercilessly. Their knobby roots simply cackled with silent delight as they pulled up from the sooty earth to catch the toe of her boot and trip her. The leaves-- yes, even the harmless, innocent leaves-- rained down in a flurry of fury to blind her; choke her.

And that was just the trees.

That wasn’t even factoring in the scarce shrubbery, or the creatures big and small that called this forest home. The terrain over which she ran, she stumbled, she fled seemed just as determined to be an obstacle as the wind that seemed to last out with claws that tore at her skin relentlessly.

Another tree root grabbed at her ankle, this time sending her into a face first collision with the ground. If her hands hadn’t shot out first, of course. Kyoko gulped down lungful after lungful of sludgy darkness mixed with icy air that stung on its way down her throat. Maybe it only stung because of the blood coating the back of her throat?

She wasn’t an athletic person, dammit! Running for about ten miles, through the woods, in the middle of the summer, in the middle of the night, with no moon, was not something she usually did for fun. Then why was she running?

Kyoko paused to consider the question, allowing her painful yet rhythmic breathing to help her concentrate. What had driven her from her home, which may not have been perfect but was still home, in the middle of the night? What had chased her into the woods, into the unknown, without a second thought or hesitation?

Fear.

Overwhelming, overbearing, lung-crushing, heart-stopping fear. Fear in its purest form, so ugly and disgusting and terrifyingly cruel that it couldn’t even be described. Words hadn’t-- haven’t-- been invented yet to adequately describe what drove her from her house that night.

But it was the same fear that drove her to her feet now. Clawing at the loose dirt, scrambling to find a foothold, she fought to get to her feet. And she was a lover, not a fighter. The terror that drove her to her feet, drove her forward and onward into the mysterious forest, was terror in its sheerest form.

A fear so strong that it pulled her along by a thin string. If the knife of pain in her side-- placed there by running-- decided to detach itself and cut through the string, it would be over. If pain overtook fear, made her think “why am I even running? I can’t run anymore, and there’s nothing to run from anyways.” then she would be doomed.

If the indescribable fear didn’t catch up with her, the sheer vastness of the woods would. In the daylight it would only be worse, with shadows to play tricks and more animals on the hunt…

But the string kept tugging the girl along. Once or twice she could feel the hot breath of danger, of the end, on her tired heels. Eventually Kyo stopped running, but she didn’t stop moving. Not even for a second.

She hardly even realized when the black sky faded to gray, to orange, to pink. Not until terror released its grip on her heart and lungs did she notice the sun had risen.