Post by ankitaametashi on Apr 16, 2010 17:22:16 GMT -6
There must have been at least five of them surrounding her. There was no doubt of the number of enemies that circled around her like koi fish. Ankita Ametashi had never known her eyes to fail her ever before in her relatively short, but still long, seventeen years of life. She was sure that she had counted them right.
They were birds of prey, large ones that almost towered over the short girl who stood at only five feet. Surprisingly, they matched the color of her clothing and her hazel brown eyes at that. She adored her clothing and regretted the thought if having them torn in a fight, but they had been made for that. The clothes that had been created just for her when she had joined the traveling performers were conservative enough while still giving her enough room to move.
The top was a dark red, the color of blood with a black strip going down the middle, as if it were trying to cut the shirt in half. There were no sleeves on the shirt; they ended at her shoulders and shown the little bit of muscle there as well. The performers kept her busy with moving boxes, thus over time she had grown a little bit of muscle in her neck, shoulders and arms. Not too much, to the point that she looked out of proportion, but enough to send out the message that she was not to be trifled with no matter her stature.
On her hands, she wore long brown gloves with leather bracers on the side. They went up to her elbow and protected her during her performances. They also covered the snaking red scars that went to her wrists and disappeared into her shirt. The shirt at least hid the large burn scar on her left side, but sometimes the gloves had to come off. There were always questions. That was why she needed them on.
To Ankita, however, her skirt was the most wonderful article of clothing that they had given her here. It was a short one with two layers that came a little above her knees. The first layer was black and the second that overlapped it, was red. The effect was that it matched the ‘black stripe’ pattern on her shirt. Though the actors thought that she shouldn’t, she preferred to wear black leggings underneath her skirt to make movement much easier.
Her only method of protection was to either fist fight or run. After all, if anyone saw her bending, she was a goner for sure. This was the life of a firebender hiding out in the Earth Kingdom among people who hated the Fire Nation. Ankita was one of these particular firebenders.
Staring at the hungry birds surrounding her, the young girl began to wonder how it had come to this. What had happened that led her to be an outcast no matter where she went? With its own surprises, her mind began to replay the events that had led up to this moment, the exact time that her story had been set into motion.
Well, that would have been when she was born of course. She was born into a family in the Fire Nation. With two older boys already in the family, Ankita’s mother was ecstatic about having a girl. Unfortunately, her father, a Fire Navy general named Norio did not have the same view of his new daughter. He planned to make his name and family renowned in all four nations and a girl was not a factor in any of his plans. He blamed her for being born and resolves to punish her in every chance he got. Forbidding her to firebend was the first of many cruel rules that Ankita's father laid down. Her entire family avoided her, even her mother, for fear of Norio's wrath.
Taking pity on his little sister after seeing her so lonely, the youngest boy, Raian began spending time with her whenever they could. Though it took awhile for her to trust his intentions, Ankita eventually formed a blind with her brother. They were closer than Raian had ever been with the eldest of them, Aivan. This was mostly due to the differences of the brothers’ views. While Raian was kind, understanding and despised the war, Aivan was the closest thing to a reincarnation of their father, He was cruel, he learned too quickly and he wanted to wipe every other nation off the map.
By the time Ankita was ten, Raian at thirteen decided to put his meager three years of training to the test. He began to teach his sister how to firebend. She struggled for a long time. Though she had practiced small tricks with her bending when no one was looking, there had been nothing defensive or offensive about it. Eventually she caught on and there passed the happiest years of her life. Until her father discovered what Raian had done. Angered by his son’s betrayal he once again blamed Ankita for the disgrace that could be brought upon his family. He punished her by forcing her to duel with her own teacher, her brother. There was no match between them; it was plainly obvious that she would lose if Raian chose to fight. Not that he could refuse anyway. She held her own though in the fight, but it only made her brother angrier and nervous. When she was tired and stumbling, he surprised her with a kick to her stomach. It slammed her to the ground and before she was able to protect herself or move out of the way, her brother attacked again only this time with fire. Her arms from the wrist to the elbow were burned as was her entire left side. The scars from both fire and betrayal still remained, but only one had relinquished its pain.
Raian and Ankita once again fell into the Ametashi lifestyle and the young girl was alone again. Her brother was horrified by what he done, but there was nothing he could do to make up for it. A year later, Norio discovered a way to make his daughter useful to the family. She was arranged to be married to a wealthy boy who was just as cruel as her father and the Fire Lord. Finding his chance at forgiveness, Raian helped his sister escape the marriage by ship. Their father, worried about losing his potential gain in the wedding, sent men after them. On the ship that found them they were placed in the cargo hold which actually saved their lives. When the ships docked in a nearby Earth Kingdom village already conquered by the Fire Nation, angry Earthbenders attacked the ships in the harbor. Of course, only Raian, Ankita and a few others were on board. Ankita never remembered what happened, she was hit on the head and passed out. When she came to, she woke up in the company of some traveling performers. She never found out what happened to her brother, but the performers gladly gave her a place to stay as long as she did her part.
They accepted her for who she was. She was the untrusting and quiet girl that always sat in the corner. Did they know who she really was, where she was from? Of course not. This made her even less trusting of the group and expecially the strangers. Over time, she had softened to the others and slowly began to thaw out her heart. Sometimes she still comes off as arrogant and cruel because of her untrusting nature. She is extremely suspicious of everything someone is about to say and constantly looking over her shoulder. Even short jokes could set her off into a rage. Everyone in the group knew that she had a temper, one that when released, was uncontrollable. Usually though, she had a pretty good control on it before hand. However, she was always waiting for someone to figure out her secret and that would be it. She never showed true fear around the group, but it boiled deep inside her heart every night as she attempted to sleep.
Getting back to reality and pulling herself out of her past, Ankita replaced the look of fear on her face with a quirky smile. A piercing whistle escaped her lips and the birds flipped backwards, soaring off in formation back onto the waiting perch. One, however, circled back and flew to the girl’s outstretched arm and landed. Ankita grinned and ruffled the bird’s feathers.
“That’s a good boy, Yuko,” she whispered as soft applause began around her.
Turning to face the small crowd around her, Ankita bowed and so did her pet. This was who she was now. A trusted member of a traveling performer group in the Earth Kingdom that had no idea she was a firebender. Her brother was probably dead; she doubted her father was still looking for her after three years and here she was training birds to fly in formation at a simple whistle. This was who she was, though she was still Ankita Ametashi, she would never be the same little girl who had been punished constantly by a cruel father for existing. She was just Ankita.
They were birds of prey, large ones that almost towered over the short girl who stood at only five feet. Surprisingly, they matched the color of her clothing and her hazel brown eyes at that. She adored her clothing and regretted the thought if having them torn in a fight, but they had been made for that. The clothes that had been created just for her when she had joined the traveling performers were conservative enough while still giving her enough room to move.
The top was a dark red, the color of blood with a black strip going down the middle, as if it were trying to cut the shirt in half. There were no sleeves on the shirt; they ended at her shoulders and shown the little bit of muscle there as well. The performers kept her busy with moving boxes, thus over time she had grown a little bit of muscle in her neck, shoulders and arms. Not too much, to the point that she looked out of proportion, but enough to send out the message that she was not to be trifled with no matter her stature.
On her hands, she wore long brown gloves with leather bracers on the side. They went up to her elbow and protected her during her performances. They also covered the snaking red scars that went to her wrists and disappeared into her shirt. The shirt at least hid the large burn scar on her left side, but sometimes the gloves had to come off. There were always questions. That was why she needed them on.
To Ankita, however, her skirt was the most wonderful article of clothing that they had given her here. It was a short one with two layers that came a little above her knees. The first layer was black and the second that overlapped it, was red. The effect was that it matched the ‘black stripe’ pattern on her shirt. Though the actors thought that she shouldn’t, she preferred to wear black leggings underneath her skirt to make movement much easier.
Her only method of protection was to either fist fight or run. After all, if anyone saw her bending, she was a goner for sure. This was the life of a firebender hiding out in the Earth Kingdom among people who hated the Fire Nation. Ankita was one of these particular firebenders.
Staring at the hungry birds surrounding her, the young girl began to wonder how it had come to this. What had happened that led her to be an outcast no matter where she went? With its own surprises, her mind began to replay the events that had led up to this moment, the exact time that her story had been set into motion.
Well, that would have been when she was born of course. She was born into a family in the Fire Nation. With two older boys already in the family, Ankita’s mother was ecstatic about having a girl. Unfortunately, her father, a Fire Navy general named Norio did not have the same view of his new daughter. He planned to make his name and family renowned in all four nations and a girl was not a factor in any of his plans. He blamed her for being born and resolves to punish her in every chance he got. Forbidding her to firebend was the first of many cruel rules that Ankita's father laid down. Her entire family avoided her, even her mother, for fear of Norio's wrath.
Taking pity on his little sister after seeing her so lonely, the youngest boy, Raian began spending time with her whenever they could. Though it took awhile for her to trust his intentions, Ankita eventually formed a blind with her brother. They were closer than Raian had ever been with the eldest of them, Aivan. This was mostly due to the differences of the brothers’ views. While Raian was kind, understanding and despised the war, Aivan was the closest thing to a reincarnation of their father, He was cruel, he learned too quickly and he wanted to wipe every other nation off the map.
By the time Ankita was ten, Raian at thirteen decided to put his meager three years of training to the test. He began to teach his sister how to firebend. She struggled for a long time. Though she had practiced small tricks with her bending when no one was looking, there had been nothing defensive or offensive about it. Eventually she caught on and there passed the happiest years of her life. Until her father discovered what Raian had done. Angered by his son’s betrayal he once again blamed Ankita for the disgrace that could be brought upon his family. He punished her by forcing her to duel with her own teacher, her brother. There was no match between them; it was plainly obvious that she would lose if Raian chose to fight. Not that he could refuse anyway. She held her own though in the fight, but it only made her brother angrier and nervous. When she was tired and stumbling, he surprised her with a kick to her stomach. It slammed her to the ground and before she was able to protect herself or move out of the way, her brother attacked again only this time with fire. Her arms from the wrist to the elbow were burned as was her entire left side. The scars from both fire and betrayal still remained, but only one had relinquished its pain.
Raian and Ankita once again fell into the Ametashi lifestyle and the young girl was alone again. Her brother was horrified by what he done, but there was nothing he could do to make up for it. A year later, Norio discovered a way to make his daughter useful to the family. She was arranged to be married to a wealthy boy who was just as cruel as her father and the Fire Lord. Finding his chance at forgiveness, Raian helped his sister escape the marriage by ship. Their father, worried about losing his potential gain in the wedding, sent men after them. On the ship that found them they were placed in the cargo hold which actually saved their lives. When the ships docked in a nearby Earth Kingdom village already conquered by the Fire Nation, angry Earthbenders attacked the ships in the harbor. Of course, only Raian, Ankita and a few others were on board. Ankita never remembered what happened, she was hit on the head and passed out. When she came to, she woke up in the company of some traveling performers. She never found out what happened to her brother, but the performers gladly gave her a place to stay as long as she did her part.
They accepted her for who she was. She was the untrusting and quiet girl that always sat in the corner. Did they know who she really was, where she was from? Of course not. This made her even less trusting of the group and expecially the strangers. Over time, she had softened to the others and slowly began to thaw out her heart. Sometimes she still comes off as arrogant and cruel because of her untrusting nature. She is extremely suspicious of everything someone is about to say and constantly looking over her shoulder. Even short jokes could set her off into a rage. Everyone in the group knew that she had a temper, one that when released, was uncontrollable. Usually though, she had a pretty good control on it before hand. However, she was always waiting for someone to figure out her secret and that would be it. She never showed true fear around the group, but it boiled deep inside her heart every night as she attempted to sleep.
Getting back to reality and pulling herself out of her past, Ankita replaced the look of fear on her face with a quirky smile. A piercing whistle escaped her lips and the birds flipped backwards, soaring off in formation back onto the waiting perch. One, however, circled back and flew to the girl’s outstretched arm and landed. Ankita grinned and ruffled the bird’s feathers.
“That’s a good boy, Yuko,” she whispered as soft applause began around her.
Turning to face the small crowd around her, Ankita bowed and so did her pet. This was who she was now. A trusted member of a traveling performer group in the Earth Kingdom that had no idea she was a firebender. Her brother was probably dead; she doubted her father was still looking for her after three years and here she was training birds to fly in formation at a simple whistle. This was who she was, though she was still Ankita Ametashi, she would never be the same little girl who had been punished constantly by a cruel father for existing. She was just Ankita.