OOC: Here we go everyone! :D I'll post the order of postings in my next post. <3 You can choose any of the Rings. I think that Toph should start off in the Palace, then she should meet up with Zuko at the edge of the city.
The Middle Ring
Avani had flippped back her long wavy dark brown locks to hide within her current earth bender cloak. It was the general cloak you'd find in many of the markets around the Middle Ring, so it was the perfect disguise to hide her big emerald green eyes, much like her mothers original color before she went blind, and her soft white dress with a band of green along the neck line and a green choker to match with it. She wasn't wearing shoes, of course. She WAS Toph's only daughter.

The Empressa traveled through the market on a fine morning. Spring was in the air alright, and it was lucky too - Spring was the Earth Kingdom's season. Flowers had bloomed, lovers roamed down the streets, laughter filled the air - indeed, it was a good day. But not an ordinary day, either. For the Fire Lord was coming. This was no ordinary visit because his two daughters would be coming. Avani was fond of Princess Zmey but didn't really know what to think of her little sister, Princess Achi. She never really say Achi all that often whenever the girls came to visit. From what she discussed with her mother last evening, Zuko would talk to the Empress about the next avatar, for rumors have been flying. She wouldn't have been surprised if it was Katara's kid though. It would be very ironic and highly possible.

Something caught her eye - it was a booth of silks of all colors. Ava gasped. "Silk!" Running over to the booth she went to check out a gorgous purple. Since she was also a Spirit Speaker, Ava was allowed to wear purple, for purple was a color of the Speakers even though most never wore them. And the purple was avalible to the public, despite it's pricey pay. Her eyes sparkled as her fingers ran over the deep purple silk. "Wow..." she whispered.

"That would be a great color on you." A voice came from behind her. She gulped and dared to spy on who it was.

It was Avatar Roku.

Roku didn't come along all that often. But she was very excited whenever he visited. She gasped and almost tackled the man, but realized, like the other spirits, she'd run into him and he'd vanish. "Roku! How are you!" Strangers looked around with puzzled looks. And so did the guards.

Roku chuckled. "Better get going," he said as the palace guards spotted her.

"Catch the Empressa!!!" The head guard shouted and then ran forward, leading the rest. Avani payed the woman at the booth, quickly waved to Roku, and jumped up into the air, doing a back flip then a kick. A small rock wall shot up from the earth, giving her a few seconds of advantage to escape.

OOC(woot it workted)

The morning sun shone brilliantly on the Northern Air Temple. The light of the sun glistened on the morning dew that coated the towers of this majestic temple. It was still very early in the morning and despite the few early risers, the temple was quiet. The largest sign of life was taking place on the front gates of the temple where two figures stood as if they were about to leave on a long journey.

Renai obstinately had packed her gear the night before and was waiting for her teacher Ace by the gates. He had told her repeatedly that she was not allowed to come with him on his journey to Ba Sing Se. However, Renai was simply not going to give up. Ace was clearly upset with the small girl at having been repeatedly disobeyed and ignored and Renai's eyes were glistening with what could be tears. "Please Ace.... I want to go." Her voice carried for only a small distance, it's sound high and soft with rare use.

Renai met Ace's stern gaze trying desperately to get him to agree with taking her. "I'm strong enough Ace....Please..."

Sitting at the table in fathers house.I wasn't really happy.I suspected I was in trouble or was being sent away again.I was thinking of just walking away,knowing they couldn't stop me.But it didn't seem like he would be happy bout that,and if I ever got caught it would end pretty badly.A candle sat on the table,flame low.I stared for a moment and it grew bigger.hmph.Stupid parlor tricks.I wanted to go fight.Or at least practice.I loved a good fight,but not if I couldn't use fire.It was no fun then...I go back and forth making the flame move and grow and shrink,while I awaited fathers news.

Renai has been trying to persuade Ace for a while now & no matter how many times he shook his head, she continued to ask. He has always been a patient person, but he now found it difficult to remain that way. The reason why he didn't want to take her with him was simply because he didn't want her to get hurt & he knew that she knew that very well. He was simply trying to protect her & anybody else for that matter. No one else was allowed to come & he was stern about that. After all, there were other students who also wanted to tag along. Some of them for the adventure, some of them to learn. What was Renai's reason?

"Come on, don't look at me like that. I can't take you with us. If I could, I would. You know that," the handsome Elder replied after exhaling a relaxing breath. He looked at her with a calm expression now, his blue-green eyes sincere. He had grown tired of playing such a game... if one could even call that a game. He didn't want to argue with her anymore.

"While I'm gone, you should practice. Okay?" Ace said with a smile as he took a step back. Part of him wondered if Renai was going to stay put or if she was going to cling after him again.

Renai's heart sank with Ace's final rejection of not allowing her to come. She held back her tears to the best of her ability but her misery was very evident. She knew she had pushed Ace to far on the matter. He was calm and sincere like always but there was a hint of a annoyance in his voice. Truth is, she didn't want to fight with him either and didn't want to make him any more mad then he already was with her.

"While I'm gone, you should practice. Okay?" A smile was decorating Ace's face as he took a step away from her. Renai nodded her head slowly but didn't move. Finally after a few moments she ran up to him and gave Ace a small hug burying her face into the elders robes. "Come back safely." she said softly as she turned her gaze onto his eyes as they looked down on her.

After a few more seconds Renai broke apart from Ace. her face colored lightly in what could be considered a slight blush. Her eyes still glistening a little bit with tears. Renai quickly turned around and grabbed her bag that was now on the ground a little ways away and ran back into the temple. Tears beginning to flow from the girl's eyes. She hadn't wanted to go with him for more practice or some adventure like some of his other students. She had wanted to go with him simply because she didn't want him to be alone....she didn't want to be alone.

As Renai was running back to her room a foot shot out from behind a corner and tripped her. She fell to the ground hard and her bag spilled open onto the floor. Pencils, clothes, and a small sketchbook scattered across the floor and the cruel laughter of two boys could be heard walking away from her. Renai, slowly picked herself up and placed her belongings back in the bag. She ran the rest of the way back to her room, her face looking down and a slight pain in her knee where she had scrapped it against the marble floors. Upon arriving back at her room Renai threw herself onto her bed and burst into tears. Idiot she thought Why can't you see I need you.

"Alikah may the goddess protect you on your journey", Alikah's mother put her arms around her daughter's neck, yesterday had been her 15'th birthday the beginning of the "Wind Wandering". She smiled she knew it was hard for her mother to see her go, ever since her father had died she had trouble caring for a young child by herself but now all the work she had done had come to fruition. "Mother don't worry I will be fine and when I find my destiny I will return", Ziki crawled out of her pack and up onto her shoulder he licked his eyeball and made a chirping noise. Alikah's mother smiled and petted the little lizard, "And I will miss you too Ziki", with one last hug Alikah was on her way. She decided that she would head to The Northern Air Temple. She had only seen it once in her life when she was a young child, when her father had taken her there to pay homage to the goddess. Even though the wind tribe had branched off from the Air benders many years ago the air temple were still revered as sacred places to the tribe. It had been one of the last times she had seen her father alive. He had gone out one day to hunt and had never returned. The tribe had lost it's leader that day and her uncles rein had began. It was a time of great hardship, her uncle is a cold and unloving person who cared for no one but himself. He had taken everything from her and her mother after her father's death. And left them to fend for themselves. But her mother was never bitter she just did what she could and always told Alikah that it was the way of the goddess and that she would provide. He of course had been happy to see Alikah go she had been the last thing to remind him of his elder brother.

When she got to the out skirts of the temple grounds she decided to make camp and get some rest.

Looks around.He's no where to be found,so I stand up.I grin an run out the door.If he's running late I have an excuse to be gone.I was bored.I run outside.Looks back inside.No ones there.I smile ,maybe I was really going to be able to not get an order today.If it was so,I want to enjoy my day.

Zuko stepped down the staircase with quiet rage. "Zmey. Come here." he said barely above a whisper. his fury shook him like a flu symptom, and he'd have to find a way to calm himself before dealing with his eldest. he didn't want her taking the blunt end of his anger. so as a precautionary measure, he stepped back out of the door way, and gave a loud "GRAHHH!" and sent burning jets of super heated lightning out into the sky. he fired one after another, before his body gave, and he slumped to his knee. Getting up, he then dusted his robes off, and brushed the shoulders of his cloak. "Zmey!" he called after his daughter once more. Though why she had to be in his study he had no clue, probably another mentor wanting him to fix her razor sharp attitude. he'd tried that until they were both seven, Achi, and Zmey were just like their aunt in some ways. sometimes it pained him to no end. he'd say "Would you stop being so cruel? you'll end up like Aunt Azula." even that meager warning would just fuel the already smoldering ambers in their souls, and he'd end up in an Ag Ni Ki with Zmey after she'd challenged him with a slap from a Ki do stick. If only he'd get the respect he craved from his children, rather then getting an overabundance from the citizens. "Zmey, what ever you're here for, scratch it." he had found her trying to walk out through the garden door. Grand old Ember Island. He remembered his days on this piece of floating rock from days of old. when Ozai wasn't a tyrannical bastard, and Azula was, Well a lot less of a heartless shrew. his mother he'd missed even then. but now he had his own children, and a wife who meant more to him the Nation itself. Mai. He sat across from his daughter, as she held her head in her hand, and gave him the 'What now.' look. "You and I are taking a journey to Ba Sing Se."

Raises eyebrow."For what,may i ask?And you don't have to be so worked up...I barely even got into the garden."Messes around with a flame with my hand,not really caring what he wanted,unless it meant I got to go fight.I loved fighting,but rarely got to ,and it was starting to get me upset.

It hurt Ace to see Renai's sad face. He didn't want her to be like that, but he couldn't do anything to make her feel better at the moment. Even if he decided to take her with them, the Head Elder would disapprove. Ace had a good amount of power because he was an Elder & he was young, but he certainly couldn't go against his word. They both knew the dangers of the situation, so there was no arguing about it.

Ace was surprised when the little cutie hugged him. He blinked & looked down at her, holding her gaze for a moment whilst he raised one hand to pat her head gently. "Don't worry, I'll be back in no time. I promise," he murmured the reply, his soft smile returning to his face. Suddenly, Renai backed up & ran away. He was left with no choice but to watch her leave silently. His mind was beginning to fill with many thoughts, but his Head Elder interrupted, "my, she's certainly fond of you, isn't she?"

Ace leaned back against a nearby pillar before shifting his gaze towards the older, but powerful, man. He ran his fingers through his blood hair & ruffled his locks. "Well, she is my student," he replied. Part of him knew what her feelings were--a flirtatious person like him would notice it instantly. However, the other part of him told him that she was his student & she was pretty young &… And?

The Head Elder smiled at Ace's answer before a small chuckle escaped him. He cleared his throat & spoke again, "are you all set to go, my boy?"

"Yes, I am," Ace replied a bit too quickly. Then, whilst the two of them made their way out of the air temple, the look of confusion returned to his face. He wasn't sure how he felt & despite being so wise, he was a bit confused. Normally, he would contemplate the situation for hours until he got the answer he needed but at the moment, he couldn't do so. So, he cut himself some slack & let the pieces of the puzzle fall into place with their time.

Alikah was packing up after spending the night there she started towards the temple. She noticed some air binders heading out on some sort of journey. "Good morning", she said waving and smiling to them as they came up to her, she noticed the handsome Blond, young man. Then it puzzled her for a moment, "Don't air nomads shave their heads and have air bending tattoos", she shook the thought away, "Maybe their not as strict anymore", she thought to herself.

"The Garden doesn't matter Zmey." Zuko said. sitting on his legs in front of his arrogant daughter. but he couldn't fault her for being self absorbed. he was exactly like that when he was her age, with only uncle there to look out for him. "The Avatar has gone missing. And if you ever want to follow your lineage you'd do well as to act like the Fire Nations Princess instead of some fist junkie. Now go. Find your sister, and follow the service men to the carriage. if there is any thing you wish to bring, forget it." he got to his feet, and with a curt nod he held his arm out for her to take his hand and walk with him. "Avatar Aang. you know what he did for this nation? and all other nations? He brought us peace. and put an end to your aunt Azula, and Grand father Ozai. While he maintained peace, you think only of what entertains you. you must develop a sense of responsibility if you're to sit on my throne."

Achi was in her room, surprisingly not out on the field training or in her case, fighting. She had been in her room all morning. Thinking about the journey to come, thinking, that was another unusual thing for her to be doing. She had heard rumours on the grounds as to the reason for this journey and she didn't know what to believe. Her Father and Mother had always talked about the last Avatar, Aang and now he was missing? Was this the reason for their journey? To find him? That didn't seem right. Shaking her head she got up at the sound of footsteps. Turning her head to the door she saw her Mother, a warm smile came to her lips, one only her Mother saw frequently and bowed her head respectfully, "Mother, how may I help you?" she asked, standing and walking toward the tall, elegant woman.
"My Daughter, you are to go to the carriage now, don't worry for belongings, I imagine you have the neccesities," with that she gave Achi a quick hug which, the girl returned,
"I will see you when we return Mother," she said bowing her head again and left quickly for the carriage.

It must have been an hour or two before movement was seen in Renai's small students room, the poor girl must have cried herself to sleep. Renai's eyes were still a little glassy from tears and she wiped her eyes as she approached the rooms single window. It must have been about nine in the morning but the temple was still very quiet. However, that was normal for all the air temples. While the Air Nation had done an impressive job of repopulating itself since the genocide, it was still very small.

The sun beat down on the small girl as she stared out her window into the small courtyard that it emptied into. Her mind drifted aimlessly, resting a few seconds on one thought before switching to another thought. No matter how hard she tried though her thoughts kept drifting back to Ace. Finally, Renai sighed and walked away from the window. Her bag was propped up against the wall and she fished around in it looking for a certain item. Renai pulled out her smell sketchbook and inks. Holding these closely to her, Renai left her small room and quietly made her way through the old temples hallways until she arrived at the courtyard that she had looked down upon from her window.

Renai clutched the book and inks close to her chest. They were simple things really, the sketchbook was just a small leather bound book full of blank paper and the inks, though colored and expensive were really nothing grand. However, these were the possessions she kept closest to her heart, they were precious to her. The book and inks had been a present to her from Ace for her fifteenth birthday. It wasn't that they had cost him a pretty penny, but it was the fact that they had been given to him by the most important person in her life. She had memorized the first page of the book, a small note rested on the crisp paper wishing her the best birthday from Ace. She knew it was a silly thing to love but she cherished his gift.

Settling on a bench that was shaded from the heat of the sun by the arms of an old tree, Renai began drawing. At first she was just going to draw a simple landscape but the picture evolved. After awhile she had a drawing of a flowered landscape and a single flowering tree to the left and in the forefront. A soft breeze rustled the landscape and in the shade of the tree, two sleeping figures lay. One was Ace, his back was leaning against the tree and the second figure was Renai, her head resting softly on his shoulder.

Renai was beginning to apply her color to the sketch when a sudden gush of wind blew the book out of her hands and across the courtyard, into the hands of a much larger boy, Kelm. Now Kelm was not a nice boy, and it didn't help that he was actually two years younger then Renai. However, no matter how old he was the boy towered over her and he loved her anguish.

"What is grandma doing today" he asked her in his usual mocking tone, "Ah I see she's drawing, oooh and what is this, it's a drawing of you and Grandfather Chiidore."

Renai looked down, she was not good at responding to his bullying. Kelm walked up up to her and held the painting over his head. "Jump for it Grandma, Jump" he said as Renai did indeed try to get it from him. His laughing filled the courtyard as he finally threw the book into the tree. Renai quickly turned to get the book from the tree but Kelm had grabbed her shirt. Unable to keep her balance anymore, Renai tripped and fell to the ground to the boy's laughter again as he kicked her and walked away.

Getting to her feet, Renai felt a stab of pain in her side where Kelm had kicked her, but the only thing on her mind was getting the book back. Using a bit of air bending she was able to get the book back easily enough but she didn't feel like painting the drawing anymore, she just wanted to be with Ace again. Renai leaned against the tree, her head down and the book held tightly to her chest. Renai didn't want to be alone, but thats all she was without Ace, alone.

"I'm no fist junkie father.And fine."Stands up and takes his hand.Starts walking."I don't even want to be the princess,you make it sound like the worst thing ever sometimes."Sighs,it was true.I didn't like the thought of being part of all this royal stuff.Maybe he was right.I liked fighting a lot,but so what?I stayed in line....Most of the time.....I mumble something and think about what he said.The avatar was missing.I wondered how important this was to find them.I mean, the last one did bring peace,but if were at peace what more did we need?I sigh,I knew I was missing some detail of this,but didn't bother asking about it.

Alikah shook her head she didn't even get a hello back from the Air Bender, "He must be very busy", she thought. She continued on her way to the Air Temple. Just outside of the entrance she sat and started to play her horn, the tune her father had taught her many years before. She had also been taught to to not enter the sacred ground because she was not worthy. Only Air Benders were aloud. She didn't know if that was so for the Air Benders but, the Wind Tribe had this rule. There was so much that Alikah didn't know about the world outside the more she say the more amazing, and exciting it became.

Ace only noticed Alikah when she'd shaken her head & walked away. It felt a bit bad about it & was about to say something since he wasn't raised to be a rude person but before he could, his elder began to speak again. He told the young man to not worry about it & simply walk. She looked like a wanderer, a beginner one too, so it would be unwise to befriend her at the moment. After all, they were busy at the moment & things could very easily get dangerous. Taking her with them would be a bad idea. At this, Ace nodded. He himself was extremely wise, but because his head had been so foggy, his reasoning had been out of place.

Ace & the Head Elder reached a clearing beside the road they were following, so they stopped & sat down. It had been about two hours since they'd started to walk & the old man was ready to do some warm-ups. His body wasn't as young as it used to be, but it wasn't at all bad either. On the other hand, Ace was young & athletic, so he didn't need to walk for two hours & then warm-up before using their air bending to make their trip shorter. However, he had the feeling that the Head Elder hadn't walked for two hours just for that. They had talked about Renai along the way, so he figured that had been the reason.

The handsome young man watched as his mentor & friend stretched against the soft, green grass. It was a sight to see since he was unbelievably limber & that, he hadn't known before. It brought a grin to his face once realizing that even the warm-ups were just a cover for talking. He listened as the old man spoke about love & how he had loved once. "She was so beautiful... Now that I think of it, I believe she was Renai's age & I was yours," the Elder murmured with a nonchalant face, "ah, how interesting."

"Mmhmm, that's very interesting. Are you done yet? Sitting here makes me want to have tea or something, but we're going to be running soon, so..."

"I've always wanted grandchildren."

"How nice," Ace replied quickly despite having a blush on his face. He got up & dusted himself off. "I want grandchildren, too. Little kids running around cutely & whatnot. Yes, yes, how nice. Come on, let's go!"

The Elder laughed at Ace's eagerness & got up as well. Then, with a glint in his eye, he took off. He swiftly decreased the air resistance around him whilst generating a wind current behind himself to propel forward. In no time, he was out of sight. However, Ace was good at that, too. So, he followed on afterwards--catching up in no time. Soon enough, they would reach their destination. However, what he liked the most was not talking anymore.

Achi arrived at the Carriage and looked around for her Father and Sister, seeing Zmey she walked to her, "Hey Zmey, do you know what is going on? Mother told me we are to go to the carriage and all these rumours of the Avatar missing, what is happening?" she asked as they began to walk to the carriage. She glanced at her sister, she seemed frustrated but then that was usual for Zmey by Achi's reckoning. She looked behind her to see if their Father was coming, she would have expected him to be far more organised then them but perhaps not.

Alikah paused her song to listen to the world sing she often imagined that it was a sign for the goddess that she was pleased with her offering. She sighed and leaned up against they wall putting her arms behind her head, humming a little tune to her self, she closed her eyes and meditated.

Renai allowed her thoughts to wonder as she leaned against the old oak tree, her hands still clutching the sketchbook tightly to her chest. She tried to empty her mind as Ace had so often asked of her when she was to meditate but she couldn’t/ All of her thoughts returned to Ace, or to her own feelings. The wind blew in from the south and along it sailed the sounds of a small wind instrument.

Renai’s eyes shot open, she knew what she had to do, she had to leave. Quickly collecting her inks and book, Renai made her way through the old stone hallways until reaching her room. Her bag was still packed from last night and grabbing it along with her short swords she turned around and ran back to the main gate. Running through the halls, she was encountered by no one and Renai began to feel a sort of lightness in her step that she had not felt in a long time. She was going to leave the Temple, there would be no one to bully her anymore, no one to push her down or step on her. From now on, it would be only Ace and herself. Freedom, she thought as she ran out the front gate of the temple.

However once outside she was forced to stop, there were three roads leading away from the Temple, all three of them could have been used by Ace to get to Ba Sing Se. Renai’s heart sank. If she chose the wrong road then she could get lost easily, or worse yet never find Ace. Her head hang low in defeat; she felt as if that freedom had been taken away from her for a second time that day, her heart ached. As she was turning around to walk back into the temple though she noticed a young girl, taller than herself but probably not much older meditating by the side of the entrance. She was wearing a light cloth that was a very light tan in nature and she appeared to have some sort of instrument next to her. She must have been the one playing the music earlier, perhaps she might know which way Ace had gone, Renai thought.

Renai was very shy but she had to overcome this or risk not being able to go to Ace. “Um…” she said, her soft high pitched voice sounding foreign to her own ears “Did you… earlier did you see two elders, an older man and a younger one…. Which road did they take?”

Ziki heard the voice and crawled out of Alikah's pack she had fallen asleep and didn't here the quiet girl but Ziki had. He jumped off glided around the girls head couple of times and then landed on Alikah's shoulder. He licked his eyeball and then started making chirping noises in Alikah's ear. Her eyes slowly opened, "What is it Ziki?", she asked, the little lizard chirped again, "Someones talking to me". She looked and saw the young girl, she smiled "Hello", she hopped up and dusted her self off, "My name's Alikah whats yours oh and could you repeat what you said I was kind of asleep", (she doesn't have to repeat everything)

Ziki

Renai was a little scarred when a lizard crawled out from the girl, however she quickly calmed herself back down upon realizing it was an Air Lizard, she had seen a few of them around the temple and they apparently made good pets. Renai was concentrating so much that Alikah's voice startled her somewhat "My name's Alikah whats yours oh and could you repeat what you said I was kind of asleep",

Renai froze for a few minutes, but quickly shook herself out of it, She may be shy but she had to do this if she was to catch up with Ace. "Um... hi. My names Renai....Umm.. You didn't happen to see an two elders leaving the temple earlier..... and if so, which way did they go?" she asked softly again, her shyness very evident in her voice and the color of her cheeks.

"Oh yeah I sure did", she said wile smiling and rubbing the back of her head. She pointed in the direction that they had air bended, "They seemed to be in a real hurry though, are you an air bender as well?". Alikah had never met an actual air bender before well except for waving at the two elders as they went by. She liked this girl she seemed very nice, then the wind blew towards Renai and her hair blew it continued on in the directions that the elders went. Alikah took this as a sign from the goddess that she take this girl and go with her to where the elders were going.

(OOC: Sorry, I said you followed me XD Go ahead and make a post Rin but after Lamia posts stopping for the night, I’ going to catch us up to them, hope you don’t mind.)

Renai nodded in answer to the Alikah’s question. “Thank you” she told the girl quietly as the wind picked up and blew Renai’s white hair before setting off in the direction that Alikah had pointed out to her. Renai took off down the road and a fast paced walk. She knew that Ace and the other older would be descreasing their travel time by using air bending. Renai would have done that too but she had yet to master the skill, and the last time she had tried she had fallen flat on her face in front of Ace. It was very embarrassing and not a moment that she wanted to relive.

So Renai resigned to simply walking, even if it meant she would have to walk the rest of the day and most of the night until she caught up with Ace. But, if that meant being able to be with him again then she would do it. The day was hot but the surrounding hills created a sort of wind tunnel along the road that helped to keep travelers cool.

Renai several times felt like she was being followed, whenever she looked back she could see Alikah following her. After about an hour or so of travelling Renai stopped and allowed for Alikah to catch up to her. She didn’t say anything but started walking again once Alikah had caught up. She wanted to talk, to say something but whenever she tried to nothing could come out. So finally she just gave up and continued walking in silence.