Avatar: A Tale of Two Flowers » Places

         With a heavy, jerking motion, Izaya managed to hop up from his position on the ground and regain his feet… Only to be met with a barrage of flame. Whoever this woman was, she was not kidding around. Still, she was too aggressive; clearly doing what most firebenders did, and substituting rage for skill. Sure, she’d gotten a few lucky shots in, thus far… Maybe even singed his arm hair off… But that stopped now. With a downward chop of his hand, he ignited a blade of blue flames that rent her first wave asunder, clearing the way for her next.

Moving his arms in a circular, fluid motion in front of him, the leftover flames from her first wave would mix with his and begin churning together. Blue would overtake red as the flames submitted to his will and formed into a massive sphere. As her second wave broke upon it, Izaya spread his arms out to either side; Bursting the sphere of flame apart, spreading streams of flame to either side. Her flames followed his, again changing color as he took hold of them. Moving his arms around his body in a fluid manner, he slipped into a style of firebending that more closely resembled waterbending. Bending the streams of flame around him in a circle, so that he looked to be surrounded by a sea of fire. Each wave she sent at him broke upon the seathing circle, and was swept away in the current, further adding to the already impressive mass.

Izaya wasn’t overly surprised when the waves of flame stopped coming. No matter how bull-headed his opponent had to be, she had to be smart, or experienced, enough to notice that she was just feeding him more ammo to be used against her. Staring at her, through the flames, he’d like to think there was a curious expression behind that mask… A perplexed look before a mind trying to process the image before it; Fire being bent around like water, a glowing see of liquid flame whirling around her enemy. Somehow, he doubted she’d ever seen anything like it.

With the attacks no longer coming... Well, it was now or never. Izaya spun about, the current of flame changing direction to follow his motions, compressing the flames from a stream into a single wave. Coming to a stop, now facing his opponent, Izaya’s arms stopped their fluid motion and instead flung outwards, in a striking gesture more befitting a firebending style. The massive wave of blue flames his enemy had so generously contributed to shot outwards with his motion. Flames washed over the ground before him, a cresting wave of flame many sizes larger than a single firebender could generate on their own.

Not the type to expect his first plan to go particularly well, Izaya’s stance shifted again; his arms now snaking about his body as he fell into the cold calm that came all too easily to him. Lightning sparked along his body as he moved, arms jerking this way and that in serpentine fashion. His goal was to generate the largest amount of lightning that he could -a strike that would obliterate his enemy, provided she survived the tidal wave of flame from before. It was a bit risky -it would take a moment longer than was wise- but he wanted, needed, to end this quickly.

         Leaving Ba Sing Se felt like a bad dream that Chiyo couldn't wake up from.

Wen Li returned to the garage not long after Bunta and Izaya worked out their payment, announced that they should be leaving and made the preparations to do so. Chiyo eyed the woman warily, and seeming to realize herself, Wen kindly put her weapons away in the trunk of the Auto and plopped herself into the passenger seat. It seemed they were leaving and Wen was coming along--even if no one asked her to. Ru and Izaya took this in with silence. No assenting, but also not stopping the woman. Fair enough.

It was as if her siblings had a second sense--because just as Bunta was shuffling Chiyo into the back seat of the car ( his eyes watery, but a proud smile plastered under his beard) the four children came piling into the garage. They were unusually quiet and somber, as if picking up on the energy of the room. The youngest, Tu, had noodles on his face still from their obvious trip to Gen's stand.

"Where are you going, Chi?" Tu quipped, eyes wide. Chiyo felt her eyes water dangerously. Away. Probably forever she thought mierably, but remained silent, unsure of what to actually tell them. Bunta graciously stepped in, shooing them back inside. Insisting it was none of their business and that they would talk about it later over dinner. Food motivated Cho and Jun quickly, and they nodded their understanding before heading back into the house. Tu, however, was more stubborn. He was always more attached to Chiyo than the others being the youngest. Tatti, being the oldest after Chiyo, had a look of understanding on her face. Chiyo and Tatti shared a look, a silent conversation, a silent goodbye. Maybe Tatti had always known Chiyo was different. Or at least suspected. Bunta probably knew too--but said nothing. The same fears of starvation, a split family, a hard goodbye probably kept Bunta from addressing his daughter's burnt bedsheets, or the scortched sleeve of a hoodie.

When Tu stubbornly planted himself at Chiyo's feet, demanding answers, Tatti scooped the small boy up from behind in silence. Tu, sensing that the departure of his oldest sister was not going to be answered, softly began to cry, demanding in his small voice over and over to go with her. "Me too! Me too, Chi! I want to go with Chi!" Even as Tatti closed the door linking the house and the garage behind her, Chiyo could faintly hear him keeping on with his small tantrum. Bunta sighed heavily, patting Chiyo on the arm before gently leading her into the back seat of the Auto. Toph had somehow managed to wriggle into the seat too and once Bunta closed the door behind her, the little badgermole wriggled his way into his mistress's lap. Chiyo accepted a spare hoodie from her father through the window, as well as her (somewhat tattered) blanket, rolled tightly into a bundle. Bunta eyed the small animal in her lap, but said nothing before patting the back of the auto and bending open the garage door.

As Ru pulled the car out of the garage and into the street, Chiyo watched Scrappers dissapear until she could only see the edge of the metal-bent S over the rooftops behind them. She was numbly away of Izaya to her left, of the nudge of Toph's soft head as he urged her attention. Chiyo felt numb. Probably dehyrated a little as she could summon no more tears despite the weight of her sadness. Tired to the bone, but incapable of sleep. Worried this may be the last time she saw Ba Sing Se, Chiyo barely blinked as she watched the city roll by the windows. She absorbed it all, memorizing it, well until the city was just a dot on the horizon behind them. Beside her, Chiyo vaguely heard Izaya's even breathing. She suspected he was sleeping, or at least resting. A glance told her that his eyes were indeed closed. Chiyo rested her head against the cool window, staring out at the passing landscapes.

Soon, Ru broke the silence that had otherwise had only been punctured by Izaya's even breathing and the rattle-thunk of the wheels on the uneven earth. Chiyo felt too exhausted to move her head to look at the waterbender. She watched instead as her breath slightly fogged up the glass on the window, her forehead still pressed to the glass. A grief-stricken relfection of herself, stared back. She registered the question Ru posted to Wen, still unmoving, still resisting sleep, and listened for Wen's reply. Chiyo was also wondering this--how long had Wen known? Until today, Chiyo had thought she had been doing a fine job of squashing her "avatarness". It was more than dissapointing to find out she was spotted for what--or who--she was. Chiyo thought it best to keep quiet as the two discussed. They probably assumed she was just as asleep as Izaya. Part of her wanted to be. Wanted to slip into the sweet oblivion that sleep could bring, so this sad emptiness in her chest would stop aching for a time. Only her anxiety kept her alert, fretting that if she slept she might miss something vital. Or that she might close her eyes and forget how her family looked.

         Ru let out a groan as he heaved a large chest with gold and jewels into the trunk of Izzy's car. "Ugh, I can't believe you made me lug this stuff outta there.." He groaned looking over at his partner. He then threw a glare at Momo. "and I can't believe you didn't even try to pitch in!" His faithful Lemur enjoying a relaxing nap in the passenger seat. Ru could only huff, sweat running down his forehead and into his eyes before he had a chance to wipe it away. They had managed to get out of there intact, mostly thanks to their bending, but also to their flying lemur sidekick; Momo.

He picked up his little lemur pal, before taking the seat and placing momo in his lap. When he was freed, the first thing he did was use the water dripping around the cave, and the moisture in the air to form small pool near the entrance. As Momo flew in tailed by guards they were caught like fish. He raised the water around them before sealing them in blocks of ice (leaving their heads out for taunting purposes) and pushing them sliding towards a wall, there were many puns and taunts to be had as they ran through the underground base, making it to the vault where their gear was kept; and tons of gold and jewelry.

He had personally protested taking any of it, as it would just slow them down, but of course Izaya had other plans. Not only were they now fighting to get out; they were fighting just to survive with extra loot that they did(n’t) need. He did happen to get a minor bit of revenge as he managed to hang a couple of them from the ceiling with ice. It was glorious! A smile growing on his face from the memory. He had already settled into his seat, he took a moment to peek at his partner.

He had known Izaya for years now, though their personalities clashed a lot, they worked well together. He rested his hands behind his head and chuckled. “Hey Izzy, we should probably get going; we’ve got enough gold for the entire trip and then some!” He then pointed to where the entrance to the “Secret” base was. “Besides the ice should be melting pretty soon; and not the mention the dude with no eyebrows is gonna be pissed when he gets up”