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That was nearly seven years ago as she was seen looking out the window of their home at the rising sun. Her mother had walked into her room as she spoke that her master requested her services immediately. Kasumi lowered her head with a soft sigh escaping over her parted lips. She turned heel and walked past her mother and out of her room. Her eyes gazed towards her father and siblings as she smiled gently then offered them a small wave before heading out the door and making her trek towards the building were her master resided.

Upon entering his home, she saw that he was training another student waterbending. She walked in with a smile then that was when her master caught her out of the corner of her eye. He released the student in training or told him to take a break as she sat down and awaited her master's attention. "Ah, Kasumi, how have you been?" Kasumi raised up to her feet upon her master speaking towards her. "Good. I guess you heard too?" She spoke after bowing towards her master. Her master nodded his head at her questionable tone towards him. She sighed softly then looked towards him.

"These Chi Blocking fools are about to get on my nerves. I mean, who is malicious enough to attack every single nation?" Her master rested a hand upon her shoulder then spoke softly towards her. "Kasumi, you have those groups out there that are like that but it is up to you to make sure no other group rise up again." She looked off to the side then he continued. "Now, I've taken the liberty to call to the other nations and get you retrained by some of their best benders." Kasumi raised one of her delicate brows up at him as she stood to her feet after his hand was removed from her shoulder. "As a matter of fact, they're already here. Waiting for you." Her master handed her three bags then patted her on her back. "Your parents brought them over here last night. I am also going to give you my polar bear dog, Kowai." She smiled then nodded her head as he handed her the reigns.

She went out to get Kowai and saddled her up as she sat her three bags upon Kowai's back. She softly tugged the reigns as Kowai slowly walked towards the gates of the Northern Water Tribe. Upon getting there, she stared down at the group of benders but she was sure that at least two of them were non benders. Her brow raised as a female bared the colors of a Chi Blocker. Kasumi didn't want to make a scene on her very first day so she ignored that fact for right now.

"I remember seeing some of you guys in your respective nation. We all grew up since then but most of you know about that am I the Avatar and I want to be treated as such." She breathed after those words then continued. "I suppose that we are going to the Earth Kingdom first since that is the next element in the cycle." Her and Kowai walked past them as she hoped they knew to follow her. She didn't want to start the introductions until they actually started moving towards the Earth Kingdom.

She slid off of Kowai along with her bags as she handed Kowai and her to a crewman. "Take my bags to my room and take Kowai towards the kettle, please." The crewman nodded and did as he was told as she turned heel after petting Kowai, folding her arms over her chest, a smirk plastered upon her feminine features as she turned around and walked to the deck of the ship, standing close to the edge as a breeze blew over her. Her eyes turned back towards her mentors as she walked towards them.

"Okay. As I said before, I am the Avatar, Kasumi is what I prefer to be called. You guys are?"

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It was there that Asad Boder, the Drunken Golem, the Wanderer, the Outcast, had begun wondering how he had ended up as the Avatar's companion. He had met this girl once before when they were both still children but he barely recognized her. It could be that she had grown up and so had he... Or it could be his glazed eyes messing his vision up a little bit as he was getting through a hangover. He was standing, though now and then he would waver and nearly lose his footing as he sat through her introduction. His face was long, unkept. Stubble was turning to small hairs along his chin and up the sides of his face. He was significantly taller than her, though he was a bit taller than most of the people present. "The Avatar, eh? The dark, groggy voice would reply to her first statement.

"My name is Asad Boder, and I am known for many things. What you need to know is my ability to bend Earth is rivaled by few, maybe even none, and my skill with a blade is nothing to underestimate." To be perfectly honest, he had no idea how he ended up in this position. Outcasted by the Earth Kingdom, there was no way he was appointed as her teacher by them. Had he made some drunken deal the night before with one of the Water Tribe's elders? Did he seek her out of his own volition? Regardless, he was in this position now and had no real intention of leaving. To train the Avatar was nothing short of an honor, and perhaps an attempt to do some good in this world, to make some small atonement for his mistakes.

Looking over the other members here, he realized how much he actually stuck out. A man who looks decently older than he is, scars around his body, strange clothing and an even stranger pauldron... and he certainly was not dressed for the cold conditions that he was in. He did not seem too bothered by that, though. He seemed to be having more trouble standing in one spot than dealing with the cold. Luckily, alcohol helps with the cold. And there was a fair amount in his system from the night before. "Miss Avatar, I would need a word priv--" He was interrupted by a hiccup that made him jump a little bit, staggering a little bit before returning to his point. "I would need a word with you in private once these introductions are away. If we are going to the Earth Kingdom, we have something to discuss."

His hand rested on the handle of his blade as he spoke. It felt heavier to him at the mention of the Earth Kingdom, and holding on to it made it feel like it would not fall away. His gaze also noticably dropped to look into the water, just generally away from the group to make it known that he was done speaking for now.

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Xue kept her back straight as a pole and her chin up as she joined up with the group that was waiting just inside the gates of the Northern Water Tribe. She could feel the glares boring into her but kept her eyes straight ahead and her posture proud and undaunted. Despite her outward appearance, Xue was more than a little nervous being surrounded by benders that most likely despised chi-blockers. She made sure to stand at the back of the group to keep from attracting attention but the colors dyed into her tiger seal skin coat made her stand out a good deal more than she would have liked.

Usually Xue would have gone with the blues and whites of the waterbenders when dressing herself for the short time they would be spending traveling with Kasumi at the North Pole, but the person who had contacted Xue to join the Avatar's group of trainers insisted that she wear something that would identify her as the chi-blocker she truly was. She had protested for a while but finally gave in and allowed her clothes to be dyed the customary colors of the chi-blocking resistance

The crunch of snow brought Xue from her trance and she looked up to see the Avatar, Kasumi, approaching them on the back of a polar bear dog and then stopping in front of them. Xue didn't miss the Avatar raise her eyebrow with an annoyed look when she noticed the colors of her coat, but ignored it. Kasumi then began to make a brief introduction of herself before they began towards the ship that would take them to the Earth Kingdom.

When on the ship, Kasumi announced that it was time for introductions and a drunk looking man stepped up and introduced himself as Asad Boder, an Earth Bender. When he finished his introduction, Xue stepped up with her heart in her throat.

"I suppose there's no use in postponing the inevitable." She began, crossing her arms over her chest in feigned nonchalance despite the hammering in her chest. "My name is Xue Zamora and I am a skilled chi-blocker. I've worked with elite chi-blocking generals during my time in the resistance and I know how they think. Go ahead and yell at me, attack me if you want, I don't really care. But you need me if you want to be successful so choose carefully." Xue shrugged and walked over to a barrel a few steps away from the group and sat down.

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"Damnit," Jin grumbled to himself as he trudged through ankle deep snow. He pulled his coat around himself a little tighter; the shiny black dragon scales adorning it did a good job if blocking out the blistering cold. In his hands he clutched an old weathered, wet piece of parchment; a map. He'd been traveling on foot for the last few days.

The North was truly a cold and unforgiving mistress. She had battered him this way and that and provided him with nothing he needed to sustain himself. The burning hunger in his stomach may have been the only thing staving off hypothermia.

He stopped for a moment and stretched the map out in front of himself with shakey hands. He rotated it one way and then another trying to get his bearings. He pulled the compass from his pocket but the needle only spun lazily in circles. He was too close to the pole to get a good reading. Still he had a good sense of direction and he was fair sure he was standing in the spot that had been marked on the map. He lowered the map and took a look around. There was snow in every direction as far as the eye could see.

"There's supposed to be a hotsprings here!" he shouted to no one in particular. His voice was little more than a strained rasp.

He crumbled the map, threw it aside, and grumbled curses at the spirits-forsaken con-artist who had sold the worthless scrap to him a few villages back. He marched forward, not knowing where he was headed, only that if he didn't keep moving death was all that he would find.

He'd just gotten through a particularly nasty retrieval job that landed him up north. He'd spent a good deal of his pay on that map... though not nearly as much as he spent on his usual dose of post-job debauchery. Point is he was broke. Even if he could somehow find civilization and keep from freezing to death in this tundra, it would only be to starve to death a few days later. Still Jin would take starvation over being a human popsicle anyday. He trudged onward.

Eventually, on the horizon he saw a very large village which he soon identified as the Northern Water Tribe's capital. There was a group of people standing at it's gates. The group seemed pretty eclectic. One looked to be a Earth Kingdom guy, one was dressed like a chi blocker, one had the distinctive stance of a fire bender, and 'hold on,' he through to himself 'is that an air nomad?' From what he could make out as he marched closer, they were waiting for something. None of them were interacting with each other much. They seemed to be perfect strangers. 'They're not friends,' he thought. 'they're... they're working a job.' Whatever that group was up to Jin wanted in on it. After all it had to be a pretty important -- high paying -- gig to pull together a group like that. Another payday was just what he needed.

As Jin neared the others he decided to see if he could slip in amongst them without raising any eyebrows.

"Whew, it's cold out huh?" Jin said to the air nomad once he reached the pack. "I'm going to have to cut off the few toes I have left if we don't get somewhere warm soon." He threw his head back and chuckled heartily while casting quick glances at the others to gauge if they found his presence odd or not. His eyes lingered a for just a moment on the chi blocker. "Right? This guy knows what I mean," he said slapping the Earther on the back.

At that point Jin wanted to be quiet, maybe fade into the shadows, but his mouth had started working on it's own. "I'm just so glad to be a part of this team... I mean, what we're doing... it's going to change everything!"

Now if only he could figure out what the hell that was.

The first hint came to him in the form a girl riding atop a polar bear dog. She looked oddly familiar... in fact he could have sworn he'd seen her before... Yes that was it. She was the Avatar. As luck would have it the two of them met long ago. The Nothern Water Tribe had hired a bunch of his clan members to do some job or another. He was too young to do the work, or even be told what it was, so he was stranded in the village while the grown ups had all the fun. During that time he met Kasumi. The two of them didn't spend much time together, or exchange many words, but he was sure he'd made a lasting impression.

He was expecting her to hop off her bear at the sight of him, run over, and give him a heart felt hug, maybe with tears of joy cascading down her cute cheeks, but what really happened was a little less than that. She introduced herself and headed off towards the ship docked nearby.

He followed sheepishly.

When she asked for introductions he watched a few others go before himself. When he felt it was his turn he stepped forward, and said: "I am Jin Kaza, fighter, lover, and mercenary extraordinaire, once again at your service." He sunk into a deep bow, grabbed her hand, and gave the back of it a gentle kiss. He waited a beat and then returned to where he had stood before.

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Kasumi eyes fluttered towards the first person who was introducing himself. It was Asad, who appeared much older than the last time they had seen each other. He had a face full of hair and her ears twitched when he spoke about speaking with her in private. She nodded her head softly towards his way then shot a glance at the Chi Blocker who had started to introduce herself next. Kasumi wanted to stop her from talking and tell her that she needed to go last but she was suppose to keep the peace and not start anything amongst her mentors - But when the Chi Blocker was like yell at me, attack me or whatever you want and she wouldn't care, Kasumi fists clenched as the boat rocked a little.

She stood her ground but the boat rocked because it was finally setting sail. Kasumi eyed Xue and sighed. "No one is going to yell or attack you. You have my word." She smiled then eyed everyone else while pointing towards Xue. "If anyone touch or attack her, I'll throw you off this boat. I don't care where we are. Got it?" She waited for everyone's response before continuing with their introductions.

Next was Jin, oh, did puberty do him some good. She smiled cutely then shied away from him for awhile. He was always the charming kind of guy but she was young and never understood many things back then but now, she knew a lot. His introduction made her chuckle like a little schoolgirl but then she straightened up when he bowed and grabbed a hold of her hand, kissing the back of it. Kasumi blushed then winked towards Jin as her eyes fell upon the next mentor.

It was Eris. Her introduction was short. She kind of hated short introductions but she smiled towards Eris. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Eris." She then walked over towards the Airbender then heard his introduction, which was also short and not very amusing. She quirked her lips to the side as she turned heel and walked a few distances between then. "It's a pleasure to see you guys again though most of you look way better than you use to. I hope to learn all I can from you and much more." Kasumi smiled then turned her attention towards Asad. "You wish to speak to me in private?" She didn't need an answer to that question since he had stated it earlier than he indeed needed to speak with her. "Follow me, please."

Kasumi would lead him through a series of doors and finally into her room on the ship. She would hold the door open for Asad to enter then close it and walk over to her desk, where she pulled the chair out for Asad while she sat down on the edge of her bed. "So, what's on your mind?" She raised a delicate brow while leaning forward. "Oh, by the way, don't tell anyone how my room looks." She would laugh but she tried to lighten the mood in the atmosphere.

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As requested, Asad followed Kasumi through the ship after giving a sort of half-wave to the rest of the group. If he were to be with them, he decided to at least be friendly enough to acknowledge them. Once he got on the boat, however, he felt very uneasy. He never liked boats. The way they rock on the waters always made him a bit paranoid that it would just tip over and sink. He was a sitting duck when it came to water with no earth to bend. So naturally with this fear, he was a bit hesitant as he navigated the path to her room. Being hung over really did not help as he practically hugged the walls.

Once they made it to her room, he nodded his head in thanks for her holding the door open for him. Taking the chair she pulled out, he turned it around so that the back of the chair was pressed against his chest and his legs were on either side of the seat. He placed himself in the chair with a heavy groan as he closed his eyes for a brief moment, enjoying the reprieve from being on his feet. Once he opened his eyes, he took a look around the room as if wondering why she wanted to keep its presence a secret. Perhaps it was because he had not had a room of his own for years, but this one looked just fine to him.

"Very well, Avatar Kasumi. I will keep the state of your room in secret. In return, I would like for you to trust everything I am going to say right now." He paused for a moment, trying to think of a way to word this without giving away every detail. Giving all of the details would have been unnecessary, so there was no reason to do it. "I have changed since we last met so many years ago. I am no longer a highly-regarded swordsman and bender. Now I am a wanted man in the Earth Kingdom. I am convicted of a crime I did not commit. They believe I murdered an important man I was issued to protect. But I give you my word that I did not kill this man. I failed to protect him. And I am on a quest to find his killer, as well as help you, to bring him to justice."

The next part of his speech was the one he was not looking forward to. "My standing is on the line here. You know I am a wanted man. So you have two options." His tone, however naturally dark, seemed abnormally calm for someone in his position. "You can take me with you and let me teach you to bend the earth while allowing me to pursue my own quest as well... or you can attempt to turn me in. But neither of us will like the result of that... This is not a threat, but a warning. I will not let anything stand in my way." The hung over man stopped to take a breath as the boat rocked a little bit with the water's current. His expression turned grim and his face paled just a little bit. He absolutely hated boats. "K... Oh goodness... Keep me with you, and I will make you a master of Earthbending. I will do my best not to attract attention and disguise myself properly. We will help each other with our quests. The man would extend a tanned hand out to the Avatar, hoping that the one meant to keep peace would be understanding of his position and take his word. It was best to get this out of the way early rather than have her figure out later and have to explain the situation on less-than-great terms. "Is it a deal, Avatar Kasumi?"

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Xue couldn't help but feel more than a little shocked when no one stepped forward to take her up on her offer and attack her, even more so when the Avatar herself defended the chi-blocker. Her eyes widened a bit, but she quickly masked her surprise and allowed everyone else to go through their introductions. Besides Kasumi and the earth bender, Asad, there was a silver haired weapons master named Jin whom she didn't recall hearing about during her debriefing when she was contacted to assist the Avatar, a small Fire Nation girl named Eris and an air nomad. Xue raised an eyebrow when Keirin, the air bender, introduced himself; she had never before met an air nomad, though she wasn't entirely surprised that there would be one in the Avatar's party.

When the introductions finished, Asad and Kasumi went off to speak of something privately and Xue found herself amongst three complete strangers, two of which were benders. Feeling suddenly uncomfortable, but not knowing where her own quarters were and thus not having a place to go to escape the awkward situation, Xue stood and scooted the barrel closer to the rim of the ship and then sat back on it, facing the ocean. 'Maybe if I ignore them they'll go away.' She thought dismally, looking out onto the chilly sea.

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Jin noted Kasumi's giggle and wink in reaction to his introduction. As she walked off with Asad he leaned over towards Kierin and whispered "Ooh, she totally wants me."

A bit of silence fell over the deck. Jin rocked back and forth on his heels a few times. He was itching to look around the ship and familiarize himself with what would apparently be his home for at least the next few days -- maybe find something to eat -- but he didn't want to wander off on his own just yet.

A slight scrubbing of wood against wood caught his attention. He turned to the chi blocker who had settled down near the ship's railing to stare off at the sea.

It was an ancient Kaza clan proverb that a fighter's skills lay not only in his sword and shield, but also in the seven senses. Jin's senses were sharply honed; this was how he knew, without doubt, that Xue was yearning for more interaction from the lot of them. Far be it for him to deny such a beautiful specimen her heart's desire.

Jin strolled over to Xue. He planted his hands on the railing of the ship and gazed out at sea for a moment. He took a deep inhale of the soft sea breeze. The spray of the sea, while icy, he still found refreshing.

After a moment he turned to Xue, fixed her with a very serious stare, and waited a moment more before he finally spoke. "The Avatar clearly commanded us not to attack or touch you." He let a tense moment pass, his eyes firmly on hers. "The first I can manage, but the second... I can't make any guarantees." Although he struggled to hold a serious expression a bit of a grin forced it's way on to his face.

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Xue tensed when she heard the sound of footsteps on the wooden boards of the ship approaching her. Was she not being obvious enough when she moved away from the group? She wanted to ignore the approaching person, but ultimately felt vulnerable with her back facing a possible enemy so she turned her head and followed the weapons master with her eyes until he took a place at the railing beside her. Xue narrowed her eyes but didn't say anything, keeping her eyes on his hands in case he made a move to attack. It didn't take long for Jin to look over towards her and Xue tensed further, prepared to spring if he did anything other than speak with her.

"The Avatar clearly commanded us not to attack or touch you." He stated coolly and Xue clenched her teeth but kept silent. "The first I can manage, but the second... I can't make any guarantees." The sentence that could have sounded threatening was punctuated with a grin that Xue could teel Jin was trying hard to hide by the way the muscles in his cheeks twitched and she was left not sure of the intent.

A look of confusion crossed her features and then turned to irritation. "Are you threatening me or flirting with me?" She growled, inwardly cursing her inability to read faces, "Nevermind that, it doesn't matter. Either way, if you presume to touch me, neither of us will be happy in the end. Got that?"

Xue sighed and turned back to the water, pulling her legs up and hugging them to her chest in an attempt to keep warm. She rested her chin on her knees and attempted to lose herself in the beauty of the ocean while simultaneously ignoring Jin's presence beside her. The silence, however, was quickly broken when she heard the air bender loudly say something to the fire bender that made Xue's blood run cold.

"I have no intention of harming her, but I can't simply blindly put trust in someone I have just met. Especially when they previously worked alongside our enemy. I suggest you do the same."

"Here we go," Xue breathed under her breath with a heavy sigh. She slowly turned her head to face Keirin who seemed to be expecting a confrontation and shrugged. "Like I said before; do what you want, I don't care. I can't force you to trust me after all that I've done, but whether or not you trust me doesn't change the fact that I'm here." Xue turned back to the water and rested her chin on her knees. "Besides, I would be lying if I said that I trust all of you as well."

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Kasumi was at a lost for words after hearing what Asad had just said. Her heart was racing at that very moment and she didn't know what to think. Was Asad telling her the truth or was it all a lie? She was to protect the nations from a malicious group, not one person from his own nation. A soft sigh escaped through her lips as he kept on talking about killing the male that had killed his master. Her eyes rolled as she lifted herself up off of the bed then she stood in front of him.

"As much as I hate to say this..." Kasumi held back a breath for a few moments then exhaled while continuing. "But can't you just let it go. I mean, if we go to the Earth Kingdom and they capture you..." She raised a hand up to rub at her temple because she wasn't ready to deal with all of this drama so soon. Someone else's drama anyone. She sighed once more while shaking her head. "You got a deal." She didn't want to do it because she felt like she had made a deal with the devil.

She raised one of her delicate brows up at him then parted her lips to speak once again. "So, is there any other important business matter I should know about?" She asked him a little harshly while walking over and staring out of her porthole, wrapping her arms around herself as she did so.

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Asad's hand retreated back to the chair as she did not actually shake it. However, her word was more than enough. It was understandable that she would not be overly-excited about traveling with a fugitive, but at least she was not about to turn him in. He rises quickly, staggering and only just barely able to catch himself before he fell over. Letting out a soft sigh, he finds balance for a moment and bows before the Avatar. "No. That is all. " The harshness of her words did not seem to bother him. He knew where she was coming from. Anyone that had housed him even for a night and figured that out really seemed to want him around much less. But who would want to risk themselves for one man?

He turned around and made his way to the door, trying not to fall over or feel sick from the boat's motions. "I will do my best not to be a burden and to make myself useful, Avatar Kasumi. You have my word." His word. If only people realized how much that actually meant. "I thank you for your time." And without waiting for any real response, he took off from her room.

Making his way back on deck, he had arrived just in time to hear the final rantings of the chi blocker. "...what you want, I don't care. I can't force you to trust me after all that I've done, but whether or not you trust me doesn't change the fact that I'm here. Besides, I would be lying if I said that I trust all of you as well." The wanderer raised an eyebrow at the situation, trying to assess it. They were to be at war with the Chi Blocker group. But this girl was with the Avatar, not with them. A deserter, perhaps? Maybe an outcast like himself? Whatever the reason, he was sure that it would cause some dissent within the group. "And I wonder why I stay by myself..." He mumbles to himself before making his way further out onto deck. A small wave rocked the boat ever so slightly and caught the Earthbender off guard, making him lose his footing. With one foot in the air, he rapidly began waving his arms around as if it woul help him regain balance. Of course, it only ended in failure.

With his face now flat on the deck, the Drunken Golem groaned and staggered up to his hands and knees. Feeling around his waist, he seemed rather frantic. As if something precious had been lost, his now-pale face was stricken with worry. After but a moment that expression would fade as he noticed a small, gourd-shaped container rolling slowly in a circle beside him. Snatching it up quickly, he popped the cork off the top and took a small sip of its contents. Almost instantly, all of his worry seemed to fade away. A small smile even touched his lips for a moment as he took in the scene around him. He was on a boat with the Avatar, other bending masters, a chi blocker, and a self-proclaimed weapons master. He actually wondered how a ragtag group like this is even formed. To him, it looked like a band of misfits playing the hero. "Heh... Don't know how I got myself into this mess. But let's hope it's not a bad decision." Once again, to himself.

Making his way to a crate that was on the deck, he sat down on it and cleared his throat. After taking another sip from his gourd container, he corked it and spoke up. "The rest of you... Fire Bender, Air Bender, Chi Blocker, Weapons guy... I am Asad Boder. If you have heard my name before, it is probable that you know I have earned the nickname 'Drunken Golem.' And there are reasons for that... But the most imporant reason..." He pauses to smile big, any grim expressions fading from his face almost instantly. "That reason is because nothing beats a good drink! Now, is anyone going to join me or are you all going to make a man drink alone?" He extends his gourd and keeps that big smile that showed off his teeth.

This was more than a gesture to just get drunk with the others. It had been a while since Asad let loose, ever felt like he had time to rest. If he was to be working with these people then he would at least need to get along with them. Whether or not he would come to trust any of them would still be determined...

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"Are you threatening me or flirting with me?" Xue growled. Jin opened his mouth to respond but before he could she said. "Nevermind that, it doesn't matter. Either way, if you presume to touch me, neither of us will be happy in the end. Got that?"

"Well aren't you spicy?" Jin said letting his grin take over his face. "As far as the touching goes, It's your choice, but let me assure you, these hands are every bit as good at bringing pleasure as they are at bringing pain. When you see me in action you'll be able to appreciate the magnitude of that statement."

Jin listened as Keirin loudly proclaimed his distrust of Xue, which he found a little rude. Jin had also noted Keirin's annoyance with him a bit earlier, which in turn annoyed Jin. Xue's reaction was calm; very matter of fact. He supposed that was the best way to handle the situation, not getting emotional about it, but just in case deep down she wanted to go the other direction: "Speaking of bringing pain, If you want I could handle him for you," Jin offered. "My regular rate for ass kickings is 25 gold a piece, but I'm always open to... alternative... forms of payment."

Jin watched with amusement as Asad stumbled onto the deck, fell on his face, took a sip of whatever heavenly nectar must have been in that gourd. He seemed to forget his every care. Jin felt the mood on deck lighten immediately as if Asad's state of utter carefree was somehow contagious. "Good lord, what ever he has in there I need a sip. As do you Xue, you need to loosen up some."

Almost before Asad had finished offering, Jin had already made his way across the deck and taken the gourd. "Fair warning," he said to the others. "I'm told that when I'm drunk I tend to get a slight bit ... uninhibited." He took a swig and cringed as the liquid seared down his throat. Immediately the passing moments started to blur together. Jin tried to sit next to Asad, not realizing the crate wouldn't fit two; he fell on his butt, giggling all the while. "Who's next?" he asked extending the gourd out.

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Xue had successfully managed to tune out most of the ramblings of the weapons master, but when he spoke of 'handling' Keirin the corners of her lips twitched in an almost smile. "I don't think that would be the best idea, but thank you for the offer." She said, her tone holding the slightest bit of sarcasm though the gratitude wasn't entirely insincere. Truth be told, Xue wasn't expecting so much support as she was getting, first from the Avatar, then the fire bender, and finally Jin. The earth bender, Asad, hadn't done anything in support, but he hadn't spoken against her either.

"Good lord, what ever he has in there I need a sip. As do you Xue, you need to loosen up some."

She turned her body to see what Jin was speaking of just as Asad staggered over to where they were gathered, fell, and then shakily sat himself on a crate. Both the fire bender and Jin gravitated towards the drunk man and Xue, against her better judgment, followed suit. The fire bender declined a drink and moved to the far side of the deck, but Jin took up Asad's offer happily and took a large gulp. The drink seemed to have taken effect rather quickly and Jin attempted to sit beside Asad only to fall down and give way to a fit of giggles. Xue curled her lip in disgust at the display, two grown men giggling and stumbling about like children. Not only that, but they were willingly numbing their own senses, leaving themselves incredibly vulnerable to attack.

Still...would it be so bad to take a small sip? Xue was more than a little stressed, she could feel the dark tendrils of anxiety curling in her chest and finally decided that she would take a tiny sip, just enough to calm her nerves, and then that would be it. Quickly, before she could realize what she was doing and stop herself, Xue snatched the gourd from Jin's outstretched hand with a huff, and taking a tiny sip. The foul drink burned all the way down and the chi blocker cringed and gave the gourd back to Asad.

Despite not taking much, the drink was strong and her vision was blurred at the edges. Xue was already beginning to regret her decision. With a sigh, she stood and half-stumbled over to the fire bender to have a few words but was shocked to see that the air bender, Keirin had approached her.

"I'm... Sorry."

Keirin looked about as shocked about the words that came out as Xue was. Xue saw a look of panic cross his features and before she could open her mouth to say something, Keirin was no longer there. She turned her head about to look for him but didn't see him anywhere on the deck. Xue knitted her brows and looked up into the air to see that the air bender was sitting atop one of the masts. If she were anyone else she may have laughed, but she was confused, dizzy, and slightly drunk so she turned back to speak with the fire bender as she originally intended.

"Eris, correct?" Xue began, allowing a bit of timidness into her voice. "I heard what you said to the air bender. Thank you for standing up for me, but I don't want you fighting my battles." She shivered against the breeze coming off of the water and pulled her jacket tighter around her, swaying slightly from both the motion of the ship and the alcohol in her system.

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Kasumi parted her lips to speak but saw that Asad had left her room before she could even say anything. Her eyes rolled as she sighed softly and slumped down in her bed a little bit but jumped up when a crewman entered. "Oh, sorry, I was told to come and check on you." The crewman said as he leaned against the door. "Oh, I am fine, Kalen." Kasumi stated while waving him away as he nodded his head before departing but opened back up immediately. "Oh, I think the deck's on fire." Her eyes widened as she burst through the door, nearly killing the crewman.

She ran all the way up to the deck then shouted. "Eris, what the hell are you doing?!" The waves rocked harshly from side to side as she shouted. Her fists clenched as she stared at Eris then sniffed the air after the soft breeze blew through the deck of the boat. "Are you guys drinking?!" Her eyes fell immediately upon Asad as she stormed over towards him. "Just because you're a drunken mess, don't make everyone follow your ways." She sighed then raised her hand up to rub her temple. She felt like she was going to faint but held on to the railing of the boat.

"I am extremely disappointed in all of you already." Kasumi said harshly while placing her eyes on every single one of her so called mentors. She looked at them then walked towards the front of the boat, arms folded over her chest as she let out a huff. She didn't really want neither of them to talking to her right now but she knew at least one of them was going to try.

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It would seem the Avatar was not pleased with what the others had done, and took it upon herself to blame the rounin called Asad. The man, not quite drunk yet, gazed over at her as she stormed off. She was clearly peeved, but he was not one to just allow people to blame him for things that were not his fault. "Avatar Kasumi." He spoke out her name as he stood up. He gave Jin a pat on the shoulder and wavered in his first step. "Damn this boat... all boats... As if a hangover was not enough..." He mumbles this to himself upset and manages his way over to Kasumi. He stood at the rail of the boat nearest her, attempting to hold in his breakfast as he could now see the waters knocking against the boat below him. "Ugh... I'm almost looking forward to being in the Earth Kingdom at this rate." Hopefully that joke would help lighten her mood a bit.

"Avatar Kasumi. You must understand. I was just taking a sip to help my hangover. Everyone else was right there. Offering them a drink was the only polite option. I refuse to be like a king who feasts in front of the poor, if you will accept that analogy. I did not expect her to be so weak to the liquor." Though it was strong stuff. Had his head been more clear, he probably would have noticed that. Jin seemed to handle it well enough, so he made a note that this was someone he could share with for certain in the future. "I did not force anyone to drink, or even pressure anyone. That is not my way. I apologize for any problems it has created. I will look after the Chi Blocker until she sobers up."

Before waiting for an answer from the probably still-agitated Avatar, he made his way back to the crate and took a small sip from his gourd again. His eyes strayed between the Chi Blocker, the planks that made up the deck, and his own gourd. "The Avatar is not too happy with me, I think. Groups are weird. I am much too accustomed to being a loner." He says this to Jin before letting out a bellowing laugh as though he had said the funniest joke in the world. He was much more animated in this moment than he had been the entire time. After settling, he let out a quick breath and tapped the bottom of the gourd to Jin as he passed it off. "Sip small. It is strong stuff. I am sure you felt that burn from before... It's the second-strongest stuff I have."

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Jin had been watching the others closely while taking the occasional sip from Asad's gourd. He was actually quite surprised that Xue took his suggestion and had a drink. That along with the slight smile she had allowed while thanking him for his chivalrous sales pitch a while back let Jin know that the ol' charm was indeed working on her; he'd just need to lay it on a little thicker to seal the deal. He noted that her conversation with Eris seemed to turn a bit sour. He glanced up at Keirin who was still sitting alone high above the others. He recoiled slightly as Kasumi came on deck and scolded them all; there was a extra bit of harshness towards Asad and Eris. She ended by saying she was disappointed in them, which resonated a bit with Jin. Eris's response piqued his interest and for the briefest moment he had hope for a catfight. "No no, wait wait," he called, in a hushed tone, after Asad who had already started off. Asad inadvertently interrupted the would-be confrontation. Jin sighed. Maybe it was for the best though.

"The Avatar is not too happy with me, I think. Groups are weird. I am much too accustomed to being a loner." Asad said to him when he returned. Jin wasn't sure what Asad was laughing at but his laughter alone was enough to make Jin laugh as well."Groups are wierd," Jin agreed. "And this is a weird group. But not to worry. I'm good with these sort of things. I'm a people person. I can fix it. Watch me work."

Jin accepted the gourd and downed a few more much needed sips before climbing to his feet. "Disappointed in us?" Jin said loudly enough for everyone to hear as he staggered towards the center of the ship. "It sounds like something a master would say to her student. Not the other way around." His words were a bit pointed but there was no malice in his tone. "I don't mean to be rude Kasumi. You are the avatar, but if we're going to teach you anything you must have trust in us first. You can't view us as children in need of scolding. You have to trust that the things we do, the things we teach you, have a reason even if you can't see it at first."

He stumbled over to the scorch marks left on the deck. "This is only a plank of wood. It can be repaired or replaced easily, but this--" he said pointing to his own heart. " -- not so much. By the end of this, if the ship is all that we lose we should count ourselves lucky."

At that point Jin consdered sitting back down but then he figured, what the hell, he was already mid-speech he already had their attention, he may as well bring it home.

"But trust is a two way street," He called out to the others, over the roar of the sea. "If we want you to trust us Kasumi, we must trust you and we must trust eachother. I trust all of you," Jin said turning in a circle to look at them all in turn. He almost fell over as a rather large wave rocked the ship but he managed to keep his balance. "Even you Xue. Even you. Sure you're a chi blocker but we've all done bad things. We've all killed people before right? Maybe we killed in self defense to survive. Maybe for duty or for honor. Maybe we killed because thats what we were taught to do at a young age. Maybe we killed because we were at a bar in Omashu and we had finally found the perfect opportunity to tell a joke we had been saving for 3 months and then some obnoxious guy with a stupid looking mustache ruined the punch line. It doesn't matter why we killed, the point is we've all done it. But that was years go... weeks for some of us. But we're different now. Ever since we joined this mission we no longer have to kill alone. Now we kill together," he said interlocking his fingers as a symbol of unity. "As a team."

Jin sensed that he had somehow strayed off topic so he decided to bring it back around, full circle. "And that requires trust. You," he said pointing out Eris. "You want to know why I trust you?" he asked stumbling over to her. Once he reached her he leaned very close and looked into her eyes. "I trust you because of what I see when I look into your eyes. When I really look," he said leaning even closer until the two of them were almost nose to nose. "I see... a reflection of myself. And what do you see in mine?" He asked.

He waited for her to respond but when she opened her mouth to speak he put his index finger against her lips to stop her. "Shhh... let me finish. You see yourself," he announced while straightening up and turning back to the group.

"We're all the same where it counts. We're all made of the same stuff. Deep down we fear the same things. That we wont belong, wont fit in, or others wont notice us, or think well of us. We just all have learned different ways to deal with that. Some of us might drown our fears in ridiculously strong alcohol, some of us might spend our days meditating: hiding on a higher plane," he said gesturing up to Keirin. "It's okay buddy, you can come down when you're ready -- some of us might be too hard on the people we feel we responsible for," he said with a glance to Kasumi. "some of us might shut others out completely," he said now looking at Xue. "Or some of us may take the opposite route and be a bit too forward. Maybe my way isn't the best way, but it's the only way I know. Our ways are the only ways any of us know to deal with our fears and we can't get angry with eachother for it"

Jin let a silent moment pass.

"But," He said. "those fears fade when a group comes together and there is understanding and trust." Jin staggered back to Asad, whispered "this may not end well", took the gourd, and took another sip before turning back to the others. "Like I said it's a two way street. It's hard to trust someone who doesn't trust you so the question is who's going to jump in first? I'll tell you who... me," He said pointing a thumb at himself. "I'll be that guy because I'm. Not. Afraid."

Jin made his way towards the front of the boat, towards Kasumi. He reached underneath his jacket and drew a knife as he approached. "Do you trust me?" he asked her as the distance between them closed. He didn't wait for an answer."Because I trust you and I'll prove it." Jin stopped, took a deep breath and gathered his strength. He raised the knife high. With a loud grunt, and all his strength he slammed down the hilt into the deck, directly on a seam between two planks. A few chips of wood broke away as the knife wedged deeply into the deck, the blade facing the sky. He pulled another knife and did the same, and then another and another, ignoring whatever protest might have been coming from the others. If this didn't work out as he planned, he thought, atleast Eris's damage to the ship would be the last of Kasumi's worries. When he was finished there was a line of six knife blades jutting up from the deck starting just a few feet from the railing. Jin jumped onto the railing and tight roped across it, keeping his balance despite the rocking of the ship -- a skill he'd learned from many years of perching on bendy tree limbs. It took only a few steps until he stood just in front of the blades. He turned around to face the sea, spread his arms out wide and then slowly let himself fall backwards towards the knifes. He was more or less betting his life that Kasumi would do something to save him.