Avatar: Scorching Earth // Not Accepting!

Kyori wasn't going to stand around waiting any longer. Whether or not these benders followed, she was getting out of the former refugee camp and saving her own skin. With an unsure but offering glance to Seijin to come with her -- seeing as she was the only prepared one -- Kyori jerked her head slightly towards the woods. As a last second decision, Kyori took one big step with a swipe of her arms, aiming in the direction of the firebending invaders; in doing this, she sent a long wall of 6 foot high, slanted and pointy rocks in their direction. A mild distraction and obstacle for them, just in case they decided to follow. "Let's GO!" Kyori snapped a final message before turning heel and disappearing into the forest, headed East.

Kesuk rolled his eyes at Lí's over-the-top sarcasm. Yeah, he was out of his trance alright. And Kesuk was already beginning to regret bringing him out. Before he could regret it too much, though, Kyori let out a yell of "Let's GO!" Finally, someone had decided to start thinking. They all ran. Out of the corner of his eye, Kesuk saw the rhino break through the wall of rock Kyori had put up and come charging at them. ((Earth wall or not, I don't think the rider would just let them get away lol. So, I don't know if rhinos can actually break rock, but I'm thinking the firebender probably could in any case? Cuz firebenders have been shown to break rock before. Oh, and fun fact, rhinos apparently have bad eyesight and will charge at rocks sometimes. The things you learn when you're researching for roleplays.)) For a brief moment, Kesuk entertained the idea of taking some water and freezing it beneath one of the rhino's feet to make it slip, but with all the fire and hot air there certainly wasn't any water lying around for him to bend (and he wasn't sure he had the skill to do that anyway, not under this kind of stress, at least), so he had to be smart instead.

As he ran, Kesuk leaned down and grabbed a rock, then threw it hard at the rhino. It hit the beast right where Kesuk meant it to: in its eye. The fire rhino reared up, dumping its rider just as the little group of benders exited the clearing and ran head-on into thick smoke. Well, that was brilliant. He kept running, Zasi and Lí and Kohaku next to him as they tried to catch up to Kyori and Seijin who were slightly ahead of them. He heard Zasi coughing beside him, and then she bent air into a ball and took off. By the time they caught up with her, she'd managed to clear the air of a small area around them. She was getting smarter. As Zasi started running with them again, he nodded at her, his way of telling her she'd done well. Now they could breathe, and their pace picked up. It seemed like they'd be able to get out unscathed, so long as Kyori didn't lead them straight into any firebenders. Kesuk could just make out the sun through the smoke; they were headed east towards the coast. If the firebenders were aiming to take the Southern Air Temple to the west, they probably wouldn't lock down the east side of Pangbu as tightly as they would the west. Either Kyori was more intelligent than he'd thought, or just lucky. Whichever it was, east was their best chance.

The fire rhino was getting closer and there was no more time to stall. Seijin ran east into the forest, following Kyori. She glanced around her to see that the others had heard Kyori and were running too. She was relieved when Zasi zoomed around on an...airball? Okay..well anyway she was relieved to be able to breath a little easier thanks to Zasi airbending some of the smoke away, but she was still coughing inbetween breaths. Sure she was a Firebender and lived in the Fire Nation for the majority of her life, but she had never experienced this much smoke. This much carnage.

Seijin paid no attention to the Fire Nation soldiers that may have been around their smokey cover. Engaging with them would just slow things down. She debated whether or not to look back/around to make sure the others were okay, but all she could focus on was running ahead, trying to get out of this forest, off this island. It wasn't too long, but their running felt like an eternity (like running the mile in gym class amirite?haa -cries) She squinted and could see a small glimpse of a wavey sparkle. The beach! "We're almost there!"

(occ: idk what order in which they are, like who's ahead or not so i kept it generalized. im just tryin to move things along fam qq)

Lí didn't have too much trouble keeping up with the others as they half sprinted and half stumbled through the brush of the forest, but it was certainly a relief when the young airbender partially cleared the smoke around them. When the group finally piled out of the forest onto the sandy beach. Lí slowed to a walk and crossed his fingers behind his head, opening up his lungs to help catch his breath. He could make out the closest island off Pangbu's shore to the northeast, but it was clearly still quite a long ways away. After a brief moment, he began, "Sweet! We found the shore; now how are we-" but then he saw a small squad of fire nation soldiers come around the treeline, headed in their direction. The five soldiers were about 60 yards away and chatting amongst themselves, but would noticed the rag tag group any second. "Guys, we've got some company."

(I was thinking regular soldiers, not firebenders, but really whatever y'all wanna do)

When they finally reached the sandy shore, Kesuk took a few seconds to catch his breath. Beside him, Lí did the same. Kesuk shifted his staff to his left hand, shaking out his right to dispel the ache in his fingers; driven by adrenaline and expecting firebenders to appear any second, he’d been gripping his staff much too hard as he ran. Stupid mistake. He glanced around at the other members of the group. Lí was looking off into the distance. Kesuk followed his gaze and saw an island smaller than Pangbu sitting just off the horizon. It was pretty far. Too bad Zasi didn’t have one of those flying bison Kesuk had heard about. But that would make things too easy, wouldn’t it?

“Guys, we’ve got some company,” Lí announced quietly. Kesuk turned away from the ocean and looked down the length of the beach. There was a group of Fire Nation soldiers approaching, and would realize they were here any second. Their own group had stupidly wandered out of the tree line and onto the beach before checking to make sure it was clear. It was stupid in the first place to think that there wouldn’t be any soldiers along the east coast of the island. This day was just full of mistakes, wasn’t it? Oh, well. Act now, ruminate on errors later. If they ducked back towards the trees to avoid being sighted, the soldiers would certainly see the movement. They would have to fight. Kesuk quickly studied the soldiers: They all carried some kind of weapon, so it was doubtful any were benders. Two of them had medium-range spears, and the rest carried various types of close-range blades. None had a long-distance weapon like a bow.

Just then, the soldiers noticed them. The man in front yelled and pointed, and then they all started towards Kesuk and the others, unsheathing their weapons. “Here they come,” Kesuk warned the others. He quickly went through the various strategies in his mind. Rather than running out to engage the enemy, it would be better if they all stayed together as a group and let the soldiers come to them. And that way, Seijin might even be able to get in some shots before the soldiers got too close. If she was a quick shot, that was. 60 yards wasn’t much distance for them to close, but at least hitting vital spots would be easy for her the closer they got. Kesuk set his stance and shifted his grip on his weapon to ready himself for a fight. "Seijin, can you take some of them out before they get here?" he asked, because if hanging around Zasi had taught him anything, it was that sometimes he needed to speak and let people know what he was planning in his mind. Go figure.   

((Literally had to look up 60 yards because WHO THE HELL USES YARDS, MAN, USE FEET! So yeah, they’re not reeeeeal far away (apparently), but I’m thinking they’re dressed in armor so they’re probably not sprinting towards them at high speed, Seijin should have some time to shoot some arrows. I think.))

Seijin brought herself to a hault like Kesuk and Li and tried to catch her breath without coughing. While breathing slowly she listened to what her companions had to say. According to Li, there we're soldiers ahead. She glanced up from being a bit hunched over and saw that he was correct, there were quite a few spread out on the beach, but they had already noticed their presence. Nothing they couldn't handle of course, though honestly because of the shape they were in perhaps it would be too much? Pssft naaaah.

It seemed like it would end up being a close-quarters battle, so Seijin widened her stance and lifted her arms, ready to fight. Then Kesuk suddenly spoke to her, asking if she could take a few out beforehand. With no time to speak, she simply nodded and quickly pulled out her bow and lit the arrow on fire as she grabbed it. Seijin pulled back, aimed, breathed, and released one arrow at a time, three total. She hit the first right in the chest, the second in the side of the abdomen, and the third on his leg. She didn't mean to hit him in the leg, she had coughed while releasing that shot. However the 3rd soldier still started screaming and doubled over in pain and fright. Seijin stopped coughing and went to grab another arrow but her hand only felt air. "Shit guys, I'm out of arrows!!" There were still two guards left coming right at them!

((YAAY! Kesuk already learned a life lesson from Zasi! X'D Speak your miiind!))

Zasi slid to a halt when the group made it to the shore. She bent over, resting her hands on her knees as she panted to catch her breath. Just as she was about to let out a sigh of relief, Lí mentioned company. Letting out a groan instead, she stood up to look at the soldiers. When is this ever going to end? Grabbing her staff in both hands, she heard Kesuk ask Seijin to drop a few of the soldiers. She gave Kesuk a small glance before turning her attention back to the soldiers advancing. Flinching as the first arrow hit its target, she took in a shaky breath. You can do this, Zasi. Seijin was out of arrows. They had to get within close range to fight the last three soldiers (though one was already crippled so it wouldn't be much of a fight). Zasi took a few steps forward and got in the stance she had been practicing just earlier this morning. Now, it felt like a lifetime ago.

Once the soldiers were getting closer Zasi gripped her staff tightly, waiting on the right moment to strike. Zasi swatted her staff against one of the soldier's lower abdomen. He bent over as she raised the staff up, ready to swing again. "I'm really sorry about this." She quickly jabbed the staff down, hitting his head and rendering him unconscious. Letting out a small squeak as she watched the man slump the to sand, she mumbled sorry once more.

Y O T E M \\ 19 \\ waterbender \\ tags; Last man standing and finally back with the group
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Yotem stared down at the face of the fallen man, breathing in and out. His heart was beating hard against his chest, ready to burst at any moment. His eyes were glowing with rage, a salty taste on his lips. The only thought on his mind was to hunt and kill. All voices were drowned out, the shouts being thrown around him were a soft mutter. Yotem heard the call of something familiar. Was it.. Li’s voice? He seemed to be shouting.. For help? Someone captured? Yotem did not react to the voice as if he was deaf to it. Instead Yotem heard some screaming close by and dashed to it, ready for his next prey.

Time around him seemed to disappear. His body moved in a fluid motion, dodging one hit, striking another. He felt sparks of pain as his enemies struck him, but this only caused him to retaliate, his blades cutting smoothly against flesh. He felt heat seer against his cheeks, colors of red flashing by his eyes, but it all didn’t matter. The pain, the consequences, the damage; he was numb to it all. The only things he saw were the wide eyes of fearful animals and the screams of horror. Yotem couldn’t even tell if what he was chasing was an enemy or not; as long as it moved it would be killed next.

Another scream. Another thud of something hitting the ground. Another series of rapid heartbeats, of heavy, angry breathes. That’s all that he knew. To Yotem, it was revenge against what the world did to him, stole from him. To the eyes of others, there was a white and red beast running rampart and destroying all in its path, innocent or sinful.

Oddly enough he felt his mind cleared and body calming with each enemy, rather than being scared or angry.

Yotem’s rage was soon wearing down as the attacks he withstood started to flare up. Pain seared from his arms, legs, back, and cheeks. He started panting, sweat and blood sliding down his face. He heard rustling in the bushes behind him and ran toward it. A flash of bright light clouded his vision and stung at his face, but that didn’t stop him. The next thing he knew, more screams as his blades struck. He watched as a lone soldier slumped to the ground, some dust puffing up as he fell. Yotem felt satisfied, still not registering all the havoc he caused. Silence soon settled in, the only sound to be heard was Yotem’s heavy breathing. He stood in his spot for a movement, lifting his head to the sky and just stared. His body ached, the pain screaming in his ears. He just wanted to drop to the floor and not continue on. His mind soon began to wander. He was broken out of his trance when he heard the sound of shouting and went to investigate. As Yotem got closer, he was treated to a surprise; it was the band of benders from earlier. They stood around in the center, with four dead bodies on the ground. Yotem kept hidden, scouting around. That’s when he saw his next prey; a fifth firebender soldier. The group had not gone after him, leaving with Yotem the chance to hunt again. Near him, Yotem saw something sparkle on the grass below him. He quickly recognized it as water. Just enough to utilize. Perfect. Without any further hesitation, he gathered up the water and ran at the fifth soldier.

He hands struck out, which caused the water behind him to gather into a thing string around his arm. As Yotem closed in, the soldier started to turn around. Yotem flicked his hands, causing the string of water to wrap around his feet. The soldier drew his weapon and started to run at Yotem. Too late. Yotem made another quick motion when the water squeezed the soldier’s ankle before freezing, stabbing into the skin. The soldier did manage to cut Yotem’s arm, which caused him to wince, as the adrenaline rush he had earlier was gone. The soldier fell to the ground, a shadow landing over him. He got one glance at his enemy and to find the eyes of not a human but a beast. “Don’t...Don’t kill m-!” As his final words escaped his lips the blades cut in, burying into the soldier’s body. He was done for. Yotem stood up, staring at the wide, lifeless eyes, before stumbling. His hands reached out for the nearest tree to steady his body. His vision began to blur and his head started to spin. The pain and wounds were finally starting to catch up on him. But he was determined to stay conscious and not collapse. Standing ahead of him was the group of benders. He finally caught up with them.

Kesuk watched Seijin empty her quiver and cough right before her last shot. Kesuk had to resist rolling his eyes. Perfect timing, that. Instead of taking it through the heart, the man took it right through the knee. Well, that would end his career. The soldier collapsed on the sand, clutching his leg. As the remaining two men reached the group, Kesuk shifted his staff and prepared to meet one of them head on. Then Zasi stepped forward and settled into the stance they'd practiced just this morning. On an impluse, Kesuk decided to stop and watch what she did. Someone else could take the last soldier. This was the perfect opportunity to see his student in a real fight. She moved quickly, striking the man in the abdomen. As he doubled over from the pain, she apologized and then knocked him out. Kesuk was...not surprised in the least. He tilted his head in thought, grading her performance in his mind as Zasi straightened out of her stance and apologized a final time. Could be better, he finally decided. There were some things for her to work on; he would bring them up during their next training session.

That line of thought was broken quickly when the other waterbender showed up to take the last Fire Nation soldier. Then something out of the corner of his eye caught Kesuk's attention. The soldier that Seijin had shot in the leg was fighting to stand, using his sword to lean on. Well, they couldn't have him escaping and telling the rest of the army their position. Kesuk walked over, sand shifting beneath his boots. The man saw him and tried to swing at him with his sword, but the move was clumsy to say the least. Kesuk parried the blade aside effortlessly and swept his feet out from under him. Next the soldier tried aiming an awkward sword swipe at Kesuk's legs from the ground, but he stepped back easily. Feeling rather annoyed at the repeated, useless attempts on his life and at how utterly stupid the soldier was being, Kesuk brought his staff down against the man's throat in one quick, hard strike, feeling the trachea give way beneath the force. He had about three minutes to live now, but hey, at least he didn't have to worry about the arrow in his knee.

When Kesuk returned to the group, Yotem was just finishing up dispatching the last Fire Nation solider. Now that he thought about it, he realized that Zasi was the only one who hadn't killed her opponent, probably because of her compassion. He wondered if something was going to come of that once this was all over. "Alright, that's the last of them," he said. "Now let's finally get off this island."