Avatar: Scorching Earth // Not Accepting!

Seijin stopped pushing the boat and almost snapped her neck trying to look over her shoulder, staring in disbelief at the three who were arguing. What. In. The actual. Hell. What a hypocrite, she thought. What drove Yotem to this point? How..could he even..? Sure tensions were high and the group was on thin ice, but really? He definitely baffled her. As much as she wanted to slap Yotem across the face for his insensitive remark, this was not the time nor the place. She was a firebender and he was still a waterbender refugee. Surrounded by other refugees. She couldn't do anything, and she barely knew Zasi or Li. Although she agreed with them, she decided to just stay out of it for now. Now was not the time for petty attitudes. She did one of those "grab your attention" cough grumbles, even though she knew it probably wouldnt help, and continued to push the boat to the best of her ablitity.

She huffed and noticed Kohaku's words being drown out. Seijin opened her mouth to respond, but she worried if the others would think the firebenders were trying to get away with the boat without them. Psft! Nothing words can't fix! Right? ;A; She scooted over to Kohaku and said, "Well, they're a little distracted with their attitudes, but I'm sure they wouldn't mind your help," she looked at him from head to toe. Right...he's scrawny. He can't really help with the boat could he? "Maybe you could watch our backs for soldiers while we move the boat? Unless you want to help with the boat," she suggested while moving back into position next to the boat.

(i said 'the boat' too many times kill me)

Kesuk and Zasi finally met up with the rest of the group, including Lí. Kesuk briefly thought of apologizing right there now that he'd gotten everything figured out; he wanted to get over this and avoid any unneccessary drama between them if at all possible. But, given that the other members of their group were present, Kesuk decided to wait. He wasn't about to go apologizing in front of everyone.

There was some discussion back and forth between Zasi and the others about the owners of the boat and whether or not they should steal it. Kesuk nearly sighed at Zasi's naiveté, but then again, he should have expected it, coming from her. And though he disliked disagreeing with her, he had to go with the others on this. Their only alternative off the island was her plan, and they weren't sure that plan was even possible. And, if they were being realistic, the owner of this boat was most certainly dead. Kyori told Zasi this, and it looked like she was going to agree, albeit reluctantly. Then Yotem spoke and sent everything to hell in a few words. Wow. Even I wasn't that bad, he thought, tilting his head. And while Kesuk would normally not get himself mixed up in this kind of situation, the same did not apply to Zasi. In fact, she was angrier and more upset than he had ever seen her. By the end of her little rant at Yotem, she was even tearing up.

Lí started going off on Yotem as well, and although Kesuk didn't agree with Yotem's words, he didn't think they had time for this. Besides that, the yelling was going to get them killed if there were any firebenders nearby, and given that there had been a patrol on the beach, it was likely there were. They needed to focus on getting off the island right now; dealing with Yotem, if they chose to do so, could come later. Seijin and Kohaku couldn't move that boat by theirselves, though it looked like they might try. It was time to be the voice of reason here. But first... Kesuk looked at Zasi, who had turned away from Yotem and was trying to hold back tears. Feeling entirely uncomfortable, he set a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently.

Then he spoke to the group rather firmly in order to catch their attention. "Lí, Zasi, I agree with you, but now is not the time for this." He left it at that, short and succinct, but the dangers were implied: firebenders could be on their way, they needed to leave now or risk another fight and possible death. Squeezing Zasi's shoulder one last time and hoping that she could get herself together, he strode over to where Seijin was next to the boat. "I'll help," he said, hoping the others would put aside their issues for the moment so they could get off this island.

((Sooo, Kesuk for President? XDDD))

Rolling her eyes at Li's attempt to scold them, Kyori dropped the boat and turned on the arguing three. "Kesuk is right. Stop acting like children," she spat the word, "or else we are leaving you three on this island. With the Fire Nation. To die." She glared at all of them in turn, Zasi last, because she looked like a baby nearly in tears. She was growing irritated, and very quickly so. As Kesuk approached the boat, Kyori turned back to it again, dropping the conversation and looking readily at the others.

(short post cause I'm on my phone in Florida watching The Room in prep for Disaster Artist)

Lí listened to Kesuk and Kyori. He knew they were right abput the current situation- or at least, Kesuk was. That didn't make him feel any better about Yotem though. "Alright, fine," Lí growled as Seijin prepared to get the boat moving. "Let's just get off this island and then we can talk about whether non-benders are actual people." Lí snarled the last words at Yotem as he lined up next to Seijin on the boat.

Zasi managed to hold back the tears threatening to pour from her eyes. She took in a deep breath. Why was she even tearing up? It was ridiculous. Letting out her deep breath slowly, she felt a hand touch her shoulder. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Kesuk. He agreed with her and Lí that what Yotem had said was wrong, but also redirected the group back to the main reason this whole situation started. They needed to get the boat to the water so they could get off this island. Ky mentioned them being children and that she would leave them if they didn't stop. Zasi could tell she was annoyed, but she didn't really care. So fair the two hadn't gotten along well, but she was right.

Lí agreed to help, though obviously not done with this argument. Zasi agreed with him, but decided to keep her mouth shut. They needed off this island. Giving a small smile as Kesuk squeezed her shoulder one last time, she nodded her head before walking towards the boat. She wasn't sure if she could be of much help, but she would do whatever she could. The sooner they were off the island, the sooner they would be safe. "I can help Kohaku watch for soldiers."

Kohaku nearly balked as his question was ignored and drowned out by the rest of the group, too preoccupied with the morality argument to pay him any mind. Then again, that was possibly good for him--he didn't want any attention, but he also didn't want it pointed out to him later on that no one had given him explicit permission to join them. At least it seemed like Seijin had heard him and he gave her a confused but thankful glance, noting the up-and-down glance that she gave him. She seemed to clearly notice that he was quite useless in this situation, but made excuses to find some kind of way he could be helpful. For what reason, he couldn't particularly understand. Standing up for him was probably the worst thing she could do, given that they were the only two firebenders there. It would only decrease both their chances of escaping if she associated with him--but he was still thankful for the gesture anyways.

The arguments settled at the curt distraction from Kesuk and Kohaku blinked, surprised at the speed of which the refugees could set aside their differences to start pushing the boat. Perhaps he had grown up around much more selfish beings. He let out a small sigh and stepped up beside the airbender, giving her a now nervous glance, having trusted her before due to her kind nature, but unsettled by her outburst. It wasn't as if she didn't have reason for it and he thought the situation was more or less diffused, but he still didn't want any irritation to be translated onto him.

Lí and Zasi quickly calmed down (as much as they could in such a tense situation, at least) and came to help with the boat. Zasi offered to help Kohaku watch for soldiers as the rest of them found handholds on the boat's edge. Kesuk lifted his end of the boat on Seijin's count; with almost everyone helping to lift it, the boat was actually not that heavy. As they'd said, Zasi and Kohaku stayed to the side to watch for soldiers. Kesuk was going to ignore Yotem for now, whether or not he decided to come with the group was not Kesuk's problem. Besides, he'd started this whole mess. Together, they started moving between the trees and back towards the beach. Since he was at the front of the boat, Kesuk quickly checked when they reached the edge of the forest to make sure the stretch of open beach was actually clear of patrols this time, because repeating an earlier mistake would be idiotic of them. There were no soldiers in sight, so they stepped out of the tree line and made their way down to the water to finally escape this island.

Y O T E M \\ 19 \\ waterbender \\ tags; Zasi, Li, and the crew
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Yotem stood by the boat, figuring out what to when he heard a voice behind him, full of anger. He turned his head to see Zasi, raising her voice at him. She looked as if she was going to strangle him at any moment. His words hurt her deeply. Yotem did not understand; how could she see value others, especially those who could not survive? She turned around, on the verge of tears, leaving Yotem standing there. She probably has lived in an illusion her whole life. She doesn’t know what people are really like. Yotem learned at a young age that everyone around him were either useless or deserved no mercy. He clenched his hands into a fist. Only the strong should live and there is no place for weakness. Zasi would learn sooner or later; either by death or by surviving. Yotem barely took a breath before a threatening figure approached him. Li. Yotem could see the flames in his eyes, and feel his anger as he spoke to Yotem. The waterbender challenge his glare with a cold, emotionless stare. He believed the same naive thing as Zasi did. Why? Why don’t they understand? Yotem could feel anger building up in his throat, his nails digging into his skin as he squeezed his hands harder. He wanted to fight back, to prove them wrong. But before he could use his words, another voice entered, diverting the attention. Kesuk’s simple words ceased the argument. Lastly, Kyori spoke up, calling the arguing benders’ children. Yotem agreed with her to some degree; most of this group was made of children and one day their illusion of the world would shatter and they would see. Yotem took in a breath and spoke his final words. “One day you’ll all learn” he growled, an angry silence following his voice.

After the arguing completely dissipated, the rest of the group made their way to move the boat. It was about time to get off the island, and with all the yelling the soldiers must have heard them. Despite his frustration toward the group, Yotem wanted off as badly as the rest of them. He took one last look at the hellscape behind him before turning around to help push the boat from the back, making sure to keep some distance between him and those he upset. They could finally leave.

Zasi gave Yotem one last glance (more like glare, but it wasn't like he cared) before letting out a huff of air. She turned to see if Kohaku was okay with her keeping watch, and he gave her a weird look. He seemed nervous. Had she really been that aggressive? Zasi placed a hand to her chest, frowning slightly. She felt guilty suddenly for getting so upset. She hadn't meant to upset anyone, especially not the quiet firebender who was already skittish before she had exploded. She didn't regret screaming at Yotem, however. It felt good to release some of tension bubbling up inside of her. She just wasn't sure it was the proper place.

Zasi was having an internal argument with herself, all the while staring at Kohaku. It was only a moment, but inside her head it felt like an eternity. She cleared her throat and turned to keep watch. As the group traveled to the beach, she made sure to keep a good watch. After a moment or two, she glanced of at Kohaku. "Hey, um, I'm sorry about what just happened. I just..." She spoke quietly, training off, not sure how to even explain why she was apologizing. "I just... I noticed you looked at me like I was going to scream at you or something." She bit her lip while rubbing her neck. This seemed to be a new habit whenever she was embarrassed or flustered about what to say. She looked up and noticed behind her to the group carrying the boat and noticed they were stepping out of the trees onto the beach. She glanced back at Kohaku. "I just wanted to say sorry, and hopefully I don't freak you out too much. I actually should apologize to everyone about screaming like I did, but I don't think it would really matter to Kyori and Yotem. They don't seem to like me a whole lot... I should also stop rambling and talking to you. I- not to sound rude, it's just that you probably don't care about what I am saying since I probably lost your interest a while back because I love to ramble.... Which I already pointed out... Um, anyways. I just wanted to apologize and hope we can still be cool."

Zasi felt her ears heat up and she cleared her throat. Turning, she jogged away from the group a tad bit to make sure no one was farther down the beach. Satisfied to not see anyone she jogged back to the group. "Okay, we should be good. I didn't see anyone farther up the beach, and we weren't followed."

(THERE WE ARE NOW AT THE BEACH! GET US OFF THIS DAMN ISLAND!)