Avatar: Scorching Earth // Not Accepting!

(Prepare for some fangirling)

Zasi - Airbender-  16 - crush//tbd - tags//Kesuk

Zasi listened to the male with interest. She was eager to learn from the waterbender. When he gave her a somewhat compliment, she smiled. She could tell she wasn't very skilled, but at least she only needed a few fixes before moving on. It was better than telling her she was a lost hope. She nodded her head eagerly. "Alright. So wha-" She stopped mid-sentence when Kesuk expertly grasped his staff. He questioned her about his own skills, and she nodded. It would be nice to watch someone with skill.

(Ugh sorry it's so small... I'm just super tired)

Kohaku nodded, refusing to take his eyes off of the ground. It would be much safer to travel with the woman, but he didn't like the idea of having to stay besides someone for so long. But it didn't seem like the woman liked that idea either, making it clear to him that she would only allow him to join her as far as the next town. He had no qualms with that. Kohaku hoped that she didn't expect much from him as a reluctant travel companion--all he wanted was safety in numbers. Robbers were simply less likely to attack people traveling in pairs or groups than lone travelers.

((Lol, yes fangirling...))


Kesuk nodded in agreement. "Very well, then." With one hand, he loosened the tie around his waist and shrugged off his outer shirt. Then he slipped out of the long sleeves of his undershirt and pushed both down so they were hanging around his waist and his chest was bare. The island's weather quite a bit hotter than the chill of the South Pole that he was used to, and there was absolutely no reason to get his clothes sweaty if he didn't need to. "Watch closely," he instructed Zasi, and stepped out into the center of the clearing. He closed his eyes and felt the field fade away. It was just him and the staff. He lowered himself into his stance, firm and steady. He snapped the staff up under his arm in a guard position, then spun his staff into the beginnings of an advanced kata. His body moved very nearly on its own, remembering the forms he'd trained in so often since he was young. The staff twisted in his fingers, an extension of his own body, its surface smooth in his hands. He spun with it, swung it around, over his arm, in and out of jabs and strikes. Overhead front strike to four-point strike to uppercut. He flowed from offense to defense, blocking imaginary attacks from every position, using the length of his staff to parry. Then Kesuk twisted through the last motions of his kata, snapping the staff back until he was holding the haft at the one-quarter position, the head of it down, the bottom of it tucked underneath his arm, the very end of the staff rising back behind him. The field faded back into focus, and he stepped out of his stance while twisting his staff upright again. Then he turned to Zasi, tucking a stray strand of hair that had come loose from its tie behind his ear.

Zasi - Airbender-  16 - crush//tbd - tags//Kesuk

Zasi watched intently, eager to watch his skill. She felt her jaw drop when Kesuk dropped his shirt. She glanced from his face to his chest, her face turning a bright shade of pink. She tried to focus on the placement of his feet and the posture he had. She just kept going back to his chest. She silently cursed at herself for being distracted. He was trying to show he his talent. Why did she have to be distracted by his body. What was wrong with her. Eventually she did manage to get a grip over herself and began to appreciate his ability. She noted the way he tucked the staff under his arm. The way he made the moves smoothly went through the motions. It was almost an art. It looked as natural as bending to him. She couldn't help but get lost in the motions.

When he stopped and turned towards her, Zasi couldn't help but smile. When he tucked a small strand of hair behind his ear, Zasi's eyes widened as she felt her blush creep back. The heat told her that she was a deep pink. She glanced down at his chest squeezed her eyes shut. "Oh man oh man oh man... Get yourself together Zasi" she grumbled under her breath. Taking a deep breath she looked back up. Kesuk's skin had a healthy glow with a soft sheen of sweat. Zasi covered her eyes with her hands, a small squeal escaping her lips. "Um.. You look amazing.  I- I mean you really know your stuff. It looked really nice. It was really enjoyable to watch. Wha- what I mean is that it was really elegant and smoothe." She wanted to smack herself in the face. Touching her cheeks and feeling the warmth, she didn't want to look up. She did anyways.b"So uh, what's next on the list?  The faster we teach the better." She sighed and looked at his face, being careful to avoid anything else.

Kesuk walked back over to Zasi as she talked. For some reason, she was stumbling over her words and hiding her face. He tilted his head. "You think I look amazing...? Hmm. You have good taste," he commented offhandedly. Then he dove straight into what the airbender needed to work on. "As for what's next, I want to correct your basic stance first. Most people make the stupid mistake of thinking that staff fighting requires only strength in the upper body, but the truth is that a staff wielder's strength comes from his foundation, which is his stance, his legs, and his core. Your stance isn't bad, but I'd like to see it a bit wider. Come here and show me your stance again." He turned and walked away a few steps, gesturing for Zasi to join him further out towards the center of the field, swinging his staff back and forth to stretch out his muscles as he did so. Hmm, perhaps they should stretch before training next time.

((Haha whoops there goes his narcissim again, lol. His "You have good taste" statement is inspired by one of my favorite narcissitic characters XD))

Leon stuck to himself as he moved, looking for the ideal answer to his food problem. He stuck to the edges and less populated areas of town, those not inside their tents seemed to usually gather in groups. Fear often drove people to groups or inside and this life was that of fear for many. Yet for some he noticed they acted as if they had lost nothing at all, Leon liked those people a great deal but being near them also hurt.

He paused to look around and a few moments later a kid was tugging on his arm. He looked down, confused, before the child pointed. Near the forest an old man had tripped and was trying to get up. The basked he had been carrying was spilled and he was frantically trying to salvage what he could. Leon walked over and crouched down, helping clean up the few fruits and berries the man had found and put them in the basket. "Here, can you hold this for me?" He looked at the kid who nodded and held the basket though he couldn't really move with it due to it's awkward size compared to the kid's arms. "You're really strong. Just hold on tight for a minute." Leon's attention turned back to the old man who he offered a hand to. "I hope you don't mind if I help you up." When the man nodded Leon moved just enough to wrap and arm behind the man and lift him to his feet. He could tell by how much weight he took that the man had injured a leg and couldn't stand on his own. "Just lean on me." He kept his arm around the man's back.

"Alright now, this is the tricky part." He looked to the kid. "You're gonna need your hands free so you can ask people to give us room. So, I'll take that." He used us green hand to cup under the basket and lift it up to his shoulder. It took a moment to balance properly and keep a tight grip. "Alright let's get you to your tent, you tell me which way to go."

He walked the old man back to his tent as the child asked people to give them space, taking his job very, very seriously. Leon helped the man inside and to a spot to rest where his wife began to ask what happened in-between thanking Leon and listening to the child say how strong he was when holding the basket. Leon set the basket down. "It was nothing, just the right thing to do. You get some rest sir, and you," he looked at the kid, "you make sure nothing happens to him. You'll have to help out as he recovers after all, good thing you're strong."

Leon was about to leave when the old woman grabbed his arm. He turned to look at her just in case she needed more help. She moved to the basket they had brought back and searched around until she found a piece of clothing. She began putting a mix of the fruit and berries in, tying the corners of the cloth together and offering it to Leon.

"No, I couldn't. You'll need it as he recovers, and-" he would have gone on bit he recognized the stern look forming on the woman's face. Arguing would lead nowhere but trouble. He took the bundle of fruit. "Thank you. I'll come by and check on you, I promise. If you need help just ask." He left their tent after that, least he found food. Stepping back out into the sun he couldn't help but stretch a bit. He'd pay the woman back for the food, somehow.

Zasi - airbender - 16 - crush//tbd - tags//Kesuk

Zasi was sure that she looked like an idiot. Kesuk was bound to notice. When all he mentioned was her having good taste, she gave a small chuckle. Some of it was nerves, most of it was relief. She smiled and shook her head. He immediately jumped into the next lesson. He walked back towards the center, and Zasi followed. He mentioned strength and people making stupid mistakes. She furrowed her brows. Was he talking about her? He then commented her stance was not bad. Zasi smiled again. Zasi was left in the center, and she nodded. Opening her stance and standing in her usual position, ahe glanced at Kesuk. "Ok so opening my stance more... So like this?" She moved her feet a bit wider, and felt a bit off- balance. She felt like any attack would result in her flying off her feet. She tried to shift her center of gravity down by tightening her core slightly. It felt a bit better, but not all the way. "I feel like I'm doing this wrong."

Kesuk watched Zasi take up her stance. She widened her feet to the proper position, past shoulder-width apart, and immediately mentioned that it felt wrong. Well, of course it felt wrong, if she was going to do it like that. He stepped up next to her. "Keep your back straight. Bend your knees more and lower your center of gravity." He stood beside her and lowered himself into his beginning stance to show her. "Your stance will also depend on how you move and how you strike. For example, when you move in for your overhead strikes, rise up out of it and move your front foot forward, keeping your feet slightly closer together than your beginning stance, just past shoulder-width apart." He demonstrated for her, then moved smoothly back to the deeper horse stance, tightening his core muscles to keep his balance centered and strong. "Aright, try to replicate my stance."

Zasi - Airbender-  16 - tags//Kesuk

Zasi nodded as Kesuk instructed what to do. He also got into the stance. She straightened her back and bent down lower. Tightening her core, she felt a lot more secure. She nodded her head with a small smile. He mentioned how the stance affected other moves and Zasi made sure to pay full attention when he demonstrated the move. She also made sure not to get... distracted by him as well. She didn't know how quickly he wanted to move through the lesson. She couldn't afford to miss a step. She had always been able to focus when she needed to. She didn't want him thinking she didn't want to learn, or that she couldn't learn. She was eager to learn to fight. Without this skill, she was useless. Sure, she could use her bending to get out of situations. Being able to hold her own in a fight was what she needed the most though. She couldn't afford to be as weak as she looked. Her small size made it hard to have a great amount of strength, but if she knew how to stay grounded she would be alright. She glanced beside her to Kesuk. "Is this alright?" Just for an extra measure in case he tried to push her, (to check if she was balanced. Kesuk isn't that mean I hope) she tightened her core a little more.

Kesuk observed as Zasi adjusted her stance, quietly pleased at how she used her core to improve her balance like he had. Despite her talkative, bubbly personality, she was a good listener. Stepping out of his stance, he looked her over and gave her shoulders a gentle shove, but she stayed perfectly grounded. He could easily tell nothing short of a saber-tooth moose-lion would throw her off balance. Well, perhaps that was an exaggeration, but the principle remained the same. "Very good," he told her. "Now go through a basic kata again, this time with your adjusted stance. See how it feels and get used to it."