Searching for the Avatar (Plot Thread) [Private]

Rika was laying in her sleeping bag. They were on Kyoshi island and the sun was coming up. Rozu was in his own sleeping bag next to her. He was lightly snoring and she thought it was cute. She giggled and poked his stomach. "Rozu wake up. Let's go into town."

Rika got up and went behind some bushes to get dressed. She quickly changed and then came out. "I want to check out the shops in town and figure out our next step," Rika told the boy.

She then headed for the town. The young woman was walking past shops when she saw a sign. "Avatar Museum" She dragged Rozu in and they began to look around. "This is neat!" Rika told Rozu.

(Note: stay in teh museum)

"Well its good thing I ran into you Rika I never really thought about the next step." Rika grinned to herself. They couldn't just train forever. They needed something to do. She wanted a reason to get stronger other then their comrade's death. She wanted to have some fun today. Yeah, fun was a good start.

Rika giggled at Rozu's embarrassed look. "No touchey," she said with laughter in her voice. She was obviously teasing him. "I've always been interested with the Avatar. Remember how he ran away? Nobody has seen him for a while." She then went deep into thought for a bit.

It was when they passed a child's toy that said, "Avatar Ken" that she stopped. It was like a little lightbulb in her head went off. "Shirshu... plus... Avatar Ken's old toy... equals... Avatar!" she whispered in glee. She waited until nobody was watching before she slipped the item into her bag and whistled comically as she began walking away. She had done all this in front of Rozu of course. Her partner in crime, at least she hoped.

"Rika what are doing? If they found out that, that toy is missing and find out its us were done for."

Rika giggled. "Relaaaaax, we'll be long gone before they realize it's gone. Besides it's for the greater good. I know how we can find the Avatar," she told him with a passion in her eyes. In reality she wanted to be a hero. She wanted to have a purpose and finding the avatar would bring her that. She'd had a dream about finding him the night before. It was weird, she'd never thought of any of this before now. Why was she now obsessed with the Avatar?

"Rika we gotta move. Now." Rika had noticed one of the men just in time. Her eyes widened. This museum had some awesome ninja security. She barely dodged one with a knife and began to follow Rozu out. Maybe... she shouldn't have stolen the artifact.

"WHAT Are you DO..." The man then saw the ninja men and stared. Okay, so these ninja weren't on his side. Then who the hell were they? "Oh no...not my museum!" She kind of felt bad for the guy but they had to get out.

Rika used the water gourd on her back and made water come out. She then turned it into a bunch of ice spikes and sent them flying at the guys. She then ran with Rozu out of the museum and began to race towards their camp. "Run Rozu!"

Rika gasped as they ran from the ninja looking guys. "I have an idea!" She ran past a big barrel of water and then began to bend it. She then turned it to ice on the ground and two of the ninja's slipped and fell. One was knocked out when he hit a brick wall of a house.

Rika grinned and continued running with Rozu. "What else can we do?! Can you try fire bending? We don't need to kill them just knock them out or distract them enough so we can get back to camp!"

The woman began to concentrate before she made a few balls of ice and made them go flying at the enemies. These balls flew through the air quickly and some hit the ninja like men. The rest just went flying past them.

The duo ran behind a group of houses and Rika pulled Rozu into a small shed before the ninja's rounded the corner. She covered his mouth so he couldn't speak and they waited until the ninja people ran past the shed looking for them.

Rozu had been checking to see is the coast was clear. He turned back to look at her and said, "Ok its safe out there." Rika nodded and went out after him. She then led the way back to camp. They took a longer route near the forest. They stayed under the cover of the trees.

Once they reached camp, Nuka came bounding up to Rika. The woman patted her head and Rika began to pack up her items and put it on Nuka's back. "Who do you think those ninja dudes were? Obviously they weren't with the museum... Do you think they wanted the Avatar artifact?" Rika asked Rozu.

Once everything was packed she pulled the toy out of her pocket and held it up to Nuka's nose. "My plan is this. We're going to find the Avatar. Nuka can find anyone on earth. Just by their scent. He can find the Avatar." Rika's eyes held a lot of determination. She was going to do this no matter what.

"Get on Rozu. Nuka will lead the way." Nuka grew stiff after sniffing the item. Rika jumped on the Shirshu and he began to run off towards one of the air temples. Rika smirked and patted his back. They would find the Avatar in no time.

"I have no idea it was very strange indeed. They werent with the museum, but I did see this really tall guy with black clothing going in the museum. He might have been involved too. And im pretty sure they wanted the avatar artifact, they were eyeing it down like dogs."

Rika nodded. "Well I suppose they are looking for the avatar too... though attacking us is really weird. They must want to kill him. I'm glad we took it before they could get their creepy ninja hands on it."

She grinned at the thought of trumping the douchebags trying to take over the world. They were now riding on Nuka. Rika loved the breeze that was going through her hair as they ran towards the northern air temple. "So I wonder what the Avatar is going to look like. I bet he's handsome and brave. Oooh and I bet he's really kind and resourceful and..."

Rika went on for a bit longer talking about her fantasies about how good and nice the Avatar would be. She obviously was expecting a lot from him. Perhaps too much? It took them a few days of travelling to get to the Northern air temple. It was in the earth kingdom but it was far to the north. Luckily it was spring and almost summer. There wasn't much snow left on the ground despite them being in such high altitude.

Once they were in a forest Rika stopped the Shirshu and got off of him. "We need to find a river or somewhere for him to drink. We can continue looking for the Avatar later."

Rika saw that he went to sit on a rock. Nuka was drinking from the river so Rika sat next to him. She brushed the hair out of her face and grinned. She then waited for him to speak. Obviously he wanted to talk about something. She could see it in his eyes.

"Rika I hope you know the dangers were about to get ourselves in, I mean i'm all for it but I dont think thats the last time were gonna see those people in black. But it seems were on a journey that could might cost us our lives. And I just wanna know, we are in this together right?"

There was no hesitation for Rika. "Of course we're in this together. If you're with me then we'll be fine. Plus we're partners in crime. I just can't let you get away. We have a lot more mischief to get into," she told him giggling.

Rika was about to say more but Nuka began snuffling on the ground. Rika's eyebrows shot up. "What is it Nuka?" the woman asked.

Nuka then took off with Rika frantically following. She followed the beast for almost twenty minutes before they came to a water fall. Standing under it was a boy on a big rock. He was wearing monks clothing and had Air bender tattoo's. Rika's eyes widened. She waded through the water to the boy and climbed up the rock. He was meditating it seemed.

She reached her hand over to touch him... "Hello? Can you hear me?" she asked him.

(Note: Kenny's post next)

Quiet...peace...true tranquility....the are the words that were used to create the world that Ken was now imprisoned in. It was a simple place in his mind, a forested area with him just standing in front of a lake. He waddled in it, he felt every little particle that was possible for him, within human capabilities of course. The water, the water tickled as it slid between his toes, and it was then that he jumped in the water. Of course, he was shirtless, showing his abnormal muscular build such as his arms.

He moved his arms in different directions, and even went underwater. He had chosen to swim as low as he could before he would go to the top. It got darker, dark as cold rock. Still, the boy continued, as if he had no control of his body what so ever. Then, he had gotten himself tangled up in a bunch of plants, like seaweed. He pulled his legs back and forth but nothing good was happening. He tried harder and harder until it was proven that he was stuck. One of the bad things is, that ever since he ended up in this place, he couldn't bend. Although, even if he could bend, there wasn't much that he would be able to accomplish in the first place.

He felt a touch at that moment, something very faint. He kept focusing on it until everything had faded to a dark dark black. He felt one more poke and a few words which he could barely make out. It was then, that moment he had made his way back into the human world. His eyes and glowed to a bright white quickly, before quickly dispersing. He looked up and saw that there was a women right in front of him. Oh how long ago has it been since Ken had saw another human, 6 months, give or take a few?

He slowly reached his hand and put it over his head, rubbing it due to the amount of time he had been standing in this waterfall area and how the cold water and air had gave him a headache. He only said a few words...

"Where am I...?"

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Rika had gasped when his eyes glowed white. The Avatar had been gone for months! They had finally found him. From the way he smelled it seemed that he'd been here for a while. He was skinny a slightly underfed but somehow he must have been eating. "Where am I...?" the boy asked.

She didn't expect him to be the avatar. He was pretty young. He had some nice muscles for his age but still... he had the airbender tattoo's as well. "We're near the northern air temple. Are you... the avatar?" she asked the boy.

Without waiting for a response she continued. "We found one of your toys at a museum. Everyone thought you were dead or ran away. You've just been sitting here for six months?" she asked him incredulously.

She shook her head but the guy seemed so confused. Her eyes softened. "I bet you're hungry. I have some food in Nuka's saddle.," she pointed at the Shirshu that Rozu had just tried to pet.

Still hazy, the Women had asked Ken some things.

"We're near the northern air temple. Are you... the avatar?" she asked the boy. Without waiting for a response she continued. "We found one of your toys at a museum. Everyone thought you were dead or ran away. You've just been sitting here for six months?" she asked him incredulously.

The boy shook his head up a bit before he got a little hold of what was going on. The women was holding something that made...a distinct sound. Now what was it...a tambourine...? A....gourd filled with corn.....? Oh wait, the boy had finally realized what it was.

"My- My rattle?" asked Ken.

It had been a while since he had seen this, it was a wooden rattle that had been crafted into a Bison, a toy that was known to be difficult to make. He took it gently out of her hand and shook it a few times. It had been a while since he's played with this, or even live life as a normal child...

Her eyes softened. "I bet you're hungry. I have some food in Nuka's saddle.," she pointed at the Shirshu that Rozu had just tried to pet.

"Oh no, I'm oka-" said the boy as he was interrupted by the sound of his grumbling stomach. Of course he hadn't ate a good meal for a while. It was then that a white and brown furred monkey had came down from a wall of rocks. It was a small one, one that looked like a young adult, or that it was almost an adult. In its arms had rested a handful of berries, which were jumped as it ran down the wall and up to Ken's arm. On closer inspection, it had been revealed to be a monkey lemur hybrid. It gladly climbed up Ken's arm and snugged at his head.

"Wait were you bringing me those berries?" asked Ken questioningly.

The Lemur had simply gave a nod which signaled that it could at least partially understand human speech.

"So you've been feeding me all this time?" said Ken to himself. He knew that because the last time he'd been here, it'd been somewhere around fall, and now it's spring.


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Rozu was still down waiting for something to happen, his arms crossed again with Nuka sitting beside him. Rozu turned his head to look at Nuka and they made eye contact for a while then they both looked the other way it was a awkard moment. Tired of waiting Rozu decided to finally go up the rock to see what was happening for himself.

He ran up quickly to make sure Rika wasnt getting hurt, leaving Nuka on his own to ponder. Once he got to the top of the rock he saw a young boy, who looked well muscled but Rozu quickly noticed where he could use work him being a health shape addict.

He came up behind Rika and stood tall he looked kinda surprsied to see a kid. He expected more if that kid was the avatar. Rozu scratched the back of his head. "That kid is the avatar??" he said out loud now looking completly confused. Then Rozu saw the monkey looking thing and the berries looking even more freaked out. "All youve been eating is berries for this long..." he said outloud. "Thats no way to keep a healthy diet..." he said thinking outloud usaully Rozu wasnt this talkative but it was a weird situation.

Not to far off there was loud "BANGS" that had some part of the temple shake. Rozu instantly went back to his normal disposition and looked out to see what it was. Coming on was three weird looking airships.

On the ship was Husain with a scope looking directly at Rika Rozu and the kid. He had a large grin on his face. His black long coat fluttered with the wind. "I wonder how those kids got here before me..well I did take my time." He said with a sick smile. A man in the black outfit from earlier came up behind Husain. "Commander its the same kids from a couple of days ago...at the musuem."

Husain looked again "Well watdya know it is them, something tells me there gonna be a nuisance if I let them live...kill them at all costs." Husain said without any care in the world. The airship landed at the temple while the other two remained in air kinda far off. Six men came running off the ship. Husain hopped off with a wicked smile.

The airships-

Spoiler:

"Oh no, I'm oka-" The boy started to say after she told him about the food. But his stomach rumbled loudly. Rika giggled. Was he afraid of the Shirshu? She started to walk towards the Shirshu but a small lemur came out towards the boy carrying berries of some kind. It seemed that it had been feeding the Avatar this whole time.

Rozu then got up on the rock with Rika and saw the Avatar. "That kid is the avatar??" Rika was about to talk but there were bangs that made the earth shake. This was not good, not good at all. Rika looked towards the sound and saw three airships that looked similar to fire nation ships but entirely different too. They were made of more wood than metal. Looking more like a mix of earth kingdom ships on the sea and the air ships of the fire nation.

"This... is not good," Rika said out loud. "We gotta go now guys. I have a feeling that they are after the Avatar. One ship just landed and the Air Temple is only twenty minutes away."

She began dragging the Avatar off the rock. "We gotta go! Now!"

It seemed that the other male that had accompanied the women had wondered if Ken was the Avatar....Avatar...that was a word he hasn't heard in a looong time. He only shrugged with a nod as he heard a loud BANG impact near the site. Quickly with the rest of the group, he looked up and was greeted by airships. They surely weren't alone, they had been filled with various people in dark clothing that had been looking in their direction. They had surely looked menacing with their partial resources being made of metal and wood.

"This... is not good," Rika said out loud. "We gotta go now guys. I have a feeling that they are after the Avatar. One ship just landed and the Air Temple is only twenty minutes away."

She began dragging the Avatar off the rock. "We gotta go! Now!"

The boy was still in shock, but he had quickly gained back his composure as he looked around and had noted that the forest was just below. The river sounds of tranquility had only turned on to the last possible sounds the boy may hear. He released his breath and closed his eyes for a few seconds before jumping off the rock and into the water. He cracked his neck and back, with the lemur still on his shoulder with a worried look upon its face.

"Well this is going to be a lot of work..." he said with a sigh. "But we'll travel in the forest area, seeing as it will keep us from being spotted."

With swift enough movements, the boy had jumped off of the waterfall cliff, and barely landed onto a branch of a really tall tree.

"Come on" he said trying to rush them on.

Ken and the lemur put their hands on the branches and swung their ways around; much like monkeys in a tropical forest. He slightly moved the air currents from time to time, to avoid small branches of leaves attacking the lemur's face. Hoping that the two were still traveling with him, he went on.

Meanwhile, the man known as Husain had made some good distance towards their way to the group. He could already see tracks of their previous movements which were right near the waterfall.

"Those damned kids...." he said with an agitated tone. It sure wasn't going to be pretty if he ever managed to catch the group, best be going along and hope not to be caught....that was the thought inside Ken's head.

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Rika was ready to stay and fight but she knew she had to get the avatar to a safe place. She grunted and as Rozu grabbed the spear she bit her lip and said, "I'm coming back for you dumbass!"

Rika gasped as the avatar began acting like a monkey as he travelled through the canopy. She had a hard time catching up. But she jumped onto her Shirshu and began riding him to keep up with him. She felt horrible for running away and leaving her newfound friend, possibly her best friend, behind.

It had seemed like they were running around in circles. Perhaps they were? This part of the jungle looked very familiar. It was the last time she would trust a monkey of a boy.

"Slow down! I think we lost them!" Rika told the Avatar. She slowed the Shirshu to a stop before an arrow pierced her right shoulder. She screamed in pain and it seemed ten men began rushing towards them.

She fell off the Shirshu and the beast began to guard her. But Nuka couldn't hold off ten men alone. She was only one animal after all.

"Slow down! I think we lost them!" Rika told the Ken. She slowed the Shirshu to a stop before an arrow pierced her right shoulder. Rika screamed in pain and it seemed ten men began rushing towards them.

The beast however, had began to guard her. The beast had been continuously hit by the men...that had made Ken angry, very angry. He had ran up, jumped up, and was now directing a kick into a man's face, but he had simply grabbed his leg and threw him to the ground.

"Pfft little brat...we ought to teach you some manners..." said the man as the rest of the group had came around the boy. Kicking, punching, and other physical behavior had been casted.

"Ouch...you...little...mother fuckers..." the boy had said as he was panting in pain.

"Wise guy eh? WELL LEARN YOUR PLACE" he said as all of the group had launched powerful kicks at the boy, greatly harming him. His lemur friend however, had been away looking through the bushes. It had then climbed over the girl known as Rika's shoulders, in a way of showing it was scared.

"Well I think this should do it....then we'll get to that brat over there..." said one of the men in a evil tone.

It was all of this that had caused something...caused something to snap. The boy had just lost it, it hadn't happened for years. The marks on his body had glowed to a bright white, alone with his eyes filled with the same hue. He had then jumped into the air, seemingly floating.

"W-What is he?!?" said one of the men in a worried tone. But it was obvious they all knew what was going on, he was in the avatar state.

He raised a single hand, which had caused the ground below then to sink in. They all scurried away, except for one that tripped and was now trapped into the hole. With even more power, Ken had raised his other hand and trusted it forward, releasing a straight flame which had easily gotten 5 more of the men, leaving them in a passed out state, if not dead.

"W-We'll leave...We promise just stop!" said one of the men as he was in a ridiculous bowed down motion.

However, while in the avatar state, the boy could not listen to them. He was just a ruthless angry spirit whose flames of anger could not be quenched. He raised both of his arms, which released air currents towards the men who had ran way, three of them had been struck in fatal spots, such as the neck. This left only one, only one of the feeble men. He ran faster and faster, soon getting out of site, but that did not matter.

The boy had simply raised a boulder in air and launched it into the distance, which had luckily landed on the man, crushing him to death. Staying in this state for only a few more minutes, Ken had passed out onto the ground. The lemur had ran to his side and shook his head. Ken had managed to defeat them all, but now he was unconscious. This would only mean harder work for the girl to transport him out of the area.

twc:1724

Saleh had been taking one of his "strolls through nature" for inspiration for his writing. It had become a common practice of his, as he had lost all desire to write within the confined monasteries that were desired by the monks. Saleh knew deep down that he could never be a monk- the tedious and arduous tasks would get to him at some point, and he knew he wouldn't last long confined into a "cell". He was flying on his flying bison, Ubuge, searching for something that would capture his interest when he noticed something rather out of place- an Earth Nation airship was docked just outside the tranquil forest. Figuring an idea could be sparked by its placement, a bright light caught his attention, followed by muffled screams that soon faded into nothing. The bright light was accompanied by smoke. The smoke was black, due to the moisture in the trees, but nothing appeared to be burning at the time. A firebender here? Why would the war be taking battles all the way to the borders of the Earth Nation, so far away from the capital? Intrigued, Saleh instructed Ubuge (whose name means soft) to lower to just above the canopy of the forest so that he could get a good view of the action. That was when an earthshaking sound boomed from not too far away- like a boulder landing on the earth. As it turns out, Saleh's estimation was not that far off- beneath the bramble appeared to be a boy no older than 13, lying on the soft grass, unconscious. Just a short ways away from him was a girl, apparently conscious, but wounded, laying next to a shirshu- an exotic beast that had come up in Saleh's studies.

Ubuge touched down on the earth and Saleh quickly jumped off and rushed first to the girl's aid. She was certainly older than the unconscious boy, and hopefully she would have some answers. Saleh was wary of the shirshu and cautiously approached the girl. "Are you alright?" he would ask. It was a rhetorical question- of course she wasn't fine, there was an arrow lodged in her shoulder, but it was more directed towards her mental stability and composure as opposed to her physical capability. "Let me help you, I'll take you back to the Northern Air Temple where we can get you and your friend patched up, 'k?" He had almost no medical knowledge, so he couldn't help them in their current situation, but he could at least have Ubuge take her and the boy back to the temple where they would be safe. Of course, he had no knowledge of the other boy that had placed himself in the line of danger and was captured, so he figured she would accept the help without hesitation.