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(Lol I thought it would be. Had to throw a cute moment in there. XD)
It was only moments before the match would begin did Heather emerge from the room, just in time to see Alkaid coming to get his 'partner' in the match. The earth bender directed a quick nod and sly grin towards the female water bender as he in turn received a seething glare from the flashing green eyes. Without greeting or words to the muscled earth bender she quickly attempted to make her way past him, only pausing when she felt a calloused hand holding fast to her wrist. "Aren't you going to wish me luck little Heather?" he asked with a malicious grin. A harsh, throaty laugh came from him when the only answer he received was another glare. "Ah so cold of you..." he stated as he roughly tugged at her wrist. Physically she was weaker then the earth bender and by far smaller, but she didn't let that intimidate her. "Still nothing? How about a good luck kiss then..." he said with another harsh laugh and tug as a look of disgust crossed the female water bender's face. She tugged roughly on her captured wrist to try and free herself, although it only encouraged the male to increase his pressured hold on her until he practically had her wincing in physical pain and discomfort. The girl's features briefly hardened, before suddenly softening as her gaze shifted to just beyond the tall earth bender. "Alkaid what are you doing? Let go of her already" came a familiar calm tone behind him. Heather was relieved to see the fire bender had ventured from the room and essentially 'came to her rescue'. Swiftly the over muscled male released her wrist and now directed his gaze onto the leaner red head. "I was only...playing..." the earth bender replied with a malicious and toothy grin. "Well knock it off, we're due in the arena and I'm sure Heather wishes to return to her seat so she can at least watch rather then waste time here dealing with you" the higher ranked guard calmly stated as his gaze drifted from the male and to the female water bender. Politely he gave her nod and a faint smile before his features returned to a calm but serious one. "You spoil all my fun Red. No matter we can resume after the match eh Heather?" the earth bender said with a leering smile that earned him another look of disgust from the female. Kaji wasn't particularly fond of the nickname that Alkaid seemed determine to use simply to annoy him. The golden eyed bender was well aware that the name was meant to be insulting. Her green gaze shifted however towards Kaji, softening a bit. "Thank you Kaji and good luck" she said with a warmed smile, before turning and quickly making her way out of the locker rooms and back to her seat next to Sylph, who flashed her a playful smile and greeted her with a giggle. "So did you confess your love to him in a brief heat of raging passion?" the air bender playfully asked before receiving a playful punch in the arm from the water bender. ----------- The two guards made their way to what had been designated as their entrance corridor. It was only a few moments now before the announcement for them to enter would blare across the crowd. Kaji stood calmly, leaning against one of the walls, eyes closed and arms crossed loosely over his chest. He seemed relaxed and not very guarded in the presence of the one who had previously shoved a spike into his flesh, however the reality was very different. Even with a relaxed look the fire bender kept well aware of the earth bender's actions. He had elected not to reveal to the male that the 'insurance' that he and Rahmiria had chosen to use was no longer valid. Instead he would take advantage of the situation since for the time being it would keep Alkaid at bay, empowered by a fact that was no longer true. He knew eventually at some point in the fight the earthen male would realize he no longer held the control card he had initially and would turn on him. When that point came he would no longer be able to focus solely on their 'opponents' in the ring. For now though he would attempt to keep an eye out, least Alkaid attempt to use, what would have been relatively painful bending for the fire bender, to catch his attention. "So Kaji...what do you know of these...'punks'? Anything to really be concerned about or worth the time and effort to even make this charade last long? Or even worthy enough to lose to?" the dark green haired male asked as he stood there a bit antsy. He hated waiting, especially when he could be spilling the blood of another. "Both appear to be fairly formidable individually, I'm not sure exactly how they'd do as a team. If they pulled and worked together then they may be a bit of a handful. I would suggest you not underestimate either" the red head replied calmly, his voice slightly detached. He didn't wish for the dark eyed bender to know the connection he held with either fight, a brother to one and a friend and teacher to the other, least the bender use them to try and harm him. ------------ "Attention! Will the fighters for today's match please make their way to the arena at this time if you have not already." Came the sound of a loud speaker over the roar of the crowd, as the only match of the day was about to commence. "Ladies and gentlemen the moment you've all been waiting for is finally here. Today in the arena we've a special treat. Einheit's elite against the arena's top fighters!" the announcer boomed over the rising cheers of the crowd. 'Introducing first two of Einheit's native sons! You've surely seen around the town, protecting and serving the citizens and a first in this arena! Wielding the destructive combo of Flame and Earth! The God of Earthquakes and Lord of the Flames, Aaaalkaid and Kaji!'the announcer boomed as the crowd lightly cheered, save two young women, one being a certain green eyed woman who briefly snickered at Kaji's given title before cheering loudly with the light blue haired woman beside her. 'I'll never be able to tease Kiril about the whole Lord of Mist thing ever again after this...' Kaji though with a sigh as his eye twitched slightly at being given a title as he pushed himself from the wall and entered the ring with his muscled 'partner' who was raving and pumping his fists in the air wildly. Despite entering together they seemed even more like polar opposites. Kaji was quiet and reserved, not bothering to waste his energy over something as simple as entering a fight ring, while Alkaid roared with a clear primal blood lust and swung about wildly, believing the cheers for him. 'Idiot...' was the only comment Kaji could really think. (I suck at fight introductions like that so I hope it wasn't too terrible. The only thing that kept going through my head was the "Lets get ready to ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuumble" on t.v. all the time. I also had a scene in Ice Age in my head where Sid pronounced he was to be called 'Lord of the Flame' before his tail caught fire stuck in my head. XD I also figured I'd have the girls, or at least Sylph, take notice to Altyre when it wasn't so crowded with people, unless he you're having him be seated next to her, which if that's the case just let me know. ^.^) |
(Lol you did fine. I'm not a specialist at that sort of thing either, I just go with whatever my mind says is appropriate for the situation. Hahaha. I was planning on having Altyre come down to talk to Kaji after the fight but I hadn't cared to say where he was sitting. If you want them to be sitting next to each other that's fine with me.) This was it. It was time for the fight to begin. The announcer had just announced the guards and the two of them were standing right inside their locker room which was about one hundred feet from where they would be entering at. Kiril gave Zeno a pat on the shoulder, "Let's go." The time for pep-talks and such had long since past. They'd discussed the important things and Kira wasn't much of an inspired speaker. Besides, the boy was so wired up that he was afraid that if he said too much more, the earthbender would be too excited to be useful or efficient. Either way, they had a plan now. All he could do was hope things went accordingly. Battle was much more unpredictable than anything else in the world. And this fight was as much of a real battle as any. Well between him and Alkaid at least. They made their way to the entrance after the announcer was done with first pair and the ground of the Arena was vibrating from the sound of all the cheers. It sent a thrill of excitement through Zeno's bones. Kiril on the other hand looked about as calm as ever. Though the younger bender knew now that it was a practiced calm, not a natural one. "Now ladies and gentlemen! The underdogs yet the Arena's very own finest! The second pair hailing from the streets of our very own Einheit!" The announcer paused, obviously for dramatic effect, which worked to perfection as the crowd roared with anticipation. "Introducing first, the Arena's up and coming young star! The earthbender with a lot of heart and the spirit of a warrior! The Dragon of the Desert, Zeeeenooooo!!! And his partner, a majestic fighter as captivating to look at as he is deadly in a bout! The Arena's very own silver haired Champion! Ladies and gentlemen, your Lord of the Mist. . . KIIIIRRRRIIIIIILLLLL!!!" The crowd went berserk as they entered their stage. Zeno waved about like a lunatic while the waterbender paused briefly as they entered to give his ceremonial bow. The chanting insued almost immediately, "Kiril! Zeno! Kiril! Zeno!" Inwardly all the silver haired man could do was sigh. There was a heavy burden to win a match that was likely to already be given to them. It was an unsavory thought. Still, he was a performer on this stage, and he intended to give the crowd a show they'd never forget. "Now ladies and gentlemen for your benefit, allow me to explain the rules of this bout." The crowd grew silent in anticipation. "There is no time limit and no referee. The fight will be called when either pair is unable to continue or is dead!" The reaction that garnered from the crowd shocked both of the pair to their core. The crowd cheered savagely. Did they want someone to actually die? Whatever the case, the two of them had a goal to achieve. They would focus on that for now. Zeno looked at Kaji with his happy usual grin but Kiril had that ominous look in his eyes as his gaze rested on Alkaid. "Now without further adieu! Leeeeeeeets get ready to ruuuuuuumbleeeeeee!!!" Then the bell rang. (<--- purely for your benefit lol) Wasting no time the pair charged forward striking at both benders with their respective elements. Kiril was focused on Alkaid sending a dash of water at Kaji ever so often to keep them off balance and vice versa for Zeno. The two of them pressed the attack intending on closing the gap immediately or so they made it seem. Zeno had understood his whole part in the plan and to be honest had no real quarrels with it except he didn't want Alkaid to die. They didn't see him for who he really was. They couldn't be. But still he agreed to do his part, holding on to the hope that neither of them would fight to kill the other. That wasn't what this was for. But then again why were they fighting in the first place? He didn't know. He was terrified at what might happen if he tried to interfere. This may become a free for all instead of a team bout and if that happened, he would be the first one picked off. He was the weakest after all. So if he did his job things would work themselves out the way they were suppose to. He hoped.Kaji prefers to fight from a distance so if we immediately try to close the gap, he'll likely give ground while defending himself. Alkaid is a different matter. He'll want to go toe to toe which is exactly what I'm hoping for. The plan is to separate the two while I dispose of the brutish earthbender. It seems they intend to throw the fight intentionally anyway so all they'll do is put on a show for a while at least. But when Alkaid sees my face I think he'll have a change of heart. We've fought before and have unfinished business. So I'll attack him with the intent to kill and he'll likely abandon that initial plan and fight to kill me in return. When that happens. I'll need you to desperately hold Kaji off because he'll notice the difference in his partner and want to interfere. Don't allow him to. Cut him off with your earthbending in anyway possible, or try to incapacitate him if you feel up to it. Just keep him away from us. ------- Altyre watched the entrances with mild interest noticing how unpopular the Imperial Guards were and how overwhelmingly popular the Arena Fighters were in comparison. Sure the fans had cheered but they weren't cheers of popularity, and might as well have been boos from the sound of things. They chanted for the two Arena fighters as if they were saviors or something. Or maybe he was making too much of it. Still this fight had the eerie feel of something more important than he had known of. Though what had really shocked the tall islander was the bone-chilling cheers after the announcer explained the rules. There was a chance that the combatants could die and people cheered at that? It seemed that Einheit was a place more savage than Tyr could have ever predicted. There was an unrest amongst the people. It seems I showed up at a critical moment. Maybe this fight represented the people's hopes which would explain the way they cheered for the Arena Fighters as if they were a hope for salvation. It was a scary thought. It also meant that if this fight didn't go the way the fans wanted, Einheit would likely be a warzone within the next moonturn. The dark skinned firebender grinned. It had been a long time since he'd been in a fight but maybe he should make a swift exit after speaking to Kaji. Assuming he survived. . . |
Neither guard was surprised about the rules as the the two younger benders appeared. Both had already known ahead of time that no referee would be involved and it was only natural to follow up with an expectation of death. "Seems they're already anticipating your death Kaji. Looks like your time has finally come eh?" the earth bender stated with a sickening delightful glee. The fire bender's gaze slid to his dark haired partner. "Don't think for once Alkaid that I'll simply roll over and die simply because it would be more convenient for you and Rahmiria. I may follow orders but even I have my limits." Kaji calmly replied.
Both sets of eyes came to rest on the two opposite them once the announcer called out and introduced Kiril and Zeno. 'Perhaps one more tease on the Lord of the Mist thing...' the fire bender thought, shaking his head slightly. A gleam of slight recognition lit in Alkaid's eyes though as he saw the silver haired bender, there was something vaguely familiar about him...Shaking his head, deciding that he would figure out and remember soon enough, his dark and malicious gaze turned to Kaji. "It's been awhile since I haven't had you on the other end of my attacks...Regardless shall we use the second drill that was used during the Cabardi campaign?" the earth bender suggested with a grin. The Cabardi campaign came easily enough to the fire bender's mind. It was during a time that both he and the earth bender had been sent to the rebel island of Cabardi when they were lower ranks. Apparently an Einheit spy had been sent there previously to keep an eye on the citizen's there, however after only three weeks or so after a report about a possible siege attempt on Einheit the spy vanished. Kaji and Alkaid, along with a few other foot soldiers, had been sent in to see how true the report was and what had become of the spy. What awaited them was a guerrilla warfare army of rebels awaiting them. The two had attempted to rid the path of them separately before they were forced to work together to overcome the different strategies used against them. Similar to then those Kaji faced were more of a hands on in-your-face sorts while Alkaid was forced to deal with slightly overwhelming numbers at once. Although the situation was different here then there, their technique still worked rather well. The fire bender shrugged in response. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to do again..." he calmly replied. The two waited until the bell was rung and the fight announced to begin. Both fighters forced the noise of the crowd out of their minds, as it was nothing more then a distraction. The fire bender wasn't surprised to see the two appeared to immediately work on closing the gap, after all more then likely Kiril had told Zeno of his preferred range fighting. It was soon clear to the fire bender who was going after who exactly. 'Hopefully they've both learned to expect the unexpected then...If he thinks muscling in close range will work any better on me then it had for Alkaid, he's another thing coming' It wasn't Kaji who made the first counter move to hinder the two younger benders progress towards them, but Alkaid. Sand pillars that were hardened began to sprout up, to disrupt their running and attack pattern first and force them to either dodge or risk the damage of running through them for an attack. Either way their exit would be greeted with the cherry red of Kaji's lower temperature fire as it shot out around the two sides of the pillar as well as at it directly. Neither guard budged from their position next to the other. Instead their gazes seemed locked on seeing how the two would move. When the water and young earth bender attacked with bending moves, Alkaid surprisingly focused on the earth bending, to either cease it, destroy it or attempt to turn the attack back at Zeno, while Kaji focused more on keeping the water at bay with a few of his blue fire arrows, as the heat was turned up slightly to evaporate the water when dodging wasn't an option. This of course soon changed as Kiril's face and appearance became clear to Alkaid. A rage washed over the earth bender and he didn't hesitate to lash out. He didn't care about stopping the earth bending that occasionally came out him now, much to Kaji's slight irritation. 'You're losing sight of the objective Alkaid...' the fire bender thought as he now defended both himself and his partnered earth bender from the elemental attacks. Occasionally it seemed the earth bender remembered Kaji's presence, twisting his hand towards him, as if he were relying on the spike he still thought embedded in the fire bender would force the red haired male to move to his benefit. To avoid having another's furious attacks trained on him the golden gaze kept careful watch on Alkaid's movements, moving slightly different at times, when he saw the hand move in his direction. Unfortunately this required him to stay somewhat close and in range of the enraged earth bender's attacks as well, some of which hit a mark that it hadn't been directed towards. Despite it the fire bender would attempt to use it to his advantage. If Zeno wanted a close range battle then he would definitely be getting one. --------- The girl's watched as the other two were then announced, noting the differences in the cheers then the guards had, had. The chanting of the two younger bender names caused Heather to shout out Kaji's although her voice was easily drowned out. She would still root for Kiril and Zeno as well, as she wished all three good luck mentally and asked a blessing be placed on the three males. The only one however that didn't gain the water bender's support or blessing was Alkaid. They didn't have to wait long before the fight was announced to begin and almost immediately elements were called out. Heather recognized Kaji and Alkaid's technique from a campaign long since passed. 'He's actually going to work with Kaji?' she mentally asked herself, surprised that the earth bender would willingly assist the fire bender. There had to be a trick...Soon enough though the thought of the two actually working together throughout the fight vanished as Alkaid began to launch his attacks only at Kiril while Kaji attempted to defend them both. 'He's going to burn out quickly if Alkaid doesn't shape up and stop being idiotic' Heather thought with worry and winced as a few attacks did manage to scrape the fire bender. Sylph occasionally glanced over at Heather, seeing the clear worry in her eyes. "It'll be ok, I'm sure all three of them will make it out of this alive" she said trying to reassure the green eyed woman, while hoping herself the words were true as well. Both girls had been shocked at the announcement of possible death, despite Heather's knowing of the no ref rule. (I'll wait until he talks to Kaji then. XD And woot. XD I also wasn't sure if Zeno was fighting close range at the moment with Kaji since you put so it seemed in your post. I'll go a bit more in depth though next time. [sweat]) |
(Works for me! I didn't have him immediately in his face in order to give your characters a chance to at least react. I felt like it would be rude not to. . . [sweat]) As soon as the younger benders launched their attack, Alkaid placed stone pillars in front of them to hinder their paths. Zeno acted as if the pillars weren't even there and simply shattered them with his own bending and threw them at Kaji as he closed the gap while blocking the few attacks Alkaid sent his way. Kiril just weaved through them in an irregular pattern so that the earthbender couldn't get a clean target on him at any point, making this either a waiting game or guessing game. He easily parried Kaji's flaming arrows by diverting them with his own water shots. The waterbender looked as if he could sense them coming -since he didn't bother to look at any of them- but he could feel their heat. Blue flames were much hotter than red. Both fighters had completely blocked out the noise from the crowd. Something neither usually bothered to do, but this fight was different. Then it happened. Alkaid remembered Kiril and the waterbender smirked with a dangerous gleam in his eye. The plan was working. Kaji was trying to defend the rampant earthbender from the occasional random attack from Zeno. But to Zeno's surprise and glee, Kaji seemed poised for close combat. Not that it was to his advantage, but it would make his job that much easier. By this time Kira and Alkaid were within close combat range and a savage exchange erupted. The waterbender used the earthbender's momentum to disrupt his attacks and to counter with the swiftness of a viper striking at it's prey. Of course his attacks were much stronger than they had been years ago when they'd first encountered one another and so was Alkaid's, but he entire style had been generated for the man standing in front of him. That didn't mean that he had evolved and made it useful for any situation, but right now, everything -every ounce of willpower and physical- was focused on killing his target. He faster and more fluidly than he had in his fight with Zeno -both because he had to and because he was stronger now- and he incorperated all manner of bending skills into his attacks. He used ice on top of his fists or feet when he countered, he used water and a thick mist to disrupt Alkaid's timing and moment. He even used ice to disrupt the earthbender's footing, but in everything he did, he held back just a little. He was taunting the green haired bender into an uncontrollable fury. He needed to. It would provide him with both a moral reason for what he planned and an excuse. Zeno was elated when he had finally gotten close enough to use his gentle fist style (ripped straight from naruto lol). As soon as he was within range, he did exactly as Kiril had instructed and attacked with both his fist and earthbending. All the while he gathered the grains of sand from the earthbending attacks on his body and used them as a form of defense. Hardening them into a stone armor in the places he was attacked and then releasing them afterwards. It took immense concentration but he'd worked so hard at it over these past few weeks in his spare time that he was good enough to use it for fifteen minutes or so if he kept his concentration. After that the technique was useless. He'd really wanted to create a rock armor but found that it was nearly impossible because it was too bulky to maintain. It was sad once he'd given it up, but then he thought up this idea and it was useful and it worked. He had to go practice with an old friend at the Arena to really hone the sliding sand armor and he'd gotten a good lick every so often but eventually he got good at it. It was far from being mastered but it would provide him with a little extra protection for this fight. ------- Tyr watched the fight with eagle like vision able to see the flow of combat with ease. A natural talent of his and one that made him a frightful person to fight. He smirked with mild satisfaction watching the waterbender's plan come into fruition. Nothing guaranteed that it would work but the firebender thought he looked like he was both confident and hopeful. Not a bad pair of emotions to wield. Just not his emotion of choice on the battlefield. What will the feral earthbender do I wonder? His eyes shifted over to Kaji and Zeno. This fight wasn't going to be nearly as interesting. The level of experience and talent between the two was too large. Kaji wasn't even using his full strength nor did it look like he intended to if he planned to fight in hand to hand combat with the sandy haired bender. It brought a ping of sadness through the islander to realize that but maybe he could see something interesting if the waterbender triumphed against Alkaid. It would make for an interesting ending to the fight to say the least. |
The fire bender calmly watched as his flames were dodged or countered, along with Alkaid's pillars. Seeing bits of earth coming at him didn't phase the calm fighter in the least as he switched his flames between a dull and cherry red to either divert the path or to simply burn through, depending on how exact he chose to aim, with a few fire arrows. Seeing the young earth bender indeed come within close range and see a gleeful look in the bender's eyes, Kaji couldn't help but chuckle. 'Always the same no matter the person it seems...' he thought with a slight shake of his head.
It was easy enough to deal with the sandy brown haired fighter's punches, after all his close combat style was one that pitted the strength of his opponent against themselves by using the natural speed, momentum and power that was thrown into them, dodging to the outside of attacks in most cases to pull his opponent off balance in the direction that their attack was aimed. It didn't have quite as much power as others that, if the red haired guard had focused more on his physical strength like most fire benders, other techniques had but it served its purposes and it suited him best. Sand was easy enough to counter, after all after a certain temperature it could be melted into glass, with a few of his hotter blue flames that varied in different degrees. He was careful enough however that he wouldn't seriously harm the boy as he aimed more for the sandy earth rather then Zeno himself. Kaji knew, just as most fire benders, that one wrong move on either his or the earth bender's part, could result in serious injury. His attention was split, as he could see the growing rage of his battle partner as the tousle between him and his younger brother continued, putting the fire bender slightly on edge. 'Careful...' It wasn't a thought that was entirely aimed at Kiril's safety, after all he trusted his brother enough that he would have the sense to back off, although as he saw the killing intent on his brother's face and the growing one on Alkaid he couldn't help but slightly second guess that. He knew first hand if the earth bender got too far in his fit of rage not only would their lives be endangered but even that of the crowd, after all a glass covering over the arena wasn't exactly the best protection against an unrestrained earthquake. Of course choosing to fight Zeno at close range would turn out to be the best bet, since he could then use and focus his range on interjecting between Alkaid and Kiril if things began to spiral out of control. Occasionally Kaji was forced to move himself and Zeno away from the two fiercely fighting benders, using a flame to move the earth bender where he needed and counter any flying debris shot at them. Although his flames would occasionally turn to a shade of blue, they never once held the sign of turning to his more deadlier and hotter white. Kiril was right on at least one thing, Kaji had no intention of using his more dangerous flames in this fight unless he was absolutely pushed to, such as if Alkaid went too far out of control. He wouldn't think twice of attacking his partner, after all he was certain the earth bender felt the same way. They had started out working somewhat together, but now it turned more into Kaji doing more of the defense then Alkaid. Mainly for the sake of appearance and for an excuse to go down when the time came, Kaji allowed a few of Zeno's hits to pass through, although at the same time he never allowed a completely clean hit. He had to make it look at least convincing to the crowd and hopefully to the young earth bender, although he knew that fooling Kiril into believing it would but close to impossible, not when he still wore his limiter and held back on his flames that he knew his brother knew better then Zeno. Then again he wasn't entirely sure how much Kira had told the earth bender to expect. He dodged to the outside of a sandy punch, blocking with his wrist to establish contact before switching his hand from being close fisted to open and risking a grab at the arm, he pulled to throw the earth bender off balance, and also to move him out of the way at the same time as a relatively large jagged rock came sailing their way. ---------- Sylph's attention continuously switched between watching Kiril and Alkaid going at it in a furious fashion, and the slightly more laid back looking battle of Zeno and Kaji, at least in her opinion. "Is it just me or does there seem to be a difference between the two?" she leaned over and asked in a whisper towards Heather. The water bender nodded. "Mhm. Alkaid's not holding back quite as much as Kaji is right now. I think he's keeping an eye on Alkaid more then on his own fight. It's almost like watching him train the new recruits more then a high stakes battle..." the auburn haired one answered with a nod. She had seen Kaji and Alkaid fight many a times and the fire bender had never been as laid back as he seemed at the moment, seeming more satisfied with more simplistic countering measures then what he had ever used with Alkaid. She figured it wouldn't truly get serious until either Alkaid or Kiril fell out of the fight. |
Kiril didn't think for a minute that Zeno was actually doing what he'd asked of him. He knew that fight would go as Kaji intended for it to. It was annoying to think about but it was the fact of the matter. All his attention right now was being poured over the rabid earthbender Alkaid at the moment. The male's dark forest colored hair was swaying wildly with his attacks and with him having to adjust and reset himself so often. It would've been comical if it was any person other than the man before him. Alkaid was livid at this point, but he was struggling. He couldn't get himself going into a rhythm to attack Kiril effectively and that was oil that fuled his fire over anything else. A while back he'd remembered Kiril's face. That white hair was unforgetable, but the last time that they'd met, the waterbender was no where near this level of capability. It was like he knew what he was thinking to do before he did it. Whenever he got ready to stomp or do anything withi his earthbending, Kiril countered him by throwing ice at his feet causing him to lose balance or striking him with water in a such a whip-like fashion that it disrupted his bending. The fact that he'd been reduced to simple hand to hand combat and was being made to look foolish by a lowlife whom he'd nearly killed several years ago, infuriated the burly man. Kiril on the other hand was as calm as ever. The only thing out of the ordinary about him was his unusual focus and the look in his eye. Normally he didn't concentrate so purely on what he was doing in a match -because he didn't have to- but he knew that if he made one slight mistake and missed his opportunity, that Alkaid could nearly destroy this Arena with a counter that would likely take all of the benders to hold at bay. The biggest benefit to Kiril's style was that it allowed him to use a minimal amount of his own energy while overexerting his opponent. Alkaid was panting. Hard. He looked like he was nearly exhausted which meant that it was almost time. The silvery eyed waterbender expected there to be a certain amount of ingrown discipline within Alkaid's technique because he was an Imperial Guard. And no matter what anybody thought, there was. His fighting was clean, just so explosively powerful it seemed barbaric. That was obvious. The thing that Kira was counting on was natural instinct running its course. When people get tired, they get sloppy. It was a harsh fact that plagued any person that had attempted to push their limits. It was the reason stamina training was so important. The fight went exactly as the silver maned bender intended and Alkaid was furious. The two of them moved swiftly and the exchange looked vicious with most of Kiril's counters coming from waterbending, but anyone who'd watched close enough could see that Alkaid wasn't using his bending. An untrained eye would thing he wasn't but a trained eye would notice that he couldn't. After the exchange had went on long enough for the large brawny bender to be drawing ragged breaths Kiril smiled and it happened. All of a sudden, Alkaid's body snapped unnaturally straight -lifted several feet off the ground- while the waterbender held his hand's in front of him looking as though he was grasping his opponent with a psychic like grip. Kiril then made a few aggressive hand gestures and every time that he did, something snapped with a bone-chilling crack and Alkaid's body seemed to convulse in unnatural ways while the bender screamed in agony. Satisfaction was on the waterbender's face as he made his final hand gestures that induced several other breaking sounds before Alkaid's body fell to the floor limp. The crowd was silent as Kiril stretched turning his gaze to Kaji. The look in his eye was near crazed. The blood in his system was flowing rapidly from the pounding in his heart. Alkaid was likely dead. If not, he was damn close. Kiril had caused the earthbender to have a massive heart-attack there at the end as he collapsed his ribcage. There was a possibility that he survived that, but it would be slim. The waterbender had no intention of helping his partner at this point. He knew Kaji would beat him. He was waiting for his brother to turn and face him. ------- The firebender was stunned. Bloodbending was a skill that few were able to learn -the rarest bending ability- and even fewer were willing to use. He had foreseen the tactics that Kiril had used and thought they were a means to an end. Just not this end. That man is more fearsome than he thought, and on top of that, he'd only been sweating enough to have warmed his body up. He was still fresh. Smiling in spite of himself, Altyre was impressed. Truly impressed. He hadn't thought that Einheit would be a place that he would stay for long, but maybe he would stick around for a while. There was now two extraordinary benders here, and he craved to test the both of them. Bloodbending was a terrifying more terrifying technique than people could image. He'd only seen one other bloodbender in action and he wasn't as good as this Kiril guy. His eyes shifted over to Kaji and Zeno who seemed to be happily playing patty-cake with one another. Zeno was trying his best but Kaji was simply on a whole different level. Kiril was waiting on the firebender to finish. The whole fight had went as Kiril willed it to go. He seemed to be a more than capable strategist. As he and Alkaid fought, Kaji hadn't done much in the way of helping the earthbender, not that anyone would, but it had lead to this moment. On top of that Tyr had this gut feeling that Kiril was still holding back. Of course Kaji naturally was, but that was the exciting part about all of this. So what shall you do Kaji? Your opponent is stronger than you thought. ------- The announcer had been commentating on the match thus far but was now as speechless as the crowd. ". . . . ." "Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm not sure what has just happened but I think we may have just witnessed the legendary bloodbending in action!" "Alkaid looks to be either dead or completely incapacitated so the match is now two on one with the Arena fighters holding the advantage!" |
Kaji's attention slowly wavered from Alkaid and Kiril, as for the time being the wild earth bender was being kept at bay, and focused only slightly more on the battle between himself and Zeno. Personally he felt no real need to fight the boy, this was merely to be a show and nothing more. He figured soon enough he would allow himself to fall and make a 'mistake' to be convincing enough to be deemed a defeat.
The young earth bender before him enthusiastically tried his best to fight against the fire bender and hold his attention. At times it seemed as if the plan was working, however it wasn't long before the red haired bender seemed to take a glance at the other two. It was turning into a brutal show of power between the water and earth bender and the crowd was eating it alive. Not wanting to be shown up he gave another attempt to draw out more power and attention from Kaji as he threw a sandy fist towards the fire bender. Naturally the fire bender dodged, however this time he attempted to disrupt the ground beneath the bender's feet and followed up with a side kick aimed for the chest. It wasn't exactly something Kaji had been expecting, and for a brief moment his attention was taken away from the other two completely to regain his balance as the earth below him shifted. He only had a few moments then to realize a kick was coming his way, giving him practically no time to dodge and he wasn't exactly in a quick enough position to block. Instead he chose to relax his body as the kick connected, the force behind it started to push him back and would have sent him flying, however he quickly released his cherry red flames behind him to slow himself and keep on his feet. 'Perhaps this won't be a waste, it seems he's starting to pick up on my movements now. I guess I better stop completely toying around now' he thought with a shake of his head. Zeno, excited that he had gained a full hit on the fire bender, eagerly ran to again close the distance. Just when he thought he'd be able to close the gap a sudden and large burst of dark red flames from the fire bender's fist shot at him. He quickly darted to the side, turning his gaze for only a moment to make sure no part of him was in the path to be barbecued. It had been the fire bender's intent as he took the few moments to propel himself away into the air quickly with the assistance of his flames. Kaji knew that being airborne for an extended period of time would eventually drain away his energy, after all for an element not really designed originally for flight it took a great deal of concentration to maintain, and he could use that to his advantage. It would look like a legitimate enough defeat that way he figured, however that didn't mean that he would only remain in the air. In a matter of seconds the air around him was filled with the same fire that was lit beneath him and keeping him in the air as me moved. He could see his sudden disappearance had briefly confused the young earth bender below him as he seemed to search around frantically for signs of the fire bender, before his searching gaze led him to the domed sky. It was only then that Kaji released his shower of arrows as they fell rapidly around and at the boy. Thinking quickly as a concentrated rain of fire began to rain down on him, Zeno gathered the sands that swirled around his arms and legs as well as laid beneath his feet, and constructed a crude shield that he hoped would be strong enough to last against the flames as they came down rapidly and heavily. He could see around his shield that mixture of dark and light blue flames fell around him, that didn't seem particularly aimed at him but rather the ground, causing a frown of confusion. The flames that licked at his shield were the dull red ones Kaji had been firing against him when the fight shifted to close combat. The blue ones would clearly be more destructive and effective against the shield instead of the red ones so why was he... A crackle above was suddenly heard as he risked a quick peak. Kaji was making strange motions with his hands that didn't have flames following after, instead intense streaks of whitish-blue light followed his fingers. Lighting! Kaji was summoning lighting! Quickly Zeno attempted to gather the sands, however he frowned as his calling wasn't exactly calling forth very much. Glancing towards the ground he came to realize why. The blue flames he had assumed were nothing had melted the sands around him, creating a thick glassy covering, trapping the earth beneath it. He tried again to call it forth, attempting to put more power behind it to break through however by the time he had managed to semi-succeed the roar of the lightning surrounded him as it mercilessly hit the crude shield he had created for the flames. Kaji had planned out the attack carefully that he figured would be showy enough for the crowd and still serve a slightly educational purpose for Zeno. He hadn't originally intended to use his lightning, after all the time it required to conjure it and become its conductor was simply too much of a hassle for a fight like this. Still Zeno had shown a determination that decided Kaji otherwise. He knew trapping the earth by using the sands and turning it to glass would help stall either a counter attack or give him the materials needed to repair his shield. Knowing this the fire bender was careful where he aimed the shot once it was ready, hitting it just enough that it would break the shield but barely miss the flesh, although the electrical current around the strike would at least help stun the boy for a few moments so he could full assess how the fight between his brother and Alkaid was going, and if he needed to interject. This course meant that he was required for a brief time to take his entire attention off the other two. It was almost immediate after the lightning struck that the sound of pained yells and screams reached his ears. Turning his gaze quickly, least it was his brother, he was surprised to find the source came from Alkaid. He watched with shock as Kiril viciously dispatched of the muscled earth bender, lowering himself to the ground carefully in the process. As the large body slumped of his 'partner' slumped to the ground in a heap, his golden gaze carefully switched to it. It appeared the man was dead, however the fire bender caught a very very faint trace of the shaky rise and fall of the large male's back. 'He's still breathing but barely...' The announcement reached his ears as it mentioned blood bending. What would possess Kiril to use such a thing? His gaze slowly switched and locked with his brother's and wasn't exactly pleased with the look in his eyes. Behind him he could hear the younger earth bender behind him. Out of the corner of his eye he had seen that his lightning blast had managed to knock the male off his feet and he was now getting up, coughing a bit. A dark sooty scorch mark stained the shattered pieced of glass and earth below it just a bit under where the edge of the now shattered earthen shield remained. He had no doubt that there would be a few blacked streaks of soot on the male, but overall he should be relatively unharmed. A bit unsettled by his brother's choice of attack Kaji calmly closed his eyes. At first a sudden burst of bluish-white flames surrounded and circled him, seeming as if he would simply continue the fight. Opening his eyes he glanced again towards the older earthen male, before the flames completely vanished. "Enough" he calmly stated in the silence of the crowd. It wasn't exactly how he planned things to go, however given the situation a surrender would be the best bet if there was a chance to save the incapacitated earth bender's life. At this time Zeno had gotten to his feet. Seeing the flames he summoned a few solid bits of earth that he was about to shoot towards Kaji but stopped as the fire bender spoke. "Wait what? But the fight's not over..." "Yes it is. I'm forfeiting, so the match is going to you two" Kaji stated simply, casting his gaze towards Zeno briefly before glancing towards the announcer speaker. 'It seems...Kaji is surrendering? I'm not sure that's entirely with the rules...' The fire bender didn't entirely care whether or not the announcer would call the match at an end officially. Instead his legs simply carried him towards the fallen earth bender, though his gaze again briefly locked with Kiril's. "A bit overboard" he quietly whispered before squatting down and assessing if the bender was even still alive. 'Barely...' he thought calmly as he gazed on with no real sympathy for the bender, before deciding the best way to transport him. He wasn't exactly exhausted, as his warm ups were a bit more intense then the toying around he had done with Zeno. The light sheen of sweat that glistened on his skin was entirely due to the heat of his flames and harboring the lightning. Glancing towards the area he and Alkaid had entered from he could see the arena paramedics waiting hesitantly there. With a slight wave of his hand he signaled for them to come over and rather quickly. They again hesitated, however as Kaji gave them one of his calm but slightly threatening stares they quickly went to follow with the request. --------- Sylph and Heather watched on excitedly as the fight progressed. They could see the aggression level of the fight between Kiril and Alkaid steadily rise, while Kaji's remained at a lower level for a bit longer. The growing aggression from the older earth bender concerned Heather, but she knew Kaji was more then likely keeping check and watching carefully. At first that thought was supported as the fire bender received a kick from Zeno that connected, but soon vanished as Kaji launched himself into the air. She and Sylph watched as first they were treated to a rain of arrows followed by the accompaniment of lightning. 'Zeno fell for Kaji's trap and stayed there. Tsk tsk didn't he teach that boy anything about fire benders as well?' The attention of the girls were soon caught by the sound of a blood curdling scream and gasped at what they saw. Sylph's eyes widened considerably as she realized it was the man Kira had been fighting that had screamed in pain. She winced and closed her eyes tightly as the man screamed again and the sound of cracking bones echoed around the now silent arena. Beside her Heather gasped in slight horror. The announcer proclaimed it blood bending, and Heather knew it to be true. Personally as a water bender she preferred not to dabble in the dangerous bending, after all one wrong move and it could prove disastrous. When the fire blazed around Kaji soon after surprise and horror filled her. He wouldn't dare risk continuing would he? Relief seemed to fill her though as the fires soon vanished and the fire bender announced his forfeit. She stood as the paramedics of the arena came out at Kaji's beckoning. "I have to go" she said quietly, looking apologetic at Sylph. As much as she hated the idea she knew she would have to go down there and try to save the bender's life, if only for the soul fact that Kaji was choosing to. 'Not that there's much of a choice there...' she thought bitterly before catching the understanding nod from Sylph and rushed to get to the infirmary, where she figured Kaji would be heading to accompany the paramedics, whether or not the announcer decided the match to end or not. A part of her worried about whether or not either Kiril would allow it, after all the look he had held was a bit unsettling. |
Zeno had been so caught up in his attack against Kaji that he didn't even hear or notice Alkaid in his pitiable state until Kaji had called for the paramedics. A look of horror was readily visible in his eyes. Alkaid was lying there with several openly broken bones and he looked dead. The firebender had said that he wasn't, but he nearly was. He glanced over at Kiril who looked rather calm now, but he guessed he probably hadn't looked that way a while ago. Kiril's eyes narrowed as Kaji called the match. If they'd intended to lose either way the least he could've done was entertain him for a while. Besides, he wanted to see if he had closed the gap between them. Yet, his brother had elected to save the dying man. Taking a deep breath and returning to his usual calm, Kiril turned and left the Arena when the paramedics arrived. Naturally, he had the ability to heal the earthbender but he wouldn't do it. They would take him to the infirmary where the doctor would do her best to patch him up, but without surgery he would probably die within the hour. Zeno watched Kiril leave and felt the urge to chase him but couldn't. He couldn't even move. His body was still numb from shock. He had known from the beginning of the match that death was a possibility but he didn't think that Kiril would be the one to nearly kill someone. He didn't think any of them would. It was a frightening thought. One that left him feeling weak and ready to vomit right now. Falling to his knees, the boy realized his body was trembling. It was just now occurring to him that, he and Alkaid could've been in completely different positions had the fight gone another way. Instead of going back to the team locker room Kiril decided to head back to his personal room which was on the other side of the Arena but since everyone was still in their seats -likely from shock- he had plenty of time to make it there. But what he saw when he arrived shocked him. It was a foreigner. He'd never seen him before and his dress was. . . odd. "Who are you." "Someone who's taken an interest in you." "You've taken an interest in me?" "That is what I said, isn't it?" Kiril's face curled into a snarl but his voice remained calm, he didn't have the time nor patience for this right now. "Move sir." Altyre stood there leaned against the door with his arms folded across his chest. "Please, move," Kira requested again. This time Kiril lunged forward but the dark skinned male grabbed him by the throat so fast that his eyes couldn't react. The look in his eye was like that of a caged beast. The waterbender struggled to free himself but the more he struggled, the more air he lost and weaker he got. When he finally stopped struggling -and was near the point of passing out- the crimson eyed male released his grip on him, "I simply came to size you up for myself, but it seems you're not anything special. Aside from your lethal techniques that is." Kiril coughed as he placed a hand around his throat trying to catch his breath. Then he locked eyes with the larger male's brilliant red gaze and suddenly felt a wave of excitement come over him. He grinned instinctively. "So you think you're strong huh?" Altyre smiled and shook his head, "No." Rising to his feet, Kiril noticed that the male was slightly taller than him. Likely around six feet tall, when he himself was barely five foot ten. Though they had similar build's -both were made lean and not bulky- the dark skinned man was even more muscular than he was. "You're a firebender," he announced which garnered the raise of the male's eyebrow. "Perceptive of you. I am," he replied. Kiril shook his head in irony, "I hate firebenders," he admitted semi-jokingly. "What's your name?" "Altyre." "I'll remember it. Now may I have some time to myself, Altyre?" It was then that the firebender moved aside watching as the waterbender entered into his domain in silence. He had the look of a man with a heavy heart. You didn't really want to kill him? Then Tyr took his leave and went to locate the infirmary. His next target would be there. |
The fire bender assisted in help the paramedics hoist Alkaid onto the stretcher that was brought with them before calmly following them. Although Kaji had gone to escort the paramedics, and the critically injured Alkaid, he soon allowed himself to fall slightly behind. He hadn't glanced back at his brother when he left the arena, mainly due to the fact that once the earth bender was on the stretcher they had to move relatively fast if they had any hope of saving his life. 'Not that you entirely deserve it...' he calmly thought as his pace slowed more though his golden gaze continued watching after them until they disappeared out of sight.
Even if he could no longer see them he still calmly made his way to the infirmary, but found himself stopped before arriving by the woman who organized this whole mess. "You shouldn't have simply called the fight Kaji, just paused it. Actually what you should have done was defended your partner rather then putz and toy around like you were with that boy! You should already know if Alkaid dies-" Rahmiria began with a glare in her eyes. "I know. I do not need to be lectured nor reminded the consequences of not taking care of the lives of my subordinates. That was all the more reason I chose to end the fight. You ordered us to lose anyways, what difference does it make how it went about? We still lost and thus orders were still followed. If anything you should be grateful that Alkaid was put down before he caused any destruction. Now if you'll kindly excuse me council woman. I think perhaps you should be on your way as well" the guard swiftly countered, interrupting the woman with a sharp look in his own eyes. He didn't like being threatened in such a way, especially when he knew what was at stake at the moment. The woman stopped and opened her mouth to reply, but Kaji simply continued on, ignoring anything further she had to say. --------- When Kaji finally did manage to make it to the infirmary he was surprised to see Heather there waiting outside. Her gaze was directed down and she had the look of exhaustion on her face. "Dare I ask?" the fire bender quietly asked as he attempted to catch the water bender's gaze. "Kaji! I was worried when you didn't arrive here with him...I thought perhaps something happened" the woman replied, lifting her face and gaze to meet his. She hadn't been concerned in the least for Alkaid's well being, although she had been asked to assist with the healing. It was a bit draining for the small woman, but she managed. "They're preparing to move him from here, said something about taking him to a proper facility to treat him there." she explained, knowing the fire bender would want to know what was going on for various reasons. Kaji offered a small reassuring smile and patted her shoulder, knowing simply from her look that she had tried to help out as best she could. "You look as if you were the one who fought just now...By the way where's Sylph? I thought she would be with you" the fire bender asked quietly, deciding for now to change the subject. Neither really felt sympathy for the guard earth bender, in fact it probably would have been better if Kaji had simply let him die, but then again there were consequences that the fire bender wasn't too eager about either. Heather nodded her head in the direction that she had come from in the stands. "I left her there but I should probably go find her...Kiril and Zeno too. When I left Zeno looked pretty shaken up, I'm sure Sylph will probably be making her way to their locker room. In fact she may be doing so even as we speak" the clear green eyed woman answered before moving from her place. In actuality she wanted to really make sure that Kaji was alright, but from the looks of it he wasn't harmed, and she knew that he'd be sending her off soon anyways. The fire bender gently nodded his head in understanding as his golden eyes followed the female as she moved away and began to make her way towards the locker rooms, deciding that to be the first place she would look. Once she was out of sigh he calmly stationed himself against the wall connecting to the entrance. He had no desire to go in, after all he didn't particularly like the earth bender, and if they were preparing to move him he'd see him anyways soon enough. Leaning his head back he allowed his eyes to slide close as his arms loosely crossed over his chest. He had a feeling it was going to be a rather stressful next couple of hours. --------------- Heather had been mostly right with her guess as to where Sylph was. Shortly after Kiril and Kaji left the arena and Heather left the stands, Sylph got up to move herself. She gaze worriedly at the seemingly frozen Zeno and figured it probably had to do with the shock of the events that just occurred. The air bender was still rather shocked herself as a feeling of unease swelled within her. She wished she could have somehow gotten the young earth bender's attention, however with the glass dome covering and the crowds of people that was close to impossible. Instead she worked on moving before the rest of the crowd came out of their stupor and managed to get out of the stands. Only one problem remained now though, she found herself lost yet again. 'I should have really paid attention to where we were going when Heather was here...' the light blue eyed female thought with a sigh. Right now she needed to see if her friends were alright, especially Zeno. Out of all the fighters he had seemed the most shaken up at the event, but then again she recalled that he hadn't thought Alkaid was that bad of a guy to begin with like the others had. She continued to wander around sighing and mentally scolding herself. 'What kind of air bender are you if you can't even find your way around here huh? I mean seriously it's not that big of a place so come on Sylph find that room!' she mentally scolded herself, setting a determined look in her eye. 'Let's see maybe Kira or Kaji are already in their rooms...Maybe Heather even found them and is with them now...I know!' she thought as the side of one fisted hand came down into her open palm as an idea flashed through her mind. "Kira?...Kaji?...Heather?" she called, using her air bending to try and carry her voice a bit further. If she used the air just right she figured she would be able to hear them, or at least they could hear her. |
After a while Zeno managed to make his way back to their team locker room but when he got there he was surprised to see that Kiril wasn't. Did he already leave? Not likely but possible. Walking over to the one long bench in the room he laid down on it closing his eyes. The object of death was a terrifying subject to him and he was too young to have to worry about it. Or so he felt. In his head he went over the events that had taken place, from how the fight had started to how things had seemed to be going his way. It was only then that he'd realized things were going as Kaji had wanted them to. Nothing had went the way he'd hoped for. It was frustrating. All this time he spent training to defend himself from Alkaid and the person who he was training with was the person he should've been training for. A minor thought but true nonetheless. Even though they had technically won, this didn't feel like a victory. His chest swelled up with frustration and he could feel the liquid gathering in his eyes and instinctively he covered his face with his arm and laid there in silence. ------- Kiril sat down on his cushioned chair and closed his eyes. He was tired. Not physically fatigued but mentally and emotionally. Something was eating at him and the waterbender was dreading the scolding Kaji would give him later. Not that he cared, he'd wanted to kill Alkaid. Or so he thought. When it came down to it, he had just tried but for some reason held back. Even though that man had tried to kill him on a separate occasion. It was infuriating. And shameful. Sighing loudly, waves of sleep pounded his head like the waves of the sea crashing against a cliff. He didn't want to think anymore, though he knew there were certain things he'd have to figure out sooner rather than later. He still wanted to know exactly who this Altyre guy was and where he'd come from. He was definitely strong though he said he didn't think he was. And on top of that he was a firebender just like Kaji. Though there was something odd about the look in his eyes. They were detached as if he'd lost so much in his life or as if he'd lived several lifetimes in that young body. It didn't matter. He could find out later. Right now, he just wanted to sleep. . . ------- The islander roamed the halls of the Arena as if he'd been there before even though he never had. As he was walking his hair fluttered against a familiar breeze carrying a voice that he recognized. His trademark sly grin marking his features as he continued around the bend to lay eyes on Nova's little sister Sylph. She and him were only a year apart in age and Nova was five years older than he, but they had met long ago after his home island had been attacked and he was a refugee in Beridt, the neighboring country. "Sylph," he called with his heavy island accent. He gave her a two fingered salute when she turned his way. |
Kaji didn't bother going with the crew that wheeled out a still rather broken and bloodied Alkaid as they went to move him to a better location. The golden eyes of the fire bender only flashed open for a few moments, catching sight of the bulky male, before calmly closing them again. Shortly after the arena's doctor wearily came out of the infirmary sighing. "Think he'll live?" the red haired guard calmly asked, not really budging nor holding any real interest in his voice.
The woman jumped a bit as Kaji spoke, not expecting him to be there. "If they work on him in time then he'll be fine...What about you? I know you were fighting, I should check you over too" the doctor said, glancing over the male and not seeing any noticeable injury, but then appearances could be deceiving. "I'm fine I assure you. I really only wanted to know if he'd live or not, that's all. Although you wouldn't mind if I remain here would you? Quite honestly I don't really feel like returning to the locker rooms, nor dealing with the crowds at the moment." the golden eyed male asked with a sigh. The doctor shook her head, causing her golden curly hair to bounce with the movement. "You're welcomed to remain here for as long as you like then" the woman replied before again sighing and strolling off to take a much needed break. Kaji's eyes calmly closed again as the woman left, letting himself relax a bit. ---------------- Heather made her way slowly to the team locker rooms. Instinctively she first knocked on the room Kaji and Alkaid had been designated. She chuckled at herself and shook her head, knowing no one was in the room. The fire bender was at the infirmary and she knew that. Turning on her heels she strolled across the hall. She had thought for a moment she heard a voice, and only a moment before she could have sworn she heard someone enter Kiril and Zeno's room and figured it was probably one of the two. Peering in she noticed it was surprisingly the earth bender. Lightly she knocked on the frame of the door to announce that she was there. "Zeno? Are you alright?" she quietly called. She had recalled that he had been rather shaken up looking when she left. On top of that he had been fighting against Kaji previously, and while she was certain the fire bender didn't really hurt the male she still wanted to check him and Kiril over just to be sure. Considering that Kira was a water bender though she figured if he was harmed that he would take care of it himself. She was a bit surprised that the water bending male wasn't here with Zeno. ---------- Sylph waited, but heard no answer to her calls initially. She jumped suddenly as a different voice called out to her. She frowned at the sound of it as it didn't immediately register on who could possibly know her with such an accent. Slowly she turned to face the owner of the voice, chuckling nervously as what she saw was a strangely dressed male that at first she didn't recognize. 'Eeep...My brother always warned me about this. Strange men knowing my name and it doesn't appear either Heather, Kaji, Kira or Zeno are nearby...' she thought worriedly. Trying her best not to show her nervousness she gave a small wave to the male. It was then that she took the time to get a better idea of what she would now be up against. Her brows furrowed as she took in his appearance, noticing that he seemed somehow familiar. It was then her light blue eyes gazed upon a set she could recognize anywhere. "Tyre?" she called hesitantly, just in case it wasn't who she thought. |
Zeno was tired. He'd used up a good deal of his energy bending and Kaji had made sure to use his momentum against him. A thought that made him feel even stupider now that he realized it was virtually the same tactic that Kiril had used against him in the championship bout. As annoying as it was to start realizing things too late to change them, it was something he did all too often. Just as he was on the cusp of falling asleep a knock came at the door. It was Heather, he recognized her voice immediately. Zeno didn't bother to remove his arm from over his eyes because he knew that they were likely glazed and he didn't want her asking questions. Though he couldn't hide the weakness in his voice, "I'm fine, just tired. What are you doing here?" In truth, for once, he wasn't really sure that he cared. Nor did he think he wanted any company, but he wouldn't kick the woman out. She'd been far too kind to him up to this point for her to be treated in such a manner. ------- Tyr kept his mischevious grin going and gave a polite bow, "It's been a while love," he said softly. Closing the gap between them with his long stride he stopped and opened his arms wide, "What, I don't get a hug? Nova gave me a hug when I saw him," the firebender teased. It had probably been seven years since he'd seen the girl but she still wore that same hairpin and she had grown to be a really beautiful woman now. He was rather satisfied with how she had turned out. The tomboyish girl who tried to always keep up with her brother in the past had seemingly grown into a fine young woman before him now. Since it had been so long since they'd seen each other, he'd grown quite a bit too. Hitting a large growth spurt and packing on a ton of muscle in the process. That was what happened when you went through the things that he did though. He also had a scar over his right eye that hadn't been there all those years ago. "You look lost as always. Where you headed," he deduced immediately as he poked her cheek. Reminiscing about the times that they shared brought up a few of the only good memories he had of childhood. He'd had to grow up sooner than any child ever should. |
Heather was a bit surprised to hear the weakness in the boy's tone, but then again she figured it was to be expected. "I came to check on you and Kiril...Are you sure you're alright Zeno?" she asked, hesitating to enter since he didn't quite seem in the mood for company Her green gaze passed over the laying male, trying to see if she could make out any particular wounds.
As far as she could tell from the door way, he didn't appear too physical harmed. It seemed that Kaji had been very careful with his attacks. From his tone though she wondered if perhaps the fire bender had caused a different sort of wound. "I don't suppose you've seen Kiril around either have you?" the water bender inquired, giving the excuse to leave if he wished to be alone for awhile. ------------------ Sylph let out a sigh of relief as the male answered to her guess. A smile appeared on her face as she relaxed, now that she knew who this man was. "Of course!" she replied happily as she gladly gave her long time friend the hug he had mentioned. She hugged her friend tightly, her light colored eyes shone with clear happiness. "It's been quite a few years if I remember correctly. How have you been? You really grew tall so now I'm the shorter one no fair!" she playfully pouted before quietly giggling. She recalled when they were younger that she had been about the same height, though she swore she was taller by a whole centimeter. "You really bulked up too. I don't think you had all of these when I last saw you" she said poking Tyre's muscles playfully. As she finished her hug one pale hand came up to his eye, her slender and pale fingers traced what appeared to be a scar over one of his eyes. "This is relatively new too. I don't remember you having a scar" As he spoke next she couldn't help but let out a slightly hopeless sigh. "I was trying to find a few friends that I made here. Three of them were in the fight today and the other is a short, light haired water bender girl with rather clear green eyes that goes by the name of Heather. Unfortunately Heather went on ahead to check on them before me. I thought I'd be able to find them but as you guessed I got a little...lost" she replied with an embarrassed laugh. Her checks flushed a light pink at her confession as a hand messed with a few strands of her long light colored hair idly. "What about you? How'd you find your way here?" |
Hearing her answer, the boy wanted to nod but that would require moving his heavy arm and he didn't want to do that so he spoke instead, "Yeah I'm fine." The strength in his voice was coming back but not much of it. He could feel her gaze on him and he knew he probably looked like a pitiable sight but he wasn't in high enough spirits to even fake like he was his usual jovial self. When she asked about Kiril's whereabouts all he could do was shrug. He didn't have the slightest idea where he'd gone. He didn't understand that waterbender at all and it was frustrating at times. Just not right now. He knew he should be polite and offer her the chance to sit down if she wanted but he couldn't bring himself to. Part of him wanted to just be alone and sulk, the other part of him knew he should toughen up. "You don't have to stick around to keep me company, I'll be up and about in a little while." He tried his best to sound reassuring but wasn't so confident that he succeeded. ------- Tyr tapped his chin thinking about how long it had been, "I think it's been about seven years. A lot has happened since we were little kids running around chasing your brother," he remember with a hearty laugh. When she asked how he'd been, all the things that had happened since then rushed through his mind but he kept a smile on his face, "I been good I'd say. Somehow I'm still alive so that's a plus." Patting her on the head he added, "You had to know that we weren't gonna be the same height forever love," he teased as he ruffled her hair a bit. He flexed as she poked his muscles and they hardened almost to the point you'd think he was a metalbender, "Yeah well if I hadn't developed these, we might not be speaking here today," he said with a wink. Then as Sylph ran her fingers over his scar he took her hand lightly, "This isn't something your delicate fingers should touch," he told her gently. Not that he was ashamed of the scar, since it didn't do much to mar his appearance -rather than make him look slightly more intimidating when he had to- but he didn't want her worrying for him. Nova had regarded the scar with a grim smile. It was all he needed to say, though not a word was spoken. Altyre laughed at the girl knowing all to well how often this had happened in their youth, "You're still as clueless as ever when it comes to directions." Shaking his head, he took the girl's hand and started to lead her towards the infirmary, "I've already spoken with Kiril. You won't be able to speak with him," he told her solemnly. "I'm headed to see Kaji now, so you can be my escort." Smiling in his usual mischevious manner the two of them headed towards the infirmary. As they walked and she asked what he was doing here, the firebender seemed to regard her question for a moment before answering. "Well I went back to Bierdt for a visit not long ago. I met up with Nova, challenged him to a few duels and beat him up a few times then I heard about the match today." He paused momentarily to let the information sink in before continuing, "Since I'd heard some stories about Kaji I decided that I wanted to come check him out in person and although I was slightly disappointed that I didn't see anything interesting out of him, I did find someone else promising." There was no need to speak names, "Anyways, I was shocked by the outcome of today's match. The Arena fighters probably should've lost. The match was either rigged or the IG threw it for some reason." That was the thing that baffled him the most about all of this, but he'd have time to investigate when they reached Kaji. If he was willing to talk. Feeling that this was kind of morbid talk the islander quickly changed to subject to something more suitable, "So, I was thinking we should get married now. I want to have a family and kids before I die," he announced sounding and looking completely serious. |
Heather wasn't in the least convinced by the earth bender's words nor tone, making her hesitant on the idea of leaving him alone even more. "You don't sound alright, but for now I'll let it drop" she said, announcing with her words that she wasn't fooled in the least, not that he seemed to be trying to really mask anything. Taking up a pose similar to what perhaps Kaji would have typically done, she leaned against the door frame with her back, crossing her arms loosely over her chest. Were it not for her gender or short stature or even darker features she could have passed for the taller fire bender...well not really...
"You did good out there you know. Sylph and I were rather impressed with your display, you seemed really focused" she said, trying to lift the earth bender's spirits before Sylph saw the one she saw so similar to her brother in such a state. Knowing the air bender she would frantically be trying to figure out what she could do to assist the brown haired male. "If you wouldn't entirely mind it might be better to remain here. I sort of left Sylph on her own, but I'm certain she'll make it here...eventually..." A quiet laugh accompanied her words as she was well aware of just how hopeless the blue haired female was when it came to directions. She recalled at one point the air bender attempting to lead her, Kiril and Zeno to show where she was currently putting up residency in and had ended up wandering around lost for hours. In the end the water bender had to go and bug Kaji to get the address she was registered under, least they wandered around for the rest of the day and possibly night. --------------- Sylph's head lightly nodded in agreement, causing the light blue strands to dance around her face until she gently blew them away and tucked them back behind her ear. "Has it really only been that long? It feels like I haven't seen you in an eternity. I'm sure my brother was just as shocked to find the little boy that use to help me try and keep up with him and setting traps had grown up so much" Her hands batted playfully at his as her hair was tousled by his hand. "That may be, but I always thought I'd be the taller one" she playfully complained before letting out another light laugh. She had to admit she was rather impressed at how solid he was. "Alright alright you proved your point. You've got more then I do, I'm glad though" Her tone took on a softer sound, genuinely happy that the fire bender was there with her. Her other hand came up and lightly rested on top of his as he removed her hand from his scar. "You've had a relatively hard time..." affection in her tone as her eyes took on a look that wasn't pity but rather a more warm and comforting look, before getting a tinge of playfulness to them. "...which is all the more reason why you should have visited much sooner" As the subject changed briefly she threw her free hand dramatically over her forehead. "Oh yes so clueless. At least you're now here to save this damsel in distress" she teased with another laugh, however her hand slightly tightened in his as her eyes looked at him gratefully. Soon however a shadow of worry passed over her features. "Is he alright?" she asked, concerned for the water bender's state. Had Alkaid managed to harm him or maybe one of Kaji's flames got a little too close? "I've a feeling you'll be more of my escort then I yours Tyre" she said with an attempt at a light laugh, but now her mind was plagued with worry that she tried desperately to hide. She listened quietly as they walked towards the infirmary. At the mention of her brother, a playful pout once more crossed her face as she lightly 'punched' the fire bender in the arm. "Awww don't pick on my older brother. Last I heard our parents were trying to keep him as busy as possible so he wouldn't train as much to keep him out of trouble" She quietly listened further as he went on to explain his purpose for being here had been to check out Kaji's skills and to watch the fight. "It's a complicated situation for him" she quietly stated, leaving out the fact that Kiril was his brother, since she had promised to keep it a secret. "Who can say, although I don't think Alkaid was faking those injuries. From everything that I had heard from Kaji, Kiril and Heather he wasn't really a well liked guard so it is a bit surprising that Kaji would forfeit. Maybe he felt pity for him, though it's hard to say" she said with a shrug. It baffled her almost as much as it probably did most. She knew for a fact Kaji didn't like the dark haired earth bender. Perhaps he had expected Alkaid to knock out Kiril rather then being taken down by the water bender and that was the reason. She wasn't entirely sold on it, but then again she could always ask the guard. Shock and surprise soon chased away her thoughts completely regarding the match and Kaji's reasoning when Altyre suddenly brought up the prospect of marriage and kids. At first she thought the fire bender to be joking, however his expression seemed serious, then again it could be a prank...Either way her face instinctively flushed a bright red color before her gaze became directed towards the floor, trying to hide the pinkened flesh as best she could. "M-married? Kids? Y...you know you'd have to first ask my brother...And he hadn't mentioned anything...It's been awhile of course but...And we're young still..." her words and sentences seemed to randomly break off and start with something completely different as they stumbled over one another as her voice squeaked slightly. The more she spoke the redder her face became, standing out clearly from the blue locks that tried desperately to cover her face. ----------- Kaji's eyes opened once more as the sound of people's voices approaching the area resounded off the walls. He could tell one of them belonged to the air bender he had become familiar hearing, but the other...A brief frown crossed his features as he tried to distinguish who the owner was. They sounded clearly male, however it didn't have the same tone as his brother's, nor the cheeriness of Zeno's. 'Who could possibly be with her then?' He was certain that the air bender had only come with Heather to the arena, and the water bender had said that she would probably be coming around to check on the three of them. 'An arena worker perhaps? I know the girl gets lost...but the accent isn't one from Einheit. A foreigner from the sounds of it. Maybe she ran into a tourist and is 'helping' them find the exit or something? I wouldn't put it past her to get lost while attempting to help' the fire bender thought with a mental sigh. He was aware as well of the air bender's misfortune with directions, usually from the stories either Zeno or Heather told when they had been training or when he saw the guard doing one of his many errands. |
The earthbender had resigned to the knowledge that she stood unconvinced, and frankly, so we he. Maybe it was just his pride hurt but something like that usually didn't bother him so much or even shake his natural cheeriness. But whatever it was, it was starting to fade. Just not as fast as the boy wanted it to. Heather's attempt to cheer him up actually made him laugh. So much so that he sat up. His eyes were still a little red and glossy but he hadn't shed a single tear. He looked at the older woman and smiled as he shook his head in denial, "I don't feel like I did. The entire flow of the match had been dictated by Kaji and on top of that when he tried just a little it was almost embarrassing how easily he could've dispatched me." He trailed off to a whisper there at the end. The pain of his weakness really striking him to the core. His voice was barely a whisper as he spoke his next sentence while he fought back the tears once more, "I think I need to leave Einheit." He needed to go somewhere and train. This was twice within a month that he'd been severely beaten and the first time had been hard to swallow but he'd put a smile on his face hoping to eagerly redeem himself and that had lead to this. After Heather announced it would be best for him to stay here in case Sylph arrived he nodded but he didn't agree. Every bone in his body demanded that he get up and leave now but he felt like he was frozen in place, so he sat there silently. Then he thought about a question, "Heather, who would you say are the five strongest benders in Einheit?" (feel free to make some people up) ------- Tyr nodded in agreement, "Yeah, it's been a while. And I assure you he was surprised to lose so many times in a row when he's the strongest bender in Beirdt." The lean bender laughed as his hand was knocked away from her head, "You should've known I would be taller than you," he bluntly stated as if it were a fact the whole universe knew except her. "You should be," he replied confidently. "Now I can always protect you," he added with a wink. It was an old promise they'd made as children that he silently intended to keep whether she remembered or not. When Sylph placed her other hand on top of his, Altyre's expression softened and he simply nodded in confirmation of her words. He would tell the story if she asked, but otherwise there was no need to know. It was a harsh tale to share. Then he perked up to his laid back confidence and chuckled, "Yeah, maybe so." "And you are in such distress," he said playfully. As he half heartedly explained his run in with Kiril, he made a mental note of Sylph's worry, "Yeah, he's fine just tired is all. I can't imagine that all that action wouldn't have tired him out." He knew the male wasn't as physically drained as he told Sylph, but she was a trained killer like he or Nova was and so she wouldn't know. The fight looked so fast paced any normal person would think a bender was exhausted after all that. He shrugged casually at her next comment. He was technically the guest. He snickered lightly as she punched his arm, "Well more or less nothing much has changed. His workload is still massive, but he does a good job of balancing things, which I've always found impressive, but I wasn't picking on him. Who do you know that can pick on the strongest bender in Beirdt?" Other than me. When his childhood friend explained that Kaji was bound he just shrugged, "I could see that." He stared at the woman as she explained the situation at the end of the fight and started to take in his figure. Naturally his eyes wandered and he eventually found himself looking down her shirt -enjoying the sight- and casually brought his gaze back to the front. She'd likely try to kill him if she'd caught that, "His injuries were real enough and it wasn't pity that stopped that fight." No. It was duty. A soldier understand's his orders and they had been ordered to lose. Not to die. Altyre smiled devilishly as his plan worked to perfection though it may have been slightly motivated by a truth. He watched as her face grew warm and bright red and the man howled in hysteria. After he was done with his fit of laughter he looked down at the woman, "Do you really think your brother would protest? I just told you I beat him, and not only did I beat him up, I beat him in a sword fight as well. There's no doubt in his mind that I could protect and take care of you, so why do you hesitate?" Tyr -of course- was still a virgin, though he'd seen and heard enough to know what went on in marriages and how they were suppose to work. A few moments later they reached the infirmary and as they turned the corner, the firebender came to an immediate halt finding Kaji standing right there before them. "The famed Kaji of the White Flame. It's a real honor to get to meet you," he announced as he let go of Sylph's hand so that he could offer it for a handshake. All the while he had a sly grin on his face. |
Heather offered a friendly smile as Zeno sat up. The redness and glossiness of his eyes were evident, but she figured that they were an improvement from when she first entered since he had refused to move his arm. Then again maybe he was just exhausted from the fight and shock of the outcome.
Her own head shook at his denial, her hair bouncing and swaying back and forth. "You have to remember Zeno that Kaji isn't a typical opponent. He has experience that I doubt most in Einheit have ever had, and you had only trained with him for a few weeks, which during that time he had worked on helping you with Alkaid. On top of that fire benders are always difficult to deal with anyways, but you had managed to get a few hits in at least, and Kaji's never been one to willingly take hits even with orders from officials" the water bender tried, knowing that perhaps half of that was true. She knew the last part was perhaps a bit of a stretch and that more then likely he had taken them willingly, but then again it was hard to tell what was going on in that red head of his. She was surprised though as Zeno spoke up and said he needed to leave Einheit. "Now why would you think that? Sure Einheit isn't the 'greatest' place to be but it does have its perks" she said giving a wink as she spoke with a slight tease in her tone. In truth though she really didn't like the idea of the earth bender leaving, but then it would be his choice. She frowned a little in thought at the question. Her gleaming green eyes glanced up towards the ceiling as she carefully considered who she believed to be the strongest in Einheit. "Well I'd have to say Kaji would probably be at the top. After him was usually Alkaid, but now it's possible that Kira may have earned the second spot and bumped him down to at least third. Melisha's a pretty powerful force to be dealt with, she use to be the head guard before Kaji and she can still whip most people in the guards. And of course next would have to be me" she said with a joking giggle. She knew her spot on there would be much lower, after all she wasn't a top bender nor were her skills any comparison for the four she just mentioned, however that didn't mean she herself wasn't a force to be dealt with. "But in all seriousness I'd have to say the last would be Vallen, even though he's retired. I think he was the only one that I know of that could beat even Kaji when he was younger. I'm not too sure about now since the two haven't clashed in years, but I know that there have been a few that have attempted to beat the old man and have come back relatively shaken up, at least when they managed to find him. He's sort of a hermit now on the outskirts of Einheidt and doesn't typically interact with people that often anymore" she quietly explained as her gaze closed. Vallen had once been a high ranking army commander and had even held the possibility of a council position. He had been a relatively wise and just man, however when he lost his son in the last war he pulled out and became a recluse. It was quite a few years ago, and since the man didn't really speak or see anyone many believed him to have passed on, however Heather knew otherwise. There were also rumors that he had another child, other then the son he lost, however there was nothing in the records to confirm this, but then if one was high enough altering records would be no big thing... --------------- Sylph shook her head with a slight smile on her face. She could only imagine how her brother reacted to losing, after all it wasn't his strong suite. "Poor Nova. I can only imagine, especially when I know he's worked so hard to get where he is" she said with a light sigh. Her features again soon turned into a 'pout'. "Nu uh I was suppose to be taller. I was taller by a whole centimeter when we were younger. Besides it's bad enough that Nova's taller then me, did you really have to go and be taller then me too?" she countered playfully as her eyes slid 'accusingly' towards Tyre, before letting out a giggle. Her smile once more softened as Tyre reminded her of the promise that he had made to her when they were children. He and Nova had both sworn to protect her always, a promise that both seemed determined to uphold, even though her older brother was now further away. "How do you know it may not be the other way around hm? You haven't seen me in seven whole years you know" she lightly teased. She already knew who was the stronger one between them, but that didn't mean that she still wouldn't tease him. She gazed warmly at the taller male as he confirmed that he had, had a relatively hard life. Using the air around her she managed to temporarily hoist herself up enough to light kiss his cheek. "Well hopefully it'll be a little easier for you now" she stated with a small smile before returning her feet to the ground, least gravity decided to pull her down by force. "Oh that I am, that I am, but now I have such a kind sir assisting me" she continued playfully with her own wink as her other hand came to lay upon the arm whose hand held hers as she playfully 'clung' to the arm. Relief played on her features though as Tyre explained that Kiril appeared to be rather tired and that aside from that he seemed fine. "I'm glad then. I thought maybe he had ended up harmed more then it looked. It's understandable that he's tired, I don't think I've ever seen a battle...quite like that" Her tone was quieter as a slight shiver ran up her spine as she recalled the fight. She never experienced nor seen blood bending before and quite frankly it was a rather terrifying thing to see, and even though she had seen it with her own eyes she couldn't really imagine Kira harboring such a skill. He seemed way too kind to her for that, but what perhaps terrified her the most was the look he held while doing it. Her mind was relatively relieved when the subject of her brother came up to distract her once more from disturbing thoughts and images that still ran freshly in her mind. "He was always good at that, and now that you've beaten him I'm sure he's going to be even busier now. I don't think mother and father will know what to do with him. You know when you see him again more then likely he'll be going for a rematch until he wins right? And well in Beirdt I don't really think anyone could pick on him...at least not until he finds himself someone" she said with another giggle. She shrugged though as Tyre stated he doubted it was pity that inspired the fire bender to end the match the way he did. "Who knows, he can be a hard person to read at times, or at least that's what Heather always says. Plus I don't think he would watch a man dying and not do something. He just doesn't seem like that kind of a person" She hadn't caught the peeking gaze of the male beside her, for if she had her reaction and next words would have been vastly different. When her gaze glanced up towards him he had his own attention set to the front. Sylph's pout returned though as the man beside him began to howl with laughter. "You're teasing me again" she pouted playfully. She was shocked to find that he had beaten Nova in even a sword fight, after all the bender had been relatively proud of his skills with a blade. "Now that's surprising. I didn't think anyone could be Nova in a sword fight since he practically trains with it every day..." Her face still held the rather beet red tint as her embarrassment only seemed to grow. "Well...I mean...we're young and...we haven't seen each other in so long...and..." she attempted to look down further so her light blue hair could fully hide her face. She knew that one day she wished to marry and possibly have children, but then again as a girl she knew well what would be required in order to have children which only made her cheeks and face flush more. On top of that she still held a few feelings she felt she needed to sort out. Relief again came as they rounded the corner to the infirmary and found Kaji just outside of it. Immediately Tyre's attention seemed to go to the male, so for the mean time she knew she would be 'safe' from any further questions or prospect of marriage and children. --------------- Kaji's golden gaze turned as the pair rounded the corner. One of his red eyebrows rose slightly in amusement at the sight he saw. Sylph seemed to have a face almost as red as his fire while the man next to her had a sort of unusual look of his own. He could tell easily, if not from the accent, from the dressing of the man that he came from another country, and from the looks of it a more sea faring one at that. He watched as man halted and immediately greeted him. "Simply Kaji shall do. I've never been one to hold to titles" he replied calmly as he noticed the male outstretched his hand for a shake. Abiding by customs the red haired male uncrossed his arms and grasped the male's hand to shake. "And may I inquire as to whom you are so the honor may be returned?" the fire bender quietly replied, his gaze momentarily flashing to Sylph as the girl rose her head and gave him a smiled greeting before abruptly returning her gaze to the ground causing him to look on in amusement. How could she look at the brother of the man that she caused conflicting feelings in her at the moment? Especially when the tall fire bender next to her had been speaking of marriage and children? She could feel the golden eyed fire bender's gaze on her. Glancing up she could see the slight amusement in the calm golden eyes before they turned their attention on the one beside her again. |
Zeno wanted to scoff at the notion that he'd managed to get hits. He knew full well that Kaji had allowed those things to happen. Nothing in this match had went his way, all went as the firebender intended. The worst part was, that both of them knew that and she still had tried to use it as a tool to encourage him. It was almost a laughing matter, and would've normally been, but he couldn't laugh right now. The boy didn't bother to even look at her and state his reason's for wanting -no needing- to leave Einheit. It wasn't something he wanted to discuss with anyone although he was sure his parents would support him no matter what he did. He could also leave a large sum of his Arena winnings with them so that they would be comfortable while he was gone. In the last few breaths he'd already went over practically everything he needed for this trip. He did finally look up at Heather when she started stating the five strongest benders. He wasn't shocked that Kaji and Kiril were at the top, just terrified that he was on the same battlefield as the top three and he wasn't even likely to be in the top ten. Zen listened with a youngster's attention and took in her top five carefully and seemed to perk up when she explained her deal with Vallen. "What type of bender is Vallen? And where exactly does he stay?" Maybe he could speak with this Vallen guy and train with him for a while before he left, though he wouldn't come back and see any of his friends in the process. They needed to think he was gone. Long gone, or else they'd want to come looking for him and right now what he needed was to not be found. ------- "He's still probably the strongest bender in Beirdt, I just happen to be stronger than him now," he admitted as if that were a light statement to make. Altyre shook his head in denial that she was taller than him when they were younger, "You had poofy hair. That doesn't make you taller," he teased jokingly as he returned her look. Tyr simply gave a unceremonial scoff to his childhood friend. "I know because you're still nowhere near as strong as your brother, and until you can beat him, then you can't protect either of us." His tone was light but behind it, he was serious. Battles aged a person far faster than any number of years ever could. The firebender's thoughts were disrupted by the kiss he received, and for a moment he thought about extending the moment, then decided against it. So he grinned and glanced at the woman, "Thanks." He laughed at the girl's playful acting, she was still as dramatic as ever. Then his expression changed slightly when she announced she'd never seen a match quite like this one, "I pray you never have to watch another like that." Some people would be having nightmares about bloodbending tonight. The way a person's body bent, snapped and convulsed weren't normal. And that was what made it so powerful and frightening. Your entire will meant virtually nothing against a bloodbender since he could take your body and do whatever they chose to. You don't know a soldier's mind. He kept that thought to himself. ------- It was unfortunate that their conversation had ended but it had, now that he was face to face with Kaji. As he looked into his eyes, he saw his own. A man who'd taken countless lives but kept the burdens to himself and likely struggled to get sleep some nights or feared to lay his head down knowing he couldn't control the nightmares that may come. Seeing the images of a man's life draining from his features and knowing he'd done it for a purpose all of his own. Tyr was too observant not to see the mild amusement in the other firebender's gaze when he glanced at Sylph. He'd originally wanted to come cause a few problems with him but couldn't since she was here. Though after hearing how humble he was, Altyre might've felt a little bad for doing so, "My name's Altyre." He wouldn't know who he was. After all an assassin never truly went by his real name in the line of work. That could cause problems. After they released their clasped hands, Tyr placed his arm around Sylph's waist, more so to tease her than anything else, "So, Kaji, I didn't know your brother was so strong. He's even a bloodbender. That's impressive." He kept his tone friendly and his eyes neutral. Tyr know how hide his motives and goals when he needed to. "But that's not why I'm here. I'm not here to talk about the brother you're trying so desperately to hide. I don't have any interest in that," he continued. "What I wanted was an interview. You see I'm a big fan of yours," he revealed as his tone shifted to a truly interested one. "Worldwide, you're renown as one of the strongest firebenders alive, and I wanted to come see you for myself, but I'm disappointed. You didn't even show a fraction of your real talent." Tyr smiled but his eyes were unreadable, "Would you mind showing me your famed white flames? Not here or right now of course, but maybe when you have some free time soon? I'm a traveler and I've been seeking out the strongest benders around the world and interviewing them." So to speak. "So what'd ya say? Will you indulge my interests?" |
Heather soon realized that there wouldn't really be any convincing the boy, at least not from her. 'Where's Sylph when I need her?' she thought with a mental sigh. The air bender, as clueless with directions as she was she could still have a fair way with words. Not of course that Kaji or possibly even Kiril didn't, but considering the fact that they were the stronger benders it probably wouldn't have been best.
She was a bit surprised, and yet somewhat not, when Zeno asked about Vallen. "If I remember rightly he was an earth bender? Or maybe a fire bender? It's been awhile since I've seen him or had even seen him bending. Kaji would know though. As for where he is...well as I said he lives somewhere on the outskirts of Einheit, but where exactly is the difficult thing. Last I knew though he had a small house hidden away in the woods just beyond the city gates. I'm sure I could find out exactly where if you want" the girl offered. It was all she really knew honestly about the retired elder man in terms of the questions, but she figured finding out more from either those that had challenged him in the past or the red haired guard wouldn't be too difficult. ----------------- 'My hair wasn't that poofed up...and hair is still attached to my head so it counts' Sylph quietly thought to herself, although she wished to argue the words out loud, however continuing a conversation that had originated in private with the red haired guard around now would have simply made things awkward. Of course that action was soon taken care of as Tyre slipped his arm around the air bender's thin waist. She could again feel the amused and slightly questioning golden gaze of the fire bender across from them, however she couldn't quite find the words. Instead her light blue eyes gave a quick glance towards Tyre that held the playful promise she would 'get him back'. She also knew that she would have to explain that the man beside her was one she and her brother had grown up with in her home country, but she figured that could wait for a little while. She was surprised however when Tyre revealed he knew that Kiril was Kaji's brother. Her eyes widened slightly as she looked to the red haired fire bender, whose gaze almost immediately came to rest on her. With pleading eyes she tried to convey that she hadn't said a word about his and Kiril's relation. It seemed after a few moments of the light blue and golden eyes silently locked he appeared to get the message and believed it. "It is a pleasure then to make your acquaintance Altyre" he calmly replied as the man introduced himself. The fire bender was relatively curious as to the relation that he and Sylph seemed to share, however the air bender didn't exactly offer up anything in either her words or body language. It was amusing to see how the embarrassment creeped across her features and played in her eyes that her hair tried desperately to hide. His attention was returned however when Tyre suddenly stated the fact he had tried so desperately to keep hidden. For a moment his golden gaze swept the area beyond them and seeing not other appeared present. His eyes came to rest upon Sylph's as he could see the shock and surprise that filled his own mind, but was carefully masked by his calm exterior and eyes. The look in her eyes implored him to believe she hadn't said a word about it, and after a few moments elected to believe her pleading stare. "Impressive it seems you know quite a bit about myself. I thought I had been rather careful in masking that truth. It appears I've left a hole uncovered. Although we've only just met I would like to ask that, that knowledge not spread any further. I realize it's not of common courtesy to ask something like that of someone they just met so I do apologize" he stated, careful in choosing his words. If he knew that much about him then who knows what other 'secrets' may be known. A mixture of suspicion, yet relief, that his business was more with him then his brother entered his mind. Like the man before him though he was careful to mask his inner musings and thoughts, revealing anything of the such could prove more dangerous then anything else. As Tyre revealed what he wanted was an interview the suspicion the red haired fire bender held didn't cease but rather grew slightly. "I see. I am sorry then cause disappointment from the fight, however it's hard to enjoy a fight that wasn't really your own to begin with. I'm also not exactly as keen to performing a show of power as much as my 'partner' was, and you can see where that got him" the bender quietly replied. He couldn't read the dark haired male's true intentions, rather he seemed about as unreadable as his own eyes when it came to the internal thoughts of the man. A faint smile appeared on the guard's lips. "I can't say it's really anything special. The only real difference between my flame and other flames is merely the color and temperature. It's still fire in the end, and once you've seen one you've really seen them all. Considering however I have asked something of you as well, and it's a much smaller request then mine, I'd be more then happy to permit a fellow fire bender to see it if that is what you're wanting. I will say that I doubt I'll have too much time to spare after today unfortunately" It wasn't hard for him to identify the male as a fire bender, not when his internal fires raged and silently called out as with any fire bender. Given the turn of events he doubted the government would allow him the day free tomorrow after all to 'recover', especially since it was he who called the match. However as the male stated here and now wasn't the place for it either. |
'Then he can be my starting point,' he thought. "Thank you. I don't need you to do anything else. I can locate him without much problem I just needed to know where to start." Getting up from his seat he gave the woman a bow and walked to the door and left. Unintentionally he went the opposite direction from the infirmary and was out of the Arena within a few minutes. Now that he had a heading, he'd make his preparations and leave immediately. (He's going on a trip! And won't be heard from for quite a while.) ------- "The pleasure's all mine. It's hard to get close to famous people, especially one's who have busy schedules like yourself." It was common knowledge that Kaji was the head of the IG in Einheit, so there was no doubt that he was likely as busy if not more than Nova who was the head of the IG in Beirdt. No doubt that he was curious about their relationship, but Altyre had no intentions of bringing that up right now. When he spoke about Kiril, he noticed the look he gave to Sylph which meant that she knew they were related too. Not that he cared, but he had done his job at getting the man's attention. It was much more likely that he'd agree to what he asked for now that he knew Tyr had knowledge of his secret. Altyre smirked and shrugged, "I know a number of things that I'm not suppose to know. That's part of my job, but rest easy, another part of my job is keeping my mouth shut and using the information at appropriate moments. I'm not the type of guy to go around sharing people's secrets. I just keep 'em," he finished with a wink of his scarred right eye. The dark skinned firebender shook his head, "No, I fully understand that you have to do your job and you have certain. . . oaths to uphold. You're partner is just, excitable shall we call it. He has no self control and I'm sure you won't be dealing with him for too much longer anyway." He spoke as if he knew something was going to happen to the earthbender, which he didn't, but people like Alkaid didn't get embarrassed like that and then forgive and forget. Tyr laughed as Kaji tried to downplay his abilities, "Kaji, I'm a firebender like you are. All firebenders know the degree of flames and they know that you must be born with the ability to use flames hotter than just red. Even blue flames are uncommon. There hasn't ever been a bender born who can use the hottest flame of all. White." He paused to give Sylph a chance to wrap her head around this information because this was something that the two of them already knew. "Lets not be modest or humble right now. I didn't come here to assess your personality, I came to see the White Flames for myself. That's all. Just let me or Sylph here know when you're free. If you need to find me I'll be at the Torrent Inn. I'm sure you know where that is." Giving the male a polite nod as a farewell, he turned to Sylph and cupped her face -forcing her to look at him- within his rough hands and pressed his lips to hers. After a moment passed he pulled away from her and smiled then took a glance over his should and Kaji then left. There was an enormous crowd in the corridors now as everyone was filing out of the Arena gossiping wildly like hens. Once he was within the crowd he pulled the hood of his vest-coat up and placed his hands in the shallow pockets and made his way to the inn where he was staying. ------- Kiril having finally gathered himself after a very short nap was on his way to the infirmary to see if Kaji had stayed behind. He would either be there or he would have went to the hospital or so he thought. He arrived a few moments after Altyre had left and his thoughts were plagued with curiosity as he stared at his brother, "Is he dead," he asked with no remorse in his voice. |
Heather was a bit surprised that he seemed to have made a final decision so quickly. "I wouldn't be too hasty. There are also rumors that...he's gone completely mad in the head in his old age" she said quickly, seeing that he was getting up to leave. She had the utmost feeling that if he walked out the door he wouldn't be seen for awhile, based on what she'd been hearing. "If you really do choose to go then you may want to at least be sure to say goodbye to the others, especially to Sylph you know..." she said quietly before watching him pass her out the door.
"You'll be missed so you better make sure you come back" she called before slipping into the room fully. She wasn't sure if he would follow her words and say goodbye to the others. She figured the best thing to do for now, since the boy seemed relatively determined, would be to quietly sit and wait for the others. 'I'm sure the others will eventually make their way here anyways...' she thought quietly to herself as she again took up residence against a wall like a certain fire bender. (And a small break from Heather for a bit until the others wander in. XD) ---------------------- "Depending upon which approach is taken, it actually isn't too hard to get close. Now finding time for direct interaction is the hard part, especially in the next few days" Kaji calmly countered and stated. As a guard that was famous it was easier to get to him they say the king and queen of Einheit, and now that the invitation had been laid and accepted the fire bender would make good on his word. "I thank you then for that and shall trust you to make good on it. In return I shall make sure to make good on my word. After things have died down a bit I'll definitely be paying a visit to give that interview" the guard called with a chuckle. His appearance was calm as were his eyes, but his mind was a bit more chaotic at the moment. What else did that man know? Kaji had thought he done well in covering his tracks and altering the information regard himself and his brother. In fact he done everything, save burning the entire archives to the ground. Both eyebrows raised in surprise however when the male turned and kissed the air bender. In truth he hadn't exactly thought the blue haired woman was with anyone, although Heather had filled him in enough to make him think perhaps his brother and her would...Now he questioned that thought, and would indeed have to inquire about their relation with the air bender. Sylph had done her best to follow the conversation. She was curious herself on how it was Altyre knew the two were brothers. They done rather well in public with one another in hiding the fact, and she was certain that neither herself or Zeno said anything. In fact she fairly certain that even Heather wasn't aware that the two benders were actually siblings. From what she had gathered they were the only two, that she was aware of, that the brothers had told their secret to. Her thoughts were soon frozen as the fire bender beside her took her face into his hands. Her light blue eyes briefly locked with his red ones, almost drowning in the red pools before she felt the touch of his lips on hers. At the sensation she completely froze up as her heart began to race rapidly in her chest. Her eyes widened in surprise and shock as she felt a fluttering sensation within her bare stomach. It was over relatively quickly, however the girl could say nothing as her mind had completely frozen up. Unconsciously her fingers lightly touched her lips, as her mind didn't fully register the male turning to leave. It wasn't until a moment later that her still surprised gaze turned towards Kaji. "He...kissed me..." was the only warning either he or she had before things turned black. Before Kaji could even reply, he found himself having to practically dive to catch the fainted Sylph. 'Well that must have been one hell of a shock to the system...' he thought with a sigh as he slowly lowered the unconscious girl down to the ground. He figured it was mainly due to shock at Tyre's actions rather then receiving any harm. This of course only made his own curiosity grow. How did Sylph know this man? How did he know he and Kiril were brothers? Who really was that man? Once Sylph was safely lowered to the ground and he found his gaze wandering towards his right hand in thought. 'Our family just seems full of rarities...I find it more of a curse then a blessing at times...' For once he became so lost in his thoughts he hadn't noticed his brother's presence coming up to him until the water bender suddenly spoke. Caught off guard and surprise briefly flashing in his eyes he turned his attention towards his younger brother. It took a few moments before his mind registered the question. "Well I'm not in shackles yet so I'm guessing no, he's still alive. I believe they took him to a hospital for surgery I think Heather said. Doesn't seem you held back at all with him. Dare I ask what was possibly going through your head to go to such extremities?" the fire bender calmly inquired as he now had a fairly decent excuse to shift his thoughts from the meeting of the peculiar man. |
Kaji had promised to keep his word and Altyre felt he was a man he could trust in matters such as these so he'd given a nod of approval and before his grand exit. He stretched when he got outside into the warmth of the sun. It felt good against his chocolate colored skin. His inn wasn't far from the hotel so he immediately went to his room after informing the inn keeper -who happened to be the bartender as well- that he should give anyone who asked about him his room number and they were free to come up. Meanwhile he would take a little rest. He'd only arrived this morning and the trip had been a long one and his feet were throbbing from all the walking he'd done. ------- Kiril noticed the surprise in his brother's eyes before he noticed the body beside him. He also picked up the slight irritation in Kaji's voice, he was probably more upset than he wanted to show. Still he shrugged at his brother, "I'm not at liberty to share that information," he told him defiantly. Then he realized who that body beside the firebender was after taking another peek and his face turned grim as he rushed over to the girl, "What the hell happened," he demanded at his brother with worry and anger filtering into his features. He searched the girl -appropriately- checking to see if she had any injuries or bruises and when he hadn't found any, it looked to him that she'd passed out. Sighing deeply in relief he moved a piece of hair out of her face then swooped her into his arms. "Let's take her back the team locker room. Zeno and Heather are probably waiting for us," he said as he rose to his feet and started walking. |
The defiance in the younger water bender was enough for Kaji. It was clear his brother hadn't been thinking and still wasn't thinking of what his actions would and could still possibly do. "This is not something that can be simply dismissed Kiril. Do you not understand the gravity of what may come to pass if Alkaid does in fact die from his injuries. Abusing power in such a way that would and could still take a person's life. Have I taught you nothing over the years? Now, more then ever, is a time that you should be trending lightly rather then rashly. Whatever personal vendetta you may have should not simply be taken out" He had to say something while they had the chance to be somewhat alone. His tone was stricter and a bit more serious then what he would have used had they a conscious audience.
As the attention drifted to Sylph he allowed any further words of reproach fade for the time being. The conversation wasn't over, not yet, but for now he would put it on hold to answer the question. "She just got a bit more of a shock to her system then I think she was expecting...She should be fine though after a little while" he calmly answered, noting the concern his brother was showing for the girl. Granted if he had just shown up to the air bender unconscious of the floor he would be concerned himself, however the difference was evident to Kaji. Getting up himself, as he hadn't stood up yet from when he had placed Sylph on the floor and had been lost in thought, he nodded in agreement. "Might be wise. I know Heather had mentioned going off to find you three. Since I haven't seen Zeno yet, and Heather doesn't appear to be with you, then that's probably the safest bet" he calmly replied, letting out a quiet sigh as he walked with Kiril and the unconscious Sylph that was resting safely in the water bender's arms. ------------- Heather's attention drifted towards the entrance of the locker room as she heard the sound of more then one set of foot steps approaching. She frowned as she could tell there were only two sets resounding in the hall that led to the room. 'I wonder if Kaji's still at the infirmary...but then is it Sylph and Zeno, Kiril and Zeno or Sylph and Kiril that are coming?' she wondered, frowning in thought as she tried to guess which pair it had to have been. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw that there were in fact three people and one of them was unconscious. "What the hell happened?! Is she alright?!" the water bender female shouted as she quickly pushed herself from the wall and frantically approached. "She's fine. She just fainted is all" the fire bender calmly stated as he quickly moved to keep the short woman from being in the way. Of course he didn't mention how or why she fainted and he wasn't planning on revealing such information. No that was for the air bender to decide if she wished to tell. |
Kiril could feel his anger building as Kaji scolded him unknowingly, and probably would've struck his brother if Sylph hadn't been in his arms as they walked. So instead he laughed, and he laughed loudly. Something very unusual from him. When he finally stopped he didn't bother to look at his brother when he spoke, "You don't know my reasons and yet you have the audacity to scold me? Ha! What a joke!" He didn't feel up to this right now and he was such an ill mood at the moment he might bloodbend Kaji if he was pushed far enough. He calmed down long enough to listen to Kaji's vague explanation and his agreement with him that they should return to the team locker room. The rest of that walk was done in silence, but the tension was palpable. When they arrived at the locker room Kiril noticed that it was just Heather. He quickly placed her on the couch that was for guest to rest on if they chose to and turned back to Kaji, knowing they had unfinished business, but it could wait, "What exactly happened to her Kaji? She didn't just suddenly pass out for nothing!" He was fuming right now and his anger was boiling over without knowing what happened to Sylph when she had to have been with him. He was trembling with rage and his mind was clouded with so many different emotions going through it. His brother had verbally attacked him even though he didn't know his reasons for doing what he did. The girl he liked had suddenly passed out from mysterious circumstances. The man he wanted so badly to kill up until the match was barely alive and now he regretted holding back even just a bit. With his fists clenched tight he took a deep breath and released them before all the blood ran out and they went numb. Looking at Heather -he looked quite a bit calmer now- he asked, "Where's Zeno?" |
It wasn't exactly anger that Kaji felt towards his brother at that moment, but rather disappointment more then anything. The tension was high now between the two at the moment and the fire bender could see clearly Kiril's mind was becoming clouded with rage. 'I simply must remind myself that he is still young and not aware of the same information that I am...Still this is rather...irritating to deal with to say the least' the fire bender thought quietly to himself.
As the water bender placed the fainted air bender onto the guest couch in the room, he took up the roost that Heather had previously held against the door frame, releasing the female water bender to fawn over Sylph as she saw fit. He watched as the short woman rushed about, checking the thin framed female's pulse, temperature and various other things to ease her mind's worry. He wasn't entirely surprised to find the silver haired water bender questioning him further as to what happened. The imperial guard lightly shrugged his shoulders knowing well his brother's temperament. "It's not my place to say. If you're curious then simply ask Sylph when she wakes up and let her determine if she wishes to say what happened or not" he calmly replied, though he knew it wouldn't exactly be a satisfying answer for either water bender. Heather began checking every health related thing that she could on the unconscious girl, and wasn't until she finished and was satisfied that Sylph was not harmed, that she faced the two male benders. "It seems he didn't find you before hand...He's left and I think he plans on leaving Einheit as well. I told him that he should at least let you three know and say goodbye before he left here, but it seems he didn't" she stated as calmly as she could, although it became evident in her eyes that she was a bit upset by the news. As she listened to Kaji's 'explanation' she immediately knew the fire bender knew exactly what had happened to Sylph. Upset already that it was quite possible that the young earth bender would in fact leave, and that one of her other friend's were now in an unconscious state, she immediately turned her rather angry gaze towards the red haired male. "What do you mean it's not your place to say?! Kaji you spit it out right now what happened or else I'll...I'll" the woman shouted, her tone upset and threatening. "You'll what Heather? I've already told you if you wish to know then you're to ask Sylph not I" the red head stated as calmly as he could, knowing full well what would probably occur next. He watched quietly with a sigh as the shorter woman abruptly stood tall and began to stomp towards him, anger flashing in her rather radiantly green eyes. "You! Me! Outside! Right now!" she shouted as the short haired woman stomped over, and not-so-gently began shoving the fire bender out the door. She paused only briefly to turn her attention towards Kiril. "If you would be so kind as to keep an eye on her while I go do some information extracting that would be wonderful" the woman replied with a 'sweet' and 'gentle' smile and tone. It was one she had used during Kiril's training when she was about to dish out a punishment that would leave the male completely exhausted and with what she deemed as 'minor' injuries. After making the request she resumed her shoving. The two didn't go very far, really just far enough that their words wouldn't be understood, mainly due to the fact that the water bender didn't wish to awaken the young air bender woman and cause her to worry. It was only a few minutes that they remained out there, the roaring tone of Heather drowning out Kaji's calm voice and what sounded to be water being wielded...alot of it..., before Heather slowly returned. The expression on her face was one of pure shock as she stiffly entered the room and collapsed into a sitting position on the floor. "I...wow...huh..." was the only thing she seemed to mutter. Shortly after the fire bender returned, completely drenched to the point that even his usual semi-spiky hair was now completely straight and sticking to his skin. Typically the fire bender would simply summon his flames to dry himself off, however after giving a brief look at the fire alarm system he decided that in the end it would merely result in him simply being drenched again. "Really? You had to go that far?" the fire bender asked, the irritation clear in his tone and gaze. |
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