The Dawn of New Day

[Aphrodite ☾]

In the serenity of a brisk morning on Crescent Island, only a few sounds could be heard. One was the sound of various species of birds chirping as they flitted from tree to tree in search of a nice resting spot. One was the sound of large pod of Saber Moose moving through the foliage, foraging for their next meal. And one was the sound of the water of a small lake churning in a way unnatural.

A woman with long brown hair that draped down her back and floated on the surface of the water waded in the transparent pool. She was up to her waist in the life giving resource of the world, working her arms before her to make the stuff sway and dance with her. In these early hours and with nothing else to do, Malina was performing her own form of meditation. She moved in spirals, contorting her arms and bending the water with slick fingers movements. The water leaped and jumped and hopped and skipped and put on a show for anyone who might be watching.

"Calm breathing is the trick," Malina whispered to herself, missing the sound of human voice and settling instead to listen to her own, "slow and steady, like the still waters."

Her practicing continued. She manipulated the water to her will, feeling herself grow more confident in her art with each passing moment. Eventually she would begin to stream the water, creating a dazzling display of aqua in the chilled morning air.

[Rorschach]

The young man was searching for a way off the island. He wanted to see the world more than anything, but for now, he was exploring the chain of islands around him. There appeared to be nobody around him at the moment, so this would be a great time to practice his bending. He took the swords off his belt, laid them down on the ground, and got into his bending stance.

Lee went through the basics before actually getting into bending. He did a few hot squats, a few jumps then he was ready. He started off simple. He flung a few fireballs into the air and watch them fade into nothingness. He flung a few more in the air and started increasing the number of them. All of them eventually fading into the air like its previous others.

Lee then moved onto acrobatics. He did a flip in the air and expelled more flames from his bottom limbs. He landed gracefully on the ground in a fighting stance. Next, he did a backflip with the same effect. He rested on the hems of his pants and waited to regain energy.

[❋Izō ☁]

[/style][style=color:FFEFD5; text-shadow: 1px 1px 1px #444444; font-family: georgia; margin-bottom: -8px; text-transform: uppercase]THE WIND KEEPER | ^{TAKES TO THE SHADOWS}

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[/color].[/b]”[/right]

Words of certain tranquility would echo behind the maiden of the seas as she expended her will upon the waters that encircled her. Mature, mellow, and notably enticing in tongue, the presence of another would befall upon her senses with the ut-most confidence, though subtly sedentary in terms of aggression. Hopefully their short time apart hadn’t weakened her resolve towards him, and more importantly, her memory.

Scarlet red flustering in the passing winds, the amalgamation of summer hues and tints compiled the attire which the young man appropriately sported as he stood mere meters off from Malina; notably on secure land.One of the few locations that didn’t demonstrate extreme warmth to the touch of soil, he was quite pleased with his vantage point—everything around him had become a part of his peripheral gaze. Izō, former student of the Northern Air Temple and lover to the brunette who stood before him, his ocean blue eyes would peer out into the depth of stifling water, with her as his focal point.

Dropping into a seated position, his legs crossed as his back rested upon the rather large scroll he carried around perpetually, Izō would snicker, which was followed by a blow. His lips whistling as the air he exhaled shot out in a thin stream, picking up and carrying the water with it as it traveled across the gap between the two. Only stopping a mere foot behind her, he performed his training for the time being. Lazy for the moment, he was more concerned with seeing her and her progression then spiking his own odds.
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[Aphrodite ☾]

As columns of water spun through the air as Malina the puppet-master willed them to, a familiar voice broke the silence of morning. "You know, you're very controlled," were the words. If she hadn't known who was speaking, Malina probably would have reacted by throwing water at the speaker and trying to flee the vicinity as quickly as she could. Luckily for Izo, she knew him very well. Without skipping a beat, she continued to bend.

"I know," she admitted with a smile. It was impossible to deny that she felt incredibly at peace and in control right now. Noongwok was in her element! Waist-deep in a small lake surrounded by nothing but the serenity of nature. The moon was even a faint entity in the sky, still yet to be completely overshadowed by the budding orb of gold peeking over the horizon. "How was your morning?" she inquired, dropped all of the water she had been playing with back into the source. Malina now waded through the pristine, clear waters, headed to shore to reconnect with the sitting air nomad.

A slight draft was felt from Izo's blowing, but nothing so chilling that it made Malina uncomfortable.

As she stepped onto the soft mud of the lake bank with her bare feet, something made her stop. Carried to her by the blowing wind was the sound of harsh bursts of energy; bursts that usually caused harm to something, whether it be fauna or flora. It was a sound that was often associated with the word bad for Malina (even though she wouldn't admit it, for fear of sounding superficial). "Do you hear that? It's crackling fire." She looked to her companion, waiting for his reaction.

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[Rorschach]

Lee got up and looked around for his swords. He found them on the ground where he had left them. The bender went over and picked them up to practice with them. He smelled something that seemed to be burning. He looked at where he had just landed from the flips and saw the source of the smell.

The area where his feet landed from the flaming flips was singed. He felt bad about this. He wasn't one to be destructive towards living things without purpose. The Unsheathed his swords and looked around for something to strike. Finally, his eyes rested on a suitable target. A rotting tree not far from him.

Lee lunged at the tree, hacking at the dead plant. Swift movements of the dual swords ensured that there were always hits going at the tree. He tossed his swords up, shot a quick fireball at the tree, caught the swords again, then started slashing the tree again. The tree caught fire a little bit, but was immediately put out by the slashing of the swords.

Over and over again bits of the tree were flying off the tree and landing on the ground. Lee then took another break from training and dug his swords into the ground on opposite sides of him. He knelt on his knees and rested. He had broken a sweat already from all of the hard work.

It was then that he started hearing voices that seemed to be close by. He couldn't interpret exactly what they said, but he didn't want to fight at the moment. He sheathed his swords and climbed up a nearby tree to remain hidden from any possible stalkers.

[❋Izō ☁]

[/style][style=color:FFEFD5; text-shadow: 1px 1px 1px #444444; font-family: georgia; margin-bottom: -8px; text-transform: uppercase]THE WIND KEEPER | ^{TAKES TO THE SHADOWS}

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[/i] harmony. Nothing could interrupt such a sensation.

“Peaceful,[/color]” He would respond with a tone flooded in joviality, his ever-present smile; both charismatic in honest prepped properly upon his facial features as his cheeks lifted in accolade. “Just enjoying the sig—[/color]” his words cut thin upon the mere mention of fire, the sounds of soft crackles echoing off in the distance only confirmed such. Punctually lifting to a standing posture, the blonde monk would almost instinctively take a stand in front of Malina, his right arm outstretched before her person as if guarding her.

“I-I apologize; Let’s go check it out.[/color]” His arm hesitantly dropping from her sight back to his side, Izō almost forgot entirely the character of the woman he loved. She was powerful, autonomous and relied on him little in terms of protection—against his better judgment he gave her the benefit of the doubt. It was inspiring to say the least, a woman of her stature holding her own in such a corrupt world, it bought a frown to a half-hearted beam and from there he would progress forward in hopes of her falling in his shadow.

Passing by boulder and debris, the echo of slicing would disrupt his ears and soon the two would come to a halt, eyes peering to their respective sides as he young bender looked for the source of such a commotion and potential mayhem.
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[Aphrodite ☾]

Izo put his arm in front of her, as if she was some delicate bystander to be protected. This wasn't his first time doing this. Malina sighed in aggravation, waiting for her boyfriend to lower his arm out of her way. He apologized to her before suggesting they investigate the source of the ruckus.

She followed just beside him, stepping lightly and being careful not to crush any twigs underfoot. As they got closer she could smell the distinct aroma of burning leaves. Living as a hunter/gatherer had really trained Malina in the art of detecting the signs of nature. "Fire bender?" she whispered to Izo, trying to see his thoughts.

A fire bender could spell trouble for the couple. Given the current relations of the four nations, there was a fifty percent chance any random encounter was hostile. That the two couldn't see whoever had disturbed them in the first place surely wasn't a good sign.

Upon reaching a small clearing, Malina ceased walking. Another smell was now potent in the air. Instead of singed flora, this new scent resembled the smell made when snapping plant stems or stewing vegetables. The Southern water tribe native craned her neck, following her nose and finally locating the source. "Look," she demanded, stepping closer to the remains of a dying tree. "These slash marks were made by no animal." She pressed her hand to the trunk, feeling the groves that were still wet it would seem. As the last of this organism's life juices dripped from their host, Malina turned to Izo. "It hasn't been long. Someone was just here, for sure."

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[Rorschach]

Lee was still hiding in the trees. It was then that he saw the intruders. A male and a female. He couldn't tell what nation the boy was, but the girl bared clothes that looked like they were made in the water nation. Only two? Possibly benders. If they were looking for trouble, he could take them.

Lee dug around in his robes for his hidden dual hook swords. He quickly found his two weapons and put them in either hand. He extended them out to their full size and dug them into the tree. The boy let himself hang by the swords and released the swords from he tree.With a series of flips, he got to the ground with no hassle. He landed on the ground swiftly. He looked up to find the two people in front of him.

"Hey." Lee said, as he stood up. From this angle, he had a better viewing of the two. The boy bared orange clothes. Though he had never seen an airbender before, he had heard stories that they bared oranged clothing. The girl was obviously from the water tribe. The material her clothes were made out of clearly stood out from anything you would see from the other nations.

[❋Izō ☁]

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[/i]?[/color][/b]” He’d inquire, an eyebrow lifting in curiosity as his ocean blue hues hovered between the man’s two hands, watching as steel engulfed both. What had set him on alert and could it have been their arrival that he had awaited? No one would lay a hand on Malina as long as his body drew air, and with that, his hands gradually moved to the ready. A pacifist at heart, the affection he felt for the woman to his side would bring the warrior to life. [/div]
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[Aphrodite ☾]

Tchnk. Tchnk.

The sound of metal on wood was easily distinguishable out here in the center of nature, and Malina looked to the source of the sound. Her neck craned to see a male of about her own height flipping through the air, coming down from his advantageous perch atop a large tree. She reached back and retrieved her bow and one arrow from her quiver. At the same time the stranger's feet landed on the ground, Malina already had her arrow positioned and bowstring plucked; if he was hostile, she was prepared for battle.

Of course, all of her focus went into reading the stranger's body language and determining if he was truly a threat to anything besides the flora. This kid was definitely the one who hacked up the tree. His greeting was seemingly friendly enough, but Malina would continue to let Izo bombard him with questions to uncover his true motives and nature.

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[Rorschach]

Lee was alarmed that they were gonna attack. The air nomad was more peaceful than the water tribe girl. He wanted to talk out his problems, but she wanted to attack. Is this really what the tension between the nations had done? Pulling a weapon on someone who they just met that was a little different from themselves? Hopefully, these people didn't see him firebend, so his cover as a swordsman would work.

"Whoa. Whats with the weapons girlie? I haven't done anything wrong. I'm a swordsman and i was just doing a little training." Lee said in his defense. He retracted his dual hook swords and put them back in his robes to use later.

He was still cautious of the new people he had just met. These were the first people who he had met that were from another nation. This just proved how bad the tensions were. He put his hands up in defense if the girl decided to fire. "I'm just a swordsman going to explore the world. That's all. I was in the tree because I heard you coming and anything can happen in these woods. I wasn't looking to pick fights." Lee said in conclusion. He wasn't sure about their views on fighting. He had heard that Air nomads were a peaceful people, but he didn't believe all of them could be peaceful. He has also heard that water tribe could go both ways.

[❋Izō ☁]

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[/i] convenient and his attire clearly spoke well to his origins. Assumptions were just that until proven otherwise. Unfortunately for the swordsman, the situation continued to progress in his disadvantage instead of his favor.

However, as a pacifist, Izō wasn’t one for mindless violence. As such as Malina held her weapon cocked, the right hand of the Monk would lift, his palm now pushing down gently against the ace of the bow in attempts to gesture her to lower her weapons; he’d give him the benefit of the doubt. “Excuse us if we came across as aggressive. However understand—this burned wood didn’t get here by itself, and you were the only person present when we saw the smoke..”[/color]” He’d conclude his statement with a fact well known to the couple. It would also double as substantiation to convict the assumed Fire Bender. If he decided to attack after being discovered, Izō had already prepared his monumental resolve and Malina was by no means shy to combat. Hopefully their conventions were proven false.[/div]
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[Aphrodite ☾]

Just a swordsman? This kid wasn't helping his case at all. If he was telling the truth and was solely a swordsman, then there was only one explanation for the sound of crackling fire heard earlier and the smell of singed leaves that wafted through the air. There's a fire bender somewhere. And if it isn't this boy, then the bender is somewhere hiding. And if the bender is hiding, then he or she might be trying to prepare an ambush...

Wartime had made everyone anxious. Izo and Malina were on Fire Nation soil, after all. They had to be careful, less they become the first two causalities of this new war on the brink. Her aim sharpened and her fingers pulled back tight on the string, preparing to release the piercing projectile. If she couldn't trust the young man standing before her then there was no need to prolong the battle to come. Her fingers loosened and prepared to release as--

Suddenly, the motions ended because Izo placed his hand on the face of Noongwok's bow. She watched him as he slowly pointed her weapon downward, screwing up her aim and saving he who fell from the treetops. Malina listened to him speak across the airwaves to the self-proclaimed swordsman. "What are you doing?" she asked in a hushed tone, not taking her eyes off of the stranger.

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[Rorschach]

Lee was eying the bow in the girl's hands. She seemed to be taking aim at him. He was wishing that he had his swords out still. He really didn't want to use his firebending to deal with a paranoid female and her boyfriend.

Lee had his hands up for a quick shot of fire if the girl fired the arrow. He took a deep breath in and waited. With a twitch of the finger, the arrow was about to be released, but the Air nomad stopped her. He breathed a sigh of relieve that one of them was logical.

He heard her ask her friend about what he as doing defending Lee. This made Lee get a little angry. He had done nothing wrong, and yet was at gunpoint by two strangers. Then something occurred to him. He was in his own domain, these people were the foreigners.

"Time out. Why am I the one on trial here? You two are trespassing on fire nation soil. Why does it matter what I do in the forest here?" Lee said defending himself. It was then that a loud growling could be heard in the thicket behind Lee. It was the call of a large animal that was ready to attack. Lee knew exactly what to do.

"Simba no. It's fine." Lee shouted behind him. A large Lion armadillo emerged from the woods and sat down next to the boy and started nuzzling him. He put his hands down. He knew that with Simba there, he would be safe. He had a grudge against the girl for attempting to kill him, but he wasn't going to say anything.

[❋Izō ☁]

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[/u] me,[/b][/color][/i]” Though susurrating, emphasis was added to one particular word in his statement as his eyes hovered over to the side where Malina occupied before returning back towards the Fire Nation native once more. While he trusted the woman with every fiber in his being, the two couldn’t risk causality in foreign land, especially in one of the few lasting structures of the timeworn Fire Nation. She wouldn’t intentionally harm anyone, she was just that kind of soul. Nontheless, threaten the security of those she cares for, a lioness would surely attack without hesitation, it was only natural. Regardless, the beauty within the beast would need to surface, and Izō betted on such as his hand gradually lowered from her weapon.

His attentions now set on the man before him, Izō determinedly synced with the element he aligned with—air. The breeze passing by, gracing his lightly tanned skin with a chill that only complimented the warmth he exuded. Replenishing his stock with a subtle inhale and gradual exhale, the Monk listened closely, sighing in attempts to gauge the importance of his words until suddenly a growl signaled. Unconsciously would his arms move to the ready, preparations of war instilled to him by his training at the temple and of the Martial Arts, the Bender prepared himself for the unknown.

Emerging from the Swordsman’s backdrop, an armored Lion swiftly made haste to the field, Izō’s hands communally resting within the comfort of a ring of cycling air as his bending surfaced. Protective of Malina, his monk tendencies shattered completely when her wellbeing was threatened, and it wasn’t until his words calmed the beast thay his palms alleviated all ties to Aero and the air which once circulated around his arms subsided into nothingness. Standing idly now, he’d give his love time to communicate and for the man to explain this situation.
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