Last Airbender

Alexis ushered Coden and Gale up to the familiar mountain ledge overlooking the town. When Pala makes her way out of the village, and the other woman she vaguely knew was here returned, they’d end up looking here. From there… Well… They’d figure that out. After that little escapade, it’d be a while before she wanted to try to make a portal. So, until then…

“Coden… We need to have a little chat” She said, leaning against a tree. “We should do this now, as to prevent… any unfortunate incidents… Apparently the guards were right… You do have this… Firebending magic that the people down there talked about… Whether this means that anyone else is going to sprout out powers or not while we’re here is something I’ll deal with later. You’ll want to put Gale down… I don’t want any repeats of earlier… But… if you could… Could you try to repeat how you were feeling when the guards took Gale away? I don’t know the magics here all that well… And I want to figure out the source. I’m guessing it reacted to your emotions, otherwise it’d have happened before that”

With each heavy, sloshing step, Coden kept an eye on Gale. Observing his wing flexes. Rigid and stiff as if sore. Coden rubbed the childs back to ease the pain from his rough handling.
He watched Gale look at his fingers, a pang of guilt briefly flooding his expression. Gale hurt himself to help Coden. As the child licked his wounds, Coden pushed his face away and wiped clean it with his damp sleeve. Then casually kissed the sore.
"All better...", he muttered, using his other damp sleeve to clean Gales face. Dropping a little kiss of his cheek, another on his chin. A third on his forehead, even though there wasn't a sore there.

All at once, he felt awkward and stopped. Clearing his throat, Coden cast a shy glance towards Alexis. Then casually back to the road as they reached they're apparent destination.

There he listened to Alexis' banter. A talk he wasn't sure he wanted to deal with. Fire bender. Of course he was curious about this new power he seemed to have in this world, but he didn't want to get to use to it.

"......", He opened his mouth to decline and voice his opinion, but stopped. Perhaps he should delve into this fire bending? He could barely protect himself against the earth benders. Weakness...how he despised it.

Carefully setting Gale down, Coden pat the boys head and directed him to sit by the tree. "Stay here. Don't move, okay?"
Then moved back into the open beyond the tree. "......Hn," he hummed irately, trying to remember what he'd done. He was protecting gale. He breathed an outward sigh. Nothing.
Gale, he was protecting him. They had been hurting him. made him cry. And he felt so...angry. he wanted to kill them. Wanted to straggle the life from their bodies and... Coden sighed. Steam rising from his heavy, wet uniform. Crying. Whimpering. The pain of his...Gales sobs. Fear. Anguish. Pain. So guilty... Angry. Rage. Protective, greedy. So much rage. He sighed again. A small wave of flames sparked up and vanished. He didn't see it, but it was there.

He stopped and breathed in. So hot. "It's not working, Alexis," he hummed annoyingly, stripping off his steaming jacket and throwing it onto the nearest over hanging tree branch to dry. His gloves and shirt soon to follow.

The boy made a face at the kissing. Kisses in themselves were bad things since they usually wanted more after the kisses. But Papa kisses... Those were alright since Papa usually tossed him up and down in the air and let him fly around the manor. Wait... that was not this Papa. This Papa was colored differently. And the kisses were alright so he settled back down sleepily.

Alexis was talking again, but he wasn't really listening. It was in one ear and out the other and when did he end up on the ground? He fell over, curling up against a tree. The wind wasn't blowing, though. He missed the blowing wind. Where was it? He really wanted it... Ah... there it was. The boy let out a slight exhale as the wind came again. There... Nice wind.

Through half closed eyes, Gale watched Coden steam and smoke. Pushing himself up, then boy reached out. Papa... was he on fire? Another gust of wind came by, making the steam roll off Coden. But then the steam stopped and Coden took off his coat and shirt and Gale relaxed again and the wind stopped. The boy snuggled up against the tree, trying to make himself smaller. A feeling of anxiety came up when Coden began stripping, but Papas didn't-

“It’s best to figure out how to do this even if we’re only here for a little while, it makes the next time this happens a lot easier…” Alexis said as Gale sat nearby. She sat down next to him, her legs half giving out on her. She lazily put her hand on the boys head, scratching the one special spot that she knew he liked as her eyes stared at Coden, watching every single thing he did with a sense of importance. Watching the newfound energy circled around deep inside, churning with every breath. Watching as his emotions darkened, focused in on something that she couldn’t pinpoint. As the air heated up around him, an actual manifestation of fire sparked up.

“Just because you didn’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not working. Look at your clothes” Alexis said, thumbing towards the steaming wet jacket. “Hmm… Lets try this again.” She points to a nearby moss covered boulder, barely lifting her arm up. “Go over to that rock. Focus on that rock. Hate it. Want to do every horrible thing you’ve ever wanted to do to anything, and focus that on it… But don’t touch physically touch it. Just try to focus on that feeling, and breathe. Deeply and evenly. It seems to flow better that way, if I’m guessing correctly. Do that, and only do what comes naturally.”

As she did this, she glanced over towards Gale as well, wondering if this was something that solely happened to Coden, or if this affected all of them in some way, and they just hadn’t yet realized it…. That wind was rather random for it to be normal… Well… either they’d be gone before it was important, or she’d figure out something when the time came.

Angelique had soon bored of sitting around and had gotten back up to explore. When she had reentered the town, to many dark looks, it had been to see a commotion with one very familiar figure. Her eyes narrowed as she watched Alexis disappear into a building which soon after was blown half to hell, rocks flying everywhere.

"Well, glad to see they're so adept at keeping a low profile."

She ignored the scared and dirty looks she was getting until she found herself surrounded by guards. She crossed her arms.

"Can I help you gentlemen," she asked, only somewhat sarcastic.

When the men spoke, and as it wasn't a direct answer she only paid so much attention, she began to get annoyed. So they were afraid of people who could use fire and wanted to arrest her for looking like she could. Normally she'd just walk away and use her knowledge of social norms to convince them that she was as average as anyone else in that town, however she didn't know what customs might be different in this place. This approximate time period on Earth had been quite different from the current time after all.

"As flattering as this is that you think I can manipulate fire, I have no desire to remain here, imprisoned or otherwise."

She glanced around, trying to find the quickest way out of the situation, or at least to a sheltered spot where she could transform and fly back to the mountain. No doubt Alexis would be showing up there eventually. When no immediate chance of escape presented itself, she reluctantly prepared to defend herself with the only option left to her. No, she didn't want half the city's guards on her tail, but she certainly didn't want to be arrested either.

"Now if you'll come with us quietly..." one of the guards was saying, taking a stance.

"As I said, I don't plan on allowing myself to be imprisoned." Angelique snapped her fingers, flint-like nails scraping against each other and sparking...Nearby, a barrel of water began to slosh ominously.

An instant later, Angelique found herself drenched and stunned, looking into the faces of the equally wet and stunned guards.

"A waterbender? You're a waterbender!?" The guards seemed stunned for (as they said) although she didn't have the gold eyes of the fire nation, her appearance seemed to scream firebender. Normally she'd be inclined to agree; she wasn't listening, however, too busy staring at her now soaked hand.

"What was that!?" Finally managing to sputter out some incoherent words of surprise, Angelique looked around, now able to move around freely, and went to examine the offending barrel now devoid of water. Noticing a bit still in the bottom, she again tried to call for her fire, and while she could feel the heat around her building, the water began to move.

She stopped. Unnerved by the incident, Angelique turned and left the city without a backward glance, making her way back up the mountain on foot. She didn't like the thought, but as she needed fire to change forms...she was stuck with the long way for now.

It took probably a half hour to reach the spot where they had landed, and by that time she was in an exceedingly bad mood so that the moment she saw Alexis, she stormed over to the taller girl, grabbing her shoulder and wrenching her around.

"What. Did. You. Do?" She ground out the words through gritted teeth, ignoring the looks from the other two present.

Coden stare at Alexis in ridicule. Attack the rock? With his mind? Is that what she was saying? He raised a hand, but thought better than the question Alexis, of all people. Thus clenched his hand into a fist and turned to the stone.

Marching over, Coden crossed his arms and glared at it fiercely. "Ridiculous...." Why would he want to kill a rock? How did one 'hate' a rock in the same way he hated the guards? With a small scratch of his wet hair, Coden removed his glasses and stored them carefully in his pocket.

Breath in. Breath out. Focus. Hands to his sides. Focus. Rock. Hate rock. Breath in. Out. He sighed softly. steam rolled from his tongue, but other wise there was nothing. "This is stupid," he muttered, glaring at the rock.

He tried again, though. Hate. Rage. imagined the rock. Imagined stubbing his foot or smacking his knee on it. Hurt, annoying. Stupid rock. In hale, exhale. A small flicker of flames grew with each breath. He did not see it though.

Once more. He tried again. He tried to focus. Too noisy. Breath in breath out. the flames grew. again. he did not see them. He lost focus. So much noise. He quickly gave up.

"Why bother. Rocks do not burn anyway!" Coden glowered at the rock, taking a stance. Twirled and kicked it. The stone erupted into flames as his hell made contact, cracking and splitting. Surprised, Coden stumbled back a step, shielding himself and staring at the rolling flames.

The boy relaxed again as Alexis scratched him behind his ears. It felt so heavenly. But then it stopped. And yelling. Noise, people again.

He opened one eye and stared at a pink haired girl as she grabbed Alexis. Grabbed Alexis and shook her and yelled at her and Gale got angry. Alexis was good. What did this person think they were doing? A growl sounded from his throat. Threat. Threat. Threat.

He got to his hands and feet from his sitting position. Then he turned and, with a "Let her go!" lunged at Angelique. As he lifted his arms up, however, the wind rose up, roaring and violent, tossing them both into the air. Stunned, Gale stopped. The air stayed still again and Alexis and Angelique were up in the air

Alexis looked rather smug as the mossy rock burnt. “I think that proves my point rather simply… Now, next we should try-!!” Finding herself pulled up into the air facing a rather irate bird woman, she looked rather confused. “Umm…. Went to town… Found some other people from Fragment and escaped from the authorities? Why?” Something seemed to have happened to the woman, who she just noticed to be rather wet, “Does it have something to do with you being wet?”

Before she could get a decent answer from the woman, they were both caught up in a violent burst of wind, surprisingly coming from Gale. Instincts driving her actions, she snatched onto the woman, twisting around, thrusting her arm forward to make a portal. The magic fizzled and died in her hands, and to her surprise, a burst of wind shot downward, blasting the two of them with air that cushioned the harsh fall.

She still landed rather hard, but at least it wasn’t fatal like it would have been for her. As she lay on the ground physically dazed, her mind churned within. Common sense told her that she had powers similar to what the other two had demonstrated, and possibly what the woman had been complaining about… But…. It didn’t drain her like her normal magics did. Just a swipe of the arm, and as simple as that, the wind moved for her… That’s a lot nicer than the normal drain… But first…

Her hand weakly shot up, pointing to the others, or at least where she hoped the others were, “…All yous spread out… Or we’re going to accidentally kill each others… Gotta… gotta figure this out slowly…”

"Oh no, I love being wet, especially when I'm trying to use my fire powers and get water instead!" Angelique snarled at the girl. She was not in a good mood. Her mood got even worse when she suddenly found herself up in the air, being clung to by Alexis.

After being buffeted around and a rather uncomfortable landing, Angelique dragged herself to her feet, glaring at the group, although she did take a few steps back at Alexis' suggestion. Even if it was doubtful that she could kill someone with her powers, she really didn't want to be too close to Alexis and the kid who both seemed to have turned into walking cyclones.

"Well this is just great," Angelique said once she was a couple of yards from anyone else. "Aside from the obvious timeline," she glared at Alexis, "does anybody have any idea what's going on here? And why?"

Why do I have this bad feeling that we're going to actually have to learn how to use these powers? She glanced down the mountain toward the town where she could vaguely see activity. No doubt the guards looking for them after the commotion the others seemed to have caused...well at least her eyesight hadn't been diminished.

Deciding she might as well try one more time, Angelique summoned up her powers, carefully and slowly, attempting to call up a spark and set some of the grass in front of her on fire. She snapped the power out in the rush of energy needed to create a flame. The result was the discovery of a nearby body of water, however, as she soon found herself drenched again, the ground around them all becoming muddy and wet.

The water around Angelique began to boil and steam, evaporating off of her as the air around her heated up.

"ARGH!!"

Directing his attention away from his fire bending, Coden observed the commotion beyond him finally. Flinching inwardly as the two girls, hovering in the air, crashed to the ground. "Interesting...." Air, fire, Earth. And the noisy one seemed to be able to summon water. He pondered if that was the power of this world; the ability to control the elements.

Shaking his head softly, Coden turned from the pair. Approaching Gale and ruffling his hair before reaching up to retrieve his shirt and jacket. Still wet. "Hrm...What say we go practice together?" Coden gave Gales hair a small petting again. He rather keep Gale in his sights, concerned for the childs well being. Even if keeping him at close quarters wasn't precisely the best of idea's, for many reasons.

Tugging on the wet shirt, Coden shivered. It's time hanging in the on and off breeze leaving it nice and cool, albeit moist. Perhaps he'd find a way to use his new 'Fire bending' to dry it. That idea stirring in his mind, Coden offered his hand to Gale to lead them to their own little training grounds.

Air... Gale stood. pondering this. Then he took a step back, as per Alexis' instructions. The boy looked over his shoulder. No one was there. Taking a step towards it, he trust out his palm. 'AIR!' But nothing happened.

How did it happen the other time? He didn't know. It just... happened. He took a deep breath and tried again, flowing more this time. A small breeze rustled the trees and it got a small laugh out of him.

Coden came up to him then, ruffling his head. The boy sighed happily and nodded eagerly. Practice. Yes! If he could practice, then made he could fly! Grabbing the man's hand, ignoring the instructions from Alexis just a few seconds ago, he followed Coden to a clearing.

Upon finding a nice place to practice, open and not too far from their group, Coden let go of Gales hand and dropped his wet playfully over Gales head. "How about some targets, hm?" It would be easier to focus. Looking around the barren, rocky clearing, Coden rummaged around an old dead tree. Picking up long sticks and drinking them into softer ground for support.

Making a spaced out ring, Coden observed his handy work. they weren't as stable or firm as a proper target could have been, but it would have to do for now. "What do you think?" He asked Gale, feeling a little proud and nostalgic. Training with these new powers, albeit with fire instead of raw fists, would take him back to the good days with his platoons.

Focusing on the nearest sticks, Coden summoned his rage for them. Implanted in his mind the faceless masks of the guards upon their staffs. Adjusted his posture. Took his stance. took three long strides foreword and punched the air. A meager, but wild rush of flame burst outwards from his fist, lighting his targets and their neighbors. He sighed shakily, indulging in the rush of heat pooling in his stomach and outwards to his every limb.

"Ah.... Now why don't you try to put them out?" Coden returned to Gale's side, patting the small boy atop the head.

Alexis picked herself up off of the ground, every limb protesting in pain as she stood up. Grumbling to herself as the others ignored her and went off in their own directions. Well… if they wanted her help… They’d ask for it themselves she supposed. Knowing that she had a while before she’d even risk using her normal magcis, she resisted the urge to nap under the tree and moved her weary limbs away from the others, higher up the mountain, where she could see everyone else. She tried to access this new magics internally, taking slow and even breaths. Not daring stir herself emotionally as she told Coden to, not wishing to lose control.

Breathe in, breathe out. Feel the natural air currents around her. She discarded her coat and arm wraps, as to feel this new force against her skin. Breathe in, breathe out. Put her blindfold on to remove distractions. Breathe in, breathe out. Spread her aching arms out. Breathe in, breathe out. Her hand shot of in front of her, to no effect. Breathe in, breathe out. Bringing her arm back in, she held the other out from herself, slowly and gently. Breathe in, breathe out. Feel the wind in her fingers, find the flow of movement and follow it. Breathe in, breathe out. Her arm followed the flow, slowly twisting around her. Breathe in, breathe out. Her other hand does the same, her body turning slightly, her arms rearing back together. Breathe in, breathe out. Twisting around, her arms flowed as one, a large burst of wind shot down the slope, sending up a mass of dust and debris into the air. Breathe out. Alexis sat on the rocky soil beneath her, still tired from before. She watched the others as her fingers twirled around, floating a piece of grass in the air. She could get used to this…

Down in the valley, the soldiers from the town are about to give up their search when one man sees a flash of red higher up the slopes. He alerted the other men, as that was probably where the firebenders were hiding. As they started mobilizing though, others saw the waters from a nearby stream recede for a few moments then begin to flow again. Then a large cloud of dust and dirt blasted down a nearby mountainside. Who were these foreigners?

Gale watched Coden use his fire. The sticks alight, burning fire rough and hot. His turn now. AS the boy watched the sticks, he thought back to Papa's power and movements. That didn't seem to be what Gale wanted.

He took a deep breath and exhaled. No... Coden's moves were different. Not his moves. How did air move? How did it move through and around him? Gentle. Smooth. Connected and flowy. The boy took a step towards the burning wood, mind blank. Breathing. Though the wave of his hand procured nothing.

He paused, thinking. Water flowed. Air... drove? flitted? He thought more. Less flowy more drivey. Again, he took another step forward, hand slashing out, fingers like daggers. A breeze cut through the air and the sticks were left smoking like birthday candles.

He was about to let out a jubilant yell when something caught his ear, making it twitch. Crack. Twig breaking. Behind him. The boy turned, squinting. Someone...? "P...papa?" He turned, finding Coden near him. "Papa!" He pointed to where he had heard the noise.

Angelique dropped to the ground, grimacing at the squelch of mud. Of course she'd forgotten about that...leaving it for now, she rubbed her temples, head in hands. So far no attempt to get her fire powers to work had been successful. No, that wasn't entirely true. She could summon up the fire, however at the same time the water would heed the call.

So she needed to find some way to separate them, right? Glaring off into the distance, she saw a dust cloud rise up from Alexis' powers, presumably. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Angelique stood back up. She wasn't going to go through having what powers she had diminished. She was already bad enough with them...

She forced her energy down, shivering slightly as the actual temperature of the area hit her. Cold, but she would deal for now. Snapping her fingers, the nails scraping to create a spark, she let the fire spread naturally over her body.

"Alright...now this had better work..." She focused on her energy. Just make the fire a little bigger...keep it from spreading to the area around her. When the water from the soaked ground began to collect into a pool around her feet, she let go, and with a sigh, pulled the water up to douse the fire.

"Plan b...how does Freyja use her powers?"

She had never really looked into ice lore or powers and now was wishing she had. Turning, she decided sit and try to figure out the best course of action. This was interrupted, however, by the sound of branches breaking.

Whipping around, she looked around for the source of the noise. Nothing. Turning, she ran toward Alexis. If there was a fight, better to at least have back up, if not let someone else handle it.

For a few moments, Coden watched. Quietly observing the difference in Gales motions to his own. Another interesting observation. He attempted mimicking Gales movements with fire bending, but it didn't feel the same.
Returning to the faster movements, Coden attacked his targets. Gradually moving farther and farther away. Ultimately realizing that he did not need immediate contact with his targets. This discovery was elevating.

In the midst of his focus, maximizing his distance from his targets, Coden was disrupted by Gale. He flinched at the boys urgency, incidentally setting the dead tree in their vicinity a blaze. While amusing to see, Coden muttered softly at Gale before taking to heart his urgent plea for attention.

Cautiously he eyed the distant forest beyond them. Something felt terribly wrong. Like they were being spied upon. It was an uncomfortable feeling.
Turning to Gale, he gave the child a disconcerting Glare, silently scolding him. "That's enough for today...", he muttered, and took Gale by the hand to lead him away.

Who ever had been watching took his bait, though. Once Coden 'let down his guard', The earth shifted beneath his feet. He was ready, though. Pillars shot up in every which direction, blocking his path. Snatching Gale under his arm, Coden dodged and rode the pillars, racing away from the open clearing and into the cover of the opposite forest.

Alexis’s focus on the small wind funnel she had made was lost with the arrival of the forces from before. She cursed at herself for not knowing that they were arriving before, as she ripped off her blindfold and slid down the steep slope. It seemed they were not limiting their attacks to the ‘firebender’, as the earth burst out from underneath her, launching her into the air. Twisting around with her newly accentuated wind prowess, she righted herself and landed smoothly on the ground, rushing towards them before they could shift the earth again. She found herself dodging though, slipping underneath boulders as they were launched at her, twisting around huge pillars of earth that shot up out of the ground.

Once she got closer to the soldiers, she felt a lot more comfortable, hand to hand fighting was where she excelled, falling into old habits, dodging attacks with ease, spinning around and attacking around the slowpokes. Only, she didn’t use her plasma, worried about blatant use of otherworldly attacks. Instead, she argument this new power to them, gusts of wind shoving her enemies back along with her initial blow. After a moment or so, she ran out of enemies, and she stopped fighting. Were they all just weaklings? They stared at her, and she at them. Both parties rather confused. “Umm…. Since we’re not fighting to the death now… Could you tell me what the hell you guys are pissed off at?” Alexis asked, hoping this was just some stupid misunderstanding… She didn’t want to get Gale involved in a fight.

The men whispered worryingly at each other. She picked up muttering about airbenders being extinct and firebenders attacking the town and some other nonsense that made her wonder what was really going on. One of the men finally spoke up. “We’re going to have to take you in miss… for your own protection”

Before she could ask what they meant, a sharp pain on the back of her head sent her reeling to the ground. Through the bright lights that blotted her vision, she saw a thin pillar of stone recede into the earth as she felt herself being picked up, her arms and legs bound in earth. Thoughts dizzily fluttering away as the world darkened, she heard mumblings over her head about going after the firebender next as most of the platoon raced off after the others….. @$#%....

Gale was being carried. He did not want to be carried. He wanted to fight! He could take on these bad men even though his eyes felt heavy lead. Using his size to his advantage, Gale wiggled himself from Coden's grasp. Instead of landing on the ground, he was pummeled in the back by stone. Hard stone. Tossed him to the ground and flattened. Breathing heightened and the rocks exploded. Don't panic. Other power. Wind.

Twisting away from another pillar of earth, the boy landed, the thrust his hands out. A column of wind exploded from his hands and swiped away the guards. Another slice of his hand, smooth motion, and more guards were flung back. When no more came, he stood there, breathing heavy. They were still there, but didn't attack.

"An earthbender... and airbender?"

"The avatar?"

"No... the avatar has no hair. And a blue arrow on his forehead."

"Then...?"

"Take him in."

He snapped. Screamed at them in his native tongue. Heavy words flowing from his lips as he cursed and raged at them. No! No no no! He would not go with them! He wouldn't! They couldn't make him! Not in that tiny cell again! He wouldn't, no no no no no NO! Not enough sleep, not enough to eat. Too many explosions, too much power used up. The memories hurt. A hand touched his shoulder softly and he curled up in on himself. Tiny ball, tinier.

"This kid couldn't be the avatar. He's just a little boy." A sigh.

"He can bend air, either way."

Hands shifting and lifting him up. Carrying him gently. Gale tried to push against them, but they would not let them go. One hand pushed his puppy in front of him and Gale clamped onto it. "Papa..." He muttered, looking up over an armored shoulder. He saw the guards, saw Papa's red hair. He gasped and struggled. No! But... Where was Alexis?! The boy whimpered, not liking the strange hands that handled him and the flame red hair got farther and farther away.

"Gale!" Panic as the little winged child scrambled out of his arms and after their pursuers. The gyspus froze, holding his ground as they attacked Gale. Then stopped, gathering up the child to take him away.

"Put him down!" His voice was firm and commanding. The soldier holding Gale continued, only a smaller group turning to deal with the gyspus as he stepped up. "Hand him over or else!"

"Or else what, Fire bender? Your out numbered," one of guards stated, smirking.
"Capture him! The Captain wants this one alive!"
Stones jumped out of the ground and soared through the air. Ducking and running was all he could do to avoiding a pummeling.
Pillars lurched, diverting his path, leading him one way or another. Nearly housing him a stone prison. He had his light footed speed to thank for not being caught by now. Gale was being carried farther and farther way, though. He had to stop them. He had to protect Gale...

Heat burned in his chest. Spread out to his limbs. The power coming naturally, at least for this moment. A low sweep of his foot cast a wave of flames at his oppressors feet. They jumped away. Distracted. Coden focused on one man, visually extended his reach. Breath, Punch, twist, kick, sweep. The man staggered away in a panic to douse the flames on his uniform.
The next. Breath, charge, twist, kick, punch. Exhale. A stream of flames caused the man to dodge, block with stone, and run into a breath stealing blow. One more.

A pillar caught him in a back. Coden fell, tumbled. Rolled. Avoided another block a stone that jumped and landed in his wake. Scrambled to his feet, lurched as the ground crumbled beneath him, threatening to swallow him. Spun and cast a wave of heat at the soldier, danced around blocks and pillars. Evaded the soldier. Strengthen his motions with the burning power inside him. And kicked the man into the brush.

Groaning and whimpers surrounded him. It was too easy, or Coden was getting more use to these bending powers. Damn them. Gale was out of his sights, but not far. He couldn't be. In a fit of rage, he grabbed a man from the ground, gasping for breath. "Where are they taking my son!?"

The soldier looked bewildered at the fire bender, at Coden. Trembling in something of fear or pain. "Son...wha-"
"WHERE!?" Coden interrupted fiercely, a blaze of flames erupting in his free hand
"Th-the city, I'm sure! b-b-but you'll never catch them. By the time...you catch up, We'll have taken your friends int..into custody....for pro..protection!"

"Protection? From what!?"

The soldier feebly pointed at Coden, as if fearing the loss of his hand. "W-we'd never leave air benders, or any people, i-in the hands of fire benders of your likes! Augh!"
Coden frustratedly threw the men into one of his companions, before rushing off.

He had to find Gale. Had to get to him before they reached the city. Had to find him and get the others, if they hadn't already been taken in to 'protective custody'. A retching feeling burned in his gut. Something told him he wasn't going to make it. He was suddenly the bad guy for reasons he didn't know, and Gale was beyond his reach. HIS protection. "The story of my life....", he grumbled, pressing on after the soldiers.

Angelique muttered oaths under her breath as she made her way through the forest, panting from the steep incline. She knew she couldn't be far from the other girl as the dust cloud had seemed to originate from this direction.

As she continued on, she heard a snap from behind her. Turning to look, she was caught off-guard as a pillar of earth shot up in front of her, knocking her back with a sound of surprise. She landed hard on the ground, falling backward. From her angle on the slope she could see a couple of the soldiers from the town. Rolling to her feet, she got into a defensive stance.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

"We're here to take you into custody," one of the soldiers said.

"Oh I think not," Angelique growled, summoning up her power. Perhaps she wasn't very good with water, but she'd be damned if she went down without any sort of fight. Sending forward the energy, she watched as water from the creek shot at them, soaking the ground and everything it hit, including Angelique.

The guards stomped on the ground and a shield rose up in front of them, blocking the water while another pillar shot up at Angelique. She dodged, slipping on the now muddy ground. Another pillar shot at her, and no sooner had she moved than two more were up.

She glared. Of course now that she was on the defense and couldn't attack them, they were doubling up on her. A rather unexpected pillar hit her square in the back, knocking her down. She fell to her knees, winded.

As the two guards approached her intent to restrain her, she concentrated on the water, trying to make it do something. Aside from seeming to flow uphill toward her, there was nothing. No wait...one of them slipped in the mud.

Well this was a complete exercise in futility, Angelique thought as she was lead away back down toward the town. I guess it's down to magic, then. For now, she would wait.

Alexis gained her senses again inside a lot nicer room than the one that Coden and Gale were in earlier. It wasn’t the darkened prison from before, but it may as well have been. The doors were locked, there were no windows, and she was still bound. There was a single guard inside the room, and who knew how many more just outside. She had no idea where she was, no idea where the others were. She cursed at herself for getting them into this mess, and tried to think of options for escape. But first….

“Umm…. Could you tell me what’s going on?” Alexis said meekly and softly, trying to create a sense of timidity as her fingers dug into her restraints. “I came from such a far away land, and don’t know why you were attacking me. I didn’t do something WRONG did I?” Alexis said, trying to look innocent.

“Umm…. Well… You were with a dangerous firebender! And everyone knows that they’d kill you as soon as see you!” The soldier sputtered, perplexed to how it was possible that she didn’t know that already.

“A firebender! But… What is wrong with firebenders!” Alexis said in a timidly confused tone, “I’m sorry… I just… I just don’t understand what’s going on… I… I was shipwrecked near here, and… We don’t hear much about what goes on outside our island… I’m… I’m just so confused!” Alexis said, curling up and sniffling. “I… I just want to go home!”

The man went up to console the pretend grieving Alexis, and after a few minutes, told her about the war that had been plaguing the four main countries of the world, and how the firebenders were the ones causing all of the pain and strife for the people, and how an Avatar was rumored to have risen up. How there weren’t any more air benders around, so they were going to be taken to some earth kingdom capitol, or something like that.

After a few minutes, of sitting in contemplation, fake sobbing all the while, Alexis watched as the man grew closer, patting her on the back and trying to console her. He needed to tell his superiors about this, if there was a place where airbenders still resided…. Before he could do anything, Alexis’s hands shot out, slamming into the back of the mans neck, sending him to the floor. Slipping her pick back into her dimensional pocket, she went over to the door. She had no idea how many people were out there, nor where the others were… The stone structure making it hard for her to see through the walls…. For all she knew… it was a hundred to one out there….. Fun.

Angelique glared at her captors, or rather the door that separated them from her. It was a lucky break that she had a moment without someone in the room and was using the time to attempt and break out of her restraints; of course her hands were behind her back making it near impossible to get to any of her tools, though she still tried, pulling at her lab coat in an attempt to reach her pockets. Taking a break, she leaned her head back against the wall behind her, eyes closing in thought.

"Alright...who are you and what are you doing here?" The guard that had apparently been assigned to her when she was first brought in had asked.

Angelique bit back a growl as she scowled, even then fidgeting in the chains, testing them. If only she had her fire powers...She looked up at the questions.

"My name is none of your concern, and as for what I'm doing here, I'd like to know that myself."

Perhaps not the best foot to start out on as she could see the guard visibly tense, but at the moment she truly didn't care.

"Now if you would be so kind as to at the least tell me why you brought me here...wherever here is, though I would much prefer it if you released me." Definitely not the best response...

The man managed to keep his temper, probably through years of dealing with ill-tempered prisoners. Angelique had to scoff at the thought that she was the prisoner of humans. That wouldn't be lasting long...as soon as she got use of either her hands or fire back...

"Where are you from?"

"I have a policy not to tell strangers about my personal information."

Hands slammed down on the table, causing it to rattle and, she swore that the ground shook a little as well. She had to smirk.

"Miss, I would greatly appreciate it if you would cooperate with us...your friends are airbenders-"

"They're no friends of mine," Angelique bit back, agitation beginning to win out at the assumptions this man was making. Oh if she could only access her fire...

He looked a little taken aback. "Then why were you traveling with them?"

"Quite by accident, I assure you," She said.

"Then how did you get here?" he seemed confused.

"We crashed." Sardonic, giving him a dry look, daring him to argue. She really hadn't been in the mood to deal with him.

He seemed to give up on getting around her attitude, muttering something about it being like a firebender's before resuming the questioning.

He'd kept at it for a good couple of hours before she gave him any satisfactory answers, finally growing tired in the face of the man's stubborn persistence.

And now...

Angling her head slightly, she cracked an eye as the door opened.

"We've sent the request to transfer you with your...companions...to the capitol."

"I'll try to contain my excitement." For emphasis, she relaxed back against the wall again, closing her half-opened eye. She could sense the annoyance radiating off the man.

"You could make this go so much smoother, you know," he said.

"I'm sure I could," Angelique intoned, pulling at her coat again. Almost there...

"If you're truly from where the airbenders are form we need to know where that is...if there are airbenders still left in the world..."

She had one of her small screwdrivers. Now to keep him talking...

"Extinct species, then? Given how well those two make friends I'm not surprised."

A soft click. One of the shackles was unlocked. With one arm free the other would be much easier...

"The boy has two abilities...we've never seen the like outside the Avatar. It's unheard of! If there were more like him, they could be a great advantage against the Fire Nation..."

Another click and Angelique grinned, eyes snapping open. In a swift motion, she threw the shackles at the man as a distraction as she worked to get the ones off her feet. She only had a second, however, before she had to resort to her powers. Scraping the screwdriver across the stone flooring, creating several tiny grooves, barely noticeable, in a row. When the guard came at her, stepping on the line, she activated it, sending a shock through his system that caused him to jump back. In the meantime, she got the shackles off her feet and ran for the door.

The ground began to shake, attempting to trip her up, as the stone flooring began to shift. Sweeping her hand out behind her, Angelique released a burst of power and was stunned to see her usual flames appear, forcing the man to step back behind the line that had appeared.

Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, she bolted through the door and out of the room.

They had been kind to the boy. They had not shackled him or roughed him up in any way. There was no need to. The only thing they had done was yelled at him, but even that didn't cause any visible response. Gale clutched the puppy as if his life depended on it and was silent.

At first, they had been mild with him, asking him questions in a soft and gentle tone. They had placed Gale on a couch and he just stared at them through half lidded eyes. Simple questions that got simple answers after long pauses. Maybe if he answered their questions, they would answer his.

Where are you from? 'Lexi's room.
Where is the that? The base.
Where is the base? ... 'Lexi's room.

This circular questioning went on forever it seemed. Gale didn't know any other way to answer the men and when they started getting angry, he began to curl up. They snapped at him and yelled but that did nothing and soon Gale's back was too them, hands pressed against his ears.

They tried being nice again but that didn't fool Gale. Nope. Not a bit. So he stayed where he was, flicking his wing out at them whenever they disturbed him. He wanted sleep. After many more attempts, they sighed, shrugged and left him there.

Gale lay there for a while, holding his doggie. Then he remembered. Where was Papa and Lexi? He stood, shaking his fuzzy head. What... what did he remember since waking up? Rocks... being carried... playing with wind and fire... here... That's it. And here was not a good here to be so he would find Lexi and Papa and go back.

Exiting the room, Gale looked around. Strangely enough, there were no guards out here. It was a shift change, to his luck. Silently, he made his way down the hall, hiding in a corner when many foot steps past him. Was Lexi down that way? But there was outside. Papa was still outside... The boy ran down the hall to find Lexi.

They were right. Coden tracked Gale and the Earth benders as far as the city gates. Hidden along side the road contemplating what he was suppose to do next. Find the others, obviously. He knew they were captured too, as the soldiers had stated. Or else they'd have regrouped by now.

"What am I expected to do. Waltz right in and ask for my companions back? Turn myself in?" He questioned himself irately, tugging at his uniform. The red standing out boldly from the earthen greens and whites the city people wore.
If the conditions were more severe and demanding, he might do it. "They wont hurt them. They don't seem hostile towards my company, only fire benders," he observed, crouching inside a shadow. Watching as farmers and outer country dwellers came and went in peace via the road.

If he had just been wearing something different when he first arrived, They'd have never gotten into this whole mess. "Discriminating....Dah-nah..." Where would he get anything worth blending in with, though? It wasn't as though he could buy it or borrow--

The gyspus groaned softly. Borrow...He should have been more patient. Thought things through a little more. He could have swapped clothes with one of the guards. Damn. Back tracking would do him no good. He knew that by experience. The fools were probably tracking him now or rushing to report to their awaiting masters.

The man blinked as he saw his very synopsis become a reality before his eyes. From up the road came running one lone Soldier, meekly skiing over the top of the travel weary road. An urgency in his every step.

Were things finally looking up for him? Wary that the others may be close, Coden took the fateful opportunity lain before him. As the guard skied past Coden jumped out, tackling the man into the brush on the other side of the road. It was messy, but a few minutes of struggling and half dry threats, Coden had the man following his orders. They swapped. And Coden bound the soldier to a tree beside the road adn knocked him out. His allies would find him soon enough. He only had so much time.

Adjusting the almost too big Earth bender Uniform, Coden tied back his hair and hid the red with a triangular hat. Racing in the earth benders place back to the city. Casually passing through the gate and freely through the streets. Head down. Eyes up. His head clear.

(Merr?)

Alexis had relative success so far, after the first guard there seemed to be no one else in this particular wing. Either this place had really horrid security or she was just having her first bit of good luck for the day. After hearing about this place’s war, she had come up with a very simple plan. Gather everyone together and leave. She didn’t want to drag any of them into another war… She had already done that once… One war was too many….

As she glanced down each hallway, avoiding detection through sheer speed, she didn’t have much luck in finding the others. Who knew if they were even in this building? A gut feeling told her to keep looking, and eventually she ran into Gale, or rather, she slowed down and snatched up Gale as she ran, not wanting to lose her momentum in case they were discovered. Eventually she had run the full course of the building, but didn’t find anyone else. Well… if they were still here, she’d come back she supposed. Now she needed to get Gale out.

Not finding a convenient exit, she decided to try to escape via window. Glancing around at the doors surrounding her, she chose one at random, hoping the room beyond had a window. Indeed the room had a window, but it also apparently housed several soldiers. There was an awkward silence for half a second as both sides stared at the other in shock. Alexis’ free hand went to slam the door shut and go the other way when the floor beneath her disappeared, and she found herself half submerged in pressurized earth. She had been holding Gale in a way that he didn’t get caught in the trap, and she twisted herself to shield him from any attempts to grab him.

“We don’t want to hurt you two, we’re just trying to help! If you’ll just hand over the boy and stop trying to run away, we can work all this out peacefully. WE’RE the good guys, we’re just trying to defeat the Fire Nation. If there are other airbenders out there, that could help shift the balance of the war!”

Alexis struggled to get out of the trap she was in, glaring at the men all the while. “I’ve seen enough war to last anyone’s lifetime. EVERYONE says that their side is the right side… I’m not sure if there is a truly good side anymore… Just because someone has a certain kind of magic doesn’t mean they’re automatically good or evil you know… But I know that I’m not going to join another war, nor am I letting him or any of my friends join!” Alexis said, finally giving up on using the new air magic she had gained, disappearing behind the men, looking rather exhausted from the effort, and diving through the window onto the wall surrounding the compound below.

She raced away on the wall, keeping a hold of Gale, looking for any familiar faces. Glancing down to her side, she found one she hadn’t been expecting, “Pala?” No sooner hand she said this then the stone wall shifted, a large section shooting up in front of her, and at her momentum, she slammed right into the wall, falling inside the compound. Rolling on impact to take the brunt of the fall away from Gale, she wearily stood up and put her back to the wall, glancing between the several earthbenders that were coming out to meet them. Why did she always end up having to fight her way out of situations?