There were times when Tianshi wished that he was a more patient man. Perhaps it was for the best that he was not. A more patient man would have never left the temples behind, believing change could come from within the withering Earth Kingdom.

For what patience he lacked, it was clear enough that many of those present found themselves in ever greater scarcity of the precious virtue. Were it so simple that he could explain to the young woman the folly of her ways—that he could explain to them [i]all[/i] the folly of their ways—then the war itself might have been halted before it started. But the people of the Earth Kingdom were the stalwart type. Their views were as difficult to uproot as the very ground itself. 

Not that there was any lack of trying on that front. The sudden arrival of a gust of air surprised him, for such a feat was only truly possible for one of his kin. Yet all the same, when his dark hues cut across the impromptu battlefield, all he saw was a strangely dressed young man with a fiery hostility in his eyes. That sort of look was as foreign to a nomad as the action that followed, and the towering monk's eyes as he thrust his staff forward to loose a swift blast of air which connected with the intervening bender's strike with an explosive 'crack'. 

For one of his people to throw an attack of such force against an unsuspecting opponent was already ridiculous enough. The tirade that followed only baffled Tianshi the more. His mien shifted from severe to incredulous for a time, and a thousand words played at his lips. Who was this young man? Who was he to speak with such disdain for the nomads whilst considering himself a contemporary? The boy could airbend, that much was not in question, and yet how could somebody who so readily spoke with pride at the notion of 'sides' in a conflict consider himself an airbender?

A more damning question to ask, perhaps, was how much good would refuting his points do? 

The young woman who had kicked oil into the metaphorical fire certainly cared little for his preaching, and already she was off in search of her fellow 'rebels' in what was looking to become quite a skirmish. Shortsighted as he was prideful, the Earth Kingdom commander seemed to have locked his horns with the notion that both he and the newcomer had no right to oppose their authority. The earth itself seemed to quake beneath Tianshi's feet, as the ground grew into a tomb to encase those who remained. At the same time, it seemed the waterbender whom he had earlier dispatched returned to take up arms with the other airbender; a vexing state of affairs. 

[color=708090]"I share allegiance with no aggressor. My 'side' is my own."[/color]

A quick puff of air saw the hulking monk take to the air with uncanny grace, his toes just barely gracing the lip of the growing barricade before another carried him further into the air and backward beside. The roof of a nearby shop facing the waterfront made for a convenient perch in the heartbeat it took him to decide his next plan of action: he had intervened in this conflict to try and divert attention away from the fishery. It was inevitable that the Earth Kingdom soldiers would circle back around to pillage through it in search of more 'convicts'. 

[i]What is past is left behind.[/i]
[i]The future is as yet unreached.[/i]

The wisdom of the sutras carried him forward. There was no point in lamenting what was, or agonizing over what will be. Only in doing what could be. If the remaining soldiers were to capture an airbender, then he would see that their duty carried them away from the wharves as a whole. Thick arms braced along the length of his staff, and as the soldiers pivoted to face him, Tianshi leaped once more into the sky, this time cutting through the air in a wide, sweeping stroke. The wind that collected along his precious glider took flight in the way of a long, blunt wave of wind that served to knock all four of the soldiers from the root of their stances and onto their backs. In the moments they found their footing again, so too did Tianshi, landing along the footpaths leading off in the direction of the others.

He stared them down only for a moment, as if challenging them to come after him, and then with an unnaturally quickness, turned heel and began a hurried retreat farther into town.