[center][h2][color=lightgreen]Chapter 1: Springtime Retreat[/color][/h2][/center]

Sounds of grunting, the product of hard work and effort, could be heard mixed with the sounds of classical song radiating outward from a rather plain looking door within the complex of the White Lotus. Passed the plain door was a distinctly not so plain room, furnished with fine green silks, pillows, sheets, and rugs. In the corner sat a very small badgermole with its eyes closed, not sleeping, but paying close attention to the other inhabitant of the room, as well as the music she had playing. In the center of the room sat a sand pit, and in the center of the sand pit there exercised a woman. Though highly feminine in appearance, she was sweating hard at work as performed pushups in the sand with one finger. Upon reaching one hundred, she wiped her sweat with a nearby green towel then turned her attention toward a different exercise. With two swift motions of her arms the sand in the pit rose up around her into two pillars. She then clenched her fists tightly, and the sand compacted into hard, solid stone. Another wave of her hand to the side caused a portion of the left stone pillar to jut outward, connecting the two pillars together. With an approving nod the young woman crouched and leaped up, grabbing the connecting rod with both hands and began a routine of pullups.

After a few repetitions the young woman heard a knock at the door. With a small sigh she swung her legs twice to gain a bit of momentum. On a third swing a gust of air pushed her forward and she released, landing a good twenty feet away right in front of the machine playing her music. She reached forward, elegantly lifting the record needle up to give the music an immediate stop, and the badgermole in the corner an immediate startle. She chuckled. [color=lightgreen]"Apologies, Pangu, but we have company. You may enter."[/color] The latter was spoken to the door. In walked a White Lotus representative, a woman of Fire Nation origin. She gave a small bow before speaking.

"Avatar Shamo, I am here to inform you that your new masters are to arrive soon. You are to be ready to give a demonstration of your skills, so they can evaluate what best to train you on."

Shamo nodded to convey her understanding. [color=lightgreen]"Your warning is appreciated. How soon are they to arrive, Mai?"[/color]

"In three hours time," Mai replied.

[color=lightgreen]"Three hours?"[/color] the avatar asked, a note of surprise in her voice. [color=lightgreen]"I should have been given more warning. Oh dear, I will have to rush my preparations."[/color] The avatar took a stance with her legs spread wide, her hands centered. She began moving her arms in a rolling wave motion. As she did so, the sweat which covered her body slid forward, gathering together in a single ball suspended in the air before her. Once her skin and clothing had been cleared of the sweat, she relaxed her stance and the ball of liquid fell to the floor, soaking into the sand pit.

[color=lightgreen]"You have performed your duty admirably. You are dismissed, Mai."[/color] The White Lotus woman bowed once more and left the room, shutting the door behind her. Shamo sighed, walking over to a desk with a vanity mirror and sat next to it. Before her were multiple containers of makeup and perfumes. She contemplated each of them for a few minutes, finding herself unable to decide.

[color=lightgreen]"I do dislike looking any less than my best. Hmm. Which perfume do you think would make the best impression, Pangu?"[/color] The small badgermole perked a bit as he heard his name, looking over in Shamo's direction with his blind eyes. She drew some liquid out of the containers with her bending and guided it toward her animal friend, who took a sniff of the air, sneezed, then buried his nose in the ground. Shamo sighed. [color=lightgreen]"That's what I thought too. They really should have given me more time to prepare myself."[/color]

[hr]

Avatar Shamo Hua allowed the White Lotus sentries to guide her through the halls and into the courtyard. They knew how to show proper respect, and it was appreciated. She did not appreciate the sparring gear she was required to wear for this demonstration, however. The green helmet matched her colors only upon her insistence. The original design was white, a terrible choice for her complexion. Apart from that alteration, it was inexcusably gaudy to wear. Too bulky, not aesthetically pleasing at all. Of course that was part of the purpose; it had to be bulky to account for the safety padding. That didn't stop it from just irking Shamo, though. The rest of the suit was just as cumbersome and irritating. She preferred an [i]elegant[/i] design, one that would let her move with greater alacrity and dexterity. Ironic, coming from a native earthbender. 

Shamo Hua stepped into the sparring ring where her opponents stood, taking notice of the six seats overlooking her. She immediately recognized each of them, she had been briefed on her new servants after all, and before beginning the match she gave them all a bow of respect. Then she turned and gave her opponents the same platitude. Once her opponents gave their own bows the match commenced.

[b][color=white]"Begin!"[/color][/b]

The match immediately erupted into a furious beginning. Each of the White Lotus that were in the ring now had seen Shamo fight, had already fought her, and they knew it was best to strike before she did. Once the avatar got going, she was a maelstrom that refused to give pause. A firebender shot forward, propelled by a jet of flame behind him, while an airbender launched herself high up. In the same moment a waterbender scattered puddles around the solid ground and froze them into a thin layer of ice. Shamo smiled. They had to have come up with this strategy ahead of time. A three pronged attack in an attempt to keep her off balance by having to respond to entirely different methods of assault. It was a good plan, one that would have worked on a lesser bender. A lesser avatar.

Moving swiftly, Shamo stomped one foot into the ground causing a ripple in the earth. The ice encroaching on her position had its path cut off before it even reached her as rock split and divided into smaller fragments. Following that up in the same motion she slid her left foot in a pivot and waved an open palm upward. This had the effect of creating a high pressure wind wall, knocking both the firebender and the airbender off course. As they stumbled to the side the waterbender attacked from a distance, using two water whips. An earthbender got in on the action by throwing a quick volley of rocks from the very ring they fought in. 

Shamo responded to the water whips by slicing at them as they approached, exhaling strongly to create a long blade of flame which severed and vaporized the water. The stones appeared to strike true though, hitting the avatar in the head. Or rather so it had appeared. In the last moment Shamo headbutt each one, smashing the stones to a fine sand in the process. By this point the airbender had regained her footing, placing herself at Shamo's back. The earthbender sent another volley of stones while the waterbender reformed his whips for another go. They were keeping her on the defensive. Good strategy, but it also gave her the time she needed to set the battlefield up to her liking.

The avatar crouched down, then lifted herself up as if lifting a mighty weight. Eight stone spires shot up from the ground in an instant, surrounding the avatar like a protective cage. One had erupted directly underneath the airbender and so she found herself blasted up for the second time. The cage blocked the volley of rocks, smashing them to tiny bits, as well as diverted the water flow of the whip. With two strong punches the avatar launched two of the spires toward her earthbending opponent, and another two punches sent a pair toward the waterbender.

The firebender was charging her from the side now, and those rock spires would decidedly not act as a defense against a wave of flame. The man jumped upward, spinning a kick through the air and sending a wave of fire right for Shamo's head. The avatar reached forward with both hands pressed together and parted the flames on contact. Her open palms then came into contact with two more of her stone spires. Gripping each tightly, they moved with her hands slamming together to form a larger, more solid wall which the firebender slammed right into. With a clenching of her fists the wall broke apart into sand, collapsing on top of, and partly burying, the firebender.

At that moment Shamo was caught off guard by a stream of water enveloping her left arm, rendering it immobile. The waterbender hand avoided the stone spires flung off at her, and now had the avatar somewhat disabled. No, not disabled. Inconvenienced. Shamo breathed out gently, cold air leaving her lungs. The ice around her arm froze. With a strong tug the ice broke off from the liquid water still under her opponent's control. She had reacted just in time to catch sight of the airbender sending a stream of funneled air toward her. The avatar jumped upward, propelled by the earth shooting her toward the sky, and spun around. In the same spinning motion Shamo launched the ice from her arm toward the airbender, who knocked it aside with a gust of wind.

What goes up... Did not come down. It was a breach of the Lotus's sparring uniform to be sure, but Shamo needed to properly accessorize. Moving in the right way, her green scarf revealed itself from beneath the padded uniform. Using her airbending she treated her scarf as a makeshift glider, a task it was not well equipped for, but equipped well enough for her purposes. The avatar guided herself into a divebomb directly toward the center of the ring, and crashed into it fist first. What followed was a great tremor as the stone ring broke apart and became sand.

[color=lightgreen]"Now the fight truly begins,"[/color] she announced as she stood up, turning to face each of her opponents as they recovered. Unfortunately the masters would not get to see why Shamo Hua was known as the Sandbending Princess, for at that very moment the sirens went off. The match had to end for the Republic's forces were quickly encroaching. Shamo rolled her eyes and relaxed her stance while members of the Lotus approached to take her to safety. 

Her opponents scattered, no doubt preparing to do battle in an effort to cover her own retreat. As they did a couple sentries hurried to help the avatar from her own sparring gear. Relieved to be out of such a terrible ensemble, she smiled out of genuine pleasure for the first time since being put into it. Such relief was not long to last though. As they had her spirited away, she was given a drab, downright ugly gray rag to wear in an effort not to draw attention to herself. One of the Lotus had reached for her earrings, but a single death glare was enough to communicate the right message on that account.

[b][color=white]“The United Forces are nearby! You must depart at once Avatar Shamo, for your own safety. This group of men and women will serve as your masters for the final time. The next time you and I meet you shall be a fully realized Avatar, master of all the elements, ready to save the world. I hope you have, at the very least, enjoyed your time here. Goodbye, Avatar.”[/color][/b]

Shamo returned the man's bow, genuinely respectful for his actions and caring. She then looked the man right in the eye and spoke. [color=lightgreen]"It pleases me that you consider our next meeting a certainty. Do what you can to survive. I will miss you, Wei."[/color] 

It was only a few scant minutes, but Avatar Shamo Hua found herself on a well built airship with her new servants. As they ship fled the complex, she stared out of the window. It wasn't in sight for very long, but clearly a battle was now raging. Men and women were giving their lives to protect her. It was her duty to ensure those lives were not lost in vain. With a steely grimace she accepted this to be the reality of the situation, then turned her attention to the immediate matters at hand.

The captain of the vessel began speaking in a rather happy and energetic, if completely inappropriate manner. Had he zero respect? They were on the run and he was asking for an autograph?! Had she not been in full control of her emotions Shamo would be easily recognizable as being enraged, maybe she could have slapped the man. Thankfully the pilot got their captain on track so she wouldn't have to suffer further. Apparently they had a choice of course to get to the island, but why was the captain putting that choice in the hands of the passengers? Such matters were to be determined by a navigator and the captain, were they not? Shamo Hua was no expert in airships or flight, but she knew this much.

Well, no matter why this bizarre decision had been made, they had some time to discuss it. The crew left to go about their jobs, and so it was just the Avatar, her new bodyguard, and new masters. The first to speak was her new earthbending teacher, Shailesh Durjaya. [color=lightgreen]"Do not underestimate your skills, Shailesh sifu,"[/color] she said with a bow, making perfect eye contact. [color=lightgreen]"The reports I have read state you to be something of a prodigy. I look forward to your instructions. Besides, if you are not confident, what reason have I to trust you with my training?"[/color]

Her words were spoken not in an insulting way, but very matter-of-fact. She then addressed the entire group. [color=lightgreen]"Ah, but I apologize for my hasty words. It is impolite as I have not introduced myself. Naturally you all know who I am, but in an effort to maintain [i]some[/i] level of formality I will say this. Hello, I am Avatar Shamo Hua. I am pleased to meet you all and look forward to having you fulfill your duties to serve my growth."[/color]