It was another day of running, another day of trying to find some sort of safety in the wasteland that became the earth kingdom. People say that hundreds of years ago, it used to be a metropolis, thriving with people everywhere. Nowadays, find another human was a rare sight. Humanity was hanging by a loose thread, and it was slipping every day. He had to keep running. It wasn't a choice, and if a choice was possible, the young man would have simply dropped to the ground and waited for his hunters to find him. He couldn't stop though, it wasn't his choice. He needed to get to the coast of the earth kingdom as quickly as possible, and that meant he had to keep moving. If he got off of the giant land mass, then he might have a chance of survival.

The young man turned around and looked behind him, seeing the other three members of his little team. Neither of them trusted any of the others all that much, but they needed each other if they wanted to survive. Those words were the foundation of their friendship. Although none of them got along, they all had the same plan and knew it wouldn't work without help. Barrok, the youngest of the group, held the other three together like glue. Without him, the other three would be at each others throats. He had in his possession an Armadillo-Lion, which him and his friends were currently riding on. He found beast in his early years with help from his deceased parents, and he kept the animal, developing a bond with it. The Hybrid animal was going at it's fastest as the three others held on tightly, hoping to gain some more ground by the end of the day. The one just behind Barrok was a woman a few years older than him. He was the only bender of the team, but she didn't see him like the god that the others did. She practically hated him because it was his kind that had thrown the world into this mess so long ago. She held a grudge against him, but he didn't let that get in the way of starting an uneasy friendship. He could supply water from deep within the ground, and even purify it for the most part so that it was safe. She was in debt to him, but she wouldn't ever say it.

She looked at him with unease and hit him lightly, snapping him out of his stupor. He was worried that the hunters would catch up eventually, and if he kept looking back, thta might veer off course and not be on the fastest path to the coast. He looked at her a little confused at first, but didn't say anything, instead, turning back around to the front to keep his Companion animal on the right course. Nala, the woman behind him, looked back with a look of worry. She wasn't really all that mad at Barrok any more because it wasn't directly his fault, and just because he could use his abilities for self gain didn't mean that he actually did. The two behind her looked at her a little confused, noticing the look of worry on her face. Neither of the two said anything, since Nala had been known to hit them in the past for teasing her to getting too far into her personal life.

Chou, or Master Chou, as he liked thinking of himself as, was slowly making his way inland. His search for the Avatar seemed without end. He had traveled around half the world, and seen more Benders than any man alive, he’d warrant. With each encounter, a hope; a hope they would be something more. So far though, his hunt had gotten him into more trouble than it had been worth. Yet he would never give up. No less than a man gives up on his life, would he give up on finding the Avatar. And so his journey continued.

There were Benders in Ba Sing Se, he had heard. Some Earth Bender who calls himself the Iron King, and who had other Benders under his command. It didn’t seem likely that it would be more than a dead end, but right now, Chou didn’t have any other lead to go by. He kept spirit by believing each step brought him closer to the Avatar. Now that he had left the coast, he chose to stick to forest paths. The roads, or what was left of them, were too dangerous. The main profession anywhere these days involved thievery, or worse, and there were always predators looking for prey. And Chou was just that. Old he’d become in his search for the Avatar, and he had no weapons but his fists. He only survived by his wits. Nobody respected seniority. Nobody respected anything. He shook his head and abandoned such thoughts. One had to keep spirits up. He began instead to focus on his surroundings. Around him was just forest, but ahead he could see it clearing. He must be nearing the edge of the forest.

---

The crew of eight was getting tired. Their targets had proved a stubborn catch, but they had their orders. Everybody were grim that afternoon, and tired of the chase. Their Ostrich-Horses were starting to show signs of exhaustion, but Bei knew their hunt was soon over. He’d been a hunter since he was little, and he’d developed a keen emotional sense, which kicked in when the prey was near. There were one or more Benders among their targets, but they had two trained Chi-blockers and the others were equipped with bows. No half-assed Bender could stand against such a force. Bei had all the confidence in the world when they finally caught sight of the Armadillo-Lion. His companions let out a yell of triumph or challenge, maybe both, and spurred their Ostrich-Horses to a gallop.

“Mind the beast”, Bei called to the others. “And don’t kill the Bender. The Iron King wants that one for himself. But he didn’t say anything about not hurting him!” He shouted, and the crew laughed. They readied their bows, and began firing arrows at the Armadillo-Bear, though the shafts fell well short still. They had to hurry. At the moment, they were riding on open ground, but some ways ahead lay a thick forest. They would lose their advantage in there. Bui signaled to stop shooting until they were within definite range. He could smell it now; the prey’s fear was always sweet.

Nala kept looking behind them. She knew well that they were being chased. All four of them could head the sounds of the Ostrich-Horses advancing towards them, and it seemed like that were already getting closer. Very soon after, the one in the far back, Bato, was able to hear a small whizzing sound that pierced through the air. It didn't get very loud, but he knew what it was. "They're firing!" He shouted at Barrok, who looked back at the three of them and glanced at the ground behind them. He didn't looked at them for very long, since he was forced to navigate through the forest. He called back out to them, glancing at them once more. "Then do something! I can't use water right now since I don't know if we'll get the chance to purify some more, and if we get thirsty then we won't have anything to drink." It was a surprise to tall of them when they narrowly escaped with little to no weaponry. The only weapon other than Barrok's bending was a bow and a few arrows they managed to pick up. There weren't many arrows, and one one of them knew how to actually fire the arrows properly. Sozin, the man in between Bato and Nala, held onto the bow and pulled out an arrow from the Quiver on his back and fired one, hoping to do something.

"Come on Kuei, Faster!' Barrok called out to his companion, who was making en effort to keep the young man and his friends alive. Unfortunately, not long after the Armadillo-Bear made an effort to go faster, an arrow made it's way to the back of it's leg. Although Kuei didn't stop, it did slow down very much. Nala looked at Barrok with alarm and glaned behind them "They're going to catch up! What's wrong with Kuei?" She was quickly answered by Bato, who could see the arrow when Kuei's foot moved backwards. "It's an arrow! I can't get to it, it's too far!"

The band started to relentlessly fire arrows now that they were within shooting range. "Aim for the beast", Bui yelled, and so they did. However, his men were only hitting the Armadillo-Lion's thick scale, achieving nothing. An arrow fly past his head, and hit the man behind him in the chest, knocking him off his horse. Bui cursed, and knocked another shaft and took his time to air carefully. He fired, and watched it sail in a perfect arc, and hit its mark; the right hind-leg of the beast. Weakened, it quickly began to slow down. Another arrow, Bui couldn't tell from who, hit the girl at the back of the Armadillo-Lion. More arrows followed, raining down on them. Bui grinned. This was the hunt's climax.

---

Chou stopped abruptly as he reached the end of the forest. Beyond him lay a vast plain, and what looked like two parties of people; one hunting the other. He quickly took cover, as not to be noticed, but kept an eye on the field. He felt ashamed he could do nothing but watch.

More and more arrows flew past the team as they continued, and Kuei only became more and more tired as he went on. Although well armored, the Armadillo-Lion could still be hit. It wasn't very long after that when Bato was hit with an arrow. who cursed under her breath quickly before crying out in pain. Bato was strong, and although the arrow hurt, she wrenched it out of her skin and cursed again. She couldn't stop herself from bleeding, but she just wanted the arrow out of her. Slowly but surely, Sozin ran out of arrows and did his best to clean up the wound on Bato All four of them could feel that Kuei was slowing down, and Barrok knew that they'd have to fight all of the hunters off. Another arrow made it's way into Kuei's skin, causing the Hybrid animal to stop and fall over in pain. Barrok and Nala jumped off, and Sozin grabbed Bato and made sure to use his body to break her fall.

Kuei panted heavily as he looked at his human friend, silently apologizing for not doing better. Barrok looked back at Kuei and shook his head before pulling out some water from it's pouch. The water surrounded his hands and a few droplets floated and shifted around in the air. He was more than lucky to know how to use his element, and much to his surprise, he had a great amount of control with it when he first started to learn. Nala readied herself, pulling out a blade that she had come across during their travels. Sozin didn't have any more arrows, but he could still fight with his hands, and Bato was useless at the moment since the arrow had pierced her thigh and she couldn't even stand up right without assistance. All four of them were preparing to fight to the death.

Two of their hunting party had fallen to arrows, and Bui realized their party's quivers were empty too. He called to dismount, and everyone jumped off their Ostrich-Horses and drew their swords. Being on the Iron King's side had its benefits. He was the wealthiest man around, and liked keeping his men well equipped. Everyone drew steel except the two chi-blockers. They leaped off their mounts, landing graciously, and sped ahead of the group. They were a vicious couple, who prided themselves on their talents. Bui and the three others fell in behind, shouting challengingly while running towards their prey. The first chi-blocker, Ruo, jumped on the Water Bender, trying to get a barrage of hits in. The other one, Melen, expertly darted behind the others, going for the one holding the blade. He was planning to paralyze her with three deft strokes. All the while, Chou was watching for the edge of the forest, biting his lip. He hadn't yet seen that there was a Bender among them, and didn't want to risk his life. It was too valuable - it was his duty to find the Avatar.

As soon as the first chi-blocker jumped at Barrok, the young water bender put his hands up and the water expanded, forming a shield that covered his body from the top of his head to the bottom of his torso. Due to the size, the shield was thin, but it was just enough to block a few hits before shattering. As the ice shield shattered into pieces, Barrok bent the shards to stop from hitting the ground, and launched a number of the small, sharpened shard, at the chi-blocker. He hoped that the shards would be big enough to hurt him.

Nala switched to a defensive stance as the other chi-blocker chame rushing at her. She needed to stay more than arms reach from the chi-blocker so that she wouldn't get hit, but it seemed that she wasn't fast enough to react to the last of the three strokes. Instantly, she could feel her arm giving out. Luckily it wasn't the arm that held the sword, but without her left arm, it would be harder to fight. She used both of her hands when fighting, as it gave her stability and a little more power.

Ruo was taken by surprise, and crashed into the thin wall of ice. Before he'd had time to gather himself, he felt dozens of shards rip through his skin. He screamed out in pain, and instinctively jumped away from the Water Bender. Melen retreated a bit, as his opponent had proved better than anticipated. That's when Bei and the three swordsmen arrived, charging in like wild boars. The nameless thugs went for the unarmed one and the already wounded one. No real protection against the cold steel, the two fell quickly, and the thugs roared, mad with blood-lust, before turning their attention towards the girl with the blade. Bei moved quickly but cautiously towards the Water Bender, and was careful not to step on the ice, before he started deftly swinging his curved sword at him. He didn't aim to kill; only wound.

In the bushes, Chou nearly jumped out of hiding when he discovered there was a Water Bender among the fighters. This was only the second time he had run into a Bender by chance like this. His heart was racing fast as he held his breath. If he went out there, and the Bender lost, he would surely be killed. On the off-side the Bender would win against such odds, there was still the possibility he'd still be killed by the Bender. Chou had a scar across his chest as a testament to the cruelty of some Benders. Yet Chou could barely keep hmself still. He wanted to run in and help fend off the swordsmen any way he could. But his feet stood planted. His survival instinct was too strong. He watched on with horror as the Bender's companions were being slaughtered.

Before he could process what happened to his friends, piercing screams of pain roared throughout the forest as the two fell. For the slightest second, Barrok looked over to their two dead and lifeless bodies. "NO!" He shouted as he gathered the remains of his water, trying to buy time to take some water from the trees and plant life around him. He heard that there were a very few crop of people who could bend the blood inside of human beings and animals, but Barrok only knew that much. He assumed that it was under the full moon, since he felt that he was stronger then. With some effort, Barrok had managed to get some more water, but not nearly enough to make a difference at the moment. The young waterbender gathered all of the water in one hand and spread some ice around with his other hand. The shards that fell to the ground moved around and formed together to make a moving puddle of ice. After gathering up the remains of the ice, he pulled it towards him and mixed it with his water in his hands.

Nala's grey eyes widened as more came after the swordswoman, she knew that she couldn't fight off all of them, and quickly turned to Barrok. "Barrok!" She cried out. "A little help?" She slowly moved away from the men, staying in her defensive stance. Barrok had grown a little protective of her over the amount of time they've been together, so he quickly rushed to her side to help her, keeping the chi-blocker away from him. the water surrounding his hands expanded and formed another shield, the same size as the last one, but a bit stronger due to the slightly larger amount of water.

Bei cursed as a puddle of ice knocked into his side and was put between him and the Bender. He had fought Benders twice before, and had learned a few things, but this one was quicker to act than any he'd encountered. The three swordsmen were hitting away at the girl mercilessly. She seemed to be able to block most of their attacks, but they got in a few cuts here and there, and they took advantage of her one limp arm. Ruo had gotten back on his feet, though bleeding from dozens of minor cuts. Across the battlefield, he caught Melen's eyes. Melen signalled something with his hands, and they jumped into the fray, intent on ending the battle in one attack. Melen would knock out the girl while she was busy with fending off the swordsmen, while Ruo would do the same with the Bender, who was busy facing Bei. Ruo grinned. He loved having the upper hand in fights. Bei followed after the Bender, and began hacking away at the ice-shield.

Both Barrok and Nala were glad that they ice-shield stayed together after more than a few hacks from Bei. Nala kept her ground, doing her best to stay alive, despite the numerous cuts given to her by the hunters. She could only hold off against to many attacks when they were all coming at her, and because she couldn't use her left arm, she was at a major disadvantage. Every other cut or so, she could let out a small cry of pain, but kept standing despite it. Barrok could only stand still as his ice shield was being hacked away, and he only briefly saw the two chi-blockers as they moved forwards. After several hits on his shield from Bei, Barrok quickly changed his shield from ice to water just before the weapon made contact with the liquid. As soon as he did so, the young water bender back away quickly and turned to the chi-blocker as he neared Barrok. The water still floated in front of him, and he pushed the water towards the chi-blocker. When the water came in contact with the man, the water spread around him and turned into a thick layer of ice, surrounding much of his arms and most of his upper body.

The weapon that Bei used slammed into the ground during his last swing, and dind't have time to pull it up as he watched one of the chi-blockers become covered in ice. He'd worry about the bender later. The man turned his head to look and Nala, who was slowly losing her strength and will to fight. More cuts and slashes appeared in her body as it went on, and when the other chi-blocker appeared, all was lost for her. He was too quick for her and easily disabled her other arm, watching as her sword fell from her hand.

Barrok turned his attention to her when he saw that she was as good as dead. "NALA!" He shouted, knowing what was coming next. The chi-blocker quickly hit numerous points in her body to stop her completely. Nala's body fell quickly and hit the ground with a thud. The chi-blocker stood over her and grabbed her by the collar of her jacket, dragging her over to Bei. The man smiled and turned to Barrok, ordering his men to surround him so he would have nowhere to go, and would be forced to watch his friend's death.

Bei pulled his weapon from the ground and moved his eyes back to the paralyzed Nala, who now lay on the ground before him. the chi-bloxker bover away from him as he readied his weapon and cast one more glance at Barrok. He didn't say anything to him, but looked at him, since he wanted to make sure that the young man saw all of this. "NO! Don't kill her! I'll go with you, ju-" His words were stopped as he saw the weapon swing down, hiw eyes following it as it made it way deep into Nala's body. Quickly. the life in Nala's eyes left her and she became still like the others.

Slow, Barrok fell to his knees and sobbed for his fallen friends. Nala was by far his closest friend, and he knew that it was all over now. He wanted to avenge their deaths and make everything right. He just didn't want his friends deaths avenged, but everyone who died because of the Iron King and his tyranny. He wanted peace again. Suddenly, his sobs stopped and he closed his eyes. He felt something inside of him that was pulling him deeper into his subconscious. He didn't fight it and abandoned his physical body, watching as hundreds of figures passed him in his subconscious. He didn't know any of them, but he felt like he did. All of them felt so familiar. One was a young man in yellow and orange robes, another was a Water tribe woman, and many more others. All he could do was watch his body as the spirits controled his body, bringing down the group of hunters with ease.

After a moment of silence from Barrok, his eyes slowly opened to show glowing white orbs instead of his usual blue ones. He stood up slowly and retracted the ice from the chi blocker. His arms spread out as he collected more water from the beings of life around him, now having more than enough water to fight off against the entire team of hunters. His face was still and emotionless, not uttering a single word. Many of the men charged at Barrok, which was a very bad idea. Barrok swayed his hands around and moved the water to attack them. This stance and his new movements were different from his normal pattern of attacks. He was much more graceful than before and was also much more effective. Bei gritted his teeth and refused to accept this. He planned on coming back with the bender, and with abilities, Bei believed that he'd get a better reward.

The man was quickly subdued, the water hit him with such force and removed his weapon from his person. Barrok in this state didn't plan on killing anyone just yet, but wanted to knock them out so that the young water bender could run. The battle was very short after his transformation, and large pools of water and ice were all over the forest. When all seemed calm, Barrok closed his eyes and dropped to the ground. When he opened his eyes again, Barrok had very faint memories of what had just happened, but he did remember his teammates and friends dying in front of him. His head hurt and he didn't know what to do. It seemed that Kuei was still alive since the animal was breathing heavily and made it's best efforts to limp over to it's master. Barrok smiled at the Armadillo-Lion, wrapping his arms around it to the best of his abilities and enjoyed the small amount of comfort he had left.

Chou was stunned. He was right near having a heart-attack. It couldn't be. What he had searched for so long, what he had dedicated his life to, had fallen straight into his lap. All those years. He couldn't even count how many times he'd had this dream, or of how many times he'd anticipated this meeting. The search had reached its end, at last. Chou stirred, shaking off his stunned reaction. He walked towards the heap of bodies with a foreboding in his steps. The short distance he covered felt like a mile. There, before him, lay the Avatar. It was just a boy, but the world's destiny lay on his shoulders. Chou steeled his steps and his voice. He had never felt so anxious.

Chou was a tall man, but with a crooked neck which made him marginally shorter. His head was bald, and he had a grey beard. His eyes had a hint of wisdom to them, but mostly they spoke of an inner warmth. It was rare to see in people these days, as most had hunted looks. It was as if he was from another place and time, and he carried himself as if he was not of this world. He wore thick green robes which blended in with the environment. When Chou reached the battlefield, he glanced at all the bodies. Such carnage. Nobody moved except the boy lying next to the Armadillo-Lion. Chou wondered if the boy knew that he was the Avatar, but he didn't think it likely. The Avatar was just a myth, now; a legend past. Stories were told around camp-fires, but it wasn't perceived as reality. He got the notion to shout out the truth to this boy, to tell him all the things he had to do. However, he managed to supress it. The boy had been through enough in one day - he didn't have to have the world thrown on his shoulders just yet.

Instead he approached him warily, and said, "are you alright, my boy?"

Barrok heard the footsteps as soon as the other figure began to move. In his previous state, it was possible that he had found out about the person, but chose not to attack since he was simply watching, and fighting nor helping him. The memories were still very vague about the recent events, and as much as he wanted to know what had happened, another part of him wanted to believe that none of this happened. He couldn't worry about that now. There was another person, and at the moment Barrok hadn't addressed as a friend or foe yet.

Slowly, the young water bender let go of Kuei and looked around the area, finding mass amounts of water and ice scattered in many places. He didn't even need the quest that came to his mind. He was the only one that he knew of that could bend water, so he knew that all of this was him. Although he knew that it was all his doing, he wanted conformation of some sort to tell him if he was right or wrong. He looked to the man with a weary look. He was tired and his head still ached. If he hadn't been through so much trauma in one day, then he might have had his usual look, but not today.

"I... I'm okay..." He lied. He wanted to curl up into a ball and just lay there for an eternity, but he knew that he couldn't do that. He needed to keep going. His eyes turned to the man and he studied him for a moment before asking another question, one that he already knew the answer to, but still required someone else to tell him. "I did this... Right? I can't remember it, but I'm the only one who can bend water in out group.."

Chou was surprised at the question. What had happened was that the boy had entered the Avatar State. At least, that was what he had thought. He'd read about it, and heard say of it, but it seemed the boy was unaware of what he'd done. Perhaps one was not completely conscious of one's actions in that state. Chou noted it in his mind, together with all the bits and pieces of information he had gathered over the years.

"It was", Chou said at length, not knowing what else to say. He didn't want to tell the boy what he was before he was ready for it. At the moment, he seemed far from ready. On the contrary, he seemed ready to keel over. It was difficult, though, to not say anything about it. However, it would be unwise to bring it up now. There was no point in traumatizing him any further. Chou would broach the subject when he felt it was time, and directed his eyes towards the Armadillo-Lion instead. It was the here and now which mattered. And he needed to gain this boy's trust, before anything. "Your companion, there", Chou said, nodding at the beast. "He seems a little worse for wear. I know something of treating wounds. Will you allow me? I'm Chou Fen, by the way. You can call me Chou."

When Kuei was being put into the situation, Barrok became a little defensive and have the old man a harsh look. Just because he didn't attack him right away, didn't mean that it wasn't happen eventually. He had been told once that Water Benders with a certain level of skill would actually heal wounds. He hadn't been ab;e to do that, but he knew that it was possible. Slowly, Barrok moved away from the Armadillo-Bear and motioned for the man to move forward. The harsh look had ceased, but he was still being careful around this new person.

"Please do what you can to help him. When the Iron King finds out that I bested his men, he'll probably send a lot more after me. I need to get moving." He explained himself and continued to try to remember everything that had happened recently. His mind was still in a fragile state, and despite his best attempts as repairing the blank spots, he just couldn't do it.