[IC] [High Casual]Avatar | Order of the White Lotus

[iSuspect]

Leia Gao

A body could be seen outlining the covers that laid over the female in the bed. She stirred slightly while removing the covers from over her face with a slight huff. She loved early mornings but she felt that today was not the day. Leia had a weird feeling in her gut that something was going to happen but couldn't tell what. Her mother, Ling, came into her room and saw that she was up and decided to sit beside her and talk. It was the same talk every since she had came back home. Her mother was frightened about Leia being apart of the White Lotus but Leia promised her that she was going to be just fine. Her mother hugged her close and tight then raised up from her seated position and went back to cleaning the house.

Leia plopped back down onto her bed for another few minutes then finally got up and got dressed. While slipping into the kitchen, her father, Jian, caught sight of her and muttered. "Today is the day, huh?" Leia raised a slight brow towards him as he turned his gaze towards her now, pointing his index finger for her to sit at the dining table. "Leia.." Jian sighed before continuing. "Me and your mother support your decision but do you really think that they need a non bender to join their ranks?" Jian questioned towards Leia. "If they didn't, they would've never recruited me, don't you think?" Ling and Jian looked at each other and nodded their heads. "You're right. Have a good day and please, be safe." Ling spoke as Leia darted out towards the door.

She walked down the street, waving at Tyko as she passed by his home and smiled. She made a mental note to challenge him to a spar later on that day to see if his skills had improved or worsened. Honestly, she just wanted to beat him, once again. Leia continued her trek until a messaging boy came up to her and handed her a note. It was a letter for an important and mandatory White Lotus meeting at the White Lotus Camp, which was basically in the middle of nowhere in the ocean.

Her emerald green eyes looked as Tyko received one as well. She nodded towards him before trekking off once again, getting herself a hot bowl of rice before the meeting. Leia ate while she walked then saw some criminals bullying a poor, innocent family for their merchandise. She immediately walked over there and stood her ground, handing her bowl of rice to nearby pedestrian. "You guys are worthless. Pick on someone your own size." After those words were said, she continued to stand her ground but placed her fists on her hips. Leia wasn't fixing to back down as she watch the criminals walk away. With a firm nod, she helped the family to get back their feet then went to the shoreline of the ocean.

"Hey, I need a canoe, please." She said then threw down some coins as the merchant nodded and showed her the way towards the canoe and got it ready for her. "Thanks." Leia muttered as she pushed it into the water and began her journey towards the White Lotus Camp, which wasn't really that far but still, in the middle of nowhere.

[Rae Zer]

Kira Jhong

The wind whistled through the leaves, twisting and turning the leaves as it brushed by. Wind is believed to be the element of freedom for it freely traveled through the world, hindered only be large rocks and trees. But, Kira believed wind was not just freedom but also beauty. The wind harmed nobody intentionally and existed is peacful in nature. It would not rip the leaves off a tree unless the time had come for the leaf to leave the tree. Instead, the wind would brush past the leaves or ripple across the water creating waves. To Kira, wind has always been something that one simply enjoyed as it blew through her hair and rippled her robes. Listening to the wind in a forest or by a river simply had always been her favorite past time.

"Kira, do you know how to fly through the sky like a flying bison?" asked the bald Master with his tattoo arrows that were typical of airbenders. He had been given the task of personally teaching the young girl and had often tracked her down in the forests when she left the classes of others. He was never cross with her and had always understood her fascination with the wind in the forest. The Master had done the same thing throughout his entire life for he personally believed that meditating in the forest gave him better understanding of the air.

"No Master, I never quite understood how something so large could fly through the skies." said the young girl sitting with her legs crossed on a stone platform.

"The flying bison is where we learned air bending from. They are the true Masters of air bending. A flying bison doesn't just fly on air currents, they manipulate them to allow them to fly like a bird through the sky. They aren't the lightest creatures as you know but their control over the air keeps them aloft for many hours, some times entire days. Few people have the skill to manipulate the air currents to fly without aid which is why we as airbenders use the glider. The glider allows us to catch air currents and manipulate them to a degree to keep us afloat in the air. We can fly using the glider and air currents as a flying bison can." the Master ended his lecture by unfolding a glider and hoping of the cliff. The young Kira watched in horror as the man fell down the cliff only for him to rise up as if floating. He changed the angle of his glider to face directly up and was lifted up by the air currents he had manipulated.

"Wow, that was awesome Master..."

"Hey! Hey! Kira Jhong, we have a message here from the White Lotus for you." called a young woman running towards her. Kira had been reminiscing about old classes she enjoyed at the temple before she left those four years ago. She had been recruited by the White Lotus even before she had been gone from the temple for a year. Kira had seen little of the world but had already determined that the world needs force to change it. That force just happened to be the White Lotus for Kira. The young woman handed a letter to Kira after she had stood up from her meditation and brushed of the dead leaves and pieces of grass which had gather on her pants and sashes.

The young woman instantly ran off, obviously going to another delivery that she had to make that day. Kira opened the letter and read the paper in case it was important. Noramlly she would have opened it later in the day, perhaps after she ate her breakfast, but any message from the White Lotus took priority to her food. Though, she was pretty hungry since she had been meditating since the first light of the sun peaked out. If you have recieved this letter then you are required to show up to a mandatory meeting at the White Lotus camp. So, her important message were orders for her to come to the White Lotus camp which, while not far from the forest, was in the middle of the ocean. She hated them not only for calling her in like some sort of dog on a leash but also for calling her to the middle of an ocean.

The White Lotus knew just how much Kira hated water since she couldn't swim and yet they had still called her to a camp in the middle of the water. They also had given her no choice but to go there to figure out why she had been called to the camp. Kira quickly climbed the nearest tree to her with her pack strapped on her chest and her glider in hand. The wind was blowing in her favor, towards the ocean rather than against it. Glider in hand, Kira unfolded the thing flaps and jumped into the skies. The wind quickly caught her glider, partly from her bending, and propelled her forward as she sailed through the skies. Not too far away was a small village and, as Kira got closer to the ocean, she noticed that there was a small boat heading towards the camp. It was probably just another person answering the message but one could never be to careful, Kira reminded herself as she glided down towards the boat. Without getting too close to the water to disrupt her gliding, Kira pulled up beside the boat which seemed to have been the canoes she had been taught about.

"Hello there! You going to the camp as well?" Kira called from a safe height on the right side of the canoe to the single passenger, a tall woman who seemed somewhat attractive. Kira rocked side to side slightly by tilting the wing so as to stay floating on a straight line. Flying with a glider, while simple, was difficult to do without angling the glider up or down to change height. It was almost necessary to do so when trying to fly somewhere quickly. Staying in a straight line without changing elevation slightly required one to rock side to side to catch small updrafts while allowing downdrafts to balance them out. It was a more natural way of flying than normal but could get tiring. "Mind if I land on your canoe just so I can rest? Flying like this isn't as easy as it seems." Kira said as her glider wing nearly dipped into the water causing a spray to splash on her's and possibly the woman's face.

[McHaggis]

.

[Fumari]

Tyko

Tyko had always been a morning person, which surprised most people who didn’t know him very well. It was something about growing up in a city where the sun was always bright and demanding that got him into the habit. It wasn’t a bad thing though, and he most certainly appreciated and used the extra time it allotted for being productive. He’d woken up at nearly half past five, when the sun was just beginning to breach the horizon and set fire to the few clouds that above it. That was reason two of why Tyko enjoyed waking up so early. It was pretty and peaceful and he happened to enjoy it quite a bit.

His morning began with a simple routine: get dressed and then make breakfast. It was still difficult for him to remember that he was only cooking for himself, even after a year of living on his own, so it was often that he made far too much food for one sitting, and had to preserve the rest for lunch. In a way, it made things easier for him, but it always reminded him of how long it’d been since he’d sat down and had a meal with his parents. Tyko had been on call for the entirety of his time working for the anti-war effort, and he’d been made to travel away from home for a lot of it. His parents believed he was visiting a friend for a month or two, but that had been nearly over a year ago. He didn’t know what they might believe now, but he still missed them, and didn’t mind the subtle reminders he often had of them.

After breakfast (and lunch prep), Tyko’s usual routine brought him to the outskirts of the city next, where he either exercised his bending a bit as to avoid staying idle or did odd jobs for farmers to earn a bit of extra cash. Today, however, Tyko’d been a bit sluggish, and took his own sweet time about leaving the house. The sun had begun making its way upward now, but wasn’t quite at his zenith when he finally stepped out from the front door. His brown mop of hair was still messy from a night of rest, but he didn’t care too much about appearances, and left it.

He caught a short glimpse of Leia as she passed by his home, returning her wave with an odd sort of saluting gesture and a lazy grin, before she was quickly out of sight. He’d met her here in this city not too long after he moved in. She was kind and friendly, despite being a bit older than himself, and proved to be plenty tough despite not being a bender. In a way, Tyko respected her. He kept grinning for a short second after she’d disappeared, but fell when he felt someone nudge his attention.

“Hmm?” he made a sound and turned around to face a short lad with a messenger bag slung over his shoulder. The boy didn’t say anything, and only handed Tyko a small piece of folded parchment with the Lotus’ insignia neatly pressed into its wax seal. An order, no doubt. Tyko gave the kid a knowing smile and quietly took the parchment, allowing the boy to then hurry off to continue his business and for himself to hurry and open the letter.

“They want me to go back to that bloody camp?” Tyko spouted immediately after reading the few lines written on the parchment. "Do they not realize that they've placed themselves in the middle of the damn ocean?" He could feel the familiar twinge of irritation in the back of his mind, along with something more close to fear. He'd never liked the ocean very much, and for many more (grounded) reasons than simply being an earth bender. Ignoring all of that, he turned around and stomped back into his home, begrudgenly accepting the order. If he was going to travel to an island that far into the ocean though, then he’d need supplies. Food, mostly, and some emergency items. The ocean was an unforgiving place for the unprepared, and that thought alone made him cautious.

Tyko reemerged from his home about an hour later, a thick pack now strapped securely to his back, and a few more articles of clothing wrapped around his person, and began making his way towards the docks, where he rented out a small sailboat. He was lucky to have manned sand-sailors as often as he did while growing up, allowing for an easier transition to running the riggings of a sailboat, which were surprisingly similar. The ocean was calm while Tyko loaded himself and his luggage onto the tiny vessel. Low waves arched further out to sea, but didn’t look like anything he couldn’t handle weaving through. It wasn’t long before he untied himself from the docks and raised his single sheet of sail into the waiting breeze, sending him rushing across the water and towards The White Lotus’ base camp.

[Shadowcatcher]

Leopard Sounds Reference

"Please... tell me we're there already..." came from the blue eyed woman as she sighed, the sound more like a whimper of pain. The response to her plead was an equally sad sounding roar that came from her pet Polar Leopard, Kavi. He had been so nice to her all this time as he carried her on his back while walking through the forest towards the nearest town. With her fingertips and shoes brushing the ground as she dangled over him, she looked like a towel draped across his back. Which was ironic since she was dripping with sweat and probably only causing Kavi more discomfort. This was why she hated hot weather. With each step Kavi took, her body swayed and Azome was starting to get dizzier and dizzier. She hardly had any drinking water left and sighing, she decided it would be best to give it to her more than deserving pet.

"Kavi. Rest." she said, starting to shift her body and turn to sit up. Before she had a chance though, the exausted cat flopped down onto the ground in a tired heap, causing her to slip off and onto her bottom next to him. "Really?" she said, standing and dusting herself off. She reached into the pouch that was strapped to Kavi's saddle, bringing out the large container of water that rested inside. Carrying it over to the front of him, she ordered him to open his mouth before pouring the rest of the warm water over his tongue. With the last little bit, she poured it on his head, hoping to cool him down. He gave a happy grunt, pushing his head into her belly and she hugged him in response before putting back the water jug. "Come on, let's rest in the shade over there." she said, scratching his ear and leading him towards the shade of a large tree. Immediately he followed and eventually walked past her, moving in a circle a few times and pawing at the ground under the tree. After a snort of satisfaction, he lay down, resting his head on his paws. Azome watched his routine with a smile, catching up to him eventually and sitting next to him, leaning against his side. She yawned, though not having done much to be sleepy, and blamed it on Kavi's soft fur. Closing her eyes, the two fell into a pattern of slow breathing as they always did. When she breathed in, he breathed out and visa versa.

She didn't know how long the two rested there, but the unforgiving heat never let up. With her mouth getting drier by the second, she debated whether to just drink her bending water or not, despite how gross that would be. "Damn..." she mumbled. With Kavi cat napping behind her, Azome allowed herself to relax while he took as much time as he needed to recuperate.

At some point, Kavi began rumbling and causing her body to tremble slightly. It roused her and she turned her head to look at his face. His head was raised, emerald eyes trained on the road they had been walking on before and teeth barred. Realizing the rumbling had been him growling, she pushed his bushy tail off of her and stood up. "What is it, Kavi?" she asked, placing her hand on his head to reassure him. He gave a grunt and stood too, raising up and moving to put himself between her and the road as if there was some threat waiting out there that she couldn't see. Placing her left hand on her water pouch, she readied herself for a fight and peered around Kavi's body, seeing a figure dressed in black coming towards them. "Woah, he must be hot..." she said curiously, though Kavi just gave another warning growl. "Hey do you need some water?" she called out to him, stepping around Kavi despite him trying to keep her behind him by stepping forward. Though she had none to give him, she was wondering what he needed, and as he stopped a few steps away from her, she patted Kavi's head and walked forward.

The figure held out a piece of paper towards her and she cautiously took it. Looking down and reading the paper, she realized it was from the White Lotus, and apparently they wanted her to meet them. Her eyebrows pushed together as she frowned. "Well where-" she looked up and the figure was gone. "Shit. Are you serious?" she said, turning and waiting for Kavi to reach her. He pressed his head into her and she hugged him before climbing up onto his back. "Alright Kavi, change of plans. Going towards the ocean. Remember the way to the camp?" she asked him, petting his neck. He gave a roar in response and started to run, turning to the east in the direction of the sea.

With Kavi running at full speed, the world flew by them in a blur, and soon they reached the edge of the water where some people were tending to canoes and fishing things. She smirked as they just flew by them, Kavi leaping up and running into the water without hesitation. As his head began to submerge, Azome bended a bubble around them so he could breathe, leaving his legs out so he could swim freely. As they were set off towards the camp, Azome kept one hand swirling to keep the bubble in tact and her other hand petted Kavi's neck again.

"Best cat a girl could ever want." she teased him.

[iSuspect]

Leia always enjoyed making her way to the camp because she enjoyed the calmness of the ocean. The day was pretty as not a single cloud was in the sky and the sun made its presence felt upon their nation. Her eyes looked up as she saw a figurine flying in the air then appeared beside her. Leia gasped and readied her oar for a strike but saw that it was Kira and didn't engage the initial strike. "Gosh, Kira. You scared me." She held her hand over her heart, breathing a bit heavily then eyed her as she asked if she could venture in the canoe with her. Leia nodded her head and stopped rowing momentarily for Kira to sit and take her place. Once Kira was well situated, Leia went back to rowing towards the camp.

"So, why do you think we were called for an emergency meeting?" She asked Kira but knew that she probably didn't have any answer for her. Leia was quite curious as they neared towards the White Lotus camp. The ride was smooth sailing and she actually enjoyed having a companion join her side. Once they made it to the camp, she got out of the canoe and even waited until Kira got out before pulling her canoe onto the small shoreline.

She turned heel and faced the White Lotus camp with a smile, remembering the first time she ever stepped foot here. It was awhile ago but she remembers it as if it yesterday. She was excited and nausea at the same exact time but now, she was comfortable and ready. Leia walked up to the door and knocked three times before someone opened the door and acknowledge her and Kira. "Ah, Leia." The Elder bender hugged her then looked towards Kira. "Hello there, Kira." The Elder bender would hug Kira as well then invite them inside.

All of the Elder benders were sitting around and awaiting the others. Leia sat down upon a nearby pillow and eyed everyone. "So, what's going on now?" She'd politely ask as one of the male benders spoke. "Patience, young one." Leia lowered her head with a nod then her ears twitched as soon was present at the door again. Leia was really anxious to know what was going on as she couldn't wait any longer for the other benders to get there.