An Abyss of Secrets [M] (Sorrow & Ashen)

[DragonOfSorrows]

The boy had little time to protest. He cursed to himself quietly before readying his staff. The two firebenders heading toward him looked like they were in a state of panic. He had a good plan to take care of them, but if he timed it poorly it would mean more trouble. He held his staff up in front of him, one of the hooked sides facing the remaining mercenaries. He took a deep breath. He side stepped, letting the first bender fly past him. Thanks to the hook on the other end of his staff, he hooked the man by the back of the shirt. Without another moment flying by, he used all of his might and pulled the staff around and knocked the other bender to the ground from above using the one he hooked earlier.

He stood there, breathing heavily. His arms were shaking. He hadn't had such a fast paced fight in a long time. It was a nice rush to be able to show off. He unhooked his staff from the mercenary's shirt and used it to balance himself. He gaze moved up towards Cai. He gave him a small nod. "Good work." He said, placing one hand on his hip. "I...Haven't had a fast fight like that in a while. I didn't think I would pull that off."

Amalia ran up to them both and smiled. She was laughing a bit as she looked up at the boys. "You two looked so cool out there!" She said. "It was so action packed! This is the best way to start our adventure off!"

Braxxon looked at his sister with such surprise. Normally she would never say such a thing. Why would she speak differently now? He shook his head and placed a hand on Cai's shoulder. Surprisingly enough, he actually smiled. "I don't say this often, but we make a good team. I know our next fight will be a breeze." Amalia stared at her brother with such disbelief. Never in her life had she seen him smile like that. It brought a warm feeling to her heart.

The boy walked off, using his map to relocate where Haven was. Meanwhile, Amalia smiled up at Cai. "You should feel special. My brother doesn't smile very often."

[Ashen]

He was breathing unevenly when the battle had finished. Was it really over? Had they won? Cai took a moment to regain himself, then very enthusiastically gave a fist bump. "Yeah!" he cheered, and he turned to Braxxon. The kid was smiling, actually smiling. Even his little sister seemed pretty pleased at them. He continued following after Braxxon, his spirits definitely raised. His brother would be proud. Cai really could handle himself.

He nodded towards Amalia; he really did feel special. "We really do make a great team," he said to Braxxon, and he sighed. Unlike the other boy, Cai wasn't so able to let it go. "I mean, did you see the way they just came at us? My earth wall was so cool. And the way you hooked them like that, that was awesome! Where did you learn how to... well, how to use a staff like that? Did you see how scared they look?" He looked like an overgrown child again, his excitement clear in every bone of his body. "My brother is never going to believe this. You need to be there when I tell him about this. I mean, that... That was just so... so cool."

When he finally did calm down he looked behind them, at the mercenaries they'd passed. Was it really okay to leave them like that? He turned his body to face them completely, then covered the other two in earth as well. Three earthen domes rested on the road now. The earth would probably crack under the sun in a few hours, so they'd be able to escape pretty easily. But was that necessarily a good thing? He turned around and continued walking, wondering what kind of other troubles they would have to encounter.

"So about those mercs," he said, motioning his chin behind him. "Is that, like, common?" Quite blunt. He looked to them again before facing forward. "I mean, there are bandits like that in the Earth Kingdom too, and I guess everywhere, but they seemed pretty ticked off. I heard crime rates were pretty high in the Fire Nation, but I've only been here for like an hour and I've already been attacked..." He thought of his destination, of how long it would take to travel the entire Fire Nation. Still, it was worth it.

[DragonOfSorrows]

Braxxon found it amusing that Cai couldn't let it go. It reminded him of when Amalia witnessed his first fight. He chuckled at the thought. "Well, I trained with my staff for hours every day. I'm not the best, but I can protect myself when I need to hide my bending." He let out a yawn, followed by popping his neck from side to side. It felt good to get a nice fight in. He assumed that Cai's brother would have never believed such a story unless he told him himself. His staff went back to its tapping sound with each step that was taken.

"As much as I hate to say it, yes. That happens a lot. They wouldn't have attacked us if it was just my sister and I. The Fire Nation basically hates that the war is over." He explained, shaking his head. "Thankfully I can fight without bending as well. I'm known around certain parts because of the color of my fire. I was known as the Silver Coin. For the years that I had ran away from home, I joined mercenaries and had many jobs. I've done things I'm not proud of. Even to this day I'm hunted. That's why I have to hide my bending. After I was done with my work, I had stolen a few things and they want me to pay with my life."

Amalia's faced flushed with sorrow. She wrapped her arms around Cai's arm and refused to let go. "Hearing the story always gets to her because she hates my criminal past." He didn't bother to look at his sister. He already knew. "I'm telling you this so that you know if I'm randomly attacked. I feel you have every right."

"Y-You won't turn my brother in, will you!?" Amalia asked, looking up at Cai with her innocent eyes. "Don't have him taken away..." She said.

Braxxon let out a sigh. He ignored his sister's pleas, hoping Cai would do the same. "If he does, he does. For now, it's not the time to think about such things. We need to find a nice places to camp. If we wait much longer, it will be too dark to get firewood. "If I remember correctly, there's a pond not far from here that has a nice place to camp at." He glanced around to get his bearings. In the past, he had camped there before many times. Here was hoping he could find it again before it became too dark.

It didn't seem to bother Braxxon when he spoke about his past. He acted as if he had explained it hundreds of times. That would explain why he hated new people. It was possible he had been betrayed before. "The pond is about a mile from here." He announced. He pointed to the left and started to head in that direction.

[Ashen]

Cai was impressed to hear that Braxxon practiced so much with his staff, but his expression soon faded when he found that such attacks as their previous encounter were commonplace. These were the bits of information that didn't make it to the tabloids in the Earth Kingdom. As far as he'd known, things were peaceful in the Fire Nation again. The war had been over for some twenty years or so; surely people would be over it by then? But clearly that wasn't the case, which just made him sad.

He listened to Braxoxn's story and raised an eyebrow curiously. So the boy had been like those men from earlier? Cai had heard of people like him, so desperate to get something out of life that they took things from others. He was glad his brother had raised him better than that, but he couldn't blame Braxxon either. He knew what it was like, having nothing. There was no way he could blame him.

Cai was surprised at Amalia's reaction to Braxxon's story. Was she so scared of her brother being taken from her. "Why would I do that?" he asked. "I have no reason to turn your brother in. Even if there is a bounty, some things are more important than a few pieces of coin. Like family." Cai was unaware of how ironic his statement was, and he continued on carefree.

"A pond?" He didn't like the sounds of that. Sleeping next to water, as far as Cai was concerned, was sleeping next to death itself. If he had the choice, he'd stay as far away from the pond as he could. Maybe he was being irrational. He wouldn't fall in while he was sleeping--right? The thought made Cai stop for a moment before shaking his head and carrying on. "Right, well, we can go there. I didn't notice it getting dark. I can help gather some firewood, I'm pretty good at getting the sturdy ones. Is there any fish in this pond of yours?" That would probably be the only saving grace.

[DragonOfSorrows]

"It won't be dark for a while, but if you want a nice place to rest then it's best to set up camp while you can see clearly." He mumbled, trying to carry on the conversation. He was already lost due to having to keep track of their movements. For Braxxon to be young, he knew a lot about the world. It was an awful place, but he always tried to make it seem worth it. He paused and placed a hand on his shoulder. He rubbed for only a few seconds, then continued. His backpack was weighing him down.

What seemed like forever, the three had finally made it to the body of water. The 'little' pond that Braxxon told them about was a very large lake. The waters were clear as could be, and wildlife was all around. It looked like no one had ever been there before. He pointed to what he thought was the perfect spot to set up camp. It was near the water, but far away enough so that you wouldn't fall in. The ground was wide enough for three tents and a large campfire. "There." He said, walking towards it. Once he finally made it, he dropped his backpack and let out a content sigh. It was nice to not have that weight on his back.

"Wow..." Amalia said in awe. It was the most beautiful place she had ever seen. She walked over to the water and stared into it. She watched as fish swam about, unknowing of her presence. She jumped up and faced Cai. "There's fish! Come look!" She said, pointing at them.

Braxxon laughed a bit and shook his head. "Don't get too excited. You can play in the water after you get some firewood. We need a good amount if we want to stay warm. The nights aren't exactly forgiving. They can get rather cold." He explained. "While you're getting the wood, I can catch the fish. I'm rather good at it, if I say so myself." He dropped his staff beside of his stuff and yawned. "Cai, do you think you could help my sister out? The last time I let her collect firewood on her own she nearly burned down an entire forest."

Amalia laughed a bit and scratched the back of her head. "Yeeeaaah..." She said, clearly embarrassed.

[Ashen]

Little clearly didn't mean the same thing to the Fire Nation as it did to the Earth Kingdom. The pond wasn't even a pond; it was a lake, and a large one at that. There was far too much water in it, and Cai could not hide his discomfort. He shifted awkwardly every so often, trying to not think of things like drowning and death. At Amalia's suggestion to go to the water's edge Cai only chuckled very nervously and turned away, pretending to be concentrated on something in the grass.

Firewood, yes. Cai nodded enthusiastically towards Braxxon at the suggestion. "She can play in the water if she'd like," he told her. "I don't mind gathering some firewood. I can be back in a jiffy. No worries about burning anything with me. 'Sides, it'll be nice to explore." Cai didn't really want to go alone, especially not after they'd just been attacked, but he had his paranoia to preserve. Maybe, if Amalia started playing in the water now, she'd be too worn out to ask him to join, later. That way, Cai would be able to stay safely on land without another thought.

So he head off into the forest in search of firewood, hoping Braxxon or Amalia wouldn't stop him. He was able to combat his fears of the unknown with thoughts of the fried fish they'd be having. Suddenly, foraging in a dark and unfamiliar forest didn't seem so bad. He even sang a little tune to himself, and unashamed, his baritone rang out. It was a song from long ago, a song he might have learned from the children on the streets. He sang it loud and proud as he gathered. Even surrounded by the unknown, the jolly earthbender seemed carefree.

[DragonOfSorrows]

The two teens watched as the uncomfortable earth bender quickly left in such a short notice. Amalia glanced over to her brother and let out a sigh. They locked eyes and knew what each one was thinking. They agreed that Cai was rather strange for running off. Braxxon broke their eye contact and searched through his bag. He pulled out a mat and evened it out on the ground. He used his hands to dust it off quickly.

"Brother? What do you really think of him?" Amalia asked, trying to break the silence.

Her brother only sighed and shook his head. In truth, he had mixed feelings. "He's a good fighter, but I'm still not trusting of him. Why on earth does he want to go to that stupid prison? He said, staring his sister down with a piercing gaze.She shifted her stance and stared at the ground. "M-Maybe...." She muttered. "Maybe that's where his brother?"

"I've had that suspicion for a while now, but I wouldn't be too happy if that's the case. You have to have done something horrible to end up in there." Braxxon replied, breaking his gaze from his sister. "I know he means well, but it's still very fishy. A blind man would be able to see that."

His sister let out a sigh of relief when her brother stopped staring her down. She wanted to believe that Cai could be a good guy, but with her brother questioning it, it made her worried. She wanted to believe different, but she decided to wait instead. Seeing what the future held.

"You should get your mat ready. Whenever he gets back I'm going to start a fire and catch a few fish. The ones Gramma got are nice, but they aren't fresh. I won't let you eat not fresh food." Braxxon grumbled, sitting on his mat. I hope he finished soon. I'm getting hungry."

[Ashen]

It wasn't long before Cai appeared in the clearing again. He was still singing, and a pile of branches was in his hands. Atop them was a white flower, its petals slightly decayed. He seemed happy to be back and greeted both of them with a nod. "Hope this is enough?" he said, motioning with his chin to the pile, though it was more than enough. Quite the overachiever, Cai had probably brought enough wood to maintain two separate campfires. He set the wood down beside the two, close enough for them to be able to see the texture. Just firm enough, dry enough, big enough to make a perfect fire.

Cai had noticed the expressions on their faces just before he'd returned. Braxxon had looked distrustful and annoyed, but Cai was beginning to think that was commonplace. Amalia looked hopeful and cheery, perhaps another routine state for the girl. She seemed dry though; had she been waiting for him to get in the water? Cai definitely did not like the idea of that, and hurriedly he scanned his brain in search of an excuse for not being able to go for a swim.

He sat down next to his pile of branches and removed the flower from them. "There was a field of this not so far in," he told them. "Such a pretty little place, and all hidden away. There's probably some kind of... symbolism or something in that." But he didn't seem ready to search for it. Instead, he swirled the flower in his hands and held it up to Amalia. "This one wasn't connected to a stem or nothing, so I figured there was no harm taking it. They might even be good luck. I just thought it was pretty, was all, so I brought it for you." He gave her a goofy grin as he held out his gift, a tiny offering.

"Oh, and Braxxon," he called to the other man. "You need any help with the cooking? I could whip something up real good, something like you've never even had. Earth Kingdom recipes for fish are a little weird and, where we were from, hard to come by. But the recipes we found were divine, and I could show you some of them." A chef, too. Cai had had to know how to best support himself, and he was glad he did. The less he relied on these two the better; he wasn't so sure, but it felt like they were plotting something against him. He'd just have to remain on his guard, at least for a little while.

[DragonOfSorrows]

The boy looked at the woodpile and cracked a smile. There was more than enough, and he liked that. Braxxon enjoyed making bigger campfires though. It was dangerous since they were close to a wooded area. He thought back to the time when he was first out on his own. An old friend had taught him everything he knew. He smiled a bit more to himself when he remembered he almost set the entire forest on fire when he was playing around. He ended up getting an earful, but he thought it was worth it. Camping with Cai and his sister reminded him of the good times he had-had when he was a runaway. He would savor it until it was time to head back home.

Braxxon snapped back when Cai spoke. He slowly shook his head. "Nah, I got it. I'm rather good at cooking. But if you were to teach me, I would like it better if we were in a place that had a kitchen. Ya know?" He said, shrugging his shoulders a bit.

In the meantime, Amalia smiled when she accepted the flower. In return, she had only bowed. She truly didn't know how to react. She never really had a boy give her a gift, at least not one so pretty. She walked over to her backpack and put it away. She would always cherish it, no matter what.

Braxxon used some of the wood and started on a small fire. Deep down, he wanted to go crazy and burn most of it, but that was very unwise. He had it stacked up, like a cone. The point of it was towards the sky. Fire appeared at his fingertips. It instantly set the wood on fire. It burned with the same color as the fire that he could bend. "Your fire is so weird, Braxxon." Amalia teased. "So? It may look odd, but it's still cool regardless."

He looked slightly irritated as he spoke. The subject of his fire's color seemed to have been a sensitive one to him. In his eyes, he had a slight pain, but he shook it off and glanced up at Cai. "We have plenty of firewood. I would go crazy with it, but you seem very uneasy with firebending." He said. "I'm sure you have your reasons why."

[Ashen]

Cai nodded his understanding at Braxxon. "But then," he said, "you can't always have a kitchen. Sometimes campfires are the best places to learn how to cook. It's where I learned to cook most of my meals. I didn't have a kitchen as a kid, you know, so I just learned to char things 'til they started tasting like something. I got better with it over time, of course, and I'd be happy to teach you once we're able to have a kitchen all proper." He was good at hiding it, but Cai was a little disappointed in not being able to help cook. Not only would he be unable to taste the food before it was done, but he had no excuse now if Amalia asked him to jump into the pond-lake.

He didn't notice the girl put her gift away, nor did he notice how she'd taken it. To him it was just a flower, a meaningless little flower that he had found and thought to give to someone. Since Braxxon might not have liked the act too much, his next best shot was Amalia. He only heard her return and talk to her brother, who seemed to grow even more irritated at her words. Cai stepped away to let them quarrel and instead concentrated on the sky. It was a dark color, and distant grey clouds were making their way towards them. Hopefully they wouldn't get rained on during the night. Rain, to Cai, was tolerable, but only just. Being rained on while trying to sleep, that would be a lot less tolerable.

He turned up at the sound of Braxxon's voice directed at him. He'd go crazy...? Did Cai have to worry about this pyromaniac letting lose? He shook at the thought. "My parents died in a fire," he said. There was an easy air to his voice, as if he was used to talking about it. "Back then, you know, the war hadn't been over for too long. There were a lot more hate crimes in places around the world. So one night, my parents' house got torched by a firebending radical. It was snowing hard that day. Pops was able to get me and my brother out, but when he went back for our mother the roof caved in. By the time any help got there it didn't matter. The house was totaled, all of our possessions were ash, and our parents were dead. After that, my brother and I took to the streets. He'd tell me the orphanages were already overcrowded, and going there would mean even less to go around for everyone else. Besides, he never really liked taking things he didn't earn, you know? So that was how we wound up homeless, my brother at the age of nine, me at the age of three. So... Yeah. I guess you could say I don't like fire."