[closed, but pm if your interested] Heading home.

[Shun Feng]

It was around 10:30 before Shun made it off the late shift at the factory. He was feeling a bit exhausted from the overtime, but he and Gou needed the money really badly. He didn't want the kids living in the underground to start stealing food again, so he picked up another job, beside cleaning the factory chimneys.

He and Gou were working late into the night loading and unloading the trucks that shipped the parts and various other goods throughout the city and beyond. It was back breaking labor, but it was made easier with earth bending, and Gou;s sheer strength and boundless energy. He looked up fondly at the enormous beast who was following his master via the rooftops.

It was astounding how agile and silent the big beast was. He moved along the roof tops so he wouldn't scare anyone, sine any normal person would be terrified if they saw something Gou's size coming out of the darkness this late at night. The streets in the neighbor hood seemed to be empty, but experience told him that was probably not the case. There were plenty of places for a thug to ambush someone, but they rarely messed with Shun anymore.

They were generally cowardly and only attacked those who appeared weak or when they had numbers on their side. With Gou alongside him though, they'd need a large group of people to pose a threat to him. Tired, dirty from a days work, and a bit hungry the overall clad bender walked silently along the streets towards the underground tunnel system. He wanted nothing more than to eat something and just go to sleep. He had work at six in the morning and needed his rest.

[Sazra Peo]

Sazra found herself on the streets late at night, her arm cradled to her chest, freshly stitched. A day ago she had fought for her life along with a stranger who showed her more kindness and consideration she had seen in many months. She caught herself remembering it fondly, although her arm was pained, and so it would be for weeks. Regular visits to the healers would speed up her recovery and the scar would take her by surprise, but she didn’t regret it. Perhaps it was time she made real friends, not those who sat by her side to enjoy her smile, her laughter and carelessness, then turned a blind eye when she coughed up substance.

It was something new, something she had not wished for before. The easy smiles, the meaningless affairs, the cold indifference underneath, painted in loneliness no one noticed, not even the one who felt it, she was growing tired of them, but loved them at the same time. It was hard to give more, be more, be truly, and as she walked, she thought all this, forgetting in her pensive state to watch the street.

Out of nowhere, as if on cue, a group of thugs lumped into her path. “Well, well, if it isn’t a wounded angel. What’s wrong with your hand sweety?” A mountain of a thug grinned, his eyes taking in her frame almost lasciviously. Frowning and trying hard to keep the fear that rose in her chest out of her eyes, she eyed them in turn, then, straightened and decided to take this from another angle. Placing on hand on her hip, the one attached to a good arm, she gave a feminine sway to her position. “Now what could big, strong men like you want of me?” She didn’t even have her purse, just a few spare yuans from paying the healers. “Please be good and let me pass, the day has been long and it’s left me weary.”

They all laughed, one even slapping his side. This wasn’t going to work. “Let you pass dear thing? Well, if we wanted to do that we’d have done so already.” It made sense and she knew it. “Then maybe there’s something I can do for you, then you’ll let me pass?” She needed a distraction of any sort. Right now. It would be only so long until they saw her bluff, for she was no prostitute and didn’t plan on starting.

[Shun Feng]

Shun thought he was going to be able to get home without incident, but once he rounded a corner he found a group of ten men blocking the path of an injured young woman. He couldn't really she her all that well in the faded light of the street lamps, but he could she her arm was hurt. He hadn't been noticed yet since their attention was focused on the injured girl.

Inwardly he sighed and felt a vein in his head pulse. Cowards the lot of them. Not only attacking a lone woman, but an injured one at that. Well, looks like their in need of a lesson in manners. He pulled out his sledge hammer, a tool he used fairly often in bending and his line of work. The handle was three feet long with a fifteen pound metal head at the end.

He clacked it against the ground hard so the sound echoed across the dark street. It wasn't just a signal to get their attention, but a message to Gou. The big beast silently crept along the rooftops to circle around the group and get close to the woman. The big worker's voice echoed softly, but firmly over the street as the thugs turned to him.

It's kinda sad to see ten grown men corner an injured girl in the dead of night. Don't ya'll something better to do like say sleeping and going to work tomorrow?" He was ten meters away and closing in. Each step he took he clanked the hammer against the ground. The thugs he had fought in the tunnels over the years knew what this meant.

This thugs didn't seem to venture in the tunnels much or else they'd be scared right now. Instead the biggest thug laughed at the tired worker. "So what if we're picking on her? You gonna try to stop us. There is ten of us and one of you kid. C'mon then try and play the hero and see were that gets you."

Shun turned his head as if puzzled. "Alone? Whoever said I was alone?" As if on cue Gou leaped down behind the girl and scooped her up in his left hand grabbing her around the waist, and with his right swung a large two by four he found in an alley into three of the thugs kocking them into a wall. Shun acted as soon as Gou landed and stomped the ground raising up a boulder, which he kicked towards the group of men intent on scattering them. He hoped being grabbed by Gou didn't sccare the girl too bad.

[Sazra Peo]

When the leading thug was about to cough up another stupid remark, the ground vibrated under the impact of something heavy, noise carrying over the sounds of night. Everyone turned and Sazra blinked, seeing her chance but stopping at the sound, the voice of a young man. Looking past the line of thugs, in the dim light she could see him, alone with a big hammer he cracked the earth with on his way, slowly coming their way. It was such a singularly queer sight she couldn’t help but stare, momentarily robbed of her wits, much like the ruffians.

Unlike her, they regained their voice soon enough. She had to admit she agreed. The odds were far from in his favor and if any of these thugs could metal bend, then his weapon would soon be the subject of a bending struggle. Assessing the situation quickly she bit her lip, thinking to act now, feeling too guilty to just run and leave him there to face a threat he had so thoughtfully come to help her with. It wasn’t as if she was helpless, just impaired. However, before she could think to strike and wipe a line of flame across the thugs’ backs something grabbed her from behind, encasing her waist in a large, hairy hand.

Her scream was more of shriek, terror filling her eyes, hands coming to rest on the beast’s enormous fingers, the wounded one throbbing with pain from applied pressure, fresh blood staining the bandage that wrapped over her recently stitched wound. She was about to slap it with a fist of flame when it threw something at the gang of thugs. Confused beyond belief she struggled. “Let me GO!” What the hell, what was this monster and why was it grabbing her. Somewhere at the back of her mind she registered the boy’s words, but if this was what he meant by not being alone that still didn’t explain why it had assaulted her.

The boulder indeed made the men trip over themselves trying to get away from being crushed. The gang leader, enraged, ignited his fists after getting up, sending two tiny comets of fire in the earthbender’s way. Several of the men had been knocked right out, some by the gorilla goat’s attack, others by colliding into each other as they tried to flee the boulder attack. Only five along with the leader remained standing. When he found his lost bending pouch, the waterbender of the thugs drew a fluid whip from within, and sent it towards the young man’s hammer, aiming to immobilize it. The remaining three didn’t seem to be benders and started drawing out daggers and one of them, a sword. The one with a pair of daggers came running towards Sazra and Gou.

[Shun Feng]

As the leader sent two blasts of fire at him Shun stomped the ground raising a block of earth his height and two feet thick. It blocked the fire and the whip of water easily enough. He then grabbed the hammer in both hands and swung it connecting it to the wall. Upon impact the wall would split in half and one half would careen into the water bender, knocking him off his feet and unconscious. He heard the poor woman shriek in fear as Gou grabbed her and winced.

"Gou get her out of the fight! Gou noticed the woman was bleeding and whimpered in guilty tone, but leaped onto a building to set her down on the flat roof of a house. Once sure she was safely placed on the roof, he turned and growled angrily at the on rushing dagger wielder. He leaped down in front of him and roared, no doubt waking up the whole neighborhood, and raised a massive paw.

The man wielding the blades, suddenly realized that he was charging a huge monster armed only with two small dinky daggers. He'd have time to lament the stupid decision while he was in dream land. The monsters paw lashed out and sent him flying into the swordsman knocking him out as well. The other non-bender thought better of fighting a giant gorilla-goat. Now the leader was all alone against Gou and Shun.

Then there was one. Not so fun to be pushed around isn't it?" He thrust his hammer head first into the ground and stomped raising his hands up. The earth and rock in the road rose up and wrapped around him to form a suit of body armor that only left his eyes exposed so he could see. He picked up the hammer and readied for a charge against the leader. Gou in the meantime watched the leader to make sure he didn't try to run away from his master.

[Sazra Peo]

So the gorilla goat was his and he instructed it to take her away. “Wait. Uh,” she tried to protest, but she was already being torn from the battlefield and placed neatly on top of a flat surface, high on a building. When the animal finally let her go she relished the freedom and felt angry. Why was this guy treating her like a helpless damsel. She stared at the fight from the high perch, one of her eyes wincing from the fresh pain in her arm. Perhaps it was best that she didn’t fight, but her ego wouldn’t allow for that thought. She would have liked to at least be allowed to get out of the way on her own two feet.

The fight continued, the monster roared, so loud it gave her chills. How long before someone called the police? She estimated phones were ringing as she watched. It wasn’t long before the dagger wielder was knocked out and by this point Sazra was fuming less and enjoying the show more. Openly taunting, the young man coated himself in stone and readied to charged the lone leader. The man (the firebender) looked like he was wishing to be eaten by the ground but realized all too quickly the metaphor could be taken literally. His eyes narrowed and he did the only thing he could do with some hope of success – try to flee. Concentrating all of his chi into his fists, he crouched and leaped off the ground, flames pushing out of his fists like mad, giving him flight.

Sazra watched, impressed with his effort. The only thing she was lacking was popcorn. Well, a comfortable armchair would also help. And someone to fan her and bring her cocktails. With little umbrellas. Realizing she was having an improper fantasy after having been left stranded on a rooftop, she rolled her eyes at herself and started looking for a way to get down, no longer fully attentive to what the remaining combatants were doing. She wasn’t about to wait to be dragged back down like a human puppet.

In the end she dropped to the last floor’s balcony and found the stairs to walk down. By the time she reached the street it looked like a comet had struck, ricocheted off the ground only to smash it again and again until all was cracked and peeled and turned inside out. The firebender waved a hand in a futile effect to keep dust out of her lungs. Earthbenders. They sure knew how to have an impact. “Wow that was… something,” she commented, squinting through the dim light. “Is the fight over now?” Far in the distance, she could already hear police sirens. She made a flame in her palm, spotted the young man, rushed to him and grabbed him by the sleeve. “Hey. We need to get out of here. I don’t know about you but I don’t want to spend the night at the police office, explaining how the street got trashed.”


Edits: readied to charge not charged, emphasizing NPC control.

[Shun Feng]

Shun and Gou charged the fire bender as he crouched and tried to take off like a rocket. Shun was to far away and to slow to catch him in time, but Gou had the speed of beast on his side. As the bender got four meters of the ground Gou leaped into the air a paw raised and spiked the unfortunate bender down like a volleyball. He'd crash into the ground with a thud and a groan and cease moving.

As for the thugs still left in the area Shun would earth bend them to the ground too make sure the stuck around so the cops could take them in. He looked up from his work, the earth falling off of him as he looked, to stare at the woman. Up close he could she that she was very attractive and injured. "Your hurt...I'm sorry if Gou hurt you. He was listening to me. I'll try to pay for your hospital bill, but it may take a while."

He really didn't have the money too pay a hospital bill, and sighed at the thought of being in debt for the rest of his life to pay it off. He nodded at her suggestion to get the hell out of there. "I've got to be at work early in the morning so I don't have the time either." He motioned for Gou to come over to them, and the big beast approached panting with his large tongue lolling happily out of his mouth. "Sorry I had him grab you up so roughly. I just didn't want you in the line of fire. So would you like to hop on him now so we can get out of here faster?"

[Sazra Peo]

“Forget about that,” she urged, “It’s fine.” She gestured vaguely with her good hand. “Thanks for helping me,” she muttered, although distracted by the urgency of the situation and still half pissed she had been treated like ne of those little ladies who knew more of makeup than they did of fighting…. Wait. That could actually be true, but she knew a good deal about sparring also. However, this was no time to think about what she did or didn’t know.

The young man called his companion and Sazra did a little jump, eyeing the creature that had, just moments ago, scared her out of her wits temporarily. The offer didn’t sound that appealing but it made sense. The sirens were getting nearer. “Yeah, let’s go,” she waited to be allowed to get up, hoping with whatever hope she had that this incident wouldn’t come to her doorstep in the coming future. However, the thugs didn’t know her name and she doubted they wanted to file a false complaint of being attacked when they probably already had criminal records.

“Thanks for the ride,” she told Gou, then turned to his master. “My name’s Sazra by the way.” She grimaced a little as a wave of pain shot through her arm. “That was some spectacular earthbending back there,” she commented conversationally, as if they weren’t just fleeing from the police. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone bend themselves into a rock suit of armor and still be able to move within it.” It was a great display of control, done wrong she expected one could crush themselves. “Where’d you learn to earthbend like that?”

[Shun Feng]

He felt a wave of relief fall over him as she shrugged of the bill. He really didn't need the headache of trying to pay that off. Realizing he had forgotten to introduce himself he blushed a bit. "My name Is Shun Feng and you've already meet Gou." He patted the gorilla goat who hummed happily. It was no trouble at all helping you. Whenever I catch cowards doing that to someone I take it upon myself to teach them a lesson. Hopefully, the cops will lock em up for awhile.

He hopped onto to Gou's back as the big beast crouched. On his back there was a leather contraption that allowed Gou to carry large loads on his back while working. It made made riding him easier for both of them, but there was a problem. There were only to leather straps in the optimal position to ride on.

She had only one good arm and holding on to Gou at full pace was somewhat difficult in and off itself since gorilla goats weren't really bed for riding. She'd have to sit in front of him while he held onto the reigns and kept her from falling. "Errr, sorry about this it's gonna be a bit cramped up here." Even in the middle of night with the dirt smudged onto his face she would probably see the red hue his fae was turning.

Shun didn't often talk much to girls his age since he was usually too busy working or training, but when he did he often got tongue tied not knowing what to say. Thankfully she had asked him plenty of questions to keep that from happening. Gou would lower his hand for her to climb upon, and if and when she did he'd raise her up to his back so she could position herself in front of Shun.

To try and stave off the awkward situation he decided to answer her question. He felt a small sense of pride swell within him as she complemented his bending prowess. It was always nice to get a compliment. "I got a few tips from some other earth benders in the underground, but I'm mostly self taught. I practiced a lot as a kid and just did a whole bunch of crazy things. That was one of the things i tried that actually worked out."

[Sazra Peo]

So he was a regular hero, Sazra had to give him a brief smirk. “Well, the cops should be happy to have a vigilante on the loose, even if he peels the concrete off the streets to catch his prey.” She gave a little chuckle. “But they should be able to fix it quick enough, seeing as they’re mostly earthbenders… actually,” her eyes widened just a little “They could be only earthbenders, I wonder why that is…” She let her ponders trail off.

Shun jumped up to get seated on Gou and soon enough the gorilla goat lowered an arm for her to climb on. Without a second though, she crept up with impressive balance, not even using her good arm for support. As an acrobat, she figured she could very easily ride just holding herself with one hand, but the prospect of the other position was so amusing she couldn’t be bothered to reveal that. “Oh, no problem at all,” she said, planting herself carefully in front of him, giving him a toothy grin and igniting the tip of her finger, keeping the little flame out of his way but present so they had some illumination.

She placed her good arm around him, fingers hooking lightly onto his ribs, and kept her wounded one lifted up with the flame. While he was nervous, she was anything but, seeming too happy to be touchy feely, completely unbothered by being so intimately pressed against a complete stranger. Taking this opportunity to study his dirty face, she nodded to his answer, her eyes wider for a moment. “Seriously? You learned to do all that by experimentation?” He sounded extremely talented. Sazra had been surrounded by various instructors throughout her life, but her style was less death match and especially pro bending.

“So, where are we headed?” She looked away from him, finally giving the path consideration. “I’d say take me home, but I’d rather thank you somehow first.” Her head tilted a little to the side, considering. “Is there anything you would like to do?” Glancing briefly to her arm, she could feel the burn in her stressed stitches going down, wound going back to slowly suturing. “Oh, and it’s nice to meet you and Gou…”