Post by Orophin on Mar 24, 2008 20:08:24 GMT 1
The Short Lived Debt
V'icternus walked down the busy road, avoiding eye contact with any of the passing men and women.
He had been traveling the world for nineteen months, and was now back in the Earth Kingdom.
He was heading to this city for a reason, he was being paid.
He had never before accepted a bounty mission, but this was a special case.
The man he was hunting was a bounty hunter himself, who used his Bending talents to catch his targets.
V'icternus knew, of course, that this man made a career of killing people, so he would have to be careful. The streets of Omashu were the perfect place for a trap.
Finally, he entered the city, then split off from the crowd, examining the picture of his target.
He began inquiring, non too discreetly, about the man in the picture.
He was met with absolutely no answer, and no leads.
He decided to begin checking the back alleys, as they were far less crowded.
As he walked into the first alley he saw, the ground beneath him suddenly fell.
He would have fallen to his death, had he not been expecting such a thing.
He pulled a makeshift floor out of the wall of the hole, and then climbed up out of it.
"I see you were expecting me" Vic said to the man he saw as he stood up.
"You are hard to miss. Anyone could have been more discreet than that. You are either very inept, or very foolish, boy"
"Well, I knew if I made sure you knew I was looking for you, you would find me. And now, I have you"
"A, foolish, then" Said the man, and then he slammed the ground, sending three simultaneous fault lines at Vic.
Vic managed to divert them with one of his own, and then drew his distinctive blade.
"Ah, I remember you know, I saw you in the Clash of the Benders, over half a year ago. A pity we could not fight, but now I rectify that!"
He launched two large rocks down the narrow alley, and Vic was forced to slam into them and demolish them with his shoulder.
As V'icternus began to run toward the man, he climbed a ladder in an attempt to lure Vic onto the rooftops.
Vic was only to glad to follow suit, quickly following his quarry up the ladder.
He was within sword distance now, so Vic began swinging his blade in wide, quick strikes, in order to throw his opponent off balance.
The man, however, knew his stuff. Years of experience had given him quick reflexes, and a near impenetrable defense.
Every time Vic swung his blade, a rock rose to meet it. He couldn't help thinking of the people that would soon look up and realize they had sunroofs now.
But, the bounty hunter had made one mistake, which Vic soon noticed.
He was staying on the defensive, and was steadily moving backward toward the end of the roofing.
V'icternus became more aggressive, pushing the man further back, but not trying for a killing blow.
Soon, their vicious battle had reached the edge, and the bounty hunter looked back to see a massive drop behind him.
Vic stabbed his blade, there was no way to dodge it, but this man had had too much experience to fall for that, and he lifted up a full rock wall in front of him.
Unfortunately, while stopping the blade, it left him between a wall and a massive drop.
Vic pushed the wall forward, knocking the man off the edge of the building.
As he fell, he looked upward to see Vic standing there, watching him fall...
When the man hit the ground, Vic quickly ran off, to avoid being arrested by the city guards.
He went down to check the body, and saw a massive crowd gathered there.
As he peered through them, he saw the man had died on impact with the ground.
The guards had identified him as a known bounty hunter and criminal, and so weren't asking too many questions.
Later, still in the city, V'icternus was walking alone down a deserted alley, as he disliked crowds.
He heard a noise, and turned to see five men had just walked into the alleyway.
Some of them had weapons, others were obviously Earthbenders.
"Well, well, well" One of them said, obviously the man in charge. "What do we have here? It looks just like the boy who killed our buddy Latrom, doesn't it, fellas?"
They all nodded in agreement, advancing on him slowly.
"I think we'd better teach him a lesson, eh?"
They were moving to surround him, sinister looks on their faces.
All at once, they attacked.
He began lifting up walls and rocks to defend himself, but they had three Earthbenders while he was just one.
He gave up trying to defeat them with Bending, and turned to his sword.
He managed to wound ones leg, and stabbed another in the right shoulder, but he was suddenly thrown against the wall by a massive rock.
As he began to get up, he was hit on the back with a club, and he crippled and fell to the ground.
Suddenly, the leader grabbed at the chain around his neck, and pulled out the amulet he wore.
"And what's a boy like you, doing with such a nice trinket?" He kicked Vic where he lay.
He took the amulet from around Vic's neck, and put it in his pocket, before lifting a rock, and smashing Vic into a wall again.
Vic knew he had multiple broken bones, and the amount of blood on the ground around him couldn't be good.
His vision began to fade...
The men were laughing, while their leader just seemed to be playing with him.
Then, a voice sounded from the end of the alley.
"What are you men doing to that boy?" The voice was female, "Leave here at once!"
"Why don't you make us?" The leader inquired, moving with his men to surround her.
"Very well." She said slowly.
V'icternus faded then, the last thing he remembered was a massive roar, like a thundering wind...
He awoke.
He looked around to find himself in a house of some sort, lying in bed, his clothes stained with blood.
He groggily remembered what had happened, and tried to sit up.
The pain reminded him further of what had happened, so he lay back down.
Not long after, a woman walked into the room.
"Ah, you are awake" she said, in the same mysterious voice he had heard as he lay dying in the alley.
"Who..." He grunted in pain. "Who are you?"
"You may call me Solvacer, young one. Who, if I may ask, are you? I found you half dead in an alley, and I..."
"You saved me" he interrupted "Didn't you?"
"Yes. Why?" she replied.
"You are an..." he grunted as he sat up, "An Airbender, aren't you?"
"Why, yes, I am." She replied, curious as to why he was asking.
"And you... you saved me, right?" he continued.
"Yes. Why are you asking so many questions?"
"I... I am bound now... to protect you, wherever you go... whatever you do... I'm yours."
"That will not be necessary, child. I saw you in danger, and I did what any person would have done. Speaking of which, one of them was carrying this"
She pulled out his amulet, it shone brilliantly in the light from the window.
"Is it yours?"
"Yes... Yes, it was given to me by... yes... it's mine"
She placed it in his hand, and he gripped it tightly.
"It is beautiful..." she said, admiring it.
"My... my name is... V'icternus..." he gasped out.
"Lie down, rest, you have been through a lot" Solvacer said gently.
He nodded and closed his eyes. Solvacer closed the window with her Bending, then left the room.
Later, he awoke again, in the same room.
He sat up, groaned with the strain it put on him, but decided to test his legs anyway.
He stood up, and his left leg buckled beneath him.
He realized that it must have been broken during the attack, though he couldn't remember when.
He got up and put his weight on his right leg, and began to slowly move to the window.
He opened it to find it was near noon, and he saw the city stretching out around him.
"Up again?" Solvacer asked, "How are you?"
"Well, physically I feel like I've been pummeled, and my pride's not doing to well either..."
"All wounds heal with time. I had a healer look at you while you slept. She said you'll live, but shouldn't get into any fights any time soon."
"I wasn't planning on it. Unless you need me to. Then I... Then I have to..."
"I already told you, you don't need to do that. You shouldn't have so much on your shoulders, you are too young" Solvacer insisted
"I have my honor, and I will honor my debt" came the solemn reply.
"If you must."
The next day, after V'icternus had had some rest, Solvacer went out to the markets of Omashu.
V'icternus decided to tag along, despite his condition, to try to get used to walking with his still broken leg.
While at the market, V'icternus was uncomfortable with the amount of people crowding everywhere, as he was unused to crowds and preferred to avoid most human contact.
Solvacer pulled him aside into an alley and asked "Why did you come with me here, when you knew it would be like this? You are clearly uncomfortable"
"I have to follow you now, wherever you go, in case the opportunity should arise to repay my debt."
"Vic, you are injured, and in no shape to fight even if I were in danger." she reasoned, "And I am not, I have done nothing to warrant such danger"
"Guess again, lady" came a familiar voice.
V'icternus turned to see the same group of people who had nearly killed him just the other day standing behind them.
"You Airbenders really need to strike to kill more often, all you do is make us mad."
V'icternus stood between them and drew his sword.
"Get the kid" the leader said to two of the four men at his side.
They ran forward and grabbed Vic's shoulders, and he was too slow to stop them.
They pinned him to the wall as the leader of the group and the other two lackeys advanced on Solvacer.
She got into a fighting stance and threw an Air blast at one of the men holding Vic.
It hit the man and sent him sprawling, but the man that held him now punched him in the stomach, causing him to double over in pain.
Now Solvacer was surrounded, but she was not helpless.
She was surprisingly fast, and she moved like the wind itself.
But she was in an alleyway, and did not have the room to dodge her opponents heavy attacks, and was eventually struck and smashed into the wall.
V'icternus struggled to get free, but he was still too weak.
Then one of the most horrible things he had ever seen occurred.
The men began hitting her in all directions, using rocks, or just their hands and feet.
They were pulverizing her, and he knew she couldn't take much more, so he kept struggling, trying to break free, but the two men held him in place, so he had no choice but to watch, completely helpless, as they continued their assault.
"No!" He shouted. "Do what you want to me, but leave her out of this!"
"She interfered, so she's first. You get to watch." He said, then kicked her along the ground, while his men all cheered him on.
Her blood was everywhere, and it seemed as if all her bones were broken.
Luckily, the commotion drew the attention of the guards in the market, and a large group entered the alleyway.
The men ran off when they saw the guards, as they obviously didn't want to be thrown in a dungeon.
As they dropped V'icternus he ran to where Solvacer lay, unmoving on the ground.
He turned her over and saw the amount of damage done. It didn't look good.
"V... Vic... Are you ...alright?" She coughed, he saw blood.
"I'll be fine... but you... we have to get you to...."
"No... it is... too late... now..." she spluttered.
"But I was supposed to protect you!" He yelled
"There was nothing you could have done... do not blame yourself..."
"But I..."
"No... don't... not your fault..."
She was fading, he could see it in her eyes.
"Leave... leave Omashu... now..." she said softly, yet urgently.
"You have to... leave..." Her eyes closed.
He left Omashu. As he began on the long road away, he knew he could never return. Omashu was a place of dark memories for him now, so he left. He left it all behind him and kept moving forward, so the feelings could never catch him...
What do you think?
V'icternus walked down the busy road, avoiding eye contact with any of the passing men and women.
He had been traveling the world for nineteen months, and was now back in the Earth Kingdom.
He was heading to this city for a reason, he was being paid.
He had never before accepted a bounty mission, but this was a special case.
The man he was hunting was a bounty hunter himself, who used his Bending talents to catch his targets.
V'icternus knew, of course, that this man made a career of killing people, so he would have to be careful. The streets of Omashu were the perfect place for a trap.
Finally, he entered the city, then split off from the crowd, examining the picture of his target.
He began inquiring, non too discreetly, about the man in the picture.
He was met with absolutely no answer, and no leads.
He decided to begin checking the back alleys, as they were far less crowded.
As he walked into the first alley he saw, the ground beneath him suddenly fell.
He would have fallen to his death, had he not been expecting such a thing.
He pulled a makeshift floor out of the wall of the hole, and then climbed up out of it.
"I see you were expecting me" Vic said to the man he saw as he stood up.
"You are hard to miss. Anyone could have been more discreet than that. You are either very inept, or very foolish, boy"
"Well, I knew if I made sure you knew I was looking for you, you would find me. And now, I have you"
"A, foolish, then" Said the man, and then he slammed the ground, sending three simultaneous fault lines at Vic.
Vic managed to divert them with one of his own, and then drew his distinctive blade.
"Ah, I remember you know, I saw you in the Clash of the Benders, over half a year ago. A pity we could not fight, but now I rectify that!"
He launched two large rocks down the narrow alley, and Vic was forced to slam into them and demolish them with his shoulder.
As V'icternus began to run toward the man, he climbed a ladder in an attempt to lure Vic onto the rooftops.
Vic was only to glad to follow suit, quickly following his quarry up the ladder.
He was within sword distance now, so Vic began swinging his blade in wide, quick strikes, in order to throw his opponent off balance.
The man, however, knew his stuff. Years of experience had given him quick reflexes, and a near impenetrable defense.
Every time Vic swung his blade, a rock rose to meet it. He couldn't help thinking of the people that would soon look up and realize they had sunroofs now.
But, the bounty hunter had made one mistake, which Vic soon noticed.
He was staying on the defensive, and was steadily moving backward toward the end of the roofing.
V'icternus became more aggressive, pushing the man further back, but not trying for a killing blow.
Soon, their vicious battle had reached the edge, and the bounty hunter looked back to see a massive drop behind him.
Vic stabbed his blade, there was no way to dodge it, but this man had had too much experience to fall for that, and he lifted up a full rock wall in front of him.
Unfortunately, while stopping the blade, it left him between a wall and a massive drop.
Vic pushed the wall forward, knocking the man off the edge of the building.
As he fell, he looked upward to see Vic standing there, watching him fall...
When the man hit the ground, Vic quickly ran off, to avoid being arrested by the city guards.
He went down to check the body, and saw a massive crowd gathered there.
As he peered through them, he saw the man had died on impact with the ground.
The guards had identified him as a known bounty hunter and criminal, and so weren't asking too many questions.
Later, still in the city, V'icternus was walking alone down a deserted alley, as he disliked crowds.
He heard a noise, and turned to see five men had just walked into the alleyway.
Some of them had weapons, others were obviously Earthbenders.
"Well, well, well" One of them said, obviously the man in charge. "What do we have here? It looks just like the boy who killed our buddy Latrom, doesn't it, fellas?"
They all nodded in agreement, advancing on him slowly.
"I think we'd better teach him a lesson, eh?"
They were moving to surround him, sinister looks on their faces.
All at once, they attacked.
He began lifting up walls and rocks to defend himself, but they had three Earthbenders while he was just one.
He gave up trying to defeat them with Bending, and turned to his sword.
He managed to wound ones leg, and stabbed another in the right shoulder, but he was suddenly thrown against the wall by a massive rock.
As he began to get up, he was hit on the back with a club, and he crippled and fell to the ground.
Suddenly, the leader grabbed at the chain around his neck, and pulled out the amulet he wore.
"And what's a boy like you, doing with such a nice trinket?" He kicked Vic where he lay.
He took the amulet from around Vic's neck, and put it in his pocket, before lifting a rock, and smashing Vic into a wall again.
Vic knew he had multiple broken bones, and the amount of blood on the ground around him couldn't be good.
His vision began to fade...
The men were laughing, while their leader just seemed to be playing with him.
Then, a voice sounded from the end of the alley.
"What are you men doing to that boy?" The voice was female, "Leave here at once!"
"Why don't you make us?" The leader inquired, moving with his men to surround her.
"Very well." She said slowly.
V'icternus faded then, the last thing he remembered was a massive roar, like a thundering wind...
He awoke.
He looked around to find himself in a house of some sort, lying in bed, his clothes stained with blood.
He groggily remembered what had happened, and tried to sit up.
The pain reminded him further of what had happened, so he lay back down.
Not long after, a woman walked into the room.
"Ah, you are awake" she said, in the same mysterious voice he had heard as he lay dying in the alley.
"Who..." He grunted in pain. "Who are you?"
"You may call me Solvacer, young one. Who, if I may ask, are you? I found you half dead in an alley, and I..."
"You saved me" he interrupted "Didn't you?"
"Yes. Why?" she replied.
"You are an..." he grunted as he sat up, "An Airbender, aren't you?"
"Why, yes, I am." She replied, curious as to why he was asking.
"And you... you saved me, right?" he continued.
"Yes. Why are you asking so many questions?"
"I... I am bound now... to protect you, wherever you go... whatever you do... I'm yours."
"That will not be necessary, child. I saw you in danger, and I did what any person would have done. Speaking of which, one of them was carrying this"
She pulled out his amulet, it shone brilliantly in the light from the window.
"Is it yours?"
"Yes... Yes, it was given to me by... yes... it's mine"
She placed it in his hand, and he gripped it tightly.
"It is beautiful..." she said, admiring it.
"My... my name is... V'icternus..." he gasped out.
"Lie down, rest, you have been through a lot" Solvacer said gently.
He nodded and closed his eyes. Solvacer closed the window with her Bending, then left the room.
Later, he awoke again, in the same room.
He sat up, groaned with the strain it put on him, but decided to test his legs anyway.
He stood up, and his left leg buckled beneath him.
He realized that it must have been broken during the attack, though he couldn't remember when.
He got up and put his weight on his right leg, and began to slowly move to the window.
He opened it to find it was near noon, and he saw the city stretching out around him.
"Up again?" Solvacer asked, "How are you?"
"Well, physically I feel like I've been pummeled, and my pride's not doing to well either..."
"All wounds heal with time. I had a healer look at you while you slept. She said you'll live, but shouldn't get into any fights any time soon."
"I wasn't planning on it. Unless you need me to. Then I... Then I have to..."
"I already told you, you don't need to do that. You shouldn't have so much on your shoulders, you are too young" Solvacer insisted
"I have my honor, and I will honor my debt" came the solemn reply.
"If you must."
The next day, after V'icternus had had some rest, Solvacer went out to the markets of Omashu.
V'icternus decided to tag along, despite his condition, to try to get used to walking with his still broken leg.
While at the market, V'icternus was uncomfortable with the amount of people crowding everywhere, as he was unused to crowds and preferred to avoid most human contact.
Solvacer pulled him aside into an alley and asked "Why did you come with me here, when you knew it would be like this? You are clearly uncomfortable"
"I have to follow you now, wherever you go, in case the opportunity should arise to repay my debt."
"Vic, you are injured, and in no shape to fight even if I were in danger." she reasoned, "And I am not, I have done nothing to warrant such danger"
"Guess again, lady" came a familiar voice.
V'icternus turned to see the same group of people who had nearly killed him just the other day standing behind them.
"You Airbenders really need to strike to kill more often, all you do is make us mad."
V'icternus stood between them and drew his sword.
"Get the kid" the leader said to two of the four men at his side.
They ran forward and grabbed Vic's shoulders, and he was too slow to stop them.
They pinned him to the wall as the leader of the group and the other two lackeys advanced on Solvacer.
She got into a fighting stance and threw an Air blast at one of the men holding Vic.
It hit the man and sent him sprawling, but the man that held him now punched him in the stomach, causing him to double over in pain.
Now Solvacer was surrounded, but she was not helpless.
She was surprisingly fast, and she moved like the wind itself.
But she was in an alleyway, and did not have the room to dodge her opponents heavy attacks, and was eventually struck and smashed into the wall.
V'icternus struggled to get free, but he was still too weak.
Then one of the most horrible things he had ever seen occurred.
The men began hitting her in all directions, using rocks, or just their hands and feet.
They were pulverizing her, and he knew she couldn't take much more, so he kept struggling, trying to break free, but the two men held him in place, so he had no choice but to watch, completely helpless, as they continued their assault.
"No!" He shouted. "Do what you want to me, but leave her out of this!"
"She interfered, so she's first. You get to watch." He said, then kicked her along the ground, while his men all cheered him on.
Her blood was everywhere, and it seemed as if all her bones were broken.
Luckily, the commotion drew the attention of the guards in the market, and a large group entered the alleyway.
The men ran off when they saw the guards, as they obviously didn't want to be thrown in a dungeon.
As they dropped V'icternus he ran to where Solvacer lay, unmoving on the ground.
He turned her over and saw the amount of damage done. It didn't look good.
"V... Vic... Are you ...alright?" She coughed, he saw blood.
"I'll be fine... but you... we have to get you to...."
"No... it is... too late... now..." she spluttered.
"But I was supposed to protect you!" He yelled
"There was nothing you could have done... do not blame yourself..."
"But I..."
"No... don't... not your fault..."
She was fading, he could see it in her eyes.
"Leave... leave Omashu... now..." she said softly, yet urgently.
"You have to... leave..." Her eyes closed.
He left Omashu. As he began on the long road away, he knew he could never return. Omashu was a place of dark memories for him now, so he left. He left it all behind him and kept moving forward, so the feelings could never catch him...
What do you think?
