Prospects of A Lot of Sake

[thcox5]

Tane Naoki walked out of the wilderness and could see Ba-Sing-Se standing rather close to where he was and let out a wild cheer. A large city meant lots and lots of booze, which he was running out of already, even though he had just left another city a few days ago. He took another swig from the gourd on his staff and picked up his pace, staggering quickly across the landscape as he realized just what this grand city can hold.

[Varoen]

Varoen walked the road to Ba-Sing-Se slowly, taking in the scenery and thankful for the time away from the Bulwark finally. He should have been going home but instead something was drawing him towards the capital of the Earth Kingdom. Maybe it was a touch of homesickness, though he seriously doubted it. Up the road from him Var could see a man stumbling towards the city as well. Thinking at first the man to be injured quickened his pace and found his nose to be under assault the closer he got.

Finding the better part of himself and stifling a grimace Var approached him, thinking that despite the strong tang of alcohol that this man could be in trouble. I hope so for how bad he smells. Sweat and alcohol? And is that a loin cloth he’s wearing? Only people from the Foggy Swamp Tribe… Oh god. A waterbending hillbilly. Great. With an outward sigh Var began breathing through his mouth and caught up to the mans quick stagger easily enough. Looking at the man from his lowly 5’6” height he asked “Sir? Do you need any help?” One look at the mans alcohol hungry eyes almost made him rethink the sir comment.

[thcox5]

Tane turned quickly, but fell head over heels when his left leg tried to walk where his right leg was. He rolled on his back and across the road, landing in the shallow ditch to the side, a fall that measured nearly ten feet. He sat up and looked at the new person who had walked into the picture and took another swig and said, "Do I'sh looks likesh I needsh you healp? I'm just a lowly drunk with a massive bounty on my head trying to get to that city-" Meaning to point to Ba-Sing-Se, but instead pointing in the opposite direction. "-And I would apprechiate it if you would not shcare me likes that again." He began to stand up, but fell over again, cursing loudly.

He lay back down in that damp ditch and began singing an old song about Ba-Sing-Se. "Wellsh the girlsh in the chity, well they all looksh so pretty, the girlsh of Ba-Shing-She!!"

[Varoen]

Watching the drunk stumble and fall into the ditch would have been funny if he had been viewing it at any other time, or was even hearing someone tell the story, but at the present moment it was just an annoyance. People like this man in front of him were pathetic as far as Var was concerned and actually considered leaving the man, though he knew that it would bug him if he did so. Var looked in the direction the drunk pointed and sighed, having a feeling he was going to regret his decision. “Yeah you look like you need a lot of anyones help. How bigs this bounty, ya lowly drunk, and why you got it?”

Var stepped down into the ditch, trying to talk to him over his horrendous singing and grabbed his arm attempting to pull him to his feet. Why he wanted to help this drunk he had no idea, but some part of himself that working on becoming a better person wouldn’t allow him to leave the guy. It was really annoying, although he still might have had to work on his people skills a little bit to match. Varoen just prayed that the worthless man in front of him didn’t piss or shit himself, or hopefully hadn’t already.

[thcox5]

Tane had trained for years before becoming a drunk in the plant bending style, and even though his body was put through hell on a daily basis, it still retained its quick reflexes and his instinct was incredibly strong and it reacted quickly to possible danger, almost independent of his will.

Tane's body reacted violently to being touched when his eyes were closed. Still singing he flipped around so his body was facing Var, then his legs surged forward quick as a flash, with the intention of wrapping them around his arm, and then meeting them together at his neck. He also reached out to grab Var's outstreched hand. If the move was successful then Var's arm would be immobilized and at the slightest pull of Tane's arms his shoulder could be dislocated, or even broken.

[Varoen]

Before Var could even realize what was happening the drunk, and quite an agile drunk at that, was on him. The legs reaching up and around his arm with the hands not far behind began to find their hold on him. Several reactions ran through his mind, some of which might have worked, but would not have gone without their own set amount of personal injury to himself. Varoen had often sparred with Aiden in the Burning Legion and the Airbender had pulled a similar move on him. The best idea was not to do anything, since his arm could potentially become a useless heap of jelly if he actually tried to do anything.

Dropping instantly to his knees and allowing the hold to take place on his one arm, Var reached behind his back and drew, with practiced ease, his war dagger and centered its tip above the drunks stomach, and below his ribs at the mans side. The blade sat over the ideal position to slide into his liver and, though Varoen’s arm could come from this confrontation broken, the drunk would leave with a wound that would be considerably worse. With the amount of blood that ran through the liver and the distance that he was from any sort of help, the man would faint in minutes from blood loss and die not long afterward. Var would be sure to leave a wound that would make it so that the man did not suffer or, much worse, live. Sloppiness was so unlike him after all.

Holding the blade steadily against the drunks side, yet with enough force to assure him that the waterbender was not fooling around, Var said “Release my arm, or I promise you that this will be the last in a very long line of what I’m sure are foolish life choices.” With the drunks full attention on Var’s arm that left his side open for a strike, and if the idiot made a move to retaliate, he would not hesitate to sink the blade into flesh.

[thcox5]

Tane opened his eyes to find his legs wrapped around the mans arm, and holding him in an immobilized position. Tane cocked his head and about asked what strange thing happened when he realized there was a large knife being held really close to his side. "Hey hey hey there friendsh, why do yoush have that things pulled out on me? I ain't done nothing wrong." He tentatively released his grip on the man, eyes on the knife. His body knew thousands of different way to end this confrontation, but with his drunken fear, he couldn't preform any of them on a whim. "You'resh the one who shtarted this all." He said. Once he had released him he scooted away, still on his back.

[Varoen]

As his arm was released and the drunk crawled away pathetically, asking why Var had his blade in the mans side in the first place. He only shook his head in frustration, wondering why he couldn’t have just kept walking and left this mans fate to… well to whatever would have hopefully eaten him in this damn ditch. But there was something in Varoen that wouldn’t let the man simply die out here in the wilderness, but he didn’t have the patience to put up with the drunks crap either. ‘Maybe I can sober him up? He’s pretty quick though, and that hold was good. God help me for what he could without that alcohol in his system.’ Letting the man ramble in confusion about Var being the who started it, he quietly stepped back and sheathed his war dagger, uncorking the water pouch strapped to his back with his other hand.

Once he was sure that the drunk wasn’t going to be within striking distance he let out a small controlled stream of water and sent a gentle water whip towards the mans right cheek. "Hey come on get with me here!" Var just hoped the action would get the man to think for five seconds and at least get back up on the road and on their way. He really didn’t feel like hurting someone today.

[thcox5]

Tane's reaction was quick and violent. His entire body rippled up and began bending the plants around his arms. He got up on his tip toes, throwing his hands in the air, he found the water in the plants, and ordered them to copy his movements. They flew from his arm into the air, and then he turned around, pulling his arm in, coiling the right vine around his forearm, and then shooting it out, in a similar whip like motion for Varoen's own cheek. "Heyy, wadda hell ish this?"

[Varoen]

Perhaps in hindsight, striking the drunk wasn’t the best idea he had ever had. But it at least got a reaction, though not the one he had been seeking. The quick fluid movements Varoen instantly recognized as waterbending, but when no actual water came forth with the movement he was put off his guard. The rise of the vines about the man’s arm and the quick strike they made in return to his own caught him by surprise. The hit was hard, hopefully harder than the stupid drunk had intended, and knocked Var off of his balance sending him down in a kneel with a sharp sting across his cheek. He almost lost his hold on the water whip, but help it and brought the water back into his palm in an orb.

Though he was not the vengeful sort, this drunk was quickly getting under his skin, and he was not about to let this act go. The man wanted a fight, he would get one. The urge to help the man was gone and in place of it was only a drive to strike back. His hand rested on his war dagger and he drew it as he stood again. He leveled his palm with the water and curled each finger back towards his hand before flicking them forward, sending several small frozen orbs at the man from the main bunch of water, hoping to catch him off balance, though mostly as a distraction for the charge he made immediately following them.

He held his war dagger backwards, so that he could drive the rounded end into the man’s gut and hopefully knock the wind from him rather than killing him. He could at least catch the drunk off guard and get his ass to Ba-Sing-Se. Var just wanted to get some rest in a real bed for once. His time in the Bulwark had made him cranky.

[thcox5]

Tane's quick reactions saved him again, though just barely. His arms flipped around and he blocked the ice orbs with a combination of using his forearms to knock them out of the way, raising large blotchy bruises, though he didn't feel them, and using his vines to knock them away. At one point, in a particularly theatric move, he twisted around, his view from Varoen completely blocked and then bent over backwards, thrusting out his vines towards Var again, aiming to strike his hand where the war dagger was held. Though he was only striking towards where Varoen had been when he turned. ((Hint Hint))