Scene one: Avatar Fanfiction
The busy streets of Ba Sing Se were no more cluttered than usual. The people went about their lives, trying not to think about the upheaval going on in the rest of the world. Tao weaved his way through the streets this early morning, savoring the slight chill in the air still remaining from last night. He had been to see the emperor today, and had finally gotten his wish: a secret mission. Tao had chosen to wear his finest robes today, and as such was feeling a little out of place among the smithies of the city.
All around him the sounds of work were beginning to fill the air. He heard one smith already hard at work, the peals of his hammer ringing out like bells in the crisp morning air. He headed toward the sound, knowing his friend had been up before dawn stoking his forge.
When Tao arrived at his friend’s workshop, he removed his shirt, knowing he would only get it dirty in there. This revealed a tapestry of tattoos covering nearly his whole body. They were mostly of animals, but some other things as well. Between them, an expanse of clouds filled the space. To a normal person these would be remarkable, but to a Wu-Shin initiate they would mark Tao as one of the greatest martial artists in the world.
He didn’t bother knocking as he pushed open the door to the forge. He was immediately washed with heat, and with the acrid smell of strange things burning. To someone who was unfamiliar, the man at the forge would seem like some mythical beast. A full head and a half taller than any man on the street, and as thick as an ancient tree, Tsubo was a giant among men.
Tao stood for a moment and watched his friend work. Tsubo’s huge muscles rippled with every blow of his hammer. Sparks flying. Tsubo was lost in concentration, and hadn’t noticed Tao’s entrance. “Hey Buddy!” Shouted Tao, attempting in vain to break through the sounds of his friends work, he tried again “TSUBO!!” nothing.
Tao gingerly stepped up to touch his friends massive arm. He waited until he began an upswing, then gently touched Tsubo’s shoulder. “Tsubo!” Tao was cut off as Tsubo jumped, and swung his hammer around, not in an attack, but in total surprise of finding himself not alone.
Tao ducked the swing and put on his best smile. “Hey buddy!”
Tsubo looked panicked until he recognized his friends face. Then he calmed down, but only a little. He knew what that smile meant. Another foolish adventure. “Good morning Tao, what is it this time?” Tsubo asked in his deep, bass voice.
“Whaddya mean pal?” Tao asked, trying to look innocent. A task which had eluded him his entire life. “I just came by to give you some good news.”
“Let me guess, we have another grand adventure on our doorstep.” Tsubo replied sardonically.
“No, we have another…. Oh yeah, and I need your help buddy, I can’t do it without you.” Tao went into salesman mode. “C’mon Tsubo, you need to get out more. You can’t fix shovels for your whole life.”
“Actually, that sounds wonderful. Every time we go on one of your adventures, something bad happens.” Tsubo wiped the sweat from his massive brow and sat down. Many people misjudged him because of his appearance. Tsubo was a giant, to be true, but he was very clever. He enjoyed puzzles and telling stories. He was not the adventurous type; he would have been very content to fix shovels for the rest of his life.
“C’mon who’s my pal? You know I’m gonna get in trouble if you don’t come.” Tao pulled out the last weapon in his arsenal. “Besides this little girl ain’t gonna save herself, and the emperor said I should bring an earthbender…”
Tsubo’s head jerked up. “Wait. What did you say?”
“The emperor said I should bring an earthbender?” Tao replied, smiling. Success.
“Not that, the other part, what about a little girl?” Tsubo’s heart was often said to be as big as he was, especially regarding children.
“That’s the mission; we gotta get this little girl, from the eastern air temple, to Ba Sing Se.” Tao knew he had his friend now. “She’s an airbender.”
Tsubo’s eyes narrowed. “All the air benders are gone. The fire nation wiped them out two years ago.”
“Not all of ‘em. This girl has been on the run for two years, she’s hiding out on an island to the east. We just gotta pick her up and escort her here. No sweat.” Tao was nothing but confidence. Some men called him fearless, more called him foolish.
“Alright fine, when do we leave?” Tsubo hated losing a battle of wills to Tao. Tao was his best friend, but also the largest source of aggravation in his life. However, if a child was in danger, Tsubo could not resist going to her aid, could he?
“Today, right now, A.S.A.P. Let’s just go.” Tao was barely controlling his enthusiasm. Pointing out the door.
“You gotta give me longer than that. At least a couple of hours. We’re not all vagabond fighters.” Tsubo said, pushing Tao’s buttons.
“Martial artist, besides, that’s fine with me, I can go get some stuff together myself. See you at home?” Tao often referred to Tsubo’s modest house as “home” even though he paid none of the rent or taxes, and in fact basically just slept there when he was in town.
“Yeah, okay brother, I’ll see you there.” Tsubo dismissed Tao with a wave of his hand. He walked across the street to arrange to have his shop looked after by his fellow smiths. His workload would be spread out among them.
They all gave him understanding looks, as if to say “Off to protect Tao on another foolish quest?” It was nice to not have to explain anymore. He allowed his fire to die down, and went to the corner of his shop. Tsubo opened the locked chest there with a key he left around his neck at all times.
From within the chest he removed a giant metal club. It had served him well on past encounters. It came nearly to his belt, which was larger than a normal man could wield. It was smooth along its length, a large cylinder tapering at the end to form a grip. The handle was wrapped in well-oiled leather, and looked to be used to hard work. Tsubo patted his club reassuringly. He hated to use it, but it had always been there in the past when heads were too hot for talk to diffuse the situation.
He adjusted his green tunic and decided he would wear his blacksmith’s apron on this trip, not just because it would provide protection, but it would allow a certain sense of disguise, as if a man of his stature could be in disguise at all. Tsubo supposed it was time to head home, who knew what Tao would get into if he kept him waiting. Here we go, he thought, another foolish adventure....
I'll try to post some more when I get it done. I promise I will finish this.
All around him the sounds of work were beginning to fill the air. He heard one smith already hard at work, the peals of his hammer ringing out like bells in the crisp morning air. He headed toward the sound, knowing his friend had been up before dawn stoking his forge.
When Tao arrived at his friend’s workshop, he removed his shirt, knowing he would only get it dirty in there. This revealed a tapestry of tattoos covering nearly his whole body. They were mostly of animals, but some other things as well. Between them, an expanse of clouds filled the space. To a normal person these would be remarkable, but to a Wu-Shin initiate they would mark Tao as one of the greatest martial artists in the world.
He didn’t bother knocking as he pushed open the door to the forge. He was immediately washed with heat, and with the acrid smell of strange things burning. To someone who was unfamiliar, the man at the forge would seem like some mythical beast. A full head and a half taller than any man on the street, and as thick as an ancient tree, Tsubo was a giant among men.
Tao stood for a moment and watched his friend work. Tsubo’s huge muscles rippled with every blow of his hammer. Sparks flying. Tsubo was lost in concentration, and hadn’t noticed Tao’s entrance. “Hey Buddy!” Shouted Tao, attempting in vain to break through the sounds of his friends work, he tried again “TSUBO!!” nothing.
Tao gingerly stepped up to touch his friends massive arm. He waited until he began an upswing, then gently touched Tsubo’s shoulder. “Tsubo!” Tao was cut off as Tsubo jumped, and swung his hammer around, not in an attack, but in total surprise of finding himself not alone.
Tao ducked the swing and put on his best smile. “Hey buddy!”
Tsubo looked panicked until he recognized his friends face. Then he calmed down, but only a little. He knew what that smile meant. Another foolish adventure. “Good morning Tao, what is it this time?” Tsubo asked in his deep, bass voice.
“Whaddya mean pal?” Tao asked, trying to look innocent. A task which had eluded him his entire life. “I just came by to give you some good news.”
“Let me guess, we have another grand adventure on our doorstep.” Tsubo replied sardonically.
“No, we have another…. Oh yeah, and I need your help buddy, I can’t do it without you.” Tao went into salesman mode. “C’mon Tsubo, you need to get out more. You can’t fix shovels for your whole life.”
“Actually, that sounds wonderful. Every time we go on one of your adventures, something bad happens.” Tsubo wiped the sweat from his massive brow and sat down. Many people misjudged him because of his appearance. Tsubo was a giant, to be true, but he was very clever. He enjoyed puzzles and telling stories. He was not the adventurous type; he would have been very content to fix shovels for the rest of his life.
“C’mon who’s my pal? You know I’m gonna get in trouble if you don’t come.” Tao pulled out the last weapon in his arsenal. “Besides this little girl ain’t gonna save herself, and the emperor said I should bring an earthbender…”
Tsubo’s head jerked up. “Wait. What did you say?”
“The emperor said I should bring an earthbender?” Tao replied, smiling. Success.
“Not that, the other part, what about a little girl?” Tsubo’s heart was often said to be as big as he was, especially regarding children.
“That’s the mission; we gotta get this little girl, from the eastern air temple, to Ba Sing Se.” Tao knew he had his friend now. “She’s an airbender.”
Tsubo’s eyes narrowed. “All the air benders are gone. The fire nation wiped them out two years ago.”
“Not all of ‘em. This girl has been on the run for two years, she’s hiding out on an island to the east. We just gotta pick her up and escort her here. No sweat.” Tao was nothing but confidence. Some men called him fearless, more called him foolish.
“Alright fine, when do we leave?” Tsubo hated losing a battle of wills to Tao. Tao was his best friend, but also the largest source of aggravation in his life. However, if a child was in danger, Tsubo could not resist going to her aid, could he?
“Today, right now, A.S.A.P. Let’s just go.” Tao was barely controlling his enthusiasm. Pointing out the door.
“You gotta give me longer than that. At least a couple of hours. We’re not all vagabond fighters.” Tsubo said, pushing Tao’s buttons.
“Martial artist, besides, that’s fine with me, I can go get some stuff together myself. See you at home?” Tao often referred to Tsubo’s modest house as “home” even though he paid none of the rent or taxes, and in fact basically just slept there when he was in town.
“Yeah, okay brother, I’ll see you there.” Tsubo dismissed Tao with a wave of his hand. He walked across the street to arrange to have his shop looked after by his fellow smiths. His workload would be spread out among them.
They all gave him understanding looks, as if to say “Off to protect Tao on another foolish quest?” It was nice to not have to explain anymore. He allowed his fire to die down, and went to the corner of his shop. Tsubo opened the locked chest there with a key he left around his neck at all times.
From within the chest he removed a giant metal club. It had served him well on past encounters. It came nearly to his belt, which was larger than a normal man could wield. It was smooth along its length, a large cylinder tapering at the end to form a grip. The handle was wrapped in well-oiled leather, and looked to be used to hard work. Tsubo patted his club reassuringly. He hated to use it, but it had always been there in the past when heads were too hot for talk to diffuse the situation.
He adjusted his green tunic and decided he would wear his blacksmith’s apron on this trip, not just because it would provide protection, but it would allow a certain sense of disguise, as if a man of his stature could be in disguise at all. Tsubo supposed it was time to head home, who knew what Tao would get into if he kept him waiting. Here we go, he thought, another foolish adventure....
I'll try to post some more when I get it done. I promise I will finish this.