Post by Teᴙa253 on Jun 15, 2009 18:26:11 GMT -7
finally... this one, like many of my latest ones, has taken forever.
anyways, here's the long-awaited c112th installment of "The Order of the Avatar Slayer".
More of Cheng and Taki in the desert... poor kids...
but yeh, fun. This is also the 10th chapter in TOAS2.
enjoy.
CHAPTER 112: A LONG WAY TO GO
Cheng II and Taki II were lost. There was no other way around it.
“We’re running out of water, Cheng,” Taki complained,
“I know,” he replied, “I wish we could do something about that.”
“I know, I know,” Taki sighed, “I’m just upset; scared.”
“Well,” Cheng replied, “we have right to be. We’re two teenagers, lost in the desert with nothing around us but a vast expanse of sand and the occasional cacti. We’re almost out of water, and have no food.”
“But then again,” Taki remarked, “1200 years ago a young avatar and some 12-year-old kids made their way through this desert with little more than we have.”
“They had a sand-jet,” Cheng chuckled, “and an airbender.”
“Well,” Taki giggled, “then we need to outdo them.”
“Indeed,” Cheng remarked, also smiling. He wanted to do whatever it took to keep Taki’s spirits high. While she didn’t feel this way, Cheng felt like it was his duty to guard his younger twin sister, despite the fact that she was a perfectly competent fighter who did not need protection at all.
Cheng and Taki continued in the direction they were headed in until nightfall. By this time, they had consumed the last of their water, and there did not seem to be any sign of relief in sight. All they could see was the occasional cactus plant and the distant Joo Dee statue behind them that was getting smaller the more they walked away from it.
Like the previous night, they slept in their gear, despite how heavy and hot it was. When they got sweaty, it kept the moisture in better, and therefore, although it was unlikely that anyone would want to be within a 15-foot radius of them because of their smell, they were alive and hadn’t died of dehydration in the searing desert heat.
“You know that story about the kids that I told you about a few days ago, Cheng” Taki asked as they walked. It was mid-day, and they hadn’t had water since the previous evening
“Aye, Taki,” Cheng replied, “I do. Why do you ask?”
“Well,” Taki replied, “when they ran out of water, a couple of them cut these cacti open and—”
“And went insane,” Cheng replied flatly.
“Aye,” Taki replied, “do you really think that for one moment I care about my sanity when our lives are on the line?”
“Taki,” said Cheng, “not yet, alright? I understand that we’re both losing it out here, but spirits know what could happen if we both lost it.”
“Alright, fine,” Taki sighed, “it’s just, that I’m so thirsty, Cheng...”
“I know, Taki,” Cheng replied, putting his arm around his sister; they were actually almost the same height, Cheng being naturally a little larger than Taki. Both of them, however, were clearly “incarnations” of their parents, insomuch that they looked exactly like them.
The two of them kept wandering, neither one being able to see anything that looked like it might have water, except the occasional cactus again, but even these seemed to be growing les and less frequent as they walked. Naturally, their thirst began intensifying, and eventually, Taki gave in to this thirst.
“I can’t go on,” she said weakly, “if it’s a choice between die out here or go crazy for a while, I’ll choose the crazy.”
“As would I,” Cheng replied, but he wasn’t as thirsty as Taki. Taki’s metabolism was also higher than Cheng’s. Cheng’s was not low; Taki’s was high. She was known to be able to eat as much as a grown man and remain skinny, which was why Cheng assumed that she was feeling fatigued much earlier than he was. It was assumed that it was actually a disorder of types, but all in all, there was little harm done in it, as because of her training, Taki was used to being hungry.
Either way, before Cheng even really had a chance to try and talk his sister out of it, Taki had sliced open the nearest cactus and began eating and drinking every part of it that was not sharp.
“Ah,” she sighed happily about 2 minutes later, where the cactus plant was now nothing but a stump. It seemed that she had left a good bit for Cheng if he wanted any, but Cheng didn’t want them both to go crazy—yet at least.
“Salvation cometh,” Taki remarked happily, now lying spread-eagled on her back. She was laughing.
“What do you mean,” Cheng asked,
“simple,” Taki replied, “we were lost in the desert, then the magic cactus man came and bestowed upon us his mercies, and now we’re not gonna die out here! We’re saved!”
“Maybe we should stop here for the night,” Cheng said. He was looking at Taki, and trying to ignore his thirst. For a while he succeeded, but after Taki wasn’t recovering from her insanity, Cheng couldn’t hold it back, and so he took a piece of what Taki left behind and ate it. The moisture refreshed his dry mouth, but Cheng limited himself. He didn’t want both of them losing their minds, otherwise they could get separated, and that was the last thing he wanted. He knew that Taki felt the same way even though she hadn’t said anything.
Cheng’s vision was slightly blurry. He assumed that it was because of the cactus juice, and was likely thinking correctly. Luckily, he still had most of his sanity left, unlike his sister, who did not. She was skipping happily around without a care in the world, clearly high off of the stuff. Cheng shook his head.
“On second thought,” he muttered, looking at the position of the sun and using it to judge approximately how much daylight they had left, “we should probably get going.”
Taki simply giggled and flopped onto her back on the ground.
“I don’t wanna,” Taki replied, “it’s nice and pretty here. And it tickles.”
“What tickles,” Cheng asked,
“I don’t know,” Taki replied, looking confused, “it just tickles.”
Cheng resisted the urge to knock his sister on the head, and took her hand, and started guiding her along. Sometimes she flopped down and refused to get up, in which case Cheng, in his partial loss of sanity, just went along and dragged her.
Eventually though, Cheng’s sanity came back. It might have been significantly boosted by the fact that a settlement of some sorts was coming into view. This caused Cheng to pick up the pace [and drag the giggling Taki along with him]. They did a combination of walking, jogging and running [this was likely due to Cheng’s exhaustion, which was only enhanced by him having to pull Taki along] until the buildings came into view and they were actually in the village.
To Cheng’s utmost relief, they were inhabited. They were sandbenders and Beetle-Head merchants of course, but in the desert, that was to be expected. There were a few foreigners on the ‘streets’ at this time of night as well—a waterbender, and an earthbending couple who was making out beside one of the buildings.
Approaching the waterbender, Cheng ended up falling on his face right in front of her. Naturally, this got her attention and she helped them stand up. Taki was giggling hoarsely, for, although she was still being affected by the cactus juice, her thirst was again kicking in.
“Sweet spirits,” she exclaimed, “are you children alright?”
While Cheng and Taki were technically young adults, this woman appeared to be in her mid 30s or early 40s, and so in comparison, the two 17-year-olds were acceptably ‘children’.
“Water... please,” Cheng wheezed, “And maybe... a place... to sleep...”
Luckily, the waterbender held up the reputation that many female waterbenders had about being hospitable and kind. She took the twins back to her house and gave them water. They sat down and drank more water in one sitting than they probably ever had in their lives, and then just sat there, trying to recover. Taki still had the giggles.
“So,” the woman asked, “why are the two of you out on your own in the desert? Surely you two didn’t decide to have a date out here.”
“No,” Cheng replied, feeling slightly awkward, “we aren’t dating anyways. She’s my twin sister.”
“Oh,” the woman exclaimed, apologizing for her mistake, “that explains why you two stuck so close.”
“Aye,” Cheng replied, “we’re generally inseparable.”
After a little introduction [Cheng having to introduce the laughing Taki, who introduced herself as “Nina”], the twins learned that the woman was named Montak, and that the next settlement in the desert was a good ways away, but in the same direction as they were wanting to head. Montak advised them to take a lot of water of course, and to be careful. Minions of Joo Dee were around that area as well, and, although they hadn’t done anything at the moment, they were known to pick fights with some travelers.
“Right now though, you two need sleep,” Montak remarked, “especially your sister. She’s obviously still in the same delirium she was when she first ate the cacti. How much did she eat?”
“I’m not sure,” Cheng replied, “most likely a lot if she’s still delirious. Will she be alright?”
“Aye,” Montak chuckled, “it might last a little into the next morning, but all in all there is no permanent damage. Just get some rest. It will help you both quite a bit.”
“Alright,” Cheng replied, and, since they were siblings, Cheng and Taki were alright with sleeping in the same room. They both fell asleep, fully dressed, rather quickly. They had made good progress in the desert so far, but all in all, they had A Long Way To Go.
~Azula~
anyways, here's the long-awaited c112th installment of "The Order of the Avatar Slayer".
More of Cheng and Taki in the desert... poor kids...
but yeh, fun. This is also the 10th chapter in TOAS2.
enjoy.
CHAPTER 112: A LONG WAY TO GO
Cheng II and Taki II were lost. There was no other way around it.
“We’re running out of water, Cheng,” Taki complained,
“I know,” he replied, “I wish we could do something about that.”
“I know, I know,” Taki sighed, “I’m just upset; scared.”
“Well,” Cheng replied, “we have right to be. We’re two teenagers, lost in the desert with nothing around us but a vast expanse of sand and the occasional cacti. We’re almost out of water, and have no food.”
“But then again,” Taki remarked, “1200 years ago a young avatar and some 12-year-old kids made their way through this desert with little more than we have.”
“They had a sand-jet,” Cheng chuckled, “and an airbender.”
“Well,” Taki giggled, “then we need to outdo them.”
“Indeed,” Cheng remarked, also smiling. He wanted to do whatever it took to keep Taki’s spirits high. While she didn’t feel this way, Cheng felt like it was his duty to guard his younger twin sister, despite the fact that she was a perfectly competent fighter who did not need protection at all.
Cheng and Taki continued in the direction they were headed in until nightfall. By this time, they had consumed the last of their water, and there did not seem to be any sign of relief in sight. All they could see was the occasional cactus plant and the distant Joo Dee statue behind them that was getting smaller the more they walked away from it.
Like the previous night, they slept in their gear, despite how heavy and hot it was. When they got sweaty, it kept the moisture in better, and therefore, although it was unlikely that anyone would want to be within a 15-foot radius of them because of their smell, they were alive and hadn’t died of dehydration in the searing desert heat.
“You know that story about the kids that I told you about a few days ago, Cheng” Taki asked as they walked. It was mid-day, and they hadn’t had water since the previous evening
“Aye, Taki,” Cheng replied, “I do. Why do you ask?”
“Well,” Taki replied, “when they ran out of water, a couple of them cut these cacti open and—”
“And went insane,” Cheng replied flatly.
“Aye,” Taki replied, “do you really think that for one moment I care about my sanity when our lives are on the line?”
“Taki,” said Cheng, “not yet, alright? I understand that we’re both losing it out here, but spirits know what could happen if we both lost it.”
“Alright, fine,” Taki sighed, “it’s just, that I’m so thirsty, Cheng...”
“I know, Taki,” Cheng replied, putting his arm around his sister; they were actually almost the same height, Cheng being naturally a little larger than Taki. Both of them, however, were clearly “incarnations” of their parents, insomuch that they looked exactly like them.
The two of them kept wandering, neither one being able to see anything that looked like it might have water, except the occasional cactus again, but even these seemed to be growing les and less frequent as they walked. Naturally, their thirst began intensifying, and eventually, Taki gave in to this thirst.
“I can’t go on,” she said weakly, “if it’s a choice between die out here or go crazy for a while, I’ll choose the crazy.”
“As would I,” Cheng replied, but he wasn’t as thirsty as Taki. Taki’s metabolism was also higher than Cheng’s. Cheng’s was not low; Taki’s was high. She was known to be able to eat as much as a grown man and remain skinny, which was why Cheng assumed that she was feeling fatigued much earlier than he was. It was assumed that it was actually a disorder of types, but all in all, there was little harm done in it, as because of her training, Taki was used to being hungry.
Either way, before Cheng even really had a chance to try and talk his sister out of it, Taki had sliced open the nearest cactus and began eating and drinking every part of it that was not sharp.
“Ah,” she sighed happily about 2 minutes later, where the cactus plant was now nothing but a stump. It seemed that she had left a good bit for Cheng if he wanted any, but Cheng didn’t want them both to go crazy—yet at least.
“Salvation cometh,” Taki remarked happily, now lying spread-eagled on her back. She was laughing.
“What do you mean,” Cheng asked,
“simple,” Taki replied, “we were lost in the desert, then the magic cactus man came and bestowed upon us his mercies, and now we’re not gonna die out here! We’re saved!”
“Maybe we should stop here for the night,” Cheng said. He was looking at Taki, and trying to ignore his thirst. For a while he succeeded, but after Taki wasn’t recovering from her insanity, Cheng couldn’t hold it back, and so he took a piece of what Taki left behind and ate it. The moisture refreshed his dry mouth, but Cheng limited himself. He didn’t want both of them losing their minds, otherwise they could get separated, and that was the last thing he wanted. He knew that Taki felt the same way even though she hadn’t said anything.
Cheng’s vision was slightly blurry. He assumed that it was because of the cactus juice, and was likely thinking correctly. Luckily, he still had most of his sanity left, unlike his sister, who did not. She was skipping happily around without a care in the world, clearly high off of the stuff. Cheng shook his head.
“On second thought,” he muttered, looking at the position of the sun and using it to judge approximately how much daylight they had left, “we should probably get going.”
Taki simply giggled and flopped onto her back on the ground.
“I don’t wanna,” Taki replied, “it’s nice and pretty here. And it tickles.”
“What tickles,” Cheng asked,
“I don’t know,” Taki replied, looking confused, “it just tickles.”
Cheng resisted the urge to knock his sister on the head, and took her hand, and started guiding her along. Sometimes she flopped down and refused to get up, in which case Cheng, in his partial loss of sanity, just went along and dragged her.
Eventually though, Cheng’s sanity came back. It might have been significantly boosted by the fact that a settlement of some sorts was coming into view. This caused Cheng to pick up the pace [and drag the giggling Taki along with him]. They did a combination of walking, jogging and running [this was likely due to Cheng’s exhaustion, which was only enhanced by him having to pull Taki along] until the buildings came into view and they were actually in the village.
To Cheng’s utmost relief, they were inhabited. They were sandbenders and Beetle-Head merchants of course, but in the desert, that was to be expected. There were a few foreigners on the ‘streets’ at this time of night as well—a waterbender, and an earthbending couple who was making out beside one of the buildings.
Approaching the waterbender, Cheng ended up falling on his face right in front of her. Naturally, this got her attention and she helped them stand up. Taki was giggling hoarsely, for, although she was still being affected by the cactus juice, her thirst was again kicking in.
“Sweet spirits,” she exclaimed, “are you children alright?”
While Cheng and Taki were technically young adults, this woman appeared to be in her mid 30s or early 40s, and so in comparison, the two 17-year-olds were acceptably ‘children’.
“Water... please,” Cheng wheezed, “And maybe... a place... to sleep...”
Luckily, the waterbender held up the reputation that many female waterbenders had about being hospitable and kind. She took the twins back to her house and gave them water. They sat down and drank more water in one sitting than they probably ever had in their lives, and then just sat there, trying to recover. Taki still had the giggles.
“So,” the woman asked, “why are the two of you out on your own in the desert? Surely you two didn’t decide to have a date out here.”
“No,” Cheng replied, feeling slightly awkward, “we aren’t dating anyways. She’s my twin sister.”
“Oh,” the woman exclaimed, apologizing for her mistake, “that explains why you two stuck so close.”
“Aye,” Cheng replied, “we’re generally inseparable.”
After a little introduction [Cheng having to introduce the laughing Taki, who introduced herself as “Nina”], the twins learned that the woman was named Montak, and that the next settlement in the desert was a good ways away, but in the same direction as they were wanting to head. Montak advised them to take a lot of water of course, and to be careful. Minions of Joo Dee were around that area as well, and, although they hadn’t done anything at the moment, they were known to pick fights with some travelers.
“Right now though, you two need sleep,” Montak remarked, “especially your sister. She’s obviously still in the same delirium she was when she first ate the cacti. How much did she eat?”
“I’m not sure,” Cheng replied, “most likely a lot if she’s still delirious. Will she be alright?”
“Aye,” Montak chuckled, “it might last a little into the next morning, but all in all there is no permanent damage. Just get some rest. It will help you both quite a bit.”
“Alright,” Cheng replied, and, since they were siblings, Cheng and Taki were alright with sleeping in the same room. They both fell asleep, fully dressed, rather quickly. They had made good progress in the desert so far, but all in all, they had A Long Way To Go.
~Azula~