Thread: AVATAR: An Icy Burn-Out (BennyQ/Sketchyequine)

Zinni's brow furrowed as she heard the crackling in the air around her. What was that sound? It made her hesitate just enough for his blades of ice to form around his muscular forearms and her flame to weaken just enough to not melt it fast enough. He dodged her next throw, and he was coming at her fast. Zinni thought about running, yes, but she had to admit even to herself that he was faster than her even though they were quite similar in height. His sure-footedness and muscular legs gave him that advantage over her leaving her with only one choice stand your ground. She grunted as he planted his foot into her toned abdomen and jolted her backward, slamming her back to a tree. By some miracle she prevented herself from hitting her head hard on the tree trunk to avoid losing focus, but it made no difference. Before she could make another move she felt the hard impact of the ice pinning her hand and forearm to the trunk of the tree, and he charged her yet again this time with the intent to kill. She pulled hard at the ice, hoping she could dislodge herself and use both of her hands for bending, but it was no use. Amber eyes traveled upward to meet his own making eye contact with the man who would likely kill her now before she allowed her lids to fall. She would die with some peace. Her ancestors would be proud of her. The thunderous sound of Ze's charge went almost unnoticed as Zinni took a deep breath, preparing for it to be her last, but she furrowed her brow as the breath went rancid in her lung from being held too long. It shouldnt have taken more than a split second for him to end her and for her to feel the shattering of her own existence, but she continued to live. Finally she opened one eye. Then the other. Her visage revealing to her just what had happened. Ze had just saved her life. Thats my boy. She doted on the animal just as the ice became liquid water once more and fell to the dirt below, freeing the Fire Nation commander. She stepped around the wet patch on the ground and moved toward her loyal companion and the unconscious man, rubbing the beasts brow affectionately in reward for a job well done. Spirits, she loved that animal. Luckily, the saddle bags of the beasts of burden were always fully stocked with everything one could possibly need when out in the wilderness finishing up a job, and proper shackles for unarming benders was among those supplies. It was easily to chain up the waterbender with shackles that completely encapsulated his hand in cold, sooty iron that would prevent any further shenanigans on his part and cuffs that would keep his ankles close enough together he could barely walk with the minimal stride, let alone run. The harder part for the tall and slender firebender was getting the hunk of dead weight up onto the back of the rhino for transport. After enough heaving, pulling, and help from Ze, Zinni crawled into the addle of the beast and headed back toward the ships. Now all she had to do was load him up in a cell with one of his comrades and take him to their destination. It would be easy enough. What concerned Zinni, however, was the lack of noise she was hearing in the distance. This certainly didnt seem right for the aftermath of such a battle. And she was right. Things certainly weren't right. Zinni had galloped the lumbering beast all the way to the battlefield where corpses both in blue and black, littered the clearing, but there was not a live man or woman in sight. Her eyes traveled from the bodies to the skyline where she was quickly met with the image of ship silhouettes sailing off into the distance. Zinni had been left behind. It took hours to set up camp. She looted what would be useful off the bodies then traveled away from all the carnage, finally settling down at the bow of one of the abandoned water nation ships. In her mind, Zinni hoped that a different fleet from the fire nation would see those ships and rush in to take her and her prisoner back home where she could get back to work, but she also knew that no other fleets were supposed to be headed this way. Zinni was most likely out of luck, and she would have to come up with a plan B. She would have to travel by land to meet up with another camp, and it wouldnt be a short journey either. With ropes found on the water nation ships, Zinni tightly secured hershackledman to the trunk of a sturdy nearby tree propping his back up against it such that his head dangled in his unconsciousness. She removed Zes battlegear and released him to graze peacefully nearby and rest as he saw fit while Zinni busied herself with digging through any bags she had found on the water nation ships alongside the firelight as the night grew from indigo to pitch black. It was dark, and she was alone with this sack of scum. At last she had thought she was alone. While scrounging through a leather backpack a wild beast can flying out at Zinni in a fit of wings and beak, and it made her scream and move aside to avoid have her nose taken off by the rabid creature. Whatever it was smacked the woman in the face with a feathered appendage before waddling away from her completely. Ow She muttered, rubbing her rose as her eyes searched the fireglow for what it was that had attacked her. Her pride sunk down into a deep, dark hole when she found it. A turtle duck. Zinni had been out matched by a turtle duck.