A Day to Remember (open)

It was approximately 9:30 in the morning upon this glorious day. The sun loomed towards the eastern parts of the heavens, it's rays gleaming down upon everyone's backs down below. There were quite a few clouds drifting across the sky, occasionally tucking the sun away and embracing those beneath with a bit of rest from the heat.

Leo was a tall lad, just over six feet to be exact and weighed not an ounce over two hundred pounds. He was wearing his typical clothing, a sleeveless black shirt followed by black pants. His shaggy hair flowed in the wind as he walked down a pathway that would lead him to the beach. He would go there quite often to collect his thoughts...or sometimes to not think at all.

As his feet reached the sand he slowly kicked off his shoes and removed his shirt, revealing a rather firm physique embraced by tan skin. His amber eyes lay rest upon the flowing waves of the ocean before him. It was not long before the young fire bender was taking step after step into the water until he was waste deep.

For a fire bender he had quite a love for the water. Leo placed his palms just above the surface of the water and formed a small flame in both hands. A tingling sensation ran up his arms and into his chest as the flames and ocean met, causing the water to boil and bubble up rapidly.

Perhaps today would be a better day. Maybe if he was lucky he wouldn't have to deal with the nagging school master or his "uncle". Just maybe...

Not to far to the north, just along a sloping path, a black and white Dragonmoose trudged along the path leading downwards onto a tiny collection of beach houses. The bleach white cliffs of the Southern Fire Nation were, without a doubt, some of the most beautiful, but also the most treacherous areas when it came to the transportation of goods by means of animal. Very few souls lived away from the bustling comfort of the Capitol, or the peaceful fishing villages to the East. But beyond the thick, luscious jungles, the Southern Fire Nation beaches were some of the best in their entire lands.

Zitka Sahd had not returned to the Fire Nation since she was a very young child, and was reluctant to do so. However, when it came to relaxation, there were fewer places to go than here. As Mao, the Dragonmoose, plodded down the rocky trail, the young woman sighed. She still remembered all these trees just like it had been yesterday...a small girl, with her family, riding down to enjoy a day at the beach with the children of the other noble families...

Stopping the beast, Zitka slid off the creature, slowly going over to tie Mao to the nearest tree. The flighty animal wouldn't guard her belongings, but she'd made enough of a ruckus to where Zitka would be aware of the situation going on, which was the general idea.
Dressed as an average Fire Nation Merchant, Sahd made her way down into the clearing where the trees halted before the glittering golden sands, and without so much as glancing one way or another to see if there was anybody around, stripped out of her clothing into a jet black bathing suit. [X]

With a great deal of care, the young woman gently folded her disguise and walked back up to the easily frightened creature, petting it on the nose before placing it in a rucksack upon its back. Turning around, she walked directly into the ocean, getting only to her ankles before she sat down on the submerged sands, the water going up to the top of her stomach. Sighing, Zitka shut her eyes and stretched her arms behind her, her hands digging into the sand, where she then leaned on her arms, taking in the sun. It had been such a long time, and she was happy to have a moment of relaxation to herself.

She had not, unusually enough, noticed the Firebender only a few yards away from her--an odd thing, considering her sense of observation. But in all honesty, Sahd was much, much too tired to care for other people right now. It was a moment to relax...a moment she was gladly taking.

His eyes were closed as his back was to the shore line. Small flames were still present in the palms of his hands as he steadily moved them over the surface of the water. A few moments later his ears perked up as he heard a rustling sound coming from behind him. He could sense someone's presence. He felt no immediate danger, only an odd feeling of peace and warmth.

Leo hesitated to turn around, unaware of who or what was lurking behind him. He heard footsteps entering into the calm waters. They had no sooner started when he heard them no more. Slowly the fire bender began to turn around. His eyes scanned every detail of his surroundings as he did so.

Alas his amber eyes lay rest upon a lady, a very attractive young woman clothed with nothing more than a black bikini. As his eyes focused on her, his flames diminished at the sight. He was currently at a loss for words. Leo began to walk back towards the shoreline, as quietly as possible trying not to disturb the goddess. Once he was merely ankle deep he turned around to soak in the view of the glorious sky as it greeted the surface of the ocean as far as one could see.

Leo places his hands in his pockets and remained silent for a moment, still he was unable to force any words from his lips as his heart thumped loudly in his chest.

While the morning sun beat down upon her ivory skin, warming it with its rays, the calm beating of the ocean seemed to overall soothe her nerves. There was little more relaxing than this sensation, the water cooling the body as the sun warmed the soul. Secretly she wished she had been born a water bender, so she could experience the sensation of water's power all the time...sadly...she had not...In fact, she hadn't even been born a fire bender.
Since the day she'd been discovered to hold no bending, her life seemed to have lost all light and meaning. Those who once loved her, now spat upon her...those who had adored her presence, no longer wished it. And it had been a dreadful loss to her.

But the Summoners had given her new purpose. No, the spirits had given her a new purpose. The Summoners had given her the means, and now, she would do as she had been tasked...but in due time. For now, this was a day to soak in all of nature's wonders.

A few minutes passed, and suddenly, Zitka felt eyes sizing her up. Silently, she cursed herself--she hadn't brought her weapon along with her in this water, and now she was being observed by someone. Immediately, her entire body tensed up, but her eyes did not open. Slowly, and casually, she turned her head, pretending to stretch, and opened her eyes.

Her disruptor was a tall gentleman, with green eyes and shaggy black hair--like her. Green was an unusual color for a child of the Fire Nation, and she studied him with a certain degree of interest now. This man was well built, and balls of flame went out in his hands as he gawked at her--a firebender. Zitka frowned at the sheer thought of it. Her brothers, her parents, her schoolmates and teachers, had all been firebenders too...and look what they had done to her. The damage they had done, yes, had lead her on the path of enlightenment and rebirth but...there were burn marks that had once been on her body from those people.
Again, she continued to look him over. He was very handsome; with kind looking eyes, and lips curled into a sort of open mouthed smile. His clothing, what little was left on him, modeled his physique quite well...but...Sahd was more than just lured in by sheer looks. Her duties required her heart to be solid, hard, and uncaring. One silly drooling man wouldn't be enough to break her.

She could call Lao-Po to rough him up...the Six Footed Tiger Demon she was able to summon was probably hungry by this point, and a snack wouldn't do him much harm. But this man seemed more intoxicated by what he was eyeballing than anything else.
Grumbling, Zitka sank into the water, emerald eyes glaring at him.

"What? You've never seen a woman in a bathing suit? Pick up your jaw."

She half hoped her gruff nature would ward him off...but Zitka was more than aware that some men just couldn't take the hint sometimes. The summoner was more than happy to call upon her trusted friend if he tried anything foolish.

Leo was oddly enough able to sense the lady's distaste for him already and they had yet to even exchange their first words. He could simply walk away and leave her alone, that's probably what she wanted anyway, but Leo had never been known to do what was simple, it just wasn't in him.

He turned in her direction and took a mere two steps forward, at this point that left him only six feet from the lady. The fire bender them made another bold move, he sat down and leaned back on the golden sand starring out at the steadily pacing ocean waves.

"Beautiful day isn't it?" he managed to say in an attempt to spake the slightest conversation. She seemed like the type of person that was rather cold and liked to keep to herself. Leo had his moments where he was that way, shy and unwanting of company, yet there was something about her that he couldn't quite figure out...something alluring, and not just her beauty.

This man was slowly making his way towards her, as if he sensed that she was indeed more dangerous than she appeared. Perhaps he wasn't as foolish as she thought he was...however, he was still a fool.
Zitka blinked in disbelief. How could this guy not get the hint? Standing up, she brushed herself off from the sand on her backside, trickles of water running down her body as she held herself erectly now, showing the full of her height (which wasn't much compared to him.) Without looking at him, she crossed her arms across her chest, and sighed again. This one wasn't going to go away easily.

"I must be speaking in tongues...The fool still remains." She muttered to herself, before replying in a uninterested tone. "What does a firebender know of beauty? Their very nature is destructive. They would burn down the sun if they so sought fit to...the only thing they understand, is destruction."
Sahd hadn't meant to sound so incredibly bitter, and yet, her voice couldn't help itself. She had not spoken directly to or with a firebender since she had abandoned her family...and she was distant and cold to them, even when they sought no harm. A pang of guilt tugged at her chest, and she shook her head of the emotion. One hand was open across her leg, ready to touch the ground in needed. In order to call Lao-Po, she would have to complete the connection from the Spirit World, to the Realm of the Living...done so by physically touching the ground, and calling upon the creature she wanted to summon out. Without her weapon, she would have to do this by hand...and was willing to if she had to.

Glancing over at him, just for a moment, she frowned, pursing her lips. She wasn't accustomed to speaking to men in a casual way. Zitka disliked speaking with people in general--preferring to work in the shadows and behind the scenes in order to complete her tasks. It was rare when you ever met her without a disguise on, let alone in a bikini.

Her response was just as he imagined it would be...cold. She spoke of the hatred and destruction that fire benders were known by. Her words were very true, however. The fire nation was known for their brutality...their merciless lust for blood and authority.

"My apologies madam..." he said quietly as he sat up, raising his knees up and leaning his arms on top of them.

Memories of his parents rushed back into his mind. They were good memories from what little bit he could remember. Yet the memories would one day fade into the abyss and be nothing short of forgotten.

"I suppose I will always be known by the gifts I bear...

He paused slightly as he stood up, brushing himself off before dipping his hands into oceans waters to rinse them off as well.

"My mother was a water bender, she resided amongst the southern water tribe...yet my father was a bender of fire...the heavens somehow saw fit for me to be cursed with my fathers abilities which is not well liked by others."

The warrior then fell silent, feeling as though he might have said too much. What did she care about his parents? His heritage? Him? She knew nothing about him except the fact that he was a fire bender...that's all she needed to know. It was obvious that she held a grudge against the fire nation and it's inhabitants. Of course, who could blame her? He held the same hatred towards them...it was the fire nation that shunned his parents for being together, they couldn't accept two nationalities joining as one...they couldn't even accept him fully as he was a "half breed".

Leo's mind was raging war on itself as all of these thoughts roared at once in an extreme fashion. He ran his fingers through his dark hair, letting out a deep breath.

This piqued her interests slightly. A child of a fire and water bender? Those things usually didn't happen, and when they did...She knew the result all too well. These events, and the people involved in them, were hardly ever reasonable, and always ended in a disaster...the society they lived in, while more forgiving than things had been during the 100 Years War, was still fragile, and in many cases, foolish.

"I too was born of benders." Zitka muttered. "But their so-called gifts were not bestowed to me. For this reason, I am who I am. Because of their ways, I found a true purpose. Through training of body and mind, I have obtained a greater strength than ever before."

Sahd relaxed a little. It seemed this man was here for nothing more than simple small talk. Sighing, she strolled over to the beach, the sun was perched up higher in the sky now, and she laid down in the sand, caressing it with her fingers nonchalantly.

"Fire Lord Zuko claimed to say he would restore the honor of the Fire Nation. Yet since, they have not so to speak, rid themselves of the scars. Disdain for the weak is written in our very blood. I too was born in the Fire Nation's shadow, and in such a place where strength was your ally, and weakness...your downfall. There is no love and understanding there."

She paused, reflecting on what she had been told on her journey to the Spirit World. So it was indeed true: the Gates to the Spirit World had been destroyed by a malignant force, and now, when she focused her mind, she could sense their power, gone from these worlds on both sides. For this, Zitka feared that not even Avatar Korra could help them now. There was too much going on now to be bothered by this...Sahd was all too aware of the distress in Republic City these days.

Shaking her head of the thoughts, she cocked her head at this man, who seemed in just as much stress as she, and put on a very thin layer of smile.
"I apologize. I am unused to speaking to...others, in general. I am..." And she hesitated, half thinking that speaking her true name was appropriate, but doing otherwise. "My name is Zitka, Zitka Sahd."

Her words had meaning, they were deep and truly heart felt. Of course he was quite envious of her being a spirit fighter. There was something about them that always peeked his interest. They were at one with the spirit world. No bender would ever truly be able to comprehend the bond that fighters like her had.

Leo remained listening as he walked over to where he had put down his shirt and his bag. From his bag he pulled out a glass container of liquid. The glass was dark green in color with a blue tint to it. The fire bender turned back and walked over to where she lay and sat down a mere foot away, gazing out at the ocean once more as he began to unscrew the top of the container.

He took a slow sip of the liquid as she continued to tell the words of her heart. His green eyes coasted from the ocean to her. He saw the pain in her eyes...she was in such dire need to pour her emotions out.

"Madam...don't apologize. It is the least I can do to listen. In all honesty my abilities to bend fire has always been more of a curse. You should consider yourself blessed."

He raised the container back to his lips before he placed the bottle beside her as she introduced herself.

"Ms. Zitka, it's a pleasure. My name is Leon Krios, Leo for short. Care to have a drink?"

Leo saw past the harshness of her heart. He looked into her soul and saw a lady full of pain and sorrow...he saw before him a truly good woman.

Sahd stared at the contents of the container, half-suspiciously. She wasn't sure if this was some sort of trick. Her mind was never at ease, it seemed...always looking for connections...connections to her enemies...links between people, events, and motives, all bridging and branching out into different directions. A mind of lesser discipline would surely have broken. But hers was a machine of processing. She had trained herself this way.

The young woman put up a smile, but it was fleeting.
"Krios. An unusual surname...nothing I've heard before...It is interesting." She looked at him, as he drank from some sort of liquid in a glass bottle, the sun hitting his face in a particular angle where his black hair glittered like a piano...dark, and yet at the same time, bright.
"I would have, at one point, given anything to have your gift," the summoner priestess muttered, sitting up now. "In spite of your heritage, the people of our nation these days will accept you. They are more forgiving and understand now, than they once were during the 100 year war...I was not. But you know how it is, to be born here...strength is a gift, and weakness, a curse. Firebending, bending at all...is considered a strength. I was neither a skillhand of swords nor of the elements...never to be so fortunate."

Her heart froze for a minute as she realized she'd given away part of her identity without so much as realizing it--telling him she'd been born in the Fire Nation was a foolish thing to speak out! Cursing herself, she took the bottle in her hands and examined it quietly.
Zitka was hesitant to nod her head towards him, signaling that she accepted the beverage. Slowly, she lifted it to her lips, and sipped at it quietly, her tongue scanning the beverage for any sort of immediate poisons. One could never be too cautious, in her eyes.

It was a dreamy concoction, filled with the taste of fruits she couldn't name, tangled with spices, ripe with what she faintly recalled as the sensation of alcohol. Sahd didn't mind so much, but was careful not to drink too much of it...for one, she was particularly lightweight when it came to the intoxicating liquid.

Gently, she put the bottle back into the sand, and laid her upper body back down into the sand, the warmth of the sun trapped in the earth, baking and warming her skin. It was a pleasurable sensation, and if not for the fact she had other duties to attend to, she could have built a small house here, alone on the rocks, and sat here thinking for the rest of her days.

"That was lovely. What is it? That's a taste I don't recognize."

She spoke first of his name, not something he had ever put much thought into. It was simply a name to him, what he was called, or was it more than that? After all his name was the only thing in this world that he could call his own.

"Aye, Krios means 'master'...sort of ironic because I grew up a house slave, only being allowed to go to school, but you wish not to hear of my dreary past."

After she had gone on speaking about heritage, she seemed to get a bit on edge as if she had said something she wished she hadn't. Leo thought nothing more of it and leaned back in the sand with a nod, agreeing with her words.

The more she spoke the more she seemed to relax, soon even taking a drink. He couldn't help but to allow a slight smile to form upon his lips. She seemed to enjoy the liquid.

"It's called 'Bacca de Flamma', which means 'Berry of the Flame'. It has many ingredients, the most rare are the berries which can be traced only to a small village outside the Earth Kingdom. It has quite a nice taste to it."

He smiled once more as he took a large swig, grunting slightly as it slid down his esaphaguse with a small burning sensation.

Zitka paused in the middle of her thoughts. A house slave? The words accidentally found themselves coming out of her mouth.
"A house slave? A Firebender? What nonsense," she said, her tone showing slight surprise. "Firebenders are strong, powerful. They've ruled our society for thousands of years, as long as anybody can remember in fact..." She paused, suddenly, looking him over again. Surely he couldn't be anything so much in relation to a blood line of house slaves...people who worked those sorts of fields were almost never endowed with bending abilities...or looked so...well...uncommon--in a good way of course. He was attractive, if you had a mind for those sorts of things. But if you were Sahd, you did not.

"If you are whom you say," Zitka asked, gently taking the bottle and relieving its contents of yet another helping, the flavors bursting in her mouth pleasurably, "Why are you here? I didn't think house slaves to be allowed to visit a beach once often patroned by Fire Nation Nobles...though, they have not been back in some while."

She put the concoction down again, grumbling in her mind of her own weakness. If nothing else, she was a sucker for alcohol, and she was more than aware of it. It was one thing to crave the stuff. It was another to crave it, and have a particularly weak fortitude against it. And so with that, she decided instead to fumble around with her own raven locks, quietly twisting them in hopes that she would distract herself from the bottle.

Leo knew that Zitka was skeptical of his past. He couldn't blame her. He knew how it sounded...he sounded like a complete and utter fool. How else was she suppose to react after being told that he was a fire bender , with green eyes, his mother being of the water nation and he grew up a house slave?

"You see...my parents were not accepted, being that my mother originated from the water nation. They were forced to leave. I don't know why they didn't just take me with them...I suppose my father wanted me well trained...regardless they left me in the hands of a lovely couple that could not have children of their own. To start with things were fine...but then they changed. The man...whom I always called Uncle...grew to hate me because I was not his own child. First he would merely strike me, then it got worse."

Leo paused as his teeth began to grind together. His hands formed into fists and turned a shade of red from anger. Just as he felt flames forming upon his palms he released, grabbing the bottle and turning it up to take a mighty swig.

"Let's just say I do not have to worry about that vile man ever trying to find me..."

He had never seen such a lovely woman before and all they had been talking about was his horrid past. He felt as though he had already said too much...but there was no turning back now. He sipped again from the glass bottle before placing it back down in the sand.

Zitka paused in her thoughts, soaking in what this Krios had to tell her. So it seemed a tragic childhood was part of the makings of great children of the Fire Nation...a sad, but true majority. Their people had always been a proud one; highly intolerant of foolishness and weakness. But she observed this young man's pain, and watched his anger take shape into what had almost become flames. With a twinge of jealousy, she wished she had been granted such a gift.

There were indeed moments where the girl once reflected upon how different her life would be, had she actually become a Firebender herself. Surely by now, she'd be getting married off to some other nobleman's child and starting another branch upon the tree of nobility...a lofty, lonely place...as many Fire Nation Nobles were not often bound by morals...and their men, less comforting than one should hope for.
But, this was the way things were. Tradition was a cruel prison indeed.

She didn't mention her own. The girl she had been born as, in the matter of existing, had been purged from her life. Zitka no longer considered herself nobility--she was not a Doshu. She was her own family, now. Her name meant something, something great and important...moreso than her origin.

Unsure of what to say to Leo, she crossed her legs, putting her palms flat on the sand, and shut her eyes. Taking in deep, slow breaths, Sahd focused her mind on the calmness of the world around her, stopping only a moment to speak.
"Repurpose, rebirth. Sometimes, these things are better than continuing a life where you are yourself." Breathing deeply a few more times, she continued. "The Air Nomads, are a beautiful people. They have detached themselves from petty things...pride, or family, or riches. I have learned better, gone further...I have learned...to remove emotion from myself...to include pain. One could say...I no longer have feelings. This is untrue. I have simply mastered them."
She opened one emerald eye, looking at him. "Perhaps you should, too, learn this."

Leo listened to her words with great interest. It had been quite some time since he had been able to hold an intelligent conversation with another person. Her words thus far were deep with much meaning indeed. He nodded as she spoke, lifting the container once more to take another swig.

"Madam, you seem to be wise beyond your years..."

It was a rare thing in the present time for someone to have such insight, such knowledge. It was pleasing to know that there were others out there that had true understanding.

"Might I ask what nation you are from Ms. Sahd?"

Zitka didn't look at him, continuing to shut her eyes, masking her surprise and confusion in an aura of serenity. She was a little puzzled as to why he'd asked such a question; she'd come to the beach in her Fire Nation disguise, and looked very similar to him, a boy of the Fire Nation. Perhaps he sensed something...

"I'm Fire Nation, of course," She said nonchalantly, as if it didn't bother her. "Although...I have traveled very far, even in so short of years that I have had on this earth, and I have learned from all people. I guess...that is why I seem so....wise."

((OOC: blah blah blah short...sue me.))

He could obviously see her fire bender attire, which consisted of a rather nice looking black bikini. She even answered his question, which might have been a little personal about her origins. Was she truly fire nation? He had his doubts, but for the time being he wouldn't delve to deeply in matters that were not of any importance.

"Fire nation eh?".

Leo smirked a bit as he took another swig of his beverage. It seemed as though they had been talking for only a short period of time, yet realistically an hour had already passed them by without warning. It was odd for Leo to stay put for that amount of time while doing nothing more than having an interesting conversation.

"Miss...I find it quite ironic that you and I seem to share a common distaste for the fire nation yet somehow we have come back to its borders..."

It seemed even though he had felt such pain as a result of the nation, it still felt like home, in a sick demented way. Though he felt a strong hatred towards this nation, on the same hand he felt peace. Nothing ever seemed to make sense anymore.

Ooc: counter sue, my post is short too lol