Adventure Awaits! [Sadako]

Seira sat underneath a leaning tree, peering out at the market place filled with busy carts and people. She watched the carts move slowly, farmers shaking the reigns attached to their Ostrich-Ox's and looked for the man with the blue straw hat. She had gleaned the information off of a few unwilling farmers that there was a farmer heading in the direction she was heading, out to another town where she could get another ride to the coast. She tilted her head to the side as she thought about what she was going to do once she got there. 'I'll cross that bridge when I come I come to it.' She thought as she focused her eyes back to the market. Her eyes immediately focused on a blue hat bobbing through the crowd and she jumped up, heading for it.
She dove head first into the crowd and got jostled around, the hat spinning around her before she headed towards it then ran into a soft frame and crashed to the ground.
"I am so sorry!" she said got up from the ground, her elbow scraped and dust in her hair.

"Oh... I apologize. I didn't see you there... are you okie?" The girl that Seira had run into asked. The two of them were now standing in the middle of the still busy market place with the dust settling on the ground.
"I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" Seira repeated, looking up from her bruised elbow at the girl. She was the around the same height as her and her feet were bare; Seira couldn't help but stare and wonder at the other girls soft looking feet for a moment before snapping back and extending her hand. "I'm Seira."

Seira looked away for a moment, letting her eyes surf the crowd before looking back at Sadako. The crowds had died down slightly and the noise level had abated but the carts were still clopping past them.
"I'm supposed to be getting a ride from somebody." She started, gesturing with her other hand, while the other was still shaking Sadako's hand. "A man with a blue hat and a bull-horse." She was about to say something else when a long cart turned around the corner and a man with a large blue hat.
"HEY!" Seira yelled tearing her hand from Sadako's grip. "HEY!" the man did not stop and Seira turned to Sadako. "Can you help me? I swear I will do anything for you if you can!" She begged the other woman.

"How fast can you throw rocks?" Seira blurted out as she began moving in the direction of the cart. 'Wait no.' She thought as she looked back at the girl who stared back at her. "I meant how fast can you run?" She gave Sadako a wide smile that probably looked slightly insane. "How about a race?" She proposed, with out giving the other girl a chance to respond and grabbed Sadako by the wrist an gently tugging the other along. "First one to the cart wins an all expense paid trip to the coast and an adventure in the Northern Water Tribe. Ready set go!"
   Just then she let go of Sadako's hand and started plowing through the crowd. She smashed past a glass vendor who yelled after her as she weaved past a slow moving cart then broke from the crowd with the cart just in sight.

Seira's feet were poked harshly by random rocks the unpaved ground. The sounds of the market blended into a loud mass of noise as she weaved through the crowd, using her flexibility to its her fullest extent. But as the cart came closer into her sight she felt the ground trembling beneath her feet as well as the sounds of disgruntled shouts from shoppers and vendors alike. The sound distracted her and she looked over her shoulder then slammed into a vendors stall. As cabbages fell down around her and the strong smell filled her nose a man yelled,
"Hey! My cabbages!" as the ground shook softly underneath them and Seira desperately kicked the smelly vegetables off and ran as fast as she could with the crowds already part in front of her and the ground shaking a little harder.

Seira watched as the cart blew into pieces and sent members of the crowd fleeing and screaming in all directions. Her jaw dropped slightly watching the large slab of rock jutting out from the place the cart had been only moments ago. She stared at it just a little longer to comprehend what had happened then turned around and began walking away, slowly as the angry man in the blue hat started yelling  at some other cart drivers to stay away from his cart. Seira found Sadako soon enough and she leaned on the stall next to her almost casually.
"I guess you won..." she started, turning to look at Sadako then back to her own clothes. There were green stains on both her sleeves and she didn't have to lift her arms to smell the scent rising up from her clothes then she noticed a hole in her right sleeve.
"I could still get us to the Northern Water tribe if you can find another cart?" She suggested poking her finger through the hole then looking to Sadako hopefully. Now that she had put the other girl through so much trouble she wasn't going to go back  on her promise.

Seira watched the other girl who in turn looked very confused. She smiled when she asked about what was so important about the Northern Water tribe. "When I think about it, I'm really just going there on a whim and I've always wanted to see the water tribe. Plus, I'm a dancer and I plan to learn dance styles from the water tribe and maybe have an adventure." She grinned at Sadako as she began to drift off toward the crowd and gestured to Sadako to follow. She paused on a sidewalk and turned her head left to right, looking for a cart before one stopped in front of her. The driver, distracted by the commotion that the destroyed cart had caused was looking away and Seira jumped on the back of it without being noticed.
"Come on!" She called to Sadako.

When they had gone a considerable way and the sun was beginning to set, Seira got tired of their companionable silence. It was safe enough to talk as the cart driver surely knew they were there and she planned to pay him when they to where they were going. She looked over at Sadako who was sitting beside her as she shifted her position and leaned against the wall of the cart.
"So where are you from Sadako?" She asked, propping her feet up on a bale of hay and stared at her travelling companion. She wanted to know who this person was and why she decided to come along for this ride, as crazy and harebrained it was beginning to seem. 'Maybe I shouldn't have come...' she though to her self then casually brushed away the thought as well as a stray fly.

Seira smiled softly at Sadako's quiet but passionate response."I'm from the Fire Nation and I've been there all my life. I can't really say that I needed to get out. I'm a dancer in the Fire nation capital. I kind of snuck away." She thought for a moment then continued. "I've never been cooped up like you or maybe I didn't notice. Anyways its a pleasure to be traveling with you.

Seira grinned at Sadako as she leaned back against a bale of hay. "It's a pleasure to travel with you." she repeated then let her eyes drift shut with her hand on her pack as the sun fell slowly. "You should get some sleep." She yawned widely.

The morning arrived with the sound of rooster crowing and bustling people. Seira surged out of the cart, strands of straw sticking out from her hair. Her heart was jumping as she stared around at sea side village and the people walking about. Plucking the stray hay, she wandered away from the cart heading towards the water. She was sure that Sadako would be able to take care of her self if she woke up while she inspected the water. Weaving through the small crowd, she found herself near the docks when a wave crashed up on to the side. She found herself frozen until the water seeped away and she shuffled back to the cart, a shell shocked expression on her face.

Seira smiled shakily as she sat back on the cart and swung her legs, taking in deep breaths. Twirling a strand of hair around her finger she laughed awkwardly , "It's nothing. I just remembered how frightening water can be." She felt as if her chest was being compressed for a moment. "Nothing to worry about really." She swallowed heavily.

"Neither have I..." Seira muttered, tucking her chin into neck. She was embarrassed by her sudden freezing up on her big adventure to the north. 'Gotta be brave!' she chided herself as she sat up and took a breath of the salty air then looked over at Sadako who was swinging her legs casually off the side of the cart.
"There should be lots of merchant ships around going to the North." She said sliding off the cart. "The only problem is finding a safe one there. C'mon."
She started forward then froze midstride when another wave crashed up then continued hopefully with an expression of nonchalance.