Making a Transit-ion (Open)

Like most earthbenders Cyrad liked few things more than the feel of the ground on his bare feet, and no ground feels quite like a road to no where.  Cyrad could almost feel the earth moving him like a pawn across a board game.  It comforted him incredibly.  His mood changed like summer weather and a memory of traveling with his family rode a storm of sorrow to his psyche's shores.  Traveling alone was worse by far, often targeted by predatory people and animals loaded on top of having to carry all the gear and doing all the work.  Yet the worse part would be being stuck in one's mind, tossing around with thoughts and no soul to share them with.

Cyrad wasn't trained at and hadn't focused on earth sensory but he still felt the animal still.  He wasn't sure of the distance but he knew it was off into the forest.  He thought for a moment and then decided to go for it.  He presses a fist into the ground and drew more earth into it.  Rocks and gravel form six lines that rose three inches from the surface and two wide from Cyrad's rock arm.  He pulled his arm from the ground breaking the connection.  As he inspected them they turn from rectangular rises to sharp and deadly spears attached to his am by a thin strip wrapping his forearm.  He was so focused on making the spears that he let his guard down and didn't notice the animal approach until a squealing boar-q-pine burst through the trees he was standing in front of.  The beast thrashed it's head and Cyrad felt a tusk bite into his ribs.  Cyrad had tried to jump back so the attack threw him a distance.  He barely had made it to his knees and looked up to see the animal charging him.  His aimed his arm with a single eye held shut.  He fired three of the spears nearly simultaneously and rolled out of the way of the wild animal.  He found his feet and aimed his arm at the animal who had collapsed it's trail marked by rolling blood matted fur.  It was still breathing when he approached and Cyrad pressed one of the spears against it's body and fired it into it's heart.

He checked himself next.  The tusk had grazed a rib making a wide cut that ran along a rib.  Cyrad cursed himself for not wearing his leathers(though he would never leave behind his sword and hammer when traveling)or bending rock to block the attack.  He bandaged the wound with the speed and nonchalance of someone who had done this several times before.  The shirt was a ruin so Cyrad decided his would get some sun today.

"I'm sorry." He said to the animal.  Now how to bring you with me? Cyrad thought to himself, the answer of course bending.  Flipping a 6'x8' platform of the road over left a huge pothole and gave him him a wagon bed.  He grabbed the ground with one hand and lifted a cylinder of earth up hand over hand six feet up, twice.  He punched both cylinders through the wagon bed and made four quick wheels with four quick stomps.  He put the wheels on the four ends of the bars.  His final touches were smacking a couple of rocks on the nubs of the poles to keep the wheels from falling off.  The Wato Wagon.  The thought darted across his mind making him laugh out loud.  Then a person just stepped out from the woods.  Cyrad got tense quick but when it was only a single person he relaxed slightly, though he wasn't sure the man didn't mean him harm.

[color=slateblue"Hey!  Hey, wait up." [/color] Cyrad made a handle for the wagon like a giant version of the child toy and started to jog up to the lone traveler. "Hi, I'm Cyrad." Cyrad said extending a hand.  "Would you mind if I walk with you for a while?"[/i][/i]

Cyrad must have startled the firebender because he turned around and swiftly drew and ignited his blades.  But when Cyrad asked him the innocent question the fire was vanquished and the blades fell into the sheathes.  The two warriors shook hands each judging each other.

"Yeah sure, I've got no one else to walk with, I'm Youta by the way".  

"It's good to meet you Youta, those are some nice swords you got there, but hopefully they can stay away for now." Cyrad joked though the in truth he didn't like the man's first reaction but he had worked with other people who swing first in a fight before so he should be able to make his way around a conversation.

"So what brings you to this fine patch of road?"  He asked. "I'm merely appeasing my wandering spirit while taking a short break between earthbending lessons.  I thought I had found a wild animal I could befriend but it ended up being this."  He motioned to the boar-q-pine on the wagon he was pulling.

"I'd hate for it to go to waste and there's not a butcher around for like,"  He paused as if to get his bearings. "...far.  So I say we walk down this road all day til' the sun is one hand above the horizon.  Then we make ourselves a nice cooked pig."

Cyrad accepted the apology wholeheartedly and told Youta not to worry about it.  The fact that the man had been able to apologies said a lot about him, many people often think not of their actions and see little flaw in themselves.  Such arrogance is dangerous.  All in all, Cyrad was quite glad with the added company.

" I'm on my way to Ba Sing Se and there was no way I was going to pay for one of them expensive animals that would make my journey slightly shorter." Youta said.  " But you do have a good plan. If we stick together then we should be alright for tonight."  He finished.

"So what's a firebender heading to Ba Sing Se for?" Cyrad asked as he switched the hands dragging the wagon. "Well it seems the spirits have fated this meeting, 'cus I'm staying in the city for a couple months.  I suppose we could walk the journey together or at least until you get sick of me." Cyrad laughed to himself.

"So about those swords, your pretty good right?  I mean someone isn't able to draw 'em that fast unless that have some practice.  Well, I'm a budding swordsman myself.  Would you fancy a duel before we dine?"  Cyrad asked while placing a hand on his sword, Golem's Tear.

"Ba Sing Se is a beautiful city. As a traveller it is my duty to visit it at least once more. And the women aren't that bad either"  Youta said and the two wanderers shared a laugh.

"Wise words my friend" Cyrad replied.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to politely decline for now. Maybe tomorrow but I just had to deal with a handful of bandits and I think I may have had enough fighting for today. But don't think that this spar won't happen, it will just have to be on another day."  Youta declined the duel and Cyrad thought of his rib wound for the first time since the conversation started.  Being used to pain to some degree he had almost forgotten of the laceration, which wouldn't have faired well in a fight.

"That explains why you were so jumpy earlier.  Are you alright?"  Cyrad asked.  "I have spare bandages should you need them."  He offered.

"It's okay, they didn't do much damage. I'm fine" Youta reassured him.  He didn't show any outwardly signs of injury so Cyrad was pretty sure it wasn't just warriors bravado.

The day was turning out to be a good one.  It was bright and fair weather and aside from the little tuff he had the boar-q-pine Cyrad had little bumps in his road.  Now that he had a traveling partner everything was on the up and up.  Things were almost looking so well that he half expected for things to come crumbling down in a avalanch of misfortune.

Cyrad started to curl his toes as he walked bending the pebbles and rocks in his beard, combing them through his beard.  It was just a little thing that Cyrad did sometimes while he was walking to take his mind from malicious thoughts.

"So you say bandit's attacked you, how many of them were there?" He waited for the answer. "And you were able to take them all yourself?  Wow"  Cyrad finished.

"That's not quite true my new friend,"Cyrad started.  "It is easy to forget when you see through the body of a warrior but most man and lady fear bandits more than most things, and even bandits that wield their weapons like children can still maim."

Cyrad suddenly felt light headed, his sight wobbled slightly , making him stumble and drop his wagon handle.  A wave of nasua and pain rolled over his body, he reached inside his shirt to the bandages over the boar-q-pine wound pulling his fingers away crimson with blood.

"A moment if you please. Cyrad asked.  He removed his shirt gingerly curling his body slightly to the cut so not to disturb the already tender flesh.  He uncurled the bandages as fast as he could and then picked up some dirt, rolled it into his hand making sand, and rubbed it into the wound before making it a earthen bandaged, he rewrapped himself in bandages for a little blood may seep past.  The rock bandage was a temporary fix but it would see him through the near future.