Post by Lia on Jan 17, 2009 21:10:05 GMT -8
ooc:// This is Shadow and Z's roleplay from the old site.
For now, Shadow= black and Z=white... if that's not too painful on the eyes.
ic:Shadow and Z:://
Two birds, twisting in and out of each others paths, burst out of the top of a tall pine tree, making a rustle as they flew off. Lena jumped, slipping a little on the rock she was sitting on. She sighed, scuffing her thin shoes to steady herself. Silently she leaned forward, wrapping her arms around her legs and pulling herself into a ball. She looked forward, over Crystal Pond. The water was completely still, reflecting all the land's surroundings in its calm, cool waters. From her rock, Lena could see all the way to where some oddly colored yellow trees marked where the Ice Territory's part of the part stopped, and the Fire Territory's began.
She sighed again, twisting her head slightly to look around. The only noise was the chirping of cicadas, alien to her in all other parts of her home but here. Here, where there was no snow to muffle the sounds and feelings of life. For a moment, she held her breath and listened, wondering if there was anyone else around to interrupt her. No one so far.
Slowly she uncurled herself. With nimble fingers she untied the leather laces from her shoes and slipped them off, tossing them into the high grass at the left of her rock. She giggled as the sudden warmth and texture tickled her feet. Smiling, she dunked them into the water, watching as the flat, smooth surface exploded with new ripples. She closed her eyes and leaned back on her hands, absorbing what it was to just... live.
A short, young man stepped lightly alongside the river, watching the calm, dark water stream down past him in fast moving ripples. It was cooler along this end of the Fire Village, because it was closer to the Ice herd and village. Matt fallowed the stream about a foot away from the water. There was a stream coming off of the river further on, that led down to the Crystal pond.
He stopped and sat down on the edge of the water, on a flat rock. He took a deep breath and sighed. It was a quiet day, and not a lot was happening. He was alone, so he was rather bored. He sighed again, and reached over to pick up a small, flat stone. He flipped it between his fingers for a short moment, before he stood. His hand whipped backwards, and he threw it has hard as he could into the water.
As he whipped his arm around, though, his foot slipped across the flat stone, and he let out a loud shout before he landed flat on his back on top of it, then slid down into the deep, flowing water. Unfortunately for him, he had no clue how to swim. Matthew hit the water in a loud splash, and was whisked down the river unusually quickly. He thrashed his arms and legs around in circles, trying to find which way was up, but basically lost all sense of direction when his back hit the rock. He finally hit the top of the water, and took a gasp of breath, before he went over a rock sticking out of the water from the bottom of the river. He shouted in pain again, before sinking to the bottom of the river. The current was a little bit slower towards the bottom, but his back dragged across the pebbles and rocks across the ground.
He finally got his sense of direction back, but his eyes were clenched closed, and he still didn't know how to swim. He flapped his arms and legs vigurously, trying to get himself to the top of the water, but he couldn't get any closer. He twisted around to get his feet on the bottom of the river to push off of, but he suddenly felt a yank on the back of his neck, and realised his sweatshirt was hooked on a low lying root. He struggled to get loose, and finally tore the sweatshirt off, and was drifted downstream again. He shoved himself upwards and took another gasp of water, long with another loud shout before being ripped back down again.
He finally opened his eyes, the cool water burning his eyes, but he realised that the current was slowing down. He must of managed to go down towards the Crystal Pond, where the water came to a stop. Everything began to get blurrier, and his limbs started to get numb and tingly. He couldn't get his arms to move, but he needed air... He needed to get to the top... He saw the light of the sun getting lesser and lesser, and he closed his eyes.
Lena jumped as she heard a splash. She instantly unclenched herself, scrambling up to a kneeling position on her rock. She strained her neck to try to see to the other side of the Pond, but couldn't find the source of the commotion. There was silence for a moment, so she shouted, "Hello?"
Nothing. Slowly, she slipped off her rock and stood up, only to jump again as a shout pierced the air, along with more splashing. She blinked, still not seeing anything. That annoyed her. She took a deep breath, then set off, letting her long legs stretch out as she ran forward through the wispy grass. She blinked her light blue eyes, trying to find who was in the water. Finally, she spotted movement across the border. The Fire Territory! Lena paused, trying to decide whether or not to cross over. Maybe a couple of boys were just playing in the water, and she shouldn't interfere... but it hadn't sounded like that. It had sounded... terrified. In trouble.
Letting out her breath, she made her decision and leaped across the border, running fast and hard while looking to her right, into Crystal Pond, all the while. She had been running only for a minute or so when she saw the water moving. Almost toppling over, she stopped suddenly and leaned over the edge. "Hello?" she called again, feeling rather silly. "Is anyone in there?" She squinted, waiting as her eyes adjusted and tried to see past the murky water. With a gasp, she caught sight of an arm. Someone was in there- but they weren't moving.
She groaned in distress, shifting on her feet. What could she do? She shouldn't have crossed the border, but her instincts were right. Someone was drowning. After watching the arm, bright and terrifyingly still, for another few seconds, she sighed. Slipping off her heavy coat, as not to add weight to herself, she jumped in.
Luckily for her, her mother had taught her to swim as a child. With powerful strokes, she swam deeper, towards the arm. Finally getting there, she grasped it and gave it a sharp tug. Instantly sand rolled off the body in waves, exposing a Fire Village boy of about her age. Tensing, she pulled as hard as she could, managing to pull him to her. She tried as hard as she could to paddle upwards, but moved at almost a standstill pace. Slowly losing her breath, she paddled on, determined to get to the top, him with her. Please she thought to herself, looking at the boy's face. Please, I need you to wake up. Wake up! She poked him a couple of times, vainly hoping that it would help revive him.
Matt's eyes suddenly shot open, and he saw a blurry face staring down at him. She had a strong grip on his arm, and she had poked him to get him back into conciousness. His vision fazed in and out, but he could tell it was an ice village girl, probably his age. He had no breath left what-so-ever, but after a short moment, he forced movement into his numb limbs in attempt to get them to the top of the water.
He felt himself getting closer and closer to unconciousness again, but the fact that if he passed out again, he would drag the ice village girl down with him into the minor deapths of the water kept him in a dazed wakeness.
Not soon enough, he felt the water break, and he pushed himself up with the last bit of his strength, and finally he felt the cold air hit his face. He began to splutter to get what water entered his lungs out, and the brisk air in. He couldn't stop coughing the water out, and he nearly sunk back into the water, but with the ice village girl's help, he put his hand on solid land. He held on helplessly to... well, whatever he was holding onto, since he didn't care, and managed to pull himself onto land.
Barely acknowledging the girl's existance, he began to cough uncontrollably, spitting out the water that was still in his lungs. He was on his hands and knees with the water streaming down his face and arms. His clothes stuck to his skin, and the small amount of breeze that was blowing past felt like ice slapping his face and now bare arms.
When Matt was finally able to breathe properly, though still unevenly, he glanced up at the ice village girl. "Th-" he coughed again when he tried to talk, but continued. "Thanks..." he said quietly. He sat upright on his knees, shivering, but kept his head down. He had to be saved by an ice village girl... It was absolutely humiliating. He stared at his shaking hands, breathing slowly to even it out, with short coughs inbetween gasps of air.
Realization had hit Lena as she watched the Fire Village boy try and get the water out of his lungs. She had probably just saved his life, and on a split second decision. How could fate sometimes be so cruel, yet so lucky, on random occasions? She considered trying to help the boy, who was still coughing, but thought better of it. Quietly she stood, walking over to where her coat lay crumpled on the ground. Quickly wringing out her hair and clothes, she shrugged it on. She then walked back to where he sat, and settled herself down, crossing her legs.
She was snapped out of her thoughts as he attempted to speak. When he finally succeeded, she blinked. "You're welcome," she said, her light voice quiet, as usual. "Do you..." she started awkwardly. "Do you need help.. or anything?"
Matt glanced up awkwardly at the girl, finally being able to breathe properly. "N-no... I'm fine..." he muttered quietly. You idiot! he thought. How can you just fall into the water and nearly die?! He swallowed hard, trying to bite his tongue and not shouting at himself.
He coughed once more, and he felt that he had gotten most of the water out of his lungs. His eyes still burned slightly from the water, and he started to shiver. He tried hiding his shivers, but they started getting worse. He glanced at the ice village girl, and almost couldn't tear his eyes away. He stared into her light blue eyes, and stopped shivering for a short moment, just staying frozen. Finally he tore his eyes away and glanced down at his hands, letting the hair hand down over his eyes.
He felt his face burn bright red, even more red than it had from the cool breeze blowing past him. He wrung out the bottom part of his pants in an awkward silence, trying to find some excuse to keep his head down until his blushing finally decided to fade.
Lena blinked once at his strange behavior, then mentally scolded himself. He nearly drowned, do you expect him just to act happy and normal? With concern, she noted the shivers. When that happened in the Ice Village, an elder or a female knowledgeable about herbs and medicines would fetch some of whatever the soft green leaves were called. They warmed up anyone from the inside out, and calmed them while they waited out their shivers. Still eying the boy, she wished she had some. But why was she feeling this way for a Fire Village boy?
She looked up and around, trying to detect the warmest place within sight. She still thought to herself, with confusion. She should just escort him home, let his own Elders care for him. Why did she, for some strange reason, not want to?
"When this happens in the Ice Village," she repeated from her memory, soft voice piercing the silence. "We get some sort of.. herb that helps the shivering subside." She fell silent for a moment. "I know what they look like, and I think they grow here. Could I.. could I find some for you?" she asked, feeling embarrassed but determined.
Matt glanced up from his hands, when the breddness in his face faded a bit. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out for a second. He cleared his throat, then nodded. "Sure.... That would be nice," he muttered quietly. He shivered again, and tired to wring out a little bit more water out of his jeans, and the bottom of his shirt.
A short gust of wind made him shiver again. He coughed again, but this time just because it was awkward sitting there shivering, letting an ice village girl help him. Why was she helping him, anyways? Most ice village people would have just ditched him by now, or not even bother saving him at all. He wasn't complaining, though... He would be dead without her.
Lena silently slipped away, surprised that he had accepted her help. He was probably wondering why she was still here- as she was also. Focusing her thoughts on the task ahead of her, she strained to remember what the herbs looked like. She distinctly remembered a fuzzy feeling and a light green leaf- medium sized. Scanning the ground in front of her, her confidence slowly faded.
At last she spotted a plant hidden away behind some brightly colored red leaves. Pawing through them, she smiled as she saw what it was. Those were the herbs all right, there was no mistaking them. Gingerly she picked four, then bounded back across the border to the Fire Village boy.
"Here you go," she told him, handing him the leaves. "They have sort of a weird texture, and taste bad, but they'll help soon."
Matt looked up strangely, and took the leaves from her hands. He held them silently for a short moment, suddenly becoming hesitant. He had no clue if she was really trying to help him, or if these plants were...
He glanced up at the girl again, but saw nothing that looked... impure about her. She looked like she was actually helping him. He looked back down to the bright leaves, and gingerly took a part of one into his mouth, and a bitter taste shot through it, and almost down his throat. He nearly spat it out, but managed to shove the rest of it in his mouth and swallow. He couldn't look like he couldn't handle it, in front of an ice village girl; especially in front of this ice village girl.
He eventually managed to swallow the rest down with only making a few strange faces. He coughed weakly, but the taste just pounded through his mouth and he felt it down his throat. "That's awful..." he mumbled. He suddenly glanced up to her. "I mean, thanks..." He swallowed awkwardly, again. "So umm..." he glanced down at his hands. "Why are you helping me?" he asked.
Lena struggled to hold back a giggle as she watched the Fire Village boy eat the herbs. He had obviously never had them before, being in the Fire Village and because of the faces he was making. She remembered the first day she had to have them. She had done almost the same thing as he, falling into a melted, strangely deep puddle. The ice water had chilled her to the bone, and she could not stop shivering. At first, she had been absolutely disgusted that she was being fed the leaves, but they had really helped.
She smiled at his comment, for they really were awful. He probably thought that she was trying to poison him, or worse. Listening to him talk, she blinked at his question. Why was she helping him? After a few moments of silence, she blinked again. "I," she started, not knowing the first thing what to say. "I.... I don't know." Embarrassed, she looked down at her feet, bare of the shoes she had left on the Ice Territory side of Crystal Pond.
Matt glanced down at his own feet, wringing out the bottom of his pants again. "I mean..." he coughed, the taste of the leaves still lingering in his mouth. "Most Ice Village people... if they found out that a Fire Village boy was... you know... drowning at the bottom of the river..." he swallowed awkwardly. "They probably would have left me to..." he coughed again. "Die.."
He lifted a hand to scratch the side of his face awkwardly, his wet hair still covering his eyes. He took a shuddering breath at the thought of dying at the bottom of the river, being dragged all of the way down to the crytal pond and letting the dirt pile up on him until somebody realised he was missing...
He bit his lip awkwardly, trying to keep himself from squirming a whole lot at that thought. He looked back down at his hands and realised that they had stopped shivering. Those leaves had actually worked... His bare arms were still cold, but he felt himself warming up. He finally racked up the guts to look the Ice Village girl in the face again, revealing his brown eyes. He attempted to look casual, but there was nothing really casual about being saved from death by a complete stranger, and he thought he was probably making an awkward face, even though he wasn't.
"Well..." Lena started, shifting on her feet. She was torn between standing there or sitting down next to the boy. Embarrassment giving her face slight color, she decided on leaning against a nearby tree. "That's just not really... who I am. Fire Village or not, I can't just leave someone... who I know is in trouble." She absentmindedly twirled a strip of her hair around her finger, then let it go. "It would probably haunt me for the rest of my life," she sighed at last.
"Anyways," she continued, her voice somewhat stronger. "You're okay now, right? The leaves are.." She stopped mid-sentence as she looked up. The boy was looking at her again, and for some reason she could not place it took her breath away. She lost her train of thought, and, getting redder by the second, frantically searched her mind to remember what she was saying. "Working?" she finished, letting out her breath. She mentally scolded herself. Why was she acting so... weird around him?
Matthew stared blankly at her, feeling very strange. His mouth was open in response, but he forgot what she asked already... He felt like a complete idiot. "Uhhmm..." he started. "Er... yeah..." he said quickly. He ran his fingers through his still soaked hair, and looked at his feet. It was so awkward for some reason... but he couldn't figure out why.
He rung out the bottom of his pants for the third or fourth time since the water ran down to them, to give him yet another excuse to look down and hide his face. Why was he acting so rediculous around her? An Ice Village girl... An Ice Village girl...! Why was he-?
Finally it dawned on him, and he felt his face burn redder than it had ever before, and his hands froze instantly as he was wringing out the bottom of his pants. He glanced at the girl, to his hands, over his shoulder, then stood up quickly and suddenly, feeling extremely awkward. He could still feel the reddness burning in his cheeks, and he hoped she didn't notice. "Umm... I-I'm Matt... Matthew," he stuttered quickly, holding out his hand while his other hand was hanging unusually stiff at his side.
Lena managed to smile as she pushed herself off the tree. Their faces must have matched in shade, and there was no one else around. Confusion, awkwardness, and embarrassment crackled almost audibly in the air around them. Lena took a few deep breaths, forcing herself to relax. They didn't need to be acting like this- so why were they?
Her mind wandered back, to when she was just a child in the Ice Village's nursery. Her grandmother had been alive then, caring for her while her parents went out to hunt. She remembered sitting on her lap, playing with some sort of toy, while she was watching the activity in the camp.
An Ice Village Boy- she couldn't remember which, he was an adult Village member now- had been talking to a girl. He had been stuttering, acting very strange, and had been very red. The girl, too, had been acting differently- and was shyer than she usually was. Grandma, Lena remembered herself asking. Why are they acting so weird?
Her grandmother had chuckled and smoothed her long hair. That, my dear Lena, is the start of love, she had told her quietly. Don't question it- you will know the feeling when it comes.
Snapping back to the present, Lena almost gasped. In love? With a Fire Village boy? Still very confused, she realized that he had introduced herself. "Oh," she said quickly, stepping forward and shaking his hand strongly. "I'm... Lena." She smiled again, and even through her awkward mood it was light and happy.
Matthew continued to bite his lip awkwardly, not quite sure what he was supposed to say next... If he said anything stupid he would never forgive himse-
No! He shouted in his head. She's an Ice Village girl, Matt! He glanced awkwardly at his hands again since for some reason they were getting a bit clammy... He couldn't let this happen... If he fell in love with an Ice Village girl... and if he got caught, who knows what the Fire Village would do to him... Dirty jobs, exile... death...? It was completely out of the question to fall in love with someone of the other village...
"Um..." He finally glanced up again, thoughts still spinning on what would happen if they were caught right now. "Um... If we, I mean... Umm... We're... ermm... Fire... Ice... l-... uh..." he stuttered for a few moments before just shutting his mouth, feeling like an absolute idiot. Dangit Matt!! he shouted at himself silently. You are so... stupid!
Lena blinked, instantly getting what Matt was trying to tell her. "Oh," she said quietly. "I guess we should.. we.. uh.." she stuttered also, then blushed. Stupid! she scolded herself. "We should probably go back onto our own sides, huh?" she finished weakly.
Well that was great, she thought to herself. Just perfect. Real smooth, Lena. Her mind wandered again. Why did Fire and Ice have to be separated, anyway? It would be so much easier if they weren't. No wars, no fighting, no secrets. She would be happy to get to know Matt, but knew she couldn't. Not regularly, at least. It would go against everything her family and Village had ever taught her.
"I mean.. I don't know.." she continued rambling. She shifted on her feet, not wanting to be the first one to leave, but not wanting to seem idiotic at the same time.
Matthew lifted his hand and scratched the back of his head, glancing to the side to avoid any straight gaze... There was no way he could just... walk away. There was no way he would just turn around and pretend nothing happened when... She was there right next to him.
He bit his lip again becomming rather fidgety. His fingers twined back and forth through his short hair and he found himself swaying back and forth. "Well... um..." he started. "Nobody really knows we're here..." He glanced over his shoulder to make sure that statement was true. "A-and... You know... Just because we're from different villages doesn't mean we can't get to know each other... right...?" With the last word his voice cracked unbeleiveably high, and he felt his face grow even redder. This was such a rediculously awkward situation... And if some other person came to save his life he probably would have walked away by now, but he couldn't bring himself to obey the villages' laws and just... leave...
Lena nodded. "Right," she said softly. "I've always thought the rules were.. sort of silly, anyways." She shifted uncomfortably, but a smile was on her face. "I don't know," she said with a shrug. "We could just... talk. If you wanted to." She felt silly, but wasn't willing to just walk away. "I mean, we can sit by the border in case anyone comes, if we want to," she added.
Matt nodded awkwardly. "Who's going to come out here anyways?" he asked, agreeing. There was a short awkward silence, before he sat down on the hard ground and twiddled his thumbs for a short moment before talking. "Soo... umm..." he glanced to the side, avoiding a direct glance again. "How's... the Ice Tribe doing?" he asked. He scratched the side of his head, a slight nervouse habit he's had for a while.
For now, Shadow= black and Z=white... if that's not too painful on the eyes.
ic:Shadow and Z:://
Two birds, twisting in and out of each others paths, burst out of the top of a tall pine tree, making a rustle as they flew off. Lena jumped, slipping a little on the rock she was sitting on. She sighed, scuffing her thin shoes to steady herself. Silently she leaned forward, wrapping her arms around her legs and pulling herself into a ball. She looked forward, over Crystal Pond. The water was completely still, reflecting all the land's surroundings in its calm, cool waters. From her rock, Lena could see all the way to where some oddly colored yellow trees marked where the Ice Territory's part of the part stopped, and the Fire Territory's began.
She sighed again, twisting her head slightly to look around. The only noise was the chirping of cicadas, alien to her in all other parts of her home but here. Here, where there was no snow to muffle the sounds and feelings of life. For a moment, she held her breath and listened, wondering if there was anyone else around to interrupt her. No one so far.
Slowly she uncurled herself. With nimble fingers she untied the leather laces from her shoes and slipped them off, tossing them into the high grass at the left of her rock. She giggled as the sudden warmth and texture tickled her feet. Smiling, she dunked them into the water, watching as the flat, smooth surface exploded with new ripples. She closed her eyes and leaned back on her hands, absorbing what it was to just... live.
A short, young man stepped lightly alongside the river, watching the calm, dark water stream down past him in fast moving ripples. It was cooler along this end of the Fire Village, because it was closer to the Ice herd and village. Matt fallowed the stream about a foot away from the water. There was a stream coming off of the river further on, that led down to the Crystal pond.
He stopped and sat down on the edge of the water, on a flat rock. He took a deep breath and sighed. It was a quiet day, and not a lot was happening. He was alone, so he was rather bored. He sighed again, and reached over to pick up a small, flat stone. He flipped it between his fingers for a short moment, before he stood. His hand whipped backwards, and he threw it has hard as he could into the water.
As he whipped his arm around, though, his foot slipped across the flat stone, and he let out a loud shout before he landed flat on his back on top of it, then slid down into the deep, flowing water. Unfortunately for him, he had no clue how to swim. Matthew hit the water in a loud splash, and was whisked down the river unusually quickly. He thrashed his arms and legs around in circles, trying to find which way was up, but basically lost all sense of direction when his back hit the rock. He finally hit the top of the water, and took a gasp of breath, before he went over a rock sticking out of the water from the bottom of the river. He shouted in pain again, before sinking to the bottom of the river. The current was a little bit slower towards the bottom, but his back dragged across the pebbles and rocks across the ground.
He finally got his sense of direction back, but his eyes were clenched closed, and he still didn't know how to swim. He flapped his arms and legs vigurously, trying to get himself to the top of the water, but he couldn't get any closer. He twisted around to get his feet on the bottom of the river to push off of, but he suddenly felt a yank on the back of his neck, and realised his sweatshirt was hooked on a low lying root. He struggled to get loose, and finally tore the sweatshirt off, and was drifted downstream again. He shoved himself upwards and took another gasp of water, long with another loud shout before being ripped back down again.
He finally opened his eyes, the cool water burning his eyes, but he realised that the current was slowing down. He must of managed to go down towards the Crystal Pond, where the water came to a stop. Everything began to get blurrier, and his limbs started to get numb and tingly. He couldn't get his arms to move, but he needed air... He needed to get to the top... He saw the light of the sun getting lesser and lesser, and he closed his eyes.
Lena jumped as she heard a splash. She instantly unclenched herself, scrambling up to a kneeling position on her rock. She strained her neck to try to see to the other side of the Pond, but couldn't find the source of the commotion. There was silence for a moment, so she shouted, "Hello?"
Nothing. Slowly, she slipped off her rock and stood up, only to jump again as a shout pierced the air, along with more splashing. She blinked, still not seeing anything. That annoyed her. She took a deep breath, then set off, letting her long legs stretch out as she ran forward through the wispy grass. She blinked her light blue eyes, trying to find who was in the water. Finally, she spotted movement across the border. The Fire Territory! Lena paused, trying to decide whether or not to cross over. Maybe a couple of boys were just playing in the water, and she shouldn't interfere... but it hadn't sounded like that. It had sounded... terrified. In trouble.
Letting out her breath, she made her decision and leaped across the border, running fast and hard while looking to her right, into Crystal Pond, all the while. She had been running only for a minute or so when she saw the water moving. Almost toppling over, she stopped suddenly and leaned over the edge. "Hello?" she called again, feeling rather silly. "Is anyone in there?" She squinted, waiting as her eyes adjusted and tried to see past the murky water. With a gasp, she caught sight of an arm. Someone was in there- but they weren't moving.
She groaned in distress, shifting on her feet. What could she do? She shouldn't have crossed the border, but her instincts were right. Someone was drowning. After watching the arm, bright and terrifyingly still, for another few seconds, she sighed. Slipping off her heavy coat, as not to add weight to herself, she jumped in.
Luckily for her, her mother had taught her to swim as a child. With powerful strokes, she swam deeper, towards the arm. Finally getting there, she grasped it and gave it a sharp tug. Instantly sand rolled off the body in waves, exposing a Fire Village boy of about her age. Tensing, she pulled as hard as she could, managing to pull him to her. She tried as hard as she could to paddle upwards, but moved at almost a standstill pace. Slowly losing her breath, she paddled on, determined to get to the top, him with her. Please she thought to herself, looking at the boy's face. Please, I need you to wake up. Wake up! She poked him a couple of times, vainly hoping that it would help revive him.
Matt's eyes suddenly shot open, and he saw a blurry face staring down at him. She had a strong grip on his arm, and she had poked him to get him back into conciousness. His vision fazed in and out, but he could tell it was an ice village girl, probably his age. He had no breath left what-so-ever, but after a short moment, he forced movement into his numb limbs in attempt to get them to the top of the water.
He felt himself getting closer and closer to unconciousness again, but the fact that if he passed out again, he would drag the ice village girl down with him into the minor deapths of the water kept him in a dazed wakeness.
Not soon enough, he felt the water break, and he pushed himself up with the last bit of his strength, and finally he felt the cold air hit his face. He began to splutter to get what water entered his lungs out, and the brisk air in. He couldn't stop coughing the water out, and he nearly sunk back into the water, but with the ice village girl's help, he put his hand on solid land. He held on helplessly to... well, whatever he was holding onto, since he didn't care, and managed to pull himself onto land.
Barely acknowledging the girl's existance, he began to cough uncontrollably, spitting out the water that was still in his lungs. He was on his hands and knees with the water streaming down his face and arms. His clothes stuck to his skin, and the small amount of breeze that was blowing past felt like ice slapping his face and now bare arms.
When Matt was finally able to breathe properly, though still unevenly, he glanced up at the ice village girl. "Th-" he coughed again when he tried to talk, but continued. "Thanks..." he said quietly. He sat upright on his knees, shivering, but kept his head down. He had to be saved by an ice village girl... It was absolutely humiliating. He stared at his shaking hands, breathing slowly to even it out, with short coughs inbetween gasps of air.
Realization had hit Lena as she watched the Fire Village boy try and get the water out of his lungs. She had probably just saved his life, and on a split second decision. How could fate sometimes be so cruel, yet so lucky, on random occasions? She considered trying to help the boy, who was still coughing, but thought better of it. Quietly she stood, walking over to where her coat lay crumpled on the ground. Quickly wringing out her hair and clothes, she shrugged it on. She then walked back to where he sat, and settled herself down, crossing her legs.
She was snapped out of her thoughts as he attempted to speak. When he finally succeeded, she blinked. "You're welcome," she said, her light voice quiet, as usual. "Do you..." she started awkwardly. "Do you need help.. or anything?"
Matt glanced up awkwardly at the girl, finally being able to breathe properly. "N-no... I'm fine..." he muttered quietly. You idiot! he thought. How can you just fall into the water and nearly die?! He swallowed hard, trying to bite his tongue and not shouting at himself.
He coughed once more, and he felt that he had gotten most of the water out of his lungs. His eyes still burned slightly from the water, and he started to shiver. He tried hiding his shivers, but they started getting worse. He glanced at the ice village girl, and almost couldn't tear his eyes away. He stared into her light blue eyes, and stopped shivering for a short moment, just staying frozen. Finally he tore his eyes away and glanced down at his hands, letting the hair hand down over his eyes.
He felt his face burn bright red, even more red than it had from the cool breeze blowing past him. He wrung out the bottom part of his pants in an awkward silence, trying to find some excuse to keep his head down until his blushing finally decided to fade.
Lena blinked once at his strange behavior, then mentally scolded himself. He nearly drowned, do you expect him just to act happy and normal? With concern, she noted the shivers. When that happened in the Ice Village, an elder or a female knowledgeable about herbs and medicines would fetch some of whatever the soft green leaves were called. They warmed up anyone from the inside out, and calmed them while they waited out their shivers. Still eying the boy, she wished she had some. But why was she feeling this way for a Fire Village boy?
She looked up and around, trying to detect the warmest place within sight. She still thought to herself, with confusion. She should just escort him home, let his own Elders care for him. Why did she, for some strange reason, not want to?
"When this happens in the Ice Village," she repeated from her memory, soft voice piercing the silence. "We get some sort of.. herb that helps the shivering subside." She fell silent for a moment. "I know what they look like, and I think they grow here. Could I.. could I find some for you?" she asked, feeling embarrassed but determined.
Matt glanced up from his hands, when the breddness in his face faded a bit. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out for a second. He cleared his throat, then nodded. "Sure.... That would be nice," he muttered quietly. He shivered again, and tired to wring out a little bit more water out of his jeans, and the bottom of his shirt.
A short gust of wind made him shiver again. He coughed again, but this time just because it was awkward sitting there shivering, letting an ice village girl help him. Why was she helping him, anyways? Most ice village people would have just ditched him by now, or not even bother saving him at all. He wasn't complaining, though... He would be dead without her.
Lena silently slipped away, surprised that he had accepted her help. He was probably wondering why she was still here- as she was also. Focusing her thoughts on the task ahead of her, she strained to remember what the herbs looked like. She distinctly remembered a fuzzy feeling and a light green leaf- medium sized. Scanning the ground in front of her, her confidence slowly faded.
At last she spotted a plant hidden away behind some brightly colored red leaves. Pawing through them, she smiled as she saw what it was. Those were the herbs all right, there was no mistaking them. Gingerly she picked four, then bounded back across the border to the Fire Village boy.
"Here you go," she told him, handing him the leaves. "They have sort of a weird texture, and taste bad, but they'll help soon."
Matt looked up strangely, and took the leaves from her hands. He held them silently for a short moment, suddenly becoming hesitant. He had no clue if she was really trying to help him, or if these plants were...
He glanced up at the girl again, but saw nothing that looked... impure about her. She looked like she was actually helping him. He looked back down to the bright leaves, and gingerly took a part of one into his mouth, and a bitter taste shot through it, and almost down his throat. He nearly spat it out, but managed to shove the rest of it in his mouth and swallow. He couldn't look like he couldn't handle it, in front of an ice village girl; especially in front of this ice village girl.
He eventually managed to swallow the rest down with only making a few strange faces. He coughed weakly, but the taste just pounded through his mouth and he felt it down his throat. "That's awful..." he mumbled. He suddenly glanced up to her. "I mean, thanks..." He swallowed awkwardly, again. "So umm..." he glanced down at his hands. "Why are you helping me?" he asked.
Lena struggled to hold back a giggle as she watched the Fire Village boy eat the herbs. He had obviously never had them before, being in the Fire Village and because of the faces he was making. She remembered the first day she had to have them. She had done almost the same thing as he, falling into a melted, strangely deep puddle. The ice water had chilled her to the bone, and she could not stop shivering. At first, she had been absolutely disgusted that she was being fed the leaves, but they had really helped.
She smiled at his comment, for they really were awful. He probably thought that she was trying to poison him, or worse. Listening to him talk, she blinked at his question. Why was she helping him? After a few moments of silence, she blinked again. "I," she started, not knowing the first thing what to say. "I.... I don't know." Embarrassed, she looked down at her feet, bare of the shoes she had left on the Ice Territory side of Crystal Pond.
Matt glanced down at his own feet, wringing out the bottom of his pants again. "I mean..." he coughed, the taste of the leaves still lingering in his mouth. "Most Ice Village people... if they found out that a Fire Village boy was... you know... drowning at the bottom of the river..." he swallowed awkwardly. "They probably would have left me to..." he coughed again. "Die.."
He lifted a hand to scratch the side of his face awkwardly, his wet hair still covering his eyes. He took a shuddering breath at the thought of dying at the bottom of the river, being dragged all of the way down to the crytal pond and letting the dirt pile up on him until somebody realised he was missing...
He bit his lip awkwardly, trying to keep himself from squirming a whole lot at that thought. He looked back down at his hands and realised that they had stopped shivering. Those leaves had actually worked... His bare arms were still cold, but he felt himself warming up. He finally racked up the guts to look the Ice Village girl in the face again, revealing his brown eyes. He attempted to look casual, but there was nothing really casual about being saved from death by a complete stranger, and he thought he was probably making an awkward face, even though he wasn't.
"Well..." Lena started, shifting on her feet. She was torn between standing there or sitting down next to the boy. Embarrassment giving her face slight color, she decided on leaning against a nearby tree. "That's just not really... who I am. Fire Village or not, I can't just leave someone... who I know is in trouble." She absentmindedly twirled a strip of her hair around her finger, then let it go. "It would probably haunt me for the rest of my life," she sighed at last.
"Anyways," she continued, her voice somewhat stronger. "You're okay now, right? The leaves are.." She stopped mid-sentence as she looked up. The boy was looking at her again, and for some reason she could not place it took her breath away. She lost her train of thought, and, getting redder by the second, frantically searched her mind to remember what she was saying. "Working?" she finished, letting out her breath. She mentally scolded herself. Why was she acting so... weird around him?
Matthew stared blankly at her, feeling very strange. His mouth was open in response, but he forgot what she asked already... He felt like a complete idiot. "Uhhmm..." he started. "Er... yeah..." he said quickly. He ran his fingers through his still soaked hair, and looked at his feet. It was so awkward for some reason... but he couldn't figure out why.
He rung out the bottom of his pants for the third or fourth time since the water ran down to them, to give him yet another excuse to look down and hide his face. Why was he acting so rediculous around her? An Ice Village girl... An Ice Village girl...! Why was he-?
Finally it dawned on him, and he felt his face burn redder than it had ever before, and his hands froze instantly as he was wringing out the bottom of his pants. He glanced at the girl, to his hands, over his shoulder, then stood up quickly and suddenly, feeling extremely awkward. He could still feel the reddness burning in his cheeks, and he hoped she didn't notice. "Umm... I-I'm Matt... Matthew," he stuttered quickly, holding out his hand while his other hand was hanging unusually stiff at his side.
Lena managed to smile as she pushed herself off the tree. Their faces must have matched in shade, and there was no one else around. Confusion, awkwardness, and embarrassment crackled almost audibly in the air around them. Lena took a few deep breaths, forcing herself to relax. They didn't need to be acting like this- so why were they?
Her mind wandered back, to when she was just a child in the Ice Village's nursery. Her grandmother had been alive then, caring for her while her parents went out to hunt. She remembered sitting on her lap, playing with some sort of toy, while she was watching the activity in the camp.
An Ice Village Boy- she couldn't remember which, he was an adult Village member now- had been talking to a girl. He had been stuttering, acting very strange, and had been very red. The girl, too, had been acting differently- and was shyer than she usually was. Grandma, Lena remembered herself asking. Why are they acting so weird?
Her grandmother had chuckled and smoothed her long hair. That, my dear Lena, is the start of love, she had told her quietly. Don't question it- you will know the feeling when it comes.
Snapping back to the present, Lena almost gasped. In love? With a Fire Village boy? Still very confused, she realized that he had introduced herself. "Oh," she said quickly, stepping forward and shaking his hand strongly. "I'm... Lena." She smiled again, and even through her awkward mood it was light and happy.
Matthew continued to bite his lip awkwardly, not quite sure what he was supposed to say next... If he said anything stupid he would never forgive himse-
No! He shouted in his head. She's an Ice Village girl, Matt! He glanced awkwardly at his hands again since for some reason they were getting a bit clammy... He couldn't let this happen... If he fell in love with an Ice Village girl... and if he got caught, who knows what the Fire Village would do to him... Dirty jobs, exile... death...? It was completely out of the question to fall in love with someone of the other village...
"Um..." He finally glanced up again, thoughts still spinning on what would happen if they were caught right now. "Um... If we, I mean... Umm... We're... ermm... Fire... Ice... l-... uh..." he stuttered for a few moments before just shutting his mouth, feeling like an absolute idiot. Dangit Matt!! he shouted at himself silently. You are so... stupid!
Lena blinked, instantly getting what Matt was trying to tell her. "Oh," she said quietly. "I guess we should.. we.. uh.." she stuttered also, then blushed. Stupid! she scolded herself. "We should probably go back onto our own sides, huh?" she finished weakly.
Well that was great, she thought to herself. Just perfect. Real smooth, Lena. Her mind wandered again. Why did Fire and Ice have to be separated, anyway? It would be so much easier if they weren't. No wars, no fighting, no secrets. She would be happy to get to know Matt, but knew she couldn't. Not regularly, at least. It would go against everything her family and Village had ever taught her.
"I mean.. I don't know.." she continued rambling. She shifted on her feet, not wanting to be the first one to leave, but not wanting to seem idiotic at the same time.
Matthew lifted his hand and scratched the back of his head, glancing to the side to avoid any straight gaze... There was no way he could just... walk away. There was no way he would just turn around and pretend nothing happened when... She was there right next to him.
He bit his lip again becomming rather fidgety. His fingers twined back and forth through his short hair and he found himself swaying back and forth. "Well... um..." he started. "Nobody really knows we're here..." He glanced over his shoulder to make sure that statement was true. "A-and... You know... Just because we're from different villages doesn't mean we can't get to know each other... right...?" With the last word his voice cracked unbeleiveably high, and he felt his face grow even redder. This was such a rediculously awkward situation... And if some other person came to save his life he probably would have walked away by now, but he couldn't bring himself to obey the villages' laws and just... leave...
Lena nodded. "Right," she said softly. "I've always thought the rules were.. sort of silly, anyways." She shifted uncomfortably, but a smile was on her face. "I don't know," she said with a shrug. "We could just... talk. If you wanted to." She felt silly, but wasn't willing to just walk away. "I mean, we can sit by the border in case anyone comes, if we want to," she added.
Matt nodded awkwardly. "Who's going to come out here anyways?" he asked, agreeing. There was a short awkward silence, before he sat down on the hard ground and twiddled his thumbs for a short moment before talking. "Soo... umm..." he glanced to the side, avoiding a direct glance again. "How's... the Ice Tribe doing?" he asked. He scratched the side of his head, a slight nervouse habit he's had for a while.
