From the Ice in Men || OPEN

It's cold, he thought bitterly, clutching onto his faded wrap. Of course, when it came to Rabten, stating the obvious was necessary at all times, especially in his current situation. Pacing along roughly in a mound of snow, ascending, the white-haired bard buried his chapped lips into the loose, olive-green fabric of his cloak. Breathing out into the material, attempting to gain a shred of warmth from his own exhales, his endeavors were undoubtedly in vain as he was in the midst of a snowstorm. I'm such a damn idiot.

He figured as though that was what his occupation gave you -- the unexpected. From his unanticipated arrival into the Northern Water Tribe, having fallen asleep on his ride towards the Earth Kingdom, to his present state, drifting with the dooms of snow and rice, he had merely decided to go with flow. "Eeesh. An', whad'a mistake that was," he hoarsely voiced with a rip of wind, which provided the only other ambience. As far as he acknowledged, he was not only cold, but completely alone. Granted, Rabten was fond of it that way, but the lack of an audience didn't necessarily make for much money. His pockets were about as barren as the glacial scene laid out before him.

Hmph. Perhaps, not. Perking his attention towards a distant blur of a figure at the base below, instinctively the white-haired bard waved with welcome, "Oi!" Picking up his pace subtly, although careful not to trip and roughly descend the mound, Rabten, admittedly, was somewhat glad to see the company. After all, people were how he survived; manipulation was key. "Oi," he repeated towards the bottom of the snow-hill. It was a weak attempt to gain the attention of whatever or whomever was below his position.

He looked down and narrowed his eyes to scrutinize passed the rush of the blizzard. Can barely see a thin'. Into the crisp, unforgiving air of the water nation, Rabten continued with a louder voice, one that could undoubtedly be heard through the drifts, "'Ya 'live down there, mate?"

Yami Sentoki had been walking around the northern water tribe in a well insulated cloak. Not that it mattered, the cold didn't bother her much because of the 5-tails. The cloak was mainly to hide her true identity as the five tails. With the cloak on, people couldn't even tell that she was a girl. But the 5-tails was the reason she was out there in the first place. Yami had gotten tired of being bugged about the bijuu and wanted to be alone, and what better place to be alone than a frozen tundra? Only, there was one main problem: She had forgotten to bring a map.

Yami had been stuck wandering out in the middle of nowhere for days, trying to find civilization, or at least somebody else who was a stupid as her. She was walking around the base of a snow mound, too lazy to actually climb over it, when she heard a sound, the sound of a voice. However, she couldn't understand who said it because the storm had broken up the sound waves. "What?" she shouted at a silhouette on the hill. "Oi!" Yami heard it this time, then started to walk towards the figure.

"'Ya 'live down there, mate?" Yami heard the person ask. She shouted through the storm, "No, i'm just a traveler. What about you?" She could tell that the speaker was a male now, although she still couldn't figure out his age. She began to climb up the slope to meet him when she slipped and fell face first into the snow. Maybe I should just lie here for a while, she thought, but slowly got up, knowing the man would be close to her soon.

Despite only settling his eyes on a blur of a figure, Rabten managed to distinguish how it had donned a cloak. Might jus' be me, but 'm pretty sure animals don' need those, he breathed inwardly, concluding his instigator was, in fact, a human. Perhaps, the water gods were smiling down on him considering how the instigator was deemed a bit of a ditz in his eyes. The simpler the prey, the easier the money, after all. Amplifying the volume of his voice, somewhat vexed by the domineering winds of the nation and the inability to be adequately heard, the white-haired bard bellowed, "I asked if 'ye were 'live, my friend. Ahhh-live."

Stifling the laughter that threatened to escape his chapped lips, Rabten allowed a rush of thoughts to penetrate his mind. Well, this should be interesting. They can fall face-flat in the snow, so perhaps, even more will fall from their pockets. Shaking his head, he interrupted by inner-monologue, Now, now. Patience is a virtue.

The white-haired bard assumed a polite demeanor as he neared the instigator -- whom he discovered to be significantly shorter with a more petite frame -- after reaching the base of the glacial mound. Depicting a gentle smile just above his scarf that retained his warmth, Rabten crisply answered, "I'm a traveler, as well, for the record. Ya' alright, though?"

Yami stood when the man got close. She realized that she had made a mistake. "Oh, sorry! I misunderstood you." Yami said. I can never understand some of these people's accents, she thought. She shivered as some of the snow went down the inside of her cloak, but tried to conceal her discomfort. You know he will find out not just your gender, but your true identity as well eventually. Why bother concealing it? Yami was tempted to punch herself in the stomach, where the 5-tails seal was. Would you shut up? I'm trying to have a friendly conversation. I don't need more enemies.

She turned toward the man after her inner dialogue. "Well, if you are also a traveler, where are you from? I'm not all that great at reading accents."

"S'okay," Rabten offhandedly murmured with the wave of his arm, as though to convey he as brushing off the notion. Admittedly, he was used to the slight difference in the languages, despite how articulate he attempted to be given his occupation. Some things jus' stick with 'ya forever, he assumed, before raising an eyebrow. Perhaps, it was only natural given the rush of snow that threatened to engulf him, but he made note of her trembling body. 'Ya didn't get money from a corpse.

Extending his hands out to either side, the white-haired bard turned to greet momentarily as he answered, "'M from here, there, e're where, mate. No set place; no set home." Revealing his past wasn't deemed necessary in his eyes, nor did it ever for that matter, and so he pushed the subject from him to inquire, "An', 'yerself?"

Yami thought for a little bit. Her past was a little bit...hectic. She could be considered to be from a number of places, and she hasn't really had a home. "Well, I used to live in the Vermillion Empire, and I traveled around the mainland for a while. But recently I have been traveling farther away, to places like here. I don't have a place I can call home at the moment." This much was true, although it wasn't the complete truth. Yami decided that the man didn't care about her past and she would bore him if she said anymore anyway.

Suddenly, Yami heard a strange sound. She turned toward the south to see a black silhouette coming towards them. She couldn't tell if the figure were flying or if it was on the ground, but it was approaching fast. Yami's hand fell to the knife at her waist. Well this is just great. I come out here to be alone, and I find some man out here, and now something coming this way. So much for solitude, I guess.

((SOMEBODY PLEASE POST))

Drago phoenix was flying around when the storm started, he was feezing alot, shivering and wet from the snow storm he fell down towards the ground, even though he was wearing a thick jacket he was feezing and even fire beding couldn't help him now...or could it, with the last bit of strength he fired a fire ball into the sky and exploded when reaching the clouds, making a huge hole in the storm clouds. he felll face first into the snow and if it wasn't for it he would of died... he looked at the "hole" in the sky were he laid...he hoped that someone saw the fire ball or atleast heard the explosion.

"Is that so," he trailed off absentmindedly, regretting his inquiry upon her answer. The Vermillion Empire was an unusual subject; it was his end and yet his beginning. Rabten, admittedly, wasn't sure as to how he felt about the nation, but didn't intend on digging into those layers of his past in front of a mere stranger -- no, a mere patron. Spilling his guts, let alone pondering his history, was never in his character. "'Yer a long way fruh' home," was the only statement the white-haired bard could muster.

He raised an eyebrow at the figure before him, before following the other's stare. While the storm hindered his eyesight, with enough squinting, Rabten was able to notice the other figure was stationary -- that is, until a blast came from the source and was rocketed up to the sky. Already noticing his companion's movements, as though to ease the atmosphere, he stated, "Is'sa beckon."

Without hesitation, the white-haired bard departed from his current patron to struggling through the mounds to face the other, whom he presumed had fallen. Two customers in one day was already promising, but an injured one was even moreso. People had the tendency to repay those of whom that come to their aid, after all.

Yami jumped back a bit at the sound of the explosion. She realized that whoever was out there was a firebender, judging from the blast of flames that was sent into the sky. Yami began to walk forward when she felt something slam into her body, and then start licking her face. "Ah! Hey! Stop STOP!" she yelled, trying to get a large black dragon off of her. She finally managed to push her way free, and realized that this dragon had a blue streak down its back. "Crystal? What are you doing here?" Yami asked. She had barely finished her sentence when the dragon lunged forward and grabbed Yami in her claws and flew off, toward the figure in the distance.

"AAAHHHHHH!!!! Crystal! Put me down! Y-you should know how I fell about heights!" Yami yelled over the wind and the storm. Crystal adjusted her altitude and flew lower to the ground so Yami wouldn't feel as uncomfortable. Finally, Crystal dropped Yami in front of the figure, who was lying face down in the ground. Yami recognized his clothes instantly. "Drago! What on earth are you doing out here?" Yami said, turning Drago over onto his back. Crystal spread out her wings to protect them from the storm.

Yami began to fire bend around Drago, careful not to light his clothes on fire. Meanwhile, she used her water bending to pull the water out of his clothing so he could warm up faster. With any luck, her combined elements would save Drago's life.