Running from the target (bailey, loolaalee)

David climbed up onto the bison quickly after Clarissa. As soon as all three (four including Ranger) of them were seated in the saddle, the nomad sitting on the bison's head yelled out "Yip Yip!" and they took off into the sky.

Kaia loved feeling the wind in her face as they flew down the mountain to the docks. David looked at her, and couldn't help but feel like the wind blowing her hair back made her look more beautiful than ever. Kaia caught him staring at her, and they locked eyes for a moment. Then they both turned away, redness touching both of their cheeks. When she turned, Kaia noticed that Rafa was flying along with them, also enjoying the wind. She smiled at him, and was tempted to actually ask the nomad for the reigns so she could race with Rafa, but realized that with Clarissa not being able to see, careening a bison out of control wouldn't be the best idea.

David had started to clean and sharpen the blade on his axe. The long shaft was cumbersome, but he worked with it, making sure he wasn't hitting anybody with the end. He shined his blade until he could see his face in the shiny steel. Then he turned to Clarissa. "Enjoying your ride?" he asked.

Clarissa pinned herself against the saddle when they took of. She hadn't expected to hate flying this much. Everything was dark to her. She held Ranger's lead with a very shaky hand. She turned to 'look' off the side of the saddle down at the Earth she loved and enjoyed. Was she scared of the concept of flying, or the height and drop of it all. Maybe if she could see, she wouldn't be so scared of it. She looked over at David as he spoke. Was she enjoying the ride? Clarissa wasn't sure. It was better than being blindfolded and stuck in a metal box, but she still didn't like the through of still didn't like it. "It's fine I guess. The view is just as wonderful." She joked a bit, trying to lighten her own mood.

David put his blade care stuff back in his bag. He put his hands on either side of him, leaning back. He blushed a little as he realized Kaia was sitting in the same way, and he had put his hand on top of hers. Kaia looked down at their hands, and then up at him, and was about ready to jump off of the bison, even if they were hundreds of feet in the air. Or, so she thought. Before they knew it, they were back on the ground, and both Kaia and David were happy to get out of that situation. "So, Clarissa, because of the shape of the bison, you should be able to just slide down his side smoothly and land on your feet." Kaia said as she jumped over the edge.

David followed suit, then walked over to the nomad, thanking him and handing him some money for the ride. "So, whats the deal with you and that girl?" asked the nomad. David's cheeks turned a little pink. "T-that's none of your business!" he said and quickly turned around.

Clarissa was glad when she felt the ground inch closer to her. Since she was born she had always had this close connection with the earth and was proud to be able to have the gift of bending. She could sense that they were landing and felt better with every inch they drifted toward the ground. Slide off? She thought as she looked at Ranger. She could see that grey fuzzy sight again, a small blur told her where Kaia's feet had hit the ground, followed by a second one of David's. Being careful, Clarissa grabbed Ranger up and swung herself over the edge. Taking in a deep breath, she pushed off a bit and slid down the side of the bison. Kaia was right, it was easier than trying to figure out how to climb down. Something told her she would have to keep that in mind if they ever needed to travel again. "So, where to?" she asked as she kept Ranger's lead in her hand. The dark red lead blended in with his dark coat when she didn't need it, and until the fuzziness went away, she would be relying on Ranger a bit more than normal. Would Kaia and David be able to notice? She asked herself. She wasn't sure what she looked like when Ranger lead her around, but she was sure that it wasn't her normal self either.

Kaia laughed a little. "Enjoy your time on land while you have it. We are at a boat dock. The only way to get to the earth kingdom is either by flight or by boat, so we will be taking a boat trip that will be a few days long. But after that, we will travel by land all the way to Ba-Sing-Se, where HQ is. Sound good?" Kaia asked, hoping she wasn't making Clarissa too uncomfortable.

David walked over to Clarissa and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, don't worry if you can't see, we will be there to help you, and you have ranger to guide you! I'm sure you'll be fine, and we will reach the earth kingdom in two days. You can manage until then, right?" he asked.

Clarissa nodded, not to comfortable with the boat, but willing to go through with it as long as her friends where with her. "Thank you, between you two and Ranger, I should be fine." She said as she smiled. The grey foggy vision slowly started to gain forms and figures, but it still wasn't the vision she was used to. She had gotten so comfortable knowing exactly where anyone was that the grey vision frustrated her. She wasn't her normal self and relaxed a bit with David's hand on her shoulder. "Thank you, David." She said as she reached up and hugged him. She knew the boat would be interesting and before anyone could tell her not to, she reached down and pulled a rock out of the ground beneath them. Bending it into a small circular stone, she stuck it into her pocket. "Wont be much, but it will be enough to keep me sane." she said as she gave Ranger a treat and looked back at her friends.

Kaia laughed a little. "Makes sense. I wouldn't be able to go anywhere at all without carrying some sort of weapon. I somehow get myself into life or death situations everywhere I go, all because I try to help people." she said. She then turned and began walking down toward the dock. "There is a small restaurant at the dock, where we can get some lunch. It will be the last time we get real food for two days. Trust me, the food they serve you on these ships is not very appetizing, but its all the food you get. I say we grab a bite to eat here before we go. Agreed?" Kaia asked. David nodded. "I like that idea. I know the cook of the ship we are taking. He doesn't really know what he's doing, so who knows what kind of crud we will be eating on that boat." he said. Then they turned to Clarissa. "What do you think?" Kaia asked.

"I don't see any problem with that. Although I wouldn't know the difference between good food and bad, food is food." Clarissa replied with a smile. She followed them, Ranger keeping right at her side. He would pull slightly on the lead toward Kaia and David to make sure Clarissa knew which way they were walking. At first, the memory of what Ranger's cues were was rusty, but after walking so long, eventually they came back to her.

Kaia laughed at Clarissa's comment, and she had to agree. Depending on her missions, Kaia has had to eat some pretty disgusting food, but has dealt with it. Still, she was hungry, and wanted a bit of land food before they took off on their voyage to the earth kingdom. David led them into a small restaurant. It wasn't too fancy, but it wasn't a dump either. The owner looked up from cleaning the counter and smiled at the trio, and David approached the counter. "What is that delicious smell?" he asked. The man responded with "My wife has a lamb cooking. Care to have some?" the man asked. Kaia nodded and said, "That would be wonderful. Three plates, please!" she said with a smile. The man nodded and walked into the kitchen to speak to his wife. Kaia and David led Ranger and Clarissa to a medium sized table and sat down.

Clarissa thugged lightly at Ranger's lead for him to follow them, then headed out behind them. She could hear their steps and knew how far away they were, barely see the vibration through the ground, but it was like she had jet lag. Eventually, the smell of something great waffed toward Clarissa. She wanted to know what it was that was making her mouth water and her stomach growl. She felt Ranger move closer to her and knew they had stopped. "Lamb..." She said half under her breath. "Seems amazing to me." She let Ranger pull her this time to the table, not wanting to get her feet caught in a chair or table leg. "Maybe you were right, and we would miss this food later." She laughed as she took a seat and motioned for Ranger to lay next to her.