[001] Monthly Catch All

[abitofawildman]

If you could go back in time forty-five some odd years ago, and ask a teenage Bumi what the worst possible outcome of his life could be, he'd tell you:

Trapped at an Air Temple, pretending to be an airbender.

Bumi thinks a lot about this now, as he holds down Air Temple Island as if it were a fort.
With Tenzin and Pema no where to be found, and Jinora and Korra off to a Spirit Portal, Bumi is the highest ranking officer on deck, as horrifying for all involved as that is.

The spirits, it seems, are not without a sense of humor.


1) The Radio Room
With the Barrier down communications that were once off-line are now once again operational, and Bumi spends a few hours here several times a day. Information pours in from the Air Temples and he's been trying to reach the Water Tribes in an effort to find his brother and sister.

Looking to find family, or possibly a crash course in Morse Code? Then this is a good place for you.


2) The kitchen
People need to eat, and Bumi is more than skilled at making the most of limited provisions.
The menu is Hot and A Lot. The ingredients are both vegetarian and...less so.
(Don't worry, he's using separate cooking implements for the meat goods.


3) The meditation pavilion
He's never really been all that fantastic at meditation, or at least the kind of it that involves sitting still and keeping his mind clear, but at this point even Bumi is willing to try just about anything.


4) About town
Times are getting tougher, but there's still a lot to trade and be traded for, and so Bumi finds himself on various logistical missions getting for the Island things that it cannot produce for itself.


5) Other
Create your own, for hours of fun!

Comments

[abitofawildman]

[He rolls the clip over his knuckles with practiced ease.]

You're right, I don't know anything about what you're feeling right now.

[Bumi rolls up to his feet, old-man-grunting as he does so.]

But I do know that if we don't both get out of here soon the chances of both of us not feeling anything ever again is higher than I'd like. Come with me now, you get this back.

[He taps at the clip.]

You're welcome to stay, but you don't have to. Just come with me now. Please.

[dustonmyfeet]

[She's poised, still ready to fight. Still ready to take him out however she can manage, because there's catharsis in it -- relief in taking something else apart, even if it takes her with it. She's so angry, she can't stand it; she'd like to wrench the whole world apart if it would only bring relief.]

[But that word. Please.]

[It's not a command. Not something she can rail against. It's a vulnerability left exposed. It's a plea.]

[She feels herself bend. Tries to dig into her rage, hold on.]

It's just earth.

[But there's just a hint of hesitation in it. Just a whiff.]

[Maybe she's also afraid to stay alone.]

[abitofawildman]

[Bumi is not a small man, and he knows it. He moves a bit closer to her before crouching so he's speaking to her on her level.]

And the ocean is just water, and a tornado just air, but that doesn't make them any less forces to be reckoned with. Come with me. If for no other reason than to make sure me and BumJu get out of here with the same number of pieces as we had when we came in. I'm way too pretty to die today.

[dustonmyfeet]

[She holds. Stands, every muscle resolute.]

[Then, slowly, she gives. Her muscles ease, first by millimeters and then by feet, taut slackening into surrender.]

[Maybe, if she's honest with herself, it's a relief to give up.]

[Her head dips in a nod.]

[abitofawildman]

[BumJu trills and butts his head against her leg.]

Thank you.

[His voice is quiet as he reaches out to take her hand in his. He gently presses the bill clip into her palm, because after all: a deal is a deal.

The ground around them quakes again.]

Did you bring anything with you? Anything we need to take with us?

[dustonmyfeet]

[When they get out of here? The bunny spirit is getting cuddled. Fiercely.]

[Toph twitches at the quake again, obviously agitated, but lets Bumi's larger hand close around her own. To his question, she gives a quick shake of the head. Just the blankets. Everything important to her is already on her person.]

Just me.

[abitofawildman]

[BumJu is great at cuddles, and welcomes them with open paws. For now though, she'll have to be content with one final headbutt before BumJu flutters off to gather up the blankets.

Bumi stands and adjusts his robe, tying it securely about his midsection. Placing a guiding hand on her arm, he begins the slow process of getting them out of the tunnel.

BumJu flies overhead for a moment, draping the now folded blankets over Bumi's shoulder before glowing brighter and leading the way.]

[dustonmyfeet]

[Probably better that he ultimately goes for her arm; he might have caught a hiss as his fingers caught her hand.]

[Her steps, though, are hesitant; the ground is uneven, and the slowly increasing rumbles of the aftershock are messing with both her hearing and her certainty of step.]

[She's getting frustrated again, and he might be able to tell it in the muscles of her arm, re-tightening under his touch.]

[abitofawildman]

[They're not moving as quickly as he'd like, and he knows by her body language that this escape isn't exactly going as well as she'd hope either. The ground beneath their feet is angry, and ever in flux.]

Do you trust me?

[dustonmyfeet]

[Normally people say that sort of thing before they do something stupid.]

[But at the moment, it probably couldn't be any worse than now.]

I guess . . . [Her tone is somewhat measured. And suspicious. But it's still consent.]

[abitofawildman]

[Well...she's not wrong. Only a crazy person would heft Toph Beifong up in his arms and over one shoulder.

It just so happens though? That Bumi is just that crazy.

Though, in his defense: He doesn't know she's Toph, so there is that.]

Hold on tight.

[dustonmyfeet]

[Was it too late to renege on that vote of trust? Toph yelps in surprise as she's swept up from the ground, deposited over Bumi's shoulder as though she's no more than a small sack of potatoes.]

Hold on to what, exactly??

[Her tone is on the edge of panic, yes. Riding an old man's shoulder, blind and completely out of contact with the ground is not doing much for her sense of stability.]

[abitofawildman]

Not my hair.

[He says as he rounds a corner at a speed that might be just a bit too fast considering the circumstances. He recovers quickly, but there's a second there where it feels as though he might topple over.]

We're almost there. Just...a few...feet....more.

[dustonmyfeet]

[He didn't exactly come with handles, and were she in a better frame of mind, she'd be all too glad to point that out. Toph grasps onto a couple handfuls of his robe as best she can, yelping again as he tips. He'd better hope she doesn't urp down his back.]

[This is worse than flying on Appa. She'd like to get down. Now.]

[abitofawildman]

[It would hardly be the first time someone yaked on Bumi, and it would most certainly not be the last.

Bumi rounds one final corner. The corridor ends and they emerge into the greater outside world of Air Temple Island.

He lowers her down to her feet just as one final earth-shake causes several decent-sized rocks to dislodge from the walls. ]

Just in time.

[If you'll excuse Bumi, he'll just be over here catching his breath.]

[dustonmyfeet]

[Land. Land. While Bumi is catching his breath, Toph will be over catching hers, plopping onto her butt for the solidity underneath her. The sound of the rock fall hasn't escaped her, but . . . she doesn't want to think about it. She hunches over, loose hair spilling into her face.]

[When he does look, he may be able to see now that her hands are a mess, torn up and smeared, new bruises forming on the skin.]

[abitofawildman]

[Breath caught, Bumi makes his way over towards where Yin has plopped herself, and it's only after he joins her on the ground that he notices the state of her hands. There's no stopping his cringe, he's been injured that badly before, he knows how much it hurts.

"I don't suppose I could interest you in some first aid for your hands, could I?"

[dustonmyfeet]

[And where is the promised bunny spirit? Cuddling was promised.]

[Toph's lips press together, hands lifting in his direction.]

[abitofawildman]

[Actually...that is interesting. Where has BumJu gone? Oh wait, there he is! Apparently he went to get a first aid kit from the more inhabited portion of the island.

From how Bumi doesn't really react one could easily assume that this is the sort of thing BumJu does all the time.]

This might hurt.

[He says as a warning before he examines each finger in turn, checking for breaks in bones and tears in tendons and ligaments.]

[dustonmyfeet]

[Without eyes or earthbending, her ears catch the flutter, but little else. An eyebrow shifts up at his words if he can catch it, but otherwise she makes little comment, letting him poke and prod at her hands, only hissing softly at one particular finger -- a middle one -- that's apparently fractured. Aside from the serious bruising and cuts, bones and tendons are in pretty miraculous shape -- possibly due to the considerable amount of callus and strength her fingers have built over time.]

[abitofawildman]

[He mutters a quiet Thank you to BumJu as he takes the medic kit. He then sets to cleaning her hands the best he can with what's available in the pack. Bumi isn't a healer, but he's been hurt enough to know more than the average person about being a field medic.]

Well, I'm no healer, but I think you're going to live.

[There's a smirk in his voice.]

I think you might have a busted finger, so what I'm going to do is clean you up and splint you. That oughta hold until we can get an actual medical professional to look you over. Sound okay to you?

[dustonmyfeet]

Yeah, fine.

[Her voice in response is weighted, dull, and her shoulders slump. The hand with the unfractured finger, her left one, separates from the first, stretching out. She's not sure where the bunny spirit is, but hopefully it'll come anyway where she can collect it into her lap.]

Then what?

[abitofawildman]

[BumJu flutters away for some more clean water, but once he returns into Yin's lap is exactly where he goes. His ears flatten down so as to not disturb Bumi's work. There's a resonance to the spirit, a slight hum.]

Well...if I were you, I'd say you were staying here, at least until your hands settle. Second day after an injury is always the worst. But, I'm not you, so...there's that.

[dustonmyfeet]

[The bunny spirit's presence is welcome, and the cool weight grounds her. Absently she runs the fingers of the hand that Bumi isn't working on along his ears, grazing the outside rim and his back. She does this with Momo, and though she may not say so openly, it's oddly soothing. Her movement falls into a slow, even rhythm, allowing her to retreat briefly into her own thoughts.]

[There's a lot that's jumbled up right now. Nothing's behaving as it should be -- not even this old man, who's demanded that she come out, scooped her up . . . but still isn't treating her like a little girl. Isn't fussing, isn't protecting. Acts like she has a choice . . . and more than that, acts like he'll go along with whatever she chooses.]

You know I'm blind. [Her tone stays flat.] And with my bending gone, I can't see anything.

[abitofawildman]

[It's kind of hard not to notice the affect that BumJu has on people, and it's even harder not to smile.]

There are worse fates.