Avatar Zulera

Mei peeked out of the water, looking up at the ship. How easy would it be? Just swim away, never come back. He chuckled at himself, taking note of the Avatar who seemed to have mimicked him. This too made him chuckle. He laid back, submersing his ears, and closing his eyes. He would have slept like this, but he knew the crew would be turning the ship around any minute, and decided a few more moments silence would suffice.

Mei laid back for a while, sighing as men appeared on deck, calling for him, though he couldn't hear them. He rolled over onto his stomach, and swam to the side of the ship where a ladder was waiting. He looked back out at the ocean, the vast expanse of blue, 'How hard would it be to leave...?', he thought to himself. 'To swim away to an island somewhere and live his life out in peace...' He closed his eyes, 'Why did I have to choose this...over family?', he thought questioningly, looking up at Tloka who looked down at him. 'Why did I choose being a warrior?'

Mei glanced back at Zulera, and shook his head. 'What am I looking for?' "Make sure she gets back on board, I don't want to be responsible for losing the Avatar at sea.", he said, walking back to his room, retrieving his jacket along the way. He opened the door slowly, stepping inside, he closed it behind him, and took off his soaked clothes. He put on another pair of pants, but froze mid-search for his shirt as the dagger he usually kept on his belt appeared from under some clothes. He lifted the blade, staring at it for a time. "This is what you've traded family and love for Mei..." He unsheathed the blade, still as flawless as the day he'd gotten it. "Was it worth it...?", he asked himself harshly, "Worth having nothing but your next hunt, your next enemy...?" He closed his eyes, oblivious to everything around him, the door remained closed, though unlocked. "Worth having nothing but the damn title...and power..."

Mei glanced up from the blade, "Yeah, of course..." The last bit of his sentence dropped to a hateful whisper aimed at himself, "It's not I have anywhere else to go." He didn't bother putting a shirt on, he turned, throwing the dagger onto his desk, and kicking the wet clothes away.

Mei shrugged, "I haven't..." He sighed, "Since you got here, I've been asking myself more questions than I usually do..." He laughed slightly, "I realized that...I have nowhere to go if I decided to leave this...being a soldier...I have nothing outside this ship."

He didn't sound sorry for himself, he wasn't putting on a 'poor me' show, he was pouring out the pent up frustration he didn't even know existed. "My mother and father died when I was young, and I got dumped on my aunt's lap...she was...a gambler and a drinker...hated me...but...in some sick way...I found a loophole in that...she hated me...but at least someone knew I existed...and even though she hated me, I defended her even when she was wrong...when she died, there was nothing left for me...I trained, became a soldier...a pretty lousy one, but I made it to general...but I have nothing to show for it, friends, no, family, I don't have one." He picked up the knife, and threw it on the bed, followed by his jacket, his sword, and then he motioned to the ship around him, "This is what I have to show, I can't go somewhere, and say, this is my home, or say that's my family..." He shook his head, smashed his fist into his desk, and cursed silently. "It's funny, really. Because...I kept wondering how easy it would be for me to just leave it...leave this."

Mei fell back into his chair as Zul spoke, she started be repeating bits of her history she had mentioned. Then tossed his own quote back at him. He closed his eyes, "I'm 33 years old, I think it may be a bit late to start hunting for a bride...", he said quietly. "And the skills I have wouldn't do much good outside this area of work." He chuckled lightly, "I'm afraid...that if I let this all go, that when I don't make it, I'll have nothing to fall back on, no safety net. It'll be a nonstop plunge into the abyss."

Mei chuckled lightly, looking up at you, "Well thank you...but I don't think I quite compare to you.", he said. "You own a lot more than you realize. The hope you bring to people is immeasurable. Riches and wealth are more than just gold and diamonds, sometimes the most precious thing one can grant is hope."

Mei smiled lightly, "Well, let's see...you're looking as lovely as ever.", he said first, then, "A headache, but I'll get over it. How are you feeling?"

Mei chuckled lightly, "What's on your mind?", he asked, rising, and retrieving an undershirt from his drawer, and putting it on. "And yes, I don't mind giving you another massage.", he said.

Mei studied Zul quietly, collecting his thoughts and retrieving a button up, and putting that on over his undershirt. He hardly noticed how relaxed he felt at the moment, and fell back onto his bed rather comfortabley.

"We are going toward the last place Kai was spotted...hopefully not to another dead end." He forced himself not to laugh, "It's up to you.", he said.

Mei was silent for a bit, thinking quietly to himself. "If he's not there then we go back to the Fire Nation...make a stop for supplies if necessary." He shrugged, "It's not like we control what happens, if Kai isn't there, we'll just have to go back where we started...well, I will, you're free to leave whenever you want."

[OOC--I am a bit curious as to how this will go, given that Kai no longer comes here]

Zulera Joanna Tallarico	Zulera sat there, her (now) bare back to him, dangling her heavy legs and feet off the edge of the bed. she seemed to be deep in thought. she didn't even really see where she had tossed her shirt or bra. "so... what do we do until then?" she asked. her tone did not seem to have any hidden implications in it, but rather, she seemed genuinely curious. it had been a long journey thus far.
Mood: Fine Condition: Okay	Link:

Mei shrugged, he half hoped he could skip past the next few days. His thoughts were a jumble of 'what if's and he hardly wanted to be trapped on a Battleship anymore. The ocean, he often wondered what the Fire Nation had been thinking, trying to slay the moon spirit and calm the oceans. Foolishness.

Mei stood still for a long time, just staring at the door. He often questioned the order of things. How, so often, young soldiers were sent to die for someone else's madness, or desires. Why was it that politicians, the few, decided the fate of many. He glanced at Zulera, and what right did all these people have to force all their worries, pain, grief, admiration, and unlimited troubles...onto this one person?

He half-scoffed, half-chuckled. What makes us so special?