Spirits and Parks [Hidoi or Invite]

"Lil' Bai, get out of there...", Avery softly scolded the panda cub who was attempting to reach a flower that had blown into the water fountain that she was sitting on the edge of. The water fountain was build into the side of a wall; allowing for a waterfall effect that came out of the wall, filtered through the decorative pool, and then was brought back into the waterfall to repeat the cycle over again. The water fountain was one of the lovely decorative features of the park; along with the bushes that were covered almost completely with flowers, and the many gardens all around.

The panda looked up at her and then pointed at the flower before smacking the water with his stick of bamboo in an agitated manner; which caused the flower to float farther away from the edge of the water fountain than it had been before and closer to the small waterfall.

Avery chuckled and shook her head. "You know... you sure lack the patience of a spirit animal, Lil' Bai.", she muttered softly. "Have patience and it will come to you..." Words spoken to her dozens of times before by her grandmother and her parents when she had been meditating or training; strengthening her abilities with air. She watched as Lil' Bai sat at the edge of the fountain; trying to be as calm and still as a 'young' cub could be. Avery parted her lips ever so slightly and sent the smallest of streams of air at the flower from her position across from the panda: the flower twirled on the water and then began to float right over to the panda, blown there gently by Avery's air stream.

The panda reached into the water as the flower got closer and plucked it out. He looked at it for a moment, sniffed it, and then shoved the whole thing into his mouth: chewing quickly. Avery laughed softly, as did several people who were walking past and had caught sight of what the panda did. "Silly Bai, all that work just for you to eat the flower."

Popping sounds. They were the all too familiar sounds of a staff repeatedly impacting thick skulls. A sound that was becoming all too familiar anyway; the sound of “that little kid with the magic stick” beating up thugs that were currently ruining the community. It was always only a sound first, then one caught sight of flying bodies. Individuals who were stupid enough to try standing up to the kid, to be sent flying to ricochet from the walls of buildings and trees. Grown men being tossed aside like trash by a small child was what always drew an audience.

Hidoi never killed anyone, often having to save the idiots from a more fatal fate, but he didn't have a problem beating the ever living crap out of them. A muscular thug took a grown man's swing at the kid, only to find his arm pushed aside by what he thought was an invisible force. The staff slammed into both knees before meeting the family jewels, causing the man to scream like a female. He was swept off of his feet and spin around many times upon a mini funnel, before throwing him airborne. He landed on his face and chest with a painful grunt, then he just lie there, defeated, in too much pain to move.

The rest with black eyes and welt marks all over them, were running away, across this park. With his Mind Stick over his right shoulder Hidoi began to follow after them, before spotting the woman from the day before with the panda. Hidoi looked between the fleeing thugs and her, deciding to let them go for now. He made his way over towards the woman, to the dismay of the crowd following him. Some of his new fans made irritated groans.

”Oh boo hoo. You all want some tissue? It's no fun chasing after idiots who're scared and won't fight back, get over it. I'm pretty sure i'll be running into more of these goons sooner or later anyway, keep your pants on...”

As the spectators headed off back to everyday normal life, Hidoi shrank his staff again and returned it to it's housing. These guys knew that he was on to them now, and didn't make very many moves out in the open any more. So now, Hidoi had to get crafty in his search for them. He walked over near Avery, watching the panda in the water.

”Hey, Avery. Some of those guys from the other day just ran by here, did they try to grope you again?”

The sound of an ass beating, one that sounded much like it had the last time she had ventured into the city, reached her ears. She glanced up, looking off in the direction it was coming from just in time to see a few thugs go running past her. Thankfully they didn't try bothering her like they had the day before when they had attempted to steal her purse - not that she had one on her at the time being.

Lil' Bai had likewise looked up, bamboo stick in hand and being held like he planned on using it as a weapon. He smacked the bamboo stick several times against the stone wall of the fountain he was sitting on in a threatening manner. Avery glanced over to him and chuckled, all before turning her attention to the young air bender, Hidoi.

She laughed softly and shook her head no. "No, they left me be, thankfully. Though, I think Lil' Bai over here wanted to take a few smacks at them himself. I'm surprised they haven't all given up on their life of crime, yet... with you beating their asses and all." Lil' Bai whacked his stick against the stone wall again, causing it to crack; the panda bear stared at it for a moment before tossing it into the fountain and climbing his fuzzy self to the ground. He sat down and began to grow a bamboo stock right there in front of himself; the stock turning from the smallest of plants to a foot long stick in a matter of seconds.

”Well somebody's gotta stand up to these guys, and for now it looks like i'm the only one. Though Lil Bai there looks like he wouldn't mind stomping these creeps, he has a good stance there!”

Hidoi watched the panda wield his bamboo weapon,  being a staff user himself, wondering if animals could actually be taught to fight like humans could. Avery's panda seemed to be doing a good job of it so far. But then he remembered the last time he saw her, and how the panda seemed to just vanish into thin air.

Was it really a panda? Where did she find it? Avery seemed to be an Airbender just like he was, so maybe she knew something he didn't. It made him scratch his chin some. Hidoi wanted to ask Avery about it, but she didn't know him all that well. But he was just a kid, right? An innocent little kid with an affinity for smacking a stick upside idiot's heads, not some older creepy stalker pervert. She must have had some experience dealing with those.

”That reminds me... the last time I saw you, was I seeing things, or did he vanish into thin air? How did he do that?... Where did you find him?... I know you don't really know me, so you don't have to answer. But it would be cool if you did. My parents keep saying 'prodigy' this, 'one of the youngest Grandmasters ever' that, but I feel like i'm missing out on something, y'know?...”

Avery glanced over to Lil' Bai when Hidoi spoke of him seeming like he wouldn't mind stomping some of those creeps. She couldn't help the small grin that spread across her face especially as the panda smacked the stick against the stone wall once more in a threatening manner while looking around, as if checking to see if any of the thugs were around. "Lil' Bai is a bit... protective of me to say the least. So, he gets a little defensive when people who've messed with me are around." 

She then listened to Hidoi's questions, her grin spreading further. She glanced around, noticing that everyone around seemed far to occupied to be eavesdropping on the conversation between the two; not that the Spirit World was a secret or anything, but she didn't want everyone and their mother knowing she could go there. "Hm... you seem like a good kid, on the right path and using your abilities to beat up bad guys when no one else wants to, so I'll let you in on the secret... however, I think it would be best if you didn't tell anyone else - trust me, you don't want that kind of attention."

She nodded towards Lil' Bai who stood up and climbed his way back onto the stone wall. He wanted over to her, climbed up her arm, and positioned himself on her shoulders once more, stick of bamboo between his paws as usual. "Lil' Bai here is... well, he's a Spirit. He is the offspring of Hei Bai; the Spirit known for going between this world and the spirit world - who protects the Scorched Forest. When he disappears it's because he's going back to the Spirit World; more than likely to visit his father - he looks like a cub but he's really several centuries old, it's why he's capable of actual speech and moves around more like a human than an average animal would." She paused for a moment, wondering how much of this the kid was truly going to believe. "I met him because I too have the ability to go in and out of the Spirit World, I have since I was a little girl - it was something my grandmother taught me to do. It's something that very powerful Airbenders are able to learn how to do."

Avery said he was a good kid on the right path because of his thrashing of grown criminals and all, so she agreed to tell him the secret. He moved closer to her so she didn't have to talk as loud, grinning, deciding then and there to keep this secret quiet and exactly what it was... a secret. Hidoi listened to her explain that Lil Bai was a spirit. He was actually hundreds of years old and capable of speech the same as humans, making him raise his eyebrows. It wasn't hard to believe, seeing how he acted more human than animal.

Next she said that her grandmother taught her how to go into the spirit world, and how very powerful Airbenders had the ability. Hidoi heard his mother and father mention it several times, but at first he didn't believe them. Now he was seeing and hearing hard evidence that turned his doubt into curiosity. Could this ability be taught? Maybe one day he too could travel into the spirit world and make friends with some sort of animal partner.

”The spirit world, huh? Sounds kinda cool... I always thought my parents were lying or something, I guess not!... So uh, this travelling to the spirit world and back... is it something you could teach me, maybe?  I don't like bragging, but my parents say i'm on the skill level of a Grandmaster to be so young, I think I could do it. How bout you? I won't tell anyone, promise...”

Avery nodded with a smile, glad that he wasn't trying to call her a liar or claiming that such a place couldn't exist: it had happened before on the rare occasion she had brought the topic up and tried to explain about it. In fact, one person had gone so far as to call her crazy and claim she should be locked up.

She tilted her head, thinking for a moment over his question. She didn't doubt he would be able to learn how to enter into the Spirit World, but she figured it would be best that she explain about it a little more - it was a dangerous place after all. "Hmm.. I'm sure I could teach you the art of Spiritbending - as is the name of it. But first... I need to warn you, everything isn't pleasant over there. I mean, there are lots of nice places and such, but there's all dangerous beasts and areas. And.. you won't be able to bend over there. Of course, you could still fight, and seeing as you seem to be able to use your staff rather well, I'd say you'd do pretty well." 

She shrugged. "If you're still willing to learn, despite the dangers, I'll teach you." She was going to leave it up to him; if the idea of him not being able to use his element over in the Spirit world turned him off from the idea than she wasn't going to press, but if he still wanted to learn she would teach him.

”Well, sure!... I'm not scared. My brother and sister say something's wrong with me because I don't get scared of things that most kids my age are afraid of, but they're some poop heads. If I can't bend air in there I still have my Mind Stick, so i'm not too worried...”

A new ability to learn. He thought his brother and sister would be so jealous; his parents even more impressed. Maybe his mother wouldn't yell so much now. Dangerous areas in a spirit world? It made him even more curious. What kinds of spirits would be in these dangerous areas? What would happen if he were to get into a fight in there?

Perhaps this ability could be used in other ways too. Like aiding him in finding out where the rest of these idiot community thugs were hiding. And maybe other things too... things that made him rub his hands together with a certain look on his face, chuckling quietly to himself.

”Ok, so i'm in! This isn't gonna take really long, is it? If i'm not in the house before it gets dark, my mom yells, and it's like really annoying? So if it takes that long you have to come home with me and tell her what we were doing, cause if I tell her she won't believe me, than she'll start yelling even louder.”

Word Count: 1,163

Avery grinned: Hidoi reminded her much of herself when she had been learning Spiritbending from her grandmother. Her grandmother had tried several different ways to convince her that learning Spiritbending was a bad idea - including the false threat her grandmother told her, that she could likely get stuck there and never come back again. She knew that threat wasn't based on anything - especially because she had seen her grandmother go in and out of the Spirit world several times over again.

"Good to hear you're still on board. I don't think it'll take that long. You seem like the type of person whose a fast learner." She looked over as Lil' Bai got down from her shoulders and then climbed down off of the fountain. The panda approached Hidoi and stood there staring at him. "First thing I think you should do is experience what it feels like moving in and out of the Spirit World. I don't know if you know who Hei Bai is, but he's a large Spirit panda of the forest, known for his ability to take people in and out of the spirit world: Lil' Bai here can safely do it too."

Lil' Bai held it's non-clawed paw out to the kid, but didn't make contact: he simply waited for Hidoi to complete the contact - not wanting to force him into the Spirit World if he suddenly decided that he didn't want to go. "Lil' Bai will take you while I take myself, it'll allow you to know what it feels like, which will help you focus better on it when you try yourself. It was the easiest way for me to learn when my grandmother taught me, so hopefully it'll do the trick for you, too."

Fast learner... yeah, the kid seemed to start bending right out of his mother's womb. He knew things he wasn't supposed to know. He could bend far better than most people double his age... and it only got worse when his temper got the best of him. But that wasn't important right now, she'd agreed to teach him something new, and he was eager to learn.

Lil Bai got down from Avery's shoulder and made his way to the ground, staring up at Hidoi. He looked back strangely, a little confused. Lil Bai held out a paw next, and Hidoi listened to what Avery was saying while taking the paw, being careful not to squeeze too hard, even though the little animal was way, WAY older than he was. Still, he didn't want to hurt the little fella, and went easy.

”Okay... this isn't gonna hurt, is it? Or leave scars? Remember what I was saying about my mom yelling? If you hang around me for long you're gonna hear it sooner or later, then you'll see how irritating it is. How did my dad put it?... over-something. Over-protective? Though I don't see why, I know howda fight... It's a mom thing...”

Hidoi wondered if travelling between world would take long. Did time pass differently over there? Did they breathe oxygen? Did they have an outer space in the spirit world, and was it the same as the real world's outer space? Many questions running through the mind of a curious prodigy child with still much to learn....

Word Count 260 + 1,163 = 1,423

Avery opened her mouth to answer Hidoi's question on if it was going to hurt, but Lil' Bai gave a shake of his head, beating her to the punch. In a very child-like sounding voice the panda spoke plain english, "No, it won't hurt. If anything your body might momentarily feel as if it has gone to sleep, almost like it's floating. But, that feeling doesn't last long, and likely won't happen often as soon as your body is used to it." Lil' Bai looked to Avery at that point who nodded. The panda then looked back up to Hidoi. "Alright, here we go... just focus on how it feels and try and remember it; it's should feel like just letting yourself go, like that feeling you get when you're half awake and half asleep."

"I'll meet you there.." Avery stood, but as she did so her body faded from view, the teleportation process into the Spirit World leaving behind the faintest outline of her before that too faded within a mere second or two. She arrived in a safe area, the forest of the Spirit World, the same forest that Hei Bai was guardian of - she knew the large panda wouldn't bother them so long as they didn't harm his forest, so that made it the perfect place to go to for a first timer.

Lil' Bai followed suite, transporting both himself and Hidoi into the Spirit World flawlessly - so long as Hidoi didn't let go. It was a process he had done over and over again, something that took seconds to do. Fade from view in one spot to appear in another - this one being nearby Avery, in the safety of the forest.

Avery said the panda could speak, but he didn't believe her—until now. An animal that could talk, and that was hundreds of years old. Hidoi was getting used to seeing and hearing new things, especially now, seeing as he was about to leave this world and travel to a completely different one. He listened to what the panda told him, saving it to memory, going over the words repeatedly. “If anything your body might momentarily feel as if it has gone to sleep, almost like it's floating. But, that feeling doesn't last long, and likely won't happen often as soon as your body is used to it. Just focus on how it feels and try and remember it; it's should feel like just letting yourself go, like that feeling you get when you're half awake and half asleep."

So, yeah, one minute they all were standing in the park where he'd chased those thugs earlier, and then, suddenly they were standing in a forest? And just like he said, there was that sleepy feeling, like he'd just woken up after his mother started yelling for him to go get ready for school, and he wanted to just lie there 5 more minutes. After letting go of Lil Bai Hidoi looked around, rubbing his eyes in a tired fashion, noticing that this forest looked a lot like some of the forests in the center of Chokujou, or even some that were on the ground. Was this really a spirit world? Well, he was... somewhere, at least. He knew he wasn't still at home. Or maybe the panda put a spell on him when he grabbed his paw, and now they were in a dream? Hidoi didn't know how to explain it.

He tried manipulating the air, but like Avery said, bending here was useless. Hidoi pulled out his Mind Stick next, holding it out before him to see that it could still expand and retract, so if something did happen here, he had a means of defending himself still.

”Next stop, the Spirit World... so this is where you came from, Lil Bai. And i'm gonna be able to travel here too then, but how do I go about doing that? I think I get the gist of it, like my dad says, whatever gist means, but what do I do? Meditate? Dad tried showing me how to do that too, but it was boring. If I have to do it now I guess I got no choice eh?”

421 + 1,423 = 1,844

Avery watched Lil' Bai and Hidoi appear hand in paw and grinned; glad to see that he hadn't backed out at the last minute, this kid was definitely brave. She glanced over to the trees as she heard what could only be described as a large animal pushing aside trees. Seconds later the overly large, humongous panda, Hei Bai, appeared. Lil' Bai looked to Avery and Hidoi and then ran over to his father; the giant panda was staring at Avery.

"Greetings, Hei Bai. I'm teaching Hidoi here the practice of airbending; I chose your forest because I felt it was safer than other areas." The giant panda stared for a moment longer before nodding and looking to Hidoi; he stared at him for a moment as well, saving him to memory before turning and walking back into the forest after an affectionate nuzzle to the smallest panda. 

She then looked back to Hidoi, figuring they should get on with the lesson - she didn't want to be the reason he got yelled at by his mother. "Entering and exiting the Spirit world is slightly like meditating, only doing so with a lot more focus in a lot less time. It's almost like airbending in a way... you have to want to do it, to focus and will yourself forward across the line between both worlds. The first few tries might be hard, but eventually it becomes as simple as bending the air around you; it's a part of you. Once you learn how to move between the worlds you can learn other things; such as using it to teleport around the world, and bringing others into the Spirit World like Lil' Bai brought you... comes in handy when you're outnumbered by your enemy."


Avery tapped her chin for a moment. "Let's start with you trying to focus your way out of the Spirit World... concentrate on the park where we were at and imagine yourself there, really concentrate and focus."

This looked like your every day ordinary forest, until the huge panda that looked like Lil Bai came toward them. The overly large animal that would make most people scream and run in terror while peeing their pants. But beside getting wide-eyed, Hidoi stood his ground, even when introduced, and even when the big panda Hei Bai looked down at him as if he were just a small plaything. The big panda said nothing, just stared. After a moment with his child, the big panda turned and walked off again.

Avery's words began to echo over and over in young but highly evolved brain. “Entering and exiting the Spirit world is slightly like meditating, only doing so with a lot more focus in a lot less time. It's almost like airbending in a way... you have to want to do it, to focus and will yourself forward across the line between both worlds. The first few tries might be hard, but eventually it becomes as simple as bending the air around you; it's a part of you. Once you learn how to move between the worlds you can learn other things; such as using it to teleport around the world, and bringing others into the Spirit World like Lil' Bai brought you... comes in handy when you're outnumbered by your enemy.”

Outnumbered? Hidoi honestly would love a situation like that, but when against multiple foes, most always ran away once they saw what he could do. Well, if it was like Airbending, then it was going to be easy. Hidoi took a deep breath and remembered what his father and mother taught him. He closed his red eyes, concentrating, hearing Avery's words still. “Let's start with you trying to focus your way out of the Spirit World... concentrate on the park where we were at and imagine yourself there, really concentrate and focus." If she were watching, she could see his small frame fade in and out several times, like bad reception on an old TV.

When he mastered doing this, he'd be able to come here whenever, and even bring others here just like Lil Bai did with him. It was exciting. He wouldn't really be able to use this in a fight like he wanted, but it didn't really matter. Something like this would be cool to learn regardless. With the more he concentrated, the more his body began to fade from view.

Word Count 405 + 1,844 = 2,249

Avery watched closely, keeping an eye on the kid as he began to try and spiritbend himself into the other world. She watched as he seemed to fade in and out like bad reception on a television. She glanced over to Lil' Bai who was likewise watching Hidoi very closely. She turned her gaze back to Hidoi as Lil Bai faded from view, returning for the moment back to the 'real' world: he would be there to bring Hidoi back if he had trouble getting back here by himself once he left.

Avery however would remain where she was. "Keep focusing... you've almost got it.", she said softly, not wanting to speak too much and end up breaking his concentration. She knew how important it was to be able to keep ones focus when trying to use the art of Spiritbending for the first time.

She shifted her stance, becoming more comfortable: she knew she would likely be here for a little bit; especially since, as soon as he got this down, they would be moving on to him taking other people, more than likely herself or Lil' Bai, in and out of the Spirit world. Lil' Bai, meanwhile, kept waiting near the fountain for Hidoi to arrive.

When something had Hidoi's attention, like a plate of good food, a really pretty girl, a bunch of thugs terrorising the community he lived in, or trying to learn something new and cool, he poured in all of his attention and focus. This had to be evident in his Airbending, seeing as he was a master at a young age. The more he faded in between this world and the real, the more he began to understand. He planned on having this down to the point that travelling here and home would be just like blinking his eyes.

Hidoi vanished from the Spirit World and re-appeared in the park back home in Chokujou, seeing Lil Bai back near the water fountain after blinking his eyes a few times and rolling his shoulders. Lil Bai was probably here to help him get back should he have trouble, but at this point Hidoi didn't want any assistance. Just like he'd done on the other side, the child began to concentrate. Once again his little frame flickered in an out of this world like trying to watch something on a crap TV, but it didn't last as long now. He disappeared and re-appeared again in the spirit world, near Avery. But he didn't stop there. After flickering only once, he vanished and appeared in the park again nearby Lil Bai, to vanish again and appear by Avery. Hidoi did this over and over until there was no body flicker and he just simply vanished from sight. He'd managed to get over the tired, half sleep feeling and move back and fourth between worlds at will. But bringing someone else with him would probably present an even bigger challenge.

”Ok... I think I got it now, but i'll keep practising... You said I can use this to teleport and I can bring other people in here too, there anything else i'd be able to do?... not to sound greedy or anything, but dad says 'always be informed' or something like that, him and all his weird sayings... Better than hearing mom yell though...”

Word Count 351 + 2,249 = 2,600

Avery simply remained where she was standing as she watched Hidoi fade from view completely, knowing he was well into the other world at that point and would likely return soon - and likely without the help of her panda friend. Lil' Bai meanwhile also watched, keeping an eye on him from the other side as he began to flicker back and forth between the two worlds, each time causing him to fade in and out of view less and less, until he got to the point that he was simply disappearing and reappearing, teleporting really, between the real world and the Spirit world.

When Hidoi appeared for the final time she grinned and nodded. "Smart man.", she commented about his father before thinking carefully of all of the information she knew about this place. "Hm. Well, you can teleport from location to location like I said. You can bring other people here; you do that by maintaining contact with them like Lil' Bai did with you when he brought you here for the first time. You can leave them here too. Now, mind you, they won't stay here for forever. There's something about the whole process that after you let go of them and leave the Spirit world gives them the boot after about five minutes (five posts). Then they reappear right where they had been in the real world. You can also bring objects here, I dunno about buildings or anything large, but it's useful for weapons, I've tried that trick a time or two myself, but that timer still applies; you only have so long before the Spirit world boots you. There's also some other things you can do; say you need to spy on someone or gather information without that person knowing you can allow your spirit to exit your body in the real world and walk among the living. You'll be able to see and hear everything they're doing and saying but they won't be able to see or hear you at all. However, it leaves your body vulnerable, so it's not best to do it unless you either know where you're stashing your body is safe, or you have someone you can trust watching over it. I dunno what happens if your body dies without your spirit in it, but I'm sure it's not a pretty sight... I can only assume you'd be a perma spirit stuck in the real world; and that would just suck."

Lil' Bai appeared as Avery finished speaking, obviously wondering what the pair were up to. He plopped himself down nearby them and began to nom once more on the stick of bamboo which was already halfway gone, having nothing else to add since he was sure Avery had likely covered all the information there was to give.

"Oh, one more thing... the reason I say to be careful about telling anyone you can do this is because other people, not just those with Spiritbending, can get what are called 'spirit pets', and people will try very hard to take advantage of you and get you to help them track down spirits for them to try and befriend. Plus... most airbenders don't know Spiritbending, in fact, my grandmother, you, and myself are it... so they'll start hounding you about wanting to learn that too... and I trust you enough to believe you won't abuse it... but not everyone else is so trustworthy."

As Avery started to speak, Hidoi put his hands on her hips, hoping she didn't mind, or slap him like he'd seen other girls do for guys touching much less, or way more. As he tried teleporting with her this time, the flicker returned, but eventually he returned to the park with her. The flicker was slightly less as he returned with her to the spirit would. He picked up Lil Bai next and sat the animal on top of his shaggy black mop and put his hands back on Avery's hips, teleporting all 3 of them now with effort. The more he travelled back and fourth, the easier it became. Since he was bringing 2 other people with him now, this would also mean that teleporting himself would be as easy as breathing, or simply thinking about it.

In the meantime, Avery said, “Well, you can teleport from location to location like I said. You can bring other people here; you do that by maintaining contact with them like Lil' Bai did with you when he brought you here for the first time. You can leave them here too. Now, mind you, they won't stay here for forever. There's something about the whole process that after you let go of them and leave the Spirit world gives them the boot after about five minutes (five posts). Then they reappear right where they had been in the real world. You can also bring objects here, I dunno about buildings or anything large, but it's useful for weapons, I've tried that trick a time or two myself, but that timer still applies; you only have so long before the Spirit world boots you. There's also some other things you can do; say you need to spy on someone or gather information without that person knowing you can allow your spirit to exit your body in the real world and walk among the living. You'll be able to see and hear everything they're doing and saying but they won't be able to see or hear you at all. However, it leaves your body vulnerable, so it's not best to do it unless you either know where you're stashing your body is safe, or you have someone you can trust watching over it. I dunno what happens if your body dies without your spirit in it, but I'm sure it's not a pretty sight... I can only assume you'd be a perma spirit stuck in the real world; and that would just suck."

So... He'd be able to teleport here at will, and bring people with him. He could also use this as a weapon, and forcibly bring people to the spirit world, trapping them for a limited amount of time. He could bring items and weapons, and perhaps even teleport buildings and other things. What had Hidoi excited was when she explained the out-of-body experience, able to travel around invisible and spy on people. This would come in handy surely to find where the rest of those thugs were hiding out at, and for maybe scaring the pants off of people like his sister or brother. That would only be something he did at home, in his room, the perfect place for his body to remain while he moved around in stealth.

Furthermore, Avery would continue: "Oh, one more thing... the reason I say to be careful about telling anyone you can do this is because other people, not just those with Spiritbending, can get what are called 'spirit pets', and people will try very hard to take advantage of you and get you to help them track down spirits for them to try and befriend. Plus... most airbenders don't know Spiritbending, in fact, my grandmother, you, and myself are it... so they'll start hounding you about wanting to learn that too... and I trust you enough to believe you won't abuse it... but not everyone else is so trustworthy."

”Oh don't worry about that, if my family doesn't ask me to teach them how to do it? I'm not gonna teach or show this off to ANYONE, promise. Cross my heart and all that. Someone would have to get really cool with me before I showed them how to do this, and I don't really see that happening.”

At this point, Hidoi was teleporting himself, Lil Bai and Avery back and fourth with little to no body flicker. They all re-appeared in the park one last time, and Hidoi took his hands from Avery's hips and kneeled as he put Lil Bai back down onto his own feet. The process was a very simple one to Hidoi now, and he thought he had it mastered for the most part. He stood back up, dusting his cape and black jogging pants off with a grin. He looked up at Avery, thinking about how he could pay her back for showing him how to do something that only 2 other people anywhere knew how to do.

”Thanks for showing me how to do this, Avery!... Now I have to do something to pay you back. I'd offer to be your boyfriend? But, I don't think i'm old enough, and my mom would yell... Hmmm. I was reading an old book of fighting techniques and found something I was gonna try out called “Chi Blocking,” and since you're an Airbender like me, maybe it'll work for you too, huh? Interested?”

Word Count Spiritbending Training Complete: 910 + 2,600 = 3,510/3,000

Avery had blinked when Hidoi had grabbed her hips, but didn't react otherwise, and neither had Lil' Bai when he had been touched and likewise teleported with. She was all too used to the feeling of entering and exiting the spirit world, as was Lil' Bai, for it to honestly bother either of them, even when the process was a bit slow at first - at least compared to the instant appear and disappear act that they could do.

She kept quiet while listening to him explain that the only people he would teach right away would be his family members - which made a lot of sense. She also listened as he stated that anyone else would have to wait he got to know them really, really well and how he doubted that that would happen. She doubted it too - most people just seemed to like to take what they wanted and roll with it - then all but forget the person that they trained it from. User's was the term she liked to use for people like that, despite whether or not it pissed them off. She wasn't the typical Airbender after all.

She nodded with a grin as she heard him thank her; she honestly hadn't minded teaching him at all - and she had been right when she thought that he was a quick learner. She laughed softly as he mentioned paying her back by being her boyfriend. "Yeah, little too young still.", she said grinning. She then listened to his suggestion; learning Chi Blocking together. She had heard bits and pieces about it, lots of things really, but she had never - other than Arawn - met anyone who could do it. She wasn't about to ask the Waterbender to teach her, not with the way they fought anyway. "Alright, Chi Blocking could come in handy, especially if someone gets in close enough... though I don't see that happening easily. What all do you know about Chi Blocking?"

Word Count: 2,960 + 334 = 3,294

Hidoi started to think. He picked up Lil Bai again and touched one of Avery's hips once more, teleporting the 2 of them into the backyard of a large family home. After putting Lil Bai down, he vanished once more. A few moments would pass before Hidoi appeared again with loud popping sounds; the sounds of a thug having his ass whooped. The pops were accompanied by the comical yelps and painful groans of the thug, being hit so fast that his body looked like it was having a seizure. Finally the thug with hit hard and sent flying into a tree. Hidoi used air to hold him upright while he tied the thug to a tree with ropes from the garage.

”Ok, Chi Blocking, what do I know about it... Well, it's when you hit a person in a sweet spot somewhere, and they can't bend. If you're really good with it, you can make it so that they can't bend or even move. I heard that if you hit someone on their back or neck or something like that? You can freeze their whole body. I could be wrong though, the buttheads I used to hang around like to lie and... what the word my mom uses? Exaggerate or something.”

Hidoi thought it would be cool to paralyze someone. If he were to ever fight someone else who could Bend, it would be equally as cool to stop them from being able to. He began to twirl the Mind Stick quickly in front of him, blowing a hard wind toward the tied up thug, who he planned on using as a guinea pig. Nobody would miss him, and it wasn't like his buddies would come looking for him. What exactly would he do after Hidoi decided to let him go? Call the police? “Argghh man, cut it out! You're killing me here!”

”Shut up. A big grown man whining even more than I do. Anyway Avery, let's use this poop face to test it out. It's not like we'll really get in trouble for using this doo doo head as a test dummy, right?”

Hidoi retracted his Magic Staff and returned it to the housing that was on his back now. He rubbed his hands together while looking at the thug with evil red eyes and a grin, looking forward to learning yet a new technique. The thug just looked afraid, as if he'd piss his pants, unaware of what was about to happen to him...

Word Count Chi Blocking Training: 510 + 422 = 932

Avery blinked as she was touched again along with Lil' Bai, to then be teleported into a backyard that she assumed was Hidoi's. After Lil' Bai was put down and Hidoi vanished again Avery raised an eyebrow, taking the moment to look around her surroundings a little bit from where she stood. At least, until a new sound reached her ears; the popping sounds that announced that someone was getting their ass handed to them again and being brought this way, especially as she heard the yelps and groans of pain. She watched as with a gust of wind the thug that had been having his ass beaten was sent flying into the tree which he was then tied to with rope that Hidoi had likely got from close by.

Avery couldn't help but chuckle as she watched him handle the thug like that. She has grown up with Airbenders, and their ways of fighting had been very different - so it was nice to find someone who fought offensively like herself instead of purely defensive. She listened carefully as Hidoi then began to explain what he knew about Chi Blocking: ”Ok, Chi Blocking, what do I know about it... Well, it's when you hit a person in a sweet spot somewhere, and they can't bend. If you're really good with it, you can make it so that they can't bend or even move. I heard that if you hit someone on their back or neck or something like that? You can freeze their whole body. I could be wrong though, the butt heads I used to hang around like to lie and... what the word my mom uses? Exaggerate or something.”. Well, that was all going to definitely end up coming in handy in the future; of that she was sure.

She looked back to the full grown man who seemed to be whining like a little bitch; she couldn't help but roll her eyes. "I know females who whine less than you, buddy...", she said tauntingly. She then thought carefully to what she knew about Chi Blocking; all of the pressure points and proper places to use when using the technique. She figured she would start small and work her way up from there; far easier that way. Eventually she would get to that sweet spot that would fully paralyze the thug, but not yet.

"Let's see.. if I'm thinking correctly...", she said as she walked over to the thug, not worried about being attacked since the guy was tied up. "This should stop him from being able to move his fingers..." With that she reached forward and quickly jabbed a pressure point on his wrist, automatically rendering his fingers useless - at least for a short period of time. She expected the thug to start whining and crying again; the jab had likely hurt after all.

Word Count: 479 + 3,294 = 3,773

“AAAAHHH YOU CRAZY BITCH WHAT ARE YOU DOOGoooompgh!!” was all the thug managed to get out before Hidoi shoved an old rag into his yelling mouth. This was produced from the jab to his wrist that Avery made, and he could no longer feel his hand. Hidoi did a small leap and sent a fingered jab of his own into his neck; a sweet spot he'd seen on a chart that fell out of one of the old martial art books he read before falling asleep most nights.

”Shut up you idiot! What we're gonna do to you won't be so bad than if my MOM comes back here! THEN she's gonna KILL you, then ME! The big bad thug crying like a little girl! Are you gonna pee your pants next?”

The thug began to make a choking sound while Hidoi landed and pulled this chart from one of the pockets on the inside of his cape. He unfolded and opened it. The chart was about as large as a poster, showing many points along a drawing of a human body showing many various pressure points for both cutting off the flow of chi to make Bending impossible, and pressure points to paralyze various body parts; arms, legs, along specific joints. There were even instructions on how to assassinate someone, and points to strike that would stop breathing, bloodflow to the brain, and even where to cause a heart attack.

Hidoi jumped and hit the guys throat again, allowing him to resume breathing. He held the chart open so that Avery could see it, having briefly already studied it himself. His mind wandered, having already devised many different combinations to use on someone to break them down. This much was demonstrated on the whining thug when Hidoi pulled out the staff again, riddling his body with precise strikes. He hit each spot twice, paralyzing the joint or limb he aimed at, then popping it back into place. Hidoi didn't want to kill him so he took care not to try paralyzing his heart.

Hidoi's brother came outside from the back door. He was dressed as a traditional Air Nomad and had a bald head. Upon witnessing the sight of Avery, and his little brother Hidoi beating on the tied up thug he scratched the top of this bald head as he got a little closer. “Hidoi, what's this? Why're you beating that guy like that?” he asked, and Hidoi ceased, retracting his staff into the 3' form. The thug slouched on the tree somewhat, still trying to catch his breath with a dirty rag in his mouth.

”Because he's scum. This is one of the guys bullying people and taking money they didn't earn from people who work hard everyday. Nobody's gonna miss him and we're not gonna do anything that's gonna leave a scar, so we're just using him for practice.”

“Oh... well try not to make too much noise, if mom comes back here and sees what you're doing, well... you know how mom is. Who's the lady here? Is that her pet panda? Pretty cool!”

”Her name's Avery, she taught me something really cool! I'll show it to you later. This dude here is my chance to pay it back, and learn some new stuff myself. My brother Rōto, (Funnel) Avery.”

Word Count 562 + 932 = 1,494

She listened to the thug yell and prepare to likely call her all manner of swear words and insults before Hidoi ended up shutting him up by shoving a old looking rag into his mouth; causing everything else he said to be muffled and far harder to understand - let alone a lot quieter than it had been. Which was good, she really didn't like super noisy people, let alone vulgar ones. She then watched as Hidoi did a small leap and pressed a point on the thug's neck which caused the thug to start making choking sounds, obviously unable to breath. 

She found herself wondering what other sort of sweet spots were all over the human body; what other sort of points she could hit that would cause various effects. Stopping someone from being able to bend, causing them to be unable to move certain limbs, causing them to be unable to even move their entire body... or killing them; stopping their lungs, organs, heart. Avery wasn't a murder, she even opposed having to kill - even if she had had to a few times in her life due to needing to get rid of some seriously bad people. So, it would be something that would be good to know, even if she didn't plan on using it - hoped she wasn't going to be able to use it.

She watched as Hidoi jumped up again and pressed the spot, allowing the thug to breath. She looked to the chart that Hidoi held out, looking over the spots and saving them for memory: those to paralyze limbs, the whole body, organs, and even to stop someone from being capable of bending their elements. She glanced up in time to see Hidoi hitting point after point on the thug's body only to release the points later on with another whack of his stick - that was an idea too, finding a way to hit points without actually having to touch someone with her own hands.

Her attention shifted to the male that had come outside and spoke with Hidoi, listening as he explained for a moment she had taught him something and in return was learning Chi blocking with him; noticing that way that he dressed like a typical air nomad, including his bald head. She gave a friendly wave, which was mimicked by Lil' Bai who was standing nearby watching all of the Chi Blocking that was being done to the thug. "Nice to meet you.", she responded after she was introduced. She then focused her attention back to the thug, figuring she would take a moment to attempt another pressure point. She removed the one on his hand with a jab, giving him the ability to use it again. From there she pressed one nearby his shoulder with another job, rendering his entire right arm completely useless from the shoulder down to his fingertips. "Interesting...", she said as she watched the side effects of what she had done; not feeling bad in the slightest with using an actual human as a test subject - the guy had likely committed so many crimes in his life that this was barely a punishment in comparison.

Word Count: 528 + 3,773 = 4,301

Rōto waved back, and gently patted Lil Bai atop his head. He and Hidoi watched Avery paralyze the thug's arm, listening to his muffled yelp. Hidoi sent two jabs of his fingers towards the thug's knees, making his legs from the knee down useless. After freeing the calves from their numbed state, Hidoi next paralyzed both the entire legs.  He hadn't done much practice because the best kind would be against a live body, and there was no one to test this out on. Lord knows he'd never risk hurting his brother or father, but now, against this clown, Hidoi began to soak up all the knowledge he could, repeatedly jabbing at his legs, knees and mid-section.

His father came outside next. Hidoi looked a lot like he did, except he was bald. Also dressed in the typical Air Nomad garb, their father sported Master Airbender tattoos; the blue arrow upon his head obviously visible. Hidoi's father looked like he was high, with slightly closed eyes and a slight grin, and walked with his hands behind his back; his right hand holding his left wrist. He smelled of cool smelling cologne. When he walked, it looked like he was skating, or walking on air, which he probably was. Another Airbender could easily notice. He looked kind of silly, but one in his presence could feel that he was very powerful in the ways of Airbending. He seemed to slide into the backyard, not even batting an eye at the thug tied to the tree, his youngest son beating on him, or even the fact that there was a grown woman back here doing the same thing he was. His father was a very calm and passive man; he didn't seem to have a care or a trouble in the world, but was the type to handle a very dangerous situation with very little or no trouble at all. It was what drove his mother into his arms and caused them to fall in love.

After watching a while he simply, in an accent that sounded Chinese, said “Chi Blocking. Looks like a perfect test subject to practice on as well. A good pick! Very interesting!”

“He's a big baby. I bet he only acts touch when he's around the rest of his friends. I'm gonna let him go in a minute, once we get done practicing on him, so he can run home and cry to his boss. Be sure to tell him i'm coming to beat him up next!”

While this went on, Hidoi's father bowed to Avery and took one of her hands. He had firm but soft and warm hands of his own. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance, my name is Odayakana Kaze. (Calm Winds) Mr Kaze for short. How did the Hidoi Harikēn (Terrible Hurricane) gain the audience of such a beautiful young woman?”

”Awww dad! Quit being a wierdo.”

Word Count 485 + 1,494 = 1,979

Avery's attention shifted from the thug that was like a pressure point, chi blocking, pin cushion of sorts, or a test dummy to be more accurate with the term, to who she could easily assume was Hidoi's father - since he looked like an older version of him other than being bald. She took note of the blur arrow tattoos that distinguished him from others as a master Airbender; and it made sense with the vibe she was getting from him. He reminded her, at least from the way he looked, like a lot of the monks and nuns she had grown up around when she was much younger - before that horrible school and the hell that came from it. Even his movements, the way he seemed to just skate across thin air instead of actually walking, marked him as a powerful man. It certainly explained how Hidoi was as powerful as he was even though he was still young; a prodigy so to speak.

Hearing his words about how the thug was the perfect person to test the Chi Blocking out on only made her grin more. Avery grave a respectful nod of her head to Hidoi's father after he bowed and then took her hand. "I'm Avery, Avery Tatsumaki." She nodded towards Hidoi. "I was in the market the other day when Hidoi was chasing after some of those thugs. They attempted to snatch my purse and found themselves clothes lined with my staff. Hidoi noticed my panda do something strange, and when he stumbled across me today he asked about it. So, I taught him the art of Spiritbending."

Lil' Bai looked up from the stick of bamboo he had started to nom on like usual and offered Mr Kaze a wave as well just as he had done his other son. The panda then stood up on two legs and walked over to Avery and Mr Kaze curiously. Avery glanced at the panda and then shrugged. "So, he shared his knowledge of Chi Blocking with me."

Word Count: 341 + 4,301 = 4,642