She dropped the water back into her home-made ice bucket on the deck, and took a new stance. She was facing the other way, her arms out in front of her. She slowly started moving once again,moving her arms in a wave like pattern and she slowly turned towards the ice bucket, bringing a large amount of water with her, and started moving her feet, going a little faster to gain momentum. She separated the blob of water into 2 whips and just held them there, one on either side with the back ends touching behind her. She held them for 5.........10..............15 seconds before she let them drop.

Kasumi moved again, faster this time, and pulled the water straight up from the floor. She whipped around and twirled the two water ropes around, striking at invisible targets until she was positive she had mastered two whips. now, here came the hard part. Using 3 or more just like that. She unfroze the ice wall holding the water and took all of the water she had left into the air in front of her. She slowly separated it into 4 ropes of water, and began moving them. She had difficulty keeping them in shape, and they kept dripping water back onto the deck.

Shoot." she swore to herself quietly, and started again. She moved her arms in a slow, large circular motion, and took the water up to eye level, and separated it into four ropes once again. She could feel her control getting better, and see it, as the ropes didn't drip as much or lose their shape as fast this time. She tried again, and again, and again, and finally a 6th time before she perfected keeping them in their shape. Now all she had to do was be able to use them in battle as weapons, or something fast moving for show.

She pulled more water up the side of the boat, and made a new ice bucket, larger than the last, and put all of the water from the deck and the new batch she had brought up into it. She pulled out a large amount of water and separated it into four whips, and began. She moved one, two, three at once. The fourth was harder, as she kept losing control, but eventually she got it to keep shape and slowly move all four. She put the water back, drank some from her own pouch, and got into a new stance once more. She moved fluidly, dancing her way around the deck, the water whips following her like puppies, sometimes trailing behind, sometimes out in front of her, whipping around as if she were in fact holding a four-tailed whip.

She moved faster once more, and so did her water. Her control was being perfected, and she knew it. She moved, dancing elaborately, moving the whips in whichever direction she wanted, to an invisible music only she could hear. She finished by sending the water out over the edge of the deck and letting it drop back into the ocean. "There, that did it." she thought proudly to herself for mastering that technique.

Word Count - Post: 527
Word Count - Total: 821

The Northern Water Tribe. Enma had been there several times through out his life. The first was when he was slightly over twelve. He'd traveled there in the same fashion as he was now; carried by a passenger ship with Water Benders and Fire Benders alike. This specific boat was rather interesting however, in the short while Enma had spent on it, his attention was captured by a specific female. She was no doubt a Water Bender, that much was obvious simply by her appearance.

Within the past few weeks Enma had heard more and more about the man attempting to become Avatar. Nonetheless joining up with an Organization was always an interesting idea to Enma. Perhaps it truly was best to fight in the name of power and self preservation rather than for a nation who can throw you aside at any moment. Enma considered perhaps asking around about these people, but that would obviously be the action of only a foolish man. Instead, Enma kept his thoughts and opinions to himself over the course of journey. Perhaps, he hoped, something would in time present itself.

For now though, Enma was content with the journey across the sea. He also figured that it would be best to train for a while, since they would no doubt be on the water for a great amount of time. It was rather late in the evening when Enma actually arose from his sleep. All around him there were Benders and non-Benders alike. They seemed so crowded in the small area, but in reality there was no more than fifteen passengers within the small area. A single man stuck out most, he hardly moved, obviously a guard either meant to keep order or protect some one. It wasn't clear who he was watching over though until the memorable Water Bender appeared within the room.

Huh. . . well the trip itself was obviously rather boring, Enma decided to make the best of it. He shot to his feet, brushed off his clothes and slowly made his way towards the assorted food across a rather long table. Enma approached the female and took up a glass filled with the same liquid as the woman. However the feed wasn't exactly what Enma was craving at the moment. Instead he took the cup of tea and moved closer yet to the young woman. Her beauty only became clearer as Enma approached. Enma was hot headed and ready to act, or so it seemed, his better half however decided against doing anything. Rather then jump in and introduce himself Enma turned away from the table, the steaming food, and the attractive Water Bender, shuffled across the room and took his place at a near by table.

Word Count: 457

Kasumi glanced at the man with shaggy brown hair as he walked behind her to get his food, and was slightly curious. Perhaps he was another bender she could practice with. She decided she would have to find out later, and turned to the ship's captain, Mei, another water bender she knew would help her with her training, more than anyone else she knew.

"So, how does it sound? Think its possible to teach me that ice technique? Or even more than one? I'm supposed to learn several over the course of this trip and learning from you would be a huge help."

She nodded"I think I can, very easily. I'll train you tomorrow though, we are supposed to have some wetter weather and I think it will help." she told Kasumi, between bites of her own dinner. She winked at the end and got up and left, presumably back to her station or to her room. Kasumi grinner after her and began her dinner, glancing again at that other bender. A fire bender? Red hair would be common in fire benders, she thought.

Word Count - Post: 185
Word Count - Total: 1144
RUPS: 1

Enma glanced over to the Water Bender after a few minutes. She'd been conversing with another woman, most likely a bender since he'd overheard a small portion of their conversation. He sipped again on his cup of tea, savoring the taste with each second that passed. It was truly delectable. After the second woman left the table and the other sat down Enma decided it was time to take action. He arose from the table he'd been sitting at and walked slowly across the moist wood beneath his feet. He moved slowly as not to spill anything from his cup, but when he'd finally reached the woman, he placed his hand out before his body in hopes that she would place hers within, and with an almost forced tone of kindness said, "Good evening ma'am." And though she appeared to be even younger than Enma, it was still proper to address her as such.

Word Count: 157

Kasumi looked up at the long haired guy she had seen earlier, the one she thought to be a bender as well, to see he was standing over her with a cup of tea in one hand, and his other held out to her. He said a very formal "Good evening" and she smiled at him and took his hand. "Good evening to you as well, sir. What do I owe the pleasure of this greeting?" she asked, trying not to sound amused at the way he had addressed her. "Would you care to sit and join me?" she asked him. Now she was curious about him, both from the way he had addressed her; a way she had never heard before for herself; and from how he looked. Intimidating, but yet almost kind.

Kasumi was debating asking if he was a bender, but wasn't sure if it was polite or not to ask. curiosity got the better of her. "Are you, by chance, a bender?" she asked, actually curious. If he was, he could definitely help her train, or so she hoped.

Word Count - Post: 183
Word Count - Total: 1327
RUPS: 1

Enma smiled as she placed her hand within his. He curled his fingers ever so slightly under her own and bend his body in a courtly manner before gently placing a small kiss on the back of her palm. Enma was a gentlemen to be sure, but even this was fairly unusual for someone like him. "Good evening to you as well, sir. What do I owe the pleasure of this greeting?" Enma moved himself slightly back from her now, "Curiosity and beauty.." Fire Nation savvy really, chivalry at it's finest he thought to himself amusingly before moving closer to the opposing seat. "Would you care to sit and join me?" With that Enma slowly took his place in the chair across from the woman,"It'd be my pleasure."

Enma sipped again from his glass, savoring the taste of tea on his lips. He looked across the table, only to be met with another question, "Are you, by chance, a bender?" Of course she no doubt already knew the answer to this pointless question, but nonetheless he kept to his previous state of kindness. However, instead of saying anything, he placed his elbow on the edge of the table and snapped his fingers. Friction arose from the movement, and with that, a flame. Within moments the fire spread, and eventually evaporated into nothingness. Enma expected this to be answer enough for her question.

Word Count: 248

Kasumi raised an eyebrow slightly as the guy in front of her lit u p his hand and made it vanish. "How interesting. This may work to an advantage." she thought and smiled at him again. "Ah, a fire bender I see. How interesting. I guess it is true this boat harbors all kinds of benders as well." she remarked, and looked at the man sideways from the corner of one eye. She turned her head back with a tilt and closed one eye coolly. "that's right, I never introduced myself, did I. Kasumi Chinatsu, Water Bender of the Southern Water Tribe and servant to Dao, cousin of Dao-Ming of the Fire Nation. You are?" If his answer was anything like what he said previously, Kasumi figured this could prove to be fun.

She waved her free hand and waggled her fingers a bit, and took some of the hot water in a pot across the room used for making tea with her bending and turned it into an ice flower head, laying it on the table between them, and raised and eyebrow again, looking at the guy across from her to see his reaction. Thankfully, ice sculpting was something she did regularly back home so she was pretty good at making any shape she envisioned from water and freezing it into solid ice, or hollow ice, whichever was preferred.

Word Count - Post: 229
Word Count - Total: 1556
RUPS: 1

Enma watcher her curiously as she made a remark about his being a Firebender, and something else, something about it working towards her advantage? Hmm, Enma laughed to himself, making up some form of 'dirty' joke in his head. Again, however, now was not the time to say such things. Instead, he listened again, "that's right, I never introduced myself, did I. Kasumi Chinatsu, Water Bender of the Southern Water Tribe and servant to Dao, cousin of Dao-Ming of the Fire Nation. You are?" And there it was again, Enma laughed to himself, but this time out of spite. She was indeed an attractive Waterbender, but that meant nothing to him for the moment. Enma's issue with her remark was this, "servant to Dao, cousin of Dao-Ming of the Fire Nation." Enma considered people admirable for who THEY were, not who their family was. Adding in the remark about Dao-Ming was of no use, it meant nothing to Enma. But, without hesitation Enma replied, "Enma Kami-ō, pleased to meet you."

After a moment of consideration, he forgot about her remark completely, and focused completely on her. Until, a stream of water moved across the room, eventually condensing it's molecules into solid ice. Enma smiled, looking back up at the woman, while slowly the flower of ice began to light up. Within the ice, a small flame had erupted, it's ability to be created at such temperatures was due simply to a reaction of the gas molecules captured within the ice. The end result, a beautiful flower head, illuminated and refracting the light in every direction. It seemed nearly romantic, as if a candle of ice was now between the two.

Note: It is possible to create a flame with negative temperatures, however it requires augmentation in the gas molecules used to create the flame.

Word Count: 288

"Interesting name, Kami-O." She glanced down as her ice flower began to glow, a cold flame inside lighting up the darker room with thousands of glittering jewels along the walls, ceiling, and floor, a well as everyone in the room and everything around them. She would have to learn that trick, she thought, for future performances. Kasumi examined Enma, and decided he looked slightly.......... awkward? No, no, more like he was acting. She sipped at her tea, keeping her eyes on him, and thinking. What could he want? She had to keep her curiosity in check this time, because she imagined she would find out eventually.

Kasumi heard waves outside, and thought the sea must be getting rougher. She still wanted to train some more that day before the storm hit, but the captain wouldn't train with her. She glanced at Enma again, not having realized her gaze had strayed as she thought, and examined him once more. Even under his classic fire nation robes she could tell he was well built, like someone who worked out often or fought often, and wondered if he would go with chivalry and not fight her or if he would help her train after all. She looked back at the door way to the kitchen/dining room area, and sipped on her tea again, wondering if he would clue in on that.

Word Count - Post: 228
Word Count - Total: 1784
RUPS: 1

Enma remained relatively still, even as the Waterbender girl stared at him. Of course to the blistering ego Enma had, he was sure she was admiring him in some manner. Perhaps it was the clothing, maybe what was revealed where the clothing ended, then again.. maybe she was just wonder what was under the attire. Nonetheless Enma watched as her eyes shifted to the newly formed flame within the flower. "Interesting name, Kami-O." Of course, his surname was not given to him at birth, instead it was rather, his title. Kami-o, meaning God King, as he was a self proclaimed God. Then again, until some one actually beat him, perhaps he really was. After she'd watched the lighting arise from the flower, she shifted her gaze back, placing it directly upon Enma.

Perhpas she was curious, then again, why wouldn't she be? Honestly, he was pretty much a complete stranger, with what she would probably see as nothing but bad intentions. In fact, she was probably right, his intentions were wrong, however, things were beginning to change. He'd came over simply because of her appearance, he'd remained out of curiosity. Perhaps testing her actual abilities was the way to go, either way, the room was far too stiff for Enma to enjoy himself. "So, how about we make our way to the upper deck? I quite enjoy storms." He stated, and regardless of her actions, Enma arose from his seat, brushed down his clothing, and began making his way towards the stairway. Passing by the woman's guard, Enma simply smirked with the utmost enjoyment.

Word Count: 270

Kasumi certainly was, curious,and now that he mentioned the storm coming, her curiosity only grew. She watched him head towards the door before swigging back the last of her tea and following him. They walked up the stairs to the deck, and Kasumi looked around. the waves had grown, tripling in size from when she had left to go eat, and she felt an enticing electric buzz running through her body. She grinned widely and went over to the edge of the boat and leaned o the railing, letting the ocean spray hit her face. Kasumi looked at where Enma was standing. "I see why you love storms. Despite living on an island most of my life, I've never been this close to an ocean storm before. Its.........thrilling." she said, looking back out at the ocean again.

Word Count - Post: 137
Word Count - Total: 1921
RUPS: 1

Enma waited a moment, gathering his thoughts after reaching the upper deck. Something about the rain and sky darkening clouds always appealed to Enma. The chaos that would hopefully bring lightning, Enma thought, was beautiful. Enma walked to the nearest rail and gripped the edge tightly, looking over, not down, but rather out. The horizon was dark, blackened by the clouds and distorted by rain. Enma tightened his grip and turned his head slightly noticing Kasumi standing next to him now. "I see why you love storms. Despite living on an island most of my life, I've never been this close to an ocean storm before. Its.........thrilling." Enma admired her for a moment longer before releasing his grip, turning, and resting back against the rail.

"So, Kasumi Chinatsu, Water Bender of the Southern Water Tribe and servant to someone I care nothing about, why is it you're here?" Enma's tone was still fairly sincere, however, this time he was asking out of pure curiosity. Why had she followed? She was young, and obviously rather sheltered, however she didn't seem like one who would fall for what Enma was doing. Then again, perhaps she was, after all Enma had only just met her.

Word Count: 212

Kasumi drew her gaze away from the ocean to look at Enma again. "So, Kasumi Chinatsu, Water Bender of the Southern Water Tribe and servant to someone I care nothing about, why is it you're here?" he asked, and she turned fully to him. "Why am I here as in why am I on this boat or why am I here as in why did I follow you up here, a complete stranger who could do anything to the poor helpless little water bender girl? I'll answer both of those for you then. I'm on this boat to travel to the Northern Water Tribe for formal training in water bending, and I followed you up here because I'm curious, and like you said earlier, "I love a good storm", I wouldn't miss it for the world". She replied.

Kasumi turned back to the ocean, and drew up water from the waves crashing against the side of the boat, twirling with it and showing off her newly perfected water whips in a display of swirling water and complex dance moves, along the railing of the boat, and laughing. She stopped, arms half up and feet spread apart, the 9 water whips above and behind her almost as a tail, and grinned.

Word Count - Post: 210
Word Count - Total: 2131
RUPS: 2