???????? This is my first try at avatar fanfic, though it is more set in the Avatar world than really dealing with the main characters. Not yet sure what category this story will eventually fall in. This is really just the preface of the actual story. I hope people like it, and I would be thrill with any constructive comments. Thank you for reading it and responding to it.

??Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with Avatar, and/or own any part of Avatar. I am just having some fun writing a story set in that world.

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Title: The Walking Deadman.

???????? Breathing hard as he slowly moved to add another log to the fire, the former farmer looked over at the young lady lying on the ground wrapped in what was left of his cloak. She was in a very deep sleep, one that he wondered if she would ever wake from, though for the moment he could see her chest gently rise and fall. The former farmer, now a tracker of sorts, pulled the cloak firmer around the girl, then sat back down on the other side of the fire. Glancing out of the small stone structure he was using as a shelter for himself and the girl, he noticed the rain had slowed to a drizzle but, as black as those clouds moving in from the west looked he??doubted it would be long before the heavens opened up wide again. A cold wind came whipping through the structure making the tracker shiver, and with that wind came an all too familiar smell.

???????? ???By the spirits??? just when I have final forgotten that awful stench! Who knew burnt human flesh would smell so sickeningly sweet!??? The worn out man said aloud, though no one except the sleeping girl was around to hear him. His stomach felt like a naval battle was taking place in it. He wasn???t sure what would come out, if his stomach did decide to heave it???s contents, considering he hadn???t eaten in more than ten days. As the tracker tore off a piece of cloth from what little remained of his pants and wrapped around his nose and mouth, he thought to himself, ???Hiroshu, why are you hesitating? You have the means to save yourself and continue hunting those responsible for the loss of your daughter.???

???????? Staring hard at the young lass as she quietly laid near the fire, wrapped in his worn out cloak, Hiroshu's thoughts continued to taunt him. ???All you need to do is touch her, it would be over quickly, and besides she???ll probably be dead before morning anyway. If you wait until then she???ll be no good for you and you will perish with her.??? As he started to reach for her, the tracker noticed for the first time how old she looked. The girl was close to the age his daughter would be if she were still around. That realization hit him as hard as if he had been hit in the chest by an earth bender???s boulder, and he jerked back so hard he nearly hit his head on the wall of the stone structure and kicked the fire. Quickly patting down his feet the former farmer curled up and started to cry. As the tears freely flowed, Hiroshu thought aloud, ???By the kind spirits??? what have I become? That I would even contemplate killing an innocent child to save this wretch of a man.???

???????? At that very moment, the stone structure shook violently as a lightning bolt struck a tree only a few feet from the shelter. Hiroshu???s ears started to bleed from the??very loud echoing the thunder clap had caused inside the shaky shelter. The tracker nearly blacked out, and probably would have, if he hadn't??fallen forward and started to choke on the hot ambers floating up from the fire. After several minutes of choking and disorientation, the tracker in Hiroshu settled down the former farmer, and at which point he finally notice the wide eyed confused stare of the young lady looking at him. She had sat up and turned the cloak so it covered her front side, the side that was facing him, otherwise she just kept looking back and forth between Hiroshu and the now very heavy downpour outside the stone structure.

???????? Hiroshu spoke in as a gentle, unthreatening, monotone voice as he could, ???My name is Hiroshu, I was a farmer, a husband, a father, and a good man once. Now,???now,?????? sighing, ???now, I am just a tracker, a would be killer, and one very broken man.???

???????? At these words the girl scooted backwards to put her back against the wall, picked up a chunk of rock holding it in a defensive manner, and continued to watch the former farmer across the fire. Through very parched lips the young lass croaked in a rough voice, ???My??? na...me???is Su???ki,??? clearing her throat by spiting out a bit of blood she continued, ???Where are??? the rest of ???the Kyo???shi???warriors????

???????? ???First, let me rest assure you at this point I am no threat to you. Second, I know nothing of any other people in the area, you are the only person I have come across in the last couple of days. Lastly, however most importantly, both of us are in such bad shape it is unlikely either of us is going to see too many more days without some help.??? Hiroshu said in a matter of fact manner as was possible. Suki stayed in her defensive position but motioned for Hiroshu to continue.

???????? The broken man, in the most sad, defeated, and hopeless voice Suki had ever heard, stated, ???Suki is it? I have a story to tell, about how not to live one???s life, at the end of it, I am going to save your life and maybe through that act I can redeem my spirit.??? Hiroshu leaned forward more over the fire so the young lass could get a better look at him. Where she could for the first time see the charred loose hanging flesh barely clinging to the left arm and ribs. ???By the spirits???I just can???t get that awful stench out of my nose! Who knew one???s own burnt flesh would smell so sickeningly sweet!??? Suki recoiled from the sight and stench of Hiroshu, and as a look of horror crossed her face, the former farmer and now tracker of sorts, began his tale.

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The parrots look forward to the reviews.

Corrected a few errors and added the disclaimer.

Chapter 1

Spirits of the Falls

Part 1

??

???Come now dear, we???ve only a little farther to go, surely you can stay awake awhile longer, or am I truly that boring of a conversationalist,??? the farmer said a cheerier voice than he truly felt. He was nervous and trying hard to not let her feel his hand shake as he put his arm around her waist. Hiroshu was both excited and scared at the same time, excited that maybe she could be the one to finally end his lonely existence and scared that maybe she just might not give copper coin about him. ???Well,?????? Hiroshu thought to himself, ???just remember, she has already seen you at your worse, what more do you have left to lose????

In a pleading but undefeated tone the young lass stated, ???It???s not that you are boring me, Hiroshu. It???s the fact that it is near midnight, is cold, has been raining for most of the day and night, we???re out in the middle of nowhere and you have been leading me on for hours now.??? As she made her last point, the young lady pulled his cloak tighter around herself to help fight off the damp evening chill. ???Besides, you are the one, who insisted that I keep my eyes closed while you led me here.???

???True enough, however, I only wanted to be able to surprise you, not have you go to sleep on me and miss the whole treat.??? Hiroshu pulled back the reins on his team of ostrich horses to bring the wagon to a stop. ???We are here, but I am afraid I am going to ask you to keep your sparklingly beautiful emerald eyes closed for short bit more. Take my hand and I???ll lead you to the final location.??? As she gently took hold of his hand, the farmer couldn???t help but blush, turning a deep shade of red. ???By the spirits???I am glad she isn???t seeing me blush,??? he thought to himself. ???Be careful where you step there is an out cropping of broken stone just a few feet ahead of us and I am sure you don???t want to stub your toes.??? Hiroshu, guided her around the out cropping, which was just one of many fallen and broken statues amongst the grove of large pines trees in the area. After about another quarter hour of traveling, Hiroshu brought his young lady friend to a halt in front of a large ravine. Again, in a voice much more cheerful than he felt the farmer said, ???Oh good, we did time it right and are not too late.??? Pride started to fill the farmer and he puffed his chest out like rooster rabbit. Turning his young friend to face in the direction of ravine, he told her, ???You may open those sparklingly beautiful emerald eyes of yours now, my dear Kyoko.???

Kyoko opened her eyes and stretched out before her was a gorgeous waterfall that appeared to gently caress the side of the ravine as a lover might, more so than the thunderous pounding of tons of water on rock that was actually happening. Behind the waterfall, up in the night sky was a very full brightly glowing moon that nicely backlit the waterfall, and the surrounding forest, casting everything in a warm soft comfortable light. But the most unique feature of the whole scene was not one, but two brilliant full spectrum rainbows. The first, playfully danced with the falling water across the ravine, reaching out with arms of color to eagerly hug the tops of the giant pine trees in an embrace of everlasting friendship. The second one, painted itself across the surface of the moon, and though smaller than the first one, had colors so clear, so sharp, so deep, and so intense, one could swear that all color in the world had decide to leave and went to the moon. Kyoko tried to say something, but the words caught in her throat, and nothing came out but her breathe leaving her speechless.

Hiroshu lightly put his hands around the young lass???s shoulders steadying her and as calmly as he could addressed her, ???Dear one, relax, take easy deep breathes,???that???s it, breathe in,???hold,???breathe out. Breathe in,???hold,??????

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??????breathe out. That???s it Suki you have your breathing back under control. You need to stay calm and keep your breathing steady.??? The former farmer said, as he leaned back away from the fire so Suki couldn???t see his injuries as well or smell his charred flesh as easily. In a sorrowful manner, Hiroshu, told the frighten girl on the other side of the stone structure, ???You have internal injuries that are causing you to bleed on the inside. As good as you look on the outside, you are in reality in worse shape than I. Burnt very badly I am yet, it is only the surface of my body that is physically damaged.??? Hiroshu, watched as the young lass pulled his worn out cloak tighter around her in an unsuccessful attempt to keep out the damp evening chill as she took in what he was saying. The tracker now knew if he didn???t do something soon, the female child wasn???t going to ever become a woman. Again, his thought???s taunted him, threaten him, and even pleaded with him, ???do it! Take her, use her up, save yourself! Do what you know you must do!!!???

???I will do what I must,??? Hiroshu said aloud as the tracker within him gleefully eyed the dying Kyoshi warrior. ???But, I will not kill her!??? Upon hearing those words, the tracker within him angrily gave way to the former farmer and Suki gave him a very puzzled look. She tried to lift the rock into a defensive position again, however, this time the lady fighter was too weak to lift the rock. For once, there was no emotion in his voice as he spoke, ???Two things have become obvious, if something isn???t done here and now, you will be dead before I finish telling you everything I need to tell you, and the sight and stench of my burnt body may be enough to send you into the panic attack that kills you. I am going to do something that will at least in the short term solve these problems.??? Standing up, slowly moving to the roots of a tree that had busted through the roof of the stone structure, Hiroshu placed one of his hands on the roots.

Mentally saying the command, ???Upon on to you my wounds, upon on to me your health.??? The roots began to dry and rot, the bark of the tree blacked and became charred. The tracker???s loose skin reattached to muscle and became firm, the blackness faded away, however, instead of soft pink skin, the flesh became brown, harden, and bark like. The former farmer, no longer had a awful stench but smelled of pine cones. Suki frozen with shock as Hiroshu let go of the now dead roots and with purpose strolled right up to her. ???This won???t last long, trees aren???t very nourishing and as you can see have a bit of a side effect. Of course, considering the other possible options, it had to be the tree.??? He said with a slight cheeriness.

Still frozen with shock and fear, Suki could only manage a couple of lonely tears running down the sides of her face as he placed a cold rough hand on her bare thigh. ???Please, be relaxed, I am not going to harm you.??? He stated in a barely heard whisper next to the frighten and dying child???s ear. Once again, mentally saying the commands but with a slight difference, ???Upon on to you my health. Upon on to me your wounds.??? Suki felt a wave of pure light flow into her, while feeling a river of darkness flow out of her. The taste of blood in her mouth was replaced with a slight taste of pine. The leader of the Kyoshi warriors watched as cuts and bruises on her body faded and disappeared to only reappear on Hiroshu in the exact same places on him as they had been on her. When the former farmer finally removed his hand from her bare thigh, the young lass felt like she could take on those three fire nation witches by herself, and had never felt this good before. Suki noticed that in contrast the broken man before her had to crawl to get back to where he had been sitting before. With a mixture of awe, happiness, fear, shock, and above all now curiosity, the now humble warrior managed to stammer out, ???How,???how did you do that? Who,???or what are you????

Hiroshu smiled widely, softly chuckled, and spat out some blood toward the fire. While he spoke he weakly put another log on the fire, ???Now, my dear Suki, that would be getting ahead in the story. Despite, this time, my appearance we have plenty of time to get there, but other parts must be told first. Please, sit down, pull the cloak tight and continue to warm yourself by the fire, though the rain has let up it is still coming down pretty hard out there, so there is nowhere else to go for the time being.??? As the attractive young lady did what he had asked of her, the former farmer realized that Suki was wrapped in the same cloak that his beloved Kyoko wore that night so many years ago at Hugging Pines Waterfall. ???I do believe it is time for me to restart my tale.???

The leader of the Kyoshi warriors smiled warmly and nodded for Hiroshu to go on. This time she very much wanted to hear what he had to say. Because he may just become her weapon of revenge against those three fire nation witches. All she needed to do was figure out how he had switched those wounds.

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The parrots like Suki.