He quiets the crowd down with a hushed tone, readying them for the final performance of the evening. The setting is casual in nature, an eclectic array of cushions and colors and furniture and tapestry, but still the crowd has paid quite a sum to be sat where they are. Their attire reflects it.[break][break]

The people are placed around the center stage, the raised floor attracting the eyes of dozens from a 360 degree angle. Still the whole room obeys as he leaves the stage; they’ve all but seen what happens next.[break][break]

***[break][break]

The next thing you hear is sand, the white noise of it lulls you. You don’t care to look exactly where its coming from, but you know its falling into large ceramic pots littered throughout the room. The lights dim as your eyes catch their simplistic designs and the rough texture of their curves. [break][break]

Distractions matter little when the live accompaniments start to play. Their tune flirts with the sand, rather than bully. The juvenile pushes and pulls retain both noises, keeping them in a harmonious rhythm. The sight of it all and the humming music pull the intoxication from the beverage cradled in your hand. [break][break]

It's meant to be that way, of course. She only appears when the room’s heartbeat begins to slow.[break][break]

***[break][break]What is now known as sandbending had many names that preceded it. All placing divinity in the temperament of the Si Wong Desert, and while its name has changed, the teachings, even amongst the moving sands, have not shifted. [break][break]

She was the only one in the past two generations of her family to develop an affinity for the desert. Though, her father’s father was an infamous sandbender. An unwavering man known across the Earth Kingdom who refined the nomadic peoples of the desert into a polished blade, and who’s influence held a prominent place in her life as her teacher. [break][break]

He never spoke of the desert as an ‘it’. He breathed life into her; he said her name like that of an old colleague, with respect even if at odds. And he taught Xi Shi much of the same philosophies.[break][break]

Their people are a testament to survival, to doing what needed be done to ensure the future of her people as a whole. Tribes thriving out in the world's harshest conditions require philosophies that vary from those of their earthbending cousins. Pragmatism and blind stubbornness is not all that is required to live in Si Wong. It is spirit and adaptability that fortifies their will.[break][break]

***[break][break]

It had been a rough few years. Her grandfather grew ill, his old age finally working against him, and Si Wong, her mood remained inexplicably harsh because of it. The livestock her family had acquired through generations couldn't sustain such harsh conditions and dwindled in numbers. Though, as her ancestors taught her, she adapted. [break][break]

Her path lead her to the famous waters of the Misty Palms Oasis where she began to dance. [break][break]


***[break][break]

The drums followed the rhythm of her footwork in a impassioned display of art and seismic sense, and even in the dim atmosphere her body glistened in her movements, the cosmetics slicked onto her exposed skin tempting light to show itself. [break][break]

Each step, each wave of her hand held the life of her ancestors, their generations now on display in an overcrowded tavern. Xi Shi had been taught well, her dance just as traditional as the philosophies in her head. [break][break]

Though her garb of thin fabrics and light hues played more to her crowd than the heavy dark hues dawned by her people. When she danced, the fabrics danced with her as extensions of her body, encompassing the platform on which she stood. [break][break]

And then, her eyes made contact with yours, and you could tell she knew who you were. The way she paused and the music paused with her, the heat of her eyes now reflecting in yours. [break][break]

Xi Shi begins to dance again and this time the sand followed. Tendrils poked out of the overflowing ceramics and the ceaselessly falling sand played along. The way it moved follow the shimmy of her hips and the purposeful movements of body.
[break][break]
You didn’t even realize she was moving towards you, until a finger is pressed to the underside of your chin and her cheshire grin is in your face.
[break][break]
She’s turned around before you can speak, the heat of her body almost a whiplash to your face. You wonder if she will say yes if you ask her to bed. Her eyes are already saying yes.

+sandbending - expert[break]
+earthbending - apprentice[break]
+beast mastery - novice[break]

-pet sheep named tau[break]
-old dagger[break]