OOC: That's okay. I didn't have internet access over the weekend anyway!

[Tag: Tenshio]



It was as if she were swimming in a fog, at least for the first few moments she fought to remain conscious. At some point, while she was on the ground, she had clenched her eyes shut tightly as if by doing so, it would block the stabs of pain going through her head. After a few seconds, the threat of slipping into unconsciousness had passed, but the pain in her head was still there. Kira was able to open her eyes to glance around at what had happened.

The first thing she saw was her attacker looming over her, but Takeo stood in between the two of them. Around his form she could see the instrument of her pain in the Equalist's hand. A rather large rock and, even in the dim lighting of the streets, she could see something on it: blood. Her blood. Immediately, she hand went to the back of her head where the pain was emanating from. She winced as her hand brushed the gash in which was causing her trouble. When she withdrew her hand from that spot, she pulled it in front of her face.

Her fingers were stained in crimson, and not just a little bit. There was a disturbing amount of blood on her hand. The gash had to have been big. She felt the color drain from her face. How was she not passed out after such an injury?

Kira glanced back up in time to see Takeo through a hard punch at her attacker - one that she recognized as the Equalist who had attacked them earlier. If the Equalists wanted to keep up a good front, they were going to have to do something about their more....passionate members. The man's shout was lost in the night air as he crumpled and fell to the ground. She found herself unable to say anything as she watched in shock, Takeo's rage being unleashed on the man. He kicked him repeatedly before turning back toward her.

The firebender looked behind him to see the man groaning loudly and unable to move. He clutched at his side as she heard coughs escape him. Kira wouldn't say that she was glad that he had just gotten the crap kicked out of him, but she did feel he deserved it.

"I'll be fine," Kira responded to his question as Takeo circled around her. She knew that he was looking at the back of her head and wondered just how damaged she was. He wanted to fix it, but his uncertain words didn't make her feel very hopeful. She hoped that he would be able to, a trip to another healer didn't sound like fun and she had no desire to explain what had happened.

”Um, can you walk? We should probably get moving. Someone might have heard him shout.”

She knew that he was right, but she wasn't sure she'd be able to comply. "Maybe..." she responded. She gathered her legs underneath herself and tried to push her body upward. Her head did not like that. Immediately, a wave of nausea swept over her and forced her back down into a sitting position. Her head was swimming. She knew that this was not the best position to be in and sitting her only made them bigger targets should more Equalists show up.

"I can, but I might need a bit of help..." Kira finally admitted, trying to push back the nausea with a deep breath. Her head would need attention and, even if she could walk with help, there would be no way that she could run. This was going to prove an interesting few moments until they got to Takeo's home. That thought made a pained smile play on her lips. "Hey, I guess you get your answer about staying..." There was no way she'd be able to make it back to her own home that night.

Shachi didn't linger on the burns for too long, she may have picked apart the story had she a better look at the 'wounds' and the differing age of them, but the dark alleyway didn't provide her the best view. And quite honestly, they were a bit gruesome for the Non-bender, and she couldn't help but feel a bit angry. She'd heard all the stories, had been run through the entirety of the propaganda machine and took the Equalist word as her own, but this still served to enrage her, for once Shachi had been provided what in her mind was irrefutable proof that the benders really needed to be stopped. Think of all those poor Airi's out in the world!

"You need not show them again." The Equealist replies with a quick nod before shooting a look over her shoulder at the group of men behind her, giving them the coast is clear, and smiling inwardly as the leader of the little group nodded back. So good so far Shachi, nothing had broken, there hadn't been any explosions and nobody was bleeding! And for that, she easily chalked this one into 'going well'. Spirit's knew what going bad would have to be like at this point. "You were looking for someone who had stolen a ring then?" She asks, her voice soft as she smiled under the mask, quickly relaxing even further. Even going as far as moving to return her bolas to her handy dandy bat be- er, utility belt. Yeah, utility belt.

"We welcome all Non benders with open arms. We are all on the same side after all." She remarks, opening her arms wide as if she were inviting Airi to a hug. Though, to the firebender it might look like the green glowing eyed boogey man reaching out to grab her up and eat her or something. While the faceless uniforms given to the Chi blockers were powerful on the philosophical side of things and expounded that quite simply any man or woman could be one of the courageous freedom fighters ready to lay themselves down for equality, they certainly weren't something you wanted hugging you in a random dark alleyway!

^tag:lykka



”You’re welcome” the girl said prematurely. “My name is Lykka. Of house... err... uhmm.. Of house 'Gokko Bird' I guess !” she pointed to a pendant dangling on her wrist; it reminded Zenkai of a pin from his father’s old military uniform. The girl seemed to be amused by his formal introduction, which Zenkai found to be the normal response girls have to it regardless of age.

Zenkai bowed his head again, slightly, and restated his gratitude formally now that he knew her name.
“Thank you, Lykka. Yes, I do hope the arena holds something more recognizable than the streets. I doubt it has changed much.”

Up ahead, a very familiar glow swelled around the edge of the last building before the grand walkway to the arena.

"So, since you've been away for a while, I guess you don't know about the latest pro-bending news. What were the teams like back five years ago?"

His demeanor suddenly changed to a lighter mood. It wasn’t very obvious by looking at his face, even in a good mood he will look quite stern, but his mind turned to a topic he enjoyed very much: probending.

“Well, actually, I just read in the newspaper that THE Avatar is joining a probending team. That is very big news. I remember back when I was… hmmm…how old was I? probably around your age, there was a crazy rivalry between two of the top teams that season: The Dragon Hawks and The Wolf Bears. I never was able to watch them play together, but I heard their match on the radio. The announcer could hardly keep up with all the action; the teams would launch attacks almost simultaneously. My favorites, of course, were the earthbenders; you could hear those discs shatter through the radio. I was too young to go in the arena without an adult, and my parents were not so fond of probending… it was a distraction… but, I would sneak in a back door sometimes just to hear the match. I was always afraid of getting caught, so I would just sneak around the hallways but never get to the actual arena. Since those days, I have always wanted to be a probender."

They approached the final building on the street, the arena’s golden glow was now clearly visible. Wow, was I really speaking that whole time?
“I remember the Dragon Hawks won that season, but they began enforcing the ‘no-headshot’ rule as a member of the Wolf Bears had some severe injuries. I think both teams disbanded shortly after. Do you know what the teams are like today? I wonder if any will stand a chance against the avatar.."

Zenkai’s purpose in the city was to get home, but not remembering the path has made it...difficult. Talking about probending seemed to stir memories quite easily. He hadn’t spoken so fluently and freely in quite some time, there was hardly anything he had to ‘try’ to remember about either team. Maybe going to the arena was indeed a good step.

The entrance to the marketing section of Republic City never seemed to die down in sound, in fact, it just became louder every moment throughout the day when barterers and merchants collided in accounts of money. Chou happened to be present between a furious old lady, and a rather not-so-lucky thief that had been spotted by a Metalbending officer, no sooner was he dragged off in twines of steel tightened around his waist. Smiling towards the officer, he seemed to notice her and returned the gesture just before she peered off to watch the victorious old lady continue walking. Her view was blocked off by a truck though, as she glimpsed the assortment of boxes and tied string cartridges being hauled off.

"Looks like Republic City is always busy." Murmuring to herself as her curiosity further developed in her eyes, she saw nearly everything there was and more, without doubt the biggest district of merchandise and trading around. Angry shouts of denial, honks of incoming vehicles to benders and non benders alike, the hundreds of steps on the pavement of gravel that echoed each and every movement.

"What did she want me to buy again?" She whispered again, placing her hand in alignment with her brows to block out the suns rays. She had intended to go under the stalls and tents set up, but the ominous presence of hooded figures below the canopies said otherwise. A loud screech of tires and angered voices behind her awoke her senses, she had leaned too far into the road and off the sidewalk. With a series of honks, the driver passed by giving her a face of disgust, while she returned her own in discomfort taking a step back instinctively. "People really need to slow down... Sheesh." She muttered in annoyance, before catching sight of a teal banner connected to a moving wagon. "Hey, stop! I wanna buy from you!" Her voice was unheard, drowned out by the sound of coins clattering and group gossip. She almost lost sight of it too, the amount of people was ridiculous as she dodged the incoming approach of shoppers by the opposite side.

Yue Bay and through the City

[tag: Mizu][/center]

"Look, you're not imposing on me; I'll be okay. I don't want you to go through this alone because you somehow convinced me it was a better idea to go to work."

“Well…” Jin Ho sighed. “All right. I guess I need to go home or to a telephone and call in before I do anything else.” He knew that his call-in would be accepted because he next to never called in. Jin Ho was rarely ever sick or anything else, and his grandparents were still living. He’d never needed to call in before. His co-workers knew about Sweeper, too – instead of talking about his children, Jin Ho talked about his dog. It was natural. They’d understand the depth of his grief.

"We need to find somewhere else to run. Or go back to your place. Just-- not here. Come on."

Jin Ho took Mizu's extended hand and stood up, smiling a little. "Okay," he said. “Why don’t we have breakfast or something? I probably need to eat. I definitely need some tea.” He wouldn’t go anywhere usual, like the Lotus Café. Instead Jin Ho thought it might be nice to go someplace new. A new place with new experiences would keep his mind off old ones, wouldn’t it? And he could borrow a telephone to call the office.

The young man made a face. “I need to rinse my mouth, too,” he said. “Sorry. Although – I’m surprised you could keep up with me, to be honest.” Had Mizu told the truth about not being a runner? In any case, the young policeman tugged on his braid and stretched before heading for the road, away from the shining waters of Yue Bay. Away from the bad memories.

tag: Kira



Kira would be fine. They would get to his apartment, he’d get some water and he’d heal her, and she’d be fine. They wouldn’t run into any more Equalists or anyone else who could do them any harm. Kira would stay at his place for the night and I the morning he could walk her home. Everything would be fine.

Now if only he could believe the words that ran around and around in his head. As upbeat and optimistic as he always seemed, Takeo had never been all that great at convincing himself of anything, and was doing a poor job here. As he waited for Kira to get up his eyes kept moving, looking for potential threats. The man who’d attacked the Firebender wouldn’t be a problem anymore, but he hadn’t been alone. There was no telling how many Equalists had heard the man’s cries and were descending on them at this very moment. They needed to get moving, and soon.

Kira tried to get herself standing but failed, slumping back to the ground, forcing her to admit that she would need help. The Waterbender was glad to give his assistance, but as he offered her his hands to pull her up and then slung her arm around his shoulder to give her support he couldn’t help but worry about how slow they would move in that position. If any other villains were trying to find them, escape would no longer be a viable option. If they were found, they were done for.

But he owed Kira. She’d stopped to help him when no one else had. Without her he might never have even gotten close to finding his way home. And he repaid her kindness by getting her hit in the head with a rock. He was responsible for her injury and had to make it up to her somehow. If helping his new friend meant risking further injury, that was what he would have to do. Besides, they were close to his home. They just had to get there safely.

The man wasn’t in a happy mood, but he did manage to smile slightly when Kira mentioned the response to his offer. ”Guess so,” he agreed as they began to move. ”Next time, though, let’s avoid angry crowds.” After that the Waterbender fell silent, trying to save his breath so he could move quickly even while supporting Kira. He didn’t hear any sounds of pursuit for the moment, but wanted to get inside, get somewhere safe, all the same. Luckily his apartment was only a few streets away, and things were starting to look familiar. They’d be fine.