Through Republic City

azn

Jun 21, 2012 19:20:34 GMT -6

_{OOC: sorry it's taken me so long to post, stuff keeps getting in the way}

Larkspur Lane

Before the young man could answer, that girl that he was talking to called out
"It's five blocks away to your left, on Yue Bay !! But you're on the wrong side of town, you'll have to use the bridge and make a detour"

The young man's demeanor suddenly changed. His back straightened and his face perked up as he said
"You know, I never go there myself, but it seems that this young lady knows just where to go. I bet she'd love to show you where it is! Sounds like she might be helpful with that detour."

Zenkai turned to the girl, a few feet away, who had turned and also seemed to be vastly cheery-er than only a moment ago.

"Excellent."

Zenkai began to walk towards the girl. The young man seamed to blend into the crowd in a matter of seconds. Zenkai no longer had need for him anyway. His current objective was reaching the probending arena. It was an extremely odd sensation of being lost in his own home town. With all his knowledge of landscape tactics, star-based navigation, and wilderness survival, he can't find the one place he used to go almost every night as a child.

"Excuse me miss, I must reach the probending arena but.."

How am I supposed to explain this predicament? The city changed so much in four years. I remember the cracks on the sidewalk as I used to walk towards the arena, but I never looked at the street signs. Not that it would matter, all the signs seemed to have changed names. Actually, I think they changed color too... Didn't they used to be blue?
Hm.. No matter. My main problem is I don't even know where I currently am.

Realizing that he had trailed off mid-sentence, Zenkai stammered a bit attempting to continue speaking where he left off

"um, but, ah...I seem to be lost. I do not know what detour you speak of. If you aren't currently occupied, could you show me the way?"

Sure it may seem a little odd, if not downright creepy, for someone of Zenkai's age to be asking a young girl to be his guide through the city, but Zenkai had a place to go and this little girl could take him, if not show him where to go. He wasn't going to let an opportunity to end his blind walk through Republic City's labyrinth go to waste.

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Last edit by azn: Jun 22, 2012 18:34:12 GMT -6

tae

Jun 22, 2012 20:07:00 GMT -6

The Streets of Republic City

The streets took on a different look as Jun let the Black Fox navigate themselves towards their destination. The familiar roads, the bustling crowds of merchants and consumers and the puffs of smoke the Satomobiles left as they went along their way seemed to be veiled in an odd hue, as if a shadow had been cast over the entire city. Although he was part of the Shadowhand now, he still felt some unease, some of which could be detected in the way his eyes pitied his surroundings. He knew he had security, but he still felt unsure if he had made the right decision about joining- although, it wasn’t like he really had a choice in the matter.

Jun remembered that the Black Fox had mentioned dumplings and his stomach grumbled. He rubbed his belly, hoping to soothe it, but to no avail. It moaned again, this time with a stronger furor. Gritting his teeth, he punched the tough carapace of his abdominals. He muttered some expletives, embarrassed that his hunger was made public.

“Uh, you weren’t serious about the explosive dumplings, right?” Jun almost salivated as he enunciated the delicious, Asian treat. “I mean, they won’t really explode? ‘Cause I’d really like some food that won’t kill us.”

Like a dog, Jun was trailing behind her, but he picked up the pace to get beside her, matching her steps with his. He looked to her, eager to get this “errand” started.

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Anonymous

Jun 23, 2012 23:59:34 GMT -6

OOC: Open to anyone. Feel free to join me!

Some Street Somewhere in the City

“So I was thinking about this whole ‘Equalist’ thing, and I don’t get it. I mean, sure, some benders use their abilities to bully people, but does that mean that all of us should lose our bending to make up for those few mean people? That doesn’t seem right to me. And that Amon guy’s always wearing a mask. What’s he look like anyway? He says he got burned…ooh! Maybe he’s missing an eye or something, and that’s why he wears the mask, so he doesn’t creep people out! Still weird, though…”

“Takeo—”

“But if he’s missing an eye, how does he see with that mask? He’d have to turn a lot, and I think that would get really annoying after a while. Maybe he’s got someone working for him whose job it is to tell him what’s around him so he doesn’t have to keep turning. That’d be a fun job to have. But what if it was dark, and that person couldn’t see? There could be a whole chain of people waiting to tell Amon where he is! I think I’d like to be one of those.”

“Takeo.”

”And why do people have to shout about it in places like the park? I’ve got my beliefs too, but I don’t scream them at people. It’s really—”

“Takeo!”

”Huh?”

“Shut. Up.”

”I was just—”

“Just doing what you do, talking forever about absolutely nothing. Why don’t you take a break or something so I can get some peace and quiet?”

”I don’t know. What time is…oh! Hah, my shift actually end ten minutes ago! Guess I should get going, huh?”

“Yes, that is a good idea. Go home.”

”Yeah, think I will. But maybe I should get food first, or go shopping for a radio. I’ve been meaning to get one of those…I’ll figure something out. See ya, Jin!”

Waving to his exasperated coworker, the Waterbending bellhop exited the lobby of the hotel in which he worked and made his way to the changing room to take off his uniform. Once back into the clothes that marked him as belonging to the people of the Water Tribes, the man ran back through the lobby and out into the sunshine, glad to be free again. He didn’t mind working as a bellhop—in fact, he really liked it most days—but getting out of work always filled him with joy. The sun was still up, the day wasn’t over. There was so much he could do! The question was, what did he want to do?

Well, he had been thinking of getting a radio so he could listen to the probending matches. Might as well do that, since he had the time. Of course, just going to a store and buying a radio was boring. It would be much more fun to wander the marketplace and see what caught his eye. Of course, impulsive as he was, he’d end up buying a bunch of stuff he didn’t need, but to Takeo that was all part of the fun. If he saw something he liked, and he had the money, why not buy it?

So, mind made up, Takeo headed off to the marketplace, fully prepared to return home with all manners of strange items he had no use for—and probably no radio after all. Five minutes later he found himself in the middle of a large, mostly empty street, hopelessly lost. He’d been thinking about getting a pet, what kind of animal he might get and what he would name it, and then his thoughts had turned to probending team names and how funny they were, and somewhere along the way he’d wound up…wherever he was. So here he was, lost in the middle of Republic City with the sun going down. Not the best situation in which to find oneself. What should he do now? The Waterbender looked around for someone who he could ask for directions, but what people were around seemed to be quickly moving out of the area. Seeing no chance of help in the near future, the man sighed and plopped himself down on the sidewalk. Eventually someone would wander by and he’d be able to ask them for assistance. If not, well, the street wasn’t too cold to sleep on.

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kaitokatashi

Jun 24, 2012 14:10:12 GMT -6

The Streets of Republic City

The Black Fox took a deep breath in, coughing a little as she made the unfortunate mistake of doing so as a Satomobile drove by. Pollution: the one thing she hated about the cars that drove through her district.

As she and the boy made their way down the sidewalk, people eyed them furitvely; more specifically, her. They knew who she was, what she did, and probably, what she was capable of, which meant that more often than not, people dove into the nearest hiding hole when they saw her coming.

As it should be.

Uh, you weren’t serious about the explosive dumplings, right? I mean, they won’t really explode? ‘Cause I’d really like some food that won’t kill us.

She looked at the boy and laughed. "I wasn't serious about exploding dumplings, though I'd like to meet the person that can make those. They won't kill us." The thought of expploding food intrigued her, and she'd have to work on developing it, especially since the boy seemed to know his way around fireworks.

"We'll be making a quick stop before the dumpling shop. There's a place I need to show you." She cleared her throat.

"Now tell me, how did you come across such an interesting gauntlet? I've been around the city for quite a while and I've never seen anything quite like it, especially with fireworks." She'd taken the time to study it while the boy had been unconscious, and its design was quite ingenious. It didn't store fireworks; rather, the flint inside the mouth lit the fireworks he kept on his person. She'd stolen one or two for study purposes, and their design was simple as well. She was interested to see what he had to say about it.

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Anonymous

Jun 24, 2012 19:55:49 GMT -6

OOC: I overslept, can you believe that ?

At first, the little teenager was fearing that her indication had fallen on deaf ears. The newspaper guy was replying something, but she was having trouble understanding the words - probably because she was unintentionally ignoring their meaning. She knew exactly how to go to the pro-bending arena from Larkspur Lane, although it was going to take a long walk for this young man. In fact, taking the tram would probably be the quickest, or at least less exhausting way to reach his destination, but it would also be the longest... As far as Lykka could tell, anyway.

Seeing him turning around startled her a little. Her hope was coming back, his walking towards her was a sign that his intentions involved her somehow. Maybe he was going to ask for more precise directions, or maybe he just wanted to thank her directly for this vague indication... He was definitely not going to suggest that she took him there, now was he ? Feeling a little bit overwhelmed by her expectations in comparison to realism, the young Earthbender, joined her hands behind her back like a polite little girl and gave out a small weak smile.

This person was acres of politeness condensed, which was very refreshing after being rejected so obviously only moments ago. And he sort of seemed shy about asking her something. The words that started coming out of his mouth made her a bit doubtful that he was going to finish his sentence with something pleasant. The "but" alone was enough to prepare her for bad news of opposite importance... Well, at least this man seemed to want to say it with more tact and more consideration, which was allowing her to be a bit less sensitive about it this time. But his was taking too long to spill it out.

"um, but, ah...I seem to be lost. I do not know what detour you speak of. If you aren't currently occupied, could you show me the way?"

...Oh, that was unexpected. Lykka's face suddenly lit up with the brightness of a summer sunrise seen from the top of Republic City's Tower. Her heart almost threw her off balance out of both surprise and happiness. She bowed respectfully, trying to prevent a grin from overtaking her whole face, and waved towards the end of the street with her hands. "Right this way, good sir !" She said, almost chuckling.

And so she started walking with the man in that same direction, very happy to have found a walking companion even though he looked so old. But his age was of little concern, he was company and that was all she cared about right now - she had been able to befriend a policeman on duty, why not a new arrival ? "We're going to have to make quite the detour. You always want to head downtown first, then it's easier to get oriented as soon as you mentally map a location as point of origin." She advised. "It won't even be that hard, the arena's the third easiest place to find, right after Aang Memorial Island and Air Temple Island.... But those two are less easy to reach." The fact that a young girl was teaching something to a grown up felt... like nonsense. But she knew her way around, so that was the least she could do.

"Oh, we're going to walk on a bridge !! You know, there are six of them linking downtown to the rest of the city, plus another six that link different parts of the outer city together. And we're going to cross the longest one ! There's an amazing story behind them, you know." Lykka stated all excitedly. The architectural history of Republic City was so fascinating. "When bridging parts of the city became more interesting than using a ferry, the development of Metalbending and the massive number of ships from the Fire Nation led to the idea of constructing a suspension bridge. The early designs took some time to be approved, because... well, it was a new thing. I wish I was old enough to get a hold of those designs, but they won't let me view them at City Hall because I'm too young..."

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azn

Jun 25, 2012 12:11:34 GMT -6

Zenkai couldn’t help but smile. The girl’s cheery enthusiasm was contagious. The girl’s face lit up at his request, a bright set of teeth flashing through a tanned face. She seemed to fold herself in half as she bowed.
”Right this way, good sir!” she said, waving towards the end of the street that Zenkai had only guessed to be the way. He felt a little reassured that he wasn’t helplessly lost, only ‘unfamiliar’ with the territory. Now knowing, at least for now, the right direction, Zenkai began to walk. Well, march really. Though he tries to smooth it out, his gait remains near-constant; his feet hit the floor flatly with each step. His steps are slow to allow the young girl to keep up with him.
Zenkai listened carefully as the girl spoke about their rout, gleaning as much as he could from this girl who, despite her appearance, knew quite a bit about the area.

This little girls speaks well beyond her age. She seems to navigate the city like a tactician. Indeed I was planning to use either island to find my bearings. In four years I forgot the inner workings of the city-streets, but I still remember the general landscape. I should probably go to Air Temple Island anyway; I can’t imagine that place has changed all that much. Then again, the Avatar arrived.

"Oh, we're going to walk on a bridge !! You know, there are six of them linking downtown to the rest of the city, plus another six that link different parts of the outer city together. And we're going to cross the longest one! There's an amazing story behind them, you know. When bridging parts of the city became more interesting than using a ferry, the development of Metalbending and the massive number of ships from the Fire Nation led to the idea of constructing a suspension bridge

Zenkai listened intently as they made their way toward the bridge. He was fascinated that such a young girl knew so much about the city, let alone was interested in its history.

Indeed there is a lot to these bridges. Father was one of the earthbenders capable of making curves in his bending. I hardly listened when he talked about it. How curious that this random little girl should know of them. The spirits of the earth seem to be confirming why I’m here.

”The early designs took some time to be approved, because... well, it was a new thing. I wish I was old enough to get a hold of those designs, but they won't let me view them at City Hall because I'm too young...”

Zenkai suddenly felt a sinking pain in his chest. He wasn’t sure why, but he suddenly felt sympathy for the girl. How strange for it to be policy to withhold information simply because of age. Many great benders were quite young when they had breakthroughs. Isn’t this city about progress?
Zenkai paused for a moment as they stood at the base of the bridge. The mere height was impressive; massive metal columns sank into the river, fighting the tides and supporting the tremendous weight of the bridge. Zenkai wondered if the wires holding the bridge were the same type as the metalbending police use to bind people. It was really a modern marvel. A shame this girl couldn’t see the wonder of the bridge’s inner-workings.

“You should go with a guardian who is of age. If you like this bridge from the outside, I’m sure you would enjoy seeing it from within.”

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kgal

Jun 26, 2012 0:48:53 GMT -6

Beach

Jin had liked her little joke. He chuckled and complimented her on her friendliness. Obviously Sashu already knew that she was pretty charismatic, but he affirmed her thoughts anyway. "Let's hope he doesn't need any convincing." She nodded and let her eyes glance at the sky once again, just for a moment before returning to her path. He continued, laughing at her antics. "Well he, or she, can't really be too upset."

"Yeah. A power struggle is the least thing this team needs," she giggled. After a bit there was silence. The firebender seemed surprised but also pleased at her sentiment. "Thank you, Sashu. It means a lot." She wanted to say he was perfectly welcome, but she didn't want to interrupt him.

He spoke of his childhood, of his brother. Apparently they had a great falling-out. And like he stated at the park, Jin obviously hadn't seen his brother in a long time, despite him possibly being a pro-bender himself. In any case, she could agree with him on his point. "It really is an amazing sport. A lot of people seem to think it's just people hitting each other, but it's more than that. It's the energy of the crowd, and the strategy and quick-thinking..."

She realized that she was basically daydreaming again, so she just smiled and let herself trail off. The sand began underfoot, cool and damp from the lack of sun, yet oh-so-pleasing anyways. Rough while gentle, wet while dry, soft while firm. So nice. Even Jin enjoyed the ocean right away. She looked at him and was surprised to see him ruffling his hair - just like she did. She had to resist a sudden temptation to do the same. He laughed off his insecurity and said, "If anyone should be thanking anyone, it should be me."

And then he, not intending do, gave her some more insight into his mind. Would he really stay at home all day, if not for her? Was it really pure chance that they met that day, or was there something more...? Sashu wasn't a spiritual person, not at all, and she almost believed that fate wasn't real to begin with, and had no hold over her or anyone else. If what he said was true, then why would he return her call if he was so withdrawn. So she took his words with a grain of salt (not shortage of that by the ocean, of course) but kept them in the back of her mind.

"You showed me this," he concluded, gesturing at the sea which she felt so home at. "So thank you."

She matched his pace and ran her free hand through her hair, pulling it away from her eyes (though the breeze pushed some strands back). If Sashu smelled like ocean before, it was just a hint of the beautiful scent that rolled in with the tide. Now they walked leisurely, hand-in-hand, strangely intimate. The waterbender was put on alert, but kept her thoughts guarded. If he stepped an inch over this line, she would put a stop to it instantly.

But she looked at him with a smile. "You're very welcome, Jin." She squeezed his hand lightly. (When she initiated touch, it wasn't as bad, of course. But when someone else did it, and she didn't want it...) "I'm glad I'm helping you, considering I haven't really done anything at all."

She laughed and pulled his attention to a natural boundary of rocks on the far end of the strand. The rocks were a very dark gray and it wasn't easy to see that there was an alcove just past them. Still, it would be a good place, and the weather was nice: daytime, but with full cloud cover. "It's just over there," Sashu gestured with a nod. To her distant left a squealing child was splashing in the shallows, his mother close by. "It's not really a play area, so there won't be any kids there, or crowds. I mean, it's a close shave, but I think we'll be fine." She smiled at her joke and waved pointedly at the people on the beach. She could count on two hands with fingers left over those playing on this cool day.

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Anonymous

Jun 26, 2012 16:52:57 GMT -6

"I’m sure you would enjoy seeing it from within."

The little girl let out a sigh that carried all the heavy disappointment she was feeling about her situation. "You have no idea, sir..." She said, rolling her eyes. "When I'm older, I wanna be an elite in the construction domain. And it would be faster and easier if I could review something like... Gee, I don't know, the earliest design of this city's first most extravagant infrastructure ! It's not like I'm learning about the architectural history at all, not in any way !!" She could tell her temper was starting to get her carried away, so she closed her eyes and sighed once more, this time to expunge all this tension that this matter was giving her.

She couldn't blame the authority for this regulation, it was understandable that such a valuable and rather sensitive document wouldn't be handed to just any person who demanded it, especially a little black girl with no parents accompanying her, and no other reason than reviewing it. It was nobody's fault, she would just have to wait until she was older. After taking a deep breath, which turned the frown on her face back into a regular, serene line of brows, she resumed her talk. "I live here on my own, my parents are on Kyoshi Island. See, since I'm still an apprentice in all that construction business, I'm merely a delivery girl in this city for now which doesn't let me do a lot of things. The company I work for can't pull strings to let me review it either..." She had actually asked her aunt to put up a request to get a hold of these plans, or even a copy of them for her, because she thought the company had taken part in the bridge's construction back in the day. But it had been fruitless. Besides, her aunt was barely graduating from the Academy when the bridge was made.

Speaking about that, Lykka had never before now stopped to wonder if they were ever going to give her a better occupation, one that has more to do with her career plans. Did nobody understand the thirteen year old's passion ? Why did those adults keep on treating her like a child ? If anything, it all proved that she was willing to go into adulthood, and that she was both responsible and reliable - that incident with the trucks was not her fault at all, they got stolen and she got them back. People needed a dose of trust in this city. "That company... was involved in the construction of the other bridges. I want to work there when I'm older, but for now I can't get anything out of them... I'm just the girl who points the driver to where he needs to go drop off the shipments. And also the girl who loads and unloads the cargo." This lack of acknowledgement, even though it was true that she was still a novice, it was like a squeeze to her heart, trying to reduce its ability to beat fully. "It's not so bad, though."

A dry cough escaped her mouth, as if her body was telling her it was tired of speaking about her small misery. She'd made this all about her in the end, getting all carried away. "Anyway, I'm sorry for telling you all this. Nobody likes to hear a little girl- I mean... and young girl whining about her problems, do they ? Ahem, so... yeah, this bridge." She said with a weak smile, only realizing now that they were already walking on it. It really was a fine piece of work. "City Hall has archives about its oldest buildings and infrastructures. The history is open to the public, luckily for me. But they don't tell you how the designers think about those projects..."

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Last edit by Deleted: Jun 26, 2012 17:07:51 GMT -6

quinseparable

Jun 26, 2012 22:58:53 GMT -6

Some Street Somewhere in the City

She noticed the sun going down over the criss-crossing streets of Republic City. It was the perfect time to go out. For some strange reason, Kira found that the bustling streets were more intriguing the darker that it got. And, when that intrigue was combined with the right amount of fear seemed to keep her wandering thoughts at bay. She hated it when her thoughts wandered around, bringing up old memories she would just as soon forget.

As she passed through the streets, it was all she could do to keep her frustration at bay. She was frustrated that she had not yet heard from her family, despite being away from them for over two years. She was frustrated that she could not seem to find a decent job, and she was frustrated that she had yet to find a firebending teacher.

"Well, Kira," she thought to herself. "If you would actually talk to someone instead of being that normal, awkward mess of a person that you are, well, maybe you would have a teacher!"

Kira shook her head. "Stop it. Stop thinking about this right now! You don't need it." Luckily for her, no one else was around her on the streets at that moment or they would have thought she was insane. Why was she talking to herself? The entire point of walking through the streets was to get her mind off her thoughts, not dwell on them even more.

Pushing those nagging thoughts aside, she moved through the ever clearing streets toward the beach. That was her favorite place to be. Even though she was a fire bender, she found the water soothing. As the waves lapped and pulled at the sand, the sounds pulled at her thoughts making them disappear for that instant. The only downside to this spot was that it was so far away from her home. She could not spent all that much time at the beach alone.

Kira turned off of the street she had been walking on and into a large street with relatively few people. Those that were around seemed to be doing their best to get home, probably before the sun set completely. That's when she noticed one person in particular seemed to be in no hurry to make his way home.

She stopped a moment. As others were scurrying about, he was just sitting on the sidewalk. Kira studied him a moment before she came to the conclusion that one of two things was happening with him. One was he was mentally unstable, or two, he was lost. If he was lost, she knew that she should help him, but if he was unstable...well, she wasn't sure that she wanted to think of the possibility.

She stared at him a few more minutes, trying to think of the best course of action. She had no reason to stop and see if he needed help, but she also remembered the first time that she found herself unsure of where she was. No one stopped to help her. She ended up spending the nights wandering the streets of Republic City looking for her home. Republic City was a great city, but being out after dark was not advisable what with all of the different Triads running about. Thinking about that, she took a tentative step toward him and cleared her throat.

"Um...hello," she started hesitantly at the man sitting on the sidewalk. "Did you....did you need some help?"

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Anonymous

Jun 27, 2012 0:39:45 GMT -6

Some Street Somewhere in the City

The air was growing colder; Takeo shivered, rubbing his arms in an effort to generate heat. He wished he were a Firebender, able to warm himself up with no difficulty. If he was going to spend the night out here—and it was looking more and more like he would have to—he’d like to at least find a blanket or something like that. Freezing to death didn’t sound like a very fun way to die. Besides, he couldn’t die yet. He hadn’t gotten his latest paycheck, or done anything really cool by which people could remember him. Maybe he should get up and try to find some kind of shelter. There had to be abandoned buildings around in which he could sleep. If he could just find one, that would get him through the night and in the morning he could find his way home.

But the Waterbender didn’t get up from his position on the sidewalk. Surely sooner or later someone passing by would take pity on him and offer their assistance. He would have done it. Well, maybe not. The street was kinda creepy, and he’d heard that dangerous bender gangs roamed around at night. Takeo had never considered himself to be a scaredy-cat, but he’d never been all that brave either. If gang members found him, he’d probably just give up without a fight. He didn’t have a water skin on him, so he couldn’t bend to defend himself, and he’d never been trained in any other kind of combat. But you know what? He was just being pessimistic, and that wasn’t something he usually did. He’d be fine. He’d get home tonight, or he’d have to wait ‘til tomorrow. Either way, things would get sorted out.

More people passed him by, alone or in pairs, never large groups. He locked eyes with a few, but those who met his gaze quickly dropped their eyes to the ground and quickened their walking speed. Sighing again, Takeo looked down as well, kicking a rock that lay at his feet. It looked like he was in for a long night.

"Um...hello. Did you....did you need some help?”

The voice came as a complete surprise and Takeo jumped, startled by the sudden unexpected sound. He looked up and was surprised to see someone actually looking right at him, not turning away. That was encouraging. It was a woman, who was looking less than comfortable. He didn’t blame her. The man smiled all the same, glad that someone had finally taken notice of him.

”Hi! Um, yes, I do need help. Ya see, I was at work, and then my shift was up so I left, and I was gonna go home—well, to the marketplace first to buy a radio—but I started thinking about stuff and got lost and ended up here. I was gonna just sleep here and find my way home in the morning, but now that you’re here, maybe you could help get back to a part of the city I know? I promise I’m not a gang member or plotting to kill you or anything.” He paused, puzzled.

”Though, I guess if I was planning to kill you I would say I wasn’t to get you to trust me…Hm. But then again, if I was planning to kill someone, there’d be better ways to do it than sitting here pretending to be lost. Great, now I’m confused.” While he’d been speaking, Takeo had been staring off into space, and with a small shake of his head focused back on the woman. “So, uh, don’t know where to go from here. Are you willing to help me even though I could be a murderer?”

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Last edit by Deleted: Jun 27, 2012 0:40:08 GMT -6

quinseparable

Jun 27, 2012 21:14:47 GMT -6

Some Street Somewhere in the City

OOC: Sorry it took so long to respond. I had quite the busy day today! Tomorrow will be as well, but I promise that it won't continually be this way! I just have a busy few days at work.

As the man jumped in surprise from hearing her voice, Kira's body went rigid and stiff. She clenched her hands into fists and narrowed her eyes. She knew that if he was going to attack her, there was little that she could do to stop him. Of course that did not mean that she would go down peacefully.

She shivered for a moment as a gust of cool air breezed across her exposed flesh as the man turned and looked up at her. She noticed his ensemble at that moment and allowed her eyes to quickly scan them. "Water tribe? she thought to herself. "Well, better than an earth bender." She had an aversion to earth benders.

”Hi! Um, yes, I do need help. Ya see, I was at work, and then my shift was up so I left, and I was gonna go home—well, to the marketplace first to buy a radio—but I started thinking about stuff and got lost and ended up here. I was gonna just sleep here and find my way home in the morning, but now that you’re here, maybe you could help get back to a part of the city I know? I promise I’m not a gang member or plotting to kill you or anything.

At that moment of his pause, Kira looked on at him, her eyebrows knitting into confusion. He talked a lot. Was any of this information completely pertinent to this discussion? Another cold breeze swept through the air and for a brief moment she considered firebending to warm herself. Given the range of accidents that she had caused with her uncontrolled bending, she quickly dismissed the idea, saving it for when it got even colder.

”Though, I guess if I was planning to kill you I would say I wasn’t to get you to trust me…Hm. But then again, if I was planning to kill someone, there’d be better ways to do it than sitting here pretending to be lost. Great, now I’m confused. So, uh, don’t know where to go from here. Are you willing to help me even though I could be a murderer?”

Her eyes narrowed to slits once more as soon as he mentioned killing. She wasn't going to fall for that. Her lips remained clamped together as she surveyed him, trying her best to sort his intentions out. He made a very valid point. The air was silent for a moment and she just stared at him, trying to figure out what this man was really all about. She stayed back a few feet from him so that if he did attack, she would have a few moments to get away. Finally after a few moments, she opened her mouth to speak.

"I can't promise I'll be of much help," she admitted to the man. And it was true. Though she had been in Republic City for a couple of years, she still had yet to explore the city. "But I'll try. But any funny business...." she trailed off, hoping his imagination would lead him to a darker place than she was actually willing to go.

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Last edit by azn: Jun 27, 2012 21:19:39 GMT -6

Anonymous

Jun 27, 2012 22:09:39 GMT -6

OOC: It's fine. A day is not a long time to wait at all. I have no problem waiting as long as need be.

Some Street Somewhere in the City

He had said the wrong thing, as usual. Takeo was good at a fair few things, but he was completely hopeless at talking to people. Everyone else had the magical ability to think before they spoke, figure out what was best to sat to achieve the desired result, but he was incapable of that. It was clear that talking about killing was not the right way to get someone to help you get home. He’d put that on the list of terms labeled “Do Not Mention,” which had started out being solely mental but was now tacked up on the wall of his bedroom as a constant reminder. As always, however, he didn’t realize that he was saying the wrong thing until after he spoke, and now he may have succeeded in scaring away his one chance at getting home tonight.

But the woman wasn’t leaving yet, just staring at him the way that most people did when they were unsure of how to deal with him. He wished she’d smile, or frown, heck, even attack him, anything that would tell him how she was feeling. She hadn’t run away screaming, though. That was definitely something that could be considered good. Hesitantly, Takeo smiled at the woman again, his mouth turned slightly upward, ready to turn back down if it looked like he was just making the situation worse for himself. The Waterbender really needed to learn facial cues, but that would take so much time and sounded sooooooooo boring! Surely his winning personality would eventually come through for him. Yep, winning personality. He definitely had that.

Finally, the woman spoke. Her first words weren’t all that encouraging—was she or wasn’t she offering to help him?—but she continued, making things more clear, though the condition at the end tripped him up. ”Funny business?” His brows were furrowed and his mouth hung open after he spoke, expressing his confusion. ”But I’m not joking…Oh! You mean that kind of funny business! The bad kind! Oh that makes a lot more sense! I was thinking of something completely different! No, I won’t try to hurt you or anything. Why would I do that? If I hurt you I wouldn’t have anyone to help me get home. I don’t have any water with me to bend anyway, so I’m pretty much defenseless…waitaminute!” The Waterbender stared at his new acquaintance with narrowed eyes, wary. ”How do I know you’re not planning to kill me and using helping me get home as an excuse?” A second later, his expression cleared.

”Wait, that doesn’t make any sense. If you were planning to kill someone, it would be easier to go after one of the people walking around. I could be waiting for someone who could stop you from killing me. I’m not, though…Well, I won’t do anything crazy if you won’t. That’s fair enough, right?” The smile was back on his face, more confident than it had been before. Using a hand to push, he got to his feet, brushing dust off his pants. ”I’m Takeo, by the way. My friends call me ‘Monkey.’ I suppose you could, though I’m not sure if we’re friends…”

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quinseparable

Jun 27, 2012 23:46:50 GMT -6

Some Street Somewhere in the City

Kira listened as the man continued to speak more than he should. He was definitely intriguing, but she was not sure that she would just trust all that he said (though it seemed less likely that he was going to murder her than she had originally thought). She listened to him ramble on a bit and, as she did so, her body became less rigid, though she did not relax completely.

Her interest peaked more when he mentioned that he was a waterbender. The Water Tribes were a calm people and she had admired their grace ever since she came to Republic City. Of course, though they were amazing healers, they could be fierce fighters in the Probending Circuit. Kira had seen enough of the matches to know that! Another cold breeze blew through the air and Kira knew that she would have to firebend at some point in the night to keep herself - and perhaps this stranger - warm. She was definitely not keen on that idea whatsoever.

”How do I know you’re not planning to kill me and using helping me get home as an excuse? Wait, that doesn’t make any sense. If you were planning to kill someone, it would be easier to go after one of the people walking around. I could be waiting for someone who could stop you from killing me. I’m not, though…Well, I won’t do anything crazy if you won’t. That’s fair enough, right?”

Kira opened her mouth to reply as an almost invisible upturn of her mouth played briefly across her face. She caught it before it turned into a smile and forced it away. Whoever this strange man was, he was most definitely amusing and her interest continued to soar. It was strange; only a handful of people had ever caught her curiosity.

”I’m Takeo, by the way. My friends call me ‘Monkey.’ I suppose you could, though I’m not sure if we’re friends…”

"Kira," came her response. "My name is Kira. I, well, I don't have a nickname..." That was untrue. She had had many unkind ones in the Earth Kingdom. "...So I guess you can call me that."

She shook her head a moment. "Well that didn't sound stupid at all!" She scolded herself as she continued.

"Anyway, it's getting late. Not a good time to be out...not with the numerous gangs that run the streets at night looking for strays." She winced hoping that he would not take offense to the word 'stray', but she continued on without waiting to see. "Perhaps you can tell me where you need to go? I might be able to point you in the right direction."

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Anonymous

Jun 28, 2012 1:11:34 GMT -6

OOC: This is short. I apologize.

Some Street Somewhere in the City

Was…was that a smile, maybe? Or something that might become a smile? Takeo got his hopes up, only to lower them again as the woman’s mouth went back into an unrevealing line. Dang. So close. Where was that winning personality when he needed it? Oh right, that was the same one that had just been going on about murder. Maybe this lady had the right idea not being as open as he was.

Oh, good, she also had a name. It would have been very unfortunate if she hadn’t given him one. Then who would he thank later? “Thank you kind mystery woman” sounded cool in his head, but the Waterbender had learned long ago that most people preferred that what was in his head remain there. But it wasn’t his fault that people could be so touchy about stuff. He thought that being referred to as a mystery person was cool. But it didn’t matter anyway, since the woman had a name. Kira. It was a nice name. Pretty. He approved.

”Nice to meet you, Kira!” Takeo responded. ”Too bad you don’t have a nickname. They’re fun.” His eyes suddenly lit up. ”I could come up with a nickname for you!” Then, for once, he stopped to think about what he had just said. His body seemed to deflate somewhat. ”…Or not, if you don’t want one. That’s fine too.”

The man’s exuberance came back when Kira got things back on track and asked for some kind of direction. He nodded, his head bobbing up and down rapidly. ”Good idea. Don’t want to run into any gang members…unless they turned out to be nice people who just wanted to help me out…but I don’t think gangs do that much. Anyway, my apartment is right by the docks. So, um, if you know what direction that is, that’s where I need to go. I don’t think I’m very far from where I live. I wasn’t walking for that long before I realized I was lost. At least, I don’t think so.”

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quinseparable

Jun 28, 2012 6:23:56 GMT -6

OOC: That's alright. My posts haven't exactly been novels themselves.

Some Street Somewhere in the City

Again she found her lips curving upward in a small smile as she shook her head. A nickname huh? When this man, Takeo, barely even knew her? She would give him one thing, he wasn't shy at all. If they discovered themselves trapped by a gang or a mugger, all he would need to do was begin talking them to death.

She held back a small scoff of laughter. That wasn't a very kind thing to think, but she had. "It's better thinking it than just saying it!" she thought to herself. She had learned a long time ago how to hold her tongue and was glad that it was still being put to somewhat of a good use.

Kira did not respond to the nickname question. As much as Takeo had begun to amuse her, she wasn't sure she wanted to delve into that road just yet. He still was a complete stranger and she had little doubts that they would ever see each other again. Republic City was a large place and, though it was not entirely impossible, it was highly unlikely that they would manage to run into each other again. Besides, she hardly knew him.

When he told her where he had to be, Kira relaxed a bit. She would be able to help him find the docks. They were very near to where she had been heading anyway. She wouldn't get lost herself that way, and the docks were not too far from where they were at now.

"I know where they are," she said. "And you're right. They aren't terribly far from her, though you did manage to wander a good distance away from them." She stopped for a moment and looked around. The people had, for the most part, vanished from the street. Darkness had descended. Had she really been standing there for that long, or had she been unaware of the time? It was probably the latter, she was very bad at keeping time.

"Anyway, it seems to be getting late. Perhaps we should go," she said. "The wind's picking up quite a bit and it seems to have dropped 10 degrees since we started talking." Okay, that had been an exaggeration. "Anyway, you've seemed to make a bit of a complicated mess for yourself. I think it will be easier if I just showed you the way."

She took a step forward and another. She threw a glance over her shoulder, both to make extra sure that he wasn't going to lodge a knife or something there and to make sure that he was walking forward. Satisfied that she'd be alright (although she had given up the idea that he was going to murder her), she turned ahead.

"And, by the way, if you can come up with a nice nickname, then go ahead," she added as an afterthought. "Perhaps it would be good to have a nice one...for once."

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Anonymous

Jun 28, 2012 10:14:23 GMT -6

Some Street Somewhere in the City

Okay, that was definitely a smile! Of course, Kira was also shaking her head, and he wasn’t sure what that meant, but Takeo would still consider it a victory. Now all he had to do was successfully get home with her help and would consider this a good day and her a friend, even if she didn’t feel the same way. There was still the worry of running into evildoers, though. He hadn’t been thinking about that, but now that he’d brought it up the possibility worried him. Well, there would be two of them now instead of just him on his own. If they ran into trouble, surely the two of them together could handle it.

The Waterbender grinned in relief when Kira confirmed that he wasn’t far from the docks. That was very reassuring. Maybe he could have found his way home even if she hadn’t come along! Then again, maybe not. If he’d tried, he probably just would have gotten distracted by his thoughts. That was why he liked having other people around: they kept him focused. It was probably a good idea to stick by Kira. She seemed like the type of person who’d be able to keep his impulsive nature in line. As long as she managed to stop him from wandering down any alley that caught his interest, they’d reach the docks quickly. If not, well, it would be an adventure, and he was fine with that.

He nodded when the woman suggested they get going, and kept going when she said that she would lead. ”Yeah, good idea,” he agreed. ”I have a lot of trouble focusing for a while, and so I get lost all the time. But if you’re here, I won’t! Unless we get lost together…then I don’t know what we’ll do. But if the docks are close by, I’m sure we’ll be fine! Maybe.”

As Kira began walking, he followed her, keeping a step or two behind the woman and focusing on her to make sure he didn’t get distracted. When she said he could think of a nickname for her, though, all bets were off. ”Yessss! Thank you! Oh this is gonna be fun.” The Waterbender’s pace slowed as he began to study Kira, looking for anything that stood out as nickname-worthy. She was pretty, but “Pretty Girl” wasn’t a very good name. ”Hmph, this is hard,” he muttered, disappointed in his lack of creativity. He brightened as an idea came to him.

”My nickname’s based on the way I used to climb a lot, so maybe yours should be based on something like that too! What weird stuff do you do? Or, are you a bender? I could come up with something based off of that, if you want.”

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jin

Jun 28, 2012 16:57:48 GMT -6

Jin nodded and laughed. "It really is and the about of thinking needed to be good was something that surprised me when I did some research." He started, his free hand shot up into the adding emphasis to his point. If there was something that made Jin stick out like a sore thumb - not including his inability to stand crowds or groups, or his fidgeting and murmuring to himself - it was that he added emphasis to a lot of things he said with his hands. He felt, above all things including ones voice, that your hands really portrayed what you wanted to say. You're angry? Throw your hands around with force. You're frantic? Throw your hands and arms around quickly. Jin was especially good with his hands, being the focus of his bending and his training. However, continuing on with his thought he lowered his hand and placed it back inside of his pocket. "You can't just run and gun, you really have to gauge the enemy. Get inside their head, and know what they're thinking....or try to think what they're thinking." That became much more complicated than he had intended, but he didn't sit on it for too long. His mind was soon taken back to what she was doing.

Jin couldn't stop smiling, it was just something about the day. Maybe it was the way the sun was shining, or all of the progress the two of them made for their team. A name, a captain, a training spot, and even two of three members were ready to battle their way to the top. Jin felt her hand tighten ever so slightly, but he didn't mind. The feeling of her hands were a nice change of pace; they had a different feel to them than his own. They were almost cold, but at the same time Jin could feel a certain warmth from them. Perhaps it was his own hands emanating warmth onto hers and that's what he had felt. He wasn't entirely sure, and he didn't really mind either. Yet a small laugh came from him once more before he looked toward the ground; he didn't know if he was bad at compliments, or she just didn't take that to well. Or maybe she really felt like she didn't do anything to help him - once more, he wasn't sure. "Well, thanks anyway." His tone was sincere, but he decided to just leave it at that.

It wouldn't matter soon enough anyway, as she soon brought his attention to a boarder of rocks, and Jin smiled. Thankfully, with his height, he was able to see over the rock formation with very little trouble, having almost an entire head over them. He smiled, and nodded at the development. "This is amazing Ash. It's perfect." They weren't quite there yet, but from the looks of it it was something worth gazing at. Then she added the cherry on top of the sundae. No one would be around? Amazing. Jin laughed about it; while it was true he didn't like crowds, or groups of people in general, but interaction wasn't all bad. It kept him on his toes at least and that made him quick to keep up with his training. Jin hadn't taken notice at first as he was distracted by all of the people, the ocean, Sashu, and even the rock formation now but the two of them had reached the sand. Jin had his shoes on so he wasn't able to feel the sand, but there was something great about the sand. Though the texture of the sand escaped his touch, he was able to tell that this stuff was amazing. It was like a very soft cushion, very absorbent of the impact of their weight.

Something took over his body, he had this feeling, what was it....anticipation? Anxious? Maybe anxious, but not the same anxiousness that he felt throughout most of his life. This was a new kind, and he loved it. He didn't know what to fully expect, and the idea of something new giving them an edge was exciting. Jin's feet started to move and then his entire body followed. He was now running. "C'mon Ash, we need to get a move on. The sooner we get there, the faster we can establish a training regiment." That was the first thing on his mind - training. Jin loved to train as it helped keep his mind off of everything around him. The rocks weren't to far off to begin with, and in a matter of moments the rocks closed in. They got larger, and wider, but still seemed a decent height for Jin to see over. "Alright, we're here. Since you showed me this spot, you should be the one to enter first. Annnnnd..." He extended the last word with a smile. "As captain, you get to come up with the training schedule." He said the last bit with a wide grin sketched across his face.

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quinseparable

Jun 28, 2012 20:16:58 GMT -6

Some Street Somewhere in the City

Trouble focusing? Somehow that did not come as a surprise to Kira. She continued walking forward listening to Takeo chatter on a few steps behind her. It was so strange to hear him rattle on, but she didn't really mind it. It didn't annoy her one bit - it was almost nice to not have to talk to herself. Perhaps because she was of such little words that she was interested. That or the fact that very few people - even those that she had known moderately well - had never spoken to her as much as this stranger had since the moment she walked up on him. It was actually nice for a change.

"I don't think we'll get lost," she said in response to him. "It's a bit of a puzzle, but I'm pretty familiar with this portion of the city." It was one of the only places she was familiar with.

As soon as she mentioned the nickname thing to Takeo, she heard his voice change slightly as he began to chatter on again. Well, so much for focus. But still it didn't bother her. Her calm demeanor meant that she didn't get annoyed that easily which, in Republic City, served as quite a benefit with all of the people she had to serve in the restaurant in which she worked. Often times she found herself in the midst of a verbal onslaught of an angry customer...

”My nickname’s based on the way I used to climb a lot, so maybe yours should be based on something like that too! What weird stuff do you do? Or, are you a bender? I could come up with something based off of that, if you want.”

She stopped dead in her tracks when he asked her the dreaded question. Her body tensed again. Was she a bender? It was a question that she had hoped to escape from. She wasn't ashamed of being able to firebender so much as she was embarrassed that she had virtually no control over it. "That's none of your business."

A pang of guilt passed through her.There was no reason that she had to be so cold about that and she cursed herself for being such a jerk about it. With a heavy sight, she scratched the back of her head and tried to shoot the icy walls around her down.

She turned to him, feeling that she owed him an explanation for her sudden change in demeanor. "I'm sorry. That's just not a question that I'm used to answering freely." She paused a moment and rubbed her head in embarrassment. She was a 22 year old bender who had never learned how to actually bend. "Well, you see, technically yes. I am a firebender, though I don't quite have the bending part down yet."

She cleared her throat and, in an attempt to change the subject slightly, she glanced once more at Takeo's outfit. "Let me guess, you're Water Tribe?"

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Last edit by azn: Jun 28, 2012 20:22:51 GMT -6

Anonymous

Jun 28, 2012 22:14:40 GMT -6

Some Street Somewhere in the City

Well, if Kira wasn’t worried about getting lost, he wouldn’t let himself worry either. At this point, he considered the whole thing to be one big adventure anyway, so if they wound up somewhere they didn’t want to be they’d just have to keep exploring until they found the docks. The Waterbender was used to letting other lead and tell him what to do. He’d only managed to keep his job as a bellhop so far because his coworker was great about letting him know when he was getting distracted. As long as he was able to focus on Kira’s back, he wouldn’t wander off. At least, that was the hope.

Possible nicknames emerged as he waited for Kira to answer his questions, but none sounded anywhere near good. Nicknames had to be both applicable to the person for whom they were used and a bit nonsensical. Nonsensical he could do—that was basically his thing—but he didn’t know enough about Kira to accurately describe her in one or two words. Hopefully her answer would help make his job easier.

The answer, when it came, shocked him. The woman’s words cut deep into him, and he stopped dead, staring at her back but not really seeing her. He was used to people getting annoyed with him, even telling him to shut up, but Kira’s tone was so cold he didn’t know what to do. He’d never made anyone that angry before, and of course he hadn’t meant to do so now. But he had, and somehow he had to fix things. But how? Obviously his usual way of talking wasn’t going to cut it, since that was what had caused the problem in the first place. Takeo was at a loss.

”Sorry,” he muttered. ”You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to. I can shut up if you want…” He knew he should keep walking, but all of a sudden couldn’t find the energy required to move his limbs. He just…what about his question had been so horrible? Did she hate benders or something? But she’d still offered to help him after he’d revealed that he was a Waterbender. So what had he done?

When Kira turned to look at him, Takeo met her gaze for a second before looking down at the ground, wondering if she was going to yell about him for being insensitive, if that was even the issue. Again she shocked him, but this time he was more confused than anything else. A small part of him whispered that things were okay now, but the Waterbender wasn’t certain. He didn’t say anything, just in case what came out of his mouth this time set her off even more. When she asked him about his heritage, though, he nodded. That, at least, he could do.

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quinseparable

Jun 28, 2012 23:51:07 GMT -6

Some Street Somewhere in the City

The guilt she felt didn't ease after she apologized, and she had a feeling that it wasn't about to go away. The air became colder, but it wasn't from the weather. She realized the stupid, horrible thing that she had done and groaned inwardly. So much for thinking before opening her big trap.

She cringed at Takeo's apology. "Now look at what you've done, moron! How do you always manage to say something so mean? It wasn't like he was trying to pry into your life...it was just a simple, ordinary question!"

”You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to. I can shut up if you want…”

Ouch. Another sock to the gut. She tried to make eye contact with Takeo and apologize to him about snapping at him, but he looked away before she could. Kira sighed as she closed her eyes. Rubbing her temples, she tried to figure out what she could do to get him talking again. Opening her eyes, she took a step toward him.

"Listen," she started. "I am really sorry that I snapped at you like that. I didn't mean to." She stopped a moment, not sure how much she continued on. But one more glance at his downcast eyes told her that she owed him a bit of an explanation even if she left out most of the detail. Takeo, it seemed, was an upbeat guy and her iciness had just knocked that out of him. Again, Kira scolded herself for her insensitivity.

"And you know you have nothing to be sorry for," she added. The apology of his cut into her. "If anything, I'm the one that needs to be sorry. You asked a question that's all."

For some reason, she found herself talking more than she had to most people in a long while. Perhaps it was because she noticed earlier that all Takeo seemed to want to do was make her laugh. Or perhaps she had been void of someone who was generally interested in who she was that it through her off guard. Whatever the reason, she had no right to say what she had.

"It's just," she faltered. "Well, where I grew up, fire benders like myself weren't exactly welcomed..." She scuffled her feet on the road, trying not to hid back into her shell again. Just thinking about her home made her anxious. "And, well, my bending wasn't something that I really wanted to talk about."

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The Avatar RP

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Through Republic City

Post by azn on Jun 21, 2012 19:20:34 GMT -6

Post by tae on Jun 22, 2012 20:07:00 GMT -6

Post by Deleted on Jun 23, 2012 23:59:34 GMT -6

Post by kaitokatashi on Jun 24, 2012 14:10:12 GMT -6

Post by Deleted on Jun 24, 2012 19:55:49 GMT -6

Post by azn on Jun 25, 2012 12:11:34 GMT -6

Post by kgal on Jun 26, 2012 0:48:53 GMT -6

Post by Deleted on Jun 26, 2012 16:52:57 GMT -6

Post by quinseparable on Jun 26, 2012 22:58:53 GMT -6

Post by Deleted on Jun 27, 2012 0:39:45 GMT -6

Post by quinseparable on Jun 27, 2012 21:14:47 GMT -6

Post by Deleted on Jun 27, 2012 22:09:39 GMT -6

Post by quinseparable on Jun 27, 2012 23:46:50 GMT -6

Post by Deleted on Jun 28, 2012 1:11:34 GMT -6

Post by quinseparable on Jun 28, 2012 6:23:56 GMT -6

Post by Deleted on Jun 28, 2012 10:14:23 GMT -6

Post by jin on Jun 28, 2012 16:57:48 GMT -6

Post by quinseparable on Jun 28, 2012 20:16:58 GMT -6

Post by Deleted on Jun 28, 2012 22:14:40 GMT -6

Post by quinseparable on Jun 28, 2012 23:51:07 GMT -6