(OOC: Anyone feel free to join if you want)

It was great how so many had had the same of idea of placing their shops and stalls on a few long streets. It was like they were asking him to steal from them and their customers, and he was only too happy to oblige. Besides, these adults didn’t so much money anyway; why not do his civic duty and lighten their purses a bit? Their pockets wouldn’t be so heavy, and he’d be able to keep himself alive. Everybody would benefit.

Grinning at the optimistic vision of the future that danced through his head, Tenshio emerged from the alley in which he’d been skulking and onto a bustling street. He merged smoothly into the heavy flow of people moving down the street, moving from stall to stall at a slow pace, most stopping ever once in a while as something caught their eyes. This was the perfect place for a young pickpocket. It was funny, the way that shoppers forgot to keep close eyes on their wallets. You’d think that, being so keen to spend their money, that they’d make sure they knew where it was at all times. But no. Ah, well, their loss was his gain.

Now to find a generous benefactor. The teen scanned the crowd around him, looking for suitable victims. He frowned. Not good. Most of the people here were in groups or couples; that made things difficult. Even if the person he stole from didn’t notice, their friends always did, and he really wasn’t in the mood to get chased today. Better keep looking.

There: a loner. Perfect. The vagrant made his forward, ducking under outstretched arms and sliding around stopped couples to get closer to his intended target. He could see a coin purse peeking out of the person’s pocket, and knew that very soon it would be his. Creeping up behind the victim, he slowly reached a hand forward and into the waiting pocket. He grinned as his fingers brushed the coin purse. Everything was going as planned.

Helping out in the family store had it's pros and cons. The pros, or anyway Kamil's pros, were that he didn't have to worry much about getting fired for being lazy and he had a relatively stable source of income. However he did have the problem that his father worked him harder than he would another employee. If they had employees. It wasn't unusual for them to quit because they didn't like the job, the pay or even them. So it was no real surprise when Kamil found himself doing the work of two or three employees from time to time. Like right now.

He'd just been issued to pick up a few packages from a few different shops and stalls for mostly his grandmother. They weren't getting very many customers these days, less than usual anyway, and both her and his father came to the decision that a more diverse selection of clothing should be sold. The things they sold tended to be a little behind with the times and it was probably about time they did some catching up. About time they listened to him.

The orders for more new material and such had already been placed, so all he had to was pick them up. Which he was currently stalling with doing. Instead of heading straight for the stores he idled around near a few stands. Checking the wares, but not buying anything. He was aware that those that pick-pocketing was very common in areas like these, even more so when you traveled alone, but he wasn't particularly worried about it. For starters, he didn't walk around with much money and secondly, with all the water containers hidden underneath his clothes, he tended to notice when something was slightly off on him.

Like right now. It wasn't exactly the brush of fingers he felt on him, but if whoever it was was to remove the pouch, he'd know. His first instinct in such a situation would be to turn around and stop whoever it was that was stealing from him; usually in the form of holding on the hand that took his item. "...yes, can I help you?"

If failed, he'd give chase.

((OOC: ...h-hope this is okay;)

Bao Yu had complimented her playing and Tsubaki could not hold back a girlish squeal and a quick hug. Near the top of her list of favorite things to hear it was that her playing was "lovely".

After leaving her leftover ramen near what was supposedly the nicest bush in the park to be devoured by the mysterious creature that lived there Tsubaki trailed behind Bao Yu who rushed through the city.
She's fast, Tsubaki thought. That's good. A slow chi blocker was about as much use as a chi-blocker with only a seventy percent success rate and a load of weapons...at least according to the joke around the training sessions. She would have found it offensive had she not been the originator of that particular joke.

"Owwww." In running with Bao Yu and reflecting on what a nice day it had been Tsubaki hadn't noticed the sudden wall of ice and ran into it. She rubbed her head with an annoyed look as if walls of ice were an occurrence that was more bothersome than strange.

"Well, it looks like we've got two pretty ladies out and about, just a little too late, eh?"
Tsubaki nudged Bao Yu with a smile.
"He thinks we're pretty," she whispered and then started to snort as she laughed, perhaps a little too loud.

Two of the Monsoons approached, a water bender wearing a bandolier of small water tubes and one who apparently didn't feel the need to flagrantly flaunt his bending style in his dress. Tsubaki assumed that he hid something beneath his frayed red trench coat. A trench coat Tsubaki intended on taking from his unconscious body, as it was starting to get cold as well as the fact she thought she looked good in red.

With a heavy, fake sigh Tsubaki ran her hand through her stiff, wirey hair and placed the case of her trumpet on the ground as two of the four Monsoons advanced. If she read Bao Yu's look right she would be fine. In return she tried to send a look of her own by glaring down at her case and then at the future enemies. She hoped it sent the message that if anything happened to her beloved trumpet the only Red Monsoon would be the torrent of gangster blood dripping off the alley walls.

Aside from her trumpet concern Tsubaki was keenly interested in how Bao Yu handled herself in a fight. She trusted that Bao passed the basic competency tests but needed to see for herself. In most regards Tsubaki Ito was a care-free young woman, but when it came to officially joining the people she considered family she held standards that some considered unreasonably high.

The two men approached and Tsubaki's right leg began to tense. For a brief second the man with the sloppy wolf's tail had a gleam in his eye as Tsubaki hiked up the hem of her sun dress and exposed what looked to be black garters holding her stockings up. Had he the opportunity to examine he would have noticed the tense black straps were connected to her boot which Tsubaki raised. As she pointed her toe at the man a single dart flew from the leather boot and in the man's direction.
It was an old trick her mother had taught her for distractions, but to Tsubaki it was an excuse to see a man go from leering to that comical "digging out a dart out of their stomach" expression.

Tsubaki chuckled with a snort as she pulled a kunai from the belt at her left side and twirled it around her finger.
"You still think I'm pretty, right?"


The water bender with the bandolier of water tubes apparently didn't share his partner's deadly garter fetish and deftly sent a flurry of ice blades Bao Yu's way before charging in with a large water blade in a giant sweeping motion.

The high-rise of Republic City sprawled upwards in the murky dark of the sky, violent drop-offs like jagged cliffs leering at the dim, stained street lights below. Underneath the rusted gutters, Jun dragged his feet through the grime of the alley. The chill of the night bit his skin as he shifted through the deep shadows cast by the faint glow of amber lamps. Overturned garbage cans hid the scuttling of elephant rats, the night drenching their pursuit of discarded morsels in black. The squeak of a rodent struck a pang of surprise in the small of Jun's back. Despite the environment's familiarity and his intimate relationship with the charcoal black of a Republic City night, the very same kind of night seemed more sinister than usual. Black cables stretched above the buildings and framed the billowing clouds of steam. The brief warmth of a nearby light embraced his neck and cheek. Then, something flickered by.

Immediately, Jun anchored himself. He scanned his surroundings, his green eyes navigating the alleyway's decrepit scenery. Jun took a step. Subsequently, his disfigured shadow hugged the eroded walls as it flickered in and out of existence. Sighing heavily, he rubbed his face.

"Stupid." Jun grumbled dryly, "You're a little out of it tonight, Jun."

After slapping his face with both hands to wake him up, he continued through the narrow route. He pointed towards his faithful shadow, condemning it silently with a shake of his index. As if it understood, his umbral self merged itself into the hungry gloom of a corner while he moved on. Tired crescents tugged at his eyes, a result of his less than satisfactory sleep schedule. He closed them momentarily, immediate darkness engulfing his vision before reopening them to a similar somber view. Doing this several times as he pursued the end of the alley, he was oblivious to the slightly elevated cobblestone tile waiting for him. The front of his shoe caught it, sending him stumbling over. Flailing his arms as he struggled to regain footing, he growled angrily. He captured his balance before expelling a frustrated grunt.

"Frick! Not my night at all!"

The Black Fox? More like The Black Hawk, if you asked.

In the shadows that rested over the top half of most of the tall buildings this side of Republic City, nobody paid a second glance to the woman standing on the balcony of an abandoned building.

There were so many in the Southwest District, which could only spell good things for the group that ruled these streets. Like the darkness that capped the city, they knew every back alley, every hiding hole, every nook, and they made sure that others knew this.

Squinting through the darkness, the woman looked down and saw someone stumbling out of an alley. Although she couldn't make out specific details, she knew one thing:

Wrong place at the wrong time.

Through the streets below the balcony, a clear whistle rang off of the brick and cement, making figures in the shadows cock their ears. They all caught sight of them and made their way to the alley's exit onto the street, making sure that they didn't give what now was apparent as, for lack of a better term, a boy any choice in routes that would allow him escape.

"You look like you're lost." One of the figures, a lanky man with wicked features cloaked in black, stepped forward, giving a wolf's grin. He put two fingers between his lips and whistled.

That's my cue.

Though they were meant for the police, the Black Fox threw a length of black cloth over the metal cables that ran alongside all of the buildings in the area, using it to allow herself to zip down the cable's length. With almost expert agility, she let go of one side of the cloth and landed, knees fully bent, in front of the boy.

The menacing man tapped her on the shoulder. "Doesn't he look lost?"

The ebony-haired, pale-skinned woman smiled. "He sure does."

The piercing whistle raised the hairs on his skin. Jun raised an eyebrow. It wasn’t the shudder of steam from a nearby pipe nor was it the shrill call of a faraway train. Gritting his teeth, he quickened his pace, but was met with the blockade that had now surrounded him. Spinning on his heels, Jun attempted to run back the way he came, but the futility of the situation depressed his sprint into a hopeless shuffle. He aimed his dragon-gauntlet at the figures in the dark and poised himself in a combative stance. A man slipped out from the shadows. Jun remained steadfast, aggressively placing the snarl of his dragon between him and the lanky figure before him.

The accusation of him being lost worried him. His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat as he gulped, his parched mouth betraying his fearless exterior. The following signal urged him to look around, maintaining his fighter’s composure. Alarmed, he maneuvered back as the Black Fox landed from the skyline. As the two exchanged conversation, he kept his distance.

“Is she your pet or something?” He barked, “Haven't you heard it's not polite to whistle at a lady?”

The ominous man coupled with the smoky-eyed femme fatale before him didn’t seem like the best guests for a midnight rendezvous, especially when confronted by the reality that there really was no way out for Jun.

The non-bender spoke bitterly, “I don’t have any yuans on me, if that’s what you want. It’d be a better use of your time if you just let me go.” The grip on his gauntlet tightened, his eyebrows furrowed as he levelled his gaze at them.

"PET?!" The (wolf)man stepped forward, raising his hand and igniting a flame, but extinguished it when the Fox put up a hand.

"Well, they do call me the Black Fox, but I'm no one's pet. You seem to have a nice pet of your own." She gestured to the dragon covering his arm, then beckoned to the other three men in the shadows. They stepped forward but held their ground.

She had to chuckle at the boy playing warrior. "We don't want yuan. You stepped onto our turf, and you're causing problems? We don't take kindly to that." She crossed her arms. "As for letting you go, I'm afraid we can't do that."

Her golden eyes sized him up. She could easily dispatch with him alone, but a buzzing in the back of her head told her it might be a good idea to do otherwise. The dragon on his arm looked interesting at the very least, but her problem was how to get it without damaging it. She could kill him, but that ran a risk. He wouldn't give it over willingly, she knew that for sure, so there was only one other possible alternative.

"You know what? I'm a reasonable woman. You. Me. In the alley. If you win, we let you go, no questions asked. If you lose..." She took a few steps closer to him and ran a slender finger down his cheek. He wouldn't try anything, no matter how much he wanted to. She locked eyes with him, boring (figuratively) into his head.

"How much are you willing to pay?"

((Here’s hoping that I can still do this. Also 3000 WHOOT!))



Of course, they always fought like this, quickly thought the young Galgori at the sight of her assailant motioning for his water to obey his command. Years of training had already given the young Equalist an idea of what to expect, and thanks to both her grandfather’s training and her Chi blocking training, she knew what to do.

At the sight of the water’s sudden phase change, and quick rush forward, Bao Yu lunged forward, shifted her weight to her left toes and was able to weave around the squadron of shards launched at her. Still, she made sure that her black eyes kept her sight clear. She could still make out the two opponents still waiting in the back, and from their faces they probably weren’t expecting this to happen. Oh, this would be rich; she had always wanted to fight some of these people, just to teach them the lesson that they alone did not own the streets, but she wasn’t a thrill seeker. Even with these four goons, it was dangerous to attack any gang members. Oh how she longed for the day when the Equalist would clean the city of these thugs.

He moved, big mistake. As a waterbender, his best bet was to wait for her to strike and then take advantage of her mistakes, but this man was most definitely not trained in the traditional style. In a way, it was good that she trained with Equalists, her father only showed her how to fight traditional benders, not the city’s new ones. Still, in a straight on fight, Bao Yu felt that she had the advantage.

A smirk crossed her face as she watched the clear liquid advance. Honestly, this was too easy. This was literally all they practiced, and here was this guy doing exactly what she had trained against. It was a little embarrassing to be honest. Either way, Bao Yu pushed off her toes and dived over the watery arc with ease, upon landing she rolled to lose some potential energy, and when she got to her feet, she was in the perfect position.

She was to his right, and his right arm was still motioning the water to arc, and even though he was still moving forward, Bao Yu only needed a few seconds to strike. With ease, she delivered four chi blocking strikes at the point just above his armpit and all the way down to the bottom of his ribs. If all went well, that arm would be useless for a half-hour.

Still, she had to be cautious, she quickly glanced backwards. The man in the hat, the apparent group leader took a few steps backwards, and then the man standing next to him stepped forward. Shit, she cursed in her head, she just boxed herself. Sure those two were far away, but they just had to run forward. No, take this one out! She commanded herself as she ran at the Monsoon that was now at her original position.

Like a arachnophobic individual brushing off a spider, the sloppy wolf’s tail sporting Monsoon fumbled for the object that just pierced his abdomen. It took him a second before he removed the object and then rushed forward because of the pain.

Carelessly, he launched a solid stream of water at Tsubaki with his right arm, then pulled a steel pipe from his coat and began swinging wildly at his target. That bitch would pay for this.

He had insisted that he be called The Water Dragon. The man with the water bandolier felt that it fit him much better than his given name Pu. He was a monster of the sea made from the sea. He was, in his mind, the vengeful right arm of the Red Monsoons.

When his own right arm hung to his side like an overcooked noodle the dragon made from water tattooed on it suddenly took on a sense of irony. Most of the bending Pu The Water Dragon knew required both arms. With his left he could only splash. Suddenly, the woman in front of him became his father and every bully from childhood flaunting their superior strength.

To his dying day Pu would declare that the water streaming down his face and one of his legs that night was due to splash-back from his first attack.
His father had one arm and showed great strength, albeit against a boy who meant him no harm. It was inspiring enough for Pu to draw the thick blade from his left side he kept more for sentimental reasons than practical.

After this night, he decided, he'd choose another nickname. Something reflecting how much of a badass he was even with one arm.
"One-armed cobra strike!" There it was, an epithet and special attack thought of in a second. Swiftly he struck at Bao Yu with confidence. It wasn't until it was too late that the newly self-minted one-armed cobra remembered cobras didn't have arms.

The two men standing near the back shook their heads and groaned. Tsubaki widened her smile. She'd dealt with lackluster trainees in the past too.

That lapse of concentration cost Tsubaki dearly. The left strap of her sundress. Half of her dress fell fully exposing the flame tattoo on her right shoulder and arm as well as part of the ink portrait on her back of four animals representing the four elements fighting a bloody battle. Her yellow left eye twitched a bit. She was slightly angry. She didn't like herself when she was slightly angry.

She threw one of her kunai just to the left of her attacker to urge him into closer to the alley wall to his right. His steel pipe slowed and created sparks as it scraped against the wall. It was obvious that the Red Monsoons weren't much for spatial intelligence.

Even for Tsubaki Ito, the weakest chi-blocker to attain a minor leading position in The Equalists taking out that opponent was nothing...particularly when one of the blows she struck involved a kunai. Much like how she spoke, Tsubaki struck quickly and enthusiastically, this time using a kunai as her exclamation point.
The man in the red coat learned the reason the Equalists kept Tsubaki around wasn't her affinity for jazz and planning birthday parties.

Just before she started to strip off her torn dress that was impeding her movements Tsubaki unsheathed the green-handled kodachi at her right side and stabbed the man who attacked her deeply into his hamstring muscle. Unless there was an order, or at least an apathetic shrug from either Amon or the Lieutentant Tsubaki wasn't sure if killing was okay and didn't take chances, not with fodder.

A heavily tattooed woman in her underwear carrying a veritable arsenal of weapons...she was sure there was an erotic novel out there very similar to this. Idly, she wondered if the two watching from the other end of the alley cared or if they were just hoping for another wardrobe malfunction, this time from Bao Yu.

The leader in the bowler hat passed a cigarette to the man at his left who, despite the darkness, wore round sunglasses and sported an odd haircut like rows of corn. There was a collective sigh as they played janken to determine who got first choice of victims. Obviously the headliners as opposed to the incompetent opening act.

When one of them brandished a shiny kusarigama sporting a skull where the handle of the sickle met the chain Tsubaki whistled.
"Ooooh you're a handsome one. How would you like to go home with me?"

"Attacking one at a time? Gods, I hope these guys die just to keep them out of the gene pool," The man in the dark glasses said with an almost acidic derision.

He had no impressive epithet. Corn Rows or Glasses were the most common nickname by strangers but to anyone who mattered he was Onigumo. Nothing dramatic, but it was his real name and it held meaning. It meant he got stuff done for the Red Monsoons.

Fighting one at a time, fighting with honor? These were punchlines as far as he was concerned. The joke was: "What is the easiest way to lose a fight?"
He tilted his head back to drink from his water skin only to expel it. A fine mist of saliva and water hung over his fellow Red Monsoon and over Bao Yu's head in particular. A mist that would leave more of an impression than others as it was composed of hundreds of tiny water particles shaped for murder.

Onigumo's second flask of water was poured over himself. To him, the water bender's greatest weakness was how difficult it was to hide attacks. His weapons were dripping off of his skin and soaking his clothes ready to strike from any direction at point blank range. While his enemy weakened Onigumo grew stronger.

"Strike, you lychee brain," he barked at the one-armed subordinate while he himself formed an ice gauntlet with which to impale Bao Yu.

Jun refused to flinch as the man lashed out at him, the sudden unforgiving flash of flame familiar to his body. He braced himself, the only aura of uncertainty visible in the way he shifted his shoes against the coarse ground. As soon as the Black Fox raised her hand, he relaxed his shoulders by a degree, his eyes still darting between the two gang members. As soon as she mentioned his “pet,” the skin-tight material twisted around the handle, a satisfying clenching sound wrapping around the grip of his dragon. As the three men unsheathed themselves from the night’s cloak, he retorted to their appearance with an unimpressed snort.

“If you don’t want people running into your turf, why don’t you pitch up a sign?” He snapped back, stretching his neck to the side.

As he stared at the raven-haired vixen, Jun shifted a leg. The fireworks in his pockets grazed against him as he repositioned himself, reminding him of their faithful presence. As if they were pleading to be lit, the wicks of his craft tickled him, but Jun waited. The Snow White of the alley advanced towards him, her grey eyes matching his green. His pulse began beating in his ear as her finger slid down the curve of his firm cheek, the uncertainty of the situation caressing him again.

He smirked at her, waving a hand, “You’re implying that I’m going to lose.” Jun shrugged his shoulders, the fake calmness in his confident, closed smile accompanying the weight of his words, “Though, it’s kind of sad.” He gestured towards the man, “You’re letting your pet fight your battles for you.”

Jun wrenched his arm around, cracking his neck. He assured himself with a deep breath, swallowing air through his dry lips.

“Lead the way.”

“If you don’t want people running into your turf, why don’t you pitch up a sign?”

This boy obviously didn't frequent the Southwest district, because there were signs. Everywhere. Each shop under the Shadowhand's protection had the mark of the Black Fox near or on its door, and even the Pro-Bending posters bore it. It wasn't the Fox's fault if people didn't take notice. Ignorance of their rule was no excuse.

When the boy kept referring to her as their pet, Wolfie grinned. "I don't think you get it. If anything, we're her pets, and we're more than happy if she wants to fight her own battles."

Lead the way.

Before she did so, she sized him up again.

"What do you think about Dragon here, boys? Firebender?" She eyed what she'd come to identify as a gauntlet.

"What else would a Dragon do?" Wolfie licked his lips.

"Thought so." With a half-smile on her face, she stepped forward into the alley and, after getting three-quarters of the way down, stopped. Turning around, she relaxed into a combat stance.

Upon the arrival of the Avatar Korra and Amon, people known as the Equalists had brought a new art into the world: chi-blocking. Though she didn't follow the Equalists' ideals, the sound of a world where someone who couldn't bend could hold their own against someone who could bend was nice. She, of course, had managed to get into a class in someone's basement and had everything she needed to know outlined for her: major chi points, how to better and more precisely strike said points, and the effects of doing so. From the look of the boy's gauntlet, he hadn't, and any implication of loss became reality. Chi blocking worked for more than stopping a bender.

"Let's go, then." Smiling now, she made a dash for him.

Let's see what this dragon can do.

Jun had certainly been blind to the fact. The insignia of the Black Fox was lost on his eyes, the countless signs simply decorations added throughout the district. He had traversed the many streets of Republic City and should have known the signals of gang activity, yet tonight, he ignored them all. Perhaps, tired of all the roughening up and the fights, he had perused the districts with a blissful lack of attention. Despite the menacing clothes the city wore at night, he thought he could stubbornly refute the capital’s corrupted trait, the taint of violence and exhortation. His mind remained naïve until now.

The wolf-man’s knowing smile perturbed him. He knew the effects of beautiful women on men, but he did not dare believe that attraction alone could hold a gang together. Crossing his arms, he waited for the woman, anxious to potentially make his escape or otherwise become fodder to whatever she may do. He did not trust her; the smooth undercurrent of her words was too sweet. And of course he had no reason to trust her. The sudden swoop from the somber sky and the myriad of henchmen around her was testament to that. In the guise of the night, her slender, curveless figure flickered in and out of detail.

And then she dashed towards him. Catapulting himself back, he wrenched out a firework from one of his pockets with his gauntlet, the sharp teeth of the dragon wedging into a short wick. A burst of light engulfed its snout, two streams of fire coursing through its nostrils before extinguishing themselves. Clenching his jaw, he ripped the firework out of his dragon’s teeth and whipped it towards her. It exploded into a cloud of smoke and colour, reducing visibility in the narrow alleyway. He knew he couldn’t outrun her. Hiding in the smoke, he strafed to the side in case she had braved the combustion and continued forward. In midst the chaos-if he had time to-he pulled out some firecrackers, igniting those and slapping them against the ground. Ground-rats, they were called. Sparkling, rocket-propelled fireworks danced between his feet and around the alley, shrieking as their wicks burned. He hoped they would distract her. Distract her long enough so he could locate her and strike her down.

Or at least, he hoped.