[Tag; Jing]

Ottoya still felt bad.The boy was telling him he was wrong to have been so aggressive, he didn't need to be told that, he already knew it. He felt bad and this kid wasn't making him feel any better. Caution never made anyone any friends. That was what the boy had said. He could relate, you had to be outgoing to get anywhere in life, he knew that, but this city would chew you up if you weren't careful. Didn't this guy know that? What would have happened if Ottoya had been a big muscly guy from some gang? Would he have felt bad? No, he probably would have tried to beat the kid up.

The guy introduced himself as Jing, he was an Earthbender and was as Ottoya had guessed, from the Earth Kingdom - That much was obvious. But it was good to meet an Earthbender; he had seen a few around town but Jing was the first he had talked to in his entire life. He wondered what it was like being able to bend the very ground they stood on.

He mentioned the Avatar. Most people did when he said he was from the South Pole. Each time he had explained that he never knew her, nor saw her, nor spoke to her. He only ever knew of her. She was constantly training her Firebending and her Earthbending, as well as improving her natural Waterbending. Ottoya guessed she wouldn't have had much time to chat with the locals. But she had moved to Republic City to learn Airbending, just as Ottoya had moved for something new. They were similar in that aspect. He avoided the topic with Jing.

The Earthbender asked if he wanted to go and sit down somewhere. It would appear that Ottoya was forgiven for his rude outburst. The teen folded his arms and nodded, straying across the road after waiting for cars to stop, and finding a relatively comfortable looking bench. He hated the city benches, nothing like a nice fuzzy seat back home, made of furs and full of warmth. He untied his winter coat that was tied around his waist and placed it on the bench, before sitting on it.

"I'm quite fiery for a Waterbender... You'll have to excuse my bad side..." He said, his eyes wandered upwards to the cloudy skies. He wondered if it would rain, and if so when? He liked rain, it was comforting to be around a lot of water. Here on the street there was pretty much no water, the nearest source was the river in the park or the harbor.
"But I'm usually a nice guy... It's just ever since I moved here, I've been on my own...." He explained carefully, still staring at one spot in the sky, one spec of blue midst the snow white clouds.

He turned to Jing at last, having avoided eye contact for a while.
"How long have you been in the city, you don't exactly look native..." He grinned, glancing up and down at his very green attire.

[Tag; Jing]

Jing told him that he had only recently moved here a few months back. He had been here longer than Ottoya at least, who had arrived to weeks ago. The older of the two was still quite pensive in that he kept his eyes on the skies. He spotted a police zeppelin, his deep blue eyes followed it over a building. He wondered if the police ever needed to use the zeppelins, were the mafia ever violent enough for a massive raid to be initiated? All this extra security just seemed a little excessive. He tried to remind himself that it was all for his own safety, but he couldn't help but think that the Avatar's presence was bolstering police numbers.

"My parents thought it would be best if I moved here to live with my Father..." He explained, scuffing his boots along the pavement, "Things were getting a little stressful at the South Pole." Ottoya continued, but then left it at that; he didn't want to get into too much detail about his problems in the Southern Water Tribe. New starts meant he didn't have to think about stuff like that all the time - He could move on with his life.

Ottoya was surprised when Jing asked him if he was part-Firebender. It was like he had read him, understood him instantly. Then again, he had stated he was a fiery character, and he had inherited that from his Father. He grinned and looked down, this guy was good at reading people for sure, he was pretty smart for his age.
"My Mother is a Waterbender, but yes, my Father is a Firebender..." He didn't really want to go on and tell Jing about the biggest problem in his life; he had never really talked to anyone about it, but he supposed this guy deserved an explanation after all. He sighed and tried to look everywhere but at the Earthbender.
"He always said I'd be a fantastic Firebender, but when I turned seven and we found out I was a Waterbender, well he was disappointed for sure..." He recalled whilst remembering his Father teaching him the forms and stances at a young age, before anyone knew how he was going to turn out. He supposed that his family knew he'd be a Firebender because he inherited his Father's personality - Even if he did look very Water Tribe.

"I guess my body was ready to Firebend... But genetically I couldn't. My Waterbending form has always been... Aggressive... I can never get my stances right, my technique is usually off and I'm not very fluid..." He let out another sigh, it was hard to explain to an Earthbender, he hoped he could appreciate the stances element of bending, but fluidity was crucial for Waterbending, "I try to Firebend the Water, because it's all I know how to do - Don't get me wrong, I've got good power... It's just my control is poor... I guess I need to find a way to be aggressive and fluid..." He finished.

Waterbending was the opposite of Firebending, so growing up thinking he'd be a Firebender and having the attitude and build of a Firebender meant that learning Waterbending was twice as difficult. The Avatar had picked up Firebending so easily, mainly because of her hot-headed attitude. He wondered if she ever struggled with Waterbending.

"Dad always said I'd be a Firebending prodigy... That I'd grow up to be the best..." He added in, realizing how much he had said.

[Tag;Jing]

Jing didn't understand, he didn't feel what Ottoya felt. Whilst what he said was true - Having the mentality of a Firebender did have it's positives in Waterbending in that he was more vicious with his attacks, it did have it's drawbacks. Like Jing said, Water needed to flow - He couldn't do that when he was so focused on his rage, his inner fire. It was part of the reason to why he couldn't freeze water, nor would it be wise to use healing. He was just too brutal.

Yet he agreed that it would be good to give each other a demonstration of their abilities at some point. He had never seen an Earthbender up close, it was so alien to him. Maybe Jing could teach him a thing or two about stances, Earthbending was from what he understood a very stable art. You had to be the rock to move the rock, or something like that. Ottoya couldn't imagine himself trying to be the water, it'd just be stupid. Still, he figured some of the stances could help him relax a little and be a tad more controlling with his Bending.

"I think we could learn a thing or two from each other..." He smiled. He supposed he could teach Jing some Firebending techniques he had adopted into his Waterbending. Maybe they'd work for Earthbending too? They consisted mainly of punches, something not really done for Waterbending, but it was likely that Jing already used his fists a lot for his attacks.

Ottoya wasn't just talking about learning Bending from each other, they could learn about how to adapt to City life. They were both pretty new, they could catch a Pro-Bending match some time or grab some Noodles. The Water Tribe boy did like Noodles, he'd developed somewhat a craving for oriental food, back home he just ate seal or broth.

He supposed he liked Jing. He thought him a little punk to begin with, but that was just Ottoya's brash, overly cautious persona shining through. Now he saw him as someone he could relate to - Someone as new to Republic City as him. Whilst they weren't exactly alike in terms of personality, he wanted to be friends with the guy, because quite frankly, he had no one else. He didn't know what to say or suggest other than,
"We should definitely hang out in the future..."

[Tag; Jing]

Right now? Jing wanted to go right now? He must have been eager to see him Waterbend, or to learn some techniques. In all fairness, Ottoya was just as keen, but he had some patience at least. He supposed he wasn't doing anything within the next few hours, he was going to listen to the Pro-Bending match on the radio tonight, but that wasn't for four or five hours. He had time to kill, this seemed to be the perfect opportunity to do just that.

"Alright..." He agreed, his hands finding their way into his pockets. Where could they go? Somewhere with both Water and Earth. Well, Earth was pretty much everywhere. He guessed that Jing wasn't a Metalbender, he looked too Ba Sing Se for that. So it would need to be some kind of cliff, or an embankment by the river. That'd work. The park too sounded like a good idea, but he didn't really know if Bending was allowed to be practiced there, it'd be like loitering. It'd put people off.

"Know anywhere suitable for Earthbending and Waterbending?" The darker skinned boy asked, he brushed back his bedraggled hair so he could see through both eyes and not just the one. He really needed a hairband of some kind, the mop of hair was getting too long. That or some scissors. His tone was natural, not sarcastic. He wanted Jing to decide, take the responsibility off his shoulders. He had suggested it, but it was Jing who wanted to Bend right this instant.

He stood up from the roadside bench, glancing both ways at the streets. Lots of cars and lots of people. It occurred to Ottoya that he didn't know this part of town; Jing had led him to a bench further Downtown than he had been before. He had an urge to explore, find out what kinds of shops and stools were down in the unknown. He knew Downtown was a grubby, slimy part of the City that probably contained people with the same traits, but it didn't scare him. His curiosity was too great for that. He didn't get curious often, but when he did it was usually unstoppable.

"Let's go this way..."

And into the unknown.

[Tag; Jing]

The Waterbender was not put off by the darkening scenery around him. The dodgy dealers and unforgiving faces were mostly ignored by the short attention-spanned teenager, who was busy looking for a water source. So far he had no luck. The light above them was blocked by a cloud, almost symbolizing that they were in a darker place. This seemed to go over Ottoya's head, he was far to occupied in his quest to show Jing his bending, thus he needed rocks and water. He liked exploring, he liked new things, this section of Republic City was indeed more dangerous than most, but he liked that. Besides, people wouldn't mess with an Earthbender and a Waterbender, right? Especially if they were showing off their talents - People would think twice before getting on the wrong side of Ottoya and Jing.

Maybe he was getting overconfident.

After passing some begrudging vendors selling meat that didn't look edible, the teen paused. Jing was just beside him, he looked nervous and commented that they were in the wrong place.
"Relax, we'll find a good spot..." The Water Tribe boy ushered, pressing onwards into the unknown. This was exactly what his father had warned him about; not paying attention. Yet Ottoya had been one to not pay attention from a young age - Why stop now?

The teenager stepped in a puddle, his face lit up initially, but he was then disheartened by the size of the puddle, too small to do anything with. There had to be water nearby, right? It was easy for Jing, there was Earth everywhere. But... Hadn't that been what his Waterbending Master had taught him? He hadn't been paying attention. It was something like that there was Water in everything, for life needed Water. He hadn't been listening, nor practicing... He had heard of people extracting water from thin air, but Ottoya had never been good at temperature work, hence his disability to make Ice. He doubted he could condensate either.

He kept walking, Jing somewhere beside or behind him. He needed to keep up, wouldn't want to get lost in these parts. Suddenly a blur, something in front of him. Ottoya tensed up, but then relaxed once he saw the tiny creature, some kind of monkeyrat... It lapped up the water in the puddle beside him. It seemed cute, the teen wondered if it could lead them to water, wild animals had to drink right? But who said it was wild? Ottoya pondered, kneeling down next to the creature.
"Hey there little guy-" The creature panicked before he could finish, it let out short, sharp cries that caught the attention of people nearby.

Four or five large guys moved in their direction, not the sort of guys who looked like they would help two lost teenagers either. They were meat-headed, angry sort of people, short-tempered types by the look of it. They folded their arms, advancing still. Outnumbered by guys who could more than likely Outbend them... Fighting was not an option, besides the fact that there was no water nearby.
"We should get out of here, Jing..." He muttered under his breath, tugging at the sleeve of the Earthbender.

[Tag; Jing]

Ottoya was surprised to see his fellow teenager take up a fighting stance. He thought Jing was more of a run away type. He opted for a mantis stance, looping his arms and lifting to create a curved wall in front of them. The Waterbender's eyes turned to wonder, his jaw dropped. He had never seen Earthbending this close up, and of this magnitude too. The wall was solid earth, unlike anything he'd ever seen before. Judging by the thickness of it, the thugs would have to be Earthbenders to get through, but Jing said it wouldn't last long. Maybe it wasn't as solid as it looked?

"Yeah, no arguing there..." The teenager agreed, and proceeded to break into a run. Back to the market was the goal, but with these guys hot on their tails, it was going to seem like a longer journey than before. Something then caught Ottoya's leg, making him tumble over into the dirt.
"Agh!" The thing was screaching and clawing. He pushed himself to his feet again, but the thing caught him a second time. He hit the dirt again.
"Ratmonkey! Monkeyrat!" Ottoya yelled, shaking his leg. Boy could he do with some water right now.

Being face down in the dirt was bad, especially now that the guys had found a way through the wall, or around it somehow, probably a detour would lead them further forwards. They needed another diversion, he guessed that Jing could pop up another one of those walls, but judging by the now visible hole in Jing's wall, one of these guys could Earthbend, or just had fists of steel.

Ottoya kicked the Monkeyrat off his leg and pushed himself to his feet. They had lost ground, but the Waterbender caught up with his comrade pretty quickly. With the guys hot on their tails, they needed to pick up the pace.
"I think one's an Earthbender!" Ottoya said, feeling quite powerless at this stage. This was confirmed a few seconds later, when several boulders flew in their direction.

[Tag; Jing]

"I'm not good with animals!" Ottoya agreed as Jing called for him to go and look for some water whilst he fended off the group of thugs. The Waterbender wasn't sure about this, they should just keep running. Even if Ottoya could find water, it wouldn't guarantee that he could cause enough of a commotion to get away, nor enough to fight back. They were outnumbered and probably outclassed, that Earthbender was no doubt more advanced than Jing. With age came strength when it came to Bending.

Their best option was to keep at what they were doing. Ottoya figured that these guys wouldn't just chase them for no reason other than that they were in their turf, plus were potential mugging targets. The Water Tribe boy had no money on him, yet these guys were oddly persistent. Maybe they were just annoyed that two teenagers had actually built up the guts to fight back. Either way, it did not bode well for the duo.

The dark skinned boy had an aptitude for getting into trouble. Even back in the South Pole, where there was little trouble to get into at all, he found a way. This was mostly down to boredom, because he had nothing else to occupy himself with. Now? Now it was because he had made a bad move in going in this direction. If only he had kept a level head and not rushed off without thinking to where they were going. He had put not only himself, but Jing - A guy he barely knew - In direct danger.

Water. He had to find water. Why was there no water around? There had been that puddle, but it was so very small. It had to have come from somewhere, right? All water came from somewhere, it didn't 't just appear. The teenager kept running without looking behind him. He could hear Jing, he guessed he was probably doing some more Earthbending to slow the guys down. He wished that his comrade would just run, fighting was not an option, especially with another Earthbender against them.

"Just run, Jing..." The Southern Water Tribe boy called back, having no luck finding water. He was almost at the edge of Downtown, nearing the market. He was on his own, Jing was not behind him. He waited for a few seconds, before charging back towards the fray.
"Jing! Let's go!" Repeated the teenager, feeling utterly powerless.This was a guy who he had been brash and rude too, shrugged off as a nobody. Now, five minutes later he was pleading for him to run for his safety. A lot had happened in a short space of time.

Maybe today wasn't the best day to practice Bending.

[Tag; Jing]

As Jing madly dashed past him, the Water Tribe boy could do nothing except follow. He felt utterly powerless, as Jing had done all the hard work and bending. What was more, he had put the Earthbender in unnecessary danger, all because he was curious to explore and eager to Bend. Had he kept more of a level head, things would have gone more smoothly... But Ottoya was anything but level headed.

He was impressed by the Boy from the Earth Kingdom, his abilities were solid, even to someone who had never seen Earthbending up close - The teenager from the South could just tell. The way the thugs struggled to advance was evidence enough. The feeling of helplessness still tugged at Ottoya from the inside. The lack of water was a problem, and he had never really been prepared enough to equip himself with a water skin. In the past, water had always been available, whilst here in the city, it wasn't everywhere.

"I'm sorry... I got careless and put us in danger..."
Panted the dark skinned boy as he turned the corner into the alleyway. He slumped into a sitting position and clutched his legs to his chest. His mop of black/brown hair curtained over his face in a wragged manner, his icy blue eyes stabbed through, full of quiet rage. He had messed up, once again Ottoya had been too unfocused and had leaped before looking.

"That would have ended a lot sooner had I gotten some water... Ottoya said cockily, a smirk brewed on his exhausted face, "You were incredible... I've never seen Earthbending like that... Or at all!! He forced a tired laugh, but was genuine in his praise for his fellow teenager.