OOC: Sorry for the shortish length. Still trying to get into character.

—-

Stifling a yawn, Bolin made his way around the training area. It was early morning yet, a few weeks before the next Fire Ferret match. Living above the Arena afforded some perks — like being able to watch the sun rise from one of the best places in Republic City. Not, exactly, that he was an early riser. Pabu had decided to jump on his... delicates... that morning, and following the momentary blinding pain he hadn't been able to fall back asleep.

As he passed one of the training rooms, he could have sworn he heard a soft female voice speaking. Instantly, he was alert, cocking his head to one side to try and find the source of the voice. He followed the familiar sounds of training to one of the rooms by the big window, and was surprised to see a petite little brunette flop down on a training mat. Acting oh-so-cool, Bolin leaned up against the doorway and gave a slow little clap.

"Impressive form," he said in mock-seriousness. "Though might I suggest ending with a bit more oomph to your finish — flipping over in a somersault might do the trick." He pushed himself off the door frame with a shrug of his (broad, muscular) shoulders and walked over to the girl, squatting down next to her.

"What'cha doing here?" he asked with a curious smile. "It's a little early, don't you think?" He gestured vaguely outside. "The sun is barely up." Bolin glanced around; the training room was empty save the two of them. "Are you alone?" It was kind of a dumb question - it was really obvious. But what would this girl be doing if not for training? And if she was training, where was the rest of her team?

He glanced at her again, a little more closely this time. "Maybe we've seen each other around, you look a little familiar." With a wide grin, he stuck out his hand. "I'm Bolin. Nice to meet you, ....?" He trailed off, hoping to get her name (she was kind of cute!).

Ooc; it's totally fine Also, sorry for the random Airi muse~

Airi reopened her eyes, looking up at the ceiling of which she couldn't help but notice the dents and burn marks on it. What kinds of idiots threw their attacks up there? A probending area was totally flat! Unless someone jumped up REALLY high and the opponent REALLY wanted to hit them while they're up there. Though it seemed unlikely, no possibility should be dismissed unless she wanted to admit to herself that she was in a group of people that attacked ceilings. Frustration, perhaps, if she wanted to give in to the thought of being associated with brutes.

A voice sounded the room, surprising her lightly, but she turned her head as well as pushing herself up so she was perched on her elbows. With a smile, she thought of a retort. "Why not a spin flip?"

[/color] she thought, her gaze sightless, like she was staring into space as she imagined how cool that could look. Oh, and a bit of fire power! That would be totally fun! She should work on it! When... she's not working on other things, like work for an example or training here.

When she turned her gaze back to him and snapped out of her short trance, she notice he had moved from, well, where ever he had been before and was sitting right next to her! For a moment, she was aware of how she must look, hair sticking to her neck and face with sweat dripping down her temple. But then she remembered she was not with a customer or a stranger on the street; she was at the probending training room with what she could assume was a fellow probender! That, she could assume as much.

"Early?"[/color] she repeated with a hearty laugh. "I work at a bakery. We get up much earlier than this to start off the day's makings. This is nothing!"[/color] Bread wasn't something you could make ahead of time so you could sleep in. On the bright side, you could go to bed earlier in a warm home, heated by the day's furnace from the kitchen- so long as no chores needed to be finished.

"Well, before, I wasn't. My team found it easiest to just practice earlier and stuff. I mean, probending can get a bit of money, but we do all have other jobs."[/color] She gave him a smile as her arms reached back and pulled her hair back, dragging her gingers through the messy ponytail and taking the rubberband with her only to retie the ponytail. When he mentioned he recognized her, she felt really bad that she couldn't say the same. Even if they stopped and chatted before once or twice, it was more than possible that she could have forgotten it. Her yellow eyes looked up and her right cheek puffed out as she tried to remember.

No, she couldn't remember him! Though... she guessed he did seem a bit familiar. Not his face, but his voice. His voice seemed like something she heard several times. "I'm... Airi?"[/color] she replied with a nervous giggle, her head moving slightly back as his moved forward. However, she did reach out and shake his hand, hoping he wouldn't mind she was sweaty from her work out. "It's nice to meet you! Are you still in; like your team? My team lost our first game, ha ha... But we're still going at it!"[/color] she said happily, her smile widening as she thought about it. They would be even stronger next time![/blockquote]

"Yeah, yeah, I could do that so long as I could kick around some fire before I get back on my feet," she added, though not knowing how to describe the fire tricks with words. Like, fire out of her hands to help push herself back up into the air so she could get back to her feet. No matter how cool it would have been, she just did not have the strength or talent to walk everywhere on her hands. She wondered who could...

Airi was a bit surprised at her company's reaction to her line of work. "Yeah, its a family business. Im the oldest, but the store might go to my younger brother when my parents completely retire," she said, mumbling the last part almost uncharacteristically. Her brother was a nonbender, so he might get it because of the fact he might not have other skills to work elsewhere, but she had a memory problem, was first born and was very dedicated to the work at hand! Not that he didn't work well... oh! She just really wanted what was familiar to her!

Almost as an unconscious decision for survival, she let her muscles relax and her arm grow limp as he, er, shook her hand. Still, this wasn't an encounter you got every day and it was quite silly that she couldn't help but laugh again. "Ouch, powerplant work is hard stuff. Hey! If you ever want some bread, you could come by and stuff! Sometimes, we burn the bread a bit or it comes out a bit funny and we can't sell them, you could grab a couple."

[/color] Her offer wasn't merely to help him, but the bread would either be thrown away or given to the local hobos as a thanks for keeping her safe when she was having her problems.

"Oh! You're on the team with the avatar? That's so cool!"[/color] Airi exclaimed. Korra... that was the avatars name! She had been trying to remember that for a while now. "Sorry that I dint recognize you-and I have no idea who your brother is- I have short term memory problems. Names and faces tend to be challenging."[/color] she told him with a sympathetic expression on her face. It always came out at one point or another, so why delay it? Life was to have fun and that's what she intended on doing!

With a nod she took his hand into hers, not waiting for any help and pulling on his hand so she had the force to life her and all this equipment up. And just to make light of their first exchange of words, she did a BACKFLIP and landed on her hands, though she barely stood there for a second when she fell backwards onto her back. She laughed awkwardly, pulling herself up again, fists at the ready. "You can throw the first punch,"[/color] Airi offered since she still was trying to regain her balance.[/blockquote]

Her? A showboater? Somehow, she could imagine herself doing something like that, but she couldn't bear to part with her beloved bread! Though could she see probending as putting on a show? It was about strength, agility and whatnot, but in the end, it's just entertainment, wasn't it? She did have to say, it was a whole lot better than those radio dramas they play where the woman has a bad relationship with her husband or something. Probending was just so face paced it drew you in and kept you hooked! ...As said by someone who barely knew anything about probending a few months ago. "Sure,"

[/color] she said.

That's right! After so long from seeing a game, she had forgotten how the disks could actually hurt. The padding helped, but those disks could still bruise! Then again, fire could still burn even if it wasn't direct. What about what? That reminded her of the sink, how it looked like it hurt when someone fell from such a distance to land on water! Someone once said that water, if hit at a certain speed, can be as hard as a rock! Did she believe it? Yes she did. Airi quickly nodded and ran over to the lockers he had directed her to.

It wasn't long before she was all suited up and back at the mat. Thank goodness he remembered that; she sure wouldn't have and would have ended up all black and blue. That wouldn't be any way to help herself train if all she did was let people injure her. "Ready,"[/color] she chimed as she readied herself. The disks sped towards her and, for a moment, she lost her concentration (if she had any to begin with!) to listen to what Bolin said. Intercepting it? By the time she eyed the disks again, they were feet away.

She slid her right foot back and pulled back her right fist that held a sleight tremble. Destroy the disk? she asked herself, Or throw it back? And how? In a split second's decision, she decided to throw a punch that was was wider and less concentrated on one spot at an upward direction. She watched as the disk broke and flew forward. If were a real game, she would have been knocked back because after that hit, she simply watched the disk fly off and giggled as a few bits hit the ceiling. So that's how stuff ended up there.

"How was that?"[/color] she eagerly asked, her yellow eyes wide and excited.[/blockquote]

OOC: Let's cut the sparring bits a little short, and maybe they can go out and get a bite to eat. :]

—-

He clapped. She had gone a little glassy-eyed when he spoke, so he figured her to be one of those people who couldn't listen and concentrate at the same time. For a split second, he thought he'd have to send a second disc to knock it away, but she snapped-to at just the right moment and broke it in two and sent it flying up. "Good, good," Bolin smiled encouragingly. "Try not to waste your energy, though, by moving more than you need to — that is one sure way to lose your footing and get knocked back or off."

He gestured to his stance. "I dunno how firebenders are with this sort of thing — Mako prefers not to be quite so anchored, and Korra, well, she's got a lot of fancy footwork from all bending types. But me? A solid stance is the key to being able to stay in the ring. Stay light on your feet, but don't waste time bouncing back and forward for no reason." He gestured to the bits of rock embedded in the ceiling. "That won't be there in a match," he reminded the girl, "so try not to hit things up, because they'll come back down again. And if you hit it too high, you'll hit the glass ceiling, and that counts as a foul."

Motioning for Airi to step back, Bolin readied himself again. "Let's try two at a time, now, okay?"

When she gave her okay, Bolin stomped hard on the wooden floor. Two discs, one from each stack, levitated off their brethren and hovered in the air for a brief moment. Quick as a wink, Bolin struck the air in front of him with a quick one-two punch. The disc on Airi's left arced left, and the one on the right arced right.

Unlike before, Bolin kept silent. He couldn't afford to distract Airi, he remembered. The stocky young man kept at the ready, just in case Airi needed rescuing.

"I'll keep that in mind,"

[/color] she said, unable to not smile in return to his. She loved it when people were happy! She tended to cause more worry than happiness, but she herself was always bubbly and ready to go! She never really got how one person could actually be not happy; it just seemed impossible to her. Then her mind did a full switch to checking her footing. Perhaps she did move a bit too much? She made a mental note to check it out at the next practice and even poke at her teammates' footing. You never know when you could make a difference!

"But I'm never out of energy!"[/color] she announced a bit proud, hands on her hips and showing a large, toothy grin. Sure, she would be pooped after a long day of work and whatnot, but she could just keep going and going in terms of physical exaustion. She did have a breaking point, but her destination or goal would usually be accomplished by then. In truth, she never had to take longer routes either, knowing the city streets well, so the routes were never long. Maybe that's why she thinks she has a continuous supply of energy.

Eh heh... Yeah, she thought to herself, I guess that would cause a foul though she never meant it to be something harmful. What if someone got hit by falling glass! She would be the one at fault for whatever injury she caused! And in a public place, as well. The police could take her in for something like that, right? She could even go to jail with her record rather extensive with accidental stealings. "Okay!"[/color] she replied, readying herself for the next throw, suddenly wondering if this was considering 'sparring' as it felt more like specialized training.

Airi waited. And waited. But the disks just sat there in the air! She loosened her stance ever so slightly, but just with her luck, that's when he threw them at her! Eek! "He-yaa!"[/color] she sounded as she stepped to the left and threw a punch, breaking the first disk with a burst of fire. Where was the other one? She looked around and when she found it, bringing up her right hand to get the attack she missed it by a few inches! It went past her, but hit her shoulder. She loosened her stance, moving with the disk so that it merely pushed her, continuing on to hit the wall behind her.

Thankfully, the push hadn't hurt too bad as the padding protected her (good call, Bolin! she thought to herself at that moment), but she just knew it was going to leave some type of bruise. She laughed it off, taking off part of the padding to check the sore. Yeah, right there, she could see the start of a bruise, though nothing too serious. "I think that's enough for me, for today. I also practiced a good hour before this,"[/color] she explained so she wouldn't seem like a wimpy alternate. She must start the new stigma that alternates were good, too, and not just extras! Huzzah!

The brunette removed the rest of the padding, leaving her wearing her work out clothes: a grimy white tank top, loose, black shorts that went half way down her shins, her usual fingerless gloves and a pair of her younger brother's shoes. "Hey, I can show you where I work, if you ever want some second-rate bread,"[/color] she offered, laughing at her own sort-of-joke that no one else would probably get. She skipped towards her bag that sat on the floor in the corner of the room and taking out a towel to wipe herself with and pulled out a loaf of bread. "This was going to be breakfast, want some?"[/color] she offered as she walked towards the door, thinking that he -someone who looked like they just woke up- hadn't eaten breakfast yet. [/blockquote]

OOC: Ugh, sorry it's so short again. Still trying to get in-character. x-x

—-

Bolin rushed over. "Are you okay?" he demanded, concerned. He had tried to take it easy on her, but sometimes he just didn't know his own strength. It wasn't that he was against genuinely sparring with her, but seeing as her team lost in their first round, she probably wasn't that experienced and he didn't want to be too harsh during a practice run. He and Mako had been Probending for a relatively long time; not as long as some of the other teams, but at least the entirety of this season, and they had practised a lot with Hasook before the three of them were allowed to officially participate in the Arena. Not to mention he out-everything'd Airi in terms of physicality. He was buffer, taller, and likely stronger; Bolin was built like a majority of earthbenders - bulky, muscular, but not necessarily with rippling pectorals. He had seen some of THOSE guys — they were like walking tree trunks! He didn't even WANT to look like that - he liked being able to see his neck, thankyouverymuch.

Airi called it quits for the day, and Bolin nodded. "That's fine by me!" he said brightly. "It's too early for this sort of thing, for me." He stretched and yawned, exaggerating his motions. Then --miracle of miracles-- she pulled a loaf of bread out of her bag. His stomach growled and his mouth watered as she offered to share it with him. "Sure!" Bolin held out his hand for a piece.

When she gave it to him, he quickly took a bite, and wondered why she called it 'second-rate' bread. As far as bread went, it was pretty good! He ate his portion with gusto, but a little too quickly. He burped loudly, and the sound echoed in the room and hallways. "Oh." He looked a little embarrassed. "Sorry about that." He waited, a little impatiently, for her to finish her portion of breakfast. Never had been one to sit still, as Mako often pointed out, Bolin stood and paced around the room, making a big show of lifting the regulation discs, still in their stacks, with one hand a piece. With an audible and (only slightly) exaggerated grunt, he put them down with the other equipment. Not that he was showing off.

Okay, maybe he was showing off. He liked Airi — he generally liked most people — but not exactly that way. Airi may be a great girl, really enthusiastic (and also pretty), but she was no Korra. Not that he would ever compare the two, but Korra was just so amazing, and would be even if she wasn't the Avatar. He had been attracted to the Water Tribe girl the first moment he laid eyes on her, that fateful day in a room just near this one. But still, he showed off for Airi. He didn't mind the attention, and part of him felt that finally he could get some — and not be 'Mako's-brother-Bolin' for once. Airi didn't seem to know Mako from Skootchy, so maybe — just maybe — he could make an impression on SOMEone before his brother got to them.

"You mentioned going to see your work?" The earthbender dropped down next to her again, his eyes shining. "I've got nothing to do today," he told her eagerly, "So if you're up for it, we can go whenever you want! I'll walk ya there, and I can carry your bag if you want!" The gentlemanly thing to do, Bolin thought to himself. If she agreed, he'd stop by the loft and tell Mako where he was going, and pick up Pabu.

Speaking of which...

"How are you with animals?" The question was abrupt, but he didn't notice. "D'you like them?"

Ooc; I hope you don't mind that I said Bolin left and whatnot; I didn't want to get stuck there... Eeyup o3o

Bolin came forward, probably trying to comfort her by being concerned. It was touching, but she could handle herself. Airi nodded her head to assure him she was fine, her laughter getting the best of her making it hard to talk. It wasn't going to make too much of a bruise, it was most likely the shock of it all that made her feel like it was worse than it was. If she hadn't been quick enough she was quite sure that it could have been a lot worse. Earth was chunky, though strong, so maneuverability was one of it's downsides. If she had to change her element, she would have loved to be a waterbender because they didn't have a bad stigma attached to them like fire did and earthbenders were being attached to the idea of the metalbending police which some people resent for one reason or another.

A smile crept it's way to her face when he took the bread from her, eating it quickly. "Take the rest of it. I'm fine,"

[/color] she said. She was most likely older than Bolin, though she might not seem like it. The youngest people can join probending was sixteen, so the biggest age gap possible would be four years, but she guessed it might be a three years difference. Hearing that his brother (uh... Malo, right?) worked at the electricity factory and not letting him do anything made her think that they probably didn't get a lot of nice food. Besides, she wasn't all that hungry and could last the walk to the shop.

But when he handed it out to her, she couldn't say no and took the half, taking small bites of it and picking it apart as she watched Bolin throw around some disks and show off, even clapping after he set back down the stacks. With a swallow, she threw her bag over her shoulder and listened to Bolin talk and talk (a thought running through her head of: someone that wouldn't mind her ramblings!), nodding. "Great,"[/color] she exclaimed when he said he wouldn't mind coming and even walking her back. "Aren't you a nice guy. Thanks,"[/color] she said, thankfully handing over the bag. It wasn't too heavy, but the beginning of the bruise would only hurt when putting that kind of pressure on it, otherwise she wouldn't have minded carrying it.

She began to head towards the exit when he stopped and asked her about animals. "Welllllll, I've never had a pet -cause we can't afford something getting into the food; we live right above our shop- and I don't spend a lot of time around them, but I do like them,"[/color] she rambled as she stopped walking. She watched as he ran off, but didn't attempt to follow seeing as her house was that way. It didn't take long for him to return and with a fire ferret no less! She never would have guessed he owned one (or did he?), but without a moment's delay, she began to walk once more.

"Lets head to my shop. Even if I wanted to go somewhere else, I'm... nasty,"[/color] she said to refer to the sweat and grimy clothes. "You wouldn't mind if I cleaned myself up?"[/color] she asked. She had a couple yuans hanging around gathering dust, so perhaps they could go and eat something nice. For a moment, she wondered what she was feeling towards him: platonic friendship, likeness or motherliness and came to the conclusion of the first one. She liked to help out friends! "Oh! And you could have some bread while you wait,"[/color] she offered, a small skip added to her step.[/blockquote]

OOC: It's not a problem, I understand. :]

—-

She clapped, and Bolin beamed. Even if she was just humouring him, the only time anyone seemed to pay the remotest attention to him ever is when he was saving Mako's butt in the Probending ring. He loved his brother, but sometimes --okay, a lot of times-- he just felt so frustrated when he got overlooked for not being the tall-dark-brooding type. He'd heard people on the street talking about how "mysterious" his brother was. He could've snorted. Imagine if they knew he wasn't mysterious at all, just annoyed at their attentions. Even with all of his private annoyance and complaint, though, Bolin didn't begrudge his brother too much. Sure, it wasn't great always being "Mako's brother, Bolin" instead of just "Bolin", but Mako's success was well earned and well deserved. He had done so much after their parents died, always making sure they had a place to stay and food to eat.

Airi handed him her bag, and he lifted it single-handedly over his shoulder with no effort. It didn't feel that heavy to him. He smiled when she said she liked animals, and excused himself. "I'll be right back."

Quick as a wink, he went upstairs and left his sleeping brother a note, scrawled sloppily on the back of a paper bag. Met girl in training room, going to visit her bakery. He paused, then added, Will try to come back before you leave. If not, see you when you get home! --Bolin

With a quick chirp, he called to Pabu, who scurried from one of the rafters and dropped onto his head. Cringing, he made quite the effort to hold in a cry of pain. The little ferret peeped down at him, face upside-down, and chirped questioningly. "I'm fine," he whispered, making his way back down to where Airi was waiting.

Let's head to my shop. Even if I wanted to go somewhere else, I'm... nasty. You wouldn't mind if I cleaned myself up? Oh! And you could have some bread while you wait.

Pabu's ears pricked up at the mention of bread, and he snaked his way down Bolin's shoulder and investigated the new person. The earthbender laughed, scratching the little guy's ears. "Looks like you said the magic words," he told Airi. "This is Pabu. Pabu, meet Airi. She's a probender, like me an' Mako. And a baker. Not like me an' Mako." The ferret chattered out a greeting, sniffing the girl experimentally. Whatever he smelled, it was to his liking. Bolin figured his animal friend was used to the smell of sweat and dirt and a bit of burnt. After all, that's what they usually smelled like.

The two of them left the Arena, and Bolin allowed Airi to lead the way. "Man, I am so hungry," he said dramatically, looking at the sky like it would answer his whining. It didn't, of course. "Maybe it's the probending, but I can eat so much. It's like I'm never full! They continued walking, and Bolin shifted the bag from one hand to another. He wondered how far it would be to the bakery; he could almost smell freshly baked bread just thinking about it, and he was very much looking forward to taking that first, crunchy crust bite.

To fill the time and silence, Bolin decided to find out more about his new friend. It would be great to hang out with more people and just Mako and Korra, especially since both of them were so BUSY all the time. "So what got you into Probending?" he asked her curiously. "I mean, if you're a baker and all? What team do you play on?" He attended every single probending match, so it wasn't like it was impossible that he'd seen her play.

While she talked, Bolin took in his surroundings. He wasn't sure where they were going, but it seemed like a part of town he didn't come to often.

One might use the word concerned or found off guard when seeing her reaction to the fire ferret moved to Bolin's shoulder, stretching out its neck towards her. She had told him that she liked animals, but that did not mean she was used to them, though one animal she was absolutely afraid of were turtleducks. She didn't know what about them made her freeze up or start to fret, causing her to run off. Everyone found them so cute and whatnot, so she kept this irrational fear a secret, knowing people would only try to convince her that turtleducks weren't scary. But that's the point of an irrational fear! It's irrational! She couldn't explain why she doesn't like them or when she started to fear them. She just couldn't!

Magic words? Oh, did Padu like bread? Interesting... she thought only turtleducks liked bread. "Nice to meet you, Pabu,"

[/color] she chimed happily, her hand timidly stretching out to pet the fire ferret. "He's so soft!"[/color] she accidentally exclaimed. Airi pet him once more before putting her hand back at her side. "He's very cute,"[/color] she told Bolin, though giggling a little when he told his pet that she was a baker, but they weren't. Well wasn't he peculiar. So was she, so it just made this all the better!

"I can understand that. You burn a lot of energy to earn the money to buy food. It's a vicious cycle,"[/color] she airily said, poking her cheek with her index finger, puffing out her cheeks at the same time. Figuring he practiced more than she did as he was still in the running, he probably needed to eat twice the amount the average someone his size should eat and she had to admit, that was a lot. As she paced her steps, she looked around at their surroundings. She never managed to memorize the map of Republic City, but she knew the looks of the streets well enough to find her way home from any point. "This way,"[/color] she told him, taking a right into a short alley that led her to a street she would have had to circle around to get to. They were close!

Airi hummed as she tried to remember what got her into probending in the first place. She barely knew about it before... "Oh! Yeah, someone asked me to be an alternate, just in case. Good thing, too, since the captain, Anya, ended up having to leave. I subbed in for her, but we still lost. It was fun though!"[/color] she loudly said, throwing a fist in the air and ignoring the strange looks of the people around them. "I play for the Raven-Hawks,"[/color] she added, thankful she remembered it.

And right ahead of them, a few stores from where they were near, stood the not-too-shabby store labeled with big bold letters: Hitomi Bread and Goods. She never got why they added the 'and goods' part seeing as they rarely sold anything other than bread. Every so often they would make pastries or cake, but not many other things. Perhaps at some point when she was younger they sold other things. "Here it is,"[/color] she informed him as they neared. Once inside, the smell of bread was overwhelming and she pushed past a door, telling Bolin to wait there and taking her bag with her.

"Mooooommmm,"[/color] she called, walking into the kitchen. "I made a friend. I told him he could have some bread while he waited for me to freshen up. Can you give him something?"[/color] she quickly asked before running upstairs and hopping in the shower tub. A shampoo and a scrub later, she dried herself off with a towel and put on a new pair of clothes, though similar to what she wore to working out in: a red tank top, a pair of brown shorts and black leggings underneath and her gloves to hide the burns on her arms. Though her hair was still mildly wet, she braided her longer layer of hair into the usual braid just for the heck of it as there was no practical use for it. Airi skipped down the spiral stairs, noticing a empty spot in the rows of bread on the pan that had just been pulled from the oven. That's what her mom should have given to Bolin; lucky him, getting bread right out of the oven!

"Alright, is there anywhere you would like to hang out at?"[/color] she asked, opening the front door for him before she exited herself. "Lead the way,"[/color] she said since she didn't have anywhere in mind to go, as long as it wasn't the park. The park and those... turtleducks.[/blockquote]

Raven-Hawks, Raven-Hawks... Raven-Eagles, maybe? Bolin thought back, trying to remember. "Raven-Eagles, d'you mean?" How strange she didn't know her own team's name. "That was a couple of weeks ago, wasn't it?" He seemed to remember it, at least somewhat. It was a relatively impressive match, despite a first round flub on their Firebender's part. That must have been why Airi was brought in as an alternate. The Dragon-Hawks (maybe that is why she got confused? but still, weird...) had wound up winning, but the Raven-Eagles had made a valiant effort. "You guys did pretty well, if I remember right. Could have probably used more teamwork, instead of trying to go toe-to-toe with individual team members. Cover each others' weaknesses and all that."

They (finally) arrived at the bakery. Glassy-eyed, Bolin allowed himself to be lead inside, taking in all the smells of baking bread. Next thing he knew, Pabu was scolding him angrily for drooling. The earthbender wiped his mouth and chin as Airi walked away calling for her mum. He sat at a little one-person table, waiting.

A lady — Airi's mom, apparently — came out of the kitchen, all smiles and... Oh GOOD GOSH WAS THAT A FRESHLY BAKED LOAF? It was placed in front of him, with a knife with serrated edges, and a small bowl of butter. Eagerly, he grabbed the knife and sliced the loaf, relishing the crunch and sound of metal-on-crust. It sliced smoothly, scattering little crumbs everywhere. Blind to just about everything else, Bolin spread a generous pat of butter on his first slice, waiting just a few moments for the warmth of the bread to melt the butter before taking a huge bite. His eyes rolled back in his head as he chewed, slowly, savouring the warm, fluffy, buttery goodness.

Pabu climbed up on the table, helping his little grabby paws to a small ball of bread right from the centre of the loaf, nibbling at it rapidly. By the time Airi came back from freshening up, Bolin and Pabu had almost finished the entire loaf of bread.

Alright, is there anywhere you would like to hang out at?

He looked up, a little startled. "Oh! Hey, sorry, I spaced out." He took another slice. "This is really good bread," he said appreciatively, trying to finish the loaf so they could get going. A shame, to eat such goodness so quickly.

"Let's see..." the earthbender thought a moment, trying to think of an interesting place to go. There was always Central Park, but most people had been there a dozen and a half times. Not to mention there wasn't really anything to DO there except feed the turtleducks and that was a repetitive task at best. "Do you like music?" he asked. "You know, Jazz, that band stuff? There's this street corner over by Central Station where musicians hang out."

Finishing the last bit of bread, much to both his and Pabu's dismay, Bolin stood up and took the dishes to Airi's mother. He bowed. "That was delicious, thank you!"

Lead the way.

With a hearty wave goodbye at Airi's mom, Bolin headed out the door, pausing to gain his bearings. The neighbourhood was unfamiliar. "Uh..."

Smiling brightly, he pointed. "Maybe it's this way?"

***

After a few wrong turns and about a ten minute walk, Bolin finally lead Airi to Central Station and the corner he talked about. There were only a couple of musicians there so early in the morning, but Bolin greeted them warmly and by name. Or, at least, nicknames.

"Hey Lungs! How's it goin', Plucky? He-heyyy, Slider! How's business?"

The three men shrugged, and smiled.

"Slow. How ya been, Bo? Who's this pretty lady?"

The one with the trumpet held out his hand for Airi to shake. "I'm Lungs," he said pleasantly. "This here with the upright bass is Plucky, and the guy with the trombone over there is Slider."

Lungs suddenly looked at him mock-suspiciously. "This your gal?" His tone was part teasing, part curious. Bolin waved his hands rapidly, dismissing the claim. He only had eyes for one girl.

"Oh, nonononono, she's just a friend, actually, we just met this morning over at the Arena." He quickly changed the subject. "Have you guys written any new songs? Could you play something for us?"

Plucky shrugged in a why not sort of way, and began plucking at his instrument, the deep bass notes filling the air. Slider tapped his foot for a couple of seconds, getting the beat, before joining in. Lungs was the last, giving the two probenders a wink before taking a deep breath and demonstrating how he earned his nickname.

Fast, upbeat music filled the air and Bolin held out his hand to Airi. "Wanna dance? I promise not to step on your feet!"

Airi tried to laugh off her big mistake. "Yeah, I meant that,"

[/color] she said. Eagles... Hawks... They were similar, right? If they were, then that would mean it wasn't too big of a mistake. Oh gosh, how she just hated her memory. "It was indeed. And yeah, we knew we could have done better; that's why we were practicing today. We're hoping for better luck next season,"[/color] she explained optimistically. Next season, just maybe, they could get past the first round! If not, one round was still very fun plus the fact she could go around and say she was a probender!

The walk to Central Station took a course she wouldn't have chosen, but she found it just as entertaining to let Bolin try and figure out himself where they were in relationship to their destination. Besides, it was hard to learn if all he did was follow her and she knew far too well that being able to know where you were was something very important. Not that she was trying to mother him or anything! It just seemed like the right thing to do. It wasn't like she wanted to get anywhere very quickly and she was quite capable of walking far distances. Sooner or later, they reached Central Station (and it felt like sooner to her, so she guessed she forgot a few minutes of their passage, though nothing too major).

The corner that Bolin lead her to did have a lot of musicians, but it didn't seem to hold her attention very long. Her eyes began to wander around the area just taking in the area despite having been here before. Was it possible it could all seem different with live music playing in the background? Her attention snapped back to the situation at hand and she gladly took Lung's hand and giving it a strong grip and an energetic shake. "It's nice to meet you,"[/color] nicely she said before letting go of the man's hand and taking a minute to look over the people that stood before her. She began to think to herself thoughts like: "If I saw them on the streets without their instruments, I bet they would still look like musicians", "Where do they get the money to buy the instruments if they're on the streets to perform instead of in a club or restaurant?" and "I wonder what their real names are."

One of them made a comment about her being the earthbender's 'gal'. She scowled lightly, not quite sure what that implied or meant, really, but she bet it was something weird judging Bolin's reaction. But the scowl could never survive upon her face, her resting state always being something of a happy look. Airi's head nodded in agreement when he said she was simply someone he met today, her brown hair bouncing up an down as if it was absolutely weightless. "Oh!"[/color] The music that began to play was lovely. Lovely indeed! Now her only thought was: "Why aren't they playing somewhere nicer than the streets? They're good!" Then again, it's not really like she got out and was social all that much, despite being such an extravert.

"Me?"[/color] she asked, actually surprised. Her cheeks lit up to a bright red. Dance? Never had she the chance to go out and dance. Work and family always consumed her time, not that she minded. Bread and family were the most important things in her life! That being said, it wasn't like she didn't not like the fact she was never out and about all that much in terms of dancing or clubs. She just never had before. Reluctantly, she took his hand, following his lead. "I've never danced before. To tell the truth, I haven't done a lot,"[/color] she ended with a laugh. Perhaps she had done stuff like this and simply forgot it. But there was also the fact a lot of people knew about her disability and a lot of people weren't very happy on catering to her.

"Ah! U-umm,"[/color] she said, accidentally making it very obvious that she felt awkward and out of place. "So! You come here a lot, I guess. You said stuff back at the Arena about showboating. This is what you mean?"[/color] she asked.[/blockquote]

OOC: Sorry for the short. I'm not really sure where we should go after this? PM me if you have any ideas.

———-

Bolin twirled and dipped and jived with Airi, following the tempo his busking buddies created. "Don't worry about it!" he told her, raising his voice just a bit to be heard over the music. "I don't dance a whole lot either, but when you hear something like this you just gotta get up and dance!" He laughed in enjoyment as he twirled her around, noting with pleasure that other people in the square had begun to follow their lead. He could tell that Airi was a little uncomfortable, but hopefully if the attention wasn't all on her, she'd be more at ease.

It was a good song, one that he had heard them play before. It always was a stunning thing that these guys weren't playing in clubs or anything, but from their stories jazz was a competitive arena, like probending. Every musician and their mother from here to Ba Sing Se was trying to 'make it big' in Republic City as a jazz musician, and only the best of the best were even considered.

"Showboating?" he asked blankly, then remembered. "Oh, yeah!" He twirled her again, and reeled her back in. "Showing off, doing this fancy stuff." He pointed to Pabu, who was wiggling his body to the beat of the base while standing on his hands. "Back when Mako and I were ... well, before we were probending, we picked up odd jobs here and there." Bolin conveniently left out for who. "Pabu and I met a few years back, and we've been a duo ever since. Sometimes we come here to show off his tricks and earn a little spending cash." As if in response, the fire ferret struck a pose, standing on one hand only. He gave the animal a sly thumbs-up.

The song changed, and it was a different tune. A little less jaunty, but still upbeat. Other people were still dancing, so Bolin paused. "D'you wanna take a break?" He wasn't sure if the presence of other dancers lessened her discomfort. "Sorry I kinda pushed that on you," he added. "Mako says I do that a lot. I'm sorry."

Now that, she could understand, the feeling to just get up and move, even if dancing hadn't been one of the actions she liked to do with the energy. She loved to run around or just firebend a bit, though the latter wasn't done all that much as of recently because of the Equalists. She talked a lot as well, though that barely got rid of any energy, it was still fun! And as she let Bolin lead her in his own form of dance, she could say that this was pretty fun as well, her loose hair whipping her cheeks lightly each time she spun. Airi took notice of the people joining in and dancing along to the music; she only hoped they would tip the men for their service afterwards.

She let out a laugh when he spun her out and pulled her back in, finding the activity more and more fun with each passing moment. "Ahaha, I see,"

[/color] she laughed. "You sure have an interesting pet. In a good way,"[/color] she added, knowing there were some 'interesting' animals that weren't so tame or great. Turtleducks for an example. "That's nice,"[/color] she responded thoughtfully, giggling when Pabu struck a pose and the... uh, earthbender (what was his name again?) gave him a thumbs up. "You two have quite the relationship."[/color]

The pace of the song changed completely, but she kept dancing until he stopped. In response to his apology, she gave his shoulder a friendly squeeze and a big smile. "It's fine. I would have never done that unless you dragged me into it. And I had a lot of fun; thanks."[/color] Maybe she could take her a friend here, at some point in time, and dance! Sure, she wasn't great at it, but she could just move, like he had said. Lived in Republic City her whole life - a good two decades - and never danced to the music of jazz or just danced in general. She didn't really do stuff like this all that often, going out with a friend and having a bit of fun. The last thing she did that she could consider 'hanging out' was helping Niko find his home and he offered her candy. Even then, it turned into business when she offered him a job at the bakery.

"How about a bite to eat? My treat,"[/color] she said, digging through her pants pocket to pull out a few yuans and tossing them in a case that looked like it was meant for the bass, but had money in there anyways, figuring that's where the people put the tips. "Bye Slider, Lungs and Plucky,"[/color] she said with a small and quick curtsey and turning back to the guy of whose name she had forgotten.

"Pick a place. I don't really eat out a lot; you probably know a good place, don't you?" [/color]she told him, leaving out the fact that even when she went to eat out, she could never remember what restaurant she had been to and what one she liked. "Oh! What's your favorite type of food?"[/color] she asked as she began to walk off, lacing her fingers together lightly. "I'm a big fan of Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom stuff, but I guess that's just my heritage talking."[/color] Airi, once again, laughed, her stomach and face starting to hurt because of having laughed so much. She couldn't recall a time when she had this much fun with someone besides her family.[/blockquote]

Bolin grinned widely at Airi, petting Pabu as the ferret climbed up his body and perched on his shoulder. "I'm glad you had fun." Airi offered him a bite to eat — and that she'd pay. "Sure!"

But then he felt a little guilty. He ate so much (he was a growing boy, after all) and it wouldn't be fair for Airi to pay for EVERYTHING. He'd have to make sure he didn't eat like an elephant koi. He put in a few of his spending yuans into the bass case, like Airi. "Thanks guys." Plucky winked at them.

"Thank YOU for the publicity."

He nodded his head and Bolin saw that the dancing crowd had increased. The bass case was still fairly empty at the moment, but passerby were starting to take note, tugging shirts and whispering and pointing. The earthbender grinned. "Any time!" He liked it when he could help other people, especially when all he had to do was be himself.

Pick a place. I don't really eat out a lot; you probably know a good place, don't you? Oh! What's your favourite type of food? I'm a big fan of Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom stuff, but I guess that's just my heritage talking.

"Oh~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~h~" Bolin exhaled the word, his face animated once again. "Then if you like that stuff you've never been to Narook's, right?" The excitement in his voice was quite apparent; the thought of eating at Narook's.. those delectable seaweed noodles, just the perfect level of cooked, not to tough but not too mushy, but still a little chewey.... Oh, was he drooling again? Pabu tapped his chin in reprimand, and the (handsome) young man wiped it away. "Sorry about that. Let's go to Narook's, I'm pretty sure you'll love it!"

Going to Narook's from Central Station Square was pretty easy. It was pretty much a straight shot to Downtown Republic City, and Narook's was just a few turns away. It was a ten minute walk, tops, and Bolin chatted animatedly the whole way — mainly about Korra. He didn't know how the conversation got to her, but next thing he knew he was spilling his guts to Airi about what a wonderful girl the Avatar was.

Maybe it was because Airi was such a good-natured person, but Bolin felt comfortable with her right away. "So I'm thinking, you know, about maybe asking Korra on a date. She's so awesome, and powerful, and she's pretty to boot. Do you think I should?"" He hoped she'd say yes. He'd still have to ask Mako what he thought, but maybe getting a girl's opinion about asking girls on dates would be a Very Smart Thing.

Right after she answered, they arrived at their destination. Bolin managed to get them a cosy little table for two, ordering two house specials. "The great thing about Narook's," he told Airi, "is that you get so much food, and it's so filling, and it's so CHEAP." While they waited for their food, Bolin steepled his fingers together.

"I've been rambling all day," he said, somewhat apologetically. "Tell me something about yourself! Your mom seems nice."

Airi shook her head when he mentioned Narooks. She couldn't say she had been to that place or... that kind of place, though she figured he'd tell her what type of food it was. The comical drool, however, didn't quite reassure her that he was going to let her in on anything. Not that she really cared. But with that thought, her stomach let out a loud roar and she hugged her arm around her waist. That's right! She hadn't eaten her breakfast (having given it to the earthbender) and ran out the door with him without grabbing some bread. Huh, it seemed like she really got caught up in hanging out she forgot to take care of herself! She made a mental note to remember to write that down somewhere so she could remember.

The walk wasn't too long and he kept talking and talking; and she let him. It was rather interesting what he said and it didn't hurt that she got to know a little bit about the Avatar. She thought it was pretty cool she got to hear stuff like this and what he told her about liking her she found utterly adorable. Did she just have one of those faces that everyone wanted to spill stuff to her or did he tell everyone this? Either way, it made for an interesting conversation, even if it was mostly one-sided.

"If you're up to it and confident in yourself enough, I say: go for it,"

[/color] she replied, hoping she was saying something right. Not a lot of people came to her to ask relationship advice. Actually... not a lot of people came to her, in general. This was a nice change of pace. "She sounds pretty awesome, the way you described her,"[/color] Airi teased with a laugh, "so if you really like her that much, I think getting your feelings out there would be good. Keeping stuff bottled up inside is never good; it tends to result in disastrous stuff."[/color] That, she knew, from experience. When her memory problem first surfaced, she had gotten so frustrated and her firebending went with her emotions. That was the start of the scars on her arms.

Soon, they arrived at the shop, her eyes wandering around the place to look at all the people, things and stuff. Basically, anything that moved caught her eye at this point, so when he began to talk to her, it took a moment for his words to actually reach her. "Cool!"[/color] she finally commented. "You don't find a lot of places like that. Everything is super expensive,"[/color] she said, exhaling loudly and laying back in her seat. "Helping my mom manage money and supplies is a pain. Milk and eggs are becoming more and more expensive."[/color] Not to say they were broke, they just had a little less money than usual.

"Me? Er, sure!"[/color] she exclaimed, straightening her posture. "Yeah, my mom is nice; she's actually the one who started up the bakery, though it went by a different name then. And it wasn't here in Republic City. My mom met my dad in the United Republic and a few years after I was born, we moved here. My mom's a firebender and my dad's an earthbender." She paused, looking around to see when their food was coming. She was starving!

"As for me, if you really want to know something... actually, there's not a lot to tell besides the fact I have a short term memory problem. For instance, I've forgotten your name already. Names are always tricky for me,"[/color] she explained. This wasn't something she let everyone know, but he already told her so much about himself and unless he wanted to know how many times she's burned herself on accident, this was all she had to offer. "Oh! Sometimes, when I forget what I'm doing and start repeating things, I tend to get lost. Though, I usually have some pretty cool adventures underground with the homeless because of it,"[/color] she chimed. They weren't all fruitful adventures, but she had made quite a few memories she hoped to never forget![/blockquote]