The meal was nice, as always. Aya seemed to make everything taste nice no matter what was given to her. Today's was some type of bone soup. Where the bones came from or what they came from she had no idea and frankly she found it best not to ask. Anyhow, she couldn't complain about their way of life- it was probably all they had and it was touching how much they had helped her in the past and probably in the future to come, as well. Why couldn't people up on the surface of Republic City could be the same.

Finally, Airi took her leave of the elder, giving Aya a hug before setting back off into the tunnels, remembering her wild adventure with Korra down here. They had such a good time, considering what happened. The thought made the firebender giggled at the memory, splashing her way through with a flame in her hand to light the dark tunnels. The sight of her firebending, even to her, made her anxious and paranoid about who else could be in these tunnels. Wasn't it rumored that Equalists also used these, or were those different tunnels? Still, it was scary to walk alone in the city she grew up in. She wondered if the feeling would ever change.

She finally reached her exit, the one nearest to her home, only to notice that the opening was already propped open. That was strange. She had never seen anyone else use these tunnels and she doubted many people would come down here. Without a source of light readily available, navigating the tunnels could be impossible. She climbed up, poking her head out. No one was in sight, as far as she could see. Turning her head to check her blind spot, she saw a familiar face.

"Bolin!"

[/color] she exclaimed with the urge to jump towards him, but seeing as she wasn't even out of the tunnels yet she resisted knowing it was probably something really stupid to do. Still, she couldn't help but imagine her fail: letting go of the ladder and trying to jump, hitting her head on the edge and falling down front-first back into the tunnels. Yuck.

After pulling herself out, she took off her boots, revealing a slimmer pair of shoes already on her feet. Treating those that helped her wasn't something new to her- she knew what was the best thing to do while traveling. There were some things down there you didn't want to step on- or in. "Hey! What are you doing here?" The answer didn't hit her until the words already came out of her mouth. He was waiting for her- it explained why the opening was already open. Her dad probably told her where she went.

She walked over, giving the guy a big hug before going back to her boots and picking the up by the rims. She'd clean them later since they were boots she didn't really care about or if they got ruined. "How have you been?"[/color] Airi asked him with a more solemn tone. Truly, she was worried about her friend. If he wasn't okay, she didn't know what she'd do.[/blockquote][/blockquote]

OOC: I hope you don't mind a bit of godmodding in this post o3o I wanted to keep things moving

Airi nodded absently, "Yeah, that'd be my dad. My brother is off with my mom to fit him with clothes,"

[/color] she noted out loud. Fitting for clothes was the only way she knew how to phrase his clothes being adjusted. The pant's hem, for example, was too high so they needed to lower it and his shirts needed more arm room. Stuff like that. Her mom knew someone in the area who could do stuff like that and wasn't too expensive. The trade off was having to wait around all day in line. Thankfully, she had stopped growing a while ago. Though as she though of her chest size, she became a little less thankful.

"Good, good,"[/color] she said with a sigh of relief. Well, of course he's alright! He's standing right in front of you, she scolded herself. Really, even her own obliviousness could get to her at times. And he seemed well enough, not much of a change in his words or actions or how he held himself. Was it alright to still be concerned for him then? To worry over someone when no worry was needed? She just couldn't believe anyone could come out of that kind of situation empty handed. To her, the whole thing could have been traumatic.

"Oh, speaking of the match, sorry I couldn't make it. I listened to it, though! Sounds like you guys put up one heck of a fight."[/color] She paused, gathering her wits. "I'm glad you lost, though."[/color] The words felt awkward as they left her mouth and a pain in her stomach told her that she shouldn't have been said those last few sentences.

With another sigh, she decided to carry on. "I can imagine. I've seen the building from afar a few times and it looked bad just on the outside. I wonder if probending will be canceled for good,"[/color] Airi said, biting her bottom lip. Maybe it was really selfish of her to want probending to continue only on the basis she was only in one match before this all happened. Though, as an after thought, she realized she wanted it to continue for other things like common interests and entertainment as well as sportsmenship. After all, Asami and herself had a pretty amazing conversation about probending and probending training was also how she met Bolin, thereafter Mango. Oh, wait. Mako. Bolin just said that.

Ugh. Why were names so hard?

A smile found it's way to her face as he held out her arm to her. "Indeed I would!"[/color] she exclaimed, almost forgetting she had just eaten, figuring that she didn't have to eat a lot. Nowadays food was just like a reason to hang out and she liked that. Food used to always mean work and progress, but she was glad it had another meaning now. She help onto his arm, holding the boots in her other hand. "Just let me stop by my place to drop these-[/color] she held up the boots off and to grab my money. I'll pay."[/color]

After a quick stop at the bakery through the back door, she dropped off the boots and hopped up to her room to grab her wallet and a light jacket only to realize as she put the jacket on she hadn't been wearing her gloves. Perhaps she hadn't been wearing them for a while, which was odd. She used to be overly self conscious about the burns on her arms from the kitchen or her struggles through firebending but now it rarely mattered if others saw them.

Tucking the wallet into one of the inside pockets of her jacket, she returned to Bolin and walked off with him. "Stands or a sit down place?"[/color] she asked him. "Don't worry about the money. Business had been pretty profitable lately. I should return the favor to others."[/color] People in this neighborhood were knit tightly together like a little ecosystem, buying something from one place to return to the other's and spend money as well. It helped no one to hoard money.

"So Bolin, how have you and Korra been?"[/color][/blockquote][/blockquote]

OOC: Sorry for the delay! I was trying to figure out how best to reply. Excuse the minor godmodding at the end.

"I'm glad we lost too," Bolin agreed with fervour, shuddering involuntarily. "Though I'm still sorry about Tahno. He may have been a jerk, but no one deserves to have that happen to them. Korra said she saw him at the police headquarters when she and Tenzin went down to give statements and that he had lost pretty much all of his swagger."

Airi slipped her arm into his and they headed toward her bakery to drop off her boots and get some money. He had a little pocket cash left over from the last loan he and Mako got; now that they were living with Asami, he didn't really have to worry about running out of dough. Hah! Dough. Bakery. The earthbender smiled a little to himself.

"A sit-down place would be nice, just nothing with more than three eating utensils." He made a face, wrinkling his nose and sticking out his tongue. "Asami's got a cook, you know, and he's really particular about using the right utensil to eat. Do you know there are four or five different kinds of spoons?" Bolin gestured with his free hand. "It's madness!"

They lapsed into silence as they walked down the street; Bolin let Airi lead the way, comfortable with taking the back seat. Then she asked the question he really didn't want to answer.

So Bolin, how have you and Korra been?

Bolin gulped, his face flushing and chest feeling tight again. "It... it didn't work out," he said honestly, his voice glum. He never had been one for false bravado, nor could he even claim it with that gross sobbing and noodle binging he did that night. Remembering made his head — and his heart — hurt, but Airi had been so supportive and encouraging he felt obligated to tell her the whole story.

So he did, starting with his date with Korra and ending with his feelings tossed into the wind like the petals on the flower bouquet he bought for her. He tried to keep it as quick as possible, deviating from his usual hyperbolic style and trying to minimise the hurt of his memories. "And that's how it happened," he finished lamely. "Korra and I are still friends. I don't really blame her for liking Mako — everyone likes Mako — and I definitely can't blame Mako for liking her. Mako and I sorted it out too, brother to brother. And I don't think it's going anywhere between them, Mako and Asami are still together. I guess Korra was just kinda throwing herself out there. Like I did," he added with a humourless little smile.

They finally stopped in front of a restaurant, and Bolin was glad for the distraction. "What is this place?" he asked, eager to change the subject.

"That's... really rough, huh?"

[/color] she asked rhetorically, her mind instantly going back to thinking of Amon and the threat he posed. Amon is rising to power, echoed through her head once again sending chills down her spine. She had to say something, get her mind off the masked villain.

"I think I've seen Tahno once or twice when my team was still in the running. He had so much spunk,"[/color] Airi absently said. Sadly, her plan to talk about something else did not keep her mind from thinking about losing her bending to that man. She didn't even understand that prejudice against benders- or anyone for that matter. Sure, some benders were bad but earthbenders, they built amazing feats. Waterbenders could heal. Even firebenders had a good purpose: electricity and other goods (like the bakery). All of them had a purpose to them. Non-benders, on the other hand, were simply open to more purposes; not that benders were restricted but seeing as nonbenders didn't have to focus on honing in their bending skill, they could focus on other tricks and skills.

Coming back to reality, she noticed she had been holding on to Bolin's arm a tiny bit too tightly and instantly relaxed her grip hoping -more like praying to the spirits- that he didn't notice. Thinking about Amon was bad enough that talking about it out loud was the last thing she wanted to do. Besides they were off for a nice meal! She couldn't spoil the fun!

Bolin's joke managed to lift her recently dampened spirits. "Seriously?"[/color] she asked, bemused. "Do they not want one type of soup to touch the other or something. Cross-spoon-contamination?"[/color] she offered with a small laugh.

Airi listened as Bolin relayed onto her what had happened. While it was kind of sad, she was a little bit more confused at the whole situation. She met Korra a while ago and they went off to find something that was causing a ruckus below ground, but she never figured Korra would be the kind of girl to do something like that. Then again, she did seem rather impulsive. She looked at Bolin's pathetic attempt for a smile and pouted.

"If it makes you feel any better, I like you better than Mako!"[/color] she loudly stated, head held high. She looked up at Bolin, offering a warm smile. "I remember when I first met you, all those fun things we did. I had never gone dancing before, but... yeah,"[/color] she awkwardly rambled, hoping that she could help pick up his spirits a bit. It bugged her somewhere deep inside to see him like that. It was like her and her fear of Amon, her usually up and at'em attitude watered down. "Besides... what's up with those eyebrows of his?"[/color]

She looked at the place he picked out and nodded; it seemed like as fine as any place to sit down and have a meal. "It looks like an Earth Kingdom styled restaurant,"[/color] she guessed by the look of the decorations and the name. "Why don't we try it out?"[/color] Inside was nice a pleasant, if not a bit too quite. She hadn't yet bothered to check the time, so maybe they were just early before the lunch rush. The waiter showed them to a simple, leaving momentarily to grab and bring back two glasses of water and hand them the menus.

Oh! She coughed into her arm to clear her throat as she looked up from her menu. "I think I might've been here before,"[/color] she said, not knowing what else to say, though truly wondering if she had been here before. It wasn't rare her family went out to eat seeing as they cooked all day, who would want to keep cooking, but they weren't like Asami with a lot of extra money to spend. While it was entirely plausable, she doubted that if she had come here, it was before she had a better hand at remembering things.[/blockquote][/blockquote]

Airi shrugged. "I dunno. My dad's an earthbender and my mom is the one who managed the bakery most of the time, so he's usually the one that puts together dinner. Maybe I've been here before and forgot, or I'm just vaguely remembering the stuff he cooks,"

[/color] the woman rambled. At least, her dad making dinners was something he did more often when she was much younger. When she was able to help the bakery out, that was about the same time she got chores, which she both loved and hated. At least cooking a few dishes over and over again helped her cooking skill for when she really helped out with the family business.

She looked up from her menu once more when Bolin pointed out one of the dishes - which she then went to look at with her own menu - of duck. Duck... uh, turtleducks. Would it be a turtleduck? She had no clue. If it was, it'd be one for Airi, zero for the turtleducks! Quickly, she nodded her head. "Sounds good to me!"[/color] It wasn't long before the waiter came, probably noticing they had decided on something plus the fact there was only, like, one other table occupied in the restaurant. The firebender pointed out what they'd have and the waiter left as quickly as he had come, leaving the duo then menu-less.

Bolin's next question really caught her off guard and for one moment her ember orbs were full of fear. H-had he noticed her kind of odd behavior? It was small stuff, nothing to really worry about! Really! "Oh,"[/color] she breathed after he clarified himself a little more. Still, her stomach twisted at the thought of talking about him out loud or admitting her fears to a friend who probably had more than his fair share of troubles, if not more. Heck, he was at the probending arena where he might have almost had his powers taken away from him while she was kneading dough.

She tried to offer him one of her bravest smiles. "Don't worry about me, focus on yourself. If something happens, I doubt either of us would be able to stop it. Not very... optimistic of me, huh? But what good would come of feeling anxious all the time?"[/color] she lied, with hopes of having brushed off the idea of her being scared from his mind. She was terrified that she might get her bending taken away from her and she wished she could take her own advice and simply stop worrying, to let things happen. Wishful thinking, right? She paused for a moment or two before mirroring his question: "What about you?"[/color]

The firebender nodded her head a few times after letting his sudden offer sink in and actually register in her head. "We would always appreciate a pair of helping hands,"[/color] she told him, laughing at his sea cucumber joke and then returning a smile of the same magnitude. "Lifting, eh? Do you think you could run around with a few bags of flour and picking up other supplies? You don't think I got these muscles from baking, do you?"[/color] she said, jokingly raising her arm and flexing her muscle. It wasn't as much as what Bolin had, but she was rather strong for her size and stature.

She laughed to herself once more, though a bit softer as she began to pay mind to the silence of the room. "I used to run around and do the errands before I got a better hold on my memory. You'd think it'd be harder, trying to remember what to get and where, right? Well, you'd be surprised that it's a lot safer than forgetting what you're doing in the kitchen."[/color] About half of the burns on her arms had to be from reaching into the oven, thinking she had put gloves on or carrying a hot tray without said safety gear. The other half was from forgetting that she was firebending. Talk about a bad memory, huh?[/blockquote][/blockquote]

Bolin's confession was somehow not so surprising to the young woman. Since she had met him, she always had some kind of feeling, though it was a small one, that the politics of the city made him uneasy. Airi timidly reached across the table, touching his hand lightly. "Thanks for... telling me,"

[/color] she softly thanked. Two feelings mixed in her, one of fear and the other of relief. Fear that even someone like Bolin could be caught and almost have that... that thing happen to him and relief that there was some kind of small percentage that one cold escape. Perhaps it would only be false hope that she would be unaffected by the Equalists when everything was said and done, but for now it put a part of her at rest.

"I..."[/color] she began, the confidence in her voice quickly loosing its grip. Instead it was soft and unsettled. "I'm actually terrified of them,"[/color] she decided to confess. Bolin had just told her something huge. In retrospect, though it was a small fear compared to his experiences, why should anything be hidden between them? "I haven't been sleeping like I should, scared that they might break in and take my parents and I. For however short of a time I was a probender, I was one. I had my name on the air, a name that's connected to the bakery's name."[/color]

Airi had to stop herself before she started to tear up, already sensing her fears seeping into each one of her words. "Sorry,"[/color] the firebender apologized after taking in a deep breath and letting it go to calm the nerves. After that she made a grab for her water, quickly taking a small drink of it. "I'm just being paranoid, sorry,"[/color] she apologized once more.

His humor never ceased to brighten her mood. He was like candy: sweet and always able to perk her up. So, essentially, he was sweet! Wow. She could have totally come up with that on her own without that weird connection. "Sorry, these muscles of mine are just too big. I don't know what to do with them,"[/color] she jokingly added to their banter as she lowered her arms to her sides.

Finally, the food arrived and her friend didn't waste a second to start serving portions and assaulting her with questions. "White meat,"[/color] she informed him without hesitation, though she took time to ponder his last question. "I think I'll pass on the crispy skin, but I think I'll try out that sauce. It sounds delicious."[/color][/blockquote][/blockquote]

Airi took her time serving herself up the sides that came with the entree, taking a hearty serving of rice and vegetables. She remembered a time she wouldn't even go near any food that was green, calling it icky and gross as a way to justify not eating it. Her father tried to get her to eat it with humor, pretending to be hurt by her comments by asking, since he wore green, if she thought he was also yucky. She would always reply that she thought he'd taste like dirt because he was an earthbender. Her mother on the other hand would always hold her candy as hostage. Either way worked. Thank goodness they forced her to eat meat as well when she vowed she'd be a vegetarian when she was forced to eat some jerky she thought was nasty.

Getting her head back to the present, she let herself enjoy the meal, realizing that this was her first proper meal in quite a while. Sit down meals weren't common in their household anymore, always keeping the bakery going or Aisen running off to do spirits knows what, so it was always periodic snacks or whatever she could toss together. It was nice sitting down and eating with another person- she hadn't noticed how much she had missed it.

The woman nodded. "Thanks,"

[/color] she sighed, looking down at her food. At least she wasn't crazy; that was the last thing she needed to be if she wanted to make it through this social rebellion intact. Thinking about who knew her name out there was something she liked and feared, only able to imagine kiddies sitting by the radio and listening to the fights and Equalists listening while scribbling down the names of the people they wanted to "purify". She wasn't able to imagine any sort of middle ground between the good and the bad, a black and white perspective. Though she hadn't initially wanted to talk about it out loud, it did help to do so.

"Right, right. Yeah, I guess so,"[/color] she absently noted when he listed off a few reasons why she shouldn't feel so scared. They weren't just words to calm her nerves but also things that were actually happening. They did have metalbending police that were putting their heart and soul into their jobs, non-benders helping in on the fight and the fact the Equalists wouldn't be so outlandish to attack during the day.

She picked up her fork and mixed a bit of the rice with some stray sauce that had spread across her plate and taking a bite of the fruity grains only to take a few bites of the meat right afterwards. While indulging in her food, she jumped slightly at the touch of Bolin's hand on hers. His touch was gentle and unique; she had nothing to fear from him or even imagine it was someone else. He was someone very different, in a good way.

With another bite of meat and rice swallowed, she nodded. "Yeah, we have a telephone. That'd be great,"[/color] she chimed. For a moment she revisited her childhood, always running around from door to door to see if the other kids wanted to play. It was a small memory and not even a significant one but a fond memory nonetheless. "Thanks."[/color]

Something inside of her thought of how productive calling someone would be. If someone was in her house, she doubted anyone could come quick enough to really help out. Then her more optimistic side kicked in saying that then someone would know she was in trouble. Even if he arrived late, someone would know that something happened. "Seriously, Bolin. You've been a great help. I don't know what I'd do without you."[/color] She looked up from their hands to his green eyes, offering him the biggest, toothiest smile she could manage.

Little did she know she had a bit of green was stuck between her front teeth.[/blockquote][/blockquote]

OOC: With signups for the bending removal coming Monday, we can wrap up the thread pretty soon. What do you think? Maybe another reply or two?

Airi grinned, and Bolin grinned back. "You uh... have a little..." he gestured to his tooth. She looked silly with a piece of vegetable stuck between her teeth! Then Bolin thought he had better make sure he didn't look the same, and quickly took a gulp of water, swishing it around his mouth before swallowing, then wiping his lips on a napkin.

Flagging down a server, Bolin asked for a piece of paper and a pen. Quickly, he wrote down the number to Asami's mansion and slid it across the table. "Just ask for me," he told her. "Or, really, any of us." He took another bite of his duck-and-rice, dragging the tender meat through the apricot sauce. "Asami's house is not that far from the bakery by Satomobile, and Asami is a beast when it comes to going fast in a vehicle. She races, you know. So we'll go to you if you're ever in trouble."

The (handsome) young man gave her a winning smile, trying to hide his own discomfort at the brashness of his offer. There was no guarantee he could get there in time if anything did happen. It'd probably be too late unless Airi and her family could hold off the Equalists. Airi, at least, had a chance. She was a better-than-average bender, considering she had made it to the playoffs. And she had the 'home' advantage, as it were. A nagging voice in his head, sounding suspiciously like Mako, told him he was offering more than he could give. But what else could he do? Airi was his friend. He had to do everything he could to help; Mako would do the same for his friends, did the same for Bolin. Korra and Asami would too. No, he was making the right choice.

"Look," he said quietly. "Spirits forbid they come, but please try your best to remember they won't fight fairly. It's not like a probending match. When we were trying to get away, after they caught me, I used tricks that I knew from the Arena, even though I used more earth and no discs —- they don't care. So you have to not care, too. Use everything in the bakery if you can. Throw cakes on the floor so they slip and fall. Bean them in the head with a rolling pin. And use your firebending of course."

He paused for another mouthful before continuing. "And be careful. They have these... things." He gestured about a foot apart with his hands. "In addition to the chi blockers we already know, there are some with these metal rods, two apiece. They're charged up with electricity, and they can basically lightning bend using them! The power comes from this pack on their back — if you disable it, you can take them down." His green eyes were full of worry. "I don't want to scare you, but on the off chance they do come, I don't want you to be caught wrong-footed and unaware."