OOC: Sorry for the shortness

Ichiro had gotten off of work, and felt like practicing. Of course, this was not new to him. He would usually get off of work and head over to the park. He didn’t do this every day, of course, as sometimes he got off work too late to do that. Other times, work was too tiring and needed to go home and rest first. That happened, but the Waterbender was usually not that kind of person that liked to hang around at home doing nothing. The brunet always liked to be doing something, and didn’t like to be idle. Some people didn’t understand, but that was okay with him. He was the way he was, and it did not bother him at all. He liked being that way, as he found hanging out at home rather boring. The young man didn’t understand why anyone would want to if they didn’t have work to do at home.

Ichiro walked through the park, looking at friends lounging around together, couples sharing a moment, families hanging out together…. There were a few people doing what he was intending to do, practicing with their bending. A small smile crossed his face as he walked along, searching for an empty spot near the pond where he could practice. He didn’t want to be disturbed, nor did he want to accidentally splash anyone while he was practicing with his Waterbending. That would be unfortunate for them, of course. It was something to try and be avoided while the park was busy like it was today. Finally, he found a nice quiet place, or at least it seemed quiet. Sure, there were people around, but no one near enough that he would be bothered, not that he could see anyway.

Ichiro was glad that his hair was already pulled back in a ponytail. At least that was one thing that he didn’t have to worry about it. He was wearing his work outfit, a pair of black pants with a button-up with shirt and an apron. The apron he took off and threw to the ground easily, of course. There was no reason to keep that on while he was training. The next thing that he needed to go was his shirt, because it was acutely uncomfortable. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. It was fine while he was at work, not so much while he was training. It was a bit cool outside, but nothing that bad. The Waterbender would be fine while he was practicing. After he finished unbuttoning his shirt, he threw it on top of his apron. He walked closer to the shore, and then began to go through a few of his moves.

Ichiro appeared to be starting his bending practice. Jing was a bit excited, he would get to see up-close Waterbending for the first time ever. Well, he had seen the occasional instance of Waterbending around the city, but no actual stances or moves that could be used in battle. Jing didn't want to miss a second of this. As he was crouched in the bushes, he took his spectacles off and places them in his bag. In hindsight, he didn't really need them anyways, they were more of a stylistic choice. Plus, their black tint made seeing in the shrubs pretty hard. After a while, you became unaware that you were even wearing them. The glasses just made seeing a bit easier during the day, even though Jing didn't actually have any eye ailments.

Jing had been watching while Ichiro had undressed, which showed Jing just how in shape Ichiro was.
He was thin, but not skinny. Very attractive, in Jing's opinion. But that didn't make Jing want Ichiro in a more than friendly way. Jing viewed a person's physical appearance and attractiveness subjectively, having almost no impact on his feelings towards them. It was part of his personal ideology on people, art, and beauty. He could admit that Ichiro was hot and appreciate that, but he did so in an artistic sense. To Jing, most everything was art. It just took true artists to bring the art out, in his way of thinking. And Jing often thought about these things. Never would he explain those thoughts, though. Not many people could understand.

The pale Waterbender was at the shore of the pond now, entering his stances and beginning his moves. This is what Jing had been waiting for. His attention might have been on the display of bending abilities before him, but his mind had slowly drifted to the pain coming from his feet. Jing was not as physically active as he had once been, so his legs and feet were not going to sustain him crouching for too long. He stumbled amongst broken branches, leaves, and other sound-making crud on the ground, trying to find a position to sit in that wouldn't render his outfit completely soiled. Finally, he came upon the decision to simply sit on his rump, throwing caution to the wind and getting dirty for a change. Surely, the sounds that came from this transition must have alerted some passers-by, but Jing didn't care. As long as Ichiro didn't notice, he was fine.

Jing began to watch intensely as Ichiro started his moves. There was a verbal eloquence about Waterbending. It was breathtaking. If someone had gone their whole lives not knowing what bending was, they would think this was a miracle of the spirits. Even with the simplest of moves, it seemed as if it were sculpted by one of the greats with divine inspiration. These thoughts came to an abrupt hault when, to his right, Jing spotted an skunkcoon. His eyed widened. Jing had no idea what to do. He slowly began to stand up, not taking his eyes off of this little beast. It's eyes weren't moving from him either. Jing tried to back away, but tripped over a shrub branch, causing the skunkcoon to flee in fright.

Jing was too afraid to get up and run, for fear his cover was blown. But, also, Jing was too afraid to stay still on the ground, for fear the skunkcoon was now at his feet. Jing slowly turned himself onto his stomach, then pushed himself up onto all fours. He remained still, waiting for a sign of someone or something's notice.

After a few minutes of silence, Jing figured he was safe. Slowly bringing himself to his feet, he could see through the bushes that Ichiro was beginning to head towards the exit. He couldn't just let him get away, he wanted to talk to the Waterbender. It wasn't as if he had anything important to tell him, though. Jing just wanted to talk to him. Ichiro was one of the few people he could call a “friend” in the city, and Jing didn’t want that to end. With such few contacts, each one was extremely precious. He had no room to be cavalier with his friendships. And, in addition to that, observing other people was no way to live.

Jing followed along the bushes, trying to catch up to Ichiro. Suddenly, he realized what he should do. Jing ducked out from the bushes, back to the road he had come from. Still on the alert for that skunkcoon, he moved through the greenery cautiously. He, then, could see Ichiro come on to the road on his way out. Jing quickly brushed the leaves, twigs, and dirt from his clothes before trying to contact the man up ahead. When he looked presentable, Jing then hollered out to the waterbender, “Ichiro!” and waved at him. He hoped that the boy would notice him and turn around, but he wasn't sure he would. If only Jing had the same bravery he had with clothes as he did with people. Unfortunately for the earthbender, he didn't feel people were on the same par with art. That made it almost impossible for him to maintain contact with people who didn't share his thoughts. An introverted artistic life was a rough, lonely one to live.

After he called out to his fellow, Jing began to walk towards him. He wanted to prove that he wasn't a mess like he was that night on the bench. He felt he had something to prove to this man whom he had only interacted with once. And their only interaction wasn't the smoothest of roads either. Honestly, things in the park this time could go any which way. It was impossible to predict. All that Jing knew was that he was in a much better condition than he was those many nights ago, and he intended to show this to his friend to redeem himself. Although Jing had a feeling Ichiro didn't care too much about what he had looked like or his outside that night, it was more of an issue of principle. But who was to say Ichiro cared at all to see Jing? It wasn't as if they had made an extreme, once in a lifetime connection. They were cordial and friendly, and that seemed to be it.

The sight of Ichiro smiling made Jing sigh slightly in relief. It was nice to see someone other than his boss happy to see him. Things weren't as lonely as they had been a week ago; Jing had made a few friends around the city. But nevertheless, he did want to secure this friendly face in his life, even if doesn't play a major part in it. But who knew what would happen? Jing sure didn't. Especially considering the fact that just a few moments ago he was rolling around in the dirt with a skunkcoon. Hardly what Jing had planned on doing today. Which brought up Ichiro's likely curiosity as to where Jing had came from. “Oh, I was just trying to prove to myself that I could get around the city. Not nearly as bad as last time.” Jing smiled, knowing that this was something the two could laugh about now. His ego's wounds had somewhat healed, evidently.

To sound surprised at his counterpart's being there, Jing asked “Now what brings you to the park, oh great waterbender friend of mine?” He enjoyed being on good terms with a person like Ichiro. Ichiro was strong, seemed pretty smart, and had a good soul. Not just anyone would stop to help an earthbender curled up on a bench in the middle of the night. And, come to think of it, Jing really had never repaid this man for his service. How rude of him. Hopefully, Jing would be able to make that happen soon. Maybe he could make him a hat or a scarf. The city was getting colder as the days went by, so the latter may be a good idea. Jing then took out his notepad from his satchel and tried to subtly jot down his plan. “Your favorite color is blue, right?” he added, ruining what ever subtly he had prior to the question.

And the city was noticeably colder than it had been a week ago. Jing was not accustomed to the cold. His family had always vacationed south when the colder months descended upon Ba Sing Se. He could remember playing on the beach with his siblings, and his mother occasionally joining in on the fun. Meanwhile, his father was in whatever town closest to their resort doing business as always. His father reminded him, in some ways, of Mr. Songho. But, luckily, this similarity was only in his father's good qualities. Mr. Songho would never put work before his family. Mr. Songho always was fair in his business, he provided very well for his family, and enjoyed the time spent with his family. And, even though Jing hated to admit it, his father shared those traits too. But luckily his father was hundreds of miles away and even further from the conversation Jing was having with Ichiro.

The fact that Ichiro felt comfortable to joke with him pleased Jing. It was a good sign. The two had the potential of developing a real, strong friendship if there was humor between them. Humor was a key to Jing's heart, is all aspects of the phrase. All Jing could do in response to his counterpart was laugh, but with only making a small amount of noise. Those loud sorts of laughs were reserved, if possible, for the hysterical comments and jokes. He tried to control that kind of laugh as best he could. Luckily for Jing, that was rarely, if ever, a problem.

Again, Ichiro joked about Jing's past encounter with him and his inability to make his way around town without getting lost. Ichiro didn't realize how lucky he was that Jing had a good sense of humor, because his teasing could have been interpreted in a very different way. Jing, however, just laughed again, this time a bit harder. Ichiro wasn't nearly as dry as Jing thought him to be before. He was not only generous and kindhearted, but also funny. “No, Ichiro, I actually managed to survive this time. Insane idea, right?” It had been a long while since Jing had a friend to joke with. This was refreshing.

The Waterbender was entertaining Jing, no matter how slightly so. He smiled widely, even showing his teeth a bit. This guy was quite charming, unlike many Jing had known in the Earth Kingdom. Most Earth Kingdom boys weren't the wittiest and couldn't take a joke. Now Jing knew that wasn't true of all Earth Kingdom men, but the ones he was interested in did fit that profile very often. That just seemed to be a side-effect of preferring guys who were large and muscular, though. In Republic City, he hoped to attain both a witty and muscular man. But, this was hardly the time to have boys on the brain.

Looking up from his notepad, Jing listened as Ichiro made a sarcastic quip. He smiled, seeing as anyone who was a mere acquaintance of Ichiro's could see that blue was a major part of his wardrobe. That, and the fact that he was a Waterbender, made it quite obvious as to which was his favorite. Jing responded, “I don't know, you might have worn it once or twice.” The friendly sarcasm seemed to flow effortlessly between the two. Jing felt comfortable with him. There was no need for an act with Ichiro. Jing then returned his notepad to his satchel, closing the bag and returning focus to his friend. His question might go unquestioned, and he hoped it would.

Changing the subject, “Are you headed anywhere?” eyebrows raised, as he often did when asking a question. “Because I don't have to go into work today. The work can be done at home, luckily.” Jing absolutely dreaded being the one to “ask out” someone. He just never felt like he should have to be the “chaser”, he'd much rather be chased. That didn't seem to work for Jing, though. Usually he would have to be the one to initiate anything; romance, friendship, or career advancement always landed on his shoulders. It never felt right to him. But as Jing learned, rarely did anything go as he felt it should.

Most often, Jing assumed that Ichiro was always working or practicing bending. And, most often, Jing was right about this. But he had, apparently, caught Ichiro at a good time, so he might as well make the best of it. “I'm not too hungry; I just had some noodles for lunch. But I would definitely be up for a drink somewhere.”. It had been a while since he had a nice, refreshing, cold glass of juice from a restaurant. Most of his meals were made at home because of it being cheaper to do so than to go out. He hoped his Waterbending friend was hungry, because he could use a tall glass of mango juice right about now.

The only flaw with Jing's plan was this: he only knew of Ichiro's family restaurant. Yes, he had become much more well-versed in the city's streets over the week they hadn't seen each other, but that didn't mean Jing knew what was on those streets. Then, all of a sudden, Jing remembered his walk with Ichiro from the park to his eatery. There were quite a few places on that walk that could serve as their watering-hole today. Even though they were at the same place they were a week ago, Jing, for some reason, felt that he couldn't find his way to any of these places. Maybe it was deja-vu, or reliving his embarrassment from long ago, but he just couldn't cognitively put together a route from the park to one of those destinations. This, Jing would keep to himself, so as not to fully revisit that night. “You wouldn't happen to know the way to a nice eatery, would you? Other than the one you work at, of course.” Of course he did, the man must know where his family's competition lies.

In the back of his mind, Jing was thinking about what he was to make for Ichiro. This blue scarf would have to be fluffy, seeing as Ichiro dealt with one of the colder elements in the bending world. That, coupled with the changing seasons made the decision almost immediately final. A fluffy, blue scarf for Ichiro. The other details, such as fabric, length, thickness of strands, and the like would be finalized later. Also, the gift shouldn't just be a blue scarf. There had to be some design on it. Something that would set it apart from one you could buy in any clothing store in town. That was what Jing began to ponder. Jing's eyes might have given away his bustling thoughts to Ichiro, but the Waterbender wouldn't likely comment on it. He didn't seem to be the type to dig into the meanings behind a friend's facial expressions. Jing preferred people who didn't pry, it was very unbecoming in his eyes. But, if Ichiro did pry into this, Jing wouldn't mind. This wasn't a major emotional issue or anything, just a surprise gift for later.

[OOC: Sorry for the wait]

It wasn’t a big deal to Jing that Ichiro was actually hungry, it actually made him feel better about going out for nourishment. He didn’t mind spending time with someone while they were eating. Although, this applied only when he was with a person he found interesting. Luckily enough, Ichiro fell into that category for Jing. “It’s completely fine! I don’t mind at all.” The Earthbender said quickly, grinning slightly. The trees around them only allowed a few specks of light to shine through, hitting Jing’s eyes. The eyes’ green was intensified and glimmered in the sun’s rays. Jing extended his hand to block the rays and let him see his friend in front of him better.

“Good, I’d hate to have to walk more than need be.” Jing really wasn’t the most active person, but this wasn’t something that was obvious He did what he had to to keep himself looking presentable and attractive. His outward appearance was a major priority, and, to him, it was his daily art project. Clothes, hair, accessories, and physical appearance were all part of the grand walking piece of art that Jing considered himself to be. It wasn’t a conceded effort, it was, in his eyes, an effort to show that one can, themselves, be art. But without working out, it was hard to maintain his trim figure. So Jing ate extremely healthy, cutting out as much fat as possible, and living primarily off of fruits, vegetables, and lean meats. In terms of physical activity, he would always take the long way to and from work, or wherever he was going. But today, he didn’t feel like walking for his juice.

Following Ichiro, Jing was close behind and walked with him out of the park. It seemed like the sun would, again, be in his eyes. This was too much for Jing, so he put on his spectacles and strolled along side the brown haired boy he was with. His friend asked what he had been up to this day, which made Jing think for a bit out loud, “Well...” He had been to most of his usual stops: downtown, the market, and, most recently, the park. “I was in the market for a bit, looking for some fabric. Then I went Downtown and checked out a few trinkets, smelled some flowers, and chatted up some merchants here and there. And I ended up making my way back here, in the search of redemption for the last time.” He slightly chuckled at the last part, for obvious reasons. “But other than that, just wandering I guess. And what have you been up to, sir?” He said that with a jokingly mischievous smile, as he was sure the boy hadn’t been up to anything underhanded. Ichiro seemed to clean-cut and honest for that; the boy didn’t appear to have a bad side. Which was inspiring, considering the people Jing had to deal with in the city.

As the Waterbender laughed, it made Jing smile. It was nice to bring joy to people. He tried to do so with everything he did, but sometimes with little avail. Conversation, though, proved to be an easy medium for such doings. Jing had very little insight into how his friend’s day went, but he could tell that it made him the slightest bit happier. Then again, the company of a friendly soul usually made everyone happier. It sure made Jing happy. But, so did the weather. The brisk fall wind was offset by the gentle, warm sun, who made this a golden day, in a golden city. The people of the park also made Jing happy, specifically an old couple on a bench near the park’s exit. The older man had his head leaning on his wife’s shoulder and was sleeping. His wife was reading a book, smiling sweetly as she read. That was an image of true splendor in Jing’s eyes. It was beautiful, and matched the day itself.

Ichiro then detailed his own day, which sounded a bit long. Jing was glad that his work was something he adored. If it wasn’t, he’d probably in the same mood as Ichiro usually was. There was a bit of a reluctance in Ichiro’s voice when he spoke of work, which made Jing wonder how he really felt about his situation. But this was hardly the time to investigate, so he filed such thoughts away in his mind for later conversations. After he had finished explaining his day, Jing quickly interjected an “Oh, well that doesn’t sound too bad. Hopefully tomorrow will be better,” trying to keep things positive. Ichiro then pointed to their destination just up ahead.

Jing relatively recognized this little place; it looked like all of the other little places along this same area of the city they had passed a week ago. There was very little difference in the overall style among these eateries, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Originality would be appreciated, though. But if Ichiro thought it was good, Jing had to give it a fair chance. He nodded and said an “Alrighty then.” The closer they came to the building, the more Jing could smell the food inside. It actually had a very appealing scent to it, reminiscent of the sweet chicken he devoured almost daily back home. A smirk pulled at his face, and his stomach began to slightly grumble. “On second thought, I might be able to eat a little something.” Jing thought out loud, towards Ichiro. He walked ahead of his Waterbender friend, grabbing the door and holding it open for him. “After you”, Jing uttered with that same smirk he had from the scent of the restaurant.

OOC: Sorry for the wait. Busy and staff stuff.


Ichiro shrugged when Jing said that it didn’t sound that bad, and that he hoped tomorrow would be better. “Yeah, I suppose so,” he said. “It isn’t that bad, it’s just…” He paused for a moment as he tried to put into words how he felt. “I’m not a manager, you know, but my dad is training me to be one. It’s a lot of pressure, I guess, that I’ll take over the restaurant one day.” His mind went back to his earlier thoughts that from the moment he was born, his entire life had been planned out for him. He didn’t want to vent to his Earthbending friend, though. It was really his thing to deal with, and it wasn’t in the Waterbender’s nature to put all of his problems on one of his friends. He tended to keep things to himself, and he tried not to get made about stuff. He honestly wasn’t made that his whole life had planned out for him. It was just… he didn’t know how he to feel about it at all.

As they got nearer to the restaurant, Jing said that he might be able to eat something after all, despite saying not too long ago that he wasn’t hungry. Ichiro turned his head towards him and gave him a smirk. Once they got there, the Earthbender held the door open for him. “Thank you,” he said, generally surprised that someone would do that for him. No one opened doors for him at all. It was a nice feeling, though. Once they walked in, a hostess appeared, asking if it was just the two of them. The brunet nodded. She immediately went and sat them down at a window seat, so you could see the street outside. Shortly after she left, another young woman appeared, asking if either of them wanted anything to drink. “I’ll just take water.” His blue eyes looked at Jing, wondering what the other man would order. He went ahead and ordered the lunch special though, hoping that his companion didn’t mind.

Ichiro realized that this was nice. It was very enjoyable hanging out with someone who didn’t work with you or wasn’t related to you. Jing was neither, thankfully. He seemed like a nice person the times that they had hung out. They got along pretty well, and that was all that mattered. His parents had said that it was good for him to have a friend, and not spend all of his time training or working. The Waterbender supposed that was true, although admitting that his parents were right was something else entirely. His mind was still hung up on how he was supposed to feel about going along with the grand scheme of his parents. That was a little overdramatic, he supposed, but it was still a point that it had never really been his decision. Neither his mother nor his father had ever asked what he wanted. When he was old enough to work, he did, and now that he was older, it was time to learn the ropes. No one had asked if he wanted to do this. He was just expected to.

Jing observed the quaint shop they were in from his seat. While it was difficult to look around much from his seat, he managed to do so without breaking his neck. For being small, there seemed to be a fairly steady amount of business flowing through. There were very few empty seats, except for the bar against the wall; only one person was sitting on a bar stool in the place. It was nicely ventilated, seeing as almost every dish that came from, what appeared to be, the kitchen was steaming hot. Jing smiled to himself; this hustle and bustle always comforted him for some odd reason. It was the main reason he never wanted to live in a rural area. Jing thought that maybe if he lived in the center of a rural town it could work, but not nearly as well as the big cities.

Then, without Jing noticing, a waitress came and asked what the two would be drinking. She was noticeably different from the girl who had seated them, quite a bit taller. But, that was irrelevant. After Ichiro ordered a water, both him and the waitress looked at Jing, waiting for his response. Recalling what he had thought of before, Jing said “I would love a glass of mango juice, if you have it.” He smiled after he said it, hoping to make easy an awkward situation if the restaurant did not actually have any. But they did, to his delight. Not knowing what was here, Jing simply asked for whatever Ichiro was having, but in a smaller portion. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too much for the Earthbender, he’d hate to have to waist any food. The waitress quickly scurried away and placed their order. It was only a matter of waiting now.

While they waited, looking out on the street, Jing saw many people of many different walks of life sauntering along the promenade. He couldn’t help but stare. These people told such vivid stories from just their outer appearance. One woman was wearing a khaki short-sleeved shirt with a pair of grey slacks. There appeared to be a tomato sauce stain on her shirt, and her facial expressions showed her annoyance and stress. Her hair was a mess, seemingly from her own tugging at it. She was obviously a parent of small children, worn down to her wits end. Besides the outer signs, the little boy and girl tugging at her pant legs were a dead giveaway. Jing looked back to his friend and said, pointing to the woman, “I can’t wait to have kids”, at which he chuckled. Even though he joked, Jing really did want a child some day. It was one of those things that were more of an eventuality rather than a possibility in his mind.

Not too long after they had placed their drink orders, their waitress returned. For Ichiro, a tall, cold, glass of refreshing ice-water. The condensation on the side of the glass gave it that tantalizing look that most glasses of water had in the eyes of weary travelers, even though Jing was far from weary. His feelings for the water abruptly dissipated upon sight of his order, the mango juice. Unlike the water, the juice was colorful; a beautiful orange-yellow hue painted the drink delicious. Besides the wonderful coloration of his treat, there, on the rim of the glass, rested a tiny umbrella. However cheap and novel that may seem to most, Jing found it delightful. He lifted up his glass, moved the bright green umbrella to the side, and took a drink from his glass. It tasted just as he had hoped; tropical, sweet, and yet wholesome at the same time. Juice gives one very good skin, improves eye-sight in some cases, and revitalizes the soul. After he had his taste he returned the glass to the table and rejoined his companion in conversation.

Jing listened as Ichiro went on about his childhood behavior. From what Jing knew of Ichiro, it wasn't really a surprise. Being good seemed to be second nature to Ichiro and his story didn't appear to differ from that assumption. The only thing that was surprising was the last part, about his grandparents. It was a touch off-putting that Ichiro would avoid family in such a manner. Jing should probably not judge, seeing as he had no idea what circumstances he was under at the time or his relationship with his grandparents then. But, for Jing, family was very important. It's all that most people have in this world. Until he knew more, though, he refused to let that comment sway his opinion.

“I wasn't very bad myself at that age.” Jing declared, “Although, as I got older, it was a different story.” Jing smirked at the thought of his "bad boy" days. In his defense, though, it was hard not to get in trouble when his father began to be at home more. Constant observance made social lives very difficult in the more recent years. Jing was known for sneaking out of the house and getting caught with alcohol from time to time. But that stopped when his father caught wind. What really brought about the moral change in Jing were the confrontations that ensued after his nights of debauchery. His father would say very cruel things, claiming he was the reason his family wasn't better off or claiming that he and Jing's mother never wanted Jing. It was very damaging and is part of the reason that Jing rarely ever drank.

But that was outside of class. In class, however, Jing was an exemplary student. Perfect grades, many friends, and not once was he ever in trouble for a behavioral infraction. Largely, his success in the classroom came from his distaste for home. He knew that the more he did at school and the more he volunteered for, the less time he would have to spend listening to his father rant at him and his siblings. It was painful to Jing to hear his father's words toward his siblings. Saying hurtful things to Jing was different because Jing knew he could take it, while his younger siblings didn't need to hear those awful things. It was terrible. Quickly, Jing snapped out of these thoughts to find only moments had passed.

This brought him back to their discussion, currently on children. “Even though I joke, I do want children. That includes their ups & downs.” Jing smiled to himself after those words left his lips. There was an inane paternal sense in him, one that he developed from watching his mother for so many years. It was as if he saw “what not to do” from his father, followed immediately by a long procession of “what you should do” from his mother. The stark contrast in their parenting styles gave Jing the perfect idea of how he wanted to be for his children. And, even though he wished he could have his own child, he always promised himself that he would love and cherish his adopted son or daughter the same way he would his own.