"That's a wrap folks! Let's call it a night. Same time tomorrow, and get a good night's sleep."

A good night's sleep? The actress scoffed as she broke her posture and slouched in her chair. Almost six hours working on this piece and it was no where near finished. If the company cared as much as she did then they could have accomplished a lot today, but they were just a bunch of whining teenagers, most of them privileged, who were only looking forward to going out to some fancy restaurant and having a grand ole' time. They weren't looking forward to a good night's sleep as much as they were looking forward to ending up in each others beds. It made Anhyue sick to her stomach, but she made a promise to Mr. Chen. She would act in this play even if it meant having to deal with students outside of the Drama department. Knowing where to place the props Anhyue made it her job to clear the stage and rearrange the set for class tomorrow morning. By that time all of the students had vanished, all except for one, Ping.

Unlike the others Ping had a good heart, and talent. He could make anyone or anything laugh, and for that reason, Mr. Chen had chosen him for the production. Anhyue waved to Ping from the stage signaling that he could turn out the lights, and once he had the two exited the University together. Since practices had started running later than usual, the two had worked out a deal where Anhyue would walk Ping home in exchange for a warm lunch, prepared by Ping, at rehearsal the next afternoon. Ping was rather scrawny and an easy target for bullies. Unlike Anhyue, Ping lived in a rather uncomfortable neighborhood and since rehearsals were running as late as they were, Anhyue knew that the right and moral thing to do was walk him home every night. Her parents didn't agree with this deal of theirs, but the actress assured them that she'd be alright. Besides, she had her waterbending to protect her and if anything seemed fishy she could just take a taxi home.

The air became rather humid by the time Anhyue reached Ping's home. As she left his parents tried to offer her an umbrella in case of rain fall, but she assured them that she didn't need it. "I'll see you tomorrow!" Anhyue called over her shoulder as she turned a poorly lit corner and was out of Ping's sight. Tugging her jacket closer to her slender frame the actress gradually picked up her pace. She felt the air growing thicker as she followed the streets and alleyways that made up her shortcut home. Ping's parents were probably right. It did feel as if it was going to rain and now all the dark haired woman had was the hood on her jacket. She cursed herself for not accepting the parents' generosity and again pulled her jacket closer to her body. If she arrived home a soggy mess she'd receive a well deserved glare from her father and a lot of name calling and pointing from her siblings, if of course they were all still awake at this hour.

She stood with her feet teetering on a poorly paved corner as she waited for a car to pass, when suddenly she heard a deep grunt. The actress turned her face in the direction from where she figured the noise had come from, but to her surprise she saw nothing more than another dark alleyway. Weird, she thought as she took a step into the street. It was then that she heard a hushed voice and a loud thud. "Hello?" she called out, the worry evident in her tone of voice. "Is someone there?" Stepping back onto the sidewalk Anhyue crept toward the alleyway. Squinting her eyes in order to see better in the barely lit space Anhyue saw what she hoped wasn't the outline of someone's body. She raced forward ignoring the sounds that erupted from her boots as they made contact with the ground. Sliding to a stop she tossed the hair that fell in front of her face over her shoulder and gasped at the sight before her.

"Sir," Anhyue whispered as she fell to her knees beside the stranger. "Sir, are you okay?" Silently, Anhyue prayed that this wasn't some sick joke. People were very crafty in this neighborhood and if she let her guard down she knew that she could easily become the victim of a mugging, or worse. Turning her head in either direction she made sure that the coast was clear before she allowed her hands to reach forward and brush back the dark hair that fell in front of his face. Anhyue then placed a finger below his nose and became worried when she noticed that his breathing was slow. "No please don't be unconscious," she mumbled. Crap. How was she going to fix this? I need him on his back, she realized, before I can do anything to help him. Anhyue rose to her feet, stepped over the body, and with some effort rolled the young man onto his back. A faint rain started to fall and collected into a light mist. Anhyue let out a growl of agitation as she removed her jacket and placed it over the stranger's body. It was important to keep him warm until she figured out a solution. And then it hit her. The rain. She could use it to wake him up. It wasn't falling forcefully enough to rouse him, but she was sure a large splash in the face would be enough to make him stir, or at least she hoped it would. It was either that, or dragging him to the nearest hospital.

Again the actress rose to her feet. She shivered since her tank top offered her no protection from the rain that fell against her olive skin. Quickly she raised her arms above her head and in a fluid motion she lowered them toward her abdomen outlining the shape of a large sphere. The rain collected into the orb she had shaped and floated a foot above the man's head. "Please forgive me for this," she whispered to herself as she lifted her arms into the air, shut her eyes, and flung the orb down onto his face.

His father was yelling at him again.

The man's loud, slurred words barked out at him, telling him to move faster, smoother, stronger, better. He was a turtle duck, a tiny little turtle duck stuck in a vast, stormy ocean, flailing despairingly for something, anything to help him stay afloat above the chaotic waves that threatened to engulf him. He stepped forward, stumbling slightly in the process. The voice roared out again, clapping like lighting, hot and bright. His father was kneeling above him now, somehow finding purchase on the ocean's violent water. He had grabbed a handful of Zheng's hair in his fist, forcing the little turtle duck to look him in the eyes.

"Failing again, boy. What good are you? Maybe another little lesson in perspective, eh?"

With an ugly, vicious grin, his father pushed him down and the water splashed onto his face.

With a roar of unrestrained fury, Zheng sat up suddenly as the water hit his face, throwing his fist out. A large ball of fire shot across the empty alleyway and into the street, crashing into the wall of a building opposite. Luckily, nobody else was around and the angry fire went unnoticed, dissipating in the rain. It had missed the young woman kneeling by his side too, but it would have passed by close to her. Zheng had enough time to shoot her a confused glance before the agony hit him like a brick to his chest.

Collapsing back onto the floor once again, the young firebender's face scrunched up and his hands gripped at his midriff. His eyes where squeezed shut from the pain and the veins in his neck bulged as a scream clawed at his throat to escape. It would not, though; to scream or cry or whimper or whine was to show weakness. A stupid, stupid idea perhaps, but one so drilled into him that even now it was almost impossible for him to vocalize his pain. Instead, a long hiss slithered from his lips until he gasped for air. He felt his lungs fill and prepare to empty in a yell, but it simply ended up being another quiet hiss.

Everything happened too quickly. Having merely a second to catch her breath the actress lowered herself to her knees and dodged, as best she could, the fireball that in a blinding light erupted from the man's fist. It hissed past her, almost singeing her silken cheek, then crashed into a building across the street. While her knees slammed into the pavement, blood pumped rapidly toward her heart to accommodate her organs’ sudden acceleration. In her ears all she could hear was a high pitched ringing due to the monstrous roar that had exploded from the stranger’s mouth. Cold, wet, and breathing more heavily, Anhyue turned toward the firebender with eyes that were dark and filled with animosity. How dare he nearly kill me! her subconscious raged. I was only trying to help. Caring not for rational thinking, Anhyue ignored the obvious fact that she had startled him awake from his unconsciousness. Right now in this moment she saw herself as the victim, not him. Yet, somehow that all changed the moment she turned her head around to face her almost successful attacker.

Confusion swelled within his dark eyes before he sunk back down to the hard ground. A new sense of worry sliced through the animosity in Anhyue’s eyes making them bright with nervous curiosity. As he squirmed and writhed beneath her urgent gaze Anhyue made it her mission to locate and extinguish the cause of his pain. She watched his movements intensely, trying to find a clue that would lead her to the hidden source of his suffering. After a second she noticed how silent he had become, except for his faint hissing. That added to the unconsciousness and his trouble breathing lead Anhyue to conclude that she would uncover the source of his agony somewhere in his chest. You need to lift his shirt, her mind instructed. Anhyue’s body responded by releasing a slow stream of blood into her cheeks. No time for blushing, her mind chastised. Fix him, now.

Anhyue’s mind raced a-mile-a-minute as she leaned forward and lifted his shirt as far as it could go. His chest was still partially hidden beneath the fabric, but she ignored that minor speed bump and focused her energy on waterbending the mist in the air onto her hand so that it encapsulated everything from the tips of her fingers to her wrist. Locking her eyes on his regardless of whether they were shut or not, Anhyue slid her right hand, which was now glowing a luminous silver, under his shirt and began the healing process. Parting her full lips slightly Anhyue soon felt the complexity of his wound. Many of the chi paths within his chest were no longer flowing. Something must have crashed into him hard to have caused so much damage and blockage. His internal organs seemed okay and she sighed relieved that he didn’t need further medical attention. For seven minutes she worked on releasing the tension within his chest and once she was satisfied with her work the actress removed her slender hand from underneath his shirt and let the water slide down and off of her fingers.

Exhaustion claimed her body as she fell back onto her rear end. Panting slightly, Anhyue noticed the sweat that lightly lined her collar bone, and with the back of her hand she wiped at the sweat on her forehead. I’m a mess, she whined, suppressing the thought so as not to disturb her patient. Wrapping her arms around her sore knees Anhyue lifted herself at the waist and waited patiently for the stranger to stir.

The agony of his body remained constant, no throbbing or flashing. It was simply continuous pain, with the occasional stab of more intense pain whenever he moved around. He tried to remain as still as he possibly could, but part of his brain was preoccupied by the presence of the girl that he had seen by his side. What was she doing? Did she think that he was a drunk, fallen unconscious in the alleyway and an easy target to rob? Was she a gang member looking to prove herself against an adversary that could not fight back?

He felt the girl doing something around his chest, but the pain made it difficult to make sense of anything. Instinctively, his arms attempted to ward off the young woman, but this merely ended up as an rather pathetic flailing of the limbs which cause him yet more pain. Realising that there was nothing that he could do, Zheng finally stopped fighting. His energy was drained, the agony was too much and if he just let the girl get on with whatever it was she was trying to do, then maybe she would let him live. Or at least kill him quickly.

Waiting for whatever fate had in store for him, Zheng suddenly noticed that the pain was growing less and less powerful with each passing minute. His body started to lose its tensity and his eyes, previously squeezed shut, relaxed more. Before long, the pain was gone entirely and he heard his saviour sit back with a thud. Taking a few deep breaths, Zheng opened his eyes, squinting against the falling rain. He lifted his head to look for the girl, seeing her with her knees tucked up and waiting, presumably, for him to come back to his senses. Annoyingly, he felt his cheeks start to burn. She was about his age, and very pretty. Zheng had never been good around girls. He recalled one time he had spoken to a flower girl and ended up buying a bunch of flowers, only to trip over a barrel next to the stall and cover the poor lass head to toe in fertilizer.

"Er... Hello?" Zheng said weakly, trying to order his thoughts into a coherent sentence. "Erm... Huh? Why does my stomach feel so col... oh."

This last attempt to engage the girl ended sharply when he realised that his midriff was fully bare and it suddenly hit him. The large splash of water, the cooling sensation on his chest that had killed his pain... This girl must be a waterbender! And she must have had to get under his shirt to... heal him...

His face turning even more red than before, Zheng pulled at his shirt clumsily to hide his exposed stomach, snapping up into a sitting position and avoiding the girl's eyes while stammering some non-verbal embarrassment. Clearing his throat, the young man took a steadying breath and looked at his companion.

"So... er... yeah. Er... thanks? Yes, thank you for, you know, helping me out there. I'm Zheng, by the way, and I... yeah", the firebender ended lamely. He brushed his hands through his now loose hair in an attempt to hide his burning cheeks, his thumb, through habit, tracing the long white streak that stood out so strongly against the black.

Sweat and water from the mist mingled together on the exposed surfaces of Anhyue’s skin. She felt chilled to her core, however, it wasn’t an unbearable chill. This sort of cold was nothing compared to the North Pole’s winters. The issue was the moisture and stickiness in the air. The dampness that surrounded Anhyue made her uncomfortable, since it stuck to her in odd places, but she tried her best to suppress the squirms that threatened to wrack her body. She sat still in her damp tank-top, dark pants, and boots, and waited for the stranger to stir. The sooner he woke up, the sooner he could pass Anhyue her jacket, which was crumpled up in a heap beside his left hip. If she had enough strength she’d get up and fetch it herself, but after that much healing the dark haired woman was impressed that she even had strength enough to breath. Frankly, she was in need of some hard liquor and a warm meal.

To the actress’ relief the firebender stirred a few seconds after his treatment. Lifting her arms Anhyue rested them on top of her knees and did her best to conceal the grin of satisfaction that spread across her tan lips by pressing her mouth into the crook of her elbow. No way was she going to let this guy think that she was pleased. This situation was anything but pleasing. Sure it was rewarding in a moral kind of way, she did sort of save his life, but at what coast? He nearly killed her for Yue’s sake! The two of them would have been screwed had that ball of fire not missed its target, which the actress was willing to bet was herself. Pressing her mouth into a hard line the actress pulled her face away from her elbow and stared as impassively as she could at the man, but looking impassive was extremely hard to commit to when one, she didn’t really feel that way, and two, his cheeks were turning the color of a sun dried tomato.

What was making him so uncomfortable? Was there something on her face? In her hair? “Hello,” she said rather rushed. Anhyue wasn’t one for small talk, but thankfully the firebender continued. She raised an eyebrow in amusement when he asked about his stomach feeling cold, but she was glad that he was quick enough to notice his bunched up shirt. You’re lucky it’s only your stomach, her subconscious snorted, I’m cold all over. Oh hush, Anhyue retorted shifting a bit in her awkward sitting position. Her mind had a nasty habit of pointing out the obvious.

Anhyue held her breath when the firebender snapped up into a sitting position. Her sea-green eyes blazed as they leveled themselves with the stranger's dark irises. The depth of the darkness within his orbs sent a chill up the teenager’s spine and forced her to glance away for a brief moment. His voice brought her gaze back to his eyes and she listened politely to what he had to say. Zheng, finally a name, didn’t exactly thank Anhyue as sincerely as she thought he could have. In fact, she was a bit put off by his thanks, however, she wasn’t going to tell him that, at least not straightforward. The actress watched Zheng graze his thumb through the only streak of ivory in his mess of ebony hair before speaking.

"You're welcome Zheng. I'm uhh...sorry, you know, for lifting up your shirt and whatnot. I didn't really have a choice."

Running a slender hand through her dark mane, which was on the brink of a frizz outbreak, the actress awkwardly lifted herself to her feet and grimaced at her own sight. The rain had plastered her clothes to her figure and the fabric made sticky by the humidity was hugging her curves in all the right areas. There was nothing shameful about her curves, however, this wasn't exactly the proper place to be showing them off. Unable to stand still for much longer Anhyue took a couple of steps toward Zheng and bent herself over him as fast as she could to retrieve her jacket. She snatched it up to her chest and stepped away from Zheng with cheeks that now matched his.

"I had to uhh...use this...to keep you...warm," she stammered as she struggled to push her arms through the sleeves. "I'm Anhyue, sorry I didn't mention that earlier."

What was she going to do now? A part of her wanted to help Zheng home while another part wanted nothing else to do with him. Anhyue, please, her subconscious pleaded, just turn around and go home. "So uhh," she started unaware of what she wanted to say, "would you like some help getting home or..." She wasn't sure how to finish her question, if it was even a question.

Dammit.

Zheng shifted uncomfortably. It was hard to ignore the rain as it kept pounding the top of his head and running down his face and his back. How the girl opposite him could stand it he did not know. There was also the heavy awkwardness that hung between the two of them, which kinda made it difficult to engage each other in casual conversation. That awkwardness was no doubt aided by the fact that he had sent a rather large fireball flying through the air that had narrowly missed her. She did not seem too eager to mention that, though, so he decided to follow her lead.

She mentioned that she had to lift his shirt, and Zheng just nodded agreeably. He did not know that much about the details of waterbending healing techniques, but he imagined that it would be difficult to manage if there were clothes in the way of the wound.

When the girl struggled to her feet and started to approach him, Zheng resisted the urge to scramble away. He did not know why, maybe he was still pumped with adrenaline or something after the shock of being brought back to consciousness, but his flight response was certainly very sharp. He made it his business not to notice how her wet clothes clung to her form, making sure that he kept his eyes on her face. When she bent over him he froze up completely, directing his gaze into the distance past her.

What is she doing?! Just... just keep looking at that wall... is that graffiti? What is it of... oh, no... it's just a stain... I hope that it isn't blood... I really should not just be sitting around here...

She finally moved away and Zheng noticed that she had grabbed a jacket, the one that she must have been wearing before she had found him. She must have... used it to keep him warm in the rain. That thought was confirmed by his saviour, who introduced herself as Anhyue, a moment later, and suddenly he felt even more of an idiot than he had before. Why did he not give her the garment back? He had just sat there like a moron and let her get soaked to the bone. Idiot!

Seeing her face was turning red again, Zheng wondered if she was just plain angry at him. He would not blame her; after all she had done for him, a total stranger, he had not only sounded ungrateful but almost burned her alive. Yes, he could blame both of these things on his dazed state, but the yuan stopped with him. And even considering all of that, she was still offering to help him home.

Staggering to his feet, the young firebender stretched out a bit to see if anything hurt. A look of amazement spread across his face when he noticed that there was not a single part of him that was in pain anymore.

"No... no. I'm feeling a lot better. You're really good!" Zheng blurted out, jumping up and down on the spot a little to get his blood pumping into all his limbs again. Looking at Anhyue, he considered what he should do. Could he just leave? He did not have anything much to offer her. But then a thought popped into his head, and he decided to go out on a limb and at least ask.

"Thanks for what you did, Anhyue. Seriously, not many people would help someone in trouble around here, so yeah... thank you, really", he said sincerely. Looking around, he realised that he was stalling and forced himself to get on with it. "Look... I'm crashing at a place nearby, it's only five, ten minutes walk away. If you want, I dunno, shelter until the rain stops or whatever... you're welcome to join me? I mean, just until the rain stops... but that probably doesn't bother you so much, since you're a waterbender and all, but... it'll be warm, and I can give you a hot meal. It's the least I can do, considering..."

Trailing off, Zheng doubted that he made much of an argument, but at that moment the rain decided to start coming down even worse. Shivering through his clothes, Zheng opened his hand and a small fire sprouted in his palm and he held it close to himself. It was not much, but it made him feel slightly better while he waited for the waterbender's reply.

She figured Zheng would say no. There was no reason for her to waste her breath on a suggestion that would ultimately be turned down. Who went anywhere with a stranger in the dark? Actually, who went anywhere with a stranger, period? If only her father could see her now, drenched and offering to walk a man that she barely even knew–aside from his name–home. Chang would have her head for this, there was absolutely no doubt in her mind that her father would chastise her for making such a rash suggestion. The actress didn’t even want to imagine what her mother would say; it would be too painful to hear.

Pulling herself away from her thoughts and crossing one leg in front of the other, Anhyue watched as Zheng lifted himself to his feet. He seemed to wobble a bit, but managed to stand upright on his own. A look of amusement settled into her eyes again as she watched her patient’s face light up at the realization that he was really healed. Unfortunately, the warmth in her eyes was quickly drained away the moment that small word slipped out of Zheng’s mouth. No. He said no. But he did call you good! her heart protested. Lowering her head Anhyue looked at the ground so that Zheng couldn't see as her eyes slowly glazed over. She felt tired and defeated and knew that he had said no for the best. Honestly, she needed to get home before someone found out that she was missing.

Convincing herself to say goodbye, Anhyue lifted her head and pulled her hood over her mess of dark, wavy hair. When their eyes met she inhaled sharply and felt the muscles in her back stiffen. Why was he looking at her like that? Was there still something on her face? She silenced her thoughts as Zheng parted his lips to speak. Wait I wasn’t expecting this! A lump formed in her throat.

“You...you’re welcome,” she said struggling to get her words past the lump. She couldn’t help but notice how sincere his thanks was this time. Unsure if this was goodbye or not Anhyue mimicked Zheng and allowed her gaze to travel around the alleyway. She froze when he started to speak again.

Shelter until the rain stops? Welcome to join? Hot meal!

He wasn’t being serious was he? Too bad the actress didn’t have enough time to get her thoughts together before the rain decided to drop like bombs. Zippering her jacket she glanced at Zheng and frowned at the man who was trying to keep himself warm with a small flame. She needed to make a decision. Either follow this guy and trust him, or wish him a good evening and run home. Her mind felt heavy with confusion, yet for some unexplainable reason the weight began to slip away as the actress stepped toward Zheng erasing some of the distance between them. Lifting her hands above her head Anhyue used her waterbending to form a shield of water above them. The rain was no longer an issue.

With her arms at the sides of her head Anhyue gazed up at Zheng and allowed herself to finally smile in front of him. “Can’t say no to a hot meal can I?” she murmured, eyes glowing with a hint of mischief. “Please, lead the way.”

It had started coming down so hard now that it was getting more and more difficult to see. He could barely see a hand in front of his face, and Anhyue had become a somewhat shapeless blob. He could see her movements but the details were washed away in the torrent of water falling from the bruised looking sky. Squinting into the downfall, heard her respond to his thanks, then step closer.

Suddenly the rain cleared. Wiping away the wetness from his brow so that the water would stop dripping into his eyes, Zheng saw the smile on her face and felt a little less tense. She did not seem offended from his offer and, a moment later, confirmed that she would indeed like to join him for a meal. With her shielding them both from the rain, the young firebender used his free hand to pull his hair out of the tangled topknot that it had been in. It was much too wet at this point to bother fixing it so he just let it hang loose, running his hand through it to brush it back and out of his eyes. Without the tie putting it up, his dark hair fell to his shoulders and the narrow white strip was shown to run from the roots near his forehead to the very tip of his hair.

Flashing his companion a smile in return, he stepped ahead of her and gestured for her to follow him. Zheng kept the pace brisk, not wanting to be outside for much longer. Even though Anhyue was keeping the rain off them, he was not sure how long she would be able to keep it up. He had little knowledge of other bending arts or their limits. Besides, he wanted to get inside so that he could start a fire and get a change of clothes. These ones were absolutely soaked.

About ten minutes later they arrived at a large derelict warehouse. The large front doors where barred and heavily locked, one of the main reasons that Zheng had chosen this place in the first place. Most homeless tried the more easily broken into areas, which meant that they would be less likely to try and steal his spot here. Considering the fact that there were a lot of hobos in the city, it was surprising that many were so unwilling to share such big places with others of their kind. Most of the bigger places were guarded jealously by only one or two. Still, the more heavily fortified places like this one were considered to much trouble to break into.

Jogging around the side and passed a blockaded side exit, Zheng stopped at a patch of heavily overgrown prickle-weeds and extinguished the flame he had been holding. Pulling on a pair of thick working gloves, he pulled them back to reveal a loose bit of metal, which he nudged to the side with his boot, which in turn revealed a small hole just big enough to crawl through. Making a gesture for his female companion to enter first, he stopped short and waved his hands manically to prevent her from getting in.

"Wait, wait, wait!... Sorry, sorry, but I think I should go in first. Just to make sure that I don't have any, er, unexpected guests", Zheng announced apologetically. Smiling awkwardly, he shifted his body so that he was on his knees and squeezed through the hole. He got a little stuck when his belt caught on the rim of the gap, making it look as if his backside was too big to get through. Thanking whatever controlled fate that Anhyue could not see his once again swiftly reddening face, Zheng gave a mighty heave and pulled himself completely in.

With a sigh, the young man pushed himself to his feet and held his hand open again, the flame reappearing much bigger this time. The darkness fled from the sudden light encroaching upon it's domain, and a quick check showed that no-one had stumbled upon his home (some kind of office room) since he had left it this morning. The insides were nowhere near the size one might have expected from the size of the outside, since some sort of accident had blocked the corridor the office opened up into on either end. There were two rooms still accessible, one on either side of the office room, but that was all.

Moving to the fire pit that he had made when he had first started using this place, he threw on a few random planks of wood from a big pile he had scavenged and allowed the flame in his hand to descend into it. A few seconds later and there was a cheerful fire crackling away. Rushing to the room on the left of the office (a partially caved in workroom where he slept), Zheng found a battered iron pot and lifted off the lid. To his relief, the stew inside was enough to feed them both. He did not fancy the idea of going hungry tonight.

Lifting the pot and carrying it to the main room, he hung it on the stand above the fire pit. Day old stew may not be the fanciest meal, but it was not the worst thing in the world to eat. Knowing that Anhyue was still waiting out in the rain, he quickly returned to the hole, shifting aside the bush with his gloved hands and poking his head through, looking up at her through the rain.

"'Tis all clear", he said brightly, taking off the gloves and throwing them to Anhyue so that she could use them to get inside. Gingerly holding the roots of the weeds so that they did not spring back into place and hit him in the face, Zheng withdrew himself from the hole and moved back into the room, going over to the fire to check on the stew.

While the rain thrummed loudly against the barrier she had created, Anhyue waited patiently for Zheng to make his move. She ignored the rains’ monotonous sound and instead focused her warm sea-green gaze on the young man’s face. He was quite handsome she noticed, the poorly lit alleyway taking nothing away from his strong, angular face. He was tall, at least in comparison to Anhyue, and toned from what she could make out of his body beneath his soaked outfit. Losing herself in his dark eyes she wondered what he had been doing here in the first place, and what had caused so much damage to his chest. Making a mental note to bring up these questions later, perhaps even during their meal, the actress watched silently as Zheng undid his top knot. Wow, her subconscious exhaled slowly, lowering her jaw at the sight of him. Talk about finding a diamond in the rough.

As she tried to reign in her thoughts, and maybe her hormones, Zheng ran his hand through his loose hair, then smiled at her, ruining whatever progress she had made. Thankfully, he said nothing to her and instead gestured for her to follow him. Nodding her head in compliance Anhyue followed Zheng keeping time with his brisk pace. She wouldn’t let on how exhausted she was feeling, besides he could probably already see it in her posture, the way her shoulders were leaning too forward for their own good. If the actress had anything it was good posture, but after having rehearsed for hours, healing an unconscious man, and now protecting them from the rain, she thought to hell with her posture. The sooner she got to sit down and relax the better.

Something about arriving to an abandoned warehouse ten or so minutes later should have forced the actress to consider escape as an option, running home to her family as fast as she could, but it didn’t. She was tired, and sore, and so not in the mood for running after having exercised her last stores of energy on healing and shielding this man. Besides, Zheng seemed nice enough. After all, Anhyue considered herself a good judge of character and the firebender had done nothing to cause her to go screaming for the hills, except perhaps nearly burning her alive, but that was debatable. Following him she walked around to one side of the building where a dense patch of prickle-weeds grew. She was about to ask Zheng where there door was but held her tongue as the firebender stepped forward, pushed back the weeds, and revealed with a nudge of his boot a small hole that was just big enough to crawl through.

Of course the healer thought this a little weird and unexpected, however, she was not in the questioning mood just yet. Biting her tongue Anhyue was just about to release her hands from her waterbending, but stopped when she noticed Zheng waving his hands in a frenzy to prevent her from going inside. What the heck, her subconscious growled, tapping her foot impatiently against the floor. Is this some sort of game? Pressing her lips and brow together into a scowl she listened to Zheng, then nodded her head in understanding. It worried her to know how easy it was to break into someone else’s home in this neighborhood. Everything about this place spelled danger, but the actress ignored it and watched with a frown as Zheng disappeared into the building.

It wasn’t long before he returned through the hole. Anhyue stood there no longer bending the rain and smiled at him even though the hood of her jacket casted a heavy shadowed across her face. Calling to her with a warm greeting Anhyue stretched out her arms and easily caught Zheng’s gloves in her chilled hands. Sliding them on with ease the teenager mirrored Zheng’s earlier actions and apart from ripping a small hole in her pants on her upper thigh, she crawled into the lit room unscathed. Standing quickly Anhyue pulled off his gloves and tossed them to her right. Cautiously, she took a step forward into the light and adjusted her eyes to her new surroundings. From what she could see there were only two other rooms on either side of the room that she was standing in. Next to the fire stood Zheng and above it hung an iron pot filled with what Anhyue assumed was their warm meal. Unzipping her jacket so that she could feel the warmth of the crackling fire, Anhyue tossed the soaked material to her left and moved up a couple of inches away from Zheng’s side.

Shaking her thick hair out the waterbender watched with a twinkle in her eye as the ringlets at the ends of her hair–now a bit curlier from the rain–cascaded down past her chest then stopped a centimeter above the small of her back. If she had a hair-tie she could braid her dark mane, unfortunately she did not and so she thought this would have to do. Moving away slowly from the fire Anhyue came to take a seat on the floor opposite of Zheng’s gaze. Smiling up at him through the flames her nose suddenly took notice of the salty aroma that hung in the air. Taking in a deep breath she exhaled with yet another smile and hoped that their meal would warm soon. Eyes bright in the light of the fire Anhyue parted her tan lips to speak. “Thank you,” she said her voice soft caressing the sounds of her vowels. “You have a swell place here Zheng. It’s comfortable.”

Looking up at Anhyue as she made her entrance into his home, he gave her a small smile that was filled with not a little amusement.

"Welcome to my domain, Anhyue", Zheng said with faux grandeur, gesturing his arm to encompass the room. "I hope you like day old stew. Not exactly the best cuisine in the city, but it's warm and the ingredients are fresh... ish."

She took her jacket off and threw it down on the ground. Once again in her tank top, Zheng watched her hair as she shook some water from it. He liked girls with curly hair. He did not know why, he just did. Maybe it was something to do with the shape of it or something? She moved a little further away to the opposite side of the fire and smiled, breathing in the aroma of the stew as it started to slowly bubble. It would be a little while until it warmed all the way through.

"Well, you know. 'Make a house a home', as they say", he said in reply, glancing up at his guest with a sad smile slipping onto his face. This place was anything but a house, but it was more of a home to him than any place he had stayed with his family. It was not much, but he had made it his own. Even though technically he was squatting here.

Turning his attention back to stirring the stew, Zheng hoped that the room would warm up quickly. It would not do to catch a cold, or worse. If he got sick then he would not be able to work, and if he could not work then he would not be able to buy food. And if Anhyue got sick while here, he did not know where she lived or how to take care of her. He did not have the cash for medicine, either.

Zheng noticed that he and his saviour were still wet through. The cold, soaked clothing would absorb most of the heat the fire provided. It was a good thing he still had some spare stuff lying around.

"I think it may be best to change out of these wet clothes", he said casually before thinking. Realizing that that may have come off a little... creepy, he flapped his arms in a placating manner to hold off any ill will that it may have incurred. "I didn't mean change in here, of course! There are a couple of other rooms available that I'll go into and if you want I can spare some of my other clothes for you... I mean, if you feel the need to change, because you're a waterbender and can probably dry your clothes really quick and..."

Trailing off pathetically again, Zheng let his shoulders slump in defeat of his own awkwardness and backed out of the room with a faint splosh coming from his sodden garments as he shuffled away.

"I'll just, err... yeah", he continued, escaping the room in haste once he had reached the doorway. Glad to be out of the uncomfortable situation he had created, he pulled out some dry (yet just as tatty) clothing from a waterproof sack he had purchased a few years ago. Stripping off his wet clothes and pulling on some fresh ones, he realized that he still did not know if Anhyue wanted any clothes herself.

"Sorry, I didn't catch if you wanted to borrow anything. Do you?" Zheng inquired through the thin walls that separated them. "Oh, and could you keep stirring the stew, please? Don't want it to burn", he added, trying to return things to a more casual atmosphere.

Day old stew, eh? Well, better than nothing she decided her eyes still locked on Zheng. She smiled at his reply hoping her grin would brighten his mood. His domain as he called it wasn’t too shabby and Zheng had done exactly what he said by making this house his home. Aside from her damp clothes Anhyue really was comfortable in this room, and that troubled her since she was with a stranger and all, though could she really call him a stranger? She knew not only his name, but also where he lived. Surely she could let this whole stranger idea go. Besides, she was strangely enjoying his company.

Quietly she watched Zheng and inched herself closer to the fire. Cautiously she reached her hands out and allowed the flames to lick at her slender hands. The warmth felt good against her olive colored skin and caused some color to come back to her cheeks. Pulling her hands back she rubbed her wrists to get the blood flowing then fixed the ring on her middle finger and checked to make sure that she was still wearing her bracelet. These were the only pieces of jewelry Anhyue ever cared about. If she lost them she’d probably die. Shifting uncomfortably in her clothes the actress gazed back up at Zheng and enjoyed watching him as he stirred the stew. The men in her family rarely cooked, then again Liko was only eight and could not be expected to make anything besides toast. She smiled inwardly at the thought of her little brother then focused again on Zheng’s face.

“I think it may be best to change out of these wet clothes.”

She tried not to think of what the firebender said in a somewhat sensual and hormonal way, but it was difficult not to and she flushed hard at the thought. Suppressing a giggle Anhyue watched as Zheng waved his arms wildly apologizing for the way his suggestion had sounded. Like a gentleman he offered her a change of clothes, but then finished his sentence by giving her an even better idea. How did I not think of that? the waterbender scolded herself. All this time and I could have already been dry. She wanted to thank him for reminding her of what her bending was capable of, but she didn’t get the chance since he had slipped away out of her view. Poor guy, her subconscious sighed.

Heaving herself to her feet Anhyue gave herself a good shake and using her bending she watched as a frenzy of heavy droplets of water flew away from her body. In an instant she was dry and smirked at the sight of her tank top no longer plastered to her torso. From one of the other rooms Zheng raised his voice and quietly she listened to his question. How sweet, he was still offering her some clothing. If she had been smart the actress could have done the same thing for Zheng and saved him a warm change of clothes. He continued to speak and obediently she listened to his request and began to swirl the liquid in the stew with her waterbending.

“I’m good, Zheng,” she called back tossing her hair over one shoulder and quickly running her fingers through her bangs. “I did what you said and used my bending. Thanks for the idea. And you’ll be happy to know that I’m stirring.” Boy she hoped it would warm soon least her stomach embarrass her by growling.

"Good, good", Zheng called back distractedly, hanging his clothes up on a string so that they would dry without creasing. While they were tatty to a degree, they were the clothes that he used to go to work in and they had to look as presentable as he could possibly keep them. Where they were damaged, they had been carefully fixed. It did not hang crooked, and the patches were of the same material and colour as the original garment's.

What he was wearing now, however, was the complete opposite. It was just as simple; a baggy tank top similar to his companion, and a pair of rough cloth trousers. But some of the rips were still present and the patches were painfully obvious. He had to preserve his money to fixing his work clothes and could not keep up the maintenance on his other two sets of clothing. One of the shoulder strips on the tank top had been ripped entirely and stitched roughly and with insufficient string, pinching it and forcing the garment to pull up a little, showing off a small amount of his skin at the hip. The material of his trousers could have been used as sacking and was rough to the touch. It was quite itchy, but he had grown used to it. They were kept up by a length of rope, rather than a belt like his work clothes.

His hair was still wet so he left it loose, but he picked a hair band up for when it had dried enough. After a moments consideration, he snatched up a second one. Rifling through the bag, he pulled out his flat cap, jamming it onto his head. Until his hair was ready to be put back up in a top knot, the hat would hopefully keep any loose hairs from falling into the stew. As an afterthought, he grabbed an small apple from the food pile he had in a separate bag.

Finally ready to rejoin Anhyue, Zheng walked back in and took over stirring the stew, gently passing the apple to the waterbender.

"I thought that you were looking a little drained on the way here, so this should tide you over at least until the stew is ready", Zheng uttered with a flash of a smile. Now that he was all set, the young firebender continued to stir the stew with the crooked wooden spoon before remembering the second hair band he had. "I have a hair band too, if you want to tie your hair back", he added, lifting the little black tie up in the fire's light and passing that to her as well.

"So..." Zheng went on after a pause. Suddenly, his face went pale and his eyes widened in panic.

Oh dear. I can't think of anything to say.

OH DAMN, THINK OF SOMETHING TO SAY!

"Errr..."

Damn it. Damn it. Damn it! SAY SOMETHING, ANYTHING!

"I like your hair?" Zheng said, his tone, for reasons beyond his comprehension, framing the sentence as if it were a question. Hearing what he had just said in his own head, he closed his eyes in exasperation at his own stupidity and placed his face in the palm of his hand.

Say anything, you said. Great idea. Moron.

Scrambling to recover his dignity, Zheng raised his head from his hand and grabbed at the second thought in his mind.

"What I meant to ask was 'what is it that you do', but for some reason my brain wanted me to look like an idiot", he explained with an embarrassed smile, glancing down to check on the stew and to avoid her eyes.

It was sort of therapeutic standing by the fire, stirring the stew with her waterbending, and listening to the soft, rustling noises that echoed out of the room that Zheng was occupying. Closing her eyes the teen inhaled the homey aroma of the broth and hoped that it tasted as good as it smelled. In her life she had never tasted food that betrayed its scent, however, this was the first stew she was going to consume that was one, a day old, and two, was not going to be served to her in a china set. Don’t let that bother you, her mind coaxed. And she agreed.

Hearing Zheng’s footsteps the healer turned on her heels and smiled at the apple that the firebender gently transferred from his hands to hers. It looked good, real good. “Thank you,” she said her mind slightly reeling at the sight of his smile. Before taking a bite Zheng offered her a hair tie and not knowing where to set her apple down the actress shoved it into her mouth and held it in place with her teeth. With a muffled thanks she took the tie and quickly wove her hair into a single braid down her spine. Feeling satisfied with her hair now, Anhyue took a large bite out of the apple and made a soft mmm sound as the juices slid down her throat and into her greedy belly. She knew her tummy wanted more, and it would get more, soon. Pushing the apple out of her mouth with her tongue and into her right hand the actress took a small step to the side and again enjoyed the image of Zheng stirring.

Only this time he wasn’t just stirring. He was trying to say something and it looked like he was having a hard time getting it out. He’s probably bad at small talk, like me. And he was and the dark haired woman could not stop herself from giggling. Seeing his face in the palm of his hand made her want to save him by saying something nice in return, he had complimented her after all, but Zheng decided to save himself and explain why he had what her little brother sometimes called a brain fart.

“You have nice hair too,” she smiled and with animated eyes she covered her mouth with her free hand and arched her brows in surprise. “Oops. Looks like my brain wants me to look like an idiot too.” Oh man, she hoped he enjoyed her bad humor. Taking another bite of the apple she made her way around the fire pit until she stood opposite Zheng then swallowed. “I act,” she beamed tilting her head to the side. “I’m just not famous yet. And you?”

Continuing to stir the stew, Zheng found his mouth watering more and more. In his haste to accommodate his guest, he had not given himself time to breath in the intoxicating aroma that floated up from the iron pot. He recalled his meal yesterday, and his proclamation that it had to be the best stew he had ever made. He then remembered feeling extremely foolish for announcing something to himself. Sadly, it was often only his own company he had the pleasure of keeping, these days.

Looking up, he watched Anhyue intently as she ate the apple he had given her. It was the oddest thing; it had been such a long time since he had actually eaten with someone else in such a personal setting that he had forgotten what it was like to simply share a meal. And she was certainly an... animated eater. She really seemed to enjoy that apple. It really was quite mesmerizing.

Realising that he had started to stare, Zheng returned his attention to the stew when she began to reply to his dumb attempt at small talk.

A big smile slipped onto his face as she returned his random compliment with a similar one of her own, before claiming the same thing that he had when he had said it. She seemed like a nice enough person as to let his momentary lapse in the skill of conversation making slide, but she also joined him at the same level to keep him from feeling too stupid. She did it in a way that did not detract from her dignity, but it was enough to make him feel more comfortable. He chuckled at her words, shrugging off an awkward moment for the first time in a long while.

When she announced that she was an actress, Zheng shot her a surprised glance. He did not know much about that field, but he had always assumed that only rich people got into it. Not many people like him could afford to enter such a occupation and put food on the table at the same time. Anhyue then asked what he did, and he scratched the back of his neck with a sigh.

"I don't really have any fixed job right now", Zheng admitted. "I just snap up any type if work that's on offer. Usually construction or dock work, manual labour stuff. If I'm lucky, I get enough for a real roof over my head for a few weeks and some proper food in my belly. If not then..."

He trailed off. He did not like to think about the times when he could not get money, scrounging what he could from restaurant bins, often going weeks without any real sustenance. Quickly deciding to change the subject, Zheng fixed a smile back in place.

"It's how I hurt myself, as it were. I was carrying some crates off a ship when one of them got caught in some ropes somehow. I wasn't fast enough when it swung around and it hit me square in my stomach. Very unpleasant", he added, shaking his head with mock seriousness, making light of his injury.

First he chuckles and now this? the waterbender thought admiring the surprised expression that played across Zheng's face in reaction to her answer to his question. Anhyue couldn't comprehend why her being an actress would surprise him, but she let the thought go and instead surrendered herself to the musical quality of his chuckle, which was on repeat inside of her head. She wouldn't admit it, but it was quite an attractive chuckle. How can a laugh sound that good and not be illegal? she silently teased. Calm yourself, her mind retorted, before you send your blood pressure through the roof.

Taking her mind's warning into consideration the actress took another bite out of her apple in order to drown out the alluring sound. She really needed to be more in control of herself. What kind of actress was she allowing her emotions to run wild like a pack of stray dogs? But it would be foolish of me not to let myself experience new feelings, she thought in defense of herself. And I don't always get the chance to feel this way, do I? Alright, enough internalization! her subconscious snarled. Just focus on the person you're talking to. Her subconscious could be a real jerk sometimes, but she was right.

Focusing her large eyes on Zheng, Anhyue noticed a subtle difference in his mood. It was his posture that said it all. Scratching at the back of the neck was never a good sign, especially when it was accompanied by a sigh. Silently the dark haired woman listened to what she already knew was going to be Zheng's answer to her question, but what spilled out of his mouth was more than she could have ever expected to hear. An image quickly came to mind of a hungry Zheng wandering the dark streets of Republic City in search of food and a place to sleep. It made her heart contract and a chill ran up Anhyue's spine as she tried to blink the image away, but it wouldn't leave. Knowing that Zheng would be reading her reaction Anhyue was forced to lower her gaze.

She felt so ashamed standing there in the firebender's presence, knowing that she had never once went hungry in her life. When they had arrived at the warehouse Anhyue had gained somewhat of a sense of the tough life that Zheng led, but after hearing that small confession she knew it was much, much worse. Forcing back her tears Anhyue slowly lifted her gaze and was surprised when she saw a smile on his face. Widening her eyes at the sight she again listened to the words that poured out of his sculpted mouth. A smile as soft as an owl's down spread across her full lips after Zheng had given her the answer to the question she had reserved for him on a mental note.

"Well that explains it," she said joining him in keeping the mood light. "Good thing my rehearsal ran late today." And lucky I decided to walk instead of taking a cab, she silently added tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "You would have been fine come morning but also a little sore and wet on account of the rain." Shooting him a grin she took a tiny bite out of her apple and suddenly felt terrible for doing so. Here was a man who knew what it felt like to be hungry and she was eating his apple! Her grin turned into a frown and feeling ashamed once again she let her arm fall to her side, the almost consumed apple clutched tightly inside of her hand.

Anhyue stared at Zheng for a second which seemed to stretch on for a lifetime. She noticed his baggy and torn clothes and although she wanted to enjoy the sight of his exposed skin at the hip, she just couldn't bring herself to do so. Keep the mood light, her subconscious said tugging gently at her thoughts. Pulling her frown into a line the actress crossed her free arm beneath her chest and rocked back quietly on her heels. "Think the stew's ready?" she asked her eyes shinning as they locked onto his dark orbs. Because now I don't think I'll have a single bite that I'll enjoy.

Zheng had not thought too hard on his words as he spoke, simply explaining what things were like for him. He did not consider that they would effect his companion in any particular way until he looked up at her and saw the expression on her face. She had glanced down and away, avoiding his gaze. Indeed, she looked quite upset at his words and suddenly his blood ran cold.

Is she... is she feeling sorry for me? Oh no... No, no, no, please don't start pitying me. I don't want to be pitied!

Anhyue started speaking in reply, trying to keep the conversation light, but to Zheng the damage had already been done. He gave a small laugh to her words, but there was a strained tone to it now, an unease that had not been there before now. When she asked him if the stew would be ready soon, he jumped at the chance to move things along, hoping to move past the discomfort he felt at the expression on her face earlier.

"It's got a little while to go yet. You want to make sure it heats up all the way through, otherwise... well, let's just say it'll ruin your day, and leave it at that", he said, the humour in his words a tad forced in his urgency to push past the moment that he had, once again, created with his loose tongue.

She kept looking at him, and Zheng could tell that this was not just going to go away by hoping it to, and a bit of forced humour. He let the silence stretch out a little longer, determined this time to make sure that he thought out what he was going to say before he spoke. He stared into the stew, the collection of potatoes, meat and various vegetables continuously dancing around in the pot as he stirred it without pause, attempting to collect his thoughts. He had always had a hard time speaking to girls, especially pretty ones like Anhyue. For whatever reason they left him flustered, his normally well-spoken manner changing instantly and making him look like a bumbling idiot. He would just have to push himself past it now, if he had any hope of salvaging the situation.

Zheng looked up from his vigil at the iron pot, a serious expression on his angular face.

"You don't need to feel sorry for me", he started, hoping that his words did not come off as confrontational. "I know that it isn't exactly the lap of luxury here, and I may not have a lot of things that you might consider essential. But, despite it all, I'm happy with what I have. I wasn't at first. I was convinced I was going to die. One way or another", Zheng continued. It was true; when he was first turned out onto the streets, he had come very close to true despair. There were a lot of high places in Republic City, but in the end he could not do it. It just seemed such a cheap way to end things.

"It took a while, but I was able to pull myself to a level that I could never have done before I was forced onto the streets. I found self-reliance, and the ability to push myself to survive despite the odds. And I was able to be content with what I had rather than mull over what I didn't."

Running out of things to say, Zheng found himself scrambling for words once more in his usual awkward manner. Shrugging nonchalantly to cover the pause in his rhetoric, the firebender tried a smile to break the tension.

"But enough about that! Er... Why don't you, er, tell me more about yourself? Do you have family in the city?" Zheng asked quickly, praying that this would change the subject back to something more lighthearted.

This time when Zheng laughed it lacked in the musical quality that had made his chuckle so wonderful to listen to, and instead sounded forced and a bit strained. Anhyue knew without thinking too hard that she had caused this rift between them. She could feel the unwelcome static energy in the air and it made her skin tingle in all the wrong ways. He saw me, she finally confessed to herself, her heart constricting at the thought. She should have been more careful. She was an actress for spirits sake! Things like this were supposed to be second nature to her, yet here she was screwing up like some kind of a beginner. The waterbender quieted her thoughts as Zheng gave her an answer to her question. She inhaled sharply. Now even his speech sounded forced. Oh man...

"Whatever you say," she quickly mumbled tripping a bit over her words and increasing her grip on the apple. "I trust you. I'm sure it's going to taste great when it's ready."

Unsure of where to look Anhyue let her gaze remain on Zheng's angular face. He seemed to be deep in thought and that worried the actress. Characters with those kinds of expressions were always preparing for something big to say. She knew it was coming, but she didn't know how to brace herself for the attack. When he lowered his gaze to the stew Anhyue turned her attention to the apple in her hand. The juices were beginning to make her hand sticky and although she wanted to finish it she again felt that she could not bring herself to do it. Maybe that's what's irritating him, the actress thought. She knew how upset she became when others tried to do things for her. The sea-green eyed girl always wanted to be the one who helped, never the one who received help. Perhaps Zheng was the same way? But she hadn't done anything to help him. It wasn't like she had offered him to come and work at her family's hotel. She had just felt a soft pang of sympathy and sadness for him and had allowed it, against her will, to show on her face. Was that so bad? Maybe it was. When he looked up at her with his piercing coal eyes Anhyue knew that it was bad instantly.

Although his words did not cut through her like a knife, they had power enough to make her feel awful. How did he know what Anhyue considered essential? Sure she considered food essential, but who didn't? Money didn't keep a person alive, nor did living in some fancy house. It was food, and all she had done was try to sympathize with the fact that Zheng knew what it was like to go hungry. Of course that made her sad, who wouldn't feel sad about that? The problem she realized was that she had probably made herself seem too sad. Maybe she had pitied him for a second, but if she had the actress hadn't known it at the time. The firebender continued to speak and all Anhyue could do was hold her gaze, which was beginning to dim in light, to his. I'm not trying to pity you! her mind exclaimed bringing a small frown to her soft lips. I mean is it wrong that I feel bad for eating your food? I don't know what it's like to be without food. So I'm sorry that I'm only trying to let myself care and feel for you.

She probably should have voiced some of what was floating around inside of her head, but she didn't. Instead the nineteen-year-old bit her lip and expelled all of those thoughts and emotions from her mind and self. It wouldn't help to argue this further with Zheng. He was set on his ideals and Anhyue was going to do her best to respect him. If the firebender didn't want pity, well then she wouldn't show him pity. However, she couldn't promise herself not to care. Telling herself not to care was like telling herself not to act; it just wasn't going to happen. Clearing her throat and loosening her jaw Anhyue wasted no time in answering the man's question. "I do," she smiled as her mind conjured up images of her family. "I've got my mom and my dad and my two siblings, a brother and a sister."

"A little brother and a little sister," she quickly corrected. "They're eight and twelve, and the centers of my universe." It was always so easy to talk about her siblings. They were the two people in this whole world who loved her unconditionally, and she loved them right back. "Their names are Liko and Taka. We all live together at our family's hotel. The only other family I have live in Omashu, but I haven't seen them in years."

Zheng watched his companion for her reaction to his little speech, but he was not exactly the best at reading faces. The fact that he had seen her sadness before was only because he had looked up at the wrong time, when perhaps she did not realise that he would see her face while she was looking away. A bit of bad luck. It certainly might have been better for both of them if he had just not seen her expression at all. Then at least he would not have done what he always did and jabbered on like a moron. What he did see was her bite her lip. He guessed that Anhyue wanted to say something in reply to his words, but then thought better of it.

Zheng was starting to wish that he had the presence of mind to do that. Maybe he should start? He had heard somewhere that the girls liked guys who were dark and mysterious. He could be dark and mysterious if he tried! Yeah, right his mind snarked. You're more likely to come off creepy and stalker-ish. That's always attractive.

Conceding the point to himself, he listened as Anhyue jumped at the chance to change the subject to her family. He doubted that he had dispelled the tension between them so easily. Buried it a little, perhaps, but it was still there under the surface, an nasty feeling in the back of his mind that she might be regretting her decision to accept his offer of a meal. Well, nothing was stopping her from leaving if that was the case and she seemed content enough to stay.

Unless she's scared that you'll take offence and attack her.

The thought flashed into his mind, unwelcome and unexpected. Surely he was not scary to her? He did not see himself as such, but Anhyue did not know him. He was a stranger to her, or close enough to one for it to matter. He could be anyone, he could be a murderer, or a kidnapper of women!

Perhaps that's why she went with you in the first place. Think about it. A homeless stranger asks her for a meal, then takes her to a place that is obviously abandoned, and she still willingly comes in? Maybe she likes the danger of it all. Maybe a little too much...

Shaking such distasteful thoughts from his mind with a shudder, he made to keep the tension covering conversation going.

"That's nice to hear. Family's supposed to be important", Zheng commented approvingly. He opened his mouth again without thinking, about to talk about his family, when he realised just how stupid that would be. He had just started covering over one depressing topic and he was just about to open that can of snake-worms? Not exactly smart. "Bowls! I can't believe I forgot the bowls. I'll be right back", he exclaimed to hide his close call, making haste to the other room again. Snatching up his two only bowls and a couple of utensils to eat with, he re-entered the main room and placed them on the floor next to the firepit.

For the next fifteen twenty minutes or so, Zheng found himself to be remarkably bad company. He stuttered and failed to keep up a line of conversation (not for lack of trying, but every time she lanced him with those sea-green eyes of hers his mind went annoyingly blank), and could not think of a single thing to talk about himself. He threw a few extra bits of scrap wood from the pile into the fire to stop it from growing weak at one point and never stopped stirring the stew until he finally was certain it was finished. Scooping a bowl up from the floor, he dipped it into the pot and made sure that a generous amount was in it before straightening up and smiling at Anhyue.

"Stew's finally ready! Time to drink, time to eat, take off your socks and rest your feet", Zheng announced, adding a little tune to the last bit. Realising that too late that he had, yet again, spoken without thinking of what his companion would make of his words, he gave a nervous laugh and felt his cheeks redden a little.

"Sorry, kind of a dinner ritual I picked up", he explained, holding out the bowl to the olive skinned girl while he dipped his own container into the stew.