Reina smiled at Riku's chuckle. "Oh? You know something about female warriors?" She asked curiously with a smile behind her eyes. She assumed that he must know how rare it was to find a female warrior from a water tribe. Reina then looked back at Rini. "It's funny you mention law enforcement Riku, I'm applying to the police department right now. Hopefully I can get into something, even if it's just a desk job." Reina had secretly hoped to become a detective or a private investigator but she realized that she had to be realistic.
Reina looked back to Riku and couldn't help but notice that he seemed to be responding a little strangely to her story. Was it jealousy? "You know, Riku, if you wanted I could show you some healing techniques." She suggested hoping that maybe that would make him feel a little better. After all, he had seemed interested in it the last time that they met. Reina briefly glanced around the restaurant again and noticed that many of the people had left and things were beginning to clear out.

Rini found herself wondering what the time was, she wasn't sure why it wasn't as if she wasn't enjoying the company it was far from it. She just had a general feeling of 'late' and also she knew her uncle hadn't made an appearance either, a worrying thought about how she'd get home came to mind that was quickly put to rest with the 'it's easy enough, remember?' thought. She didn't need babying. And it wasn't as if this was a 'bad' part of town...

"Oh, good luck with that," She said in response to Reina's plan to work with the police, it did sound like an interesting job, even working on the desk would probably be interesting as she finished her tea, realising it had probably cooled down a bit too much, but there wasn't a lot she could do, unless she was a firebender maybe...

ooc: You too

Rini thought about with this discussion about Reina looking for a job she didn't really know what she wanted to do. She'd been in the city for... two years now and although she felt she'd settled in fairly well, or at least into the section of the city she tended to find herself in which she knew probably wasn't that large she wasn't sure if she was going to stay here forever. But then, she wasn't sure if she really wanted to go back to living at home. It wasn't that it was a bad place, far from it. It was just kind of small.

She realised just then that she was also drifting off which was not a good thing to do when with company and so she tried her hardest to get her mind back to the conversation at hand, hoping neither Reina or Riku had noticed her drifting off, she was getting better at dealing with that problem she found.

"Hmm..." Rini racked her brain for a few moments stirring up what was left of her noodles, "I can't think of anything, but I'm sure if I ask my grandfather he'll know..." before she brought the last mouthful of noodles to her mouth.She had to admit, she did want to see this flower shop, and she realised making a reason to come there was probably more polite than just badgering him with questions about it.

Ooc: Happy new years to you too!

Reina smiled at the Riku. "Makes sense, I'm more than happy to teach you whenever you feel the need," She replied. Reina briefly wondered what it was like to heal a plant. Was it like healing a person? Could you feel their life, their energy? Reina focused back on the group and looked to Rini. She seemed a little distant, as if her mind was on something else. Then, Reina noticed that Rini's uncle hadn't shown up again. Rini had said it was common for him to be late, but this wasn't just late. He hadn't even shown up. 

As Rini looked like she had come back to the group Reina decided she should ask her about it. "So, is your uncle going to show up?" She asked, hoping she wasn't prying too much. Reina knew that being in the downtown area alone wasn't any fun. Especially for young women. She was sure Rini could handle herself but having a friend with you couldn't hurt. 

"Well... he was supposed to be here..." She tried not to sound too panicked when she spoke although she had a feeling her voice betrayed her a bit, she didn't need anyone to worry she'd be fine. Her grandparents probably wouldn't be happy if they found out (which they probably would) but then that would be directed at him not her as what was she supposed to do?

 "I'm sure he'll show up though, if not I do know my way back home, it's not that far." She said with an offhanded shrug, trying to play it off that it wasn't a big deal. That she was a confident city dweller and not someone who was really a kid compared to the two people she had ended up having a meal with

Rini was sure she just said that to try and reassure herself, as she was pretty sure even she wouldn't have believed her.

Reina looked at Rini with concern. "I can wait you with you awhile until he gets here," she offered. Reina knew that it was late and cold out, add that to the anti-bending sentiment some people seemed to have and it just wasn't safe to be alone at night. Reina had an uneasy feeling about being alone at night in the city herself. Maybe Rini is more comfortable with being alone here than I am? She quickly shook the thought off as she realized that she shouldn't be so quick to leave a friend alone.

Reina looked over at Riku and raised an eyebrow, as if asking for his input in the matter. She wondered if he thought that it was a bad idea to leave her alone here as well. Reina's mind briefly drifted back to her first night in the city. A group of men had tried to attack her and a friend near this part of town. Surely Riku would agree with her. Or maybe she was just being a silly newcomer. Better safe than sorry, she thought.

Rini had to admit, the idea of staying a little longer with Reina and Riku did actually sound like a good idea... and maybe having one or both of them walk with her at least some of the way home was a reassuring though.

"Really? That's very kind, I mean if it's not too much trouble," She said, trying to sound as offhand and causal about it as possible moving a lock of errant hair behind her ear again. She did wonder what was holding her uncle up this time, she never quite found out what happened last time, something to do with work apparently, or the training or something. She guessed whatever had happened the last time had happened again.

She thought for a moment about the offer of dessert... "What do you think Reina?" She did want to say yes, but felt it was best to see what Reina wanted just in case.

"I'm always up for something sweet," Reina replied. She was glad that Rini had decided to stay. It was also nice to have a relaxing among friends and a hot meal. Reina looked back at Riku and gave him a warm smile. "Thank you for being so generous," She said as she gave a slight nod. "Now all we have to do is decide on what we want." Reina's mind briefly drifted to when the restaurant closed for the night. It was dark out but it didn't appear to be too late. It was also considerably colder at night than during the day. Good thing I'm used to the cold, She thought to herself.

Reina took another look around the restaurant and then back at Rini and Riku. "Kind of off topic, but have you guys heard anything about people attacking benders in this part of the city?" Reina asked. She wondered if the men who had followed her and her friend were part of a larger group, or just some random citizens with anti-bending sentiments. This was the biggest part of why she didn't want to let Rini head home alone.

Rini wasn't quite sure which dessert she would pick, they all sounded good. Very good and she was pretty sure she could feel her mouth watering a bit about it.

"It all sounds really nice..." She said as she tried to see if she could come up with some input on the matter, as it was proving harder than it probably should be about something like this.

At Reina's question she tried her best not to look uncomfortable, trying to put the twinge of nerves at rest about it, especially since she made a leap to her uncle.
What if he'd been attacked by someone? What if that was why he wasn't here? She didn't really have much way of knowing.
But she was sure he was fine...
Or she hoped he was fine
"I think I've heard a bit, from people who came into the shop... but I don't come around this area much, but it seems to be popping up everywhere,"

Reina thought briefly about the deserts. "I'm torn," She stated. "I don't know if I'm in the mood for custard or cobbler, they both sound good, but I've never had them." The closest thing that Reina had ever had to sweets was meat cooked in mango sauce. The water tribe really didn't worry about putting dessert on the table since people that lived in the tundra needed to eat more fatty fish and meats to stay warm. Reina scratched her head for a moment but failed to come up with anything.

Reina's mind then shifted back to the question she had asked. "Well, the only reason I ask is because when I first got here, a friend and I had several non-benders that gave us some trouble, they even seemed willing to fit us in a public space." As Reina told them this she noticed Rini's discomfort. She really hoped she hadn't freaked her out by talking about it. "I mean, I haven't had trouble out here since and I haven't heard about anything else happening, but I thought I'd ask," Reina added.

(ooc: sorry for the delay, got a bit swamped with uni work)

"Hmm..." She said in response to Reina, "It's hard to choose isn't it?" Everything was really tempting, Rini had to admit she was drawn to sweet foods, probably a bit too much. And since moving to the city she'd been exposed to a lot of new ones, like twists on traditional foods and combinations of culture's foods....

She realized her mind was drifting again, and realized the conversation had shifted. And so she did her best to make it look as though she had been paying attention, hoping neither of them noticed that.

Rini wasn't sure if she had much to add to the conversation. All this stuff about equalists still seemed weird, although she'd been here a while. But then of course she'd grown up in a pretty small place, and she was pretty sure everyone got along... mostly.
It just seemed weird.

Reina looked at Riku and nodded her head. "I think people are more interested than gossip than sympathy most of the time anyways," she stated. "I'm just concerned that with the rumors of the galgori coming back more attacks will happen." Reina thought briefly back onto the news stories she had read about extremist groups who followed the old group popping up. Like the swampbenders many people in her tribe had treated the galgori as the stuff of legends and bedtime stories.

As Reina focused back on the present she looked towards Rini. "Well I'm thinking a custard sounds the best. What about you?" She said hoping that Rini would begin to look a little bit more comfortable. Rini didn't seem to be very aware of the threat that the equalists could pose to benders. It made Reina even more happy that she had decided to stay behind and wait for the girl's uncle. It definitely wasn't safe to be walking around, unaware of such a serious threat.