Republic City sure was an interesting place. Well, "interesting" might not be exactly the right word for it... but it was one word for it. Khalama had never experienced anything like it in her life at the Northern Air Temple - dingy, dark, dirty, and filled with crowds everywhere. Even after having spent a few days here, she was still reeling a bit from the culture shock.

Fortunately, though, she'd begun to find a few similarities here and there, as well, and not all of them were on air temple island. The people were very different here, but there were people here. There was good food here... even if most of it did violate the air acolytes' dietary rules (and given her difficulties with vegetables, the easy availability of meat here wasn't a particularly good thing for her). There were fruit pies, too... even if they weren't nearly as good as the ones the acolytes made in the temple. And there was music... even if it was sensationalized in large halls and surrounded by formality that seemed to her to take away a bit of the warmth and passion of music played straight from the heart and soul.

Yes, she had to admit... some of the similarities were almost more different than they were similar. But sometimes the city surprised her.

Today was one of those days. Walking down the some random road as she explored a new section of the city, she heard the sound of an instrument that she'd never heard before. Turning a corner, she followed the sound to a blind girl sitting on the street playing what she recognized to be a trumpet.

Fantastic! At the air temple they didn't exactly have a traditional orchestra, so she'd actually never heard a trumpet before. And the way the girl was playing... there was a heart behind her music that she'd been missing since she'd come to the city. Everything else seemed so cold and mechanical...

She smiled as she listened to the trumpeter play, swaying her head side-to-side with the melody. After listening to the improvisation for a few moments, she began to get a feel for the chord progression of the music, and, taking a seat on the ground next to the trumpet player, she pulled a small wooden flute out from the sleeve of the traditional airbender robes she'd taken up as her outfit of choice.

Quite softly, she played a couple of notes to herself, careful not to disturb the trumpet player as she discerned the key to the song. Once she had the key figured out, she joined in, improvising her own harmonies, trills, and embellishments to complement the music of the trumpet player.

Tsubaki thought that the sweetest sound she'd hear that day was a few yuan coins dropping to her trumpet case until she heard a flute. The idea of someone actually joining her out of nowhere was like someone breaking out in song and dance while walking...fantastically wonderful but definitely not expected.
It was like shadowboxing and then starting a sparring session, like fantasizing about kissing that certain someone and then getting that kiss. It was life at it's most improvisational and beautiful.
As ecstatic as she was a slight pang shot through Tsubaki's heart. It reminded her that she never got to fulfill her dream of an Equalist jazz band. Most of her friends hadn't played instruments and were now too imprisoned or too dead to learn.

After a few huffing breaths Tsubaki took off her blindfold and squinted her yellow eyes at the source of the other music and smiled with an open mouth as if overfilled joy was trying to escape.
"I'd say you made my day but, honey, I think you just made the past nine months."

A moment of adjusting was required to fully take in Khala's appearance.
"An air person! Neat! How come you don't have a thingy?" She asked while running her index finger down her forehead to indicate an arrow tattoo. "And where's your sky bison and will you join a band with me after we eat ramen. Oh! I forgot to ask you about ramen. Do you like ramen? We can split a bowl."

There was time for exactly one breath before Tsubaki resumed talking.
"Just let me gather my things before we eat. Wait. I heard you air people can't eat meat. You're um...egalitarians or something. We'll get non-meaty ramen without meat."
The weapons hanging from the two belts Tsubaki wore crossed over her waist clattered slightly as she stood after gathering her trumpet and the few coins she had earned playing it.
"I didn't introduce myself, did I? I don't think I did. If I didn't I'm Tsubaki Ito. If I did introduce myself I am still Tsubaki."

"Oh." Khala stopped playing abruptly, taken suddenly by surprise. "You're not blind?" She realized what she'd said too late. "I mean... not that that's a bad thing. It's great that you're not blind. I'm happy for you!" She realized again. "Er, not that being blind's a bad thing either..." She sighed. "I'm going to stop now."

She followed with her eyes as the other girl pointed at her forehead, but even as she opened her mouth to speak, she was stopped by the other girl NOT stopping. Closing her mouth again, she leaned back against the wall and waited silently for the girl to finish her sentence.

Except her sentence didn't end. So she sat and waited for the next one to end, but that didn't end either.

Somewhere around ten sentences later, Khala found herself unable to restrain herself, and let out a laugh at the other girl's wild and persistent energy.

"One question at a time! The arrow tattoos are only worn by airbending masters. I'm, well, not an airbender at all, just an air acolyte... so no tattoos. And the sky bison are still a rare species, so they're only used for special occasions." She smiled. "Noodles aren't my favorite dish, but vegetables and I have always had an interesting relationship... yes, we are supposed to be vegetarians, and I always try to stick to that as much as I can, but I've always found a lot of vegetables to be... well, not very tasty. So, uh, sometimes I... sneak in some meat..." She looked away, twiddling her fingers a bit. "It's not something I'm particularly proud of, but..."

She looked back at Tsubaki. "Er, anyway, yes, I'll join you for some ramen. Noodles are generally better tasting than most vegetables, at least."

She stood, grabbing her staff and using it as support to bring herself to her feet as she tucked her flute back into her sleeve, and then extended a hand to help Tsubaki up. "My name's Khala. Pleased to meet you, Tsubaki." She offered a smile.

"And I'm super pleased to be met, Khala-ti-do." Tsubaki reached for Khala's arm and pulled herself up by it but didn't let go immediately. She looked at her darker skin and felt her muscle tone before letting go.
"Your arms are soooo pretty. They feel strong too. Do you do the, um, twisty, turny, air fighting style? I never fought someone like that. I bet it's interesting. How do they not get dizzy. I'd be all..." Tsubaki took a few purposefully clumsy steps while waving her arms as if to keep balance.

Slightly ahead of Khala due to her dizzy walk Tsbuaki stopped instantly and turned around in front of Khala face-to-face...or face to nose as Khala was a little taller.
"Okay, you now. Ask me a questions. I don't know math and writing and stuff but I know a lot about weapons and a lot more about me. I'm also a pretty good tour guide." She ran past Khala and pointed to an alley.
"That's the alley me and my friend Mugen got beaten up when we were kids. Don't worry...our moms settled it. I'm almost sure the guy is still alive. Oh! That's a chocolate place that Asami Sato took me once."
Before a third landmark of Tsubaki Ito's life could appear she remembered her original point.
"Questions...right. Ask away. My life is an open belt."

"Hey! Ramen Guy!" she shouted to the small ramen stand across the street. "A big bowl of that one thing...the one without meat." Tsubaki reached for Khala's hand and started a sprint across the street towards her future ramen.
Ordering even a few seconds ahead meant that they would get their bowl of raman that much sooner.

Tsubaki sat down at a wooden table and bundled up in her long sweater causing the weapons in her belts to jingle and clink.

Khala-ti-do? "No, it's just..." Suddenly she got it. "Oh." She looked away awkwardly. "Nevermind. I get it."

Khala found herself blushing slightly as the other girl remarked on her arms. Not out of any misunderstanding of the remarks being romantic in nature, or of any such inclinations in her own mind at the time, but purely out of the awkwardness of not knowing how to respond to something like that. In the northern air temple she'd been so focused on her spiritual life that she hadn't spent enough time with the other acolytes to have gotten much in the way of remarks on her physical beauty (or lack thereof).

"Um... Thank you..." She replied awkwardly as Tsubaki did some weird drunken dizzy walk. "Uh, yes, they taught me basic hand-to-hand... though obviously I can't do all the acrobatics that the airbenders do. They taught me to fight with one of these, too." She gestured at her staff. "Though I hope I never have to." She squinted slightly. "Though... what you did there looks more like drunken fist than air combat, you know."

She listened as Tsubaki rambled on about things that were almost entirely unrelated to Khala asking her any questions, blinking slightly at the incessant stream of words that seemed to come without pause. She took a deep breath as she found a break in the stream, but was cut short again by a tug on her arm pulling her toward the ramen shop. "Whoa, take it easy!" She almost lost her balance, but caught herself with her staff and used it as a pole for a tiny pole vault back into a balanced position.

She took her seat as they reached the ramen shop, shaking her head quickly to brush the hair from her eyes, and then reaching up with her hand (once she got it back) to style her bangs more properly. She took a moment to get her bearings again, then took another breath.

"Ok, question one: when do you breathe?" She huffed, feigning exhaustion. "I'm almost out of breath just listening to you."

She held up a hand, signalling for Tsubaki to hold her answer. "Don't answer yet." She decided, based on the last two times Tsubaki had spoken, that it might be best to get all her questions in before she let Tsubaki start answering. Still, she spoke with a slow, steady cadence, unlike her conversation partner's endless stream of words.

"Question two, why do you carry so many weapons? Are you trained in all of them? I hope you're not planning to hurt someone with them, because you seem like a nice person. Question three: Who's Asami Sato? Is she someone I should know? I'm new to Republic City, so..."

She thought for a moment. Nothing else came to mind right away.

"Ok. Now you can answer."

While waiting, bundled up in her long cardigan sweater, Tsubaki absorbed the questions Khala had asked. She scrunched her face slightly as she thought for a moment.
"My sifu taught me to do some breathing thing to do with circles when she taught me the trumpet. I can breathe through my nose when air comes out my mouth. That might help, but I've been a big talker since I first started talking. I figure if I miss a few breaths here and there I'll get them back when I'm asleep."

The bowl of ramen was ready which Tsubaki slid toward Khala. Many people preferred to eat when Tsubaki was speaking.
"Asami Sato is a super pretty, really nice person who runs Future Industries now. She got it from her father who was arrested for being an Equalist. We went out for chocolate and I talked her into getting into a pit fight with me. It was sooo fun. You don't need to know her but she's really sweet."
Tsubaki grunted and hummed.
"Weapons. Trained with all of them. Better at some than others. I never plan to hurt people with them but this is The Dragon Flats District so you can't be too careful. Plus, for extra money I'll bodyguard or escort someone through the district if they have business. I'm not a big, imposing man but I think even a gentle flower like me might look tough carrying a lot of weapons."

Tsubaki began to reach for the bowl of ramen when she struck her fist against her palm.
"I forgot to answer a question. Sorry. I carry so many weapons because they're special to me."

The ex-equalist stood and did something she rarely did in the presence of another human being; she took off her belts. After she splayed them across the table careful not to spill anything on them Tsubaki sighed with a smile and closed eyes. She pointed to the end of one belt where twenty-three red dots were applied with what looked like nail polish.
"I was born twenty-three years ago." Tsubaki ran her hand over to a green handled kodachi. "This is Yudai. Named after my grandfather. He gave me this when I was a little girl, just before he died." She then pointed to a layered pocket containing three kunai knives. "My dad doesn't talk much but I remember him giving me these on my twelfth birthday and saying he was proud of me. He made them himself."

She ran her hands over other weapons and seemed to relive the experiences they corresponded to but verbalized none until a beautifully ornate stiletto came up. It was black and the handle inlaid with tiny metallic spiders. Tsubaki began to speak but couldn't find any words then, just a slight choke.
After some time she calmed down while holding the black and silver stiletto.
"I named this one The Bride of Nine Spiders. That was the woman that taught me the trumpet. I don't know what happened. One day she was just gone and she left me this."
Tsubaki wiped her running nose with her sleeve.
"See? Each weapon is an important memory or person in my life. Every time I use my kodachi Yudai I remember sitting on my grandfather's lap and how he used to call me 'Baki-Baki'. Every meaningful person to me has saved my life through these weapons."

"Oh, and by the way I think Drunken Air Combat is a great name for a band."

Khala followed along, eating at her ramen, as Tsubaki showed each of her weapons. But after listening to it all, her mind was still focused on something she'd heard at the very start. She let silence hang for a moment, as a gesture of reverence, but she couldn't hold her question in forever... it was bugging at the back of her mind.

"You said Asami Sato's father was... an equalist?" She pondered for a moment, seeming a bit uncertain. "I don't understand them. I ran into one of them on my way into town. They hate benders. But why? The airbenders went out of their way to help people and never hurt anyone. How could someone hate people like that?" She shook her head. "I don't know much about the other bending traditions. But even if there are some bad people, aren't their good ones, too? Benders who help people?"

She smiled to herself as she took another bite of her ramen. "I'm glad you're not an equalist. The last one I met seemed very angry, and he didn't even know I was a bender. He acted like he wanted to hurt me over just being an air acolyte, I guess because our tradition was started by the airbenders." She turned her smile toward Tsubaki. "You're very nice, though." She gave a soft chuckle. "I guess if you hated benders I'd be in trouble, with all of those weapons you carry."

Tsubaki had to grit her teeth and smile awkwardly as she put on her first belt. She also had to keep her head down in case her yellow eyes began to water. She took off her weapons in front of Khala and told her the story of Tsubaki Ito. It was a punch to the heart to hear that Khala expected violence when Tsubaki reached out.
"I..." she reached for her second belt of weapons but couldn't speak any more until it was buckled and she could feel safe. "I was an Equalist. A lot of my friends died or went to prison. Some are missing."

Tsubaki raised her head and looked at the air acolyte sitting at the table ahead of her. The former Equalist sat down causing her weapons to jingle. It was a comforting sound at an uncomfortable moment.
"I don't hate benders. My dad's a firebender. He can explain why I did what did better than I can. Or...maybe I can show you with your staff. Can I see your staff? Pretty please? I swear I won't hurt it, I just think it'll make a good, uh, thing. Demonstration. Visual aid."

The former Equalist reached for Khala's staff before stopping her extended left hand and instead reached her right hand toward her belt and pulled out the kodachi her grandfather had given her. It didn't seem fair to borrow a weapon and not give something important back in return.

Tsubaki stood up and took a few steps back and held Khala's staff on the edge of her open hand where the staff wobbled slightly before settling down.
"This is the world in balance. Benders over here and non-benders over here," she said gesturing with her head to the two ends of the staff. "Thing is, a bunch of people disagree on where the balance point is. I think it's here," she said as she raised the balanced staff.
She slid her balancing had down the shaft until it teetred over an she had to hold the staff with one hand like a club.
"The Equalist you met thinks it's here. Unbalanced. Not equal, just better for non-benders."

She returned her hand to the balancing point of the staff and resumed talking.
"Non-bending welders get paid less than bending ones, did you know that? Benders use to run our council. Even triads like the Red Monsoons and Triple Threats are less likely to take in a non-bender than a bender."
Tsubaki stopped balancing the staff and held it in her hand as she looked off in the distance.
"They guy you met is a jerk...but he couldn't set you on fire with a punch. Uh, I don't think I'm explaining this right. I wish Amon was still around, he could explain it."

The staff that was once a metaphor for bender/non-bender relations became a simple staff once again as Tsubaki extended it to Khala.
"Thank you. It's a lovely staff."

Tsubaki's face scrunched as she thought about what she could say next.
"I don't think I'm explaining it well. I can talk a lot but I can't always explain stuff. If you ask questions and I'll answer them. You ask questions and I'll ask something about you because you seem pretty neat. Deal?"

Khala pondered Tsubaki's words as she accepted her staff back. "It was hand made for me by the acolytes in the northern temple before I left." She frowned slightly. She missed the northern temple, her friends and family there, the snow and the clouds and the mountains all around. Stifling a melancholy sigh, she sat the staff back on the ground, leaning it against the counter.

Her eyes returned to Tsubaki as she pondered her words in silence for a few moments, her lips pursed in thought.

"What you're saying makes sense. Just like the balance between the elements, there has to be balance in everything. Between benders and nonbenders, between people and animals, even within oneself, balance is important. I came here to study waterbending so I could find that balance in myself." She thought for another moment, remembering the equalist she'd run into before, and the other people in that area. "But the equalists... the ones I met... seem angry and, well, violent. Balance can't be found through violence."

"The acolytes' at the northern temple teach a lot about water. Not bending it, but understanding it. It may seem odd from air acolytes - maybe they chose it as a metaphor for me because I'm a waterbender." She took a breath and closed her eyes, remembering her teachings. "When you want to move water, you can't do it by grasping it with your fist - the water will seep between your fingers and keep going where it was already going. If you want to move water, you have to cup your hands, embrace the water, and move it gently. If you try to move too forcefully, it will spill. And if you want to change the direction of a river, you have to provide a framework, work with the river, and let the water change direction on its own." She opened her eyes again. "People are the same way. If you try to fight, they will resist and keep going the same way they were already going. If you want to change a person's mind you have to do it by gently moving it, with an open palm and not a fist. And if you want to change the direction of a world, you have to work with the people in it and let them change direction on their own. When you swim with the current you get a lot farther with a lot less energy than when you swim against it."

She rose her hand to her mouth and bit lightly on her thumbnail. "Sorry. I'm spouting philosophy again, aren't I? Even the other air acolytes get mad at me for that." She took a breath and let it out. "Okay. Trading questions seem good. So I guess I'll ask... I agree that the need for balance is important, but why fight? Fighting creates imbalance, and imbalance usually leads to someone falling over. And if it is the benders who fall over, that just creates a new imbalance in favor of the non-benders, doesn't it?" She grimaced. "Sorry... philosophy and metaphors..."

"Why do I fight?
Tsubaki sighed and began to eat some of the ramen she had bought in order to put into words what she believed. She very rarely felt self-conscious about her lack of education but at that moment Tsubaki Ito wished she had learned to read. Maybe she could have read something at one time that had the right words to make Khala understand.

"I fight for a few different reasons. Some are personal and kinda weird but you probably don't want to hear that stuff. I joined the Equalists because I thought they were cool but I stayed because I started seeing things differently. They weren't bullies or terrorists. Fat Cobra just wanted to fight. Rapidly Descending Eel was sleeping in the streets and stealing fish from the park to stay alive. The more we talked about stuff and shared our experiences we saw this wall we'd never seen before and the benders were on the other side. Better jobs, political power, plus the ability to burn, drown or crush a person whenever they wanted. Something had to be done and you don't talk to a wall."

The Equalist began rustling her stiff, wirey hair in minor frustration.
"You say that violence isn't the answer but what about the president? The reason he is leading instead of a council of benders the people didn't vote for is because of violence. My mom likes to say that you can get more with a kind word and a blade than you can with just a kind word. Without Amon there would have been no change. Most times people don't know there's a problem until that problem hits them in the face."

Talking politics started coming back to Tsubaki. It had been a while. Nine months since she had last talked to an Equalist. She tried not to dwell on the fates of the people she considered her friends.
"Amon didn't balance anything...he did the first and most important thing: He pointed out the imbalance. Most people didn't know the scales were heavy on one side until Amon came along. I think people woke up when the police started arresting non-benders for being out past curfew."

Politics and philosophy were not Tsubaki's greatest subjects and was grateful when something she knew about came up: The use of fighting.
"Fighting doesn't create imbalance...or at least it doesn't do it alone.

"But don't you see the problem? The cycle? If the equalists win their equality through violence, the benders will be resentful for being pushed around and having their position forcibly taken from them. Some of the equalists will probably try and turn things around, and they'll start treating the benders the same way the benders treated them, justifying it by saying the benders deserve it, even though the benders they're abusing aren't always the benders who abused them before. Then the benders will feel like the equalists are bullying them, and unfairly using some advantage against them, just like the equalists feel about them now. They'll form a resistance movement just like the equalists and rise up with more violence. Then the equalists will take that resistance as proof of the violent nature of benders, claim that the benders can't stand not being in charge, and respond with more violence, which will make the benders feel more attacked and more slighted and respond with even more. Both sides feel further and further separated until nothing exists but violence and hatred between the two groups, and no bender and nonbender can meet each other without it becoming a conflict. And I really don't know how you could think of a world more out of balance than that."

She stopped herself for a moment. "Except perhaps if you imagined a world where airbending ceases to exist, which given the current population, is a very strong danger that equalist violence could bring about, as well. The balance between elements is as important as the balance between benders and nonbenders, and violence threatens to destroy both of them." She paused. "Er, to make both of them a lot worse. Since neither one of them really exists to begin with right now.

She shook her head. "I'm not saying that violence never accomplishes a goal, because it does. But it has side-effects and consequences. It creates disharmony, bitterness, and revenge in the losing party, and conceit and arrogance in the victors. It causes the losing party to react with more violence to defend themselves - I wasn't here at the time, but I wouldn't be surprised if the arrests of non-benders were a reaction to the violence being used by them to try and force equality. But equality can never really be forced, because a forced equality is really a fake equality. It's better to create change by changing someone's mind about something than by forcing it with violence. It may take longer and it may be a more difficult path, but in the end, if you change their mind, you've gained a life-long ally who agrees with you on the need for change and won't try and reverse that change, instead of a life-long enemy who resents you for forcing that change and will spring at the first opportunity to change it back."

She was silent for a moment as she took a few bites of her ramen.

"I understand why you believe what you believe, and I understand why you joined the equalists. But did you and the equalists ever really stop to think about why you were using violence? Stop to imagine if there might be another way? Surely there are benders in the city who believe in balance, and would have joined your cause if they didn't fear that they'd be killed or captured when they approached. I mean, I can't be the only bender who agrees that benders and non-benders should be treated equally." She pursed her lips. "But whether I believe that or not, I could never join a group that attacks someone simply because they were born with an ability they never asked for in the first place."

She stared at her ramen for a moment, then looked up at Tsubaki.

"Master Tenzin was on the council, right? I'm sure he'd agree with me. I'm sure if you'd asked, he'd have been willing to help you change things without violence. People don't need to be bullied... they just need to see and believe the truth for themselves. Violence only need be used as a defense, a last resort, to protect yourself and your cause when others use it on you first. It does happen sometimes that defending oneself with violence becomes unavoidable... but those are times that should be seen as times of great sadness, that someone must be injured or killed to protect someone else."

She took a few more bites of her ramen as she pondered.

"And yes, it's true that the council probably wouldn't have given up their power easily... some of them might have, once they understood the need for it, but people tend to cling to power. But violence isn't the only way to achieve that goal, either. Sometimes simply knowing that violence can be used against them is enough for them to accept the change, without a punch ever being thrown. Some wars are won simply by convincing the other side that they can't defeat you. If they believe that's true, they won't even try, and then no one gets hurt at all."

Tsubaki was sometimes self-conscious about her laugh. It was an odd hybrid of a chuckle and a series of snorts. Like an extremely amused chicken-pig.
She let a snort-laugh that lasted about twelve seconds once Khala was through talking.
"You can really talk. I like that. I wish I had a smart answer for you but I don't. I didn't go to school or anything and I don't really think things out much. I just know that what I did was right and the people I worked with were good. It's just a..
Tsubaki patted her chest. "Thing."Not a..." She then tapped her head. "Thing."

She scrunched her nose at Khala while trying to think of an intelligent way to express something that she knew but never put into words.
"Peace is over-rated in my opinion. It's fights that change things. Um, what's the word...conflict! Yeah conflict! Conflict betters us. Conflict made me faster and a little smarter because I knew that if I was too slow or too dumb I'd get a knife in my eye. In a conflict there is only that moment and nothing else matters. It's like this state of, um, purity...I guess you could call it. My grandpa used to tell me that battle was where Gods lived. I'm not explaining this well. I'm sorry."

Heaving a sigh while cleaning her ear with her index Finger something dawned on Tsubaki Ito.
"I think that even without The Equalists I'd still fight for something. The peaceful life isn't for me. Honestly, being an air person sounds boring. Uh, no offense or anything. You're not boring. You're smart and you think about things you're very nice but peace and balance and all that sounds boring, like a single note held forever."

Another sigh erupted and Tsubaki began rubbing her head. It was very rarely she had a conversation this deep and she wanted out.
"Wait. We're in a conflict right now. I'm learning stuff...you might be learning something...I don't know. It's a good thing, though, don't you think? Conflicting isn't so bad."

Well. That was an interesting laugh. Khala had to fight not to feel insulted by having her lecture laughed at. 'She's not an acolyte,' she reminded herself. 'And her opinion of our teachings doesn't hold personal meaning to their validity or mine.'

She nodded as Tsubaki finished her response. "That's true, to an extent. But when a conflict becomes violent and one of us is injured or killed, that person ceases to be improved by the conflict and becomes hindered - or, well, dead. Peaceful conflict is useful. I'm non-violent, but I still studied martial arts at the northern temple, and we gained a lot from sparring. And much knowledge can be gained on both sides by a civil debate. But when a conflict turns violent, it becomes far more damaging than helpful, to both sides. If not physically, then I would hold that it still injures a person spiritually. And that distinction between a peaceful, mutually beneficial conflict and a violent conflict driven by the intent to harm is an important distinction to make."

She held a finger to her mouth as she pondered the simile to a held note. "Peace doesn't have to mean monotony. A note held forever is a lack of change, and that's definitely a bad thing. Peace without change is stagnation. But peace doesn't have to be stagnant - a good peace is beautiful music filled with flourishes and trills and beautiful harmonies."

She pondered for a moment more, then her eyes lit up as something came to mind. "They say that water is the element of change, but studying the air philosophy, I think people underestimate how important change was to the air nomads, as well. Yin and yang always exist in balance and harmony, but if you look at the taijitu, the depiction of yin and yang, they're not static."

She grabbed a napkin and used one of her chopsticks to draw a picture of the classic yin-yang symbol in ramen soup. She then began tracing down the curved line in the middle. "You see here? Yin and yang constantly flow into each other. Yin becomes yang, and then yang turns back into yin. They're never still or static, but always moving. But they don't move violently, they move peacefully, in full harmony with each other." She pointed at the dots on each side of the circle, the black yin dot within the white yang and the white yang dot within the black yin. "And these dots are here because despite their nature as opposites of each other, you can never have yin without yang or yang without yin. Any time you look at yin, you can always find a little yang inside it, and vice-versa."

She smiled at Tsubaki. "It's this constant flow and change of yin into yang and back into yin that makes our universe flow perfectly and keeps everything moving, advancing, and evolving. And while the two are in conflict with each other by their nature as opposites, that conflict isn't violent, but is constantly flowing and moving, peacefully and harmoniously, each taking from the other and returning in kind. And I believe human conflicts can work the same way."

As conversations went, it was far more deep than Tsubaki was used to. The last thing she expected was a discussion of philosophy and that was what made it so great.
She almost spit out the soup in her mouth smiling at Khala.
"You're smart. I almost fee like I'm...um, unarmed or something talking about this. Like you have all these cool weapons and I have this," She held up a noodle with her chopsticks. "Wet noodle to defend myself." She slurped her metaphorical means of defense and pushed the bowl towards Khala.
"You can finish it."

Tsubaki rested her chin in her right hand and looked at Khala.
"I think we think differently about people. I don't think they like balance, they like swinging pendulums. When was the last time somebody talked about a peaceful time? How come when people talk about the past it's always about wars?"
She leaned heavily to her left side. "Conflict over here, She leaned to her right side. "Peace over here." She righted herself.
"I think if there was balance there will always be someone to come along and stomp on the scales."

"Did they teach you to think about this stuff in air school or are you naturally a big thinker? I bet people rubbed your head to gain your knowledge and things like that. Hold on." Tsubaki reached across the table and touched the crown of Khala's head.
"I think I just got smarter. By the way, your hair is really soft and I'm totally jealous. I bet you were the popular girl in school with your soft hair and nice skin and smart brain."

(OOC: I apologize for the delay on my part, I've been really sick the past week and a half or so. Better now, should be back on regular RP cadence after today.)

Khala offered a smile. "Don't be so hard on yourself. I spend my entire life studying philosophy. You spent yours studying weapons. I've studied martial arts, but I'm sure you could kick my butt if we fought."

She shrugged. "Maybe people don't like balance, or at least don't consciously like it. But if people like pendulums - can a pendulum keep swinging if it's out of balance? Without balance the pendulum swings erratically and falls off. Still, I don't think people like wars, either. Definitely not when they're directly effected by them. People talk about wars in the past because there have been so many of them, and they made people so unhappy that people can't forget them."

She demonstrated by leaning to the left herself. "It's one thing to have conflict over here," she leaned to the right, "and peace over here. But if we lose balance..." She leaned a bit too far to the right, and she fell off of her chair, catching herself on the ground. "Everything falls apart."

She swung her leg around her body and hopped to her feet, gracefully re-seating herself on her chair. "This is especially true when we're talking about the balance of the elements, and the balance between benders and non-benders. Without diversity and balance, things go crazy. When one element gets out of balance with the others, we have the hundred year war... when benders and non-benders get out of balance, we have the kind of conflict we have here in Republic City. But wouldn't things be better all around if benders and non-benders were working together to make things better, rather than butting their heads together hoping one will fall down?"

She took a few more bites of her own ramen, then decided she was done as well, and politely pushed Tsubaki's bowl away from herself politely. "Think I'm too full to eat this, but thanks."

She nodded. "The air acolytes value thought and philosophy highly. And I probably a bit more than the other kids my age. There's always been so much truth in it for me... so I've spent a lot of time studying."

She blushed a bit as Tsubaki touched her hair. "Um... thank you, I think... I don't uh, think I was that popular. I've always been kind of a geek... Always too busy studying and practicing with my staff to have much time for friends. I've never had an easy time relating to other people, especially people my age. Or... talking to them, either. Most people seem to get tired of listening to me talk about philosophy pretty quickly..."

"Don't be so hard on yourself. I spend my entire life studying philosophy. You spent yours studying weapons. I've studied martial arts, but I'm sure you could kick my butt if we fought."

"Aww that's so sweet. Most of the time people don't think I'm all that tough until after I beat them. It gets me into trouble sometimes...not that I mind trouble. I think I'd have an easier time protecting people if I was some big mean looking guy with, like, a bunch of muscles and scars and stuff."
As fighting prowess was instilled in Tsubaki as an important quality it didn't seem right to let Khala's kind words go unrewarded.
"I haven't seen you fight or anything but I bet you're good. You have strong arms and good balance from what I've noticed. Honestly, all it would take is a decent whack with your staff to take me out. We should spar some time. I have a staff at home. I can't carry everything I own on my belts."

Khala's blushing at Tsubaki's touch brought a rare a feeling of shame in the former Equalist.
"I have a friend the same way. Always studying when we were kids...always studying now too. There must be something about you brainy types that I like. Look on the bright side...you're talking and relating with someone right now. That ramen guy...just kidding, I mean me. Once we started talking politics and philosophy I was sure that one of us would end up stabbed but that didn't happen. That's a good sign.

A series of snorts escaped Tsubaki's nose as she laughed at Khala bothering people with her talking.
"You may find this hard to believe but some people think I talk to much too. Crazy, right? The world talks too little and I'm not going by their rules.

Tsubaki finished the rest of the ramen and stood up to stretch a bit. It seemed like a good place to stop talking which she hated. Rather than wait for Khala to give a reason to leave Tsubaki took the initiative.
"Wanna come to my house? I want my parents to meet my new flute player person. Flutist? Flautist? There might be chocolate. I can promise this, but it might be there if my mom didn't already eat it."
"I'll even throw in a tour guide on the way there."

Khala thought for a moment. "You know, that might not be a bad idea. It would be good for me to practice against someone not using air style. The ability to defend yourself from an attack isn't one to be taken lightly." She gestured at Tsubaki's weapons. "You should use those, though. I've trained against a staff. It would be more useful for me to train against something new."

Then, suddenly, there was an invite to the Equalist's home. Khala couldn't help blushing a little bit once again. She wasn't used to being invited to people's houses, and she didn't know how to take the gesture - especially with the words "my new flute player person" thrown in there. She'd always heard of people inviting their boyfriends and girlfriends home after a date, and being invited over to eat chocolate together didn't really improve the distinct impression that she was getting hit on.

No way, though. She'd just met this girl, right? And she was awkward and philosophical and most people didn't like listening to her ramble about those things... Somehow, though, the fact that she was imagining that another girl was hitting on her didn't really throw her. Nothing seemed weird about that at all.

Mentally shaking her mental head, she decided to let it go and take the request at face value. She was here to train and study, anyway - no sense reading into things.

"Um, sure. I'd like that... I think." Judging by the way she spoke, she was clearly a tiny bit flustered. "Maybe, um, that'd be a good place for us to practice together? Music, or y'know, the sparring thing, or whatever..."

Tsubaki raised her arms up in triumph.
"Woooo! Music and sparring and chocolate! This totally makes up for my bad audition. I knew something good would happen." She snorted as she laughed at how her bad day had taken such a nice turn.
She pointed in the direction of her home and said: "That-a-way!"

Near an apartment complex in the Dragon Flats District there was a series of small, slightly dilapidated houses. Tsubaki stopped at the door of one and knocked four times before pulling a key from her weapons belt and unlocking the door.
"Welcome home! Um, that is, my home. I don't know where yours is. Air Temple Island?"

Rather than traditional nick-nacks lining a wall there was a collection of different weapons sitting on pegs overflowing to the next wall. On the floor was a man with the same yellow eyes and bushy, stiff hair as Tsubaki only completely gray lying down with his feet raised on an old chair.
His yellow eyes shifted towards Khala and then over to Tsubaki.
"This is my dad. Dad, this is Khala. She's going to play flute in our jazz band."
The gray-haired man flashed a crooked grin at Khala after he sat up from his lying position and stretched his back.
"Has she let you get in a word yet?"
Tsubaki let out a derisive snort.
"He thinks I talk a lot," she told Khala.

"Come on, I'll show you my room."
Tsubaki pulled at Khala's hand and led her down a hall to a small room lined with weapons on the wall much like the living room but also filled with actual nick-nacks such as dolls, pieces of inexpensive jewelry and other assorted items which held value in her mind.
She struggled to reach for the zipper of her black dress after taking off the long red cardigan she wore.
"Would you get that for me? I can't spar in a dress. Besides, I only have a couple of nice dresses that I use for auditions and I can't get it dirty. I have enough trouble getting gigs without looking dirty. No one would see a show called 'Tsubaki: The Dirty Girl' well...some would but then they'd find it's just me looking dirty rather than doing dirty stuff and then they'll be disappointed and then I'll feel bad for disappointing them."

Unlike some women Tsubaki wasn't ashamed of her scars and the few she had on her back had stories attached much like the weapons she carried. Mostly, she was proud of how many scars she didn't have. Scars meant getting hit and failing as a warrior.
Not minding Khala's presence, Tsubaki changed out of her dress and into a pair of black pants and a red, sleeveless shirt. She cocked her head to the side and looked intently at Khala trying to gauge her size.
"If you want to change I might have some clothes that would fit."