Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2016 23:18:59 GMT -6
The day had been quiet and long. Mei Ling stretched her fingers and then tugged the page free from her typewriter and compared it to the scribbled notes at her desk. The report was not terribly exciting, but it was important work. Plus, the young firebender wouldn't expect many of her coworkers to be able to read the officer's handwriting. Her eyes glanced back and forth, looking for mistakes; yet her attention to detail served her well. She frowned. As much as she enjoyed her work, being a sort of ear pressed against the door of the city, days like these made her feel tired. She preferred to be busy.
Her golden eyes glanced about the open hall around her. She had a bit more privacy than the front desk, being positioned perpendicular to the main doors, but she only had a short, paper partition between her and the desks to either side of her. Though Mei Ling was just a scribe, she was occasionally asked to fetch records for visitors or direct them to the proper location. It did mean she could often see the people who came in and out, whether it was arrests, petitioners, or even the occasional disgruntled citizen. As of now, though, it was rather calm. A few visitors sat on benches, reading papers or otherwise gazing at walls or clocks.
In that moment, she lifted a hand and felt the charm necklace beneath her stony gray tunic. Unlike the metalbending police, her uniform was made of sturdy cloth. She slid her fingers under her collar and lifted the necklace into the open. By now, she'd gotten used to the somewhat bizarre weight of the four tiny charms. The bone and glass were light as air and soft as silk, but the wood and platinum chips felt heavy as lead. The platinum was the hardest to get accustomed to: its rigid right angles sometimes bit into her skin, leaving L-shaped marks.
Words long-memorized swam in her mind: Not all can be bent. Not all can be unbent.
Mei Ling grazed each charm one after the next, then again. Sure, any trace minerals could be bent from the bone, or perhaps water from the wood, but there was nothing to do for the glass and platinum, and the meaning was not lost on the young woman. But the note meant more, she was certain of it. Whether she would ever know what that might be was a different story.
The doors to the main hall swung open with a bang and startled her. She hastily slipped the necklace back under her shirt and stood, long ponytail swaying, to view the interruption. Her coworkers beside her had also stood, though those closest to the doors were already returning to their business. Mei Ling watched them approach; the group was made up of a number of police officers, as well as a few detectives, leading a woman in. She wasn't cuffed, so Mei Ling wasn't sure if she was under arrest or not...
Until she recognized her as Ms. Hono, and she bit back a smile. The bangs gave the woman mostly away, but one of the detectives in the group did the rest. He'd been dragging the poor woman in with increasing frequency lately, and at one point (or maybe more than one) she overheard him discussing her with a wistful tone. Some of her coworkers joked that the arrest warrants he made were actually attempts to ask her out. But Mei Ling had read some of the reports - for every "loitering" charge, there seemed to be an "obstruction of justice" or "destruction of RCPD property" charge to match. The woman was about as loose cannon as it got, except she was allowed to do so, considering she wasn't a cop. Sure, she got arrested every now and then, but Mei Ling understood the woman to be a better investigator than just about anyone else in the city.
With a jolt, the firebender came to a sudden realization. The group's voices overlapped and she couldn't make out what was being said, but she had a sense that it was now or never. Mei Ling began filing her papers away and gathered her belongings. Her shift was about over anyways - no sense in waiting around longer than necessary.
Minutes later, clocked out and tidied up, the young firebender stood impatiently beside one of the benches, waiting for the investigator to return (and secretly hoping the woman wasn't about to be booked). She forced herself not to pace, but instead breathed deeply in and out to calm herself. She could only pray that the woman would take a minute - just a minute - to listen.
Her golden eyes glanced about the open hall around her. She had a bit more privacy than the front desk, being positioned perpendicular to the main doors, but she only had a short, paper partition between her and the desks to either side of her. Though Mei Ling was just a scribe, she was occasionally asked to fetch records for visitors or direct them to the proper location. It did mean she could often see the people who came in and out, whether it was arrests, petitioners, or even the occasional disgruntled citizen. As of now, though, it was rather calm. A few visitors sat on benches, reading papers or otherwise gazing at walls or clocks.
In that moment, she lifted a hand and felt the charm necklace beneath her stony gray tunic. Unlike the metalbending police, her uniform was made of sturdy cloth. She slid her fingers under her collar and lifted the necklace into the open. By now, she'd gotten used to the somewhat bizarre weight of the four tiny charms. The bone and glass were light as air and soft as silk, but the wood and platinum chips felt heavy as lead. The platinum was the hardest to get accustomed to: its rigid right angles sometimes bit into her skin, leaving L-shaped marks.
Words long-memorized swam in her mind: Not all can be bent. Not all can be unbent.
Mei Ling grazed each charm one after the next, then again. Sure, any trace minerals could be bent from the bone, or perhaps water from the wood, but there was nothing to do for the glass and platinum, and the meaning was not lost on the young woman. But the note meant more, she was certain of it. Whether she would ever know what that might be was a different story.
The doors to the main hall swung open with a bang and startled her. She hastily slipped the necklace back under her shirt and stood, long ponytail swaying, to view the interruption. Her coworkers beside her had also stood, though those closest to the doors were already returning to their business. Mei Ling watched them approach; the group was made up of a number of police officers, as well as a few detectives, leading a woman in. She wasn't cuffed, so Mei Ling wasn't sure if she was under arrest or not...
Until she recognized her as Ms. Hono, and she bit back a smile. The bangs gave the woman mostly away, but one of the detectives in the group did the rest. He'd been dragging the poor woman in with increasing frequency lately, and at one point (or maybe more than one) she overheard him discussing her with a wistful tone. Some of her coworkers joked that the arrest warrants he made were actually attempts to ask her out. But Mei Ling had read some of the reports - for every "loitering" charge, there seemed to be an "obstruction of justice" or "destruction of RCPD property" charge to match. The woman was about as loose cannon as it got, except she was allowed to do so, considering she wasn't a cop. Sure, she got arrested every now and then, but Mei Ling understood the woman to be a better investigator than just about anyone else in the city.
With a jolt, the firebender came to a sudden realization. The group's voices overlapped and she couldn't make out what was being said, but she had a sense that it was now or never. Mei Ling began filing her papers away and gathered her belongings. Her shift was about over anyways - no sense in waiting around longer than necessary.
Minutes later, clocked out and tidied up, the young firebender stood impatiently beside one of the benches, waiting for the investigator to return (and secretly hoping the woman wasn't about to be booked). She forced herself not to pace, but instead breathed deeply in and out to calm herself. She could only pray that the woman would take a minute - just a minute - to listen.