Bo didn't mind winter, really. Snow wasn't so bad when you had the ability to conjure up your own source of warmth anywhere, at any time. He was lucky in that way. As a result of this advantage, though, he tended to go out in the cold wearing fewer layers than might be expected, which earned him a few quizzical looks. After all, a tall man with only a thin coat as protection from the cold was not a typical sight when the city was blanketed with snow. He paid the gawkers no mind, though. He might look out of place, but he felt fine. Any time he shivered, he lit a flame in his hand and moved it over his body, and then he was fine again. It was nice, how simple that was.

Speaking of simple…Bo really wasn't sure what he was doing out here on a crowded street in a marketplace with the rest of the shoppers. There was nothing he needed to buy, and he'd never been big on impulse buys. He could say he was window shopping, but that wasn't quite accurate. Truth be told, he wasn't paying much attention to the displays of any of the stores he passed. He'd just woken up that morning with a desire to be anywhere other than his apartment all day. So here he was, just…walking until he got a better idea for how to spend his day.

As he strolled at a leisurely pace, Bo let his eyes wander and land on anything that might be of interest. In this way he saw plenty of couple sharing quiet moments together, a child who seemed to just be discovering snow and was staring at it with a mixture of excitement and fear, and…was that Akane? It took him a second to be sure—it was hard to tell from the back, and the person in question was mostly hidden under a tightly drawn coat. But he was pretty sure that was her. Might as well get her attention. He wouldn't mind her company.
So, Bo took a few long strides, and was soon just a couple feet behind the person he really hoped was Akane because at this point he was committed to either greeting his friend or embarrassing himself.

"Akane? That you?"

Oh good, it was Akane. Bo was not in the mood to deal with the awkwardness that would have resulted had he greeted a total stranger. Well, to be honest, he was never in the mood to talk to strangers—he tried to avoid doing so whenever possible. Today was his lucky day, it seemed.

Bo responded to Akane's smile with a small one of his own, raising a hand in a sort of halfhearted wave. He waited for her to get closer before answering her question. No point in battling the noise of those around them when he could avoid it. "Not sure what I'm doing," he replied with a shrug. "Just didn't feel like being cooped up at home all day. Went out walking, and ended up here. Just good luck I ran into you."

Akane's comment about his Firebending made him chuckle. "That's exactly what I've been doing," he confirmed. "Gotten a few weird looks for it too. Guess it makes people nervous, seeing a guy walk around town with fire in his palm. No idea why."

To illustrate his point, he made a small flame appear in the palm of his hand. He enjoyed the warmth for a moment before a chilling breeze blew the fire out. He looked down at Akane and shrugged again. "It's good while it lasts." He rubbed his hands together briskly. As he spoke, he could see his breath in the air. "What about you? What are you up to, and do you want company?"

Bo shook his head when Akane suggested ignoring the looks he received. "I'm not worried about that. People can glare all they want; they know better than to actually try anything." Truthfully, Bo knew that it was probably not wise to walk around advertising his status as a bender, what with everything going on right now. First a former Probender had disappeared, and now the police chief was dead. It would be better to keep his head down, keep his bending hidden, and stay safe. But he couldn't help it. Bo had never been one to hide from his feelings. If shadowy figures—the Galgori Six or whoever they were—were going to keep up their campaign of terror, he would show them that not all benders were easily cowed.

Bo was perplexed as Akane mentioned finding a gift for Yuri. "I'm happy to walk around with you," he told her, "But I don't know that I can help you with that. I don't know Yuri well; you'd know what she likes better than I would." He'd met Yuri a few times; she'd occasionally stopped by the Iguana Parrots' practice sessions. But he'd never actually had a full-on conversation with her, and when they had talked he hadn't thought to ask her what sort of gifts she liked. And aside from his parents, he hadn't had anyone to give gifts to recently. If he tried to help Akane find something for her girlfriend, he'd probably hurt more than he helped. But all the same, it would be nice to have her company.

He nodded when Akane spoke of Yuri and Ren'ai's bad fortune. "Yeah, sounds like they've had it pretty rough," he agreed. "I'm sure whatever you get Yuri will help her feel better." He looked out at the marketplace, seeing the dizzying array of hundreds of different products on offer. "What are you thinking? You said a good luck charm…anything specific she likes? I don't know her very well, so…" He shrugged.

It was a relief to hear that Akane was not expecting him to help her find a gift for Yuri. Now the burden of actually being helpful was off of him, he would be able to enjoy their time together much more. He had trouble finding gifts for his parents' birthdays. Finding something for his teammate's girlfriend would be entirely beyond his capabilities. He did smile when Akane mentioned Yuri's aversion to girly things. "I get that," he said, his tone dry, and chuckled. "Maybe I won't be so useless after all."

As Akane began walking, Bo fell into step beside her, shortening his stride so that he didn't outpace her. He smiled at the sigh she heaved. "You'll figure something out," he told her. "And if you don't find the perfect gift, don't worry about it. It's the thought that counts, right? At least, that's what people say. Personally, I've always found that getting a crappy gift makes me question what whoever gave it to me thinks of me…but I'm sure you'll be fine." He nodded when Akane mentioned having little experience in giving gifts to romantic partners. "Yeah, I've got no experience in that area. I say we walk around, see what catches your eye. Eventually you'll see something that just screams Yuri. It can't be that hard to find a gift for someone you love. Everyone does it."

Akane's slap caused Bo no actual pain, but he recoiled as though it had, clutching his arm. "Hey, watch it!" he exclaimed. That's my bending arm. If we lose our matches now, it's because of you, just so you know." He grinned at her to show he was joking. That grin faded slightly as they passed a clothing store loudly proclaiming its appeal to girls. There was nothing wrong with dresses and skirts and all that, but to him they were reminders of a life he'd left behind. He quickened his pace, and in doing so, almost miss what Akane said.

Luckily, he still caught her request. He nodded. "I'll remind you," he promised. That would be interesting. He'd known Akane for a couple years now, but he'd never seen her dressed up all fancy; Probending training rarely called for finery. When it came to Probending, adornments were just a hassle. When you were jumping and doing flips just to get the right angle of attack on your opponent, dangly bits would just get in the way.

Truth be told, he was just a little jealous of Akane. He'd never been invited to any fancy parties. He'd attended a couple with his parents when he was younger, but those he'd pretty much been dragged along to, and what he wore then had not been up to him. Now he had complete control over his own attire, but no fancy parties at which to take advantage of this freedom. He'd have to see about changing that; he'd probably look good in a suit, and it was a shame to deprive others of a chance to see that.

"You know, from what you've told me about Yuri and the few times I've met her, she doesn't seem much like the fancy party type," he remarked as they kept walking. "Like, do you have to dance at those kinds of things? Because I can't see her doing that."

Bo had met Ren'ai once or twice, but had never been around her long enough to get a sense of the way she and others in her social circle lived their lives. He'd seen the light of the mansions belonging to Republic City's elite, but only from afar. Being part of that life, going to those fancy parties, must be one heck of an experience, he thought. Being surrounded by pretty people and tiny portions of expensive food many of the city's citizens could never dream of even setting eyes upon…it all sounded so alien. But it did seem like fun.

"Sounds to me," he said as he slid sideways to avoid a child gleefully running in their direction. "Like you just need to find the people at this party who aren't stuffy or rich. You can't be the only outsider tagging along as someone's date. Bet you can find a few people who won't bore you by talking about business or investment or whatever it is rich people talk about. If not…" he shrugged. "Least there'll probably be good food."

As they walked, a sign caught Bo's eyes. It hung over the entrance to a shop, promising to provide shoppers with the finest gifts and knick-knacks. Yuri didn't really seem like a knick-knack kind of girl, but gifts were what Akane was looking for. He pointed at the shop as he glanced over at Akane. "Looks promising," he remarked. "What do you say? Want to see what they've got?"

It was sort of mystifying to Bo, how much Akane seemed to be stressing over the party. He didn't really understand the need for any anxiety. It seemed to him that she could just go to the party, eat some fancy food, maybe dance a little, and have a good time. And if anybody bothered her, well, she'd probably never have to see them again, so there was no need to worry. As she shrugged, he opened his mouth to tell her this, but then she continued.

The possibility of an invite to the party was attractive. "I mean, if I got the invite, I'd go," he replied with a shrug. "No reason not to, especially if it'd make things less awkward for you. Wonder how Ren'ai's parents would feel about that, though. I've never seen Akira try to act fancy, but I'm definitely not great at that. Manners aren't really my strong suit." He chuckled dryly. It could be fun, though unwise, to put some snooty rich people in their place.

Bo followed Akane into the shop he'd pointed out, raising a hand to acknowledge the shop worker as he looked around. The shop didn't seem to have any sort of unifying theme; its shelves held everything from strange colorful crystal formations to handcrafted wooden figurines made to look like past Avatars and other well-known figures from the past and from stories. "Knick-knacks" was definitely how he'd describe most of what he saw. He looked down at Akane. "So, is Yuri a weird wooden craving kind of girl, or a…" he squinted at something on a nearby shelf. It looked like just a piece of black cloth with an intricate design stitched onto it. "I don't actually know what this is."

It was understandable that having to hear Ren'ai and Yuri speak portents of doom about the party would freak Akane out. "It can't be that bad," Bo insisted, frowning slightly. "I mean, if it's a big event, there've gotta be people there you guys can talk to. Normal people, I mean, not snobby rich people. They can't all be that bad, right?"

Honestly, he had no idea. They could all be that bad, for all he knew. He wasn't one of the affluent, and so hadn't met many of Republic City's upper-class citizens. But he had met Ren'ai, and she seemed nice enough. If she managed to defy the stereotype of her social status, surely there were others like her.

Bo offered Akane what he hoped came across as a supportive smile when she mentioned wanting him and Akira at the party with her. "We'll see what happens," he agreed. "But like I said, if you want me there, I'll go. Haven't been to any fancy parties, so I don't have any reasons to hate them yet. I'll happily take any excuse to eat rich people food."

For now, there was nothing that could be done about the party. Akane would just have to fight that battle when the time came, with whoever was at her side. For now, though, she had what seemed to Bo to be a much harder challenge. He hadn't had to give many people gifts in his life, but was keenly aware of how difficult of a task it was. Easy as it was for him to reassure Akane that she'd find something for Yuri, he knew that was not likely to happen in the first shop they entered…especially when the shop was this weird. He was still trying to make head or tail of it, with no success.

It seemed Akane was having the same problem. She looked as lost as he felt. He wracked his brains to try to think of a way to help her out. "Well, you said you wanted something she could treat as a good luck charm, right?" he asked. He wandered over to a glass case containing a selection of jewelry, most of it necklaces and bracelets. Rather than the gleam of precious gemstones, however, these accessories were studded with duller stones in a variety of colors, many with strange stripes or splotches. He looked over at Akane, and gestured toward the jewelry.

"Eh? Maybe?"

Bo nodded as Akane shifted her perspective to focus on the positive aspects of the party. Personally, he'd never been an optimist, and was much more on the pessimistic side of things, but, while it might be difficult to see the silver linings in his own life, finding them in others' came easily to him. At the end of the day, regardless of who she met or how rude the rich people might be, she'd still be at a party. That had to be worth something.

But they could talk more about that later. First, they had a gift to find. Bo watched as Akane dug through the jewelry bins. He would have offered assistance, but without knowing what she was looking for—because she didn't know what she was looking for—he wouldn't have been much help. He cringed a bit at the first piece she pulled out. "Do people actually wear this kind of stuff?" he asked under his breath, gingerly poking the jewelry. "Guess not, if it ended up here." He looked back into the bins, bemused. He was certainly no fashion expert, but some of this stuff was just awful.

Then, Akane emerged looking a bit more hopeful. He leaned down to peer closer at the necklace, turning his head to catch the stone in the best possible light. "That's pretty," he remarked with a nod. "It's simple, but it's nice. Definitely not girly." He admired the necklace some more, and tried to picture in on Yuri. That was difficult to do, as he really wasn't sure what she typically wore. Still, it was a nice necklace, and even if Yuri didn't like it, at least she would be able to appreciate the thought. He smiled at Akane. "Looks like a good choice to me. If you want to keep looking though…" he waved an arm at the shop and its many oddities. "Maybe this place has other Yuri-like things. Me, though…I like to quit while I'm ahead."