With equal formality, Charumati returned the bow. "You are most welcome," she replied with a slight — but genuine — smile. She wondered, briefly, what had come over her — taking on stray folks like an old lady collected cats.

But, overall, she had to do something. The girl she met a few weeks ago had rattled her, even if she hadn't let it show. Sure, maybe her column was helpful and informative. But what was she doing to actually empower other nonbenders? Since the dismantling of the Equalists, the answer was a big fat "nothing", and that was unacceptable.

Yuji spoke again, a little nervously she thought. When he mentioned a lack of a telephone, she nodded. "We can leave messages with the Monks, for starters. Once I get my nephew acclimated to the idea of another person in the apartment, we'll arrange something more scheduled and figure out a means of communication then."

Truth be told, she still had access to the barracks her charge of Equalists-in-Training used — which included electricity, bunks, lavatory facilities, a small kitchen with a working range and icebox, a telephone, and had a radiator for heating. It hadn't been found in the numerous raids under councilman Tarrlok, but til now she hadn't had a use for it. It wasn't exactly homey, and she had no desire to call attention to it, but...

"I may have a place where you can have access to a phone, and a few other amenities, on a daily basis."

She paused, then looked at Yuji with a very blank, carefully arranged expression. She knew she was taking a risk, but something in her gut told her it would be all right.

"It used to be Equalist barracks."

Yuji wasn't all that pleased at the thought of passing messages to and from the Monks. He was sure she would have said something along the lines of "we can meet here every x day at y time" or "I know you work here mornings, so I'll stop by"; not "continually approach and be approached by the Monks". But he couldn't really complain. If the note he received was anything to go by, he figured as he slipped it into a pocket, then caution, not fear, seemed to be the correct way to approach this.

What bothered him more were the words "another person in the apartment." Surely she didn't mean her apartment?

But as she continued, that shocked feeling of being given something he didn't deserve lingered. Not only was she offering training to a street elephant rat like him, she now seemed to be offering him a place to stay. Not a run-down shack in the slums shared with half a dozen other near-homeless ready to bar the door to him for nonpayment, or a mat against a wall of the Monks' temple when a flea-ridden visitor usurped his bed. (Just the thought made the back of his neck prickle. He hadn't recently verified it himself, but he was pretty sure the mattress was still infested.)

It had to be better than his current living situation. He began to nod when Charumati clarified, "It used to be Equalist barracks."

He stared at her, finding nothing in her masked expression. Why would she say that? What was the purpose? He figured that she must understand, given their discussion, that he wasn't frightened of Equalists. He wanted to ask how in the Earth Kingdom she had access to one... But between the rumors of anti-bending sentiment about the Monks and the fact that they held this conversation in one of the Monks' temples, he began to realize that it might not actually be as far-fetched as he'd thought.

But the connotations made him anxious. He couldn't help but glance over his shoulder at the entranceway.

"Thank you for your generosity," he said carefully, "I don't know how I could ever repay your kindness. I would be more than happy to accept your offer. But..."

Yuji trailed off for just a moment. "But why hasn't it been seized by police? I thought all of the Equalist hideouts had been raided..." He considered the mutterings he'd picked up on that nonbender-oriented gatherings tended not to last long. He couldn't imagine a known Equalist location being a terribly safe place. "I wouldn't get arrested, would I?" He didn't want to come off as ungrateful, but it was still a hard thought to shake...

Charumati let out a short bark of derisive laughter. "The police?" The upward inflection in her voice made it clear exactly what she thought of the City's metalbending squad. "There are plenty of hideouts untouched. Those fools couldn't find a snake if it bit them. The taskforce conducted many, many raids, it's true, but the Equalists have been around since Tarrlok was a young man, far before he ever arrived in the City. I remember their posters from my childhood, when I wasn't more than a lass in kiddy pants. There were — and are — many places still surviving and unremarked by the police. Once upon a time, the Equalist organisation was not considered a bad thing." Another thing they had that blasted Amon to thank for.

"But they're all abandoned," she continued. "Without Amon, the movement has shuddered to a halt. Is it any wonder, when the man nonbenders had hoped would smash the status quo was simply taking advantage of it? He may not have started the Equalists, but his vision for the things they would accomplish made him, eventually, the leader."

Her expression softening, Charumati tilted her head to the side and gave Yuji a kind smile. "I give you my word, Yuji, you will not be arrested. I don't think it would be wise to have large groups of people over and draw attention to it, so do not mistake this as me reviving the Equalists, but a person living there, maybe having a friend or two over, would draw no attention. It's a residential area, after all."

She paused, then smiled. "Besides. I own it. Or rather, my family does." Now or never. She steeled herself before resuming. "When I joined the Equalists twenty years ago, I donated the second property my grandparents bequeathed me to the cause. My apartment is the other, and while I would offer you my guest room instead of a dusty old barracks, my nephew is currently residing there."

As Charumati replied, the young man started to feel off balance, as if he stood on the edge of a rooftop, trying not to lean over too far as he looked down. She laughed at the idea of the police, something he rarely witnessed in a public area - not from the lips of a nonbender. Eyebrows furrowed, he watched the dark woman warily, head once again tilting just off-kilter. He didn't understand what she meant about the Equalists not being considered "bad", but he chose not to interrupt.

Something deeper was afoot. Yuji could sense it but couldn't place it. The way she spoke, especially given her apparently extensive knowledge of the Monks of Koh, made him wonder if he hadn't stumbled onto someone of importance. Someone who was on his side. In all the anger that he'd felt at Amon, at the government, at the privilege and arrogance of benders, in a time when seemed the city had given up on justice for the disadvantaged, there was at least one other person who felt the way he did. And here she stood, reflecting what he saw as that same fearless anger. It made him feel as if there were two options before him. He could keep his path: it would be a simple life, though not without its own struggles and hardships. Or he could take the leap.

Charumati explained that she had joined the Equalists, and it became clear to Yuji which path he would take.

"I see," he said softly. In a strange way, he wondered why it was today that she came here. She could have come to train yesterday or tomorrow and she wouldn't have seen him. He could have worked later than normal or left early. "Charumati, I don't know how to thank you enough. I... I don't think I could ever imagine someone showing so much kindness." He thought, but didn't add, at least not to me.

He nodded absentmindedly, and the anxiety he'd been feeling began to harden into resolve. He didn't have to be afraid. He wasn't alone. There was someone kind in his corner. His face began to brighten, and it felt good to smile. It made him feel stronger. "I'll just have to work that much harder." He thought he sounded quite like his sister.

Out of curiosity, he asked, "What is your nephew's name, if I may ask? So that I can greet him more properly."

There was a change in Yuji's expression at her revelation, one that Charumati had guessed she would see. It was the same fire and determination she had once felt — she still felt — when she strengthened her resolve to uplift and fight for disenfranchised nonbenders in whatever way she could. She didn't know what sort of life Yuji had led up to this point, but clearly it was one a child shouldn't have had to lead. His worn clothes, his presence at a soup kitchen, the Monks' attention... there was something there, and that something would serve as the driving force behind his training and his future choices. He murmured about her kindness, and she smiled a little sadly. It infuriated her that a simple gesture of human decency — offering a young person a place to stay, a way to protect himself, and some shelter — was not considered a societal must, that extending basic rights was a kindness and not a necessity.

"His name is Nirav," she replied, voicing none of her thoughts. "His parents raised him in one of those mountain tribes, just on the borders of the United Republic, so he's not particularly fussed with pleasantries. Or dressing in a City-approved fashion." She laughed a little. "He's a mountain man through and through, furs and all."

She excused herself for a moment and called out to another volunteer, who left and returned shortly with a small pad of paper and a pen. Charumati wrote down two addresses, and a telephone number.

"The top address is the barracks. You're welcome to go there at any time. All of the electric and water should still be on. Just let me know if you want to go now, or if you have a date you'd like to set up. I'll send some groceries your way via courier service. If anyone asks, simply tell them the truth. You work for me, and I have given you lodging at one of my properties. There's no need to tell them what you do, or what I am offering to teach you in return.

"The second address, and the telephone number, go to my apartment. There should be a telephone in the barracks, which you're welcome to make use of. Just be careful, of course. Telephone lines are easily listened in on, so don't say anything you'd not want plastered in the next morning's Times. On the days Nirav's wanderlust gets ahold of him, you may come to the apartment and find it empty. If that's the case, don't worry about it, and feel free to figure out a way to occupy yourself — whether if that's resuming your tasks here at the soup kitchen, or if you find another activity that suits you. I'll ring you at the barracks when Nirav returns."

She handed Yuji the scrap of paper and smiled. "It was good to meet you, Yuji. I'm sure the Monks would assert that Koh had a hand in our encounter. I'm not sure I'd agree, but it does seem serendipitous."

Nirav... The name was foreign to him. It seemed to him the name an airbender might have... Then again, that was more of Mei Ling's expertise, not his. He nodded as she described the man, and couldn't help but smirk at the image: a brawny man wearing still-warm pelts and a moose-lion tusk necklace in the midst of a crowd of Republic City's finest socialites. Yuji was hopeful the two would get along.

She turned her attention elsewhere and gave him a moment to breathe. She wasn't scary of course, but her aura was intimidating. Being offered such kindness by someone of Charumati's stature puts a lot of pressure on a guy. On top of that, the nonbender had the feeling that he had made a very big decision, for better or worse. He'd chosen his path, and there was no room for doubt, not anymore. Of course, it didn't stop his heart from drumming loudly in his ears, and it helped to take a moment to reassure himself that he was going to be okay.

He watched her scribble down some notes and provided him some instructions and advice. "Now would work best for me," he replied, knowing it was okay. No real reason to wait another day in his apartment - he wouldn't be able to make rent this month anyway. It was odd how the idea of him being of service to her made him feel so much better than if it were charity.

"Thank you again," he said with a bow of his head, and received the notes. His eyes found hers and he said, quite solemnly with his expression masked, "And I assure you of my discretion." It wasn't a particularly difficult task of his. It was uncommon to hear him blabber on about something; downright unheard of if it were precious. And if anything were precious in Republic City in these troubling times, the associations of himself and his new employer would certainly be, no matter how shallow or deep.

The nearby pealing of a bell signaled a new hour. More time had passed than he'd realized. And as Charumati bade him farewell, he returned her smile, and another bow, less formal as before but just as sincere. The notes he slipped in his pocket beside the scrap which held the blessing of the Monks. "It's my pleasure," he replied, silently agreeing with her aside. "It seems like good fortune to me."

While the new year promised bad luck to his sister, perhaps it meant the opposite for Yuji. "I'll let you get back to your training - I'd better go talk to my landlord," he explained, a bit sarcastically. He wasn't exactly sure that the person was a landlord at all and not just some punk fleecing him. He did, however, have to retrieve the few belongings he had, and figured it would be good to avoid running into any of the other inhabitants who believed he owed them money as well. (He didn't, but if he could give money to a landlord, why not them?) "When will you expect me?"

[ooc - Not sure how you want to approach wrapping up this thread and transitioning the plotline. Any thoughts/want to take it to PM?]