Anonymous
Jan 24, 2017 20:08:39 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2017 20:08:39 GMT -6
Ren’ai hated the cold. Maybe it had something to do with a Firebender, but she hated the cold. She had been born and raised in Republic City; one would think she’d be used to it by now. She wasn’t. She still hated the cold. Nonetheless, she wanted to get some training done. She didn’t want to bundle herself up too much so that she couldn’t move, but the dark-haired young woman still dressed warmly enough so that she wouldn’t be frozen during her training. She could just put this off, but as it was the middle of winter, so that was not possible. She needed to train, she wanted to train. So she would, cold weather be damned. She wasn’t about to let it stop her.
Ren’ai left the apartment, locking the door behind her. Yuri was at work right now, or she would invite her to go with her. She had to work, though, which meant the Firebender was going along. That was okay; sometimes she liked to train alone. Just her and her bending. Of course, the adrenaline of training against someone else, competing against someone else was unlike anything else in the world. There was nothing that could compare. There was something that she liked about training by herself every now and again. It was nice to get away from it all.
Not that she would ever be opposed to training against someone, anyone.
Ren’ai walked to the park, not talking any detours. Considering what had been going on lately, it was better not to chance it. It wasn’t that she was afraid – okay, maybe she was a little – but there was no reason to go out of your way to get in trouble, right? Probenders had gone missing, and now the Chief of Police had been murdered. This city was going downhill quickly. It didn’t matter, though, because if anyone tried to mess with her, she would give them a fight they would regret later.
Finally, reaching the park, Ren’ai found an empty spot away from everyone else so that she could train. She didn’t care if people watched, but she wanted to make sure that she wasn’t close enough to anyone so that her fire would get too close. This way, she could train in peace, and if people still saw her… well, that was their problem and not hers. Taking a deep breath, she started going through the movements as she began her training.
Anonymous
Jan 25, 2017 6:15:14 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2017 6:15:14 GMT -6
Dharini didn't 'mind' the cold as such, but she didn't really 'like' it. And even after two years in The City and exposure to the winter here she still wasn't a fan of wearing a big, heavy coat. She didn't care if it kept her warm it made her feel too bundled up and seemed to make it hard at times to properly move her arms.
But at the same time, she had a 'day off' from helping in the shop, her uncle was busy and didn't need her to help with any of his errands and she didn't really have anything better to do. And despite all the warnings and whispers about how unsafe it was outside lately she just had to go for a walk or something before she went totally crazy. So she put up with the big coat for the moment for the sake of actually getting outside. And well she'd ended up in the park, she wasn't sure if she'd intentionally set out for it today, but then she often ended up here so.
Also like Galgori or whatever weren't really gonna go after people in somewhere so public? And could they actually tell if someone was a bender by looking at them? And...
Dharini stopped, realising she'd actually gone a bit further than she was planning and well she was still in the park, just in a bit she didn't usually end up in. She looked around for a few moments, noticing the girl. She had a feeling she'd seen her around somewhere before?
Anonymous
Jan 28, 2017 13:00:31 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2017 13:00:31 GMT -6
Ren’ai continued going through her movements. She wanted to remain calm, but that had never been one of her strong suits. Yuri was the calm and collected one, but she could tell that even she was frustrated by how things had been going for them lately. Kiat, their Waterbender, had abandoned them. They hadn’t even gotten a whole lot of training when she had first joined the team because of her injury, but once they had, things had been so good. And then it had all stopped just like that. As soon as she’d come, she had gone just as quickly leaving them without a Waterbender again right as the season was about to start. Of course, it had been a couple of months now since that had happened, but it still stung just as much as it had then.
Maybe we weren’t meant to do this, Ren’ai thought to herself as she swung her leg around into a kick. No. She refused to believe that. She was meant to be a Probender, and she could feel it every fiber of her being. She refused to give up. The last couple of times, she had blamed herself. This time, she didn’t feel that way at all. This had been Kiat’s fault. The Firebender wondered if it had been her injury, but no word had been given. Like the others, she had just disappeared. What was she supposed to think? How were they supposed to go on from here?
The probending season was fixing to start, and she was faced with the knowledge that she was not going to be there. She knew that Yuri was just as disappointed and frustrated with all of this as she was, but they were continuing to train. Ren’ai would not allow them to be depressed about this because that never helped anyone. They would just have to keep going and find, yet again, another Waterbender. Other than giving up, which was not an option, what else were they supposed to do?
At that moment, as Ren’ai was wrapped up in her thoughts, she had the feeling that someone was watching her. She stopped practicing and turned to face the person, another young woman. “Is there a point to your staring or do you just like looking at me?” It was only after she spoke that she realized that there was something familiar about the girl that she couldn’t put her finger on. She was too on edge right now from all of her thoughts to focus enough on figuring out why.
Anonymous
Jan 30, 2017 14:53:46 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2017 14:53:46 GMT -6
Instead of walking onwards, trying to work out where she might've seen the other girl, who she realised seemed a little bit older than her she was still trying to work out where she might've known her from but instead stayed put. It wasn't that uncommon to see people using the park for the purpose of exercising, she'd seen it happen quite a few times but she found herself watching anyway. She wasn't just someone looking to get out in the fresh air to do some stretching evidently.
You know I wonder if she's a pro-
“Is there a point to your staring or do you just like looking at me?”
And then she realised she'd been staring, and she nearly jumped out of her skin.
"Urm... Sorry!" Dharini blurted out, catching herself and sounding a bit more 'normal', "I... I think I've seen you before? Somewhere?" She nearly added 'You might know my uncle?', a lot of people seemed to know him.
Anonymous
Jan 30, 2017 17:10:36 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2017 17:10:36 GMT -6
Ren’ai could almost hear Yuri’s voice inside her head, telling her that she shouldn’t have snapped at the girl. The staring thing had been kind of annoying, though. Who does something like that? Then again, it wasn’t the first time it had happened. That was how they’d found what’s-his-name, the guy that had been their Waterbender before Kiat. That had happened by chance. Kiat had come to an open audition that they had set up. Yutaka had done the posters. Now, neither of them were in her life at all. My how times can change in such a short amount of time, she thought to herself. Maybe the new year was a good thing – new year, new beginnings, right?
The girl had, at least, apologized for her staring. It had still been incredibly annoying, though. She said that she recognized her. The Firebender flipped her hair over her shoulder, which she had tied in a ponytail. “Wouldn’t be the first time,” she said. “I’ve been working at Watashi’s Restaurant as a server for a few years now, and I’m currently a Shift Leader there. I’m also the Captain of the Dragon Hawks, the Probending team.” It wasn’t as if it was the first time that someone had recognized her for either.
Now that Ren’ai had stopped to look, the girl did look oddly familiar. Perhaps she had seen her somewhere. She hadn’t been at the arena recently, because of their status at never having a Waterbender. It was possible she had been a patron at the restaurant, but the Firebender couldn’t say for sure either way. Perhaps the girl would shed some light on the subject because, at the moment, she didn’t want to give her the time of day in knowing that she might have been right.
Anonymous
Feb 1, 2017 5:58:07 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2017 5:58:07 GMT -6
Dharini rubbed the back of her neck briefly, still feeling slightly embarrassed about both the fact she'd been staring and the fact she'd been caught.
“Wouldn’t be the first time,” she said. “I’ve been working at Watashi’s Restaurant as a server for a few years now, and I’m currently a Shift Leader there. I’m also the Captain of the Dragon Hawks, the Probending team.”
She wondered about the restaurant for a moment, she'd been there before... she was pretty sure but she wasn't sure if she'd seen her then. But then she could have looked different when she was working? Like... people sometimes didn't recognise her when she was in her shop uniform.
"Oh... wait. I might've seen you compete?" She shuffled on her foot briefly, the team sounded familiar at least but she had to admit she couldn't at this point remember the names of the people she'd seen compete, "You might know my uncle? He's a... big guy, earthbender, he's taken me to a few matches?"
Anonymous
Feb 6, 2017 13:26:47 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2017 13:26:47 GMT -6
Ren’ai saw the girl rub the back of her neck, and wondered if she still felt a bit nervous about just staring at her. Good, because she should be. Who does something like that, anyway? Either speak up or move on, that’s how she saw things anyway. The girl acted very nervously, and she wondered if it was her she was nervous about, or if that’s just the kind of person that she was. She had only just met her, and even then, she hadn’t really met her, not officially. The Firebender had no way of knowing for sure. Either way, she found some of the nervous mannerisms a tad bit annoying. Was she that scary of a person?
The girl pointed out that she might know her uncle, who apparently either worked in Probending or was a Probender, she didn’t exactly specify one way or the other. She pointed out that he was a big guy, an Earthbender, but that was all she said. “That pretty much describes every Earthbender in the circuit,” she told her, a slight edge of annoyance in her voice. “Who is he? What’s his name? With what team? A manager, a Probender himself?” She gave an exaggerated roll of her eyes. “You actually have to speak up and explain yourself if you want others to understand you.”
Yes, the girl looked familiar, so it was possible that she had seen her, but without more information, how was she was supposed to know one way or the other?
Anonymous
Feb 10, 2017 4:18:52 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2017 4:18:52 GMT -6
This is bad, she thought, Bad, this is not how this should be going. But then how should this be going... I...
Part of her was kicking in that made her want to make her apologies and then in a sense tuck her tail between her legs and run. But she managed to ignore that for the moment, she swallowed.
She seemed... angry? Ok maybe not angry but annoyed. She very much didn't want to annoy anyone ever. She almost thought the girl was rude, but that would be a mean thing to say.
She flicked her tongue over her lip briefly, mouth feeling dry, as if someone had shoved cotton or paper in it, or that time she'd put too much soy sauce on prawn crackers and had to drink a jug of water to make up for it, "Well most people call him Bhu... or Bo," She managed, that was a start, she was finding herself hyper aware of how her voice sounded, hoping it wasn't too high or fast or something, "He's, he's not a probender, I mean he wanted to but could never really break into it," Ok the girl didn't need to know that, "He's a trainer I mean, mostly just trains... uh... "normal" people but he'd been trying to get a team together for ages..." Dharini stopped her brain running forward with things like I'm sorry for staring, I shouldn't have but I got distracted and you move really well? I don't mean that in a creepy way? I'm sorry for bothering you I should just go.
Anonymous
Feb 16, 2017 18:17:37 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2017 18:17:37 GMT -6
The girl still seemed nervous, and Ren’ai wasn’t sure why. She knew that she could be an intimidating person, or at least that’s what she had been told, but really, none of this was her fault. It was this random girl’s fault. She had just come and stared at her, and then didn’t know how to properly explain herself. It was just… a bit strange. This girl was just a bit strange if she was honest with herself. Then again, perhaps she was just being judgmental because she was on edge at the moment. After all, her thoughts had been rather dark as of late.
The girl finally did explain herself. Of course, the first thing she thought of when she heard the name ‘Bo’ was the Firebender of the Iguana Parrots, the team that Yuri’s girlfriend, Akane, was on. That wasn’t what this girl meant, of course, and Ren’ai quickly redirected her thoughts. It was then that she thought she might actually know she was talking about. She didn’t know the guy, of course, but she had seen him around over the years. As soon as he came to her mind, the girl suddenly swam into view. Hadn’t she been seen with him sometimes? Maybe that’s what she looked familiar.
Ren’ai nodded. “You know, I think I just might,” she admitted, her tone cooling off a bit. If truth be told, she was still a bit annoyed. The girl shouldn’t have stared at her, but perhaps she shouldn’t have jumped down her throat. That’s what Yuri would tell her anyway. “I thought you looked a bit familiar.”
Anonymous
Feb 19, 2017 12:03:12 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2017 12:03:12 GMT -6
Dharini found herself feeling a bit calmer, if still rather embarrassed. She still couldn't quite work the other girl out, she didn't seem really angry with her but maybe still a bit annoyed? She didn't blame her really. She wasn't sure how much longer the other girl would tolerate her, she probably wanted to get back to her training.
She relaxed a bit, feeling a little bit less like she wanted to rapidly back out of the conversation and maybe even never run into the girl again.
"Yeah, sometimes when he goes to matches I go with him," She offered up. She wondered for a moment to add in the 'Sorry for bothering, I'll go now' she was contemplating doing. But then... maybe it was still a bit too soon for that. She tried something else, "My name is Dharini,"
Anonymous
Feb 23, 2017 11:47:31 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2017 11:47:31 GMT -6
This was a bit high on the list of the odd things that happened to her. She had been stared at by a random girl. Now, she was talking to said random girl who apparently tagged along with her uncles to Probending matches. In reality, she was not in the mood to talk right now. However, she heard Yuri’s voice in her head telling her to be nice, that it wasn’t her fault that her life had sucked lately. The Firebender knew that she was an emotional person, so she tended to take out her feelings on those around her, for whatever reason, sometimes none at all.
Ren’ai gave a sigh. “I’m Ren’ai,” she said. “It’s a pleasure.” It really wasn’t, but that was what you were supposed to say, and she supposed this girl – Dharini – wasn’t that bad, all things considered. “Sorry if I was a bit… short with you earlier. I’ve had a rough time of it the past couple of months; it’s nothing personal.” She shrugged her shoulders, trying to shake off the memories of so much happening so quickly. “So, you’re a Probending fan, then, or just tag around your uncle for fun?”
Anonymous
Apr 13, 2017 9:22:24 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2017 9:22:24 GMT -6
Dharini shuffled her foot a bit. She was glad the girl had... calmed down? Well she wasn't really angry at her, at least she thought that but she could tell she was at least a bit annoyed at her and well she probably had other things to do...
"Nice to meet you," Well it was and it wasn't, it was nice now that she didn't seem that annoyed at her anymore. She smiled briefly at her, hoping she was making this whole thing just a little bit less awkward. She rubbed the back of her neck and then shrugged, "Oh... it's ok. I'm sorry about the staring," She wondered if maybe right now would be a good point to leave but then she was asked a question. "Uh well... a bit of both? I mean I knew about probending before I moved here, but there wasn't much about it other than broadcasts, and I spend a lot of time with my uncle if I'm not helping my grandparents in their shop..." She stopped realising she was rambling a bit again, "Short version, I've become a fan of it"
Anonymous
Apr 14, 2017 14:01:49 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2017 14:01:49 GMT -6
Ren’ai wasn’t sure what to think about this girl. She seemed very awkward, nothing the Firebender seemed to say or do made a difference in how she acted. And she hadn’t introduced herself, either, which was rude. At least she was apologizing for just standing there and staring at her. “Well, it’s a lot different seeing it in person, I suppose,” she said, though personally, Ren’ai couldn’t understand who someone couldn’t be interested by the broadcasts alone. She remembered listening to them, and that had made her want to go see them in person. She understood that not everyone was as obsessed with Probending as she had always been, though.
“At least you’re a fan now,” Ren’ai offered. She stretched out a bit as she stood there, wondering what the two of them could possibly talk about now. The Firebender had been sure that she would have left already, but she supposed since they were still talking, the girl had stuck around. “Also, you haven’t introduced yourself yet, to my knowledge.” That was extremely rude, and it made Ren’ai want to point it out, but she would let it go. There was no reason for her to go after this girl like that when the girl wasn’t being rude to her on purpose, but still… Yuri would tell her to be more patient.
Anonymous
Apr 28, 2017 5:55:49 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2017 5:55:49 GMT -6
"Yeah it was very different, it was a lot easier to... see what the people on the radio were talking about? If that makes any sense," She hoped that made sense. Of course she knew how peopled used bending, and she was a bender herself but she had to admit sometimes all the moves and stuff that the commentators described made about as much sense to her as trying to come up with what an owl-cat was thinking of.
“Also, you haven’t introduced yourself yet, to my knowledge.”
Dharini cringed mentally, she was pretty sure she was about to say her name when Ren'ai asked her about probending and somehow that detailed her train of thought, "Ooops, sorry! I'm Dharini, but most people tend to call me Rini,"
Anonymous
May 6, 2017 12:38:13 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on May 6, 2017 12:38:13 GMT -6
(OOC: No worries I was feeling a bit unsure how to keep this going too)
"Oh," Rini paused, but then she wasn't really sure how she could keep this conversation going anyway, and she had kind of interrupted"Yeah it was nice to meet you... Hopefully I see you around again when you're less busy?" She didn't say anything about 'I need to go somewhere' because... she didn't actually have to? "Good luck with the training," She called after Ren'ai as she walked away.
I'll close this after you respond. If you choose not to respond, let me know. 