Hui lifted her cat mask slightly to eat her food. She still preformed on the streets for money but with her teammates​ missing the stories she told weren't as amazing so people got bored and left

Instead of going to Air Temple Island on her weekly visit to Republic City, Ren decided to pay a visit to the Downtown branch of the Temple of Koh. Ever since her conversation with Johar, she had felt uncomfortable at the realisation that the Island had made no move, no effort to assist those injured in the attacks.

She had severely underestimated how conspicuous she would be.

As she walked through the streets, she could feel all eyes on her. Well, less on her than on her gold and scarlet robes. A murmur rippled through the crowd as she walked, some people staring opening as she moved past them. She blushed, wondering if she should have gone incognito. Then realised that she had no other clothes aside from her robes.

Ren paused in front of the Temple, her heart hammering in her chest. It loomed before her and it was as if time stopped. The passerby watched her intently. Would the acolyte go in? The question was etched on every single observing face.

Taking a deep breath, Ren crossed the threshold of the gates, somewhat surprised that the fabled Monks hadn't come swooping on her like carrion birds on a carcass. Behind her, the crowd resumed their muttering and their journies. She wondered if her actions would draw the attention of the Head Acolyte.

The Temple was still a makeshift hospital, but the injured were not as littered across the grounds as the Republic City Times had previously reported a few weeks ago. She assumed that those with lesser injuries had been sent home, but she could still see volunteers scurrying around with linens and medical supplies, heading towards the back of the Temple. Ren wasn't sure, but she could have sworn she had seen a Monk with a white nurse's cap perched almost comically on their head. When she looked again, however, they had disappeared.

"Ex-excuse me," she stammered, stopping a young volunteer. "Wh-where might I be use--useful?"

The young woman eyed her outfit critically, pursing her lips. Ren could feel herself blushing, and she twirled her braid in her fingers nervously. Eventually she was directed to the Soup Kitchens, where she could assist by cleaning up the dishes left behind by those partaking in one of the many meals the Temple served. She could see the volunteer talk to a Monk as she headed off in the direction of the kitchens as instructed.

When she arrived, another volunteer handed her an apron and a wooden bin and pointed her to some empty tables; bowls and plates had been stacked on trays that she was to take back to the kitchens to be cleaned. Ren got to work quickly, her her hands trembling. She knew she stuck out like a sore thumb as the kitchen occupants stared at her in wonder. She ducked her head and focused on gathering dishes, but out of the corner of her eye she spotted a person with a bizarre cat mask on their face. They moved the mask a little to eat, and Ren found herself staring.

Hui felt someone was watching her. Had the ones responsible for her friends disappearing​ found her? She soon noticed a new volunteer was staring at her. Maybe she's a fan of the Shāo Láng stories? She adjusted the collar of her pullover and squared her shoulders to appear more boyish. 

The masked person caught her staring and squared their shoulders; Ren blushed, and dropped her gaze back to her task, hurriedly putting plates and bowls into her wooden bin. Inwardly, she berated herself for being so obvious. It was rude to stare, she knew, and while she wore the colours of the Air Nomads she was a representative of them, whether or not she lived full time at the Temple.

She walked past the masked person, trying her best to avoid their gaze in order to prevent another social faux pas, and headed to the kitchen with a full load of dishes. The woman fiddled with her grey hair, feeling very awkward and much too tall and gangly in comparison with the other volunteers. She wondered if she should have called Johar and asked him to join her before she made such an impulsive decision.

Her next assignment was to wipe the tables down. Armed with bottles of cleaner and disinfectant, a bucket of warm water, and rough white rags, she began her task. The person with the cat mask was still there, eating. Ren blushed and managed to stammer out an "Excuse me," as she passed by.

"No problem" Hui nervously fiddled with her mask it suddenly broke in half. "Shoot, that was my last one..." The broken mask clattered to the table, the two halves now only connected by the head strap.

Hui started to hear whispers, someone commented on how handsome the masked boy was. A large drunk angry man covered in burns stood up when he recognized​ her. 'Hey! what's a firebender doing here?!' Hui felt the atmosphere turn hostile. "Easy sir, I have the right to be here too just as you are" Hui said in a calm masculine tone. 'Bah! You're no different than the firebender who burned me!'

Hui lifted her shirt to show her bandaged torso. her chest was also bound further making her look like a boy. 'Ha! those are probably fake! You're pretending to be injured just so people take pity on you!' Hui was starting to get annoyed. She sat down and drank some water "I was stabbed by a bender at the festival while trying to protect a nonbender, I had nothing to do with the attack!"

Hui realized that she was starting to make the glass of water boil in her hand. Her wounds were starting to throb from the stress so she stuffed her mask and remaining bread roll into her bag briskly leaving the temple.

The masked person's mask broke, and Ren was very surprised to see the golden eyes of a firebender. While there was no rule that disallowed benders from participating in what the Monks had to offer, it just wasn't very common. Most benders were terrified, or at least highly suspicious of the Monks of Koh — who would willingly ally themselves with a spirit known as the Face Stealer? But the Monks, it seemed, tolerated this one's presence. That was good enough for Ren.

A large man began to cause a ruckus and the speaker defended themselves, but Ren could see it was quickly going to get out of hand. Before she could recognise what she was doing, she stepped forward.

"Sir, sir — " she said, her smoky voice as soothing as she could make it, " — sir, the kitchen is open to all in need. Please be seated!"

The commotion had attracted a number of other volunteers, who squared off against the individual. Ren could see by the suspicious glances toward the firebender that they weren't any happier about having a bender among them, but they volunteers respected the Monks and their rules too much to refuse someone who was in need.

"Unless the Monks say otherwise," came a young voice. Ren recognised the speaker as the girl who had helped her earlier. "All are welcome at the Temple. Do you want me to get a Monk to remind you of the rules?"

The burly man blanched at the suggestion and sat down meekly. "No, no, that's fine."

There was movement behind her, and Ren noticed that the firebender slipped out during the hubbub. Ren's eyes widened. they had shown injuries to their torso, and Ren couldn't bear to have someone injured tossed out just because of some rowdy man. Unthinking, she grabbed a nearby loaf of bread and wrapped it in clean rags. She chased after the firebender, her messy braid streaming after her.

"Excuse me! Excuse me!" She held out the bread, panting from the excursion. Her robes were not designed for strenuous physical activity. "Here," she said. "I'm sorry you were treated that way, please take this extra bread to speed your recovery along."

Hui brushed away her tears as she ran away but stopped when she heard someone call for her, she was surprised to see the volunteer from earlier. "Thanks...it's been hard since the other Scorch Cats went missing. Our leader used to put any one in their place without even having to use his firebending. He told me to only bend if my opponent got too physical."

Hui winced in pain "Damn my wounds have been bothering me lately, I was hoping to get fresh bandages before I left but I don't know if I could handle that drunk guy again. Thanks for the bread Miss" Hui started to walk away.

Ren looked away as the firebender brushed away tears, pretending not to notice. They mentioned something about 'scorch cats'; Ren's eyebrows furrowed together in thought. Perhaps she'd been away from the city too long, but she had no idea who they were. A band, perhaps? A performance troupe?

"You're welcome," she replied, but the concern was evident in her eyes. "If you need bandages would you like me to get some for you? It's not right if you leave here without." She had a very limited medical knowledge but she knew enough to know that old bandages could cause infection at the injury site.

"Thanks, uh...My name is Shāo Láng" she said with a deep tone.

The deep voice was a surprise; Ren had somewhat expected something higher, more lilting.

"I'm Ren," she said, her smoky voice soft and a little shy. "I'll be right back with some bandages."

It only took a few moments to find a wandering volunteer with an armful of gauze, bandages, and medical adhesive. Ren returned, her prizes in hand. "Do you need help changing your gauze?"

Ooc:i was thinking ren could figure out that hui is a girl mulan style. I like how both ren and hui are transgendered maybe they could be close friends. :3
Ic: Hui nervously grabbed the gauze, she started to feel lightheaded. "Uh... thanks but I think I could manage..." as Hui stood up she grew pale and collapsed to the ground.

ooc: for what it's worth, transgender is an adjective, not a verb. people are transgender, not transgendered. i am also very uncomfortable with what you are proposing from a personal standpoint and i don't think it's necessary to have a dramatic gender reveal. i'm willing for them to be friends — i would LOVE for ren to have a trans friend! — but not in this way.

The firebender took the bandages but was unsteady on their feet. Ren started as they collapsed she rushed forward, but missed catching them before they hit the ground with a dull thud.

The acolyte looked around wildly, braid swinging back and forth. The other volunteers were occupied entirely. Gritting her teeth, Ren scooped up the firebender in a bridal carry and rushed to the Temple proper on instinct. Perhaps she could find a Monk to help!

It was a good instinct. The Temple proper was still serving as a makeshift hospital; a volunteer intercepted her before she could speak to a Monk, however, directing her to an interior room filled with cots and curtained partitions. Ren put the firebender down on the nearest empty bed, stepping politely on the other side of the curtain as the volunteer conducted their examination.

When the volunteer stepped out, they were brusque. "It seems to be a minor infection," they said, making a few notes on their clipboard. "They seem to have a stab wound to their abdomen that was stitched expertly, although the bandages have not been changed frequently enough. If they're not careful it could turn into sepsis. They also seem to have pulled some of their stitches loose due to exertion, so I'll have another volunteer come by and fix that. Do you know their name?"

Ren shook her head. "No, sorry. Today's my first day volunteering and they were just in the soup kitchen and collapsed shortly after they left."

The volunteer nodded. "They should be coming around soon, so you're free to stay if you'd like. They might be glad of the company once the other volunteer comes by."

With that, the volunteer turned on their heel and walked out of the room. Ren pulled over a wooden chair and sat next to the cot. When the firebender opened their eyes again, Ren gave a small smile.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

Ooc: I understand I didn't mean to make it awkward, the concept of Transgender is still new to me in real life. I often get corrected for using improper pronouns and I don't quite understand how to use it in conversation. Due to physical abuse I experienced as a child for being autistic and being sexually harassed as a teen, I don't really know what sexually I belong to. I like dresses but also like dressing up as a boy. when I wear a short wig I see my other half.

"A little nauseous..." Hui wanted to sit up but she was so tired moving slightly felt like an earth bender had buried her body with dirt "I guess In my search for my group I forgot to change my bandages more often..."

"Just between you and me you can call me Hui Mei, Shāo Láng is my stage name. I often prefer being him than weak miss Hui Mei. The Scorch Cats tell stories about my character as a brave firebending hero, We've even been getting requests for a Shāo Láng Nuktuk crossover..." she laughed a little then started to get a little sad again. "Sometimes I wonder if they really just left me behind... whenever a member got injured we usually left them behind because they usually didn't want to continue with the group. I've been thinking about doing probending after I heal up and permanently take on Shāo Láng's identity"

Hui saw the volunteer enter with the stitching supplies. "Ugh...my least favorite part of being injured..." She grumbled quietly "I never liked needles even as a child. I still  try to put on a brave face even when it hurts..."

ooc; you're welcome to send me a PM on my OOC / staff account so we can discuss this further!

Ren smiled sympathetically. She too knew what it was like to prefer one name and one method of presentation over another. "I'll call you Hui Mei if you really want me to," she said softly, "but if you want to be Shao Lang I don't see why we shouldn't start off that way instead. What do you think?"

Just then, the look on Hui Mei — Shao Lang? — 's face turned Ren's attention toward the door. The promised volunteer had arrived with a small tray full of equipment. With an apologetic smile she began cleaning the sutured area with antiseptic. Ren winced, knowing that it would sting like a devil when applied directly to a wound of that magnitude — it stung applying to a papercut, even, so Ren assumed it would be magnified tenfold. The volunteer then held up a small syringe, tapping the glass gently. A local anesthetic, she explained, before quickly injecting the contents of the syringe near to the wound.

After a few moments, they gently flicked the area; whatever response they got must have been satisfactory because they pulled out the broken stitches and deftly replaced them with new ones.

When they were finished, they turned to Hui Mei / Shao Lang with a smile and a wagging, playfully chastising finger, instructing them to take better care of their stitches and dress the wound properly. They then gave them a small bottle of pills. 'Antibiotics' they said, 'for the infection.'

When the volunteer left, Ren risked another smile. "Are you feeling better at all?" she asked.

"I guess your right...." Shāo winced as the volunteer tended to her wounds. Afterwards she put on a change of clothes that the volunteer left for her. "I'm a little bit better, Hopefully I can recover soon so I can practice bending again. thanks for looking out for me Ren"

Shao Lang did not seem keen to stay bedridden, and Ren bit her lip to prevent from scolding the younger person. After all, it wasn't her place to tell anyone what to d —

Hopefully I can recover soon so I can practice bending again.

Well, so much for not her place.

Ren shook her head emphatically, her braid flying. "Being stabbed in the stomach is a serious injury!" She clasped her hands together earnestly. "You need rest and to try to move as little as possible or you'll pull your stitches again. It's a miracle that you're not in the hospital now, or in one of the critical injury rooms! You're very lucky that none of your vital organs was cut. Do you have a place to stay that's clean? I saw how dirty your bandages were, they need to stay clean or else you'll get an even more severe infection, and that infection could spread to your blood and that's fatal!"

Shāo shook her head. "I've been living on the streets since I got separated from my group"

The acolyte pursed her lips, her glasses sliding down her nose a little.

"You know you can stay here at the Temple, right? They have cots, and bathroom facilities where you can stay clean. You'll be close to medical supplies that way too."

Ren paused, considering. "Or you could go to Air Temple Island. It's less hectic here and may be more conducive to relaxation. I don't stay there full time right now, so you could use my room if you'd like. The Acolytes won't judge you for your name or appearance, and my room is conveniently located in the family quarters so no one will notice another person."

She offered a small smile. "My robes probably wouldn't fit, but I'm sure there's something in the donations box here that you can take with you so you have a spare while these are washed."