[Non-Benders/Equalists] Balance

[Kidoma Maifu]

Tunes mellow and deep, lighting that matched said tunes, yet the room maintained a certain haze from the various products that the lounge overlooked for fear of breaking the vibe. Most didn't mind as they were either the ones using or far too gone on other substances to notice. Dark blue lights accompanied the jazz band that was belting out songs that could shake the very souls of men. The mood was perfect for those who desired to be social but were either too old or not in the mood for crazed youngsters galavanting about the establishment like there was no tomorrow.

On the back left side of the lounge was a table occupied by a lone person, large in stature and partly obscured by the dim light combined with his dark skin complexion. A condensation ladened glass sat on the latter edge of the table, half-filled with a various dark liquid and a couple ice cubes that were quickly melting. His red maroon suit, though opposite color of the lighting, oddly meshed well as golden hues scanned the entirety of the lounge. Kidoma didn't frequent the Orchid Lounge, nor did he ever want to, but on occasion would come to unwind after a hard days work. Having to tolerate the scourge known as benders on a daily basis would have turned his hair grey if he had any, and even the cold slightly bitter taste of a certain kind of drink hardly eased the pain. That would change soon, but first some loose ends needed to be tied up.

For the last few months the man had concocted a plan to start a group of non-benders who would retake the underground from the bending gangs that inhabited them. This would be a first step to equaling the scales between benders and their non-bending counterparts. Unfortunately, being the well recognized business man that he was prevented any grandiose actions from happening as he needed to keep up public appearance and what not. Instead, Kidoma would have to use more refined methods in order to bring his plan to fruition. Now all that was needed were the players to fill the roster.

[Konei Kozuki]

Twenty-five yuan entry? Someone had to be kidding. Konei wasn’t a rich man. In fact, with his rent, bills, and food expenses he had to hold down two jobs just to manage, but he’d been saving up recently to buy his boss’ motorcycle that he’d driven off the end of a bascule bridge and he’d found he had some left over. A sensible person would have then spent the leftovers on repairing the door of his apartment, but Konei figured he deserved a break. He didn’t often have a night out that he didn’t expect would end in an alleyway showdown. This was a different kind of fun, the safe kind. And Konei was alright with that for now.

So, his wallet now twenty-five yuans lighter, Konei stepped into The Orchid Lounge, and stopped. He’d never seen a place like this before. Compared to what he was used to, this was classy.

However, after a couple of minutes of standing next to someone smoking something questionable at the bar his head had begun to get a bit hazy, and by the time the pretty barmaid asked him what he wanted to drink, he must have mumbled something incoherent that sounded like something they served, because she smiled and went to get a glass.

She had amber eyes; a firebender, Konei assumed, and when she served him his drink and set someone's liquor on fire as a party trick his suspicions were confirmed. There was also a bartender further back waterbending beverages in circles in the air to entertain a gaggle of young women, and Konei paid for his drink, watching the liquid travel in arcs through the air.

He used to have dreams of bending. In them, he was in the North Pole, waterbending with his family, creating ice and mist. The dreams had once been so realistic that he could almost feel the water obeying his touch, but he would always wake up again. Once or twice he'd held his hand over a bowl of water to see if it had really been a dream or not.
The dreams had stopped for years now. It was probably about the time he started taking chi-blocking lessons.

Backing away from the bar, Konei stood in the middle of The Orchid Lounge and sipped on his drink, wondering where to go and who to talk to.