[Kianna] Don't know when to quit

[Saaga Sun]

When the furry animal came to curl up behind her like some weird hairy cushion, Saaga had to fight against the instinctive urge to jolt back up and distance herself from the creature. She was not used to being around large animals, the only livestock on the island having been comprised of koala sheep and hybrid pigs, both of which were herbivores. Most of the fauna on the island had been small critters like birds and squirrets and she’d only ever seen ostrich horses and other animals once before coming to Republic City.

She looked at the furry beast a slightly worried expression on her face and then reached her hand out hesitantly to pet it. The girl was right; it didn’t bite, just sniffed at her hand curiously and then rested its head on its front paws looking quite content. It almost looked like an oversized hard-shelled domestic cat and somehow she found the courage to lean against its side, though she felt goosebumps rise on her skin the moment its fur touched her neck. It felt a little prickly on first contact.

“That sounds…interesting,” she said to the girl, a little skeptic about the whole bending endeavor. Sure, she wanted her foot to be fixed but at the same time she was a little nervous as to what to expect from being subjected to the treatment. Would it hurt? Would she suffer from side effects later? She covered her mouth with her hands and watched as the waterbender began working her art. It was good that she did, for she was not at all prepared for how cool the liquid felt against her maimed skin, or the glowy effect for that matter. At least now her little yelp came out muffled.

The healing itself felt weird. It didn’t hurt so much as it, felt wrong and right at the same time. Saaga could feel the swelling go down and the skin repairing itself though she could not look at it for fear of getting sick. At the end of it all what was there, was a healthy foot with a healthy toe and she stretched and wiggled it a bit to affirm that it was indeed perfectly alright again.

“That’s amazing,” she said, genuinely surprised at how effective the whole process was. She stood up carefully and rose to her tip toes for a bit. Yup, it was really as good as new.

“What’s your name? I think I ought to know so I can properly thank you for helping me,” she asked, turning around to look at her, a tired little smile on her face.

[Kianna Aoki]

The woman seemed a lot more comfortable now that her foot was healed, and that she used to being around Juno. Kianna suppressed the urge to giggle, biting down on her inside of her cheeks. So many people were wary of the tigerdillo at first, but he was placid as a turtle duck pond. He would be content lounging around all day, without a care in the world, but he was too protective of the waterbender to let her go out on her own. She’d deduced that the only reason someone should be scared of him is when they try to hurt someone he cares about. Guaranteed to go from cool, calm and collected to raging buzzard wasp in mere seconds. They were alike in that way and the girl reached over to scratch lazily behind the tigerdillo’s ear, grinning as the animal leaned into her touch and purred.

Kianna allowed herself to chuckle at the woman’s comment. She had to agree. Waterbending, any type of bending really, was truly amazing. The ability to control an element with such little force was almost too wonderful to be real and she knew she’d been blessed with the ability. Even though she’d been bending from a young age, she could honestly say it astonished her just as much now as it did back then.

She recalled the first time she’d used her special gift, the memories flooding back to her. Juno was still very young; she and Kianna had just started to become friends. The little creature had sprinted up to her, almost bowling over the small girl. She remembered staring at the scratch on his side in shock and rushed over to the water basin. She’d dabbed lightly at the cut with a small cloth, trying the best that a 5 year old could to mend the kitten. Hugging him tight and not realising her hands had been linked over his cut, she’d accidentally healed him. A bright iridescent light filled the room and the kitten and the child searched for the source. They soon realised it was coming from the animal and watched as the scar grew brighter for a moment, then disappeared. The wound had healed itself.

Kianna had a thirst for knowledge even at this young age and put the information she’d learnt from her scrolls together with her awareness of water bending abilities in her family history. She was a waterbender. Her insides squirmed happily at the memory and she transferred the bending water back into her water skin. She slowly got back to her feet and Juno did the same, dilly dallying back to the waterbender’s side.

“What’s your name? I think I ought to know so I can properly thank you for helping me,”

The girl returned the small smile and reached up to slide the water skin back into its allocated pocket on the tigerdillo’s saddle.

“Yeah... trust me to forget telling you my name, but in my defense I was a bit preoccupied,” she managed a sheepish laugh. She reached out her good arm for the woman to grasp, “I’m Kianna, and what about you?”

[Saaga Sun]

Saaga smirked at the girl’s comment of being preoccupied earlier and shook her head a little in amusement. Finding something to laugh or to smile at in a moment of adversity was something she did often herself and she could relate to her need to balance out the negativity of their encounter with some dry humor. She liked that.

“Well, Kianna, I humbly thank you for your assistance tonight,” she said with a formal tone and dipped her head down in a small bow. Only then did she take her hand to shake it, not overly strong.

“I’d say it’s nice to meet you on this fine night, but let’s face it…the circumstances earlier weren’t exactly ideal to merit a friendly chit chat with the usual compliments,” she continued, not meaning to sound rude though she might have chosen a rather sharp set of words to say.

She bent down to pick up her bag and swung the thing over her shoulder, with her good arm. Her metal thumb was a minor hindrance on her attempt to get a good grip of her belongings, but she managed. A lifetime of practice had made her mostly forget about her disability, all except for that one time when Shou had dared her to eat with chopsticks left handed. It had not ended well…

“My name’s Saaga. Now that we’ve gotten acquainted I suggest we leave. This place doesn’t sit well with me right now and I don’t want to stick around to see if those two come back with friends,” she paused after saying it and looked at Kianna, giving her a quick once over.

“Though judging from what you were talking about earlier, I guess you’re on close enough terms with that firebender as well. Not a friend though is he?” she asked, starting to walk and deciding right then she’d avoid the direction the two had escaped to.

She kind of assumed Kianna would accompany her, in fact she secretly hoped she would. Even if she put on an air of apparent self confidence, Saaga was not sure if she wanted to be alone immeaditely after her ordeal. She was too stubborn to ask for her company out right however.

[Kianna Aoki]

"I’m glad I was here to help,” her voice mirrored the woman’s official tone as she returned the little bow. Kianna was a humble girl but she couldn’t ignore the fact that if she hadn’t turned up, the events of the night would've gone down a lot differently.

The waterbender laughed cheerfully at the woman’s remark. She appreciated that the woman was making an attempt at humour. It’d been a rough night for both of them but the little sarcastic words they’d exchanged seemed to lift the whole mood.

“You have a very good point there,” she chuckled out, definitely agreeing with the woman. Kianna could just imagine explaining how the two of them had met to her father. Oh, you know dad, she was being attacked by Rokuro and I just cut in and helped her out, the usual sort of thing in Republic City. “Regardless however, it’s still my pleasure to meet you.”

As the woman went to stoop down to pick up her bag, Kianna reached up into Juno’s saddle for the third time in the evening. Her hand groped hesitantly in the pockets for a moment until she found what she was looking for. Pulling hard, the girl sent a strip of plaster rippling through the air. The waterbender made quick work of binding her forearm and she tied a small knot to secure the bandage in position. She'd have to fix that later, but for now it could wait. She wanted to get as far away from this place as quickly as she could.

“My name’s Saaga. Now that we’ve gotten acquainted I suggest we leave. This place doesn’t sit well with me right now and I don’t want to stick around to see if those two come back with friends,”

Kianna nodded eagerly when the woman, Saaga, mentioned leaving. It was like the woman had just read her mind. “Well Saaga, I’m don’t think they’ll be returning,” she muttered darkly under her breath, not really caring whether or not the woman had heard her. She wasn’t certain of much about her brother now, but was sure he would be just as reluctant as she was to returning to this place. She took one more look at the burnt, flooded street and started walking with Saaga, Juno strolling happily next to her.

She slumped her good arm over the tigerdillo, tugging her fingers though the short hair near his shoulder. It was relaxing for the both of them. As Saaga questioned her about Rokuro, the waterbender sighed quietly to herself and averted her gaze from the woman. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from her fingers in the animal’s hair as she answered. “Close is a way to put it I guess,” Kianna said quietly, focusing on the spot where the plate’s on the tigerdillo’s back overlapped.

Suddenly the girl was concerned. What if Saaga thought badly of her because of her brother’s actions? Just because they were siblings didn't mean they were both bad eggs, right? She hesitated for a moment, thinking of all the possible outcomes that could happen. But she wasn't Rokuro, she'd never be able to attack and attempt to harm someone for no good reason. He’d made his choice.

“...That was my brother -- well... he used to be. Now I’m not really sure who he is,” she waved a hand lazily. “Obviously we have different goals here in Republic City,” she said, her voice even and not giving away the fact that she was so disappointed in the person that used to be the most important thing in the world to her.

[Saaga Sun]

“Close is a way to put it I guess.”

Saaga raised an eyebrow at this, her lips forming a little inquisitive pout, but she let Kianna go on without saying anything. Her confession about the firebender being her brother startled her a little. She had thought that maybe they were in a gang together or something, perhaps old friends gone their separate ways but relatives? What was it with her getting to know people with screwed up family histories? Didn’t anyone in the world know how to live a normal life anymore?

“Obviously…” she agreed with her words and walked in silence for a bit.
She wasn’t sure at first if she should have offered her some form of comfort and solace, maybe a hug, some kind words perhaps? But it seemed a little pointless. She could not know how Kianna felt about knowing her blood relative was a lecherous scumbag with an aptitude for violence and drinking. She could only hypothesize how she herself would feel in a similar circumstance, but knowing how differently people reacted to things, it wasn’t much to go on from.

“It must be difficult for you, finding that out about a family member,” she finally said and reached out to pat her on the shoulder, unsure at first if she should be doing this to a stranger. Then again she had saved and healed her, so offering her a shoulder to cry on or just someone to talk to seemed like a good enough way to pay her back somehow. And besides, Saaga was not a fan of awkward silences.

“I take it you’re not originally from here? Did you come here together with your brother? I’m sorry; you don’t have to tell me. Just…if you want to talk about it, you can. My place is a ways off yet,” she said, taking a side step to avoid a broken bottle. She needed to be careful of her steps now that she’d be walking the whole trip on bare feet. And those had been her favorite shoes as well. Drat.

[Kianna Aoki]

Kianna shifted her eyes away from the tigerdillo, looking at Saaga through her peripherals. She cautiously watched her face, waiting to see how the woman would reply to her news that the abusive firebender was Kianna’s relation.

She nodded at the woman’s words and shifted uneasily as she held onto Juno. Her reaction seemed a lot better than she’d expected which was a huge help to the waterbender’s currently fragile nervous system. Instead of screaming and sprinting as fast as she could away from her, Saaga just continued to walk next to the girl. She exhaled a breath of relief that she hadn’t realised she’d been holding.

It was comforting to know that even if the woman was judging her, she wasn’t planning on voicing those comments. Kianna wasn’t sure if she’d even be able to deal with it now anyway. There was a long pause before either of them spoke. The girl’s eyes gazed down at her feet, trying to think of something to say to break the silence.

“It must be difficult for you, finding that out about a family member,”

She felt the woman’s warm hand rest on her shoulder. She smiled at the little act of kindness, but continued to stare down at the ground and her moving feet. How could she meet this woman’s eyes when her brother had almost killed both of them? She was so ashamed of what he’d become, she just couldn’t.

“I take it you’re not originally from here? Did you come here together with your brother? I’m sorry; you don’t have to tell me. Just…if you want to talk about it, you can. My place is a ways off yet,”

“...Yeah, you’re correct. Our--” she stopped, “My parents settled in the Earth kingdom.” Right now, Kianna didn’t want to regard Rokuro as a part of her family. But it seemed unavoidable at Saaga’s next question. “You don’t have to apologise, I’m sure once I get my bearings I’ll ask you too many questions.”

The girl hummed a little laugh before she said, “Bending wasn’t really accepted in our house; our father didn’t really approve of it. Our mother was really helpful though, she gave us lots of resources to work from. But there’s nothing like training with a real Waterbending master.”

“We brought the idea up of coming to the city to train but dad didn’t agree with us. He and Rokuro,” the waterbender unwillingly grimaced as she said his name, “...got into a big fight over it and Rokuro left for the city anyway. And then I went to find him. The training everyday was just a bonus.”

After she finished explaining she turned to face Saaga, feeling much better about the whole situation after she’d talked it out. “What about you? Are you from Republic City? Any rogue brother’s I should be worried about?” Kianna grinned, unsure whether she should laugh or not depending on whether Saaga was going to take offense to her little joke.

[Saaga Sun]

Walking on the near empty streets with the young waterbender, with only a few people passing them by and stopping to stare at the hairy animal that accompanied them, it seemed to Saaga like she had entered some strange secret world. Here they were, the two of them, having met each other by happenstance and getting to know each other. The situation was almost worth a raucous laugh, it was so ridiculous. But she was not able to play the part of the distressed victim, getting all bitter and angry at everything and everyone involved with her attacker. Listening to her story, Kianna seemed to be as much a victim as her and Saaga found some small comfort in knowing that. Tonight they could very well just use each other for support to recover from the shocking event.

“Haha, I’m curious to a fault so I guess I should not shun people who are the same. I used to hate being asked questions, not too long ago actually. Somehow I felt people knowing too much about me, gave them power over me. Then I met a person who did nothing but ask questions, very sensitive ones as well. He didn’t even seem to care if I answered them or not and he had an opinion about everything. I guess I got more used to questions because of him,” she shared a story with her, a little amused at the memory and flexed her arms, wincing quietly when she was reminded of her bruised wrist.

She didn’t mind the girl not asking her questions; her own story seemed much more interesting to listen to. It sounded as if her brother was not the only smear in the proud family history. Saaga could not really relate to Kianna’s troubles with her bending not being accepted. She was not a bender and from what she could tell from living in Republic City it seemed to her that bending was everything precious and glorified, whether the benders actually deserved all the praise or not.

“Your father wasn’t a bender then? Did he have a reason for his dislike?” she asked, trying to think of a number of possible motives. She found it rather odd that a father would do anything but embrace any given talents his children possessed. Her own father had been ecstatic when she’d shown him the first awkward glass glob she’d ever blown. He had ruffled her hair and beamed at her, saying she’d be a master in no time.

She did not say anything more to Kianna’s story, not wanting to touch further on the subject of her brother. It was too early for her to be anything but unbiased and heated in her assessment of that man, and it was not likely for that to change even if she learned some tragic history. What he had done and tried to do to her was unforgivable and thus she focused on aspects of the girl’s story that did not much feature him, trying to keep the focus on Kianna herself.

“That’s nice. Being free to express yourself is not something to be taken for granted,” she smiled faintly and figuring she’d gotten over the worst of her upset feelings, took a side step away from her to regain some personal space.

“No, I’m not from around here, though I’ve lived here for quite some time. And no rogue brothers either or anybody for that matter,” she answered to the question, not really surprised she’d asked it. She thought of mentioning the makeshift family of childhood friends she lived with, but decided against it. It was not a scab she wanted to pick on.