[Open] Why Would Anyone Look?

[Tahlae Zou]

The sun beating down from above made it hard to protect her fair skin in this city. Tahlae had taken to wearing a hooded cloak which covered most of her small frame, and made her look incredibly strange compared to many of the city's occupants. It was sort of a necessary evil though. With skin as pale as her's, she burned easily in the sun's warm rays.

The small female hustled through the busy streets, her eyes fixed on the ground and her steps hurried. She didn't like crowds. At all. She hated them, in fact. It made her very nervous to be around so very many people all at once. Matters were made worse by the absence of her pet Sharae. The dravine disliked crowds even more than her owner, and rarely did the creature venture through the city with her master. Only for trips to more spacious areas, such as the park.

Tahlae was so absorbed in walking as quickly as she could that she didn't notice the male she was about to collide with, until she was making contact. An attempt had been made to change her course, and the result had ended with the collision still happening, but Tahlae's miniscule self on the ground, her hood falling from her head and her snowy hair tumbling down and falling partially free of the ponytail she normally bound it in. "Sorry..." Her voice was soft, and as he peered up at the person she'd run into, her innocent features were only made softer by the ashamed blush which tinged her cheeks a soft rose. Realizing she was a mess, she quickly reached a hand to tug the hood of her cloak back up, as if to hide in the shadows it cast and evade the real world. In a sense that was exactly her goal. She didn't like the real world, and she didn't like crowds or new people. It was much easier to be a hermit and avoid everything.

Maybe with some luck this guy wouldn't make a fuss, and he'd just shrug her off as some idiot who wasn't watching where she was going.

[Mai Toriko]

The man felt the collision into his chest and peered down at the young girl curiously for a moment or two. However, his focus was elsewhere and he chose to simply ignore the young miss and continued his mission as his eyes scanned the marketplace. It was only a few moments before his fellow hunters appeared by his side, scanning the area for any sign of their escaped slave. "How could we lose her?!" they shouted in frustration, sweat pooling on their brows from the chase that had been worked up over the last hour of searching.

"We will not return empty handed! Find her at once!" the one man yelled, seemingly the leader with his larger stature and commanding tone to his brutish voice. He took a step towards the fallen girl and gave a soft grunt, "Out of the way!" he didn't make any violent notions towards her, simply brushed by with heavy footsteps and continued his job. The fleet of men circled the marketplace in search a slave who danced in one of their tea houses. She was a valuable young woman and the master of the house would be most displeased should he found out she escaped, he felt his anger boil as they were coming up with nothing.

However, from the darkness of an alley way, two eyes watched carefully. Her was drawn up over her head, pulled down to shield her face with a shadow and a veil was pulled to disguise the lower half of her face from onlookers as she hid against the brick wall. She was dressed in a dark green robe and a tan kimono like gown with slits up the slides to reveal her bare legs and thighs. Her feet were bare but she was free on scaring or markings, she was delicate and beautiful, even with the hood her shape was not hidden, and one glimpse of her eyes, though strange eyes...Carefully she kept still and quiet, her one hand raised to softly pet the mongoose like creature and twirled itself around her neck and shoulders. He purred and hissed gently, sensing the danger his master was in but she would not turn back, "Hush small one..." she whispered gently, before stepping out into the crowd once the men had passed to check another sector.

She peered curiously at the young girl who still remained motionless on the ground as if in some kind of timid shock. With gentle foot steps her bare feet padded across the dirt street until she knelt before her, "One should be more careful with such a men about." she helped the girl to her feet, not allowing the girl to see her face, "Easy now." she made sure the girl was alright before she heard the men circling back, "I bid you good day miss, step lightly." and with hurried steps she disappeared down the next alley way.

Mai looked about in worry that someone was following her and soon enough she heard the footsteps. her heart was pounding in her chest, she would not go back to the attic, she would not go back to that place without a fight. "You there! Stop!" she disobeyed and tore off through the alley way, following the maze like paths and into the streets of the busy marketplace. She tore through the crowds, trying to put as much distance between her and the men as possible. But there was nothing, no one to help her, nothing to save her from this. 'I won't go back!' she screamed in her mind, her breathing labored severely as she rounded another corner and slipped, her ankle turning over. Reaching out to stabilize herself she grabbed the first thing in reach and took hold of a sleeve. She caught herself, colliding with the chest of another being. She gasped and froze in horror, she was stuck. her ankle was throbbing and her captures were close behind her. Slowly she raised her eyes and gazed upon the face of her salvation, or her undoing...

[Chase Sato]

It was a fairly nice day, only a few clouds in the sky, the sun was shining brightly. A slight breeze swept through the crowded marketplace, offering a refreshing break from the hot rays of the sun. Exiting a small noodle shop, Chase swung his pack over his shoulder, scanning the marketplace as Zala, his dragon cat, walked around his feet, rubbing her body against his calf. Even though he had been here for a few days already, he still wasn't used to these crowds. Coming from a fairly small village in the Fire Nation, the fire bender was used to having tons of space to do whatever he pleased. Which was quite opposite to this city, everything was so crammed together, there was barely room to breathe. It was a regular occurrence for people to run into each other, which infuriated Chase, he hated being touch unexpectedly.

Not really knowing where to go next, he headed in a random direction, Zala following close behind. Walking along, he zoned out for a moment, his attention wavering off with his methodic walking. His daydream was interrupted by a yelling voice, 'You there! Stop!'. His crimson eyes searched for the sound of the voice casually, sweeping over the faces of the marketplace. Not being able to see who produced the noise, he continued on, only to be met with a body colliding into his own. He gripped her arms, instinctively catching her so she didn't fall to the ground. He looked down at her, she looked terrified. She definitely needed help. Why was no one doing anything? This girl was obviously being hassled, and everyone was just continuing along with their own business. It was disgusting.

Making sure the girl was steady on her feet before he let go of her arms, he glanced around, catching the eye of the man who had been chasing her. He only assumed it was the owner of the voice who had yelled earlier. Stepping in front of the girl, he stood between her and her assailant. The two men stared at each other for a moment, the tension in the air palpable. 'step aside, the girl's coming with me!' the brute called out, Chase shook his head. "She doesn't have to go anywhere. Last time I checked humans weren't property" he called back, taking his pack off his shoulder casually. It was obvious what was about to happen, and he wasn't going to be burdened down while fighting. Zala growled, her fur rising, wings open. She was ready to fight too.

The man made the first move, obviously wanting to get this over with quickly. Which was good. So did Chase. The brute took his stance, that of an earth bender wide and firm. Without another moment's notice, he stomped on the ground, a large chunk of rock pulling out of the pathway, and hurtled it towards Chase. Quickly taking his own stance, Chase kicked the rock out of the air with a fire charged kick before it collided with him, the rock bursting into dust and small bits of stone. Inhaling, Chase fired off two fireballs at his opponent's chest. Fighting with so many around was dangerous, so he had to get this over with quickly. The earthbender flew backwards with the force of his enemies blow, knocking over another hooded girl who had been standing nearby.

The earth bender was very much incapacitated, at least for now. Running over, he helped the other girl to her feet, ignoring the stares of the people who had stopped to watch the little interaction. "Sorry about that." He said as he helped up the girl, "Got a little bit carried away" he admitted. Then remembered about the reason that he got in the fight in the first place. Zala had stayed by her side in Chase's absence, apparently having felt the need to protect this girl as well. "Are you okay?" he asked the scared looking girl.

[Tahlae Zou]

Tahlae was surprised as a female stopped to help her, and for a moment the female thought to thank her. She didn't have a chance though, as the other took off, wishing her well. What could have caused-

Oh...

Tahlae didn't have to think hard on what might have caused the other female to leave to abruptly as guards came in pursuit of her. It took only a second of consideration, before Tahlae joined the pursuit behind the men and out of sight. She followed the wild chase right up until the other female crashed into someone, and at that moment the small female moved against a wall and crouched down, becoming harder to spot and a minimal threat.

She observed the fight silently, though she felt compelled to join she managed to keep such a compulsion in check. Only when all was said and done, did she step forth. The boy who was defending the other female didn't seem to have needed any help in the fight, or Tahlae would have stepped out sooner. She had managed to follow the girl this far, but now she had no idea what to say or do. She was terrible in situations like these. There was always the option of just taking off and running like mad, but she still wanted to thank the other female. Is Sharae were here, the dravine would have nudged her in the right direction.

Resolutely, she sucked in a deep breath and forced her feet to move, carrying her closer to the two people and the animal which had guarded the girl. "Um..." She nibbled on her lower lip beneath the shadows cast by her own hood. "I just wanted to say thank you... For, well you know..." She knew she probably sounded like a fool, and it probably looked even worse that she had followed the girl just to say thank you. She had merely done what her gut said to though, and since she'd been on her own Tahlae had learned her gut rarely steered her the wrong direction.

[Mai Toriko]

Mai was shocked at this man's actions. No one had ever gone against the slavers to protect her, was this man insane?! He clearly didn't know about the slave trade, she was property, traded off because of her father's debt. Mai was barely considered human in the eyes of the law as long as her master felt there was a debt to be paid. Sweeping some of her dark hair away from her face and tucking it back into the hood she stood back, eventually falling over and watching the scene unfold.

On top of that she had never seen a fire bender in action before. being a water bender herself and being one of the few that had passed through the earth bending nation it was very rare to come across another elemental bender. She looked at him as her fright turned to shock and almost bordered on disbelief. his voice was softer when it turned to her, a small shiver running down her spine, for a second she actually felt convinced he gave a damn whether or not she was okay. She struggled to find her voice to answer but failed to manage it as she felt her ankle ready to give out and she whimpered. "Dammit.." she hissed, lifting her leg got check it out, the slits in her gown allowing those watching to see her revealing display of leg. Her ankle was deep purple and if attention was paid, you could see the faint bruising from the beatings she had endured.

"I am...damaged somewhat, but truly, you should not have interfered...no matter how grateful I am." she whispered softly, still not showing him her face. Slowly she met his eyes, allowing him to gaze upon her soft lavender/blue eyes with dark edges. She felt a heat in his stare, an intensity but not something to fear like so many who looked in her eyes before. She heard the other girl speak and nodded in agreement, unable to simply give her a smile in recognition. "You are very welcome," she then turned her attention back as she saw the grunts getting their strength together behind Chase. Mai then gasped as she saw the men moving behind her rescuer, she was in no state to run. "You don't understand...I'm a..." she was cut off when a large rock was hurled at her, sending her flying into the far wall of the bazzar. Second came when Chase had his back turned, enough to knock him to his knees. The leader was dizzy, but able with the assistance of his men to fire the earth. She gave a cry of pain as her back collided with it and left her laying in a heap, trying to pull herself off the ground.

The grunts pushed by the fire bender and knelt to the girl, tearing her cloak off and pulling the kimono top down to reveal a burn mark on her neck. "Traveller, you idiot, she's a slave. Keep out of this before you wind up in jail for interfering." The grunts picked up the kicking girl as she tried to fight back but a quick back hand kept her quiet. Her pet stayed around her neck, hissing and snapping but to no avail. She hung her head and her face was revealed to him, it matched that of the dancing girl seen of posters around town. "You want time with her, buy a dance." the grunt teased as they chained her wrists and all but dragged her down the street.

Mai, as she was forced to walk on her injured ankle, gave the stranger one look. One simply glance that said more than a thousand years of conversation could ever give. Her eyes were full of tears, but only one feel. The rest of her face was broken, not in sadness like most would be. She didn't sob, she was still fighting, but it was easy to see that the worthlessness in her soul was seeping out with each failed attempted at freedom. She whispered, "forget me..." not wanting to bring him even more trouble than she could have.

[Chase Sato]

His mater always told him that his cockiness was his downfall. He commonly underestimated his enemy, thinking his own abilities were more powerful then they actually were. He was still very strong, but had a lot to learn in his young age. He assumed that the blasts delivered to his opponent were enough to keep him down for a while. But was wrong. As the rock collided with the back of his legs, a grunt of pain escaped his lips, his body falling forwards, he was now on his hands and knees, looking at the ground. Zala hissed and spat at the men as they pushed past the incapacitated Chase, gathering up the 'slave' girl. He tried moving, but the pain in his legs stopped him from moving. Anger grew within him as she was dragged off before his eyes, her own eyes pleading for him to help, her lips telling him to forget her. He definitely wouldn't be doing that anytime soon.

By the time he was able to stand, she and the men were already gone, the crowd swallowing them. Frowning, Chase gathered his bag, the people who stopped to watch slowly returning to their activities. He noticed the other girl who had showed up was still there. "I'm not from around here. Do people really keep slaves here?" he asked her, still kind of in disbelief on the situation that just happened. Normally he wouldn't talk to people he didn't know so casually, but the way of life here seemed so backwards to the way he knew. He just needed to know if this was a regular occurrence here. He was no knight in shining armor, but he couldn't shake the feeling that what was done to that girl was wrong. His legs still throbbed with pain but he ignored it, looking down at the hooded blond girl, waiting for an answer.

[Tahlae Zou]

She wasn't given a chance to speak with the other girl, for almost immediately after she tried all hell broke loose. Two large rocks took out the male and other female efficiently, and though Tahlae was ready for an attack to come her way, it seemed she had been deemed unimportant. Soundless the petite female watched as the other was dragged away, and then the male spoke to her.

Her eyes lifted to his face slowly, blue pools hidden in the shadows, and she offered the smallest of shrugs. "I wouldn't know. I'm... I'm not from around here. Slaves were not entirely uncommon where I come from, but that's a long ways away." She felt odd speaking to this person. She wasn't sure why she was even bothering. He had done nothing for or to her, nor was she familiar with him. He was a total stranger and she knew nothing about him.

But she did have someone she owed now.

That was the most logical reason for her to have remained here. She wanted to help the other female, and she couldn't do that without knowledge. She needed a bit of help if she wanted to learn enough about the one to do anything at all. Tahlae knew little of the city and it's customs, it's fighters, its laws, or it's routines. Those were things she would need to find out in the near future. Even if it all would go to waste because she knew only what the girl looked like and nothing more at the very least Tahlae could try.

She wrapped her arms across her front and sighed softly under her breath, highly unsure of what she was doing. She found herself again wishing her companion was here. She always felt more comfortable with Sharae at her side.

[Chase Sato]

After his mind was able to put together what was happening, Chase grew more and more angry. Where he was from there were definitely no slaves. His house had a few people that helped out around the house, but they were all paid, and were free to leave whenever they pleased. It was a job, and nothing more, no one is 'owned'. So this news more or less baffled him, thinking slaves were something of the past. But the young fire bender obviously had a lot to learn about what life was like here in the city. Being raised in a small noble fire nation town, he had been pretty sheltered until he decided to run away a few weeks ago.

There wasn't much else on his mind other then the girl that had just gotten dragged away. all he wanted to do was help her, but had no idea where to start, or how to even go about actually helping her if he found her. He had no reason really to talk to the other girl, other then the fact that they had both witnessed the horrible scene first hand, front and center. He kind of hoped that not everyone in this city were heartless assholes like the ones that dragged off the girl, maybe they could work together to find her. That was if the girl felt the same as he. "There has to be some way to help her...." he thought out loud, bending over to pick up his pack he had discarded before the fight.

He had almost forgotten about the injuries to the back of his legs caused by the rocks. The adrenaline from the fight had been staving off the pain fine until now, but now that everything was settled, the effects were definitely wearing off. He tried, but didn't do a good job, of hiding his pain, his face showing it the most. "Dammit." he muttered to himself, rubbing the area to asses the injury. No blood, that means all the injuries were internal. Well, nothing was broken, at least. The most he was going to show were some bruises.