[Chase] False Sense of Safety

[Sazra Peo]

Sazra wandered out of her family home in a form of a dance that had her on her hands, jumping up and over the low fence onto the walkway beyond where she landed with practiced grace. Performing was her life and today she felt fluid and interested in displaying it. The looks she might draw were more than welcome for Sazra lived for the eyes of audience. It wouldn’t be long before she acquired the necessary funds to start a Pro Bending team and hear the cheers. No matter that she hadn’t even found a waterbender and an earthbender she wanted on her team yet. Minor details.

As she fed on her own glory daydream someone breezed by her and snatched the small purse she had hung to her belt. It was evening and he wore a makeshift mask as he sprinted away from her at full speed and headed for the nearest alley. “HEY!” Her shout boomed after him a moment before she started running in pursuit. Who did this joker think he was. Her precious money and expensive feminine accessories were in that bag and she would not let them go without a fight.

Once in the alley she sent a punch of fire like a miniature comet after him but it missed by a long shot. She couldn’t aim while running after this apparently quite fast thief. “COME BACK HERE SCUMBAG AND FACE ME LIKE A MAN!” She shouted, her voice her only weapon because of the distance he had already managed to place between them. “THIEF! SOMEONE STOP HIM!” She hoped against hope someone would hear her, see a masked man running and connect the dots. There weren’t any people around, at least, not that she could see from where she was trailing behind. And they say the crime was near non existent in this district. What a joke.

She made a mental note to work on her sprinting more, but speed had never been her strong suit. She was more of a reflexes kind of person.

[Chase Sato]

It had been a pretty peaceful day, the morning starting off with some labor in the park, ending in the early afternoon, the Yuans from a job well done weighing down the fire bender's pocket. His stomach gave a growl as he was reminded of his lack of breakfast, and headed towards the closest shop that looked like it sold food. Zala, his dragon cat, trotted by his feet, somehow knowing that she was about to be getting some food as well. Maybe it was just the way her owner behaved when he was about to eat that she picked up on. The animal was very intelligent, so it could be a multiple amount of things. Chase ducked into a noodle shop, thankful to have the beating sun off his shoulders, his fire nation red accented sleeveless grey shirt offering no protection to his arms from the sunlight. The shop was nice and cool, and the bender and feline took up a booth in the back. He ordered a bowl of noodles for himself, a plate of meat for Zala. The two ate quickly after the food was brought, obviously both starving from their hard day's work. Well, Chase had worked hard, Zala had just played in the park with other creatures.

He finished a little bit after the dragon cat, leaving the appropriate amount on the table, picking up his back, exiting the shop. As he was leaving, someone ran right into him, almost knocking him over. Thankfully his balance was fairly stable, and he was able to catch himself before the both of them flew to the ground. He looked at the person who had collided with them, a man in a mask, clutching onto a small purse. He took off without another word, then Chase noticed a voice calling out. She definitely sounded like she needed help. Putting two and two together, he concluded that the girl was chasing down the man who had just ran into him. Dropping his heavy onto the ground, Chase took off in the direction of the robber, catching up fairly quickly. He chased him for a small while before their path was led into a one way alley. Bad choice on his part. Knowing he was cornered, the robber turned to face his assailant. Chase already had fire started in his palms, "Give back the purse." he said, looking down at the smaller man. He didn't have to say it twice, the robber threw the purse at him "This isn't worth it!" he screamed, ducking past his assailant as he caught the purse, taking off down the street.

Well that was easy. Shrugging, He made his way back to his bag, looking for the girl who was screaming for help. After locating her, he held out her bag to her "You might wanna hang onto this a little tighter from now on." he told her, bending over to pick up his bag, Zala rubbing against his hand. She had stayed to watch over his things, and was glad to see her master was back, unharmed.

[Sazra Peo]

When she finally caught up with the scandal she had caused her purse was being handed to her by a queer looking young man. His eyes were crimson, like a dragon’s, and his hair reminded of live flame. She took her purse while staring openly, a smile beginning to curve her lips and gold eyes twinkling with sparkled interest. “I’ll be sure to strap it to my leg next time,” she agreed and hung it to her belt by the loop that fitted to the curved hook there. “But I’m not sure how well that would serve me. Getting robbed from time to time does have great potential of giving me new acquaintances.” She motioned towards him and then placed the wrist of an open palm to her other fist in traditional fire nation greeting custom. Her eyes had caught the blaze in his hands from a distance just before the thief had relinquished his prize.

“Whom do I owe the gratitude for returning me this?” she asked in the end, patting the crimson purse now safely back on her person and thank goodness for that, it would have been murder to replace her custom made hair pins. Her eyes travelled to the dragon-cat that accompanied him affectionately. “And hello there,” she leant down slightly, her hands pressing to her knees to see the reptilian feline better. Pressing a hand to her mouth as if to impart a secret, she spoke to the animal. “Your master is very gallant,” she shared, just above a whisper.

Sazra was terrified of canines due to having nearly been torn to shreds by a pack of wolves in her childhood when she had gotten lost in the forest during an expedition, but she adored reptiles and felines. A combination of both was ideal. Soon enough, she straightened elegantly and watched with a half-smile. “I am now in your debt. Do tell me how I could possibly return the favor. If not right now, whenever destiny calls,” she chirruped, her tone think with her best showcase of charm.

Okay so this day wasn’t going to be a disaster at all. Her earnings were back in her possession, the money gathering up for Pro Bending purposes. It would be wise to start leaving the sum home from now on but she was so intimately attached to her dream she liked carrying it around. Wearing her best milk-cream outfit bordered by crimson hems, with lightly powdered cheeks, rouged lips and smelling of vanilla, she felt confident and comfortable. “Have any plans for the evening?”

[Chase Sato]

Chase returned her traditional fire nation greeting, mirroring her bow. It was the first time since leaving home that someone had greeted him in this manner. Back home it was such a regular occurring to bow in such a way, he had almost missed it a little. It was definitely a nice little taste of home that he didn't expect. He allowed a small smile to pull his lips as she made the comment about meeting people through being mugged. "Ya, I guess so, right. At least you know the people you're meeting have proper morals if they're helping you out."

He shook his head in response to her next question. "No, it's okay, I don't expect anything..." he always felt weird accepting things from people, especially since he grew up not really wanting anything, he felt wrong to take things from others. Luckily the weirdness was relieved by the girl's discovery of Zala. She was always such a life saver. Of course she had to be, she was his companion. The dragon cat rubbed against the girl's leg, starting to purr loudly closing her eyes happily. She just loved being paid attention to, even if it was just being spoken to. Chase let out a small laugh at her words, rolling his eyes a little. "The guy ran right into me, and there wasn't anyone else around really. I'm sure anyone would have done the same." he knew his words to be not that true. People here in the city didn't watch out for each other really. When one needed help, the majority just ignored them, assumed the police would just take care of it. They didn't have police close to his town, so they more or less just all watched out for each other. This obviously wasn't the common practice in the city though.

"No, I said it was fine, you don't owe me anything." he was starting to feel a little awkward but tried to push the feelings aside. "I don't have any plans, really." he admitted, wanting to change the subject on her paying him back.

[Sazra Peo]

Her eyebrows lifted minimally when he pointed out that advantage. She hadn’t really considered that. It was a definite bonus. “I can think of a few situations where they’d be compelled by different motivations though,” she shared, a finger tapping near her lip, eyes going up in consideration. “Like, for instance, maybe they wanted to show off.” She was pretty. It was plausible a meat head could have seen that and been quick reflexed enough to bolt after the thief to impress her. Looking back to Chase now, she instinctively knew that was not the case. “I’m lucky it was the morals.”

She crossed her arms leisurely and quirked an eyebrow. “I was just asking for your name, silly.” She gestured her hand towards him vaguely and kept on a smile. She did intent to repay him in one way or another, eventually. It was just the way of things. No one did anything for anyone in Republic City without it being courteous to have the receiver gift something in return for the service. The young man before her seemed to brush it aside as if it was nothing. “Not really,” she commented easily but was quickly distracted by his dragon cat. “Awww!” Sazra bent down to pet Zala, instantly falling in love. It was so small and winged and it purred. “What’s your name, lovely?” She asked in tones sugared with sweetness from her sudden infatuation, but obviously expected the name from him.

“Okay,” she agreed. If he didn’t want anything, she lifted the thought of debt from her shoulders. It wasn’t every day that she met someone so selfless, who ignored the laws of equivalent exchange, but she wouldn’t protest to it. Still thoroughly enjoying his dragon cat, she looked up with smiling eyes. “Then, join me for some sparring? Maybe we can even find someone else there, make two teams.” To Sazra, it sounded fun to suddenly team up with a random stranger against other random strangers. Her head did not fully wrap around the protocols of things. “If that’s too much adventure for you, I suppose I’d invite you for a drink instead, but it’s too early for the Orchid Lounge.” She pondered. “Maybe sparring and afterwards a drink!” The girl was really into excess. She eyed him hopefully.

[Chase Sato]

"Oh, ya... sorry. It's Chase, Chase Sato." he told her, giving her another traditional bow. It was kind of rude of him to not have introduced himself earlier, it was just habit for him to bow whenever he felt like he had done wrong. If she was from the fire nation, she might recognize the name, it being one of that of the noble families of the fire nation, but he kind of hoped she didn't. He hated being treated differently because of his bloodline. Plus not everyone was thoroughly brushed up on their fire nation politics. "How about yours?"

"Her name is Zala." he told her as she, like many others, got distracted by her attention seeking. She purred louder as she got pet, rubbing into the newcomer's hand. She licked her hand, gently, letting out a small 'mew', looking up at the girl with her huge glowing eyes. Well if nothing the feline knew how to look cute to get what she wanted, a trait she had fine tuned over the years. It didn't work too well on Chase anymore, but it seemed to work wonders on others. Right now she just wanted attention.

The word 'sparring' caught Chase's attention right away. He hadn't had a chance to practice his bending at all since getting into the city, this was the perfect opportunity. "That actually sounds like a lot of fun. Do you pro bend?" Chase had listened to the matches, but had never seen one or participated in one. It seemed very exciting though, a great way for benders to fine tune their skills. His master always told him that the pro benders were not true, disciplined benders, and didn't truly understand their elements, but Chase begged to differ. Their abilities were nothing short of amazing from the matches that he's listened to, even if they weren't as skilled as a true master, their skills were still to be reckoned with.

[Sazra Peo]

He bowed again to excuse his tiny slight and she nodded her head in acknowledgement of the name. She knew as much about politics as bison knew about talking, so his importance went unnoticed. “Sazra Peo, delighted to make your acquaintance.” She tapped her purse again. “Incredibly. If it were not for you I would have lost many precious items it would have taken months to replace!” Like the nail polish she had gotten in Ba Sing Se. They didn’t ship it here so she would have needed to make the trip. She paused a moment to think. Maybe she needed to go anyway to check out the season’s fashion. It would not do to be out of the loop when fashion was concerned.

“Zala,” she treated, addressing the reptilian feline with tender care and more petting, scraping her behind the ears and grooming her entire frame with fingered love. The ‘mew’ made her heart melt, she would be the first firebender puddle in the history of the city if the small animal continued killing her with cuteness. “You’re a gorgeous little thing, aren’t you, aren’t you?" If the dragon cat wanted attention, she had found the perfect willing supplier. Sazra had always mused on finding herself a companion, but she had never really connected with the creatures that crossed her path. It would take more searching.

In the end, and with great personal tragedy, exercising the will of her restraint, she lifted from the feline and grinned at Chase, a hand slapping onto her hip. “Do I?” Her golden eyes were pure delight. “I live and breathe Pro Bending, ever since I was wee high,” she brushed an invisible line in midair to represent a small child. Sazra had not dared speak of her dream to many people, she had avoided telling Totomi that night in the Lounge, but looking at Chase, she felt like spilling it all. It was definitely the effect of Zala. If anything that cute was linked to someone, they must be trusted. “I’ve been training in the style for years now, I just don’t have a team to enter a tournament.” Her enthusiasm dulled some. “Nor the funds, yet.” It dulled even more. “But!” She perked up again. “Minor setbacks, I’ll get there eventually.” In her mind’s eye the crowd was cheering her name.

One of her eyebrows raised conspiringly. “I could teach you a few tricks,” she cast her gaze left and right. “Especially since we’re of the same element.” She gave a little sigh. “Too bad we are though, it would’ve been good to run into a potential teammate.” Her grief was short-lived and soon she was smiling again. “But it’s always fun to share techniques.” She circled him, hand to her chin, deeply critical as she scanned him from head to toe. “Where have you trained? Are you well versed in Pro Bending?” He didn’t have the smell. Sazra swore she could sense Pro Benders from a glance. It was the way they walked, talked, breathed even. She was often dramatic. “How long have you been in Republic City?” Her eyes were full of it, the city, the attitudes, the talk, the fashion. “I think I would have noticed someone as exotic as you in the crowd.” And they didn’t seem a part of him.

Finally pausing, she waited for him to prove her wrong.

[Chase Sato]

He wondered what kinds of things were in the purse that would take so much time to replace. He wouldn't be nosy and ask, of course. He was raised with better manner then that, and being nosy was rude, at least that's what he was always taught by his mother. "Well it's good you got it back then."

Zala mewed happily again as she was lavished with attention, obviously loving it. Good, maybe she'll get enough scratches and pets that she wouldn't but him later. He didn't mind paying attention to her once in a while, but since they left home she had been really nagging at him for pets. Probably because others back home would pay attention to her, like his siblings or mother. She missed them, he could tell. Probably more then he did. The only person he missed from home was his master, but he wasn't even there anymore anyways.

"People from my town weren't really that into it. I used to listen to matches on the radio but other then that I don't really know a lot about it, really." He thought it was really cool that she was an aspiring pro bender. Back home none of the girls would ever dream of doing something that would dishevel their hair dos. Everyone was so different here. "Well good luck, if I knew earth or water benders I would point you in their direction, but ya, don't know anyone here yet, really." he was never really social, so it wasn't a surprise that he hadn't met many people yet, but he was definitely making progress since his departure from home.

He smiled, nodding his head at her words about sharing techniques. "That would be interesting. I've always wanted to learn the probending style." and he was certainly up to the challenge of learning. It probably wouldn't be too much of a challenge, but it would be fun none the less. "I trained in the classic firebending technique back home. Also did weapons training, mainly with swords, and how to fight using a mix of the two." the certain style that he was trained most in was created by his master, and used swords and firebending together to create a deadly combo. It didn't have a name yet, as his master was still perfecting it.

"I've been here for about a week I think. I kind of lost track of time, just been doing odd jobs for money..." It wasn't really an ideal lifestyle for most, but Chase had been enjoying the freedom behind living day by day. Nothing planned, just coasting along. The city wasn't the nicest place to live, but he had to admit that he was pretty happy here so far.

[Sazra Peo]

Town. Sazra’s mind fixed on that one word. She wondered just how small was this town he had come from. Even though she wasn’t exactly prejudiced against people coming in from small communities, she often found she couldn’t relate to their way of living and customs. Everything was backwards, and her mind ended up wandering away from their presence. They also had ridiculous expectations that were linked to things like ancient traditions, gender differences and who knew what other narrow-mindedness. Chase didn’t look it though; he still had her attention, unlike a certain earthbender. “Well then, you’re in luck. As a welcoming local, I could show you around, put you up to speed with the local gossip, and generally let you know where you might want to eat and where you’d better not to avoid the occasional indigestion.” She glanced left and right, then whispered. “Mr. Buh’s Meaty Wonders is a definite no go. Sometimes he keeps his products past expiration, and in the sun! It’s horrible really.” She made no effort to hide her disgust.

He seemed interested and she slapped him lightly on the shoulder. “Good! Enthusiasm, definitely started out on the right foot.” Not without training, he would fit right in with the style, she thought optimistically. Then again, the more experience he had with the traditional techniques, the harder it would be to adjust his reflexes. She was pensive for a moment. “That’s also interesting. Swords and firebending combined. I would like to know how that works.” She gave him a great grin, clearly looking forward to what this impromptu meeting was to bring.

“Just a week?” She quickly passed on an expression of surprise. “I do hope you’ve found something decent. I’ve heard how difficult it is to find a position on such short notice.” Which was something not many people would have thought she would give consideration, but she wasn’t quite as mindless as she liked to behave. “Let me know if you feel like working for fair pay and decent vacation time, I’m sure I could convince my dad to give you a position at the shop.” She waved a hand conversationally. “My family owns a fashion shop, you could be a vendor, but that wouldn’t work if you couldn’t do sums,” she eyed him, “you could do cleaning and stacking shelves instead,” her expression said that she wanted more for him. “Anyway…” She turned around and glanced back over her shoulder to him. “Is there some training gear you need to get or can we start walking in the gym’s direction?”

[Chase Sato]

Well this was quite a change, having someone from the city being so welcoming to him. Sure people had been nice (sometimes, he's run into a fair share a jerks as well), but not one person had offered to show him around, or even give pointers on where to eat. It was kind of nice, since it was still kind of overwhelming trying to navigate around. He had even been eating at the same three places since he didn't know anywhere else good to eat. "Thanks, that would be nice, actually. I knew this place was going to be big, but I don't think I was really prepared for this." Well maybe she was going to pay him back for getting her purse back, with valuable information about the city. It was more useful to him then money, or anything else she could have given him. Knowledge was the best gift one could give, in his opinion.

"Well good thing i'm a quick learner." he didn't want to sound like he was boasting, but it was true. Even from a young age the orange haired boy had always picked up on things very easily, and absorbed knowledge like a sponge absorbed water. This trait also had it's downsides, though. Having learned everything so easily his entire life, when he encountered something that didn't come immediately, the fire bender didn't know how to handle it. His lack of ability to produce lightning infuriated him beyond belief. He chose not to think about it and push it to the back of his mind for now. He didn't want to get all pissed off in front of this girl. Talking about his master's style was a good distraction. "It's not that hard to learn, really. It just takes a lot of practice, like most things, I guess."

Chase shook his head at her offer, "No, that's okay. I'm doing okay now. But i'll let you know if I change my mind." for now having a set job didn't sound like something he wanted, people relying on him, having set shifts. No, he didn't like the sounds of that at all. He was fine with the odd jobs he was doing now. He got to do them on his own time, and worked alone, or was barely spoken to while working, which he was fine with. More then fine, actually. "Everything I need is in here." he motioned towards the pack on his shoulder. Other then Zala, this was everything he owned at the moment. Of course he had belongings back home still, but for now this was everything he had. "Let's go" he was eager to get going now.