[Open][TG] Reunion!

[Chen Han Wei]

An assortment of musical instruments played and thrummed throughout the nightclub as paying customers and even passerby's danced and mindlessly inebriated themselves. Ironically, among the masses sat a lone, raven hair man, clothed in a two piece set of matching armour. Every few moments a half-full glass raised up to his lips where he enjoyed a refreshing, alcoholic drink. He sat at a round table of two, namely inches from a balcony upon the second floor that gave him a near birds-eye view of the dance floor and stage. While he had no preferred taste in music, he found that his began to move uncontrollably with the music. Still, his demeanor was unwavering. Cold, scrutinizing eyes cut through the swath of ignorance that went on below him, almost disgusted at the sight itself. Unfortunately he needed to be there, namely to meet with a old acquaintance.

His younger brother, Xin, whom he hadn't seen in quite some time since his last visit to see Yi the exile, was expected to me Han there at the nightclub at a specific time. Proud of his younger brother for finding his own calling and skill, he needed his help as a partner - an equal. He acknowledged that he kept Xin in his shadow for the majority of their childhood, and that alone was enough for him to want to treat him as an equal from that point on. Nevertheless, as an equal and a brother, he needed and wanted to discuss matters of great importance and even heed any opinions or advice that Xin could have potentially offered. As a song ended and another began, the lights within the club dampened, leaving an eerie darkness that filled the place.

"After all this time, Xin has truly become something else, I'm sure we'll accomplish a great many things with each others help."

[Xin Chow Wei]

Furry clawed feet paws down the stone roads of the city accompanied with slight snarls at anyone foolish enough to remain in the path of the driven shirshu on a mission. The furry beast stopped briefly at a crossroads sniffing the air before yelping eagerly and taking off down one of the roads. After a few moments of swift travel this way the beast came to a sliding stop in front of a nightclub before folding it's legs and laying down on the ground obediently still. Xin removed his bare legs and feet from the metal stirrups dismounting to the side and landing solidly on the stone road beneath him patting the great beast gratefully on the side. He was wearing his usual attire consisting of a sleeveless open vest over his short sleeved undershirt and loose fitting shorts. His face was weathered and callous from training but he was here and that's what mattered.

"He's here huh? That's not all that surprising. Wait here for me Katsu," Xin cooed quietly to the large beast who had now sprawled onto it's side panting happily as he tied the reigns to a small post, "I'll bring you back something good to eat if you can avoid looking too... conspicuous." Xin paused to eye his companion quizzically knowing all to well the mischief Katsu got into when left alone.

Making his way into the club Xin began to peer about the crowd of dancing people. Many of them were drunk and none of them looked like city officials in anyway so hopefully no one would be able to recognize him. He didn't want to start any trouble, at least not tonight. No tonight he was here to meet up with his elder brother Han and soon enough he managed to spot him up above on the second floor looking down upon the crowd from behind his glass. 'I wonder what's on his mind now,' Xin pondered as he made his way up the stairs. Winding through the crowd that seemed to notice his large frame coming and make some effort to part before him he soon stood before the table, "Han..." he began his face unmoved and stony before it cracked broadly with a warm friendly smile, "it's been too long brother!" he finished leaning into a hug.

[Chen Han Wei]

After having waited for only a few minutes for his brother to arrive, he finally noticed the moment when he stepped through the main entrance. However, Han's eyes focused not upon his brother, but upon everyone else, trying to identity and pinpoint any potential threats from anyone that could have followed him. Although the likelihood of Xin being follow was slim to none, Han refused to let his guard down. Don't fret, Han was -without the shadow of a doubt- confident in his brothers ability to not be followed. After a few seconds of brief scouting, nothing seemed out of the ordinary for the most part, and with that, Han found himself sipping away at his drink yet again. Not even a few moments later had Xin stood before Han with a smile that stretched from ear to ear. He leaned forward, gesturing for a hug from his elder counterpart. Han followed suit, stood up, leaned forward, and finished the hug. Patting him a couple times along his shoulder, Han expressed the respect and love he felt for his flesh and blood.

"It has been too long. Feels great to see you brother! Please, have a seat, we've got many things to discuss. But before that, how's Katsu?"

Treating Xin as an equal required Han to drop the 'little' modifier from identifying his kin. His hand -open palm- gestured towards the available seat opposite of where Han previously sat. Thereafter, Han re-seated himself comfortable, even more so than he did before Xin's arrival. Sipping his drink even further, Han looked into Xin's eyes -presuming he sat down by that time- and began to divulge.

"I'm Well aware that you've significantly increased your proficiency in earth bending as I have in Martial Arts. With that said, I'd like to go back to our old ways, but this time, more organized and with a purpose. As you know I oppose bending, but not enough to fully get rid of it, no, instead it needs to be controlled and limited. In simpler terms, it should only be received through natural selection. You see, during my training, i've found that bending in essence is not bad, its simply a form of evolution that a great many people simply aren't ready for just yet. I wanted to bounce my ideals off of someone close to me whom I could trust and has a clear mind. I just strongly feel that most do not deserve to experience this evolution"

[Xin Chow Wei]

"Katsu? He's just outside actually and with any luck staying out of too much trouble. Normally wouldn't have brought him into town but I didn't feel like trying to find my way through the city any slower than necessary. Too many guards out on the streets, less time I spent out there more time we'd have in here."

Xin sat down in the open seat opposite of his brother smiling broadly simply to be reunited with his kin. Without so much as turning around he reached back to scratch the back of his head and casually lift a glass from a passing waitress and her tray bringing it before his face. Wafting the odor and recognizing it as coffee with some form of hard liquor mixed in. He sipped it slowly as Han enlightened him as to his recent thoughts. Xin had long known of his brother's distaste for benders, in fact he had been fearful for their relationship as brothers when he first discovered his own earth bending prowess. He was fortunate however that their bond was far stronger than his own personal beliefs. In fact Xin was likely a large factor in why Han's opinion was now that benders weren't the cause of problems and could be controlled.

Xin swirled the dark glass slowly in his hand and thoughtfully as his smile slowly faded into more serious concerned face puzzling over his brothers words. "Controlling benders is not something easily done on any scale. The fire nation itself tried to control benders in the past as well as the avatar cycle and it nearly ended in the genocide of air benders." He took a large drink from his glass downing half of it with ease before continuing, "It's something that needs a proper plan as well as a level head at the forefront. You know I'm with you through thick and thin if you're serious about this but we may need a few more people than just you and me. So... do you have a plan?"

[Sazra Peo]

Dressed in her best burgundy silks, perfumed so that she oozed vanilla, with powdered cheeks and rouged lips, Sazra was on duty. She had been working in the Orchid Lounge as a performing waitress for two years now, the smell and atmosphere now a part of her blood. Today she danced for pleasure as well as money, oscillating between being on her hands or her feet through the various aspects of the song. Various spectators cheered, others sent suggestive comments her way and most just watched, distracted or enraptured by her elegant sway, she wouldn’t have time to notice.

Her breaths came in short by the end of the tune, a bead of sweat threatening to cross a line through her makeup. She had been dancing for the better part of an hour when Leli came to switch, the seductive, big hipped girl taking Sazra’s hand and easing the firebender out of the dance section fluidly, as if it was all part of the act, and it was. Sazra gave Leli a little grin in passing before sashaying through the gathered lot, drunks, revelers, criminals and unfaithful husbands. Disappearing into the bar, she grabbed herself a drink, nothing strong, heavily watered down.

She managed to enjoy her break for the entirety of five minutes when she got a pat on the back from Jeh, the bartender. “Private dance order, Saz. Leli and Dorah are busy, so you have to take it.” With a little groan that was quickly replaced with a performer’s smile, she hopped up, downed the rest of her drink, gingerly placed the glass back on the table and wandered back into the customer cluttered part of the club. “Round table for two on the second floor, close to the balcony with two men, one wearing a creepy armor,” Jeh called after her and she gave a little wave of her hand in acknowledgement. The bartender omitted to say that someone else had ordered the two a dance for whatever reason.

Putting on her most charming smile, she crossed the distance that brought her to the second floor, and slowly, deliberately making it clear that she was approaching their table, she wandered over. Her eyes first fell on Han and one of her black boots came up, its tip coming to rest on the border of the table. “So which one of you gentlemen ordered the private dance?” She asked with a tiny grin, one of her hands slithering onto her hip, golden eyes pausing a moment more on Han before moving to the other.

[OOC: Let me know if you'd rather this character not interrupt!]

[Chen Han Wei]

Han aimlessly sipped away at his cold beverage as he respectfully and willing heeded every syllable that fell from Xin's mouth, piecing their meanings and messages with ease. Xin was right, frighteningly so, and Han knew this without a doubt. Benders were spread all across the world, living and sometimes hiding in the darkest corners of the earth to the most prominent places filled with limitless grandeur. Han immediately noted that his brother made a fine point in regards to the fire nations attempt to achieve a similar goal which -unfortunately- lead to the near-extinction of Airbenders. He nodded his head in acknowledgement as he continued to listen once Xin continued with a second part to his opinion. A plan was needed, that much was certain, however, whatever that plan may have been, it completely eluded Han for the moment.

Warm chills coursed through Han's entire body as he heard his brother offer his loyalty just like he had done during their younger years. The oral gesture caused a smile to appear across his face, albeit briefly. A moment later, his smile faded as he readied to retort.

"A plan? yes, well, I'm not entirely sure in terms of it being a sound foolproof plan but what i intend to do is begin my d-"

.
Han's speech came to an abrupt halt, seized and interrupted the collision of boot and table. With a bewildered look, Han eyed the boot and continued on up her leg which lead to her body and soon, her face. After having made out her words, Han almost fancied her to be a courtesan and used her line as an opening to initiate a conversation. Considering that Han gained an inherent sense of paranoia throughout his life, his circle of trust had been, well, relatively -no- extremely small. Nevertheless, Han's cold, stoic returned to his glass as he sipped it for the umpteenth time before sitting it back down upon the table.

"I don't know you well enough to let you dance for or around me, despite you being a rather beautiful woman with an ugly occupation. But who am I to judge. So off topic, but perhaps my brother would care for your services."

In an instant his cold face lit up into a smile as he looked his brother into dead in his eyes.

[Xin Chow Wei]

Before his brother could elaborate any further details of what he planned to do, a third joined their small table. A woman with golden eyes and fine clothes dressed for the success of her occupation. Xin's eyebrow crooked up in confusion glancing at her before looking at his brother for a reaction. Xin hadn't ordered any sort of dance and he highly doubted his brother would've ordered a dance from a complete stranger and sure enough, Han dismissed her from his service. Han wasn't the kind to trust strangers. Even the one's he called friends were often under the scrutiny of mildly paranoid observation.

Xin leaned far back in his chair tilting on the two rear legs before pulling a spare chair beneath the bum of a man who had far too much alcohol for the night. He fell to the floor where he remained passed out trading the table pillow for the cold hard floor as xin whisked the chair between him and his brother for the girl to take. His features were stern but his voice was calm and inviting as he spoke, "Have a seat. You've already been paid to keep us company and there's something that concerns me about this." He turned to look back to his brother, "I've only just arrived," he spoke now in a lower tone his eyes occasionally glancing out the corner of his eyes. It was hard to spot suspicious activity in this place but something felt strangely off. "I didn't order a dance and it doesn't seem like the sort of thing you would do..."

Xin became silent letting his words and suspicion sink in for a moment before looking back to the hired girl and speaking with a friendly enough tone, "Am I safe to assume from your question that you don't actually know who paid for your services? You don't by chance have the wrong table do you?" If something was in fact happening, whether by mere city officials that wanted to capture xin or some other enemies he and Han had made in their travels, he wanted to assume this girl was innocent. But then nothing could be assumed it seemed.

[Sazra Peo]

Gaze turning to Han, Sazra gave him a little smile, a momentary glint in her eyes. “Fair enough,” she said but raised an eyebrow. “Your brother is sitting quite near you, however. There’s no secret back room we could go, and I wouldn’t expect he’d leave your company in favor of mine.” From the brief look she had managed to get from the younger of the two, Sazra could already tell something was up. The two men before her didn’t look like the type who would hire this service. Their dark eyes were much too private and the both were far too sober. Of course, on occasion, she did get the odd situation where she was brought along as swaying human decoration to a table where men were so thoroughly engaged in their conversation they hardly gave her a look, but that was rare and risqué if you asked her. As Han had said, they shouldn’t have been flaunting their business in front of a perfect stranger.

A seat was drawn and her knee length boot came down from its perch. She eyed Xin briefly, she was liking the sound of this far less already. Regardless, she took a look around, just to be sure when probed about the accuracy of her location, and saw no other table to fit the short description she had been given. As far as she could see, Han was the only one around garbed in armor, and she could even spot a policeman off duty, an insipid wisp of a female pouring a shot down his neck.

“No, I wasn’t told, but someone from reception should know,” she offered as she sat down, half expecting to be ushered right back up to go find out. Well, wasn’t this pleasant. The two men before her wanted nothing of her services and someone else had apparently sent her to their table. “Maybe a friend was playing a joke on you guys?” She slung an arm back, having the elbow rest on the hard wood, her other hand in her lap. She took advantage of the proximity to take in their appearance with more precision, which was hard to accomplish given the dim light. “People make pranks around here all the time,” she shared, taking a languid look around and gesturing vaguely before letting her gaze flip between them. “But you two don’t seem from around here.” Her comment held a lower note to it, and for but a moment, her eyes were shrewd.

Sazra prided herself on facial recognition and there was a reason she was a favorite with the clientele. She made it her business to remember who frequented this establishment, after a score of ordering the same drink she would bring the desired beverage(s) without needing to question. Sometimes she never forgot a face. Her eyes narrowed just slightly at Han, without her deliberately meaning to. There was something about him, despite the dim light, that had stuck her immediately as memorable.

[Chen Han Wei]

Han watched his brother and the beautiful waitress exchange words as he cunningly redirected the woman's attention, albeit briefly. Xin offered the woman a seat after having seized the seat of a drunkard who seemed unfazed about the removal of his chair. Nevertheless, the woman seated herself after offering a useful bit of information, claiming that the receptionist would know who ordered the woman's services. As she spoke of a friend, Han almost laughed; the only people that Han knew that could have possibly been considered friends were traitors who only used others as mediums for their own personal gain. From there, the woman motioned towards the entire thing being nothing more than a harmless prank, but Han thought, who would have the gall to prank two strangers. The woman's eyes quickly drifted back over towards Han as he -reflexively- returned the look.

His gaze locked and focused upon her own, almost against his will, however, his 'willpower' had gone uncontested for as long as he could have remembered. Momentarily, Han looked back towards his brother while his mind was hard at work, attempting to think back upon any and every enemy he and his brother made. Fortunately, he realized something; after having moved from the nation of fire to Republic city, the two had a clean slate, besides, who could have held a grudge so deep and thick that it would have followed the brothers into unknown lands. Han looked back at the woman and eyed her with a cold and calculating looking, almost as if he'd been mentally stripping down every single component that made up her very being. And then he spoke.

"I don't know who you are or what your angle is, but rest assured that if anything out of the ordinary goes down here tonight, your life will be seized and used as 'insurance'. But that's if, and only 'if' you mustered enough bravery to pull such a thing."

Shifting gaze back towards Xin once again, Han spoke out to his brother, requesting his advice for the second time.

"So, I'm thinking one of us pays a visit to the receptionist, while the other watches the girl, doesn't matter who. I just want answers right now."

[Xin Chow Wei]

Xin sipped on his glass casually as he met eyes with his brother briefly as Han clearly thought about the minor incident. Then Han explained this situation to the girl in a casual and blunt method explaining repercussions of any action taken against them here tonight. Xin smiled on the inside at how direct he had been with just exactly what would happen before Han turned to him and asked that one of them go check with the receptionist. Xin stood up taking his half glass with him and swirling the dark liquid around to mix what water of the ice had melted into the drink. He nodded slightly at Han before giving a meager raise of his glass to him and throwing back the drink as he turned and made his way across the bar.

While most of the crowd moved out of the way for Xin a few were merely shouldered aside of his wide frame as he made his way. He soon found the receptionist talking with yet another girl most likely in the same business as their own guest but he didn't care. He simply side stepped in between them forcing the receptionist to bend at the neck to look up rather than down. "Sorry, but who exactly paid for our dancer?" His voice was gruff and low, Xin was no longer with his brother and so speech with people had become... a chore for him. He simply needed to know so he could rest his mind at ease knowing that both he and his brother hadn't somehow become entangled in something they didn't want a part of.