[Chase Sato, Private] Lost in the City

[Lanh Huang]

Metal was not a good idea…Lanh thought to herself softly as she moved her long chain off her shoulder and wrapped it around her waist. Lanh had been scared after leaving the academy, and she had found the city to be a strange place, after a couple weeks in the city, and seeing the techniques that the police force used Lanh felt that it would be a good idea to pick up something to protect herself. She was more trained in metal bending then earth bending so she decided to pick up a weighted chain, now though she was regretting it, metal conducted heat, and it was hot out, and now the chain was hot. Once the chain was tied around her waist, with some fabric between its heat and her skin Lanh started to look around, she hadn’t been having the best of luck lately but she had managed to come into a little money, through less than honest means, and now Lanh was looking forward to a good meal.

“Maybe luck is on my side today…” She said softly as she spotted a sign. “Opening sale.” The blonde smiled brightly to herself and headed over to the line.

Once inside Lanh was seated and made a small order, still choosing the cheapest thing on the menu, that and water, water was always free. While she waited for her food Lanh looked around the place was busy, very busy infact, she smiled to herself and sat back.

I might just get a free meal out of all this… She looked over at the door, she was seated fairly close to it, as she planned out her free meal, her food came. She thanked the waitress and started to eat, there were enough people here moving about that she shouldn’t have too much of a problem, she only needed to disappear in to the crowd to get out. She ate quickly she didn’t want to miss her chance.

She was just about done her plate when she saw her chance. She leaned back and quickly slipped out of her chair and into a group headed for the door.

She was just about to make it through the door when someone grabbed her arm. She looked back and saw her waitress. Shit!

“You little thief!”

[Chase Sato]

He was starting to get used to life in the city, having been there for a little over a month now. He thought he was doing pretty well for a sheltered boy from a noble fire nation family, out on his own for the first time. The more he was away from home the more he liked it, which was a double edged sword. He loved having no one relying on him, and was enjoying the freedoms that came with the life of a wanderer. But the more he enjoyed it, the more he was going to miss when he finally had to return home. Well he wasn't ready to do that quite yet, and pushed the thought from his mind. He wasn't going to abandon his family, just wasn't ready to go back quite yet.

He had made himself a nice routine, getting up early in the morning to walk around the market, all his money came from odd jobs he picked up, and he found that the morning time was the best time to partake in the passing out of these paid tasks. It wasn't pleasant work sometimes, but at least he didn't have to deal with anyone other then the person hiring him for the short time. The fire bender mainly kept to himself and just did his work then collected his pay. He was never one to be social.

It was a hot humid day, like most had been recently. The mid day sun bore down on the people, most taking refuge inside or in the shade. After finishing his last job for the day, Chase walked down the nearly empty streets, scoping out a place to eat. His pet dragon cat followed behind him, her orange fur glistening in the sun. His red eyes spotted a crowded restaurant. He didn't really care for crowds, but the smell wafting from the place was too inviting, he had to go in. After getting seated, he ordered food for himself and Zala, sipping some tea as he waited for the food.

The food was delicious, and Zala apparently agreed as her loud purr of enjoyment could be heard over the crowd. Taking some yuans out, he placed them on the table, as he went to stand up a girl brushed past him, she had been sitting at the table next to his. A quick glance at her table and he could see that she didn't pay. For some reason he didn't feel like this girl was a regular criminal, but he could be wrong, he had come to meet a lot of odd individuals that were normal in appearance. So when the waitress caught her, Chase reacted without thinking. Tossing some yuans on her table, he got up and walked casually to the door, Zala following. The waitress still had an iron grip on the girl, adamant on not letting her prisoner get away. "Excuse me, but I think there's been a mistake." he said, motioning his head towards the girl's table, the yuans shining on the surface. The waitress glared back at Chase, knowing full well that he had done that.

With a huff she let go of the girl, stomping over to their tables to collect the money. "You should be more careful. Don't want to get thrown into prison just for a meal." he told the girl without looking at her, adjusting the pack on his back. "The police aren't really forgiving."

[Lanh Huang]

Lanh looked at the boy, her green eyes turning into small slits as she said. “The police tend to have a hard time with someone sharing their skill set.” Just as she finished someone pushed into her, and hissed. There were standing in the door way, Lanh grabbed the boy’s sleeve and pulled him out of the restaurant. She then turned and glared at him once again.

“So what do you want?” Her eyes quickly moved over the boy’s body, she was checking for any metal, Lanh always had an escape plan, or at least she tried to always have one. Like the waitress back there, she had been wearing a necklace, the metal was more refined it would not have been easy but it would have been enough for Lanh to make her escape. It helped that the road was dirt, but Lanh was a much better metal bender.

The boy would be a little harder to deal with then the waitress, he was a strange looking boy, with orange hair, and amber eyes, so he’s likely fire nation, or was at some point. Lanh had met some people from fire nation during her time in republic city, and the one thing she had learned was that most where skilled fighters, there was also the chance that he could be a fire bender.

“I”ve learned one thing while I’ve been here and that is that nothing comes without a price, so what’s your price.” She smiled cleverly to herself. “And then I’ll decide if I wish to pay it.” As she said this Lanh’s hand moved to her hip, laying over her metal chain. She had hinted that she was a metal bender already, a foolish move in hindsight, but maybe he hadn’t caught that. All she needed to do was get him to the ground long enough for her to get away, she needed to plan this carefully thought, she would wait and listen until the time was right for her to attack. The lessons of earth bending where not lost on Lanh.

[Chase Sato]

He took a moment to decipher what she meant, but quickly came to the realization that she was a metal bender. How it felt like every bender he met in this city knew their sub-element except him. He had mastered fire bending a few years back, but had yet to produce any lighting, not without lack of trying. It was infuriating.

As she grabbed his sleeve and pulled him out of the way of the crowd, he glared back at her as she had just done a moment before. He tore his sleeve from her grip, he hated people touching him. 'So what do you want? I've learned one thing while I’ve been here and that is that nothing comes without a price, so what’s your price.' The fire bender raised his eyebrows a small sarcastic sounding laugh escaping his lips. "I didn't do it because I wanted anything." What was wrong with people here? He couldn't help anyone without them thinking he had an ulterior motive. Now that he knew this girl was a metal bender, he probably wouldn't have done what he did. She could have gotten away. He just didn't want to see someone dragged off to jail for something so stupid, while the real criminals ran free throughout the city.

"You're welcome, by the way." he scoffed, turning away from her, beginning to walk away, but then stopped when he heard a meow. Zala was still sitting there, next to the girl, looking up at her. "Zala, common." he called to her, but she didn't move. Her tail twitched as she watched the girl unblinkingly, letting out another meow. Sighing, he turned back around, crossing his arms across his chest, glaring down at her with his red eyes. Why wasn't she listening to him, she always did...

[Lanh Huang]

Lanh crossed her arms over her chest moving her hand away from the chain, she still watched him carefully but seemed to be thinking about what he was saying. She would like to believe what he was saying, that she had just had bad luck in the city and had only met the lowest of the low, she would like to believe that there were some people in this city that where nice. As she watched him she wondered if she could trust him, I could get burned….

Lanh giggled a little to herself, pressing a hand to her forehead, the pun didn’t even need to be spoken to be bad. "You're welcome, by the way." Sighing she realized how rude she was being if he was just being a nice guy. “Thanks…it helps.” She said quietly as she walked away. After a moment there was a soft meow, Lanh jumped a bit to the side and looked down to see a strange little cat beside her. She placed a hand on her chest as she caught her breath. The boy spoke to the cat, but the cat wouldn’t move she looked at him and then back to the creature. She then bent down and said.

“You gave me quite the fright there little kitty.” She reached a hand out slowly and the little cat sniffed her fingers, she stopped and let the animal smell her, when the creature stopped and didn’t run away Lanh moved on to pet the cat. The cat started to purr as she did so, she then looked back at the boy and said.

“I take it she’s yours?” She smiled a little, and stood back up. “I’m sorry, and thank you…I don’t like being in debt to others…it’s not a good thing to be in this city.” She sighed a bit. “Gotten a bit fed up with it all, started to jump on people before they can jump on me.” Reaching her hand out to him and said. “My name’s Lanh, by the way, Lanh Huang”

[Chase Sato]

He was a little annoyed that she wasn't listening to him, but she usually had a pretty good sense about people, and seemed to really like this girl. She purred as the girl pet her, obviously enjoying the attention. He had never seen her take to someone to quickly. "Ya, she's mine." though it probably didn't seem that way to the girl, his own pet not listening to him. He nodded as she spoke, she apparently had been meeting the same kind of people in this city. There were few good ones dotted once in a while, but in general, this city was pretty corrupt, at least from his experience. Growing up he was told that Republic City was a haven, and even though it did have crime, it was mostly under control and safe. He had yet to see that part of this city. Maybe it had been like that at one time, but that's not the way things were now.

"I'm Chase Sato." he mirrored the introduction, giving her a small traditional fire nation bow. Growing up he used to hate his parents ragging on him for not bowing, but it had since just became a habit while greeting people. He wasn't really used to the hand shake, but shook her hand anyways, his grip firm as their hands moved up and down. "I don't want to be nosy, but aren't all metal benders in the police force? Where did you learn?" he couldn't help but ask, metal bending was a pretty rare from of bending, and few taught the art outside of the police academy. Was she one of the rare benders that learned on her own?

[Lanh Huang]

Lanh smiled and nodded a little. “I was at the academy, metal bending is held in pretty high regard back in earth nation.” Lanh paused for a moment and looked around at the busy street. “Though this might not be the best place to talk about it.” She turned and waved a hand signalling for him to follow her.

Lanh was easy enough to pick out in a crowd with her light blonde hair, a colour that was being coming more common but still was in the minority. She weaved her way through the crowd with great skill she lead him down to a ‘poorer’ part of the city, she turned down a little ally it was private and seemed to be a place that someone lived, that someone was Lanh. She sat down and waited a couple minutes to see if Chase was going to sit.

“Like I said, I was at the academy near Yu Dao, parents sent me there as soon as they knew I was a bender, thought it would be good for the family name.” She leaned over to chase and hissed. “Honestly I’m not that good at earth bending, only ever learned enough to move on to metal bending.” She smiled and leaned back against the wall. “I left, they don’t force you to stay, don’t really like it when you leave but you are free to leave. I felt….naive, been at the since I was 8, don’t know much of the world really…thought republic city would be a good place to learn.” Lanh then gave a bitter laugh. “And let me tell you Chase, I got my lessons, this city was quick to teach me what life outside the academy was like.” She rolled her eyes and sounded tired.

"What about you? What's a nice guy like you doing in a city like this." She smirked at him a little after saying this.

[Chase Sato]

So she was from the academy. They must not have liked it very much when she left. It not like their kills were a highly regarded secret, but having the same abilities of the police was no something they wanted to be common. It was the reason they were so effective, their skills were almost undefeated by any bender, if used properly. He had to admit this girl was definitely interesting. So when she beckoned him to follow her, he listened. Usually he wouldn't are, but this was the first metal bender he had met, and they weren't that common, especially ones not in the police force.

He followed close behind her, weaving through the crowd with only a little more difficulty then she had. He was able to see her blond head duck into an alley and he followed. It was fairly cozy for an ally, it looked like she lived here. Well he shouldn't talk, he'd been sleeping in the park mostly. Only a couple of nights he's had to check into an inn because of weather conditions that would not allow him to sleep outside. He took a seat after she sis, sitting cross legged on the ground. Zala swooped in after him and landed beside her owner, sitting down beside him. He listened to her story, nodding as she spoke. Her life had been pretty similar to his own. Except his parents kept him at home instead of shipping him off to an academy.

A tiny bark of laughter escaped his lips at her question. Nice guy? He's never been referred to in that manner before. Back home he was more known for his temper. "Kind of the same reason as you, actually. My parents kept me so sheltered, I felt like I hadn't even experiences half of what I should by now. They expected me to just be happy with the life they had planned out for me..." Being the oldest male from his father, he was the one expected to take his place and lead the noble families. Chase hated the idea of this, he never wanted this for his life. He wanted to travel, train, experience life, things that he couldn't do locked in the politics of the Noble Fire Nation Families.