[Tahrro]Special Delivery

[Yu Lan Tao]

"This city will swallow you up."

That's what she'd been told. The woman who spoke the words had been sitting, stooped over her cup of tea. She'd overheard Yu Lan telling the tea shop owner about her travels. She looked older than anyone Yu Lan could ever remember seeing. The words didn't break Yu Lan's confidence, but the young woman certainly hadn't forgotten them either.

But she was doing pretty well for herself, she thought. She'd managed to find a suitable place to stay. Her tiny, one room apartment might not be much by city standards, but to a girl who spent her life on a boat with four other people, it was certainly spacious enough. So what if she had to walk up five flights of crowded, uneven stairs?

Yu Lan had even found a job she enjoyed. She ran messages and deliveries for a small courier service. They'd even taught her how to drive one of their motorbikes. Soon enough, she had started weaving through the streets of Republic City, learning the ins and outs and navigating like a pro. It helped that Gao was able to fly overhead and guide her.

One particular evening, as the streetlights began to buzz to life, Yu Lan was on her last delivery before checking her bike back in and heading home for the evening. She was bringing a small parcel to an old man that ran an herb shop out of his home int eh Dragon Flats district. Her boss had advised her to get in and out and not waste any time.

She brought the bike to a rumbling halt at a corner under a flickering street light. Shutting off the engine, she slid her riding goggles up to her forehead as she checked the address one more time. It looked like the crooked building to her right was her destination. As Gao landed on the handlebars, squacking "Lan!", she propped the bike on it's kick stand and stepped off. Pulling the package from the basket on the back of the bike, she walked over to the nearby door and knocked.

For a few moments, there's was no response. She was about to knock again when the door suddenly opened, a hand swiped the package from her grip and quickly slammed closed.

"Hey!" Lan shouted, raising a finger at the door. It opened again and a handful of coins came flying out, pelting her in the face and shoulders before falling to the ground. Yu Lan let out a growl of frustration as she stooped to pick up the coins.

"Lan! Go!" Gao squacked. She could hear him hopping about, his wings flapping and his beak clicking. Then she heard the sound of his taking flight. His next call came from somewhere above her. "Go, go!"

"I know, I know." Yu Lan replied to the searaven as she scooped up the last of the coins. "You're WELCOME!" she added to the door before sticking her tongue out and turning back to her motorbike.

"Hey there, little lady." The man was tall and thin, his brown hair hung down past his shoulders. He was leaning on her bike, a wide grin stretching his pencil thin lips. Behind him stood three hulking brutes. They all carried the same, blank expression on their faces.

"Uh, hi." Yu Lan replied, slipping the coins into her pocket. "Can I... help you with something?"

"That depends." replied the thin man, pulling a case of cigarettes from his pocket. He selected one and held it in his mouth as he returned the case. "You gonna play nice and make this easy for us?" He brought a hand up to the end of the cigarette and made a motion, as if striking a lighter. A small flame appeared at the end of his thumb, lighting the cigarette, and then disappeared. He took a long drag, causing the end to glow, before blowing out a cloud of smoke in Yu Lan's direction. "Or do you want to meet my friends?" he gestured to the brutes behind him with a tilt of his head.

[Tahrro Gao Zhai]

“This.” Tahrro’s supervisor placed a thin slip of paper on the waterbender’s head. “This is what you’re worth to us.” Without turning around or getting up from the desk he used to perform his duties, Tahrro dragged the envelope down the side of his head and eyed the stoic man from the corner of one blue eye before ripping it open to see what lay inside. A nice sum of yuans greeted him, not as much as he had hoped for, but more than he had feared getting. “We can give you that and nothing more, no arguments, no spontaneous vacations. If we discover you have any vices, criminal recorded activity or unnatural hobbies, you can expect to be let go immediately with no compensation. Jinra will give you a contract you should sign tomorrow.”

Although his speech had paused abruptly the man was looking at Tahrro as if he had ended with a question. “That suits me just fine,” Tahrro replied, already used to him after the pair of months spent as his apprentice of sorts. There was the briefest hint of a smile on the man face, and it passed just as subtly after a moment, probably the extent of the man’s ability to manifest emotion. He gave Tahrro a pat on the back that felt more like a harmful slap. “Welcome to Future Industries accounting son, may you last more than our last employee on this position.” Tahrro raised an eyebrow. “He died of stress, or so they say,” the supervisor informed him lightly. Tahrro’s eyebrow only raised further. Somehow this solicited to be treated with another reassuring hit on the back. “Anyway, good luck!” With that the man was gone and Tahrro got up, placing paperwork away.

It was his first stable job in the city and although there was reason to celebrate, all Tahrro wished to do was sleep. Eat first, preferably. Tucking the envelope into his pocket and hooking the waterbending pouch to his belt, he felt eager to call it a day. From self-appointed vigilante to peaceful civilian, his life was definitely taking a turn for the different and he could feel it in his muscles that needed more time spent at the gym and less lazing on a chair.

Resolving to work out tomorrow, Tahrro made his way home, the money heavy in his pocket on unsafe streets. The air smelled of evening shadows and the day’s dust. It had been a warm day, hotter than most and everyone was grateful for the sun’s dimming glare, except for firebenders probably. As he neared his current home and his paranoia started getting thoughts of relaxing, he passed a group of people somewhat huddled by one of his neighbor’s doors. Even from the distance he could see one was a woman and her body posture suggested she wasn’t exactly part of the group strategically organized into a leader and his lackeys. Tahrro could spot thugs from a distance, he avoided running straight into them every day.

For the briefest of moments he considered it none of his business. There was four of them and he didn’t expect she could fight. Every day he found out that more and more of the city bred girls had other interests than learning how to protect themselves. Interfering would only get him in trouble along with her. However, his thought was short lived and his steps had already started in their direction. Tahrro worked with odds and numbers but he couldn’t stop to heed them even if they poked him in the eyes.

With hands rested in his pockets casually, he stopped with a noisy last pace a few feet from the others. “Guys, I’ve heard of needing support to invite a girl out for dinner, but someone should let you know you’ve surpassed the age limit for that.” His gaze was set on the obvious leader, the one with an attitude on his face. Although his comment had been a joke, his tone was low and winter was in his eyes. “And if she’s rejected you already, you should take the hint and move on.”

[Yu Lan Tao]

Yu Lan was in a bit of a pickle now. She was fairly certain she could outrun the big thugs, but the firebender... that was a different story. It really wasn't fair. Oh, what was she thinking? Of course it wasn't fair. That's why they were doing it. The thought boiled inside of her, but it wasn't like she was going to lash out. She'd only just gotten here. How sad would it be to die so quickly. If nothing else, Yu Lan didn't want that old lady in the tea shop to be right.

She was about to reach into her pocket to hand over all the money she had when the sound of footsteps stopped her. More? Really? She turned her head in time to see the man stop just a few feet away.

“Guys, I’ve heard of needing support to invite a girl out for dinner, but someone should let you know you’ve surpassed the age limit for that.

“And if she’s rejected you already, you should take the hint and move on.”

The man's comment earned him an arched eyebrow from Yu Lan, who was slowly turning her body to try to keep the growing number of strange men within eyesight. Confused, she bit at her lower lip and glanced at the thin man for his reaction. The look on the newcomer's face made it obvious he wasn't with the four. But was he here to help her? Or was he just some other lowlife hoping to poach their target?

The thin man chuckled, blowing smoke through his nostrils. two fingers plucked the cigarette from between his lips as he pushed himself off of the motorbike.

"Lookie here boys!" he said, gesturing toward the newcomer. "Looks like we've got ourselves a genuine hero!" The thugs provided a few grunts. The thin man stepped closer to the other. "No need to be getting yourself involved, friend." he said, taking another drag from the cigarette. When he let it out, the smoke billowed around the other man's head. "We'll take good care of the lady."

It was at about this moment, when tensions were highest, that Gao's adoration for shiny things got the better of him. The glow of the end of the thin man's cigarette was simply too much to resist. The only warning was the sudden "Mine!" Gao squawked before swooping down and trying to snatch the cigarette with his talons. Instead, he only managed to claw the man's hand, causing him to yelp in pain and send a fireball after the now retreating bird.

As if on some unspoken cue, Yu Lan and all three thugs began to move. Yu Lan dashed forward, but quickly changed course when one thug stepped between her and the bike. The thin man, seeing Yu Lan in her apparent attempted escape, kicked out an arc of flames, causing the woman to have to turn again. This sent her bumping straight into one of the thugs' chests. She dropped straight to the ground as the man's massive arms attempted to catch her. She rolled sideways and then sprang to her feet, only to have to duck again as another blast of fire came her way.

"Gao, home!" she cried to the searaven as she continued to dodge attacks. The last thing she needed was her pet burned to a crisp. If she could just get to her bike...

[Tahrro Gao Zhai]

The thug’s short laugh and few words left Tahrro unfazed. While the other remained cordial, all he could think of was analyzing the group’s positions, trying, by noting the way they kept themselves and any gestures they displayed to tell how many were benders. Clearly the lump of ego and confidence before him was one, smoke came out of him like from a furnace, Tahrro would bet his left hand this was a firebender. When the thug advanced towards him, every muscle in his body tensed, ready to spring into action should he need it but he remained unmoving.

Smoke was blown his way, heavy and foul. Tahrro stared blankly. The fact this man seemed so cocky would work to his advantage, very few truly skilled fighters didn’t know modesty and caution. The practice of both would make sure you lived longer and those with true experience didn’t allow themselves the luxury of mistake. Then again, the odds were in his favor, he had all right to be confident, but something about his attitude just screamed little dog with excessive bark. Why else would he be going for easy pickings, even giving Tahrro the option of walking out where he could have seen a new target? Tahrro’s eyes narrowed slightly. Unless this wasn’t about robbery at all.

A dark bird swooped down, distracting the now confirmed firebender, his fire set in pursuit after it. Everything happened within a moment. The firebender made his second and last mistake, kicking a wave flame towards the woman. Tahrro’s water pouch was already undone, a thick blade of ice with a nasty sharp end quickly shaped onto his arm. “Don’t turn your back on strangers,” Tahrro advised well below a whisper. Before the thug had time to turn around its blunt length had already collided with the back of his head, sending him into unconsciousness.

The other three didn’t seem in possession of bending, but that alone was no reason to underestimate them. However, if they were as brainless as their leader, Tahrro had no worries. While two scrambled about, trying to catch the woman, the third found some wisdom and turned to face the waterbender. His attack consisted of a barbaric yell and a full on assault. This had to be the lamest gang of ruffians Tahrro had ever seen, not that he was complaining or urging karma to send him a real fight next time. The waterbender’s left hand came in a downward sweep, dragging water from his bending pouch along and shaping it into a flowing whip. The man lunged at him with all his weight and momentum and Tahrro dodged, sending the whip forward and having the big lug trip over it and suffer the impact of his own applied force.

With another swift blow to the head, the thug was out. Out of consideration and wishing to keep things clean, Tahrro had even blunted the edge of his ice blade. His eyes held the cold narrow of a practiced slayer, four years of fighting bandits, murderers and general world scum leaving a taint. Not every battle went without loss of life, but he preferred it when they did. The group’s inexperience would very well save them.

The two remaining men, possessed of one track minds, decided to go for a coordinated attack on the woman, each coming at her from a different direction. Tahrro directed his water whip to the closest of the two, grabbing his leg and tugging back hard while sending a ball of ice straight at the other’s head.

[Yu Lan Tao]

It didn't take long for Yu Lan to figure out that the two thugs that had ganged up on her in the chaos after Gao's moment of stupidity were all but brainless. They continued time and again to come at her with flailing, thoughtless attacks. Their size made them slow, and it also had them tiring easily. So Yu Lan did what she did best in these situations, she danced around them, almost literally. The more they tired, the easier it got.

Then suddenly, the thugs were on either side of her, both rushing to smash her to bits. In her dancing, Yu Lan had failed to noticed she'd backed herself toward a wall. With the wall behind her, the thugs to either side, and the still somewhat shady waterbender in front of her, Yu Lan found herself with nowhere to run. So she did the only sensible thing she could think of. She ducked down and covered her head.

Instead of being smashed, however, Yu Lan heard a heavy thump!, followed by a shattering noise, and then another thump. When she peaked her head out, the two thugs were on the ground, unconscious. Yu Lan continued to crouch there for a moment, her eyes darting between the four unconscious figures around her, then back to the man, who seemed unnaturally calm considering the situation.

That's about when she realized how silly she must look, still cowering on the ground. She stood up and cleared her throat. "Wow, ummm... thanks." she said, offering an uneasy smile.

She didn't move though. Not toward the man, or toward her bike. She was still very uneasy and unsure of who this guy was, or what he might actually want. Her left hand lifted to clutch at her right arm, but when her fingers touched her bicep, a stinging sensation shot through her arm. With a gasp, Yu Lan looked down to find the skin of her upper right arm had turned a bright red. One of the firebender's attacks seemed to have found its mark after all. It didn't seem that serious though. She could probably treat it once she was home.

Home. Right. That was where she needed to be right about now. Her eyes glanced up at the waterbender again, warily. She started to walk slowly, sideways toward the bike. "Well, I... I don't really have anything I can give you. Sorry... But that was very nice of you."

She smiled again, awkwardly, hoping that the man didn't expect some kind of reward for what he did. If he was expecting something, he'd be disappointed. She had no money. None of her own at least.

[Tahrro Gao Zhai]

Tahrro was already collecting his scattered water when she thanked him, fluid gestures sending it flying back into his bending pouch. Part of his attention stayed with the unconscious men, wary of any stirs. “Keep your eyes on your back when you travel through this district,” he replied simply, finishing his work and rolling the lid shut. It wasn’t every incident that he had quite such luck when it came to adversaries, next time he would probably be caught in a death trap, as balance dictated.

She issued a brief gasp and Tahrro looked up, immediately tense, but there was no new threat in sight. The woman seemed to be staring at her arm and even from his position he could see the violent shade of red her skin had taken. She started walking and so did he, heading for her. “I don’t need anything,” he assured her and removed the lid off a different water pouch, a tiny little thing that could have been a coin purse. The water in this one was clean and he changed it after every use.

Raising an eyebrow he motioned his head to her arm, one of his hands extending slowly towards it but stopping before it could touch. “This’ll turn into a nasty coat of blisters in a few moments.” Unless he applied what little he knew of healing to cool the area down and restore some fluid to the singed cells. Tahrro was no healer, he had never had the patience for it, but he was capable of first aid. With his new lifestyle and slow departure from the path of fighting, he thought he should find some time to start learning. He found that with every passing year his patience grew and lust for action dulled.

“What was that bird?” He asked as an afterthought, briefly glancing around, unsure where the animal had ventured. Talking birds were a rare sight and he had to wonder how many words she had taught him, for he assumed the creature was hers. Evening was upon them and he didn’t know how much longer before the thugs would regain their senses. Although he doubted they would wake up thirsting for a rematch, he didn’t trust their idiocy to be above it. Hopefully this woman would either accept or refuse his offer to spare her a week’s worth discomfort with some haste.

[Yu Lan Tao]

When the man moved toward her, Yu Lan instinctively stepped back. She didn't get very far, however, thanks to that pesky wall behind her. By now, the man was already close to her, and he reached out toward her arm. Yu Lan tensed, but he never touched it.

“This’ll turn into a nasty coat of blisters in a few moments.”

She noticed the other water pouch then. Was he going to heal her? She'd seen it done before, had always been somewhat mesmerized by the process. But he was a stranger. A stranger that just saved you, you idiot. Surely, if he was just some other criminal, he'd have attacked her too by now... right?

Hesitantly, she turned her body so that her injured arm was open to him. It was then that he asked about the bird and Yu Lan also looked up to see if he was still around, but it was dark and he'd be impossible to see.

"That was Gao. He's..."

"Gao!" As if on cue, the searaven came gliding down and perched himself on Yu Lan's left shoulder. He clicked his beak a few times and pecked affectionately in her hair before turning his head to give the man a sidelong stare.

"He likes shiny things." she finished, reaching up to stroke his feathers with her left hand.

"Eat!" the bird cried. Yu Lan smiled, shaking her head as she dug into a pocket and pulled out some bread crumbs. The bird pecked at them happily, even trying to share some with Yu Lan by holding them up to her face. She had to shrug her shoulder to get the bird to hop up and glide over to the motorbike.

"I'm Yu Lan, by the way." shaking the last of the crumbs from her hand. "You got a name?"

[Tahrro Gao Zhai]

She vibrated nerves and Tahrro had the urge to back off and leave her be. He didn’t enjoy it when people seemed afraid of him, not that he was willing to appear more openly friendly and reassuring. Having tried various social masks in the past, he wasn’t eager to invest the effort. A fake guise didn’t do in the long run.

Just when he was about to make a move to turn her position shifted, injured arm brought forth for inspection. Wasting no time, he drew some water from the tiny pouch with a wavy gesture, the liquid crystal clear, and gently spread it over her slightly burnt skin. She informed him that he shared a name with the bird, reminding him of the last name he no longer acknowledged. The water glowed and cooled as he focused on mending some of the damage caused to her skin and he found himself capable of precision unavailable in his youth.

The talking bird was on her shoulder now, giving him a probing look. “What?” He asked it, just to acknowledge its presence if nothing else, however, he was curious about the extent of its intellect. Quickly fed and then shrugged off, it was down to the two of them again.

The woman introduced herself and asked for a name in turn. Half invested in sustained healing, the waterbender gave her a brief glance. “No, I was raised by badgermoles and later no one thought to give me one,” he joked without sounding like he was joking and without knowing why he had employed the near sarcasm. Perhaps it had been something in the way she had asked. “Tahrro,” he informed in the end, lips curling into the briefest smile.

Behind them one of the thugs stirred, moaning but not waking. Tahrro focused intensely on his task once more, the blanket of water giving a bright sheen, then he removed it and sent it back into the pouch. The once violent red of her skin was paler and it would still sting and bruise over the week, but if his application of knowledge was right, he should have prevented it from turning into painful blisters.

“You and Gao should get going. There’s no telling how long before these guys wake up.” And he wasn’t looking forward to fighting them again should they choose to display more stupidity. After briefly studying her bright eyes he turned, meaning to sever the string of chance encounter while wonder what her life was like and if he could have found out if they had met in different circumstances. When he glanced back over his shoulder he had more advice. “Stay on the bike next time. Easier to get away like that.” He was giving her a backhanded wave.



[OOC: If this interaction expires here, we could bring a little irony into it and have them bump into each other again the next day or something? Like literally having them collide while coming from opposite streets that meet at the same building corner or I don't know.]

[Yu Lan Tao]

From the moment he had the water out of the pouch, Yu Lan's gaze was fixed on his hands, watching the way they moved and manipulated the liquid. When it touched her skin, there was immediate relief. It cooled and caused her skin to tingle, sending a shiver down her spine. It was a bizarre feeling, one that she couldn't possibly explain. The water glowed as he worked. It was really quite beautiful.

When he offered his sarcastic remark, Yu Lan couldn't help but look at him confused. She was worried for a moment that perhaps she'd offended him. But when he offered his name with that briefest of smiles, she decided it had all just been an awkward attempt at humor. So she smiled in return.

"Not gonna lie. It's nice to meet you, Tahrro." she said.

"Ta!" cried Gao.

"Well whatdya know. I think he likes you."

Tahrro finished up as one of the thugs began to stir. Yu Lan studied her arm. It was still pretty tender, but it didn't feel like it was on fire anymore. A little bit of salve and maybe a bandage and she was sure it'd be better in no time.

"Yeah." she said, when he had suggested they get going. "Thanks again, Tahrro. You were a life saver." He'd looked up, and so had she, and for a moment, neither moved. Then Tahrro turned and started walking away. But after a few paces, he'd looked back over his shoulder, offering one last bit of advice.

"Right." she said, with a bit of a chuckle as she stepped to the bike and swung one leg over it. Gao squawked and flapped his wings, rising up into the air and landing on the light pole once again. Yu Lan lowered her goggles into place over her eyes, kick started the bike and popped up the rest. Making a u-turn on the street, she drove back by Tahrro, giving him a quick wave and one last glance before speeding off down the street.

Gao lingered for a moment. "Ta!" he squawked one last time before swooping low just to the side of the man's head and the back up into the night sky to follow his master home.


[[OOC: That sounds good. Would you want to do a different thread? Or just continue in this one with a "The next day..."?]]

[Tahrro Gao Zhai]

The bird flew by his head as he retreated away, once more squawking the abbreviated first syllable of his name. Tahrro looked after it and his mistress as they zoomed off, feeling weary now that the adrenaline of battle had drained from him. This neighborhood was too dangerous for his taste and he resolved to have visions of living in the safer district. Perhaps he could even afford it now, if he cut back on the comfort of his lifestyle. However, he enjoyed being able to eat expensively, dress fancy and save up money. If keeping that meant living in the danger zone, then so be it.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Having the next day off, Tahrro woke up late, sun streaming in through the blinds and hurting his eyes. One of these days he had to remember to buy some dark curtains. It didn’t take long for him to pull on a shirt the color of midnight with matching pants and a green vest on top. As he had breakfast he contemplated how to spend his day, remembering quickly that he had wished to train.

In a half hour he was heading out, a small bag slung on his back, containing gear he would change into at the gym. Morning air greeted him crisp and bright, making him walk close to the building in shade, so close his bag scraped across the worn bricks occasionally. The waterbender always shied away from the sun, its powerful glare upsetting his sensitive eyes. If it were up to him he’d paint the day in moonlight and forget there had ever been such a thing as sunlight.

With discomfort in mind, his pace quickened. Coming around a corner, he rammed into someone arriving from the opposite direction with such force it sent him reeling backward, bag dropping from his grip and falling at his feet. When he looked up, it was with surprise that he noted the same woman he had encountered the evening before. “Sorry about that,” he said, shouldering the bag again. One of his eyebrows rose at the improbable situation. “Taken a liking to the neighborhood?”

His face was sporting a lopsided smile.


[OOC: Sorry for the blah reply, hope it works and let me know if you'd like anything changed!]