[Kianna] Don't know when to quit

[Saaga Sun]

The street lamps were slowly lighting up when she locked the doors of the glass emporium and drew down the steel shutters. There was still a dash of pinkish red to be seen on the western horizon, but overall the evening had turned into night and there was very little traffic on the streets. In fact she had just missed the last tram as well.

Saaga sighed and checked once more that the door was secure and locked before she stashed her keys inside her shoulder bag. The thing was heavy with books and ledgers she’d borrowed from master Zhang and she was fairly sure she could have used it to knock someone out if a need for such an act should present itself. She started walking in the general direction of her home district, cursing silently for not being able to finish her work sooner. It was a long walk home and the neighborhoods she needed to cross were not all filled with friendly inhabitants.

She thought back to the day she’d had her ‘serious talk’ with Zhang, about how he was working her to the ground and here she was doing the exact same thing, only this time she was doing it voluntarily. Even her boss had quipped about it, asking whether she had started complaining on principle or out of spite and not because she was feeling distressed about the work load. She had told him there was a difference doing something because you loved doing it and doing something because some old lunatic would not shut up about it if she didn’t. But she had to admit there was a certain irony to the current situation and she doubted her working long hours was making anyone else happy except herself.

Deep in thought, Saaga had walked for what seemed like hours but what was more likely closer to half an hour or a little more. Her shoulder bag kept sliding down on her arm and she needed to adjust it frequently. Her feet were chafed and blistered from the sandals and despite the streets being filthy she took them off and continued her trek barefooted. It didn’t take long for the soles of her feet to turn black with dust from the pavement.

“Hey, sweetie. Why’s such a pretty thing walking alone this time of night?” a male voice said and instinctively she turned to look even though she knew it would have been better to keep walking.

There were two of them, both equally inebriated from what she could tell from their bloodshot eyes and wobbly dispositions and both aged somewhere between their late twenties, early thirties. She was not good at estimating ages anyway. One was tall and rather heavily built and the other was of middling height and lean. They didn’t seem to be homeless tramps, more like two average guys out cruising the town.

Saaga did not bother to answer them and continued to walk onwards, but she had already made the mistake of acknowledging their presence. She bit her lower lip more than a little frustrated when the taller one jogged past her and proceeded to block her way. And wouldn’t you know, the other one came up behind her.

“Listen honey, I just asked you a question,” the man in front of her said and leaned a little closer, forcing her to take a step back so she didn’t have to smell his breath.

“And I chose not to answer. And you can keep your honeys to yourself,” she snapped at him as she was not one to be patient with strange drunks, hell she was not known for her patience even among sober folks. But she regretted saying it the moment she saw his happy drunken grin turn into an upset frown. She looked around hastily, but the two blocked some of the view and from what she could see the street was as good as deserted.

She heard the scraping sound of shoes on pavement as the man behind her drew closer. At that moment, she didn’t know what else to do but to drop her shoes and swing her shoulder bag as hard as she could to try and make a break for it. It collided with the taller man’s hip with a nasty thud making him stumble sideways and she would have run right then if the other didn’t grab her from the wrist and pull her back, twisting her arm painfully.

“I think you should apologize to my friend,” he said, sounding much more sober than his friend and a lot more frightening.

“Let go! Let go of me now!” she yelled, trying to fight off the fearful tremor in her voice. She tried to squirm away from his grip, but he was taller and stronger than her. And he had his friend with him, even if he was currently more focused on attending to his hip. She hoped it would bruise up well and good.

“I’ll scream! You see if I don’t! HEL--!” she started but the flickering of a flame from his fingertips made her fall strangely silent.

“What’s going to happen to me? What should I do? There’s two of them, what am I going to do?! Someone help me!” she thought, looking around desperate for a way out.

[Kianna Aoki]

The warm sun that had covered Republic City all day had been replaced by a cold chilly evening. The crisp night air was only interrupted by the two figures and the little puffs of their warm breath. The strange chill caused Kianna to pause from her story for a second to pull her coat tighter around her body. After regaining some of her body warmth, she continued to ecstatically recount her day to Juno.

“No seriously, you should have seen me,” exclaimed the girl excitedly, throwing up her arms. She was walking ahead of the tigerdillo making large, swinging gestures with her arms whilst the animal gave her what she assumed was an amused look.

"At first, they were all staring me down, how they usually do because of this,” She waved causally at her petite body and the animal bobbed its head understandingly, “But then BAM!” She bounded into the air, landing swiftly with her hands raised above her head, “before they knew it I’d knocked them ALL over! All of them Juno!”

“They’ll never judge a book by its cover again, am I right?” Kianna said with cheeky grin. Returning to the animal's side she looped her arms around his neck, snuggling into his fuzzy coat. She could certainly get used to this kind of life; water bending every day, extensive research at the library whenever she could and especially doing what she wanted, not what someone else expected her to do. She sighed contently, more than happy with all she’d accomplished not only today, but throughout the whole six months she’d been in the city.

"Oh!” She piped up suddenly, as another important fact about her day popped into her head. The animal jolted underneath her at the unexpected movement and the girl failed miserably at attempting to stifle her giggles. "Sorry Ju, didn’t realise I was so close to your ear," she muttered, scratching at the animal’s neck apologetically, "But I remembered something else. You know that water whip move I’ve been stuck on for ages?”

Kianna unwound her arms from his neck and reached up to grab the water skin she had attached to the opposite side of the saddle. When her hands met smooth fur, she huffed and mentally cursed her short height. Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration as the girl attempted to hoist herself as gently as she could onto the tigerdillo’s back, hoping he wouldn’t notice her struggle through his hard shell. However as her arm stretched out to try to grasp for the pouch again, it was easily in her reach.

Puzzled for a moment as she landed lightly on her feet, grasping the pouch, she realised the animal must have noticed her feeble attempts and helped her. “Thanks Juno,” she muttered sheepishly, giving him a scratch behind his ear as she passed him. Moving in front of the animal, she signalled for him to stop with open palms then slid the pouch across her body. She popped the top off the water skin and took a deep breath in, positioned her hands and focused her energy on drawing the liquid out of the small bag.

Suddenly the tigerdillo growled, his eyes glaring past her. “Ju--?” She didn’t get a chance to finish as he sped to her, shoving her into the dark shadows with his huge body. Highly confused by his actions she wriggled against him, about to ask him what the hell was going on. “Wha--” Kianna started to ask but quickly realised that her mouth was full of fur. “Ew Juno! Your hairs in my mouth,” wheezed the girl, removing chunks of hair that were now coated in her saliva and dropping them beside her. “What’re we even doing?” she grumbled, peering around the animal’s large frame to see into the dimly lit street.

A little way down the street, Kianna could see the figures of three people. Two males; one was bent over, clutching at his side whilst the other was standing way too close to the third figure; the female. Kianna stared for a few seconds trying to figure out what was going on, when it clicked.

The woman was being attacked.

Instantly she began to struggle against Juno, trying to move him out of the way. “Move Juno. C’mon. We can’t just sit here and watch. We have to do something!” she hissed urgently into his large ear. The girl shoved harder against his side, but the animal was just as determined and he pushed her further into the shadows.

“I think you should apologize to my friend.”

Juno and Kianna froze, forgetting their efforts and focusing in on the man holding onto the girl. That sounded too familiar. It couldn’t be, could it? Kianna’s heartbeat quickened and she could feel the adrenaline starting to pump through her veins. She took a few steps forward, trying to assess the man’s face from this distance. It was difficult, but maybe, maybe it could be him. Her brother. Rokuro.

She turned, giving Juno a serious look as she took his face in her hands. “You know the signal, wait for it,” she whispered and pressed their foreheads together. Juno blinked to show he understood and Kianna turned her attention back to the scene in front of her. With another deep breath in, she began to drag a stream of water out of her water skin. She watched as the fingertips of ‘Rokuro’ lit with flames. She aimed carefully and when she was certain, sent a small water bullet at the firebender’s burning fingertips. Her victory was bittersweet as she watched her water engulf the flame and the fire was extinguished.

Adrenaline fueling her motions, she bravely stepped out of the shadows and into the light. The water swirled in between her hands as she took a step closer. Her eyes were darkened with confusion and anger; she was trying to put the situation together in her head. If this did turn out to be her brother, then what the hell was he doing? Why was he here? Why had they attacked this woman?

Trying to clear her head, she focused on flinging a jet of water at the hurt man, who apparently hadn’t noticed her, pushing him further away from them and forcing him face down against the ground. She looked intensely at the firebender, her voice low and menacing.

“I don’t think she needs to say anything to either of you,” she spat at him, waiting to see what he’d say in return. If it was him, would her even recognise her? His little sister? Currently, that wasn't the most important thing though. She had to get this woman out of here safe and sound. Glancing at the woman quickly, she tried to express to her in that millisecond of eye contact that everything was going to be alright and that she’d get her out of here.

“I also think you should release your grip,” Kianna said through gritted teeth. The firebender was speechless; but she wasn’t sure if it was because it was indeed Rokuro or this guy was just in shock to see a small, 18 year old girl being so boldly trying to battle him. Regardless, she took this opportunity to turn her swirling ball of water into a tendril, making it fly across the space between them and wrap tightly around the firebender’s wrist. She harshly tugged on the stream of water, hoping she’d loosened the guy’s wrist enough to give the woman time to pull herself free.

[Saaga Sun]

Squirming against his hold and fighting back seemed pointless as long as the man was threatening her with a fist full of fire. Saaga did not fear the element, but she was not foolish enough to try and break free and risk him setting her clothes on fire or her face. The sight of the flame brought some bad memories to mind and she tried to avoid directly looking at it. Judging from the expression on her assailant’s face he was reveling in the fact that this little gesture of his had turned her into a meek little mouse. She hated him for it and felt more than a little disgusted for not being able to defend herself.

However his triumph over her and her self-loathing were both interrupted by a blast of water aimed to put out the flames on his hand, which it did. The surprised look on the man’s face would have made her laugh if she wasn’t equally as shocked as him.

And before either of them could turn to see what the hell was happening, another, much bigger blast of water rid the lean man of his companion. For a while it would at least. The tall, stocky man flew back a few feet and landed face first on the pavement with a wet crackle signaling a possibly broken nose. He tried to rise but slumped back on the ground, a big sodden heap of flesh.

The firebender looked at his unconscious friend, eyes wide and then turned to face their attacker gripping Saaga’s wrist more furiously and pulling her closer as if to use her as a shield. She probably should’ve been more scared of this turn of events but just the thought of someone coming to her aid was making her feel hopeful that maybe this ordeal would turn out for the better.

She followed the firebender’s example and turned her attention to the person come over and the sight of her made her feel anxious again. She was pretty much the same height as her and because of that did not look very menacing no matter how much she scowled. But at least she was a bender. That must’ve counted for something, right?

“I don’t think she needs to say anything to either of you. I also think you should release your grip,” Saaga heard her say and could not help but nod vigorously at the statement, even as the man holding onto her burst out laughing.

“I think not. You’re just a little girl and little girls don’t tell me what to do,” he answered and tightened his grip around Saaga’s wrist so much she thought for sure he’d snap her arm in two. Her eyes welled up with pain, but she refused to cry out. That would’ve just made him happy.

He didn’t get to enjoy his amusement for long though as the petite girl shot a tendril of water at him, which coiled around his wrist like a whip. When she gave it a yank, he stumbled forward a little and Saaga thought for a second that he was going to fall and take her down with him.

“Now you’ve done it!” he shouted and gave Saaga a harsh shove so she would not be obstructing his fighting this blasted upstart of a waterbender who did not seem to know to mind her own business.

The shove made Saaga stumble forward and she tried to brace the fall with her hands, resulting in some nasty scrapes on her wrists and palms. She didn’t have time to dwell on the pain however; there was a young girl about to fight with this obnoxious man. She didn’t have time to just sit there and do nothing. Now where was her bag?

“I’ll make you wish you were still at home clutching your mother’s apron strings,” the firebender was saying as he shot a large burst of flame from the hand that was not constricted by a coil of water. He shot another blast by swinging his leg in an elegant arch, or rather it would have looked elegant if he’d been completely sober and had more precise control over his limbs.

[Kianna Aoki]

Kianna was breathing heavily, waiting for some sort of reaction from the firebender. She smirked in triumph as she watched him topple a little, losing his balance. Moving to collect her bending water, she hesitated and left it coiled around his wrist. She wasn't sure what the bender was going to do next and she wanted to protect herself as well as she could.

The man's laughter troubled her as it echoed down the dark street. Her heart twinged sadly, the familiarity of the noise washing over her. She’d never mistake his laugh; it’d been burnt into her memory from a very young age. Usually it was a sound that placated her, but now it just made her feel sick. This was without a doubt her brother and for a brief moment Kianna allowed sorrow to overcome her fury. She wanted to search for his eyes, as if to confirm what she already knew was the truth. She wanted to run to him and hug him but she was rooted to the spot, too hurt and confused about what he was doing here.

“I think not." His words cut through her thoughts and she focused on his voice. “You’re just a little girl and little girls don’t tell me what to do,” her face hardened as she scoffed at the words; she’d been expecting some petty comment about her size and it rolled off her back.

But as Kianna’s mind began to process the words, something snapped within her, driving her over the edge. Her body froze, stunned to hear those words coming out of his mouth. Her face contorted with pure rage, the flowing movements of her body suddenly rigid. The words had reminded her of exactly what their father thought of them and their bending, all of his own doubts forced on his children. Just because she was a ‘little girl’ didn’t mean she was incapable of anything. Or that the she needed to be put in her ‘place’.

"You don’t have any idea of what I'm capable of," she fumed, replaying the same words that Rokuro had said to their father. Giving him an icy stare, she watched as the words jogged the memory of the man and the confusion was plain on his face.

”Now you’ve done it!” were the next words out of the firebender’s mouth as he shook off his look of uncertainty. She hadn't come here to fight but now she relished in the thought of it, keen to prove herself as a worthy opponent. Suddenly the waterbender remembered the other woman and was relieved to see she had been pushed aside. Apart from a few cuts and bruises that would hopefully be the worst for her. Kianna wasn't so sure for herself and she poised herself, ready to take whatever her brother threw at her. Bring it on Rokuro.

"I’ll make you wish you were still at home clutching your mother’s apron strings," Kianna only had time to growl, no time to spit out a witty retort, as she turned to see her brother direct a mass of flames in her direction. A small yelp of surprise escaped from her lips and she instinctively tried to gather her water back. In her haste, she forgot to break the belt of water from Rokuro’s wrist and the action jerked the man out of his stance, disrupting his aim.

Kianna held her breath as she felt the intense heat burn through her thin shirt and scorch her skin, instead of striking her through her centre, in her stomach. She pushed through the blistering pain; she’d fix that later, and watched another shot of burning energy being thrown her way. The girl cringed reluctantly at her brother’s sloppy foot work and wanted to shout out encouragement at him, to try again, with his ankle a little higher. It reminded her of the practice battles from their youth and she tried to push this to the back of her mind as she created a protective shield of liquid in front of her.

She watched the heap of flames soar straight past her, not even close to hitting her. “Damnit!” snarled Rokuro and he punched three balls of flame at the waterbending girl. Knowing his moves and foreseeing his actions, she spun the water over her head and sent it soaring at the spheres of inferno. They were quenched by her water and she then gracefully swung her arms behind her, halting them above her head.

There was a loud whooshing from behind her and Kianna felt some stray droplets of water on her cheeks. A giant gush of water rushed around her and she commanded it forward towards her brother, hoping to knock him over before he could do anymore damage.

[Saaga Sun]

Watching the two benders had made Saaga forget about herself for a moment. She had never witnessed an actual bending battle; in fact she had not really witnessed any kind of bending first hand. She was awed and a little scared at the same time, thinking it wouldn’t be long until she’d really get caught in between them as the fight was starting get more and more out of hand.

She stood up and winced in pain, realizing she’d broken a toenail during her fall to add to her other minor injuries and her foot was now a bloody grimy mess. There was an urge to crouch down and assess the damage, but she gritted her teeth stubbornly and went for her bag instead. It had fallen on the pavement when the firebender had grabbed her and its contents were spilled on the ground, leather bound books and ledgers and some sample pieces of colored glass. She knelt down and started stashing them back inside the bag, all the while keeping an eye on the fight.

With the clashing of fire and water she was reminded again of the night she’d left her island home with her mother and some others. When they’d set foot on the beach most of the boats had been set a flame. It was a wonder what desperate acts desperate people pulled in a fit of jealousy and anguish. A selfish declaration of ‘it’s not fair if I should die alone’. That whole night had been utter chaos and somehow she felt like she was reliving it now.

She stood up holding her bag, trying not to care about the stinging pain of her wrist, made worse by the sudden weight. She turned her full attention to the ensuing fight scene just as the young woman was pelting the man with a hose of water. He tried blocking it with a wall of flame but was not able to hold his stance and stumbled back a few steps, balancing himself with outstretched arms.

Nobody was paying any attention to Saaga. The stocky man still lay on the ground unmoving and these two were wrapped up in their own grudge match. Somehow it seemed to have gotten overly personal, but she could care less about whatever was going on between them. This man had assaulted her and she had her own bone to pick with him. And him being preoccupied with the waterbender gave her an opening. She charged at him from behind just as he was getting ready to blast the other girl with a round of fire and swung her bag to hit him hard on his lower back. He bent over slightly, letting out a surprised yelp and as he turned to look at her, Saaga swung her bag again, hitting him square on the jaw.

He fell to his knees, spitting blood and moaning in pain. Apparently he’d bitten his tongue.

She looked at him triumphantly feeling the rush of adrenaline pumping inside. But as she watched him writhe there, she realized she’d done a stupid thing. He’d get up from there and once he did, she’d be toast. Quite literally.

“I should run. I should run and not look back. Move legs, move!” she thought, looking around frantically and trying to will herself to move. But it felt like all her energy had gone to hitting her assailant. Why the hell had she gone and done that, when she could have used the opportunity to get away? Oh yes, it was her pride. No doubt it would end up killing her one of these days.

[Kianna Aoki]

The waterbender’s cascade of liquid crashed over Rokuro. Kianna twirled her arms, gathering up the water as it pooled around the man. But she didn’t bother siphoning the water off him, his hair and clothes clinging to this thin form. Inwardly patting herself on her back for a job well done, Kianna was preparing for him to admit defeat and apologize.

But she was wrong. Instead of being defeated her brother just seemed more determined. She gasped, shocked when she saw that he was suddenly dry. The water that drenched his body and clothes turned to steam, evaporating into the cold air around him.

Distracted, she only had a split second to prepare as Rokuro launched a blade of heat in her direction. In return, she slid her left foot forward and threw a powerful hose of liquid at him. She had the advantage; there was too much water for him to evaporate fast enough and his barrier of fire faltered, causing him to stagger backwards.

Kianna paused her assault, worried for a second that it’d all been too much for him. But she realized her own mistake as she watched the bender take position to attack her again. She hastily tried to conjure enough water to bend a protective sheet in front of her and squeezed her eyes shut, somehow thinking it would protect them from the inevitable flames.

But the onslaught never came and instead Kianna heard a loud ‘thwack!’ Melting her shield away, the girl stared at the scene in front of her. Her face fell, her bright eyes darting between her brother and the woman’s bag. She winced as she saw the bag swing; hitting Rokuro across his jaw. The man dropped and Kianna’s eyes grew wide when she’d noticed the trickle of red mixing in with the liquid on the ground.

Jumping into action, the waterbender clicked her tongue twice and began to race over to the scene in front of her. She could tell Juno wasn’t far behind her by the sound of his stride and she slid into the tiny gap between the firebender and the woman, whilst Juno went to lounge next to the lady.

She stole a quick glance at the other man. Still knocked out, but she could see his chest rising so she wasn’t too concerned. Haven’t murdered anyone yet, what an achievement! She thought sarcastically and turned her attention back to the situation in front of her. She took a deep breath hoping to calm herself and glared down at the firebender.

“What the fuck are you doing Rokuro?” She snarled, unable to keep the irritation from her voice. “I just--I can't--“she spluttered as her fingers began pressing painfully on her temples. “Why would you do that?” Goodbye cool, calm & collected self!”

She was towering over him, which was an achievement of someone of her height, her hands on her hips when he finally turned to look at her. She noticed his amber eyes widening in disbelief and his mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. If she wasn’t so blinded by anger, she probably would’ve laughed at his ridiculous expression. But in her rage Kianna ignored it and jumped straight back into her rant.

“Is this what you’re doing here? Just attacking random people?” She didn’t realise she was shouting until she felt a gentle nudge; Juno had pushed his nose into her back. She lowered her voice though the irritation was still clear. “And for what? Fun? What exactly were you even planning on doing--” she paused as her mind assumed an answer and she threw him a filthy look. “I don’t even want to know Rokuro,” the waterbender spat at him and she forced herself to circle away from his pathetic figure.

[red]"Ki –Kianna?"[/red] His voice was quiet and she peered over her shoulder, expecting him to still be a mess on the ground. Instead he was standing, blood dripping from his mouth and staring into her eyes. She twisted around to face him and nodded sadly, now unable to tear her eyes away.

There was an awkward pause as comprehension dawned across his bloody features. He hesitantly reached his arms out to touch her shoulders but she pulled away, reliving all the damage those hands had done moments ago. She moved to securely wrap her arms around herself but forgot about her new injury. It stung as her thin fingers touched the open wound and she subconsciously let out a small whimper of pain.

The firebender’s eyes shifted from her arm to figures in front of him. [red]”I – I’m so sorry,”[/red] his voiced cracked as he looked over at the woman, eyes full of regret. Kianna sighed quietly, reminded of how young they still were, trying to prevent the tears welling up in her eyes from spilling down onto her cheeks.

[red]”I’m sorry,”[/red] He looked at the tigerdillo and Kianna’s oozing arm, finally resting his eyes on the waterbender’s face. His expression broke her heart and she couldn’t bear seeing him like this, reaching out to comfort him. He jerked out of her reach and slowing started backing away from them. She was shocked; no, he couldn’t be doing this again. Running away from his problems, he wouldn’t be doing this to them, to her, again? This can’t be happening, she thought as he slowly jogged away from them. She apprehensively took a step forward, unsure about what to do next.

“No…Rokuro. Wait!” Kianna found her voice, the tears flowing freely now as she made to go after him. He was too fast for her, even with his injured back and had already reached the portly man. He gave him a small kick causing the man to stir before continuing to sprint down the street. The girl opened her mouth to yell to him, to call him back but nothing came out. She stared blankly after him, wanting with every fibre of her being for him to turn around. But he didn’t. He just kept running, only turning back to look at her one last time and then sprinting away into the darkness.

Before she knew it she’d dropped to her knees and started to sob, the grief completely overwhelming her.

[Saaga Sun]

Her feelings of slight panic and distress were alleviated somewhat, when the waterbender ran between her and the now bleeding human waste bag that was her assailant. Her relief was muddled however by the inclusion of a furry beast which ran to her side at the behest of the other woman. She looked at it, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape, but could not summon enough energy to actually make a comment about its appearance. Besides, it was not the first time she’d seen a wild animal freely roaming the city by the pretense of being someone’s pet or steed or whatever the proper term for it was.

Things were happening too fast for her to get a proper handle of the situation. It seemed like only a moment ago she’d been casually strolling the streets after a hard day’s work, eager to get to home to sleep and now she was trapped inside a vivid nightmare. She did not want any part in bending battles or violent thugs or ferocious beasts and yet here she stood witnessing what seemed to be a scene straight out of a melodrama. Lesser women might have fainted due to the stress of it all, but Saaga could not do anything but stare, her face a blank slate of dull confusion.

She could vaguely follow the conversation of the disruptive duo of benders and even raised her eyebrows a little when it became obvious that they knew each other. Was this something people normally did? Attacked their acquaintances? It was like something out of a trashy novel her roommate Fey would read, not something that happened in real life. Though she was happy the girl had intervened. Saaga did not have to take a big leap in logic to figure out what would have happened if she didn’t. She shielded herself with her bag as she thought about it.

“What is this? This guy gets to have a pity party for attacking me? Give me a break,” she thought and looked at the two in minor disbelief.

But what really made her snap out her confused and aloof state was when the man, this ‘Rokuro’ character started apologizing, to her and then the waterbender. She looked at him; her eyes suddenly filled with daggers and clicked her tongue disapprovingly. She took a step forward and raised her fist as if to strike him, but he bolted away leaving her to kick and strike at the empty air around her.

She watched as he went to rouse his friend and huffed angrily when he didn’t even stop to check if he was okay enough to follow him. He did though, shakily getting back on his feet and giving the pair of them a wounded look with that bloody swollen face of his before stumbling after his partner. His side profile would never be the same after this night and Saaga was rather happy about it. She also held a hope that the firebender had bitten off part of his tongue. It would serve them both right.

When the two men had disappeared from her sights she turned to look at the scene of the battle. Her sandals were a pile of ashes now and the street and nearby trash bins were riddled with scorch marks and small puddles of water. And then there was the crying bender girl with her tigerdillo.

Saaga sighed and looked up. She could see the form of a police airship patrolling the night sky and felt her jaw muscles tense up in anger. So it was perfectly alright to detain and arrest street protestors crying after their basic rights but when someone was assaulted and threatened with who knows what horrendous acts of violence it was okay to sit back and do nothing. It wasn’t the first time she thought the police force were the most rotten thing about this city.

“Uhm…I uh, I want to thank you. If you hadn’t shown up, well, I don't want to think about what would've happened to me,” she said walking over to the girl.

“Are you okay?”

It felt strange asking that question from the person who had just more or less saved her, but then again Saaga was no stranger to being the sturdy moral support even when she was hurting and wanted to cry.

[Kianna Aoki]

Kianna barely registered the other man shuffling past her and she secretly hoped he wasn’t going to turn and try to start something. Her fiery temper had vanished just as quickly as it came and with it went her determined mind-set. She didn’t want to fight or yell anymore; her body and mind were drained from the bending battle. All she wanted to do was crawl into a warm bed and cry herself to sleep.

She wasn’t even sure if she had the strength to stand up, let alone make it all the way to their home. Her mind was still reeling and her emotions were all over the place. This was absolute chaos. Part of the reason she’d come to Republic City was to find her brother and when she did, she’d somehow managed to lose him again. Good going, trust you to stuff everything up, thought the girl as doubts clouded her mind. She was really struggling to find something, anything, positive from this mess that she’d gotten herself into. She was just a lost little girl playing with some magic water in a big foreign city and she didn’t know what she was meant to do now.

Soft fur brushed along her forearm and the waterbender slowly peeled her hands away from her face. The tigerdillo’s expression mirrored hers and their eyes gazed at one another’s in sadness. “We’ll be fine Juno,” she assured him quietly into his warm coat after he’d curled himself around her protectively. “It’ll all be fine,” she began to rub small circles across the hard plates of his back, trying to soothe them both by the motion. He whimpered quietly as his head slumped into her lap and she leant forward to touch her forehead to his. They sat like this for a moment before the girl heard a voice behind her.

“Uhm…I uh, I want to thank you. If you hadn’t shown up, well, I don't want to think about what would've happened to me. The woman’s voice was closer now and Kianna’s head whipped around. ”Are you okay?”

She was taken back, her mind still trying to piece together the events of the night. How could she have forgotten about this poor woman? She probably suffered more than Kianna had tonight and the waterbender tried to turn to face her. Her legs were wobbly as she attempted to stand and she noticed a painful stinging across her thighs. Ignoring it, she hastily wiped the water from her bloodshot eyes and wound her fingers into Juno’s fur. He understood her action and carefully turned them both, Juno supporting most of her weight.

“I’m completely fine and don’t mention it, I’m just glad I could help,” she said giving her a weak smile, her hand still woven in the tigerdillo’s thick coat. She didn’t dare to remove it until she felt stable enough on her feet, not wanting to look like a bigger idiot than she already did.”Are you okay?” she managed to say, giving the woman a quick up and down. Her blue eyes finally rested on one of her feet and she gasped.

“Oh my gods! I’m so sorry… are you hurt anywhere else?” Her eyes raked across the woman’s body quickly as she staggered forward, still gripped to Juno, to examine her more closely. “Did any of the bending get you?”

Her injured arm shot up into the saddle bags as she rummaged to find another water skin. She disregarded the burst of pain at the movement and beamed in success as she wrapped her slender fingers around a smaller pouch. Thank gods this wasn’t with the other one, she thought, pleased that her OCD behavior while packing Juno’s saddle came in handy.

Feeling more stable than she did before, she released Juno from her grasp and took a few steps so she was closer to the woman. “Is it alright if fix that for you?” she gestured to the woman’s blood covered foot as she opened the water skin’s cap. She hesitated, not wanting to jump right in incase the woman felt uncomfortable with Kianna’s bending after all that she’d just witnessed.

[Saaga Sun]

“I’m completely fine and don’t mention it, I’m just glad I could help.”

The look on Saaga’s face was suspicious when she heard the girl’s reply and she raised an eyebrow sharply to indicate she did not quite believe her. People did not sit on the ground crying when they were just fine. She also wasn’t sure if the girl helping her was just the accidental by product of her running into the very person she’d obviously had a bone to pick with. All in all, Saaga was not sure she could trust her sincerity on the matter, but she said nothing of it. From what she could tell by the girl’s singed arm, they’d both been through hell tonight.

“I’ll liv--,” she started to reply to her question, only to be startled into silence by her sudden exclamation. Oh, yes she supposed she was a little injured wasn’t she? The adrenaline rush had rendered her numb to all the pain, but now that she was reminded of it there was no ignoring the fact the she was hurting. Not seriously, just bad enough for her eyes to well up from the ache and throbbing of her hands and foot. Her arm had already started to bruise up and her toe had swollen up. She wondered how long it would take to grow a nail on it again.

“I…I’m not badly hurt. Just scrapes and bruises…and a shattered pride,” she managed to say and dropped her bag on the pavement, unable to hold onto the weight any longer. She sat on the ground and looked at her dirty trousers. Master Zhang would kill her when she’d show up for work in casual clothes. As soon as she thought about it, she felt panicked and wondered if she’d be able to work at all the next day.

“Did any of the bending get you?”

“Sorry, what? Ah, no just my shoes. I’m fine…just fine.”

She rubbed her temples with her fingers and tried to sound convincing as she said it, but truth be told she didn’t feel at all fine. Quite the contrary. She felt like she’d just been run over by a herd of buffalo-yaks, though she did not know if the beasts actually formed herds.

“You can fix it? My foot?” she answered her with a surprised question, eyes a light with interest. She’d had no money nor purpose to visit any of the healers in Republic City and she had no real understanding of what different kinds of benders were actually capable of doing. She of course knew about firebenders and the power plant, who didn’t, but mostly the concept of bending was alien to her. She thought whether a waterbending healer would have been able to save her mother as well, if they were able to treat sickness as well as injury.

[Kianna Aoki]

Kianna couldn’t help but roll her eyes a little as she smiled at the woman’s reaction. Of course, she has plenty of reasons to be skeptical but the girl had good intentions. She had always been the type of person that would go out of her way to help anyone. From a young age she was brought up with the idea that her needs had to be pushed aside for others and although she’d rebelled, it’d become a part of her nature. She was honestly glad she could help; at least that’s how it started out anyway.

But then it all got a bit complicated when the woman she was trying to help was being attacked by her brother. Never in a million years did she think that her shy, introverted sibling could turn into… that.

She smirked when she heard the woman say, “I…I’m not badly hurt. Just scrapes and bruises…and a shattered pride.” Yeah, Kianna could definitely sympathise with that feeling. The woman had sat in front of her and the girl dropped down to join her. The tigerdillo padded away from the waterbender’s side and went to curl around the woman.

She puffed out a breath of relief when the woman said that she wasn’t hurt anywhere else. A broken foot was easily mended; it’d be fixed in a heartbeat. They were both so lucky, it could’ve turned out a lot worse, and Kianna silently thanked the gods.

“You can fix it? My foot?” She responded with a wide grin, slightly amused at the surprise in the woman’s tone. Coming from a family where her father pushed the idea that she was only good for healing, she had forgotten that some people weren’t as familiar with the process like she was.

“Yeah, through water bending,” she patted her water skin and paused for a minute. The girl searched for the right words and then started to explain.. “Because our bodies are like sixty per cent water, healing with water bending picks up on the remedial properties already found in the body.” One hand was on the water skin, the other snaking out a stream of water. She wound the water around her hand and shuffled over to prop the water skin upright against Juno. “The water helps unblock the clogged chi, or energy paths, in the body. Kind of the opposite to chi blocking, in a way,” Kianna added thoughtfully.

“Just lean back a bit if you don’t mind,” and she gently pushed the woman back into the fur of Juno’s stomach. “Don’t worry, he won’t bite,” she commented absentmindedly, never taking her eyes from the hurt foot.

Frowning as she concentrated, the waterbender rearranged her legs so she was sitting cross-legged and hovered her hand over the injury. Her eyes closed and she took a few deep breaths as she cleared her mind of all distractions. She focused on the cool liquid wrapped around her hand and created a clear image in her mind of the wounded foot.

The girl saturated the woman’s foot with her bending water, feeling the healing energy swirling around amongst the liquid. The bright silvery light radiated from her palms and Kianna could see the glow though her lids. She pulled at the twisted paths and began unraveling it with clean, pure energy. This continued for a few minutes and then ceased when she felt that the women’s chi was clear.

Taking in another deep breath, Kianna opened her eyes and removed her hand from the women’s foot. She looked down at it, admiring her work on the now clean and fully mended foot. Not too shabby at all, the waterbender grinned up at the woman, looking pleased with herself.