The Encounter

Against the afternoon sky, a patch of red and orange blurred with the pale blues of a brisk fall day. The colors circled slowly towards the ground, like a hawk on an air thermal until it sharpened into the figure of a woman on a air glider, her robe blowing in the wind. Her braid fell down her open back as she landed, one foot gently hitting the ground without a sound, the red fans of her glider sliding into their hidden compartments of the staff. The young woman sighed, looking forward to the Earth Kingdom city of Gaoling before her.

It was the first place she had flown to, from her home in the Southern Air Temple, on her quest to travel the Four Nations. The journey was done under the wings of her glider, over the great sea and the island, in two days. She had caught air currents the majority of the time, saving her stregnth for the moments when she had to push herself through the air, and was exhausted when reaching the outskirt mountains of Gaoling the previous afternoon. If someone had been hiking and looking high up, they may have seen the Airbender sleeping with her back against the rock face, her legs crossed comfortably fighting on a precipice. They may have seen the woman take the staff off her lap when she woke up and jump off the cliff, disappearing from sight before flying up and towards the city. It was here she landed, a mile from the city, on the path towards the main entrance.

Flying straight down may not have been the most unnoticeable entrance, she had decided, and so walking it was. Her staff still in her hand, held balanced and light as she began to go towards the city. Light blue eyes looked around the tree lined path, with birds singing in the background, curious and intelligent. It was all new to her, a stranger in a foreign city. Imagine the people! As a rabbit darted across her path, she stopped to watch it, a smile lighting up her face to see the large feet bound into the air. Soon, sounds of the city reached her ears, and the white and green buildings became more and more distinct against the mountain landscape.

Ayaka reached the city, and walked slowly, lightly, towards the obvious center, wondering at the people around her. Some wore clothes that dragged off them, dirty and torn, in shades of brown and tan, and others wore rich greens and golds, designed and fitted beautifully. Everything in the city seemed connected to the earth, so unlike her Air Temple. A few houses in, she watched a man raise a stone from the earth in a construction site, and hurl it through the air to a large pile, where another Earthbender was crushing them to sand, rooted to the ground in a strong stance. Sounds of pavilions selling goods drew her eyes elsewhere, and Ayaka moved on, her red-orange robe flowing gently behind her ever-moving legs.

"Pies! Biscuits! Rice Pudding!" A vendor called, a old man dressed in dusty green robes. The Airbender caught his clouded eye, curiously looking at his goods for a moment, stopping a few feet from his stand as passerbys huffed at her random stop. The man seemed to smile. "An Airbender! It has been some time. Is there something I can do for you?"

"Hello," Ayaka said, only loud enough to be heard over the city sounds. "How much do you charge for your rice cakes?"

"Only 1 cooper," he said, and she placed the coin on the table, from the few coins in her pocket, grabbing the rice cake. She had grown so used to simple food at the Air Temple, the puddings and pies looked too rich for a meal. "You should go to the marketplace. There is a mask festival tonight, they have them for sale there. If you stay the night, you might need one." As he chuckled to himself, Ayaka nodded her head in thanks, before continuing her journey to the center of the village where he had said. It was as good as any place to begin exploring Gaoling.

A festival, she thought. So lucky to have arrived today. The marketplace was crowed, children running through the plaza, vendors calling out, tables filled with masks, and bar doors already swinging and loud in the afternoon. She was pushed by the flow of the traffic, to a corner next to the end of the tables. All around, there were smiles and laughter, a mingling of the young and old, the ragged and the groomed. Few glances were given to the Air Nomad in the corner, but instead given to the tables and their contents. It was exhilarating, she thought, the energy and excitement of it all. She gripped her staff a little tighter as someone pushed her from behind, trying to get by, but remained where she was, listening and watching.

"Airbender, a mask for the festival?" Ayaka turned to the vendor on her left, her face catching the sun. The man running the booth seemed to have been ignored by the crowd, being so far back and away from the more ornate and colored masks. He looked her up and down before reaching into his goods before she could reply. "This should be yours."

He held out a red half mask, with gold shining accents on it. (Pictures "I cannot pay you," she said, though she wanted to reach out and take the mask, for the craftswork she had never seen, Ayaka knew the weight of the coins in her pocket was too light to spend on non essentials.

"Do me the honor," he grabbed her hand, and placed it gently into her palm. She tensed at the unexpected and firm grasp, but watched his eyes, seeing the kindness there. Ayaka smiled and bowed her head slightly, leaving his face to look at the beautiful mask. "In an hour the sun will set. You should put it on then." A customer came to his table again, and she moved away, the mask light and beautiful in her hand, towards another building to wait for sun to go down, to experience a new thing, and watch the Earthbenders and villagers go about their business. Her eyes were bright as they cleared the market place, opening the plaza to a large empty space. Tables were moved to line a large wall, and slowly filled with food of every sort as it grew darker and candles grew brighter. The festival began with music, and would last all night long. Young and old people danced in the middle, celebrating something Ayaka could not understand. They were dressed in their best casual clothes, with masks of all sorts, hiding the features of the face. It was something out of the tales she had read in the Temple libraries. No one spoke to the Airbender with the red mask in the corner, the dancing over flames casting shadows against her, catching gold on her mask, her blue eyes bright with curiosity and eagerness.

The dance floor blurred with colors against the ring of torches, reds,blues, and greens, all turning into a swirl of a musical beat. Ayaka smiled with each change of song, never having heard it before. As her eyes were focused on a young child dancing with who she assumed to be the little girl's father, a bright blue seemed to break apart from the masses.

As he broke from the crowd, her light eyes were focused on him, all curiosity and intrigue. The man was one of the Water Tribe, easily guessed from his water pouch and his blue outfit. He only was a few inches taller than her and of a thin build, very unlike the large amount of Earth Bender males who had shoulders as broad as a mountain and were just as tall. Most intriguing, beneath a mess of long blonde hair, dark tattoos marked his face and shoulders. There was something else about him, something in the daggers nearly tucked in the worn leather armor, or too practiced walk of a hunting animal that made her want to set him a part a bit more.

"And what might a fine young lady like you be doing all alone on such a beautiful evening?" the man stated when he came up omuch closer than she had seen most to stand from each other. His voice seemed soft and rough at the same time, with a smoothness in the way he tied his words together, and this close Ayaka could smell him, a well kept man with the hint of a cologne. "Surely you, an airbender of free spirits, would like to unwind and express yourself through moving that beautiful body of yours, yes? I can help you if you want..." The man smiled in a sheepish way.

Beautiful? she thought, momentarily taken back. It was only a second before Ayaka realized the man was flirting with her, asking her to dance. It was not as if this was new; in the past few years, a few Air Nomads had tried to capture her attention, flying with her and walks at night, but none had made her feel something special. Whether it was that her mind was occupied with hopes of travel and knowledge, or because she could not bring herself to let emotions rise too strongly, she had never dated within the Air Temple. But here, she thought, Standing and watching is only so much, compared to doing, to dancing. The man seemed kind, if only very forward.

"I do not know how to do the dances." Ayaka said, a small smile at some humor of his asking and her not knowing.

"You flatter me," Ayaka smiled, making the comment as more of a statement then a humble brush away. "Why would you ask me?"

His smooth talk made a soft red reach her cheeks. A man this forward was not to be found among her people, and the references to her body made her tense every so slightly for a moment. Every season or so, there would be great dances at the Air Temple, more sophisticated and intricate than this festival. There would be food of great care cooking made for anyone who made the climb, and the masters would watch the experts and the novices perform intricate forms before dancing began. These dances were patterned, with many partners, all in sync, in a easy, flowing movement. There were a few who went and somehow found a way to be with one person more than any other, sharing glances across the floor, above the swirling yellow and orange robes, but Ayaka danced for her own pleasure those nights, never sharing more than a smile with those whom her hand brushed against.

The man before her was so different. Her thoughts went to bending when he spoke of being free. But was dancing so different from bending? Focused on the stranger so close, she missed the drunken group of men sauntering by, one falling to where she was standing. At the last moment, she noticed him and his disgusting smell, and stepped forward like a smooth spring to avoid him, but that step led her straight against the stranger's chest.

A rough hand gently wrapped around hers at that moment, taking her motion of the step and turning it into the turn of a dance. The man's hand was strong on hers, strong enough Ayaka knew it would take much effort to pull away, but gentle enough as to not be attacking. Knowing she couldn't easily step away sent a flare of fight or fly through her, quickly subdued by the calm that had been trained into her being for many years. He seemed to have good intentions; as good as his flirtatious demeanor would suggest. Her feet lightly found a pattern with his as he slowly pulled her closer to the dance, away from the corner, all the while keeping with the foreign beat. Her staff felt awkward on her back as she followed the moves, but it brought a small sense of comfort each time the weight brushed on her lower leg or hip.

"Ayaka, of the Southern Air Temple." She answered Zevran, his comments beginning to repeat themselves. Ayaka did not normally state her family name. Her family and her home was with the Air Nomads, the she stated her home with as much honor and pride as she would a royal name.

Behind the mask, Ayaka, beginning to loosen to the dancing, felt happy that the man had pulled her from the shadows. This was why she had left, to see what the world was, to experience it. In the silence that was filled with sounds of dancing, drunks and music, she thought of his mention as to the Air Nomad's dances. "Have you been there before, Zevran?" Ayaka's voice was soft with her talk, her pale blue eyes focused on his shining brown eyes, hidden behind the black mask. The masks added a certain air of mystery to the whole thing, as if one could hide themselves away; or just as the same, show who they really were without fear.

Ayaka nodded when he brought up the name for her temple. It was true, and something that could be reflected in her behavior. There was a theory that you could tell what Temple an Air Nomad was from if you watched them enough, each produced a certain kind of Airbenders.

"I myself am from the Southern Water Tribe. Seems that our origins are not too far apart, yes? I have not been to the Southern Air Temple proper, no... but I have been in that region, especially on one of my many journeys north... or southerly journeys when I was returning home. I did wish to visit them all one day, but I shall get to it sooner or later. And you? Have you set foot out of there before prior to now?"

She paused for a moment, looking at his grin as they spun around in the dance. Zevran's conversation was so easy, she felt comfortable with him, especially since his last words didn't include a physical flattery. "No," Ayaka smiled for him, blue eyes dancing behind the mask. "I just left. I came into Gaoling this morning."

She knew only a little of the Southern Water Tribe. Of course, she knew the histories and tales in the books, but had only barely interacted with the people, much less been able to share conversations with them. If she flew far south, their fishing traps could be seen in the water, genius devices that seemed always filled, waiting for the gatherers to come in their canoes.

"What brings you here?" she said, enjoying the slight breeze that came from dancing. The song had changed, and they seamlessly had continued to dance together, Ayaka learning the steps of the new song through imitation and his gentle guidance. The earth was packed through the footsteps of so many masked figures pounded on it in celebration, and little dust or smoke was present to block the beauty of it all. As she looked away from him on a turn, she noticed not only the familiar stars, but the flashing masks of exposed women that seemed to be watching her partner. It made her curious that this man was attracting the gazes without seeming to even try, just with a flash of a smile.

Zevran Arianna Takeo

Zevran's experience did teach him a bit about what kind of airbenders to expect from each temple. Most of the nomads from the Eastern Air Temple were feirce fighters and deadly warriors, although he also learned that underneath that exterior, most of them had hearts of gold. The others had similar quirks, and many southern airbenders were curious to explore the world. "well then." he smirked, "allow me to be the one to welcome you to the wonderful city of Gaoling!" he had not stopped dancing, but kept his lively, upbeat tone. "it is a pleasure to dance with you." and thus he continued, his movements lively but graceful. he seemed very light on his bare feet, much like an airbender. "I am here on business," he smiled, "although mine is a line of work that generally can be done almost anywhere. And what of you? Was it curiosity and a hunger for exploration that brought you here?" Zevran was not ashamed to mention his line of work. He had his flaws and shortcomings, and may not have been the greatest moral example sometimes, but one trait that he did possess quite flawlessly was honesty. He would not lie about that type of man he was, and as a result, he appreciated when people were honest about themselves to him. Similarly, he was not one to judge people, even if they judged him. He was aware that there were eyes on him; his golden hair sometimes drew attention to him, but he did not mind it. He kept his own mask on for the time being, enjoying the dance. "and I also must ask..." he added, "are you enjoying the dance?" - right as he said this though, a knife had appeared in his hand and gone straight through his partner's chest. Zevran did not look at all fazed by it. This was primarily because it was his knife that had done it. It was a shame that such a pretty mark had to go, but Zevran realized that it would be something that would be best done before he started liking her too much. "Nothing personal my dear." he whispered, holding her as he withdrew his blade to the gasps of various crowd members. "It was simply business. A bit regretful at times... but business nonetheless." Unceremoniously dropping the dying girl and leaving her to her certain demise, Zevran took off with uncanny speed. He was suddenly glad that he had kept the mask on and not revealed his face. Festivities were fun, but remaining a free man was more important, and a murder would not go unnoticed... well, not until they realized that the culprit was long gone. And by the time anyone would come across this masked murderer, his mask would be long gone, as would any evidence linking him to the crime. He was good at what he did, which was why he was paid so well. Now, it was time to report and earn the cash.

Mood: Calm Condition: Perfect

Link: Zevran

[and thus Ayaka is dead because she's never coming back. Seemed a fitting way to wrap things up. xB]