Playing Hero [OPEN]

"What a waste of sewage water" thought Senpak to himself. He was most displeased by the quality of the establishment he was currently gracing with his patronage. Could anyone ever have concocted a more horrifying mix of leafs and variations of taste. The tea-leafs had clearly gone stale, the water hadn't been boiled properly and by the looks of it, not in a very clean tea-pot either. Was that a hair he saw? This was just unacceptable. The young butler was contemplating whether he ought to ask for the chef or the pig who obviously made this. Senpak was most displeased and it took him a lot of efford not to show it. Gentlemen never showed any emotion other than kindness or total absence of emotions. Off course a gentleman was allowed to express his disdain, but with an air of selfrestraint. The young butler couldn't garantee that he wouldn't strangle the deviant who had made him taste this broth from hell.

In order to not show on his face how cruelly his tastebuds had been treated he took out his mask and put it on. At least that way he also wouldn't be tempted to try another sip. With much reluctance he put a coin on the table to pay for it. Eventhough they hardly deserved it, they probably needed it more than him. Infact, based on the quality of the tea here, the owners of this abomination...pardon...establishment would need a lot more.

Senpak decided to stay a little while longer, he had paid for it anyways. The young butler took out of his backpack a map of the city. Where was he going to next? The relentless propoganda and tourist-advices had made him somewhat warry of cultural hotspots. Instead he was looking for the more humble icons in the city, possibly close to a community centre so the young butler could check if for work as well. After a while he thought he had found a proper destination when a ruckuss at the bar demanded his attention. At the bar he saw three men. One was swinging a teapot above his head, another held a third person who seemed to be the owner by the collar. "I want my money back you slime" barked the first man. "Me and my buddy here were almost poisoned! You call that tea?" Glad that he hadn't been the only one, Senpak folded the map and decided to remain distant until he could decide whether he should join in on the complaints.

"I am very sorry gentle-mman" stammered the owner "It seems something has gone wrong, allow us to fix it for you." The poor man was carefully trying to pry himself free but the second costumer suddenly turned things violent. The second costumer was a tall man, bald with a simple moustache and wearing typical earth-kingdom clothes. His sleeve-less shirt suggested earth-bender, but you could never be entirely sure. The first costumer, the man swinging the teapot had long hair and was a lot slimmer compared to his compatriot, but nevertheless was just as intimidating. Out of nowhere the second costumer started kicking the owner around. First he threw him against the bar with force, then he grabbed him by the hair and pulled him across the bar before dropping the owner to the floor.

At this point Senpak had gotten up. "That is quite enough gentlemen, I see you have made your point." The two men turned to the stranger wearing a white mask. "And who in blazes are you supposed to be?" said the long haired costumer. "you don't seem to be from around here."

Senpak's right hand rested on his whip, just in case. "Who I am is of no concern to you. What I will do if you do not leave that man alone is another story". -"Oh, a tough guy ey, Umi, show him how we do things here in the earth kingdom". Umi being the taller costumer with the sleeveless shirt gave a dirty smile and nodded. "I oughta, don't I" he acknowledged and with a devious smile he took a step forward.

'Great' Senpak thought to himself.

The two hooligans turned and looked at the strangers who just walked into the bar. Their bravado quickly evaporated as they saw the weapons wielded by them. "We were just about to leave, weren't we Umi?" The other one grunted in agreement and they both scurried away, leaving the bartender on the floor, soflty weeping.

Senpak relaxed and was glad nobody could have seen the relief on his face. His mask always made him come across slightly emotionless, and that was good if you were in such an environment. With a nod of acknowledgement he thanked the two and went back to his table.

The stranger and his compatriot seemed decent people and Senpak didnt mind the company at all. He smiled at Cyrad's question and remark.

"I wasn't paying attention at first, it seems they had some quarrel over payments, but it was unclear to me who was the creditor, and who was the one failing his payments." the butler said gravely. "I am inclined to believe it was a shake-down." he added", The two gentlemen obviously didn't take no for an answer". Taking another sip from his tea, Senpak's eyes wandered towards the door. Curious as to who the two men had been, and where they had gone off to. Putting down his cup, Senpak suggested; "we would have to ask the bartender though, if it is something you want to look into. I am not from around, so I have nothing to add. Chances are we would be overlooking some local political play without informing ourselves first."

Senpak's curiosity was awakened by the whole situation. Though he hardly was a detective, plots and violence weren't new to him. Ever since he left the inner circle of the Fire Nation capitol to find a new job, he had been fascinated to see the copious forms of violence in the world of commoners. As a butler, he had encountered many intrigues and assaults. But the nature of these conflicts was entirely different. Nobility preffered to resort to stealthy methods such as poison or staged accidents. Here in the world of the commoners it seemed a free for all. To get their ways, people used all sorts of methods, including the ones Senpak was familiar with. He felt like he needed to learn more about these people, so he could assist the next master he would have properly in dealing with more than just court-intrigues.

"That is... if you two are interested in looking into this more?"