Finding What You Weren't Looking For [Kanoei]

Subject: Finding What You Weren't Looking For [Kanoei] Fri May 25, 2012 6:53 pm

In Transit.

That was the one thing HunHun loved, and absolutely hated about this wondrous city. It was vastly different from the quiet, peaceful nature of the Eastern Air Temple. The music was louder, the people were rowdy(er), the foods came from every corner of the globe and to top it all off....

They had a zoo!

'Then,' She absent-mindedly mused as a drunkard threw up his innards into a grate in the street, 'This is why I hate this place. Too tight-packed, extremely dark and if you're not a target for robbery somebody's trying to shove you into a brothel.' Her gait came to an abrupt halt and she shuddered, a chill gripped her spine at the gruesome memory. 'I never want to relive that ever again.'

The drunkard heaved again and ended up splashing his sick all over her shoes.

HunHun grimaced, "I hate....my life."

ooOOoo

"FRESH AIR!"

HunHun looped through the sky and shifted her glider as she weaved in and out of the middle ring buildings. Below her, the people looked like midgets...albeit the kind that ducked and dodged as she swooped around like a madwoman. She let out a maniacal cackle and dipped up along the rooftops again; the wind rushed past her and she danced around it in a daze.

Her blue-grey eyes zeroed in on a familiar street in the lower ring and she smiled. With a twitch of her feet, HunHun spiraled through an open shoot in the middle ring and plummeted to the last level.

"OHHHHHH YEAAAAAAAH!"

Woosh!

"Now," She grinned while promptly ignoring the bewildered stares of civilians, "Off to find that herbal tea shop mama and papa love so much. I think I'm just in time for the Oolong shipment!" She snapped her glider shut and sprinted off northwest toward the market district, leaving a whirlwind of dust in her wake.

"Pekoe....Green....Bubble....Jasmine...No....No.....No....."

HunHun bobbed round and about the market district mumbling under her breath and scanned the shops in earnest. She popped her head in every doorway and was met with the same result.

No Oolong tea.

She puffed out her cheeks and punched her fist in her palm. "Alright, this is ridiculous. I need to find some Oolong and I need to find it now. Er, excuse me, sir?" She peered inside a rather odd knick-knack shop and blinked when the shopkeeper met her gaze. The man moved from behind the counter and paced toward the doorway.

"Good morning," He replied good naturedly, "Is there something I can help you with?"

HunHun scratched the back of her head and said, "Um yes. You wouldn't happen to know of any shops around here that sell Oolong tea would you?"

The shopkeeper grinned, "Oolong Tea you say? Sure I do."
Her mood instantly brightened, "Really? Could you please tell me where it is?"

The shopkeeper inclined his head to her and for the first time, HunHun noted how tall and broad he was. He sneered, "Of course. But I require something in return."

Her eyes narrowed, "You suggesting I pay you for telling me where a tea shop is?"

He snickered darkly,"No girl. That's not what I meant at all."

A moment of silence passed between them before HunHun's heart jumped in her throat. Before she could even slam her staff the massive man grabbed her by the wrist and hoisted her in the air. HunHun's yelp quickly turned into a snarl and she twisted to get out of his grip.

But he was unrelenting.

He snatched her other wrist and tried to pin them together before she pivoted her lower body and kicked him with a blast of the air to the chest. The man flew backward and HunHun grabbed her glider to make a run for it. And yet before she could even pop it open to take off the earth beneath her rose up and encased her hands and feet into the ground.

"I swear to Tui and La I hate this place! All I wanted was some spirit-forsaken tea!"

The shopkeeper chuckled and wiped the blood from around his mouth, looming over her while lifting her chin up to meet his eye, "You've got guts girl, but unfortunately Jubei always get what he wants. Now come along and play nice and I promise it won't be so bad."

A snarl escaped her throat and she spit in his face, "I'll NEVER go with you!"

The man growled, "You've messed up now brat. bad girls like you need to be brought back in line!" He cocked his arm back and clenched his hand into a large fist. HunHun closed her eyes and prayed to whoever was listening to somehow help her escape.

'Tui...La....Agni....Avatar spirits......Yangchen....Roku...Aang, er somebody? Help me, please? Somebody?! Not good, not good, not good!'

As the man drew back his fist to drive a strike down upon the girl, a high pitched whistle in a jaunty and attention grabbing tune split the air. A voice spoke out.

"Hey!"

The man looked up. The moment he did, Kano planted his foot right in the man's face with enough force to throw him a good number of feet. With a grunt, the man crumpled into a twisted heap, blood flowing in a torrent from his nose.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to hit a girl?" he said, standing over the man. He'd placed himself, more out of instinct than anything, between the man and the distressed damsel. He didn't trust that the man was really out of it.

Kano looked around at the girl. His gaze immediately went to her bound limbs, but it quickly rose to look upon her face. He was taken aback. There was something... familiar about her. Regardless, his job wasn't complete. Shaking off his surprise, he drew some water out of a nearby vase and bent it with precision at the stone restraints. They were strong enough to hold someone, but against the strength of water, even earth gave way. The restraints shattered, he froze the water into an icy sword and held it at the ready in case the man decided to make a comeback.

"You okay?" he asked finally, using his free hand to help her to her feet.

Once the strange "savior" had freed her from her make-shift prison she whipped herself to stand with a gust of air. She hadn't even noticed his outstretched hand, HunHun glare was trained on the "noble shopkeeper".

"All I have to say," She said giving a curt nod, " Is thank Tui and La. You couldn't have come at a better time." HunHun stomped her foot on the ground and sent her glider-staff a few feet in the air. She caught it in her hands and twirled it, her lips twisted into a hard frown.

The good-for-nothing man, Jubei groaned and staggered to his feet, mouth reasonably slack so that his speech sounded jarbled, "You've got some nerve boy,sticking your nose in business where it doesn't belong. Didn't your father ever teach you manners?" It was more of a statement than a question, and he narrowed his emerald eyes in the boy's direction before sneering.

"But I suppose you wouldn't know of any, that's how you Water Tribe savages are." Jubei snorted and then got into a stance, "Where's your boomerang Savage-Boy? WUAHAHA! OUCH! CRAP!"

HunHun bounced back off of her toes and teetered to the left, narrowly missing Jubei's massive fist as he swung in her direction, clipping her across the forehead in the process. She hissed, ducked and did a dragon sweep with her extended leg and knocked him face first into the ground. Jubei hit the earth with a resounding Whoompf! and groaned. The only movement being the twitch of his fingers and unconscious breathing.

HunHun stuck her tongue and blew a raspberry, "Plbbt!"

ooOOoo

"So um, I really appreciate you saving me back there. Seriously, I think that man was going to crush my face in." She said stooping to reach for her staff. She turned it over to inspect for any scratches and didn't find any. 'Good', she mused, 'Now to check on Mei-Mei. Forget this I'll just hit the middle ring or go to Omashu.'

"What's a Tribesman like you doing in Ba Sing Se anyway? Are you here to see the Zoo too??"

She slung her staff over her shoulder and bounced over to her "savior". Upon seeing him, she literally froze. Technically the guy was wearing a classic sleeveless Water Tribe tunic and, in the light she was able to catch what looked like a tattoo. A familiar one at that. Her brows furrowed when she noticed the second tattoo imprinted on his neck. That was....odd. There were only a few people she vaguely remembered having those. Where had she seen those markings before?

She was sprawled out in the main hall's library, idly scratching her elbows as the furs itched her skin. She'd been pouring over scroll after scroll regarding ice-fishing when she came across one she hadn't seen before.

"Hn?" HunHun picked the huge parchment from the stack and cocked her head to the side, "Hey Kano! What's this?"

There was the sound of footsteps and then that familiar warm feeling as she felt her bestfriend leaning over her. He blinked and helped her unroll the scroll. "That? It's the story of Aowaka, my great-great-great-greeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeat Grandpa. Every descendant of his gets these cool markings when they come of age. But only his descendants though."

HunHun brought her face close to the scroll and ghosted over the designs, "So....how come you don't have 'em?"

He blinked, "My dad said I'm not old enough yet. But I'm gunna get 'em, because I'll be a warrior! Right here, and then here."

They rolled the parchment up and then stacked the rest on the shelves they could reach. HunHun dusted her gloved hands together and then glanced at Kanoei cheekily. "Hey Warrior, you can't get 'em if you can't beat me in penguin sledding!"

"You're on!"

The airbender's eyes widened visibly and her right hand twitched. Her eyes darted from his arm, to his neck, and back to his face.

HunHun's hands flew to her mouth and her eyes began to glisten.

".............Kano?" She whispered.

Kano had turned away. He was looking around for any sign of the others. Surely they were done with their errands by now. They needed to go see Toma. He'd be upset if the lot of them were late in meeting him. He was just sorting out a number of minor details when he heard the girl speak to him. What's more, what she said made him freeze.

".............Kano?"

Kano? he thought, straightening up. He looked around at her slowly, his eyes narrowed. Who is this girl?

He searched her features carefully, trying very hard to think of whether he'd seen her before. He still had that strange feeling that he knew her somehow, but couldn't think how. Then again, the answer was right in front of him. Only one person had ever called him by that name without needing him to introduce himself or give his permission to use it first. It was precious to him. Nobody, that was, except the person who had crafted it...

His mind started to age the memory he knew. The features matured and the hair grew in his mind's eye as he watched her turn from young girl into young woman. When all was said and done, he dared to speak his suspicion.

"... Sparrow?" he said slowly. "Is that you?"

"... Sparrow?" he said slowly. "Is that you?"

She did the only thing she would always do.

Attack him.

HunHun didn't even register that her body was moving until she launched herself in the air and landed on him. She hugged him in that age old polar-bear dog embrace and then....she punched him in the arm.

"Kano! It IS you! What're you doing here?? How've you been?" She was going a mile a minute, hands flailing in no particular direction whatsoever. All this time he was alive. All this freaking time! To say she was in a state of shock would've been an understatement, she was getting ready to go into cardiac arrest just standing there looking at him. She just couldn't believe that he was ALIVE. His hair was still short and spiky, in almost the same exact style he'd worn 11 years ago. HunHun slapped a hand over her mouth and resisted the urge to giggle at that. He'd grown considerably, he'd gotten taller, possibly 2 or 3 inches taller than herself and his build was broader. Wait, when did he become so toned?

HunHun shook the thought, 'That's beside the point, my old friend is alive and well!' She felt a dampness prickling the corners of her eyes and she wiped them away furiously, she was not going to cry. At least not yet. So there was SOME stability in her homeland left, something had remained the same. And that sparked something in her and she bit her lip in a mix of hope and frustration. If Kano was alive.....then Han should be too.

"Haven't seen you in....well forever!" She laughed, finally backing away from him, "This is so......so surreal.....I can't believe it's really you!" So many questions and no answers; her mind was running around in circles with the constant chattering of unanswered thoughts, old worries resurfacing on top of more worries. HunHun honestly didn't know whether to laugh, cry or punch him in the chest this time.

As she landed on him, squeezing his neck like some sort of crazed python, he couldn't help but laugh. He wrapped his arms around his old friend as tightly as he could and they shared an incredibly warm embrace... until...

"Ow!" he said as her knuckles dug into his shoulder. Grasping the impact site, he said; "That's how you treat your oldest friend in the world? And after I saved your scrawny, feathery ass!"

It was Sparrow all right. No one else he knew could be so warm and so cold simultaneously. He let his hand fall to his side, adopting a warm grin. It hadn't really hurt at all. He'd been hit worse. However, in matters of old friends and family, one needed as much guilt, whether it be actual or in jest, as one could get on one's side.

"It's good to see you." he said finally, looking at her with such a swell of happiness, he had no idea how he managed to contain it. For eleven long years, they hadn't seen each other. And now, here she was. It was truly a small world.

Too small... he thought as he suddenly noticed the crowd moving toward them. They were all in identical uniforms -- Kyoshi Warriors. They were the city's police now. He'd learned that pretty quickly. They were commanded by some general named Yu and they were merciless and skillful enough to keep even the most hardcore gangsters in line, or so he'd heard.

"You there!" the leader of the group said. She looked the harsh sort. "Don't move!"

"We didn't do anything." Kano said as several of the warriors rushed forward to pick the unconscious man up off the street.

"Major Ai," one of the warriors toting Jubei said. "He's still alive."

"Very well." the one called Major Ai said, nodding. "Take him to the hospital. You two, however," she pointed at Kano and Hun-Hun. "You're coming with us. We're going to have a few words... at the Breach."

(OOC: The Breach is a fortress installed in the great walls of Ba Sing Se. It's a massive structure and houses the entire Kyoshi Leagion. (9,000+ Soldiers.))

Hun-Hun gaped openly and pushed him backwards,eyes gleaming mischievously. "What?! SCRAWNY? Oh I've got your scrawny you little dustmite!" She moved to dig her fist in the side of his head but stopped when he cut her off. It's good to see you. Hun-Hun paused and stared at him, her fist dangling in the air.

"Yea," She finished lamely, "It really is."

The sound of booted feet crunching against the city soil reverberated in the wind current and hit her sensitive ears. HunHun turned around in time to see a platoon of Kyoshi Warrior heading in their direction.

"You there!" Barked who had to have been the leader, "Don't move!"

HunHun bit her bottom lip in an effort to quell a hot retort. 'Hn, so much for formalities.'; Kanoei ended up beating her to the punch. The Kyoshi Warriors formed a half-circle while the other stooped up to collect Jubei's body. HunHun inwardly winced, had she had foresight this situation probably wouldn't have looked so bad.

"The Breach?" The airbender frowned and looked "Miss Major Ai" in her eyes, "Is that even necessary?"

The only response was a shove forward in the general direction of said location. HunHun cut a look at the one who pushed her, "Widowbees cooperate best with honey, not vinegar. I can walk myself, thank you. No need to be hostile." She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and stole a look at her long time friend. 'Have any idea what in the world is going on?' She wanted to ask, but kept her mouth shut. They'd bide their time, but she'd be a fool if she assumed they would play nice. HunHun dissected those history texts and drank them in like water. 'These aren't the same band of Warriors from over half a century ago, that's a fact. This chick is rougher than the legends of the original leader and I can bet you the faction is worse than the Dai Li under Princess Azula's influence.'

Absentmindedly she shrugged and mused aloud, "Eh, but it's just a hunch."

"A hunch?" Kano said, confused. He didn't really know what she was talking about, but he didn't know if he could spare a thought for it. As much as he was thrilled to have his old friend back in his presence, this situation was not a pleasant one. He had became all of seriousness and stony expressions.

The Breach. It was one of the great military horrors of the Earth Kingdom. Built for the benefit of the Kyoshi Legion some ten years previous, the fortress was part of the city's outer wall. Even inside the city, surrounded as they were by structures on all sides, Kano could clearly see the Breach in the distance. It towered even over the wall it was a part of. His grandfather had told him of the place once. He didn't like the stories he knew of it.

Their journey through the city was an uncomfortable one. Every time he broke his stride, he received a sharp poke in the small of the back and an angry glare from the female warrior who had given it to him. The warriors carrying Jubei left them after awhile, carrying him off down another street. He couldn't believe that fiend was off for medical treatment and he and Sparrow were getting treated to a jail cell... or at least that's what seemed was going to happen.

Before long, the group came to a special rail car designed to go directly to the fortress. Their captors pushed them on board and then followed them in and the earthbenders at the rear of the car started the thing moving. Though it was gradual at first, they quickly accelerated to a blinding speed. Kano wasn't used to going this fast. He had no idea how anyone could be. The dark green rooftops sped past in a blur as they went.

"Why are we being arrested?" he said finally. It was more a demand than a question.

"Be silent." Major Ai said flatly. She didn't even turn to face him when he spoke.

Pursing his lips in frustration, Kano had to literally bite back a furious repeat of his question... and perhaps a few choice additions. Regardless, he fell silent. There wasn't much he could do. They were already upon the threshold of the Breach's rail station. If he tried to fight his way out of this, he'd have the entire Kyoshi Legion upon them. When, finally, they ground to a halt at the station platform, the doors of the car were opened and he felt another sharp jab in the small of his back.

"Ack! Damn it!" he said, spinning on the spot as he reached around his back to rub the spot. It had been poked so many times by now that it had begun to bruise. "Would you stop that?! I'm going!"

The Kyoshi smiled at him.

"You're not going to stop it, are you?" he said, narrowing his eyes at her. She smiled wider. "Of course not." he grumbled. "What the hell is the matter with this city?"

They were led up through the fortress through a series of what looked like public areas. There were quite a few civilians there lodging complaints about this or that. The Breach had apparently become police headquarters for the city. More poking ensued. What he wouldn't have given to have been able to take that fan and slap this woman with it.

Into a stone box that was just big enough to fit their group and up a number of floors. He heard someone mentioning the term elevator as they went up, flashing past floor after floor. They came to a halt some ten stories up and Major Ai led them off the elevator and down a hall before pushing open a door and pointing inside.

"In." she said flatly. Kano just stared at her. "Get in." she repeated.

"Don't you have trials or something before you throw people in jail?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It isn't a jail." she said. "In."

With one last long look at her in utter disbelief at this treatment, he stepped inside. The room was small. Aside from a table with a chair on each side and a small oil lamp hanging overhead, there was nothing inside it.

"Someone will be along shortly." Major Ai said finally as Hun-Hun was forced into the room as well. "Make yourselves comfortable."

Kano took one look at the stone cube that passed for a chair and then looked back up at her.

"Gee. thanks."

Hun-Hun yawned as they road along in the rail-car. The quick, rhythmic motion of the "bullet train" was about the only thing familiar to her, they would've gotten brownie points had they let her fly alongside the thing. She would've loved to have the window seat but the stupid Kyoshi Warrior with her stupid hair piece kept blocking the view, so she had to make do with being sandwiched in between her and another.

After the rail-car crashed into the station (unceremoniously mind you, no surprise there), HunHun was pushed forward onto the platform and yanked down a dark corridor. 'What is with this stupid city and it's fetish for having everything underground??' She couldn't take it down here; every step they took and the walls seemed to constrict. The further they went the darker it became and the closer the space between them all.

"Would you look at that," One of the warriors sneered, "The little Airbender is having a panic attack."

"I....I am NOT," HunHun wheezed and staggered a little, she had to get the heck out of here, "Just needed to belch and it got caught in my throat."

The warrior beside her snorted and rolled her eyes beneath her gaudy make-up. HunHun grinned hopelessly in Kanoei's direction and shrugged her shoulders. So she could be a terrible liar some times, who knew?

Five minutes into the "journey" left the airbender restless. The only noise were their own breathing and the clomping of the Kyoshi Warriors footsteps. HunHun couldn't take it anymore.

"SO," She grinned, "Got any family?"

Silence.

"Ya know, a mom...a pop....maybe a boyfriend..?"

"It talks too much," Another warrior said, "Maybe we should've taped it's mouth shut."

HunHun stopped abruptly and the warrior behind her smacked into her, making her stumble. "Come again? Did I hear you right? Did you just refer to me as an IT?"

"Be quiet!" The girl snapped.

The next she knew was that she was being turned around and shoved into what looked like.....a prison cell. HunHun nearly boinked her head against the floor; she twisted and brought herself to her feet with a whip of air and sneered in Major Ai's direction.

"Make ourselves comfortable," She mocked in a nasally voice, "Sure we will! Right after I bust us outta here." HunHun plopped down in a lotus position and stared flatly at Kanoei from across the room.

"Kano, I just want to ask you......Why is it that EVERY TIME we're together we always get in trouble?"

"Talent?" Kano said, shrugging as the door was slammed shut.

Locked in. Perfect. This was not going to go over well with the others. They wouldn't be able to find him here. This place was a maze of stone halls and heavily armed warriors. Looking around at the solid walls with an almost bored look on his face, he let out a sigh and collapsed onto one of the stone block seats, draping one arm over the edge of the table. The news wasn't all bad -- at least they could talk in relative privacy here. He and Sparrow had about eleven years of catching up to do.

"So," he said, looking over at her. "What are you doing in Ba Sing Se? I thought you were in the Eastern Air Temple being trained?"

Hun-Hun hiccuped and stared at the walls with disinterest, displeased by the fact that there were no windows in the "prison cell" whatsoever. It was too quiet, and she was bored. 'On the bright side,' the better half of her chirruped, 'You're stuck in the same room as your bestest friend, whom you thought was dead. That's gotta count as a plus right?'

"Spirits must hate me," She groaned more to herself and looked toward the ceiling with loathing, "I should've just been a priestess, then maybe you'd all cooperate with me."

Kanoei snapped her out of her one-sided conversation and she stared at him quite stupidly. Had he been talking this entire time??

"Yea, about that," Hun-Hun rubbed the back of her head nervously,"Just...ya know,,,,sight-seeing and all that. You know how us Air Nomads can't stay in one spot?" As much as she loved her old friend, she really didn't think it smart or necessary to tell him the REAL reason as to why she was here. And it involved more than a zoo and some stupid tea.

"Master Niu allowed me leave, partly because I showed her to prototype of my new technique and this is normally the time Mei-Mei and I make a trip back to the North to see mom and dad anyway. I'm just.....taking a detour of sorts, raising trouble and all that jazz."

And you, she wanted to add but the words just dangled in her brain.

The air became still and she suddenly felt uncomfortable, the less he knew right now the better. Technique and her reason for travel and all.

"But YOU," Hun-Hun piped, her eyes shimmering with mirth, "Mister Busy-Body, what have YOU been up to?"

ooOOoo

She paced down the dark corridors of the inner sanctum of the Breach. Her footfalls soundless. Several warriors passed by her and gave their tell-tale salute, she only acknowledged them with a swift nod of the head.

Before she could round a corner her gait came to an abrupt halt, "Yes LiQiu?"

The young warrior in question, LiQiu, stopped and suppressed the nagging feeling of her heart jumping into her throat. It was impossible to sneak up on this woman!

"Major Ai," LiQiu pressed, padding up to her, "I've been informed that the General has arrived here at the Breach about half an hour ago and is in her office. Shall I send word?"

"That won't be necessary," Major Ai replied evenly, hands clasped firmly behind her back,"She'll be inspecting me, as always." She did not turn to the face the younger warrior but continued down the hallway. The younger girl nodded and turned down a different hall. Major Ai pressed on for a few more minutes before stopping before a grand metal door. With a mighty stomp she forced the gate open.

"General Yu," She strode into the grand-room and kowtowed, "Major Ai reporting. We have detained the intended target of the Northern Water Tribe. We are currently seeking further instruction as to what should be done with him.....and his little friend."

"Excellent." General Yu said, standing at the window. She peered out at the horizon through the stone slats, her arms held behind her back. She turned from her view and marched across the room at a rather leisurely pace, placing a hand on the pommel of her sword as she so often did. The other hand she left behind her back.

"Our enemy believes that we take their word for it that they will not attack again." she said, pacing around Ai. "However, the movements near the region of the Western Air Temple is a clear sign of aggression. Within a few months, the Air Nomads will fall under Fire Nation attack. It is certain. The Air Council has already prepared the Tekina-Kaze for battle and stands them by for it. I want you to question our guests immediately, Ai. I want to know why Novai has sent his allies to spy for him in my city."

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