Instinct [Miss Ezera]

Time, he noted bitterly, was an illusion.

With age came understanding, and as he jumped from one roof to another he finally understood the meaning behind his grandfather's insane riddles. Trying to hold time was like chasing after a deranged mongoose-dragon: You'd lose more than you ever gained, and possibly get trampled in the process.

He wasn't sure about the trampling part, but the former was practically a principle. He'd been chasing time ever since it slipped away from him. Right now, he was deftly running out.

The winds parted as he landed in an alley soundlessly. He shifted his charge in his arms carefully and blinked through the shadowed-eye holes of his crimson red mask. The moonlight glinted against it's golden horns and cast his body in darkness at the oddest places. Most who shuffled by ignored him, though some who weren't familiar with his presence were frightened half to death.

"GAH!"

The red oni slipped back into the shadows and took off, he couldn't be worried about the public right now.

ooOOoo

"A....Aka?"
"Sit up Mei, come on....you can do it." There was a rustling of fabric and a splash of water as the child sat up. Her movements, "Aka" noted, were terribly sluggish and her flesh was hot to the touch. Crystal-blue eyes watched over her in quiet worry and went to grab a small cup. Filling it with water, he used his free arm to scoot her closely to him, away from the discarded oni-mask.

The child, Mei, blinked blearily and rubbed her eyes. She looked down at the mask in confusion for a minute before settling on her guardian's face, breaking out into a tired cheeky smile. "Aka" gave her a pointed stare and her smile turned into a pout; in the end she opened her mouth wordlessly.

"Come onnn Mei. This is for your own good, it'll make you big and strong." His lop-sided grin deflated against her steadfast grimace and he sighed. Squaring his shoulders, he procured a can of a sweet-smelling paste and gathered a small amount. Without hesitation he dabbed the paste on her tongue and gave her the water to drink/ As usual, she spluttered and gulped it down while he rolled his eyes.

"We'll be home soon Mei," He said off-handedly, "Where you can get bet-"

Snap!

With reflexes quicker than lightning, "Aka" was fully masked with his twin uchigatana unsheathed and poised in offense. He rotated so that his back was facing Mei, blocking her out of harm's way. His shadowless oni eyes scrutinized the darkness, though he tended not to rely on his eyesight much. It was his sharp hearing that caught the faint disturbance in the little "forest" and, judging from the reverberation.....it was straight ahead of him.

"Aka" rose to his full height before dropping into a stance. Swinging his arms in arcs, he crossed his blades with a sharp zing! and turned their razor edges upward. They criss-crossed before him in a foreboding "X" fashion and remained that way. The noise bounced through the wind as he glared through the dense darkness.

That was his first, and final warning.

Ezera felt her heart beat a mile a minute as she run desperately through the cruel darkness. The only thing she could hear was her was the sound of her breathing, but she knew the idiots were behind her. Coming for her. The unforgiving wind whipped her long chocolate curls around her face as she sliced through the air. Ezera's usually keen eyesight didn't pick up any sign of her waterbending twin, or those who were hunting them.

Ezera began to think the worst had happened to her wild sister, and almost felt her carefully contained rage begin to boil inside of her.

If they have hurt Zakura, I'm gonna...

Her thoughs were broken by the sound of a branch snap as a hooded figure jumped out at her from the dark. Ezera quickly twisted around shot a jet of flames from her fist, which was accuritly directed at the figure's chest. The hooded man was blasted back, giving Ezera more time to break into a sprint, furthing the distance from her and her attacker.

Times like this, she really wished she wasn't related to the Avatar.

Ezera and her Twin sister had been innocently making there way to Omashu when a scout for powerful man in the underground over heard them talking about their aunt.

Turns out, that man had it out for the avatar over something that happened years ago. His way of revenge? capute her beloved neices.

She kept running, hopeing to see a glimpse of her sister. But so such luck.

Then, out of the darkness, something struck her as fast a python. She felt a stabbing sensation as someone hit her along the side of her toned torso and arms. Chi blocker. Ezera cried out in pain as she fell, unable to feel her limbs.

"Ah, and she a pretty one, aye? just look at those legs..." One man said, Ezera could almost feel his hungry lustful eyes on her body. "Shut up! boss ordered the twins to go straight to him, Then you can play with 'em!" The other said.

Ezera managed to turn over and glare at the men, her large, beautiful amber eyes burning. "You try anything and I swear I will burn your manhoods off!" She hissed loudly, anger dripping from her words.

His snicker was ravenous. ”Don’t worry sweet cheeks, you’ll have plenty of time to play with our-” A firm yank on his upper arm jostled him from his taunt and he snarled. What is it you idiot!?” His partner pointed frantically in front of the girl and continued yanking his shoulder, stuttering hysterically. Suddenly frustrated, the earthbender snapped his eyes in the same direction near the base of the trees.

His jaw almost hit the forest floor.

Standing a ways away from the three of them was a tiny being mostly shrouded in complete shadow. Its face was smooth and round like the moon, snow white with a pair of sickeningly adorable black holes for eyes. The face itself was slightly lopsided, giving off a rather curious tilt. Its mouth was a single round circle, while the creature wore a white and gold hanbok fit for a very small child. The two good-for nothing men took a step backward and froze. As the chill-inspiring creature peeked from around one of the trees, the fumbling chi-blocker beat everyone to the punch with realization.

”Ko…Kodama spirit!”

“Tai, What the cinders is it doing here?! The earthbender hissed, nearly giving himself a crick in his neck when he turned around. ”I thought they only protected children, not women!”
The chi-blocker shrank under his partner’s harsh glare and threw his hands up, ”How am I supposed to know?!” His eyes darted from the Kodama spirit, to the girl they were after, and then around the dark forest. For a second there he thought he’d glimpsed red with golden horns. Was he imagining things?

No, of course not.
Right?

”You’re the one that believes in all that supernatural garbage!” The earthbender eyed the little spirit tentatively and sank into a stance. “From what I remember, Kodamas are nuthin’ but kid-spirits. It’s by itself, all we have to do is scare the stupid thing off.” The chi-blocker, Tai, pulled at his vest collar and gulped. Something about that solution didn’t add up right. ’Yea, they’re kid-spirits and they usually protect children…..but they tend to come in pairs n’ stuff. This one’s by itself. So why would it just….?.’
Tai glanced at his partner, “Shuno…man….I don’t think you should do that…”

“Why?” Shuno snapped.

’Because…..’ He mused, fear gnawing at the back of his neck, seizing him forcibly when his eyes widened in horror. His hazel eyes darted over to the tree Shuno was currently next to, and locked onto obsidian eyes.
Obsidian eyes surrounded by crimson red, with malevolent golden horns and a permanently ferocious smile.

“SWEET RAN AND SHAO! IT’S SHADOWIN' THE AKUMA!”
Shuno whirled around and shrieked. “ A what?! Glerk!” A clawed black hand snaked it’s fingers around his neck and clenched it in a vice grip. Shuno kicked his leg out from under him and flailed when the Akuma demon threw him backward. He slammed into a tree with so much force that branches snapped and leaves scattered. Without missing a beat, he rolled to his feet and sunk into a defensive stance.

“Tai! Get the girl! I’ll handle this demon.”
Tai looked down at the girl and immediately recoiled. The kodama that hid in the shadows was standing right next to her, giving him a questioning look.

Naturally, he shrank back and screamed like a girl.

“Tai!” Shuno rasped as the Akuma punted him back and forth like a kuai ball. “Tai-ACK! Get the-argh!”

Tai fidgeted and tittered on the heels of his feet. He winced when Shuno took a spinning kick to the face, cutting his eyes away the moment the demon punched him in the spine and sent him rolling. ‘Man we’re dead! Boss is gonna’ kill us if the spirits don’t take us out first! If I can just sneak sweet cheeks away when he’s not lookin’….

The chi-blocker took two steps forward.
And came face to face with a ferociously grinning demon.

Again, he naturally shrieked like a spineless girl.
“N-Nice Akuma?”

Silence.

“We don’t want any trouble…..please?” Tai squeaked.

Silence.

Tai held up a tremendously shaky hand and poked the demon in the arm.
Then let out a startled cry when the butt of a blade smashed into the side of his head.

The Kodama tittered away from the girl and joined the Akuma who was looming closely over the mens’ bodies. Its tiny hand touched the neck of one and recoiled to inspect the other. Satisfied, the little spirit looked up at the frightening red-faced demon and nodded.

He nodded in return.

The Akuma sheathed his twin uchigatana blades behind his back and crouched down to the little spirit’s level. The Kodama placed her tiny hand in his, and the two of them turned their attention to the girl on the ground, so perfectly in sync that it was eerie. Wordlessly, the little being tugged on the menacing demon’s sleeve and nodded in the young woman’s direction. The Akuma looked down at the kodama for almost an eternity before looking back at the girl.
Soundlessly, he paced over to her.





[ooc: And BAM! Yea, I um…hope you didn’t mind me npc-ing the two men? Jianjun didn’t kill them, he just beat the snot out of them and knocked them out. XD He wouldn’t kill them because Ahn-Mei, aka “Kodama spirit” was there. Plus, it’d be fun if they came back again and kept pursuing Ezera, glorious suspense drama and action! At this point no one can tell if these two are human or not, because it’s dark. So Ezera shouldn’t figure out that it’s just a dashingly handsome crusader pretending to be a vengeful spirit. Lol Wow….this is a long note isn’t it? Oh! And if you’ve never seen a Kodama, google them! They’re so strangely-adorable!]

Ezera was still fazed from the events of the night before, she couldn't stop thinking about the two spirits. In one way she had been fasinated, mesorized by the two. But half of her was still utterly terrified of them. Yet, she desperately wanted to see them again. The dark eyes of the Akuma were imprinted in her mind...

smack!

ouch.

"Watch it!" someone hissed, as Ezera rubbed her forehead as she got up. Was it just her, was she doing alot of falling recently. Ezera looked up at whom she had absent mindedly walked into, annoyed at his harsh tone.

"Me watch it? maybe you should look where you are going, buddy!" She hissed back, amber eyes glaring at the young man infront of her.

He was at least a head taller then her, with a mass of shaggy black hair and pale skin. He was scowling like a old man, with what seemed to be a perminiant sence of frustration on his face. But for some odd reason, Ezera couldn't look away from his eyes.

They were a strange shade of blue, not like any blue she had seen before, and she had grown up in the southern water tribe.

How...amazing... she thought to herself, before shaking the thought from her head. She was still mad.

Ezera pushed back her chocolate curls from her face, which had flown into her line of sight when she fell. "People these days.." she muttered, dusting her clothes off.

She was already distracted by the spirits, she wasn't about to let a random boy make her mad.

Jianjun's mouth was poised for an equally nasty retort when his ears twitched. 'That voice!' His mind clicked, and he regarded her through his shaggy bangs. The forest was so tightly packed with dense foliage that it made both moon and sunlight impossible to penetrate. For Jianjun it was nothing; for he was used to maneuvering and working in complete darkness his entire life. However, as Ahn-Mei had recalled about the young woman's unusually bright eyes (which he had to admit, were quite dazzling) and "candy" hair....coupled with that familiar voice.....

His brain quacked again like a hysterical turtleduck.

Keeping his face as impassive as possible, Jianjun side-stepped the yapping girl in one fluid motion and sniffed indifferently. His eyes darted toward the onlookers in the shopping district, some of them stopping and craning their necks at the display.

"Mind keeping your voice down?" He replied coolly, "You're causing a scene." He casually tucked his hands into his pockets and fixed her with a glower before walking away. "Peasants these days." He scowled, not even caring whether she'd heard him or not.

ooOOoo

"Jiji's home! Jiji's hooooome-ack! ack!"

The bounty hunter nudged the sliding doors shut with his foot before he was promptly tackled by the bane of his existence. Ahn-Mei pressed her sticky hands, what had she been doing?!, all over the back of his pants as she hugged him with all of her might. He was about to freak out about her messy state when the child pulled back and gave into a coughing fit.

"Thank goodness you're back!" A woman exclaimed with relief. She stooped forward to gather the scribbled up scrolls that his "daughter" more than likely left all over the floor in her hands and sighed. Her ink black hair fell around her left shoulder and she smiled at him tiredly, her hazel-green eyes twinkling.

"I'm sorry Nariko-san." Jianjun pried Mei away from him tenderly and slipped a few coins into the woman's hands. To which she only accepted after his constant urging. Nariko nodded her head toward the four year old who managed to cling to her "father".

Again.

"She's been having terrible coughing fits. Tana-chan and I gave her some ginger to settle her stomach, and little camomile with honey for her throat."

""Thank you Nariko -san."Jianjun sat Ahn-Mei down on a cushion and felt her forehead before procuring her daily dosage. Her temperature has gone down considerably....' "Has she eaten?"

Nariko ceased rolling up Mei's play scrolls and looked at him. "Only a little."

Jianjun gave her a curt nod. "I'll take her outside fore a while. Mei, open up...aaaah aaaah...there we go! Wanna go outside for some fresh air today Mei?"

AhnMei clapped her pain-covered hands together and giggled, ""Yay!"
"Good. Let's get you in the bath first."

ooOOoo

Jianjun planted a hand on his forehead and scrubbed it over his face. His stomach grumbled and a guttural groan escaped his throat as he, once again, tried to teach the little brat how to use chopsticks.

With no such luck.

"Ease up on your grip. Okay....not too much now-Mei. No. Don't stab your food with the-"

SNAP!

Somewhere within the recesses of his mind, he could have sworn he heard his grandfather's raucous laughter.

By now it was midday, the city was bustling with business and his sour mood from his encounter with that peasant had more than vanished. Right now he was trying to concentrate on feeding the bane of his existence before she ended up starving to death. However, after going to six sets of wooden chopsticks.....with some of the food flying onto innocent bystanders, Jianjun just growled and took it upon himself to feed Mei with his.

Some people stared at him with an expression that he took for pity, which irritated him.
Others were mischievous.
And then there was that occasional thing where girls would look at him under their lashes and giggle, before making a strange, sighing noise.

To which he'd give them confused look, "What's up with that?"

As he was gathering a portion of noodles to stuff into Mei's sickeningly adorable face, his blue eyes fell on someone that he was sure he was imagining. His eyes widened only a touch before settling into a glare and he grimaced.

I hope to Agni that that isn't her.'

Peasants these days...Bah! Ezera thought to herself, well after the rude boy with entriguing eyes. Ezera was now put into a pretty bad mood, did that idiot go around calling everyone 'peasants'? Ezera felt her temper boil inside of her. Honestly?!? Who does that these days?!?

Ezera looked up, amber eyes scanning the bussy streets of Omashu, trying to find her sister's goofy grin.

No such luck.

Ezera blew a single curl out of her face, before her thoughs lingered back to the spirits from the night before. One thing that tugged on the back of her mind was if the spirits were infact spirits at all. They could quite easily be any old person trying to be hero.

Ezera needed to go back to the forest and find out for herself, the curiousity was taking over. Ezera kept walking, trying not to start day dreaming again and bump into anyone irrtating people.

Ezera let she eyes wonder over the street once again, in hope her twin might appear. Ezera tried her best to ignore the group of girls in fancy clothes turn their noses down at her in disgust. Ezera rolled her eyes, just because she didn't coat her face in make up and shove millions of sparkly flowers in her hair didn't mean she was a lesser person.

But it still hurt to be seen as ugly, though.

Ezera brushed off the thought and countinued, the wind picking and whipping her lovely chocolate curls wildy around her face.

Then she saw a pair of familiar blue eyes scowling in her direction. Oh, not you again... she thought, about to turn and walk the other way, but then something cought her gaze.

The very rudy boy was feeding a little girl, she looked around four years old. Ezera couldn't help but let a smile play on her lips at the sight of it, her big amber eyes sparkling in amusement and admiration. Ezera would never admit it, but she was a big softie when it came to children and animals.

Without even realising it, Ezera was walking closer towards the young man with a strange eyes and the adorable little girl.

But then a voice made her stop dead.

" H'llo again sweet cheeks..."

Jianjun, for all of his maturity, scowled in the peasant's direction and turned away. His day had finally managed to smooth out and he was not going to let some wench who couldn't keep her emotions in check ruin it. That being said, Ahn-Mei deserved his attention now more than ever; though his razor-sharp hearing made it absolutely impossible for him to focus on her. He was either too busy ignoring the fat man's incessant chewing and the snobby noblewomen's gossip way at the other end. To make matters worse, he'd thought he'd seen that peasant heading their way.

'Agni, this is cruel even for you.'

He was going to purposefully ignore her, again, when he realized that Ahn-Mei's plate was actually empty. She was currently munching on dango and trying her best not to get it all over her clothes, but that really wasn't working out too well. Sighing, Jianjun grabbed and began patting her sticky fingers and face.

"Hello again, sweet cheeks."

The bounty-hunter bristled.

Shuno brushed his lips against the girl and devoured her with his eyes. She was fairly shorter than him, with a petite frame that wwas so adorable it made him chuckle from his throat. It was a pity he'd have to wait to have fun with her.

"Relax pandalily," He crooned, leaning into her ear casually, "I only came to....talk. You were lucky those spirits came by when they did....."

He reached for her wrist and sneered,"Come around the back quietly, and you won't get hurt, dollface."

Ezera grimaced as she felt the horrid man's breath on her skin as he whispered into her ear. Ezera took a breath, trying to remain calm, not wanting to impulsivly do something that could get her killed. Ezera did not respond, in fear that she would yell. She needed to know if they had her sister or not.

Then he reached for her wrist.

"Come around the back quietly, and you won't get hurt, dollface."

Then Ezera snapped.

In one swift movement, Ezera turned her arm around, forcing the Shuno to let go and yell in pain. "Don't you dare touch me, you slime ridden peice of filth! and don't you dare call me dollface again!" She hissed, fists infront of her, legs slightly parted, like the starting stance for a boxer.

Shuno grinned at her, eyes drifting over her body, lingering on her chest. "Fiesty, aren't we?" he cooned, as people on the streets turn to see were the commotion was coming from.

Ezera's amber eyes were ablaze now, anger taking over. She swung at shuno as fast as a snake striking, hitting him square in the face. Shuno was pushed back, but quickly got back up, faster then Ezera expected

Ezera tried swinging at him again, resisting the urge to use her bending. Shuno dodged the punch and smirked, and readied his fist.

SMACK.

He hit Ezera with so much force she stumbled and felled backwards, wishing she hadn't picked a fight when the effects of the chi blocker last night.

The entire restaurant exploded in confusion. Chopsticks dropped, people gasped, women shrieked, and chairs scraped backward as feet scrambled toward the sliding doors. Curious eyes peered through the lotus shaped windows, paralyzed with anticipation and fear.

"Alright, I was going to be nice ya little wench."Shuno snarled, kicking her in the side as he towered over her. He crouched down and grabbed a fistful of her chocolate hair, before yanking and cocking his other hand back for a round-house slap.

It never came.

"YAAARGH!"

Jianjun seized Shuno's clenched fist and snapped it backward. The earthbender made an unearthly gurgle as he seemingly folded in on himself, before being yanked to his full height and face to face with his attacker. His brown eyes stared into bone-chilling blue ones and he frowned.

"What in the badgermoles do you think you're-"

"Leave. The Peasant. Alone."

Shuno rolled his shoulders and pushed Jianjun, who only side-stepped and smacked him up the side of his head. Snickers erupted from the crowd that dared to watch and the earthbender scowled, sinking into a stance.

"Mind your own business little boy, didn't your mommy ever teach you to let grown-folks handle their bus-" Shuno was cut abruptly by a sharp punch to the left side of his jaw. He staggered backward, tripping over his own feet before falling face first t the ground. Footsteps as light as air shadowed him and he was flipped over roughly.

Jianjun's glare could have frozen the moon twice over.

His words dripped with venom. "I despise repetition, but it appears an earth kingdom peasant like you needs my reiteration. Let me make my self clear:I DO not care if they're Water Tribe peasants, Nomad peasants, Mud-chucking peasants or even Fire Nation. I WILL not tolerate a man raising his hand against a woman."

Jianjun crossed his well-defined arms over his chest and frowned deeply. He hadn't intended on knocking the idiot onto the ground, and he wouldn't have. Had the buffoon not made a snide comment about his mother he wouldn't even be eating dirt right now. Jianjun was well intent on kicking the fool in his side before stalking away, until the next few words stopped him in his tracks.

"Watch who you're dealing with kid. You don't know who I am."

The bounty-hunter snatched him up in a heartbeat.

"Hwang Shuno. Earth Kingdom native and the bastard son of a nobleman and a district prostitute. Enrolled in a bending academy when you were ten; enlisted in Omashu's guerilla band when you were 15. Stamped and charged with repeated assault and battery of women, incarcerated twice."

The earthbender's countenance shriveled up and his forehead glistened in coldsweat. "How in the ashes do you know that?!"

His response was Jianjun's hand tightening around his throat. "Bounty-hunter." There was a glint of metal and then a choking sound as a kunai blade came up against Shuno's cheek. "500 yuan for your head."

"Chi-Chi, no!"

Ahn-Mei's screamed pierced through his clouded fury and he halted. Swiveling, Jianjun turned around just in time to see me Mei running toward him, tripping over her own feet.

He released Shuno and sheathed his throwing blade. "Mei get back!"

Bam!

Stars exploded in his line of vision. Jianjun gripped his left shoulder and felt a warm, wet substance stick to his fingers. Blinking several times to clear his vision, he spotted Mei still in her spot and sighed in respite. 'Going to have to teach her a lesson later about boundaries.' Scowling, the bounty hunter pivoted on his feet just in time to catch that good-for-nothing barbarian running away.

He kicked the ground and cursed the spirits before grabbing ahold of his shoulder again. What had that imbecile hit him with?! A razor-sharp rock?!

Ezera lay on the ground, the metalic taste of her own blood on her tounge. Ezera felt like the whole world was spinning and twisting, she found it hard to even focus on the dirt she lay on. Ezera tried to lift her head, but the pain from were Shuno had punched her made it hard to do so. Ezera heard some muffled voices and the unmistakable sound of a fist hitting flesh, and the crack of bones snapping.

Ezera slowly turned to face the idiot Shuno and whom he was fighting, and her eyes widened.

Him again!

Ezera could see the figure with amazing ice blue eyes, holding Shuno up by the throat. Ezera blew a peice of her hair out of her face as a shrieking little girl ran at the blue eyed scowler. Ezera's eyes widened in panic as the poor girl tripped, Ezera opened her mouth to yell at the little one to come back, but a sharp pain hit her again, forcing her to close her eyes and cringe.

When Ezera's eyes fluttered open again, she could have sworn she may have past out before. She saw The dirty Shuno running away, and the little girl standing by the young man with the shaggy hair.

Ezera's eyes widen at the sight of a patch of red on his back.

Blood.

Ezera bolted upright and run as quickly as she could over to the ghost like boy, holding her own head in pain. She couldn't help it, no matter who they were, Ezera need to help anyone who was hurt. It was instinct for her.

Once at the man, she smiled softly at the little girl before glaring at him. "You idiot! look what you did to yourself!" she growled, and began tending to his shoulder, not asking, or caring if he objected her help. Ezera lightly ran her finger the very deep slice in his shoulder blade, make by a peice of flat sharp rock, no doubt.

"you need to get that cut washed and dressed, NOW."

Jianjun groaned and tried his best to steady his stride. Was it just him, or was he suddenly becoming more light-headed than usually? He absentmindedly registered Mei's small hands wrapped around his leg and he closed his eyes.

Before an owl-shrew began shrieked in his ear.

Snapping his eyes open, Jianjun realized that it wasn't an owl-shrew but a very angry peasant. The peasant girl from earlier.

"Quit yelling!" He retorted, clamping his hands over his ears, "Agni why are you so loud?!" He shot her an angry glare before bending down to pick up AhnMei, who, out habit had hidden behind him with her knees shaking together.

"And there's a child present!" He hissed, "Keep your voice down you're scaring her!"

AhnMei averted her eyes from the golden-eyed girl and looked at Jianjun's shoulder. Her fingers hovered over the red "paint" and she blinked. Retracting her hand, she looked up at the bounty hunter with tearful eyes and sniffled.

Ezera rolled her dazzling amber eyes and sighed. "Don't be so whiny, trust me, a infected cut will be more painful then me yelling in your ears." She snaped before going back to examining the large slice on his shoulder.

Ezera may not be a waterbender, but she was damn good healer. Her soft, smooth hands glided tenderly over the slice again, her velvet like fingers bearly touching his skin, like a butterfly landing carefully on a leaf.

Ezera felt a bit awful if she had scared the little girl, it was just Ezera hated people getting hurt, specially if they had been doing anything for her. Ezera usually had her anger under a tight hold, but this goof-snob-idiot ball with strnage eyes could make her lose control in a instant.

She didn't know what it was, but she got the vibe that he really, really didn't like people. Well, with that adorable little girl as an exception. Ezera kept studying the wound, spotting a little peice of sharp rock wedged in the cut, Ezera presummed it was debris from the rock which orginally caused the damage. "There is a piece of rock in the wound, I'm going to have to remove it." She said, more to herself then anyone else.

Ezera needed her medi-bag, and it was far back down the street where she fell. She didn't know weather she could trust the young man to stay put well she went to get the bag. She looked at the little girl again, who had a tear running down her eyes. She sighed. "I'm going to get my bag, please stay put." She said politely as possiable, her voice now surprzingly more careing and calm then it was previously, before turning and running to get her bag, chocolate curls swinging in the breeze as she did.

Ezera cringed again as the pain from where that no good thug had hit her striked again, she pressed her fingers to her head, feeling a hot ,sticky, wet subastance on the place in question.

blood.

You can tend to yourself after you heal the stupid idiot who decided to save your life!

Ezera quickly snatched her bag, and turned to run back to were the idiot with nice eyes was hopfully still stnading.

'This. Is Just. Great.'


Jianjun couldn't even explain to himself why he had stayed behind. He had more than half a mind to disappear into the crowds when she sprinted off. However, something grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him to stand there. Whether it was curiousity or one of his random moments of rare stupidity, he didn't know.

Ahn-Mei rested her head in the crook of his neck, her curly black hair bunching up around her face and under his chin. A noise shivered from her throat and she nestled into him further, bringing a tiny fist up to rub her tired eyes.

Once the girl, whom he now settled on referring to as Peasant, returned Jianjun allowed her to "treat" his wound, albeit reluctantly. He watched her skill with a predatory glare, resisting the urge to snort. 'Your form is sloppy, it'll take weeks to get this out of my tunic now. Hn.Clueless peasant.'

He squared his shoulder and looked down at Peasant over his nose. "Next time, learn to dress faster." Jianjun shifted Ahn-Mei gingerly and brushed past the girl, slipping into the crowd and heading off into the distance.

ooOOoo

Ching!

Silver collided against silver in a flurry of twirls, leaps, slices and spins. The air parted as Akuma spiralled in several circles, ripping up patches of grass from the earth before dashing onto the stones patterned in the crystal lake. The lengthy, spiked mane of his grinning mask cut through the air as he performed his acrobatics. Flinging knives with a precision so sharp the branches in trees split in half. The demon's "dance" carried on like this for over an hour before he crossed his blades in his signature "X" formation. Panting slightly, his left arm dangled at his side as he ignored the throbbing pain blistering through his shoulder. Akuma glared up at the moon, before clashing his swords once more in another grueling kata drill.

He'd taken more pain than this, a rock to the shoulder was only a flesh wound.

Ezera was furious.

No.

She was beyound furious.

What an ungrateful, whiny, pompous lil' git!

Ezera had tried to be nice, but he seemed to be impossiable to please. I bet he is single! she thought angrily. What women in her right mind would hang around him?

Ezera readjusted her bag which was slung over one shoulder, tending to the cut on her head as she walked. The pig (no, not the blue eyes pig, but the other guy) had got away, which means they probably knows where she was staying. She needed to move.

Ezera besided she would stay at the inn closer to the forest, half because it was on the outskirts of the city if she needed to get out on a hurry, and half beause...the spirits where in that forest.

She was still thinking about them, now doubting they were even real. It was quite possiable she were two people just dressed up and loom around the forest and save people for a kick.

But still, curiousity always got the better of her. Ezera walked int the small, cozy inn, and the door rang a bell at her entry. Ezera looked around, it looked very traditonal and budget, but it was comfy all the same. Ezera smiled at walked over to the desk where she had to sign in and pay.

No one seemed to be there. Ezera let her Amber eyes look around for any sign of life...but nothing.

"Hello?"

"Ai-Yaaa! Tana-san! What did you do with the Dragon's Fire tea?!"

"What! You say something about going down to the sea?!"
"NO! The tea!"
"Room Four Eleven's key?!"
"THE TEA! THE TEA!"
"OH! It's right there!"
"Oh for the love of-Not the apple blossom tree!"
"....NARIKO-CHAN. GET THE DOOR!"
"....What?!"

Ding!

'How did she???' Nariko ditched the steaming china on the kitchen counter and came through the double doors in a flurry of wavy black hair and silk slippers. Bowing profusely, she slid behind the check-in counter and fixed the young woman with a small smile.

"Welcome to the Lotus Inn! Takayuki Nariko here, how can I help you?"

A crashing noise split the silence and the green-eyed woman sighed. Closing her eyes, she tilted her eyes toward the ceiling and half-scowled. Nariko blushed with embarrassment and excused herself, turning sharply and barking loudly.

"TANA-SAN! I NEED TO HEAD UPSTAIRS. CHECK IN THE THE MISS!"

"WHAT?! YOU WANT ME TO DECK YOU WITH MY FIST?!"
"NO! JUST....GET TO THE COUNTER!"

And with that Nariko bowed once again and dashed up a flight of wooden steps, flustered and obviously frustrated.

Creeeeeeak.'

Tana ghosted across the polished wooden floors and appeared behind the counter, her head just barely passing over the token draws. Her grey eyes devoured the young woman's appearance and her lips tittered on a knowing smile.

"That was quite the journey, wasn't it my dear?" She opened the token drawers and eyed her mischievously. "Winded from your travels I see?"

"I am Karada Tanae, welcome to my Lotus Inn dear. It shall prove to be a shield for you."

"What the..."

As Ezera waited, she could heard quite a fair amount of banging ang crashing from behind a large door, yelling getting louder and louder ans someone approched. Ezera stared at the door with curiousity, waiting for someone to emerge.

and that they did.

A women with green eyes burst from the doors looking rather stressed and frustrated, bits of her dark hair sticking up. Her entrance had given Ezera quite a fright, and she had stumbled backwards a little before regaining her balance.

"Welcome to the Lotus Inn! Takayuki Nariko here, how can I help you?" she asked, bowing and giving a small smile which Ezera returned.

"Ah, yes, I was wondering if I-" Before she could finish, Ezera was cut off by a loud crash!

The woman sighed and excused herself, before storming away, bellowing "TANA-SAN! I NEED TO HEAD UPSTAIRS. CHECK IN THE THE MISS!"A another yell replied, a voice which sounded like it come from a elderly woman.

"WHAT?! YOU WANT ME TO DECK YOU WITH MY FIST?!" Ezera bit her lip to stop herself from laughing.

"NO! JUST....GET TO THE COUNTER!"

Ezera's laughter ceased at the sound of a loud, errie creek from the door made her turn around.An old woman stood there studying Ezera, a mysterious expression on her face. She shuffled over to the counter like a ghost, before finially speaking.

"That was quite the journey, wasn't it my dear?" She opened the token drawers and eyed her mischievously. "Winded from your travels I see?"

Ezera put her hand to her head wound again absent mindedly, and nodded before bowing in respect. "I'm Ezera, from the southern water tribe"Something told Ezera Tana deserved ALOT of respect.

Once Tana had introduced herself and welcomed Ez to the Inn, cheaked her in, and given Ezera her room key, Ezera's big pretty eyes glimmered with a sence of serching. "Tana-san, do you know anything about the spirits that supposively live in the forest?" she asked, hoping for a answer.

"I know who you are," Tana replied, almost cryptically. She reversed Ezera's small coins for a bronze slot key and stepped from behind the counter. Stepping down, the elderly woman traipsed around the check in counter and stood infront of the young woman, studying her more fully though her head only came to the child's waist.

"You are indeed water tribe," She circled and ghosted her fingers over the girl's arms, nodding toward her own mental observations. "The hair and the shape of your eyes, as well as your build is a dead give away." The inn keeper pinched Ezera in a place only older women would dare to go and smiled mischievously. "Indeed, you have the endless curves of a woman from the tribes!"

She procured a stool from a random place and reached onto a nearby set of shelves. Her fingers, though long, groped around only to return with dust. Scowling, Tana brought her fingers to her lips and gave a sharp whistle. The rapid pattering of feet thundered down the polished wooden floors and three girls burst through the doors, giggling at attention. The first girl, obviously earth kingdom, stood tallest with short brown and honey brown eyes. She looked no older than ten, and held the younger two by the hands. The middle girl, was dark-skinned with deep green eyes and straight chocolate hair, obviously seven. The smallest was the color of porcelain, with bone-straight black hair in two buns and golden-green eyes, no older than four.

"Yes Tana-san!" They chorused.

"Jiao-chan, Hana-chan, Mei-chan, this is our guest Ezera-san."

The three of them bowed in an eerie sync. "Good evening Ezera-san!"
"Children,"The woman fanned her arms out in a friendly gesture and nodded toward the cabinets, "The workers down in the boiler room have finished bringing in the fresh towels, oils, and slippers. Jiaojie, I want you to take Hanabi and Ahn-Mei down to the rooms with you to help you bring them all up, understood?"
"Yes Tana-san!" Jiaojie, the eldest, piped.
"Good, and Hanabi?" Tana looked at the middle child knowingly, "NO bending that hot water child, you hear me? If anyone so much as catches you thinking to bend a steam bubble they have permission to whip you into the spirit world, understood?"
Hanabi immediately looked at her slippers, "Yes Tana-san."
Tana's wrinkles laughed as she smiled, "Good. Go on then children. Ahn-Mei, you too! Your father will be in from the towns in an hour, so run along."

The children bowed in accordance and, with one last lingering look at Ezera from all three, scampered down a spiralling wooden-staircase in a fits of giggles and laughter.

"Now," The woman tsked, turning her attention toward Ezera with a grin fit for a cheshire cat, "Let's show you around the Lotus Inn."

ooOOoo

"Just outside of the bathhouse are the bubbling spring gardens. They're closed off by a gated wall that stops just outside of Omashu's dense forests. The walls keep the creatures out, and our guests safe. I suppose we should head back to your room now, the girls' should have your oils already in place for you."

Sure enough they indeed were.

Tana walked over to the sliding doors and closed them from the patio. Turning, she was about to mention something having to do with the dinner that was coming when Ezera opened her mouth. The elderly paused in her stride and, stood rooted to the floor like a tree for almost an eternity. She did not turn around.

"The spirits......are mysterious beings. Initially we live in separate worlds, but occasionally the lines blur and our paths cross with their's. Nothing more to it." Silvery grey eyes slid over toward Ezera's golden ones and searched them hauntingly.

"Why do you inquire?"

Ezera felt as if the cheery atmosphere of the inn suddenly as Tana answered her question, the air becoming stiffer.

"The spirits......are mysterious beings. Initially we live in separate worlds, but occasionally the lines blur and our paths cross with their's. Nothing more to it." She said, her eyes sliding over to meet Ezera's, the sliver as peircing as a knife.

"Why do you inquire?"

Ezera's heartbeat speed up, "No particular reason,I was just curious I guess. I overheard someone talking about them and it intrigued me." she lied. She wasn't about to tell Tana what she thought she saw in the forest on her first night in Omashu.

Ezera smiled akwardly and bowed low at Tana "Thank you for everything, I think I should go get some sleep. It's been a long day." And before Tana could say another word, Ezera was gone in a flash to her room.

ooOOoo

Ezera turned the key, unlocking her room. rubbed where the old woman had pinched her, pretty sure there was a brusie there. Why did she have to pinch me so hard? she thought to herself, blowing a small curl from her face.

Ezera thought about the little kids who had greeted her in the entry room, the youngest one looking awfully familiar. Then it hit her. She was the little girl with the sparkly eyed idot fron earlier! that means...

OH YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! HE IS HERE!

Ezera felt her blood boil. If he came in a inch of her she thought she would snap. Fate, why you torture me so! The ungrateful snob that insulted her even when she bothered to help him.

Agni help me...

AhnMei bounced on the balls of her feet and squealed. "Yaaay Jiji's home, Jiji's home!" She pounced from her cushion she sat on and wrapped her oily arms around her legs. Jianjun let out a short gasp and caught the little girl under her arms, lifting her up in the air with a small smile. "Hey Mei! What....why are you so oily?!"

"She and the girls accidentally slipped into the hot springs and knocked most of the balsam bottles opened." Nariko supplied. Sensing Jianjun's worry, she waved her hands frantically as she cleared the dishes. "Oh no Jian-kun, none of the girls were hurt. The springs hadn't been heated yet anyway. And Tao got their in time with Kai to get them out."

Jianjun sighed in relief and set his daughter on the floor. Coming up beside Nariko he began to help her collect all of the used dinner bowls and plates, carting them into the kitchen. He set about helping the staff clean the dishes for about ten minutes before noting, well Nariko noted, that there were twigs in his hair. And so, darting out of the kitchen and scooping up the four year old, Jianjun grabbed fresh clothes and ran straight for the hot springs.

ooOOoo

"Do it again papa do it again!"

"Grawr! I'm a badgermole! Graaaawr!" Splash!

"But badgermoles dont swim silly!"

"You're right Mei, so...that makes me the unagi! Yawwwww!"

Jianjun popped up through the hotspring's surface and lunged for AhnMei. The four year old shrieked and swam away from the "unagi" as quick as her tiny legs would carry her. She paddled in the water and laughed as a wave of soapy water hit the side of her face. Jianjun dove again and resurfaced until she could only see the top of his head and his eyes, now covered with his hair plastered all over his face.

"Daddy daddy!" AhnMei splashed, "Can you sing me a song?"
:Hm? What kind of song?"
"Three Badgermoles!"
'Again?' "Alright, c'mere." Jianjun rose out of the spring and stopped at his waist. When AhnMei paddled over, Jianjun set about styling her wet soapy hair into two buns, already beginning to wave up from the dry air.

"Three mighty badgermoles live in an earth cave.
Papa Mole. Mama Mole. Bay-bee Mole!
Papa Mole is big and fat!
Mama Mole is slender and tall!
Bay-bee Mole is cute and snug!
The Dragon, and Sky Bison love them all!" The two of them sang that very verse together three times as Jianjun gave her a good scrub down. AhnMei generally didn't mind and continued singing with him, splashing her hands into the hot water with each tune stressed. They pair were so intune with their playtime that Jianjun's sharp hearing failed to detect the creak of the wooden doors as they opened.

"Three mighty badgermoles live in an earth cave.
Papa Mole. Mama Mole. Bay-bee Mole!
Papa Mole is big and fat!
Mama Mole is slender and tall!
Bay-bee Mole is cute and snug!
The Dragon, and Sky Bison love them all!"

As soon as Ezera had put her head to the pillow, she had fallen into a deep sleep.

It was so cold...

"Papa!" Ezera tried to yell, but the deathly cold made it hard for her to yell, the chilling air suffercating her in the icy abyss. Ezera was shaking violently, her shadow on the only thing that could hear her tiny yelps for help.

"Papa..." she whispered, bringing her knees to her cheast, her white lips trembling from the cold...and from trying not to cry. The icy walls of the crevice seemed to be closing in around the little girl as it grew darker.

Ezera felt her heart pounding in her little rib cage, every part of her body was covered in unforgiving ice.

no mercy.

"PAPA!"

Ezera bolted up right, eyes wide in horror. Ezera felt a bead of sweat roll down her face, her curls hanging in her face. Ezera's eyes loomed over the dark room, the only source of light was the moon, her people's gaurdian, shining in from thw window.

Ezera sighed shakly, "It's alright...j-just a dream...n-not again..." she whispered to herself, calming herself down. Ezera blew the hair out of her face and swung her legs over the side of the bed, and standing up, making her way to the window.

Ezera loved how the moon made the shadows dance around the room, giving off enough light for her to see just a little. Ezera looked down at herself, she had been so tried she had fallen asleep in her clothes. "You idiot..." she mumbled to herself when something moving swift and fast outside cought her golden eyes.

Ezera quickly ran to the window, heart beating fast. You are not getting away from me this time... like a cat, Ezera quietly jumped from her window and landed on her feet, posied and silent.

She moved swiftly into the forest without thinking where she had thought the shade had gone. Ezera's tired state dizziness from the hit on the head that day had made her even more impulsive then usual. But she was determind.

For some strange reason, the sprits had really got a hold of her.

"Alright woman, give me the coin bag and nobody gets hurt." A flint of steel glinted under the starlight and the sharp object was pressed against the woman's throat. Nervously she swallowed and stiffened when the attacker wrenched her head backward. The man turned the blade and breathed into her ear, her slender fingers holding a young boy's wrist in a death vice.

"Please! I gave you the bag now....just leave us alone!"

A growl trickled around her exposed neck and she flinched reflexively. A trail of saliva slithered from the lobe of her ear to the base of her neck and was shortly shadowed by the dagger, stopping at the peak of her breasts. "Actually," He hummed, "You haven't given me everything I've wanted just yet." He grabbed her by the neck and pushed her up against a tree. Forcing her grip away from the young boy, the ten year old stumbled to the ground and was met with a swift kick to the stomach.

"Dont you hurt him!" The woman spat and was met with a round-house slap.
"Would you rather the boy watch me humiliate you instead?" The man sneered, "It's all the same to me. Might even give him a few pointers. But you, so pretty....with your blue eyes and dark skin.....I will indeed have my way with you wench. Either give me what I want or the boy dies." To prove his point, he snatched the boy up by his braid and seized him by the neck. The mother shrieked and lunged, however the man side stepped and kneed her in the chest.

"Pathetic. And I thought you savages were good when it came to protecting your young. Like those beasts you tame. Filt-ACK!" A serated dagger pierced the still air with a sharp whistle and tagged the rapist in his shoulder. Stumbling backward, he dropped the boy on the ground and turned around wildly for his assailant. A steel toed shoe connected with his face and his neck was craned into the glare of a fierce demon's smile.

"THE AKUMA?!"

He was swiftly knocked unconscious.

Ching!

The woman scrambled over to her son and held him gingerly. Her grey-green eyes met with the spirit's pupiless ones and she bowed solemnly. "T-Thank you.....Akuma. I....I know none of the Kodama are with you...and that this isn't part of your job but....I thank you so much for saving us. I dont know what would have happened if-" Her breath hitched and the spirit nodded in understanding. He pointed his sword towards the boy and, getting the message, the woman stood and picked up the coin bag. Bravely, she walked over and cautiously pressed it into his hand.

The Akuma tilted his head at her curiously.

"I..I know," She stammered, embarrassed, "That you dont have much use for it in the spirit world...but....please. Think of it as an offering in behalf of the earth kingdom. Without your protection....we.....its my way of saying thank you."


Snao!

Ezera shifted throught the dence forest like the shadows that loom there, even though she was not a waterbender...she felt the strongest at night. swiftly she glided between the trees, avioding branches and anything else that lurked in the backwwods.

Her heart was pounding as she twisted and turned through the close gaps inbtween tree trunks, feeling flexiable and free.

A small smile played on the firebenders lips.

It was so thrilling and frightening at the same time.

Ezera was never been to supersious, but she was spiritual. The people of both water tribes are spiritual, it was just culture. But it was more curiousity then spirituality that had lead Ezera out this late at night to find her saviour, and the saviour of many.

Your crazy Ezzie! absolutely bonkers! She imagined her friend Kenta yelling at her, waving his hands in the air for emphasis.

You really are stupid, aren't you? she saw her sister's face smirking at her smugly.

Ezera, is is reckless, dangerous and reckless... her uncle Ryo said sternly, arms crossed.

Ezera shook her heard, trying to get them out of her mind. She knew it was stupid and dangerous, but she couldn't put into words how much this facinated her. After following the Akuma, she began to think he may not be a being from another world.

So why was she so stuck on finding him?

Ezera sighed, it is like when someone asked her why she felt more at home with her Uncle and auntie in the north pole then she did with her mother and father in the south. She just didn't know.

Snap!

Ezera instintively twisted her head to the noise, her eyes catching a glimpse of a shining blade, the moonlight reflecting of it's helt. Ezera coutiously walked forward, manuvering aroung the trees, until she saw him.

The Akuma, watching as to figures walked into the shadows, bidding him goodbye and bowing in thanks. The familiar fightened feeling pulsived through Ezera once again, the fear of the unknown.

Ezera sighed, taking a breath as if to prepare her for the incounter. She steped into the moon's rays, out in the open. Ezera bowed to the spirit, she could feel the light shining on her skin.

"Hello again?" she said calmly, trying not to sound nervous.

The golden ochre of his horns pierced through the shadows, the rest of his body enveloped in nature's darkness. Tentatively he wiped away a dark red liquid from the serrated edge of his hunting blade and sheathed it before doing the same to his uchigatana. Bending down, the demon retrieved a token from the man's pocket and secured his rope-bindings. The Akuma reared back and gave the man's face a sharp slap! His only reassurance was the steady rise and fall of his impaled collarbone. The Akuma grunted in disapproval, someone would have to clean that before infection set.

Then again, infection would be the least of his worries...seeing as the spirit managed to make the good-for-nothing thug a permanent soprano.

Snap!

He languidly walked through the dark foliage, parting the moonlight like courtroom drapes. Folding his clawed arms against his chest the demon turned his pupiless eyes on Ezera idly. Yes? His posture questioned. His arms only remained folded for a short time before they dropped to the side, the left one dangling a bit oddly. The Akuma turned his attention on Ezera fully and took a few steps away from her.

Crik! Crik! Crik!

Faster than a crack of a water whip the Akuma unsheathed his blades and darted toward Ezera. Several times he made rotating air slices in rapid succession before closing in on her. The Akuma came within a foot of her and flipped over her head, leaving behind a menacing grin as he zipped from branch to branch like an insane tiger monkey.


Without warning the spirit burst through a random clearing and came to a crystal lake. His feet stopped on the bank and he dropped his claws at his sides once more. Having more than a gut feeling that the human was pursuing him he watched the tiny stones as they lead from one side of the glimmering lake to the other.

"Crik! Crik! Criiiiiiik!"

Round lights, green and gold in color, bobbled up and down faintly in the trees across the water. The demon watched the balls of light and followed them until they parted from the trees. A group of Kodama appeared, ranging in several childish sizes, lined up like turtleducks behind a Painted Spirit, Izayoi, waving their little lanterns in the air. They continued uttering that odd "cricking" sound as the adult Painted spirit walked toward the bank on the other side. As folklore went, Painted spirits were always female with adorned dresses in the color of their nation. They mostly shadowed and looked after the down-trodden and forgotten, but tended after the kodama in the spirit world.

Their soulmate being the Akuma.

Akuma and Izayoi regarded one another in pained silence, neither of them moving as the kodama continued their haunting little chant. While he was completely aware of the girl noisly tripping through the forest after him, he couldn't tear his eyes away.