A Peaceful Interlude

[Kassa]

"You might as well enjoy it." Kassa pointed out, fighting off the sudden gloom that was once again threatning to settle on her shoulders. She kept a smile on her face, however, and forced her tone to be light. "I dont believe it will stay so peaceful for much longer. I dont know what will happen, only that something will. I'm sure you will be needed then." She said. "With the trouble this world has gotten into before; I'm sure you've read the reports as well as I have; I have no doubt whatever trouble is coming will be severe, and all help will be needed."

"However, I think we've talked enough about these gloomy things. Now that we have both escaped our guards, what would you like to do? Unfortunatly, I've no doubt that they will catch up eventually. Their like bloodhounds, an unfortunate talent that must be taught to all guards." She sniffed, thinking of her own set of body-guards that probably hadn't even realized she had left the temple.

[Takumi]

He accepted her wariness with silent approval. She was perceptive and this would surely be beneficial to her one day.

"As I am in your gratitude, you may choose whatever activity you see fit."

He smiled harmlessly. "I am afraid I may be lacking in activities that require any sort of bending however. I have the whole day to spare, so simply lead me where ever you wish."

(Please forgive the shortness. xd)

[Kassa]

OOC: Its fine. xD

IC:

"Any activity I see fit, hm?" Kassa said, rubbing at her neck. What sort of activity could occupy both an avatar and the advisor of the Fire Nation? Nay, She scolded herself sharply, I and Takumi. We cannot possibly enjoy any fun if I continue to consider us as our titles. She pondered, and she unknowingly began to pace as she did. There was really no reason to give this so much thought. After all, they could simply walk around town and probably be content. But she didn't just want to do that. True, she had had her fair share of outings latelly. What with meeting Mercy and then Axl, and Zunko at the school, although that was hardly unsupervised. And of course even her outing to the water tribe, which she wasn't going to mention to anyone ever.

But she was always-always eager for another adventure. For another outing. If anything, she absolutly loathed staying in one place for too long. But she couldn't risk another trip out of the nation, of course. She had promised, and the guilt from breaking that promise even once still weighed on her heavily.

"Oh, I'm truly at a loss." She admitted finally, sighing. "Do you have any ideas?"

[Takumi]

Takumi stood uncertain at the avatar's lack of ideas. He was unknowing in what children did in their free time, having never partaken in any activities as a child himself and that was in the Water Tribes. The only places he considered remotely interesting that he was sure Avatar Kassa had never experienced before were rather shady and he didn't believe dragging the avatar, much less any young girl, there would be entirely appropiate.

He glanced about for inspiration and noticed the crowd moving unnaturally, as if a group of people were shoving their way through. Quickly realizing the group were probably his searching guards, Takumi turned to the avatar with a polite, if not hurried smile. "Well, we may have no choice in the matter for now. Let's hide, quickly. My guards are growing ever closer."

Skimming his surroundings, Takumi noticed a variety of stalls and buildings that would be quite easy to duck in, unnoticed. He sighted a dark, unmarked building nearby that seemed most likely to be overlooked and gestured towards it. "Perhaps this would be adequate enough?"

(lol, I have no idea where I'm going with this. XD)

[Kassa]

OOC: This could be fun. XD We could run into some angry, illegal group or something. XD

Kassa glanced out to the crowd and sighed. She knew that the guards would be catching up, but she hadn't thought it would be so soon. "Xiu, couldn't you have incapacitated a few more of them?" She muttered to her pet. Of course, she didn't really mean it. She knew that the paralyzing touch of the shirshu's tounge wasn't the funnest experiance.

She couldn't begrudge them, really. They were supposed to be doing a job, and she could understand what drove them. Still, their prescense was annoying. While guards were usually quiet and unresponsive except in the face of danger, they would not let you do anything that they deemed dangerous.

She glanced over to the building Takumi had pointed out. "Xiu, my love, head back to the temple now. I'll meet you there later." Then she turned to Takumi and nodded hurriedly. "Yes, that'll work, I think. No time to lose." She ducked towards the building, assuming that Takumi was following. She waited just inside the door.

[Takumi]

Takumi closely followed after her, glancing behind him to make sure no one was watching before closing the door. He then turned to take stock of his surroundings.

They appeared to be standing in a dingy, dimly-lighted room. It seemed to be occupied by rather rough-looking individuals, all seated at tables that dotted the room. They all looked up at the entrance of the advisor and avatar and was currently boring holes with their eyes into the two. Faced with such attentions, Takumi smiled calmly, before glancing towards the avatar.

"Well now... What a predicament we've found ourselves in. What do you propose, Lady Kassa? We may be able to leave now, however..." The faint sound of his guards' shouting could be heard through the door behind them. "We may not be able to come out unscathed should we decide on that course of action."

He didn't wish to put the avatar in danger. He didn't have much means of defending her as it were, yet he also knew she could take care of herself and he wasn't willing to reveal their location to his guards simply out of worry for her welfare without considering what she herself desired first.

[Kassa]

Kassa sighed inwardly. She should have realized such a gloomy place would be housing characters such as these. The patrons were pratically glaring at her and Takumi, and it was unnerving, not to mention ominous. They looked as if they could get up and attack at any moment. Kassa thought she could see small packages on the table. Ah, so they were in the black market trade. Which meant that they already knew who she and Takumi were, as those in illegal business knew of those they had to watch out for.

"My good patrons, gentlemen and ladies." She said suddenly, putting on a demure air, blinking rapidly. "I do ask your pardon. We did not mean to interrupt your, er, dealings. You see, we are simply hiding from some people we'd rather not run into just now. So if we could intrude just a bit longer, we will then leave you to your business, and be on our way." She left the 'without a word about these dealings' unsaid.

She hoped that the patrons would simply leave them be. She didn't want to fight anyone.

[Takumi]

Takumi smiled slightly at the avatar's act, but didn't speak, attempting rather to blend in with the wall behind him. Some were eyeing his robes rather disconcertingly and he inwardly chastised himself for leaving them on. He usually removed the clothing denoting him as a Royal Advisor after he'd left the palace grounds, however being surrounded by his guards prevented him from doing so as it would surely raise questions.

He quietly scanned the group of individuals in the room and noticed that there were some who he recognized. They stared at him and when he met their eyes, they glanced at the avatar and back and Takumi softly shook his head, a barely perceptible motion. Already aware of his delicate situation, they then simply averted their gaze. Speaking out now would jeopordize his standing in higher society.

The room stirred at the avatar's words and some burly men seemed about to stand, however others calmed them down with quiet whispering. One table that consisted entirely of rather confident-looking young men stood and approached. They stood a fair distance away, smirks resting on their faces. "What about this?" one of them began. "The avatar defeats me in a battle and then we'll let you go." 'We' seemed to be his groupies, for the rest of the room had turned silent. Takumi noted he didn't recognize them; they were probably just upstarts.

He glanced curiously at Kassa; what would be her reaction?

[Kassa]

Kassa tilted her head curiously, examining the man from top to bottom. She knew that one who actually dared to challenge an avatar wasn't one to be underestimated. While many people were foolish, few were that foolish, nor were many quite that egotistical. But still, another part of her sneered inwardly. Foolish boy, to think he could defeat me! That part of her hissed. It was a part of her she was less fond of, the part she always thought of as the lurking dragon.

"Very well, if you are sure." She said quietly, her eyes flashing. She glanced once at Takumi, hoping he would stay out of it. She knew he wasn't completly helpless, of course, but she'd rather he didn't risk himself. "I hope you are speaking from more than some foolish pride, because you'll need all of the power you have to beat me." She continued, turning her gaze back to the young man.

[Takumi]

Takumi divined the cause of her glance and smiled harmlessly, softly murmuring, "I shall not interfere, Lady Kassa; I scarcely have the power to do so. However, as unlikely as it sounds, should you require help, my hand will be forced."

The young man sneered. "Don't worry. I have some tricks up my sleeve." His friends snickered. "I'll grant you the first move. Entertain me now, your highness," he baited, tauntingly.

Takumi regarded the young man thoughtfully. He wore regular fire nation clothes and seemed to him a normal commoner. There wasn't anything remarkable about him that seemed to stand out, besides his extaordinarily arrogant face. He truly wondered what this youth believed his advantage to be and while Takumi didn't expect much, he was fully prepared to end the fight in the swiftest way possible if the avatar displayed any indication of distress.

He folded his arms in his sleeves, idly toying with the sharp dagger hidden within with nimble, poison-coated fingers. His methods, while fast, may not entirely guarantee the young man's health. However, that doesn't seem to present much of a problem at the moment.

[Kassa]

Kassa gave a tiny nod to show that she had heard Takumi's words, and favored him with a small smile, as well. Then she straightened herself, and turned back to the young man with eyes glinting. Her face was hard, concealing the thoughts rapidly running through her mind. I dont know what he is planning, but the fact that he has requested I go first does not bode well. It was against her better judgement to do so. If ever she was in a fight, and if it was possible, she always waited for her opponent to make their move first. However, she had no doubt that, in this situation, negotiation would be useless.

Besides, the man's tone had touched something in her, and the fire had risen up out of pure anger. "Why, how kind you are to offer me the first move," She started, her voice lathered with sarcasm, "I assure you, that was your first mistake." Holding back her power, knowing that using so much on the first move was foolhardy, she lashed out with one hand, from which grew a long, solid whip of fire.

[Takumi]

The whip's aim seemed true, yet the young man's arrogant smile didn't disappear as it neared, closer and closer...

The room's dim lighting made it difficult to see, however just before the whip collided, something seem to balloon from him before there was a sharp hiss and a crash accompanied by an explosion of steam that obscured the room even more. There was a yell and some scattered cursing along with the rough sound of chairs being shoved back as people suddenly stood; clearly, many were riled by this.

Takumi, surprised at the turn of events, waved away some steam from his face with some amount of distaste at the dampness. The avatar was still within his sight, however being behind her rather limited his movement should he be forced to suddenly avoid or assist. He shifted slightly to the side, now to the right of her, however still slightly behind.

He was able to witness one of the youth's friends suddenly jump out of the steam at Kassa, knife drawn. Takumi resisted involuntary movement and remained still yet ready, poised to react at any moment should he see her go down.

[Kassa]

Kassa was taken by surprise at the sudden hiss and burst of steam. She growled lightly under her breath, rather annoyed by the sudden turn of events. She detested steam, it was hardly better than water. The sticky humidity of it made firebending more difficult. And aside from that, it was just uncomfortable. It would make beating this arrogent man and his friends that much harder.

Of course, She reasoned, the good thing about steam is that its lathered with water. And water, thankfully, is rather conductive. She smirked lightly, and then began to clear her mind rapidly, as she was trained to do. Her body was still toward where she had last seen the young man, but when his friend suddenly rushed from the steam, she spun towards him instead. There was a clap as she brought her hands together, and then a flash as she threw them out. A bright bolt of lightning ran from her, straight towards the boy with the knife.

[Takumi]

The attack struck true and the boy fell to the ground, unconscious. Before the defeat could be properly celebrated however, the original challenger suddenly appeared, injured from the avatar's first attack and apparently angry at her assault on his friend. He moved in a decidedly non-firebender way as a water whip headed at speed for Kassa's face.

Takumi watched. He'd had an inkling the young man was a water bender from the result of Kassa's attack. Steam is produced from water meeting flame, and the only way for such a large amount of steam to be generated from Kassa's whip was if he'd manipulated the water to shield him at the last moment. He supposed the water bender was here for a bit of illegal trafficking for his nation and had disquised himself accordingly. A newcomer most likely as well, for picking a fight with the resident avatar. It was useless and would impede what they actually came here for.

[Kassa]

Kassa saw the whip heading in her direction from her peripherals, and narrowed her eyes. So the boy was a waterbender. And he was causing trouble within the fire nation. Yes, yes, the avatars were supposed to be completly non-biased. They weren't supposed to favor even their own people over any others. But, franky, Kassa didn't give a flip. She couldn't help but feel loyalty to the nation that had not only birthed her, but had saved her from a poor life as well. Those of the fire nation in the same place as the boy annoyed her as it was, but they were her people.

But this. A waterbender causing trouble behind the scenes, threatning her nation. Well, that just wouldn't stand. Kassa felt a spark of anger, and spun towards the boy, fully intending on using that anger. She could feel heat building at her fingertips, so much so that it almost hurt. And, not even thinking of the consequences or of the fact that what she was about to do was extremely foolish, she unleased all of the energy she had built towards the boy in a form of a blazing fire-wall.