The origin of the flame spirit(open to all)

[Axl Ro-Zu]

Once again, for what seemed like the 100th time, Axl found himself in Ju Shong. This time though, business hadn't brought him here. A sudden urge to travel to the famed city was what brought Axl here, a mysterious voice in his head, whispering the name of this great place. Axl found himself back at the library, the scene of a rather messy fight he had caused only months earlier. The scorched walls showed the damage Axl's last visit had brought. It looked as if minor repairs had been made, but nowhere near enough to make this library look as good as it once did.

"Hey!" Axl exclaimed, walking over to a guard posted at the entrance to the library.

"This place looks like a dragon sneezed on it, what's the deal? And why hasn't the fire lord organised any repairs?"

The guard chuckled at Axl, then directed him away from the area. Axl turned around once more, and peered over at the library, then over to the one place politicians would gather.

"If the damage I caused to the library won't get sorted by the government, I'll have to pay them a little visit." Axl mumbled to himself. He picked up his pace, pushing through the crowded market-place, in the direction of the tall building in the distance, known as the pillar of flame. It was a place where religious leaders would gather, as well as political leaders, who came to gain wisdom and guidance.

[Takumi]

Takumi stood in front of the Pillar of Flame, his back to the doors leading into the great building. His regular entourage of guards was still inside, and probably believed he was still inside as well. He had excused himself however, for a bit of air after staring at the religious monument of the Fire Nation that everybody so revered.

As he leaned against a supporting column near the entrance, watching the bustling crowd below him, he wondered why he felt so odd in that room. He never was a highly religious man, yet… Everyone worshipped the Pillar of Flame. A voice deep inside him whispered insidiously that he felt out of place because he was out of place; he was not like them- And then he would become mad at himself and forcefully banish the incomplete thought from his mind before it could touch on issues he never wanted to even think about. The whole situation sent him into quite a dark mood and if anyone who even vaguely knew him, happened to glimpse him, he was sure they would be in for quite a surprise. Luckily, no one would be able to be witness to that; he was entrenched deeply in shadow and was sure if anyone would be able to see him, it would probably only be robes and certainly not his face.

He saw someone nearing and quickly fixed his expression. It wouldn’t do to let even strangers know of weakness. He easily switched back to pleasant, smiling Takumi and watched the man approach with light curiosity. He seemed like a commoner and a rather angry one at that. Takumi wondered what he was doing here.

[Axl Ro-Zu]

Axl's expression had only gotten worse since leaving the library, a screwed up, near explosive expression spread across his usually calm confident face (explosive was literal, given his abilities and mood). He couldn't help but grumble and mumble as he walked, stopping at the front of the great pillar's entrance, now contemplating his next move.

"Damned government and their useless governing, burn em, no no no....." Axl mumbled to himself, although rather loudly.
Calm yourself Axl, keep composure, last thing you want to do is set off 50 angry guards. He thought to himself, with a deep sigh. Axl's anger began to reach its full. Flames now burst out of his nose rapidly, as his blood in his face reached a near boiling point. Shouyou, Axl's pet Salamander, joined in on what it thought was a game, dwarfing Axl's nasal flame by at least twice the size.
Axl hated this kind of situation, politics was definitely not his strong point. He tried to stay away from people, and buildings of this sort, but this time he an obligation, something had to be done.

He now paced back and fourth, frustrated, and so far hadn't noticed the robed man standing in the shadows.

[Takumi]

Takumi listened to the man fume. From his words, it was apparent he was dissatisfied with the governing powers of the Fire Nation. Who specifically and why was a mystery. He contemplated the idea of catching the man's attention and speaking with him. The action would be ultimately superfluous; while he had much influence in the Fire Nation, he only asked for favors or had strings pulled when the situation warranted such or was somehow beneficial to him in the long run. The worries of the average peasant, while good to know on the whole and perhaps even individually from time to time, shouldn't be his concern. Yes, he listened patiently to their problems, his image would be distorted otherwise, but more often than not left the decision to change things in the hands of the respective government official in charge. He dropped hints sometimes when he recognized a fault that could effect many, but generally trusted the government to keep somewhat of an order. Most officials he had met would most likely carelessly dismiss most of the commoner population that complained, but they did their job well enough if they didn't wish to face a discontent Fire Lord.

The man he was absently watching suddenly blew fire out of his nose - rather odd place, though he has seen it before, frequently around less civilized nobles who frightened for power - as his pet enthusiastically joined in. He seemed quite incensed. If he were to attack the Pillar of Flame, it would inevitably create a scandal and cause unrest and would eventually amount to something troublesome if left alone for too long. He should intervene; diplomats keep peace, don't they? And besides, he needed a distraction.

"What is the matter?" he asked, stepping away from the column and out into the light with a light, curious smile, hands folded inside his sleeves.

[Axl Ro-Zu]

Axl paused suddenly, he hadn't even noticed Takumi standing there. For the moment, his anger-level lowered.
"The problem? This government! This place is supposed to be one of beauty and respect.! The so called Government here are filth, lazy....fat......old men who do little more than claim taxes and order people to their death!" Axl's anger began to rise again.

He clenched his fist, and refrained from sending a fireball into the pillar's wall. The only real reason holding him back from burning this place down, as his respect for the area's history.

"I am sorry for my rather rude mood, not the best first impression." Axl said, dusting off his clothes and attempting a smile (which was rather hard considering his incredible rage).

"Axl, Axl Ro-zu. Pleasure to meet you and I apologise for my attitude....." Axl's anger uncontrollably raised again. "....but these political bastards need a wake up call!"

[Takumi]

"A pleasure as well, Axl," Takumi murmured, observing his volatile fits flare up and down. Takumi mildly supposed he should be frightened, as any other, powerless, non-bender noble would be; Axl appeared quite dangerous and ready to instigate violence and while he himself was not completely defenseless as many were led to believe, he was not a bender. He certainly could not imagine facing one in a fight in any case. He was one to use words, not fists. However, he wasn't feeling the least bit of fear at all. He was a diplomat; he was used to infuriated benders and non-benders alike. He recalled a meeting with one particularly furious governor who also happened to be an earthbending master; the ground he was standing on was suddenly many meters into the air before his guards could really understand what was happening.

"No need for apologies," Takumi smiled. "If I may ask... What has the government done to anger you so?" Axl's descriptions fit most government officials and Takumi had to inwardly laugh at his outspoken insults. He wondered what they would say. It was amusing to say the least.

[Axl Ro-Zu]

Axl's expression shifted rapidly between anger and a polite-look. He winced at Takumi's genuine curiosity, and for a moment, struggled to find the right words.

"What haven't they done, would be more adequate." Axl said, humorously. He walked over to where Takumi had been standing, and leaned up against the wall in frustration, tapping his foot as he thought of a way to illustrate his frustration with words.

"You may or may not know about this, but there was an incident at the library some time ago. Some of the records were lost, but that's not what I'm worried about. The building itself, is what I'm concerned about. Legend says Roku himself used to study there, as a youngster." Axl's face changed for what seemed the hundredth time. He pushed himself off of the wall, and began pacing around Takumi.

"A building with such rich, significant history shouldn't have taken so long to be repaired. I even went as far as sending a considerable amount of money to the pillar's office, only to find it had been spent on a man named Kumori......" Kumori was a man of great importance, if ever the fire lord needed a right hand man, someone other than his generals or own children, this Kumori was the man for the job.

"on a holiday of all things!! Well, all I managed to find out was it was used for travel expenses," Axl said, gritting his teeth as he paused. "but his log had *Off for personal reasons* written down in it. " Axl said, putting on a very formal accent in mockery of the man.

"Even an idiot could interpret what that meant. Don't ask me how I know all of this, I have my ways. Information gathering is one of my skills." Axl said with a cheeky tone. One of the perks of being a mercenary, especially in situations such as these, was being able to infiltrate even the most secure facilities without being noticed.

[Takumi]

Takumi nodded thoughtfully at Axl's account of the library. He had heard of the library, damaged due to reasons that were questionable, as the politician's testimony did not match up quite as well with other witnesses, of which he thought of as more believable. If he could recall correctly, the man who set fire to the library had a description quite similar to the man pacing in front of him. He had noble intentions regardless. His mention of Kumori was interesting, but simply goes to show how much influence the man had. He did not think the money was used for a vacation from Kumori's rather shady background, but where exactly he went would be left for another time. What was most interesting instead was Axl's information gathering skills. He should not have been able to find out where his money had gone. It was a rule not to leak information like that to commoners and Takumi was sure Axl was not an official of some sort; his bearing was too relaxed. Takumi kept that in mind as he glanced behind him at the Pillar of Flame.

"That's unfortunate. I apologize on behalf of their poor judgement. Repairing that library is obviously of more importance than a single man's pleasure." He paused. "I know you've told me not to ask, but... I am curious. How do you know?" Takumi usually wasn't one to pry so soon, but this honestly had him intrigued.

[Axl Ro-Zu]

Axl stopped, and turned toward Takumi. "Why are you here exactly? You know my reason, now what's yours? Do you work here?" He said, a slight crease was now visible between is eyebrows. Sharing his chosen lifestyle with others was rather risky, he had to be sure Takumi could be trusted.
Shouyou, Axl's pet, seemed calm enough. He began to pace again, now worried he had said too much.
"If I tell you, and perhaps you aren't pleased with my answer, what then?" Axl asked.