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 Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2006 9:30 pm
Avani paused by a vending table where the seller was shouting about his jewlery. He had never shouted after her, knowing that she had no money to buy and now watched her suspesiously as she ran a finger over a silver bracelet sadly.
There were so many pretty things in the world!
She shook her head, bringing herself back down to earth and quickly turning away and hurrying towards her intended shop. Lei had suddenly wanted green tea, and Avani still had a couple coins hidden away. She probably should have used it on food or medicine, but the young bender liked feeling like she could afford to keep them.
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Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2006 9:35 pm
No, instead he was shouting at the youthful Tsai Shen, fresh from his Fire Nation trip, and obviously able to afford silver, if you judged by the amounts of it, and jade, he was wearing, that is. The handsome teenager grinned, and picked up the bracelet that Avani had just set down.
Could it be?
Purchasing it quickly, he followed after her, and cheekily tapped her shoulder, grinning his familiar smile. If she looked hard enough, she should recognize him.
"Miss? I think you left something behind."
The Earthbender held out the bracelet.
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Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2006 9:50 pm
Avani only stopped as the person behind her boldly touched her shoulder, otherwise she would have continued walking and ignored the strange voice.
She sighed inwardly and turned around. "No, I think you have me mistaken for...someone... el-" Avani trailed off as she stared at the bracelet. Well, whoever he was, he had been watching her for a little bit now.
At least he was handsome...and...tan?
That wasn't something she saw everyday. In fact there was only one person who was that tan with a smile that evil.
The small dark eyes widened and she looked closely. "Tsai...Shen?" she asked curiously.
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Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 12:22 pm
That charming [or evil, as Avani put it] smile grew much wider and he ran a hand through his longer hair, pressing the bracelet into her hands with his other one. His earings glinted in the midday light, and for the first time in Ba-Sing-Se his eye was showing. It actually didn't look bad, having long healed. Taller than tall now, the dark-skinned youth hooked an arm around Avani's shoulders.
"Miss me, gorgeous?"
Same old Tsai Shen. Or was he? The new scars on his arms, and his much more muscled physique attested to his training. Of course, he hadn't had much bending practice... His Aunt didn't like Benders much.
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Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 2:56 pm
Avani smiled broadly and cheekily wrapped her arms around Tsai Shen's neck, pulling herself up and giving him a quick peck on the cheek, not caring that the market was full of people staring at the strange pair.
"No, no," she cried, laughing. "I didn't miss you at all." She couldn't have been happier and kept laughing, as she ran her hands over his ears. "What did you DO to yourself?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 3:06 pm
The youth had never been one to care for appearances, and squeezed her back, lifting her up off the ground briefly due to their height differences. Chuckling warmly, he almost self-conciously touched the scarred part of his face, before realizing that she meant his piercings.
"What? You don't like it? I think they're pretty."
Yes, pretty. Tsai Shen had always been a strange boy. Reaching a hand into his pants pocket, he removed a small, carved box. Inside was a ornate necklace from Fire Nation.
"Got you something, Avani"
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Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 3:41 pm
Only a rich boy would think things he did to himself 'pretty' rather then 'cool' or 'masculine', Avani thought with a smile.
"It's different," she said finally. "I see you have pointy shoes, too." The little earthbender watched as her friends hand had hovered near his eye. How long had it looked like that? She had never noticed, but then his hair had always been in the way...
Avani gasped softly and covered her mouth with her hands. "It's so beautiful!" she said, staring into the box.
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Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 3:50 pm
"Yeah, they're Fire Nation boots, actually, and... You like it? Really?"
Clearing his throat, he stopped himself from showing his true eagerness for her approval, and ran a hand through his hair, shrugging.
"Just something I found."
Casually touching her shoulder to steer her toward a tea shop, he pulled out a chair for her, before taking his own seat, and grinning happily.
"Missed you."
He was a bit of a goof.
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Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 4:03 pm
Before she knew it, she was sitting in a chair of a small shop.
"Yes, I really like it," she said, fumbling a little to put it on. "I missed you too," she said quietly, finally getting the clasp to close around the other side.
"You were away a long time," she said, her voice reaching whinniness only attainable by children like her.
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Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 4:11 pm
After a small menu listing several types of tea and snacks was placed before each of them, Tsai Shen lifted it in his long, slim fingers, raising his brows over it in her direction. He'd never really heard that pitch of whine before.
"You're right... I have been. But you've only gotten prettier! How goes your training?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 4:29 pm
Avani blushed light pink and smiled. "Thank you."
In the time Tsai Shen had been gone, Lei had been trying to make Avani gentler, or, at least making her more gracious. The younger sister said Avani didn't know how to take compliments.
"Well...I've been training a little. When Lei is ok to stay on her own she lets me slip away and I've done a little with Sen Wei, but not much. It's hard, because Papa still questions everywhere I go." She shrugged. "But Lei has been improving a very tiny bit. She went out to the riverside and dangled her feet in the water and watched me practice. But we could only stay out for an hour, then she started to cough a little."
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Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 4:33 pm
"You need to learn how to fight, it's often more useful than bending, Avani."
Now he looked concerned for her wellfare. There were a lot of bad things in this city, and part of the teenager though that her father might be one of them.
"Perhaps you could convince him to let you and Lei get jobs as maids? It'd only be a cover up, but I could pay a stipend to decieve him, and you could come train with me, while I teach Lei to care of the Elephant Koi."
It was actually a rather clever plan. Tsai Shen was a lot smarter than her acted.
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Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 4:45 pm
"Young ladies shouldn't fight," Avani said, pretending to be appauld, but secretly wondering if young ladies should bend even.
She paused, thinking. "It could work, but, but you really don't have to go to all that trouble! And besides, I don't know how long Lei could even be out of the house, or if Papa would let her take a job."
Although, she imagined that Lei would really like the koi...
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Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 4:50 pm
"Who the hell told you THAT?"
Tsai Shen looked shocked, and rather horrified at her reaction to his suggestion she fight. Young ladies needed to know how to fight more than most people! Jeeze, if his Aunt EVER met Avani's father...
"It's not trouble. Besides, Lei would like it. Feeding them only takes fifteen minutes, and then it's mainly rest. I hate doing it, so it's a favor to me."
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Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 5:13 pm
"Well, I mean, Papa....but..." She sighed. "Mother was a bit of a..." she tried to push the mean spirited words out of her head. She had heard shopowners call her mother names, like harlot. "She trained for a bit as a fighter. Papa said it made her..." She looked away from Tsai Shen, her face red.
"Too willful." She shook her head, knowing her father was sounding worse. "He's really not bad, just...oppinionated..."
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