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"What part of 'no' do you kids not understand," a voice demanded angrily before slamming the door on them.

This wasn't the first one to do so. In fact, this was the last one left on their list. And their list hadn't been a short one.

Every place they went was the same answer. No, no, no. They didn't care if the boy had been briefly trained by Razuten. They didn't care if the girl was nobility or that her father was a colonel in the Fire Nation's military.

He didn't have any money. He didn't have a respectable name. Why should they waste their time?

Li Ren kicked at the door in frustration, though all she got for her trouble was a pain in her foot. "I have never been treated so poorly in my entire life," she fumed, turning to the taller boy behind her. "How dare they!? If a person is willing to work to learn, they ought to teach them!"

"Yes, it really was," Li Ren replied with annoyance. She glowered at the shut door for several moments as she tried to think of something, anything, that could be done. Somehow, however, she didn't think attempting to beat up a firebending teacher to give Rin-ji lessons would work out.

Letting out a frustrated cry, Li Ren followed Rin-ji down the steps, letting out her own string of colorful, but not terribly lady-like, words. "This isn't fair at all," she protested, throwing her hands into the air, "I don't understand! How can there be no one willing to teach you?"

"You had better not be giving up already," she growled at him, re-channeling all her current frustration in his direction. Li Ren was not used to people telling her 'no'. Sure, her father repeatedly told her 'no' when the topic of the military arose, but other people? They didn't tell Li Ren 'no'. She had money and a name, that pretty much got her anything she wanted.

Having lived the life she had, Li Ren didn't understand how Rin-ji could continue to give up so easily. Of course, Li Ren could afford to waste her days away with intense training for some abstract dream, whereas Rin-ji's options were severely more limited. She wasn't understanding of his attitude at all, which she made quite clear as she grasped his arm, "You said you were serious about this."

Li Ren let go when he struggled, but her temper didn't cool by any degree. "Well you don't have money," she snapped, moreso at the world in general than Rin-ji himself, though there was no way for the taller boy to know this.

Thinking clearly was difficult at the moment; she was so angry all she could think about was beating the snot out of something or someone. This whole thing was an outrageous affront to her dignity as a noblewoman. Which, at the moment, she was rather conveniently considering herself; Li Ren had yet to understand that if she wanted to step into the world as her own person, she was going to have to give up the various privileges she had been born into. She wanted both, but in the real world it seemed that few people cared who she was.

"My uncle," she started abruptly and then trailed off without completing the thought.

"My uncle," she began again, "...Is is a firebender. He's who I train with." Li Ren wasn't quite speaking directly to Rin-ji, but she seemed to have calmed down as she puzzled over this new thought. She had no idea if her uncle was actually a good firebender, but he was certainly a teacher.

On the other hand, was bringing Rin-ji so close into her world a good idea? She could easily dismiss him as a passing interest at this point if anyone chose to question her. Appealing to her uncle, however, meant bringing Rin-ji out into the open for her family to see.

"No. That's no good."

Li Ren stiffened and turned back to look at him. "He won't teach you," she said tensely, "Because I won't let you talk to him. I won't risk my own neck for someone like you." She winced slightly after she said it, realizing she had said more than she had intended. It was the truth, but it wasn't pretty and she had been avoiding vocalizing it.

"You don't understand anything," she yelled after him in frustration. Li Ren stood fixed in her spot for several moments, fuming at the whole situation. She knew she couldn't really be too angry at him since it had been her poorly chosen words. As such, she was mostly left feeling alternately angry with herself and annoyed with Rin-ji for taking things so poorly.

She wasn't about to let him get away though; not after they had come this far. Sprinting after him, she caught his wrist and jerked him back to face her. "You're beneath me. We both know this. I want to help you, but I'm not going to sacrifice myself either. Deal with that and we can continue to move forward. Otherwise you're back on your own." The words came out in a rush of adrenaline as she tried to pull her thoughts together and tried to make him understand the position she was in. As she spoke, her grip tightened on his wrist as she implored him harshly to try to see her reasoning. Her words were likely to only push him away further, but Li Ren was incapable of a gentler appeal.

Li Ren threw his wrist back at him angrily. She hadn't been able to make him understand. "You are beneath me," she repeated furiously, this time with a measure of scorn in her voice. "I don't know why I've been trying to help you, but clearly it was a horrible mistake on both our parts."

"Good luck finding anyone to teach you," she spat at him as she turned on her heel. As she strode away she thought she felt wetness in her eyes, which only served to make her more angry. How could she have ever allowed herself to become emotionally invested with a boy such as this or allowed a boy to make her feel weak. She didn't want to try answering those questions and moved away faster.