The night is lit by heavily shaded lamps, glints of teeth and steel as smoke curls into nostrils and noise steals away hearing.
Mai keeps close to my side as we weave through the market, wary of pickpockets and lecherous eyes clinging to her form beneath the cloak like hot tar, sticky and persistent. Beside her, I am beginning to feel angry. This, more so than anything I have yet seen in this world, is sexual harassment, but from all sides, and normative to the extent that it feels all-too descriptive when I find this to be not as startling as it should be to me.
We debated our purchases and prices beforehand with the crew, so things go relatively smoothly as we barter. That is, until we pass one of the open bars.
There is no warning before a man shoves up behind Mai and grasps her chest and thigh. Her revulsion makes itself known instantly.
I don't stop her from nailing the man to the wall in short order with her shiny, new stilettos. I merely shoot his companions a half-lidded stare, hands in my wide sleeves, pretending to wait. They are smart enough to assume that I am dangerous, though not smart enough to realise that I am bluffing. If I launch any projectile attack, it would be coming from the drinks in their hands. For which, incidentally, a twitch of my hidden fingers is enough.
Can't have rumours of a waterbender going around here before they start up in Ba Sing Se, though.
Beneath my mask, I smile. Just enough brain to fear the possibilities, eh? I shan't complain.
It is satisfying to watch her terrify the offender and the witnesses. Perhaps the screams are a little too pleasing to my ears, but I don' think it really matters. That man should have been more careful in picking his targets if he wanted to get away with things.
Mai does not deign to speak before we exchange a glance to simply move on from the scene. I will be keeping a closer grip on my sense of bloodbags all around us. It isn't the full moon, so it isn't as easy, and there are too many to make out individual people, but I can make certain there won't be another person taking us by surprise like that. I have a feeling the next person will lose more than the tips of their pinkies.
"Hey! Where you goin'?" one of the equally drunken witnesses asks, ignoring the other man's screams as some helpful souls cauterize the bleeding rest of the offender's fingers.
"To a place where your fingers will be crushed to paste," she assures, and I enjoy the threat coming from her mouth perhaps a bit too much. We move along.
"What are you smiling about?" she hisses, noting how my eyes must crinkle even though my mouth is hidden behind my mask. It seems that my inaction is not entirely appreciated, even though I'm certain she would have made me understand that she can fight her own battles.
"I didn't think you'd go for the fingers."
She smiles, all teeth and sadism, "He's been threatened with mutilated genitals far too often. Let him fear for his existence."
I hum as we amble off, feeling that Mai has grown into an entirely unexpected set of morals/character traits. Gone is the apathetic fifteen-year-old. In her place is a fierce, slightly sadistic young woman with little, but just enough to lose. It does make me wonder what she's done with my view of the Fire Nation. She doesn't appear to have tucked it away in a dark corner of her mind. Instead, she seems to have thought on it, although I can't tell what conclusions she's come to.
Similar attempts at her virtue are thwarted, but after the fifth encounter, I offer my arm. This is becoming tedious. Mai seems to agree, but her distaste as she rests her fingers in the crook of my elbow is evident. Her grip is firm, and we move along smoothly. It must grate on her that this sort of thing wasn't necessary when she was recognisable as a noble in the Fire Nation or its occupied territories. It must grate even worse that it is expected to happen even with the difference in social status, only in hushed tones and less overt looks. The world is not kind, and it is never respectful.
Then again, this is the most amiable we have been since the time we had to free ourselves from Gorou's captivity. Who knew that it would only take a few broken noses and other minor injuries? We could have been getting along better all this time if we had made port more often to beat up some thugs with no conception of personal space or other people's boundaries.
I don't think I'm being too sensitive about this. Humiliation or an infringement upon a person's integrity and dignity is never acceptable. Not, that I always adhere to that. But I am well aware that in my old world, I would certainly be called a criminal. The problem is that I don't recognise any laws that might condemn me here as legitimate and there hasn't been anyone with the power to enforce their supposed authority in my case. That is, they have not succeeded.
Of course, the peace between us cannot last, since it is only the absence of tension.
It is when I spy hammered to the sign of a tobacco shop with ill repute a small lotus tile above the name like an afterthought that she once again finds me unbearable. Well, she doesn't know the significance of the tile, after all, even though I shared the existence of the White Lotus only a few nights ago. But she has other worries. Has been distracted and agitated all night. Her irritation with me can be forgiven.
"I'm not going in there," she says as I change directions to move towards the place, "It smells."
I shrug as her hand comes loose from the crook of my arm. "I won't be long. Look threatening or something."
She snorts, but leans against the wood of the doorframe, twirling one of her stilettos. She looks dangerous and willing to inflict as much pain as it takes the next dog to understand that no approach is welcome. Attempts at humping will be met with severe violence.
The door opens with a creak, loud enough to be heard above the bustle of the city. Inside, it is murky, heady with smoke. Only one dim lamp guides my steps to the low table where two elderly men with long beards and too many gold accessories are sitting over a game of Pai Sho, pipes alit as they concentrate.
At my entrance the one with the long beard looks up. "Got lost, boy?"
"Not sure," I reply, "Didn't seem like the kind of place I was looking for."
"So what are you doing inside?"
I am silent for a moment as I regard the board. "I was hoping you'd be able to help a lost boy out to find the place he needs to go."
"And where does the boy need to go?"
"I can't quite remember. But the place has a room for playing games, and a few ponds."
"Any particular kind of pond? There aren't many of those around here," sarcastic overtones colour the man's tone.
"You know, the kind with those pretty flowers in them."
At this both heads swerve my way again. Both sets of eyes narrow.
"Can't help you tonight, boy. We're busy. Come back tomorrow, midday."
Alright. "Sure thing."
Mai is eyeing the people milling about distrustfully when I return. With good reason.
I count, quickly. Ten burly, scarred men with too many metal rings in their faces are loitering, while the locals who don't own any of the buildings are making themselves scarce. This is obviously some sort of attack. The question is why and do they want us alive?
The fact that it's ten people tells me that either they have no idea that I'm a bender and depending on their fighting capabilities, they are not underestimating us – that is, to their knowledge. Carefully, I avoid thinking of the possibility that Gorou knows of my intentions not to reveal myself as a bender so close to Ba Sing Se. He hasn't done anything but make his intentions known to travel with me and make life difficult for the Dai Li. I've judged him to be genuine.
It won't do to doubt myself here, before everything has even properly been set in motion.
It won't do to get killed or captured by people whose motivations I neither know nor care about. But just in case they can make our plans halt, I will have to investigate this.
Either they are friends of one of the people Mai maimed earlier, but the lack of familiar or hateful faces makes me discard that possibility. Or they know we mean trouble for some important people, and they are working for these important people.
I do hope the Dai Li frowns upon piercings. That would mean that these men aren't the best earthbenders the country has to offer.
Probably.
I hate not knowing who I'm facing. Especially when I'm purposefully handicapping myself, and I didn't even used to play golf.
Well. Time to put those rusty fighting skills to use that Hahn forced me to develop.
Maybe this will even be fun. I doubt they're as skilful as him.
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