Heavy is the Head (Open)

[Admin of Genesis]

((Hi all. This is a pre-plot thread, intended to give people a chance to have their characters socialize and meet the Earth King before they get swept up in the plot. Any character with an approved bio is more than welcome to join. There will not be any combat in this thread, so having approved abilities is not required.

Also, being a pre-plot thread, there won't be a lot of structure to this thread. The direction this thread takes will be up to the RPers and how they choose to act in the thread. That is also why this first post is so short, to give people the option to choose how they wish to join. Enjoy.))



Two of the Dai Li's best agents, dressed in plain merchant clothing, bowed to Earth King Shi Huang as he exited his chambers. The trio were prepared to go on one of the Earth King's outings into the city's populace. This time, though, the Dai Li were especially anxious. With the opening ceremonies of the tournament nearing, the city was bustling with tourists. His guards were going to have to be extra cautious with all the ruffians in town, not to mention all the good people that were getting too excited by all the waiting.

Earth King Shi Huang and Avatar Xuan Wu had had it out the night before, their raised voices heard several rooms away from the more intimate meeting room they had been using over the more formal throne room. The Avatar had been growing increasingly frustrated with his friend's over-dependence on his city's sealed walls, berating him that he was leaving innocent people to suffer at the hands of the spirits. He claimed that Shi Huang could only leave them to die because he didn't care, because he didn't know them very well. So the Earth King left the Avatar to deal with his advisors and generals, and prepared to go out in the city.

Shi Huang was dressed as a well-off merchant, his clothing rich enough that he wouldn't have to worry about nobles or criminals targeting him, yet plain enough that he could interact with the majority of the people in the city. Leaving his quarters, his Dai Li protectors fell into step behind him. His servants made way for them as they made their way through the winding halls of the palace.

Before long, the trio descended the stairs in front of the palace, joining the throng of party-goers and getting swept up in the festivities.

[Leif]

Leif was in the midst of the party going here and there, playing tricks and having fun, using his bending for harmless pranks. He spotted a couple kids stealing some fruit from a vendor. As they attempted to make their getaway a mysterious hard breeze knocked them over, and Leif caught the fruit giving a disapproving smile to the youngsters. He tossed a coin to the merchant before he could begin to scold the children. The merchant didn't seem happy but didn't start a fuss.

Leif turned to the children two boys who seemed to be brothers. Leif tossed them they, with a sleight of hand and some cover from his long sleeves the fruit was lost to the boys. Leif left them in confusion for a moment before revealing he still had the fruit. This time he simply tossed it to them with a laugh.

The two boys seemed more interested in his tricks now than the food. Leif pulled out a coin and performed several similar tricks. He even began a guessing game asking them which hand the coin now rested. As he went on Leif spotted a richly dressed merchant with two guards. In as friendly as a manner as possible he walked over to the merchant.

"Now this man, my younglings, is no stranger to money." He said standing next to the man holding the coin. "Money, though, has a tendency to disappear." With the flick of his wrist the coin was gone. "Funny thing is though, it always seems to end up in with men like this." He teased as he reached behind the merchants ear, and pulled out the coin. "Look he even has money hiding behind his ears." Leif laughed in a light manner with the boys, and he made a gesture for them to scoot.

Leif turned to the merchant man, and stepped back, his smile falling to just a small one. "I didn't mean any offense my good sir, just giving the children some entertainment to keep them out of trouble. I ask for your forgiveness if I have offended." He said with a polite bow.

[Tidal Champion]

Parties were always hit and miss for The Champion. He never truly had fun unless he was the center of attention, himself. Usually that wasn't too big of an issue, as most parties he attended in his home village were held in his own honor, and the ones that weren't at least had an easily captivated audience that he could enthrall with his anecdotes and adventures. Any opportunity to give a speech certainly was not wasted whenever The Tidal Champion was a guest. Strangely enough, he wasn't invited to weddings very often, perhaps adventure makes people lose their appetites for cake.

Yes, ordinarily, he would be attempting to get some of the limelight, attempting to captivate the party and subvert the entertainment for the evening. Except, this wasn't really a party, it was more of a festival. People were on their feet, running around, buying things, playing games, meeting new people. It was fun, yes... but it wasn't relaxing. The attendees were busy, bustling about going from booth to booth. It was impossible for The Champion to get the attention of the entire group, at most he could captivate two or three at a time, hardly a good audience, and even then, they would be in a rush to leave after the story, to meet up with friends or family. So, with no audience for his attention-seeking, he was forced to wander the party alone.

He had attempted to play the festival game, where you try to catch the little fish with the paper nets before the paper dissolved in the water to win a prize, but he was kicked out of the booth for using waterbending, which, apparently, was considered cheating. He ran into similar issues when he tried bobbing for apples, hitting the target with the spray gun, picking the lucky rubber turtle-ducky from the pond, and pretty much every other festival game there is involving water. So there he was, leaning against a wall and mumbling to himself about explaining the rules to games prior to taking people's money, when he noticed something unusual. The entire street was filled with people laughing and merchants selling their wares, and general hustle and bustle, but there were two people who didn't quite fit. While dressed like regular citizens, they stood too formally, too rigid. They were probably security. Two more men were with them, and these two fit in much better, as one was performing magic tricks for the other. They clearly weren't prisoners, however. Champion edged closer through the crowd, trying to make out what was being said. He wasn't too concerned with being noticed, as everyone knows that bright orange jumpsuits make the best ninja uniforms, and even if he was spotted, eavesdropping was hardly considered a crime. In his experience, curiosity often led to adventure, and if there was adventure to be had, he was going to be a part of it.

[Daiyu Lí Xuě]

Crowds of people from all corners are standing around the city, all dressed in their best. The city was heavily guarded by common soldiers and Dai Li agents on this particularly festive day, and for good reason. The Earth King was walking amongst his own people. 

Unfortunately, Daiyu Lí Xuě could not be at the Earth King's side, as much as she wished she could. She had been ordered otherwise and was acting as a member of the Walkers, Lin-Lin Jiao; her beauty mark was hidden with make-up and she wore large round glasses and her hair down. It was long enough to reach past her lower back and was utterly unkempt. She wore a light and dark green kimono over a light brown tunic, suggesting that she was a part of the middle class. Along with that, she also donned a rather festive mask over her face. 

Her and another member of the Walkers slowly made their way through the crowd, dodging spectators talking amongst themselves. Finally, the two of them made it to a food booth where Lin-lin ordered a large plate of dumplings. She happily devoured the plate leaving her friend in awe at her apetite. Lin-lin belched loudly and she pulled out a cloth, dabbing at her lips. She smiled and apologized politely at those who's heads she had managed to turn. 

Not far away from her, a man entertained a couple of kids. Lin-lin smiled at the spectacle. Yes, it was a beautiful day in Ba Sing Se and one to be enjoyed most thoroughly. Rare were the days were Daiyu could allow herself to have such fun, after all.

[Bakkuto]

It hadn't even been three hours since they had gotten there, and Bakkuto already hated this city.

Not like he had anything against the Earth Kingdom personally or anything, far from it. Most of the people he had met on the road were very cordial to him and pointed out the way to Ba Sing Se, where fortunately everyone seemed to be headed anyway. There was supposedly a huge tournament going on, with fighters and benders from all over the world coming in attendance, and if Bakkuto and Padee found some people from the South Pole there, it would save them an extremely long trip.

The alternative was that he and his pet polar bear dog wander around the wilderness of the Earth Kingdom for another four months before they got lucky again.

But it had been torture getting through customs, and security easily focused on him both because of Padee and his choice of dress. He had to strip down to his blue tunic and breeches because of the heat and the sun just constantly beat overhead like a huge, uncomfortable drum. And the crowds... Bakkuto would never understand how so many people could stand to live in such confined spaces with one another without them killing each other. Say what you want about the North Pole, at least its city was roomy enough to actually have empty avenues to steer your mount down without being a danger to everyone underfoot.

And it was even more aggravating when the traffic stalled, like it was coincidentally doing now! There was some goof kid pulling a magic show or some such nonsense in the middle of the street with an old coot and two stiffs watching cautiously beside him. A crowd of children and other folks had been drawn to the spectacle, and they all completely blocked Padee from crossing through unless she wanted to step on one of them, and at that point Bakkuto was almost tempted to have her do just that! Fortunately, for everyone involved, he decided on a verbal response.

"Excuse me," he called out, "Not that your top billing mummer's farce isn't entertaining, but some of us have places to go!"

Padee of course didn't share her friend's impatience and, panting heavily from the heat, brought her muzzle closer to the boy with the coin. She smelled fruit on him, and anything sweet and succulent would be favorable in this sun.

[Admin of Genesis]

Shi Huang didn't wander the crowds with any particular destination in mind. It was, in fact, something that drove the Dai Li crazy. It made it far too hard to scout dangers in his route and keep him safe. Most people didn't pay them any attention beyond the occasional glance of people keeping an eye on the crowd for their own reasons. Typically they were salesmen or performers looking for an audience, but the Earth King had mastered a look of haughty disinterest for precisely this reason. The two Dai Li, obviously guards but not so obviously elite agents, kept most of the riff-raff at bay. There were always easier marks, after all.

Before long, the trio were stopped by an Airbender entertaining some grubby children. The Earth King indulgently allowed the Airbender to have his fun, smiling serenely at the jovial monk. The Dai Li watched, suspicious, but remained still until they witnessed anything threatening. After all, they still had to divide their attention among the crowd. Especially drawing their attention was a bright orange individual with all the grace and stealth of a moose-lion, who seemed a little too interested in their master. As soon as the Airbender had finished, commentary and all, Shi Huang took the chance to have a little fun of his own.

"Of course coin always ends up in my hands," he commented with a mischievous smirk. "While folks are busy trying to poke fun at me," he flashily produced a small coin purse with the Air Nation symbol on it, "I take advantage of their distraction to earn my money."

Shi Huang tossed the coin purse back to the young Airbender from whom he'd lifted the money, chuckling merrily. The kids laughed at the old man one-upping the Airbender's coin tricks. He bent down to the same level as the children, his kind eyes meeting theirs.

"Remember, if you want to make money, you need to work hard and practice your skills. Fun and games have their place, but you'll never make your way if you don't apply yourself."

Shi Huang stood up slowly while stroking his long white beard, kept in the traditional long and narrow Earth Kingdom style.

"Why don't I treat you kids to some food? I don't know about you, but I find that smell rather enticing." He placed a hand on the Airbender's shoulder, smiling gently. "Of course, you're welcome to come along as well, since you've been such a good sport."

Shi Huang led them in the direction of a small area packed with food vendors. In order to make their little area more enticing, the vendors had set up as many wooden tables and chairs as they could between them and without blocking the traffic of the main road. Having already started to move away from the young Airbender, Shi Huang didn't notice the young Water Tribe man ride up to the Airbender right away.

He turned around to see the two of them standing together. "If you are his friend," he called out over the crowd, "you are welcome to join us as well."

While the Earth King moved to a side table that had just been cleared, the Dai Li scanned the crowd. The younger agent gently nudged his compatriot in the ribs to get his attention, nodding in the direction of a pair of masked individuals at a nearby table. He leaned in close to his superior.

"Cipher Pol?" He asked in barely a whisper, so no one nearby could hear.

"No," the older agent whispered back. "They're just Walkers."

Both men relaxed visibly, taking up defensive positions as the Earth King finally reached the empty table. Now, though, their attention was focused almost entirely by the large polar animal the Water Tribe man was riding. Until they knew how calm and collected the animal was, they would stand ready to restrain it and keep it away from their King.



((For the record, the following picture is what the Earth King looks like, though he only wears clothes like that in his quarters at the palace or when he's dressed to go in the poorer areas of the city. He has nicer clothes on right now.))

[Leif]

Leif relaxed a little as the old man smiled at his jokes. Leif enjoyed watching people smile, and it also meant he probably wasn't going to have a problem with this man. Though his escort did not seem amused at all. Leif had half a mind to play a few tricks on them as well, but he knew better. Some earthbenders never smiled, at least at airbender humor. He turned his attention to the Old merchant who seemed ready to make a retort. he explained how he took advantage of people not paying attention, and Leif saw a familiar coin purse. He broke out in laughter pointing at the old man.

"Oh how wicked is a man who steals from a lowly entertainer of children." Leif said between laughs. He knelt between the kids and tried to look as poor as possible, but he was still visibly laughing.

He caught the coin purse easily as it was tossed back. He listened to the man as he spoke some advice to the kids. The old man than suggested they get something to eat, and even invited Leif. It was rude to decline a meal so naturally he accepted with a light bow. He sat down at the table with the merchant, and spoke low enough so the children wouldn't here him.

"As a bender of air, I'll admit I totally disagree with your advice." He said with another chuckle, "My name is Leif good sir, and who is the one who so graciously offers me a meal?"

Before Leif could get an answer a yell rang out not far from them, of one wanting to get on there way. Leif turned and cocked his head a smile growing on his face.

"Don't you know, young one, it's the journey itself not the destination, that matters." he said in a friendly way, he turned back to his new elderly friend, "Though I may not know him now, he could be my friend by the end of this meal." He stated in a whimsical way.

[Tidal Champion]

The Champion listened in as the two men had their fun, it was clear that it was the older of these two that was being guarded, though from the conversation he couldn't determine why.  As far as he could tell, he was just a wealthy merchant.  Wealthy enough to afford stern escorts, but not so wealthy to actually need them.  At least, not as far as he could tell from looking at him, anyway.  Perhaps he had been threatened in the past? A personal issue?  Perhaps he was just paranoid?  Though that really didn't seem to be the case given his interactions with his friend and his children.

Eventually the conversation came around to food.  Champ was torn at this point.  Did he really want to follow them to a diner and continue eavesdropping?  On the one hand, festival food was expensive.  On the other hand, it was either this or standing around bored out of his wits until evening, seeing as he was banned from every festival game on the block.  He hesitated for a few moments, but soon began to walk after the men.

Only to have his way blocked by... prey.  A large off-white beast lumbering down the street walked right in front of him, preventing him from following the men.  He didn't mind in the slightest, however, as the appearance of an Polar Bear Dog in the middle of the Earth Kingdom capitol was much more interesting than the mystery of why some old codger needed beefy security.  Now, The Tidal Champion, before taking on his self-given name, was a hunter of fierce monsters.  His hunting skills made him a local legend when he fell a Tiger Shark that was terrorizing his village.  Ever since then, his neighbors-slash-fans had given him suggestions on what creature to hunt next to further prove himself.  It was the general consensus of the group that a polar bear dog wouldn't necessarily top his Tiger Shark story, but it'd certainly come close.

Polar Bear Dogs are massive creatures, capable of tearing through metal with a bit of effort, and easily able to decapitate any man.  Their meat is stringy, difficult to chew, and not particularly pleasant tasting, they are incredibly dangerous animals, and they are usually found in packs.  Because of this, they are never really hunted, typically left alone.  When someone does choose to hunt a Polar Bear Dog, it needs to be done with a large group of hunters, they'd need to separate a dog from the pack, and even then, there'd need to be nearly a dozen men to properly restrain and kill it, without risking grave personal injury.  If someone can accomplish this, however, their prize would be one of the rarest and most valuable animal pelts in the world.

Of course, the pelt would just be money to Champion.  He has to fund his adventures somehow, after all.  But the true prize for him, would be the bragging rights.  The story.  He could already see it now.  "The Adventures of The Tidal Champion: The Unexpected Hunt! Starring: The Tidal Champion!"  There were only two problems.  First off, he had left his weapon, and all of his equipment, in his hotel room.  After all, this was a festival, not a hunting ground, he didn't really expect trouble.  Secondly, this particular prey happened to have a man riding atop it.  He knew that some water tribe villages had experimented with training the monsters, but he hadn't heard of the results.  After all, he was a hunter, not a scientist or inventor, the news of the other villages was of little interest to him.  But, apparently, this particular specimen was a pet.  Which meant hunting her was not an option.

Well, with a classic "if you can't eat them, join them" mentality, Champion decided he would introduce himself to this water tribe jockey.  After all, chatting with a stranger about the motherland was certain to be more entertaining than standing around watching the crowds wander by.  So he called up "Greetings, Young one.  This is a fine beast you have." If there was one benefit to not being able to hunt to dog, it was that it made one hell of an ice breaker.

[Bakkuto]

All he wanted was for them to just get out of the way so he could just go to the palace or wherever they were holding this tournament. All he wanted was to just go on his business. Was it really that much to ask?

Bakkuto rose an eyebrow as the old coot, whoever he was, invited him along to have something to eat. And then the kid who was in his way, the magic-trick boy, gave a lazy smile in his direction and called him a 'young one', something Bakkuto took immediately to be patronizing. He wasn't that young, heck he looked older than the kid who said it! And some kind of useless platitude about not the journey but the destination that mattered. Yeesh, if he wanted his ear talked off with useless wisdom, he would have stayed at the North Pole.

Bakkuto had half a mind to just charge Padee right through their crowd and be on his merry way, but... honestly, that would more than likely get him into trouble with the authorities. He had already gotten suspicious looks from the guards at the gate because of Padee already, after repeatedly assuring them that she was quite harmless unless either of them were threatened. And besides, as much as he hated to admit it, some lunch did sound quite nice right about then. He could feel his stomach gurgling at the thought, and knew Padee needed some refueling herself.

The last thing he wanted was to get involved where he didn't want to be. But if they fed him, for free of all things, he supposed he couldn't really complain. So, shrugging, he called back, "Alright, wait up. Hope this place has a spare bloody haunch in the back, cause Padee has a bit of a bottomless pit where her stomach should be..."

And then someone made a comment from the side, more reflected towards Padee than him. But more than that was, for the second time in as many minutes, someone called him 'young one' again. Seeing as this was an older guy, Bakkuto guessed this was warranted, but it still made him grind his teeth in sheer annoyance at the fact that everyone singled him out more as a child than anything else. And there was the fact that he spoke of Padee less as a companionable creature and more as... a piece of non-feeling meat. That also got more on Bakkuto's case than anything. So he replied to the man, "Erm... thanks?" and ushered Padee after the old man without another word.

He caught up to them as they had just finished clearing a space away near a table. As he slid off, he then noticed the two stiffs who had been walking beside the old geezer were watching Padee warily, like they would jump her if she did something. The polar bear dog just looked back at them, intelligent dark eyes non-comprehending at their threatened postures. So Bakkuto made his annoyance at their unneeded caution plain.

"What," he asked pointedly at them, "neither of you ever seen a polar bear dog before? And relax, will ya? She doesn't bite. I wouldn't bring her into a city crowded with people if she'd be taking chunks off the nearest passerby." He shook his head and sat at the table with the others in the ground, Padee curling on the ground beside him, panting heavily from the heat. Maybe there would be something good to eat here...?

[Admin of Genesis]

Shortly after the Earth King sat at the table, and the Airbender joined him as well, a young woman in servant's clothes came up to their table. Her light brain hair was teased up in a stylized bun pinned with bronze hair clips. She had a warm, welcoming smile that lit up her kind, green eyes. When she spoke her voice was smooth and relaxed despite the rush all around them.

"Greetings, my name is See Mun." She bowed slightly, showing respect to them before continuing. "We do things a little differently here. Rather than having long lines near all our food stalls, we have our honored guests sit and a waitress such as I bring them a menu. Look over it and mark your orders. I will take your orders to the cooks and bring your food to you when it is ready."

See Mun handed the menu to Shi Huang along with a pencil to mark which items and what quantities he wanted to order. He quickly checked off some of the more popular items, like steamed buns filled with barbecue pork and ones filled with fish. He also ticked off a pair of vegetarian dishes for the Airbender to enjoy, as well as some Southern-style ribs for the approaching Water Tribe lad. Finally, he ordered two pots of tea, one sow mei and the other tikuanyin, as well as an order of dumplings made with cinnamon and topped with a sweet sauce. With a grateful nod, he handed the menu back to See Mun, who bowed gracefully and left.

Shi Huang turned back to the Airbender lad, who leaned in to whisper an introduction to him.

"Greetings, young Leif. My name is Shi Huang." He nodded back, speaking in a normal voice rather than replying in the same whispered tone. "But I must disagree with your indictment of our Kingdom's philosophy. Your philosophy only works for small populations, such as your nation and its individual little temples. This country is bigger than the other three nations put together. We need to be strong just to support ourselves. But enough of this talk. Let us just enjoy ourselves."

The young Water Tribe lad finally made his way to the table on his mount. His companion, a polar-bear dog if the Earth king wasn't mistaken, flopped down next to the table, panting in the heat. The young man admonished his two Dai Li escorts for being wary of his large, furry companion. The younger of the two agents replied.

"I've done a lot of traveling, and I'm quite familiar with polar bear dogs," he shot back. "I know they are very difficult to domesticate and even then it's rarely completely successful. We won't hurt your friend, but we need to be ready in case she started, as you said, 'taking chunks off the nearest passerby.' "

Before Shi Huang could tell both sides to relax, See Mun returned with a tray carrying all the food he had ordered for the little group he's gathered. She quickly disappeared, and returned seconds later with the drinks, just as the two children tore into the food with fervor. She set out the tea sets, pouring a cup of the dark tikuanyin for Shi Huang. He took a small sip of the tea, savoring the freshness and the slight edge of orange blossom that followed. To his amusement, she even set a bowl of clear water in front of the polar bear dog, giving the young Water Tribe lad a friendly smile and wink. She ruffled the fur of the animal's head before moving on to her other duties with a chuckle.

The Earth King waved the older Dai Li agent forward and whispered something in his ear before returning his attention to his guests. The agent took a small pad of paper out of his robes and jotted a few quick notes before returning to his defensive position.

"Please, don't hesitate to eat," Shi Huang said with a small chuckle, waving a hand at the food. "I assure you that everything here is quite good. Many of the local and visiting chefs here are some of the best around. As I'm sure this children would attest." They nodded in enthusiastic agreement.

He leaned towards the young water tribe lad. "And I have you to properly make your acquaintance, young man. My name is Shi Huang." He bowed his head slightly as a sign of respect. "What is your honored name?"

He had considered asking the same of the children, but they were much too focused on all the food in front of them and making it disappear as fast as they could without making themselves sick.


((A note on the teas. Sow mei is a tea with a greenish color and a light, fragrant flavor. You can just think of it as standard green tea if you've had it before. Tikuanyin (literally "Iron Buddha tea") is a black Chinese tea that has a dark, strong, and very flavourful taste. Partake as your character would. Alsom feel free to fill in details about the food that was delivered, I tried to leave it fairly open-ended. Just consider it a chance to give your characters some extra personality quirks.))

[Leif]

((Just wondering where people are getting this young thing. Leif is probably one of the oldest people here))

Leif cocked his head to the side and looked into the distance thinking on the old man's offer. Leif seemed lost in thought as the rest of the small party that had gathered interacted with each other. Occasionally he would glance over to his gracious host and go back to the sky as if having an internal debate.

He only came out of his trance like state after the food had been delivered and the sounds of the children tearing into the food caused him to glance over. He chuckled silently, at the sight. He inspected the meal and saw two dishes that seemed purely vegetables. One was a stew that he poked a bit to see if there was any meat floating about, but it seemed to just be a rich stew. The other was a plate of fried veggies in a dark sauce. Leif had a puzzled smile looking again at the old man. He bowed slightly thanking him for the meal. He tied his long sleeves up, making his blue arrow tattoos very noticeable now.

"I must admit I'm surprised of your knowledge of my people's way. Not many know or remember that nomads are vegetarians. You must have met quite a few air nomads."

He said after a few bites of the meal. The stew was hearty, and the fried vegetables well seasoned, a very tasty meal. Leif was quite surprised, as usually meals like this were somewhat bland. It was a good change of pace for him. He grabbed a cup of dark tikuanyin also stopping to close his eyes and let the rich tea sink into him. He sat for a few moments in silence a warm smile on his face, his eyes closed with content.

"Ah a meal fit for a king." Leif said in a joking manner.

[Jeixi]

Well, this seems to be a rather interesting bunch...

Jeixi was seated two tables away from the odd bunch of people that currently held his attention. At a glance, there seemed to be several street urchins, an air nomad, a supposedly well off merchant (Assumed due to the fact that he had two seemingly well trained bodyguards with him), and a man from one of the Water Tribes...and his pet Polar Bear Dog.

"This is why I love festivals. People watching is just such a fun thing to do!" Jeixi said to no-one in particular, seeing as he was alone. He had been wandering around almost all day, having ditched his bodyguards Lon and Fang earlier in the morning. He had already signed up for the upcoming tournament, and now, he was just finding ways to entertain himself. Luckily, there was no shortage of things to do. He had spent some time playing the many fair games in the area, managed to entertain some local kids with a miniature Firebending Fire Works display of sorts, watched a parade, and many other things. He had been so distracted by the sheer amount of things to experience that he had forgotten to eat. He only decided to get some food sometime in the mid afternoon, and only then because his stomach had growled loud enough to scare a nearby group of children, who mistook the outrageously loud sound for the growl of a Tiger-Dillo. After searching for a few minutes, he stumbled upon what seemed to be the main food area, packed with many various vendors, tables, and what seemed to be a staff that retrieved your food. He'd never seen anything like it in any festival he'd been to before, so he was very eager to try it out.

He sat down at a small, two person table, drawing back his hood and removing the bandana covering his mouth. After ordering and scarfing down his helping of fried eel and rice, along with hot, steamed dumplings with a light honey glaze, Jeixi sat silently for a while, sipping on some special Spiced Mandarin Oolong tea and letting his food settle a bit, when the interesting group arrived. He made no attempt to speak with them, perfectly content to just study the interesting group from afar. He held his hand a few inches under his stone cup and created a small flame, heating his then slightly cool tea, while intently watching the group, making no attempt to mask his observation, mostly of the large Polar Bear dog, due to the fact that he had never actually seen one in person. But, eventually, his focus shifted to the old merchant. Though he had initially ignored him a bit, not really seeing much interesting about him, he realized that the man looked rather familiar. He stared and squinted at the man, wracking his brain, trying to think of where he had seen him before, because he was absolutely sure that he had.

[Bakkuto]

Bakkuto just scowled at the younger of the guards who in turn admonished him for being so defensive about Padee. He would have snapped right back at him about how a normal person wouldn't even think about bringing such a dangerous animal to such a crowded place unless it was trained enough and that a world traveler should know all about that, but then the food arrived. His argument with the younger guard of the old merchant's two became thrust to the sidelines as the waitress carried over several orders of what appeared to be varied meals for all of them.

His in particular was what drew his attention. Ribs, mixed in a dark, flavored sauce and peppered with a strange light green seasoning. He knew that smell, knew it from anywhere... tiger seal ribs! Mixed with a pungent and extremely robust sauce made from sea prunes! Bakkuto didn't miss many things from his homeland, but the one he missed the most was its cooking. He stammered a bit as the waitress gave him a smile and wink, and was even more flustered as she slid a water tray down for Padee, who started to mercilessly down it in huge gulps after being scratched on her ears a bit.

"I, erm... th-thank you, ma'am," he said, blushing a bit. He was truly not very good around women. It wasn't his fault that he never really got to know any besides his mom and sister before he left.

As he started to dig into his own meal, the others began to talk a bit more. The Air nomad man seemed to be taking everything in stride, which Bakkuto supposed was good that somebody was doing so. He took a small swig of the regular sow mei tea, finding it somewhat piping hot but still quite relaxing. Finally, he saw the old man asking him his name directly. Well, the geezer was kind enough to front the bill on a meal like this, so he may as well oblige him in that much.

"Er, call me Bakkuto... of the Northern Water Tribe. Or I was." He checked himself. "I mean, I guess I still am, but... it's a bit complicated."

He paused awkwardly before adding, "Thanks for the meal, by the way. Normally, I'd have thought everyone would be scared of Padee and brush me off... like some people I could mention." He gave somewhat of a disparaging look to the young guard nearby, but continued, "She was tough to train, I'll admit, but I'm basically out by myself without any combat skills, and she's the best defense I have. Can't exactly be too careful these days, what with-" he stopped himself. Mentioning roving bands of spirits and marauders in the company of a kindly old man and a group of kids. Would give off the bad impression.

"Well... it's just not smart."

[Admin of Genesis]

((Well, to the Earth King, you're all a bunch of little kids still.))


Shi Huang reached out and took a dish of komodo chicken with a chuckle at Leif's "fit for a king" comment. He picked up one of his chopsticks and started tapping the cooked komodo chicken at different points, listening for changes in pitch. Shi Huang didn't normally eat Fire Nation cooking, but that was one of the fun things about a festival: eating things you didn't normally get to eat elsewhere.

"Of course I know about your people's culture. Your people are nomadic by nature, and come through Ba Sing Se often... even more so during tournament years. It pays for one such as myself to be well-informed about those with him I do business."

Eventually hearing the right pitch, the old man twirled the single chopstick in his finger and stabbed it down like a knife in the spot he'd just found. Cracks splintered out from the puncture, until the komodo chicken broke open, opening up with a rush of steam and the scent of the herbs used to cook the meat.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, young Bakkuto." The Earth King nodded his greetings in return to the young man while waiting for the insides of his komodo chicken to cool. "Just relax while you're here. There are many dangers out in the world right now, but you are safe from them all while you're inside our walls.

"And don't worry about giving your life story, young man." He picked a small piece f meat off the bones, blowing on it until the steam subsided. "We're all just having a pleasant meeting before parting ways. No need to tell us anything you don't want to share."

He took a bite, a look of pure contentment spreading across his face as he savored the rich, spicy flavors of the Fire Nation dish.

While the others were making their pleasant small talk, the older Dai Li bodyguard had melted into the crowd and disappeared. He silently moved through the throngs of people, maneuvered around a pair of Walkers, before stopping directly behind a young man that had been staring directly at the Earth King for several minutes. Before the young man... a Fire Nation citizen by the looks of him... could notice his presence, the elder guard leaned forward and whispered in his ear.

"Who are you?" His gravelly voice rasped in his ear. "And what do you want with my master?"

[Jeixi]

Jeixi stifled a small yelp of surprise as the man whispered into his ear, jumping in his seat a little. "Ooooooow, ow ow ow ow!" he cried as he stood up, having spilled his piping hot tea on his trousers. Doubtlessly he was causing a scene right then, but he didn't care, given the intense pain he was experiencing. He turned to the man that had startled him. "Goodness sir, PLEASE do not sneak up on me like that! I am very easily startled!" he shouted at the man whilst grabbing the front of his pants, attempting to keep the wet, hot tea soaked cloth away from his groin.

((Short post, I know, but I hope the commotion will give y'all something to post about.))