Earth Rumble I [Training]

After the falling out with his 'team', Raizo found himself riding on the back of Wafu with only Riri and a small owl as companions. His amber eyes were focused on the map, as he sat on the dragon's head with wandering thoughts. "Alright, those two are out the way. Now to head to the Earth Rumble Arena! It should be right below us..Once I win, I'll use that prize money to get us lots of food, Riri!" The cocky Avatar would look back towards the little girl. Alittle earlier he had let her have his fire pop, which was chocolate covering the Fire Nation's signature ice cream. It was very ironic that the Fire Nation would have ice cream, but it sure did pack a kick. When it went down it was cold, but once hitting the stomach it could warm someone up completely. The boy didn't only give her the ice cream cause she was hungry, but because riding so high up was probably going to make her cold aswell. Being from the fire nation, he was naturally toasty no matter the climate. "I haven't fought an actual Earth Bender before..This should be exciting, but nothing I can't handle. I just can't wait till the crowd goes wild! Riri, we're going to be rolling in gold. You'll be eating till you drop!" The firebender would smile towards the younger girl while folding the map and placing it in his bag. The stadium was just below them, so Wafu would begin to descend at a stead pace to circumvent the massive arena. Soon the black scaled beast would land and allow his two passengers to get to the ground. The Avatar would lift Riri and help her off the dragon's back before turning towards the entrance. "Wafu go ride the clouds for awhile. Next time you see me, I'll be the champ of this place. I'll show these block heads how it's done!" Raizo would smash a fist into his palm while giving a cocky smile towards his beast. The Dragon would release an annoyed growl before taking off into the dark sky and disappear into the clouds.

As he took off, Raizo would wink towards Riri with a soft smile. "I think I should change clothes into something more..Earth Benderish. I stand out with this outfit..." The boy would look at his outfit with a slightly annoyed look..He didn't want people to know where he was from. Though he was a fan when it came to getting attention, Raizo knew with Riri around too much attention would ruin his original plan. That plan being finding her parents and getting her home. With a nod to himself, the Avatar would remove his red scarf and place it around Riri's shoulders. "Hold onto this okay? I want you to go right in and sit in the stands. Last row, all the way on the top so I can see you the entire time." The Owl sitting on Raizo's shoulder would fly off and land on the little girl's head. Cuddling into her red hair like it was a nest. "Keep an eye on her bug eyes. I'm doing this for you too." After pinching Riri's cheek, Raizo would look towards the large entrance before charging in head first. All that could be heard was screams of joy, as he disappeared in the distance.

Making it into the arena, Raizo would head towards the back rooms where the fighters all gathered. This was probably the best place to find clothes that would cover what he was wearing now. Walking to the far back corner, he'd find a stone block in the corner. It seemed to be sealed off where only earth bending would be able to get to its contents within. Staggering his stance, Raizo would stomp his foot against the ground and send the top slamming up into the ceiling. Looking into the compartment, he'd find some green garbs and a mask. It looked more like a wrestling outfit more than anything..This was perfect..So so perfect.




"Hello Hello our wonderful fans, welcome to EARTTHH RUMMBLLE! If this is your first time here, let me break it down for you! We take the best benders and put them against each other in full out war! They're all fighting foooorrr.." The dark haired announcer would hold up a large bag of money that also held the champion belt around its frame. The slightly older man would give a wide smile before raising the bag high into the air. "5000 gold pieces and the CHAMPION SHIP TITLE! Who will win this amazing prize and rise to the top?!" The announcer continued to hype the contest up by calling out the competitors in the competition. Each would take the stage..even Raizo. However, he was wearing clothes of a nobleman from the Earth Kingdom with a green mask that was similar to a luchador's. He'd wave towards the crowd while they cleared and roared. No corner of the stadium would be safe from the crowd's cheering, as they all seemed to stand up and scream at the top of their lungs. Raizo couldn't help but compare this to an Agni Kai..It made him even more excited! Not only was he getting paid for this, but he was about to brawl with some of the best benders the Earth Kingdom had under their belt! Surely he'd find a master here, right?

After of various hyping and other crap Raizo would have to sit through, finally the games would begin. Lucky for him, he'd be the first to fight his opponent. Bowing to the crowd and blowing kisses in his usual cocky manner, Raizo would show no fear towards the opponent standing before him. The man was rather large and wore only a pare of shorts. He had a goatee and a bald head and seemed to flex every second on reflex alone. A giant gong would ring to initiate the match, and just like an earth bender, the larger opponent began to stomp his feet and send various disk of earth towards the boy. He didn't really seem to have a style whatsoever..Which was more Raizo's style. Every attack had aggression behind it, and less control then it should. This meant that this man wasn't going to be a great teacher when it came to Earthbending. He surely wasn't a master.

With this knowledge obtained, Raizo would cartwheel to the side to dodge the disks of earth. The bender would continue to shoot them towards the boy, and he'd use his superior acrobatics to flip around the stadium to dodge every single clunky attack. Once the last slab would shout pass, the boy would land in a staggered stance about five meters from the massive man. Extending both arms and crossing them infront of his chest; he'd ball his fists before extending his fingers instantly and causing a jagged piece of earth to shoot up from the stadium's ground and right into the man's chin. It'd hit him with enough force to send him flying off the arena and to the ground far below. That opponent was possibly on recruit level..Size really didn't matter when it came to one's power with bending. Raizo would raise a hand and rub the back of his neck with a look of dissatisfaction. "I thought the Earth Kingdom had stronger people than that! Don't tell me you all are so weak! Someone come out and prove me, THE MASKED BENDER, wrong!" Oh man, the crowd was eating this up. The boy was so cocky for no reason, but the cheers did nothing but fuel his arrogance. Taking a deep breath in, Raizo would raise his arms in the air to hype up the crowd in a roaring glory. "Psh, I bet my previous incarnation couldn't get a crowd wild like this..I'm the best.."

“I really do not see why that would be necessary” the brown-haired girl said as she looked at the man sitting across her. She laid herself further into the leather chair, as she took a strand of her hair and started twisting it around her finger and playing with the white flower that used as it’s decoration, not even trying to hide how boring this conversation was to her. She was never then one to pretend she liked something she didn’t, and was always ready to say just what was on her mind, not ever caring about the consequences that could occur. Umi wasn’t usually used to listening what other people wanted her to do, especially if that wasn’t compatible with her own plans and wishes. This man was proposing something that fit the said category rather well.

The older man put his hands onto the table, slowly standing up. The conversation was obviously not too pleasant for him either. His name was Katai, Roku and he was one of the military commandants of the Earth Kingdom. It wouldn’t be hard for anyone to notice that the man was involved in military activity, and that he had been in many wars during his days on the field. His, now visible, hands were covered in scars, and there were no less of them on his wrinkled face. The most obvious of them was on his right cheek, ranging from his temple to the very bottom of his strong jaw. From what the girl had heard, the man was only in his late thirties, but he looked as if he was much older than that. His hair was tied in a messy topknot, and was filled with single gray hairs which were extremely visible on the black background. His moustache were rather bushy, but acted in the same manner, being more gray than black. The man’s outfit, however, looked dramatically different from his body. It was a simple green tunic worn over perfectly ironed cream pants and leather boots. It was far too elegant for someone like Roku, but it was somewhat logical on why the man wore something like that. He quit the military field work several years ago and was placed as one of the men in charge over the city safety. He surely had to look nice in order for people to respect him.

“But,Umi-sama… my lady” the man started with a tone much calmer than Umi expected it to be. He was obviously holding his anger and annoyance down, and was doing a much better job than the people the girl used to be around. One could say that the girl had a talent in annoying people, but she would say that was absurd. It was in no way her fault that they couldn’t live up to the standard she was expecting, and make some of her, basic, requests come true. They said she was spoiled. How pathetic. “You were sent here to learn. You were sent here to further improve your skills.” The girl stopped playing with her hair for a moment and looked straight to the man’s eyes. What he said was, basically, true. She had traveled the Water Nation north to south, east to west, and then around once again, just so make sure she didn’t miss anything. She had talked to and trained with most of the bending masters, learning their secrets and techniques. Umi learned all that she could from her mother land, and it was now time for her to leave. It was now time for her to travel further in search for knowledge and find new ways to perfect her abilities.

“I still do not see how watching a dozen of men get sweaty in some kind of an arena could help me do that” Umi said as she saw Roku get hold of his medallion in order for it to stop swinging. It was silver, and rather beautiful. The girl made a mental note to get one of those when she was leaving. She looked away from the man, once again focusing her attention to her hair. The point that the two were discussing, was taking the girl to some kind of arena so that she could watch live battles of the benders. Sure, watching was a nice way to learn, but Umi doubted that she would find anyone skilled enough in a place like that. Perhaps they had some strong benders, but that was not enough for her. The girl was looking for the best of the best, the cream de la crop, the ones that could help her raise her bending to another level. “Some of our best benders could be found there. It is a great way from them to show their full skill level. Imagine one on one pro-bending, without any limitations in terms of techniques usable. I am sure that if you would just go there, you would realize why it is important.” This made the girl think for a second. Perhaps the man was right. All she did so far was roam the city streets and waste her time. At least this way she could do something related to bending, even if it doesn’t help her too much.

“Very well then,” Umi said as she got up and started walking towards the door, “I will go to your arena, Katai-san.” She stopped at the doors, only to hear the man thank her, and say that she will be notified when the transportation is ready, before continuing down the long hallway leading to her room. At least this way she could have some fun. She was a big fan of pro-bending, and to see the more “barbarian” clone of it was surely going to keep her attention. The girl smiled as she kept walking. Fun indeed.





“This way, my lady” a tall guy spoke as three persons made their way through the crowd. Before they came here, Roku had assigned two guardians to Umi. The girl would just laugh at this action of the man, but she didn’t want to further annoy him as he had been dealing with her rather well since she came to the Earth Nation. The truth was that if there would be any battles, Umi would be the one to protect her “guardians”, not the other way around. The old man was obviously underestimating the girl and her abilities, but she found his caring sweet. The choice of men wasn’t the best either. The two guys were polite, perhaps even too polite, and seemed not to have any sense of humor. Pity.

As they finally found some seats, the girl could relax. “They say last row seats give the best view, Umi-sama” the taller guard said as the girl was uninterestingly looking around the arena. The crowd seemed to be rather versatile. Older and younger people were sitting together, whole families looking at the battling field, eager for the matches to finally start. Some wore elegant robes, similar to those of her hosts, and some of them wore ragged shirts and trousers. This sure was the event to unite everyone. Green and brown seemed to be the dominant colors around here, and Umi was sure to stand out from the crowd. She decided to change from her usual clothes and wear something simpler. She was now dressed in a simple turquoise strapless top, with a purple see-through robe around her shoulders. For the bottoms she chose to wear simple white puffy pants, with her favorite dark brown leather gladiator sandals on her feet. In order to match her outfit, she wore several silver bracelets and a single wide silver necklace. Her hair was tied in a single braid, falling over her right shoulder forwards. In her hair she wore a gorgeous purple flower she had picked in the garden of her temporary home. Elegance and simplicity was what she was going for, but she realized that her simple was still too complex for these circumstances.

There were lots of merchants around, mostly selling cheering equipment and food. Considering the popularity of this contest, their presence wasn’t actually that surprising. Food was one of the things that Umi loved about the Earth Nation. It was so versatile, full of different colors and flavors. The girl had the most delicious breakfast that day, rice cereal with little fruit cubes in it, alongside jasmine tea. The meals were far better than in her own land, and the girl already began talking to people about helping her people grow crops, and teaching them the way of agriculture and prosperity. She asked one of her guards to go buy her some grapes, one of the many types of fruit here. The old lady who was selling food was also offering several different types of tea, but it was rather warm in the arena, so that wasn’t exactly necessary. The young black-haired man soon returned with a bowl filled with small round grapes, and another one full of different types of nuts. Umi smiled at the man, probably for the first time since she met him, as she took the two bowls from his hands and placed them onto the widening of the fence next to them.

"Hello Hello our wonderful fans, welcome to EARTTHH RUMMBLLE! If this is your first time here, let me break it down for you! We take the best benders and put them against each other in full out war! They're all fighting foooorrr…" a man, obviously the announcer, appeared in the center of the arena and addressed the crowd in a matter that the girl couldn’t find less appealing. The others, however, seemed to love it, judging by the screaming and shouting that occurred when he raised a bag of money into the air and announced that the winner would get 5000 gold coins. Not that all of the money could possibly fit into a bag of that size, but still, metaphor at it’s best. He continued warming the audience up by calling out the names of the competitors, who one by one got out and joined him in the center of the arena. As the contestants showed up, Umi could notice that they were just as diverse as the people in the audience. Young and older, skinny and huge, the ones dressed in the finest clothing and the ones that barely had any clothing. This was a sport for all the people, the one everyone could enjoy. And boy did they enjoy it. Almost every single person in the arena stood up and cheered from the bottom of their lungs. Quite barbaric, but Umi got the point. She caught the look of one of her guards, so she just waved to him in approval, as the man stood up and joined the cheering.

Soon the crowd stopped cheering and everyone sat back down to their places so Umi could see that there were now only two people left in the battle part of the arena. One of them was a huge bald man, dressed in only a pair of shorts. He seemed intimidating and rather strong, but if there was anything that Umi learned as a part of her waterbending training, it was that size doesn’t mean anything in battle. In fact, the stronger your opponent it, the more you can use his own power against him and make him cry like a little baby. The other guy was quite small, compared to the first one at least, but Umi guessed that he would be of a normal height if she didn’t have to compare him with the boulder standing across him.

The battle soon started. The big man was not exactly talented in the art of bending and mostly relied on his physical strength. He kept stomping his feet into the floor of the arena, sending various sized disks at his opponent. The other boy easily dodged all of the attacks, with a sense of grace and amazing acrobatic skills that made the girl interested. He landed near the man and used his bending skills to send a large chunk of earth straight into the huge man’s face, making him fall over the edge of the battlefield and onto the ground below them. "I thought the Earth Kingdom had stronger people than that! Don't tell me you all are so weak! Someone come out and prove me, THE MASKED BENDER, wrong! Psh, I bet my previous incarnation couldn't get a crowd wild like this..I'm the best...” the masked boy yelled out as the crowd went wild once again. Not that he had any reason to be so cocky because his opponent was obviously far weaker than himself. This made the girl slightly lose respect for the boy. Beating someone under your level is not something that requires behavior like this. He was acting like a little kid, and that didn’t amuse the girl. Umi took another piece of grape and placed it into her mouth, waiting for the crowd to sit back again as the delicious sourness filled her mouth.

The contest continued, and each time the Masked Bender would send his opponents flying out of the arena with basic moves that didn't require much effort. He was getting rather upset that he couldn't find one Earth Bender that could show him some new moves..Or actually, he wasn't that surprised. He believed he was the best after all. Even the crowd thought so at this point. Everyone was roaring and it did nothing but hype the cocky Avatar up even more! Just like his days participating in the constant Agni Kais! He'd throw up two peace signs to the crowd, soaking in their cheers, until a certain person caught his attention. A woman who didn't seem too impressed with his performance..She certainly stood out in the crowd, and the two sitting around her seemed to be pretty close, symbolizing they were probably there to watch over her. Was she someone special? Perhaps an official of the Earth Country? If that was so, then why did she appear so elegant, and not in green like all the rest? And she was sitting with all the other Earth Kingdom people..Wouldn't they be drooling to meet someone so important? Raizo couldn't help but be interested..but he had a tournament to win, and it was coming up to the last match. He figured this time he'd really get her attention, no matter what. That was his goal. To impress her so every person in the crowd would remember the day Avatar Raizo had graced them with his presence! "I'll show her.." Would be the only thing he'd mutter, while standing at the edge of the arena and awaiting the last opponent.

The last opponent was rather smaller than the rest of the competition. He was an older man with a hung back, grey beard, and a earth made pole arm. Every step he took made it seem like he was gonna topple over in pain..Raizo couldn't help but wonder if this older man had seriously won his way to the finals, or if this was some kind of joke. The cocky Avatar would point across the arena towards the Old Man while laughing out loud. "Old man, you're old! You sure you wan-" The bell would ring and the Older Man would immediately tap his pole-arm against the ground, causing a series of jagged rocks to shoot up from the earth and head directly towards the cocky bender. This caught him in mid sentence and caused him to stumble to the side to barely avoid the attack, right when another was coming his way. Pressing off his hands, he'd launch himself up and back towards the previous rock, landing on it. This old man was aggressive..and Raizo was learning a lesson. Never judge a book by its cover..

The Older Man continued to launch attacks towards the boy, not giving him any time to Earth Bend himself. It came to a point where he'd have to pulls all the debris that was around the arena to create a shield a few feet around his body while the man continued to wailed on him. Raizo would hold up the shield as long as he could as the Older Man closed the distance and continued to beat down on it with constant attacks. Apparently his Earth Bending wasn't the best if a simple old man could have him pinned down like a rat in the corner..It made him slightly irritated..Lucky for him..he wasn't forced to rely on only one means of fighting..And as his blood boiled beneath his defense, the temperature of the air around him would begin to rise aswell. Raizo would never admit it, but the old man forced him to fall back on the one type of bending he was capable in..Fire.

In a sudden explosion, the rocks would shoot off from the Avatar's body and send the older man flying off the arena and into the wall. The explosion had charred Raizo's outfit and burnt matches into his mask that partially revealed his face, aswell. The stadium was quiet for a few seconds as everyone soaked in what they just witnessed..Suddenly, an explosion of cheers would shroud the area and cause the entire stadium to rumble. Raizo would stand in the center of the arena while staring out towards the Older Man who gave him such trouble to win..To think the man forced him to use fire bending kinda took away from the victory. Instead of running around and screaming like a maniac like he usually would, Raizo would instead place both hands on his sides and shake his head. He wasn't as good as he thought..Infact, his Earth Bending was mediocre at best. Oh, and don't even get him started on his Water and Air bending. Both atrocious. The boy would release a sigh under his breath as the announcer was proclaiming his victory..Without looking back, Raizo would jump down off the platform and head straight for the backrooms where the contestants usually prepared for their matches.

"I gotta stop playing around. That was pathetic on my part..Maybe the Fire Sages were right..Maybe I'm not cut out to be an Avatar. I'm sure any of the others would of had no problem with that guy." Raizo would release another sigh, as he'd make it back to the locker room and remove the charred mask from his head. Maybe it was about time he took his duties abit more seriously. His impatient and cocky personality was doing nothing but holding back his growth..and at his current rate, he would forever be in the shadow of his previous incarnation. "No more side trips. I need to head right into Ba Sing Se to find an Earth Bending Master..Then head to the Air Temples to bring Riri home and to find an Air Bending Master. Then off to water for Water Bending. Once I master them all, I'll return home to Lord Huo Ling and show him why I was chosen to be the Avatar." Raizo would nod to himself as he'd repeat the plan in his head over and over. He was sure that some time along the way, he'd stray off from the path and go on another side journey. Maybe that was for the best..It got him more experience with the world and what kind of Avatar it needed.

This moment was the precise moment Avatar Raizo started to make a change in his personality..though it was proceeding slowly, he was surely growing into a true Avatar. What he needed was just a little push in the right direction..

Tech:

The crowd soon stopped their pointless cheering for a mediocre fighter and everyone was soon back on their chairs, waiting to see if there was anyone out there who was willing to reply to the masked man’s challenge. No one seemed to be willing to take the risk, and that made Umi slightly angry. She would stand up to him herself, but now was neither the time nor the place to do so. She was the princess of the water, and to engage in a combat with a low ranked earth-bender, that was just far below her level. She assumed she could easily embarrass the young guy, but there had to be someone else out here who can do just the same, with less impact to his reputation. If that didn’t turn out to be the case, she would make sure that Roku paid for sending her off to a place like this. She came to see the real talents of the bending world, and if this guy was the best that the Earth Nation had to offer, she could as well pack up her bags and leave tomorrow morning. There was lots of things she could learn from other types of benders, lots of techniques she could adapt to her own needs and style of bending, but only if she found something worthy to learn. So far, she hasn’t found anything near that level.

Time passed, and benders came out, trying to battle their way against the masked man. Each one of them failed miserably. Some of them didn’t even last for more than a few seconds, yet before the battle every single one of them bragged that he was the one to beat the young man. The high level of bragging, and low level of actual abilities that these people showed made Umi extremely bored. Sometime mid-way the third battle, she already started playing with her hair in the way she used to do only when she was seriously annoyed. Not even the grapes were helping her now, and she saw her two guardians slowly moving away from her, inch by inch. Old man Roku must have told them about her bad temper, so they decided it was best not to be too near the girl. This thought made the girl smile a bit, as she looked at the two, who were now trying their best not to make eye-contact with her.

It took longer than the girl expected, for the announcer to make everyone know that they had their last competitor ready. What surprised Umi even more was the appearance of the said competitor himself. It was a hunch-backed old man, with a long gray beard that came all the way to his belly, and a pole-arm made out of earth. Was this really it? Was this the person who the organizers of the games thought could end the masked mans winning streak. He sure looked experienced, and he reminded Umi of the old lady who taught her the ways of plantbending. She maybe looked small and old, but she was one of the greatest benders that the girl ever had the chance of meeting. Perhaps this old man was something like her. Umi had seen a lot of benders, and she learned never to judge a fighter just by his appearance.

"Old man, you're old! You sure you wan-" the boy started talking and laughing in his cocky manner once again, but was soon interrupted by the bell that marked the beginning of the round. Not waiting a second, the old man started tapping his pole-arm into the ground. Suddenly a bunch of rocks shot up from the earth and rushed towards the masked guy. Obviously he wasn’t ready for attack, as he started stumbling sideways, struggling to avoid the rocks who missed him by just a few inches. This made Umi laugh, almost knocking the bowl of nuts from its place. Finally there was someone there to show the young man that he was not the amazing bender everyone, and himself apparently, though he was. The grandpa continued slamming his pole against the ground, continuously sending large chunks of rocks towards the boy. The masked guy soon put up a earthen shield between him and the old man, and this was the first time he even got the chance to earthbend in this round. The grandpa was obviously good at this, as he kept him cornered.

The man continued approaching the young boy, still using his earthbending in order to try and crack the shield that the guy had created. That’s when something strange happened. All of a sudden the rocks exploded from the younger guys body, and send to old man flying out of the battling part of the arena. The smile disappeared from the girl’s face, and she seemed not to be the only one to be surprised with the sudden turn of events. Everyone sat there in a silent shock, before jumping up and cheering the guy’s name once again. On the other hand, the guy, who had lost half of his mask in the attack, didn’t seem to be too happy with his performance. He didn’t seem to cheer up when the announcer came and proclaimed him the winner of the entire tournament. This made the girl curious because, even if she didn’t want to admit it, the last move the boy pulled out was quite impressive.

Not even taking a one last wave to the crowd, the young guy would jump off the battling platform and rush towards the backrooms. The people in the crowd started getting up and slowly walking towards the exit, making a wide stream of people. Everyone seemed to be extremely satisfied with the show that witnessed today. Just as she stood up and started walking towards the private exit, Umi felt a hand touch her shoulder. “My lady, we were told to take you to the backrooms once the tournament was done, so that you could have a conversation with the winner” the taller guy spoke in a careful way. Was he afraid that the girl was going to object, because she totally was, but not in a harsh way. “That would not be necessary” she said with a cold tone, as she tightened her braid. The guy did show a certain level of talent, but for him to work well only in a pressured situation was much less than what she was looking for. “But, my lady, Katai-dono would be extremely pleased if you accepted this.” the tall man continued with a pleading look in his eyes. Perhaps this wasn’t such a bad idea after all. The girl needed someone to talk to, someone who wouldn’t treat her as she was royalty. And besides, perhaps she could actually learn something from the young guy. “Very well,” she said with a bored tone, “Lead me.”

The girl waited for her guardians to pick their stuff up before they lead her along a long hallway and then down a set of stairs. They kept walking until they reached a big wooden door, with a white sign saying “Preparation Rooms” sticked on it. “I’ll make sure he is decent” the younger guy said before walking through the door and closing them once more. This was actually the first time Umi had heard him speak. It was good news that he wasn’t completely mute. The girl smiled at her own idea, as she and the taller guardian spent a few silent minutes, waiting for a response. Soon, the shorter guy went out again and told the girl to walk in, as they will be waiting for her outside. Umi nodded as she walked into the room.

It was a medium sized room with wooden walls and absolutely no windows. That somewhat made sense, as if the girl made her calculations right, they were now underground. The only sources of light were several uncovered light-bulbs, positioned on seemingly random places on the ceiling. In the middle of the room was the young guy. Umi didn’t recognize him at first, as he was now dressed in quite different attire and wore no mask at all. He was rather handsome, but that still did not make up for his lack of consistent skill. “Hello there,” the girl said as she walked towards the guy, extending her arm, “I am Rinsei, Umi, pleasure to meet you… I guess”

As the man entered the room, Raizo was fully dressed and sliding on the last shoe from his fire nation attire. His amber eyes would shift towards the man and narrow. It was obvious he wasn't in the best of moods at the moment. Luckily for him, the man would leave as soon as he entered, giving Raizo time to press himself to his feet and burn the remains of the mask. "Good riddance. I better go find Riri and then get out of here." The boy would pat himself off before hearing a voice behind him. Without turning to look yet, he'd raise a hand towards them. "No time to talk. I have al-" He'd stop mid sentence the moment he turned to see the woman, and would cross his arms over his chest. Raizo's amber tinted eyes would look her up and down for a few seconds as she extended her arm. Taking it cautiously, he'd shake with his left hand. "My name is Raizo. I recognize you..You were that woman sitting in the stands with the two others. You didn't look that impressed with my performance. I take it you've seen some pretty good earth benders then?" The Avatar spoke in a calm tone for once. He didn't particularly wish to meet the woman, but if he could get information from her, then that would save alot of time. She seemed like she had been around the block a few times. Surely she'd know some pretty impressive benders, right? Raizo could only hope, as he'd take his hand back and cross his arms back over his chest awaiting an answer.

Meanwhile, the announcer from the contest would enter the room with an abnormally large bag and a championship belt, headed right towards the two. "Has anyone seen that Masked Bender everyone is dying to meet? He's going to be famous with the amount of endorsement we'll get off his name and image!" The man spoke with much enthusiasm about the event and the 'masked man' that had won. Instead of humoring him, Raizo would shake his head. "The Masked Man is shy, so he took off and left me behind to take care of the funds. So I'll be taking that money..You can keep the belt." And with that, the Avatar would take the bag from the confused man. He'd await an answer from the woman about an Earth Bending Master..Even if she didn't know of one, he'd simply nod towards her and start walking towards the exit of the room. "Thanks for the fun night, announcer. I'm sure the Masked Bender would say the same." And with that said, he'd grab the knob to the door and pull it open by force..Not exactly walking out yet. Almost as though he was stopping because he forgot something.

The Earth trembled below Rei, for even if he didn't look it, he was furious, and his bending ability seeped out of him in his footsteps. That bender, he had used Firebending against that man with the Polearm, and that man wasn't even the Champion, the boy's Earthbending was mediocre at best, and shouldn't have won whatsoever. Sure, Rei hadn't participated in the Earth Rumble for some time, but he had defeated all that had participated, including that Old Man, he was rightfully, the Champion.

Rei walked down one of the side hallways, his footsteps echoing all the way down. He had told Mala to wait outside, but he knew if things went south, she would bust through any wall to get to him. Rei had one reason for going to these back rooms, to call that fighter back out. He could see him, standing there in the back, with a woman who had been sitting in the crowd with a pair of men who were also back there with her. And then there was the announcer. He had the belt, Rei's belt, the belt that stood for the top Earthbender in the tournament.

He then sensed the bender, the Firebender that is, grab the door leading to the hall which Rei walked down. Good, it was only a short time before they would meet. There was a light just ahead, the room. And the outline of him, the bender, stood there. Rei, still holding his calm, cool complexion. A small smile on his face, Rei approached the figure. "You haven't won just yet. And you won't win, not unless you get back out there, and if you haven't won, I'm not letting you take that money." He continued to approach, waiting for the boy to turn and face him. Rei still sensed the announcer int he room, even he wouldn't know Rei was there, and the woman was still there, who she was, Rei didn't know, but she was unimportant. There was only this fake Earthbender. Rei would put him down, once and for all.

The side hallways weren't difficult to find, and they were even easier to get in to. However the difficult part was navigating. Riri really didn't like being underground, it was like being trapped. Everywhere she looked everything looked like rocks. Rocks, rocks, and more rocks. Wandering through the passages she finally found the room containing the face of the person she was looking for. The avatar seemed to be being pestered be talking to some people. This caused Riri to bite her lip a little bit, she didn't feel like breaking into a big group. But the alternative was being all alone, so she rushed onwards. Weaving around whoever the earthbender pestering him was with airbender grace, and attempting to latch back on to the avatar's side.

"Oi, oi" She'd tug at his clothes to emphasis her words. "Mr. Hero, did it go well? Are you hurt?" She looked up in concern, a little distressed from being left behind for so long. She didn't do well in crowds, so large crowdy crowds were definitely not her strong suit, especially not underground where the air felt all trapped. She sniffled, showing her unhappiness at the situation, forming a large pout with her bottom lip as she did. It was that moment that she took to give a quick look around at the people. All bigger than her as usual, making a more physical than audible whimper she'd retreat into Raizo a little, tugging at his clothes again. "A-are we going soon?"

Umi saw the, previously masked, guy raise a hand in her direction, not even giving her enough respect to look at the girl before saying, "No time to talk. I have al-“ Before ending his sentence, the boy obviously realized that he was being rather impolite, so he turned around. He was lucky to do so, because Umi wasn’t used to being treated that way, and was just about to scold the boy for acting in such a disgusting manner. Crossing his arms over his chests, the boy started looking at the girl standing before him, scanning her from head to toes. It was another action that made the girl question the boy’s parents and the way they raised him. Everyone knew that looking at people like that, especially females, was rather rude. The boy soon snapped out of his scanning business and extended his arm towards the girl, taking her right hand with his left one and shaking it lightly. Umi found it rather strange that the boy used his left hand in their hand-shake, but she figured he must have been sinistral or something like that.

"My name is Raizo. I recognize you..You were that woman sitting in the stands with the two others. You didn't look that impressed with my performance. I take it you've seen some pretty good earth benders then?" the boy spoke in a rather calm tone, much different from the one he was using in the arena. He did ask a questing, but even so his tone gave the impression that he was rather uninterested in what the girl had to say. “Earth benders, no. Water benders, yes. But bending is bending, and i know how to recognize a good bender when I see one.” Umi said with a cold and calm tone as the boy withdrew his hand and returned it into its previous position, crossed across his chest, “Your earth bending is rather mediocre, apart from that last move which i found to be rathe-“

The girl didn’t get the chance to finish her sentence, as another door opened with a slam and the contest announcer entered the room with a large smile on his face and an even larger bag in his hands, along with something that looked like a huge golden belt. Umi figured that those were probably the rewards for the winner of the tournament. "Has anyone seen that Masked Bender everyone is dying to meet? He's going to be famous with the amount of endorsement we'll get off his name and image!" the man spoke with a large dose of enthusiasm in his voice. He obviously didn’t recognize the boy, who now looked surprisingly differently than his appearance in the arena. This actually gave the girl some time to look at the boy closely. She noticed that the clothes he was wearing now weren’t just normal attires, but the ones worn in the Fire Nation. This made Umi rather curious. What was a man from the Land of Fire doing in the Earth Kingdom, and how did he gain the ability to earthbend? This boy was rather interesting to her right now, and she wanted to find out more about him.

"The Masked Man is shy, so he took off and left me behind to take care of the funds. So I'll be taking that money..You can keep the belt." the boy who introduced himself as Raizo spoke, shaking his head away. The girl let out a small laugh at the boy’s actions. She found it funny that the boy didn’t want all the respect and fame, but had nothing against putting a few gold coins into his pocket. Umi didn’t know the feeling that someone had when they needed money, as she never was in that kind of a situation, but she figured that the boy had a good reason for doing so. The guy then approached the man and taking the bag of money. As he started walking towards the exit, the announcer was left with a look of utter confusedness on his face.

"Thanks for the fun night, announcer. I'm sure the Masked Bender would say the same." the boy nodded slightly, at the girl or at the announcer, as he took the door knob in his hand, standing still for a moment. Umi didn’t wait for him to invite her to come with, as she had already decided she was going to find out more about the masked man and this abilities, so she just followed him, walking a few steps behind him. “As I was saying, I found your last move to be qui-“ the girl started talking again, remembering that she was interrupted the first time. However, she didn’t have more luck this time either, as she was soon interrupted yet again by a figure of a man, standing in the hallway, across the doors that the boy opened and was just about to walk out off.

"You haven't won just yet. And you won't win, not unless you get back out there, and if you haven't won, I'm not letting you take that money." the mysterious guy said with a slight smile on his face. There was a certain dose of cockiness in his voice, no matter how calm he was trying to sound. At first he reminded Umi of Raizo, but his rudeness level was on a much higher level. Who did he think he was? What gave him the right to stand there and speak like that to them. “If you had anything to say, you should have done so in the arena. You should have stepped up when this guy,” Umi said with a cold tone, pointing at Raizo while trying to maintain eye-contact with the new guy, “Asked if there was anyone who was good enough to defeat him. You are too late now, so please leave us, as we have far more important things to do than to deal with pugs like yourself.” The truth was that they didn’t actually have anything else to do, together at least. The girl wasn’t even sure if the boy would allow her to follow him, but there was just something about the other guy’s presence that she found extremely irritating.

Umi waited to see wether either of the boy would react to her statement, but was soon interrupted by a small figure, weaving between them and stopping at Raizo’s side. The figure turned out to be a small red-headed girl, that Umi assumed was probably the guy’s sister. That thought was soon dispersed as the girl addressed him as “Mr.Hero”. That was not something one would usually call their siblings or close relatives, so Umi figured the two were probably some sort of companions. The little girl tugged the guy’s clothes, asking him if he was hurt, before taking a look at other people around them and asking, "A-are we going soon?" Umi smiled at the little girl, who now looked rather confused. She thought that the little being was extremely cute, and found her caring for the guy to be amazing. She sure was a special little person.

Waterbenders huh? Considering Raizo would need to learn Waterbending down the line, maybe she had some useful info about that. However, his attention was stolen by a random man standing in the hallway. He walked towards the firebender, and the boy would only stare back with his amber eyes. Before being able to respond, the woman spoke up first, which caused Raizo to look at her with a raised brow. This was probably the first case of someone defending him. Being such a pain, he was used to an unlimited amount of scolding. He forgot how it sounded to have someone backing him..It almost made him suspicious. Either way, Raizo would turn to the man in the hallway and continue walking. "What she said. I'm not here for the belt, I only came to compete for the money. Should have stepped up earlier if you wanted a challenge." Holding onto the bag, and keeping its straps tightly secured around his left shoulder, the young Avatar would watch a smaller figure bolt by. Before he knew it, Riri was back at his side, clinging to him like usual, while his owl flew off her head and back onto his shoulder. He'd pat her head with his right hand and give a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, Riri. I got the money so I can buy you that huge meal I promised to get you. We'll head straight into Ba Sing Se so I can find a proper Earth Bending master then continue on until we find an Air Monk that may remember you." Raizo would nod towards his companion while continuing to walk, attempting to work his way around the right side of the Earthbender and walk towards the end of the hall. He couldn't help but be curious as to what the woman wanted with him, but his main goal was to get out of the building first. Even the Avatar knew that if the man was looking for a fight, fighting him in such a hallway would do nothing but cause unneeded damage. Damage they may force him to pay off with his winnings..

On the norm, Raizo would drop the bag and fight without question..But after having Riri by his side, he had learned some restraint by simply trying to keep her out of trouble. To be honest, the smaller girl was teaching him how to be more mature and 'Avatar' like than the three Fire Sages he trained with back at home. Instead of being constantly taken care of, instead he was taking care of another, which was much more responsibility. In other words, he didn't have time to be childish on his end, as he actually had a child to take care of now. Who knew that would be the drive to make him abit more responsible than before..

Riri clung close to the avatar's body, listening to the conversation of the older people. Though only one was really talking. The big earth bender she'd swung around to get to Raizo. He sounded annoyed, people who sounded annoyed generally scared Riri, but this person was directing his annoyed voice at her friend person. She pulled back into Raizo's side slightly, giving her meanest frowny face to the earth bender as she did. He was talking about money, the one thing Riri was interested in in this underground pit place. Cause that meant food, and food was good.

Was he threatening to take the money from Raizo? Riri huffed, biting her bottom lip in a pout, trying to decide what he meant by not letting them leave without the cash. There was only really one thing he could be, a thief, after the money, for his own food. A thud hit the wall, but Riri was quicker, an athlete adept at dancing around she was quick as a flash, reaching and grabbing at the material of the bag. Snatching it away, and twirling just before the stone needle sliced through the material, though her upper arm entered the pathway of the projectile as she did so. Ripping the sleeve off of her top in a swoop, fortunately her upper arm was left unharmed by the strike, though this made her no less pouty. She clung back on to the avatar, to his other side this time. Clutching at his clothes in one hand, and the bag of money in the other.

"What she said. I'm not here for the belt, I only came to compete for the money. Should have stepped up earlier if you wanted a challenge” Raizo said with a calm tone, holding firmly to the bag of money. What worried the girl was the boy’s eyebrow that was questionably raised at her a few moments ago, after she had told the man to get lost. Umi wondered why he did that for, as she didn’t want the guy to get the wrong impression. She didn’t say it because of him, in fact she barely knew the boy so there was absolutely no reason for her to defend him whatsoever. No, the girl only did so because the other guy got in her way. She was determined to find out more about the boy and his bending abilities, and to be interrupted like that was fairly rude and something the girl wasn’t used to.

"I'm fine, Riri. I got the money so I can buy you that huge meal I promised to get you. We'll head straight into Ba Sing Se so I can find a proper Earth Bending master then continue on until we find an Air Monk that may remember you." the boy continued as she patted the little girl’s head and gave her a calming nod. The first part somewhat explained why Raizo decided to keep the money, even after denying the belt and all the fame and attention it could have brought to him. He was just trying to help the little girl, and the said attention would only slow them down on the quest they seemed to be taking. It was rather obvious that he needed a Earthbending master, as his skills definitely needed polishing. However, the girl didn’t quite understand the part about finding an Air Monk. That wasn’t that strange, considering that the sentence wasn’t aimed at her in the first place.

With that, the boy tried to walk around the other guy, making sure the little girl was following him. What he probably didn’t expect was the face that Umi was walking shortly behind him as well. The fact that he acted so caring around the little girl made him even more interesting to the girl, who was now sure that she wanted to find out more about the boy. She was actually supposed to head to Ba Sing Se later that week, but it couldn’t hurt to start the journey a few days early. She was sent to the Earth Nation to learn, and she was sure she could find some decent benders there. Besides, while watching the boy fight, as foolish and childish he looked, he still showed some sort of flare and enjoyment while doing so. That was one of the things that Umi was lacking. When bending and battling she was always cold, calm and calculated, sometimes as much that she forgot how to have fun.

"Could the same not be said for yourself? This 'champion' here, used Firebending,in an Earthbending tournament, he disqualified himself the instant he did that. His Earthbending at best is mediocre, which is why the old man would have beaten him. That aside, I, at the time, wasn't too concerned, as that old man needed a good lesson in humility." Umi heard the other guy say with a large dose of politeness in his voice, as opposed to his previous attitude. What the hell was he talking about? She did find the boy’s move rather strange, but she assumed it was just some sort of a high speed bending that resulted in the explosion of the rocks. Could it actually be Firebending? Umi seriously doubted that was possible. If that, however, turned out to be true it would mean that Raizo was an Avatar, and the one from Fire Nation judging by his clothes. That would explain a lot about what he was doing in Earth and why he needed to find good Earthbenders and Air Monks. It was still rather strange. Umi has never seen an Avatar before, not even the one of the Water Nation, which was strange considering she was some sort of royalty there. One would expect her to be connected with the Avatar as it was one of the most important persons in each nation, but she had never seen her, much less talked to her.

"So you are only interested in the money huh? I see” the challenger said, leaning against the nearest wall, “there is still no way you can take that without facing me in an Earthbending match.” With that, he knocked onto the wall and a large spike of rock shot out towards the bag of money. The little girl swiftly let go of the boy’s clothes, as she flashed towards the bag and saved it from being impacted and from the coins scattering all around the floor. She was rather good for her age, and her movements were extremely swift and natural. Perhaps they needed an Air monk because she was an Airbender herself. This was not that likely, but it surely wouldn’t be the strangest thing the girl had encountered so far. This, however, was not good at all. This move itself made the whole hallway tremble, so Umi could only imagine what would happen if a full fight commenced. It was really bad that these corridors were underground, because if the two guys went full-on they could get them all trapped down there for who knows how long.

"Violate the tradition of Earth Rumble, and you're bound to make people mad. I'll leave you be because you have her” the guy continued, not even waiting to see Raizo’s reaction, as he nodded towards the little girl who was now pouting heavily, "with you. But if you and I cross path's here again, I will show you just how terrifying an Earthbender can be." Umi was surprised by how this conversation ended. Perhaps the Earthbender was aware of the fact that this battle could not end well and that they could all get killed, or perhaps he just got scared. Whichever of the two it was, the girl was happy that she didn’t have to witness such thing. It might have given her some new ideas on how to improve her bending abilities, but it wasn’t worth the risk.

Another look at the pouting girl allowed Umi to see that her sleeve was ripped, probably by the spike created by that Earthbender. “Are you hurt?” the girl asked, trying to sound as calm and nice as she could, “If you are, I can easily take care of that?” She smiled at the little girl. Umi didn’t exactly know if the spike had hurt her too, but if it did she could take care of it in no-time. One of the perks of being a Waterbender was the healing aspect of it, and it was the one Umi liked the most. During her training she was hurt numerous times. She had bruises and cut all over her, and the healing technique that she learned was a real life-saver in those kinds of situations. However, she hoped that the little girl was fine. Umi didn’t like when little kids were in pain.

Raizo's amber eyes would narrow towards the figure, as he put his back to the wall and moved his arm to hit it. Before Raizo could react himself, Riri had already uses her Air bender reflexes to grab the bag and move to the fire bender's other side. The boy would shift his gaze to look down at the smaller girl who now had a cut in her sleeve. This was obviously from the male's earthbending assault against them, when he attempt to take the bag. The Avatar would kneel down to check the little girl's arm for injuries, as she seemed to pout. He wasn't sure if it was from the man's attack or not, but this would cause the fire bender stand back up and look over his shoulder towards the young man. At this time, Umi had moved to Riri's side and attempted to check her for injuries. At the time being, this lady seemed more like an ally than an actual threat, like the earth bender before him. "..If you were looking to piss me off, you just did. Attack me all you want, but when Riri's involved, I won't show you any mercy: Avatar or not. You hope we don't meet again, because if we do, I'll show you how terrifying a I can become." Continuing his advance towards the exit of the hall, the fire bender would raise a single hand as though he forgot something. "Oh, and I'll take this gold as your payment for her sleeve you just ripped. Learn to be more careful. You're earthbending like an amateur. Anyway, Umi, Riri, let's go." And just like that, the Avatar would turn the corner and head towards the exit of the stadium. If the Earthbender was to retaliate to the words at any time, Raizo was prepared to turn around and 'defend' himself.

Little did Raizo expect, as he went for the exit he'd see the two guards that were sitting with Umi before. Apparently they were waiting for her, or something. The woman must have been important if she had others looking after her. He wondered if it was because she was some form of medic, seeing how she was so quick to come to Riri's aid when her sleeve was ripped. Turning to look at the woman, Raizo would finally give her his full attention. "Thanks for your help back there. Question though..Are you someone important? Not just everyone walks around with guards tracing their every step. And why do you seem so interested about my bending? As the boy said before, my earth bending is mediocre at best." Words never spoken more true..This night was turning into something else..and Raizo felt like he was caught in the middle of it all.

Riri replied to the kind ladies concern with a confused stare, which lasted a little too long without her speaking. Taking the opportunity to note how pretty the bigger girl was, particularly her hair. Examining her a little too closely, Riri let go of Raizo's side. She quickly looked down towards the ground, not good at keeping eye contact with other people, shuffling her feet a little as she did. "Nuh uhh, fine." Riri shook her head at the ground, she really was fine, though her clothes lacked a sleeve now. She gave the sleeveless part of her shirt a tug, before noticing she was being called to go.

Keeping up to the avatar took many many of her small footsteps, since her legs were shorter. They weren't walking long though, Raizo stopped at the end of the corridor. Riri hadn't noticed and continued walking, only to knock into the lower half of what appeared to be a guard. Falling backwards into a sitting position she made a quiet "Oof." As she gently hit the ground. Looking up she finally noticed the guard. Quickly putting guards on her 'people to be afraid of' list she squeaked, jumped up and dashed back behind the avatar, giving the guards a timid look before being drawn from it by her companions voice.

Raizo was asking about the pretty girl. Which of course caused Riri to return her gaze up to the woman in question. Apparently the guards belonged to her. Riri had heard enough bedtime stories to know where this was going. She was probably some queen of a far away land that needed the avatar to go slay a dragon or something. Which didn't make sense cause Raizo seemed to like dragons. She quietly buried herself in Raizo's side again, watching the pretty lady a little timidly with curious eyes.

"Nuh uhh, fine." the little girl replied to Umi’s question after a few long seconds of looking at the girl. She probably just wanted to make sure that the girl was a friend, before saying anything. She lightly shook her head before shyly lowering it and looking at the ground, trying to avoid eye contact. Umi found her shyness to be super cute, but she didn’t want to push it too far, as the two had just met. She already decided she was going to stick with the young boy, and since the little girl was a part of his group she would spend more time with her too. For some reason, Umi knew that the two would get along just fine. In her tribe it was normal for young girls to take care of the children while the grownups were doing, well, grownup stuff. Being a royal and everything, Umi was spared of such chores and was basically free to do whatever she wanted to. This was a chance for her to see if she was any good with kids.

"..If you were looking to piss me off, you just did. Attack me all you want, but when Riri's involved, I won't show you any mercy: Avatar or not. You hope we don't meet again, because if we do, I'll show you how terrifying a I can become. Oh, and I'll take this gold as your payment for her sleeve you just ripped. Learn to be more careful. You're earthbending like an amateur. Anyway, Umi, Riri, let's go." The girl turned around as Raizo spoke in a tone so cold that even Umi could envy him on. It was not unexpected tho, considering that the Earthbender had just hurt his little friend. Umi might have looked cold on the outside, but she knew what true friendship meant. She also knew how far one would go in order to protect people who they care about. Another thing that she learned this way was that her previous thoughts turned out to be true. This guy was, indeed, the Avatar and that meant he probably knew some Waterbending himself. Sure, it was probably lame, considering his Earthbending level, but still, because of some reason Umi felt that she could learn a few things about bending himself. Perhaps he needed a Waterbending training as well, so this experience could be useful for both of them in a certain way.

"Go on then." the other guy stepped aside, letting the three go further alongside the wide corridor. Umi was glad that she wasn’t going to follow them, as he was getting rather boring. He just wasn’t the type of guy the girl usually liked spending time around. He was far too cocky, and was trying really hard to be polite. That was actually a plus, but the girl was really bored about everyone treating her like someone important, not that she wasn’t. Sure, she came to the Earth Nation so that she could learn, but she was also looking for adventure. She wanted to see how “normal” people lived and what they did in order to survive. Of course she was somewhat afraid on how she could do without having all the things she was used to having, necessary and unnecessary, but that was not important now.

The three continued their walk down the hallway, almost reaching the end, as they saw something. Umi’s two guards were sitting on the staircases that lead to the ground floor of the arena. This made the girl stop and frown slightly. She had completely forgotten about them. They were hired by her father and that old man Roku, both which she doubted would approve of her intention to travel with Raizo. She could hear them in her head, telling her how dangerous it was and how it was not worthy of a princess. Even if they did allow her to come they would make her take at least a dozen of guards, and that would just kill all the fun. She had to find some way to leave, without her father and Roku knowing she had left.

Just as she was about to stop Raizo from approaching the guards before they came up with a plan, the boy stopped on his own. He probably noticed them too as he said, "Thanks for your help back there. Question though… Are you someone important? Not just everyone walks around with guards tracing their every step. And why do you seem so interested about my bending? As the boy said before, my earth bending is mediocre at best." This was not good either. Umi didn’t want the boy to know how important she actually was, as she assumed it would change the way he treated her. “If I am important or not is not important at this point, young Avatar.” she said, still looking at the guards and sounding quite uninterested, “And yes, I couldn’t agree more about your Earthbending abilities. However, that is not the only bending you know, now, is it? Besides, you are an Avatar after all, and you sure go all around the world, seeking for masters to help you improve your skills. That is exactly what I want to do. That is why I decided to go with you. Now, if you would follow me for just a moment,” Umi slightly petted the little girl’s hair as she walked forward, towards the staircase.

“Hey, you two” she said as she got close to the guards, who just now seemed to notice that the three people approached them, “You are free to go. I made a deal with my father that if I liked the winner of the contest, I could sign him as my personal guard for my further journeys. This guy” she pointed at Raizo, “Was immensely honored by my proposal and decided to accept. Therefore, your services are no longer necessary. Tell the old man to inform my father that we are heading out for the Fire Nation first thing in the morning. Now, off you go.” This was the first thing that came to her mind and it wasn’t that bad either. It would give the girl at least a few more days before the word came out about who the man really was and that she had gone with him without permission. “But, my lady,” the taller guy seemed to find it suspicious too but the girl was quick to stop him from thinking. “Why are you talking to me without permission? I didn’t ask you anything. Go, disappear.” she said coldly as the two, still confused, guards quickly went up the stairs. The girl smiled as she turned back towards Raizo and the little girl, “Well that went quite well. Now, where are we really going tomorrow?”

Raizo would keep a brow raised towards the guards, as the little Riri jumped up and dashed to his side. Patting the girl on her head, the Avatar would look back towards Umi who began to answer his previous question. Her answer didn't help her case of getting on the Avatar's 'good' side. She spoke in a nonchalant "I don't care" kinda tone, and didn't answer his at all. A simple yes or no was now turned into 'maybe not or maybe so', leaving the young Firebender guessing who she really was. It was only safe to assume from her outfit, though he was reaching for straws here, she was from the Water Tribe. Which one? He had no idea. The woman continued on, mentioning how below par his Earthbending skill level was currently at, which was another blow to his ego, and told him alittle about herself. Apparently she was traveling around the world aswell..Maybe in a similar quest that Raizo had embarked on himself. For a small second he wondered if this woman was the Water Avatar, before remembering a small bug eye'd girl about a year beneath his own age was their Avatar instead. So what did this woman have to learn by traveling nation to nation? Was she some kind of diplomat?

Being so lost in thought, and wondering if being around the woman was really in his best interest, he wouldn't even notice the woman continue her stride towards her guards. "Riri we seem to have a habit getting caught into troublesome messes. Though I think this has been my fault so far.." Raizo would let out a nervous laugh while rubbing the back of his neck. His bright ideas were usually the cause of much strife..It was the same way back when he was a simple Fire Nation brat attending school. To make it even worst, this woman would tell her two guards he was now her personal body guard. This caused smoke to shoot from his nostrils as he palmed his forehead. "Wait just a second! I'm no bodyguard, I have my own problems to attend too! Man you people in this Kingdom are so odd. First that cocky kid, and now some woman who I haven't even met for three minutes?!" Royalty..Diplomat..Whatever she was..Raizo didn't care. He already had Riri to worry about, so sitting there and even playing the role of a 'bodyguard' was not something he would watch while idle. Even if her guards did not continue up the stairs after the Avatar's outbreak, the boy would leave out the arena from the front doors, not even bothering to close them once exiting.

Once getting outside, he'd pat Riri's head before stepping infront of her slightly. "Stand back, Riri, while I call our ride." And with that said, Raizo would punch towards the sky and release a 10 diameter flame straight up towards the heavens with flames that were only Avatar level intense. The blaze illuminated the night time sky and created a ray of light extending up from the earth. Raizo would hold this fire ball, waiting for his Dragon to not only see it, but come to their exact location for pick up. Looking over his shoulder, Raizo's amber eyes would narrow towards the small airbender. "I think it'll be safer if we head straight for Ba Sing Se..No more pitstops until we're there..These people are kinda crazy in these parts. Too many rocks to the noggin or something. I'm thankful that woman came to your aid when I thought you were hurt, but that wasn't a free invitation to make us her two new toys. I have too much pride to go through that!" Shaking his head and letting out a sigh, Raizo would narrow his eyes even more. "Riri, remember this one thing. Even if you have a pretty face, it doesn't mean everyone will bend to your will. Got that?! -coughifthatwasthecasethenallthegirlswouldbeallovermebynowcough-" With the life lesson out of the way, Raizo would look back up towards the dark skies with an annoyed expression. "Where the heck is Wafu at? I told him to stay close..I think..Did I..? And just like that, the Avatar would be standing under a night sky while shooting a massive flame towards the stars, awaiting his ride that apparently had more important things to do. Raizo couldn't help but think about the woman who seemed to be so interested in his bending. If she were to continue following, even after he walked out on her, it would be the perfect time to hold a real conversation..Not like he was going anywhere without his dragon anyway. Either way, if there was a chance for him to get some extra attention from another, he'd wait any amount of time for them to show themselves. Especially for a hottie such as her. He was practically praying for her to follow..even if that stern look on his face said otherwise. Believe it or not, he still needed a date for the upcoming festival in Ba Sing Se..The best he'd get with Riri was a play-date.

The pretty older lady talked weirdly. Like she was out of some storybook. This only served to further Riri's belief in her being a faraway Queen, or maybe a spirit like the pretty flying fire lady had been. It seemed odd that someone could be unimportant now, and then important later. Weren't important people always important? She almost giggled as the pretty lady insulted Raizo's earthbending skills. Riri thought he'd done rather well against the giant earthbenders, but then again she didn't know much about earthbending, moving any rocks at all impressed her. The subject suddenly changed from dumb earthbending to who would be teaching the avatar stuff. Riri hadn't put much thought into that. Raizo seemed big and strong enough to do everything by himself. But the pretty lady was inviting herself on to the team. Riri liked this idea, if only because stories said that nice people were also pretty and mysterious. All of sudden her head was being patted. Riri blushed, unused to this, looking up at the lady. "Uwaa..."

Riri watched as the guards were dismissed. The spirit water lady must be really important if her guards obey her so quickly. She made Raizo her guard too, and she seemed to want to go to the fire nation. Riri pouted, that's not where they were going. They were going to that big city for a big meal. Truthfully Riri didn't like either option, cities scared her, and so did going across the entire world on a dragons back. But as soon as the guards were out of earshot the lady was asking for different plans. This caused a great deal of confusion in Riri, were they going to the fire nation or not? Riri nodded along to Raizo, they did get in some weird situations, but Riri thought they were troublesome just cause she didn't understand the majority of them. The grown ups always seemed to be talking about things she hadn't quite been informed on. Oh well. Riri was pulled out of her nodding as Raizo shouted a little at the lady. She looked from one of their faces to the other.

Raizo was right, he wasn't her bodyguard, but that didn't meant he had to yell at her. But she didn't want to be left behind so she ran alongside the avatar as they went to leave the underground tunnels. Riri clutched onto the avatar the whole way, but let go once outside. She really didn't like being underground. Being back in the open air where she could feel the wind was much nicer. She raised her head up to the sky to feel whatever soft night-time breeze there was on her cheeks, her head was met with a cold wind, and a pat from her companion. Why were people patting her so much tonight? Wait, was it night-time already? Oh darn, that meant it was bedtime soon. Riri huffed, but Raizo needed to do something, so she stepped back. All of a sudden the sky was bright again with whatever the avatar was doing. Riri averted her gaze cause her eyes weren't adjusted to the light yet.

Raizo explained the situation. Oh so they were headed to Ba Sing Se. That was good. Or bad. She'd find out later. Raizo was ranting a little about earthbenders, so she tuned out. Looking back at the entrance, so was the pretty lady coming or not? She seemed nice, and it might have been nice to have another girl on the team. Remembering the other nice looking fire spirit girl from before Riri wondered if Raizo left lots and lots of girls behind. Would he leave Riri behind too? She hoped not. Raizo informed her that she was not allowed to control people with her pretty face. That made her blush a tiny bit, nobody had called Riri pretty before. This was followed by some kind of long weird coughing sound that Riri didn't understand. But the real problem was the dragon was nowhere in sight. Good she thought. Dragons were weird to ride, not as comfy as sky bison.

She looked back at the entrance one more time before looking back at Raizo. She shuffled her feet, she wasn't good at asking for things. So holding one arm tight with the other, and making sure not to look at the avatars eyes she stuttered out what she'd been thinking. "Uhm... Uhn... R-raizo... Would it be ok, if... If the pretty water lady could come w-with us?" Her speech sped up as she went on. "Riri thinks she's really nice, and, and, she said she could help you with training and stuff." Riri taking a liking to people was rare, she usually hated being social, but maybe being patted on the head had changed her mind. Or maybe she just enjoyed having someone who gave kind affections so freely. "Please Raizo?" She took he opportunity to look up at his face with her large eyes, giving her best pout. This was probably ignoring the "Dont order people around with a pretty face" thing Raizo had just mentioned. But it would really be nice if their team could get bigger before arriving in the massive city.

"Wait just a second! I'm no bodyguard, I have my own problems to attend too! Man you people in this Kingdom are so odd. First that cocky kid, and now some woman who I haven't even met for three minutes?!" the boy said in a quite rude tone, putting his palm on his forehead. Did he really not realize what she was doing? Perhaps he was just one of those people that need some time to understand the things that are happening around them. They call them “slow”… or something like that. If that really was the case then it was really a pity. For someone of his rank and potential to be like that was disappointing. Still, the girl had hoped that the guy’s concentration dropped after all that happened.

Not even waiting for the girl’s response, Raizo rushed out of the door of the arena. This was another rude action of his, the one which made Umi question her wish to follow the boy on his journey. If he was going to treat her like that perhaps she should just find another journeyman and go with him. This was not the way that the girl was used to being treated, not even close. Perhaps she should have told him about her social status after all, but that was not an option now. Besides, taming him will be fun, right?

Umi hurried after the two, as her thinking had left her a few meters behind. She closed the door to the arena, before looking around for her future companions. They didn’t even seem to care about her. She walked through the door just in time to hear the boy say “while I call our ride", before shooting a large flame from his fist towards the sky. As she took just one step forward, Umi felt the immense power that was produced by the young boy, and that put a smile on her face. He had some skill after all, and that made the girl even more determined about continuing with her plan. The thing that made her think was the “calling of a ride”. Were they going to ride on something? What on? In her country people used Buffalo Yaks for transportation, but she had no idea what they were going to use now. A Palanquin was sent to pick her up from the docks when she arrived, but Umi doubted that was even an option now. It was probably going to be some animal that would take them to their next destination.

"I think it'll be safer if we head straight for Ba Sing Se… No more pitstops until we're there… These people are kinda crazy in these parts. Too many rocks to the noggin or something. I'm thankful that woman came to your aid when I thought you were hurt, but that wasn't a free invitation to make us her two new toys. I have too much pride to go through that!" the boy said, obviously not knowing that Umi was listening to them, still standing near the entrance to the arena. She was somewhat hurt by what the young guy said. Sure, maybe she was using them as an excuse to leave the supervision of her father, and yes she was maybe somewhat bossy and spoiled, but she was in no way trying to make them her toys, especially the little girl, although she would have made for the cutest doll ever. And he was the one to talk about pride? She was a princess, and she stooped so low to come with a second-grade bender in order to learn, and now he was going to talk to her about pride. Please…

"Where the heck is Wafu at? I told him to stay close… I think... Did I…?" Raizo continued shooting a massive pillar of flame towards the sky, immensely heating the air around them. Didn’t he think he would draw some attention that way, or was it normal to do such things back in the Fire Nation. Either way, Umi assumed that someone would probably think that a building was set on fire or something similar and come to their rescue. The boy surely needed to learn to think more before acting. Perhaps she could teach him that.

Umi saw the little girl turn around and look towards the door once again, which probably meant that she had been seen and that it was time for her to step up. She slowly walked towards the two, the heat becoming more and more intense as she approached, and came just close enough to say "Uhm... Uhn... R-raizo... Would it be ok, if... If the pretty water lady could come w-with us? Riri thinks she's really nice, and, and, she said she could help you with training and stuff. Please Raizo?" Umi smiled to herself as she approached the two slowly. She thought that it was incredibly sweet of the little girl to make such a request, especially for someone she had just met. Umi couldn’t remember the last time someone had called her nice. Self-centered and Emotionless were used much more often. Not even her skills were ever called nice, as they had gone past that level ages ago. The girl also mentioned someone named Riri. Was that the little girl's name.

“Sorry I’m late” Umi said as she walked closer to the two, slowly putting her hand around the little girl’s shoulders. “You know I didn’t really mean you were my bodyguard,” she said turning towards the young Avatar, “It was just a cover so that the guards would leave, as they wouldn’t have let me go otherwise. I thought you would understand that.” As she said the last part, Umi used her other hand to lightly scratch her temple, sending a hidden yet obvious not to the boy that she wasn’t sure he would understand. “Besides, I think that we could both benefit from working together. Money is not a problem with me, so you wouldn’t have to join any more lame contests like this just to earn enough for food. Also, I assume you will need a Waterbending teacher at one point, I can help with that too. So, what do you say?” Umi wasn’t sure if the boy would accept her offer, but she thought he would be stupid not to.

Raizo raised a brow towards the small girl clinging to his side. Apparently she wished for the woman, named Umi, to join them aswell. This was the perfect push Raizo needed to turn around and go find the woman. Oh he could just kiss Riri for this..if it wouldn't have looked totally awkward and slightly pedo. Instead he'd stop his massive flame and cross both arms across his chest, turning his snout up. "I suppose I will for you, Riri. Only for you.." 'Cause I totally don't have an ulterior motive.' And just like that, Raizo would turn around to head back for the woman, only to see her standing there, looking at him dead in the eye. The boy couldn't help but wonder if she heard the entire conversation..plus the words he had said about her aswell. Oh man, if she did it would be pretty hard to take her to that festival on a date, right? Right? Pshaw, he was the Avatar. Nothing was supposed to be hard for him! Excluding Airbending and Waterbending of course..With a few nervous laughs, Raizo would rub the back of his neck and tilt his head slightly. "Ah, Umi..How long have you..eheh..been there?" He tried to force an apologetic expression upon his face but found it extremely hard to pull off. Instead, he would just nod his head and listen to her words.

As she spoke and he listened, it became painfully clear that he had jumped the gun before. He was used to this, and didn't mind doing it from time to time. However, with people depending on him, namely Riri, Raizo had come to the conclusion that he'd need to learn some kind of patience. Alittle humility perhaps. Puffing his cheeks and letting abit of smoke escape his lips, the firebender would walk up to the Princess and raise his hand for another shake. "I wouldn't feel right using someone else's money like a freeloader.." 'Even though I've been freeloading for a few years now.."..But Riri seems to like you..and I think I may like you too. So I'd love for you to come with us." If she was to shake his hand, Raizo would give her a sly smile while narrowing his amber eyes. With the formalities out of the way, he'd spin off the soles of his feet so he was now beside her. Raising an arm, he'd wrap it around her back and to her opposite shoulder, pulling her towards his chest. "So now that that is out of the way..Maybe you've heard of this pretty amazing festival going on in Ba Sing Se soon..Since we're all headed there together, and probably don't want to get separated from the big crowd..I say we stick together and form some kind of..I dunno..Meeting..Or..hmm, Oh I know. A date." Snapping his fingers, a small spark would emit and burst into a flaming heart infront of the woman. A trick he developed to show off abit more than usual. "You and me together at the festival. Having fun and letting the night take us away..And who knows, if you play your cards right I may give you some extra love by the end of the night." The conceded Avatar would give the woman one final wink before walking back towards Riri and looking towards the sky. "Sound like a plan to you, Umi?"

Raizo never ceased to amaze himself. First he talked about the woman as though she was some sort of crook, then shamelessly flirted with her to get some attention. He was an odd one, and it was sad because even he knew this. Luckily, a massive black figure would take his thoughts away, as it descended from the sky and made its way towards the group..

"Ah, Umi..How long have you..eheh..been there?" Umi heard the guy ask just before she began talking. She decided to pretend not to have heard the question, as it wasn’t the easiest one to reply to. How do you tell someone that you have heard them call you a crazy, mean and manipulative without even knowing you, especially if you had just asked the said person to allow you to accompany them on their journey? It would be much easier for the girl to just ignore the question, so that’s what she decided to do… for now. However, she remembered the guy’s words well, and was sure to mention it to him when it’s convenient.

The boy puffed his cheeks a bit, now acting like a little kid. He obviously listened well to what she had said and realized that his previous conclusions weren’t the best. She had offered him various perks if he let her come, and he wouldn’t be the brightest one if he refused. “I wouldn't feel right using someone else's money like a freeloader… but Riri seems to like you… and I think I may like you too. So I'd love for you to come with us." he said as he walked towards the girl, extending his arm, offering another handshake. The girl would smile at his last sentence. The boy was either a really good liar, or he changed his opinions very often. Umi found it strange on how one can first talk badly about someone and then say how he would “love” if you came with. Really funny.

The girl was raised well tho, so she knew that it was extremely impolite to refuse shaking someone’s hand and just leave them hanging. She slowly extended her hand as well, but it seemed to be a mistake. As soon as their hands touched the boy spun around his feet and positioned himself beside the girl. He raised his arm and wrapped it around the girl’s shoulders, pulling her closer. What the hell was he doing? She assumed he wanted to make the girl more comfortable this way, but it was not, in any way, appropriate. Umi wasn’t completely against physical contact, it was just that she had just met the boy and didn’t really like him that much.

"So now that that is out of the way… Maybe you've heard of this pretty amazing festival going on in Ba Sing Se soon...” the boy said and a smile appeared on Umi’s face. So that was where they were headed now. She liked the idea as she had heard many good things about the city from her previous mentors. It apparently had many good benders, so that would be the perfect opportunity for the girl to learn. "Since we're all headed there together, and probably don't want to get separated from the big crowd... I say we stick together and form some kind of... I dunno… Meeting… Or… hmm, Oh I know. A date." Raizo continued, snapping his fingers as a small spark burst into a flame that formed into a shape of a heart in front of the girl "You and me together at the festival. Having fun and letting the night take us away... And who knows, if you play your cards right I may give you some extra love by the end of the night. Sound like a plan to you, Umi?" he said, finishing the whole speech with a wink.

Umi let out a slight laugh at the boy’s question. It wasn’t the cute laugh of shyness that most of the girls her age would let out when a guy asked them out on a date. No, it was just a laugh, the one showing how the girl found the request rather funny. “As tempting as that sounds,” she said with her most obvious sarcastic voice, “I’m going to have to say no.” Umi wiggled out of Raizo’s hug and patted his shoulder. She looked towards the sky and suddenly felt extremely scared as a huge black figure was rushing towards the group. What was going on?

No? No woman ever denied Raizo of what he wanted! This was ground breaking! Shocking! Hell, it was so shocking he would grasp his chest and stumble back a few steps. Was this woman so important that she could easily turn down a date when dealing with an Avatar? If she was trying to push him away, she did nothing but make him more interested. Though his face showed some surprise, in his mind he made a note to make her his own. This woman named 'Umi' would not be the one to break the tradition of bending to his will. Narrowing his eyes, Raizo would give a sly smirk while looking towards the woman. "Challenge Accepted, then." As he spoke, the large black mass would hit the ground behind him, and cause the earth to shake in its place. Picking Riri up and launching himself into the air, the boy would flip onto the back of the dragon and place the girl on its head. Sliding back down to the ground, he'd extend a hand to the woman. "This is our ride into Ba Sing Se. Though dragons are pretty rare, some how the past Avatar got his hands on one. His name's Wafu..He's sorta harmless..as long as you don't stand infront of him. Then he'll probably eat you." Raizo would wink towards the woman and would wait for her to take his hand. If she did, he'd pull her into a close embrace and launch off the ground and onto the dragon's back. Once making it to the dragon's back, he'd hold her for a few extra seconds before pulling back. "You should reconsider my offer, you know? If you don't, I'll just call our training sessions dates instead. It doesn't matter to me!" With that said, the persistent Avatar would walk towards the Dragon's head and take a sit. "Alright hang on..Wafu, shoot for the stars!" The Black Dragon would release an unsettled grunt as it'd shoot off from the ground and pierce the skies. Their next stop would be Ba Sing Se..It wouldn't take no more than a few hours to reach there.

[exit]

"Challenge Accepted, then” Raizo said but the girl was too shocked to be able to hear him, let alone understand what he said. It took her several seconds to understand what was going on. The figure that was flying towards them soon hit the ground, allowing Umi to see what it was. In front of her was a gigantic gray dragon. The being must have been over 30m long, and it’s presence was just magnificent. It was the first of its kind that Umi had the chance to see, and she was stunned by its appearance. She had the chance to ride some Air Bison, and even Gigantic Manta Rays, but they were nothing like this.

As the girl managed to snap out of her amazedness, she saw the boy pick up the little girl and jump onto the dragon’s back, placing the little thing on the head of the monster. The little girl seemed immobile, so Umi figured she was probably asleep. It was probably way past her bead time. What time was it anyway? The girl remembered that the fights at the tournament began at around 8pm, but it lasted for some time so it was now probably around midnight. That would also explain why the boy would think it’s safe to summon a dragon this close to the city. No one could see it.

As he made sure the little girl wouldn’t fall over, Raizo swiftly slid down to the ground and extended his hand towards Umi. The girl took his hand, willing to take the risk of being pulled into an awkward hug once again. "This is our ride into Ba Sing Se. Though dragons are pretty rare, some how the past Avatar got his hands on one. His name's Wafu… He's sorta harmless… as long as you don't stand infront of him. Then he'll probably eat you." the boy started talking as he pulled her closer and jumped forward, so that they were both soon on the dragon’s back. He ended the last sentence with a wink, but the girl knew there was some truth behind his words so she made sure to remember his instruction.

As they landed, Raizo held the girl tightly for a few, probably unnecessary, seconds before letting her go. "You should reconsider my offer, you know? If you don't, I'll just call our training sessions dates instead. It doesn't matter to me!" he said and Umi could only laugh at how full of himself the boy was. Sure, he was the Avatar but that didn’t mean he was anywhere near as important as he obviously thought he was. “I figured you would do something like that,” she said with a smile, “Maybe once you grow up.”

With that, the boy walked towards the head of the dragon and sat next to the little girl. Umi walked behind him and sat near the two. Raizo said his command and the beast launched itself off the ground and into the air with and extreme speed. Umi knew that this was going to be quite a journey.