Worry, Worry, Lost and Found <Ba Sing Se, EK>

[xuan]

It seemed like forever had passed since Xuan Yen and her children had spent their day with the king. Bo still spoke of it like it had been yesterday, he was obssesed with learning to Earth Bend though even with all the little boys concentration he hadn't shown any signs of the trait. Slowly Jiangs speech grew clearer, the girl seemed to be learning slowly, but Xuan never worried that she didn't have a bright future ahead of her.

The market was crowded, Xuan almost regreted now having giving the maid the day off. She had wanted so badly this morning to be outside in the sun, but now, tagging along both a six and a four year old, she felt worn. She wasn't used to taking care of the kids by herself, she always had another set of hands to help, but not today. Jiang was to big for her to carry all around town, especially when she kept kicking and wanting to be let down to walk on her own, and Bo didn't want to stay by her side either. She tried to hold their hands and keep them close, but the children tugged at her in either direction and what had first started as trying to be delicate had turned into frantic. As a noble she tried to mantain dignified in everything she did, but she was suddenly learning that there was very little dignity in raising children.

"Bo, get back here," she called over the crowd, his tiny hand had slipped out of hers and he had bolted through the throng. "Bo, this isn't funny, come here this instant! Jiang stop it!" she said sternly to her littlist who was tuggin on her hand still. People all around were giving her strange looks, most of them accusing, saying 'can't you cantrol to little children?'

"Peek-a-boo!" Bo yelled as he popped up behind his mother who shreiked from being stratled. She grabbed her boys hand harshly and tugged both him and her girl up the street, being none to gentle with them. Bo cried as he was tugged along by his angry mother and Jiang lost her fotting several times and Xuan only stopped briefly to set her up right.

"Mama, le' go," Jiang whined as she was pulled along and Xuan let go of both of them so quckly that the little girl was once again thrown of balance.

"Fine, you don't want to stay, you want to run off like a little street urchin, go ahead," She crossed her arms and turned her face away from her children. She remembered her grandmother often using such a trick on her when she was being obnoxious. A small pair of hands tugged at her kimono and she briefly looked down to see Jiang, her eyes wide and teary. "What would you like?" she asked as though a stranger to the child.

"Mama, ma" the little girl was gasping through tears that now stained her tiny cheeks and Xuan couldn't help but feel bad for making her little girl cry. She bent down and gently picked her up and the girl wrapped her tiny, chubby arms around her neck. She turned to look at Bo, but he wasn't there. Her eyes opened wide and she looked around the street desperatly for any sign of her little boy, but there wasn't a trace of him among the crowd.

"Jiang, where did your brother go?" She said worried and the girl pointed down the street. Horrified that Bo had taken her literally she bolted down the street in a very unlady-like fashion with Jiang in her arms calling her boys name.

"Have you seen him, have you seen a little boy about this tall?" she ran up to random people and she beeged for any hint to where her boy might be, discribing him to everyone, but most people simply backed away, frightened of the frantic mother.

[sunil]

Somehow, he had lost direction after leaving the Northern Air Temple. Instead of heading to the west as was his intention, he found himself nearer the great wall of Ba Sing Sei after a lengthy sojourn. But he wasn't complaining. It had been a good while since he had visited the vast metropolis, creepy though it was. Guards in wide hats always watched, but for reasons Sunil did not know. Even as he walked through the crowded market, standing almost a head taller than anyone in view, he had no clue why those shady-looking guards needed to keep such strict watch - Or clad in such dreary outfits, at that.

He had managed to barter his way into the city, trading a fine tea to earn his way to travel around. He was hardly a refugee, though his uncomplicated saffron pants, olive sash, and short-sleeved deep green shirt told he was not of higher standing. Perhaps for sightseeing and little else, he was now in the city and dredging around the market.

Though a rushing cry of a woman now pierced the air. The dark-skinned earthbender, with skin colored like coffee, could plainly see her from a distance since he stood at a height of six feet. She seemed to be flitting from person to person, asking for her little boy. Sunil felt an obligation tug at his heartstrings, and stumbled his was through the crowd to help the woman. With a tall, lanky build like a lofty crane, he certainly stood out as much as was needed, and made his way to the woman.

Dressed in fine clothing, she was clearly one of high status. Perhaps one to whom who he could sell a fine mountain-grown tea he had picked up on his travels. But the selling of tea was not of utmost concern as he placed his large hand on the much-shorter woman's shoulder. With a grin trying to ease her nerves, he said, "Excuse me, miss? Can I help you in any way?"

[xuan]

Minutes seemed like hours, where was her son!? Xuan looked around, calling his name, franticly searching for any clues, but she stopped suddenly when a large hand rested on her shoulder and a mans voice spoke, she barely heard his words, her heart skipping several beats at the touch. As a noble she was far from used to being touched by anyone especially a stranger. She whirled arouns to see the man, steeping back away from his grip. Her eyes were wide still with panick and her breath was quick.
"Have you seen my boy? He's only this big," she held her free hand near her hip and she shifted Jiang into a slightly more comfortable position; she was trying desperatly not to scream, "He has dark hair and green eyes, he's just a little boy?" She said as fresh tears trickled down her already tear stained face.

She tried to look at the man, but it was hard for her to keep her eyes on one thing when she imagined she might miss a sign of her son if she wasn't looking for him. Her green eyes darted wildly from side to side as she fought not to turn away from the man.

"Ma...ma," Jiang was still sniffling, the little girl had raised her head from her mothers shoulder to see the tall man. Her eyes were wide, but it was less out of panick and more out of fear, the girl had never seen anyone so tall and never anyone as dark skinned, but she was only four years old. "Broder, help find?" she asked cocking her head to the side, her little pale green eyes still wide.

[sunil]

The woman's words were rushed, but not for a hare-brained reason - Her young son was missing, so she had every right to freak out. Her brief description offered Sunil very little detail to follow, but he tried to observe the noble's every word, even gazing at her hand held at hip level while he scratched his head.

As the woman spoke, Sunil's near-black eyes soon pored over the crowd to take note of where this little boy could possibly be. By 'dark', the earthbender assumed the lad's hair was a deep brown or black, as opposed to the tawny or dusty brown locks possessed by some Earth Kingdom inhabitants, so he kept this detail fixed in his mind. The green eyes would be much harder to pick out in the bustling market, but it was a tip nonetheless.

Sunil looked back at the frenetic woman only to see the tiny girl she held looking straight at him. Nodding at the toddler's request, he bent down slightly to bring his face to her level. "Of course," he said with a wide and friendly smile, "I'll help you."

Turning and raising simultaneously, he started to amble through the crowds, though an important question popped into his head before a second or two passed. Swiveling back to the noble lady, he voice carried through to her, "What was he wearing?"

[raisa]

It had only been a couple weeks, but allready the vastness of this city was starting to sink in. Raisa and her siblings as well as her mother had made it to Ba Sing Se safely, but they were still not settled. They had been able to find a nice enough room in the upper levels in the town, they had offered their experience in a teahouse as payment for the small room above the public place. It was a little cramped and Raisa felt uneasy preforming in a strange place, but she tried to make do for her sisters and her mother. It had been almost a month since their fathers death, but it was none the easier to deal with the sorrow that still lingered in their hearts.

On this particularly nice day Kina and Raisa had been browsing the market since early that morning, mostly they were trying to sell some of the things they had brought with them, but now had no room for as well as getting a few groceries that their land lady had given them money to retrieve.

The bustle of the crowd grew as the day went on, but as it neared the lunch hour the girls spared a few coins for a small bowl of plain rice. They walked along the outskirts of the streets trying to find a good place to sit and eat, but there was hardly anywhere to go where they wouldn't be stepped on. After passing several empty alley ways the girls finally decided an alley was the only place they would get any piece.

The narrow alley they picked was littered with crates which the girls sat on to keep their Furisode's as clean as possible. Kina held forward the bowl with a smile toward her sister and she was about to scoop out a mouthfull with her two fingers when a sob cuaght her ear. The sound was low, hardly audible over the noise of the crowd outside the alley, but Raisa turned her head all the same. She heard the sob again coming from behind some of crates farther down and while she motioned for her sister to stay she quietly slide off her crate. She side stepped slowly closer to the sound, not knowing what to expect, but what she saw wasn't it. A small boy sat in the dirt, his head laid against his knees which his arms were wrapped around. His hair was a dark, almost black brown and his clothers were to nice, even covered by dirt, for him to be a street urchin.

"Are you okay?" Kina asked, she had ignored her sister and followed with the rice bowl in hand. It was probably better for Kina to adress the boy, Raisa was a little to rough to comfort a crying child.

The boy snapped his head up as he realized he wasn't alone. He wiped the tears from his cheeks quickly, "I'm fine, what do you want?"

"you're not fine, boy, you're crying," Raisa said, her sister gave her a stern look and she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, go away," They boy said again

"You don't belong in an alley, where's your mother?" Kina asked and the boy turned his head to the side muttering, ignoring Kina's proddings for him to talk to her.

"Let him be, Kina, clearly he doesn't want our help," Raisa said, ready to walk away as soon as her sister was ready to follow.

"Would you like something to eat?" Kina heald out the bowl of rice and the boy started shaking his head when his stomach gave a low rumble and he blushed a deep red. She just smiled and handed him the bowl and he reluctantly dipped his fingers in.

[xuan]

Xuan was looking around and shaking her head trying to remeber exactly what her boy had on.
"Green, A green tunic with and little thing," she pointed to the fabric on her left shoulder, shifting Jiang out of the way to show him the small insignia of her house- a golden circle with a golden ivy leaf confined by a golden embroidered square, "and he had green pants, they were tied around his ankles," it was hard for her to describe the clothes he was wearing when she never dressed him.

"He looks like a grasshopper," Jiang said, her words not clearly pronounced, but still understandable. She felt fidgety, she didn't like being held for a long time, but she was trying to struggle against her hectic mother, afraid of how she'd react.

"He's just a little boy, he was behind only a little while ago," Xuan started crying, she felt helpless against the crowds of people, like finding her son would be simply impossible. More often than not Xuan was a level headed woman, always had her wits about her, but she felt like a mess. The city was tearing her apart, she was raised out in the country and all the hustle and bustle was beginning to be too much. She was doubting wether she should stay in the city and was starting to settle on the answer yes if only for her husbands sake, but now she knew for a fact that her days in Ba Sing Se were numbered.

[sunil]

Sunil nodded at every detail she gave, supposing the addition of an emblem denoting nobility was a great help. Surely, not too many young boys would be walking around the market place with an insignia on their clothes. Though when the little girl piped in with her own musing, Sunil couldn't help chuckle, imagining the boy to have large eyes, disproportional long legs, and messy hair that pointed upward to resemble antennae. Of course, he tried to take it with a grain of salt, letting the image granted him by the girl's mother remain foremost in his mind. Still, he would keep his eyes open for a long-legged child who looked like a bug on the off chance that one actually existed.

At that, he smiled at the little girl and took a few steps back before turning around entirely. Moving through the crowd, Sunil decided it would be wise to seek a higher roost. That way, a much wider field of vision was open to him. Weaving around people here and there, the earthbender spied a bare patch nearby a single-story building. Soon reaching the place, he bended a small pillar of stone upward to jettison himself onto the nearby building.

Now standing atop the tiled roof, he observed the area carefully. But it was to no avail. Sunil could see the tops of people's heads, but the boy who was described was nowhere to be found. Still, since he had only been looking for less than a minute, he would remain vigilant should the boy appear.

[xuan]

Xuan hardly heard her duaghters interpritation of her brother or the slight smile that appeared than disappeared on the mans face. When he left she didn't watch him go, though she was, out of the corner of his eye, aware that he hadn't given up on looking for her son. She continued calling his name and, with someone helping her, she began to calm slightly and a few others listen to her discription and promised to keep there eyes open.



Bo sat eating the rice, it was bland and he wasn't accustomed to not shuting his mouth, "It's gross," he said as he reluctantly dipped his fingers in again.

"If you don't like it, you don't have to eat it," Raisa said, her arms crossed over her chest, so far she wasn't very fond of the boy, "besides I would think a street urchin would be used to much fouler food,"

"I'm not an urchin," Bo grawled and tossed the bowl on the ground spilling the rice and turning his head.

[sunil]

It was pointless looking from one rooftop. Sunil knew he should move on, look further for the boy. With one last careful look to remember the area where he started, the earthbender leapt to the next rooftop and kept going. Long legs carrying him quickly, he was able to look down along a decent length of citizens. But still, despite his elevation, he could still tell that no little boys below fit the description.

Coming to a stop, he leapt off the rooftop, at least a dozen houses away from where he started. Sunil observed the area again, but let out a sigh. The boy was nowhere to be found. Running his fingers through his pitch-black hair, he then jumped off the building into an adjacent alley. He soon emerged on the street, dusting off his front, and went on his way.

But a few voices down the alley caught his attention. Turning, he saw a few women with a fairly grumpy-looking little boy. What he assumed to be the same insignia could be seen on the boy's clothes, and the young fellow's dark hair and green apparel fit the rest of the description. Curious, the dark-skinned earthbender would ask them a thing or two. "Excuse me," Sunil said, pointing at the little boy, "...Is he yours?"

[raisa]

Raisa had seen the man coming toward them in the ally, but she hoped he had his own business to attend and would leave them be, but that wasn't so. Instead he adressed them, and, due to the fact that both Kina and the boy were busy quarreling over the spilled rice, they jumped at the sound of his voice.
"Excuse me, is he yours?" the man asked and Raisa answered while the others just watched, Kina with her polite and hospitable eyes and the boy with a grumpy face.
"Absolutely not, i would be ashamed to have such a nasty child," the turned her head and stuck out he tounge rather petulantly at the boy.
"Please excuse my sister sir," Kina stepped forward and nudged her sister out of the spotlight. After giving the man a small bow she adressed herself further, "my name is Kina Kseniya and this is my sister, Raisa, We just happened upon the boy as we were heading home, you wouldn't happen to know where his mother is? He wont talk to us," she ended with yet another bow and waited for his answer while the boy and Raisa made the same expression of rolling there eyes at Kina's over politness.

[sunil]

When introductions were given, Sunil only offered a mere smile as he edged toward the boy. Obtaining a better view of the boy's family crest on his tunic, the same ivy leaf embroidery with a circle and square, any doubt within Sunil's mind about the matter soon disappeared. He knew it was the boy he was supposed to find, and after formalities were carried through, he would return the lad to his mother as soon as possible. Taking one more step, he looked down at the boy. Sunil tried not to be imposing or intimidating as he wore a friendly smile, but he neglected to crouch down to the boy's level.

"My name is Sunil, and...I've met his mother, a noblewoman. She asked me to find him, in fact." The earthbender knew his claim wasn't entirely believeable, so he transformed his statement into an offer. "If you don't believe me, I'll let you take the boy to his mother yourself. I'll lead you to her."

Sunil could only hope the young one's mother hadn't wandered too far in her distraught state.

[raisa]

Raisa crossed her arms and looked down at the boy, "Nobility, that adds up to his snotty attitdue, now steet kid would toss away a good bowl of rice like this brat," She stuck her nose in the air, but she bent over slightly in pain as her sister elbowed her stomach.
"I believe your Story, Mr. Sunil, but I would still very much like to meet his mother," She bowed slightly again, "Raisa and i are from Omashu and it would be a great honor indeed to meet such a woman,"
"Yes, great honor indeed," Raisa said in more father pesimistic tone, "you coming brat?" She waited patently, well as patently as she could, with a bit of a scowl.

[xuan]

Xan Yen tried to stay fairly close to where she had been when the man left, not wanting to lose one of the few people activly helping her. she had managed to compose herself for the most part and was now calmly asking around those she had scared earlier with her frantic descriptions.
"Yes, mam, a little boy about this tall," She held her had and her waist, the other hand held fast to Jiangs who had finally been allowed to stand mostly on her own, "He has darker skin, like mine, and his hair is a very dark brown, kind of long. He was wearing a green tunic with this symbol," she pointed to the embroidery on her own dress, and once she had finished the woman stopped to consider it.
"I believe I saw such a boy running along that way not too long ago," the woman was elderly. but her voice was still audible over the market crowd.
"Thank you so much, mam," she nodded her head slightly to the woman and with Jiang in tow she slowly headed off in that direction, keeping an eye out for Sunil.

Bo looked up at the man, he was very tall and the little boy had never seen someone as dark skinned as him and though he was indeed very intimadating his friendly smile seemed to wash away the Bo's fear.
"I don't want to go," He crossed his arms and imagined himself as a rock that they couldn't move, it was a trick he used with the nannies. He wasn't aware of any actual Earth bending abilities, but by thinking he was a rock he felt heavier. "She doesn't want me, so I'm not going," He wanted to cry thinking of his mothers face as she yelled at him. His mother had never yelled at him, ever. His mother had been a source of praise and love always, and to see her so angry, it was hardly in him to keep the tears from trickling out.

[sunil]

The boy was obstinate, but Sunil persisted. Never taking the smile off his face, even as the boy sat stubbornly, the earthbender kept humor in the situation. After all, he was only a little boy. Looking down at him once more, he crossed his arms.

"Yeah right, mister grumpy-pants. Your mom doesn't want you to live on the streets. Don't you know that people like to steal little boys like you and do bad things to them? You should be thankful that nice ladies like Miss Raisa and Miss Kina found you before it was too late. Besides, you probably have a nice home and a daddy who loves you very much, even if your mommy is a mean old witch."

Then, slamming his foot to the ground, positive the boy wouldn't budge an inch, Sunil bended a pillar of earth under the boy. Raising the earthen slab up so that the boy's eyes met around the same level as those belonging to Sunil, the earthbender took a few steps toward the boy on the pedestal. "So what do you say? I know your mom is worried. She told me herself."

[xuan]

Bo was trying to ignore the man, though he still heard the truth his words held. When the earth beneath him rose it took in a second to realize he was moving. He looked around himself, a bit scared, than finally rested his eyes on the man.
"So what do you say? I know your mom is worried. She told me herself." The man said and after a moment Bo nodded wordlessly, it was time to go home, besides he was starting to get hungry for a real lunch.

Xuan Yen looked around but didn't see the tall man in sight. She was starting to get a little worried again as the sun was getting rather high and she was sure her boy would be getting hungry soon.
"Mama, don' worry, brother will be here soon," Jiang said suddenly, tugging a little on her mothers hand. her words were a bit messy a said a bit slowly like she always did.