Lost in the Lower Ring <Ba Sing Se, Earth Kingdom>

[firenationprincess]

The sun pounded down on the young girl's back. She had been a refugee in Ba Sing Se for spirits knows how long, and yet this was one of the first times she had been able to properly explore it. Biyu skipped down the busy street, her round pastel eyes swollen to unnatural degrees as they sucked in every detail. To the sheltered preteen this place was beautiful. Her mind seemed to skip over the suspicious figures clutching knives and dirty beggars that populated the Lower Ring...

Taking care not to knock anyone over, Biyu skipped to a craft stand where a shrivelled woman displayed homemade pendants. On the splintery wooden table her wares were shown. Mere trinkets to those with taste, Biyu carefully fingered each one as if they were diamond instead of amber.

"Are you going to buy anything?" the woman cried in a voice of crushed glass. Biyu stepped back quickly and dropped the pair of ugly bronze earrings she had been examining. She eyed the seller suspiciously.

Someone was grumpy.

"I'm just looking around." Biyu explained cheerfully as she dangled a long metal chain. The woman's squinty eyes widened as she saw her means of food being played with by a clueless child.

"Drop that and go away!" the woman screeched. Biyu frowned. What was wrong with her?

"MAKE ME!" Biyu screamed back. People were staring but she didn't care. That loser's nerve! Urgh! The girl turned away from the stand and faced a boney man carrying a large sword that was hanging limply from his left hand. She let out a little scream as her green eyes met his beady mud ones. She was frozen she couldn't move...

The man pushed her away and continued walking. Biyu let out a little sigh and ran her hands through her messy brown hair. She barely dared to look to see if the man was following her as she raced away, bumping into several people.

Her bare feet were sore and her face was red and sweaty by the time she collasped against the wall of a shop. That was really close, the guy had almost got her. Breathing deeply, Biyu dusted herself off and prepared to skip home to their apartment when a horrible thought hit her: She was undeniably lost.

Her stomach clenched as she looked into the faces of people walking around her. Was she even in the Lower Ring still? She was a twelve year old girl in a big city!

Biyu held back nervous tears and she sat down against the wall. What now?

[lyra]

"I'll take this one," The teenager said, thrusting the silver pendant at the old woman of the jewelry stand. She was old, very old, almost as old as her great grandmother Ya-Yun. Just the thought of the cranky old lady brought a smile to the teenager's tanned face. Her choice, you ask? A small silver pendant that was in the shape of the Earth Kingdom symbol. She hadn't planned on buying it, but as she walked past the small boutique she couldn't help but want all of the charms the old lady had to offer.

"That'll be ten silver coins." The woman croaked, her dark eyes pasted onto Lyra's face as if she didn't think a girl of Lyra's age would possibly be able to afford what the woman had to offer. However, as Lyra pulle dout her leather bag and handed the lady her money, the woman looked defeated. It was strange how no one knew who Lyra Fa Lee was without her fancy attire. Currently the brunette was attired in a simple brown tunic and dark brown slacks - not the best of her clothing choices.

As she was about to walk away, a small girl appeared beside her who instantly became the new target of the old woman. As Lyra watched the little girl defend herself and then run away, the teenager couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the girl. She couldn't possibly be any older than Nattoku, possibly even a year or two younger. As the girl disappeared from Lyra's view, she took off in the direction the girl had gone, just in case she needed some assistance.

As she walked, Lyra recollected her last adventure which included meeting two amazing friends - Jin and Nattoku. The two boys had been at the Lantern Festival in Kei Lan when she had met them. Jin and his younger sister had been performing on the side of the streets and Lyra, assisted by her skills of dance, helped the two siblings earn some change. It was then that Kei Lan was invaded by the Rhino Riders and the kids met up with Nattoku, the young farmboy and his family. Now Lyra was back at home in Ba Sing Se to warn her family of the rumors of a Fire Nation invasion on the Earth Kingdom capital. She hadn't even had a chance to see the other Abatu Bai girls since she had left for Kei Lan.

Turning a corner, Lyra almost ran into the young girl who had stopped and sat down against the edge of a shop, looking completely flustered and scared. Looking down at her Lyra smiled as she noticed that the girl had brown hair and emerald green eyes, just as Lyra had. She couldn't help but notice that the little girl could pass as her little sister. "Hello there, I saw you at the jewelry stand. My name's Lyra; Why is it that you ran away like that?" Sitting down beside the girl, Lyra turned her head so she was facing the girl, making sure her face held as much compassion as she could muster.

[firenationprincess]

Biyu looked suspiciously at the teenager in front of her. She looked alot like Biyu imagined she would look like when she was older, only prettier. Biyu doubted she would ever be at all feminine or pretty. Why did this stranger suddenly care about what happened? Father and Momma said not to talk to strangers.

Biyu looked up at the girl sullenly. She needed help and Father and Momma weren't here right now. They need never know that she had spoken to someone she didn't know. Besides, if the girl attacked, she could probably run away real fast. Her parents' words came back to her. She had begged and pleaded and cried that she be allowed to look around just a little bit. She couldn't sit around and clean their apartment forever!

"I dunno... Its dangerous out there and you're..." Momma had mumured as she washed assorted fruits in a basin of water. Biyu had known what her mother had been about to say. She knew that she had an odd knack for getting into trouble whether she meant to or not. Still, it had hurt a tiny bit that her own mother didn't trust her.

"Whatever." Biyu had groaned. She hated these moments.

"Biyu can take care of herself. Just be back by dinner and DON'T TALK TO STRANGERS. The city is full of people who could hurt you!" Father had lectured. Though she had barely paid attention as he laid down the basics of city behavior, everything rolled back to her now. Biyu was pretty sure that she wasn't supposed talk with big teenagers who asked her stuff. But then again she hardly ever did what she was told.

"That nasty woman was a big fat jerk!" Biyu murmured darkly under her breath in a strangely hoarse voice. That girl looked nice. And how else could she get home?

"Look, I'm lost. And you seem like a halfway decent person who isn't going to try and rob me. So can you show me back to the jewelry stand? I can take care from there." Biyu said with as much arrogance in her voice as a scared twelve year old could muster. She hated admitting she was lost. She turned her face away so the girl wouldn't see her burning cheeks.

[luxuan]

After leaving Zhy's humane and friendly atmosphere, Lu Xuan was disappointed to see the rather dreary and rude nature of Ba Sing Se again. The buildings of the lower ring looked quite the opposite of his own home. The houes only consisted of four walls with one door and barely any moving space. The dust-filled air was toxic to inhale compared to the clean and crisp air of the upper ring.

Lu Xuan walked extra carefully, by passing the street stands and beggars hanging around the side of the road. He stopped by some stands that sold provisions, then moved on to examine the pottery being sold. The pottery was chipped and cracked in a few places, but looked lovely nonetheless. Lu Xuan thought it to be a lovely present to give to his mother when he returns home although, knowing her, she would refuse to even look at it because of the poor condition of the pot.

Lu Xuan continued on his way through the lower ring, trying to navigate through the confusing layout of it. It's quite a distance from where he is to the station yet alone the upper ring. He heard a cry coming from a jeweler stand nearby and saw a small girl running around the corner followed by an older girl. He eyed them curiously, but nothing sets off an alarm as much as a crying girl. Lu Xuan walked towards the jewelry stand and saw the old woman mumble angrily to herself. He eyed the jewelry on the stand and then at her, giving her a moment to finish her little soliloquy.

He examined the pieces of jewelry the old woman was selling and then casually tried to stir up conversation.

"If you aren't going to buy anything, then leave." The old woman spat at him before he opened his mouth.

[lyra]

Lyra smiled at the girl and spoke softly, "I like to think I'm an okay person." She assured the girl, putting out her hand for the kid to take to help her stand, "My name's Lyra," She said, her brown hair billowing in the slight breeze, "Lyra Fa Lee actually. I live uptown, is that where you come from?" She asked, wanting this little girl to trust her. She knew how the kid felt, after all she herself had gotten lost in the Lower Ring when she was ten years old. Her mother and father had taken her here to 'see the other parts of Ba Sing Se'. As her parents steered her in the direction of a family-owned tea shop Lyra had wandered off after a small dog. After a few moments of chasing the dog down an alley, ten year old Lyra had gotten lost.

After a few moments her parents had found her and scolded her for leaving their side, but this only brought Lyra's independance up. Now that she was older and her bending had gotten better, the Abatu Bai didn't care where she went just as long as she was careful.

[firenationprincess]

Biyu squinted her eyes. What was that Father had said about robbers? ...That they found out where you lived and climbed in the window...! With a sickening drop of her stomach Biyu was back to reality. This Lyra wanted to know where she lived! She wasn't even supposed to be talking to her!

"Look, can you just show me back to the jewelry stand, please? That is all the service I'll require and stuff." Biyu said loudly. You could never be too nice to people who were going to show you home.

"M'name's Biyu." Biyu said a bit louder. If it came down to a fight she could beat Lyra, or at least run away quickly. But she liked the older girl even if she didn't want to admit it. Showing the smallest of smiles, Biyu took Lyra's hand and stood up. It couldn't hurt, could it?

[luxuan]

Lu Xuan jumped backwards as the woman spat at him.

"Is that how you speak to potential customers?" He scowled. The woman is extremely rude and did not seem to realize that her attitude is driving customers away. No keen business sense. She didn't seem to mind either. Lu Xuan gave her a last glare and walked away, leaving the rude vendor staring at him viciously. He did not want to get involved with the little girl's matter, nor did he want to seem nosy for speaking with the old woman. Lu Xuan decided to let it be and continued on his way to the train station where he will take it up to the upper ring. He, however, is not very familiar with the lower ring, though, and seeing as how the lower ring is much larger than the upper one, it seems that he is stuck here for a while.

An Earth Kingdom soldier approached him, scowling at Lu Xuan's Earth Kingdom uniform and his family crest.

"Are you lost?" The soldier said in his deep voice. "I would think that the upper ring is where you belong."

"I was just coming back from an inspection." replied Lu Xuan. "Actually, my base is not far from here. I just have to retrieve a few things."

The man examined Lu Xuan and then grunted.
"I'm sure. Good Luck, soldier." The man left and continued surveying the city. He turned around the corner and disappeared. Lu Xuan sighed as he watched the man disappear. The soldiers here were the same as usual. Lu Xuan continued to walk in search for the train station. He, however, really had no clue where to walk.