Hot springs Inn <Earth Kingdom>

[tuan]

Smiling sweetly at the small group of girls, Tuan smoothly walked past the giggling group as he headed toward the entrance of the Inn. Seeing his mother there, his endearing smile turned into a relaxed lazy one, glad to relax his cheek muscles with all of the polite smiles.

Leaning against a nearby wall, he watched patiently as his mother greeted the guests in an elegant and courteous manner befitting the owner of the popular Inn. A couple from Bai Seng Sai was celebrating their fifth anniversary at the hot springs. His mother, Lan, called one of the servants and had them lead the way to their room before she turned around to look at Tuan.

"From what I heard from a few of the officers surrounding the area, a large group of people from around the west of the Earth Kingdom are coming here for the hot springs. A holiday for that region, I believe. It looks like we're going to be short handed tonight..." Lan trailed off from her sentence, a knowing look on her face as she looked up at him, a familiar smirk on her face.

"And you want me to help out with the guests in the dining hall," Tuan finished the rest of her sentence, knowing she was not so subtly hinting him to help with the small crisis. He chuckled softly, knowing that he had already lost in this conversation the moment she looked at him. Gently touching the sleeve of her robe, "Of course, I'll help. You don't need to ask."

"That's my boy," Lan smiled warmly up at her son, tapping Tuan's shoulder before she walked toward the kitchen. Waving her hand back at him, "I have to go back and tell your sister to make triple of what she usually makes for the new arrivals. You stay here and greet them. Be nice!"

"Of course, of course," Tuan said automatically, leaning against the desk that stood at the front entrance. A lazy expression plastered across his face as she patiently waited for a guest to arrive, his mind slowly floating elsewhere as he waited.

[katuko]

At long last, they arrived in what appeared to be a small village. For such an obscured region, it certainly had its share of travelers. A rush of people flowed steadily into a welcoming inn, and others bustled around the nearby merchants. "I think we can stay there. Right ma?" Siihma urged as she pointed at the inn. Ai Ling studied the people, "Perhaps." she replied softly.

The entrance of the inn was simple, but very elegantly decorated. A woman stood in the path, greeting the individual guests. Ai Ling headed towards her nervously. They did not have much money.. and this place looked very demanding. She glanced at Hikari and turned to the woman. Ai Ling dipped her head politely.

"Is there an affordable room for three? We are.. tired from our journey and wish to rest for a night or so, please." Her fingers slipped unconsciously to a small pouch that held their small collection of coins. "..and I'm willing to sell my possessions if necessary."

[tuan]

Hearing the sounds of visitors approaching, Tuan's eyes immediately snapped open, an alert but friendly grin on his face as he awaited the guests. His attention focused on one of the employees serving one of the potential guests. By the humble look on the young girl’s face, and a look of uncertainty on the employee, Saya’s, face, there might be problem.

Tapping the distressed Saya’s shoulder, he winked at her, "I've got it here."

With a nod, she disappeared inside the Inn to help the visitors register while Tuan examined the small group. Grinningly reassuringly at her, "If there's a problem with payment, you can always pay it other ways."

Tuan's smile widened ever so slightly as he ever so innocently said, "You can always pay it with your body." Just as quickly as he said it, he added with a chuckle, "If you're up for it, we could use some extra hands to help around the Inn. It's going to be a busy night."

[hikari]

Hikari stood looking around the inn, glad that they finally found somewhere to stay for the night. The inn looked nice and the people seemed to be friendly enough. She saw Ai Ling look at her a knew what she was concerned of. The matter of having the money for getting a room.

Hikari dug through her bag to see if she had any money. Her hands touched a few coins at the bottom of the bag. What if I don't have enough? she thought. Siihma and her mother didn't have much for a room either.

The boy then said they could receive payments in other ways. Hikari then wondered that if some leftover items in her bag would help pay it off some. She then chuckled at his joke and turned to Ai Ling.

"What should we do?" Hikari asked Ai Ling. "I'm not entirely sure what we should do for payment." Hikari never had worked around at an inn before. She wondered what she had to do while waiting for Ai Ling's response.

[katuko]

Ai Ling almost protested at the man's joke before the catch. The people here sure had its share of humour. She glanced at the inn thoughtfully and turned to Hikari, "I suppose we can stay here for a while.. and make the most of what we can." The inn wasn't half bad, in fact it was much more of home then they could ask for.

Ai Ling lowered her voice at the man "We'd love to help out at you inn here. It looks like a lovely place to stay. However we are also.. erm.. refugees from a neighboring city. I'd be most grateful if you'd allow us to stay in a small room permanently. Hikari and I, we can work of the payment full time."

Siihma looked up at the towering man. He seemed friendly. Staying here didn't seem so bad after all. But of course, staying with Hikari would be a bother. Hikari and mother would talk about nonsense and leave her alone. Siihma threw a withering look at Hikari, why did she insist on staying with them? Stalker..

[tuan]

"I'm not entirely sure about a permanent job, you'll have to ask my mother about that, she's the owner of this establishment," Tuan said apologetically, a sheepish grin on his face. "As of now, all I can offer you is a job for a small amount of time."

Turning around toward the Inn, he looked over his shoulder at the group, "If you accept, please follow me while I show you to your room."

A small, pondering look appeared on his face for a moment before he turned around, walking backwards as he faced the group, leading them toward where the live-in employees stayed. "Since you'll be staying as hired hands for a little while, I hope you don't mind staying in the employees’ wing. It's quite comfortable, almost as good as the guests’ rooms. Still...I'm not entirely sure what a child," Looking at Siihma, "Would be able to do here. Can you do laundry or something of the sort?"

[naru]

Liung pushed Naru into the building as he said "Come along Naru, we have to hurry and get a room." The old man pulled out a fat sack of coins and recieved their room number and key.

"Ive been wondering" Naru said, "where did you get all this money, most people don't have enough during this war?" Liung smiled and said, "well it pays very well being a high ranking general in the Earth Kingdom army."

"You were a GENERAL" Naru said, his eyes widening and a large grin spreading across his face.

"Indeed I was, in fact I almost made Admiral when I lead the defense of Bai Seng Sei" He replied. Naru just stared at him in awe. HIS grandfather a famous general! It was unbelievable. He could hardly believe it and was silent as they walked to their room. "Now on to the hot springs" His grandfather said with a wide smile, "you dont think 'Hot Springs Inn" is just a random name do you!"

[tuan]

"No sir, it isn't!" Tuan replied pleasantly as he passed by the General and Naru in the hallway, still walking backwards as he led the three girls to their room. "This placed is called the 'Phuc Inn" or the "Lucky Inn", but since our hot springs are the main attraction for visitors, it's best known as the 'Hot springs Inn'."

"You need all the luck you can get little brother," Phuong appeared from the adjoining hallway, her arm suddenly wrapped around her brother's neck in an affectionate headlock while her other hand held a tray of food for the dining hall. Seeing Liung and Naru, she greeted them sweetly, contrary to the way she was nearly suffocating Tuan in her relentless grip. "Welcome to the Inn! If you need anything, please don't hesitate to call one of the staff or me or my brother."

[hikari]

The young man showed Hikari along with Siihma and her mother to their room. "A small time job would just be fine, I'm willing to help," Hikari said with a smile. "I'll probably heading off soon enough anyway."

As they walked along, she noticed another displeased look in Siihma's face. What's the matter now? She is always giving me that look... Hikari's thoughts were interrupted when the young man was saying they were going to be in the employees' wing. "That would be fine," Hikari said pleasantly.

They almost reached their room but then a young woman came up and put the young man in headlock, just soon after he greeted some new guests. Hikari couldn't help but giggle. They were acting the way siblings act and it amused her. Although she had no siblings she seen behavior like this in her village. "I really shouldn't laugh," Hikari turned her head and whispered to Siihma. "I just find it humorous how people can act so silly," she continued with another giggle.

[naru]

After being greeted Naru was dragged by his grandfather in a headlock towards the room. Naru looked back at the employee that greeted them and gave him a look that said "Now I know how you feel" They quickly dropped off their things in their room and were soon standing in nothing but their pants by the bubbling, steaming spring.

"You first" Naru said.

"No you" Liung replied as he looked questioningly at the water. Naru sighed and quickly descended into the water until only his head was showing. He blinked then a strange expression filled his face. "AAAAAAAAUUUUUGGGGGGHHH" He yelled out in pain as he slowly sank into the spring, "IM MELTING!" Liung looked down in almost embarrased astonishment. Suddenly, Naru popped up from the water, splashing Liung, and exclaimed, " HAHA, FOOLED YOU!"

The old man stared blankly at him and said, "Not really, now quit fooling around and tell me what the temperature is like."

"Fine," Naru said, rolling his eyes, "just right nice and warm."

"Good" Answered his Liung, as he walked in, "Aaaaah so relaxing..."

[katuko]

Siihma winced at the close contact with Hikari and scowled. She didn't bother to answer the man. Of course she was capable of doing something. She had been doing 'something' all her life hadn't she? Siihma opened her mouth to protest but was silenced by a firm grip on her shoulder. Ai Ling glared at her, "Siihma's quite capable of..of helping, I'm sure. She has a fairly good memory, if that's any help."

Siihma smirked and entered the employees wing in silence. A row of identical wooden doors lined the room. In fact, the entire place seemed to be full of doors. Without permission, Siihma slid open the first one and sashayed in. Despite its tiny dimension, the room was strangely satisfying. A sturdy bed stood on the far left side and beside that was a matching desk. A sliding door to the right opened to a clean closet and a single rug laid sprawled across the floor.

"We're staying...here? Sheesh this is nicer than my room, ain't it ma?" Ai Ling's face contorted with frustration.. or it could've been embarassment. "Its a very.. nice room. I'm not so sure its ours though.." The man Tuan was just outside, with a small circle of people. Even so, Ai Ling hesitated to ask. This was almost too much to accept.

[tuan]

Phuong stubbornly released Tuan, growing bored, as the younger -no matter how hard he tried- couldn't get away from her terrifyingly strong grip. Rubbing his neck, Tuan gave her a mild glare before returning back to Siilhma and the others, smiling bashfully at the disruption. Stepping into the girl's room, he examined the room.

It wasn't as glamorous as the guests’ rooms, but it was still comfortable enough to sleep in. Behind the wooden closet were the plain blue worker's kimonos that were required for everybody in the Inn and their futons. Another closet was fully reserved for the girl's personal items. The walls were covered in decorative scrolls ranging from scenery around Kei Lan, but the floor was bare except for large table pushed into the corner that could be moved to the middle of the room for writing or relaxation purposes. The floor was mainly reserved for the futons.

Cocking his head to the side, Tuan grinned boyishly as he leaned against the doorway, "I hope this is okay. I hope you don't mind, but there will be several other girls who work in the Inn sleeping here." Nodding his head over to the door in the room, "There's another room over for the other girls and in the opposite wing are the male's corners, so there's no need to worry about anything...fishy."

"So..." crouching down until he met Siilhma's eyes, he looked inquiringly at the small girl.”Is this alright with you, your mother and friend?"

"AAAAAAAAUUUUUGGGGGGHHH"

"What's wrong?!" Sliding the rice paper door open, Phuong looked frantically around for the person of said scream. Seeing the earthbender general and his grandson, she blinked before her shoulders sagged in relief. Well, that is before she realized that they were...naked. Years in the business taught her many things. One of them was to refrain from seeing her customers naked. Oops.

Covering her eyes, she stiffly raised her arm, trying to feel her way out as she walked backwards. "A-Are both of you okay?"

[hikari]

Hikari watched as Siihma open one of the doors to the room. Out of her own curiosity, Hikari peered her head over and briefly looked in the room. She was pleased on how nice it looked. Hikari noticed an odd expression on Ai Ling's. She then saw the young man come to them and explain for a bit about the rooms.

"This is quite fine," Hikari answered to the young man. "I am eager to start some work soon."

Hikari wasn't as sure if Siihma and Ai Ling were as ready. She put her hand to her chin, Siihma still continued to give the same 'go away' look ever since they were in Omashu. Hikari shook off the thought and put wondered who the other employees where. What the jobs were and such. She couldn't help but to feel curious about it. She then heard a faint sound from far off. What was that? she wondered. Perhaps this place will turn out to be pretty interesting... Hikari thought with one of her usual smiles.

[zukosfire]

Finally after a day of walking, the duo had reached a town. To Li and Bao, it seemed fairly promising, and both decided that this would would make for an excellent vacation. Since they had just completed their last mission, they probably wouldn't get another for at least another three weeks. The pair looked around town for a nice but affordable place to stay, which was hard because they only had some copper coins. However one inn, the Hot Springs Inn, seemed promising, and they decided to check it out. They could always work for their room, and both women wanted to sleep in a real bed, and not on the ground.

Li and Bao entered the room, and headed over to the front desk. "Do you have an affordable room for two?" Li asked the person in charge.

"We only have a few copper coins, but we'll help out around the hotel for payment, if need be!" Bao chimed in.

[naru]

Naru turned around seeing the woman scrambling into the room asking what was wrong.....with her eyes covered obviously in fear of viewing naked customers. "Ummm its ok..." Naru said, "we're fine in here" The woman walked out and Liung chuckled calmly before saying, "Naru i think we should get out now my fingers are getting wrinkled and i think i have enough of those already. Naru agreed with a nod and stood up out of the water revealing his pants to be soaking and sticking to his legs here and there. "I also think we shouild leave and continue to Ba Seng Se, in the letter I sent I made it clear we would arrive as soon as possible." Liung quickly continued. They returned to the room quickly gathered their belongings and changed into dry clothing. Soon they were back at the front desk paying, checking out, thanking them for their service and finally leaving. "Goodbye," Liung called back. And they resumed their Journey to Ba Seng Se.



((Naru has left the RP))