Being Handled (iroh)

[aratak]

(I dunno how the mods will feel, but I'm just going to go ahead and post here. This is a speed bump, and Iroh is going to finish up his thread.)

Aang and the crew had only been in the city for a few days, and Joo Dee, some sort of tour guide specialist, had already shown them where they would be living. Aang was told he wouldn't be allowed to meet with the earth king, and the Dai Li was explained to them. A secret earthbending police force...it was pretty creepy, and Katara seemed to be looking over her shoulder a lot more frequently as of late. This morning Aang was doing no-handed push-ups with Airbending, and Sokka was drawing...something. Katara couldn't tell if it was a Moose-Lion or a rock. As he started coloring it, it didn't look like either of those things anymore...it just looked kind of like a blob now.

It was a bit of a worry that Katara hadn't seen Toph since the previous day, and so she went out to look for her. She wasn't anywhere to be found in this rich sector. Katara made sure of that, checking every well trimmed tree and flower bed, and turning up no trace of her blind friend. Finding a sewer way, Katara inspected it. The water looked like it was coming into the pumps as opposed to being gross, so she shrugged and went for a swim. There was lots of cool stuff she could over hear from down here, including a parade in the mid class section... that sort of place seemed like it might appeal to Toph, so she emerged. When Katara got out of the water, she bended herself dry and merged herself with the crowd. She stuck out a bit, being the only one dressed in blue, but it's not like that would help Toph much.

"Toph!?" she called, as she approached some fair games. She continued chanting her name, but a few people were getting annoyed at the constant noise and began watching her. It was right then when she spotted someone... she knew she recognised him, but couldn't quite make out who it was.

"H-hey..." she called out, trying trying to catch up, but the crowd was thick and he was getting away too fast.

[mastabenda]

The sun was unrelenting. Iroh had sweat dripping from every pore. He trekked along a dusty trail on the outskirts of the Si Wong Desert. This desert was vast and deadly, but luckily for Iroh, he was on his way out. The sand became less and less apparent as he continued. Surely Zuko had his reasons for leaving Iroh behind, but to leave his elderly uncle alone in such a desolate area was beneath him.

"I suppose, I move to slow for him..." Iroh muttered as he puttered along the trail which slowly became more dirt than dust. Carrying only the most essential of gear, Iroh continued down his path. Zuko was headed to Ba Sing Se. Iroh knew this much from the intel reports he gathered from the last few Fire Nation soldiers who hold allegiance to the great Dragon of the West.

Iroh continued along the trail for, what must have been three hours, until he finally arrived at the first shade-bearing tree. He gather a few sticks and twigs. A cloud of dust rose when he plumped to the ground. He stacked the twigs up like a 'tee-pee', then ignited them with the snap of his fingers ... being a fire-bender had a few perks.

The teapot began to steam just as the sun was setting. It was unreasonably hot but still Iroh insisted on drinking HOT tea. To the surprise of many, drinking a hot beverage on a hot day will eventually cool you off. The hot beverage begins perspiration which cools upon a slight breeze.

Iroh was clinging to the slightest of breezes as he sat watching the sun set. Sand still slapped him in the face from time to time when the breeze picked up, reminding Iroh that the Si Wong desert was so large. When the sun finally set, Iroh gathered up his belongings and continued his journey to Ba Sing Se, where he would surely find Zuko.

The twilight treated Iroh much more appreciatively. He sang a low jingle as he traveled. He did not pass many travelers. It seemed that these days, everyone was headed to Ba Sing Se, the only true place free of Fire Nation control or influence. It began to creep in Iroh's head that he may finally see inside the walls of the great city. Albeit as a refugee and not a conquerer.

Iroh had traveled for hours now and was becoming tired. The sun was still down for a couple of hours, so he intended on making camp soon. He was going to keep an eye out for a good spot to camp, however, not soon after he thought about it, he spotted a campfire in the distance. Maybe those people would have him as a guest.

He approached the fire and spotted three people lounging around the fire lazily: 'May I join you?' Iroh asked kindly. A man with long, unkempt hair responded: "No problem man! We are just sharing stories by the campfire..."

The man later named himself as 'Chong' a traveling wiseman who sings praise to the folklore of the Earth Kingdom. Chong sang many offbeat songs and often forgot lyrics, but none-the-less Iroh enjoyed their company. Even Chongs wife enchanted Iroh, by singing lightly in the background of Chong's ballads, and by even braiding Iroh's grey beard into a little braid with a white bow on the end.

Chong then introduced his wife: Lily. He rambled off about how he and his wife had been nomads and traveled the Earth Kingdom for many years, however, all the while Iroh remained deathly silent. He pretended to listen in as his thoughts drifted. Lily was the nickname he had given his wife, long ago. And the sound of it and 'Lily's' voice brought back many memories,

Iroh sat back, enjoyed the music, and thought fondly of his departed love. He dozed thinking of the love of his life and the son they had together, his beloved Lu Ten. The dreams hit him quickly as he laid there. He remembered playing with his young Lu when he was only a child. It was the most fond memory Iroh possessed, exempting the memories of his sweet 'Lily'.

He awoke to a amber colored sky. The Chong gang was still fast asleep. Iroh gathered his few belongings and continued along the trek to Ba Sing Se. The trail became grassy and he even began to see wildlife along the route. He couldn't be that far away now....

Along the way be spotted some Earth Kingdom Refugees. They were surely headed to Ba Sing Se, however they diverged at a fork in the road. Iroh knew Ba Sing Se to be to the north but he would eventually hit the Serpent's pass, so maybe there was a new way now...

Iroh followed the others until they gathered in a large cave near the coast. The sign inside read 'Full Moon Bay. This cave was teeming with life. It was a mini-city filled with refugees attempting to escape to Ba Sing Se, and those who were vending to those refugees. He waited in line with false documents hoping to get a pass to Ba Sing Se. As he approached closer and closer he could tell the rather large woman at the window was 'taking no prisoners' so to speak.

"PAPERS!" the woman screeched. And Iroh presented his papers quickly. As she reviewed them he tried to distract her.

"Well, you are a most attractive bureaucratic worker." He said with confidence.

"You aren't so bad lookin' yourself!" She replied as she stamped Iroh's passport, validating him for transport via ferry to Ba Sing Se.

Iroh boarded the ferry swiftly and then began his voyage to the Earth Kingdom Capital.

After a few hours he arrived at a port outside the outer wall of Ba Sing Se. There he boarded a vessal filled with people. This vehicle had a pagoda style top with green tiles. Two earthbenders on the rear of the car transported them all to the inside of the Capital. Passed the Outside wall into the lower ring, home of the Artisans and Traders. From there the transport went to the middle ring, home of the shops and merchent district. It was here that Iroh got off, hoping to find a job here, lest he would have to travel to the dangerous lower district for one.

There was a vibrant market near the transport station. He walked down to there and heard vendor calling for customers to all kinds of games and such. It was a fair of sorts...

Iroh could hear much shouting, however the cries of a certain girl caught his ear. It was the helpless cries of Katara, a voice Iroh had seldom heard. He knew that she accompanied the Avatar, so he turned towards her voice. Katara had a helpless look on her face, she was looking for someone who was not the Avatar. She looked desperate...

"Ho... what is the matter?" he queried Katara.

[aratak]

As Katara caught up to him, she leaned over with her hands on her legs and caught her breath. After running around all day trying to figure out where the earthbender went, she was fairly exhausted. It was then that she looked up and realized who he was. A firebender...

"You...Angry Jerk's Uncle...Iroh?" She gave him a slight half glare before tuning away as though she was going to leave immediately without saying a word to him. Bu after she took two steps, she stopped dead in her tracks. Iroh had never done anything to directly hurt her, or even Aang. It was foolish to racistly decide he was a bad person just because he was a firebender. With an elongated sigh, she turned back to face him.

"Um... Have you seen a twelve year-old female earth-bender who's blind?" Katara wasn't yet aware that Iroh would know exactly who she was talking about from such a description. "She's been missing, and our group always stays together, especially in a large city like this." She then grabbed him by his hand and attempted to drag the large man behind a wall.

-how did you get in here anyway? If they figure out who you are you're going to be executed on the spot...- she whispered to him. She was tempted to ask him if Zuko was here or not, but knew he was smart enough to say nothing seeing as Zuko was a common enemy of the avatar and Katara would like nothing more than to see him in chains.

[mastabenda]

The fair looked vibrant and teeming with young life. It seemed like life inside the walls of Ba Sing Se was jovial and carefree. The tragedies that take place outside the walls do not taint the mental well-being of these citizens. Iroh felt invy coupled with pity. It was only a matter of time before they too tasted the tears of war.

Katara's cries caught his ear. First she verbally accosted him, immediately followed by cries for help ... she was looking for her friend, a blind earthbender. Iroh once took the pleasure of sharing tea with this same girl, Toph.

"...you're going to be executed on the spot!" ...

Iroh checked behind each shoulder to make sure no one heard Katara mention that he was a firebender. He noticed no one and so replied:

"I don't know where my nephew is, and even if I did I would never tell you where he was if it meant him any harm." He whispered as he looked at the faces of the passer-bys to make sure there was no danger. He and Zuko had been in many a village where bounty hunters lurked around every corner.

His demeanor changed dramatically as he felt a slight fatherly empathy toward the young girl. He looked at her distressed face with kind eyes. Katars's big blue eyes were watery and the wrinkle in her brow expressed her concern for her missing companion. His eyes glowed at her like amber stones. His facial disposition now changing to a wide grin, and then to a beeming smile. He crossed his arms resting each hand atop is round belly.

"I have not seen our friend , Toph is it? I just arrived inside the city walls." He said humbly.

[aratak]

This meeting was strange. Both had people who's whereabouts they'd rather not know about...not that Iroh knew where his nephew was anyway. But seeing Iroh himself wasn't a problem in the least, and Katara certainly wasn't malicious enough to reveal to anyone who he was. Seeing his fatherly smile warmed her up a bit, and she lost all contempt for him.

"He's missing, isn't he?" She asked, with a slight frown. She didn't like Zuko but she could relate with the old general. Katara of all people understood the pain the loss of a loved one, even for a few weeks, could bring. She made careful to keep everything vague enough so that people around her wouldn't immediately think "fire nation", but the people she seemed most frightened of were the dai li agents slinking around, that were only visible if you looked right at them. They kept their distance and tried blending in.

"Yes...Toph" She answered. She frowned again, as he mentioned that she hadn't seen her. "I thought this would be a prime place to find her, but with no many...green people...bah...why did she have to be earth kingdom? It would make things a lot easier if they were looking for...azula... then again, neither Iroh or Katara would get any great joy from seeing the honorable princess right now.

"Will you help me look?" She finally asked.

[mastabenda]

Katara's disposition changed a bit as Iroh's approached her warmly. She inquired as to Zuko's whereabouts:

"He's missing, isn't he?"

To which he humbly responded:

"He is a little bit lost at the moment ... but he will find his way again soon, I think."

Katara then continued on about her missing comrade, who was sure to blend in inside her home kingdom. He looked around the market at all the faces. Most were content. The clothes of all these citizens blended into a green and brown ever-moving collage. Again it was the face that differentiated the citizens. Vendor appeared hot and tired, the consumers were all content, rifling through the many wares boasted by this vibrant market. All manner of food, jewelry, furniture, and animals were sold here.

Iroh spotted a group of ruff looking faces crowded in the darkest corner of the market. This spot had shade cast down from the large wall around this shopping district. The men lurking in the shade appeard to be bounty hunters, however it appeared that they had not discovered Iroh's identity. This was probably due to the outdated picture of him traveling around on post boards in towns all over the Earth Kingdom. The caption reading "Traitor".

He listened intently to Katara mention his neice, Azula. It was then that he spotted a couple of sinister faces starring a hole in him. These two faces, perched beneath round black hats, with their eyes fixed on Iroh. Their bodies were obscured from view, due to the mass of people passing to and fro. These men sat behing the crowd, however their interests were on Katara and Iroh. IT was apparent to Iroh that their conversation was never private. They were both in danger.

"Will you help me look?" She pleaded.

"I think it would be best if we began the search, elsewhere..."

He said as he wrapped his arm around young Katara and walked her away from the anonymus Dai Li agents, outside the market. As they turned the corner out of the entrance of the market he glanced back to see if the Dai Li agents were going to follow then, but the faces were gone. He was not sure if they were watching him, or watching Katara. Either way it was not good in the current situation.

Iroh felt compelled to hide and seek out a normal life here in Ba Sing Se. Maybe find some symblence of tranquilty, which this city supposedly boasts. Despite those feeling he could not in good conscience abandon the little girl, whom he knows to travel with the Avatar.

"Usually when I lose things, I retrace my steps. Tell me, where was the last place you saw your friend?"

Iroh asked looking down on the girl, removing his arm her back and grasping his hands together behind his back as they walked.


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[OOC: Katara I sent you a private message concerning this thread.]