Year of the Dragon [ Second Gen ]

Raizo blinked, and looked at Ren, not sure which one of them the girl was talking to.

"Er... Both of you can come, I guess," Shi said, after looking from covered face to stoic face.

"So long as you don't ruin my reputation. Shi knows what to do. In the meantime, I'll see you there," Yan said and vanished from the alley. He was running down the street towards the landlord's mansion, knowing that he wouldn't get a punishment. He made sure Fei was with him.

"Stupid jerk," she muttered. "So, would you guys be willing? Your clothes looks better than those I've seen," she added, looking Ren over. "He'll be especially pleased to see the bear. And you, Your Highness, you could be a traveler of high status or something..."

Raizo shifted a bit, uncertain.

"I don't think that would be a very good idea," he said finally. It'd be rude to wear a mask to dinner, after all, and the more the status of the family increased, the more the chances of them not recognizing him decreased. "But I can help you take the girl to the hospital."

Oh, darn, Shi thought, but nodded. "Then that means you'll have to go back home; it's getting colder," she said. "And you'll have to find shelter," she murmured to Ren. He shrugged, elbowing the platypus bear onto is back. Jie instantly attached himself to the offered back and rumbled in his throat delightedly. "We best be on our way... Keep your eyes on that lemur, I don't want to get hurt." And she walked out of the alley. Ren took a few paces forward, meaning to follow her, but he stopped and looked at Raizo, waiting for him.

Raizo paused only long enough to look at the sky; he knew he was pressing his luck, and before long it wouldn't only be the guards looking for him. But, although he'd only just met them not long ago, these were already people he didn't want to abandon. He faced them again, and followed Ren and Shi out of the alley.

Kia paniced. The lemur ran around in circles.

Shi was already near the hospital, wondering about the girl. Maybe, when she woke up, she could have a roof above her head at her landlord's. Or she could stay at the hospital. But the thing that bothered her was the lemur. What would she do? Her landlord already have one, and that was because it was Yan's. I douobt he'll allow another one, she thought. Maybe Ren would take it in. But he already has Jie. And he needs to steal to live. How about His Highness? Would he not like a lemur for a pet? A royal pet?

Shi had already begun shivering; the silken clothing did nothing to block out the cold. She did not show her shivering, suppressing her own body to be still. Glancing back, she could see Raizo and Ren.

"Hey, Prince," Ren said as he fell back. "Aren't you cold?" It was pointless to ask, since he had no clothing to spare. The only thing keeping his back warm was the bear, and he wondered if Jie was cold.

Raizo shook his head. He wasn't wearing a lot of layers, but his clothes were high quality, and designed to cut out the wind chill. Hearing Ren refer to him as "prince," however, made him blush. "You don't have to call me that," he said, after a moment. "Raizo is fine."

It felt odd, saying his own name out loud when he'd been trying to hide it all day. He reached down and scruffed the demented lemur, picking it up and carrying it after Shi.

"Are you cold?" he asked, feeling bad. At the very least, though, since they both already knew who he was, he could probably muster up a bit of Breath of Fire just to warm the air up, a little. Maybe. He hoped.

Kiki shifted. In her mind, something was going wrong. Very wrong.

Shi readjusted her hands. The girl shifted in her unconsciousness, so she thought she was having a nightmare. She went into the hospital. There, she would wait for the two, if they wished to have a manly talk in the cold. A doctor had scurried over to the dancer and she handed the unconscious girl over to him. His voice was hushed as he asked her what happened.

"Uh, she had a tragic thing happen to her. Perhaps it's shock or trauma?" Shi replied with uncertainty. The doctor nodded and scurried away again. Should she wait for the girl to recover? Sighing, she sat down on a worn, broken bench. She remebered the lemur and turned to look for it, but it seemed she couldn't locate it...

Ren shook his head. "Used to it," he said. He thought Jie was asleep, for the bear's breathing was calm and slow. "So, uh... What now?" He shuffled his feet a little out of nervousness.

"Er." That was a good question; Raizo looked down at the flying lemur smuggled in his arm, and then at the hospital doors. If either of them went inside carrying the animals, they'd probably get tossed out without the slightest hesitation. "I guess I need to find someone to look after this little one until the girl recovers."

Shi walked back and forth as she waited, and suddenly, the room seemed to suffocate her. I need some fresh air, she thought to herself. Anxiety and worry made her heart beat a little faster than normal. Maybe she should leave, before the landlord would give her a lashing. Or maybe, she should run--run far, far away and never look back. Maybe go to Ba Sing Se. She could consider taking Yan with her. And what about the boys? She couldn't leave the Prince out there with a poor, cold thief. Besides, he had said something about the guards finding him, or was it someone else? Whatever, she had to take care of them.

Shi waltzed outside, practicing a new dancing move she had recently learned. It took her mind off of the girl, for the time being. As she slowly did a semi-turn, she raised a hand and her eyes trailed it. Then she semi-turned the other way, advancing forward slowly, raising the other hand. Once she was outside, she stopped and went over to the two.

"Ren, Your Highness, it's getting a bit chilly," she said. "Why don't you go in? I believe the doctor has a fire going on somewhere in that hospital. Besides, any of you could catch a cold," she said briskly. "Especially you." She directed the last words at Ren. "Now come on in. If you need someone to look after that lemur, I'm sure Yan can do it. Fei and this one might get a long well--it isn't everyday you get to see a lemur..." She trailed off, mumbling and grumbling about Yan and his lemur.

"Oh, I-" Ren began to say, but was cut off by the dancer-girl. He looked at her a little oddly. Never had he been ordered around with such an attitude. But it wasn't a bad thing... It seemed forever since he had had someone to care for him, even if it was just an act. He glanced at Raizo. "Well... P-I mean, Raizo, whaddya say? We can discuss inside, I guess."

Raizo looked at Shi and at Ren, and nodded. "All right, I guess. Are you coming back in, or do you have to leave?" he asked Shi.

Shi shrugged. "I'm out here for a breather," she replied. "You boys can go on in. I'll go later." She had wanted to practice dancing and invent new tricks to please her master, and quick. Otherwise, she would get a harsh lashing on her already-scarred back. Obviously, she didn't count on Yan to save her. But she didn't want the two boys to see either. It was as embarrassing as falling while in the middle of the dance, if she didn't mean to perform in the first place. The silk was breezy and Shi suppressed another shiver. This cold is nothing, she thought to herself sternly. You've been in much worse situations, right? She remembered that time where she had accidentally fallen into the landlord's pond when she was very young. It was winter and she was not taught how to swim. She would have drowned if not for the cook. Of course, she had a good consequence and was starved for a day, then caught a cold and had to lie on her aching back.

Shi turned her back on the two and took a deep breath, waiting for them to go inside. She had shown her motherly side once again and was almost furious with herself. If she wasn't careful, she would deeply regret it later in life.

Ren took a moment to study Shi. He hadn't exactly seen her waltzing out the building, but he suspected she was probably a skilled dancer. Even her steps had a certain grace to it, the certain nimbleness and shortness that only someone who was trained to do. Not only that, but she had the curves in the right places. Only a little over half a head taller than them, she could hold such authority. maybe she wasn't sixteen. Older, perhaps? He turned his attention to Raizo.

"Well, then, let's go," he murmured, shuffling towards the hospital. Opening the door, he grinned and said, "After you."

Kiki opened her eyes, laying on a hospital bed, mearly having enough time normal to say to the docter "My mom and dad died" Before fainting again.

Raizo hesitated before following Ren inside. He'd seen the steps too; it seemed like his initial guess had been correct, then, and she was a dancer of some kind. But he also saw the shiver that she tried to hide. It was too cold outside for someone wearing only silk, as fine as the silk appeared to be. It would be extremely unfortunate if anyone else ended up in the hospital tonight; even if they hadn't met under the best circumstances, Shi had been showing a much more benevolent side of herself since then.

After all, thieves were victims of circumstance... he wondered what Shi's were.

"Are you sure?" Raizo refused to go inside without feeling positive that everyone was where they should be. "It's getting really chilly out here. You'll catch cold."

Kia, the flying lemur, jumped around, worried.

Raizo caught her again, shushing her. Everything would be figured out soon enough.

Kia looked up at Raizo, wondering why she had been shushed. She looked the other way, hoping kiki would come out. Kiki then opened her eyes in a empty hospital room. She yelled, as the doctor came in and gave her a shot.

Shi turned her head and grinned. "I'll be alright. But yo won't, so hurry along, the cold won't get to me." She turned around again and began going a little ways farther from the building. She heard a faint yell and winced. What happened in there? Was that the girl? She began to worry again, but calmed herself.

"C'mon, P-Raizo," Ren said. He almost said "Prince" and knew that Raizo would be somewhat disappoint him. "I'll go inside, then." He closed the door, only to hear the end of a yell. He jumped, accidentally making Jie loose his grip and fall. Immediately, he scooped the platypus bear up in his arms, the cub giving a great cry as it rubbed the top of his head against Ren. "S-sorry, Jie!" Ren said and sat down on the bench to nurse the bear.

Raizo frowned a little as he looked after Shi. There was no way she was going to be fine out in the cold by herself. If she was planning to make her getaway, well, that was that, but... she should at least keep herself warm. He grimaced slightly to himself, but made up his mind quickly; he unwrapped the scarf from around his neck, the one hiding the lower half of his face. Then he caught up with Shi again and pushed it into her hands.

"Here," he said, meeting her eyes pointedly for a moment, and his tone brooked no argument. "Take this, at least."

Then he turned and followed Ren inside, to find the other boy crooning over the platypus bear cub. At this point, it was too difficult to care whether or not anyone recognized him while he was trying to help. He gave Ren and Jie a sympathetic look, and relaxed his grip on the flying lemur kit, in case she wanted to go find her owner.

Kiki was in a daze. She got up, and walked outside.

Ren saw the girl walk past them. He met Raizo's sympathetic eyes and quickly looked away. He had never noticed, but perhaps he didn't like the look there. Maybe it was pity and sympathy that made him go on his own, or maybe he had too much pride. He shrugged at the thought. Then he remembered the girl. Jie had stopped his quiet wailing and made his way to Ren's back again, completely trusting. The boy grinned fondly at the little thing. Then he remembered the girl. He quickly jumped up.

"Woah, did you just see that girl walk past? She... She had this scary look on her face!" he exclaimed. He had always thought being in a daze or looking day-dreamy was a fascinating look. He looked totally bewildered; it might have been the first time, but maybe... Maybe it was old, old self coming back from a deep lull. Was it just him, or did he remember himself (probably from a dream) with that look after receiving news his brother had died? Or after his parents died when he had a chance to recover? He stared after the kid. Jie had tried his best to ignore the boy.

Shi had a scarf roughly handed to her, or shoved into her hands, more like. Raizo seemed to have ordered her to keep it, and she stared at him with widened eyes as he went into the hospital. Slowly, she put it on around her neck. The... The prince just gave me his scarf... she thought as she began to stretch. In all her life, she had never thought she would interact with someone of a higher class than the landlord and his mistress, especially not Raizo. She hadn't even expected clothing from them! Once she was done stretching, she began to dance, walking around in a small circle, hands up, fingers in position. Even her face held a look, elegant, solitary... She slid from right to left, left to right, careful where she stepped without looking down visibly.

And idea came to her. Earlier, a few weeks ago, perhaps, she had witnessed a firebender practicing his bending skills. She saw the way he leaped into the air and kicked twice, flames shooting out from the soles of his bare feet. She could somehow incorporate this into her own martial arts training. She smiled and leaped into the air, then kicked once, her right leg shooting out, then snapped back in as she landed, a hurricane of loose silk and scarf. There was a sound of faint footsteps, uneven. Turning, she saw the child that had fainted and stood there, watching her. What did the doctor do to her? Maybe she should give her an herb she had brought with her?

Kiki seemed to be sleepwalking, or something to kia. That made kia go nuts.

Shi made her way to the girl and placed a hand on her shoulder. ... Her whole face doesn't look right, she observed and shook the girl's shoulder. Her other hand searched for the herb somewhere in her hidden pocket, bur suddenly realized that it was in a basket. Which was left behind, forgotten in an alley. She could have screamed, but instead, remained calm.

"Hey," she said. "You okay?"