Earth Kingdom: Ba Sing Se - Middle Ring ~ Lotus (Private)

~ FIRELAND

A solitary youth made his way down the cobblestone path, steering clear of fellow travellers and Ba Sing Se's common citizens. The city was a sheltered place; large and industrious but not at all as warm and formal as his homeland. An earthy air tinged the place; it was like being underground, only with sky. A high wall bordered these buildings, crossable only through a certain gate. It kept the numbers classified.

... And him from getting the full extent of his exploration.

Fireland, (Not really a wanderer; more like a traveller) was thoughtful as he walked along. Some kind of bight white cloak draped over his lithe form. A broad-rimmed hat (white, of coarse) shielded his delicate, crimson eyes from the unforgiving sun. Snowy white hair poked out from beneath the hat. His skin was almost utterly white.

Hesitant eyes followed him, and the boy wasn't completely oblivious to the danger around him. News of a thief had risen in the district, and Fireland fit the description perfectly. He was a mysterious, concealed wraith with uncanny maritial instinct. Suspicious in everyway. But also conspicious. Theives were never conspicuous.

Maybe they just thought him odd.

He stiffened suddenly, just before the hand placed itself on his shoulder. The man had been tailing him for a while, but he never really payed him much mind.

"You," the man said, his voice oddly gravelly and hardened. Was he a fighter? "Where the hell do you think you're goin' lookin' like that?"

In his eyes he saw a suspicious man, dressed in all white, flowing garments, his face shielded. Head down. Not an albino boy with the need to protect himself from the sun. It occured to Fireland that he really should've been paying a lot more attention, but the horrible sun made him hot, dizzy, and disoriented.

Fireland peered at him with mature eyes. A grisley man with a stubbly beared and yellowy eyes stared back at him. Fireland knew he was an Earthbender instantly, but he wasn't daunted. "Funny. I thought I'd have better hospitality in the Middle Ring. But I suppose I was incorrect," he told him smoothly.

"You have the eyes of a demon," said the man. "We're taking you in."

~ FIRELAND

We? The youth only had time to ponder before several man burst from assorted alleyways and shopfronts. A few leapt from the roof.

He'd been surrounded and had no idea. So much for being such a genious; he should have expected this. He was in idiot for not doing so.

"You're mistaken," he tried to say, struggling to keep calm, but a large, impending (even startling) clap of sound made his ears ring, and his arms were bound heavily in the next instant. Still eerily calm outwardly, but his heart thumping in anticipation, Fireland attempted to Lightbend.

It was no use. He needed his hands, and they were hopelessly trapped in a ring of granite and asphalt. Besides, what was light supposed to do against a few talented (and official-seeming) Earthbenders? He glanced around, but he was helpless, and he knew it.

Two Benders seized his arms and steered him away, through a throng of speechless people. The other two reared him, and led him down a chosen path. He struggled futilely, but he tired soon enough and complied, almost tripping over his own self in exhaustion.

One of the people dragging him glanced over dubiously, as if just realizing how light he was. He did not have the body of the man.

They loosened their force, convinced that they were dealing with a boy now, but not thoroughly merciful. Their security was as tight as ever, their muscles taut. They must've seen the intelligence in his eyes and tone.

Fireland sighed and let himself be taken. As strong as he thought himself to be, he was not as strong as four men.

~ TEKARA

Tekara found herself in a very similar situation...

"You're mistaken," the girl protested, successfully cornered in a relatively quiet sector of Ba Sing Se's middle ring. A hood was draw up over her forhead, attached to a shawl that wrapped around her slender frame. Dark, brown eyes half-lidded in wariness, her body falling into a familiar stance. Her skin, a brown pallor relative to the Northern Water Tribe and warm with sun, ceased to burn in the shade of the building.

Surrounding her were two men and a woman, the men being Earthbenders. The woman's sole purpose seemed to simply be to identify her, but Tekara knew she'd aid in her capture.

The woman stepped forward, and the girl tightened her stance. "Tekara, we know who you are," she said. "And we don't want to harm you."

"I'm not going back," Tekara insisted. "I'm not ready."

"Tekara, you are queen. You have to accept that, now, you have to live up to your responsiblity."

"I can't be queen yet! Can't you see, I'm still just a kid!" Tekara, pressed the palm of her hand flat against the shop, feeling her hackles rise as her mind absorbed that people were starting to observe the conflict.

The woman sighed. "I see you're still being resistant." She wiped her forhead, her expression smoothing over into a kind of phony reluctance. "Well, I believe it is your best interest to know that we've already recovered prince Kiari."

Tekara's blood froze over. "How did you -- " If they'd taken Kiari, there was no way she'd leave him!

"A child with violet eyes can be very conspicuous, Your Highness," the woman said. "We knew who he was instantly."

Tekara sighed, the motion seeming to drain all energy from her. "Fine, take me." She held out her wrist, eyes misting.

But I will escape before it's too late, she vowed.

~ KIARI

The little boy slowly awoke, feeling the sensation of satin sheets underneath his cheek. Opening his beautiful violet eyes, the child glanced about himself, taking in the bedroom with vertigo. Kiari was confused, but then he remembered what had happened. He'd forgotten the Important Rule.

Run, run run!

Some grown-ups had wanted him to follow them, but he had refused, just like Tekara had told him to. He said, "No. No. No. No. No." Again and again and again. Not even Madam Kahn, the mistress of the daycare had wanted him to go with those people. But they had taken Madam Kahn away to speak with her for a moment, and suddenly Madam Kahn let them take him away! Why?

He should've run, but he couldn't because they held him so tightly. Kiari didn't know what was happening; where was he going? Where was Tekara? Would she be mad?

They gave him something to make him very sleepy when he started to cry, and Kiari couldn't help but doze off. Sleep, sleep sleeep...

And now he was all alone, and that made him scared!