Pure Morning || open

[Xiaoli Cheng]

The air was at congested as ever it seemed on this particular morning. The young woman supposed the absence of clouds in the sky made up for the fact she could barely draw a clean breath of air in the crowded streets, one would think she'd be used to it by now, having lived in the city for the entirety of her life up to this point in time. Nevertheless, the constant mumblings and musings of the people, the seemingly never ending wave of motion that cloaked the walkways, it all did bring about a great sense of excitement and anticipation; something that even she could appreciate. 

The sliver of sunlight that hit her goggle-clad eyes caused them to squint uncomfortably in the process. Heaving a sigh she reluctantly relieved her vision of the ever-so-slightly shaded lenses in favour of going without them this morning, content enough to rest them on her hairline. "Good Morning Republic City. There have been several reports of..." Xiaoli let the voices of the radio drift away as she walked further from the shops exterior, it's owner sitting placidly by the entrance awaiting whatever patron chose to purchase goods so early in the morning. Come to think of it, why was she up this early anyway? Oh right, work.

Now it's not that Xiaoli disliked her position in the Force, she was obviously doing something right otherwise she wouldn't have been offered the position of Chief in the first place after all. Perhaps it was the lengths of responsibility and the level of maturity she was expected to hold up that dimmed her willingness to accept the job but it seemed that after five years in control of the division her co-workers had grown used to and even fond of their boss's odd behaviour.

The thought caused Xiao to smile happily to herself. She quite enjoyed being around them, the few who didn't feel the need to maintain their serious personas 25/7. Come to think of it, she'd been asked to oversee several trainee drills later in the day. This brought about a small bit of excitement...Gah! Who was she kidding! Her adrenaline was pumping at the mere thought. What some found boring and downright meningless made her quiver with excitement. Seeing the capabilities of their potential recruits and their skill; if any, in the use of metalbending was always something to look forward to in her books.

A low growl resounding from her abdomen assured a quick stop to those ponderings. "Ah...missed breakfast." she murmured without much care. Amber eyes scanned her predestined path to the garage. Ah good, she hadn't passed it after all! With a slight skip in her step she entered on of the many eateries located in Republic City and quite luckily one she very much enjoyed. "Ah Chief, what can I do for you?" the older man behind the counter inquired. She'd become a regular customer at the restaurant, having developed a love for the water-tribe style food. What could she say? She could be a real carnivore sometimes. "I'll have you breakfast special, Zhu." she waved off the odd look the elderly man gave her stomach after it decided to growl again. "Right then, take a seat." Zhu chuckled. "Shouldn't be too long..." He mumbled on as he entered the back room.

Smiling in thanks, she did as offered and chose one of the many stools at the counter-top. The smells from the back kitchen making the beast in her abdomen sound like it had resorted to eating itself to quell the hunger.

Tags; - - -
Words; 598
Muse; utter willpower
Notes; - - -

GLASS HAS GNAGNAM STYLE

[Kwan Eun-Jae]

Republic City.

This was his first time visiting such a city. He had heard rumors about it from around the palace, and... Well, rumors probably wasn't the best word he could have used. He just heard the staff whispering about it every now and again, and his father would sometimes discuss it with his mother. Had he been one to actually pay attention during his studies, he would have known all about the creation of Republic City. He would have known the culture, the technology, and he definitely would have known it wasn't just some fabled city. So, when his older sibling offered to take him to see such a city, he jumped at the opportunity. Part of him said it was just a prank, but the other part was too curious to listen to his other side.

Arriving in Republic City gave him quite a headache. It wasn't nearly like Ba Sing Se, but the culture shock was what caused the growing migraine. He could already feel his energy draining from him the moment he stepped onto the dock. He felt... Overdressed. He didn't know what to expect when going to Republic City, and the thought of disguising who he was completely slipped his mind. While everyone wore shirts, pants, and some sort of overcoat, he had arrived in a hanfu. Yes, a hanfu. A green one, in fact. Most of his wardrobe was green, though, due to living in the Earth Kingdom. It was sort of a given for him. There was some blues, reds, and white in there, though. He liked wearing them for special occasions, and apparently this wasn't special enough to break out those colors.

Eun-Jae blinked, looking down when he felt a cold nose nudge his hand. A confused look spread across his face when he saw his faithful companion, Saja, sticking his head up the young prince's sleeve. The sleeves were long, yes, but that didn't mean he had to do that to nudge his hand! He would have felt it through the fabric. Shaking his head, he lifted his hand, removing the sleeve from around the armadillo lion's face. He then reached back down, patting Saja on the head as he took a look around the crowded street. He had gotten distracted with his thoughts, and now he couldn't find the one who brought him here. There wasn't his older sibling or the servant who was attending this outing with them. Did they ditch him while he was 'taking it all in'? Probably.

Beginning to feel even more uncomfortable in his new surroundings now that he was stranded in the middle of 'no where', Eun-Jae slowly started walking. The tips of his fingers slipped out of his long white sleeve as he adjusted the material to let him take hold of the hybrid's fur. Just touching something familiar was keeping his nerves from taking over. He didn't know where he was, where to go, who to trust... "It looks like we are on our own, Saja." He mumbled, partially to himself. "We will be fine, right?" Now he was just trying to convince himself on the matter. Why did he have to be so eager to see Republic City? It was already turning out to be such a bad idea. Biting down lightly on the inside of his lower lip, he let himself be guided by his companion. He trusted Saja's nose more than his own sense of direction. It would have been a better idea to turn around and head back to the docks, but he might as well explore a little, perhaps find a place to regain some energy... A nap sounded like a great idea at the moment.

Eun-Jae looked around at his surroundings, taking note of foreign faces, strange clothing, large metal machines that looked like they were from the Fire Nation, and even some strange acts of public display. This place wasn't all it was made to be, in his opinion. His gaze snapped towards a Saja when he felt the fur of the creature begin to slip from his fingertips. The beast strode forwards, heading towards what looked like a restaurant. He should have figured he would have been lead towards food. Slowly following after, he hesitantly reached out, opening the door, only to be greeted by the scent of food. Ah, so that was why Saja had been lured here. It smelled nice. Oh, wait, Saja. He nudged the armadillo lion in the side before Saja could slip through the door, earning a growl of irritation when the creature turned back around, sitting down with his head low, sulking by the door. He would manage just fine without being inside. Any restaurant wouldn't want a giant, furry beast waltzing around around the food.

Grey-blue eyes scanned around the restaurant once he was inside, closing the door behind himself. He had never actually ate anywhere but in the palace. Restaurants were completely out of his comfort zone. That much was obvious by him staying near the door, acting like a complete tourist by taking in every little inch of the interior of the building. He really needed to get out more.

TAGS: xiaoli
OUTFIT: click!
WORDS: 865
MUSE: meh
NOTES: bahaha, don't expect any other posts to be over five hundred words. opening posts just turn out like this. x3

[Xiaoli Cheng]

Xiaoli had resorted to drumming her fingers on the wooden counter top in boredom while she waited for her meal with obvious anticipation. She should have expected this though, arriving just after Zhu had opened up shop it was no question that he'd have little to none of the necessary ingredients for meals prepared.

The wait left her alone in silence save for the nearly inaudible conversations of by-passers she turned to watch from her seat. It was nice thing to witness, everyday life. Almost boring in a way. Not that she was pining for the misfortune of Republic City's inhabitants so she could swoop up the chance to actually do some police work, that would just be cruel. However ever since accepting the position five years ago her chance to participate out in the field had slimmed drastically, she'd be lucky if she ever got the opportunity to make it out of the headquarters once in her typical days work. She won't even get started on the paperwork.

Even still, with the unsettlement occurring around the world the people here needed some reassurance that the place they called home would remain peaceful and liveable without the looming threat of war. Something she and her fellow co-workers worked toward with sheer determination. Xiaoli supposed she should be happy that there wasn't any serious danger that required her attentions as of late. She'd be even happier if the rest of the world could take their heads out of their-

"Here ya' go chief."

Her lewd mental description was cut short as a steaming bowl of meat, vegetable and broth was pushed toward her. The scent causing her mouth to water. "No need for the formalities Zhu, I'm not on duty yet." She grinned at the food, grabbing a pair of chopsticks she gave a thankful nod to Zhu before digging in, her taste buds relishing in the heavenly mix. All previous thoughts forgotten as she ate, listening somewhat intently as Zhu continued speaking while he cleaned off the already pristine counter top simply for the sake of something to do until another customer chose to come in, if any.

"Ha, it's become too much of a habit now. Calling you by your name is almost an insult." he joked to the woman who returned the comment with pursed lips and a blank stare. "Don't talk like that, you're makin' me seem like some over glorified spirit." she pointed at him with her eating utensils. "Xiao's fine, you used to call me that all the time before I got this job." she paused to pop another slice of meat into her mouth and resumed, voice muffled a bit by the mouthful. "You're acting like my father."

The mindless banter went on between the two until Xiao felt eyes on her and was compelled to see just who was staring. This in turn caused Zhu to turn his when he notice her attention was no longer focused on him. Under other circumstances Xiaoli couldn't have cared less who decided to eat here, she'd have given a passive glance merely to sate her curiosity and then turn back to whatever she was doing...but this...

The young girl the entered couldn't have been older than fifteen, sixteen maybe? She wasn't sure. The sheer youthful beauty was enough to shock her wide-eyed though she had enough self control to keep her jaw from dropping. Who was this kid? The elaborate dress and...was that an armadillolion outside? She squinted to get a closer look and the beast that closely resembled her own, Sudu. Yes, definitely. This girl must have come from some kind of nobility to possess all of this.

Zhu, who had also been subjected to the shock and did not have the same self control of his usual patron to keep his jaw from falling at least had the decency to address her first. Seeing as how Xiaoli's mouth was full of half-chewed cat deer. "Ah...welcome." he smiled kindly. "Is there something I can help you with miss?" Zhu said as Xiaoli returned to her meal but kept an ear open.

Tags; Eun-Jae [girly-boy]
Words; 689
Muse; food :I
Notes; I don't usually write this much what the hell's going on?!

GLASS HAS GNAGNAM STYLE

[Kwan Eun-Jae]

For an establishment that was owned and ran by the average commoner--Ahem, excuse his wording. Civilian would be a more proper term.--the little restaurant had a nice feel to it. Not many people were inside, other than the two at the counter, but that should be expected. It was still early, wasn't it? He assumed so due to the position of the sun when he was back outside. The exact time was unknown to him, however, so he would have to just assume that it was still before noon. If it somehow became noon without him knowing, then he was missing lunch. Worse yet, Saja would be missing lunch, and he was currently unattended. That was not going to end well if he kept the armadillo lion waiting. Hm, this place should have meat he could get for his companion. Perhaps some vegetables and a bit of fruit for himself. That sounded nice. It was a good thing he always kept a small pouch will a little extra spending money hidden within his clothing. Long sleeves weren't just for looks.

The brunette blinked in surprise, finally locking his gaze on the two at the counter after staring at everything else for so long. He gave the 'deer in the headlights' look before blinking it away. "Oh! U-um..." He bit down on the inside of his lower lip, trying to remember everything he had just planned out mere seconds ago. He was not good at the whole 'being social' concept, and, well, he really just wanted to curl up in a hole and tune out the world right about now. That sounded like a great idea that would only happen when he arrived back at the palace. He gulped, giving a small, almost sheepish smile. He took a step away from the door, pointing at the lump of fur and shell just outside with an unseen hand. Darn sleeves. "Do... Do you, perhaps, have some raw meat for my friend here?" He paused, letting his hands, completely covered by the white silk sleeves, to be brought up to his chest. He took a small step closer to the counter, trying to keep his legs from betraying him. "And, ah, an apple would be nice, too." He could deal with a little hunger until he was safely back at home, but he would need a little something in his stomach just to keep him from fainting the moment he walked back out into the crowded street. Ugh, he really didn't want to go back out there.

"O-oh!" His sleeve-covered hands were brought up to his mouth in realization, covering half of his face to keep from looking like a fool with his mouth gaping wide open. "How rude of me! Allow me to introduce myself. I am Kwan Eun-Jae." Keeping all formal titles off of his name, the overly feminine young teenager brought his hands back down his his chest, bowing his head and the upper half of his body in greeting. He really needed to get out more.

TAGS: xiaoli
OUTFIT: click!
WORDS: 508
MUSE: meh
NOTES: it's the magic of traps.

[Xiaoli Cheng]

"Do... Do you, perhaps, have some raw meat for my friend here?"

Zhu blanked out for a nanosecond at the youngster's request, Xiaoli stopped herself short too after hearing such a strange request. Raw meat? Who would want that for their frien- Oh. Their confusion was cleared after seeing the motion toward the armadillo lion awaiting his master outside the building. "A-ah..." Zhu started in no mild amount of shock. It wasn't everyday someone from a clear line of nobility wandered into his business and made a request for raw meat of all things. Xiaoli mindlessly adjusted one of the straps on her body as the exchange went on, head resting in the hand of the arm perched on the counter.

Seemed today wouldn't be as uneventful as she had first anticipated. Encountering someone so clearly not from Republic City, what were the odds so early in the morning. Her analytical staring continued with little to no regard to whether she were making the adolescent uncomfortable, she was far too intrigued by their presence not only in the restaurant, but the city itself. Was there some anticipated touring of a well-known house she hadn't caught wind of? Unlikely, she was the chief of police. She would have been briefed on the matter and requested to tighten security lest anything befal the city's visitors. The last thing Republic City needed was the blood of a nation on their hands. This was was as idiotic as the people instigating it.

During her thought's Zhu had already gone about gathering what was asked but addressed Xiaoli before doing so. "Xiao, you wouldn't mind getting that apple would you? The raw meat's out in the back building." He took a moment to assess the size of the creature that would be consuming it. "I'll be a while." He chuckled sheepishly and made his way out, not staying long enough to hear Xiaoli's protest. She would have offered to get in the first place had she known just how much was needed. Then again Zhu was old, but not that old. "Sure thing." she sighed, giving her cheek a small scratch as she hopped off the stool and made her way behind the counter and into the adjoining kitchen that was partially shielded from view by two overhanging curtains.

'Apples...apples...Ah! There they are.' she thought happily having spotted the fruits. Red or green though. Shrugging, she took the nicest of the two colours and went back outside to the girl and her armadillo lion who was peering in though the window. "Heh," Xiaoli cracked a smile at the predator's behaviour. Either it was concerned for it's master;s well-being or it was feeling neglected having been so 'cruelly' rejected entry by said master.

"How rude of me! Allow me to introduce myself. I am Kwan Eun-Jae."

She choked on her breath. Kwan? Kwan....Kwan...where had she heard that name before? The Earth Kingdom's royal family perhaps? A coincidence? She once again took her time to assess the ridiculously lavish dress of this potential royal. Well, it wasn't an impossible notion given the evidence.

Her wide-eyed stare lasted a total of three; maybe four seconds before she showed the two apples in each hand. "Wasn't too sure which one you wanted." she smiled happily, masking the look of shock and placing them on the counter. "So..." she mused. "What brings you here?" Not to the city, just here. Leaving it open to interpretation for the listener so to speak. She dearly hoped this person wasn't who she thought they were, if that were the case she'd gladly march up to the president's residence and beat the ever-loving crap out of him for neglecting to tell her this little titbit of information. If anything happened to any royal within these walls it would be on her head.

Tags; Eun-Jae [girly-boy]
Words; 644
Muse; music
Notes; wrote this up last night and didn't get a chance to post it :I

GLASS HAS GNAGNAM STYLE