Surprise Meeting (Jao Meico and Anli Ying)

It was tiresome being alone in the house. Anli was left there almost every day, as her father was out organising the military, and sometimes even took her brother with him. Anli felt the anger surge within her and her firsts tensed at the thought that she was never allowed to go. Her mother was often at home, singing songs, practicing cooking, gardening, making clothes (though she did not have to - they had servants for that) as these were the only activities father thought she should be allowed to do.

And what of her future, Anli thought? There was nothing there for her. No plans, no future, no nothing. Her father had made it so, but she would carve a future for herself. She would give herself things to look forward to and goals to drive for. That was the way life should be - no one should be kept locked away like some tame little creature, some pet for whoever the nearest man was, the only one who was allowed to be 'active'. That was her father's view anyway, completely outdated and wrong.

Soon, Anli would find a home for herself and then she could free herself from her family and all of its problems. But first she would perfect fire bending to the best of her ability and then hopefully find a job.

She pulled on a jacket (the bizarre weather was making even the fire nation capital seem cooler than usual) and sneaked out the door. She had to let off some steam, and fire bending would be the best way to do that. First she would have to find a secluded area where no one would be affected by any accidents.

Just as she was about to head off, she saw a rather tall man exit a building near to her house. She hadn't seen him around here before, and was curious, but continued walking. Their paths crossed however and she soon found that they were side by side.

The colder weather was worrying and it was even possibly to feel it here. Jao had been to the Fire Nation on several occasions and was used to the nice and pleasant heat. Not nearly as bad as the desserts of the Earth Kingdom and still much warmer than any of the Air Temples. But Jao was able to feel the difference. His lips pressed together as he exited one of the houses of the fire nation. He was still dressed light. A hat on his head to hide what it could of his hair covered tattoos and long sleeves. He never liked to draw attention to himself and as an air bender, he was prone to building up interest. The Nomads weren't exactly known for travelling over the world casually. As far as Jao could tell, he was the only one. Perhaps it was possible that he had missed others while on his travel but he felt sure that he would have heard of them unless they maintained the same low cover.

Of course, it wasn't possible to always be invisible. When visiting the Fire Nation Capital, or Ba Sing Se it was important to let the officials knew that you where around. Jao often did this, even when he visited the Northern and Southern Water Tribes. The tribes themselves usually were the only places of interest and they were the only official places at the poles. So Jao had just been speaking to one of the Fire Nation, an official who kept an eye on all who came into the city and left it. Jao was an honoured guest, apparently and they had offered to make arrangements for both him and Lufteo in the upper class section of the city. Jao, of course, had refused. Such money was best spent looking after the poor, he had long since decided. Both he and his flying bison were content to be in the wilds. Jao could easily walk into town when he needed to. Besides, it was not going to be for long. He was going to explore the rest of the Nation and help with the harvests. This was just a stop off for a few days so he could make sure he had some supplies (he had some money) and to get Lufteo a good meal. It had been too long since she had a nice bale full of hay.

Silently, Jao moved, aware that he was the only one in light garb. Air benders were able to keep themselves warm with their bending and the temperature bothered him even less here. He could have happily worn a vest and not have been bothered by the temperature. That, however, would reveal his tattoos. Still, there was one thing that he couldn't disguise to avoid attracting his attention. That was his height. Jao was a very tall man. Even dressed in the local clothing, he towered over a fair few heads. And he supposed his staff (which actually was his glidder) might also stand out. Grey eyes stared ahead but soon he sensed a presence next to him. Eyes flickered to look at the young woman. He didn't say anything, just continued walking. Jao was not one to start a conversation and he felt that perhaps this woman was only going the same way by chance.

As Anli walked, she noticed the man look at her. He really didn't look like most of the people in the fire nation capital, and not only that but he was a complete stranger to her. Most people around here she knew or had at least seen many times before.
"Who are you?" She asked boldly, never one to shy away from getting straight to the point. "I'm Anli. I've never seen you here before, and seeing a stranger is an exciting thing to one who has such a quiet life as mine." She felt herself grit her teeth at the end of that last sentence, still rather furious with her circumstances. "But I trust yours is more... exciting?" Well, of course it was. Everyone's life was more exciting than hers, she thought bitterly. Observing him, she noticed he was dressed more lightly than many of the other people she was seeing, and this suggested to her that he might be more accustomed to colder weather than what the fire nation had. It was very possible therefore, that he had come from quite a way away and this made her want to find out more about him. Her contact with the outside world was minimal, and she wished she could see or at least know more about these things.

As per norm, Jao was not the one to start talking. The girl spoke first and Jao cast another glance towards her as she introduced herself. Then he looked forward and slowed his pace, just a little. Now it would be less difficult for her to keep up with him. That, so far, was the only sign that he was listening to her.

The young woman, Anli, seemed to be keen to ask questions about him. His name, his life. And Jao was not one to talk about himself. He would talk to others about themselves. Jao was not sure what to make of it. Perhaps it was normal for someone of her age. For someone here in the Fire Nation. After all, she said that her life was quiet. Perhaps her only excitement was from hearing tales from others. Jao would not deny that he had visited taverns and bars to hear the tales that the old men span.

There was a long pause as Jao sighed, stroking his beard in silent thought on how to respond and whether he should give away any information about himself. Finally he decided to share a little, if only to give the girl something to enjoy.
"My name is Jao." He said, slowly, staring ahead still, turning. He was heading towards the edge of the city. He wants to see how Lufteo was getting on.

"And I would not say that my life is that exciting." He said softly, pausing as he walked. It had occurred to him that this woman was a local. Which would be useful for Jao had to find where he could purchase hay for Lufteo. Turning to look at her once more, he considered her. She looked well off, perhaps she would have some creatures of her own that ate hay in which case she would know the place to go.

Slowing to a stop, he turned to look at her fully now. She seemed like the sort that would willingly take up the task of informing someone where they could find what they sought. More worringly, from the sound of it, she may follow. But if it would give her some freedom, Jao knew he could put up with it.
"Hay. Do you know where there is any hay I can purchase?"

Anli nodded when Jao told her his name. That was a start at least. So far, he did not seem to be a very sociable type, and Anli was not sure if she liked this or not. On one hand, perhaps that meant he was different and would treat her differently to how everyone else did, which she was sick of. But if he wasn't willing to talk, it was going to be very hard to find out about him, and her life would just go back to being boring again. She heard him modestly say that his life wasn't too exciting.
"If you're life isn't exciting, then what must mine be?" She began. "At least you have travelled, that much I can tell. You can't imagine how tedious it is to be stuck in one place all the time. Things... never change." She sighed.
Then she was bemused to hear him bluntly ask for hay.
"Hay? What could you want that for?" She paused for a moment, then came back to reality. "Oh, I'm sure you must have an animal to feed. Well, I don't visit it very often if at all, but I know of a place that sells all sorts of things for animals. I'll show you, it's not too far from here."
Anli walked in silence for a minute, pondering the topic of animals. "We don't have any creatures to look after. I mean, it's not like we don't have the wealth for it, but..." She trailed off. Her father didn't like animals, and talking about him, she knew, would just make her feel annoyed again. Despite how useful they could be, he looked down on all creatures as inferior to him. Actually, he looked down on everyone as inferior to him. And he was too greedy to spend any of his money on anything he thought wasn't necessary, despite having more than enough of it.

There had been a time that Jao had not travelled. It seemed like an age ago to him but in reality, it had been only a few years ago. Travelling was something that the man enjoyed. Especially as it meant that he got to spend a lot of time in the air. He enjoyed it. The only qualm he could find was that Lufteo had to carry him and he wanted her to always be happy and never tired. Yet she never seemed to mind the journeys and so he continued. It was a lonesome life and he knew that some would struggle with such an existence. Not so Jao.

"Excitement is not created by travel or staying put," The man commented, looking ahead and into the sky, staff waiting by his side. He left a long pause, long so that she could think upon his words.
"It's created by what you choose to do with what life has given you." He sounded like the Monks back in the temples, Jao thought to himself. Well, it seemed that it wasn't possible to escape from everything during his travels.

Jao had spent his childhood in one place and never once had been bored. He explored and found new places around his home. He spoke to others and found out about them. Or rather they did more of the speaking. He had never been one for many words. He wondered whether this woman had been able to do that. He had heard tales that the Fire Nation was more strict, like the Northern Water Tribe but even they allowed their women to go out and about. And Anli did seem to be moving freely.

At her surprise about the hay, he raised his eyebrows, but they didn't need to be raised for a long time before she realised the obvious meaning of his words. He gave a nod to show that she was right and followed her. He hoped that the shop she lead him to would hold hay to feed Lufteo. It would be a nice treat for the bison. Jao didn't think that grass looked particularly tasty. Mind you, neither did hay. It just seemed to be a preferred food to the Sky Bison.

The woman, Anli, started talking once more and Jao's silent thoughts were put on hold once more to politely take in what she had to say. No animals. Interesting. He had thought that they would at least have some which could transport them around, even if they wee not as close as him and Lufteo.
"An animal can be very rewarding but it is also a task. They have thoughts and feelings and habits. Some creatures may not be ready to have a human companion, other times, the human may not be ready to befriend another creature. Think of what is important on both sides,"

Again the Monk in him had come out. Jao knew that he hadn't left the temples behind too long ago. His hair was only just starting to get towards the much longer length that he preferred. For now he had to use his hat to give hide the tattoos. Later, his hair would sometimes be enough. With that thought, Jao tipped the hat forwards slightly and shrugged his shoulders to feel the high collar that he had that kept the air bending tattoo on his neck out of sight.

Anli cocked her head to one side, interested by what Jao was saying. He did seem to know a lot about excitement. He seemed to know a lot about life, despite not being very eager to share this knowledge. He sounded like someone who contemplated the philosophy of life a great deal, going by his manner of speaking. But although he spoke like a philosopher, his words gave Anli no great comfort. "And what if life has given you nothing? Nothing to do I mean. I'm restless, Jao. I always have to be doing something. Something big. That's just the kind of person I am, and no amount of philosophical words will change that." After all, Anli thought, excitement meant different things to different people. It wasn't just something that could be neatly decided upon. Still, she was impressed and from what she did know of the outside world, she could tell that he was probably from an air bending area. Air benders had a spiritual view on things, she'd heard, keen on inner harmony and all that stuff. Something she felt her life was sorely lacking in.

But now Jao was talking about animals, and as she listened, she felt her blood boil again. It was very hard not to be consumed with rage when thinking about anything that reminded her of her father. But positively, this did put more power behind her fire bending when she did it, as long as she knew how to use it wisely.
"That's just how my father sees it. A task!" She laughed bitterly. "A task that he is not prepared to take on. That is how he is with most things, unless they somehow can serve his selfish interests." She coughed awkwardly as she realised the stranger might be feeling a little overwhelmed by her change in tone. In all this anger she had looked past the obvious, that this man clearly owned an animal or two, and thinking about this, she was now interested.

"But enough of that-" she stuttered. "You must have an animal, am I right? You seem to know a lot about them. And it would be an odd thing indeed if you were to buy this hay just for yourself!" She grinned wolfishly and then promptly decided it would be best to wipe that expression off her face as soon as possible.

Jao had expected this. She did not understand. He closed his eyes, looking thoughtful for a second as they moved forwards. She spoke to him as if she were his friend, using his name. It sounded as if she knew him in her heart. Jao raised a hand to stroke his beard. He had heard that lives could be reborn. Grey eyes looked at her for a second. No, he could not imagine that they had been friends in a former life. It must have been chance she used such words.

"There is much to do at one's home. There are many people and many books. I may travel but all I see is those who tend to their harvests. The most action, if that is what you seek, is found in the cities." Jao did not wish to have to deal with a crisis. He had heard many stories of war and it never appealed to the more violent air bender. It was not something that he would find entertaining. If anything, the city life would be more exciting, he would have thought.

Moving forwards, following this girl, he heard her let out her anger at her father. It was more forespoken than many Jao knew and strange to the man. It was the same way she spoke as if she knew him.
"Maybe your father isn't ready for the task." He said, knowing that fire benders and their tempers were not the best at times. It would be best to try and sooth her. Perhaps he should say more, but Jao would not. Let the girl try to figure it out herself. She had a mind of her own.

He was not too surprised that Anli was quick to change the conversation, although her smile was slightly worrying, which was quick to change as well. Jao gave a small huff of agreement to her question, hand tightening around his staff as they moved on.
"One. Lufteo. She is a good companion. And enjoys hay. I do not get her hay as often as I would like." He finally said, still looking ahead with only a glance towards Anli.
"How much further is this walk?" He wanted to know when he could feed Lufteo. And she was on the outskirts of town. He wouldn't put her in a stable.

"There is not much to do at one's home when one has been there all one's life." Anli chuckled in response. It sounded like she was mocking him slightly with the excessive use of the word 'one' but Anli didn't mean to offend, it was just her sense of humour. She supposed he wouldn't understand her boredom with this place, as he didn't look to her much like he had spent too much time anywhere. If he had been forced to stay put for longer than he wanted in a certain place, she wondered if his opinion would be at all different on this subject. As they walked the streets of the capital, the dull, fire nation streets (which probably would look so exciting to anyone other than Anli)it was all so familiar to her and she felt the tug in her heart to get out.

"This is the only city I've ever been to. I've seen all it has to offer, all the excitement, many times before, although my father never wanted me to. That is how I know where to get hay, although we don't have any animals! I've been everywhere. It's funny now that I think about it-" she started to laugh softly, "that you, a travelling man are talking to me about the virtues of staying put. But it can't be that great to live in the same place all your life, if you're here now, can it? Everyone needs a change every once in a while or they will not grow or develop as a person. Surely you must understand that." She finished, and it dawned on her that her years of isolation had probably made her bolder in this situation than the average person would be. Because the average person would have all the time in the world to get to know another person well enough to the point that they would feel comfortable with treating them a certain way, but Anli didn't have that time. If she met a person, she would make the most of it before they were taken away from her again. She would find out everything she could, even if it meant being a little outspoken considering how long she'd known them for.

"And... what species is Lufteo? My knowledge does not extend much towards animals I'm afraid, as I have said before." She sighed when Jao asked her how much further it was. "Just down this lane, then left, right and right again. I think." She muttered. It had been a while since she'd been to this shop, but she knew she had been there before.

Home. It was a place that he hadn't seen in a long, long time. His parents would no doubt still be there. Happy and at peace. They did not mind staying in one place and it was a lot more peaceful at the Air Temples. Jao did not take in the fact that she had overused one, at all. It simply did not register to him. He merely considered her problem.

For what felt like half of his life, he had been with his parents and then it was with the monks for the next half. Those had been times spent in one place. Jao knew that he had decided to travel because that was what he wanted, but he did it not for excitement. It just seemed right. There was much to learn

She went on to talk about how she had only known the city. And had explored it against her father's will. How she had been everywhere in this single place. She made valid points but Jao would say that they were skewed by he desire to so go against the grain that her family had set for her. Sometimes it was best to go along with what others set. Jao would have been happy to spend his whole life gliding when he was a child. But he had grown up. There was a time to accept that freedom came at a cost.

"I don't travel for excitement," Jao said, stroking his beard once more.
"From what I've seen, cities hold such feelings for many. But I rarely see those who have a problem with staying put or traveling. Myself included," He said calmly. It wasn't often that he voiced an opinion on things and this was about as close as it came. The young woman was very talkative and Jao's response was as such. Or as much as he could get.

"Sometimes when you can't change your situation, it's best to focus on the good qualities and to enjoy those instead. No place is all bad. If you focus on perfecting what you like, then it may not be such a hardship," The man finally suggested, taking nearly a minute to speak these words. It didn't feel natural to him to say too much and he made a soft, neutral 'hm' to relax himself from all the communicating done.

At the question about Lufteo, Jao looked away. This woman was more curious. The more he answered, the more questions he seemed to get. It was nice to have a companion of sorts but strange. Especially after all the diplomatic information that he had just sorted out before she had come along.

So now Anli wanted to know about his Sky Bison, and to give away such information would no doubt raise more questions than Jao was ready for this.
"I don't really consider her a different species. She is my friend and companion. As human as you or I," He said calmly, voice light and casual. It was no big deal to him at all. ANd he was grateful that they were nearing the shop. He needed to get hay for the bison. And as much of it as he could afford.