Business was starting to pick up in Shizue's tea shop. An old man finished sipping his tea just before the evening crowd started to line up, as he often did. He had been a regular customer at her shop for about a month now, and came in almost every day at around the same time. One would assume that this was how he kept some semblance of a schedule now that he was, ostensibly, retired. He had always been cordial and friendly in the time he'd been a customer here, appearing to be nothing more than an ordinary but good-natured man. He stood up and approached the counter even though he had already paid and slid Shizue a white envelope. "Just a little something extra for you." he said. Before Shizue could object, he was already through the door. Not only was he surprisingly sprightly for a retiree, but he seemed to suddenly have a purpose that wasn't there before. It was as if he expected someone to begin pursuing him as soon as he left Shizue's shop.

Tikaani had always had a special connection with the spirit world, but it had never manifested itself quite like this. This may or may not have been the first time she had ever come to Republic City to visit the spirit forests located there, but this was the first time they had ever called to her like this. As soon as she came near the forest, she was sure felt something beckoning her further in, toward a point that was almost untread by other humans. A note fell out of the air for her to catch.

Kavi had recently returned from his travels, as he often did, to the Northern Air Temple. A friendly welcome awaited him there, as it always did. While the Air Nation had come a long way in the past decades, the Northern Air Temple was still the most populated and was regarded as being the most 'open' of the air temples, considering its history with outsiders. An envoy from the Order of the White Lotus was speaking with a monk near the entrance. This wasn't a terribly uncommon sight, and this member of the order had been here a few times before. They both noticed Kavi come in. "And you're sure he's the one you want to ask? There are masters here who would-" the monk said. "And I appreciate their offers," the envoy interjected, "but I have my reasons for not wanting them to put themselves on the line. Yes, I'm quite positive he's the person for the job." The envoy approached Kavi and said rather gravely, "Kavi of the air nomads, the Order of the White Lotus needs your help."

Republic city was still rife with crime, and while this was a problem many had come to accept, it meant opportunity for the likes of Virra Lin. He was responding to a bounty he'd pulled down from a wall, which instructed the reader to go to a local park near one of the spirit forests, of all places, for more information. When he arrived at the spot mentioned in the bounty notice, he met a man in sunglasses and a formal suit, rather strange for this type of meeting. When Lin told him why he was there, the man merely looked over him and said "You seem trustworthy enough. Take this, if you'd please." The man handed him a white envelope and then, in an almost ghost-like fashion, disappeared into the forest.

It had been an average day at Kieran's restaurant. The last of the lunch crowd had just cleared out, and things would be fairly slow for an hour before the dinner rush had him in the kitchen again. Kieran had been sent on an ingredient run as the restaurant was shorter on a few things than they had expected. As he went to put on his coat and head out the door, he could feel something in one of the pockets that hadn't been there before. Inside of his coat, there was an envelope.

Jalika had dealt with many different customers over the years since moving to the mothberry grove, so having someone approach her in her home wasn't terribly was strange. What was unusual was what this individual was wearing, a robe that, if it was real, would have marked him as a member of the Order of the White Lotus. He approached her and said "Jalika of the Air Nomads, the White Lotus needs you."

Sanrock had had a fairly normal day, and was practicing his shooting in a makeshift target range he'd set up in the wilderness outside the town where he lived. He was given pause when out of nowhere, someone hit a perfect bullseye on one of the targets he'd put up. He turned around to see an individual approach him. "Sanrock, the Order of the White Lotus and your people need your help."

Zayric had answered a personal ad he'd seen in the newspaper for parts he could use for his mechsuit, something fairly rare in and of itself but even moreso considering how cheap the prices being offered were. The person he'd met sold him the parts as promised, and when Zayric got home he noticed that an envelope had been neatly folded and placed inside one of the joints.

The bounty hunter known to most only as Stalker was sitting in a local bar which was frequented by his type. A rough looking black-haired woman with prominent facial scars took an adjoining bar stool and addressed him without turning her head in his direction. "If you want money, take this and do what it says." She spoke firmly but quickly. She got up and walked out of the bar, leaving an envelope next to the bounty hunter.

In the basement of the same bar, which if you asked about, the bartender would insist was only used to store supplies, a lone thief leaned against a wall after having been tipped that someone who had work for him wanted to meet him here. The same man who had been in Shizue's tea shop wordlessly entered the bar and handed the bartender an envelope, hidden between several large bills. The bartender casually said "Say no more, I'll be right back." He walked into the cellar where the thief was staying and handed him the envelope and some of the money, then grabbed a bottle which used to be filled with very expensive alcohol. He walked back upstairs and said "Clearly you're a man of discerning taste, this is the best stuff we've got." The old man took the bottle and left.

Inside each of the envelopes was a letter which was individually addressed to the respective recipient. Each letter read:

"We are contacting you in regards to a matter of the utmost urgency. We have witnessed your unique talents and are reaching out to you specifically in the hopes that you will respond to us in our most dire hour of need. Should you choose to aid us, we will pay you any price you ask to the greatest extent of our abilities, be it your weight in gold, a specific favor, or the knowledge that our organization is forever in your debt. If you have chosen to accept our request for help, come to the address listed below by midnight tonight. A representative from our organization will be in the basement of the building."
Each of these letters bore the symbol of the Order of the White Lotus.

The address was of an abandoned temple in a slum on the outskirts of the city.

"Mmmmm... Mothberry Grove," Jalika itnoned quietly. Her eyes left the man for now, and continued her task. She was picking the empty husks of spidermoth cocoons from the wildly overgrown berry trees. When she looked back up to see the man's perplexed expression, she expounded, in her accustomed halting slur, "Not a Nomad. Now I'm Jalika of the Mothberry Grove. What does the Lotus want with me?" She continued picking. Every once in a while, she would take a sip from a bottle, facing away from the man, but still very calculatedly within his view.

At first all Zayric did was remove the joint obstruction and place it on a near by table, it was defiantly curious but at the moment he just wanted to fix up his suit and take it out for a spin. Eventually though his curiosity got the better of him and he stopped working to open the envelope and read the note within. "What kind of 'unique talents' do I ha-" but Zayric cut himself off when he remembered he had a mech suit in his possession. Zayric smiled a large grin and began to hurry up with his suit's adjustments so it would be ready by midnight tonight.

Soon midnight came and Zayric walked to the temple. It was a long walk but it was really the only non-conspicuous way of getting his armour there and it didn't take that much effort luckily since his suit did most of the work for him. Zayric entered the building and walked slowly towards the basement while looking in awe at the building around him. After some sight seeing he carefully made his way down the stairs into the basement of the temple.

Shizue's eyebrow quirked as one of her recently regular customers approached the counter even though the elder had paid his bill. It made her think that perhaps he had a complaint or something important he wished to express with her, which seemed a little odd for this person. He wasn't usually one for much words, though he was always pleasantly friendly without such things. She didn't know much of what to expect from the retiree but a simple blank white envelope had not been it. Shizue had went to object, thinking it was some kind of extra money or tip that was too big to just leave, and she wasn't one just take hand outs, but he didn't even give her the chance. She didn't know one that advanced in years could move so fast and it had her leaning over the counter, calling out to him to wait but it fell on deaf ears as he continued onward. A light frown found its way onto her features, her eyes moving to the envelope in her hands and turning it to try to see if it had any indication to what was inside but even the seal was blank. It tickled her curiosity, her fingers were moving to break the seal only to be interrupted by the call of a customer which made her realize that the strange letter would have to wait.

Shizue made sure to place the letter aside in a safe place, keeping it on the back of her mind for later when the place was at a lull or when 'Panada Lily' was closed for the evening.

"Excuse me." the White Lotus member said in response to Jalika correcting him. "There's a situation in Republic City. A rather urgent one, actually. I suppose you could say I'm something like a talent scout, and the type of talent I'm looking for needs to be capable of handling danger. Please don't take this the wrong way, but the Order has been... made aware that you fit the bill." The order's representative paused to see how Jalika would take what he'd said. He was clearly a bit anxious, but spoke clearly. "I realize that's not exactly a thorough explanation, but please understand, there's only so much information I can give you. I'm more than willing to answer any questions you may have, if you're interested."

She wiped her mouth as she slipped the ceramic flask back into a pocket of her loose fitting robe. "You think I have a talent. A dangerous one. This is a joke? Who did you speak to?"

Tikaani read the note over several times. She thought she recognized the symbol on the paper, but it didn't quite come to her mind at the moment. Sighing that the spirits would have to wait, she mounted Siku, her polar leopard. She patted Siku on her head, making her let out a little squeaky roar. "Come on Siku, someone has summoned us."
Tikanni led Siku through the city to the outskirts. She was use to getting strange looks because of Siku, but she didn't mind. Neither did Siku. She loved the attention. They stopped at the edge of the temple.

The waning afternoon sent wave after increasing wave of customers into the cozy restaurant that Kieran called home for now with his father. He was the low man on the totem pole, though he was a step above a bust boy, he got the privilege of doing the grunt work of the kitchen. Orders continued to flood the kitchen, and the knife in the young earthbender's hand had to work overtime to prep all of the veggies and garnishes for the accompanying dishes to be pushed out the service window.

"Try to keep up, son. Lunch rush can make or break you as a chef." Kieran's father called out to him from underneath a chef's hat that identified him as the head chef of the kitchen. For him, this was more than just a job for Kieran. Kuruk wanted his son to stay in the kitchen and take over when the time came, but Kieran had already decided to follow his mother's path and join the RCPD. As soon as he got enough money he could be out of this kitchen and in the academy, working his way towards that shiny metal uniform.

"Don't worry, dad. I'm right behind ya," Kieran reassured his father.

The next hours were filled with the clanking of pots and pans and the smells of harmonious ingredients being melded. Finally, the last order was sent out of the kitchen and Kieran let out a breath of relief. Of course, that did not last very long as a crumpled piece of paper with scribbled handwriting was shoved into his hands.

"I need you to run down to the market and get these items before the dinner crowd attacks. Thanks son."

Kieran walked over to the coat rack, removing his apron and hanging it on the rack with the others and grabbing his coat. He reached into his coat pocket to grab his keys, but felt something thick and heavy in between his hand and the metal of his key chain. Cautiously, he removed the object to reveal an envelope. How did this get here? And who put it there? But the best question, what is it?

Curiosity got the best of him, and he broke the seal to read the contents of the envelope.

'We are contacting you in regards to a matter of the utmost urgency. We have witnessed your unique talents and are reaching out to you specifically in the hopes that you will respond to us in our most dire hour of need. Should you choose to aid us, we will pay you any price you ask to the greatest extent of our abilities, be it your weight in gold, a specific favor, or the knowledge that our organization is forever in your debt. If you have chosen to accept our request for help, come to the address listed below by midnight tonight. A representative from our organization will be in the basement of the building.'

That symbol at the bottom... it looked familiar. Kieran had seen it before, somewhere. He just couldn't put his thumb on it. Kieran looked around the kitchen, and then he promptly shoved the letter back into his coat pocket. The letter had piqued his interest, and he intended on investigating it further.

Maybe the best idea would be to run it by his parents, particularly his mother. Maybe they knew what this symbol was on the letter. The more he thought about it, the more he thought he should go. Even if his mom advised against it, he made up his mind that he would go to at least check it out. If anything should go down, he could take care of himself.

Kieran zipped up his jacket and shoved his hands in his pockets, walking down the street towards the market and the stores to gather the ingredients his father had tasked him with. All the while, the letter burned a hole in his pocket and his mind as he thumbed over the words it read while he walked.

Kavi smiled, giving a bow to the man before following him and the monk he was speaking to into the temple. Unlike the other monks, Kavi's robes were colored in shades of red and black, to represent his fire nation roots, or so that was what the monks had told him. In actuality, Kavi just never really fit in with the more traditional styles of the Air Nomads, and they some felt a bot of resentment towards him as a result. While Kavi normally didn't care much about this, there were times where it became painfully obvious how much certain individuals wanted nothing to do with him, and it did weigh on his mind.

What am I doing feeling so glum, cheer up already! You're getting a mission from a member of the White Lotus, how awesome is that?!?! This is a happy day, and thus, it requires a happy face. Now suck it up and don't embarrass yourself.

Kavi lightly slapped himself in the face, shaking his head a little afterwards before the group finally made it to a secure room. Once there, the White Lotus member told her everything she needed to know about the mission, which was admittedly very little but that didn't matter. It was more than enough to catch Kavi's interest and they were nodding like crazy half way in. The man was confused by the lack of verbal affirmation, only for the monk to quickly chime in that Kavi was seemingly mute, having been unable to speak for a long time, even though from what healers could tell, nothing is wrong with them medically. The man nodded in understanding, turning to address Kavi only to fine them gone, having fled from the room as soon as attention had been lifted from him.

Soon, the cry of a Sky Bison could be heard, as well as the cries of a very drowsy and unhappy Rasharna as he was dragged off by Kavi to partake in one of his least favorite activites. The man chuckled a bit at the boy's enthusiasm while the monk beside him simply sighed.

The White Lotus representative was slightly shaken at Jalika's question. "We may not be the organization we once were, but we still have eyes and ears in more than a few places, you see. Please understand, while we would never spy, per se, when we're in serious need of new members, we have our ways. We're aware that you've been single-handedly protecting this grove, and for quite some time no less. That is no small feat. Your reputation is what led us to reach out to you."

The White Lotus member who had been sent after Kavi rushed after him and handed him the address and instructions on how to get there. As he took off, he shouted "And whatever you do, make sure you don't tell anybody we sent you!"

The thief made his way to the part of town where the temple was supposed to be. It was too bad that a temple here had been forced to shut down, as it seemed as if this part of the city could have sorely used whatever charity it had to offer. The buildings were shoddily made and looked old and decrepit despite this being a relatively new part of the city. Everything was dirty. This was none of the thief's concern, however. He stuck to the shadows and slowly moved towards the temple, avoiding open places where he might be seen. The people of a community like this were probably used to his kind, and the law most likely wouldn't come to this part of town quickly if his presence were reported, but he didn't want to take any risks. He used homes with no lights on, which were situated away from the main street as his cover. The lack of light kept him unseen until he reached the temple. As he came within view of it, he saw that someone was already there, a woman riding a large animal. This was a good sign, but he didn't want to be seen yet. He turned back and moved into the shadows again, this time moving for the small wooded area that was just behind the temple. He moved behind the trees and reached the back of the temple where, thankfully for him, there was a back door which was well out of anyone's eyesight. He walked in and, instead of going into the basement, walked directly to the front door.

From inside of the temple, Tikaani could hear a voice. "Did someone claiming to be the White Lotus contact you as well?" it asked.

Tikaani unmounted Siku and took a few steps toward the voice. She felt a shiver go down her spine from the ominous person, but ignored the feeling. Bowing her head slightly in greeting, she replied, "Yes. I was called by the White Lotus here and I am here to answer that call." Tikaani raised her head back up. Siku growled softly and rolled over onto her back lazily.

Zayric sat idly by on the basement floor twiddling his mecha suit's thumbs. He was pretty bored even though it had only been about five minutes. After a while he finally heard voices coming from upstairs and decided to investigate. He noisily came up that stairs as he didn't really care if anyone knew he was there "hey are you guys the White Loctus people? I've been waiting down there for a while now and it's getting really boring." he complained.

For a brief moment the thief was startled by the noise. His dark clothing and the fact that there was almost no light to speak of helped keep him hidden, but there was nothing here to hide behind. "I received the same invitation you apparently did, yes." the thief replied to Zayric. He opened the door just slightly and peered out. He decided that Tikaani and her animal didn't look particularly dangerous and opened the door completely. "Come in. The fact that we're meeting in a place like this is a strong indicator that they don't want us standing out in the open."

Tikaani nudged Siku, making the lazy cat get back up with a staunch huff. She motioned for her to follow as they entered the temple. She looked around and saw that there were two people. "Hello." Siku walked over to Zayric and the big cat started to sniff him all over. Tikaani smiled and crossed her arms. "Looks like Siku made a new friend." Siku purred and licked Zayric's face.

"Another bullseye," Sanrock says to himself, "I'm on a roll." He had been left with only twenty-one rifle rounds and three derringer rounds. Along with firing the guns, he had used his abilities to throw rocks at the targets as well. They weren't large rocks, though they weren't pebbles or anything around that size. Probably wouldn't be able to crush a person if they couldn't even knock over the sign.

Then again, if he did want to kill someone, that's what the guns were for. Using his earthbending, he lifted several rocks in the air and aimed them at the target. But, upon hearing the voice behind him, the rocks fell to the ground. Sanrock turned to look at the person who was talking, then replied: "Help? What for?"

Shizue waved her last customer goodbye, closing up the shop with a soft sigh and slowly started cleaning up the place alone since she had sent her helpers home long ago. She didn't mind the work but sometimes she wished that her father was still around, the two of them laughing and joking at the end of a long days work, well at least when she was here. It had come to her attention many times that her not being here enough was her biggest regret since she had stupidly believed he would always be here or at least be around for a long time. She knew life was not always fair so why had she thought traveling was a good idea? Well, she knew why and she couldn't really say she hadn't wanted to do it again. She missed the open air and riding with Mitsuru through unknown places or even in areas no one dared go but she would not let go of this place. Many offers had been made to buy the place but she didn't trust them with her father's baby that he built from the ground up and the only people she did trust to take it refused to keep it. They were willing to help but they didn't want to own what they knew should stay hers.
What should I even do? she thought to herself, tidying the back counter for the next day when her hand brushed up against an envelope. Shizue frowned, wondering what on earth something like that was doing there until a light of recognition appeared in her eyes at the strange thing. She had almost completely forgot about the elders mysterious blank envelope and now she had no distractions of the day to stop her from seeing just what he had given to her. The letter inside had not been what she expected at all and even more so...did she want to go? Was this some kind of trick? Why would they want her? The man didn't seem like the kind to set her up so should she give it a try? It could be worth it.

She spent hours mulling over the idea and she had finally come to a conclusion as she prepared for anything that might happen. Shizue set up someone to run the shop tomorrow, packed as if she were going on a trip and pulled on her weapons to be prepared if attacked. Once everything was set and locked up, she moved to the back of her home and smiled at the Addapard grazing there. Mitsuru poked his head up, moving over to Shizue to place his face against her own with a strange like purr coming from his chest. She giggled, rubbing his neck before kissing his nose and spoke to the animal before her as if talking to another being."We have somewhere to go and I have a feeling your not going to like it." she replied as she watched his ears go back and they down so she could get them ready for the trip. Of course she was now going to deal with the boy pouting the whole trip and being on the defensive around her so she pitied the one who tried to attack her. She saddled him up, adding the packs to his holders before gracefully climbing on as Mitsuru stood. He jumped over the fence, dashing off into the night with Shizue leading him in the direction to the temple. It was not long before they arrived, others already gathered near the entrance and she wondered if they too had gotten the same letter or if they were a part of this. Well, at least I am not the first or only to arrive or I might have been nervous." Shizue stated before hopping off her ride and carefully petting the others fur to keep him calm. Mitsuru let her calm him a bit before he moved away from her side, headed for a place to lay down or hide till she returned for him once more but his ears stayed perked and on high alert.

Zayric laughed a bit as the animal before him licked his face. He loved animals but he had never gotten one of his own since he didn't think he was up for that kind of responsibility but that didn't mean he didn't still wish he had one. "So what are your names? Not much use sitting around here and just calling each other mister and misses" Zayric asked as he gave Siku a pet with his suit's hand.

Tikaani smiled and crossed and placed her hands on her hips. "Well. That's Siku." Siku purred at her name and nuzzled more against Zayric. "And now you will always be your friend."Tikanni laughed and walked over to them. "I'm Tikaani. What's your name?" She patted Siku on the back, making her back off of him.

"Hmph," Jalika grunted again, "Alright," she said unevenly. "I'll go witchu, but," she took a wobbling step toward him, holding a wavering finger in his general direction, "Those not-exactly-spies keep and eye on the grove while I'm gone, okay?"

When the White Lotus man agreed she flung her arms into the air, "Okay! You hire a ferry for me?" She could fly on a spider-moth, and they were willing to let her, but she preferred not to make them. If she needed a ride, she could call them from a distance with a special mix of pollens she kept in a bag.

"I'm not supposed to tell you too much." the gunman said to Sanrock. "Only that they could use you in Republic City for a matter of great importance, and soon. I've been instructed to secure your entry into the city and tell you where to go, should you accept."

"Cricket." the thief said plainly in response to Zayric. He cracked the door once again to see what the noise coming from outside was and spotted a young woman with a riding animal he didn't recognize. "If you're here because the White Lotus contacted you, I suggest you come in before you draw attention to your presence."

"Yes, naturally." the Lotus member said to Jalika. "I've been instructed to provide you with both a ride to the border and a ferry into the city, although I won't be able to accompany you for the latter. Are you ready to go?"