[IC] Sacred World (Engel x The Kraken)

[Engel]

“Don’t worry, Lady Sergeant. I’ll protect your fleshy bits.” Avani said. “They’re my favourite parts of you, after all.”

She was disappointed when Kasai said she had not brought her cuffs with her, but she should be focusing on saving their friends, not what she had been focusing on for most of the time they had spent alone together. It was probably for the best.

Avani followed Kasai, grinning when she noticed how the woman rubbed her hand over the hickey she had left on her neck. She didn’t say anything though, but it occurred to her that it might be difficult for her to hide it from their friends as she had ruined her coat already. Mio would definitely be pissed if she noticed it.
They arrived at a body of water. In the middle of it, a distance from the shore, a massive tree could be seen. She couldn’t see any island below the tree, rather its roots were forming a base in the water, probably extending far into the water. It was a surreal environment. Avani whistled at the sight, impressed and in awe.

“I ain’t afraid of anything.” She said to Kasai, but she was worried she wouldn’t be able to use her earthbending up in the tree if they had to climb to the top.

Avani waited for the woman to turn her back on her again. The mischievous smile appeared on her face, and she used her earthbending to jump up on Kasai’s back, grabbing a hold of her and shouting. “Yip, yip, Kasai!”

The smaller woman couldn’t prevent the combination of Avani’s weight and her speed from pushing them both into the water. There was a splash as they hit the water. Thankfully, it was not too cold or too hot. It was surprisingly deep right at the edge of the shore too. Avani surfaced with a bubbling laugh.

“I’m glad I didn’t bet anything on the theory that cops could fly.” She splashed her hand into the water, making a wave move in the direction of Kasai, who didn’t seem all that happy about having been jumped.

Avani’s mood dampened slightly as well, when she realized what she had given up just for a prank. If she hadn’t jumped Kasai and pushed them both into the water fully clothed, they may have gotten undressed on the shore to avoid getting their clothes wet.

“That was thoughtless and childish of me.” Avani sighed, acting genuinely sorry about what she had done. “I should have waited until you had undressed.” She laughed and splashed more water at Kasai, before setting off to swim the distance to the tree.

Swimming with only one good arm was not as problematic as she had expected it to be, even if it did slow her down compared to Kasai and got more water in her face than what was usual for her when swimming.It proved problematic to get onto the roots of the tree once she reached it though.They were smooth and wet, making the surface quite slippery. She managed eventually when she found a good spot to climb up on.

She turned to look up the trunk of the tree. “I’m not certain I can climb this with one functioning arm. I could brag and say I’ll beat you to the top, Kasai, but now I’m honestly concerned what may happen if one of us falls. Well, me in particular. Do we have any rope?” Avani asked.
“Maybe I could stay down here and make sure you don’t hit the roots if you fall. You weigh nothing compared to what I usually lift.” She bragged smiling. “I doubt you could stop me from falling on the other hand.”

[The Kraken]

Kasai had no time to think before she felt something hit her with a force on her back. By the time she had realized it was Avani, it was already too late. The pair were sent careening towards the water, all the while down Kasai could hear Avani laughing.

Bubbles rose to the surface before Kasai popped her head out of the water, her hair lying flat against her face and obstructing her view. She huffed and moved the locks out of her face before glaring at Avani and spitting out the water that had invaded her mouth when she had hit the surface.

For a moment it seemed as if Avani sincerely regretted the action, but then the conversation turned to one of a different nature and Kasai splashed water back in her direction. "Keep your head out of the gutter, kid. There could be catgators in these waters, ya never know." Kasai smirked and then started swimming towards the large tree, which only grew larger as the distance to it grew shorter.

It was difficult at first to navigate up the roots, but both had managed to stand firmly at the base of the tree after several attempts at climbing up. Kasai ran her hand along the trunk of the tree, feeling the moss and moisture that lay upon it. When Avani began questioning about rope, Kasai looked to the soaking bag at her side and pulled it off.

"You have so little faith in me, I'm stronger than I look ya know." Rummaging through the pack, she managed to find a bit of string, which she held up with a meager grin. "That's a negative. Hm..." She looked around, trying to conjure up how even one of them would manage making it to the top.

"I don't suppose you could just sprout some wings and fly us up there?" Laughing lightly, she looked up and noticed several vines hanging down from lower lying branches of the great tree. "Bingo."

It took her a moment to trust her footing enough to climb up the tree several feet and grab hold of a vine. She yanked on it, pulling down as much length as she could before severing it with a bit of flame.

Cautiously, she threw one end of the vine over the closest branch and climbed back down. When her feet hit the base of the tree again, she almost slipped. A nervous laugh escaped her before she handed one end of the vine to Avani, tying the other end around her waist.

"Okay, now I'll climb up and you make sure I don't fall to my death. Easy enough?" She approached the tree cautiously and began climbing up, careful to where she placed her hands and her feet. Glancing over her shoulder, she called out, "Try not to let the catgators get you. You aren't much good to me dead."

Steadily, she advanced up the trunk of the tree. Tension built up in her muscles at the thought of falling and cracking her head open on the rough surface below. She climbed over on to a branch that sat below the canopy of the tree and looked down. It was quite the drop, but she had made it to the top. She gave Avani a thumbs up, not all excited about what may happen next.

Cautiously, she made her way to the top of the canopy, peeking her head over the top. In the middle she could see two figures, trapped inside what looked like one of the sacs from the goo monster they had faced before. Checking to make sure there were no spirits nearby to attack her, she climbed all the way to the top and stealthily walked to the sac.

As she got closer, she could see one figure lying on the floor of the sac, and she knew it was Kieron. Swallowing hard, she kept her head straight and approached the trap. "Mio? Are yo in there? It's Kasai, are you guys okay?"

[Engel]

“I’d love for you to show me how strong you are, but some other time.” Avani said.

She watched as Kasai pulled string out of the bag, and wondered why someone had packed string, but no rope. They had to settle for the vine that Kasai got down from the tree. It was tied to a branch higher up and then around the woman’s waist.

“Yup, no worries.” Avani said with one end of the vine in her hands, and then she enjoyed the view as Kasai began to climb up the tree trunk. “Aw, you almost sound worried for me.”

Avani turned her eyes away from Kasai’s behind when she mentioned catgators though. There should be corrupted spirits around if nothing else, so where were they? It was surprisingly silent and calm, which made the situation kind of eerie.

She smiled as Kasai gave her a thumb up after reaching the top, but held onto the vine with a firm grip. Neither of them had any idea what was up there, and it was possible she may be pushed off. Avani didn’t want to be the reason someone else died.

There were gurgling noises coming from within the sac. Mio heard a voice from outside though, and saw a silhouette. It certainly wasn’t Avani based on the shape, and the words of the voice confirmed it. She felt as if she should care more than she did, but the toxins of the sac had made her docile and numb.

“No…” She answered Kasai’s question if they were okay. “I’m not okay.”

Mio was fairly certain she was dying, and Kieron, well, he was already dead as far as she could tell. She attempted to move towards Kasai, but was stuck in place. She used her arms to dig through the sac and look Kasai in the eyes. She doubted she could be saved from the state she was in.

The sac had already consumed parts of her face, and the rest of her body. The skin was gone in places. She wanted to believe she would have been happy that Avani didn’t get to see her like this

“Is Avani alive?” She asked when she came face to face with Kasai. “If she is, you two need to get out of here before a similar fate befalls you.”

Mio felt the sac reacting to her movements, slowly closing the gap she made, but trying to reach out for Kasai to pull her inside with them as well. “It’s eating me alive.” Mio stuttered, tears beginning to stream down her face. “I was so scared when it trapped us, and then I got to watch as it dissolved Kieron.” Mio shook her head, there was nothing more to fear. She had kind of accepted her end, because of the poison injected into her. “I’m sorry.”

With what little power she had left she used her airbending to blow Kasai out of the tree. Hopefully she would hit the water, but either way it was better to die from a fall and a broken back than the way the two of them had gone.

Avani felt the vine straining as Kasai fell out of the canopy. She smirked, thinking she shouldn’t have jinxed her by imaging she may be pushed out of the tree by something at the top. Fortunately the vine didn’t snap and she was able to lower Kasai to the roots of the tree safely.

“They weren’t up there?” Avani said, wishing that it was the truth instead of whatever Kasai must have seen.

They didn’t get much chance to talk about it, as the winged spirits returned from hiding in the clouds and dived towards them.

“So much water and no waterbender.” Avani stated, fretful for how well she would be able to fight without any major source of earth nearby.

[The Kraken]

Kasai was relieved to hear a voice answer from the other side of the sac, but her moment of relief was soon squashed by the fact that Mio answered coldly and plain. A simple "no" sent all of Kasai's hopes fleeting out of her chest.

When Mio dug through the lining of the sac and appeared, Kasai had a natural reaction to gasp and cover her mouth with her hands. The stonewall way that the airbender spoke sent a shiver down her spine, and she held back losing the small breakfast they had in sight of a decomposing, yet still living, human being.

"Avani? Yeah she's fine, she's down there and we're gonna-" Her thought was cut off by the reacting sac wall and Mio's last words. "No, no, don't you worry. I'm gonna get you out of here and-" Kasai had to step back as the moving skin tried to stretch towards her, but before she could stretch her arms out to grab Mio, a blast of air sent her reeling off the top of the tree.

Hot tears could be felt wetting her face as she fell, her eyes were shut tight until Avani stopped her from plummeting to the roots below and instead lowered her to safety. When her feet hit the base of the tree, she nearly collapsed. Quickly wiping her face, she looked at Avani and shook her head, knowing that her expression was probably enough to get the message across.

"They're... gone." There was little time to say much more as a screech came from above, and winged spirits swooped down towards them. Kasai turned and tried to assure her footing on the slick tangle of roots. As several creatures dove at them, she sent her foot across her body in an arc and sent a wall of flame that expanded above the two women, scorching the incoming attack.

The defensive move did little as a barrage of spirits was headed in a bee-line straight for the two. Flapping wings and screams filled the air while the spirits circled them, swooping in and out as they tried to peck and claw at Kasai and Avani.

Bursts of flames shot from Kasai's palms and feet as she combined attacks to fend off the incoming flyers, but they were outrageously outnumbered for the time being.

"Avani, try the mud!" Kasai had no idea if earthbenders could bend the sediment from water, but stuck on an island in the middle of a lake didn't offer much more of a choice.

It was probably quite the sight from the lake shore, what would appear to be a flock of birds circling their prey as they struggled to survive. However, from within the mask of winged spirits, it was chaos. A spirit swooped down at Kasai from behind, and when she saw it from her peripheral, she attempted to dodge the attack.

Unfortunately, she lost her footing and her left leg slipped down between two roots. The spirit was coming in hot, but when she fell its attack was skewed, but not enough so. The talons of the spirits claws sliced Kasai's face, leaving a gash that formed a diagonal across her cheek and over her lips.

A scream escaped her and a metallic taste filled her mouth as blood streamed down her face. When she looked back up from the first attack, another spirit was now diving at her from the front. She shot a flame with one of her hands, but the creature was too close to be diverted and it hit her, sending her back.

A crack was heard as her body was sent back with force, but her leg still wedged between the roots. She screamed out even louder this time. The only partially beneficial aspect to the situation was that firebending was fueled by emotion, and right now her emotions were screaming at her with pain and rage.

Within seconds, a spark was twinkling between her fingers. White lightning had been channeled from her inner chi and now exited her being, arcing through the sky and shocking many of the spirits before she fell exhausted, at which point all she could do was try to free herself from the roots that were trapping her.

"Avani, get out of here. There's too many of them, we don't both need to die!"

[Engel]

Kasai’s simple statement that their friends were gone was devastating. Avani steeled herself though. There would be time to grieve them later, but only if they survived the mess they were currently in. Kasai did her best to fight off the spirits, while Avani attempted to bend the mud nearby.

It was a fairly inefficient way of fighting, as throwing rocks and boulders actually hurt the ones hit, but mud just seemed to make the spirits angrier. She aimed for what she thought were their heads, trying to blind them. However, it gave her an idea for how they may be able to escape to the shore much faster than swimming.

Avani covered herself in the mud, using it as armour instead of projectile weapon. She punched and kicked at the spirits that came for her. Avani heard Kasai scream, but was occupied with fighting off the spirits that were currently attacking her. She dodged instinctively when Kasai shot lightning at the spirits. She hadn’t expected that, and it was a bit too close for comfort.

When Kasai told her to leave her, Avani turned to look at the firebender who was beaten, bleeding and stuck with her leg in the roots. She didn’t want to be the reason someone else perished, but it wouldn’t really be her fault either if Kasai died here like this. She figured what she said was true too, better one returned than no one at all.

Avani turned her back towards Kasai, and took a couple of steps towards the water while the spirits clawed at her mud armour. She had a strong feeling of regret and loss, a sort of premonition of events she would miss out on if she took another step. A choice between two different futures, one where she may be the sole survivor, and one that may include Kasai, but there were no guarantees and either path could lead to her dying today.

“I apologize, Kasai.” Avani said. “I’d like to say this will hurt me more than it will hurt you, but it really won’t.”

She dried the mud on her right leg as much as possible, standing still and seemingly hesitating, but then she turned back around to face Kasai. Avani had a faked version of her sly smile plastered on her face. She took the steps over to Kasai, aimed carefully with her leg raised and then slammed it down with all the force she possessed, both the physical prowess and the earth bending. There was a crushing sound as she broke Kasai’s leg and the roots, sending splinters flying.

Avani bent down and picked up Kasai, throwing her over her shoulder. She would have carried her in her arms if one of them weren’t in such bad shape. The winged spirits kept coming, but she began to enclose Kasai within the mud armour as well.

She patted Kasai’s behind with her hand. “This is mine, not yours, so back off.” Avani said to the spirits.

She went back to the water and was about to jump in when the sun blinded her. One of the spirits noticed the light reflecting in Avani’s eyes and dove for it with precision. Its claws penetrated her left eye, and she felt a sudden temporary blindness combined with a sharp pain when the claw was retracted. When she saw the eye in the claws of the winged spirit she realized what had happened, the blindness wouldn’t be so temporary.

“Take a deep breath, Kasai.” Avani said before plunging into the water.

She made them heavier, and sank towards the bottom. Thankfully, it didn’t take long for them to end up on the bottom of the lake where mud and earth was plentiful. Avani used her favourite trick to quickly get them out of the lake and away from the tree. She made earth cling onto her feet, then surfed toward the shore.

Avani was finding it harder and harder to continue without any air, but they surfed up onto the shore and into the fresh air. She took a couple of deep breaths, then looked in the direction of the tree. The winged spirits were clearly confused about where their prey had disappeared too, but she doubted they would be for long, so she dropped the mud armour and created a rock as large as the one she had used to steal the cache with yesterday.

She laid Kasai down on it, feeling her own adrenaline beginning to fade. The wound in her eye socket began to hurt more with each passing second as the adrenaline faded. She made the rock beneath them move in the direction of the portal, and removed her crop top to tear it in half. One half she put against the wound Kasai had across her cheek and lips, the other she pushed carefully into her own eye.

“I got you.” Avani said, and the tears began to flow at the thought of those she had lost. “I got you.” She repeated, leaned on Kasai and kissed her lips gently, tasting blood, which was at least a sign they were both alive.

They moved faster across open areas with Avani’s rock, but there weren’t many of those in the forest. The longer she had to move the rock at the same speed, the more exhausted she got, but she tried to get as far as she could move them both, even if it meant collapsing.

[The Kraken]

Kasai saw Avani turning away to escape in the water, and her heart sank a little. True, it was what she herself had told the other woman to do, but another part of her wished she were escaping with her instead of watching her leave. Kasai closed her eyes for a moment, then looked back down at her leg and continued to struggle to free it from the tangled mess it was trapped in.

Much to her surprise, Avani froze in her footsteps and uttered another sentence. Kasai assumed it was a last-ditch effort before she took off to escape the attacks, one last sarcastic remark before the spirits clawed Kasai to bits. It didn't surprise her much, what did surprise her was the sight of a earth-ridden leg that came crashing down on her own.

Cries of pain blurted out as a resounding crack echoed from the splintering wood and bone. Which splitting sound was her own leg breaking? Who knew. All she could feel now was an intense pain pulsing up her leg and throughout her entire body. She felt like every nerve in her body was on fire, igniting the pain that coursed through her veins.

A sense of weightlessness was felt when Avani picked her up, but she had little strength to aid in her transportation. She felt a pat on her rear and a trademark snarky comment from Avani. Kasai smiled weakly and tried to help defend against the incoming spirits before the mud encased her, preventing her from bending anymore.

At Avani's command, Kasai drew in as much air as she could. The water slipped around them and they sank to the bottom of the lake, where they started pressing towards the shore. A burning sensation was developing in her lungs, and she released half of the air she held to relieve some of the pressure. By the time they surfaced on the other side of the lake, Kasai was coughing out water and gasping for air.

The earth could be felt shifting beneath her, but at this point Kasai was on the verge of losing consciousness. Fabric was pressed to her face, and she looked up to see it was in fact Avani's shirt, sopping up the blood that had stained her face.

"Couldn't you take you clothes off at a time I could enjoy it a little more?" A weak laugh escaped her before she coughed again. The last thing she experienced before slipping into unconsciousness was Avani's voice and lips pressed against her own.

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Wrapped in the sterile white sheets of a bed that occupied an equally white room, the young firebender lay sleeping off the round of pain medication that the doctor had injected into her system. A nurse opened the door to her room and brought in a clipboard that held information on her release from the hospital, left on a table at her bedside for when she woke.

Sleepily, Kasai's eyes fluttered open and she inhaled deeply. The drugs still lingered in her system, but she woke at the sound of the door closing. Her eyes fell to her leg, which was wrapped in a cast and propped up on a pillow. Stitches pulled the skin of her cheek and lips back together, which was starting to scar over now.

It had been nearly a week since she and Avani had managed to escape through the spirit portal. Both beaten and bruised to no end. Kasai had spent the first 3 days in the hospital in an unconscious state, but several days ago she woke. Turning her head to the clipboard on the table, she grabbed it and read. She would be released that afternoon after the doctor gave her one last check.

A pair of crutches leaned against the wall to her right, and a simple display of flowers sat on the nightstand, a get-well gift from the police department. She sighed and stared at a clock that hung on the wall, waiting for the time when she could leave this dreaded place and go back to her own home, where she could rest and recover. Though that wouldn't last too long, because the police department was holding the funeral for their fallen brother, Barron, in just two days.

Tears welled up in Kasai's eyes for the thousandth time since waking up in the hospital, without either of her best friends to comfort her. Visitors had come and gone, all telling her that they were sorry for her loss and that she was strong enough to recover physically and emotionally. They were all attempts at consoling her, but they didn't work. She grieved in her own ways, and she hoped that the funeral service would provide her with some closure of the events.

The only thing she held on to from the whole experience was Avani. She had risked her own skin to stay behind and save Kasai, and managed to get them both back to safety. How? Kasai still didn't know. But, she was grateful. The last scene that she could remember was burned into her mind, and she played it in her head over and over to hold on to that memory.

The door to her room opened again, and the doctor entered to evaluate her for release. She greeted him with a hopeful smile, praying that she would be able to leave this place and go somewhere with a little more color.

[Engel]

Avani had collapsed, right as the portal came into view, but she had made sure to aim the moving rock into it and speed it up as much as possible. Once through the portal they had been discovered by a group sent by headquarters to investigate why the radios had stopped working and if the teams were in danger.

She had awakened in a hospital bed the next day. Her arm was bandaged, and they had given her medicine for it, not that they seemed to know what they were actually dealing with. It was unlike most wounds because it had been inflicted upon her by some kind of spirit corruption. Her eye had been treated and had a white patch put over it. She had been given a lot of nutrition once she woke up.

They hadn’t required Avani to stay in the hospital for long. She could stay a couple of days if she wanted too, but she’d rather get home to her own bed. The doctor told her to come back if the arm changed for the worse. The news that she was in the hospital had barely gotten out to her family before she had been released, so she had had no visitors.

There were a few from Kasai’s police department that had decided to harass her though, implying that she may have planned this end result all along. She clenched her teeth and held back tears at the thought that she had intended to kill her own friends. They had let her go when ordered by their superior, but not without argument and asking they get to “interrogate” Avani.

She hadn’t returned to the hospital to visit Kasai, nor had she sent anything to wish her she would get well soon. Avani doubted Kasai would acknowledge anything that had happened now that they were back in Republic City, each with their own people. She had decided to never contact her again.

Avani had taken to drinking away the loss of her friends. She had spent the week at bars, and then mostly at home when people began to ask questions about her arm and eye. She had the patch they had placed over her eye replaced with a black leather version. The arm didn’t get worse. She gradually became able to move it more and more with each day.

However, trying to forget Kasai and not to think about her had had the opposite effect. She thought more about her now that she figured they would never talk again than she had before. Avani had no high opinion of the truth of what Kasai had told her when they were alone, how she didn’t mind being seen with her and how they could have dinner together. There was a gnawing thought that kept telling her that maybe the woman was better than she gave her credit for. Maybe she deserved to give her a chance, to either live up to her words or turn her down.

The gnawing thought had led her to the park in front of the hospital, on the day that Kasai was supposed to be released if she had the right information. Avani sat on a bench, wearing black pants, and a black leather coat that was open to reveal a black crop top and her midriff. She was drinking from a sake bottle, which raised eyebrows and made people frown at her. There was no alcohol remaining in it though. She had drunk that days ago and replaced it with water. She was sober for once this week after getting out of the portal.

Her motorcycle was parked next to the hospital, where it should be visible by anyone coming outside. If Kasai was as good a detective as she claimed she should recognize it as Avani’s. It was what she had driven to the spirit forest on the first day they had met.

She hadn’t decided what to do yet, sit there and watch Kasai look at her and pretend like she didn’t exist, or go up and greet her so she could do the same. Once a couple of members of the police arrived she decided to sit and stare at her. She knew it may be a bit creepy, but she wanted to be proven right without talking to the woman in front of everyone she knew. Another part desperately needed Avani to be proven wrong, so she would get to hold Kasai just once more.

[The Kraken]

The hope in her smile turned out not to be misplaced when the doctor gave the thumbs up for Kasai to check out of the hospital and head home for more rest. Happily, she sat up in bed to sign off on the papers and listened as the doctor gave his last instructions for her injuries. Pain pills were given to her and she was instructed to keep off of her leg until she was to return to have the cast removed from it, and a nurse came in to remove the stitches from her face before she left.

Pain flared up again across her cheek while the nurse tugged at the strings to remove them, dabbing the partially healed wound with antiseptic that stung and made her wince a bit. Finally, she was given a pair of grey sweatpants and a black shirt to put on, seeing as the clothes she was wearing when she arrived were torn to hell and had to be cut off so that the doctors could attend to her.

After she changed into the plain outfit, she turned and took the crutches. It was difficult at first to gain her balance on the one foot after not standing for so long, but with the support of the crutches she managed to not fall over. When she hobbled out of her room and down the hall, she saw a few of her colleagues from the department waiting in the lobby for her.

A smile appeared on her face as she scanned the small group of familiar faces. A small pang of disappointment hit her when she didn't see Avani. Not that she really expected her to be there, but it had been a week already and she hadn't heard from her at all. Maybe it was better that way, perhaps the woman wanted nothing to do with her after everything that happened. Kasai might be considered bad luck after the events that took place anyway.

Small talk and words of support were given as Kasai joined her fellow officers and exited the hospital. Each gave her a hug and the talk shifted to how it'll be better when she gets back to work and how the PD could really use her back in action. She merely smiled softly and nodded along with the conversation while they walked out of the building and onto the sidewalk outside. The sun was refreshing on her skin, and she breathed in deeply, letting the fresh air fill her lungs.

The crutches stepped out in front of her, then her good foot, and then the crutches again. Her eyes remained on the ground to make sure she did not stumble on her path. Following her friends, she kept her head down and only interjected her voice occasionally. That is, until one of her colleagues mentioned the funeral set in a couple days. Kasai stopped in her tracks and looked up at the one who had mentioned it, a young man who was now hanging his head to hide his mistake.

Her glare bore into him, until something else caught her eye. Moving past the embarrassed young man, her stare fixated on a motorcycle that was parked just beyond the sidewalk. Several curious looks fell upon her, but she ignored them and continued staring at it. The familiarity of the thing was far too overwhelming, and then it hit her. She looked at the other officers, who looked concerned now.

"I can get along by myself. You all go on ahead." This was met with several protests, but Kasai glared at them, using the young man who goofed up as an example. Reluctantly, they agreed. Kasai turned around as quickly as she could with the crutches and scanned the area.

There she saw her, sitting on a bench with a bottle in her hand. A small smile played across her face, but she staved it off as she limped over to her.

"Bit early to be hitting the bottle don't ya think?"

Kasai smirked and rested on the crutches with her damaged leg hanging above the ground. She looked Avani over, noticing how well she looked for how beat up she was just days ago.

"Nice eye patch, I'm diggin' the whole pirate vibe." She realized it may be a bit too soon to joke about it, so she quickly coughed and looked down at her cast, then back up at Avani.

"So, about that dinner..." She smiled a bit, but didn't want to be too hopeful. For all she knew, Avani could be here to mock and ridicule her, or to blame her for the deaths of her friends, or worse, pay her back for all the damage caused in the spirit world. Kasai swallowed and stared at Avani nervously, running her tongue over the cut on her lip.

[Engel]

Avani perked up when she saw Kasai exit the building, but she rolled her eyes when she realized that someone must have told her that Avani was outside as she kept staring at the ground. Coward, Avani thought to herself and was about to get up to leave, but decided to wait until the pigs had left.

Something seemed to change though. Kasai turned around in search of someone and smiled when she spotted Avani, then she was heading her way and standing in front of her all of a sudden. Avani could feel a fluttering sensation in her stomach.

“Shouldn’t you know not to judge based on appearances?” Avani asked teasingly, and raised her bottle for another drink. “It’s just water. I wouldn’t want to scare everyone off. Just the judgemental majority.”

“Oh thanks, Kasai.” Avani said and rolled her eyes, but stopped herself from pointing out how it was Kasai’s fault she had lost the eye in the first place. She rose from the bench and stood in front of Kasai. “I really like your wet shirt look as well.” Kasai mentioned the dinner once more, as Avani poured the rest of the water on her chest, so that the black shirt clinged to her figure. “It’s very hot.”

She was distracted from making any more comments when she noticed Kasai’s tongue running over the scar the woman had. It brought back all those other thoughts she had had when they had been alone together. It reminded her why she had bothered coming here in the first place, and it certainly wasn’t to pick a fight with Kasai.

“Ah yes, the dinner.” She smiled earnestly. “I didn’t think you’d acknowledge my existence with so many of your colleagues around, but to tell the truth I’ve had a yearning for something quite specific the last days.” Avani stepped as close to Kasai as possible, and leaned into her to whisper in her ear. “Lady Sergeant Kasai.”

She put a hand on her hip, and kissed her on the cheek gently, making her way down until she reached her neck. Avani made a visible gesture of sucking on her neck to leave a hickey, while moving a hand slowly up beneath her shirt to rub her back, all the while staring at the other cops that were eyeing them and beginning to leave the area. She wanted them all to see what she enjoyed doing with their sergeant, who had also enjoyed it back in the spirit world at least.

Avani backed away from Kasai eventually, but not before flipping off her colleagues behind her back. She rubbed her neck and blushed, feeling as if she may have taken it too far if Kasai wasn’t comfortable with public displays of affection. She wasn’t even sure what they were to each other now. They had been supposed to be working together in the spirit world, but in Republic City they had no reason to interact other than the mutual attraction that she hoped and thought was still there.

“I’m still up for dinner, of course.” Avani coughed. “We haven’t decided on that bet yet though. However, let’s leave that for later shall we? I brought something with me in case you wanted a ride home.” Avani pointed to the sidecar that she had attached to her motorcycle now, but which had previously been parked in a garage and left unused for a couple of months. “I cleaned it up for you, and um, it’s quite roomy.”

She stuttered and blushed. Why did she feel like a little school girl just for offering Kasai a lift?

“If, um, you want to ride with me.”

[The Kraken]

"My wha-?"

The water met Kasai's chest and soaked her shirt as the bottle emptied onto her. A sigh escaped her as she realized she probably deserved it after the eye patch comment, so she refrained from saying anything further on the subject and instead looked down at her chest and back to Avani.

"You seem to have a real obsession with that area of my clothing. First the coat, now this..." She looked at the other woman with her lips pressed together in an effort to look indifferent, but that didn't last long after Avani leaned in close and whispered in her ear.

Kasai could feel her cheeks growing hot with a blush as Avani moved in to fondle her. There was nothing really she could do in return to the gesture, she was standing on one leg and if she let go of either of the crutches they would fall to the ground and then she'd really be struggling to stand. Her eyes closed and she breathed in deeply, all the while wishing she could at least get a hand around Avani.

Then, the sounds of catcalls and whistling coming from the few of her police friends that stuck around broke her attention from Avani. She looked down at the ground and her face grew redder by the second until she looked over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes at them. One of them was sticking their tongue out in their direction, a return to the gesture that Avani had delivered unbeknownst to Kasai.

"Hey, didn't I tell you to get a move on? That's an order." Her voice was stern with them, but they still couldn't help but grin and snicker as they turned their backs to catch up with the others who had already gone on ahead. Well, it could've been worse. At least they didn't gape at the pair and throw hateful looks in their direction. Still, Kasai knew she would be the butt of the jokes for a while to come now.

At the offer for a ride, Kasai looked back to the motorcycle and then at her one leg.

"Uh, well, assuming I could even get in..." But, the offer was probably a one chance deal, and Avani did say it was roomy. Kasai smiled and nodded, quite amused by how flustered Avani had gotten over the situation all of a sudden. Kasai felt as if her confidence worked in reverse. Groping and physical contact were right down her alley, but when it came to a simple offer she became giddy.

"You cleaned it up for me?" a light laugh came from Kasai and she smiled at Avani, "Careful there Avani, wouldn't want me to think you actually liked me or something." She decided to quiet down on the teasing and instead she nodded and replaced the cheesy grin with a smile.

"Alright, I'll take you up on that offer. Might take me ages to get home otherwise," She turned around and placed the crutches in front of her, then her good leg again, slowly making her way over to the motorcycle. Then, Kasai realized she had never ridden on a motorcycle before, even if this was a sidecar to it.

"Uh, do you perhaps have an extra helmet? I wouldn't want to lose anymore brain cells than I already have over the past week." She realized she was probably overly concerned with her safety, but it was a new thing to her. Finally she had limped her way to the motorcycle where she stood and examined it, trying not to psych herself out about getting a ride from someone who didn't appear to be the most trustworthy driver.

[Engel]

As Kasai ordered the police to leave them alone and actually got them to do so, Avani felt a strong attraction towards her. It was a sudden burst, a spike in what she was already feeling towards her, and she had to control herself from letting it show or groping her some more. “What can I say; you’ve got a bosom that’s caught my attention.” She did like Kasai’s chest, but the attraction spike was like an unexpected rush she hadn’t felt before. All women had a bosom though, but few had the authority to boss others around. Avani promised herself to go for strong women in the future, if it didn’t work out with Kasai.

Avani grinned proudly as Kasai laughed at the thought of her cleaning it up just for her, then she watched the woman jump over to her bike on the crutches. She walked up behind her, and placed herself close behind her so she could whisper another indecent comment she had thought of in Kasai’s ear. “Maybe I just want a chance to see you naked. Maybe I want to make sure I get to do that more than once too, by being the best girlfriend you ever had.”

She smiled for about half a second until she realized what she had said with a slip of her tongue. “Date. I mean, date. Dinner.” Avani coughed, as if choking on the initial word she had not intended to speak. “Date, definitely nothing else.” She tried to laugh it off. “I’m far too much of a bachelorette to ever…” She decided to stop talking before she said something worse.

“You know, nevermind, and no I don’t have a spare helmet.” Avani picked the one helmet out of the sidecar, and showed it to Kasai. “Not that I ever use one myself.” She smiled, and put it on the bike for a moment so she could help Kasai get into the sidecar.

Avani cringed. Kasai was a cop, and she probably shouldn’t have made that confession to her. What was with her today? It was one stupid sentence after the other out of her mouth at this point. She took the crutches from Kasai, and leaned them against the sidecar, making sure they wouldn’t fall over right away.

“Come on, it’s made for someone my size or taller. You’ll fit.” Avani said encouragingly, then moved over to Kasai and picked her up in her arms.

The woman couldn’t move one of her legs at all, so Avani had to slide her into the sidecar carefully instead of expecting her to climb inside it herself. Her right arm was still bandaged tightly under her jacket, and she felt a sharp pain as she got Kasai into the sidecar. She took the crutches and placed them in the sidecar with Kasai. There was plenty of room for both her and her crutches. Finally, she handed her the helmet.

“I’ll drive slowly.” Avani said as she got onto the motorcycle and started it. “I wouldn’t want to make you an accomplice to a crime, Lady Sergeant.”

She drove away from the hospital, actually sticking to her word and driving as fast as the speed limit told her too, or slower at times. Avani flipped someone who honked at them off, and gave them room to pass her on the road.

“Where do you live anyway?” She asked teasingly. “I’ve been driving to the rich and upstanding citizens districts.”

[The Kraken]

All Kasai could do was stare at Avani with a questioning expression as she watched her tumble over words again, but by now Kasai took it to be a normal thing. She wasn't as surprised to hear that Avani didn't use a helmet, but was a bit worried until she did eventually retrieve one from the sidecar.

Hesitantly, she handed over the crutches and put her weight against Avani. It was a relief when she picked her up, but then Kasai remembered how her arm had been rendered useless in the spirit world, and while it may have healed, there was no way it was fully functioning already. A frown appeared on her face when she thought about how bad that must've hurt, but she knew Avani would probably take her concern for pity, so she kept the thought to herself.

Avani was right though, the little vesicle was plenty big enough for her and the crutches that sat beside her. She scooted down to where she was comfortable in the thing and then took the helmet with a grateful smile, placing it on her head and securing the strap under her chin. The rumble of the engine made Kasai jump a little, but she blinked hard once and then looked at Avani, who looked quite nice sitting up on the motorcycle. It seemed natural to her, and it contributed to her rebel look.

When they pulled away from the hospital and on to the road, Kasai felt a funny feeling in her stomach, almost like butterflies. She had done many dangerous and crazy things in her lifetime, but her first experience on, or to the side of, a motorcycle was a little intimidating to her. The ride was actually really enjoyable though, she liked the feeling of the wind on her face and through her hair. When someone honked at them though, her heart jumped and she prepared for certain death, though the other vehicle simply passed them in the other lane.

Then Avani asked where she lived and she blinked a few times. Oh right, she had no idea where Kasai lived. Luckily, she was headed in the right direction, but Kasai was far from the rich and prominent of the city.

"Good guess, but you might wanna take a left up here on Kenji Street." She waited until the earthbender turned them down the correct street and then pointed to a building on the right, pulling off the helmet as they stopped. "Police work isn't exactly as high paying as you'd think." She rummaged through the pockets of the sweatpants she wore and found her keys.

Getting out of the cart was easier than getting in, since now she could push herself up with her good leg. She sat on the side of the cart and grabbed the crutches and then stood, smiling at Avani.

"Well, here we are." She pointed to the building they had stopped at, which was a set of studio apartments. "And unfortunately for me at least, I live on the top..." Kasai sighed and walked up to the entrance to the apartments, then looked at the staircase. There was an elevator off to the side, but Kasai had never had to use it before, and she really didn't want to have to use it now. Reluctantly though, she walked over to it and hit the third button.

The two arrived on the top floor with a ding, and Kasai stepped off to the door to her apartment. She got the key into the door, but then looked back at Avani.

"Thanks for the ride," she decided to give back some of the teasing that Avani had done earlier before bringing her home, a little fun never hurt anyway. "How about you come inside for a different kind of ride?" She smirked and turned the key in the door, opening it up to her open concept apartment, where the bedroom and the living room and the kitchen all ran together with few walls and no doors in between.

[Engel]

“Don’t you take bribes or anything?” Avani asked, but turned down the street that Kasai had indicated, parked the motorcycle and turned it off. She was going to help Kasai get out of the sidecar, but the woman managed it alone so she was left standing awkwardly at the sidecar.

Avani wondered if she should follow Kasai or not. She hadn’t invited her in. In the end, she decided to make sure that Kasai would be able to get into her own apartment, and then she could leave her for the time being. It wouldn’t do if she dropped her off at her apartment and later found out she had left her to climb the stairs to the top on crutches. Fortunately, there was an elevator so she didn’t need to worry.

“Pfft, what are you complaining about? If I had broken my leg I wouldn’t have any elevator to carry me up to my apartment.” Avani said. “Not that I’d need one anyway. I can manage some stairs.”

They arrived at the top with a ding, and Kasai unlocked the door to her apartment. It was a very nice looking apartment, though Avani wondered why everything was together and it made her question if the bathroom wasn’t secluded either.

“Anytime, you need it.” Avani responded with a smile, but then she frowned when Kasai invited her in for a different kind of ride. She sighed, rubbing her face with her hand. “I’m sorry, Kasai. That was thoughtless of me to say, with the naked thing. I don’t want to pressure you into anything, and your leg is still bad from when I broke it.”

Admittedly, she had broken it to get her free as fast as possible under the circumstances, but now she had to watch Kasai struggle with it and it wasn’t something she enjoyed at all. She thought about getting back into the elevator and leaving, but then they hadn’t talked about that bet or dinner.

She stepped over to Kasai and hugged her. “I’ll be happy waiting until you’re ready. I’d love to do it whenever you feel like, but I’d hate to pressure you into it and make you regret anything that happens between us.”

Avani let go off her and stepped into the apartment anyway. “However, I will invite myself in for something to drink if you’ve got anything other than water. We haven’t talked about that dinner or the bet yet, which I think we need to settle before anything.”

She walked over to the windows and looked outside. It was quite the view and she could far from up here. Avani almost thought she could make out the building where she lived herself, but far off in the distance. She had quite the view at her apartment too, but mostly of the sea.

“So what kind of bet were you thinking about? We could do a physical thing, since I figure I’ll beat you either way.” She turned around, leaned her back against the window and grinned at Kasai. “At least you can blame it on your leg when I kick your ass then, which I would even if you were in top shape. Or did you have something else in mind? Something luck based to give you an actual chance to win, perhaps? A drinking game?”

[The Kraken]

Kasai was a little surprised at Avani's response, but relieved as well. She used one arm to attempt to return the hug, holding the crutch under her armpit and leaning in a little before shrugging. It was different then the normal attitude she had seen Avani display, granted she didn't actually know her all too well. Maybe she acted differently back here in the city than out on the mission, under different circumstances.

"Don't sweat it, a little teasing never hurt anyone." She smiled and then followed Avani into the apartment, kicking the door closed with her good leg. Walking into the living room, she leaned against her couch and watched as Avani crossed over to the windows. Kasai watched her as she looked out the windows to the city.

It was a nice view, she had to admit. One of the reasons she chose to live here. At night, the lights of the city twinkled and filled the space with amber light. Kasai spent many nights just sitting on her couch gazing out to the city, watching the artificial lighting of the buildings mix into the stars lighting up the sky.

A smirk appeared when Avani started up with the trash talking again, and she started moving over to the kitchen.

"When I'm out of this damn cast we'll have to settle that for sure." A cabinet was opened and Kasai pulled down several bottles, setting them on the countertop. Two glasses were then retrieved from a cabinet adjacent and she looked over at Avani, motioning to the liquor.

"But, if a drinking game is what you want, a drinking game is what you shall get." She examined the bottles she had pulled from her cabinet and grinned, grabbing the glasses between her fingers and making her way to the coffee table in the living room.

"Now, if you would be a dear and go grab those bottles," She shrugged, "can't really carry much, can't really walk much." Kasai shook her head and then placed the glasses down on the table. She waited for Avani to get the alcohol, and then grinned. Taking a bottle of rum, she poured two initial shots and then held up her glass before downing it.

Placing the glass back on the table she looked at the other woman and held out her hand to the options on the table: Rum, whiskey, sake, and vodka.

"Pick your poison. What game will it be? Would you rather? Never have I ever? Pennies, perhaps?" Kasai held her head up confidently and waited for Avani to pick her drink and her challenge. It may be that she was being overly cocky, but she wasn't inexperienced in this area so she had reason to believe she could win this bet.

[Engel]

“Ooooh, does the cop want to lose a fight as well as a bet now?” Avani laughed. “I’m all for kicking your ass if that’s what you are into.”

She watched as Kasai picked the bottles out of the cabinet, quite surprised by the amount of different bottles and the variety of liquor the woman owned. She thought about joking how they had more in common than she had imagined, as they both seemed to be alcoholics, but she doubted Kasai would have found it amusing.

A dear, huh? Avani smiled, feeling a bit warmer inside. She liked the feeling and thought of Kasai calling her names of endearment. It was better than kid or immature for sure. It kind of made her consider acting more like an adult, but she knew from experience what could happen if she tried to be someone she was not in a relationship. Avani grabbed all the bottles at once, and walked over to the coffee table.

She placed the bottles on the table, struggling a bit to keep them from falling out of her grip, and then watched as Kasai filled both of the glasses with rum before downing the contents out of one of them. It wasn’t until after she had done that that she offered Avani the option to choose what to drink.

“You drink out of your guest’s glass before offering them a drink, do you?” She laughed. “Such savage behaviour! I like it.”

Avani checked the labels on the bottles before making a decision, to see if there were any special or extravagant brands. “Hmm, I think I’ll have some more sake.” She said, and moved over to the other side of the table where Kasai sat. There were plenty of room in the sofa and the chairs around the coffee table, but she sat down as close to Kasai as possible. Their bodies grazed against one another as she took a seat.

“I want to sit next to you. I hope you don’t mind.” Avani smiled at her, and filled the glass that Kasai had just drunk out of with sake. “As for the challenge, I think never have I ever would be the best choice with just the two of us. It’d be a good way for you to learn what you want about me before I defeat you.” Avani put her hand on Kasai’s leg. “I suppose I should start with an easy one since you already downed some of it, wouldn’t want me to have an unfair advantage now would we?”

She raised her glass and looked into Kasai’s eyes, leaving her hand on her leg. “Never have I ever fantasised about anyone in this room.” Avani downed the sake to confirm that she had indeed fantasised about the only other person in the room, making a show of licking the glass clean before refilling it.

“Now that was just a test.” Avani said, and removed her hand from Kasai’s leg. “Let’s start for real. Never have I ever been with a guy, or been romantically involved with one.”

Avani didn’t drink, but grinned as she was certain Kasai had.

[The Kraken]

Kasai watched as Avani crossed from one side of the table to the other, taking a seat right next to her. She smiled and shrugged, "Make yourself at home, would ya."

At the sound of Avani's choice in game Kasai smirked and nodded, pleased with the event. It was a fun little game for finding out some interesting tidbits about drinking buddies, but this time it would serve a different purpose. Kasai's gaze followed Avani's hand down as it found itself resting on her leg, which made her smile just a bit.

"Bring it on,"

The first round went by as a way for Avani to make up for the warm up shot Kasai had already sent down to her gullet. After hearing the terms of the initial round, the smirk grew on her face. It was interesting to know, though with all that happened in the spirit world she didn't figure it was completely out of the question. Especially when Avani was loopy and without a good pint of blood.

Kasai took her glass in her hand and raised it, her brows lowering and lips pressed in a flat line as Avani's official first go around was announced. Raising her glass, she directed it to her mouth where she sent the burning liquid to the back of her throat and down her esophagus to her stomach. There was a brief tingling sensation at the back of her throat before she grinned and looked at Avani.

"I have a feeling you already knew the answer to that one, you're just trying to loosen me up a bit aren't you?" A light laugh escaped her and then she refilled her glass while she thought on the next question.

She pondered what kind of terms she should offer. It was a given that the conversation would shift to one of a darker nature after a couple shots, but Kasai thought it may be good to get a feel for what kind of person Avani really is early on, especially since those first two shots were already making her feel more confident. Ah, nothing like a little liquid courage.

"Alright," She smiled and looked at Avani, "Never have I ever had a one night stand." Kasai did not touch her drink, and waited to see if Avani would have to drink hers.

Either way, it woudn't change Kasai's opinion of Avani. She mostly just wanted to see if the other woman was the type to court or one who preferred a physical relationship and little else. Kasai had been in few serious relationships herself, but she still was not one to have a one night stand. If Avani had, she was curious for her explanation for it.

[Engel]

“You’re about as fun to flirt with as a wall, aren’t you.” Avani muttered, when Kasai’s reaction to the first round’s statement was to not drink and smirk some more, generally ignoring Avani’s confident flirting attempt.

She had been shot down before, but rarely in as cold as manner as what Kasai had just done. She felt like wiping that ugly smirk off of her face, and combined with how hurt she felt at the knowledge that Kasai had never once thought about her that way it annoyed her to no end.

“Thanks for letting me know you never once thought about me in that way though.” Avani moved away from Kasai, seating herself at the other end of the sofa. “You spent a whole week in a hospital doing fuck all, but nope.”

She sighed, feeling dumb for letting this obviously straight girl get under her skin. Why was she even here? The realization that this was such a horrible mistake hit her right then and there. She should have ignored the gnawing thought that Kasai was any different than the rest, because apparently she wasn’t. She turned her face away from Kasai, not wanting her to see the increasingly sad expression on her face.

“Yeah, I knew the answer, but loosening you up would probably take actual chemicals or like lava.” She kept her voice cool, even though she could feel a lump in her throat threatening to make it audible what she was really feeling by inserting cracks in her speech. She didn’t need this woman to see her as weak.

Wow, she mouthed as she heard Kasai’s first statement in their game. So that was what she thought of her? Avani didn’t drink, which she assumed had to come as a major shock to the proper straight girl. After all, Avani was just someone who slept around with a lot of different girls as a game. She had no feelings to speak of herself.

She didn’t want to be around Kasai anymore, let alone play this game with her. Avani wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. She stood up and put her glass on the table. Avani made sure to keep her back towards Kasai.

“I’m sorry. I knew this was a mistake before I even showed up at the hospital.” Avani said, with a cracking voice. “You’re nothing like me.”

She strode through the apartment towards the door, but stopped halfway. “Never have I ever led someone on that I had no interest in romantically.” She said, a hint of disgust in her sad voice. “Drink up why you don’t you, Kasai. You may as well make it a double.”

Avani opened the door to the apartment and slammed it after her, running down the stairs to make sure Kasai had no way of catching up with her. She didn’t cry, but she felt so incredibly foolish and naïve for everything she had done and everything that had happened. She supposed she’d get blackout drunk tonight and forget this ever happened, if she could.

[The Kraken]

Kasai looked at Avani and gave a look of confusion after she had moved away from where she had sat down just a few moments earlier. It was unknown to her what had set Avani off, but it was becoming apparent that she had definitely done something wrong in the last thirty seconds.

"Wait, what?"

Her face showed the confusion her brain was trying to work out, and she tried to scoot closer to Avani and speak with her about what had suddenly gone so wrong. It was a failed attempt though, because now Avani was standing up and striding across the room towards the door. Kasai was left with her eyebrows in a knot and her mouth slightly agape.

"Avani, wait, let me explain-"

She put her hand out towards Avani, but it was no use because her back was turned to her. The last words Avani spoke before closing the door behind her hit Kasai like a ton of bricks. Leading her on? That certainly was not her intention. Kasai quickly grabbed the crutches that leaned against the other side of the couch and started to make her way to the door as fast as she could manage.

It was no use though, by the time she opened the door, she could hear Avani's footsteps disappear outside the first floor, and by the time she pressed the button for the elevator, the sound of the motorcycle starting and taking off told her that she was a little too late on that one.

Frustrated, Kasai went back inside to her apartment and sat on the couch, staring at the glasses and bottles that sat upon the table. A sorrowful sigh escaped her and she grabbed her glass, filling it up to the brim with rum before she held it up.

"Way to fuck it up," she said to herself, before emptying the entirety of the glass down her throat.

There was a reason Kasai hadn't been in many relationships before. It always seemed that she was able to say the absolute worst thing at the absolute worst time. Unintentionally, of course. It wasn't like she found joy in watching people walk out her door, never to return. Oblivious to most things, she usually ended up alone and without anyone other than Kieron and Barron. But now, even they were gone.

Hanging her head in her hands, she grit her teeth and clinched her jaw, furious at herself for letting something silly like that ruin whatever that spark could have turned in to. Another shot filled her glass, and went down the hatch.

By now, Kasai was feeling the effects of the alcohol. She was far from drunk, but the substance was definitely affecting her judgement. Moping around for the next few hours, she kicked herself and ridiculed herself. This is why you're alone. She stared at the alcohol on her table, but figured that getting plastered wasn't going to solve anything, let alone mix well with the pain medication she had been taking.

It was late afternoon now, turning into early evening. Kasai assumed that Avani would soon be hitting the bars downtown to drink away the misery that Kasai had caused. No matter what she did, Kasai could not stop thinking about the desperate and disappointed tone in Avani's voice before she left. Never before had she cared so much after someone had walked out on her.

That was the moment she decided that she wasn't going to let Avani slip away like that, at least not without Kasai being able to apologize to her and explain herself. However, it did not take a genius to figure out that giving her a call and asking to talk over coffee was not going to work. Avani was probably closer to dropping a boulder on Kasai than she was to speaking to her.

Kasai worked up an idea in her head and grabbed the phone that sat on the end table of her couch, telling the operator to patch her through to the police department. A friendly voice met her, and she sat up to talk more clearly.

"Zari, it's Kasai. I need you to do me a favor..." Kasai went on to tell the man that he and his partner needed to go downtown and pick up a woman named Avani Shailesh, that she was needed for questioning.

"But the captain hasn't said anything about-"

"This doesn't need to be mentioned to the captain. Now do as I say, you and Tai go and get this girl and send someone over here to bring me to the station." Kasai interjected.

There was a moment of hesitation before the man agreed and hung up the phone. Kasai breathed a sigh of relief before standing and going to her bedroom to change out of the grungy hospital clothes she had on. It was a struggle in the trouser area, so she opted for black slacks and her police coat.

Making her way downstairs, she waited for her ride and prepared herself for whatever may come once she gets to talk to Avani one on one, knowing she very well may be talking to a person who has hatred in their eyes for her.

[Engel]

Avani drove away from Kasai’s apartment, heading nowhere in particular. She felt like driving just to keep her mind off how much of a fool she had been. How could she have been so careless that a straight girl, a cop no less, was able to hurt her so? Ryuu would have laughed with her about it, but he was no longer around. Mio had kind of already warned her before she perished as well.

Avani had to stop her motorcycle, as the thoughts of her dead friends coupled with the pain Kasai had inflicted on her made her cry. It was difficult to see anything while driving with tears in her eyes. She sat staring out over the harbour and the sea from the hill she had parked on. It made her reminisce about carefree childhood days with Ryuu, and that actually made her feel better somehow, not worse.

She started the motorcycle back up half an hour later, and kept driving around the city. She visited the areas where she had spent most of her time with Ryuu and Mio, their apartments and their favourite places. It took her a couple of hours to travel between them all. At the end, she drove downtown to visit their favourite bar and get blackout drunk as she had planned. She wished she would have gotten the choice to save either of them over Kasai, but fate was a cruel mistress.

The bar was named the Lizard’s Head, for whatever reason she had forgotten. Ryuu had known though since he used to work here whenever they needed extra staff. It was a friendly place to her kind, much better than what she been forced to endure today. Avani entered the bar and was greeted as if she was a regular, even though she hadn’t been here for a whole week now.

She took a seat at the bar, and ordered her first drink. Avani was mainly ignored by anyone that wasn’t the bartender. They could probably tell that she wasn’t in the best mood. About an hour or two later, a police car pulled up outside of the bar. Avani didn’t react until they entered the bar and began to ask around for someone with her name.

She doubted there would be two Avani Shailesh here tonight, so she got up from the bar and pushed her way past everyone towards the exit. One of the cops tried to stop her to ask for her name, but she was certainly not in the mood to talk with any cops so she shoved him aside. He didn’t like that one bit, not like she cared though. Unfortunately, the bartender traitor called out her name because she hadn’t paid for her last drink.

Avani took off running out into the streets, or rather she gave it her best shot, but as drunk as she was it was pretty hard to run straight. The cops soon caught up to her, and with their usual logic wanted to arrest her because no one who was innocent would try to run from the law. Except the law was corrupt and evil as far as she knew.

She decided to fight them with her bending, and to her credit the fight lasted longer than it should have. However, they got her in handcuffs eventually. It didn’t stop Avani from fighting though. Once they got in the car, she began to earthbend once more, so that the police officers had to give up on transporting her by car lest they end up in a car crash. She was pulled out of the car and knocked unconscious somehow.

When Avani woke up again, she was in a grey room that had a couple of chairs and a table on the roof. She tried to move her feet to break out of the room, and realized she was hanging upside down from the actual roof. The table and chairs were on the floor. She moved her arms, only to find them strapped to her body with one of those shirts they put on insane people. She screamed, but lo and behold, found that her mouth had some kind of fabric in it.

The door opened, and a man and a woman walked inside. She recognized the woman instantly and glared at Kasai. The man said something about how they had Kasai to thank for capturing whoever this very capable criminal was, and how they had been forced to restrain Avani by unconventional means as she had managed to fight them first while drunk, then in the car and finally while drugged. He promised to credit Kasai in his report for this important arrest, even though he had no idea what crime Avani had committed apparently. At the suggestion that he remove the gag from Avani’s mouth, so that Kasai could speak with her he said that she had quite the foul mouth but agreed in the end.

“This is some kinky fucking shit, but I guess it goes right into playing with people like you pigs love to do.” Avani shouted. “Screw you Kasai.”

[The Kraken]

Kasai had made it to the station before the two officers were able to find Avani and bring her in. There was muttering around the floor where Kasai had gone to wait at her desk. Technically she wasn't cleared to be back at work yet, and she could tell by the glances and murmurs directed at her that she had unintentionally caused a ripple withing the PD.

The captain had probably already found out about her having some fellow officers bring in a woman without any prior probable cause. Nothing she couldn't wiggle her way out of... hopefully. An officer with a good reputation had a little leeway within the department, so Kasai had that to her advantage. The problem would be getting both herself and Avani out without any harmful side effects.

A younger officer approached Kasai and grinned.

"We got her. She's in the interrogation room now. Er- the third interrogation room..."

There were two rooms with the standard table and chairs, used for day to day questioning and witness statements. But then there was the third room... it was furnished with some special equipment for those who were particularly difficult or dangerous to get into an interrogation room.

Kasai put a hand over her face and shook her head. It was somewhat expected, she knew that Avani wasn't fond of the police, nor would she go down without a fight.

"Alright, thanks Tai." She stood and began to make her way over to the booking area, where Avani would be.

"Say, isn't that the same girl that was all over you this morn-"

Kasai's glare cut through the kid like a laser. He coughed and cleared his throat, then turned on his heel and walked the opposite direction. Continuing towards room #3, Kasai had to steady her breathing for fear of going in there all flustered. Unfortunately, she was met outside the room by the Lieutenant, and she cursed under her breath.

"Sergeant Inoshi, glad to see you're still making yourself useful considering your condition." The man motioned towards her cast and she shrugged. This definitely wasn't going to be easy to get out of...

The lieutenant opened the door for Kasai and followed her in. Avani was strung up from the roof, arms bound and mouth gagged. Kasai had to physically prevent herself from letting her jaw drop at the sight. Must've been one hell of a fight for this kind of treatment... The lieutenant explained the significance of the arrest and it only made Kasai realize she had dug herself a pretty deep hole. Avani was allowed to speak and the lieutenant left, leaving only the two women.

It was pretty obvious that Avani was drunk, intoxicated by whatever combination of drinks she had managed to down before the cops caught up to her. The hatred and hurt was apparent in her eyes, like Kasai had feared. She looked up at Avani with sorry eyes.

"Avani, please, I just want to talk to you. But you need to be sober when I say what I want to say." Kasai turned her back to leave, ignoring anymore hateful statements that would come her way as she exited.

Kasai waited a few hours. It was well into the night now, darkness seeping into the streets and alley ways. The whole time was spent thinking about what she would say, how she would say it, and what she would do if Avani still hated her. Enough time had passed that Avani should be sobered up, so Kasai went back to the room and opened the door, looking at the woman hanging from the ceiling still.

There was a sincere look across Kasai's face, and she frowned. It wasn't likely that Avani would agree to genuinely listen to Kasai, but it sure would be more convenient if they were both facing one direction.

"I'll let you down, but you have to promise to listen to what I have to say."