kryusa

Avatar: The Price of Freedom

Asha's facial expression turned into one of sympathy as she seen how Siku was taking the whole situation; she could certainly understand why the older girl wouldn't want to leave, this was her home...and home was a hard place to leave. When she heard they were most likely going to go to one of the Fire Nation's Islands, she was pretty excited. This would be her first time ever leaving Republic City and despite the people after them she was eager to see the world.

"Okay, just let me go and get some things really quick," The brunette mumbled before side-stepping Yakedo and Katsu on her way out to get her possessions. She quickly formed an air ball and rode it to her room, gathering a small bookbag and shoving a few clothes, extra hair ties, and of course her cat owl. She also grabbed a small amount of money that she had accumulated from her jobs of babysitting; it wasn't much, but it should be enough for food and the like.

After she had packed up her things, she quickly explained the situation to her family and friends who were all awake and said her goodbyes. They were reluctant to let her go, but understood that this was what she needed to do. Asha gave them all bear hugs and waved behind her as they made their way back to the ferry to go to their next destination, which was Siku's house.

----

Siku's sister, Sesi, was not taking the information and situation well...at all. Asha cringed a bit at that look that Sesi was giving her older sister. Man, Sesi could be scary when she wanted to be, she had babysitted her a few times before, and while Asha really liked the little girl, she could be a handful at times.

They all waited for Siku to gather her things and say her goodbyes, Asha standing a little awkwardly with her hands behind her back. She took a glance over at Hiresh and quirked her lips to the side; she really wished he could come along too...Hiresh was a strong warrior and would be a benefit to everyone's well being on their travels. That and Asha just liked the guy, he was nice.

Once Siku was all set they all said goodbye and left the house, soon to be saying goodbye to Hiresh. "Bye, Hiresh. I'm sure our paths will cross again soon," the brunette said with a small smile before reaching out to give him a hug. She did it quickly, hoping that he didn't dislike her affections too much.

Now they were on the road, the three of them, all unsure of what exactly was to come in the future. Asha smiled and laughed a little at Siku's comment. "I have you here to look out for me, of course!" she replied as she came to walk in between them; this adventure was going to hard, but Asha felt that she was right where she was supposed to be.

Avatar: The Price of Freedom

Asha watched as Mr. Yakedo and Katsu came through the door; Katsu looked rather unsettled as did the older man, but not as much as the boy. She cocked her head to the side in curiosity, wondering just what had transpired between the two as they took a walk. Her gaze flickered between all of the people in the room as they talked, things becoming more and more clear with each word.

"So wait...those guys think of Siku and us as accomplices? Yeah...I suppose that makes sense," the brunette said with a small shrug, getting up from her seated position and dusting herself off. So they weren't allowed to be in Republic City anymore because of some Grand Lotus members who turned bad? She sighed to herself before looking at the others and putting her hands behind her back.

Her gaze settled on Hiresh, who seemed a bit put off by being left behind in the city; she certainly hoped he would be able to join them sometime in their travels.

"I'm fine with leaving. Air benders are taught to leave worldly possessions behind and be free," Asha replied with a small smile. She tried to live by those teachings, but there was one possession that she just couldn't possibly leave behind: A plush Catowl stuffed animal. It was her most prized possession and she wouldn't leave without it. She looked over at Katsu and smiled at him, hoping to convey that she was honestly fine with what was happening. Life was constant, so that meant things were subject to change.

Avatar: The Price of Freedom

Asha smiled over at Hiresh and shrugged, "Most air benders do, but I am not of that age right now. The elders like us to wait until we are a certain age so that we have all the basic training down. They don't want really young kids flying around..." she replied with a small giggle. She could understand why the elders didn't want young children running around out on their own, but it was kind of nice to be able to adventure out alone at times.

"Yeah that would be awesome! We could all go together and have fun," The brunette said in response to Hiresh. He seemed to really love his job but it appeared that maybe he did want a little time off to go and do as he wished. Asha frowned at the thought that people were so tied down to their jobs. She remembered hearing about the past and how most people traveled around the world, their job unable to tie them down. Maybe she only liked the thought of travel because she was an air bender.

Asha looked up at Siku and cocked her head to the side. Uncle Yakedo? So she knew that man. "I hope he will help Katsu find out what to do from here on out," she said with a nod of her head. She obviously didn't know Katsu very well, but could tell that he was a nice person and only wanted to live life how he wished. She moved her gaze over at the door as she heard mumbling of voices and footsteps from outside the hut. "Oh! They must be back."

Avatar: The Price of Freedom

Asha smiled when she noticed how enthused Hiresh was as he talked about earth bending; he really seemed to love the craft and wanted to become one of the best. She didn't know Hiresh all that well and was happy that she was getting to know him better, even in the face of future danger. "Wow...yeah, I am grateful to have been able to train at an early age. The sooner the better, right?" the brunette said with a small giggle.

"The Sudhirs, huh? I will keep that in mind if I go...but I hope we can all go together sometime," Asha replied. She had a strange sense that they were going to be together for quite a while, but didn't want to just out and say that. She didn't want to worry Hiresh over those kinds of things that she only had a 'feeling' over. These feelings were sometimes right, but the future always had a chance to change, so she mostly kept those thoughts to herself. She supposed air benders could have spiritual connections that ran a bit deeper than other benders, but she didn't want to be too confident in that type of thinking; it could be dangerously miscalculated.

Asha heard Siku come out of the bathroom and thank her, for which she smiled a huge smile and clapped her hands together. "Of course, Siku! Sorry for starting the fire outside so late, someone kind of came for Katsu..." she said, her smile faltering a bit. She wasn't sure if this man was out to harm him or not, but judging by the way that both Katsu and Koinu perceived the man, she felt that he was harmless, at least for now.

"They went out for a walk on the shore," She added, not sure what else to say, since she didn't know the man personally. She just hoped that Siku wouldn't go out and follow them; she was worried too, but she knew that Katsu needed time alone with the man, to talk things out.

Avatar: The Price of Freedom

Asha watched the whole scene unfold between Katsu and his Grand Lotus guy and shifted her weight from foot to foot, an unconscious fidget she did when she was uncomfortable. Koinu seemed a bit uncomfortable as well, but also knew who this man was and wasn't immediately trying to bite the older man, so she figured it was okay for Katsu to be alone with the guy...even if she didn't want him to.

She straightened up when she remembered that she had forgotten to heat up the water for Siku. "Ah! Be right back!" She yelled, before running outside the back of the hut, fixing the fire wood and lighting it up, watching as the flames slowly caught onto the wood. She sighed a sigh of relief and silently apologized to Siku for the wait, not knowing that the water bender had already heated up the water for herself.

Just as she was going back into the house another thing sparked her memory and she quickly ran into another room, sifting through some drawers. "Aha!" the brunette exclaimed to herself when she found some clothes for Siku to wear; they weren't anything fancy, but it was enough to be considered clothes. She seen Hiresh look a bit uncomfortable as she ran through the hut on her many missions...She was about to open the door to the bathroom when Hiresh began to try and talk to her. This distracted the young girl and she simply set the clothes in front of the door on the outside, not realizing that she hadn't said a word to Siku about it.

She walked back out into the main room and couldn't help the small giggle that escaped her lips. "Thanks, your metal bending is pretty awesome, too," she replied, sitting down on a cushion on the floor to continue the conversation. "I don't know how different it is for other forms of bending, but air benders start out learning their craft at a really early age...so I guess I am proficient at air bending? What about you, Hiresh? How far along in your training are you?" the brunette watched as the older boy seemed a bit awkward at trying to keep conversation.

Avatar: The Price of Freedom

Asha giggled a little when Siku had asked if there was a bath or something that she could use; they all could use some soaking after being in the sewers for such a long time. "Sure, there is one in the hut, just let me go and start a fire outside, it will warm the water up." Asha smiled as she went to go to the door to go out back and start the flames, but was interrupted by three knocks on the door and the sound of a man, asking for Katsu.

The brunette cocked her head to the side and quickly turned around and looked at everyone else. How did someone know they were here? Were they that noisy coming down here? Asha was at a loss for words, as she didn't want to tell the man no, Katsu wasn't here if it was someone who Katsu held in high regards...she was just downright confused.

"How did anyone know we were here? Ugh...did Bo tell them?" Asha smacked a hand against her forehead and puffed her cheeks out in irritation; if something seemed suspicious at all, of course there would be someone to snitch. Bo wasn't a bad person by any means...so someone must have asked him for information...someone must have known that they were coming over here in the first place.

"I'm sorry, Katsu," She whispered before standing back from the door to let Katsu make his decision on whether or not to take the old man up on his offer.

She briefly wondered what this Yakedo man looked like, but was also scared that this man was going to force Katsu to do something he didn't want to.

Avatar: The Price of Freedom

Asha giggled a little and nodded when Hiresh commented she was a monk in moderation. That did seem to be how she was, wasn't it? All of the monk's teachings were not lost on her, but she did prefer to live life how she wanted to for the most part. Being cleanly was nice, of course, but getting dirty every now and then was life...and she kind of liked it, it made her feel free...as an air bender should feel.

Once everything had been procured for Katsu and his sabre fox, they were back out on the streets again, on their way to the ferry that was patiently awaiting Asha's return. She always appreciated Bo, the captain of the little ferry, as he never once complained about waiting up for her; he seemed to be content with reading his books and smoking his pipe. He always gave her a smile and greeted her, and no matter how many times she would apologize for holding him up, he would wave her off with a smile.

When they got to the ferry she gave Bo a big smile. "Good evening, Bo! Or night, I should say...thank you so much again for waiting up for me. I hope you don't mind but I brought some company," she said, looking up at the old man to catch his expression; he had a big goofy smile on his face, so she figured it was fine.

"The more the merrier, little air bender! Bring 'em all aboard!" Bo said, inviting everyone on with the wave of his hand.

Asha smiled as everyone got on board the ferry and as they went across the expanse of water, everything seemed calm and at peace...it felt nice to be amongst the water at night, with the moon watching their backs.

Soon they arrived on Air Temple Island. Asha gave Bo a friendly good night and he did the same to them before tying up his boat. "Okay, guys, just follow me, we'll go a bit on the outskirts of the main part of the village, that way we can maintain some privacy." The brunette knew that Katsu wasn't going to want the whole island to know of his presence, so she figured a little cot near the ocean would suit them all well. Plus, if all of the kids seen Koinu in the morning they would all freak out and try to smother him; she was trying to look out for his well-being, especially. It wasn't everyday people got to see a sabre fox.

They made it to the place Asha had talked about and looked back at everyone, scratching her head a bit. "I'm sorry, I know it isn't very big, but I think it should be fine for tonight, right?" She asked, observing her group's reaction to her decision.

Avatar: The Price of Freedom

Asha smiled at how Siku was absolutely gushing over the little fox; it was fun to see her have fun and just let go once in a while...she was one tough girl, but the brunette knew that everyone had a vulnerable side and the other girl was showing some of it right now. Since Siku was occupied with the sabre fox, Asha decided to try and look for some of the items Katsu said he would like to take. She looked around and was a bit frustrated when she couldn't find what they were looking for...ah well, Katsu should be able to find them eventually.

The brunette gave up after a while for looking for the items and let Katsu and Hiresh search for them as she watched Siku talk to the fox and find the toys he was going to take with them. The smile never left her face as she observed until she was addressed by their cop friend.

"Oh! Well, I just think that life isn't always going to be settled in a peaceful way, so I do understand the need for violence every so often. I just try to avoid really hurting someone, y'know?" Asha replied, looking up at Hiresh with a small smile. A small giggle escaped her lips when he mentioned air benders typically being a bit prude and cleanly. "Yeah, I dunno, I just never really bothered with anything that was too excessive if that makes sense....Balance in all things." The brunette nodded when Hiresh questioned whether or not she was from around the area. "I grew up on Air Temple Island, yeah," she said, cocking her head to the side. Did she really seem all that different from the other air benders?

She glanced up at the ceiling when she thought about how much impact growing up in certain environments could have. Asha looked back over at Hiresh and thought about him for a moment. She wondered if he was always so stoic and ruly, or was it because of his job? Perhaps both? Maybe she would ask later...because right now it seemed that Katsu had found everything that needed to be grabbed and they needed to be on their way.

Avatar: The Price of Freedom

Asha blushed in embarrassment when she realized it was slang for 'cop.' She scratched the back of her head and continued walking with the group, getting to an apartment building. They followed Katsu up some steps and when they entered the complex they heard a squeak and excited running. Next thing they saw was a fox who was obviously excited to see Katsu. The brunette smiled brightly when she seen the boy show such affection for his pet and giggled when Siku was entranced by the small animal, and Hiresh? Well, Hiresh seemed a bit put off by how much attention the fox was getting from Siku.

She wanted to pet the fox too, but figured all of the attention it was receiving would make it either irritable or anxious and she didn't want to do that; she would instead wait for her turn. They walked up more stairs and into the apartment that Katsu called his home. She looked around, taking in everything that there was. It was a modest home and Asha decided that she liked it; necessities was all anyone really needed in a home. Even in her place at the Island, she didn't have all that much, just anything that was needed for living. She did have a few books...if one considered those anything with value.

Asha put a hand to her mouth to stifle her giggle when Siku had asked if she could hold the fox, her face showing her embarrassment. It was fun to see how affected people became by animals they found cute. Of course she was distracted by the animal as well, but not as bad as the others...she just hoped she would get some time to give the fox a little pet.

"So what all do you need, Katsu?" She asked as they wandered through the apartment as he searched for the items he was going to grab. Asha felt bad that Katsu had to temporarily leave his home while those people were after him; it just wasn't safe to stay in the same place when someone was after you.

Avatar: The Price of Freedom

Asha blushed a little in embarrassment when Siku said that wasn't exactly what she had meant, but liked how she blasted air on Katsu to dry him off. "Heh...sorry, Katsu. I thought she was talking to me," she said, hoping that Katsu could find it in himself to forgive her; it was kinda funny how the boy's eyes widened when he seen her aiming at him.

Once they reached the manhole, the brunette flew up to the surface, grateful to be breathing in fresh air. "Ah...nothing like nice, fresh, air..." Asha mumbled to herself as she took in her surroundings. This part of town certainly seemed different than the part that they had dinner in. Everything seemed a bit more worn down, not taken care of. As they all walked as a group, they were getting the stink eye from many other pedestrians on the block, making Asha feel a bit uncomfortable.

They got to an area that for Katsu, was more or less home, and a person he knew instantly called out Hiresh for being a...fuzz? "Hiresh...you aren't that fuzzy...I would say you are one of the least hairy boys I ever met," Asha said, nodding her head in confidence; she hoped that Hiresh wouldn't take into consideration what those guys said to him, he looked just fine! So what if people were a bit hairier than others?

A few strangers gave her funny looks and started to chuckle, which made Asha cock her head to the side. What did she say that was so funny? She was trying to cheer up her comrade! She narrowed her eyebrows in what she thought was a real stern expression, but it just made her look like a flustered polarpup.