I really wanted to try something completely different. Enjoy an AU where Bolin is an Equalist.

There is a lot of brown.

A significant amount of black.

And a bit of red.

The murky lighting does nothing to add to the colour. There is a run-down light bulb at almost every corner.

An Eating Hall sits at the centre of the Equalist Base, it is nothing special, rather daunting as light only breaks the darkness in the walkway of two lengthy tables. As noted, there are a few light bulbs out, two flickering and a few working.

Light brings visual to the brown of the tables.

The black of the walls.

And the red of the uniforms lucky to be caught in said light.

To break the harmony of ochre colours, there are pairs of eerie green circles placed at every corner. They remain, watching until the end of every meal. Then they follow those clad in red to their next destination. They often hide in the darkness, and when not, are covered. Their faces remain unidentified. All Bolin sees is brown, red and black.

The colours he has grown accustom to, haunt him, twist his insides and beckon his mind to relive the decision he had settled on. Once he takes a breather to identify where he went wrong he sees orange, and then he falls and he's back at the Eating Hall where the brown of the table seems to catch him. The red of his uniform reminds him of blood and family and the black becomes his security, a void of nothingness that agrees with his decision to stay on this side.

Bolin's thoughts circled.

As they did everyday he ate breakfast.

"There are just some things you will never be used to," Bolin said not taking his eyes off the vivid green.

Krow seated opposite Bolin lifted his head from his cosy arms in a manner that looked like he was going to say something intriguing - Bolin held his thought in anticipation, but failed to deliver when Krow simply rolled out a kink from his neck.

In the middle of a yawn, Krow said, "You're telling me. Tell whoever designed the futons we sleep on."

"No I was referring to them," Bolin said hinting with his nose. He snuck a glance at the row of green lights.

"What Lee and his crew?" Krow mumbled.

Bolin diverted his gaze hoping Krow had caught on. The green seemed to target him.

"No," Bolin whined.

Lee and his crew were nothing more than another squad like Krow and him. He ignored the chill down his spine and turned to face his breakfast drowning brown and black in a bite of mashed potato. Once he swallowed, his gaze fell down. He stared at the sloppy potatoes and peas and untouched boiled egg. He was afraid to say the least, not of the food, but what was hidden behind those masks.

"The soldiers watching our every move," Bolin said frankly.

Krow watched with tired eyes. He watched Bolin play with his food. Play with food going to waste.

"Eat it Bo," Krow ordered.

Bolin stabbed a pea, his embarrassment and thoughtlessness forced him to look up at Krow. Dark eyes stared dangerously. Bolin remembered how important food was. Still, he would not give in to pressure, he said reluctantly, "What?"

Krow sighed. He pulled his head up, ran an overworked hand through his brown locks and tightened his forehead band. "Not everyone is able to enjoy breakfast on their table each morning."

Bolin nodded glumly. "I know."

There's no need to remind me.

"Eat it," Krow pressed.

Bolin glued his lips together. He was not playing with his food on purpose.

"Yes mum," he mumbled and turned to the potato.

Krow stared, happy Bolin had listened, but disappointed that twenty minutes into breakfast he still had not touched that rotten egg. Deciding on a scowl and trusting Bolin to finish most of his food he gathered his arms before him and took to sleeping again to feel the hungry void, his arms and head resting on a spot where breakfast would usually be.

After a few moments of silence, Bolin started, "I would share what I could…"

"But because they're watching you can't." Krow could not sleep.

Silence sneaked in again. Bolin offered a sympathetic shrug. Krow laughed inwardly. Although they were grouped in squads to encourage unity, everyone still lived for themselves.

It required effort to think further, so Krow saved his mind from further misery and settled on living for himself too. Since he never offered help to anyone, why should he feel people needed to do the same?

A girl with blue eyes and black hair joined the boys afterwards. She sat opposite of Bolin and to the left of Krow and nodded in acknowledgement.

"Hey boys."

"Mornin' Julie."

They returned the greeting (well Bolin did, Krow replied with a growl of annoyance due to interrupting his sleep) and she briefly scowled in Krow's direction. Seeing his head tucked into his arms, she ignored his rudeness and turned to a small frame sitting beside Bolin in the shadows.

"Good morning Hao."

A boy wearing glasses nodded.

The lighting in the Eating Hall was terrible.

Bolin jumped, not having noticed the remaining member of their squad sitting beside him the entire time.

"Quiet as usual Hao," Bolin joked, still slightly unnerved, patting the small boy on his back.

Krow even seemed a little startled chuckling darkly to himself, "Yeah no one even noticed you were around."

Julie overheard his comment. Her features sharpened and her blue eyes glowed. Krow thought she looked like a Saber-Tooth Moose-Lion. Slightly intimidated, he shifted his gaze to Bolin trying to have a civil one-sided conversation with silent Hao and sighed concluding they had not heard his comment. He was safe. Only Julie had. It was easy to get out of this predicament. And so before her cheeks could flare up any more, Krow pretended to fall asleep, he could make her look crazy yelling at someone asleep. When she caught on to his obnoxious plan she calmed herself and turned her attention to Bolin. Despite not having Julie's embarrassment to laugh over, she was off his chest.

"Bolin, you better eat your food before it gets cold." She sounded like Krow, Bolin gloomed.

"Ah yeah I was just getting to it," Bolin mumbled. Krow sensed the irritation and kept another laugh to himself. Desire to conjure to temptations to cough 'liar' in to Bolin's ear was destroyed when the length of the table got in his way, and the act to keep on sleeping to protect him from Julie's shrills in public settled.

Squinting to see how the rest of breakfast play out, he watched Bolin finally pick up that rotten egg. Julie's condemning blue eyes got Bolin to do things when his angry tone failed.

The brawly teen picked up the rubbery egg between his dominant fingers and took a bite. Julie, Krow and Hao watched in silence at his knotted features.

"Cold egg," he muffled through a displeased mouthful.

"Tough break," Julie commented.

Bolin and Julie shrugged off the rest of the eating hour through laughter and small conversation. Krow finally fell asleep and Hao sat in silence. Breakfast was soon over and squads would be on their feet, escorted to their next room in a short while.

No this story won't be filled with a lot of random OCs, they are mainly there to set the mood. Familiar characters will begin to appear soon. Kya will be in the next.

If this gets attention, I'll make sure the update will be in a few days.