It was raining.
That did not bode well for Bolin's mood. He had been grounded, so he had not gotten to come along when his parents took Mako out to dinner. He did not even deserve to be grounded. The other kids had been picking on him and he had punched one of them in the face just like he had seen Mako do. Only it did not end well and he ended up at the bottom of a pile of flying limbs before his mother arrived to pull him out.
She had scolded him for picking a fight and grounded him for a week. That had been three days ago, and the bruises had mostly healed by now. It still hurt, though to sit around their tiny little hovel with nothing to do other than play with a few action figures of Avatar Aang and other founders of the city who had passed away before he was even born.
"You'll regret this, Avatar!" Toph Bei Fong shouted in a shrill voice. "You're about to get your butt kicked, earthbending style!"
A chunk of earth, larger than the Avatar suddenly flew toward him, but he leaped out of the way and it crashed behind him. He unleashed some earthbending of his own, but the rock shattered against the head of Republic City's metalbending police.
The two masters continued their duel for some time, until the dirt floor of the house was torn and pockmarked. He filled in the holes as best he could, then went back to waiting.
After what felt like eternity, the door opened. He rose to greet his family, but he did not see three figures in the doorway. Only one.
"Hey, Bo," Mako greeted, his voice shakier than usual. He seemed to be trying very hard to keep his composure.
"Where's Mom and Dad?" he asked as a frisson of worry lanced down his spine.
Mako looked down, subtly swinging the umbrella he held in his hands. "They're... they're at that place that serves Water Tribe noodles. You know, your favorite? They sent me to come get you so we can meet them there."
Bolin's face lit up. "Awesome!" he shouted, running for the door. "Let's go!"
They had changed their minds. That was great. He knew his parents would not have let him stay home all by himself. He was at the door when he realized that Mako had not moved.
"Hey, are you coming?"
"Yeah," his brother replied, turning around. "Be there in a minute."
Bolin shrugged and opened the door, only to see a policeman and a Satomobile with the door open. He turned around.
"Mako? What's going on?"
"Don't worry about it," Mako insisted, stepping outside and opening the umbrella. "Now come on. And stay under the umbrella. Don't want you getting wet."
Bolin nodded and followed. They both got into the Satomobile and rode off into the dark and stormy night.