A pained grunt roused Kai from the depths of sleep, and the breeze of early morning Republic City kept him awake long enough to hear a few more grunts, along with his best friend's mutterings of "Shit!" between each groan. Kai sat up in his worn-down sleeping bag and rubbed his eyes, blinking blearily a few times when he saw Skoochy limping towards the fire escape.

"Where're ya goin'?" Kai asked, pushing himself out of the sleeping bag. Skoochy stopped short, leaning against his old wooden crutch.

"I-"

"The bell ain't rung yet," Kai grumbled, taking a seat on the edge of the rooftop. "Go back to sleep."

"I wanna beat the other fellas to the streets," Skoochy admitted. "I don't want anyone to see that I ain't been…uh…walkin' so good." He turned his face away as his left leg hung lamely next to his solid right one. Of course, all the boys knew that Skoochy's bum leg had been an affliction for over the past decade, but what had started as a slight limp back when he was six years old had escalated into a completely useless leg, the ankle turning up slightly toward his inner calf. Kai just rolled his eyes.

"Oh, quit gripin'," he said, nudging Skoochy lightly. "You know how many guys fake a limp for sympathy? That bum leg of yours is a goldmine!"

It was true; Skoochy sold the second most newspapers out of all the boys in the boarding house. Second only to Kai himself, of course. The only thing that was better than a bum leg as a newsie was the ability to find a good, pitiable partner and a good line to really reel the suckers in.

Skoochy shook his head at Kai. "Man, if someone gets the idea that I can't make it on my own, they'll lock me up in the Refuge for good."

Kai's smile faded, and he nodded solemnly. Dim memories of candlelight and crowded beds flooded his mind, and he shoved them away quickly. He hardly noticed when Skoochy had begun to descend the ladder, when he heard a clattering and saw his friend dangling by one hand. Kai nearly jumped off the ledge to pull Skoochy back up, and once he was seated next to him again, Kai swatted the back of his head.

"You wanna bust your other leg, too?" Kai scolded, and Skoochy looked away with a small pout.

"I just wanted to get down," he muttered, crossing his arms. Kai sighed at him and shook his head.

"We'll be down there soon enough. No need to rush off to the day, kid. Sun's only just comin' up." Kai rested his hands on either side of him and leaned back, looking up at the sky above him. In the midst of the smog, grime, and city lights, a few stars twinkled at him, winking like they shared a secret. "For now, just take a moment. Drink in my penthouse. High above the stinkin' streets of Republic City."

Skoochy scoffed at him. "You're crazy."

Kai shot him a look. "Why, 'cause I like a breath of fresh air? 'Cause I like seein' the sky and the stars?"

"You're seein' stars, alright," Skoochy said, shoving Kai's shoulder. Kai pushed back lightly, shooting Skoochy a small grin, which he returned. "Why do you hate the streets so much anyway?" Kai's smile faded, and he frowned as the sun began to rise, coloring the skyscraper-pierced horizon orange and yellow.

The past ten years without any family, hawking newspapers to get by had only accumulated a resentment for the glistening city that never slept. He knew far too well that the streets themselves, littered with broken glass bottles and broken people, were far from glistening.

"They suck the life outta ya," Kai replied simply. "But they ain't doin' that to me." He clenched his jaw, taking in a long breath of cool morning air through his nose, as if the air above the grit and grime would somehow cleanse him of a life on the streets.

"But everyone wants to come to Republic City."

Kai snorted and shook his head. "Republic City's fine, for those who got a big, strong door to lock it out." He looked out longingly at the sunrise, referencing it for a cleaner, brighter version he'd tried to paint in his mind's eye ever since he'd seen a painting in a pamphlet five years ago. A sunrise over clean air and short, stout houses, full of trees brimming with crisp green leaves. "I've been tellin' you, Skooch, there's whole 'nother way out there." Kai looked at Skoochy with wistful eyes, and Skoochy would've rolled his own if he hadn't already every damn time Kai brought up that stupid pamphlet painting. "You keep your small life in the big city. But give me a big life, in a small town."

"I know, Kai. Zaofu: a spankin' new town out West. What're you even gonna do there?"

Kai laughed. "What aren't I gonna do there? Plantin' crops, splittin' rails, sharin' tales around the fire with folks that welcome you in like family. No havin' to beg anyone to treat me fair 'n square. Just chasin' the sun and workin' the land."

Skoochy snorted at him. "You really are crazy, Kai Fong."

The corners of Kai's mouth tugged up into a smile and he shoved Skoochy. "Maybe." Then, as an idea sprung into his head, he clapped Skoochy on the back and grinned. "Hey, how 'bout an even crazier idea: come with me. Someday, we can catch a train to Zaofu, and just you and me."

Skoochy's eyebrows shot up behind his long, greasy black bangs. "You'd bring me with you?"

"For sure," Kai said, grinning widely. "We're family, after all."

Skoochy rolled his eyes, unable to keep his smile reigned in. "Sap," he said, but then added in a softer voice, "Yeah. We're family."

"No one cares about no gimp leg in Zaofu. You just hop one of them ostrich horses, and you'll be ridin' in style!"

Skoochy laughed a barking laugh that seemed to rumble in time with the reach of the sun's rays. "Imagine me, ridin' in style."

"Y'know, I bet after a few months of clean air, you could toss that crutch for good!"

Skoochy snorted again. "Now that's crazy. Still, not as bad as far as dreamin' goes."

Kai grinned. "Not bad indeed. So, whaddya say?" Kai hocked a lob of saliva into his hand and extended it to Skoochy. "We got ourselves a deal?"

Skoochy looked at him for a moment, before spitting into his own hand and shaking Kai's extended one. "We got a deal."