Disclaimer: Not mine

Notes: Um, I guess this going to require some explaining. The fic itself is me taking a morning off from NaNo, which might explain the frankly bizarre premise of this story. I do have a vague idea of Avatar-verisons of Tatsuya/Yuuri/Ayase floating around if for some insane reason I wanted to continue this, but I think it works all right as a stand alone also. There are no spoilers for Timeranger, but there Avatar spoilers for up to 'Return to Omashu'. Also, I admit to not being an expert in Avatar lore, so apologies if I got something wrong

--

Domon sighed heavily as he looked over his maps again. He wasn't sure how much good it would do though: he'd stared at them until the point where it was all starting to blend together, just one big blur of towns and islands he didn't really care about...

Yeah, well, now you do, he reminded himself bitterly as he rubbed his eyes (he'd been having trouble sleeping since Omashu fell). Because somewhere in all these names and places he'd find the Fire Nation soldiers who had taken his grandparents away from him, find some way to get them away safely, and then try to find one of the few places left in the Earth Kingdom that hadn't been ruined by the Fire Nation.

Of course, you wouldn't have to be looking at maps at all if you hadn't tried to fight those soldiers off--

He put the maps away for now, figuring that since the boat wouldn't be here until tomorrow, he could allow himself the luxury of feeling sorry for himself. It was just... he should've known better. Should've realized that King Bumi had surrendered for a reason, realized that his home was his grandparents, not that house the Fire Nation had burned down... and he really should've realized that using earthbending against a Fire Nation officer would end badly for him.

"Sir?" One of the waitresses-- a pretty girl with chin length hair and serious features-- gazed down at him. "Would you like some more tea?"

She was pretty enough that Domon found it in him to smile. "Yes, please." He watched her go as she went back into the kitchen. If his life wasn't such a mess at the moment, he might've tried asking her out after work.

Something brushing against his leg brought Domon out of his semi-romantic ruminations. His first thought was that it was just a rat (in a town as rundown as this, you couldn't expect their inn to be clean in the traditional sense)... but this felt a lot colder than a rat should. His curiosity piqued, Domon peeked under the table...

... And a ghastly, metallic creature peeked back at him.

He knocked the chair down as he bolted upright. "Giant rat, giant metal rat!" He got ready to bend it away, which even at that point he knew it was a bad idea what with the small room and furniture and people.

Speaking of people, Domon's would be battle was stopped short when he felt a tiny, but very strong hand on his shoulder, pulling him back. It was the waitress again, looking more serious than ever. "Sir," she began, her tone disturbingly calm. "I realize that our inn may not be as nice as the others you've stayed at on your travels. However, I must ask that you do not frighten our customers."

She glared as him as she handed him a cup. "Here's your tea. To go."

--

Domon was so busy trying to find a good camping spot on his map that he almost didn't notice it at first. It was just some guy yelling about something he didn't need to worry about. It wasn't until he heard the guy yell, "You little thief!"-- and the subsequent thud and cry of pain-- that Domon looked up.

The one who'd cried out was pretty young, with messy brown hair and eyes that were somewhere between brown and gray. But what really caught Domon's attention was what the kid had in his arms...

As for the guy who'd called the kid a thief, he was still going strong. "I know you're the one who stole from my cart, and I'm going to make sure that--" He raised his hand, presumably to strike him.

But the wave of earth Domon sent his way knocked him off balance before it could happen.

Domon stayed in the offensive posture, as a chunk of earth floated behind him. "Look, friend, how about you call the authorities instead of pushing children around?"

He had to hand it to the merchant; he wasn't even phased. "The 'authorities' are lackeys for the Fire Nation. If I want my food back," and he sneered at the kid he had securely pinned to the wall. "I'm going to get it back myself."

Judging from the gleam in the merchant's eyes, talking wasn't going to work. He frowned as he sent the earth flying at the merchant's head. He was never going to find a place to rest at this rate...

Both Domon and the kid watched as the merchant fell down and didn't get up. "Well, he'll be there for awhile-- but you'll probably want to put some distance between you and him." Then he remembered why he'd butted in...

"What was that thing of yours doing in the inn, anyways?"

"Oh, you mean Takku?" The kid rested his hand on Takku's metal head in an almost protective way (does he think I'm going to try and take it away from him?) "I-I'm sorry if he bothered you; sometimes he gets away and--"

Domon waved a hand dismissively and then bent down to Takku's level. "You shouldn't scare people," he scolded the metal object sternly before standing to his full height again.

He was already heading back to the forests when he heard the kid speak again. "How... how did you do that?"

Maybe he hit that wall harder than I thought? "It's earthbending," he said stupidly.

"It was amazing!" The kid's face lit up as he tugged on Domon's sleeve with his free hand. "I didn't know anyone could do that with dirt!"

... Domon was guessing that wherever this kid was from, it wasn't the Earth Kingdom... but still, to not know something so universal...

Well, he didn't have time to wonder about it. "Listen, I have to go. Try to avoid this guy's shop from now on, okay?"

He started to go again, but he could feel the kid's gaze on him.

Domon groaned, resting his head in his hand. He didn't need this. In fact, baby-sitting some loopy kid with a creepy metal pet (and both of them would almost definitely slow him down) was the very last thing he needed right now.

But I don't think he knows how to take care of himself... and it'd be nice to have someone to talk to again, even if it's just for awhile.

Slowly, he turned to face the kid again. "I'm guessing that since you were stealing food from that guy, you don't really have anyplace to go home to. Am I right?" The kid nodded guiltily.

He groaned again. "Then come with me." But despite everything, he felt a smile tug at his mouth as the kid caught up with him. "Now that I think about it, I don't think we ever told each other our names." He pointed to himself. "I'm Domon. And you?"

"Oh, I'm Sion," he said after a pause, as if it had just dawned on him that he was supposed to tell him his name now. He diverted his gaze down to Takku. "Thank you for earlier. Takku and I are... new to this town, so we're not really sure what to do."

Domon felt the tug at his mouth again. "Actually, I am too. But maybe if we're together, we can figure out what to do next?"

Sion looked up at him again, brown-gray eyes warm. "That sounds like a good idea."