This story follows the series as closely as possible, and is meant to give a different POV on the happenings of Republic City through the eyes of its citizens. The characters will soon find themselves meeting actual characters from the series, witnessing actual events from the series and taking sides along with the rest of the citizens of Republic City. Read on as the story of Republic City is told again.
Meilin lay alone in her small, dusty room, stretched out on her bed reading a tightly bound book in the late afternoon sunlight. Hot waves of stifling air drifted through the open window without care; there was no chance of a cool breeze in sight. Her room baked in the summer heat, as did all of Republic City; a relentlessly stubborn heat wave continued to pour over the whole area. Both beds crammed into the room looked exactly the same, light wooden frame, thin, lumpy mattress and the same faded gray blanket, a hollow color compared to the rich hues of blue and purple the threads once shown. A thin table under the window separated the two beds and opened a space to the only floor in the room. Meilin's soft brown hair stuck to the back of her neck in an uncomfortable way and hung down her face, drifting occasionally into the impatient view of her pale blue eyes. She slowly lifted one lazy arm to her forehead and wiped off the few drops of sweat created from lying as still as possible on top of her worn gray sheets.
"Meilin, could you run out to the store for me?" Her mother Mouka questioned, peeking her head into the doorway, strands of the same soft brown hair pulled up to a loose bun near the top of her head.
"Of course" Meilin smiled, pulling herself out of the bed, happy for a reason to leave the small apartment on the north side of town. She quickly pulled on her light shoes, grabbed a small coin purse from the drawer and crossed the entirety of the room in four steps. The tight living room glowed yellow with heat, the air sat stagnant and dull within the wood paneled walls. Dust particles danced in the burning light and moved in slow circles with each breath. Her younger sister Nakki sat in the middle of the room, playing with a small doll, motioning it around the worn, woven rug and speaking to it in hushed childish tones. Her nine-year-old cheeks glowed pink with heat. In the corner their grandmother sat watching in the scene from the comfort of one of the three thick armchairs which made up all the furnishings in the room. Meilin's mother stood in the three foot kitchen preparing the beginnings of a late dinner, and her youngest sister Tay sat in a little wooden box bed, stretching her infant fingers to the dry air, trying to clutch the thickening waves. The heat rolling off the open stove made the kitchen almost unbearable.
"Bread, lychee juice, possumchicken" Meilin repeated the list to herself. "And mangos." Her grandmother added as she stepped out the door. "Of course Nana!" she called back into the apartment. "Thank you my little zebraseal!"
She started quickly down the metal stair case, reaching the bottom floor after four flights, and hurried out the front door into the afternoon sun. She had to be fast, the sun would only be up for another half an hour if she was lucky. Her feet kicked up dirt as she strode down the narrow familiar streets of Republic City. The heat drove her down to the edge of Yue bay, and she felt more comfortable walking with the water so close. The waves moved up and down with her footsteps, keeping pace with her feet as she made her way to the market streets.
Hmm, a waterbender she thought to herself, every hour of this drought made her even more uncomfortable, as if every drop of her existence was drying up. The bay helped, and she made it a point to visit the warm waves as much as possible, but with two younger sisters and her grandmother to watch out for, Meilin was always busy helping her mother. No one else in her family possessed the gift of bending, not even her Nana, who traveled far from her home in the Northern water tribe to start a new life with her family.
A light warm breeze rolled off the bay and ruffed Meilin's hair, some tied up in a falling bun near the top of her head, and the rest smoothly settled on her shoulders. She bent a small orb of water to her finger tips and rolled in aimlessly between her hands as she neared the market. The heat of the day drifted on, only cooling a few degrees as the sun ebbed closer to the horizon.
"Good evening Mr. Cheug" Meilin greeted the old shopkeeper as she entered the open store.
"Good evening Miss. Sanoukk, what will you have today?" The withered old man watched happily as Meilin picked out her bread and placed her wares into a large paper sack. "Goodnight Mr. Cheug!" she called, "Goodnight Meilin." He answered back.
The red sun had just disappeared over the lip of the horizon as she left the store. The bottle of lychee juice weighed down the bag and adjusted it so it wouldn't fall onto the small loaf of bread. The day continued in a hot swirling manner, even as the last rays of the summer sun left the sky pink and orange. Little red lanterns hung near the street's edge lit up as a group of firebenders traveled down the alleys, lighting each on his way home from the power plant. Clothes hung aimlessly on lines strung between buildings and the alleyways grew dark and foreboding.
Meilin was halfway home when she remembered the mangos, and rather than turn around she veered off her normal path and down the back streets. Through the empty waste bins and hungry lizardcrows, she hastily tottered, the uneven cobble stones crisscrossing her path as she search out an open fruit stand. Finally she saw one, piled high with some of the worst looking produce shed seen this side of the bridge.
Beggars can't be choosers she thought to herself as she examined the bruised mangos the stand offered. She carefully pressed her thumb against the skin of the fruit as the flesh oozed away from her finger a little more than ripe. She picked out three of the least revolting fruits she could find and carefully balanced her bag in one arm as she reached into her purse to grab a few yuans. She paid the merchant, happy to have sold anything that day and started down the alley again.
"Hey girlie!" a rough male voice called out of the shadows, she stopped dead in her tracks, unable to tear herself away from the sight of the dark figure slinking out of the shadows. She knew she should be moving now, fast . . . but her feet froze with fear as a small ball of flames erupted from his open palms. A slight flickering sound echoed down the darkened street, there were no other sounds and no one else around to hear her fast frightened breath.