The sun shone brightly down on Ba Sing Se, the bright rays bouncing off the pristinely cleaned green roofs. The streets of the middle ring were flushed with people, everyone enjoying the beautiful late summer weather. Children laughed and screeched in delight as they flinted in between the adults as they window shopped to their delight.

The local produce shop was especially buzzing, families flitting in and out as they grabbed the vegetables and spices they needed to prepare their meals, or the meals of their masters.

The two proprietor of the produce shop were moving from one customer to the next, cheery smiles and ever helpful tones. Despite the hustle and bustle of the shop, there was one boy sitting alone, scribbling on paper. A wind blew through the shop, tussling his ear length brown hair and attempting to turn the page of the book he was consulting.

"Rai!" a women who remarkably resembled the boy hissed, approaching the shop counter. "If you don't mind me interrupting, would you mind telling me what you're doing?"

"Studying mom," Rai said, flicking his green eyes up for a second before looking back down. "School's getting kind of intensive."

"Well could you save it for after the day rush," his mother pleaded, sweeping her arm to show the crowded market. "We're kind of swamped here.'

"But mom-"

"No buts! You have just as much responsibility here as anywhere else, Rai," his mother insisted, turning her back to her son in finality. "Please find a customer to help."

Rai grumbled nonsense to no one and closed his book and scratch paper, placing it under the cash register.

"Are you listening to your mother Rai?" his father asked, tapping his fingers on the counter. He flashed his sun a glance over his half-moon glasses.

"I'm coming dad, just putting this away."

"Good…because I'd hate to get yelled at too because you didn't heed her," he approached his son slowly and whispered to him. "She can get kind of frightening."

"It's the warrior in her," Rai chuckled.

"Don't tell her that," his father smiled. The father and son shared a laugh before both set out on the floor to assist their patrons. While Rai's father immediately found the next person to help, Rai wandered over the side of the shop, where his favorite section was.

There was a small space of wall, dedicated solely to the two shop owners. Front and center was a wedding picture, depicting Rai's parents glowing so much it seemed to radiate through the photograph itself. Photographs of the different stages of opening the produce market as the years had passed, eventually including a small baby boy with a poof of dark brown hair. But Rai's favorite part was the collection pieces of his mother's homeland. There was an ornamental headpiece, golden and half-moon shaped sat center, with two metal fan weapons resting on each side. These heirlooms always made Rai feel better. They promised something a little farther than the middle circle, something beyond Ba Sing Se even, and this excited him.

His day dreams were interrupted by something catching his eye in the reflection of one of the picture frames. There were a group of three boys, one talking to his father to keep his back turned, and the other two were taking what they could from the apple bin.

Rai whipped around as they tempted to scram out the front door throwing his arm out in a solid downward thrust. The ground under the first boy's feet retreated into the ground, causing him to tumble to the dirt when there was no ground for his feet to and on. This misstep caused the boy behind him to trip over his companion and lose the sack of apples he had been cradling.

"Get out of here you two," Rai said bluntly, as the two boys looked at him fearfully. The relief that he wasn't calling for guards was evident on their faces as they scrambled to their feet and sprinted into the crowd of people on the street as Rai picked up the forgotten fruit. The third boy took off after his friends, bumping into Rai and knocking a lone apple from the sack in his hands.

"Spirits," grumbled Rai, picking up the dirty apple and wiping it off on his clothes. He could replace it in the sack with the others; the damage wasn't obvious and hadn't made the apple unusable. As he turned to reenter the shop, a kid huddled next to the wall caught his eye. He wasn't taking part of the merriment of the other children, and his face was downtrodden and dirty.

"Hey," Rai said, getting the kids attention. The kid looked up in fear at first, and then disbelief as he caught the apple tossed to him. Rai gave him a wink and then reentered the shop.

"What do you need to see our son for exactly sir?" he heard his mother say in a clipped voice.

"Darling don't be rude…"

"No, I have a right to know! What possible reason could you have for wanting to talk to my boy?"

Rai looked around quickly, spotting his parents and the only person in the shop now. He was tall, bald and dressed in strange, loose flowing robes. As he turned to face Rai, the boy saw he had a serious face, with facial hair running in a strap from one ear to his chin and to the next ear. On top of his head was a strange blue tattoo that came to an arrow point on his forehead. As his eyes fell on Rai a kind smile played on his lips.

"Hello Rai. It's a pleasure to meet you. I feel we'll get to know each other very well."