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Bars of All Kinds

The next morning was as cold as the night before. Not from the temperature, though, but because I was giving Ren and Naomi the iciest glare I could muster this early. They sat across the breakfast table and fiddled, nervous and dreading my punishment.

"One month, scullery duty." I said flatly, keeping my eyes locked on them.

Naomi nodded submissively but her sister had other thoughts.

"What!" Ren exclaimed. "That's unfair. Isn't being kidnapped enough of a punishment?"

"Unfair?" I shouted, incredulous. "What's unfair is the fact that you worried Oswald, Newt, and I over something as trivial as an autograph."

Ren shot to her feet. "That wasn't trivial! And you said we could go."

"You said you didn't want to go!" I shot back, jumping to my own feet.

"I didn't say I didn't want to go! I said I didn't want to go without Naomi!" She countered, stomping her foot. "We both went!"

"And you both got kidnapped!" I argued. "You put yourself and your little sister's life at risk!"

"I can protect her!" She shouted back.

"Considering what happened last night, I beg to differ!" I said, jabbing a finger at her. "You're seven years old. You-"

"JUST BECAUSE I'M SMALL DOESN'T MEAN I'M WEAK!" She screamed in my face, having marched across the table.

I felt my own anger rise and screamed back, "THIS ISN'T ABOUT STRENGTH!" I took a deep breath and rubbed my forehead. "This is about responsibility and your lack there of." I looked at Ren with a hard glare. "You showed me that you have no sense of responsibility. So now, I have to put you under stricter rules."

"How can you make living on this boat any stricter?" Ren spat. "You hardly left us off the damn thing."

"Watch your mouth." I said. "And I can make your life a lot more restricted than you think."

"Oh yeah?" Ren egged on. "How? Gonna take away our bathroom breaks?"

I glared daggers at the little firebender. "NEWT!" I shouted, turning to the otherworldly amphibian. "I want this entire boat on lockdown. I want to know when every door, cabinet, porthole opens and closes. I want every window bolted shut. Alert me whenever someone comes on and off this ship. Put traces on Naomi and Ren."

"What?" Ren exclaimed.

"You too won't be able to eat, sleep, pass gas, or scratch your butt without my supervision." I explained roughly. "You think you're a grown-up? Then I'm going to jail you like a grown-up." I took a deep breath, then yelled at the top of my lungs. "EITHER of you step one FOOT onto that dock and, I swear by the spirits, There. Will. Be. A. RECKONING!"

I walked over to the cabin door and grabbed my shoes and bag.

"Where are you going?" Ren asked, fury edging her voice.

"Thanks to you, I have to go turn myself in for aggravated assault." I said, marching down the gangplank with a huff. "OSWALD!"

"Yes, your captain-ly-ness." He bowed.

"I don't need sass from you." I pointedly said. "And I swear, if you get pushed around and let those girls of my ship, you will be serving an even worse sentence." I took a deep breath. "Newt, keep an eye on them."

She trilled and saluted me, then I turned back to the city and started toward the precinct.


As soon as I stepped into the lobby, I shouted my confession for all the officers to hear. Saikhan was more than happy to throw me into a cell, more specifically the "kiddie pool" full of young adults and children who had done petty crimes. It was almost like throwing a viper shark in with the guppies.

"Don't cause any trouble." Saikhan grunted as he left.

"Me? Cause trouble?" I asked innocently.

He glared at me but said nothing. When he was out the door, I surveyed my new bunkmates: a group of young ladies in flapper dresses and one or two girls in factory clothes. There was even a middle-aged woman who sat stark still. Across the room, there was another cell full of guys ranging from musicians in suits to a young boy with dirty on his knees. A rather depressing turn out, if you asked me.

"So…" I said, looking over at the female guard on duty sitting at the desk against the wall, placed between the cells. "what did you guys do to get in here?"

"Illegal party." The flappers said, smiling, then started giggling among themselves.

"Pickpocket." Someone else answered.

"Tried to run over my husband with my car." The older woman said.

I whistled. "Slept with your best friend?"

"Sister." The woman narrowed her eyes at an unseen face.

"Even worse." I winced.

"You?" One of the flappers asked.

"Um… jaywalking." I lied, smiling sheepishly.

The guys laughed, except for the little boy, who was lost in thought.

"Hey, what's eating you, rascal?" I asked. "Girl troubles?"

He blushed a bright shade of red. "No!" He exclaimed defensively.

"Yes!" The entire room replied back.

"Oh, what's it to ya?" He shot back at all of us, clenching his fists. "Ain't nobody's business but mine."

"Oh come on, short stop." I smiled. "It's a long morning afore any of us get out." I giggled teasingly. "What? She older than you?"

"No." He pouted.

"Can't tell how you feel?" I asked. He didn't answer, which meant I hit the target. "Well why don't we help ya? Got the perfect think tank right in front of you."

"Yeah." The flappers giggled.

"I don't need any help." He whined.

"Come on, kid." One of the musicians nudged him with his elbow. "Birds of a feather, flock together."

"Fine." He grumbled. "Humor me. How do I get the girl to notice me?"

"Oh, you gotta make the mood, honey." One of the flappers smiled. "I ain't never gone to a party with a guy who didn't impress me."

"That's why you ain't never gone to a party with a fella." One of her friends teased.

They giggled and I had to talk over them. "Okay, so all you have to do is be impressive." I shrugged. "Doesn't seem to hard."

"How do you be impressive?" He asked.

"Can you play an instrument?" One musician asked.

"Nope."

"He doesn't have to play an instrument." One flapper argued.

That sparked a debate on whether a guy could be romantic if he didn't appreciate the qualities a song could bring to the mood. Meanwhile, I tried to think of a way to help little Lover Boy get his girl. Hm, there's also what Ikano used to say…

"Okay, got it!" I exclaimed triumphantly, smacking my fist into my other palm like a judge slammed his gavel.

"Whatcha got?" One of the musicians asked, eager.

"Okay. First step is to get the lady alone, maybe take a canoe ride in the river." I said.

"Oh, or a walk in the park!" A flapper squealed. "Very romantic."

"Even better!" I beamed. "Okay, so take her for a walk in the park. Second step, get some mood music."

"Mood music?" The kid asked.

"Ambiance, kid." One musician explained, landing hard on his vowels. "Some guitar or flutes, real classy."

"Kuang's classy." The musician's friend chimed in.

"Yep. Gotta have music, setting, then all you gotta do is say a catch phrase. Something like…" I smiled, standing, "Here, will you be my partner?" I asked one of the flappers, extending a hand.

"Sure." She smiled, taking my offer.

I led her to the middle of the cell and put my hands on her shoulders. "Alright, you're the girl. I'm… what's your name?"

"Skoochy." The boy answered.

"Alright, I'm Skoochy. Listen close, kid." I said. "If you don't have setting or music, the least you can do is say something unexpectedly breath-taking."

"Breath taking?"

"Watch." I took a deep breath. "You have to walk right up to this girl," I said, marching over to the flapper, "sweep her off her feet," I twirled the dancer into a dip, "and say, 'Hey, I dig you'." I flashed a smile.

The flapper blushed a little and giggled, which her friends giggled at as well.

Unexpectedly, there was a cough at the door, which caught everyone's attention. Lin was standing in the doorway, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Hey, Lin!" I smiled, then remembered I had a flapper in a dip and quickly set her back on her feet.

"I'm happy to see you're enjoying yourself, Ink." Lin droned out with little humor. "All of you are free to go." She unlocked the doors with her metalbending and all of us filed out of the room.

I tried to sneak past the chief in the crowd, but you can never fool a Beifong. She grabbed the back of my shirt and held me to the spot.

"We have a lot to discuss, young lady." Lin growled.

"Okay." I hung my head. Suddenly, I gasped loudly and pointed at the ceiling. "What in Aang's name is that!"

"Wha-"

Lin momentarily forgot about me to stare at the unthreatening ceiling. I used the chance to sprint down the hall toward my freedom.

I skidded to a stop in the lobby, fear driven adrenaline pumping through my veins. I spotted Saikhan talking to some guy in orange and red robes at the front desk and ran over, slamming my body against the counter to get his attention.

"Saik-y!" I cried, my arms stretched over the counter while the rest of my body hung feebly. "She's gonna kill me!"

"What are you talking about?"

"INKARA!" Lin roared, sliding into the lobby.

Saikhan and I screamed like little girls. I flipped over the counter and landed in his arms, hugging his neck out of fear. We were still screaming.

"Lin?" The man in the varying shades of orange and yellow asked.

"Tenzin?" Lin replied. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just-"

"Nevermind, I have more-" She blinked at Saikhan, who stared back in confusion, then looked down at his empty arms. "Where'd she go?"

I was nearly out the door undetected, but stupid vases on stupid tables could not take the sheer ferocity of my awesomeness and had to knock themselves over. Lin caught me trying to catch said stupid vase right in front of the doorway.

I smiled. "He he. Hey, Lin."

"Ink." She growled, her lip twitching. "Don't-"

I ran out the door, dropping the vase with a thunk, unharmed, on the ground. As I needed to cross the street and could not wait to look both ways, I screamed, "LUCKY CRICKET!", slapped my hands over my eyes, and ran across. I heard screeching tires, Lin yelling my name, then angry drivers cursing at me. I opened my eyes to find that I was completely unharmed and running through the park. I smiled to myself and pumped a fist into the air.

"Thanks, Rokin." I cheered.

I kept running until I got to the docks, where I literally ran into someone. We both tumbled to the ground, each trying to keep ourselves upright and failing. We landed with a thud, the person I ran into underneath while I slammed into them. It wasn't much better than hitting the ground myself.

"Ow!" I grumbled, pushing myself up.

"Ugh."

I brushed myself off as the young man stood, brushing himself off. He turned and I had the distinct impression that I knew him. But I didn't recognize his face. Maybe it was his mammoth caterpillar eyebrows.

"Sorry, man." I shrugged, walking around him. "Didn't mean to knock you over." He suddenly grabbed my arm and whirled me around. "What the hell, man?"

"You're the girl!" He smiled happily, shaking my shoulders.

"What girl?" I asked, confused. "Get off me!" I shrugged her hands off and took a few steps back. "Look, buddy. I don't have the best of memory, so you're shit out of luck with whatever you want." I started walking toward my boat. "Sorry I couldn't help."

"But you did!" He said, jogging up to my right. "You-"

"Mr. Bolin!" Naomi squealed, her legs dangling over the side of the ship.

"What?" I asked, turning to the mystery man. "We've met?"

"Yeah, the other night." He smiled. "At the Storm Bringer's hideout."

The first thought that came to mind was that he was one of the Triads, and so, my first reaction was to punch him in the face, which I did. When my fist connected with his nose, I felt something pop. He lurched backward, caught off guard, and held his nose. When he didn't fall to the ground, what I was expecting him to do, I tackled him. I grabbed his collar and hoisted his head up so that I could punch him relentlessly, even had my fist raised in attack, but Ren grabbed my arm and Naomi jumped onto my back to lock her arms around my neck.

"Wait!" Ren shouted.

"He's not a kidnapper!" Naomi yelled.

"Then who-"

"He's the Fire Ferret we went to get the autograph from!" Ren explained. "He was kidnapped, too!"

"Oh." I said, dropping my hands.

"We also hit him with our boat!" Naomi added, sliding off my back.

"What!" I exclaimed, looking back down at him as he nodded enthusiastically. I winced, "Oh god, I punched you in the face, too," and helped him to his feet, still holding his nose. "Come on, I'll clean you up." I said, feeling very guilty.

"Thanks." He said as I led him on deck.

"Sit here." I sat him on one of the cushions at the table we never packed back into the cabin. "I'll be right back." I hurried into the cabin and found the first aid kit Oswald kept in the closet. I carried the dark wooden chest out and placed it on the table. "Move your hands."

When he did, I winced and hissed in sympathetic pain.

"Yeah, Pretty much sums up how I'm feeling." Eyebrows said, blinking hard. "Know a healer?"

"Not one close by." I said, gingerly pinching his nose. "This is gonna hurt."

"Wha-"

It wasn't very pleasant putting a broken nose back into place. There was a wet popping noise and more blood spilled out. He whimpered, determined not to scream, but his eyes began to water.

"Spirits!" He spat. "A little warning, next time?"

"You expect to get punched in the face again?" I asked, confused.

"No, I meant-"

I stuffed gauze under his nostrils, then told Naomi to go get a basin of clean water and a hand towel. I instructed him to hold the gauze until she got back.

"Erhu ah eel-er?" He asked, sounding funny with his nose plugged.

"A healer?" I asked, then shook my head. "No, I don't bend anymore."

"Ah-knee-mo?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as Naomi came back with the basin.

"Thank you, Naomi." I said, dousing the towel with water. I turned to Eyebrows. "You can put your hand down now."

He did so and I began mopping up the dried blood over his mouth. I had to rinse out the towel a few times before he was clean, then I left the rag in the bowl.

"Alright, well, I'm Inkara. Sorry about the whole nose thing. What brings you to my humble ship, Mister…. Bowl, right?" I asked, standing.

"Bolin." He corrected, lightly dabbing his nose with his shirt, adding bloodstains to it. "I came over to thank you, for saving me and Rohan."

"Rohan?" I asked, moving toward the cabin again to retrieve my sketchbook. "Teammate?"

"Baby." Bolin said. "He was kidnapped last night as well."

"A baby?!" I exclaimed, slipping on one of Naomi's pictures. "They kidnapped a baby?"

"You don't remember?" He asked.

I huffed and walked back out. "No. I thought punching you in the face would have cleared that notion up." I sat down at the table as Oswald brought out tea and old cookies.

"Thank you." Bolin nodded to him.

"No problem." Oswald said, sitting down next to me as I flipped through entries.

"You talk?" Bolin asked, surprised.

"Indubitably." He smiled, preparing to pour the tea into the cups.

"I wanna!" Naomi said, reaching for the pot.

"Cool!" Bolin chuckled at Ossie.

"Okay, but don't spill any of it." Oswald said, handing her the pot.

"Don't forget the strainer." I mumbled, still rifling through my sketches.

"Okay, okay." Naomi sighed, slowly pouring the tea into the five cups.

"Hold the top." Ren said,sitting next to Bolin.

"I got it." Naomi frowned, filling the last cup.

"Ha! Found you." I said, jamming a finger onto the paper. "Looks like I have met you."

Bolin leaned over. "Hey, that's pretty good! But why am I labeled as 'driftwood'?"

"Oh, no reason." I said, closing the book. I grabbed a cup and sniffed. "What kind of tea is this?" I asked Oswald.

"Black tea." He answered, looking over the table. "Hm, I forgot the milk and sugar. Be right back."

"Bring the marshmallows, too." I called.

"Marshmallows? In tea?" Bolin asked, furrowing his brow and taking a sip.

"With milk, it's delicious." I said. "So, why'd you come down, besides thanking me."

"I wanted to make sure Ren and Naomi were alright." He said. "You left in a hurry and I didn't get a chance to ask if the girls were okay."

"We're fine." Ren said.

"Not even scared." Naomi smiled.

"Grounded." I reminded them, giving a small glare to Ren.

"Grounded?" He asked, scratching the back of his head. "Man, now I feel responsible."

"Why?" I asked.

"They wouldn't have been out so late if I hadn't taken them out to dinner." He explained, a really pathetic panda pup look on his face. "Oh!" He beamed. "How about I make it up to you guys?"

"You don't have to." I said.

"Oh, come on, Ink." Ren begged. "Just take the man's offer."

"Yeah!" Naomi chimed in. "Please, please, please?"

"Please?" He pleaded. "I'll feel awful if I didn't."

I looked between the three of them. "I don't know." I said, unsure.

"What if he cleans belowdecks for us?" Ren suggested.

"Yeah, we'll help. It can be our replacement punishment." Naomi added.

"Still-"

"He'll throw in cake." Ren said monotonously as Naomi whispered something to Bolin.

I bit my tongue and stared at her. "Don't say things for other-"

"No, I'll throw in cake." Bolin beamed. "I'll bring one cake everyday until belowdecks is clean."

I stared at him, my resolve dissolving, then sighed in annoyance, throwing my head slightly to the side. "Fine. You can start the day after tomorrow."

I have never seen a group of people so happy to do manual labor.


Okay, trying something new with posting the writer's thoughts at the bottom. This one is, if you've noticed, twice as long as the others. I also wanted to know if anyone has any questions about the advice she remembers from her older brothers. I will be happy to explain if any one doesn't get it.