Hello! I don't own Avatar, but I do own Anala, Kai and any other character you don't recognise from the series that is my creation. Decided to finally start writing again and stop playing Sims. Back to school soon which could possibly mean the chapter come out less than usual. And sorry for taking so long, lots of stuff has been happening.

I decided to give the girls a quest (if you can call it that) because I seriously don't want to write about them walking around the whole Earth Kingdom without anything to do now that Ba Sing Se is out of the question for them. It's my idea so it probably won't be any good but I like it better than just writing about them waking around endlessly with absolutely nothing to do. So, here's chapter ten :)

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The town they stopped at next was almost deserted. Although, you couldn't really call it a town, just one building that looked like it was a tavern. Anala was almost tempted to turn around until she heard a roar of voices coming from the building in front of them. "Of course," Anala muttered to herself.

"Should we go?" asked Kai, looking around, unsure.

"No, we'll find somewhere to stay. Maybe that tavern has a room available." Kai's face clearly displayed her doubt that they'd find a room, especially in a place like that, unless they were willing to pay an unspeakable price. "Oh, come on," Anala sighed. "It's better than sleeping out in the woods. Those pirates may have followed us you know."

"And a tavern is totally a better place to hide than the woods," Kai said sarcastically. Anala rolled her eyes and pushed Lee onwards towards the tavern. They dismounted their animals and tied them to a nearby post with other ostrich horses along with a few other different creatures, and headed inside.

Anala jumped back in surprise as a glass flew past her face and smashed into the wall on her left. She looked towards the direction it had been thrown from and laughed nervously as she saw a huge man with a large axe over his shoulder. They weaved through the large crowd of loud men and desperate women and looked for the bartender, anyone who worked there. They cringed once they spotted him.

The bartender was as huge a man as the one with the axe was. He had a frown on his place as he cleaned a glass with a filthy cloth and Anala couldn't help but notice that his expression almost made him look as if he was simply disappointed. Whether he was disappointed at himself for doing such a job but the state of humanity, Anala didn't know and she wasn't about to ask and listen to his whole life story.

"Excuse me, sir!" she called to him over the noise. His head snapped towards her, literally. She heard the crack, even over the noise, and winced. She was almost going to turn around as she noticed the large scars that ran from the top of his bald hair, down to his neck and disappearing under his filthy, green shirt. It looked like he had a bad run in with a cat ... or possibly a platypus bear. He then proceeded to slam the glass down on the bench, making the bench, as well as everything that sat on it, shake. He stomped over to the two girls who were growing more terrified by the minute. His shadow loomed over them as he stood right before them. Anala reminded herself that not only were pirates the kind of people to avoid but so were big, scary bartenders.

"Hello!" he suddenly greeted, his disappointed expression suddenly turning into one of pure happiness. Anala and Kai glanced at each other, shrugging, completely confused at the man's behaviour.

"Um ... we'd like to know if you possibly had a free room we could stay in ... please." Anala asked, hiding half her face behind the bottles that were laid out in front of her. "We have plenty of money to pay you."

The man seemed to consider this for a moment. "Well, I suppose we have one room. Why aren't you with your parents?" Shit. Kai looked at Anala in panic and the man noticed, causing him narrow his eyes. Anala saw this and quickly thought of something.

"Sorry about my, uh, sister, she gets a bit upset at the mention of our parents," Anala said, hugging Kai around the neck and patted her back, tearing up slightly. Kai grinned, getting the message and covered her face with her hands, pretending to cry. "It's ok, Ari, I miss them to. You see, our parents were killed a while ago and we are travelling to our aunt and uncle's place to live with them since our parents aren't around a-anymore!" She sniffed and wiped her eyes.

The man seemed to buy their story and handed them a key immediately, his expression had softened. "Upstairs, second on the left, any problems let me know."

"Thank you for your kindness, here's some money," Anala attempted to hand him over some gold coins but the man refused.

"It's ok, it's only one night. Don't worry about it. Would you like anyone to escort you to your aunt and uncle's place tomorrow?" Anala was getting annoyed. Didn't he realise how much more complicated he was making things for her by asking those questions?

"No, that's fine, thank you. They are a bit hostile to ... strangers. We know the way. Like I said, it's not far from here. We'll be fine." Anala explained, pushing Kai towards the staircase.

"If you're sure ..." Gosh, he just won't give up will he? Anala thought.

"Positive," Anala reassured. "We're a bit tired so we're just going to go up and have a little rest." She laughed awkwardly as she neared the stairs, wanting to sprint up them like her life depended on it.

"Ok girls, any problems let me know." The nodded and darted up the stairs, their destination: the second door to the left. Anala stuck the key in the lock, quickly unlocking it. They ran in and quickly shut the door behind them.

"So, sis, don't you think the family will be a bit worried about us?" Kai teased. She rubbed her finger along a table and grimaced as she found a load of dust which had caked itself onto the surface. "Thank the spirits we're only here for one night."

"Yes and let's try not to cause any trouble within that short amount of time," Anala said as she bounced onto the large bed, coughing as dust flew into the air.

"Yeah, because you are just a saint, aren't you Nala?" Anala scoffed and threw a pillow at Kai's head but missing by a mile. She jumped of the bed and looked out a window to see man was flung out of the window by a few other men. She rolled her eyes. The men around there were probably nothing but dirty thieves, but then again, she was just like them, along with Kai. "Let's go get something to eat," Anala said, heading to the door.

"We just came up here and besides, do they even serve food here?" asked Kai from her place on the bed.

"For a bag of gold pieces they do. Come on." Down the stairs they went and up to the counter they travelled. The man was still there and he recognised them instantly. He chuckled loudly, "You know girls, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Seijirou."

"I'm Mayu and this is Ari," Anala introduced, glad to have not messed up their names. "We were wondering if we could get something to eat."

The man laughed loudly. "Of course girls, go sit at that table and I'll have the old chain and ball bring you out something to eat." The two ventured to the table in the corner which was dark and seemed to be a spot where barely anyone paid any attention too.

"Chain and ball?" Kai asked after they'd settled in the chairs.

"He means his wife; at least I think he does. I used to hear the Generals speaking about their wives; they'd often refer to them as "the old chain and ball". It's not a compliment, put it that way." Anala explained.

While they waited, Anala scanned around to check out the different people that were scattered around the tavern. The men were mainly big, huge in fact, although there were a few scrawny men here and there but they appeared to be the more sly ones, the cunning and dangerous ones who'd probably be able to sneak behind a person at night and slit their throat before they knew anything about it.

She also noticed, to her disgust, the women in the tavern. They were anything beyond dangerous. She was certain if they were tough like the man, they wouldn't let themselves be taken advantage of. But these women were practically begging for it. It made Anala sick to the stomach as she watched the women flaunt their breasts and whisper into a man's ear before disappearing upstairs, giggling like a love sick child.

"There you go, you two eat up now. I want nothing left on those plates when I come out to get them," a woman said. "I'm Eri by the way, Seijirou's ball and chain apparently." The girls laughed nervously, wishing the woman would just go away. "Oh well, enjoy." She walked away towards her partner who had a huge red mark on his face.

The two ate their meal in silence, it tasted very good. It was the first cooked meal they'd had in a very, very long time, so they savoured their meal and took slow, small bites. Listening into conversations was both interesting and disturbing to Anala. Some were stories of great adventures of mystery and conspiracy while others were of great adventures they'd had in bed with one of the women there the other night. One particular conversation caught both of the girl's attention.

Not far from where they sat was a smaller man. He had the appearance of a fox and a rat combined. He wasn't a glorious sight, not in the least. His voice was sly, silky and soft. The table at which he sat was occupied by a lot of different men, all about six times his size but he didn't look worried at all. Instead, he had a smug smirk on his face as the men gaped at him as he told them of a valuable treasure. "So ... it's a jewel?" one of the men questioned, pushing away a woman who'd come over to whisper things to him. She glared at him and stomped away.

"Not just any jewel boys," the man said, pulling out a piece of paper. "It's the jewel." His statement was only met with blank stares, not expressions of understanding which he appeared to have hoped for. He sighed. "This jewel was worn on a necklace by the previous earthbending Avatar."

"Avatar Kyoshi?" a man with a large sword questioned, scratching his chin as he thought. "She doesn't sound like the jewellery type."

"Not Avatar Kyoshi you buffoon," the fox-rat faced man groaned. "The previous earthbending Avatar before Avatar Kyoshi, and her name isn't important." The men all understood then and started to chat about it. "Ahem." The noise quietened. "This particular jewel is a Jade Jewel and it is an extremely rare and exotic jewel." The picture displayed a small green stone, and was in the shape of a diamond with rough edges. Anala had to admit it was a pretty jewel; Kai seemed to be thinking the same exact thing as she nibbled on some rice, staring the picture longingly.

"Why are you telling us this?"

"Because, gentlemen, there is a huge reward for the person who is able to find this jewel. How does five hundred gold pieces sound to you boys?" Jaws dropped, including Kai's. The men looked eager. "There's just one problem though. This hasn't been seen in over eight hundred years. It was last sighted on Whale Tail Island, worn by the Avatar's son who died a very unfortunate death. It could be anywhere by now. I am willing to offer five hundred gold pieces, possibly more, to the person who is able to bring me the jewel." It sounded suspicious to Anala. Why was the man so eager to get his hands on the jewel? Sure it was extremely rare, but five hundred gold pieces seemed a little steep. Something was up, and Anala didn't like it.

The men quickly scrambled from their seats and out the door, some even flung themselves out of the windows. Before she knew it, she was being punched in the arm by Kai. "Let's go ask him for more details!"

"WHAT?" Anala screeched. Kai quickly shushed her by covering her mouth. "Have you lost your mind?" she said through the hand, making no effort to slap it off. "You're mental. I bet a blind and deaf person would be able to tell that there is something strange going on here."

"Think about it, we'd be rolling in gold. We'd become legends!" Kai beamed, her eyes lighting with delight as she took her hand away from Anala's mouth.

"Oh no, count me out! I'm not getting messed up in your little fantasy world and don't you dare look at me like that Kai! I said no and that's final. You can go and do what you have to do but count me out." Anala rose from the table and headed to the stairs but Kai's whisper stopped her.

"I thought we were friends to the end?"

Anala froze in her tracks and sighed, slumping slightly and running her hand through her hair in defeat. "Fine!" she sighed, Kai squealed and lunged herself at Anala's back. "But as soon as I get proof something fishy is going on, I'm out, understand?" Kai nodded her head furiously and dragged Anala to the table where fox-rat faced man sat. She wasted no time sitting in the nearest chair and scraping it to the table to get closer. Anala, on the other-hand, eyed the man before sitting. She was only young but she wasn't stupid. The man looked confused at first but smirked at them. "Hello ladies, how can I help you two, young lovely girls today?" Anala was tempted to tell him to cut the crap but Kai quickly slapped her leg and turned her attention to the man.

"We're interested in finding the Jade Jewel," Kai said eagerly.

The man looked at the two of them dumbfounded for a moment before he started cackling. "You two? Find the Jade Jewel? What are you going to do? Braid people's hair for information." The girls exchange a look before turning back to him.

"Well, actually-"

"We were thinking more along the lines of holding someone at knife point," Anala said, wiping her face of all emotion making it appear as if she was simply bored. His laughter stop and he started intently at her. "Think about it." She rested her hands on the table, making motions with them as she spoke to emphasize her point. "Those buffoons aren't going to be able to travel more than two towns without needing some booze or enough food to feed the entire population of Ba Sing Sa for about three months. They'd probably kill their victims before getting any information about them and there will be the constant problem of ... err, distractions." She pointedly looked over at one of the men fox-rat man was previously talking to, he was surrounded by three women and he looked quite pleased with himself.

"Look at them, now look at us," Anala said. "We're both young, and experienced with weapons. We're masters of stealth and evasion. We can fit into the tiniest crevices and climb the tallest mountain without breaking a sweat or stopping for lunch. Admit it, we're your best option if you want this Jade Jewel you're so interested in."

Silence fell upon the three; he kept looking back and forth between them while until chuckling. "I like you; you've got this ... something. I don't know what it is but I like it. Tell you what, my mind has been changed. I think you two have what it takes to find this thing. If you do find the jewel, I'll throw in an extra hundred for you. So, girls, deal?" He held out his hand to Kai who shook quickly and then to Anala.

She eyed it for a moment before shaking it. "Deal," she said slowly, still judging him.

He had a sly smirk on his face as he hissed, "Excellent." He handed the picture of the jewel to them along with another piece of paper which had been folded over several times. "Pleasure doing business ladies." With that, he disappeared through the crowd of rowdy men, out the pub and into the shadows.

Anala couldn't shake the feeling that she'd just made a terrible mistake.