Hue had insisted on bringing Cahaya to their apartment instead of the hospital. Jampa was not about to let them disappear into the massive city, and went with them. Chagatai and Hue were showing signs of mild effects of Koh. Jampa, then, had to drive the truck, while Hue gave her directions to their apartment. Chagatai kept the unconscious Cahaya company in the bed of the truck, preventing her from bumping her head; he was lucid enough for that, at least. Jampa wasn't an experienced driver, but she knew the rules of the road, and kept to the speed limit and followed all signs, to the annoyance of Hue, and many of the other drivers. Still, they managed to beat traffic.
Their 'apartment' was the left side of a double house, and that was the side of the building that was well maintained. The other half was dilapidated to the point it was almost to the point of being condemned. Jampa carried Cahaya to the sofa, and laid her down.
"Icebox," Jampa instructed to Hue, and she pointed to the next room. Jampa returned with a bag of ice, and she laid it on Cahaya's head where she'd been punched.
"You all need medical attention," Jampa said, "Let me call a doctor, you can trust him, whatever it is you're hiding. Your friend took a heavy dose of Koh. She needs a detoxin."
"We'll be fine," Hue snapped.
"I can't let this slide, the police will want to know what you saw."
"I didn't see nothin' other'n'n Airbender kicking mah butt with an applause."
"An Airbender? What?"
"There was an Airbender, I think he was the one delivering the Koh. The fat guy called him Baoyin."
"Baoyin…Doesn't ring a bell. Sit down. What's your name? What's hers? How did you meet Chagatai?"
"What is he your brother?"
"He's a friend of a friend. What's your name?"
She snorted, "Ah'm Hue. That's Cahaya."
"What were you doing in that Koh den?"
"We were bustin' it! The police knew about it and didn't do nothin'! Koh ain't like booze! It don't hurt you the same way! But they treat it the same way, an' the Traid git away with sellin' the stuff by the bottle! An' from what Ah gathered we did a purdy good job of it too!"
"You're from the Foggy Swamp, Hue?"
"Kin Ah git some water fer this interrogation? Should Ah call a lawyer?"
Jampa shook her head, and relaxed, "I'm just trying to understand what happened."
"We bit off more'n we could chew. We ain't doin' this agin, Ah promise. Probably gonna have to move, too. Git a new truck…Move the still…"
"Still? What still?"
Hue winced, "Well, uh, y'see-"
There was a knock at the door, and Hue ducked behind her chair. Chagatai looked up from his glowing hands at the door. Jampa kept one eye on Hue as she approached the door, and looked out the spyhole.
"Hello?" a short old woman with her hair in a bun called out. On the street was a Satomobile with a pair of nearly identical men were leaning against it, each of them looking awfully like the punks that Cahaya and Hue had just roughed up. Jampa opened the door, and Chagatai gawked.
"…Bian?" Chagatai managed. Her narrow eyes opened, and her mouth opened in a wide smile.
"Chagatai! Boys, look, it's Chagatai!" she waddled into the house and gave Chagatai a hug. Hue stared at the little old woman that had just entered her house.
"What a pleasant surprise! I didn't expect to see you here of all places!"
"I…Didn't expect to see you, either. What brings you here?"
"Oh, well, I heard a rumor that these fine young ladies spun yarn, and I was hoping to purchase some! Oh dearie, dearie me, what happened to you poor dears?" she asked, digging into her purse.
"We, uh…Got in a fight. It didn't go so well. Rough neighborhood," Hue said, "Why don'tcha come upstairs, and I'll show you our…Yarn?"
"That sounds lovely!" she produced several chocolate bars from her purse, handing one to each of them, and nibbling into one, herself as she followed Hue upstairs. Hue led her to a drinking room, which had a few boxes with jugs marked as 'Swamp Elixir.'
"This is our…'Yarn.' Bian, wadn't it? I'm Hue. My friend downstairs is Cahaya."
Bain shook her hand dismissively, "I know who you are. Let me test your booze, honey."
Hue smiled, and poured some of the stuff, and reached for the cocktail mix, but Bian grabbed the glass, and sipped the small layer of moonshine. Bian shook her head, smiled, and stomped her foot.
"HOO yeah, that's good hooch, girl! You know how to make the good stuff!"
Hue smiled, and downed some of moonshine, herself. It helped dull the pain a little bit. Bian put her glass down, and motioned for another hit; Hue obliged, and Bian sipped it, savoring the alcohol. She chopped her lips in satisfaction and nodded.
"I don't know WHAT you're doing to piss someone off that you're getting in fights, but whatever it is, make sure you keep making swampshine like that! Whooo-eee, girl, that's a right ruff'n'tumble under the stars! I'll take the lot!"
Hue laughed, "Say wut?"
"I want to buy all your shine. How does forty Yuan per jug sound?"
"That…That sounds great! I'll take it! How much do you want?"
"All of it."
"All…Of…It?"
"All your hooch, honey, and I'll pay you three hundred to see your still."
"Well, I've got twelve jugs here."
"That's four hundred eighty, plus three hundred if you let me see your still."
"Yeah, of course, it's upstairs. Let me show you," Hue led her up another flight of stairs; Bian didn't do so well on stairs, and it took her a little while to make it up them.
"Oh, my!" she smiled when she saw the still. They'd bought good parts for it, but it still looked like a chimera of different machines.
"My pa taught me how to make Swampshine."
"My ma taught me," Bian's accent slipped, "Ah'm from the northern Swamp, honey, ain't no reason to be so tense, gurl! Ah see whatchu did here. Y'ain't got the swamp to move the water in, so ya keep bendin' the water ta keep the flavor fresh. How often?"
"Every four hours. We've got a motor that keeps it moving whenever Ah'm outta the house."
"Clever. Oh, right here! You don't wanna keep this so taught!" Bian waved her hand, bending the liquid in the still to unwind some copper wire, "If that gets too hot it'll spring open an' you'll get a face fulla steamin' Swampshine! Happened to mah uncle Ji. Ugliest son of a gator you ever seen. Then he got a face fulla hot swampshine!"
Hue joined Bian in a laugh. Bian took another look around the still and nodded.
"Well, ya shouldn't keep this in yer house. Ah kin git you a nice building fer it. A business an' everythin' on the surface. You keep stillin' swampshine like that, girl, an' Ah'll pay you forty a jug. How's that sound?"
"I…I don't know what to say, ma'am. I'll have to talk to Cahaya about it, we're partners in everything. I keep the water going, but she keeps it warm."
"Fair 'nuff! Ah'll be back in a few days, let her rest up. Here's mah number, call any time. Now, would you mind tellin' me how ya met Chagatai?"
Jampa tsked over Chagatai; he'd gotten blood on his new shirt that Chinngis had bought him. Chagatai looked at Jampa, and sniffed as she took it off him.
"I'm sorry, Jampa…"
"It's okay, Chagatai. You did well," she hugged him and patted him on the back, "You've been through a lot in a short amount of time. It's okay, let it out."
"I…I can't. I shouldn't, Min is still hurt," he said, sniffing back his tears, "I'm just…So tired..."
"It's okay. I'll take you back to my place, and you can sleep this all off like a bad hangover, okay?"
"What's a hangover?" Chagatai asked, and Jampa gave a snort, and covered her mouth, stopping the laugh. She patted Chagatai on the back, and went to the kitchen, bringing him a glass of water, which he chugged down. Cahaya coughed three times and wheezed. Jampa lifted the girl, letting her breath easier. She opened her eyes, looking around, stopping on Chagatai for a moment, then closed them again.
"She's going to need detoxin. She might die if she doesn't get a physician. We have some in Tenzintown. Chagatai, what were doing there? Who are these girls?"
"Hue and Min. I think…I think they were pretending to be the Avatar so people would give people money. They were using mudbending and firebending to fake the four elements. After I…Failed my test…I…I wanted them to be telling them the truth. I didn't want my trip to be for nothing. They said I could be part of Team Avatar, and they abandoned me at a store. They were talking about a bust on a Koh den, and I figured out where it was by backtracking and asking around. I found them in time when Min-I mean, Cahaya-was about to be injected with Koh by that Airbender, Baoyin. They were good, Jampa. Really good fighters."
"You're not so bad yourself, Chagatai. Master Sonam was impressed when you managed to hit him with that punch. You fought well."
Chagatai smiled, "Really?"
"You're an ace Bender, Chagatai. You can learn a lot in Republic City."
Chagatai nodded with a smile on his face, "What was it that the Airbender smashed on the ground? My hands started glowing. I don't…Remember much from the fight. I remember he beat me, and then I was on the ground, and he was running away."
"I don't know, maybe some new kind of Koh. We should get you and Hue looked at, and definitely Cahaya."
"I was glowing. Just like the Koh users said I was…"
"Don't worry about it, Chagatai. Just relax, and be strong."
"I'll tell my boys to get all the yarn down here," Bian said as she and Hue descended the stairs slowly.
"Thank you ever so much for your generosity, ma'am. I do appreciate your patronage."
"Oh, well, you've got top of the line stuff! I'll be hard pressed to find comparable competitors! You'll be seeing me again!" Bian waddled to the final step, then to the door, "TSO! JING! GET IN HERE!"
Tso and Jing entered. They had long sleeved shirts, hiding their Triad tattoos. Hue showed then where the boxes were. Bian took a seat where Hue had been sitting.
"You must be a very brave boy to be helping these girls out against such ruffians! Attacking girls! Hnph! What has the world come to! Your nobility is a rare thing these days, Chagatai, don't lose it! It is a strength, don't let anyone tell you otherwise!"
The two young men came downstairs with moonshine-laden boxes.
"Those boxes look a bit heavy to be yarn," Jampa said to Bian with a playful cowl, and the old woman blushed and gasped.
"Oh! My! Well, you know how it is these days! There's no reason to be all up in arms about a bit of fun!"
Jampa laughed and shook her head, "I understand, I've gone to a couple of parties, Bian, you don't have to explain yourself to me. But what are you doing with so MUCH of it?"
"Oh, well, times are hard, you know? You have to find business where you can."
"You're…a sakerunner?" Jampa laughed, "I don't believe it! You are full of surprises, Bian!"
"More than a few!" she said with a nod as her grandsons came for the last two boxes. Chagatai rubbed his head.
"What are you two talking about? I'm totally confused…"
"Don't worry about it, Chagatai. Here, have another chocolate bar, and enjoy. It was so nice to see you again. I hope you feel better soon," Bian slid off the chair as her grandsons finished moving the swampshine, and gave Chagatai a kiss on the forehead, and followed them out the door. Hue smiled as she watched them get into the Satomobile. Tso sat in the driver's seat, and started the vehicle, and an old timey tune with a horn and a singer played, the last thing one would expect out of a showy Triad Satmobile, and they drove away.