Ba Sing Se was as magnificent as Iroh had described, though we were forced to stay in the lower district along with the rest of the refugees, which made it cramped, dingy and rather poor. It was a little disappointing as I'd heard that Ba Sing Se was the cultural centre of the Earth Kingdom, full of clean streets, quality housing, access to great education and more. I guess with so many people running here for safety, they were starting to run out of room. At least we had no trouble getting a place to ourselves thanks to the White Lotus arranging everything for us here. It was a start at least, we could always work our way up to the middle and upper district.

Zuko and I had been walking side by side, occasionally being pushed into one another from the crowds of people until things got a little quieter after we'd passed through the local market sector, allowing more room to move and breathe. Behind us I heard Iroh catching up, breathing heavily so I turned to see him carrying a rather large flowerpot in his arms, the orange flowers looking rather vibrant in the dull grey and brownish background of the poor sector. "I just want our new place to look nice in case one of you brings home a lady or a gentleman friend." Iroh supplied as an excuse as Zuko had been glowering at the plant.

"This city is a prison. I don't want to make a life here."

"Life happens wherever you are, whether you make it or not. Now come on, I found us some new jobs, and we start this afternoon." New jobs? That was fast, Iroh sure doesn't mess around.

"Where are we working?" I asked curiously as Iroh began to lead the way, having memorised the instructions to our new apartment.

"In a tea shop of course. I thought it would be perfect for us to begin our new lives here. The pay isn't much, but between the three of us, we should manage comfortably." Pressing my hand over my mouth I snorted quietly, side glancing at Zuko who looked just about fit to blow. I can't wait to see him in an apron serving customers tea. As long as I live, I am never going to let him forget it.

"Don't even think about it." He growled at me, stomping in anger as we followed his uncle.

"Think about what?" I asked innocently, pretending that I was as sweet as sugar.

"Whatever it was you were thinking just now, don't. Also, don't say anything. In fact, just don't talk to me. I'm already sick of this place."

"Come on, it's not that bad. I mean, compared to sleeping in dirt on the road, this place is like a utopia. We'll have real beds, a roof over our heads and a means to earn steady money. It's a beginning of something, and I'd prefer it to being homeless and penniless still." Reaching out towards him, I placed my hand in Zuko's in order to try and make him feel a little better, or at least, a little less angry. "We're still all together and all in one piece, so that's something right? This isn't permanent, so just try to go along with it just for now. Just look how happy your uncle is. At the very least, do it for him, please?" Zuko sighed heavily before nodding his head obligingly.

"Fine, but I am not wearing a uniform." Oh we'll see about that. Grinning, I tightened my grip on his hand in order to spring forwards, pulling him along with me in order to catch up to Iroh, beaming all the way. Our new house was rather cute. Small, but functional. There were two rooms available, and it went without saying that I'd have one to myself, though when Iroh tried to give me the larger room, I refused flatly and insisted that he and Zuko should take it since the other room was barely big enough for them to sit down in together. It would work for me just fine, so with the sleeping arrangements settled and our belongings now stored away, we all headed over to the tea shop.

It was nothing exciting, just a regular looking shop just like all the others down the street and the owner wasn't particularly friendly as he was very straight laced and business like. He was polite and welcoming though, ushering us inside and quickly issuing all three of us aprons to wear over our clothes. Zuko looked like he wanted to set his on fire, so after I'd tied mine at the back with a bow, I quickly pulled his out of his hands. "Deep breaths, just go with it." I cautioned, looping the neck strap over his head before I secured the ties behind him as he just stood there rigidly.

"Well, you certainly look like official tea servers. How do you feel?" Our new manager questioned as Zuko scowled.

"Ridiculous."

"Adorable!" I quickly covered, giving a bright smile and a thumb's up as Zuko shot me a glare. One of these days, he's going to burn holes into the back of my head from glaring at me so much.

"Uh, Does this possibly come in a larger size?" Iroh was struggling to tie his apron around his rather rotund belly, making the manger hum before turning around.

"I have extra string in the back. Have some tea while you wait." Pouring us all tea, Iroh did not hesitate to take one for himself. Meanwhile, my ears caught the sound of something outside, a slight clatter against the shutters so I discreetly turned my head and looked out of my peripheral vision to see someone lingering at the window, watching us. I couldn't see exactly who it was, but I didn't need any guesses. I knew who was there. Jet.

He'd been following us ever since the train station, discreetly keeping an eye on all three of us. He'd followed us to our home then here to the tea shop, but I'd decided not to tell Zuko or Iroh about it. As far as I was aware, they didn't know Jet had been stalking us, and I wanted to keep it that way since I didn't know how Zuko would react, and the last thing we needed was for him to get angry since he had a habit of producing fire whenever he was pissed off. I'll figure out a way to deal with Jet, but as long as neither of those two did any more fire bending, we should be able to get away with it.

"This tea is nothing more than hot leaf juice!" Jolting when I heard Iroh proclaim in disgust at having drank another cold, tasteless cup of tea, I quickly returned my attention to them both.

"Uncle, that's what all tea is."

"How can a member of my own family say something so horrible? We'll have to make some major changes around here." Iroh grabbed the entire teapot in order to throw it out, pouring its contents out the window and as he moved towards it, I caught sight of the shadow flitting away with a stalk of prairie grass hanging from their mouth. Definitely Jet. Jeez, can't we catch a break here? Well, for now I can leave it be. Since work would start in just a few minutes, I'd better help Iroh brew some real tea and bring in some customers.

As it turned out, I didn't mind this kind of work so much. I got to brew tea to my heart's content and the fragrant smell was something I enjoyed being surrounded by. Since Iroh had taught me everything he knew, we shared the responsibilities of brewing the tea and cleaning the cups and pots out the back whilst Zuko just brought out the orders then took them away again once they were done. I could tell he hated every minute of it, but to his credit, he didn't complain once in front of anyone and kept it in until we were able to return home.

Then, he'd shut himself in his room and stew there whilst I took care of making dinner for us all. "What a great day. I cannot wait to return tomorrow for an entire day of tea making. I think I have found my true calling in life." Iroh chuckled as he started to make tea for himself whilst I diced up what vegetables we had left in order to make dinner. "Would you two like a pot of tea?"

"Yes please."

"We've been working in a tea shop all day. I'm sick of tea!" Zuko yelled through the door, still not emerging as I started to look for the spark rocks in order to start a fire so I could boil the rice.

"Sick of tea? That's like being sick of breathing!" Iroh was rummaging around as well, but neither of us could find them. Where did they go? I was sure I saw some earlier when I was snooping around all the cupboards when we got here this morning. "Have you seen our spark rocks to heat up the water?" Iroh asked Zuko but he didn't answer as I also came up empty.

"I got nothing. Maybe you should ask next door to see if we can borrow some." I suggested, kneeling down on the ground to look under the dresser to see if they'd perhaps fallen down somewhere. I wonder where those rocks went? I left them somewhere obvious, unless…that damn Jet! I bet he took them. Stupid kid, wait until I get my hands on him, but how did he get in? I'll have to make sure we put locks on the windows and secure the door tomorrow. If he could get in, then I doubt it would be too difficult for some desperate soul to break in and steal our stuff. I'll have to find a place to hide our money too.

"I borrowed our neighbours'. Such kind people." Iroh announced as he returned, spark rocks in hand. With a quick strike he lit a fire underneath the teapot stand before bringing them over to me, letting me use them in order to start cooking the food before he took them back to our neighbours. Fanning the fire to get it going I then closed the stove door and began adding herbs and spices to the mix in order to add flavour, knowing that bland food would only make Zuko's mood worse.

Whilst Iroh enjoyed some rest with his tea, I sipped at mine whilst I cooked, the smell eventually drawing Zuko out of his room. "That smells good." He said to me as he approached slowly, looking curiously over my shoulder as I boiled, stewed and cooked away.

"Not much longer until it's done so you might as well wash up. It's not much since we didn't have a lot of food left, but once its light out I can go to the market and buy more. We have some money left over from travelling, it should be enough to last us a week or two but we'll have to be careful. No wild shopping sprees I'm afraid, Iroh."

"Of course, little Kayo. Perhaps you should be the one to take care of our finances. I have found that I often cannot refuse a good bargain when I see one, so perhaps it would be wise for you to purchase our necessitates and allocate as much as you deem necessary to other spending." Iroh suggested as he started to lay the table, Zuko going to help. "What do you think, nephew?"

"I'm fine with whatever, uncle. I don't care." So with it being agreed that I would take charge of the money, I put the food on the table and we ate together with a slightly better constitution from Zuko once he had food in his belly. He relaxed a little and just enjoyed the food quietly whilst Iroh and I talked about things we needed and I made a list in my head, since we didn't have ink and paper. That might have to wait a while. I suggested that instead of handing all of our wages over to me, both Iroh and Zuko would donate as much as they wanted each week from their earnings so that they could keep some aside for themselves to buy whatever they wanted, and that seemed to work for us all.

However, after we'd cleared up and Iroh had fallen asleep, I did some calculating in my head, arms folded and eyes closed in order to think. Even with the three of us, our wages won't nearly be enough to buy everything we wanted and needed, including things like rent and any sudden emergencies like medicine should one of us get sick. We needed more, a lot more. Especially considering Iroh and I like to eat so much, and I wasn't exactly happy surviving on just plain rice and vegetables every day.

Getting up I quietly slid open the door to Iroh's and Zuko's room, looking in on them and once I was sure they were asleep, I closed the door then went to my room in order to change into a simply outfit which exposed my arms, my belly and was easy to move in. Since it wasn't too late at night, there was still a lot of people out and about, but I knew if I moved to certain districts, there would be a lot more people around. Picking up a bowl I snuck out of the apartment then headed out onto the street, putting my hair up out of my way before then whirling the green headscarf I'd been giving over my head and around my lower face, hiding everything but my eyes from view so that people couldn't properly see my features.

Walking around for a while to familiarise myself with the streets, I bought myself a tambourine from late market stall then picked a prime location with good lighting and plenty of people walking past before setting down the bowl and beginning to shake my new instrument. It rattled lightly and I tapped the skin of the drum to make sounds, beating out a rhythm before I started to dance. Almost immediately people began to look my way, drawn to my movements and the sound of the tambourine.

Most would watch for a while then walk away, but some would toss coins into my collection bowl and clap. Each one who donated would get a grateful nod and a dip in their direction to acknowledge their kindness before I'd continue to dance. With the location of the street, there was no other way to describe it as the entrance to the Red Light District, meaning that a lot of men were entering and leaving, usually those with a lot more money than those who lived here. I was far enough from the houses that I would not be noticed or associated with them, but close enough that I could attract the richer people into giving me their money too.

From them I could get more, usually silvers or even a few gold coins. It worked well, and plenty of coins soon filled my collection so I stopped after a few hours in order to collect them up, wary of anyone watching and also very aware of the fact that Jet had been spying on me this entire time. I poured the coins into a pouch then pulled the strings closed, picking up my belongings in order to leave quickly. I stole away with my face covered, making sure that no one but Jet was following me before I pulled off the headscarf in an alleyway, tossing out my hair with satisfaction before speaking up.

"You know, if you're going to follow someone then you should probably make sure they don't know that you're behind them." Silence followed for a few seconds before I turned and looked up, one hand on my hip as I looked up to where Jet had hidden himself on one of the rooftops. "I know you're there Jet. You might be agile and fairly quiet, but I've got a quick eye. You might as well come down and tell me why you've been following us all day." This finally prompted him out, making him emerge before jumping down from the rooftop and nimbly descending, using his hooked swords to grab onto things so that he could swing down before finally landing in front of me.

"So you knew."

"Of course I knew. You're not exactly the kind of guy that blends in." I reasoned simply, nodding up at his hair. "Your hair for starters, it's so wild and stands much taller than anyone else's. Plus, you've been glaring at us with such animosity it's impossible not to feel a chill down the spine. So, tell me what your problem is. Also, I know it was you who stole our spark rocks, so give them back." He glowered at me darkly, tossing the spark rocks back at me before gripping his swords tightly and pointing.

"My problem is that you guys are fire benders. I saw that old man you were with drinking hot tea after he'd said it was cold. How do you explain that?" I rolled my eyes.

"Seriously? You're making an accusation based on a cup of tea? Maybe you misunderstood or imagined what you saw. Maybe my uncle got a fresh cup whilst you weren't looking. Do you even understand just how ridiculous you sound right now?" I tried to play it off with a cool and calm response, relying on logic and reason to lie convincingly. "Listen, you don't have to worry about us. We're not fire benders, we're refugees just like you. All we want is to start a peaceful life here away from the war. We're not a threat. We're not your enemy." I tried to reach out for Jet, wanting to try and persuade him that he'd seen things wrong and that he didn't have to be suspicious of us, but the moment I reached out he fended me off with his sword, pressing it against my throat which forced me to tilt my head backwards, feeling the cold metal against my skin.

"I don't trust anything that comes out of your mouth. I'm going to find proof that you guys are fire benders and then hand you over to the law to be dealt with. I'm not going to stop until you're all facing punishment for the crimes you and your people committed!" Well this went well. Jet slashed his sword very close to me, making me flinch sharply and back away fearfully, not wanting to get hurt. "You make me sick, you're all nothing but murderers. Monsters. I will never give up until your entire nation is completely eradicated, left as nothing more than ash. I want you all to die in a sea of flames that you'd use against the rest of us for the last hundred years!"

Trembling from the force of his words, I instinctively knew that Jet meant every word of what he'd said. I was so scared that he was going to kill me right then and there to take revenge against my nation. My mind was drawing a total blank and I couldn't even make myself form the words to tell him that I wasn't a fire bender but a water bender to absolve myself of the guilt of being one of them, at least in his eyes. With a burning gaze that left me trembling, Jet disappeared into the street and was soon lost among the people there as I gripped onto my headscarf, holding onto it like a shield, much good it would have done me.

Stupid Kayo, you should have told him that you were a water bender. Damn it. Next time. I'll tell him next time I manage to catch him, then everything will be resolved. After all, no one in their right mind would thing that a water bender would actually travel with two fire benders, so it should work as a cover story. Taking a few minutes to recover and waiting until my legs had stopped shaking so much, I quickly returned home, shutting myself in my room and hiding underneath the blanket in order to shut out the outside world, not wanting to emerge until it was daylight and it felt safer to be out in the open.