A/N. Mentions things like slums and poor conditions in general
I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender
Aang lay, wide awake, in the dark. He hadn't managed to get some sleep, here in this bedroom. It was too quiet. He was not used to it, sleeping alone. In the temple, he had shared a dormitory with all the other novices, and after that, he had always slept with the other in the same room, or with Appa next to him…
And now, all alone, laying on the bed, sleep had not come to him. The bed was comfortable, and he had been exhausted from the last few days…. But yeah, no sleep.
Seeing the first ray of sunlight get past his window, the airbender stood up, pulled his tunic on, grabbed his staff and got out of the room, quietly. He and Katara had agreed to go "eat" this morning.
He knocked gently on her door, in front of his own bedroom.
"I'm up." Came the whispered answered from the other side of the wooden door. When she opened the door, she was already dressed, and ready to go out.
"So, where do we go eat our breakfast?" she asked, grinning at the theatre of it all.
"I thought about the Lower Ring? If Appa has been traded here, it is more likely that the refugees have some information." He murmured back. The airbender had thought about this the whole night.
"Alright! Two accomplished benders will be more than capable to watch our step!" Katara pipped up, imitating Jo Dee. He smiled at that.
"Well, let's go!" He exclaimed. Should he offer her his arm? Or would that be weird? He had thought about it, and the idea had crossed his mind that people who looked like a couple would attract less attention. But he had decided against it. Aang wanted to talk to Katara, but he didn't want it to look like an excuse to find Appa. No, he wanted to talk to her, privately.
When Katara opened the door, he saw her look left and right, before nodding in his direction. So, there was no sign of people like Jo Dee. They left, quietly, and walked to the street. Rays of sunlight just came over the red wall of the Upper Ring, while they walked in silence towards one of the great gates, they had seen the day before.
They turned the corner, and Aang felt Katara hand on his arm.
"Wait, we are too recognizable… Or at least, you are." She whispered, pulling a cloak from her bag.
"Oh… I would have liked not to hide my tattoos actually… There is no Fire Nation here…" He sighed, knowing she was right. They didn't want to attract attention to themselves and walking around with his exposer head and arms would scream Avatar or Air Nomad. So, the cloak it was.
Pulling it on, he saw Katara look at him, with a sad smile.
"I know it is not what you want Aang. But just for this once. We'll try to locate Appa, and people may be afraid to talk to you otherwise. If someone has bought him, they would surely make the connection between your arrows and Appa. So, just for now, for Appa. Then, I won't ask ever again that you hide your identity… I know you hate it." She whispered, while pulling the cloak neater around him.
"Thank you… You always know how I feel about these things…" He murmured. The waterbender made her way to the gates, where two guards, looking positively bored, stood.
"Business in the Middle Ring?" One groaned, not even looking at them. Aang took a step forward, careful to keep the cloak on his tattoos so not to betray who he was.
"We want to go to the university." He explained. It was a plausible story. They were around the age of the youngest students they had seen yesterday, and no one would think it strange. The guard just nodded, opening a small door inside the huge gates.
"So, considering a new career path?" Katara laughed as they emerged inside the Middle Ring.
"Well, everything better than what has been forced upon me." He muttered, before trying to be more upbeat. He had been depressing enough the last few days.
"Maybe we should visit the library sometime… Zei said it was the greatest in the whole Earth kingdom. And here, there will not be some angry spirit chasing us around." He laughed.
"Only angry students," Katara smiled, and the rest of their journey through the Middle Ring was spent in comfortable silence. As they drew near the gates to the Lower Ring, Katara stopped him.
"Look!" She pointed her chin to the gates as she pulled him to the shadows of an alley. Looking past her, Aang saw a whole regiment of soldiers making ready to enter the slums. Seeing how the soldiers were sharpening weapons, he thought he knew what they were planning to do. The airbender had heard about this a century ago. How in Ba Sing Se, the Lower Ring was patrolled by soldiers carrying weapons. Each day, there were deaths thanks to it.
As the gates opened, the soldiers began to split up in groups of two, patrolling the slums. From the other side, soldiers were returning, probably having had a night patrol duty. They looked tired, and one even had a slashed uniform, but otherwise, they seemed in high spirits.
As they walked past, Aang caught several parts of the conversations. Stupid refugees… Making our lives difficult… Have you been to Yangchen's Tavern tonight… New arrivals… Black market deals are getting out of control…
The fact that there was a tavern named after the Air Nomad Avatar before him surprised him, for he knew that on her festival, alcohol was forbidden, for she had been against it. And the information about the black market interested him. He and Katara had thought about the places where Appa could be yesterday, and they thought that he would be traded without trying to attract attention. So, by the black market.
"Come on." The watebender pulled him along when the soldiers were past them, and they were stopped by a guard in front of the gates.
"What do you want in the Lower Ring?" The guard, a man with a moustache and dark green eyes asked, not unkindly.
"We are looking for something, and we suspect we could find it there." Katara explained. The man looked at them, shaking his head.
"Well, go on. Just… don't take anything with you of value." He advised, opening a door similar to the one they had gone through from the Upper Ring.
When Aang came to the other side of the wall, the first thing that hit him was the smell. Then, the noises. Nothing was hidden here, and everything was filthy. The streets were filled with garbage, and on each corner, a man or a woman was begging.
"Well… Welcome to the Lower Ring…" Katara said, hesitantly. The airbender shared that feeling. Apparently, the station had been in the nicer part of town. This… Was different. He had ever seen such poverty. The whole concept was foreign to him. In the Temples, everything was shared, and the Air Nomad communities living in the valleys below the temples had never wanted for material things. But seeing this, he was shocked. How was it possible for him to live in such a nice house, while other people, who needed it far more than he did, lived like this?
"Aang… I took some of the money from that bag that we got from the sandbenders… I thought we may need it… But I think we would do better to give it to some of the people here…" Katara whispered. Aang nodded, agreeing with the sentiment. As they ventured deeper inside the slums, quietly giving some beggars some coins, Aang thought about how the city was different from everything he believed in.
Here, the poor and the rich were separated, in a vain effort to make to one forget the other. In this city, the poor were treated as if they didn't deserve the respect accorded to any human being.
Looking at himself and Katara, he couldn't help but see how out of place they were. She was wearing her usual blue dress, but in the sea of brown and grey, it looked far richer than it actually was. Even himself, with the dark cloak, looked different.
They turned a corner, entering a street filled with little restaurants and food carts.
"Well… We should eat breakfast actually…" the waterbender turned to look at him, and his heart couldn't help but begin to beat faster when she looked at him. Nodding, he walked over to the closest food cart, where a big, burly man with a beard stood, watching them.
"This is not a neighbourhood fit for you." He said, gently. For such a big guy, he had a soft, kind voice.
"We are actually looking around for a friend." Aang explained, while he pointed to two bread rolls.
"Do you know where we could find someone willing to help us?" Katara asked, handing the man some money for the bread.
"Depends on what you want. In this part of the Lower Ring, most things pass through the Yangchens Tavern, or at least, they know what is happening. But… I think it would be better to avoid entering that establishment." The man explained, while giving them their bread.
"Why?" The waterbender asked, taking the food.
"It is a house of ill repute Miss. They know what happens around here because the girls working there listen to their… clients." He explained, before wheeling his cart further along the street.
Aang understood… Yangchen's Tavern was a brothel.
"So… We're still going, aren't we?" Katara turned around, looking at him.
"Yeah, if they have information about Appa… But I'm not looking forward to it." He groaned. He knew exactly what to expect.
"I've told you the Air Nomads were considered… loose. Because of the fact we didn't commit ourselves easily." The airbender began to explain, while walking in the direction the man had pointed to while talking about the place.
"Yeah… I suppose that's why they named a brothel after an Air Nomad Avatar?" Katara said, through gritted teeth. Aang knew she hated those kinds of establishments. They had already seen several during their travels, and most of the time, it looked very… Unhealthy and dangerous.
"I think… Air Nomads were always considered… exotic. Because how different we thought about these things. And often, brothels would imitate the looks of temples, or advertise the fact they had an Air Nomad boy or girl…" He answered, sighing. The airbender had hated how people thought about his people when they were still around, and now, a century later, he was still not a fan.
They walked in silence, and before long, they arrived at their destination.
The building looked… clean. It was built from stone, in stark contrast of the sea of wooden houses. It had a second floor, and it sounded… Quiet. Entering, Aang saw the common room, deserted of people, thank the Spirits. He had not wanted to walk in while they were… entertaining.
"Who are you?" A sharp voice came from a corner. Turning around, Aang nearly had a heart attack.
In front of him stood a tall woman, with quite a large bust and even a larger belly. She was around fifty years old. But what shocked him wasn't the large proportions of the woman, but rather her clothes. She was wearing a crude imitation of an Air Nomad nun's robes. He felt a hand on his arm, and he knew Katara was trying to calm him down, while she spoke.
"We would like to know something, if that is possible." The waterbender asked, sounding gentle, but Aang heard the hidden irritation. That was why he loved her. She understood him.
"Depend on what you want to know… and what you are willing to give in return…" The woman sat down at a table and waved to the bench in front of it. As they sat down, Aang saw the woman look at him with interest. His tattoos were still hidden, but she could probably see his eyes. And grey wasn't a very common colour, he was aware of that.
"We are looking for an animal, traded in the city. We wanted to know if you knew anything about it?" Katara asked, sitting just on the edge of the bench. Knowing what happened is this room, Aang was already regretting having sat down.
"I may know something…" The woman whispered in a tone that suggested she wanted something before saying anything else. Aang saw the waterbender put a hand in her bag and putting several golden coins on the table.
"So, what is the animal you are looking for?" The woman smiled widely now.
"A Sky Bison." Aang said, trying not to look at the frescos on the walls. They looked like the one in the temples… Only, if he had painted what happened on these frescos on the walls of the temple, he would have been grounded for a year.
"Young man, those are extinct." The woman still smiled.
"Not this one." He answered, trying to hold his anger inside.
"Well… I haven't heard anything about it, but I could, of course, ask around…"
"That would be appreciated. Could we come back in several days with more… motivation?" Katara jiggled her bag, and the noise of those coins were clearly heard. The woman just nodded and smiled.
As they stood up, Aang heard giggles coming from the stairs in the corners. Several girls, wearing similar clothes as the matron, were looking in their direction.
"Why Yangchen?" Katara asked suddenly, having seen the same thing as he had.
"Pardon?" The woman waved the girls away.
"Why name this establishment after a woman known to have been single her entire life?" The waterbender still held his arm, and Aang knew perfectly well he wasn't going to like the answer, seeing the smile of the woman.
"Ah, it is good for business. You know, these people… They were really something in bed. And they were known for it! So, to advertise with them… People come from all over the city."
Aang tried to control his irritation, but it was too much. They had not been known for being debauchees! Or at least, not really!
"Come on Aang." Katara pulled him gently out of the building, "We'll be back in two or three days to know what you know!" She shouted towards the woman, before pulling him on the street.
As they walked back towards the gates, Aang fumed.
"They think they know such things! What a load of… You would think they would be remembered for their charity, for their peace-keeping missions… But no! We are remembered for having fucked half the world."
"I know Aang, of course, it isn't true! This woman just does it to attract clients. Doesn't mean she really thinks it." Katara still held his arm, he realized. She hadn't let go since the brothel. He felt himself calm down, regretting the words he had just used.
"Yeah, I know… sorry. I sounded just like Toph." He smiled ruefully
"Try to spend less time with her, she is having an influence on you," Katara also smiled.
As they arrived in front of their home, just an hour before lunch, Aang saw the green and brown carriage of yesterday standing in front if it. So, Jo Dee was back.
Katara opened the door, and they were immediately faced by the woman, sitting at the table, smiling her fake smile.
"Oh, how good, you're back." She said happily.
"You see, nothing happened." Toph's voice came from behind the woman.
"You never know that, Miss Bei Fong." Jo Dee scolded the blind girl, still smiling. "Where have you been?" she turned to Aang.
"Ehm, out?" He answered. Why was it important to her?
"At such an early hour! Very good, I hope you had the time to explore the Upper Ring a bit more?" Jo Dee smiled, pouring herself a cup of tea. Aang saw Katara smile the same fake smile as Jo Dee, sitting down next to her.
"But of course. Such nice buildings! And that little park next to the gates! Just beautiful." The waterbender nodded stupidly.
Aang knew what she was doing. She was trying to convince Jo Dee, by playing the same game as the woman did. While the two talked, all fake smiles, Toph came to stand next to him.
"That woman knew you were out. I heard you two leave this morning, and not an hour after that, she stood in front of the door. I can feel Katara lying, even through these wooden floors. So whatever you did, don't say a word. Jo Dee seems to buy it." The blind girl whispered quietly in his ear. He just nodded.
"Such a pleasure to drink tea with you." Jo Dee bowed politely, before departing the house. When the door fell shut behind her, Aang turned to Katara, who was looking in his direction.
"Where did you learn to act like that?" he asked her.
"Living with Sokka, you had to become creative with lying. Oh no Sokka, there is no seal jerky left. While you had just made some." Katara grinned. He sat down next to her, and Toph joined them.
"Care to tell where you went?" The earthbender spoke quietly, as if Jo Dee was still around.
"Searching for information about Appa in the Lower Ring." Katara answered her, in the same low tone.
"Good. We must keep that a secret. Oh, and by the way, there was something in the letterbox." Toph handed an official looking card to the waterbender.
As she read, Aang couldn't help but watch her. Now that they had an informant in the Lower Ring about Appa, who was surely going to come up with something, seen her… clientele, he could maybe think about the two other things on his mind? Speaking to the Earth king… And speaking to Katara…
"It is a statement from the Palace that the King is throwing a party for his… Bear?" The waterbender sounded dubious. Bear?
"What?" Sokka's voice came from the hallway. "Morning! Don't you mean platypus bear?"
"Armadillo bear?"
"Gopher Bear?"
"No… Just… Bear." Katara turned the card, but there was nothing on the other side.
"Weird." Toph sighed.
"It could be a way to speak to the Earth King?" The waterbender suggested, looking hopeful.
Do something to find Appa. Check. Try to speak to the Earth King. Good plan. Now… just talking to Katara…
Answers :
CoyoteLemon : Everything in good time… Don't worry, I have a plan for all off that.
Gabriela N. Gonzalez : Yeah, the poor woan, but she is just so easy to hate lol… Ba Sing Se will have much content than in the series!