Wandering Firebender

Thirty Four: Making A Living

"Hey, Elio! You up?" Sri asked as she came into the kitchen, all dressed up and ready to go out for the day. Elio, who had been sleeping in, lifted his head a little bit and brushed stray hairs out of his face.

"Mm... I'm half awake now. What's up?" He asked, rubbing some of the excess sleep out of his eyes.

"I have my interview at the store this morning. I'll be leaving in a few minutes. Juuust getting a quick breakfast." She said as she started fixing herself something to eat.

"Oh...oh! Let me get a little something too! I'll go with you." Elio requested as he started to get to his feet.

"Yeah? You don't have to. I can walk; it's no big deal." She said with a shrug.

"Yeah I know, but I wanna come anyways. I'm gonna do some asking around, see if I can snag a job over there too." He explained.

"I'm pretty sure Tani only has one position available though."

"No, I mean I'm gonna look around the Middle Ring for a job too." He clarified. He reached into his bag and pulled out his hairbrush, taking a few quick moments to fix his hair.

"Oh okay yeah right, my bad. It's still morning." She excused her misunderstanding with a chuckle. Elio chuckled a little too.

"You're fine. So I'll take you to Tani's furniture shop, go around and do some job searching. I'll come back to check with you later. Sound good?"

"Sounds good. Good luck on your searching!"

Sri and Elio, after having their breakfast, left their home and took a train to the Middle Ring. They walked to Tani's shop and parted ways there, wishing the best for each other. Once Sri entered the shop, Elio started going around to the different shops asking about job openings.

Considering how easily Sri was able to talk her way into a job, Elio had hoped that he'd be able to do something similar. Unfortunately, despite his best attempts at being pleasant in presenting himself, he was met with rejection after rejection.

He was hit with a variety of excuses, but they all amounted to the same thing: no one was hiring him. By the time afternoon came, he returned back to Tani's shop feeling tired and frustrated. He entered into the shop looking for Sri.

"Welcome to- Oh, Elio!" Sri realized it was him and came over to greet him, "How's the searching going so far?" She asked.

"Nothing yet, unfortunately. People are playing more hardball with me. I'm sure something will come up...hopefully." He answered with a sigh.

"Aww, I'm sure it'll work out. We'll make it work." She said confidently.

"Thanks. Let me guess, you got the job?"

"Yep! How could you tell?" Sri asked with a laugh.

"You were using a customer service voice before you realized it was me." Elio pointed out humorously. Sri scoffed and shook her head.

"Haha, yeah, I gotta get used to that again. I haven't needed to use it the past few months."

"Oh, you're fine. It was very pleasant, especially in comparison to your actual voice." Elio teased her. Sri was very quick to punch him in the arm as a response.

"Jerk!" She exclaimed. Elio clutched his arm, smiling and laughing. His reaction made her laugh too, "That was so uncool."

"Yeah it was," Elio chuckled. "So I guess I'll see you at the house tonight?"

"Yeah, most likely." Sri nodded.

"Alright. Take care, Sri. Say hi to Mrs. Tani for me." He said, waving to her as he left the shop.

"See you soon, Elio!" She waved back to him.

Sri continued on with her first ever shift. Throughout the course of the day, they only got a few customers. It was honestly a pretty dull day, but at least enough happened for Sri to prove to Tani that hiring her was a good decision. And the pay wasn't bad either.

Tani let her go once the sun was setting. Sri thanked her kindly and walked on her own back to the train station. After spending all day in the Middle Ring, coming back into the Lower Ring was not exactly pleasant. But she couldn't wait to tell Elio about how easy her day was, and that she was confident this new job would go well for her.

"Elio! I'm home!" Sri announced as she came into the house. Elio didn't respond right away, but she found him at work cooking in the kitchen.

"Hey, Sri. Welcome home! How'd it go today?" He asked, glancing over his shoulder for a moment.

"It was good. What're you cooking? It smells great!" Sri said, removing her jacket and placing it on the nearest chair.

"I'm cooking some pork. It's a really good Fire Nation dish. I figured it'd be a good meal to celebrate your first day of work." He said, smiling at her. She looked over his shoulder at the meal he was preparing.

"That sounds nice! I'm going to freshen up real quick then we can dig in." Sri said, patting him on the arm before grabbing her jacket again and going to the bedroom.

Once dinner was ready, the two of them sat at the table. Elio served their plates while Sri poured two cups of water.

"I'm really curious about this Fire Nation dish you prepared. Is it good?" She asked him.

"Oh, it's delicious! Usually," He laughed. "I don't know how well my attempt at it will be, but I hope you like it." He said.

"Let's find out then..." Sri said, cutting a piece of it with her utensils. She bit into it and was surprised by the flavor that quickly filled her mouth. "Oh! Mmm! That's good," She confirmed with a nod. "Little bit spicy, but I like it!"

"Oh good! That means I did it right." Elio nodded, taking a bite of his own piece.

"I wouldn't know, I just know it's good!" Sri laughed. "Where'd you learn how to cook?"

"My mother taught me a few things here and there. This was always one of my favorite dishes that she'd make for us." Elio answered.

"That's nice," She smiled and nodded. "Thank you for cooking dinner, Elio. That was really sweet of you." Sri said, smiling at him. Elio smiled a little and nodded again, looking down at his food.

"You're welcome. I thought it would be nice to, you know, celebrate another big step for you. This is what you came to the city for, after all." He explained his thinking. Sri's smile grew a little.

"You're the best." She said appreciatively.

"Haha, I'm alright... So, tell me all about your first day. How's the job? Do you like it?" He asked, changing the subject of the conversation back to her.

"Oh it was good! Kinda boring honestly," She chuckled. "But at least Tani got to see that I know what I'm doing. I'll be working regularly now from when the store opens to sunset." She informed him.

"Alright, gotcha. So you'll be busy busy." He commented.

"Oh yeah, but hopefully with time we'll be able to make enough money to move to the Middle Ring like we discussed."

"Yeah..." Elio cleared his throat, not saying anything else.

"So how'd it go with your job searching? Find anything?" Sri asked. Elio shook his head.

"No, nothing. More of the same." He answered with a sigh. He was clearly disappointed by this fruitless outcome.

"Hey, it's okay. It might take you some time. I'm sure something will come up for you very soon." She encouraged him. Elio shrugged.

"I guess we'll see."

That was the last they talked about it that night. For awhile, things were quiet. A few more days passed and Sri continued to go to work at Tani's shop. Meanwhile, Elio continued his search for a job. But after being turned away again and again, his frustrations were building up...

It started to bubble over a few nights later.

"Hey, Elio. Wanna go out for dinner tonight?" Sri asked, noticing that nothing was prepared for them to eat this evening. Elio shook his head.

"No. We have food to eat here. Besides, we're supposed to be saving up, remember?" He reminded her. Her eyebrows furrowed a little.

"I do. I just figured it would be nice to go out and have a meal together." She defended.

"Okay. Well I don't think we need to be spending your money unnecessarily." He said in response.

"What's your deal, Elio? I'm just trying to do something nice." She argued.

"I understand that. Pardon me, but I'm just not in the mood." Elio said defensively.

"Is this about how you still haven't gotten a job yet?" Sri realized after a bit of silence.

"Yeah. I just wanna get some rest, okay?" Elio said, not wanting to talk about it.

"What're you mad at me for?! Is it because I have a job and you don't? How is that my fault?" She continued. Elio huffed impatiently.

"I'm trying to get a job, you know! It's not my fault either!" He argued back.

"Then what are you fighting with me for?!"

"I'm not! I'm just irritated, alright?!" Elio huffed.

"Something's gonna come up, Elio. But getting upset isn't gonna help anyone." Sri said, sitting with him.

"Well that's easy for you to say! You got your job right away! You haven't had to go door to door getting rejected again and again dozens of times!" He vented.

"You're right. I'm sorry it's been hard. But I haven't said anything about it to you. So don't take it out on me." Sri said firmly. Elio sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Sorry."

"It's alright... Why don't we go have dinner? It'll give you a chance to relax a little, get your mind off this." She offered again.

"I guess," He shrugged. "I'm just irritated with this stupid city right now," He stood up and paced around. "It's bad enough that we got thrown in this shoddy corner of the Lower Ring, but then I gotta fight just to have a decent, normal life?

"You know, after everything that I've been through to get here, you would think that my troubles would be lessened by being here. But I've just traded out old problems for new ones!" Elio grumbled, stretching a hand out as he further expressed his frustrations.

"Things will work out, Elio. Just give it a little more time. No one's saying you have to get to work right away. I know it's what you want, and I know you'll find it." Sri said, trying her best to be reassuring and hopeful. Elio sighed again and dropped his hand down.

"I hope so. I don't have any alternatives if it doesn't work..."

Elio and Sri didn't end up getting dinner that night. They just decided to go to bed, sleep on things, and then come back to it in the morning. They met again for breakfast that morning with clear heads and renewed patience.

"Hey. Morning, Elio. How are you feeling?" Sri asked.

"I'm better. Sorry about last night, Sri. I was just upset." Elio apologized.

"Hey, it's fine. I totally get it. I'd be frustrated too if it were me." She said.

"Yeah. Well I've been thinking... Hey, do you remember those two guys on the ferry? What were their names?" Elio asked, trying to recall.

"Uh... One was Ren. The other guy...it had a 'caw' sound in it."

"Caub! His name was Caub. Caub and Ren." Elio stated their names.

"Yeah. I remember them. Why?"

"I remember they were talking about a business on our way. I think their friend owns it or something. I'm gonna try to find them, see if I can call in a favor." Elio decided.

"Ohh...ohh! That's a good idea! You probably should've started with that." Sri pointed out with a chuckle.

"Well I forgot!" Elio said with a slight chuckle.

"Well let me know how it goes. I'm heading to work now. See you tonight, Elio." Sri said, ruffling his hair playfully as she walked past him.

"See you tonight. Say hi to Tani for me." Elio said, turning and watching her leave. She smiled at him and nodded before exiting the house and leaving for the train station.

Elio waited until it sounded like more people were out and about. Then he left and took La out of her stable. He rode around town asking around for Caub and Ren. Eventually, he was directed to a simple home. As Elio approached it, he looked up and saw a few messenger birds flying in and out of a second-story window.

"Ren! Get up! We got a delivery across town! Get moving if you wanna be there on time." An authoritative male voice shouted.

"I'm going!" Ren called back, rushing out the front door. He bumped into Elio as Elio approached the house. He grunted and turned back towards Elio, "Hey, this is a private business, you can't... Elio?"

"Hey, Ren, right? Good to see you again." Elio greeted him politely.

"Yeah, man, you too. What're you doing here?" He asked.

"I'm looking for a job. This is the place to be, right?"

"Yeah. Mr. Fo is inside. Ask for him. I gotta get going though. See ya." Ren said, waving and quickly making his exit.

"Got it. Thanks, Ren!" Elio said, waving back.

Elio looked back towards the door and took in a nervous breath. He straightened his back and stepped into the house. Most of the hallways were blocked by curtains. There was a big room immediately to his right: a living room that had been converted into an office.

Inside, an older gentleman with thinning grayish hair and a mustache was tending to one of the messenger birds, wrapping its leg up with a bandage. Elio lightly knocked on the door frame as he entered into the room.

"Hello there, sir," Elio politely made his presence known. "Are you Mr. Fo?" He asked.

"I am," He nodded, turning to look at him. "What can I do for you, young man?" He asked.

"Um, I was recommended this place by Caub?" He brought up.

"Oh, Caub?"

"Yeah. I'm here to see if you might have a position open for me?" He asked. Mr. Fo paused for a moment and looked him over.

"What's your name, son?" He asked.

"Elio, sir."

"Elio... Yeah, Caub mentioned you. Sorry, son, but we're pretty scrapped here. I can't afford to take on any new employees the way business is now. I can barely afford the one's I got." Mr. Fo said apologetically.

"Please, Mr. Fo. I need a job," Elio insisted, stepping further into the room. "I'm running out of places to turn to. Is there any sort of exception you can make?" He asked. Mr. Fo sighed.

"How badly do you need this job, kid?" He asked.

"I don't have anything right now. What does this job consist of?" Elio asked.

"We're a delivery service. We deliver food, supplies; whatever people need. They send us messenger birds and tell us what they need, I send a man out to handle it. That's the simple summary." Mr. Fo explained. Elio nodded in understanding.

"I see... What sort of transport do you use?" Elio asked curiously.

"Transport? All we got is our two feet, kid. We had a few animals, but I had to sell them to keep the business going." Mr. Fo admitted.

"I have an ostrich horse. I can use it for deliveries!" Elio offered. Mr. Fo's expression lit up a little, but he still shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Elio. I appreciate the offer, but that's a difficult investment for me to make right now."

"I'll do it for no extra cost! Just pay me, don't worry about the finances for it." Elio continued to bargain. Mr. Fo inhaled at length through his nose and finally nodded in agreement.

"Alright, kid. Let me see the condition of your ostrich horse, and we'll talk about bringing you in."

Elio brought out Mr. Fo to inspect La. It only took one quick inspection for him to see that Elio's ostrich horse had been well taken care of and it was in good condition to work. Elio would be sure to tell Sri later, but it was actually La that had secured his job.

"Alright, you're hired, Elio. Now the question is: how well do you know the city?" He asked.

"Not well at all, sir. I've only been here about a week or so." Elio answered honestly.

"Mmm, I see," Mr. Fo nodded. "Tell you what, I will write you a list of places all across the Lower Ring. Familiarize yourself with the area. When you're done, come back here and we'll talk about getting you started tomorrow." He instructed.

"Yes, sir."

So Elio spent the rest of the day riding around on La, scouring locations that Mr. Fo had written for him. It was tedious and exhausting, but Elio suffered through it gladly, because he knew that this was going to help him in the long run.

He had a job. That's what mattered.

That night, Elio returned home feeling exhausted. The sun had already set, so when he returned home, Sri was already there waiting for him. She was sitting at the table waiting for him. She smiled and chuckled when he came in.

"Hey. Look who finally decided to come home! You look exhausted." She laughed a little.

"I am," He chuckled and sat at the table. "I had a really long day."

"Yeah? That sounds promising." Sri said with a growing smile.

"Yeah. It worked out with Caub's boss. His name is Mr. Fo. It took some convincing, but I got a job now!"

"That's great, Elio! See, didn't I tell ya?" She laughed again. Elio chuckled too.

"Yeah you did."

"If I wasn't so tired myself, I would say we should celebrate," Sri chuckled. "But we'll definitely have to celebrate."

"I agree. Dinner somewhere?"

"Perfect. Can't wait," Sri smiled. "But for now I'm gonna get some rest. Goodnight, Elio," She said. She got up and walked over to him, hugging him. "Congrats again."

"Thanks, Sri." He said, hugging back.

That night marked the beginning of a change for them. Now with a newfound security, they were able to focus on advancing their status. Sri continued working long hours at Tani's shop, and Elio learned quickly about the area as he was taught how to do deliveries and where to do them.

Before long, they got settled into their new routines: working all day and relaxing at home in the evening. Of course, it was a struggle, always having to be conscious of how much money they had. They made the decision to avoid any and all unnecessary and extraneous purchases until they could afford what they really wanted.

Days passed and soon a couple weeks had come and gone. It was hard, especially for Elio, who had to spend all day every day riding around in the hot sun carrying around heavy loads. However, their diligence and relentlessness paid off.

It was easy for the two of them to move out of the Lower Ring when the time finally came. Since they'd only bought a few pieces of furniture and some necessary items, it didn't cost much to have all of their things moved out of the house and brought to the train station.

"Well, this is it. Goodbye, Lower Ring." Sri said with a chuckle as they stared out the window of the train, watching the sights go by.

"Yep, goodbye and good riddance." Elio chuckled too, sighing happily. He couldn't wait to finally move out of the Lower Ring.

"Aww, don't say that. It may not have been ideal, but it was our home for a little while. I'm almost gonna miss it..." Sri said. She glanced back at Elio and the two stared at each other silently for a few moments.

"Nahhh." They both said at the same time, making them both laugh.

Once they arrived at their stop in the Middle Ring, they took all of their things over to their new home in the Middle Ring. Once they had gotten close to having enough money to make this purchase, Sri scouted out small homes that could hold 2-4 people.

She was the one that had finally picked out this place for them to live in.

"Ah, finally. A home sweet home." Elio said tiredly with a smile after they'd brought all of their things into the small home.

The home had about four rooms total: the main living room and kitchen, two bedrooms, and a private dining room in the back. They determined that when Sri's parents were able to join them, they could turn the dining room into a third bedroom for them.

"Yeah. It'll still be some work, but it's nice to have a proper home again. It's been a long time for me." Sri admitted.

"Me too." Elio agreed with a nod.

"Mhmm. Now that we're closer to my job, it'll be easier for me to do more here in the city." Sri said with an excited smile.

"Yeah! I'm gonna try and get a new job here in the Middle Ring too, but I'll keep doing deliveries for Mr. Fo until then. If you hear about any opportunities, let me know, alright?" Elio requested.

"Yeah, of course!" Sri nodded. Elio smiled at her and put an arm around her, looking around at their home.

"We make a pretty good team, huh, Sri? Feels good to be comfortable for once."

"I couldn't agree more." Sri said with a smile...