Wandering Firebender

Thirty Six: Not A Date

"You know, Elio, if you just looked around a little, I'm sure you could find a place to get your hair cut." Sri pointed out.

Elio stood in front of the mirror one night with a knife in his hand. It had been months since the last time he had fixed his hair; now it had grown out on the sides, becoming disheveled. The hair on the top of his head was beginning to drape down sloppily.

"Yes, but I have a very specific way that I like it. I'd rather just handle it myself. Could you pass me the oil please?" He requested. Sri gave him a small vial of fine oil that he had purchased himself. Elio opened it up and poured it all over his head.

"So what are you thinking of doing?" Sri asked curiously, observing him.

"I have a specific style I like. I cut it short all around and leave a lot on the top. Then I brush it backwards." Elio explained, using his knife to begin cutting hair off the right side of his head, leaving only a short layer.

"Right. That's how it looked back when we first met. Now you just look mildly depressed." She teased lightly, taking a few strands of his oily hair between her thumb and forefinger and tugging at it gently.

"I'm always mildly depressed." Elio replied with a chuckle as he continued.

"So where did you get this look from?" Sri asked curiously. Elio shrugged.

"Just experimenting. Cassian and I got bored of the traditional looks when we were young, so one summer we decided to try new styles out every time we needed a haircut. Eventually he settled on keeping his hair long, kinda like mine right now. Meanwhile, I settled on this look. I've had it for years now." He answered.

"That's fun... You haven't mentioned Cassian in awhile. How've you been doing?" She asked in a softer tone. Elio let out a long exhale through his nose.

"I've been thinking a lot...not just about Cassian but about home in general. I left a lot behind in the Fire Nation, and I do miss my family. And Cassian... I don't know if I'll ever truly recover from what happened. I just have to try and continue on." He answered solemnly.

"Yeah... Well you know that I'm here for you when you wanna talk. Or even if you don't." She said with a comforting smile. Elio smiled faintly, looking at her in the mirror and nodding.

"Thanks, Sri... You know, this is kinda embarrassing to admit, but after Cindra left, I was kinda missing having someone to talk to," He admitted. "Thanks for making this whole process easier." He said sincerely.

"I could say the same thing to you. We make a pretty good team," She chuckled. "I'm sure one day you, me, and your girlfriend Cindra can all get together and hang out. I'll even invite Alger." She commented with a laugh.

"Haha, very funny. She's not my girlfriend." He rolled his eyes.

"But you like her, don't you?" She asked. Elio hummed.

"Hmm... I guess. She is very pretty." Elio answered nonchalantly, playing off his answer.

"Uhuh," Sri raised an eyebrow at him and smiled sideways. "I'm gonna head to bed. I'll see how good or bad your hair looks in the morning. Goodnight." She said, pressing a hand on his back before turning and leaving the room.

"Goodnight, Sri."

Much to Elio's relief, he was able to come in for work the next morning with a nice and fresh haircut. It had been so long since his hair had been presentable. It felt very good to be able to sport his favorite look once again.

"Elio! That's a real trendy looking haircut you have going on there." Mr. Fo greeted him as he came into work.

"Why thank you, Mr. Fo. Did it myself." Elio smiled.

"Yeah, I can tell. Anyways, we got new refugees coming in from the train station today. I need you to help drop off supplies at the new settlements. The officers there should be able to direct you as far as what goes where. Just follow their instructions, alright?"

"Got it. I'm meeting them at the train station?" Elio asked.

"Yes, sir. Now get going! They should already be there waiting for you."

"Alright. I'm gone then!" Elio nodded, hurrying back out the door. He mounted his ostrich horse, hitched it to a wagon, and rode straight to the train station. It only took him about a minute after arriving to find the two officers who were waiting for him.

"You must be the delivery guy, right?"

"Yes, sir, that's me."

"Great. We have several crates here for you each going to different addresses. Each crate has a piece of paper with the address that it goes to."

"Sounds good. I'll get started with those then and meet you back here." Elio said, dismounting La to load the crates into the back of his wagon.

"Great. Thank you, Elio! We'll have more for you when you return." The officers thanked him. Elio nodded and smiled politely before going on his way.

Elio delivered crates to the first two locations without incident. One supply crate went to a married couple with two young children. The second crate went to a lone gentleman moving into his own home.

The third crate, as he would soon find out, was going to a young lady and her older mother.

Elio parked his wagon up in front of a small little home almost up against one of the border walls of the Lower Ring. He pulled the crate out of the back of the wagon and brought it to the front door. He set it down at his feet and knocked on the door.

"Dear, there's someone at the door!" The voice of the older woman called. Elio fixed his shirt and waited for someone to answer the door.

The door opened, and the older woman's daughter stepped out. The two of them took one look at each other and both of their jaws dropped. Elio took a step back; he was ready to run away immediately.

"Elio?!" She exclaimed in shock.

"Are you serious?! Autumn?!" Elio said, turning his face away. He hadn't seen her since those Freedom Fighters had tried to kill him. Now she was here! And she'd recognized him immediately!

"What're you doing here?!" She asked.

"I-I was just leaving!" Elio said, turning to rush back to his ostrich horse. However, Autumn spoke up.

"Wait! Elio... Can we talk? Please?" Autumn requested, stepping out of the house and quietly shutting the door. Elio, although nervous, sighed and walked back to her.

"Autumn..."

"Elio, listen. I...I'm really sorry. Really, I didn't know that they were going to attack you. I didn't! I would've warned you if they had told me!" Autumn apologized.

"You really expect me to believe that, Autumn?" Elio asked, folding his arms. Autumn's mouth opened in surprise; she looked offended that he would ask her that.

"You really think I would do that to you?!"

"Yes!" Elio answered, sighing before leaning closer and speaking lower, "I'm a firebender, Autumn! Everyone would do that to me."

"I didn't know that, Elio. When they told me what happened, I couldn't believe it! I told Sen that he was being crazy and stupid." She said.

"Where is he? Sen?" Elio asked.

"I don't know... Sen and Tay trying to kill you was only the beginning. After you left, Sen made it clear that there was more violence to come. I couldn't risk losing my mother in the camps because of his personal grudge with the Fire Nation, so we left," She revealed.

"Elio, I don't believe you're hostile. If I did, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I would've never even brought you to the Freedom Fighter camp. Please, Elio, I'm sorry. What else do you want me to say?" She asked. Elio sighed.

"Just...promise me that you won't tell anyone. I have someone living with me and we just got settled down comfortably. She can't afford to lose everything we have." Elio requested earnestly.

"Your secret's safe with me, Elio. I promise... I'm really glad you and that other girl got away. Is she the one living with you?" She asked.

"No. It's someone else."

"Autumn," Her mother called out to her. "What's taking so long at the door, hun?"

"Sorry, mom! I'm bringing in the supplies now! Sorry, I should go. But we're good, Elio, I promise." She reassured him as she picked up the crate. Elio helped her lift it until she was sure she could carry it herself.

"Thank you, Autumn. You two take care, alright?"

"Of course, you too. Hey, if you ever wanna...grab a meal or something, just let me know, okay? We can talk things out a little better." She offered. Elio could see that she was trying to put him at ease by extending out a peace offering.

"Sure... There's a tea shop in the Middle Ring. I know the guy that runs it. We can talk there tonight after I finish work." Elio said.

"Okay. I'll check with my mom and meet you at the train station." She agreed.

"Alright then. I'll see you then." Elio nodded. Autumn nodded too and went inside.

"What took you so long at the door, Autumn?" Elio heard her mother ask her as she went inside with the crate.

"Sorry, mom. I actually knew the guy delivering our supplies. We worked together once on that Beifong project a few months ago. Remember?"

"It sounds distantly familiar. What a coincidence!"

"Yeah! Anyways, he wants to meet up for tea tonight. Is it alright if I go?" She asked.

"Autumn! You just got here and you're already getting into trouble!" Her mother quickly said.

"It's just tea, mama," Autumn laughed. "Will you be alright without me for a couple hours tonight?" She asked.

"I suppose if you help me get my things unpacked, I'll be fine until then. But you better be careful, young lady. You know I never liked you going out late at night with those wild friends of yours." She warned her daughter.

"Thanks, mom!"

Elio took in a breath and left Autumn's home. As he continued to do his work for the day, all he could do was hope again and again that she was telling the truth. He didn't really fully believe her promise yet. If she sold him out, everything that he and Sri had built together would be torn apart.

The best he could do was hope that this little meetup for tea went well.

That night after he got off of work, Elio returned home and immediately started getting ready to go and meet Autumn. He fixed his hair and put on a decent set of clothes. As he was getting the last of his things together, that's when Sri came home.

"Hey, Elio! I'm home! I was walking home and saw this cute little flower pot sitting by the window of this one store. I think it'd make a nice welcoming gift for mom and dad. What do you think?" She asked, holding it up so he could see it.

"Oh yeah, that's nice. Your mom would probably like it." He answered with a nod.

"Yeah... What're you doing dressed up? You going somewhere?" She asked.

"Yeah. This new girl that I know just moved into the Lower Ring. We're having tea at the Jasmine Dragon." He answered as he grabbed the keys to the house.

"Oh whoa Elio, you're going on a date?" She asked in surprise.

"It's not a date," Elio shook his head. "She knows that I'm a firebender. I'm trying to keep her from turning me in to the police."

"By taking her on a date." Sri added. Elio rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, sure. I'll be out for like 2 hours, okay?"

"Alright, Elio. I was just teasing you, you know. No need to have an attitude about it." Sri responded. Rather than argue with her, Elio just made his way out.

"I'll see you later, Sri." He said on his way out the door. He closed it behind him and shook his head; he wasn't looking forward to dealing with that again later.

Elio made his way to the train station on La. He was expecting to have to ride over into the Lower Ring to pick up Autumn, so it caught him by surprise when he found her waiting for him at the base of the steps leading up to the station. He dismounted his ostrich horse and went to greet her.

"Hey." He said. She had on dark pants and a white frilly long sleeve shirt with a little necklace hanging down to her chest. She looked really nice... Perhaps Elio was the one misinterpreting what was happening here; maybe this was a date after all.

"Hey. Why do you look so surprised to see me? Didn't you come here to pick me up?" She asked with a chuckle.

"I...thought I was gonna have to ride over to Lower Ring to get you."

"Yeah. I thought about that, but then I figured it would make more sense just to meet you here." She said with a shrug.

"Alright...well, ever been on an ostrich horse?" He asked.

"Couple times." She answered.

"Great. Hop on then." He said, taking her to his ostrich horse. He mounted it first then helped her to do the same. She hung onto him as they rode to the tea shop.

"Where'd you get an ostrich horse, Elio?" She asked curiously.

"I, erm...borrowed it from some thugs," He answered awkwardly. "Her name is La."

"Ohh, like the Ocean Spirit?" She asked.

"The what now?" He raised an eyebrow.

"The ancient Ocean Spirit is named La too." She clarified.

"Oh! I, heheh, didn't know that. I just needed an easy name to call her by." Elio admitted. Autumn simply laughed at him.

Elio and Autumn finally reached the Jasmine Dragon tea shop. Autumn looked up in awe at its impressive yet inviting presence. They dismounted the ostrich horse and Elio tied it to a post before they went inside.

"Welcome to the Jasmine Dragon!" Mushi greeted them with a wide grin.

"Hello, Mr. Mushi! It's nice to see you again!" Elio greeted him with a polite smile. It took a moment, but Mushi quickly recognized him.

"Ah, Elio! Welcome back, son. Well, I suppose you've never been here before now that I think about it. But it is good to see you either way!" He laughed.

"Heheh, it's good to see you too, Mr. Mushi. This is Autumn. Autumn, this is Mr. Mushi," He introduced them. "He runs this shop. He makes amazing tea!"

"Oh? I do enjoy a sweet oolong tea with fruit and honey in it." She said.

"Haha, you have unique taste! Well let's get you a table and then you can make your order. Will it just be the two of you?" Mushi asked.

"Yes, sir. If possible, one of those booths by the window would be ideal." Elio pointed out.

"Right this way," He replied with a smile, leading Elio and Autumn to their table. They sat down across from each other and they were both handed a menu. "My nephew will be around soon to take your order." He said before leaving them.

"Haha, Elio, look at the sign at the door where the hostesses are. See it up there?" She pointed it out, "It says, 'It is better to go for three days without food than one day without tea'." She recited the proverb with a giggle.

"Oh wow," Elio read it with a chuckle. "Well, Mushi is pretty passionate about his tea. He probably wrote that himself."

"Oh boy," Autumn shook her head with an amused smile. "I see why you picked this place, Elio. It's really cute. It looks popular too, judging by all the people here." She observed.

"Oh yeah. Mr. Mushi is, like, the best tea maker in Ba Sing Se. Everyone loves the guy!"

"I can see why," She giggled. "How've you been, Elio? You look older now than when I saw you last." She observed.

"Do I...? It's only been a couple months." He pointed out.

"Yeah, I know. But you have a different look about you. Like you've been through a lot." She explained.

"Is it that obvious?" He asked.

"I can just kinda tell from the before and after... I really am sorry about what happened, Elio. I really had no part of it. If I had known, I would have-"

"I know. I believe you... Sorry for coming down on you so hard before. As you might imagine, being a firebender makes people...think you a certain way. What Sen did...it wasn't the first time by a long shot, and it probably won't be the last time either honestly." He said.

"I'm sure. I don't blame you for being upset. But I think you can be trusted." She expressed.

"You do?"

"Of course. I thought about it a lot. Your actions wouldn't make sense if you were bad. And that waterbending girl you were with? None of it added up. So I believe you." She repeated. Elio nodded and sighed in relief.

"Thank you."

"Of course. I do have some questions though, that being said." Autumn brought up.

"Questions?"

"Yeah. Where are you from really? What are you doing here in Ba Sing Se? Who was the waterbending girl you were with?" She asked.

"Those are all questions with long answers, Autumn." Elio commented with a chuckle.

"Well then, we better get settled in with some tea." She replied with a smile, opening up her menu. Elio looked at her for a few moments before opening up his menu too.

For most of the rest of the night, Elio was telling Autumn things about himself: where he came from, his journey through the Earth Kingdom to Ba Sing Se, and how he came into contact with Cindra. One story led to another, and Autumn had questions about nearly everything.

For the first time in a long time, Elio was able to talk about home too. Autumn was curious too about what life in the Fire Nation was truly like. Reminiscing about the Fire Nation put a heavy feeling in his heart, but he would still smile when talking about the things he enjoyed and missed about his home.

For her part, Autumn seemed to be just content with listening to him. When they had first met, he was happy to learn about her but shared little of himself; now she knew why that was. Getting him to speak candidly about his true past allowed her to see him for who he truly was.

Realizing that it was starting to get late, Elio rode Autumn to the train station. Initially, that's where he'd planned to part ways with her, but they spent more time talking than what he'd expected. So he offered to walk home with her to make sure she got home safe.

After all, the Lower Ring was the most unsafe part of the city.

"Elio... I appreciate you being honest with me now that it's just the two of us." Autumn said on the train.

"Yeah. I guess I had nothing to worry about." He said.

"Well, I understand why you held back on all that. I'm just saying I'm glad you see you can trust me now." She clarified. Elio nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that's what I meant. Turns out I had nothing to worry about with you." He said.

"Of course. And thanks for tonight. It was nice." She said appreciatively, taking his hand and squeezing it gently as the train arrived at the station. Elio wordlessly nodded and smiled a little, holding her hand as they walked back to her house.

There wasn't much more for either Elio or Autumn to say as they made their way back. The best Elio had expected from tonight was the relief that Autumn would agree not to turn him in to the police. Instead, it seemed that he'd unintentionally stumbled into something a little sweeter...

"Elio." Autumn grabbed his arm and stopped him. She gestured forward. Elio looked ahead and saw that there was a small gang of suspicious men scouting around peeking in homes and scraping off supplies that had been left outside.

"That doesn't look good. What do you want to do?" Elio asked. They both took cautious steps back.

"I don't know...hey, they're stepping in front of my- Get away from my house!" Autumn shouted at them as the men started to approach her home. All of them stopped and turned towards her.

"I thought you said no one should be out at this time!" One of the men bickered to the others. Elio quickly started counting the men: there were 6 of them.

Unfortunately, he didn't have his staff on him.

"I get the feeling you guys aren't the neighborhood watch." Elio quipped, stepping forward. The men chuckled too, and all 6 of them stepped forward.

"We're just...going on a stroll. Why don't you two do the same?" One of them suggested.

"You're peeping inside of her house. Why don't you all go home before I call the police?" Elio suggested.

"We should call the police anyways." Autumn said, stepping up next to Elio.

"Uhuh. Look, kids, just go the other way and come back later. Things don't need to get ugly." One of them warned.

"Step away from the house then." Elio said, stepping forward.

"Forget this." Another man finally lost his patience. He stepped forward and took a swing at Elio. Elio quickly tripped him.

"No." Elio said with a cocky attitude.

Two more men stepped forward to attack Elio. Elio jumped back and spun to avoid a punch. He threw several chi-block jabs into the man's ribs. As he collapsed to the ground, Elio jumped up and threw a spinning kick down into the second man, knocking him out.

The man that Elio had tripped started to get up. Autumn quickly got on him, pushing him back down and kicking him twice. He tried to kick her away. She avoided his desperate attempts to kick her away and threw a punch down into his head, knocking him out. She shook the stinging feeling from her hand after.

With three men left, Elio lifted his hands up, still ready to fight. His three opponents hesitated. Elio tilted his head and smiled sideways.

"Well, what's next fellas?" He taunted them.

The three men looked at each other. They didn't want to be bested by this kid, but he'd made such short of the first three guys, it would clearly end in embarrassment for them if they fought him. So they turned and ran away. Elio dropped his hands.

"I'll call the police, Autumn, and get them to come pick up the trash." Elio said, turning back towards her.

"Sounds good... Thanks, Elio. You made that look a little too easy." She said with a giggle.

"Haha, well... Let's get you back inside." Elio said, offering his hand to her. She took it and they walked up to her front door.

"Well, I'm glad you walked me home. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't been here." Autumn said thankfully. Elio nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I'm glad I came too. Be careful here in the Lower Ring, okay?" Elio warned.

"I will... Will I see you again?" She asked.

"Yeah," Elio nodded again. "I work here in the Lower Ring, so I'll be around." He answered.

"Great. Thank you, Elio." She said, hugging him. He hugged her back.

"You're welcome... I hope you and your mother settle in nicely here in the city." He said.

"Me too. Let's do this again sometime." She said, patting a hand on his chest before letting him go and going inside. Elio blushed a little and smiled.

"Sounds good to me." He said. She shook her head with a smile and closed the door.

Elio hopped off the front porch of her house and stepped over the men he had fought with. He smiled as he made the walk towards where he knew policemen were stationed. He walked with a happy little sway in his step.

It had been quite a while since he felt this good about himself...