You roll over on your side, ready to seriously beat the shit out of the punk who thought he could mess with you when you suddenly hear a yelp and a thud from the other end of the passage. You're on your feet now. As you turn towards the commotion, you see Lee? Standing over the thief!
"Return what isn't yours!" Lee growls at the man with the underhand, venom oozing in his voice. The man immediately drops the necklace and scrambles away for good. With a sigh, Lee picks up the pendant.
"Ha!" You scoff. "He thought it'd be easy to mess with me." You hold out your hand for Lee to return the recovered item.
He pulls it away, scowling at you, "Don't you mean 'Thank you'?"
You frown at the teen. "What do you mean? I had it all under control!" you retort, slightly offended.
Lee lets out a short laugh. "Sure looked like it when he plowed straight into you."
Okay, now you're angry.
"I don't remember asking for your help, tea boy, and I can handle myself." At 'tea boy', his expression morphs.
"You needed my help. Without me, you might've been beaten into the ground. This isn't a friendly neighborhood you know. " he lectures, his voice becoming more and more infuriating. You take a few steps closer to him, leaving about a five-foot gap.
"Oh, believe me, I know exactly what goes on in these streets," your tone changes to a low and serious one. "You shouldn't underestimate me."
"Oh really? I know that without me, that creep would be long gone with your stuff. Why won't you admit I'm right and thank me for helping you?" He glares aggressively at you, also stepping closer during the heated argument.
You stand there in frustration, your eyes locked with Lee's. Who cares about his stupid yellow eyes? Who cares that he's a potential clue to your unknown heritage? He needs to be taught a lesson.
You watch his eyes some more, awaiting the perfect moment to make your move, and as he blinks, you lunge toward him. This surprises him, but he skillfully parries your palm strike, pushing you backward in the process. You are now deeper into the alley, but instead of attacking again, you raise your left hand and show Lee his coin bag. It takes him a second; he looks at you, then pats his pockets, and looks back towards you with wide eyes. Mastering sleight of hand at the age of eleven come in handy (pun very much intended).
"H-Hey!" he yells. You can see that he's thoroughly astounded, kinda impressed, but mostly angry. Before he can do anything else, you pivot in place and bolt further down the alley, straight towards the dead-end. With a leap, you step off a crate and kick off the brick wall. This gives you just enough vertical to grip the roof of the building with your free hand. After pulling yourself up, you turn to stare down at Lee, who is gawking at you with his mouth hung open. With a chuckle, you pull down the lower lid of your unbruised eye and stick out your tongue.
The teenage boy rolls his eyes at your mocking. Before you see anything more, you dash toward the next building. For all you know, Lee could be following you up the wall. Your current goal is to leave him in your dust. With ease, you leap from roof to roof in broad daylight. The market stalls grow closer until you're just above your table. You drop down, landing lightly on the balls of your feet, and proceed to collect your belongings.
"Did you get your stuff back?" asks the bearded man. He watches you cram expensive knick-knacks and tea-filled paper bags into your trusty larger bag. He had indeed kept his word about watching your stuff, and for that you were grateful. He's currently laid back in a chair near the table, lounging in the cool shadow of a nearby building. Being in a bit of a rush (who knows how close behind Lee is), you hastily thank him, but with genuine gratitude, then race in the direction of your home.
That's enough market fun for one day. Ensuring Lee isn't nearby, you climb the stairs behind Pao's tea house, locking the small door behind you. You finally let yourself relax. With a sigh, you flop into your soft, silk futon (which is still unrolled, you're not the type who makes their bed every day). You let your eyes flutter shut, and boy does it feel great to rest your blackened eyelid.
The past few days have been rather eventful, to both your amusement and dismay. You met the bearded tea man (your new favourite person; what a sweetheart). Next, you met Lee (some jerk whose coin bag you just stole. Ha ha ha). Then there was— how could you forget… the apple incident.
Some stranger just appears and impresses you with their unexpected physical abilities. The stranger. Not Lee.
Stupid Lee. You handled yourself perfectly fine back there! After all, you've taken care of yourself for the past 16 years! You, of all people, don't need any rescuing whatsoever from some... egotistical hotshot. Where was help when you actually needed it. Life wasn't always this good for you. A mere three years ago, you were homeless and had to beg for food. Only recently has life turned around for you. You made use of your talents, and stole from the rich, then sold to the… less rich. All profits went to support yours truly. You'll never forget your first hot bath. You'd made enough money from 'imports' to cover the necessities. Finally with coin to spare, you spent it at a bathhouse. That day, you promised yourself that you'd never live in poverty again. You'd go out into the world and get the things you desired! Push aside anyone who gets in your way! Reach your goals! And you'll do it all without an ounce of help from some chump named Lee.
You try to nap, but your ruthless mind never ceases to stop creating theories about the emo-haired teen. Some guy who shares your eye colour but also seems to have a severe temper issue. It's almost like you can hear his irritating voice— wait a tick. Still tangled in your sheets, you crawl over to your window/balcony, your futon sliding across the floorboards with each maneuver. You peek out and see Lee alongside his Uncle as they approach the tea shop. You reposition the futon and get comfy as you spy on their conversation.
"Zuko, the mightiest tiger-bear will roar to hold his ground, but remain silent when trapping his prey," the grey-bearded man explains wisely to his nephew.
"Yeah, that's great Uncle Iroh, but how does that help me get my coin bag back?" replies Lee while rolling his eyes aggressively. Hold on, how did the uncle refer to his nephew? Zuzu? Was this a nickname or—
"Tell me again, how you lost all of our money?" inquires uncle… Iroh was it? At this, you can't help but let out a small laugh, recalling how Lee lost the coin bag. You'll return the money in due time, but you want to teach Lee one of your own proverbs. 'Don't mess with me'.
"I uh— must've dropped it. While chasing that thief from earlier." Lee awkwardly lies to his uncle. Well, it might not entirely be a lie, it depends on which 'thief' he's referring to.
Just before they duck into the tea shop, it requires a fair amount of your willpower to restrain yourself from dropping the coin purse on his head as he passes under the ledge. They disappear, and you weigh the small cloth sack in your hand. It certainly doesn't weigh as much as a family fortune should. Though, you suppose, the economic state of lower ring Ba Sing Se has been on steady decline. You feel a brief pang of guilt in your chest. Not for Lee, of course, but for the kind, tea enthusiast, who you now know as Iroh.
With no more exciting eavesdropping opportunities, you allow your eyes rest once more. This time, you fall asleep fast, your thoughts at relative ease.