You're no longer dreaming. Your eyes open, and your gaze meets with a pair of golden eyes. Your black eye feels a bit better after your rest. You're no longer in the meadow, but laying by the ledge of your open window. The eyes blink curiously, but hold your gaze as you slowly sit up.
The eyes belong to a black cat. Probably one of the many strays that roam the back alleys of the lower ring, it appears to have entered your attic through the window you carelessly left open. You reach out your hand, palm facing the ceiling, and the creature sniffs it cautiously. Content, it rubs its cheek against you fingers. The ebony fur feels soft and sleek as it brushes your fingertips, and you feel a ghost of a grin forming on your lips. The round, saffron eyes greatly contrast the dark coat of the feline. So mysterious, yet somehow familiar?
The cat roams around your apartment as you get ready to face the day. You slip on a change of clothes: a mock-neck top made of forest green fabric, a pair of dark, fitted pants, and your favourite pair of soft and stealthy leather boots. You grab your secret dagger duo, which you always carry with you for safety reasons, as your thoughts drift back to your interrupted dream. You've had similar dreams before, and they all end the same way that one did. That woman...who was she? Long black hair and red clothing is symbolic of the fire nation. You lived your whole life behind the walls of Ba Sing Se. You're grounded in the Earth Kingdom lifestyle. Why are you dreaming about the Fire Nation? The missing piece of the puzzle had to be the lady's face. Why else would it have been concealed behind your mask?
You snap back to reality when you hear your sneaky house guest pawing at something near your window. Walking over to investigate, the cat leaps out of your way, revealing a certain coin purse you acquired the previous day. Right, you need to return this. You scoop the object from the ground and stash it in your pocket.
You entice the cat out of your attic room, lock the door behind you, then descend the stone stairs. As you pass a nearby window, you examine your face in the reflection. The bruising from the apple incident isn't as bad as you thought. You continue towards the shop.
You were looking forward to trying a cup of properly prepared white jade tea, sure that your favourite tea making old man would brew it to perfection. Not that you were going for the tea anyways. You couldn't wait to see the look on Lee's face when you strolled in with his money. Dinner and a show. You follow the side of the building and reach the front of Pao's Family Tea House.
The shop is filled with a mild bustle as you push your way through to get a seat near the kitchen. You see Lee pouring tea at another table, and the bearded man must be in the kitchen. Remembering what you overheard earlier while eavesdropping, you recall that Lee referred to his uncle as 'Uncle Iroh'. A name that sounds familiar but you can't put your finger on it. Done attending to the other customers, Lee turns to your table, ready to serve. As you make eye contact, he recognizes your face and grimaces at you. You feel the corners of your mouth twitch into a sly smile. Perfect.
"How's your day been, tea boy?" you greet deviously, emphasizing his chosen nickname.
"What do you want?" he snarls.
"What do you think?" you reply matter-of-factly, "This is a tea shop. I came for a nice, relaxing drink."
He leans over the table and narrows his gaze at you. His face is very close to yours as he whispers, "Do you think you're welcome here after what you pulled yesterday?"
"Nuh uh, tea boy, play nice now, and I'll throw in a hefty tip for your service." You flash him the coin bag from your pocket, but quickly stuff it back in before he tries anything. If it was even possible, his mean look transformed into one of pure hatred. He looks like he's about to say something when his uncle starts coming towards the table, carrying two cups of tea.
"Ah, hello there friend!" he smiles warmly at you. You wave back jovially, and tea boy lets out a long sigh. The man continues, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but I thought I'd bring you a cup of that exquisite tea that you sold me yesterday."
You can't help but grin; this old man really is the sweetest! It makes you wish that there were more people like him out in the world, instead of a bunch of jerks. For example: Lee.
"I'd love to try some," you respond and motion for the greyed man to take the seat across from you. At this point, tea boy practically stalks off, but you don't mind. You had gotten the rise out of him that you had intended to, so now it's tea time.
Who would have thought the street vendor/thief and the master of tea would get along so well. The two of you chatted for quite some time; him telling old war stories, while you let him in on some secrets from the streets. The tea shop got quieter as time went on, and soon the only customers left were you and an elderly couple. You hadn't seen Lee since your earlier encounter. You assume he was staying in the kitchen to avoid you, making your victory taste even sweeter.
You offer to help close up shop as thanks for the lovely conversation. Iroh insists, but you insist even more-so. With a wet cloth in hand, you wipe down a few tables with Lee. He sticks to the right side of the store, leaving you to wipe the left-most tables.
"Thank you for helping. You did a great job!" the old man remarks.
"Thank you, uh, sir," you reply with a slow nod, unsure if you should use the name 'Iroh'. As you begin to turn away, he pats his hand on your shoulder. You peer back at him in confusion.
"Feel free to call me Uncle Ir… Mushi. Uncle Mushi." You beam back at him. Lee gags a little bit. After bidding farewell to Iroh, no, Mushi? You head for the door, shooting Lee a wink as you pass him, then motion for him to follow you. At first, he doesn't seem interested in the slightest, but you carefully reveal the coin purse in your pocket. He turns to his Uncle once, and sees him preoccupied with something else. Lee decides to follow you out of the shop and into the night.
You lead him around the left side of the teashop, and you both walk down the darkened alley. This is the same narrow street that you pass through everyday when you leave or enter your home. Halfway down the alley, you turn to face the teen.
"Here," you say, as you toss the coin purse at Lee. He catches it easily with one hand. Wordless, he looks down at the coin purse with a slight confusion. You break the silence.
"What… you didn't think you'd get it back? Do I look like a thief to you?" He shoots you a glare.
"Hey come on, I was just teasin—"
The coin purse comes flying back into your hands.
"I don't need it. Leave me alone from now on." Lee doesn't want his money back? Now you're the confused one. You peek into the small sack, and see a few silvers and a handful of coppers. Considering the pitiable amount, if this is every coin they had (as you overheard Uncle Mushi say), why doesn't Lee want the money back? You look up to see him already exiting the alley, and you run after him.
"Are you serious right now? What are you gonna tell your Uncle? Just take the coins," you prompt as you approach Lee from behind. He pauses. With one swift movement, he turns on you and pins you to the wall at the edge of the alley.
"Listen here. I don't know who you are or why you keep bothering me." Lee's face is very close to your own, and he is speaking through his teeth in a low voice, "It'd be in your best interest to leave me, and my uncle, alone."
You push against him, but he doesn't loosen his grip. You dare to say something.
"But what will you tell your Uncle about the money?"
"That's none of your damn business. Don't talk to me ever again, and I don't want to see you anywhere near the tea shop from now on. Got it?"
"Hmm." you feign a deep thought process. "That's not gonna be easy…"
"I'm serious. Go annoy someone else. I'm tired of girls bothering me when I'm working, but you've gone too far. You're crazy."
Crazy huh? You're about to show him crazy. With a grunt, you push your wrist down and turn your arms at the same time, using enough force to knock his limbs to the side. After freeing yourself from his grip, you use your left arm to block. With your right, you grasp his wrist and start twisting. Hooking your ankle around his, you push him down forcefully, sending him into the ground. He attempts to wriggle free, but you press your knee into his back. You release one of your arms and nimbly draw a dagger from your boot. Just as Lee manages to roll over, his back to the ground, your hands push down on his shoulders, pinning him with with all your weight. With one of your hands, you carefully point a single dagger to his neck. He immediately freezes.
Straddling him, you lean into his ear, still ready for him to struggle against you.
You whisper slowly, enunciating each syllable carefully. "Who do you think you are, bossing around a lady? Some kind of royalty?"
Lee lets out a hot breath.
"I won't bother you anymore," you state, before continuing on. "To be incredibly honest, you're not even my type. But… there's no way in hell you can stop me from befriending dear old Uncle Mushi."
His face is unreadable. You take that as a good sign. Pivoting off of him, he's up in a flash. You make sure to twirl your knife in plain sight, a subtle reminder of how armed and dangerous you are. It glints in the moonlight as you expertly control its motion. Leaning against a wall, you tuck a stray strand of your hair behind your ear.
"Besides, it won't be easy staying away from the tea shop, since I live right above it." You say as toss him his coin purse one last time.
His face contorts, but you don't care anymore. You spin on your heels and stride out of the alley, only pausing at the very end. You glance over your shoulder, "Smell ya later, tea boy," you say before disappearing into the shadowy streets of your neighborhood.