Insert disclaimer here.
The festival had the circus camp so crowded Ty Lee was forced to resort to feats of acrobatics to get around, today was the third and traditionally the most important day of the festival and the day in which everyone bought out their best whether it be the circus's best acts, the restaurant's best dishes or the city's best fireworks. Coincidentally this was the first day that she would actually be able to see Hunter perform in the ring as both of their performances usually started within minutes of each other and so here she was jumping from beams and swing from ropes in hopes of arriving in time.
The last two days had been perhaps the most interesting in her life and it was due to one person, the boy who had literally appeared from nowhere. Ty Lee was raised on tales of the men being called on by the spirits to do anything from rescue the princess to overthrowing evil Empires but never in her life did she ever expect to meet one, what else could explain his sudden appearance? I wonder what his quest is?
He was also completely dependent on her for the first two days for even the basics of where to use the bathroom to what types of food he should eat. That being said he wasn't unpleasant company, his stories about his homeland and the pictures on his little machine were amazing... it also helped that he was really cute.
Climbing up on some scaffolding she found a spot with the view of the ring a little above the heads of the audience. Today was a special day for the wrestling as well, normally the fights were staged to give the best performance with the least likelihood of injury but today the matches were real and open to public entry with all fighters battling it out to find the true champion.
Eventually to the crowds delight, two fighters entered the ring and after the obligatory show-boating, assumed positions. Ty Lee didn't recognize either of them so they must both be villagers, this would also explain the villagers' excitement and cheers.
To her eye the first two sets of fights were quite dull, both involving untrained men employing poor technique in an attempt to force their opponent into submission, she knew that few people received the level of training at a young age that her and her sisters did but she still felt the most entertaining thing about them was the fighters ring-names, the Giant Baba she thought to herself giggling. Eventually the crowd quietened down enough for the ring master to announce the next two fighters.
"And For the final fight in this first pool, I present to you your contestants! In the Red corner, Hailing from the smithy of your town of Nanjie I give you your very own…..BLACK HAMMER!"
The audience roared with approval as a large man pushed his way through the crowd into the ring, the man was huge; possessing the massive shoulders and arms of a blacksmith, there was no definition to his body but the man's strength was obvious to any who looked.
"And in the green corner, hailing from…No town in particular… I give you the newest member of the Lǚyóu dài circus….THE TRIBAL!
Ty Lee immediately perked up hearing the announcement, newest member of the circus? It has to be Hunter! The cheering from the crowd was almost as loud as it was for the black hammer as Hunter's unmistakable figure worked its way into the ring. Hunter was wearing a light red hooded robe that draped over his body completely obscuring everything above the knee, slowly he reached up and pulled his hood down revealing his grinning face and he raised his arms towards the crowd drawing out another round of cheers and whistles. For a guy who says he's not the performing type, he seems to do a pretty good job of it, Ty Lee thought to herself while joining in on the cheering.
With the same deliberate slowness, he reached down and undid the clasp on his robe and with a step forward he shrugged it off, leaving it to fall to the ground behind him and Ty Lee found herself staring at him. He was another three or four inches taller than his opponent but his build was far different, where the Black Hammer was muscle upon muscle with a slight layer of fat on top, There was nothing wasted on him, everything looked honed by years of training and she could see his left shoulder was dominated by intricate tribal tattoo that was likely the source of his ring name.
She was so caught up staring that she almost missed the ring master announcing the fights commencement. Immediately The Hammer charged across the distance between them attempting to overpower him early, Ty Lee was glad she didn't blink or she may have missed the next events; she expected Hunter to dodge or even meet him with his own charge however, she was not expecting to see him drop almost to his knee ducking under the Hammer's outstretched arms. The Hammer realized his error too late to stop his momentum from carrying him onto Hunter's shoulder and with speed that surprised even Ty Lee, Hunter locked one arm around the Hammers thigh and the other around his upper arm as he surged upwards and used the Hammers own momentum to hurl him to the ground with a crash that made Ty Lee cringe.
But the Hammer was far from done, he surged to his feet again the two met in a crash that had the crowd roaring so loud she was confident the next town over could hear it. The two battled for close to a minute grappling back and forth neither managing to gain the upper hand until the Hammer got the inside grip with both of hunter's arms, seeing his advantage he surged forward trying to lock both arms around Hunter's midsection, fortunately Hunter seemed to anticipate this and he quickly dropped his hips and pushed his head down under the Hammer's, in such a position Ty Lee almost didn't see hunter lock his arms around his opponent before he rolled. Off balance and with both his arms pinned the Hammer found himself unable to act as he slammed into the ground again and was promptly rolled a second time, before he could gain his bearings to launch a counter offensive he had his shoulders pinned to the ground as Hunter straddled his chest with his fist cocked back in the victor's position.
Ty Lee thought the next Two towns over would hear the cheering.
I found myself unable to hold back a groan as I sat down on my sleeping pallet, the champion's cloak around my shoulders. The majority of the fights were easy enough that I could play around a little for the benefit of the crowd like Ming explained was the whole purpose, but the last two matches were against an experienced guard and soldier…those two did not go down easy, in fact I very nearly lost the last one.
Well, wrestling was never my strongest game I thought to myself remembering how easily Joe would throw me around on the mats. It was getting easier to think about those times, it still hurts but it's a bearable pain. Ty Lee was a big help there, I swear it's almost impossible to be down when I'm around her, that bubbly personality just overpowers and darker thoughts.
Gah…look at me, barely three days here and I've already got a crush. Of course it doesn't help that she insists on showing just how flexible she is on the slightest whim. Bah, enough of that, bad teenager!
Thankfully my inner dialogue was interrupted as someone entered the tent, unfortunately (or fortunately?) it was the very object of my day dream that walked in.
"Uh, hey Ty Lee" I said trying not to stare, her performance outfit was pretty…distracting.
"Hunter! Congratulations! That was amazing!" She beamed before launching herself into a hug.
"You were there? I tried to look for you in the crowd before the match started but there were way too many people." I said pulling myself free.
"Oh, I wasn't in the crowd, it was way too full in there, I was on the scaffolding above them." She replied with her trademark grin.
"Of course you were," I laughed, "I should have known. Are you ready for the main event?"
Tonight's event was the culmination of all our performances, the circus would continue for another two or so days after but today was the most important day of the festival so it's also the day we put on the biggest shows.
"Yup, you bet! We're going to wow everyone there!" She stopped and cocked her head at me. "So are you going to get ready too?"
"Yeah-yeah" I say pushing myself to my feet while ignoring my protesting muscles. "I was just taking a breather before I cleaned myself up, I'm a little sore from the last match."
"That was a pretty long fight you two had, I thought he was going to win for a while."
"Oh ye of little faith," I teased, "Actually, I thought so too, we were both tired and he was just the first one to make a mistake. Anyway, I'll just go wash up and I'll be right over."
"Ok, I'll see you there!"
She was just out the tent flap before an idea occurred to me. "Ty Lee! Hold up!" I called.
For a moment I thought she hadn't heard me but then her head poked back through the flap with a questioning hum.
"I was wondering…after your show there's still a few hours left and uh…Do you want to see the rest of the festival with me?" Real smooth mate…real smooth. I thought to myself sarcastically before promptly telling myself to shut up.
Luckily I needn't have worried. "Sure! I'll find you after!" she said before she slipped back out of the tent.
It wasn't long before I found myself out back of the tents staring down at a bucket of cold water, a sponge and a bar of caustic soap…or as the circus folk call it, a bath…oh I do hope we stop at a place with plumbing sometime soon, Ty Lee tells me that where she comes from in the Fire Nation that lots of people even have hot baths! Although she says that's usually because they have the ability to throw fire from their hands, I have yet to see it with my own eyes but to be honest, if I go my entire life without seeing this…firebending, I'm completely fine with that. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that people can do…well… magic I guess but everyone talks about it like it's an everyday mundane thing.
Eventually I finished the gruelling task of an outdoor sponge bath and was ready to make my way to the main event. Thankfully my part in this was minimal, Ty Lee and her tightrope friends made up the main act while there was a collection of various performers on the ground; all I had to do was play the music. Yep that's right! With what's probably the last of the battery on my boom I am going to rock this place! Well that's the plan anyway, after hearing some of my music Ty Lee became obsessed with making it part of her performance (obsessed enough to convince the circus master to let us use the 'magic music box', I'm actually impressed that after only a few hours of practice they were doing their routines almost perfectly in time with Waka waka…yeah…of all the 16 gigabytes of music there she chooses that one. That being said, she must have a feel for it because the 2010 world cup remix suits it quite well.
Quickly I make my way into the main tent and over to my position next to what would appear to anybody else as a pile of junk, but to me…well it's still a pile of junk BUT one particular cone shaped piece is acting as my makeshift amplifier, as loud as the boom is it isn't loud enough on its own. Thankfully it's not too long of a wait until the Ring master gets up on his podium to begin.
"Ladies and gentlemen! On behalf of this circus I thank you all for being here with us to celebrate this wonderful occasion!" He called, hands uplifted. "Tonight my friends, we have the main event, the culmination of all the acts you have seen thus far…A never before seen performance! Ladies and gentlemen, I shall not take up any more of your time, please give a round of applause for your performers!
After allowing the crowd a few seconds he gave the signal to begin. The bass began and the crowd went silent in surprise unable to see where the sound was coming from, their surprise quickly turned to more cheers as Ty Lee summersaulted from her hidden platform to land perfectly on the tightrope. One by one the other acrobats emerged in time with the music, each one embellishing their entry with a flip of some kind, it wasn't long until the audience was oohing at the feats of acrobatics on display, even I had to admit how well this was all playing out, Ty Lee would appear to fall to the ground bringing a collective gasp from the crowd, only to be caught by another performer swinging by on the trapeze, another would handstand walk the tight rope while another summersaulted over him and all the while the music played.
Even though I know the song only last for three minutes, it seemed to take a lot longer but eventually the music came to a stop and the performers all landed in their various contorted ending positions and the crowd burst into applause that would have been impressive for a crowd twice its size.
You know, I could really get used to this.
"So how was it?" Asked a voice right in my ear.
"GAAAH!" Once again my manly war cry sounds forth, I'm starting to think she's making a game of trying to sneak up on me. "Ty Lee, why?" I whined, looking up to see here dangling from the railing above me.
"Because it's funny hearing someone so big scream like a girl!" she laughed confirming my suspicions.
"I don-that's ridicule-It's not girly!" I stammered, trying in vain to justify myself.
She only laughed harder, "Oh don't worry you! It's kinda cute actually."
Great…now I'm blushing too. Time to cut my losses. "So uh, you ready to head out?"
"Yup I'm ready." She replied, flipping down and landing in front of me. "Where should we go first?"
"Well, I don't know about you but I could really use some food, maybe we can go find a restaurant?" As if to punctuate my statement my stomach chooses that exact moment to growl loudly causing both of us to burst out laughing.
"I think that would be a good idea." She eventually gets out before grabbing me by the arm and pulling me towards town.
I suppose we must've been quite the sight as we made our way around, a 5' girl leading a 6'3 guy by the arm is probably not a common sight, at least I think that's why people keep staring…maybe I have something on my face? Eventually we end up in front of what appears to be a very successful restaurant.
"I've heard people talking about this one", Ty Lee starts, "the Golden Flame, it's supposed to be the best in this whole colony!"
"This place look amazing," I agreed, "But do you think we can afford to eat here?"
She paused in consideration for a few seconds before starting up the stairs replying, "Only one way to find out! Everything's cheaper during a festival anyway."
Well here goes… I think to myself hurrying to catch up with her, this girl can really move.
"Good evening, welcome to the Golden Flame! Do you have a reservation?" asks the greeter as we approach the desk.
"Ah, no we don't, we were hoping to see if there was a table for two available?" I reply with a smile.
"Oh I'm sorry," she says with a sad smile, "There are no available tables right now; all tables are booked."
Well, it was bound to be like this I thought before Ty Lee thanked her and we started towards the door, we had only made it a few steps before a different voice cried out for us to wait. A small pot-bellied man came rushing forward.
"Excuse me good sir, but you wouldn't happen to be The Tribal would you? The victor in the pit?" He asked excitedly.
"Actually yes I am, me and my friend here heard that this was the finest establishment in this colony." I replied laying it on thick, Please work, I am reeeeaaallly hungry right now.
"Splendid! I am Kow-loon and I assure you that you have heard correctly my friend! We are also sure to cater to the finest of gentlemen!" he stated before turning to the greeter. "Ju Li! Arrange a table for our guests here, and be sure they eat well!"
"But sir, all tables are booked" Ju Li started before being interrupted.
"I do believe the chefs table is free, is it not?"
"Really sir!? I-I mean yes sir." She said her face red before turning to us. "If you two would follow me."
"Do enjoy yourselves tonight!" Kow-loon called as we were lead away.
Minutes later I found myself sitting at quite possible the fanciest table I had ever seen opposite Ty Lee staring at a menu filled with what seemed to be the strangest dishes I had ever heard of, eventually I decided to go with the koala-lamb dish. I have to admit this place deserves its reputation, even back home I had never seen a restaurant so fancy. The place looked almost Japanese in style and was coloured a mixture of golds and reds and blacks, giving the whole place a really vibrant look. It was no time at all before our dishes arrived and wasting no time I dug into my dish with far less finesse than was usual at a place like this.
Eventually I looked up to see Ty Lee was holding back a giggle and I flushed red. "Sorry, I'm just really hungry." The fact that my mouth was full only served to full blown giggle fit. Smooth Hunter…you're just on fire tonight.
"So, uh, have you ever been to a place like this before, Like back home?" I asked trying to distract from the fact I just made a royal ass of myself.
"No we didn't actually eat out at restaurants often but we ate food like this every day." She replied with a surprising lack of joy in her tone.
Luckily I managed to avoid doing a spit take. "Really? So your family's rich?"
She seemed to deflate a little more. "My family is among the more powerful of the noble families in the capital. My parents even set me up as a playmate with princess Azula"
Holy shit
"Um…wow I didn't realise…so uh, what are you doing in the circus?" I asked before I could help myself.
"Because I want to" she said quietly, "I have six sisters at home, we all look the same and we were all trained the same way…people only told me apart because I wore pink! I tried to be my own person by training as an acrobat but it never worked, I was just part of a set…just one of the Ty sisters."
"Hey, you're the top acrobat in the best circus in the world, I'd say that's pretty unique." I said gently seeing how the topic was affecting her.
"That's why I ran away here, I want to be me and I couldn't do that at home…" she paused. "Is it easy to be different where you're from?"
That made me pause. "I-I don't really know, everyone always says to be yourself but at school everyone tried to fit into a group, it's like they tell us to be unique but everyone wants to be the same."
"Oh. Did you try to be the same too?"
"No, I-uh-never really cared about what anyone else thought, I had some friends at school but no one really close. The only person I ever wanted to be like was my friend Joe, he helped me a lot, people used to think he was my dad."
"Really? He sounds nice, what about your actual dad?" I must've flinched pretty hard because she immediately started backpedalling.
"No, it's alright. It's just I- I really don't like him, he drinks a lot, and then…well, you know." I finished lamely.
"Sorry, I- uh- what about your mum?" I could tell she was trying to be tactful but there really is no safe zone when it comes to my family.
"She left when I was little, I don't know if she left because dad drank a lot or if dad drinks because she left."
"Oh, I'm sorry" I could tell she was quite flustered at this point.
"Change subject?" I asked.
"Yes please".
The rest of dinner went by smoothly, and surprisingly quite cheaply to, although I think Kow-loon had a hand in that too, the man must really love his wrestling. We were now wandering among the markets doing a little window shopping and I was enjoying myself quite a bit.
Ty Lee however was ecstatic.
"Wow, do you see these ear-rings? Aren't they pretty? And oh boy look at this necklace!"
I just put a smile on and let the atmosphere of the festival wash over me…that was until I saw the weapons stall. With all the patience of a rushing rhino I shot over, much to Ty Lee's displeasure, there were so many type of weapons here, there were daggers and swords, spears and halberds, even a giant flail on the back wall.
"Do you know how to use any of them?" came Ty Lee's voice from behind me.
"Actually, no." I said scratching the back of my head embarrassed. "No one uses weapons like this anymore at home."
"Why are you so excited then?" she asked, confused.
I was saved from having to awkwardly explain the 'coolness' level of swords by a large crash from behind us. A man in red and black armour was lying unconscious on top of a fruit stand, two shorter heavy-set men in green the obvious culprits. The men took defensive stances as they were surrounded by a group of four more armoured men. One of the green clad men moved, his stance was solid and he moved forward stamping one foot into the ground and shoving his arms forward, it didn't occur to me what he was doing until the very earth in front of him exploded in a wave like motion towards one of the red armoured men.
The Man's response was a quick leap to the side after which he spun and punched out one arm sending a jet of fire toward his opponent which was stopped by a wall of earth that shot up from the ground and I felt myself seize up in shock, holy shit, holy shit, they're doing it! That man just shot fire from his hands!
"Hunter, Come-on, we need to go!" I was snapped out my trace by Ty lee pulling my arm in an attempt to get me to move.
Unfortunately as we tried to run, the men fighting had moved in such a way that we found ourselves caught right in the middle of them. Those pricks in green are using us like human shields! One of the earth benders moved forward and I felt time seem to slow down. The earth rippled out in front of him, he didn't seem to care that we were in between him and his target. The ripple caused chunks of earth to shoot out like spikes in rough line in front of the bender, they looked like they could smash right through a kart if they hit one. As I watched the earth move in this slow motion trance I realised with relief that it would miss me, that relief turned to horror as I realised that Ty Lee who was two steps ahead was right in its path. With speed that only she seemed capable of, she jumped into the air using the raised earth life to gain momentum as she hand-sprung over it towards the two green men.
I barely had time to register that fact before she landed in between them, the man closest to her stepped forward with a powerful backhand…he didn't even come close. She ducked under it and fired of two punches to his armpit and neck so quickly I barely saw them, they didn't look like they had much power behind them but the effect was instantaneous, the man's arm dropped nerveless to his side and he seemed to convulse a little before he fell to the ground.
What the shit?
The second of the men seemed to take issue with this and he threw his fist forward sending a chunk of stone whistling towards Ty Lee, once again she dodged it with room to spare as she did the next two attacks he tried before she got within arm's reach, the man obviously hadn't learned from the last guy and threw a wild haymaker which she effortlessly ducked under, she continued to move until she was completely behind him before she let loose a combination of punches that dropped the man to the ground groaning in pain.
I stared at her for a few more seconds as I tried to pick my jaw up off the ground, then as if someone flicked a switch, her posture relaxed and her fierce look of determination disappeared as she turned to me with a shy smile. I do believe I can safely call this the second strangest night of my life…
The next day
The sun gleamed off sweat soaked bodies as the two men grappled in the sand, it seemed to be some kind of training session although training for what she couldn't say. The education pertaining to combat she had received was extensive and second to none and yet the watcher could safely say she had never seen nor heard of this particular fighting style, it was swift and brutal, moving in close where the vast majority of disciplines demanded a certain distance be kept for kicks or for bending. Were she not so pressed for time she would have investigated further. Perhaps later.
She was already behind, her fugitives had days so far to disappear into the earth kingdom and contrary to popular belief neither of the fugitives were incompetent…as much as she may preach that they were. No, if she is to bring them in fast and with minimal fuss, she is going to need a very specialised team with very unique talents. And her sources tell her one such team member should be here.
Her sources were right.
Not 30 feet away from her in the shade of a nearby tent stood the very person she needed…the word 'stood' being used in the loosest sense that can be applied to one balancing on their index fingers staring quite transfixed on the two figures training in the midday sun. With deliberate slowness she walked toward the pink clad girl, the silence of her step even in full armour was a testament to her ability.
But she was not the only one with a history of intense training, the moment she got within a few feet the girls eyes snapped towards her…and blinked in confusion.
"Ty Lee, could that possibly be you?" she asked, her voice heavy with false surprise.
The girl flipped to her feet and regarded her for a moment, her eyes flicking from her face to her armour before finally resting on her hairpiece. With real shock the girl replied.
"Azula?"
A/N
And so we enter the events of season 2! i tried to make this chapter a little bit more interesting.