Yay reviews! Thanks guys, keep em coming. This is where you get to see Kuruks character coming out really well.

Well, I wasn't too keen on staying starving and bored in that earth temple for very long.

Kuruk and Hinun had been at the earth temple for exactly three days. In that time Kuruk had meditated for six hours each day, eaten only once each day, just as the moon rose, and had spent four hours being greeted and engaging in hospitalities with the local nobles and spiritual guides, as well as spent one of those nights at the residence of the Hwang Shi family.

It was while he was at the Hwang Shi that the young head of house mentioned that Omashu was only about a day away, through the mountain pass.

It was day four and Hinun was practicing some basic forms in front of the temple when he was pushed to the ground.

"Kuruk, what are you-"

"I'm busting out!"

"What?"

"Grab your ostrich horse. I'm going to Omashu!" Kuruk said, sitting on top of Hinun, straddling him, arms crossed. "I'm sick of this place! All I've done is breathe and bow and starve. You don't have any food on you? Doesn't matter. We can take some from the quarters. Or Jeonji's house. You know, for a noble, that man isn't too bad. . ."

"You can't just leave!" Hinun said, glaring up at his friend.

"Yes I can."

"You can't! You have to wait until you get a vision!" Hinun protested, starting to squirm.

"I'm the avatar. I can do whatever I want." Kuruk said, smiling off-handedly and then whistling sharply. Agler came bounding up, licking Kuruk's face and slobbering all over Hinun's shirt.

"Oh, gross."

"Grab your ostrich horse. I'm leaving." Kuruk said, jumping off Hinun and swinging across Aggies neck. He had commissioned a saddle and neck bridle for her out of spare strips of leather and wool padded blankets.

"You're serious?" Hinun asked, rolling onto his side and sitting up.

"Well I'm not staying here!" Kuruk smiled, and then nudged Agler to face the east, where a path led inland to Omashu. "Let's go."

"You're a fool." Hinun stood up, brushing off his back. He saw that Kuruk had already packed both of their sleeping bags, parkas and water canteens.

"Fine," Hinun sighed as Kuruk threw his hands up in the air. Hinun began to run over to where his ostrich horse and supply bags were. "If anyone asks I'm telling them that you kidnapped me."

"Totally fair."

Kuruk and Hinun made good time to the mountain pass, crossing through the range with little trouble. They spotted Omashu and stopped for a few seconds, completely in awe. Hinun, who had travelled with his father, had only been to a few small towns in the Earth Kingdom. This, though, was incredible.

"Woah."

"C'mon." Hinun said, nudging his mount forward, they only had a few hours of daylight left. "We need to find a place to stay tonight." With all the random gifts and presents Kuruk had been receiving they had more than enough for a couple of rooms and food.

Agler received a few stares from the Omashu guards, but once they saw that both were completely unarmed the two boys were allowed in. Kuruk wanted to find the most expensive hotel in Omashu, but Hinun convinced him that being more conservative might be best, so they ended up in the slums. Which was quite typical of them, Kuruk being prone to think everything a game and Hinun not caring at all where they stayed as long as they could stay for a month. Neither cared too much about appearances, although Hinun did take charge of the money pretty quickly.

"So." Hinun said, inspecting the small two mattress room with an expression almost bordering on distaste. "Now that you've escaped what are you going to do?"

"Get some food! I saw a noodle shop and I've never tried earth kingdom noodles and I want to so we should go."

"I meant more along the lines of finding a teacher." Hinun said, following Kuruk out of their room, locking it behind him. It was a nice day and both of the water benders had left their parkas off. Kuruk was adjusting his earth bending braces on his wrists as they walked outside.

"Oh you know. I figured I'll just find the biggest burliest guy I can find and ask him, you know?" Kuruk shrugged.

"Oh good." Hinun said, rolling his eyes. At least he had a plan, right?

They went outside and walked a block to get to the noodle cart Kuruk had seen. They both got some spicy noodles – the other ingredients weren't listed – and sat down on the sidewalk next to the cart to eat.

"This is good!" Hinun exclaimed. He didn't know what kind of meat he was eating but it tasted amazing.

"'Ol juu." Kuruk grunted, mouth full. Suddenly Kuruk stopped eating and hit Hinun in the side, making the other boy growl and spill some broth on his pants.

"What is your-"

"Look!" Kuruk hissed and nodded across the street. Hinun looked over and shrugged.

"What are you on about? What over there is worth burning my legs?"

"That man is Kunxun." Kuruk muttered, leaning closer to Hinun. Hinun frowned and looked closer. The man was weighing some squash in his hand and Hinun could just barely see the raised purple scars on the mans hand.

"What do you want to do?" Hinun asked, watching Kunxun as the man paid for the produce and began to walk brusquely away.

"Let's follow him." Kuruk said, putting down his noodles and standing quickly.

"I'm not even done yet."

"Come on!"

"Alright, alright." Hinun sighed, putting his noodles on the ground and following Kuruk, who was already half disappearing in the crowd. "Stupid avatar, thinks he can save the world already." Hinun muttered, annoyed at Kuruk and the entire earth nation and especially Kunxun.

Kuruk had stopped in a small alley and Hinun nearly ran into him slowing down from his run.

"He went in there." Kuruk pointed at a run down tea shop. "I guess he lives upstairs."

"He could just like tea."

"How do you know that?" Kuruk snarled.

"How do you know that he likes tea?" Hinun replied, rolling his eyes.

"We'll just wait until he comes out."

An hour later found Hinun slouched down in the alley, playing with some water he had bent from a discarded vase of flowers and Kuruk still paying fierce attention to the tea shop.

"He lives there, I know it."

"Whoop-de-doo." Hinun said, twirling his finger and the water formed a small cyclone near Kuruks ear that he swatted away. "Alright, so maybe he lives there, what now? It's getting late."

"We need to bring him in!"

"No." Hinun said, standing up. "We," He pointed at himself and Kuruk, "don't need to do seal dung. At the very most our obligation is drawn at reporting this to authorities."

"I am an authority." Kuruk said, almost stomping his foot on the ground.

"Kuruk. . ." Hinun shook his head and trailed off. Hinun had wanted to tell the other boy that he thought he was a fool, but what was the point? They had literally been stalking this man for an hour and all he had done was go into a tea shop. Not exactly high treason.

Kuruk glared at Hinun and then turned back to the entrance of the tea shop. It had just turned the sign from 'open' to closed'.

"See!" Kuruk exclaimed. "He does live here!"

"That's great. Can we go now?"

"No!" Kuruk exclaimed.

Hinun hit his head against the wall. He just wanted a bath and a full meal. This seemed like it was never going to end.

"Someone's going in!"

"That's great Kuruk." Hinun said, eyes closed.

"I think it's a boy our age." Kuruk explained, excited. He was so convinced that he was going to catch Kunxun that he was nearly jumping up and down

"Well thank goodness it wasn't Agler."

"Why would Aggie be here?"

Hinun hit his head against the wall again and then felt himself being dragged up by his tunic collar. Kuruk looked furious and pinned Hinun against the side of the dirty alley with both hands on the older boys shoulders.

"Hinun, I am trying to do something here, alright? I need help and you are the only one who can help me right now. And I swear, you may be my oldest friend but you're being a real pain!"

Hinun clenched his jaw. The avatar argument would be best delivered at a later time.

"What's your plan, then?" Hinun asked, trying hard to keep the snap out of his voice.

"It's a tea shop, right? There needs to be a supply of water throughout the whole building. We find his room and one of us bends ice across his windows. He'll try to go out through the front entrance and the other one will be there waiting for him."

Hinun looked at Kuruk. It wasn't a bad plan. "You want to meet him at the door, don't you?"

"Good thinking, you better find your way onto the roof now." Kuruk said, walking into the street and taking some water from his canteen and bending it into the lock. He held it there with a hand from the crane form and then splayed his fingers open against the lock, the expanding ice breaking the lock neatly. He pushed the door open and then bowed to Hinun.

"Age before beauty, old man."

Hinun rolled his eyes and pushed his way past the avatar. His stance deepened as soon as he was in the store, feeling the aquifer that connected to a pump in the kitchen. He raised his arms and the pressure made the pipe burst, rather loudly. Kuruk winced, and when he looked up he saw Hinun run past him, a wave of water following him as he guided the gallons outside. Hinun turned, his hands moving past his hips as he faced the building, the steady stream of water following the movement to build up behind Hinun. In only a few seconds he had as much water as he needed and brough his hands from by his right leg over to his left and then, leaning back threw his arms around, his open hands guiding the water over all the open windows on the two stories above the shop as he breathed, the water turning to slush and then immediately to ice as it hit the cold earthen house.

Water was starting to flood the tea shop. Hinun crossed his arms and turned to his friend, smirking. "You're missing your queue Kuruk."

Kuruk shut his mouth quickly and grinned, turning away from Hinun and running up the steps. He had a thief to find!

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