Monica followed her father to Katara's home, hoping he would be a little more willing to listen to her proposal once he talked to the elder. The sun was beginning to set, and the temperature was falling fast. As soon as they reached the old woman's hut her father knocked and turned to her.
"This talk I am going to have with Katara does not mean I am going to let you go to Republic City. It's half the world away, and I'm not sure I want my daughter going so far away without me, to a city no less-"
Katara opened the door and ushered them in. "I had a feeling I would be seeing you today, Carlos. Come on in and have a seat." It was warm in the hut, much warmer than outside. Monica grabbed a seat next to her father as Katara stirred a stew pot. Leah was on the other side of the room, polishing the dragon she had made earlier that day.
"Hi Monica!" The metal bender greeted while she continued polishing.
"Hi Leah." Monica replied.
"Is she the metal bender you met today?" her father asked none too quietly.
"Yes sir, my name is Leah Bei Fong, nice to meet you. Are you Monica's father?" Leah replied, putting down her supplies. She wiped her hands on a clean rag and walked over to Monica's father, offering her hand. WAIT, BEI FONG? As in Toph Bei Fong? Katara and Avatar Aang's friend? Are they related?
"Yes, you can call me Carlos. Are you the one who offered to let my daughter stay with you in Republic City?" Her father replied.
"If she wants to. I have my own apartment with a second bedroom that I am not using at the moment." Leah replied with a smile.
"You can't be much older than my daughter, how are you able to have an apartment?" her father asked suspiciously.
"Hmm? Oh, my sister is the chief of Police in Republic City. She put her name on the contract as co-owner so I could live somewhere while she stayed at the police barracks. She comes by often to make sure I'm keeping it clean and eating well." Leah replied.
"I see. Katara, Monica tells me that she has completed her training with you, is that true?" her father asked, turning his attention to the elder once more.
"Of course, Monica isn't a liar. You of all people should know that." Katara said as she poured some of the stew into bowls and passed them around.
"Well of course I do, but I also know how much she detests the thought of becoming a healer in service of the tribe-"
"I don't 'detest' it, Dad. I just don't want to do that for the rest of my life…" Monica interrupted until her father gave her 'the look'.
"In any case, is there nothing more you can teach her?" her father asked. Monica thought it was ridiculous that he was trying so hard to find something, anything that could keep her there learning.
"No, Carlos. I have completed my teachings with her. If you want my opinion, let her go with Leah. I have known their family since I was a child if you've forgotten, and I can tell you that even if Leah wasn't responsible, Lin will keep them in line. She won't tolerate any disturbance in that city. It's good to let kids go out and experience the world, besides, it's not like she is going away forever. She may even decide she hates the city and come back before you know it." Katara replied in the maternal way she always did. It was a long time before her father finally replied, and the silence made Monica uncomfortable.
"Fine, you can go. But you had better write letters and come to visit every so often. Now let's get out of Katara's hair. Thank you for the soup, by the way. It was absolutely delicious."
"Anytime Carlos, you know that." Katara replied. When her father was out the door, Katara turned to Monica and winked. "You'll have lots of fun, but do come and visit when you can."
"Of course, thank you Katara." Monica replied, hugging her. "I appreciate it. I'll see you in the morning Leah!"
"See you bright and early, miss arteest!" Leah said, using a strange accent on the last word.
{A week later}
"Ok, so now that you're all settled in, would you like a tour of the city, Monica?" Leah asked. They had entered the city the night before, and all that morning they had been cleaning up Monica's room and placing her belongings. Her bedroom had a bed, dresser, and vanity in it. A single window was perched in the right wall with a view of the bay. Monica could even see Avatar Aang's monument and the island where his descendants lived.
"Sure!" She replied. She had changed into borrowed clothes that would be less likely to cook her while she walked around in the warmer climate. A pink sleeveless shirt that went all the way up to her neck, white pants, black flat soled shoes that left the tops of her feet exposed, and a hair piece to keep her dark ringlets up in a ponytail.
First they went down to the Police headquarters since it was closest to their apartment building. It was huge and made completely out of metal. Over the front door was a statue of Toph Bei Fong, Leah and Lin's mother, friend and mentor of Avatar Aang. It spanned several blocks, which was how huge it was. "Wow," was all Monica could muster. The entire city awed her; it was amazing how different it was from the Southern Water Tribe.
"Yea, my mother and Lin have always taken pride in it. I can show you the inside another day though, I don't want meeting Lin to be your first real city experience…"
"I heard that." Monica and Leah twirled around to see the Chief of Police making her way towards them from the opposite direction. "Who's your friend, little sister?"
"Lin, this is Monica. She is an aspiring artist I met when I went to visit with Katara." Leah replied with an anxious sweat drop on her brow.
"Oh really. Well, Monica. Just so you know, I don't tolerate disturbances in this city, and if either of you start making disturbances with your 'art' I will not hesitate to lock you both up. Am I clear?" The older woman replied. Monica nodded her head, wondering how Lin got the scars on her right cheek.
When they were on their way again Leah gave a cheeky grin. "Sorry about that, I love my sister, but no one knows how to instill fear in another human being like she does."
Monica had to laugh at that. She had never had siblings, but it seemed like it was probably rough to be a younger sibling. With every block they passed Monica was awed by the people and the architecture and just how HUGE everything was. There were vendors on the street selling food, shopkeepers sweeping outside their establishments, and kids running around in packs. Downtown was even more bustling than the docks had been, and when they arrived at city hall it seemed that the crowds of people were just getting thicker and thicker. At one point Monica almost lost her guide even.
"C'mon, I'll bring you someplace a little quieter!" Leah yelled as she grabbed the water benders hand and dragged her through the crowd. Around noon they made it to the Republic City Park. Where Monica was from, there were no trees, so these were new to her to. A huge river wound its way through the park and bridges connected the various sections to one another. A group of people stood around a stage with a man shouting. A banner behind him featured a masked man.
"We need to avoid them, or else there will be big trouble." Leah said, disgusted. "They're known as equalists, but they really just want to wipe the benders off the face of the earth." Leah made a detour around them until they came to a man who was hiding in a bush. "Hey Gommu! How's Life?"
"Living, breathing. Hey, who's your friend Leah?" The middle aged man asked as he stood up out of the bush a little more.
"She's new to town, this is Monica, she's a water bender." Leah replied as she showed Monica off like a brand new Satomobile.
"Ah, a Water bender. Welcome to Republic City miss! Hey, do you think you would mind catching this old man a fish out of the river, please? Only if it's not too much trouble…" He asked with a silly grin.
"I don't mind, hang on." Monica replied as she turned towards the river. She spotted one of the silvery bodies she had been trained to notice as a child by her father, then pushed her hands up and pulled them down in a large oval pattern. An orb of water emerged with the fish inside, and Monica passed the fish to the old man.
"Well, thank you kindly ma'am-" Gommu replied as the protestors from before started shouting. "Uh oh, you girls had better skedaddle, the wackos are coming." And with that the nomad jumped back into his bush.
"Let's go, I still gotta show you where we'll be performing!" Leah said as they ran to catch a taxi at the park entrance.
"Why does that guy live in a bush? Can he not build a house?" Monica asked. Why would someone ever consider living in a bush? Even though it was entertaining…
"Gommu had a home once, but he decided that he'd rather travel around the city, free as a bird. And my sister would kill him if he built a house I the middle of the park. She ignores him for the most part, but the rich people would totally freak out and then she would have to get involved."
As a taxi pulled up, Leah opened the door and ushered Monica inside. "So this is a satomobile…"
"Central City Station please?" Leah asked the driver as she closed the door. There was a convertible top that had been pulled back on the vehicle, and the wind whipped Monica and Leah's hair back. A walk that could have taken them an hour took 15 minutes in the taxi, and when they pulled up to their destination Leah doled out some paper Yuans into the driver's hand. "Thanks so much."
They walked through an alley way until they walked out into a large square. It was pretty busy, but not as bad as it had been Downtown or at the City Hall. A large monument dedicated to Fire Lord Zoku stood in the middle. "Welcome to Central City Station! Home to artists, street performers, gangs, gatherers and all other groups of people just looking to hang out! This is where we will be setting up shop when we feel like it. It's the best place for business, especially since that's what it used to be for." A satomobile sped past, and then the metal bender made her way to the center where a group of kids were hanging out.
"Be careful around Skoochy, he's a pick pocket by trade…" Leah whispered. "Hey Skootchy, how are the fish today?" She said to the leader of the group while slipping a Yuan into his hand.
"You know me well, Leah. Pickings are pretty slim today; hope you weren't looking to perform. But tomorrow…" He held out a hand as Leah fished out another Yuan. "Tomorrow I hear there is supposed to be some kind of market going on where a bunch of vendors will be setting up stalls. Sounds like it would be right up your alley."
"Awesome, thanks Skootchy." Leah replied patting his head, before they continued on their way.
"How are you able to just pass out Yuans like that?" Monica asked. She had never needed money because they just traded goods back home, she never dreamed she would have enough money to just take a taxi wherever and pay for information.
"My mom IS Toph Bei Fong, but I also sell my sculptures. That in and of itself helps." Leah replied as she sat on a railing. "Now, in regards to your art, we're gonna have to brain storm. We'll need to be able to bring water with us, but we also need to figure out what you're gonna do. Sculptures are all well and good, but I do sculptures that will last longer than you ice ever will."
"Well… hmm. Maybe painting of some sort?" Monica suggested hopefully.
"That could work… Do you think you could bend the paints themselves? Probably not, they are't exactly 'liquid'…"
"What about 'water color?'" Monica tried again.
Leah gave a start then turned toward her friend. "That's perfect!"
"I could mix the pigments in cups of water… then bend the water against a canvas." Monica said, getting really excited about the prospect. "Where am I gonna get that kind of stuff though?"
"We'll stop by Downtown again on the way home, I know just the woman you need to see. Ready to go?"
Monica nodded and they headed back towards the Downtown part of the city to get prepared for Monica's big 'street debut'.