all that i want is to wake up fine tell me that i'm all right that i ain't gonna die all that i want is a hole in the ground you can tell me when it’s alright for me to come out
It has been imprinted in Qin Lee’s mind to cease thiefs and take care of them in all means necessary. The former Fire Nation guard troops took every opportunity to practice unjust law enforcment, so it was only natural for the boy to notice the cloaked figure in front of him steal an apple. The Qin Lee now wouldn’t make a problem. Hell, he even saw it as a sign of protest a bit. Stealing from, perhaps, a rightful owner of these fruits who worked their asses off so they could sell the little they have was also wrong, but Qin Lee was familiar with wrongdoings.
One little detail he found weird is why would a noblewoman steal? She probably had everything she needed on the tips of her fingertips. The protests had finally dimmed when he saw the act of thievery, his walk of thoughtful reminiscence quickly interrupted. One can have a bit of fun, right? Qin, approached the girl staying at a respective distance once his toned figure stood beside her. “Oh yes, I aggree, noble lady.” he paused, his lips twirling mischievously. “But many can do worse than his father and even though we all heard enough promises that he’s not the same, how can one know for certain? Maybe he’s even worse. He even might try to punish you for that apple of yours. Care to share it?”
Qin looked, at the woman’s half-hidden face, squinting hard, memories striking him. “My pardon, do I know you from somewhere?“
kai turned to look at the man with a curious expression. she seemed rather nonchalant until he mentioned the apple. her fingers wrapped around it tightly. “ i’m not one to call things before i see them, ” she remarked, regarding fire lord zuko and his new reign, “ so waiting is all we can do. for better or worse, we’ll find out soon enough. ”
she took another bite of the apple before holding it out. there went her lunch, but if it avoided conflict ? she wouldn’t complain.
“ it’s yours if you want it. mind the bite marks. ” she shrugged slightly. “ it’s a little mealy. ”
she stilled when he seemed to recognize her, and she took the chance then to really look at him. in that moment, her blood ran cold. she felt like she was going to be ill. all of her instincts were saying run, kai, run, but she steeled herself to remain where she was. she looked at him and immediately she knew. fire nation soldier. someone she’d run into while she was imprisoned.
she planned to play it off. she hoped she’d do it well.
“ know you ? ” she squinted her eyes as she looked at him, her whole face scrunching up. “ i don’t think so ? my family is rather reclusive unless we’re going to ember island and — oh ! ” she clasped her hands together and smiled widely. “ maybe that’s it ? i played kuai ball literally every day with a whole lot of people. maybe you were one of them ! ”
Suki couldn’t pinpoint an exact amount of time she and the warriors had been up and about, but it was clear that a few hours had passed and the sun was at its peak. Despite this, many of the protestors were still out and shouting their hearts up. She was a bit concerned at how the heat would be affecting the citizens, but thankfully a few handful of them were finally beginning to retreat. Considering the amount of energy they’d exerted, Suki was more than willing to offer her shoulder to any who needed assistance in getting home.
A few palace guards had offered to escort citizens home in her place, but due to their frustration and mistrust for those who worked directly under the Fire Lord, Suki thought it’d probably be best to follow through with the task herself. However, being unfamiliar with the areas twists and turns, she was slowly beginning to regret not taking them up on their offer.
While making her way, Suki caught sight of suspicious movement up ahead. She had little doubt that they’d noticed her noticing them. Taking advantage of this, the righteous leader moved swiftly in their direction while keeping an ample amount of distance between them. Suki heard a few words slip from their mouth, but she couldn’t make them out clearly. Regardless, she took the opportunity to creep up behind the other before taping their shoulder.
“Excuse me! I think you may have forgotten something back at fruit stand over there.” Suki smiled, keeping her voice steady as she gestured behind her back with her thumb.
the idea that someone saw her caused her to freeze, but kai was made for moments like these: ones where everything was on the line, ones where she had to be more careful and more clever than everyone else around her. she turned to face the other girl entirely with a wide smile. she took another bite of her apple. “ i didn’t forget anything at all. ” she shook her head in emphasis.
“ actually — ” a loud bite “ — the stand’s owner, lee, has an arrangement with my father. he pays him a stipend at the beginning of the month for pick of best produce. my siblings and i are also allowed to come and go as we please and take what we’d like, so long as it isn’t excessive. ” kai gave a careful shrug of her shoulders. “ an apple ? it’s really no skin off of his back. ”
the smile on her face wasn’t too wide as to be suspicious, but not too small as to be insincere.
by all means, kai was a good liar.
she had learned to be one as a child. lie to others, lie to yourself, lie to everyone. when she was younger, she felt guilty about it, a nagging voice in the back of her conscious. wrong wrong this is wrong. but she grew older, and she drowned it out. she had to do what she needed to to survive, so lying ? a necessary evil. she had stopped feeling wrong about it a long time ago.
“ we could go ask him, if you’d like ? ” she gestured back over her shoulder towards the stand before looking back. “ but it might take a while. it looks pretty busy. ” her lips pursed together. “ i’d hate to lose him a sale. ”
Her hardened gaze took him aback, ever so slightly. Self-preservation (or selfishness, if he wanted to be honest), huh? Though, the way she’d phrased it was odd. Truly a liberal noble, then. No matter: unexpected answer as it was, Hahn could get behind that. Selfishness was no stranger to him. That he knew, even if he tried not to think about it most days. No point dwelling on the past, he would probably excuse himself, though he also knew deep down that selfishness was still every bit a part of him as his flesh and blood coursing through him. Who really cared anyway, though? Selfishness was just another means to an ends, and when push comes to shove, selfishness is the only thing that’ll get you through. It was primal, but innate.
Her slip failed to register in his memory: a small shout from up ahead had briefly stolen his attention away, and when he had his senses zeroed in on her again, he’d only just managed to catch her name. “Cheers to that, Miss Emi,” he said, clinking an imaginary glass in her direction. He paused, weighing his words to come. “Although, for very different reasons, I assume.” He was almost teasing, acting against his own judgement, at this point, but to hell with that–the adrenaline from bordering the line of Utterly Horrible Ideas was a nice respite from the controlled regiment he had for himself for the past months. And if it really mattered: she was just another face in the flock of aristocrats he’d be attempting to charm. What was one voice but a tiny whisper in a boisterous hall? But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t try to get on her good side, still. “Hahn,” he supplied briefly, flashing Emi a stellar grin. “You know, they say people only care for names if they intend to cross paths again.”
she hadn’t spoken this much to someone in ages. in fact, she couldn’t recall the last time she had had an actual conversation. since being freed from prison, she’d kept to her own thoughts, her own self-directed rambles. and before that ? she had kept her head down, avoiding guards and other prisoners alike. she had long since settled into the comfort of loneliness, long since having stopped missing the consolation that others’ words and presence could bring. so obviously, the only thing kai wanted in this moment was for him to leave. flat out telling him to get out of her face was unfortunately out of the question, not when she wanted to remain low profile, known mostly to just herself.
“ i’ll have you know it’s unsettling to have a stranger following me. ” her shoulders were squared, her jaw jutted out. everything about her screamed unfriendly.
at his words, her face twisted into an expression akin to disgust and a harsh laugh escaped her. this man ? boy ? — whatever — felt like a splinter under her skin, pesky and annoying. “ maybe i only want to know so that i can curse your name to the spirits my family and i honor. ” again, she forced a smile to her mouth. “ i could only be so lucky should they hear my pleas. ”
A ghost of a smile graced his lips momentarily, only to fade as soon as it reached his eyes. What a strange noblewoman, indeed. He wasn’t sure he was completely sold on her excuse– after all, her skills seemed suspiciously well-honed (which noble family would train their children to steal?) but maybe he was just being overly analytical. Maybe she’s a magician’s daughter, he thought rather sardonically, after a pause. Speaking nothing of his doubts, Hahn merely shrugged instead, eyeing the glistening apple between her fingers. What I would do to have half that stealth you do, he would have said, and he would have, except he caught himself just as his mouth fell ajar. Instead, he filed away whatever thoughts he had, desperate desires be damned. All in due time.
“Interesting,” he hummed. She seemed rather… liberal. For a noblewoman, at least. He tried to keep up with her, but the throng of protesters weren’t exactly making it easy. Perhaps she’d rather not out herself in this sea of angry common folk, commanding their wrath on her instead. Wouldn’t be too shabby a tactic, but the best one, he believed, would’ve been for her to just stay indoors, ensconced from the rioting village around her. Finally, he found himself right behind her, if only for a sliver of time. It was just enough for him to lean in and lower his voice into a barely audible whisper amidst the din that surrounded them, “How do you wish to see it play out, Miss…?”
Then, as though he hadn’t been discreetly murmuring beside her ear, he stretched his arms above his head, watching the sea of faces before them meld into an array of warm hues.
the fact that he had seen her — she wondered briefly if she was sleeping. no. she had been casual, she had been careful. most people wouldn’t have bothered her slipping away with a piece of fruit, thinking to themselves they’d rather not have the conflict. the man — boy ? — in front of her was different than most. she supposed she would consider herself thankful so far for the fact he had yet to rat her out.
he still could.
“ see what play out ? ” she spun around to look at him, her gaze cold. “ the world ? so long as it shows favor to me, i’ll have no need to complain. ” whether that was emi speaking or kai herself, she was unsure. it would hold true for both girls, she was sure of that. emi was likely the sort to have gotten whatever she had wanted, spoiled rotten by parents who had too much excess and little capacity to do something productive. kai, on the other hand, relied on luck and grit alone. she had been spat at and kicked down more times than she could count. if good fortune found her, she wouldn’t question it, not at all.
“ the name’s emi — “ a lady didn’t speak like that. she couldn’t help but wince briefly but then she worked to fix her words “ — my name is emi. ” the smile on her face seemed force. “ and who are you ? ”
she didn’t trust him. she hadn’t known him for more than a minute, but it held true. she didn’t trust many people, and likely had only found it with a handful of people in her life. her gaze flicked around casually, as if she was caught up by the commotion around them, instead, she was looking for an out. a break in the crowd she could slip through, blending in, hopefully to never see him again.
Ming was trying to get back into the throng of the protest after having left for a bit of a break. Trying to brave the streets that connected her apartment to the Palace had been more difficult than she had expected. She could brave the crowd for 15 or so minutes, but any more and her body would begin to shake, her breathing would accelerate, and her vision would blur. She tried not to reach that point, though, by taking to the small pockets stalls created on the edges of the streets. At one such stop, she overheard a woman speaking openly about Zuko.
Ming listened without looking at the source of the voice and opinion, then looked up to see a woman dressed in noble clothing. Suddenly, the statements about the ‘exiled prince’ made sense. This wasn’t a person pondering the situation, but instead a disgruntled, rich woman voicing her displeasure with him. Ming stayed silent for a moment, trying to gauge whether it was appropriate for her to speak up. “You can kick a polar puppy and still be better than Ozai. The Fire Lord has got to not only do better than, but excel beyond his father, and the entirety of his bloodline, if he has a chance.”
Ming chuckled to herself, then continued. “Of course, what do you care. You’d probably be better off with Ozai back, so I won’t waste my breath.” Ming leaned against the wall, and crossed her arms. She tried to focus on the crowd as it passed, and not the woman that had just gotten under her skin. If there was ever a time to be level headed, this was it though.
Maybe Ming was wrong, maybe this woman wasn’t better off with Ozai. There was nothing stopping her from being a decent woman who just so happened to be wearing expensive robes. I hate being wrong. “Actually, that was rude, and I’m sorry. You probably have opinions that are important to hear. You are a Fire Nation citizen, after all.” Ming tried to offer a small smile as an apology.
the streets were filled with all sorts of people: rich, poor, and those who were neither struggling or prospering. it was odd to think that just a change of clothes had made others think different of her. for so long, she’d worn threadbare robes, dirtied from wear and weather. her fingers reached down to the clothes she wore now — they were soft and clean. somehow, that was something she never knew she wanted.
when a woman replied to her, kai’s eyes went first to her clothes. she was easy to read as poor, and the colors of the fabric meant she was likely from the fire nation. she swallowed, suddenly considering the idea of biting her tongue and saying nothing more. she hadn’t been in the fire nation long, not as someone who wasn’t a prisoner. what she knew of the fire nations was born of whispers and rumors. what was truth and what wasn’t, suddenly she felt unsure.
but finally, after staring for far too long than could be considered polite, she shrugged her shoulders. “ his reign wasn’t very long, considering that of his father and grandfather. should zuko sit on the throne longer — ” she paused with a delicate shrug of her shoulders “ — let’s just hope things change for the better. ” she didn’t bother too elaborate on what better would be. this woman could have something imagined something much different than what the girl whose robes kai wore would have believed.
the harsh comment startled her and her eyes widened. “ you know nothing about me — and — and you shouldn’t make assumptions. ” she was scrambling for words. she didn’t want attention and she didn’t want a fight, and she felt like the ground under her feet was about to crumble any second.
kai was flustered, fingers tugging on the hem of her shirt, rocking back and forth on her heels. by any glance, she might have been preparing to flee. but she didn’t. the out-of-the-blue apology sent her reeling but she stilled, wrapping her arms around her middle. “ we both are, fire nation, that is, ” her words were spoken slowly. “ i know what i think of our current political situation. ” she had no real opinion, and had given little thought to the matter in all actuality. her gaze turned to look towards the crowd of people that still remained, and her head was tilted slightly when she looked back towards ming. “ were you with them ? ”
Wasn’t this just lovely? Hahn sighed, almost resigning his face into his two palms. He had come here to do a little sightseeing, not to squeeze himself between clamoring, warm bodies. Calm yourself, he berated in his mind, trying to rein his emotions back in. He knew it served him no benefit to lose his temper in the middle of this damn crowd, so he focused his attention elsewhere instead, hoping to subside the frustration that had begun to build within his beating heart.
If he had been paying a little less attention, he would have missed it. But now, whoever it was, had his complete and undivided attention. The way the apple had vanished in a fluid, single motion would have been impressive to him, yes, but what piqued his interest wasn’t so much the act itself but the petty thief. If his guesses were anything to go by, whoever the thief was didn’t seem to be in any particular need to be stealing things like fruits. Perhaps she was a kleptomaniac, or whatever you called it? He shrugged, more to himself than anybody. Either way, his feet were already moving on their own accord, matching the thief’s paces with his own. It isn’t stalking, he thought wryly as he slipped between the protesters, keeping what he assumed was a reasonable distance. And then, she spoke. Hahn stifled a chuckle at her words, increasing his stride to catch up with this mysterious figure.
“Who would have thought a noblewoman would have to resort to stealing apples?” he countered. He didn’t actually know if she was really a noblewoman, but at least if he were wrong he wouldn’t be offensive. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he was. What would a teenager know about ruling a nation, anyway?” He gestured towards The Palace with his head as he scrutinized the noblewoman before him.
she noticed the other falling in line with her and she had planned to ignore them — just her luck for being the one to speak in the first place. she eyed them as she kept working, her mouth pressing in a thin line. it was clear he wasn’t from around her. the coloring of his clothes suggested the water kingdom. she supposed it was better than anyone from the fire nation ( she did appreciate the irony of this: her pretending to be one of the worst people in the world, blending in and living off of their privilege ).
“ i’m just taking what’s rightfully owed to me. ” her voice sounded aloof, she raised her chin slightly, impetuously. “ and it’s only an apple, nothing more. ” it was a weak excuse and kai knew it but she refused to say more. she took another bite of the fruit before folding her arms across her chest, the bright red apple dangling from her fingertips. “ maybe i should have demanded the whole stand, kicking up a massive fuss. ” she would never, and the idea of it was laughable, but she was wearing the shoes of another. she had to play the part.
she eyed him carefully. she couldn’t tell if he was keen on the fire lord but she knew that he wasn’t doing much to endear himself to the nobles. word had reached her of what occurred at the council meeting. “ only time will tell, i suppose. ” she kept walking. “ whether he leads us into the ground or — ” she drew out the word “ — into something akin to prosperous is something to be seen. ”
TIME: during the protests
STATUS: open to anyone !
the clothes on her skin made her feel uneasy, like she was a stranger even to herself. but kai had chosen this path. there was no second guessing herself without her only option ending up to be to flee. she was fine. she was emi. more often than she’d prefer, she ended up wondering what the fire nation girl was doing and where she was. it didn’t matter. she was probably fine, living a lush life without any worry. the idea of such a life was unfathomable. still, she envied it — she wanted it.
it was hard to pass through the streets. people had flooded them, most heading in the direction of the palace. kai, on the other hand, was taking the time to stroll through the fire nation city, trying to familiarize herself with the streets and shops. it would take some time to know it well, but she had never struggled with such a thing.
she passed a little stand filled with fruits, plums and peaches brightly stacked. when she noticed the clerk had his back turned, she reached a hand out without turning her gaze. she picked an apple off of the stand, slipped it into her pocket, and kept walking.
what could she say ? old habits died hard.
the streets were louder than she thought she had ever heard them before. people clamored about change and about justice. she had little knowledge of the former fire lord first hand, but she had heard enough from rumors and tales. this new one ? his banished son ? — “ who would have thought an exiled boy would have taken the throne ? ” a quick look at her would give the impression of a disgruntled fire nation noble “ i suppose he can’t do worse than his father. ”
she spoke to no one in particular, but she had never been quiet. her voice carried.
howdy hey this is my baby, kai. your character will probably know her as emi. the quick & dirty about is this: she is an earth kingdom orphan who made her life as a pickpocket and thief before getting caught and sent to prison in the fire nation. after she was released with ozai’s defeat, she found herself breaking into the abandoned homes of fire nation nobles who fled. noticing one had a daughter who looked similar to her, she decided to pretend to be someone she wasn’t. it’s fine. totally fine. what could go wrong ?
the sky burned red in the earth kingdom the day kai was born. her father had seen the flames and told his wife he would be back soon enough. he would never meet his daughter, and all the love kita would have had for her child died with her husband.
kita had once imagined her little family prospering in their tiny town. they wouldn’t have much, but they would be happy. in her mind, that was enough. but she never imagined losing her one true love. after that, she crumbled. she did the bare minimum to care for her child and nothing more. the few neighbors they had pitched in, dropping off hippo cow milk and komodo chickens when they could spare it. they saw how kai was suffering. they turned a blind eye in deciding not to do more.
when kai was seven, she was smart. she took her mother’s few copper pieces and bartered her way into more than what was fair. she had a stern expression for someone so young and would never let herself be cheated. she would return home from the markets to show her mother her haul, proud and accomplished, but her mother would only nod and turn back to staring out the window. there was never any acknowledgement, never any love.
she was doing her best to live without it — love, that is — but she still yearned for affections she would never get. she would watch the neighboring children shriek and laugh with delight as their parents chased them around the dirt paths in front of their home. she would tug her mother’s sleeve, asking to do the same, but her mother would shake her head and tell her maybe later.
later would never come.
she was nine when she was abandoned. she went to the market, like usual, following the same path she always did. she peeled off chunks of bread to eat as she walked home, but when she got there, her mother was gone. there was no trace of her, no note, no nothing. it was a few days later when someone realized she was living alone. the copper pieces had run out and so had the food. they talked about temporary situations, of finding someone with a large heart and room to spare —
in their discussions, she slipped out, and she never saw the home she was born in again.
the streets weren’t kind to the small and lonely, and certainly not to her. but she managed. she fell into line as a street rat quickly enough. she would steal food when no one else was looking, taking only what she needed and never more. occasionally, she would take bigger things, a bag here, a small knife there — but only when she knew she wouldn’t be caught, or if she knew the shopkeeper would turn a blind eye to a starving kid.
it was never easy. nights were cold and she slept under the awnings of shops, hard stone under her back. the stars became her best friends and she whispered to the constellations her worries and fears. they never talked back, but knowing that her words had been spoken to the universe brought her some consolation.
there were moments she prospered in her youth. she found other urchins who she would team up with for a little bit — their cons were bigger and better, and they would leave their bellies full for longer than usual. some of those she’d consider her best friends were people she knew for only a few nights.
she was fifteen when she tried bigger schemes and bigger scams. she wasn’t above begging, after all she’d do what it took to survive, but she found opportunity when a kind family that allowed her a few nights’ rest under shelter mentioned in passing that they were going out of town in a week’s time. after they were gone, she broke in through a window she had left open, one they didn’t take the time to close.
she stole trinkets and jewelry, anything she was sure she could make a quick buck off of. only briefly, only for a second, did she feel remorseful. they had shown her kindness when they didn’t need to — but they had more than they needed, more than her fair share. she had nothing and their kindness to her ? it was just their way of gloating. show the have-nothing how her life could have been if things were different.
and so she let her anger fester and rage grow. she began stealing more and more. she was an adept pickpocket, stealing watches and wallets with no more than a blink. she jimmied open doors and slunk through houses in the shadows. she took what she had to, what she felt was rightfully hers.
there were times she felt rich as could be, coins jingling in her pocket as she walked down the street. at others, she felt like nothing, having no skills or education to become anything more. she tried not to dwell on that.
the younger street urchins took a shine to her. she could be gruff and angry, but they knew they only need cry in front of her to soften her up. she’d toss them her last apple and peel the coat off of her own back if it seemed like they needed it more ; more often than not, she’d walk by them without a word, slipping her hand into theirs and leaving them with a silver piece to remember her by.
because of her propensity to steal from notable persons, there was always a target on her back should someone recognize the pair of shoes she had nabbed or the tunic that was one someone else’s. because of this, she travelled often. she walked and traversed the whole earth kingdom, going from town to town, never staying anywhere for too long, never laying down roots.
she found herself hidden on a merchant ship to the fire nation when she first saw the poster with her face on it. she was officially a wanted woman. it was time for a new path, rather a new stomping grown.
settling in the fire nation took some adjustment, but she did what she did best. she skulked through the shadows and slipped her fingers into pockets. she crawled through open windows and sold things that were never meant for her to own. it could have been said she was living her best life.
but then she got caught.
in the blink of an eye, she was thrown into a fire nation prison. unlike most, she was not a prisoner of war, just a petty thief. no one paid her much mind. but when the time came for the war prisoners to be freed, she nodded her head, lying that she was one of them. there was no second glance to be had at her, not when other things were still too messy.
she doesn’t plan on changing her ways now that she’s out, and she really doesn’t. word reaches her ear that many fire nation nobles have fled to outer islands, far from the chaos that is the capital. she slips into home after home, crashing in cushy beds that were never made for the likes of her — and then she notices something. she catches the eye of a young girl in a portrait. they don’t look dissimilar. in fact, if she squints, they could be sisters. she pulls on robes too ornate and lush for her tastes, she fixes her hair, and she slips into the role of a girl who was born into prestige in the fire nation.
it takes a few days of trial and error, but soon enough, people come to believe she is who she says she is. it’s the most challenging role to date but she has never flinched when life deals her a hard hand.
it can’t be the best plan, but it works for her — it is working for her. she doesn’t need anything else for now, the name of the noble fire nation family is enough to provide her credit, and she won’t go looking for something else. not right now. why would she ? crime is all she’s ever known ; it’s all she thinks she’s good at. maybe this is her embracing it. but maybe it’s not.
she’s playing pretend, but maybe she deserves a break from struggling.
