Chapter 37: Omashu (3)
"You're having fun, aren't you?" Suki couldn't help but pout. She was now beginning to feel what Katara felt and wished to correct the situation, balance it out, to say— where she didn't feel like the third wheel.
Katara rolled her eyes, "I don't know. As I said, I'm great with the elderly. I used to take care of elder women in the village and even know how talkative other aunties could be."
The Capital City of Omashu is divided into eight broader levels. The first one, right next to the city walls is the largest ring around the mountain and holds all forms of weaponry and metal production factories. The second to fifth ring is mostly the supply channel with small bazaars all around that would sell slightly defective products at a cheaper price.
Right now, the trio was on the fifth ring.
The Eighth ring by itself is the platform for the palace where the Mayor, his family, and the royal fire nation guards are situated, protecting various members of great interests.
At this moment, the two girls sat on a bench beside a tavern, a spread of tarp allowing many to rest under the shade. A few odd glances fell on the two girls due to their differing clothing when a cheerful voice attracted the attention of the duo.
"Katara, come on! Miss Ren here has a few lodgings," Nik waved his hand, peeking out from the corner of a pottery as he grinned. He attracted more than enough attention as Katara was quick to jump on her feet as if the sun wasn't battering on her just like the slowly moving Suki.
"Yes, yes. Sigh, you're always so excited," Katara sighed deeply and Suki's expression turned bleak. She admitted that acting in this manner wasn't her forte but seeing Nik and Katara have so much fun simply left her dejected.
Only if harems weren't a royal's thing, right?
As the two entered the pottery, they saw an old woman chuckling softly.
"Oh, child. I'm no 'Miss.'"
"Nonsense," Nik shook his head seriously.
"Ah, fine, fine. You have no reason to lie so I must still have some qualities left," the woman replied and looked towards Katara and Suki, "So? Child. Who's the lucky woman?"
"I met Katara on a short voyage," Nik warmly wrapped his arm around Katara's shoulder and introduced, "And this is Suki. My cousin."
"I see," The woman named Ren nodded while Katara had a heavy blush. A good way to fool others is only by equal parts acting and equal parts honesty. And she honestly felt... certain things.
"Hello, we understand that it's a bit hard to ask for assistance so suddenly but we will be grateful to find a decent place to stay." Katara gave a short bow, breaking out of the fleeting embrace as she forcefully recollected her calm.
"Hmm, hmm—" Before the women could continue, a customer walked in.
Not pushing too much, the trio sidestepped and Katara whispered, "Aren't you being too close?" She hissed.
'Didn't seem like you minded any of it,' Suki thought internally, not being unnecessarily sour in the equation by speaking this aloud.
"Um... what kind of husband wouldn't hug a beautiful wife?" Nik inquired softly.
"You're kidding, right?" Suki blinked. She had to act as his wife a few dozen minutes back but there was an obvious lack of such intimacy.
"Why? Is something wrong?" Nik inquired. All things said and done, he felt that if he had placed his arm around Suki without any heads-up, she would have caught it, rotated it, accidentally dislocated it, and made him spiral before tumbling on the ground. In comparison, Katara was more... easier to act with.
She simply hadn't gone through such rigorous training to act on an instinctual level.
Suki felt cornered and shook her head.
On the other hand, the woman was now free to speak again.
"Hmm, yes. You two should meet my man. He's a grumpy one but he wouldn't just reject your requests. At most, we can help you for a few days until you find a job."
"Thank you," Katara sighed in relief and Nik suddenly spoke, "Speaking of jobs... Miss Ren, the few villages on our way did not have any prosperity. Didn't the Fire Lord pass through this location?"
"The Fire Lord?" Ren's gaze turned glazed for a moment before she suddenly began to giggle like a little girl.
"Oh, I remember him. Quite a charming man. Just like you, child. He had a lot of sweet things to say about everyone... but I don't recall anything about the villages. Weren't they already moved into the city to provide for them?" She revealed a confused expression herself and the trio glanced at each other.
"Sigh, it must be my cousin seeing things again," Suki lightly punched Nik's back and she smiled, "We will meet your husband. He lives there, right?"
Suki spoke a few words before pulling the two away. They sneaked into an alley.
"Alright, there is something strange going on!" Suki exclaimed, "First the news of children being brought within the city. The news of the prisoners by the coast not revealed and now the citizens thinking that village doesn't exist at all. At least, the ones close to the coast..."
"Sounds like a bad dream," Nik mumbled. A trippy nightmare, to be exact.
Katara's expression was a bit solemn, too.
"I don't think just finding about the children is enough now and our two hours are almost up. Let's return to the rendezvous and compare what we've found," Katara suggested and they agreed.
---
"Yep, yep, and yep." Sokka nodded. He looked quite disheveled. His body soaked and his chest still heaving in exhaustion.
"Don't look at me like that. I quickly found a job for myself. Apparently, it's easy to find one in warehouse maintenance since they always need a helping hand. 3 pieces of bronze for an hour," he grinned brightly as he revealed three bronze coins in his hand.
"Anyway, everybody thinks that the villages to the coasts are already absorbed by the city. No caravans pass through that location, too. At night, fire nation guards would make rounds inside and outside of the city, too. The only thing that changed now is the release of the Earthbenders and they, too, are more than restricted enough."
"What about you, Aang?"
Katara looked at the boy whose expression brightened, "I met a boy my age. His name is Tom-Tom. He had this great idea of covering himself in oil and then sliding down the supply lines. The gears of the carts keep them pushed up so we slid through the gap easily! It was amazing!"
Before others could sigh, Nik kept the boy engaged, "So? Where's Tom-Tom?"
"Ohh... about that..." Aang smiled. But it seemed forced and then he heard a loud shout.
"There you are!"
A boy, younger than Aang from the looks of it, ran hurriedly. His short legs were almost blurry as he quickly patted Aang's back, "You're it!"
Aang's expression froze.
The boy had dark hair but the notable aspect of the boy was his dark grey eyes that didn't match the usual green pigments of the citizens of the Earth Kingdom.
"That's Tom-Tom!" Aang stated hurriedly and rushed after him. Even without airbending, Aang's speed was quick and he patted the boy before returning quickly.
"Aside from that, I think I'm eligible to join the school—" Aang stated before running as Tom-Tom chased after him. In a matter of seconds, Aang once again returned, "And there isn't anything weird like what you guys said—" and then he ran again before returning once more when Sokka caught him.
"You have got to stop doing that," Sokka mumbled, and then with his other hand, he stopped Tom-Tom by pushing his hand against the boy's head.
"Hey! Stop interrupting!" Tom-Tom yelled.
"If you two used oil... did you freshen up somewhere?" Suki suddenly inquired and Tom-Tom snickered, "Oh, Aang, you told them about my master plan! Yeah! We snuck into my bath from the back entrance. Hey, Aang, where can I get those blue markings?"
The four youths looked at each other.
"Oh, there was another thing," Aang coughed, "Um... Tom-Tom is mayor's son..."
"Totally!" Tom-Tom grinned and then looked at Sokka, "Is that a boomerang? I love that toy! Come on, let me play with it!"
"It's not a toy," Sokka whined and sat on the ground, holding his head.
'Mayor's son... and they entered his bath...'
"Aang, did you go into the palace?" Nik questioned.
"A... little bit," Aang looked away.
"Yes, I think we should leave for the time being," Katara whispered but Nik couldn't help feeling strange. He looked at Tom-Tom again and then at Aang before shrugging. He simply didn't want to be the one to say it.
"Wait a minute. No need to feel hurried," Sokka suddenly looked up and smiled, "I still have the night shift, hmm... but I guess I can take a break from it. You're Tom-Tom, right? It's a weird name but... I will let you play with the boomerang only if you help Aang study better in this... school."
"Oh? Right, sure! Come on, I'll have to study in the evening, too! Let's play!"
Sokka nodded and stood up before looking back at Nik, Katara, and Suki.
"Ah, you guys, I would like to help you all but I don't have any space to provide myself. Aang is a distant nephew and I thank you for bringing him. I've been waiting for him for almost a week! Come on, kid, let's go."
Sokka pulled Aang's arm and winked at the trio.
"Does he want us to stay here?" Katara finally inquired once Sokka had led Aang and Tom-Tom away.
"Probably. Since he's with Aang, at least, he wouldn't let the boy do anything more dangerous," Nik shrugged.
"For a week, huh," Suki sighed. It wouldn't take a genius to understand Sokka's words and only children like Tom-Tom could be fooled easily while Aang was confused.
"With Aang close to Sokka, I think they will even get to Appa, probably by dusk," Nik looked around. The lowest ring was barely worth looking around. The production factories on the level could bring him a great influx of AP but that would also cause a lot of suspicions to rise towards the recent immigrants.
"So, cousin, you must find a good job and provide for the family," Suki suddenly laughed and patted Nik's back.
"That's right. We also need to find a place to stay. You can't let your family sleep on the street, right?" Katara tilted her head and smiled sweetly.
The girls then glanced at each other before breaking into giggles. Their thoughts now in sync while Nik faced the terrible fate of being third-wheeled.
The girls then moved towards the location the Old Ren had pointed out to while Nik followed behind them.
'A family... man, that one bald customer used to say it a lot. Finding new members and then calling them families,' Nik chuckled internally. Although he had quite a bit of bad memories largely due to Esta, he wasn't alone. Many people laughed despite their situation in that whorehouse, too.
The sixth ring is where the residences began and the seventh ring was reserved for prominent institutions and families but there wasn't a lot of difference in treatment.
Unlike the previous rings where the metal framework was more prominent, the structures here were wholly earthen. Despite the noon, there was a sense of coolness that refreshed everyone who stepped onto this level.
By now, the trio had already been stopped by a few guards. Most of them were earthbenders and were quite inconsiderate but amongst them, only the patrolling team formed of Fire Nation guards was actually considerate enough to point out a few more areas where the 'immigrants' could find work for themselves.
This, by itself, surprised Katara and Suki. They already had an impression of the Fire Nation and it seemed to be reconsolidated after the attack on the prison rig but Nik simply didn't have any unnecessary prejudice.
Finally, they came across a two-storied home with uniform green tiled roofs and metallic edges. Knocking on the door, Nik and the others waited.
*Thud*
"Aiy?" A slightly older man with a crooked back opened the door and looked at the trio.
"Hello, we just met your wife, Miss Ren. She said that you could help us find a place to stay--" Before Katara could complete, the old man snorted, "Nough charity! No, I'm not gonna give my rooms for free anymore. You immigrants are all worthless!"
The trio's smile froze and Nik offered, "We can pay for the lodgings. I just got a job on Cabbage Storage."
This is where Sokka got a job but he could use the information for lip service, right?
"Hmm... a copper piece every night for each of ya!" The man looked at the trio before he snorted in Nik's direction and opened the door.
"Let me tell y'all the moment you do something stupid, I'll have the guards remove you from the city?" The man threatened and pointed towards the stair, "That's where you'll live. Don't expect any food from us."
The trio nodded and walked up the stairs. Since the old man was clearly unwilling to talk with them, they didn't need to aggravate him further by speaking. Once they reached up the stairs, they found the top portion of the house slightly smaller. A large area with only a bedding folded to the side. A small partition was created and as Nik opened the room, he hurriedly closed it while covering his mouth and nose. Disgust welling within him.
"What happened?" Suki frowned.
"There's a bucket in there," Nik quickly pulled the curtains away and breathed deeply through the window.
"You don't have to act like this... everyone has done it in a bucket once in their life," Katara frowned and walked up to the room. Nik let her walk into the room of biological warfare and Katara instantly paled before quickly closing the door!
"That is not empty!... and has been there for a long time!" She gasped, tears forming in the corner of her eyes due to stink.
The 'couple's' reaction was enough for the sister to not even try her luck.
"Nik, you should make it disappear," Katara instantly asked as he glared at her, "I'm not going anywhere near such a powerful stench!"
"Alright, so we go in other establishments to do it," Suki shrugged. There were sewerage pipelines within the city, of course. But they were created in a few points and the 'business' needed to be carried there and then dumped.
"Anyway, we should think of ways to find a new place," Katara groaned and Nik nodded.
"It's that bad?" Suki inquired and gazed at the door with a hesitant expression.
"You can try and bask in its glory," Nik mumbled before sitting down.
"But we should consider ourselves lucky finding a place to stay already. Now... we have to get a job and work. Also, collect information."
"Oh, about that," Suki smiled, "I think the pain of my leg is returning... I guess I really shouldn't have tried fighting while injured."
"It just returned?" Nik inquired curiously.
"It did. Is that doubt, Cousin? I thought that we had enough trust during the voyage," Suki sighed softly.
"Ah, don't worry about it," Nik smiled. His sincere expression made the two girls blink and after a few words, Nik left to find a job as he promised. But only after a few minutes did Nik leave did the need strike the girls and they realized something.
"He took all our stuff!" Katara and Suki glanced at each other before looking at the forbidden door. Katara instantly shivered and walked out.
"He couldn't have gone far. I'm going to find him!"
Katara hurried out and Suki followed.
"I thought you were in pain," Katara looked at Suki.
"Oh, come on. Not now!" Suki rolled her eyes.
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