Game-Changers & Grudge Matches

"Yeah, I'm famished," Hector replied. "And don't worry, we're no Purists. You can search us if you want."

Dalia left and walked home.

<It's not just the Purists we're worried about, Sir. The Monsoons were also looking to kill the man who runs this establishment.>
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*Speaking of Purists, Vanessa slinks out of an alley & puts her blade to Dalia's throat from behind.*

<Fancy meeting you again.>
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R"Pretty good. How about you?"

Thiera<If you'll excuse me.>

*Thiera squeezes through on her way to the door. As she walks, the water covering her hands evaporates.*
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"I have some sandbender tools, if you're interested."

"Great, actually," Mortal said, "Doing anything new? Aside from fighting crime in your spare time?" Mortal waited a second before giggling, "That rhymed."

--

"I'd be interested in seeing them, but I'm not interested in bartering for them, if that is what you want."

"And you think Senthose would have a pair of goons come to finish his business in broad daylight?" Hector gestured back at Eduj. "Besides, Eduj here is an Earthbender, not a Waterbender."
Eduj twisted a finger and caused some of the ground to roll slightly before returning to normal.

"And what do you want with me?" Dalia asked after taking a deep breath.

*Roatha grins stupidly.*

"Yes. Yes it did. I might do something later, but...I don't know. We'll see. Later on."

*Euryale is staring at her hands.*
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<Our job is just to watch who comes and goes. You are free to go.>
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<Nothing much. I'm just going to kill you.>

*She slices, simultaneously stabbing at her back with the other blade.*
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"...No. Why would you think that? These are important supplies that no Sandbender should be without. I used one of them to make your necklace."

*She frowns, digging out & putting on a table; a black knife of some kind of shiny material, one end being sharp, the other serrated like a saw; a handheld compass; bone needle; sandpaper composed of particularly jagged pieces of fractured rock glued to a strip of cloth; & finally a 2nd strip of cloth, very long, & rolled up--Noctis can see uniform dash-markings on it.*

Mortal frowned a bit, hearing again that she will be told something 'later' was starting to become tiresome, "Alright then."

"Is something the matter, Euryale?" Gabe asked.

--

"I was just making sure, you had mentioned bartering before, as well as the need to make money," Noct said. She then began to inspect the tools, "They look excellently crafted. Is there any significance to the markings on this cloth?" Noct pointed out the cloth she was referring to as she talked.

Astarte had also noticed Euryale's reaction, and began to feel awkward.

"Thank you," Hector walked past her towards the restaurant, naturally followed by Eduj.

Dalia released her breath downwards towards the slicing hand, sending fire down onto it. At the same time she jabbed backwards with her hands, sending a pair of fireballs at Vanessa.

*Euryale looks up, smiling with her eyes closed.*

E"Oh, it's...it's nothing. So...wanna go check for me if we can leave now? I don't want to get up while I'm still in this hospital gown."
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*[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], but the Breath of Fire only forced her hand down slightly, so Dalia is bleeding from a cut to her sternum & clavicle. Vanessa rolls backwards, getting back to her feet & hurling knives from her sleeves at Dalia.*
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"Yes, in the desert, we often barter, but I'm not desperate. And for the record, it's a measurement strip."
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*Once Eduj & Hector come in, a suited man at the "please wait to be seated" podium looks up at them.*

<Table for 2? Or perhaps you're meeting someone here?>

Mortal can't help but smile at that image, but nods and says, "Yea, I'll go check it out."

--

"Ah," Noct said, giving it another look and trying ti figure out the unit of measurement. "And I apologize, I didn't mean to insinuate something like that."

With one hand pressed to the wound, Dalia swung around and kicked out with her leg, sending more fire roaring back at Vanessa, "This time you'll die, trash."

"If only briefly, I would like to meet with Lightning Bolt Zolt," Hector said. "You can tell him that Hector has something to tell him about another Bloodbender."

*She blocks with her blades as the knives poke shallow wounds into Dalia's abdomen.*

<Boy, if I had a Yuan for every Firebender who told me THAT!>

*She runs towards Dalia, kicking off of the wall & slashing at her throat with one blade.*
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<(Are you an idiot?! Don't go blabbing about that stuff in public!) Table for 3 it is, then. We'll point your friend in your direction. Would you like a booth?>
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*It is the same unit that Republic City uses. Venezuela sighs.*

"It's fine. Do you have any other questions?"
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*Mortal runs into Aroma in the hall. Literally runs into her. Aroma drops her clipboard on the floor, & her hat also falls off.*

"Yes, thank you," Hector nodded.

Dalia hopped backwards by about a meter and took her hand off of her wounds to launch a series of punches at the oncoming Purist, each unleashing another fireball at her.

"I'm sorry," Mortal said, bending down and picking up Aroma's clipboard, and hat, "Are you alright, I didn't see you there." She extended the clipboard, and put the hat back onto Aroma's head.

--

Noct shook her head, "No, and I think it is about time I start getting ready for the day. Thank you again for the food. It was delicious, no matter how unremarkable you may think it was."

"I'm--"

*She looks up, blushing, when Mortal puts the hat on her.*

"--I'm fine, thanks. Do you need something?"
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"Very well. I will take care of the dishes. And you are welcome."

*She stands up, & starts collecting the plates.*

"Hmm...if you don't mind my asking, what is it that you plan to do today?"
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*Vanessa blocks several of the fireballs, doing her backward-roll maneuver when they prove too much for her.*
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*They are led to a booth surrounded by a red curtain. A few minutes later, Lightning Bolt Zolt slips in & sits down. He looks sour, but not especially angry, as he puts his arm on the table & leans forward.*

<You'z guys asked for me directly? This'd better be important.>

"We were curious, is Euryale ready to leave?" Mortal asked.

--

"Write up the contract, as I've said, then probably return home," Noct said, "I'm feeling like today is going to be a lazy day."

"Senthose and his henchman weren't the only Bloodbenders around here," Hector stated, sipping at a glass of water. "And not the only ones after you, I suspect. I hired a Waterbending lady at my pharmacy, and she ended up Bloodbending myself and Eduj something like a day prior to the attack here, then freezing us and sending us out to sea."
He stated her name.
"The bitch took us out right after some Purists had come by, and I don't doubt that she was responsible for blasting my shop to pieces," Hector continued. "As I understand it the police couldn't get anything on her, but I know exactly what she is and what she did. She could come for you, or she could break Senthose out. Either way, she's trouble."

Dalia retracted her hands and lifted them up in the air and took a deep breath simultaneously. She then brought her arms down in a sweeping motion and extended into a lunge, hurling two trails of flames forwards and unleashing a third on her breath to follow, which would all come together before they reached Vanessa to form a considerable wall of fire coming down on her. Once she had released her flames, she began plucking the blades from her abdomen.

*Tirea looks excited*

<Oh, I hope so!>
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*Monu goes and does that*

<Cyprus Cafe, how may I help you?>
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Eve;<Um, yes. Can I see your selection of solar filters?>

Aroma<Yes, of course. I'll go fetch her, umm, street clothes, & her prescription.>

*A few moments later, Aroma comes back into the room with these things, in particular the pieces of armor that she's wobbling from the weight of.*

Aroma<I'll draw the curtains for you.>

E"That won't be necessary."

*Aroma looks at her strangely as she climbs out of bed, facing them all, so that they can't see her exposed backside. Euryale widens her stance, holds her arm out, & kind of flexes a little, at which point the leg & crotch pieces of the armor fly towards her & strap on, followed by the abdominal piece slipping over her head & attaching at the waist. She moves her good arm so that it slips into the arm piece, & finally catches the helmet & the arm piece she can't wear because of her injury.*

Aroma<Wow, you're very talented. But, um, what about the gown?>

E"I'll get it back to you as soon as possible."

*She takes her underclothes from Aroma & slips them inside of what they presume is a pocket inside of the hip portion of her armor, & then takes the prescription.*
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<We need to place a large order. We'll come to pick it up around 4, is that good?>
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<Yeah, they're right over there.>

*He points to a wall of shelves, only about half of which have anything on them. Then he shrugs.*

<What can I say? A lot of merchandise got damaged.>
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<I ain't worried. So, what's she look like?>
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*Vanessa rolls to one side, where Dalia's injury prevents her from getting much flame. She then runs towards Dalia. Police sirens can be heard approaching down the main street.*
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"I see. I was honestly hoping to meet my Earthbending trainer today."

Monu:<Sure. What can we get for you?>
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Eve:<I know, I was here when it happened.>

*Eve goes over to check them out*
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*Tirea looks impressed*

Tirea:<You're amazing Euryale!>

*Tirea turns to Gabe*

<Should we tell her about Ven?>

"Yeah," Gabe said, "We found a new team member, but... we didn't really have many options of a super skilled earth bender this late into the season. The girl we found is a sandbender, but she never worked with solid stone, so we're going to need your help. If you're willing, I mean."

--

"You very well may," Noctis said, "Once the paperwork is complete, I'm going to need them to sign it. You'll probably meet your instructor then."

"Oh, absolutely. In fact, that's even better. I'll teach her how to bend rock, she can teach me how to bend sand."

*She scratches her chin.*

"Though I guess we'll have to do that soon, huh? Your next game is in a couple of weeks."
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"I would really enjoy that."
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<We're going to need 30 assorted sandwiches. Any kind will do. We'll also need 2 liters of tea, and another 2 of coffee.>

*Eve points at an appropriately sized lens*

<How much for this one?>
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Tirea:<How about today? We were going to meet with Noctis anyway.>

*Tirea looks down*

<I probably sound really selfish, you should rest right now.>
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*Monu takes note of this on a slip of paper*

<Right, anything else?>

Mortal bites her tongue to keep herself from saying that Euryale is going to be busy today, and instead said, "The doctors cleared her to go, but she still has the sling. Then again, it is up to you, Euryale."

Gabe shrugged, "It'll be fine either way." She then put a hand on Tirea's shoulder, "And don't worry about it. I'm pretty sure we know that you're just excited."

--

"Well, as I said, I'm off to get ready for the day. You can either stay here and wait for me to get back, or join me at work," Noct said, "Whatever you wish."

E"The sling isn't a problem. We should have time, if we can get them to meet us in the park."
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V"Is there some task I could help you with?"
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<That's 25 Yuans.>
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<That will be all.>

Eve:<I'll take it then. Can I also order eclipse glasses here?>
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Monu:<Alright, please hold for a second.>

*Monu passes the slip of paper with the order on it to Sidon*

<(How much is their total?)>
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Tirea:<Really? I'll call them! Well, once we figure out a time. What works for you guys?>