Sips of Tea

Fong got off the animal. She felt like she was going to upchuck soon. She knew she had to get somewhere private. She ran to the closest restaurant in the small area. Eventually, she got inside of a bathroom where she looked at herself in the small cracked mirror. It had dust in the corners and fingerprints on it. She looked up to see a small crack in the ceiling and it had a small bucket under. She assumed to catch rain water. The desert made her vision hazy and her throat tight. She felt the dehydration. It was the only time she dreamed of being a water bender.  
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After a small while, Fong felt her stomach calm. She walked out of the tiny bathroom and ordered some cold tea. She took sips until the tea was all gone. She wanted more but she needed to save her money. She had a thousand yuans and one cup of tea was five. She decided to grab one more cup of tea to go. She grabbed fruits, water, pre-cooked meats, and a hat from a near by shop. Fong did not want to be burnt. She put all of her materials in her bag and put her hat on. She started walking. As she walked, all she could think about was how she would be in Ba Sing Se soon. Fong had already traveled far. She landed in Fong's base and got tickets to take a river all the way to Full Moon Bay. In Fong's Base, she saw where her parents fell in love. That is the inspiration for her name. She had been on a boat for five days, in the desert for four days, and she was about to be on another boat for two days.

She wondered how Fliptwinkle was. Her brother always took care of him when she was gone but he would not know she would be gone for this long. "Go to Ba Sing Se," Jazan had said two weeks ago, "Get the avatar on our side. Make sure there is no funky business going on. Once in the city, you will have a place to stay and brothers who will watch over you. Do not let outsiders make the fire nation suffer anymore. Do not allow them to bully us. Do what you have to do Fong. You will be rewarded as always." Fong knew she could not mess up. She knew she was in an unknown land with hardly anyone to protect her and if she messed up, she might die. She took small sips of the tea. She knew  she had to save it for her boat ride. Tea always calmed her even when on the sea. She took a deep breath and walked up to the desk. A woman stared at her until Fong handed her money. "Tickets to Ba Sing Se please."

Kuzon floated down onto the land that was settled in front of him. He had just left the Earth Kingdom on a little vacation before he did anything else, he decided to take a day to himself. He wandered into the ferry area where one goes to get tickets to the different destinations that the ferry can take you. He decided that the ferry ride might be just what he needed, so he jumped in line behind a rather attractive woman wearing fire nation clothes. She was sipping tea as she asked for a ticket to Ba Sing Se. After the woman gave her the ticket, he would step up and offer the ticket woman a smile, "Another ticket for Ba Sing Se, please." He would grab his ticket after dropping his change onto the counter and would then approach the woman from earlier, she seemed familiar somehow. "Excuse me miss, I'm sorry, do I know you from somewhere?" He was confused. He could tell that he had seen her before but he couldn't place it. He supposed that this interaction would answer that question anyways.

Fong took her tickets from the woman and looked back as a voice spoke. A very familiar voice and a even more familiar face. Fong saw Kuzon behind her. She wondered if Jazan was testing her. He sent her after the Avatar. It just seemed so coincidental for her. She was going to Ba Sing Se to find him. A huge city filled with hundreds of thousands, and yet in a small little area at a ticket booth, she found him where he was not supposed to be. He ask if he knew her and she was confused. "You mean you don't remember?" She ask him. Had he really forgotten about her? It had only been 2 years. Fong would have remembered it if a random stranger had slipped on large rocks in the middle of nowhere. Yet, she would never forget the color of his eyes when light hit them or the bulge in his muscles. The Avatar had matured in appearance since she last saw him but she would still remember.

Her mind flashed back to their encounter. Almost as fast as she remembered that, she remembered what Jazan said. "Play it low and cool, make sure he is loyal to his true nation over any of the others, and if he isn't make sure to remind him." She felt embarrassment rush over her and her cheeks grew hot. She had throughout the entire trip thus far that she did not care. She could remember sitting in her room weeks on end after wondering if she made a fool out of herself. She sat wondering if he would remember her and if they would ever meet again. Everytime she took a breath after the accident she reminded herself of what had happened. She had broke two ribs from that fall. A doctor in Ouroboros had healed her. "Fong Lea, your Ember Island clumsy idiot who thought your shorts were tacky. So Avatar, why are you headed to the capital?"

Kuzon took a second glance at the girl and it all came rushing back to him. He remembered seeing her on the island, only a few years ago. He smiled to her as a look of recognition would cross over his eyes. "Of course I remember you! Sorry, it just took a second to jog my memory! Its good to see you again Fong! I'm just heading back there, i'm currently conducting a bit of business in the Upper Ring, but I needed some time to clear my head, so what better than a ferry ride!" He would smile in a friendly manner to the woman. Then he remembered, "Why are you headed to the Earth Kingdom Capital?" It was a simple question, of course she didn't need to answer, but perhaps she would feel he was friendly enough to continue the conversation.

Fong looked at the ferry and tried to create a reasonable lie. She grabbed her hands behind her back and squeezed her wrist. "I have some family friends and wanted to take a vacation. Work has been hectic and I need a good back beating. No better place than the Earth Kingdom capital." Fong had never been good at lying so she trained herself to tell the truth and forget the lie. Her shoulders were extremely tense. She sighed out after speaking and took a sip of tea. She looked back at him. "Anyway, I am staying in the upper ring too. My family friend Ferino is an Earth Kingdom nobel and has a huge house. It is located very close to the palace. us and a bunch of people are hanging out. I don't even know them but I guess I have to like them for the next fortnite. So Kuzon, where are you staying? Maybe we could get some tea." She started walking to the ferry and looked back to see if Kuzon had decided to follow.

Kuzon would chuckle slightly at her interesting personality quirks. "I am staying in the Palace, but I'm sure you can visit and get some of the royal tea, as the guest of the Avatar." Having friends in high places did have its perks after all. He just wondered if Fong would be interested in going to such a place. "We could always go somewhere less exuberant. There is a quaint little shop on the corner of the road in front of the palace that I've heard good things about, if you'd prefer to avoid the bustle at the palace." He would offer her a sincere smile, it was truly her decision after all.