Life is Misery Itself || Tsumi

Tsumi Buredo, Age 16, lay on the roof of a carriage, which galloped across the lower ring of Ba Sing Se. He wore his favorite chain-link vest, and silk-plus-steel-plate pants. His white hair blew in the wind, accentuating his silver highlights. He was in the midst of two of his favorite things: Speed and Sun. He loved the feeling of the sun warming his face, as his mind drifted through the events of the day. Sad to say, his day had not always been this good.

He had started the day like any other, waking up in a tree, at around noon. For breakfast, he had eaten golden pancakes, at a local restaurant. The earth kingdom had some mighty good syrup. Alas, he had not been told the name of the syrup, and had accidentally ordered pancakes with their spiciest hot sauce. “This tastes great!” Tsumi had told the waiter, grinning from ear to ear, as was his trademark. “Are you kidding? That stuff tastes like shame feels.” his alternate personality, Z, had said, internally. The second Tsumi had gotten out of that restaurant, he sought out the nearest source of liquid, and had guzzled about a gallon of water.

After that, he had met up with one of his friends, a carriage driver, who had offered to let him lay on the roof of his carriage while he worked. So, here he was, on top of a speeding carriage. Alas, not for much longer, as fate would have it. The carriage barreled around a corner, jarring Tsumi from his perch, and throwing him off the side. He landed on a woman, who apparently had not seen it coming (then again, who would?), who was wearing a tight black suit, though it wasn't all the way zipped up.

“ Oh my gosh! I’m SO SO SO SO SO SOOOOOOO sorry! Are you ok?”

As Tsumi frantically apologized, the woman waved her hand for him to be quiet, shushing him immediately. “No, it’s alright, I’ve had worse.” she said, opening her eyes. Tsumi sighed in relief, happy that he hadn’t done any serious harm to this woman. “You know, riding on the back of a carriage was pretty idiotic, in retrospect. Ah well, hindsight and all that.” Z said, internally. “Agreed. It was fun while it lasted, though.” Tsumi replied, internally.

The woman stood up straight, having recovered from the 100 pounds of Tsumi she had taken to the chest. She raised one eyebrow and smiled, saying “Now, where did you come from?” She looked from side to side, apparently examining something. “Oh… I was riding on top of a carriage, but the turn over there… Tsumi pointed to the intersection between streets. “…is very sharp. When the carriage turned, I flew off the side, and I guess I hit you. Sorry about that.” Tsumi said, smiling sheepishly.

Upon closer inspection, Tsumi could see that she was just a little taller than him. Her leather suit wasn’t exactly built for modesty, as it clung to her quite tightly, showing off a large amount of cleavage. A slight blush came to Tsumi’s face as he looked her over, realizing that he hadn’t fallen on just any ordinary person. The silence was broken, when the woman held out her hand. “My name is Saranade, but please, call me Sara.” she said, punctuating her sentence with a wink, which sent shivers down Tsumi’s spine. “Er- I’m.. .uh… Tsumi. Tsumi Buredo. Nice to meet you!” he said, shaking her hand.

He was in dangerous waters- He suspected that his fear of women would not couple well with Sara’s personality.

As Sara shook his hand, Tsumi could see that she was looking him over. “Tsumi, is it? Nice name, rather different.” She said, smiling. After a minute, she noticed Tsumi’s discomfort, and zipped up her shirt. Tsumi let out a breath of relief. “Thanks for that.” he said. "Just on a curious note, where were you heading to, when you were riding on top of the carriage?" Sara asked, biting her lip. “Oh, nowhere in particular. I was sort of just relaxing.” Tsumi replied.

“Where were you heading, when I landed on you?” He continued.