Friends In Low Places (open)

The day had been a long one, but Tamura didn't mind because no matter how long it had also been successful. The contract she'd had accepted had sounded simple at first, catching small time thieves was always easy work. But not this time. The sly bastard had given her the slip several times, and the chase had been damnably frustrating. In the end she finally caught up to the perpetrator (turns out running with Moob the mighty stuck up to the hilt in your calf isn't as easy as it sounds), and more importantly got paid well enough. In short a job brought to a satisfying conclusion leaving all parties happy. Except for the thief who was left to bleed in a gutter. He'd probably make it but as far as Tamura was concerned he had had it coming. If he hadn't decided to make her chase him through half Omashu he wouldn't have gone through half the pain he did.

Now with money in her pockets and a heart full of good cheer it was the ideal time to hit up one of the various inns or bars in Omashu. The particular establishment she'd selected wasn't exactly pretty, but there was a right din coming from inside, and that always prefaced a good time. Von was perched on her left shoulder, lounging with his tail hanging lazily down her back.

The establishment's single wooden door swung smoothly enough as she gave it a gentle push. The bar had looked fairly shoddy from the outside, and surprisingly enough it looked just as bad inside, although that impression may have in part been given off by the fact that people all over the place were in various states of drunkenness. The walls had probably once been white, but now they were a sort of dirty greyish, brownish, yellowish colour that didn't look too far removed form vomit colour. A few heavily tinted windows gave a distorted view of the outside world and let in some faint coloured light from the late evening sun. A wooden staircase led to a second floor which probably contained rooms. Several chairs and tables haphazardly littered the ground floor, most of which were occupied. Everything seemed to be covered in a fine layer of dirt, except for the bar which the bartender was mercilessly scrubbing whenever he wasn't pouring a drink. The man himself was short and squat, a permanent frown stuck to his face, with small deep set eyes and a ragged mop of greying black hair.

The place suited Tamura just fine. She walked up to the bar, leaned against the wooden counter, and tapped a single coin four times against it. Despite the din from the other customers the barman seemed to sense the presence of money and immediately materialised right in front of her.

 "Anything I can get you beautiful?" he asked in a raspy tone that was probably what passed for seductive in these parts.

 "A pint of your best beer my good man," he was about to shuffle off when she stopped him by putting a gauntleted hand on his shoulder. "In a clean glass," she added with a smile and a pat on The Girls' pommels that wasn't friendly, but rather a warning. The man nodded briefly, recognition passing through his small beady eyes and started scrubbing a glass with all the cleaning frenzy he'd applied to his efforts on the counter just a few moments ago.

 Tamura wasn't actually expecting to get a clean glass, usually bartenders used rags much too dirty to do any real cleaning. The line was more a way to make the bartender understand she wasn't to be cheated, an it usually worked. This time it worked so well that when her beer was put down in front of her she was amazed to find the glass it came in was pristine. She paid, and turned around, leaning her back against the counter, observing the chaotic mess of people now in front of her. A small content smile twisted her lips as she took a long sip of her beverage. This was the life.

It had been a long journey for Trira. She was really glad that finally she had arrived in Omashu and could take a nap in a real bed, not just on the cold hard stone. She liked it to be outside and travelling, but sometimes she just needs to feel like a real human.
It was not long before the gates closed for everybody when she slipped into the city. She had been here before one time, but at sundawn everything seemed different, much more dangerous. The shadows seemed to follow her, but Trira did not fear them. How much more dangerous then the wilderness could the city be.

It took her some time before she stood in front of an esteblishment which seemed to be cheap, and might have some beds, at least a place where she could sleep. Slowly she breathed in and out and then entered through the wooden door. Then she stopped, not sure if she just wanted to run away right now or move inside, being brave and hoping that nobody would look at her or come too near. Most persons inside the bar were already drunken, and Trira moved slowly, holding her clothes a little bit high to be sure they did not slip through vomit.
Finally she reached the bartender. She looked around and leand a little bit over to him. "Do you have a free room for one night?", she asked him. She might not be wealthy, but she had enough money for a room, some food and something to drink. He seemed to know that and nodded. "Yes, the second one on the right side is free. 2 coins for you." Trira was really glad that there was a room and handed over the 2 coins. "Can I also have something to eat? And a beer, please." The man somehow seemed to be surprised because she was relatively nice, but nodded and walked away to gather everything. Meanwhile Trira sat down.

For a dingy old establishment set deep in Omashu's backside the beer wasn't half bad. Well maybe that was an overstatement. At least it didn't taste like sweat. That was more than a lot of places in this city were able to cough up anyway. As she leaned against the counter the door opened several times, people wearing various shades of brownish working clothes filed in, sometimes in groups sometimes alone. Whichever ones didn't immediately join a group were rapidly drinking themselves into oblivion, ordering shot after shot of spirits, probably hoping to drown their troubles and sorrows into the amber liquid they were chugging.

The door swung open once again, Tamura saw it moving out of the corner of her one good eye, a square of green wood, easily noticeable in the sea of dirty whites and browns. The other thing which was easily noticeable in the drably coloured crowd was the person that made her way through the opening. The girl was in pure white from the neck down, standing out like a clean patch of cloth in the mud and muck. The way she moved with the hem of her coat and skirt pulled up to avoid dirtying them and the gentle tone of her voice gave off exactly the same impression.

"Cor," the simple low sound of exclamation escaped the one eyed swordwoman's lips in a single breath before she could stop it. Thankfully the word was lost in the ruckus from the crowd without anyone hearing it.

Tamura's surprise wasn't so much directed at the girl's appearance and mannerism, but rather at her presence in such a place. Seeing people like her in rich districts of Ba Sing Se or even in the more uppity regions of Omashu was commonplace, but in a place like this? That girl was too pretty and too clean by half to be in a place like this. Tamura had noticed it, and she was pretty sure the rest of the place had too. It was still loud in the bar, but it had been much louder before the girl in white had come in. A protective instinct kicked in somewhere deep inside Tamura's head and she moved without even thinking about it. She closed the distance between herself and the newcomer with a smooth series of sidesteps.

"'Sup," she said, setting her glass down next to the girl. "Don't worry I don't bite," she added, anticipating that the girl would be at least a little worried to be accosted by a stranger in a place like this. "I was just wondering what a person like you who obviously doesn't belong here at all, no offence meant, is doing in a hovel like this?" On her shoulder Von was staring intently at the girl in white.

Trira knew that she did not belong in this place. She knew that there might be some crazy dudes who might be drunken enough to try their luck. But the airbender knew what she had to do. She could take care of herself, even if it didn't seem like that at the moment. She looked around while she waited for her beer and her food. Slowly she shook her head. If it was not due to the lack of money, she would have went somewhere else. Or just stayed outside. She had to stop looking for comfort sometimes. It would get her into much less trouble.

At that moment somebody spoke to her. She was a little startled, but calm just after a few seconds. Trira looked at the other woman and breathed deep in and out. "Yeah, you have seen right. I really do not belong here. And I do not know why it would interest you why I am here, but I am just travelling through and was searching for a place to stay for the night." Somehow Trira had a feeling that the other person would not try to harm her. That was the reason why she told her that. Slowly she looked around. Some of the guests were already pointing at her, one even with some kind of desire in his eyes. That could be a funny evening. Or one where she had to go away again. Hopefully she could stay that night.
Then Trira looked again at the woman who had spoken to her. "And what are you doing here with all these drunken men?" The other one did not seem to be drunken by now, so there must be another reason why she was in this esteblishment. Finally her beer arrived and she was told that soon her dinner would be ready. A weak smile appeared on her face and she nodded to show that she understood.

"Yeah, you have seen right. I really do not belong here. And I do not know why it would interest you why I am here, but I am just travelling through and was searching for a place to stay for the night. And what are you doing here with all these drunken men?"

A kind smile lit up Tamura's face as she drank, making her look almost gentle and caring in spite of her scars and missing eye. She had been in the girl's position. Alone and travelling. She knew it could be a less than pleasant experience much of the time. She also recognised the spunky undertone of her voice. This girl could take care of herself, or at least she thought she could. Either way there was steel in there, which was good, which only served to remind Tamura of her younger self more.

"Oh I'm not 'with' these guys," Tamura replied after a couple of seconds during which she found the time to drain her drink, the smile still on her face. "Much like you I am simply travelling through, looking for a bit of work in Omashu. This place is rife with people who need capable fighters to help them out. A real goldmine for people like me. What I'm doing in this place in particular is enjoying a drink. Unlike you I have a missing eye and a lot of swords. That puts most of them off from accosting me," as she talked she took out a tobacco pouch and her pipe from her belt and began  to stuff the wooden implement. "Unlike you though I chose this place deliberately rather than out of necessity," she added, her smile gaining a slightly amused edge. "As for why I'm interested in what you're doing here, well let's just say I'd hate to see a clean patch of the world sullied by drunken yahoos."

"Now the way I see thing two women like us in, or in the least fairly close, to the butt crack of Omashu should stick together. Strength in numbers and all. I won't even make you pay for my company," she winked good naturedly at the girl in white as she said that. "My name's Tamura by the way," she extended a hand to the girl in welcome. "Pleasure to meet you."