She

Chapter 17

The sun shined brightly overhead, lighting everything up. I was walking around, in the middle ring, looking at all the shops.

I hummed, twirling a coin through my fingers. "Sorry, it's just not for me," I said, backing away from the stand. The man running it frowned, and held up another thing, but I turned away before he could rope me into anything else.

Before I could get far, I bumped into someone, falling down.

"Oh my, I'm sorry, here let me help you." I looked up to see an old man holding his hand out.

"No it's my fault, thank you though," I said taking it. I dusted my outfit off.

"What's a lovely lady like you doing in the middle ring?" He asked me.

"Shopping, or at least trying to, all these shops are ripping everyone off."

"How do you know that?" He asked, following me as I walked along the shops.

"I can make an outfit for less than one gold piece, and some of these people are charging me five gold pieces for one." I examined a hair pin laying on a small piece of cloth.

"So you're a seamstress?" He asked, looking at the piece as I backed away.

"Not by trade," I said as we continued along the road. "Just something I picked up."

"You look as though you've picked up quite a few things in your life. What are you looking for anyway?"

"A gift for a...friend of mine."

"You say friend as though you wish they were more."

I blushed, my eyes widening. "I... I don't know how I feel about her- uh them."

He chuckled. "I see." I quickly walked over to another stand looking at the items displayed on it. "What are your feelings?" He asked.

"I... like them, as a person. But I don't know what I actually feel for them. It's like there's something starting with her, but not quite there... I think." I sighed.

"Well there's nothing wrong with giving a friend a gift. What are you planning on getting?"

I hummed. "Well I don't think hairpins or fancy clothes would be that interesting to her." I gently touched some of the jewelry sitting on the stand. "She might like jewelry, but I don't know." We passed by a book stand. "And she has no use for books, she can't read. Neither can I though."

"What if you were to cook something for her," he said, motioning to a stand filled to the brim with foods and spices.

"I suppose I could, maybe a dessert or something. I'd need somewhere to cook it though, so she doesn't find out."

"I have a tea shop you could use, unfortunately my nephew might bother you while you cook."

"You're being awfully nice for a stranger," I joked. I purchased a few of the ingredients I'd need.

"It is our enemies that we know the best." He took one of the bags from me and helped carry it to his tea shop.

It was a small shop, with a few customers already inside. "Uncle, who is this?" I heard a man ask. He had a scar on his eye, a very definable trait. I'm sure I've seen his face somewhere.

"This is our guest, she's here to make something for her friend." He smiled at his nephew, who just seemed annoyed. "This is my nephew, Lee, I'm Mushi."

"Y/n." I smiled at him.

"Just don't make a mess, I'll have to clean it up most likely," Lee grumbled.

He led me into the kitchen, and set the basket down on the counter. "I'll get some tea started for you, we have the best tea in all of Ba Sing se, so our customers say."

As the old man made his tea, I began to mix together the ingredients. I placed the desserts on a tray, and let them cook over their fire.

"They look delicious," the old man said. He had a tray of tea of tea in his hands. "What are they?"

"I'm not sure to be honest, I learned the recipe from an old... family friend."

"Ah, well, the tea is done, if you would please join me, we can play a game of pai sho while we drink the tea." He the tea down on a nearby table, sitting on one side of it. I sat down on the other. Next to the tea was a board, with tiles stacked up on each side.

"Pai sho?" I asked, confused. "I don't think I've ever played it before, or heard of it."

"I can teach you, it's fairly simple game." He poured us each a cup of tea, and took a sip of his. I grabbed my cup and hesitantly took a sip of mine. "You'll find that it can help you if you ever need it."

While the dessert finished cooking, I learned how to play pai sho, and had a few more cups of tea. There were a few things we talked about that I probably shouldn't repeat though.

"Thanks again for letting me use your kitchen," I said as put the desserts into a basket. "And thank you for the tea, your customers aren't wrong when they say it's the best tea in Ba Sing Se."

He smiled at me. "I have something for you." I tilted my head, confused, as he handed me a book.

"But I can't read-"

"You cannot learn if you have nothing to learn with." I took the book out of his hands. "And, this, it will help you if you ever need a friend." He placed a tile into my hands, the white lotus from the game.

I bowed to him, and left the shop, carrying the book and basket with me. The tile was tucked safely away in my pocket.

"Where were you?" Toph asked as I walked into the house. No one else seemed to be home.

"I was uh... making a friend, and this." I held out the basket to her. "For you." She raised an eyebrow and took it.

"Dessert? What kind?" She took one of them out and sniffed it.

I awkwardly scratched my head. "I don't know, it's just a recipe I remember." I looked at her, noticing the makeup and hairdo. "You look nice by the way, not that you don't always look nice, it's just that uh... I'm gonna go." I drummed my fingers, on the book, walking towards my room. My heart was racing and my face burned bright red.