Rainy Season, an Avatar: TLA RP (Private with theJozza)

The palace stairs were a formidable climb during the rain. The already steep stairway was engulfed in a flowing river of water, draining in the courtyard. Sure, it was beautiful, but it was inconvenient when there was no litter to carry you. Ty-Lee could have very easily asked for one, owing to her connections, but ultimately decided against it. Time spent in Kyoshi trained her acrobatics for combat, and she kind of missed the fun of recreational difficulty. Her balance struggled against the slippery steps. With each, she risked injury, falling down almost four stories, but she didn’t care. She knew she wouldn’t fail. She barely had to try. As she approached, she continued to hear the noise of repair and renovation, though it was somewhat obscured by the storm. Rainy season in the capital always had that effect. It was fortunate, however, that they were in the fire nation. They were never short of warmth, even at the height of this heavy rain. The glow from inside each house and covered lamp lit the way well enough, while she was making her way through the city. The lanterns on the stairs, however, had no covering. Extinguished by the rain, Ty Lee finally made her way to the gate in absolute darkness, seeing only the light of the watchtowers. Exhausted, exhilarated, and sopping wet, she placed her hands on the gigantic, ornate knocking-ring, and banged against the door.

[theJozza]

Mai leans back in Zuko and hers study writing various letters. Most of them are minor or even just ceremonial in nature, some of which she probably could have waited a few days or even a week to write, but with her husband off once again Mai was fairly desperate for something to do. As she finishes her last one, she sighs and glances at the wall and a hanging portrait of her and Zuko. It wasn't that she didn't want him to take this diplomatic missions, she understood how important they were both for the future of their country and his own peace of mind, but...it just seemed like he was always gone these days. As she's contemplating this, there's a knock at the study door.

"Enter," Mai says, turning back to seal her letter. The door opens revealing her lead handmaiden Ysia, who immediately bows.

"Pardon the intrusion, milady," Ysia says. "But your guest has arrived."

"Oh good," Mai turns to her with a small smile. "Dispatch a carriage to retrieve her from the docks and..." Mai pauses when she sees Ysia start to look uncertain, at which point Mai lays her hand across her face and sighs in exasperation. "She's already here because she walked through the rainstorm isn't she?" Ysia nods, and Mai groans and shakes her head. "Some things never change..." Mai shakes her head again and follows Ysia into the hallway.

Ty Lee took a moment to dry off, and take a change of clothes from her luggage. It wasn't really due to anything outside of discomfort, however. She didn't care if she looked like a mess.

[theJozza]

Mai enters Ty Lee's room, and while she does immediately go to embrace her friend, she also crosses her arms and scowls after she lets go.

"Really Ty Lee? You walks all the way here from the docks in a rainstorm?" Mai says, pointing to the window, which is getting spattered with raindrops to highlight her point. "You know I would have sent you one of the royal carriages. Hell you could have just taken one of the city ones and I could have paid for it. You probably gave yourself a cold, to say nothing of how you could have gotten hurt." Mai grunts and continues to scowl, once again frustrated by her friend's apparent lack of self preservation.

"The rain was nice, though!" Ty Lee said, "We don't get storms like the often in Kiyoshi, it's rather arid. Can't I have a little fun without you worrying?"

That seemed to be a rising trend in these vacations. Something was making Mai a lot less... uninvolved than she normally was, when it came to Ty Lee's life. It was rather odd.

[theJozza]

"Ugh you're impossible sometimes," Mai clutches her forehead and turns to Ysia. "Ysia could you please prepare the hot springs? It think my guest and I could use a soak before dinner."

"All ready, milady," Ysia grins and bows. "We assumed you'd like a bath tonight and had them prepared earlier."

"Wonderful. Thank you," Mai says with a smile as she puts her arm around Ty Lee's shoulders. "Come on, some time in the hot springs will fight off whatever cold you gave yourself on the way here."

"I didn't get a cold!" Ty Lee said, very much indignantly, as she followed Mai, "Come on, I'm out in the rain for just a little over three quarters of an hour, and you're already worried about me, I'm fine! I'd be just as well off on my own as you, or Suki, or anybody!"

[theJozza]

"Better safe than sorry," Mai replies as the two of them enter the hot springs chamber. The room is full of steam coming off the water, which is flowing from a funnel buried in a decorative rock pile. Mai quickly strips down, watching as Ty Lee does the same. "Look Ty Lee, all I'm saying is there's no need for you to take so many unnecessary risks. It would have been no trouble for me to send a carriage to you and then you would have gotten here without getting soaked or risking some sort of accident in the storm. There's a difference between being capable and being reckless."

"I cannot stress this enough, it was just a walk in the rain!" Ty Lee said, as she waded into the water, "Calling a carriage would have meant doing nothing for fifteen minutes, as opposed to doing something for forty-five. I'd rather be doing something for forty-five..."

Ty Lee realizes the futility of the argument, her face suddenly shifting back to her resting one.

"So," She started, "Why did you call me here? Outside of the usual reasons. Really sucks how much Zuko has to leave, but... well, we all did awful stuff. I'm sure we'd be much worse off if he was still here, if that's any comfort."

[theJozza]

"Excuse me?" Mai turns back to Ty Lee a look of surprise on her face, with a twinge of anger. "That's my husband you're talking about. Also for your information he's been a new man since the war ended! Now I wish he was here even more so you could see that," Mai turns away and adds under her breath, "among other reasons..." She says, turning her back on Ty Lee and walking further into the spring, letting her hair down.