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Airbenders are pretty thoroughly repopulated now, but they're still minorities anywhere but the handful of enclaves that have retaken the open temples or integrated into the populations that have woven into them. Beila doesn't live in one of those enclaves. She lives in Republic City. Benders are a minority, airbenders more so. She's the only one in her class. It could still be a coincidence that she's supposed to do her history project on Avatar Aang, her some-number-of-greats grandfather, and not casual stereotyping. Whatever. Her partner's not a bender at all unless he's very quiet about it, he's just a random cute boy who sits to her left. Dao, that's his name.
"Hey," she says. "When's good for you to meet up and work on this thing?"
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roc_on
roc_on
Beila thinks for a moment, and then leans forward to peck him on the cheek.
thinklikethis
"You keep saying that!" he laughs. "It's nice, I like it, say it all you want."
roc_on
It is his old friend, the annoying reporter!
"Hello! I'd like just a few minutes of your -"
Beila turns slowly in his direction, folding her arms across her chest.
"...time. What is -"
"Delete the picture," Beila says.
"Now, Avatar Beila, you're in a public place -"
"You can delete the picture voluntarily now or you can argue about the lawfulness of having taken it with my father, Chief Guxiao of the Republic City Police Department."
The reporter swallows. He fiddles with his camera.
"You'll want to let me see that, now, to make sure you aren't trying to sneak off with a picture I don't want you to have," Beila says.
"Avatar Beila -"
"Or I could just wreck it. I could also do that. And then we could go discuss the lawfulness of my doing that with my father, Chief Guxiao of the -"
The reporter hands over the camera. Beila checks it over, then unscrews the lens. "I'm going to go give this to the ticket taker in the theater," she says pleasantly, "and ask him to let you have it back only after we've left the area. Does that sound fair to you?"
The reporter swallows hard.
"Hello! I'd like just a few minutes of your -"
Beila turns slowly in his direction, folding her arms across her chest.
"...time. What is -"
"Delete the picture," Beila says.
"Now, Avatar Beila, you're in a public place -"
"You can delete the picture voluntarily now or you can argue about the lawfulness of having taken it with my father, Chief Guxiao of the Republic City Police Department."
The reporter swallows. He fiddles with his camera.
"You'll want to let me see that, now, to make sure you aren't trying to sneak off with a picture I don't want you to have," Beila says.
"Avatar Beila -"
"Or I could just wreck it. I could also do that. And then we could go discuss the lawfulness of my doing that with my father, Chief Guxiao of the -"
The reporter hands over the camera. Beila checks it over, then unscrews the lens. "I'm going to go give this to the ticket taker in the theater," she says pleasantly, "and ask him to let you have it back only after we've left the area. Does that sound fair to you?"
The reporter swallows hard.
roc_on
Beila returns most of the reporter's camera to him, leaves the lens with the ticket-taker, signs an autograph for the ticket-taker, and comes out of the theater to rejoin Dao. "Goodbye," says Beila to the reporter.
"Avatar Beila, I just -"
"What news organization are you with?" she asks, stopping, folding her arms again, and turning to face him.
"...Uh..."
"Avatar Beila, I just -"
"What news organization are you with?" she asks, stopping, folding her arms again, and turning to face him.
"...Uh..."
roc_on
"Are you with the Republic Newscorps?" asks Beila.
"I - well -"
"Because I blacklisted them after I found one of your photographers in a tree outside my house looking into my bedroom, and everyone else has been very scrupulous about behaving themselves, since."
"I - well -"
"Because I blacklisted them after I found one of your photographers in a tree outside my house looking into my bedroom, and everyone else has been very scrupulous about behaving themselves, since."
roc_on
"Of course he did. Ugh. Okay. I'm going home," says Beila, "to talk to my dad - Dao, you wanna be a corroborating witness?"
"Look, please, just one guy independently went and hid in the tree but the whole newscorps is in trouble if everyone else has material on the Avatar and we don't -"
Beila ignores him.
"Look, please, just one guy independently went and hid in the tree but the whole newscorps is in trouble if everyone else has material on the Avatar and we don't -"
Beila ignores him.
roc_on
Beila emits her piercing roc-calling whistle. A few moments later Liqing glides to a landing outside the theater and Beila wafts herself and her date onto the bird. They leave the reporter behind.
roc_on
"I do know that! I wish I didn't have to demonstrate it on obnoxious reporters. That's the same one who was deterred by panda carp?"
roc_on
Beila sighs. "Well, we can tell Charlie about him, we'll see what he can do."