ADORE YOU, sokka

FIVE.

At this point, it can be concluded that Aiyanna regretted not taking Sokka's invitation. Surely the Avatar would have been in the Upper Ring, with a nice home, money and—food. Her stomach growled at the very thought of food. The last time she ate was when Aiyanna had departed from Sokka and his friends. Now here she was, roaming unfamiliar streets with a lust for her stomach to be filled with food.

Her amber eyes flickered around the streets of the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se. People of all ages dressed in brown or different shades of green clothing. None of them look too thrilled to be in the poorest part of Ba Sing Se. And those who were happy had someone to be with. Aiyanna gritted her teeth as she eyed happy couples who laughed with one another and held hands. Here she was starving and there they were having the time of their lives.

And yet, in front of her, Aiyanna found the means of finding her happiness right before her eyes. Pouches of money hung from strangers, pouches that could only hold one thing. Money. A devilish smile crossed her lips as Aiyanna found her hands tingling, not from her chi, rather, from the fact that she had found the very thing that would relinquish her from her hunger.

Pickpocketing should have been hard for anyone new to the task. For someone like Aiyanna, she had mastered such a skill as soon as she was left finding a new home. The very thought of when she first learned how to pickpocket had brought her chills and yet, maybe she would have never learnt such a skill if she was never banished from home. Nevermind. Biting her lip at the memory, Aiyanna shook her head. The wounds were still fresh.

Her hands moved like a dance, graceful and quick, Aiyanna had managed to pickpocket a couple of people. Was it enough for a full meal? Not yet. So she persisted. And maybe it was her persistence that would be her demise.

A warm hand suddenly grasped Aiyanna by the wrist.

The teenage girl yelped and looked up to see a boy —possibly a young adult— with long locks of choppy black hair that fell past his shoulders which also covered a bit of his eyes which were strikingly the same amber colour as Aiyanna herself. That was where the similarities started to fade, he had pale skin that contrasted against her own with strikingly sharp features (for instance, his cheekbones and chin) and not to mention he was quite tall (then again, Aiyanna was also quite short).

    A smirk danced on his face as the boy looked down at Aiyanna, his eyes flickering over towards her hand that had tried to grasp a hold of the pouch of money that was hanging at his waist. The clothes gave it away that this girl was from the Water Tribe and yet, he couldn't help but take a closer look at the colour of his eyes. His heart sank as a theory crossed his mind. And the yearning for truth flooded inside.

    "What do you think you're doing, kid?"

    "Isn't it obvious? I'm trying to steal your money," Aiyanna gruffed as she shot him a withering look while pulling her hand back away from his grasp. So much for getting money for food.

    "If you wanted money you could have just asked," he replied as the smug smirk rested on his face as the stranger placed a hand on his hip as he continued to eye the young girl that was in front of him.

"If I asked you wouldn't have given me money," Aiyanna grumbled as she continued to give him an icy stare.

"Tell you what, you give me the money just stole and—"