first | OTA

[broiling]

A: Tea Shop

It was mid afternoon and Zuko found himself hanging little pumpkin lanterns in the window of the Jasmine Dragon. His boss said it was good for tourist, to get them in the Halloween spirit while they were away from America. Zuko was just thankful it wasn't tiny witch's hats. Nothing like insulting any supernatural guests that found themselves stumbling into the quaint little tea shop. And from what Zuko knew witches tended to be a proud lot. Not that he could mention any of this to his very normal human boss.

There was a jangling at the store front door and Zuko looked down from the step ladder he was balancing on to whatever guest just entered. Immediately he could tell someone from a faction had just walked in. He slowly lowered himself back down on to the floor ready for a tense conversation of him skirting around his own affiliations.

"How can I help you?"

B: Streets At Night

It had been a long day and the only thing on Zuko's mind was crashing in bed and not moving for several hours. However, he was becoming aware of another set of footsteps following his own down the mostly deserted street. He took a sharp turn to his right and listened. Definitely following. He waited until the person rounded the corner after him before he conjured a fireball and blasted it in their direction.

"Stop following me," he bellowed.

C: Hillingdon House

Not matter how many times he came here he always ended up feeling like a stranger. It wasn't too long ago he found himself here, a drifter in need of help and the clan had extended a hand. It was grounding and Zuko was always thankful for anything that showed him what path to lead. He just wished he could feel more comfortable talking to his fellow clansman. It was a problem that stemmed from him and he knew it. There was only one way over that particular hurdle, so he stopped by someone who seemed free and waved a little.

"Hey," Zuko said, "Can I ask you a question? Say you were avoiding someone for a long time, because you weren't sure if they'd want to know you anymore. Things were complicated. But then you ran into them. What would you do? Would you pretend nothing happened and try to build a relationship, or would you try to avoid them?"

He really wished his uncle was here. He was always brimming with confusing, but good advice. A stranger would have to do for now.

Comments

[acrookedchild]

"I was hoping you might have some seasonal blends. What with the decorations."

The witch smiled faintly. To normal people, Halloween was fun. Costumes, haunted houses, ghost tours. Even she'd gone on a few over the last few years, listened to all the stories of strange happenings. Things that had no explanation so far as they could see.

Of course, those histories were always a little more interesting in the supernatural community. But sometimes they were just as unexplained.

B

[stauncherhearted]

Nancy was honestly just trying to make a living. She'd caught sight of a man who looked the sort who could use a little company, and had been hoping to approach him. But, this man apparently preferred his prostitutes fried.

"Oi!" Nancy hopped back in her heels, one hand out in front of her as she kept a shield up. The fireball hit the shield, but kept Nancy herself safe. "Watch where you're throwing that- I wasn't following you. Honest."

A

[protagonized]

Mum's birthday was 1 November, All Saints Day. Which meant Mass, even though Mum was far from religious and Simon himself had stopped believing in God right around the time he realized he could turn into a large dog at will. Still, it was a family tradition. Another family tradition was the birthday tea with Gran and the aunts after church. This year, Dad was swamped with the new costume drama he was writing for the BBC, and the task had fallen to Simon to choose the venue.

"The Jasmine Dragon, huh?"

It was a touristy little place, but it had enough of what Mum would describe as je ne sais quoi that she'd at least consider the location. Of course, with her birthday next week it had better be the right place because they were running out of time.

"Excuse me," he called to a kid a few years younger than him, who was up a ladder adjusting Halloween decorations. "Excuse me, do you hire out the dining room for private parties?"

B

[damnyank]

For Zuko's information, Jackson wasn't following him. He was coincidentally close, an unsuspecting pedestrian tangled in his own thoughts when suddenly heat flares, and Jackson barely shields himself from the fire ball with a quickly-conjured spell--

"Christ on a cracker, kid!" He exclaims, pissed off. "You can't be doing that. Imagine what would've happened if I'd been a normal civilian? At least go for a knife or something!"

... the last part was a joke, or at least, Jackson hopes it's taken as a joke.

C

[whatmatters]

Ringer glanced up from her casual studying at the sight of someone passing by, a paranoid habit, and was surprised when he stopped and waved. She opened her mouth to agree that he could ask a question and closed it again when he continued without pause. It was a bizarre question to ask of a stranger and she wasn't very good at people, but that didn't mean she couldn't try to answer. He was clearly desperate.

"Most people would tell you if they didn't want to know you. You don't need to avoid them." A beat. "Do you mean a single run-in or a continuous chance of seeing them around?"