[center][color=ed145b][h1]Kazuno Han[/h1][/color][/center]

The White Lotus driver eyed the hog monkey tiredly as Bukotsu tore through the ration supply. They were still a few days away from the compound, which meant that Kazuno had plenty of time to compose her letter. Unfortunately for the driver, that meant plenty of time in the pleasure of Bukotsu’s company too.

“Is there really no way for you to stop that pet of yours?” The driver spat curtly and glared at the road ahead.

Kazuno shrugged, barely looked up from her pad and pen. At least it wasn’t her stuff that the hog monkey was looting this time.

[color=ed145b]“Firstly, not my pet. Secondly, trust me sir, I’ve tried. A plenitude of times.” [/color]

The hapless driver muttered something along the lines of “not enough times”, but Kazuno didn’t catch it. The letter occupied her attention, enough for her to not realise that Bukotsu had tired of going through the White Lotus supplies and was now ransacking her own travel pack. 

	[i][color=ed145b]I have managed to come into the possession of a substantial job recently. My employers strongly emphasised the fact that they appreciated the…[/color][/i]

Hm, how was she gonna put it?

	[i][color=ed145b]…worldliness I had attained during my travels. Tolds ya it wasn’t a phase![/color][/i]

She wrote a bit more, leaving out many details. A convenient perk of trading letters was that her parents were unable to interrogate her face to face. It was something that she looked forward to avoiding for a few more years at the least. Having anyone close to her know that she was chosen to train the Avatar was unbelievably dangerous. But man, the White Lotus must have been implausibly desperate to come to someone like her. She had never even had any teaching experience. And it’s not like her firebending style was conventional by any means…

Kazuno sighed and tucked her finished letter into an envelope, sealing it and filling out the send address. They were just mysteries that would hopefully be answered when she reached the compound.

[color=ed145b]“Oi, chauffeur! Would you kindly make a stop at the nearest post office? Gotta keep the folks up to date.”[/color]

The driver, clearly unamused by her juvenile tone, growled in reluctant affirmation. Kazuno smiled and reclined in her seat. In a few days, a new chapter of her life would start. She was going to be part of something world-changingly major. A loud rustling snapped her out of her relaxed daze.

[color=ed145b]“BUKOTSU, GET OUT OF MY STUFF!”[/color]

[hr]
Well, at least they let her keep the scarf. The official White Lotus clothing seemed a bit unnecessary but orders were orders. She would have usually preferred to just get into her usual spare set of clothes but Kazuno suspected that Bukotsu used those as an impromptu sickness bag on the boat ride here. As the White Lotus master rambled on, Kazuno fiddled with the ends of her neckwear, ignoring the speaker and the fellow instructors around her. Years of fancy dinner parties with business partners during her youth honed her mastery of the art of tuning people out. She would get to know them later, without the distracting droning of this White Lotus preacher.

Then out stepped the Avatar, clad in bulky sparring armour that obscured the quite feminine body wearing it. After a polite bow, she practically strut into the ring. Kazuno’s eyes widened as she witnessed the Avatar capably take on three different elemental benders. Resourcefulness, creativity, relentlessness; all these qualities shone through her performance in battle. Her fighting style shared similarities with Kazuno’s own. The firebender was also pleasantly surprised to see Shamo’s aptitude in fire redirection and fire breath, which was usually a quite advanced technique. The power of the Avatar was truly astounding. It was certainly going to make Kazuno’s job a lot easier. Kazuno found herself grinning and cheering loudly as Shamo declared the changing tide of the battle. Her excitement was cut short by the ringing of the emergency alarms.

All at once, Kazuno was quickly led onto an airship. She breathed a sigh of relief as she saw a sentry load her travel pack onto the airship, and then a huff of disappointment as she watched Bukotsu rudely clamber past a few bewildered sentries and into the cargo hold. Someday she’d be rid of that fleabag. Someday. Thank the spirits that the White Lotus had arranged for an airship. Kazuno didn’t think that she would be able to handle two boat rides in one day. As the burly Captain Blackburn delivered his grandiose introduction, she took the time to get a good look at the other instructors. Hopefully she wouldn’t have to tune out any more long speeches for the day.

Kariya Amaris. The waterbending healer and famed dancer. Kazuno had heard her name during her brief visit to Republic City. Kazuno hadn’t stayed there long, too clamorous for her taste.
Yangchen. Another name she had heard in Republic City. Kazuno had to admit that she was mildly surprised. The notable chemist struck her as more of an scholar than an airbending combatant.
The Kyoshi Warrior and weapons master were unfamiliar to her. With their statures and outfits, they seemed older and much more experienced than the rest of the group, most likely White Lotus veterans of some sort. The weapons master in particular, with his sharp, tired eyes and noticeable lack of an arm, gave the impression of a force not to be messed with.
And lastly, the earthbending instructor who actually seemed kind of familiar now that she had a good- no way. [i]That[/i] guy got recruited? Kazuno knew that the White Lotus were a desperate for members (they had recruited her, after all) but she didn’t think that the situation was [i]that[/i] bad. Of all the earthbenders in the world, they had to pick the dude from the Cactus Juice Incident? What was even his name again?

[color=#CF7B30]"...I'm Shailesh Durjaya, Earthbending instructor of Avatar Shamo. I hope to be able to properly teach the Avatar if need be. Pleased to make all of your acquaintances."[/color]

Right, Shailesh. He seemed to be a shy person in the presence of large company. The Avatar, responded in confident fashion. She seemed to be very self-assured, someone who would be difficult to handle if you weren’t on her good side. Kazuno stepped forward to make her own introduction. Growing up in high Fire Nation society gave her some experience in this sort of thing.

[color=ed145b]“Kazuno Han, hailing from the Fire Nation Capital. Truly a pleasure meeting you. I look forward to working together.”[/color]

She did the customary, polite Fire Nation bow before she finished.