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[/cell][cell][color=white][center][sub][sub][sub][sub][sub][img]https://i.imgur.com/DHKvx27.png[/img][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][center][color=2e2c2c]Location   ·   Date & Time   ·   Mentions[/color]Location   ·   Date & Time   ·   Mentions[/center][/sub][/center][/color][quote][color=2e2c2c]_[/color]
[color=9f9f9f]“Mmm…” A soft moan echoed to the rafters of the old building. The scent of perfume and sweat permeated the air. “Oh, [i]Li[/i]… That’s – ooh, right there! Aah, not so rough!” A woman’s giggle followed, along with a satisfied sigh.

“I think… I’m done…”

“Aw, tapping out already?”

“Yeah. You’re the best, Li.”

The massuese gave her satisfied client a smile, and deftly placed their socks back on their feet. “Oh, you’re such a flatterer, Jin.”

Jin grinned, wiggling their toes. “Nah, seriously. After a hard night, all I want’s some ramen and a really good footrub.” 

Message running in the Lower Ring was hard on their cheap boots. Jin was one of the few clients who utilized the actual ‘massage’ part of the Drunken Honeybee Massage Parlor on a regular basis. No one else had Li’s strong but soft hands. Jin stood up, running a hand through their thick, black cropped hair.

“You know,” Li smiled, batting her lashes. “There’s plenty of better ways to relax. Not just the feet, but all of you.” She sauntered up to Jin, lifting the short youth’s chin with slender fingers. “You do know you get a discount, right?” She leaned in slowly, fixing Jin in place with an amber eyed gaze.

Jin’s brown skinned face rapidly started to turn the same shade of crimson as a fresh bowl of Fire Flake curry. “Aha, ha – yeah, I know, I just… I never have time, and you ladies are all so busy, and -” They backed up hastily, bumping the wall behind them. The candle table nearly toppled over. “Whoops!”

Li chuckled heartily, stopping her teasing before poor Jin had a coronary. “Gosh, you’re so a[i]dor[/i]able. You’re gonna break someone’s heart someday, you know?”

“Ehehe.” Jin rubbed the back of their neck, green eyes half shut as they giggled. “I sure hope not. Sounds like too much trouble, to me.”

Li shrugged her slim, pale shoulders, starting to clean up the massage table. “Well, if you change your mind, you find me. I’ll show you a very good time. Or maybe you hit up the Zen Stallions instead? Whichever you like.” She smirked. “Us and the boys have a bet going on who’s going to give you your first.”

Jin’s jaw dropped as they looked askance. “Wha- Who says I ain’t gotten my first?! I thought I was a heartbreaker!” They folded their arms as Li simply began to laugh.

“If you could stop getting all blushy whenever someone cute hits on you, maybe I’d believe y-”

The next thing Jin knew, they were waking up to the sounds of screaming and the scent of smoke. “N-ngh…” They tasted blood, and staggered to their feet, leaning heavily against the wall. “What the fu- oh no, Li!” As their mind started to clear, they noticed Li on the ground under the window. She was very still, her body half buried beneath a twisted heap of concrete and window glass. It seemed as if she had hit the window as if thrown off her feet, hard enough to shatter it.

Jin rushed unsteadily to their friend, pushing aside her bloodied brown hair to check her neck for a pulse. Li didn’t move or make a sound. Jin couldn’t tell if she was even breathing. “Li! Come on, please…” Either Jin was pressing the wrong spot, or... “Shit.” Jin wobbled as they stood, exhaling in a shudder as they fought back tears. As much as they wanted to mourn, they had to get out first. Yanking their shirt up over their nose and mouth, they pushed their way through the crumbling doorway and headed for the main room.

Chaos reigned. Terrified screams and moans of anguish disoriented their senses just as much as the smoke. Jin moved toward the stairs on autopilot as they looked around. From what they could tell, the whole building had been rocked. The lights were out, and the girls’ work rooms, usually lit by aromatic candles, had sparked several small fires that were growing by the second. Their building was far too old and cheap for overhead sprinklers, and flames began to lick the walls.

“Lady Cho! Where are you?!” Jin cried out. Half-dressed girls and their clients were running out the door. It was getting harder and harder to see through the thickening smoke. They were shoved from behind by a few people rushing down the stairs, and it was luck that kept them on their feet.

“Lady – [b]cough[/b]-” It was getting harder to breathe. The smart thing would have been to leave, but Jin refused to leave Lady Cho behind. That woman had all but raised them – this place was her home and business, and Jin knew she probably might still be here. Their green eyes swept the room, finally landing on a familiar shape in a brilliant kimono.

They rushed over immediately, but stopped short as Lady Cho held a hand out. “Don’t come any closer, Jin!” Jin was about to ask why, but the reason became very suddenly obvious. They hadn’t noticed it due to the environment, but - 

“Run! Please go!” With every word, fresh flames poured from Lady Cho’s lips. Her voice sounded hoarse, as if she had been inhaling smoke.

Lady Cho was bending fire.

Jin was stunned. They hadn’t even had an inkling of suspicion about it. They knew the consequences, of course, but this was Lady Cho, one of the richest women in the Ring. Certainly she could work something out with the law. They offered out a trembling hand. “C-come on. We gotta get out of here, the whole place is going up!”

“No!” The tall woman balked, staggering backward as more fire poured from her mouth with each exhale. “Jin, go! Take care of the girls! And-” The inevitable happened in a flash. A stray spark from her mouth caught Lady Cho’s silk sleeve. It lit, and in her haste to pat it out, the fire simply seemed to stick to Lady Cho’s hands and spread. The woman screamed, and more fire poured from her throat, further catching her body and furthering the blaze. The more she tried to put it out, the worse it got, until the woman was covered, engulfed under red flames.

Jin froze, unable to do anything else but look on in horror. The scent of smoke and too much perfume was engulfed by the stifling, overwhelming smell of burning silk and charred flesh. Her screaming rung in Jin’s ears in a way that they knew they would never be able to forget. And yet, Jin couldn’t tear their gaze away as they watched the flames consume the only mother they could remember.

The thing that finally tore them away was a worryingly loud groan from overhead. The fire had reached one of the support beams. The wood was roasting quick. Jin’s body moved before their brain gave the command, and then they were running full tilt for the exit. They were barely out the door before a crash rang in their ears. The building was coming down, as the Lower Ring could do little but watch.

Jin coughed out smoke, their lungs aching and throat sore. They stumbled forward and kept moving, not sure where they could go or what to do. All around, the chaos that had been in the building continued outside on a grand scale. People were attacking each other. Benders –[i] benders![/i] - were on full display, terrifyingly displaying their ‘gifts’ for all to see.

What the hell was going on?[/color][/quote]
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