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^ Ren's clothes, the colors are only changed. her scarf, pants and top are beige and the rest is pale green (her hair is also black and she wears a thin golden band around her forehead)
[1.2]
Freedom
It took great talks to convince Lao Beifong to let Ren join them at the arena. He didn't want his other daughter to get close to danger, knowing that Toph was already not in a good position. And then there was Poppy, who just wanted her daughters to be safe, both of them. But Ren wanted to help save Toph. She didn't care if her father said it was dangerous, or if master Yu said she'd be useless, she wanted to go, for her sister.
If it was for Katara, Ren would probably still be alongside her mother. But the young girl talked with the Beifong couple and assured them that Toph would feel safer if Ren was there. Still, Lao was reluctant to let her join them, and made her promise to stand by his side no matter what.
But it was just an empty promise. Ren had intentions beyond her father's words, and that was to help Toph no matter what.
Before they left, Ren ran to her room and grabbed her katana. Her shuriken stars were still in her sleeves, but the sword was probably Ren's most prized possession (alongside her metal fans, an imitation of the ones used by the Kyoshi warriors), and it did make her look quite intimidating, with her long dark hair covering most of her face. Her father looked at her weirdly when he saw the weapon in its scabbard hanging from the belt of her dress that was tight around her waist. But Katara grabbed the girl's hand before he could object and dragged her away.
The moment they stepped into the arena, Ren's eyes flew to the ceiling, where two metal cages hung. She could see Toph in one of them and they could all hear her very well, as she was teasing the Boulder and her other kidnappers. It was Sokka that took a step forward, the bag filled with the Beifong ransom money in his hands.
"here's your money," he said as he threw the pouch in front of them and master Yu pushed it towards the kidnappers, "now let them go."
One of the cages was followed before its lower part opened, making Toph fall to her feet. The blind girl ran towards her sister and jumped in her arms, and Ren couldn't help but squeeze her tight. Lao placed a hand on his youngest daughter's shoulder and nodded to Ren, who started walking behind him with Toph still wrapped around her.
It was a lie if Ren said she didn't look back at the water tribe siblings. She felt guilty for leaving them there, with Aang still in the hands of the kidnappers, but she couldn't really do anything, and neither could Toph. Not with their father and master Yu on each side of them.
"Toph, Ren, wait," exclaimed Katara as she approached the four, "there's too many of them. We need an earthbender and someone that knows how they fight. We need you!"
