Avatar; The Royal Firebender.

Ashes and Lanterns.

The sun begins to set below the horizon when Zuko and Jin finally leave The Bronze ladle. The hustle and bustle of the restaurant, the banging of metal and wood at the nearby shops, and the constant chatter of the city itself begins to die down as they continue their date. Around them, the locals are returning home after a long day at work. In the distance the barking of a dog echoes through the city that's settling down for the night. Above them, clothes hung out to dry rustle in the gentle breeze, muted arguments from some of the houses are barely discernible. As Jin leads him towards the center of the small town, she spots a broken down wall and sighs. Zuko instantly hears the change in her tone and squeezes her hand gently to gain her attention. "Something wrong?" He asks, she stops to stare at the dilapidated part of the wall before looking up at him through sad emerald eyes.

"My friends and I used to play Stoneball right there. We had found some abandoned fishing nets in the river and used them for goals. Whenever we were lucky enough to get chalk we'd draw and make murals on that wall. I remember the pictures we drew of the Dai Li, of the badgermoles and of Avatar Beifong... I used to feel so safe here." She sighs, and Zuko takes the opportunity to wrap his arm around her shoulder and hug her tightly to himself.

"One of the sad truths about life is that time moves on, things change and we don't want them to." He replies, pressing his cheek on top of her head. "But, that change can be beautiful."

She looks up at him when he finishes speaking and kisses his cheek. Clenching his free hand, he lifts it upwards forcefully causing more stone to lift from the ground and the damaged portions to fuse together. He walks her over to the stone wall before placing a hand on it and curling his fingers in. The stones shift, some shrink, others are pulverized to dust and pebbles as he moves his hand and then taps the wall. The once perfectly flat face of the wall now displays a mural depicting himself, Avatar Beifong, Avatar Kotak and Avatar Fa Yen. With a discrete use of his firebending, he scorches the wall slightly adding shading and depth to each of the portraits he's made with his bending. She looks at the mural in awe of what he's capable of.

"Thank you, Lee." She says, causing him to smile confidently at her before extending his hand allowing her to take it. She leans up to capture his lips in a deep kiss, but a sharp male voice cuts through the night.

"Stop right there," The man speaks, the voice startles Jin and instinctively Zuko pushes her behind him as he gets into a fighting stance. "Don't move a muscle. Both of you, your coin purses. Now." The man demands as he walks out of the darkness between the buildings. A dirty rag covers his face as if it was trying to be a bandana, his eyes a dingy hazel color. He's covered by a cloak that looks to be firenation in make, several sizes too big for his meek form. The knife in his hand is far from a fighter's weapon, it looks to belong to a chef rather than a thief. Its edge is chipped, rolled and glinted in areas rendering it so dull it's practically useless. He stands in an unsteady stance, the knife held outwards as if he was more afraid of it then anyone on the other end of it would be. Zuko can tell the boy is his age, seventeen but severely malnourished and gaunt. His eyes dart between them, burning of desperation instead of anger and malice. "D-didn't y-you hear me?!" He roars but Zuko's response is calm and collected.

"I did." Zuko says, making direct eye contact with the would-be assailant. "But I can tell you don't want to do this." The man tenses slightly when Zuko says this but he hardens his resolve and brandishes the knife towards Zuko more.

"Sh-shut up! You don't know anything!" He shouts again, flexing the knife forwards but there's no force behind it whatsoever. "I'm warning you! Do as I say and give me your coin purse!"

"I do." Zuko replies, and the man's hold on the knife slackens slightly. "You're hungry, probably haven't eaten in days, you're suffering from illness, your skin is pale and you're flush with fever and you're tired. Above all of that you're angry, angry at the world and afraid that if you don't do anything you'll just vanish." Zuko's words strike home each and every time, but the man's anger gets the better of him.