𖤐₊ ˚ .༄𖤐₊ ˚ .༄ ↯ chapter six―act one ! ( old faces & awkward tension)
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IT WAS ONE THING TO FEEL ANXIOUS ABOUT ENTERING A STRANGERS— home yet, Aiyanna found her nerves relaxed as she followed Jiang inside his home. Compared to the cramped buildings that were filled with countless small apartments, Jiang led Aiyanna down the dirty streets of the Lower Ring, easily slipping by other refugees as if the path to home had become nothing but muscle memory to him.
The teenage girl tried to keep up with him, yet she was still new to the layout of Ba Sing Se and found it frustrating to have so many people cross her path out of nowhere. The best thing she could do was hasten her pace as she tried to make out of Jiang's long locks of hair as she tried to keep up with the older boy. Scowling to herself, Aiyanna kicked a man in the shins who stepped in front of her trying to sell some sort of amulets. Where was Jiang taking her?
"Try to keep up will you, kid?" Jiang teased as he glanced back to see Aiyanna struggling to match his pace. She was pushing and kicking people out of her way as she tried to catch up with Jiang (to no avail really) with a frustrated expression on her face as Aiyanna brushed loose locks of hair away from her face, grunting as she quickly dodged another citizen, running to catch up with Jiang who only gave her a smug smirk.
"Oh I'm sorry, it's not my fault people keep trying to sell me worthless shit or getting in my way," Aiyanna spat as she finally caught up to the older boy.
"How far away is your home, anyway?" She added on as she tossed her locks of hair up in a ponytail, not wanting her hair to fall in her face anymore.
"Not too far, why? Are you in desperate need of a bath?" Jiang grinned as he continued to playfully tease the young girl.
Aiyanna looked down at her body for a quick moment, taking note of dirt that was piling up on her skin and it wasn't like her hair smelt pleasant anymore. Even though Jiang may have been joking, Aiyanna's hygiene was far near from clean. "Am I really that smelly?" Aiyanna snapped back as she shot him a sour look.
"Just a little," Jiang joked back as he elbowed the teenage girl in the shoulder.
Aiyanna scowled and playfully shoved him back as a small smile started to blossom on her lips. And she found herself slowly being content in Jiang's company.
"Here we are," Jiang finally concluded as they stopped in front of a large house.
It was about as tall as the crowded apartments that they had passed a while ago. With small windows and a pointed roof, it was one of the decent looking houses compared to the rest of the homes in the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se. Aiyanna took notice of a couple of more houses that made up a similar design to those of Jiang, her eyes wide as she took in the new landscape.
