Episode 6: Blood Ties

The events of Ep 6 happen approximately 10 years before the events of the campaign, during an important life in the 16-year old Satomi's life. 
-- Satomi sits on a pier by herself, watching the sun begin to set by the water. It feels like any other sunset she's seen on this same pier over the years as Rhenzu's student. The warmth of the sun begins to fade off her skin as dusk draws closer and closer. In a while, the sun will set, and the moon will rise, as it has every day in the eternal dance of day and night, light and dark, and life and death.
Satomi stares into the horizon with blank eyes. Rhenzu is gone. Though they have not spoken in years since their falling out, Satomi has always thought about reaching out again. She thought she would have many more sunsets to find him on the pier, where they can share another moment and reconnect. A father figure and his daughter would talk about what happened between the years of silence and share their joys and sorrows. 
She recalls their last shared moment, when he scolded her for stealing a golden necklace with bright, red rubies off an Earth Kingdom noblewoman's neck. Satomi had developed a string of theft through the years, which continually put herself and the people around her in trouble. Satomi, a child of the streets, saw no problem with stealing from the wealthy, especially if that means that the poor would survive. But Rhenzu was angry that his lessons on Firebending had become destructive, violent, and deceitful against his principles. And thus, he released her from his custody, warning her to stay away from him until she learned to have an honest living. 
As she stares into the water, droplets begin to rise and tickle her feet. A young Water Tribe girl appears from behind her, attempting to scare her into jumping into the water. But her attempt was futile. Satomi continues to state into the void as Niya sits beside her on the pier. 
"Satomi," Niya asks as she brushes the hair off Satomi's neck, "what's wrong?"
Satomi has never been good about her feelings. Even now, at the face of her master's death, she can't find her words. Niya stares into the water with her, swirling it with Waterbending into a hypnotic dance that begins to make Satomi feel tranquil. 
"Rhenzu is dead."
As the words leave Satomi's mouth, Niya looks at her in disbelief and grief. As young girls, she remembers days when they couldn't play because of Satomi's training with Rhenzu. Even when they became a couple, she felt that Satomi's bond with her master was stronger than theirs. Satomi lifts her legs off the water and leans her chin on her knees. Niya puts her hand over her shoulders. 
"Talk to me," she says. 
Satomi brushes her lover off. Her blank expression makes Niya uncomfortable. As a healer from the Northern Water Trible, she knows that healing isn't only for physical wounds. Sometimes, the mind and the heart need mending too. But no Waterbender in the world that could fix a heartbreak. She feels helpless. 
"What if we go to his house?" Niya asks.
"Why?"
"Let's find something to remember him by. A small token," Niya says, encouraging Satomi. But Satomi doesn't budge. "Think of it as... a heist?"
Satomi's eyes focus on Niya. She had never approved of Satomi's bad habits of stealing. This vice was toxic and caused hardship and trouble over the years. But now, at her time of need, Niya recognizes that doing this could be just what she needs. 
Satomi gets up and leads the way to Rhenzu's house as the sun begins disappear over the horizon. 
---
Rhenzu's wooden house sits on the edge of town. Its wooden frames give it an illusion of wealth and luxury, but it has suffered over the years. It is worn down and beaten. Satomi and Rhenzu would always be careful Firebending around the grounds in fear of burning the whole place down and destroying what little the old man owned. 
The house sits silent in the twilight. As she walks closer to the door, she notices that it is open. Something, or someone, had gone inside. Two tracks of mud lead inside the house. Satomi summons two flame knives and wields them as she enters the house. 
"Satomi," Niya says, grabbing her by the waist. "I don't know about this. We should go."
"Someone's in here," Satomi says coldly, "in my master's house. We have to find out who."
Niya copies Satomi and bends water from her waterskin to form two ice knives on each hand. As they enter the old house, they see everything in disarray. Someone is looking for something feverishly, trashing the house in search of something. But she also notices something else. There is an abundance of wealth inside the house. Jewelry, artisan items, vases, minerals, and expensive weapons, all things that do not belong to Rhenzu, laying on the ground. Whoever is in here isn't after treasure. They are looking for something specific. 
As they walk into the creaking, dark house, Satomi starts to notice that these items are things she had stolen in the past. She had fenced these treasures for money in a city nearby, something Rhenzu always disagreed with her with. 
"These are..." Satomi says as she steps on a framed artwork. It was a drawing she had made for Rhenzu as a child using his expensive ink. It is a picture of Rhenzu and Satomi sitting by the pier, watching the sunset. 
As she picks up the drawing, something rumbles upstairs. Niya shakes as the noise gets louder and louder. 
"Satomi!" she says, as Satomi runs up the wooden stairs. Niya is forced to follow. 
Upstairs, in Rhenzu's room, two Earth Kingdom soldiers throw things around. They are dressed in noble garb, the kind that the gatekeepers in the royal palace of Ba Seng Se would wear. They continue to disrespect everything in the room, smashing pottery and throwing drawers around in search of something. The sight infuriates Satomi. 
"Satomi, we need to go. Now! I don't like this," Niya begs. But Satomi does not listen. She hurls two small embers of fire into the soldiers to get their attention. 
"Why are you here!" Satomi yells as she busts into the room, intimidating the soldiers. The two soldiers, Ping and Pang, are startled. 
"What are you doing here, citizen?" asks Ping. 
"This is my master's house! Why are you here?" Satomi replies in anger. 
"Your master? This is my master's house!" Pang responds sarcastically. This anger Satomi more. 
Niya begs one last time for Satomi to leave, but she does not budge. She is fuming with rage over the desecration of Rhenzu's house by two wealthy soldiers. Clearly, they are looking for something specific. They are not here to pillage an old dead man's house for riches. They've ignored anything of value up to this point. 
Whatever they are looking for, Satomi decided that they won't find it. 
Satomi uses her flame knives to lunge at Pang. She punches him in the face with fury and a heated fist and slashes him with the flame knife. Pang summons a rock from outside, crashing through the window, and hurls it at Satomi, sending her flying across the room. In the commotion, an urn of ashes smashes into the ground, covering everyone in ash and creating a puff of smoke in the room. Rhenzu's ashes had been scattered into the open. Satomi watches in horror, while the soldiers grin. 
"Oops," Ping says with a grin. "Pang, I scattered your master's ashes!" 
Niya rushes to her side to use Waterbending to heal her, but as she does, Ping Earthbends the ashes to grab Niya by the feet. She loses her balance and falls face flat on the ground. Niya is bleeding from somewhere on her head. Satomi looks at her in disbelief. Niya touches her face. She stares at the water on the ground that washed off of Satomi when she fell. She is covered in blood. The look mortifies her. She looks around the ash-covered room, and into Satomi's eyes, then looks outside the window. 
It's a full moon. 
Ping and Pang ready themselves for another attack from Satomi. Ping insults them one more time, while Pang steels himself for another flame knife to the armor, letting out a warrior's scream. Satomi gets up and lunges at him with a fist full of fire and hits him hard, sending him crashing against the wall. His screams die down as he passes out from the hit. Ping sees an opportunity and prepares to attack Satomi, but something stops him at his tracks. 
Niya has discovered something inside her. Something powerful and malignant. She had never seen such disrespect from anyone, let alone for a grieving student and the ashes of her dead master. In her lover's eyes, she saw anguish that she couldn't express. Niya has accepted that Satomi won't talk about it, but she hasn't accepted that she won't let her be healed. She will find a way to make it better for Satomi, starting with these soldiers. 
Niya's demeanor changes. She becomes cold and distant, her body twitching as if she was possessed by something. With the flick of her wrist, Ping falls on the ground, paralyzed. Niya is bending Ping's blood from within his body, crushing him against his own weight. She forces him harder into the ground, and Ping lets out screams of agony and doom. 
"Niya! You're killing him!" Satomi yells. But for once in her life, Niya is the one who is cold and shuttered. She does not budge, instead, lifting her other hand to attempt to bloodbend Pang from across the room. Satomi grabs her by the shoulders, "enough! Niya, stop!"
Niya looks at Satomi with dead, eyes. The blood continues to pour from head head and she is partially covered in ash, giving her the appearance of something dreadful and horrifying. This sends a chill into Satomi's bones.
"This isn't you," she says to Niya. "You're warm, and loving, and you're a healer. Listen to me Niya," Satomi says. She grabs Niya by the face. "Please. For me."
In a rare display of vulnerability, Satomi begs her lover to stop. Niya sees this in Satomi's eyes. She snaps out of her rampage. She releases Ping from her bloodbending grasp, before regaining consciousness, as if she had no idea what she had just done. 
"What have I done," Niya says as she collapsed on the ground. Satomi holds her, comforting her. While she is afraid, she is equally proud of Niya for standing up for them. She had never seen much of Niya using Waterbending to defend herself. She does not understand what just happened, but she knows Niya better than anyone. She would never hurt a spiderfly. She was just protecting her. 
"I'm so sorry," Niya says, sobbing. Satomi holds her longer. Niya eventually breaks her cry and looks at Ping. She gets up on the ground again. Ping continues to twitch in agony, crawling away in fear. 
"I'm sorry! Please, don't hurt us!" Ping says, begging for their lives. 
"What are you looking for?" Niya asks. "Answer honestly... or else..." 
Niya's hands begin to twitch again as she did when she paralyzed Ping. He points at a metal safe at the edge of the room. 
"That's the only place we couldn't look... we're looking for a golden necklace with three rubies. It is one of the Earth King's royal jewels, and it was stolen," Ping says. Satomi remembers the necklace. It was her who had stolen it.
"But... I fenced it? How did you know it would be here?" she asks. 
"Your fence..." Ping says, still in pain. Niya threatens him one more time. 
"Tell us the truth and we will let you get out of here alive," Niya warns him. Ping swallows a gulp of fear before continuing. 
"Your fence told us that some old Fire Nation man had bought back everything you fenced. We tracked him down here and found out he had died. That necklace is all we want. Please, we aren't safe to return back without it..." Ping says. Satomi looks at the metal box he is pointing at. She recognizes it as a Firebending safe which could only be opened by a specific move that Rhenzu taught her. She hovers over it and thinks about what he would have her do. 
And then she remembers. She had stolen this necklace for Niya. Per Water Tribe custom, a proposal of marriage would happen when someone gives their lover a betrothal necklace. She wanted it for Niya because it had rubies that looked like fire, to remind her of Satomi. Rhenzu was furious that she had stolen from a noblewoman and put herself in danger, but Satomi was adamant to give it to Niya someday. After Rhenzu banisher her from his custody, she fenced the necklace and never saw it again.
Hesitantly, she opens the safe. The necklace sits on top of a parchment. She opens it and reads a letter from Rhenzu.

Satomi,

If you're seeing this, I am probably dead. I bought all of your fenced items back and paid off the fence so no one would be able to track you down if they had been made. I told them to tell anyone looking for anything stolen that it was me. 

I kept this necklace in this safe that only you and I could open. I know what it meant to you, and I knew it was the most dangerous thing to keep around. I had hoped to find you by the pier one day, looking at the sunset. We'd talk about our years apart and form a new bond, and I'd give it to you. 

I miss you. I never had children of my own. To me, you are a daughter. I am sorry about what happened. I hope you are able to give this to Niya some day. 

You are absolved of everything. You have a clean slate. Start over. For me. 

With Love,

Rhenzu.

Reading the letter sends Satomi into tears. She collapses on the ground, sobbing.
As Satomi reads the letter, Niya heals Ping and Pang with Waterbending and warns them to never return. She sends them off without the necklace. As Satomi collapses, she holds her tight in her arms. 
"Do you want to talk about it now?" Niya asks. 
"Yes," Satomi says, holding her. She gets up on her feet and helps Niya up. "Let's go."
Niya hugs Satomi and then looks at the necklace. "It's beautiful," Niya says. 
Satomi, in a moment of passion, begins to muster the words to propose to Niya with the necklace. But something catches her off guard. The way Niya is staring at the necklace gives her a shiver. Something in Niya was awakened that night. Something new. She does not know what, but whatever it is could stand between their love. 
"It's like..." Niya says, caressing the rubies, "... blood." 
Niya smiles at Satomi. She feigns a smile back. Satomi decides that this wasn't the time to propose. She puts the necklace away and holds Niya by the hands. 
"Let's go." 
Niya and Satomi leave the room. As they exit Rhenzu's house, Niya looks back one last time. She looks at the house, then looks up to see the full moon. She grins.