Another feast, another gala . . . It was the perfect chance to get into the palace. A thief like him profited off things like this. There was a perfect chance to get something from the King's palace. He had his eyes set on something of Bosco's, the king's pet Bear.

Fence's paid good money for high-risk stolen goods, all thieves knew that. It was common sense.

A hooded figure swung a hook around, throwing it upwards into the air. The hook caught onto a ledge and the figure pulled, the line was taut and sturdy. Taking a quick risk, and looking around, the blood red eyes made sure no one was in sight. This figure's name was Kuseron. There was no shame in stealing. It made him money...

He quickly scaled the side of the wall, swinging up on the ledge quickly. Kuseron huffed silently. "Let's see, got my fancy getup. Now I need to..."

Kuseron trailed off, eyes falling on two young girls. They were probably close to his age. He removed his hood, blood red eyes watching them with interest, his shaggy black hair falling into his face. They had been denied entrance, now... Why were they heading towards Long Feng? One girl was a tall, and tan goddess. She had azure blue eyes and hair braided back with a... Water tribe necklace? Kuseron looked at the other girl, she looked equally attractive. She was obviously from the Earth Kingdom. The green eyes said it all, but her eyes were slightly hazed over. Kuseron leaned in.

"Sir?" The tall, tan girl spoke, "I'm sorry to bother you but my cousin lost our invitations..." She gave him a small, cheeky smile leaning up a bit. "She's blind," She returned back to standing on her feet. "Do you think you can help us? Our family is inside and I'm sure they're very worried about us."

"I am honored." Long Feng bowed slightly. "Please come with me." Were they thieves? They surely acted like it, or were they assassins? He knew the façade of assassins and thieves. Heck, he was a thief.

Kuseron watched them walk away, the two girls making raspberries when they pasted the guard that had denied them entrance. He couldn't help but chuckle slightly. He snuck across the roof before lowering himself into a hallway and pulling on his 'fancy' clothing. Kuseron wore a black baggy long sleeve shirt, over it a sleeveless red shirt with a hood attached to it, grey silk pants and light black shoes. He quickly fixed his black mop into a more suitable look. Kuseron looked down at his hands, running his fingers over his tattoos on the back of his hands. Then he flipped his left hand over, looking at the eye.

Got to move quickly. He slipped into the large room, mixing into the crowd quickly.

He found himself near Long Feng and the two girls again. "It's beautiful isn't it?" Long Feng mused. Kuse shivered slightly. Didn't these two have common sense? "By the way, I'm Long Feng. I'm a cultural minister to the King..."

The tall one spoke for them, "I'm Qa Mai and this is Dum." The shorter girl, pulled lightly on the other girl's hair, clearly displeased. Kuseron smirked; they were obviously hiding their true identity. "Now were is your family? I'd love to meet them."

"Uh..." The Tall one had no back-up plan. Kuseron quickly stepped in. "Qa! Dum! There you two are!" The two immediately looked at him, quite startled. Long Feng turned around to him. "And who are you?"

Kuseron bowed slightly, "I am Kuseron, their older brother." Long Feng was eyeing him suspiciously.

"Alright, I let you take them to your family then."

"Thank you sir." Kuseron nodded to the two girls, they stepped forward and towards him. Long Feng slipped away into the crowd.

"Thank you." 'Qa Mai' said to him. He turned on both of them, glaring down at the two.

"Who are you really?" He hissed. The one who could see shied away from him. The other girl just frowned slowly. "Are you thieves or assassins?" Kuseron waited for his answer.

He did not expect what 'Qa Mai' said next. "My name is Katara and this is my friend, Toph. We're here to see the Earth King, because one of our friends is the Avatar..." He cracked a smile, immediately beginning to laugh. That was such a horrible lie!

He drew back, "You'll have to come up with a better lie than that Sweet cheeks." Katara visibly stiffened at this.

"Where are Toph and Katara?"

Kuseron blinked.

"Forget about them. Just keep an eye out for the King."

They were assassins. Kuseron sneered. "You won't even make it ten feet near the Earth King."

Katara shook her head. "No. No." The other girl, Toph spoke. They were right by the other two boys that were obviously apart of their train. "Another Crab puff please." Kuse turned to look at Toph. Was she even blind? He looked at the other two boys. One was much akin to Katara. They might be related. The other busboy was a fun looking kid, probably bald. Kuseron watched them. "You found us!" The probably bald kid said, smiling.

"I'd know your tiny footsteps anywhere Twinkletoes." Kuseron turned to Katara but she had turned to the other boy, her brother. Toph turned to him. "I see through my feet, I'm blind but I can see."

Kuseron slowly nodded. "Alright." He didn't understand this concept.

"Thanks for letting us in."

"Sorry, this guy we asked to get us in wouldn't let out us out of his sight until..." She turned her head to him. "Kuseron." He said simply. Katara nodded. "Kuseron stepped in to get him off our case."

It was time to step out. "What guy?" Kuseron watched a woman run up, looking quite nervous.

"What are you doing here?" The Woman hissed through thin lips. "You have to leave immediately," Know what... I'll stick around. He leaned back slightly, watching with mild interest. "Or we'll all be in big trouble!"

Kuseron watched Katara's brother block the woman from coming near him, "Not until we see the king."

"You don't understand, you must go!" The woman pushed the boy into the bald one, a chain reaction occurring. Katara's brother bumped into the other boy and the boy spilt the water on a nearby woman. Kuseron began to laugh. Well, until...

"Sorry! No, don't shout." The boy... Airbended. His hat flew off and Kuseron blinked. It was the Avatar.

The woman who had been so forcefully blasted confirmed his idea, "The Avatar." She made a small 'oo' sound. "I didn't know the Avatar would be here."

Everyone began to gather around them. Kuseron began to slip away from the crowd, making his way for a hall but rock solid hands grabbed him from behind. He was pulled forcefully away and into a hall.

"Let go of me!" He growled, struggling in the stony grasps of the two men. They were Dai Li! Of course. They must have known he was coming! "Silence." One of them hissed. He would not surrender, nor would he be silent! Kuseron slammed his feet into the ground; the two Dai Li agents flew away from him. The stone hands that had his hands, were now gone.

He pulled out his mask; it gave him the face of an Armadillo-Wolf. Kuseron slipped it on, turning to the other Dai Li agents. Toph, Katara and Katara's brother were staring at him. Had they seen him bend the darkness? He raised his hands, the eye on his left hand pointed outwards, his right hand was drawn close to his chest and he narrowed his blood red eyes. "I will not be taken anywhere." He growled. The Dai Li knew a lot about him, but they did not know how he bended the darkness. Kuseron moved his left hand diagonally, before bringing it back to him and thrusting it upwards in an uppercut sort of way. The Dai Li agent by Toph flew into the ceiling and he ducked out of the way of two stone hands.

He threw his right hand outwards and spun around, lashing out into their air with his feet and then thrusting both hands out. The last Dai Li agent fell to the ground and he let out an angry huff.

"Did he just...?" Katara's brother trailed off. Toph looked confused, she was looking between the boy and Katara. "What? What did he do?"

Katara stepped forward, "What... How did you do that?"

Kuseron pulled his mask off, slipping it into an inner pocket. "I'm a Shadowbender. Darkness is my element." He had no idea why he just said that straight out flat. Nobody, not even the closest thief-friend he had knew that. Kuseron watched their faces morph into ones of shock and wonder. He didn't have time for this!

"Sokka, we should—" The Dai Li agents were back up but they did not fight back, Kuseron tried to but was unable to fight.

They were dragged into a room, the library of the Palace. Kuseron was released. Everyone was released and seconds later, The Avatar and Long Feng came in.

Sokka was the first to speak. "Why won't you let us talk to the King? We have important information that could defeat the Fire Nation!"

He raised his brows in surprise. They were here because of the Fire Nation... They had a lot of guts, especially to say that to Long Feng. He would probably try to brainwash them or something! Kuseron narrowed his eyes, thinking quickly. He wasn't going to get caught. Feng probably knew he was a thief. Long Feng answered quickly and calmly. "The Earth King has no time to deal with political squabbles nor the day to day minutia of Military activity."

He couldn't help but snort. Basically, the Earth King was his puppet, a puppet figure. Long Feng looked at him, eyes deadly. "And he has no time to deal with a thief like you..." He signaled to a Dai Li agent who walked forward, ready to put him in those stone handcuffs, but the Avatar stepped in the way. "He's not going anywhere."

Kuseron was once again, amazed. The Avatar knew nothing about him, but he was still going to stand in the way of a Dai Li agent? The Shadowbender shifted slightly. They knew he was a thief now, what would they do later?

They returned to their conversation when the Dai Li agent backed away. "This could be the most important thing the Earth King has ever heard." Long Feng frowned slowly. What was he to say in response? Probably something that made the King lesser than him, no doubt about that. "What is most important to his royal majesty is maintaining the cultural heritage of Ba Sing Se. All his duties result in issuing decrees on such matters. It's my job to oversee the rest of the city's sources, including the military."

Katara looked angry as she stepped forward slightly, "So the King is just a Figurehead."

Toph stepped forward, even angrier than Katara. "He's your puppet!"

Kuseron whistled, waving a hand casually. "Couldn't agree more."

Everyone looked at him for a second before they turned their attention back to Long Feng, who was shaking his head and waving his hands. "Oh. No, No. His majesty is an icon, a god to his people. He can't sully his hands with the changes of an endless war." Long Feng's eyes grew as sharp as flint.

Sokka stepped forward hastily, "But we found out about a Solar Eclipse that will leave the Fire Nation defenseless! You could lead an invas—" Long Feng stood, eyes holding anger. He cut into Sokka's words.

"Enough!"

He tuned them out for a moment, as a winged lemur came over to his feet. The Shadowbender bent down slightly, holding out an arm to the thing. It chirped at him, or whatever the noise was and scrambled away over to the Avatar. Kuseron tuned back into the words. "—The strict policy of Ba Sing Se that the war not be mentioned within the walls." Kuseron knew the drill. He tuned them out again, swiping an expensive looking Paperweight into his jacket before stepping back into the shadows, looking around.

"—Utopia. The Last one on Earth."

Kuseron turned back around, having found a tome that a Fence would probably pay well for. He had also nabbed a dagger, had to lock pick it out of its case but it was worth it.

Everyone was radiating with anger, except him. Spirits, he had to live with this all day, every day. "You can't keep the truth from all these people. They have to know!" Katara said quickly.

"I'll tell them. I'll make sure everyone knows." The Avatar stepped forward, glaring angrily at Long Feng. The brooding, self-centered man stepped forward, looking down at the Avatar. "Until now, you have been treated as an honored guest, but from now on you will be watched at every moment by Dai Li agents."

The Man walked away, looking into the green fire. "If you mention the war to anyone, you will be expelled from the city. I understand you have been looking for your bison, it'd be a shame if you did not complete your quest."

Kuseron tilted his head inquisitively. This seemed to make the Avatar a little shocked by what he could tell. "Now Joo Dee will show you home." The doors swung open and a woman walked in, it was not the same woman from earlier... "And take the thief with you." Long Feng finished.

"Come with me please." Kuseron watched Katara and the others steps back, confusion on their faces. Well, except for Toph, she hadn't moved and was only slightly surprised by the way she looked. "Where's Joo Dee?" Katara muttered.

"I'm Joo Dee and I'll be your host for as long as you're in our beautiful city." She bowed slightly before smiling. They were escorted out of the palace quickly to a carriage. That's when things got a little... difficult. Kuseron was not getting into that carriage. No way in the world.

"Oh no! You are not getting me into that thing!" He cried, eyes on the woman that called herself Joo Dee.

Joo Dee looked out at him, "You must. I am to escort you to the outer ring."

He clenched his fists, "Exactly! I'm not going back to the Outer ring!" Actually, he just didn't want to go with these guys. They were oddballs, just like him. Someone behind him pushed him towards the carriage with a grunt, "Just get in already!" It was Toph that pushed him. She pushed by him as well as Sokka.

"No!" Kuseron whistled loudly into the silent air. "Not yet." He growled. Everyone was looking at him like he was crazy. Until they all heard a growl. "Chiel!" A grey haired, black-back plated Armadillo wolf ran up, carrying a bag in his mouth. The young Armadillo wolf was only a pup. This was his best friend.

"Now will you get into the stupid carriage?" Toph muttered. Chiel was a smart pup, he opened the pack and got in, Kuse placed the items he had stolen into the bag and patted his pet.

"Don't be so rude. My pet is very important to me." He mused and stepped into the carriage. Chiel growled at the lemur across the carriage, and he watched the door close. Great. He was going back to the Outer ring. He coughed slightly, "I don't think I've officially met any of you. My name is Kuseron."

The Avatar piped up first. "My name is Aang."

Katara's brother spoke next, still in the busboy outfit. "My name is Sokka, that's my sis," He pointed at Katara.

She had removed most of the getup she had on. Wearing what he thought was traditional Water tribe clothing. "I'm Katara."

The Blind girl huffed, leaning back with a frown. "And I'm Toph."

Aang spoke again, "And this is Momo, our winged lemur." The lemur, Momo screeched at Chiel, who growled back.

"Well, this is Chiel, my Armadillo wolf." He replied to them, petting Chiel lightly, whom was still growling a bit.

Everything went silent again and Kuseron frowned slowly, pulling up his hood. He had to go back to the Outer Ring. Spirits help me. The Carriage drew to a stop and everyone began to leave, except Katara stopped when she stepped out. "Hey, Kuseron." He lifted his head to look at her.

"Do you want to stay with us, instead of going back to the outer ring?"

Thank the Spirits! He only shrugged, "Sure. Whatever..."

Joo Dee went to stop him but Chiel nipped at her, trying to scratch her as well. "Don't try to stop me woman."

He exited the carriage before blinking. Their house was amazing. They were lucky. It wasn't a hovel like his in the Outer Ring. He walked in after everyone. It was almost empty. Not really furnished at all, he could understand. They were 'guests' as Long Feng had put it.

"I'll show you to your room." He waved a hand at Aang. The Avatar was courteous but he couldn't intrude on their hospitality. "Actually, I'll just find one, you guys look like you need to speak with one another anyways."

He left them in the main room, coming to one room that was completely empty. "Here we go Chiel. We'll sleep here until tomorrow, then we'll go." He was debating on whether to stick around or not.

He turned around, facing the blind girl, Toph. "You said you were a Shadowbender?" She asked.

"Yeah, that's what I do."

"I thought they were only legend." Toph mused.

Kuseron shook his head. "Well, legend's are usually based on real things, Toph." Chiel was over by her feet, sniffing her inquisitively. Toph looked down at Chiel, a brow raised. "Don't mind him. He's naturally curious." He mused.

Toph reached down, holding out a hand to his Armadillo wolf. Chiel sniffed it before placing his nose in her hand, a simple courteous greeting. Kuse looked flabbergasted. She...? Chiel... His pet never ever let anyone near him, usually after sniffing someone he would run back to the Shadowbender. "He's a nice Armadillo wolf. Where'd you find him?"

Kuseron shook his head. "I was in the woods, he was injured, so I decided to help him."

"Hm. Guess he took a liking to you then?" Toph turned away and walked out of the room, ending the conversation just like that.

Chiel came trotting over to the Shadowbender as he sat down. "Traitor." He said teasingly. Chiel tilted his head in confusion.

Toph was different. She was blind and she saw through her feet. How was that possible? Was she an Earthbender as well? Kuse curled up on the mat he had set down earlier, pulling a blanket of fur over him and his armadillo-wolf. Maybe sticking around wouldn't be such a bad idea. He let his thoughts drift. Toph, from what he could tell, was a strong and hardy girl. She was blind, but could see. Toph had a personality that held a strong sense of independence; sarcasm, directness and she seemed stubborn as well. The Shadowbender frowned. More to think on later. He was in the house that the Avatar was in... Kuseron fell asleep quickly, a blanket of darkness wrapping around him.