Just so you know, Bolin is romantically involved later in the story with a GIRL. So don't leave just because certain things appear a certain way. 3 Cheers, lovely people!

Bolin scuffed his foot along the side of the street, keeping out of the way of the many civilians and dodging the few Satomobiles that managed to clog the busy street in the aftermath of Amon's attempt to take over Republic City. Things were slowly going back to normal, although the pro-bending arena still hadn't reopened. There were more important things to fix, he supposed, like the city hall and residential areas. Still, he was bored. He needed something to do, and sitting around on Air Temple Island wasn't going to work; he'd be forced to listen to and watch Mako and Korra flirting with each other and that was something he didn't want to deal with despite how good-natured he is. Everyone in the city was pitching in to help rebuild the city; non-benders and benders alike. He'd taken a ferry to the mainland from the island to see if anyone could use any help with heavy lifting or the like. He liked being useful, to the point of over-exerting himself without thinking through something beforehand. He took a sharp left down a skinny alleyway and sauntered onto a less busy street.

"Stop! Thief!"

Bolin froze, listening for the location of the cry from a male voice. It was probably the metal bending police force, judging by the wire cables that were being thrust out from the suits of two men chasing after a skinny boy. The boy kept glancing behind him, dodging all of the wires and maintaining a distinct advantage in distance. Apparently the boy had stolen a loaf of bread and a few green apples. The kid was dirty, as if he hadn't had a bath in weeks, and his clothes were raggedy as any other street beggar, but something was off about them. Bolin readied himself to help stop or hinder the thief but something curious happened. A mother shrieked as her toddler fell from a broken second story window. The child was screaming bloody murder as he fell, and Bolin knew he couldn't get there in time. Luckily for the child, the thief saw the fall happen and he snatched the child out of midair. Doing this, he lost the distance advantage, but he still paused to set the child down gently on the front step of his home and took off. The officers were a mere arm-length behind him, now, and they were gaining fast, each swing of their arms and wires catching a bit of fabric on his sleeve as he moved. Bolin made a split second decision to help the thief out. Bolin and his brother, Mako had been out on the streets as children, so he knew desperation when he saw it. Whistling cheerfully, he dashed between the officers and the thief, crashing headlong into them.

The two officers cursed as the thief made his getaway. Hostile in their lack of success to catch the food thief, they threatened to put Bolin away in the local jail for a night as punishment for aiding a criminal. Bolin put on his best innocent face and cheerfully protested his involvement. "I'm awfully sorry, officers, I wasn't looking where I was going. I'll be sure to pay attention next time!" He saluted the men and smiled as soon as the men were on their way, having given up on their chase.

Hearing a squeaking at his feet, his small grin grew into a beaming smile as he picked up Pabu, his fire ferret. Bolin, Mako, and Korra were the three members of the pro-bending team "The Fire Ferrets," and Pabu was treated as ferret royalty for being their mascot. Bending down to scratch the fire ferret in his favorite place to be scratched behind his ears, the pair heard a voice hiss from the shadows. Pabu skittered over to the voice and Bolin swiftly followed to investigate. When he caught up to Pabu, however, the person had already disappeared, leaving behind a note scrawled into the dirt.

"Thank you for your help. Someday, I'll repay your kindness. I never leave a debt unpaid." The handwriting was strangely neat for a street urchin's writing, but perhaps the thief had an education before they became homeless. He scratched the note out of the ground so no one would see it, not that it would matter. No one pays attention to words written in shadows.

"Well, Pabu," he picked up the energetic ferret and placed him carefully around his shoulders. "It's probably time to head back home. It's getting dark, and I don't want Mako to worry about me. If he actually remembered that he hadn't seen me for more than three hours. I doubt it." He buried his nose in the ferret's strangely and pleasantly fragrant fur, feeling comfort in the familiar. "He's got better, prettier people to worry about besides his little bro."

The pair picked their way through the crowd and back to the ferry, which was leaving for the last trip of the evening. It was never seriously busy, as only a few people lived on Air Temple Island. Counting on his fingers to see the total of who lived with him he counted around fifteen people including Korra, Mako, Asami, Tenzin, Pema, Jinora, Ikki, Meelo, Rohan, the Air Acolytes, and the White Lotus Sentries, plus Naga and Oogi, the Korra's Polar Bear dog and the resident Sky Bison.

As the ferry docked, Bolin assumed most everyone had gone to bed, judging by the lack of lights throughout the many buildings on the island. Deciding to creep into his bedroom without disturbing anyone, he made his way up the huge stairway leading up to the dormitories and main building quietly. He would welcome sleep tonight; tomorrow was going to be another day of the similar type of activities, and the more of it he could sleep away the better.