Boom!
Norrak felt Katara's Chi-enhanced slap connect to his face. He didn't defend, and he left her to hit him. The sound of the slap was loud, and the force behind it was even more deafening.
Norrak's head twisted to the side, and his cheek rippled like water as his body followed with the force, leaving the ground and flying towards the distant wall.
His figure turned into a blur before breaking into the next hotel room, and then into the other room before falling outside the hotel, leaving behind three broken walls.
"Argghh!"
"Someone fell from the top floor!"
"Is he dead?!"
"Woho! I knew I would see someone die today!"
"Somebody help him!"
Norrak lay on the floor, face-first, as he felt the tiny sting in his cheek. The slap was powerful, and Norrak even saw a jet of water behind Katara's slap, putting more force into the slap.
His right face was red, and a fine outline of Katara's palm was on his face, branding him with a mark that would last for hours. Norrak couldn't help but chuckle self-deprivingly.
He has everything a man would ever want going for him. Looks like nobody else has the power that everyone would willingly kill, hell, even sacrifice their entire family for a fraction of it.
A woman who is loyal and loves him to the point that they would rather die alone than look for another girl in their life. Yet for some strange reason, Norrak was still unsatisfied.
"Is this what people call unsatiable greed? The sin that causes people to be consumed by what they couldn't have," Norrak pushed himself to his elbows before standing up.
From the hotel, the people slowly looked out from the holes in the wall, and when they saw Norrak still standing, they paled.
"He is alive!"
"That's impossible!"
"Is he a bender?"
Norrak placed his hands inside his pockets as he walked away. Nearing an alley, he entered before vanishing in a blur. His body appeared in another part of the city a few seconds later.
"Hmm, I guess it's time for me to know what it feels like to drink. I was not even 18 when I died, so I never drank before," Norrak muttered as he entered a locar bar.
The inside of the bar was simple: a bar with a bunch of alcohol behind it, and a bartender standing there. People were drinking and talking, not paying attention to anything else.
"Hmmm, looks like you need something to dull the pain. Let me prepare a strong but less alcoholic drink," The bartender smiled, seeing the slap print on Norrak's face.
"Thanks," Norrak said before sitting down on a chair. His Six Eyes were deactivated, and he would probably never use them again outside of a fight or unless his life is threatened.
In the back of the bar, hidden by a sliding door. Zuko and Iroh watched as Norrak began drinking, confusion on their faces. Iroh caught a glimpse of the handprint, and he chuckled.
"Looks like our young bender has entered the life of an adult, and he got punished for it," Iroh said with a knowing look, and Zuko trembled as he looked at the floor.
They both had a hint of fear, Zuko much more than Iroh, in their eyes. But they knew that Norrak was not here for them, at least. Of course, even without the Six Eyes, Norrak noticed them.
But he could give less of a crap about them. Instead, he picked up his cup of dark red drink, and with a sip, he flinched. The intense and bitter, but calming taste assaulted his taste buds.
It burned at first, then rushed to the back of his throat. He also tasted a blend of cherry and another familiar fruit. It was an addictive taste, and the burning was not unpleasant.
"You two can come out from hiding. I won't eat you. Besides, you can't do anything to me anyway," Norrak said in a low tone, but Zuko and Iroh still heard it from behind the door.
Zuko and Iroh exchanged glances before coming out from behind the door. They walked to the bar and sat down next to Norrak before ordering two cups of tea.
"You two remember when I let you leave alive, and I didn't kill you both? I want you to draw a map from here to the place where the Dragons are," Norrak said with a firm tone, not giving them a chance to refuse.
Iroh narrowed his eyes at his words, but in the end, he could do nothing but obey him. He looked at the bartender for help, and a minute later, he received a paper and some ink.
[Half an hour later.]
Iroh placed the ink-tainted pen down, and the scroll paper in front of him had a very detailed drawing leading to the place where the Dragons who had taught him firebending lived.
"These two dragons are Raw and Shaw. They could teach the young girl how to truly firebend. I imagine this is why you asked, and not to hunt them down, right?" Iroh asked.
"Hmm, kind of. But I have a question for you as well. Why are you in Omashu? As I know it, this city is against the Fire Nation," Norrak asked with narrowed eyes.
"This old man and his young nephew were merely travelling around after being exiled from the Fire Nation's royal lineage. Also, young Bender. You should be careful, there is a bounty on your head," Iroh reached into his garments and pulled out a rolled-up paper.
He placed it in front of Norrak, who took it and rolled it open to see the contents. It revealed a perfect drawing of his face. His blue eyes were shaded in.
Unknown to Norrak, the picture was drawn by Azula, who had remembered his face perfectly in her heart. The picture was as if he had taken an image with a phone and then traced over it.
"Holy hell, who do I look like? The avatar or something?" Norrak muttered as he looked at the amount of money that was placed on his head. It might be half the money he scavenged on the Ships.
"1000 golden coins, and 500 silver coins? That's enough to last a generation for a normal family," Norrak muttered, impressed at the amount of bounty.
"But the currency in the world really needs to change. Maybe I should introduce the Yen currency for the Earth Kingdom, the Dollar currency for the Fire Nation and the Pounds for the Water Tribe," Norrak muttered.
"Well, that's for the future," Norrak muttered as he motioned for the bartender to refill his cup.
________________________________________________
That slap sent Norrak into alcoholism, and he will never recover from it. He will now always have a gourd of alcohol strapped to his hip. What a tragedy.
Leave a power stone!