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In one of the darker alleyways of the underbelly a woman with white hair was meeting someone completely nondescript. They were a nobody, a ghost employed by the Chen Rai to move around unheard and unseen. The information was passed in code and with that the man was gone. It had been a few days and not a word of the Breathtaker being in Republic City had been uttered. But something sure had been written. Anika may not have even noticed it if she had not already been scanning every newspaper from every outlet looking for some word on the arrival of the avatar. There was no mistaking the message though, it had come from Mei Yun. This had left the airbender to contemplate what she had meant by that. Had she been seen fighting the spirit? Even so, not a single ability from Breathless had been used. Underestimating the Lightning Queen could have literal deadly consequences. She could have told Ban Shi Dan about it or even the other master. Mei could have told the authorities. But she didn't. This made Anika hopeful. Deciding it would be a waste of so much potential she walked the underbelly looking for where the lion lemur gets a drink. It did not take too long to find the dive bar. The woman would check for exists first and scope out the area. There weren't a lot of options for escapes considering much of the underbelly was lines and lines of building complexes. No matter, she trusted in her abilities to escape or even duel if needed. Something told her it wouldn't even be that kind of meeting. So she entered the place and chose a seat far from prying eyes, settling in with whisky on the rocks. There was no way in hell she would trust the water from a place like this. How ironic would it be for Anika to die of a virus originating in the mildly grey looking water that flowed through these pipes. The time was just before three, Anika was prepared to wait a bit.

From the moment Mei walked through the door Anika was watching her. Those hazel eyes always with an enigmatic look locked on to whom she would be spending the day (and possibly the night) with. It made sense for her to be dressed like an average civilian even though she was anything but that. She was easy to pick out in a crowd though, that much was for sure. Briefly looking to see if they would have to deal with crazed fans recognizing the woman, Anika was relieved to see absolutely no one in here cared to glance their way for longer than what it took to register that someone new came in. She would hold eye contact with Mei all the way up until that mildly rhetorical question had been asked of her. Smiling softly, she would reach out and pull her tumbler towards her with slender fingers. Lifting the glass to her mouth a short swig would be taken. "No, my name is not Ana. Though much like you in this moment, I have reason to hide my true identity as well. If people come to know of me I may have to disappear for awhile and I don't think I'm ready to go just yet. I hope that won't be a problem, I'd hate for this day to have to end as abruptly as our last time together." And that was Anika actually being sincere. She had multiple motives for wanting to be here in this dingy bar with the spectacular Mei Yun. Some of them were insidious, and some of them were of the salacious kind. Putting the glass back on top of the semi-sticky counter top, Anika would reach to brush a strand of her white hair from her face.

Her appearance from the other day hadn't really changed. Those white locks were mostly kept from her face in two braids while the rest of it fell and framed her face. A smattering of freckles splashed across her cheekbones and nose, fair and smooth skin underneath. Her black scarf was wrapped twice around her neck to keep it short, and underneath that she was wearing an open jacket and a plain white shirt. Tight pants hugged to her like a second skin and the same boots were worn. She was pretty, but did not ever act overly open about that. Anika appreciated her looks because they often got her in and out of situations. Other than that she wasn't vain about it. A finger tapped against the rim of her glass as she cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry I had to lie and leave, but clearly you were capable of handling yourself." Sure Mei had taken some injuries but no limbs were lost and neither was her life. That had been a victory in Anika's eyes. Living to fight another day was pretty important. The airbender would lean forward on the table and support her head with an arm, chin resting in the palm of her hand. She had covered about half the distance between them. "You wanted to meet with me. What is it that you are looking for?" A straight forward question. Anika only liked to beat around the bush when it came to her and what she was up to. Of course the woman didn't actually have to answer truthfully. After all, Anika's whole initial introduction had been a lie. Would she choose to play the mystery game as well? Anika was positively intrigued as to what Mei's intentions were.

This particular game was one of Anika's most favorite to play. To each corner of the world had she traveled and stopped many times a long the way. Every village, town, and city held its own slew of interesting candidates for late-night encounters and she had partaken in a few. Men, women; two sides of the same coin. Almost as enjoyable as the act itself was the pursuit of it all. Each time there was a different version of herself portrayed. With a man perhaps she would play the soft-spoken and naive girl. With the next woman maybe she was forth coming and domineering. Each time changed so that every encounter was unique. Anika decided this time to be exactly herself, a rare treat for her partners. The air tensed between them as Mei leaned in, skirting just past sinfully succulent lips. The lightest brush of skin against hers and Anika felt heat rising in her body. She took in a steadying breath that carried a lingering scent of gin on the woman's tongue. That had always been enticing to her. Something about that harsh liquid throwing away inhibitions and revealing true intentions always appealed to her. From the day she left the air temple Anika had loved to partake. These days there weren't very many chances to do so, so when opportunities like this presented herself she loved to jump on them. "Just like me, there's more to you than meets the eye. Watching you, I had a feeling that there were things in your life that you craved. Things that are not easily found. I believe I can help there. As well, there are things that I want, among them; you." Anika said pointedly. There would be plenty of time to talk of other matters once pleasure was out of the way. She still needed to wait on the arrival of more of her organization's agents. There was time to kill and the air bender could think of no better way. A clattering of noise from outside the bar brought a flash of annoyance to her face. Of all times, now? Anika wasn't sure if fate was toying with her, presenting a moment and then ripping it away. Voices were raising and it seemed that most of the actual noise inside of the bar had died down in anticipation of what was about to happen. An earthbender must have felt it coming. That burly man jumped from his chair and stomped on the ground just in time to bring up a slab of rock through the wooden slabs being called a floor and stopping a bunch of thrown objects from reaching him. The sound of glass shattering and a sudden mini-explosion. A molotov, really? Anika cursed her luck and slid from the booth chair, reaching over to Mei and slipping her hand in to hers. Grasping it lightly she motioned with her head towards the back door. There really wasn't any need to intervene, once again it was a fight that had nothing to do with them.

This really wasn't her night, but Anika was hellbent on making sure it became hers. The backdoor leading in to a similarly dingy yet considerably less on-fire alleyway also lead to three of these rioters. Surprise was etched on all their faces and for a moment the two parties would just stand and look at each other. But of course there was a giveaway, and it was Mei's hair. Whether or not they thought she actually was the Lightning Queen was not something Anika was about to stop and ask. One of them screamed rude obscenities about oppressive benders and too-colorful hairdos and charged forth, brandishing a knife. Maybe Mei would have taken care of him in her own way but it was Anika out the door first and between the man and his target. Her instincts kicked in and that man instantly regretted ever partaking in this riot. She deftly sidestepped the knife attack and curled her fingers around his wrist. With a burst of power someone as small as her was probably not expected to have she twisted the wrist and with a quick 'snap' broke it. The man shouted out in pain as he dropped the knife. Catching it in the air Anika took a step forward and shoved her shoulder in to the man's chest, using her free hand to bury the knife in his stomach. He stumbled back to the opposite wall and slumped to the ground as a deep red stain grew on his shirt. The other rioter wasted no time in turning to run but the primal side had already taken over. Dipping low to the ground and spinning with a scary level of balance Anika swept her leg in an arc and shot out a blast of air. The wind traveled faster than the man could run and caught him just before he exited the alley. Before his body even hit the ground she was on him, wrenching his arm backward and driving a knee in between his shoulder blades. Another fast twist and push and this time it was an arm that broke. Anika brought back her fist and drove it hard and fast towards the side of the man's head, knocking him unconscious. The last rioter had positioned himself horribly and was stuck against the dead end part of the alley. Anika was between him and the exit with Mei at the bar door if she followed. Between the two of them was the seemingly dead body. She walked back slowly towards him, slightly adjusting her scarf to a suitable position and brushing a bit of her hair from her face. He was whimpering, cowering, and begging to be let go. Pathetic. She stopped moving just in front of the man she had stabbed and spoke then.

The sudden sound of her voice made the man flinch as if she had thrown a punch. "He's still breathing, I can feel it. Not much time left though, you better hurry." It took all of five whole seconds for the rioter to realize she was giving him free passage. He bolted like a scared chicken-lizard and collected his bleeding friend first before struggling to drag away the unconscious one down the street. Anika hadn't bothered to turn to watch them leave, instead she was watching Mei's reaction to it all. She had refrained from ending the three of them out of respect. After all, she had no idea if the Lightning Queen could be as bloodthirsty as she felt some days. Her philosophy on taking lives had been crafted over her years of doing what she does. It wasn't always that the cruelty humanity possessed would show itself but often enough it did. What if Anika had actually been a regular citizen? Would that man have murdered her? Chances are with the damage he sustained he may not live. That didn't bother her in the slightest and that would be evident in the complete lack of guilt on her face. If he didn't live, that was one less rotten piece of humanity around to plague the world with. Anika found herself spurred on from the rush of battle. She hadn't gotten her fill and needed something to fill the hole. It took three steps to close the distance between herself and Mei. Her body would press close for the second time now and her head would angle upward. Lush lips tasting of whisky and something raw and carnal would steal a kiss. The thin cloth barriers between the two of them couldn't conceal everything, luckily. Beneath that her body was lithe with curves where it mattered. Anika really did have an airbender's body. Her breathing was hastened, the rise and fall of her chest faster than her normal calm state. She was excited from the mixture of the different battles she was fighting right then. "Tell me," Allowing a bit of space between the two of them she would speak in a breathy voice. "Do you think it'd be worth it?" A faint smile and that same playful gleam in her eyes. No matter what happened from here out good times were sure to be had, at least for this little woman.

Mei pulling Anika closer only served to heighten her high. The feeling of being pulled in made her want to get to it even here in this alleyway in the middle of a riot. She was flush against the taller woman now, one hand placed on her hip with fingers curling to hold them together. The other was braced on the wall at the moment to keep them upright. One leg pushed in between Mei's as Anika's tongue delved in to her mouth. It was all so much right now and all that could be done was revel in it all. Not far away were the sounds of fighting and battle. So close to the danger it was as if there were two threads attached to her pulling in different directions. On one hand the nomad wanted to hunt down those who had threatened her and slaughter them. On the other she really wanted to continue enjoying what currently was happening. So it was with slight hesitation that she let the former feeling go and dove head first in to Mei. That free hand made its way to her taut stomach and was snaking its way up when the two were separated for a moment. A flash of initial disappointment gave way to elation. Anika's lips had made their way to the soft skin of Mei's neck, where she smirked in between small sucks and kisses. "I promise it will be fun." She almost missed it, a strangeness to the look in those red eyes. Was it disconcerting? Sure was. But right now there was exactly zero ******** that Anika had to give. Plus, it only served to make things more interesting if that was possible. "Take me to your place." There was little point in sharing that the home Anika had been staying in was not actually hers. In fact it would possibly be mood ruining to share that she had in fact killed the original residents. But that was minor details. With visual reluctance she would disengage from the entanglement and let Mei lead the way.