To Find Something Worth Fighting For

[Drogon]

The first thing Aang realized upon landing in the well-lit hobbit hole of a home was Diane's hair color. He hadn't been able to tell in the sparse moonlight, but it seemed vaguely purple, which was odd as he had only ever seen... Well, NORMAL hair colors back at home. It would seem there were more oddities here to get used to than he had first imagined. The second thing he noticed was her father glaring at him suspiciously as Aang gawked at his daughter, and the third thing he noticed was DIane doing the same.

"Oh, uh... Sorry 'bout that. Purple hair. New to me. I'm new, here, to the Omniverse I mean, uhh, what's your name?" Aang stuck out his hand to the not large but still somehow intimidating moustached man in front of him, who he noticed had a less unusual black shade of hair.

A few seconds passed, and the two hosts burst out into laughter. "It's fine, kid, we're used to it. Browning, the name's Don Browning. And I suppose you've met Diane, or you wouldn't be here. Wait, how DID you meet Diane?" Mr. Browning and Aang turned to face the girl again, who had been slowly retreating towards a door on the other end of the room. She froze, then sighed.

"Yeeeah, uhm, I was out again with Joe and Briette..."

"You were WHAT!? Di, I know you think well of them, but I told you, they know now and they can't be trusted anymore! Any anyway, you were supposed to deliver it to Iwanoko and return here as fast as possible."

"Yeah, I sort of ran into them on the way. They tried to take it, but... This guy" - (she made a sweeping gesture over to Aang - Had he still not introduced himself yet?) - "came along and helped me get away. Actually, you got my bag back, right?"

Reaching into his baggy monk's garb and not immediately feeling the pink coinpurse the he'd barely retreived not half an hour ago, Aang had a short-lived panic attack until the bag plopped to the floor, falling out of an upturned shirt pocket. Don snatched it up, and then opened it and poured the contents onto his hand. There sat a silver ring, carved in a manner both beautiful and slightly unsettling and possessing of a beauty that told Aang it was surely hand-carved, if not completely handmade altogether. Seeing Aang's inquisitive eyes going over the resplendant item, Don cleared his throat, then put the ring into a coat pocket at his breast. "It's a family heirloom, my mother gave it to my wife when I married, and I've kept it ever since... Well, you don't need to know that story yet. Either way, it's said to bring good luck to the holder, apparently one of my great grandparents bought it off of a homeless witch. I was GOING to have Di here bring it to my master over at the Mages' Guild to examine it after all these years, but he had left to attend some party in the Pale Moors, 'For Primes and Nobility Only.' Pff."

After a bit of confusion wherein Aang made Don explain some of the terminology, such as Mage, Wizard, Witch, and Magic that he'd never heard before, and subsequently had to be informed that the Bending he promptly demonstrated was likely just a regional variant of said magic, causing a bit of a temporary internal breakdown, he offered to provide a meal in exchange for the hospility of the family that had taken him in for the night. Focusing for a moment, Aang attempted to summon up a full (though vegetarian and simple) meal in the adjacent dining room, and while it was less exceptional than what he'd hoped for, he managed to fill all of their bowls with an astoundingly well-seasoned potato soup and the central platter with a small assortment of various greens. As they all ate, they discussed Camelot, the Mages' guild, and various innocuous inconsistencies between this world and the one Aang was used to. It was the first time in a long time Aang had truly felt at home again.

"Kid, you're at least a bit interested in the Mages' Guild here, aren't ya? Don't suppose you have the time to do me a wee bit of a favor and get in good with one of the established members of the Guild, would you?"

"Aang! My name's Aang. I can't believe I still haven't introduced myself yet. Anyway, yeah, that actually sounds right up my alley. I'm not exactly on any sort of quest yet, I mean, I just got to this... place... today. Or yesterday, I guess. What would you have me do?"

"I told you that friend of mine with the Guild wanted to take a look at my ring as soon as he could get his hands on it, but he'll be in the Pale Moors still for a little while yet for that Masquerade I mentioned earlier. Perhaps you could go ahead and take it to him? I... Well, I trust you enough because you protected my daughter and got her home safe to me. Also, this is just too convenient to pass up - Primes get in to the party for free, which is part of why he's there in the first place, and since you're new here, perhaps you could use the occasion to catch up on the multiverse as well? I'd have you come back here with or without him afterwards, too, to ensure to me that you were at least successful in delivering the item. So... What do you say?"

"Huh. A party? Sounds like fun, count me in! Uh, what's the guy's name, and how do I get there?"

Pulling out a crumpled invitation from his pocket, Don handed it to Aang. "There should be directions and such here. The receptionist I spoke to at the Guild when I went looking for Faren told me this was where he'd gone. He's quite tall and probably will be wearing purple, he loves that color for some reason. Just tell him Browning sent you and give him the ring." He returned the ring to the bag the girl had been keeping it in, and handed it over to Aang. "Well, you can sleep here tonight if you'd like, but it'd be best to make your way there in the morning, it's quite a trek."

"That's fine, I slept through most of the afternoon anyway, I'm not really tired. I actually could go ahead and leave now, now that we're done eating." Aang turned towards the trapdoor exit and made his way across the room to the instant protests of both of the other inhabitants of the cozy bunker. "I'll be back soon enough, and with information on the ring too! Don't worry, I really am kind of ready to go," he yelled over his shoulder.

As he pushed open the trapdoor, Don and Diana wished him farewell, and his goodbyes were said as it closed. Aang began to stride quickly away, then hopped onto his air scooter and started down the path back to the Nexus gate. He had a purpose now, a task (other than reuniting with Appa, that is), and while he had the energy he'd put his all into finishing it promptly for the nice family that had taken him in. A friend, an ally of any sort, in this world seemed potentially difficult to come by, and he'd to all he could to ensure he didn't lose any.