"The thing about inexperience. is that you learn."
Haki allowed a grin to cross his features as the girl spoke. She would like a job, it would be nice, and then there it was, the hesitance. His grin only widened as Rika shook her head at him. His grins never meant anything pleasant, that was from experience, however; they needed a waterbender for their team. Though she didn't have experience in the ring, neither of them really did. Haki, as much as he loved the sport, had never been inside the ring himself, however; he knew the rules almost as well as he knew the back of his hand. He was aware of certain things, certain strategies, and he could put those to good use. Rika had always loved the sport herself, and understood simple things, but it wouldn't be hard to pick up on the things they needed to.
"To be honest, we have no experience in it either. It is a sport I love and always wanted to be apart of," Rika replied, leaning back in her chair, allowing her hands to dangle on the sides. "The exit is actually to your left. Just follow that sign right there," she stated, pointing towards a pole situated in the middle of the area, pointing left towards the exit. "We don't have much experience, but I think we could be a great team if we practiced," Rika added as an after thought. It was then that the waterbender introduced herself, speaking her name and where she was from. Haki merely remained quiet, allowing Rika her words before he introduced himself.
"Haki Soen, at your service," he stated, reaching out for her hand before Rika slapped him behind his head. He chuckled slightly, as he feigned a hurt appearance. "And this here is the lovely Earthbender Lotus. She used to own The White Dragon tea shop but left it to this nice couple. Isn't she so sweet?" Haki teased as Rika rolled her eyes. She sighed through her nose, softly, before shaking her head. Why did he always insist on introducing her as such? Her name was Rika, not Lotus. Haki, however, seemed unfazed and kept the grin on his face. He leaned back in his chair as well, crossing his hands over the back of his head.
"Haki tends to call people absurd nicknames. My name is actually Rika, Rika Hakujou," she corrected, shooting Haki a glare as he opened his mouth to speak once more. "Well then Kiara, if you are willing, we would still love to have you on board. I am sure we can all learn from one another, even if we end up losing a few times. In the end, all that matters is that we at least had fun right? And getting paid to have said fun," she continued, folding her hands behind her head as well and leaning back into her chair. She wasn't going to force someone into doing something if they didn't want to, but Kiara did mention that she would like to be a part of it.
She just wanted to make sure she knew what she was getting herself into though. "If you don't mind me saying, you would be a great addition to the team. I haven't seen many waterbenders who have as much control as you do, except for maybe Zian," he replied, referring to one of the Pygmy Puma benders. Which, in a way was true. Not many waterbenders in Republic had much control, or the level at least, as Kiara had just displayed. With enough practice, assuming she joined, they could perhaps even one day be as good as the Pygmy Puma's themselves, if not better. Now that was an interesting thought. What if they did defeat Pygmy Puma's? Oh the fame they would recieve. Defeating the undefeated, Haki was beginning to like the sound of that.
But of course, they would need her to join the group. No one else would suffice. He knew that much already. Rika merely nodded in agreement to Haki's words. She may not have known many waterbenders, but from what she saw here, Kiara would be a key in their team. It would only be a matter of training and putting together matches. That wouldn't be an easy thing to do since they would be a new team, however; she was certain that they could still get them regardless.