FicWad

Keepsake

Chapter III



"Oh c'mon! You washed her?! She hates that!" Tashi stared at his air bison, perturbed by the glistening sheen of her fur.

Pema rubbed her head against the ground in protest, twisting her body in an attempt to get reacquainted with the dirt.

"The Avatar will be riding with you; we wanted her to be as presentable as possible," the monk bowed his head calmly, not wanting to hear any complaint on the matter. He had already met with enough protest during the wash from the beast herself.

Groaning, Tashi rubbed the mount's stomach in an attempt to calm her.

"Remember; The earth forever below, the air forever above. You will never be without resources," Goba reminded her, watching nervously as she finished packing her bedroll.

"Yes Sifu Goba," she smiled while lifting the pack over the shoulders of her green kimono. She was pleased with her armor, her mentor's lectures having worried her that it would perhaps be too heavy to allow proper airbending. Much to her relief, it proved durable enough to protect her while being light enough to enable her to effectively use each of the bending forms she had learned. The cool wind brushed against her cheek, the face paint doing little to guard her from its chill.

"And you mustn't overexert yourself; you can only handle so much."

"Yes Sifu Goba," her smile remained as she turned to face him.

"And you must..." he smirked, sighing. "Remember to forgive your instructor for being a nuisance."

"...Yes Sifu Goba," she laughed lightly, bowing respectfully to the old monk.

"Take care, Kyoshi. Have faith in Tashi, he will see to your safety," he bowed his head to her, watching her with tender worry as she hurried towards the air bison.

"Aww, it's not that bad. You look pretty," he rubbed the top of his mount's head reassuringly.

Pema grunted, pawing at the ground impatiently.

"There she is," Tashi grinned, watching Kyoshi as she made her approach. Offering his hand, he hoisted her up to the bison's back.

"Thank you," she nodded, gripping the edge of the saddle in preparation for flight. She had become well acquainted with the creatures, knowing well enough to hold onto something at the point of takeoff.

"Hey, look at that! You know your stuff," he complimented, lifting the reins. "Pema, yip yip!"

The beast pressed its mighty feet against the stone, dust pushing away quickly as it sprang into the air.

Kyoshi felt the wind comb through her hair, the fur of the air bison swaying rapidly as it climbed the sky. Before long it leveled out, retaining a steady pace as the waves of the ocean churned fiercely far below.

"Man, I love that part," Tashi grinned, resting the rein on top of his boot before lying back, his arms folding behind his head.

The Avatar composed herself, having always regarded that particular aspect of the journey as the most daunting. Setting her pack down, she sat calmly as she looked towards the horizon.

A gentle mix of excitement and anxiety coursed through her, this being the first task she would engage as Avatar. Fantastic scenes of fierce battles with countless warriors played through her mind, her heart fluttering as the distant worry of being overwhelmed resonated within her.

"Hey, what's that?" the airbender's eyebrow rose.

"Hmm?" she snapped back to attention, staring out over the horizon. Squinting, she searched for that which had drawn his attention.

"Wait, is that a...Doll?" he blinked, staring back towards his partner's pack as he laid on Pema.

Beneath the layer of face paint the Avatar's cheeks burned, her eyes going wide as she realized her belongings to be exposed by the force of the bison's takeoff. Her hand darted toward the pack, stuffing its contents in deeper.

"N...No. It's not," she stammered.

"Looks like one," he watched curiously.

"It's not!" she peered over her shoulder angrily.

"Whoa, fine. Not a doll; got it," he lowered his head to face forward once more, not wanting to be on the bad side of the Avatar.

Her eyelids lowered slightly as her hand traced the top of the bag.

It was a doll.

Before they had discovered her to be the reincarnation of the Avatar, Kyoshi had faced a misfortune. Her family was not poor, nor did her village know any grave threat or danger. She had simply had the bad luck of being the only girl her age in the village. She felt too old to play with the younger girls and those older treated her as little more than prey to be bullied. Her large feet did little to help the situation.

In one companion she found solace and camaraderie, a doll that her father had purchased for her at a local festival. It was she that she confided her greatest secrets in, that she clutched when the other girls had pushed her to tears.

It was one of the few belongings she had made sure to hold on to in her journey to master the other bending disciplines.

It was a doll; her doll. More than that, it was her friend. And though she regarded it with fond affection, she could not help but feel embarrassed by the possibility of others finding out about it, perhaps going so far as to mock her for it.

Her finger traced over the pack once more, lost in thought.

"So I've been kind of curious," Tashi made an attempt at conversation.

"Hmm?" she looked over her shoulder.

"You know the deal with the temples, right? North and south is for guy monks, east and west for girls."

"Yes," she nodded, turning to face him.

"So...Why did you choose the northern air temple? Wouldn't you have been more comfortable at the eastern or western?"

"Sifu Cheng of the Fire Nation...When I completed my firebending training, he spoke very highly of Sifu Goba. I wanted to seek him out, since my experience with Sifu Cheng had gone so well." She smiled as she recalled her mentor, hoping quietly that she still possessed all the knowledge he had imparted upon her.

"Heh, yeah. Goba's great," he smiled. "Taught me everything I know," he boasted with admiration, glancing back toward his traveling companion.

"Yes, he's told me about you," she nodded. "That you left the temple over a year ago to travel the world."

"Yeah," he grinned. "I don't like being in one place too long."

"Where did you go?" She attempted to maintain the conversation, finding it vastly preferable to the feeling of uncertainty toward their mission that silence carried.

"Well," he turned to lie on his side, resting his head in his palm. "Stopped at the Fire Nation, which was great. Met some nobles; very boring. Met some circus performers; very nice, they could do some fantastic stuff. Then I headed over to the Earth Kingdom."

Kyoshi nodded with gentle fascination.

"Was worried that there'd be a lot of in fighting, but Goba was right. Most of that's died down, the Kingdom's unified for the most part. Only a couple of power hungry conquerors left. Then I headed to the South Pole. Fantastic storytellers, the Water Tribesmen," he smiled as he recalled a particular tale. "Then I headed to Ba Sing Se."

"The walled city?" her curiosity was piqued, having only ever heard of it.

"Don't get too excited; the place isn't nearly as grand as it looks."

"What do you mean?"

"You're the Avatar, so I don't know if I'm supposed to tell you. I think it's the sort of thing that you just have to see for yourself."

"...Hmm," she noted quietly, wondering what the monk meant in regards to the great walled city.

"Then I flew back over the Earth Kingdom, met up with old man Yeshe. No sense of humor," he muttered, grimacing slightly as the recalled the old monk's constant complaining on the journey back to the air temple.

"...You said that the Water Tribe of the south told you stories?"

"Oh yeah, great ones. I have to go back someday and write some of them down."

"Do you recall any?"

"Sure! Want to hear one?" he smirked as he looked back towards the Avatar, more than willing to share a story.

"Of course," she nodded with a smile.

The bison soared through the sky, Kyoshi listening intently as Tashi relayed fantastic stories from the South Pole.