Categories > Cartoons > Avatar: The Last Airbender > Keepsake
Chapter VI
0 reviewsGenerations prior to Souzen's War, a teenage girl finds herself on her first assignment as the Avatar.
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Keepsake
Chapter VI
"Alright, here's another one of his riddles. 'I go to many places. I am hard and used in races. I am stone on some occasions. I may take you on vacations. What am I'?" Tashi leaned back on Pema's fur, his arms folded behind his head.
The setting sun painted the Earth Kingdom in a beautiful shade of orange. They had turned the defeated conqueror in to the local village, taking the opportunity to enlist workers to fix the nearby temple of Si Shen.
Kyoshi smiled, enjoying the opportunity to learn more of her instructor. "You are..." she trailed off, studying the riddle carefully. "An earthbender?" she guessed.
"Nope. It's 'used' in races, it doesn't compete in them," he smirked.
"Oh?"
"No. Try again."
"Then you are a...Spirit of some sort?" she shrugged gently.
"Nah, I doubt a spirit would take anyone on a vacation."
"I'm not understanding this," she narrowed her eyes curiously, attempting to see through it.
"Alright. Are you sure you want the answer?"
"Yes," she smiled with a gentle excitement.
""This one took me a couple months; It's a road," he smiled back toward her, watching as she compared the answer to the riddle to verify it.
"Ah!" Kyoshi's eyes lit up, laughing lightly. "How clever!"
"Right. So when he goes for that one, just go with it. He'll think you're a genius."
"Thank you Tashi," she nodded to him.
"Hey, don't thank me...Whoa!" He sat up quickly, grasping the reins as a mighty gust of wind shot up from beneath them.
Kyoshi grasped the front of the saddle, eyes wide as she maintained her grip. Looking back, she drew in a shocked breath as her pack fell from the side of the air bison.
The top flap of the pack flew open, the contents spilling toward the earth below.
"No!" she reached a hand out over the side, staring as she noticed the tiny wooden figure of her oldest friend descend. A shape rushing by startled her, watching in awe as the airbender leapt from the side of the creature.
Tashi narrowed his eyes, clenching his teeth as he dove through the air. The ground took a more definite shape as he drew closer to it, the wind tearing at his face making it difficult to see.
Squinting, he turned his attention to the contents of the pack. Noticing the doll to be the only thing that went beyond typical travel supplies, he resolved to rescue it. His eyes darted quickly toward the ground once more to gain a proper estimation of the situation.
"Oh, c'mon," he muttered as he noticed a herd of bull antelope charging below. He tapped the glider carefully, fanning it out as he grabbed careful hold of it.
The doll fell quickly to the earth, Tashi cutting toward it with tremendous speed. He lowered his right hand, motioning his fingers restlessly as he prepared to grasp it upon passing.
He passed quickly, eyes going wide as he felt his palm touch against the doll's foot, slipping from his grasp before he had gained a definite hold.
It fell into the herd, dust veiling them as they pressed on in their charge.
Glaring toward the beasts, he hung his head disappointedly before arching the glider back up toward his steed.
Kyoshi watched him as he darted up past the beast, landing in a crouching position before her. Her eyes were wide with hope, her hand to her mouth as she watched his face.
The disappointment in his features conveyed the message entirely, unable to face her.
"...I'm sorry," he muttered.
The Avatar said nothing, her gaze lowering down to the saddle.
He watched her quietly, the silence conveying the gravity of the matter to him beyond what he had even fathomed. Taking Pema's reins, he turned his attention back to the horizon before them.
Kyoshi simply turned, hugging her knees as she looked out over the bison's side.
As the night conquered the sky, the dirt kicked up the bull antelope herd settled quietly. Hidden beneath a thin layer of dust, a miraculously unharmed doll lay quietly.
For now, it would rest hidden from the light. Yet someday, it would be discovered by a hunter, only to be presented to a researcher.
That researcher would place it aside as an artifact to be later researched once Souzen's War began.
The successor of this researcher would make the doll a personal project of his, discovering through careful analysis and historical texts the true origins of his subject.
Chin-Hwa of the Yang estate would then purchase the doll, entrusting it to a messenger named Jung.
Jung would journey the Earth Kingdom in his travels, eventually handing the doll to an aging man named Oyaji.
Oyaji would then set the doll to rest within the shrine to Kyoshi, where it would spend its remaining days surrounded by the belongings of the girl it had doted on for over a decade.
And so it would sit there, happily.
Chapter VI
"Alright, here's another one of his riddles. 'I go to many places. I am hard and used in races. I am stone on some occasions. I may take you on vacations. What am I'?" Tashi leaned back on Pema's fur, his arms folded behind his head.
The setting sun painted the Earth Kingdom in a beautiful shade of orange. They had turned the defeated conqueror in to the local village, taking the opportunity to enlist workers to fix the nearby temple of Si Shen.
Kyoshi smiled, enjoying the opportunity to learn more of her instructor. "You are..." she trailed off, studying the riddle carefully. "An earthbender?" she guessed.
"Nope. It's 'used' in races, it doesn't compete in them," he smirked.
"Oh?"
"No. Try again."
"Then you are a...Spirit of some sort?" she shrugged gently.
"Nah, I doubt a spirit would take anyone on a vacation."
"I'm not understanding this," she narrowed her eyes curiously, attempting to see through it.
"Alright. Are you sure you want the answer?"
"Yes," she smiled with a gentle excitement.
""This one took me a couple months; It's a road," he smiled back toward her, watching as she compared the answer to the riddle to verify it.
"Ah!" Kyoshi's eyes lit up, laughing lightly. "How clever!"
"Right. So when he goes for that one, just go with it. He'll think you're a genius."
"Thank you Tashi," she nodded to him.
"Hey, don't thank me...Whoa!" He sat up quickly, grasping the reins as a mighty gust of wind shot up from beneath them.
Kyoshi grasped the front of the saddle, eyes wide as she maintained her grip. Looking back, she drew in a shocked breath as her pack fell from the side of the air bison.
The top flap of the pack flew open, the contents spilling toward the earth below.
"No!" she reached a hand out over the side, staring as she noticed the tiny wooden figure of her oldest friend descend. A shape rushing by startled her, watching in awe as the airbender leapt from the side of the creature.
Tashi narrowed his eyes, clenching his teeth as he dove through the air. The ground took a more definite shape as he drew closer to it, the wind tearing at his face making it difficult to see.
Squinting, he turned his attention to the contents of the pack. Noticing the doll to be the only thing that went beyond typical travel supplies, he resolved to rescue it. His eyes darted quickly toward the ground once more to gain a proper estimation of the situation.
"Oh, c'mon," he muttered as he noticed a herd of bull antelope charging below. He tapped the glider carefully, fanning it out as he grabbed careful hold of it.
The doll fell quickly to the earth, Tashi cutting toward it with tremendous speed. He lowered his right hand, motioning his fingers restlessly as he prepared to grasp it upon passing.
He passed quickly, eyes going wide as he felt his palm touch against the doll's foot, slipping from his grasp before he had gained a definite hold.
It fell into the herd, dust veiling them as they pressed on in their charge.
Glaring toward the beasts, he hung his head disappointedly before arching the glider back up toward his steed.
Kyoshi watched him as he darted up past the beast, landing in a crouching position before her. Her eyes were wide with hope, her hand to her mouth as she watched his face.
The disappointment in his features conveyed the message entirely, unable to face her.
"...I'm sorry," he muttered.
The Avatar said nothing, her gaze lowering down to the saddle.
He watched her quietly, the silence conveying the gravity of the matter to him beyond what he had even fathomed. Taking Pema's reins, he turned his attention back to the horizon before them.
Kyoshi simply turned, hugging her knees as she looked out over the bison's side.
As the night conquered the sky, the dirt kicked up the bull antelope herd settled quietly. Hidden beneath a thin layer of dust, a miraculously unharmed doll lay quietly.
For now, it would rest hidden from the light. Yet someday, it would be discovered by a hunter, only to be presented to a researcher.
That researcher would place it aside as an artifact to be later researched once Souzen's War began.
The successor of this researcher would make the doll a personal project of his, discovering through careful analysis and historical texts the true origins of his subject.
Chin-Hwa of the Yang estate would then purchase the doll, entrusting it to a messenger named Jung.
Jung would journey the Earth Kingdom in his travels, eventually handing the doll to an aging man named Oyaji.
Oyaji would then set the doll to rest within the shrine to Kyoshi, where it would spend its remaining days surrounded by the belongings of the girl it had doted on for over a decade.
And so it would sit there, happily.
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