Here you go guys, I finally got around to starting a new story. I know I wrote my other one in like a week in a half, but I'm afraid this one will probably take much longer since free time seems to be a rare luxury for me lately. So if you are planning on following this story, prepare yourself mentally to be patient with me. Now enough of my depressing ranting and on with the story!!!
Squawk! Oink! Rawr! Aang found himself ambushed by a multitude of exotic animals. He realized a bit too late that his plan to release them all at once and herding them to the open fields was not as thought through as it should have been. He'd been chasing after animals for hours and when he finally got some under control, he was forced to abandon them for another group causing even more trouble.
At the moment, he found himself occupied with the pursuit of a cheetah lion cub. Even though it was very young and its legs were still short and stubby, Aang found it surprisingly difficult to keep up. The chase led them to a fountain that acted as the town square for that particular section of the city. Running for all that he was worth, Aang stretched out his arm as far as it would go without losing his balance and curled his finger tips around the fur ball's tail.
The cub suddenly changed course ripping its tail out of Aang grip. Boosh! Aang crashed into someone whose presence had been unknown to him…until he went crashing to the ground on top of him or her. They tumbled for several feet due to Aang's previous velocity. Aang immediately stood up to analyze just how embarrassed he should be and was horrified to discover he had crashed into a girl.
"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry! I didn't see you and and and I was chasing that cheetah lion cub and—" he used his arms to indicate toward the cub that was sitting only a few feet away and watching…it almost looked amused at the trouble it had caused. Aang glared at it. "Now you stop running away you little—"
"It's ok, really," the girl interrupted while sitting up. Aang held out his hand to her which she gratefully took and allowed him to help her on her feet. "It didn't hurt that bad."
Aang wasn't convinced. "Are you sure? Maybe you should sit down for a second or something. I was running pretty fast when I crashed into you." Aang allowed his mind to wander further. "I mean, you could have hit your head on the ground when I knocked you down, and," he grabbed his head for emphasis, "and you could have serious brain injuries and and and—"
The girl rolled her green eyes. "On second thought, maybe I should sit down." She made her way to the edge of the fountain and sat on the stone railing. This seemed to put Aang more at ease and he moved to sit by her.
As soon as he sat his eyebrows pulled together with concern as he examined her face. "I am really really sorry. I really should have been watching where I was going, I mean—"
"What's your name?" the girl interrupted.
Aang blinked dumbly at her and realized that he had not yet introduced himself…to someone he just bowled over. He smiled awkwardly and scratched the back of his neck. "Uh…I'm Aang."
The girl smiled and held out her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Aang. I'm Jin." Aang cautiously took her hand and gave it a gentle shake almost afraid that he would accidently break it. Jin's focus suddenly shifted from his face to his forehead and her eyes widened. "Oh wow. You must be the Avatar!"
Aang grinned. He couldn't hide how much he loved being recognized. "Yup! That's me!" he said pointing a thumb at himself in a show of pride. "So," he said boldly with his newly restored confidence, "what's a pretty girl like you doing here all alone?" He didn't ask this to imply anything other than that he thought she had a lovely face. Katara would always have his heart, but he still liked to make the ladies blush using his smooth talking charm.
It had the exact effect he was expecting. Jin blushed and looked down at her hands which were now toying with the folds in her dress. "Oh, I was just thinking. I come here often when there's something heavy on my mind." The ends of her mouth tilted upwards slightly in a small smile. She shifted her gaze to the sky before she sighed and returned her attention to her fidgeting hands once again. Aang recognized that look. He had seen it several times before…on his own face.
"You know," Aang said choosing his words carefully, "being the Avatar and all, I'm known to be pretty good with advice," Aang studied her expression for anything signifying that he might be out of line. "That is," he looked down, "if you want any."
"Oh," she sighed her attention still glued to her hands, "it's just this guy I like." Aang nodded, pleased that he had been correct with his assumption. She looked forward at something only she could see. "He's cute and polite but there's nothing overly special about him, so I don't know why I like him so much." She shrugged and looked down again.
"What's his name?" Aang asked.
"I don't know," Jin replied. She plucked a stray thread from her dress and absent mindedly twirled it around her finger. "I've never had a real conversation with him." She flicked the thread into the air and shifted her attention to combing her long brown hair with her fingers.
Aang smiled as he studied her dazed expression. "I know how you feel," he looked at the ground, "being afraid of showing people how you really feel. Being afraid of them not feeling the same way." He returned his attention to her and was mildly surprised to see she was making eye contact. He struggled for a moment to remember what he was going to say. "But…but believe me when I say that you shouldn't make my mistake by letting that fear control you. Because the longer you keep your feelings to yourself, the more they'll grow and the harder it will be to tell the person. And if you finally do work up the nerve to tell them," he sighed, "the more it will hurt if they reject you." He looked down at his feet and shuddered at the thought.
"Oh," Jin replied shifting her attention back to combing her hair, "I'm pretty sure he doesn't feel the same way," she sighed, "he barely seems to notice me."
Aang laughed out loud and Jin whipped her head up at the unexpectedness of it. "He must be blind not to notice you."
Jin smiled and felt her face heat up. "Thanks."
"But," Aang continued, "if he really doesn't notice you, maybe all he needs is a little encouragement. Let him know you really do exist." He smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "You never know. Maybe he likes you just as much but has also been too afraid to say anything."
Jin smiled. "You really think so?" Her eyes pleaded for him to be right.
Aang smiled back and crossed his arms for finality. "There's only one way to find out."
A new determination suddenly lit up her face. "I think you're right." She looked forward. "I should stop being afraid of taking the situation into my own hands." She returned her gaze to Aang's face and she beamed at him. "Thank you Avatar. You are pretty good with advice."
"Please," he blushed and smiled, "call me Aang."
Rawr! The cheetah lion cub playfully crouched down and wagged its tail in the air. Until now, Aang had been completely oblivious to its presence. "Well," said Aang, "that's my signal to get back to work." He readied himself to jump on the cub and capture it.
"Allow me," said Jin. She pulled a piece of bread out of her sleeve and held it out to the cub. It jumped into her arms immediately and devoured the bread. Jin giggled as the cub then started to lick her face. The cub purred as Jin transferred it from her arms to Aang's.
"Wow!" exclaimed Aang, "I can't believe I didn't think of that. Thanks!"
"You're welcome," she replied.
"Well Jin," said Aang with a note of finality, "it was a pleasure to meet you, and I wish you luck with that blind kid you were talking about." She giggled.
"Thanks Ava-…Aang." She smiled. "I wish you luck with all these crazy animals that have been running around."
Aang smiled. "Go get him," he said with mock sternness. With that, he then clutched the cub tight to his chest and ran down the street.
Jin laughed with pure joy as she watched him fly down road. She then lifted her dress and ran home as fast as she could. She almost floated to her house. In her excitement, she could barely register that her spirit was still attached to her body. She must have spent twenty minutes in front of the mirror washing her face and braiding her hair.
As soon as she finished putting in the last hair tie, she looked at herself one last time. She took a deep breath and brought shaky hands to her face in an attempt to cool her burning cheeks. "Jin," she said to herself, "you must be crazy." Then she smiled. "But you can't help yourself and we both know it!" She gave herself one last grin of excitement as she grabbed a few coins off her dresser and made her way to her favorite tea shop hoping above hope that what the Avatar and her gut have been telling her about this boy would turn out to be true.