Soft music chirruped through a peaceful glade on a summer's morning. A lark pranced on a branch and sang his song, gazing down at the forest floor. He was joined by an accompanying voice, one that was soft and sweet like the a breeze blowing cherry blossom petals gently.
There was a soft splash as a girl, apparently gentle in nature, sunk and cooled herself in the gentle rushing of a forest stream. She sighed with gratitude as the water seeped away her cares. She closed her eyes briefly, relaxing against a smooth stone. She took a deep breath of air and opened her eyes and she exhaled. She looked up at the lark who sung so beautifully and smiled. Then she raised her arms above the water, her smooth skin dripping with water, and gently moved her hands. A puddle rose from the stream, following her hand movements and gliding this way and that. The girl waved her right hand in an ark above her head, the puddle streaming and moving gracefully with her. She positioned the water above her head and closed her hands into fists. The puddle, instantly free from her control, fell with a splash over her head, soaking her dark hair. She giggled with delight and dunked her head under the ripples of the stream. She saw tiny minnows circling by the shallows, and small fish swishing down the stream, southward.
She gasped as her head rose above the water, air filling her lungs. She smiled and rinsed her hair, bathing her body in the cool water.
A short distance away from the girl, concealed behind the branches of a pine tree, lay a young teenage boy. He caught a glimpse of the girl and grinned mischievously. He silently crept through the glade, keeping low as to not alert his presence or show himself. He spotted cloth robes folded over a low branch on a willow near the stream. His hand shot out and swiftly grabbed them. He tucked the robes under his arm and grinned, his eyes locked on the girl bathing in the stream. Even when he was little, he'd never been able to spy on her before. It was a very rare occasion that he ever spied on her.
The teenage girl took a deep breath, enjoying one last swish of the water on her skin, then she began to step out of the stream, her toes digging into the soft earth. She looked to the willow branch where she had deposited her clothes. Her eyes grew wide and she looked around wildly. Where were her robes?
She gasped as the boy stepped out from the trees, her robes under his arm and a grin spread on his face.
The girl felt a rush of anger and embarrassment and dived back into the stream again, poking no more than her body than above her shoulders. She became outraged.
"Miroku! Give me back my robes!"
The boy laughed and glanced victoriously at the girl. "You gotta admit Ame, I gotcha this time!"
"Will you just stop with your pranks and hand me my robes?" Ame glared at the mischievous boy. She didn't much enjoy being the target of his pranks.
Miroku laughed again. He savored this moment of glory; Ame almost never let him get away with a prank before. He felt the blue and green cloth between his fingers. "You know, I think I'll keep this safe for you until you get back to the village."
Ame became infuriated. "You'll do no such thing!" She moved her arms out from the water and raised them in the air, a puddle rising from the stream as she waved her hands. She sharply flung her arm in his direction, the puddle of water slashing at Miroku's hands, forcing him to drop her robes in a heap at his feet. "Ow! What was that for?"
"For bein' a lousy prankster!" Ame smiled and quickly snatched her clothing. Holding her robes with one hand over her head, she formed a puddle of water from the stream to hover over Miroku's head. "Now get out of here!"
Miroku quickly fled. He knew better than to mess with Ame too much, and he wasn't fond of getting wet.
Ame smiled with satisfaction and stepped out of the water, drying herself with a towel among her robes.
When she had fully clothed herself, she took a deep breath of the morning air. It was going to be a nice, clear day! She stretched and filled a small pouch with water from the stream. Then she began walking toward the village.
A few minutes later, Ame walked into the village. She smelled the sweet scent of the blooming cherry blossom trees, smiling as she exhaled. Today would be a good day for traveling. She spotted Miroku drawing water from the well and felt a stab of regret. She'd hate to leave him. She'd known him all her life. She looked away and walked into her hut, gathering her supplies that she had packed the night before. She slung her pack over her shoulder and exited her hut. She took a last look at the kind tribe that had taken her in.
"Ame! Wait!" Ame turned to see a young man- slightly older than herself- run up to her. "Ame, you really leaving today?" he asked.
"Yeah, after all these years," Ame replied, a slight smile on her face, trying to cheer her friend up. It was hard saying goodbye. "I'm going to miss you, Hikaru."
Hikaru looked at her, disappointed. "Oh. I'll miss you too. I was hoping you'd stay."
"I know Hikaru, but ever since I was a little girl I've wanted to see the world. I promised that when I was sixteen and the first day of spring came along, I'd leave the village. You knew that."
"Yeah, I just..." Hikaru looked down, embarrassed.
Ame put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry Hikaru, but I have to follow where my heart tells me to go." Plus, you're really not my type...
Ame turned away, feeling like a burden that weighed as much as the entire fire nation navy had been lifted from her shoulders.
She said a few more goodbyes, to her guardians and neighbors, then a friendly farewell to the village leader. She saved the worst goodbye for last. She walked over to Miroku, who was scraping his knife on a long, strong staff. He'd been working on it for a long time. Ame noticed how he had put so much care and time into carving it. It was made of oak, built strongly, but still small and light enough for someone like her to lift and carry casually. Miroku was apparently adding the last details to a large talon fixed to the end of the staff. It had three toes and very sharp claws at the end of each. Ame noticed that the inside of the talons were lined with metal. He must've taken a long time in making this... and he's really putting effort into it. Ame knew Miroku as a hard worker, but he worked harder at his pranks then he did at gathering crops.
Miroku swiped dust off of the talon that he had perfected, then put his knife down close beside him. He then pulled up his bag, and started rummaging through it, not paying any attention to Ame as she stood watching.
Ame spoke reluctantly. "Miroku, I know you might be mad at me. For leaving and all... but I have my own path to follow and if I-" Ame noticed that Miroku was ignoring her. He must be really mad at me...
Ame was about to walk off when the glint of a shiny, smooth, sky-blue sphere caught her eye. Miroku raised it from his bag, as if it were a delicate flower. He took a deep breath and started to place it within the talons of the staff. It was a perfect fit. Miroku breathed again and sparks came off his fingertips, heating on the metal on the enclosing talons. Ame stared as Miroku fused the sphere to the metal, then shake his hand to disperse the flames that had jumped from them.
Ame finally found words. "So, you managed to keep my soulstone all these years without breaking it? I'm impressed." Ame recalled that this stone was all she had when she was found my the tribe-folk. She remembered it as some kind of object of tradition. She had given it to Miroku a few years after she had met him, as a sign of complete trust and devotion in a friendship. When she grew older, she never expected to see it again, except in shattered pieces brought by Miroku.
Miroku rubbed his sleeve over the surface of the sphere, then looked the staff over.
Ame felt the moment become awkward again as she realized that Miroku was ignoring her. She was just about to walk off, when Miroku thrust the staff in her direction. She turned to him and saw that he was holding it out for her to take.
"I've been working on this for you. You'll need it when you're traveling."
Ame was speechless as she took the staff. "Oh Miroku, you didn't have to..."
"I wanted to. It's my last chance to give you something. I hope we'll meet again." Miroku started to walk away, but was stopped short from an enthusiastic hug from Ame, who was smiling and tears began to run down her face. Miroku smiled slightly, embracing her. He would miss her greatly.
Ame pulled away, then walked away, gripping her staff as she walked out of the village, and into the unknown.