I know, I know, bad SylverEyes! I just need this to help with my writer's block. I sat down, and forced myself to write this, and I rather like the outcome. So, I'll be able to get back to Chapter Three: Interrogating of Pretending. So, yes, this is a very short oneshot. Enjoy!
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She was an intelligent toddler. Even for the Water Tribes (who were considered the most intelligent of all four nations… at least by their members), she was remarkably aware, and regularly acted upon what she saw around her.
Right now there was a visitor who was talking to her. He was a mature man, perhaps in his late forties. He was talking to her as though she could respond just as any older person would, and it seemed as though she understood him.
His hair was a dark brown color, but there was already gray hairs popping up in it, so it looked like he had streaked it with thin lines of silver. His eyes were a fierce brown, with flecks of dark amber in it, contrasting greatly. His back was rather hunched, and he was wearing red, black, and gold clothes that stood out against the ice structures of the current residence.
"Have you ever been anywhere besides here, Kya?" he asked her. She shook her head, short hair flopping in front of her face.
He smiled and squatted down by her, looking out as though he could see the places that he described. "In the Earth Kingdom there are rolling hills of plenty, green grass and flowers that spring up everywhere, dotting the places that they live. The cities are great and magnificent, reaching up towards the sky as though it wants to touch it."
A glazed look had entered his distinctive eyes, and he lapsed into a silence, still watching, remembering where he had been. Then he began to talk again. Kya remained entranced by his story.
"In the Fire Nation there are long stretches of land that are deserts. They are hot and dry, but they are the most beautiful deserts you have ever seen. Cacti are standing proudly, flowers in bloom when it's the season. Small animals run about, making squeaks and trying to find water. And at night…" with a sigh he paused again, regaining the distant look. "Oh, those stars! They sparkle with a brilliance, and you can see all the constellations. I could spend my whole life looking at the stars."
He continued, now talking about another nation. "The Air Nomads! Now, their temples you want to see. They glisten with stone, and decorations are abundant. All Air Nomads are fun-loving, and when you go to visit them you can see bison, flying about in the sky. Flying! No contraptions or anything! The monks are all gliding on their works, and lemurs join them, flapping and looking cute. You should visit them, when you get a chance."
"Have you ever been out of these walls, Kya? No, I suppose not. The ice, oh! It shines with a light of its own, creating intricate and amazing shapes floating around in the ocean. They can be as large as some of the buildings here. And the ocean! Why, it's wonderful. The water keeps moving, and pushing and pulling, back and forth. It splashes, and it sings to you. Can you hear it, little waterbender?"
He cupped a hand to his ear, and Kya imitated him, solemnly following his instructions. They both gazed out in the direction of the ocean and listened, waiting. After a moment Kya looked at him with large blue eyes. The man still had a hand to his ear.
"Can you hear it? You can, can't you? It laughs with you, and it calls to you. Can you feel it? Can you feel the push and pull, back and forth, near and far, away and back again? And it talks to you. It sings with life. You can hear it, can't you my little waterbender?"
Kya nodded, her cerulean eyes still wide, making them look far too large for her head, as they were already big. She hadn't grown into them yet, so early in her life.
"But you know? The water wouldn't be without the sun. For the sun makes it dance, my young waterbender. Yes, the sun makes it sparkle and shine. And the little splashes dance, my friend." He made gestures with his hands, standing up again in front of her and acting out his speech.
"You think it is the moon? No, my dear, the moon has never, and never will make the water dance, for they are too alike. 'I work for the water,' the moon says, 'but who works for me?' and so, the moon has never and will never. But the moon is what starts fires." He nodded, and Kya was fascinated.
"The moon leads the fire in a fierce, strong dance, twirling it and whirling with it, and making it move so freely and beautifully. For the sun says, 'who am I, but fire myself?' and he told himself, 'no, I shall not make a weaker version of me,' and so it is the moon that shows the fire how to dance." He demonstrated this, spinning and moving his arms like liquid.
"And where would it be without air? For air feeds the fire, and holds the moon to its promise of the fire. And air is the brisk breeze that tells the sun 'yes, it is time to dance', and the sun obeys."
"The earth is solid, and supports all things. The earth tells the air 'blow, for you must make things move, the moon and the sun must start,' and the air obeys. It is a never-ending circle, and we all need it to become whole, or we will feel incomplete."
Kya nodded again, completely agreeing with what this man was saying. She never once took her eyes off of him, and soaked up everything that he said like a sponge. Her young eyes, if possible, grew wider with this revelation, and she seemed to ponder this.
"It makes no sense, you say, my waterbender? Well, now, where would I be without water? Fire burns and tears. Fire destroys, when the air and the moon become too active and eager. And yet fire warms, fire cooks, and fire is beautiful for whenever we need to see something simple."
With a quick flick of his wrist, a flame appeared, hovering over his palm. Instead of recoiling with fright, Kya leaned forward, mesmerized by the way it flickered and moved as he had said it did.
"Water can drown. Water can rip things apart. Water is just as dangerous as fire is, for water is what starts storms, and rain. But water can heal, and water can cool. Water sates you, and it is there for when we want to contemplate."
"Earth is strong. Earth can topple buildings. Earth can shake apart anything it wants to. But earth is here for us to rest on, to walk on, to live on. Earth will always be there for you, and you can take comfort in its strength."
"Air can smother. Air and crush things, air is an invisible enemy, and one that you must be wary of. Air can force you to bend to its will. Yet without air, we would not be here ourselves. And air is brisk, to wake you when you need to be, and to caress you to sleep when you are tired."
Another nod from the toddler. He nodded back, and she nodded twice, to which he nodded three times. Kya laughed and clapped her hands, a small moment of acting her age slipping into the important lecture.
"You, my dear, have not seen what I have seen. Everybody is here for a purpose, and everybody chooses to execute that whether they know it or not. No one needs to know what this is; they decide it for themselves."
"The spirits, they aren't the most accommodating beings. They created everything but what then? Then they sit back and meddle in our lives. They complicate things, and they tear relationships apart. I don't know what they're doing," and here he cast a glance at the ceiling, as though giving them a disapproving glare. "but I sure hope they do. Because what they are doing right now could spiral out of control."
"You know, my sweet little waterbender, that this world is not all that large? It's true. We have no more room to expand, and the more we expand anyways, the more we rub each other the wrong way. Yes, all nations get along, but there has always been tension, especially between opposites."
He crouched down again and whispered into her ear, making her giggle. "They don't know what we know, right?" she nodded, another giggle escaping her.
"And so, something big is starting, I don't know what, but it's happening, and it isn't going to turn out well for anybody. That, my dear, is why I desperately hope that the spirits have any idea what they're getting into."
Kya raised her eyes to the ceiling, mimicking the man with her hard eyes, and making him chuckle his deep laugh, watching her.
"And that is where you, my little waterbender, come in. You learn your art, and study it well, not to be the best at what you do, but you must keep the balance. Do not let the sun and the moon, and the air and the earth get in an argument. Once they do, who knows when we will see the end of it?"
She nodded and the solemnity on her face almost hilarious. But the man didn't laugh. "You learn your art, and never stop trying to learn it, Kya, because there is always more to learn. Never stop, and never give up hope."
"Even when everything seems to be lost, don't let anyone take away the three things that are yours by right. Dignity, freedom of soul, and hope. They will always be yours. All you have to do is look deep enough for them there." He bent down on one knee and tweaked her nose. Kya batted his hand away. Then he put a hand on her heart, and she covered it with her tiny one, the smooth hand of an infant and the rough, calloused hand of a soldier.
"And now I have to go, my Kya, but I will be back to visit the beautiful Water Tribes. Next time I return, I shall tell you all about your sister tribe in the South Pole. I'm sure they'll have much they wish to say."
The two stared into each other's eyes, a deep blue and a brown with amber for a long second that seemed to stretch into an eternity. Then, he abruptly stood up and walked out of the room, throwing his red cloak with a lining of black over his shoulders, never once looking back.
Kya watched him leave. You couldn't tell what she was thinking, for no emotion showed on her small face. She watched him until she could no longer see him, when he turned the corner, exiting the place.
She never saw him again.
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The young woman hummed to her baby, rocking it in her arms and soothing it to sleep. The blue eyes that were hers had been inherited passed down a line to her daughter. She smiled as the young child shifted in her sleep, turning over.
"I'm going to tell you a story about our world, my young one. I'll tell you about the majestic Earth Kingdom, the raging Fire Nation, the free Air Nomads and the soothing Water Tribes. I'm going to tell you about how the sun pulls the water, and the moon teaches the fire how to dance." She cooed in a tone that wasn't quite a baby voice, more of a talking lullaby.
"I'm going to tell you this story, my young daughter, which I was told by a very wise man. I will tell you this, and you will know it, my dear daughter."
"I'm going to tell you this, my dear Kana,"
Author's Notes:
Okay, just in case you didn't pick up on that, Kya is Kana's mother, which would make her Katara's great-grandmother. She was born some years before the war started, and the other guy is, well, I don't really have a specific label for him. I just think that he's cool and a bit eccentric.
Oh yeah! Kya is what Katara's name was originally going to be, so that's why I decided to use it, and why you might have seen it before in another writer's story. All got the same idea.
I know, I know, I broke one of my own rules. The one about "I hate most OC's," but I really wanted to do this. The man is cool (to me), and I don't think Kya really counts. Besides, I don't think we'll ever be seeing either of these two again in any of my stories. One time characters, you know?
So, please review and tell me what you thought of this!