"The Journey of Wan Week #1
Day 1 Prompt: Destiny
"To Raava, "Destiny" was where one's actions led them to."
Quick Guide to the OCs:
Kara: met Wan in her lion turtle city when he has obtained all four elements at the time but was in need of supplies (at least a month or so prior to meeting Jaya again). Raava had given him the day off, but was he was still on a time constraint. They help eachother with their errands and he meets her family (her mother at least). This takes place close to two years after, and he had met Kara again on her own travels.
Fun Fact #1: It is when eating dinner with the family, we learn that like Aang, Wan hates sea prunes.
Fun Fact #2: It is Kara's mother who gives Wan his signature red scarf.
Moriko: Born in a small village composed of settlers from an Earth lion turtle, but the village was in the spirit wilds. In order to appease the spirits, the settlers believed in human sacrifice, but this had only angered the spirits further. In an attempt to sacrifice a baby after killing her parents in the ritual, two of the spirits attack the humans and rescue the baby, then raise her as their own. They named her Moriko. 21 years later when Wan led spirits back to the spirit world sometime after the Harmonic Convergence, Moriko had stayed behind to watch over the forests close by the village, carrying some disdain for the humans who live there. It is Wan who helps her understand and trust other humans better.
Tebo: Moriko's two-toed Koala-Sloth hybrid
Kuma: Kara's moonbear-dog hybrid
*More of this Information will be further fleshed out in my upcoming webcomic, The Journey of Wan*
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It was a starry night, the mood was calm and peaceful. Moriko, Mula, Tebo, and Kuma were already asleep. For awhile Kara could not sleep herself, as so much was weighing on her mind that night. She quietly left the campsite to the closest lake in sight. There, she practiced controlling her element, and when she felt tired of it, she sat to watch the sky. The moon was bright, but not full, only a bright silver sliver was showing.
"Couldn't sleep either?", said the voice that had her almost jump half a foot from where she was sitting.
She also thought Wan was asleep but he had surprised her just now, but it was nice to be in his company. For the first time in almost 2 years, they had a full conversation, what felt like all the time in the world to catch up after not seeing eachother all that time until earlier that day. This was the first of many times they would sit at night and watch the night sky when everyone else was asleep; partly because Wan was the one who had mastered all the elements, which included water, and after some time had offered to teach Kara what he knew about mastering the element, regardless of how much he struggled at first back when he was training with Raava. Night time when the moon was out was the best time for this. Other than that, it was out of common interest and became one of their favorite pass-times when neither one could sleep; just talking about their lives, reflecting, and what was in store for the future. Wan did this a lot over the last year prior to meeting Moriko and Kara. He would sit to gather his thoughts, ask himself questions, and talk to Raava– who now resided within his soul and he sought her wisdom.
Many minutes passed. Kara yawned, suddenly starting to feel her eyelids become heavy, and then gently smiled. She sat up after having lying on her back as she and Wan lay next eachother looking at the sky, counting stars, pointing at constellations, and catching up with eachother. Wan still laid there looking up but he turned his head to look at her when he sensed movement.
Her back went stiff so it popped when she stretched; "I think I'm ready for bed now, I feel like I'll keel over at any minute if I don't." a quiet and awkward laugh escaped from her lips. Wan sat up, "Maybe I should walk you back to camp then." he said. Her cheeks almost looked like roses blooming, "Perhaps that wasn't the right term to use…," she spoke quietly to herself, and now Wan looked confused. "I do want to go to bed, but I think I can make it back." she said. "Are you sure?" Wan inquired. She smiled at him, flattered by his gesture but also surprised by it, "Yeah, don't worry about me, I'm a big girl." she reassured him, then winked at him. As she was about to walk off, she stopped to look at Wan, still sitting there. "Are you coming to bed at all?", she asked. He looked to her and gently smiled, "Pretty soon, I'll catch up." She nodded in acknowledgment, "Oh. Well, goodnight then.". He returned the gesture and watched her walk off in the direction to their camp. He sat there in silence looking back to the starry sky, recalling the many constellations he and Kara pointed out and the legends tied to them, at least the ones he heard back at the oasis and the ones she heard growing up. His soul danced with light, and he smiled at the thought of seeing her and having these kinds of conversations. Then he started to meditate.
He felt Raava's light warm up inside him, keeping him from the chills the nightly weather would give anyone else had they not worn a scarf or something warm. Then he heard a familiar voice. "That human girl…she was the one you were with at that lion turtle city, wasn't it?"
Wan spoke to quite a few people when he would visit the lion turtle cities to obtain the elements or needed supplies while Raava would wait in the forests with Mula, as neither liked being around so many humans in one place like that, especially in the cities. Very few of these people were girls, and when they were, they were either merchants or mothers apologizing to him for their little ones pointing at him for his unusual clothing or unruly long hair, but it never bothered him. Raava's question in mind, he knew exactly who and when she was referring to. "Yes, that was her…I think she's going to start traveling with us, isn't that great?" was Wan's reply. "I see…" Raava's tone was rather odd, as if something were bothering her. "You don't sound very happy Raava…Is there something about her you don't like?" "It's not that at all, Wan. I am sorry for giving you that impression. Wan could tell when something bothered Raava, he's been getting the hang of sensing things like that, not just with his spirit companion but humans as well.
"What is it then?" She was silent. She recalled the anger she felt when Wan returned later than expected that day…a little over a year ago, a couple months away from the Harmonic Convergence. Now that she has a better understanding of this human whom she bonded with, she had realized she was being much too harsh with him then. Understandably so in the way that yes, he was the one who split her from Vaatu, he owed that much to her, but now that was behind them, there was a new mission at hand now that Vaatu is in the spirit world. But perhaps it was not right to insult Wan for the time off he was due for, even if just for a day, even indirectly offending the one person who would not belittle his thoughts or opinions as he felt at the time. While she previously apologized for misjudging him before the Convergence, having believed that Wan would likely die and ten thousand years of Darkness was imminent, there was another reason to apologize, even if Wan might have thought she didn't need to now.
"I am sorry, for what I said to you back then, for everything I said that may have hurt you. I understand now. At the time, I had thought you were squandering a day off from training with those humans…with her, but at least you did get the supplies you needed. I am seeing through your eyes what it is like to care for someone else, another human. You seem to connect very well with these two, I do not want to put you in an uncomfortable position where I may say something ill-mannered and upset you, and you may never wish to speak with me again…"
Now it was Wan who was quiet, he recalled the very night she said those things, while harsh, he eventually figured she was justified. It was him who owed it to her to be consistent with their scheduling, and while it did put him in turmoil for a day or so, they overcame it and it no longer bothered him, so why was she apologizing like this? "Raava, you have nothing to worry about, of course I'll always want to talk to you, no matter what happens. No matter what you say, or how many others I may meet, you're like my best friend and we'll always be together."
"And what of the others?"
Of course he could never forget about them, some faces of the past have come and gone, but now things were different and there were new people to help mend old wounds, and each one held a special place inside of him. "They're all important to me Raava. It's nice to know other humans who hold the same interests for the world as us…Kara and Moriko..I care about them very much. Moriko's a little rough around the edges but she's fine once you get to know her. Sounds a little like you actually." he chuckled at that last line. "You were saying…" Raava replied dryly as if she were rolling her eyes…if she had
"Right, and Kara…there's just something special about her, we just clicked and it was like we were fast friends. She showed me around the city and helped me gather the supplies I needed, I got to meet her family and have dinner there. That scarf I wear that you said you liked, was a gift for me, by her mother."
"It sounds like you had a rather nice evening."
"Yeah, highlight of it were the stewed prunes," he said sarcastically, his face shriveled as he shuddered at the memory. But then he smiled at the thought of Kara giggling at him for his reactions then. She didn't like the prunes either. "But it was nice to be welcomed in a home like that, it was like I was part of a family again, and I never wanted to leave…but I needed to…"
"And I did not make things any better by lashing out at you." Raava's tone full of regret.
Wan shrugged while sighing. "Yeah, it's in the past, I'm used to it now. It's in your nature to be a little aggressive though right?"
"And yet I am the embodiment of Light, Order, and Peace…ironic isn't it?"
"And now look at you…you're stuck with an idiot human like me when you may as well be imprisoned with Vaatu…"
"Wan, why do you do that?"
"What?" he asked.
"Why do you say such things about yourself in that way? You are very intelligent and everything a human should aspire to be. Why do you let yourself say such nonsense?"
"I don't know, it still amazes me that I have all this power and responsibility now when years ago, I never once thought I would have a place in the world. And now it's my job to be the one to maintain balance."
"Wan, it is both our responsibility. I carry the elements for you so you have them at your will, and I allow you to use my power as you need to. You are not alone, and you never will be."
While it sounded like Raava was reassuring Wan that she would always be there for him, it also sounded like she was referring to others as well who would help him in his journey.
Destiny was also an odd concept to discuss. To Raava, talk of Destiny and Fate were human-made constructs, as was good and evil. To some humans, she was like the spirit of goodness and peace, and Vaatu was evil because he was chaos. There was no good or evil. It was much more than such black and white thinking. To Raava, "Destiny" was where one's actions led them to. Wan may have been foolish to split her from Vaatu, but he did not know who they were at the time. While it was too late when he found out, it was because of his willingness to fix his mistake, he was led to find the life he has now. He has all of this power, but now that he has found others to care about and hold dear, he had more motivation to make the world a better place for them. Minutes have passed, and Wan started to head back to the campsite where the girls and animals were sleeping. His eyes wandered to Moriko first, she was in deep sleep on her stomach atop the branches of a large tree with a dark green blanket they bought days ago set on her back, her koala-sloth balled up in the basket that sat by Mula. He forgot that she snored if in a deep enough sleep, and wondered if that was why she slept so high up.
Then he looked for Kara, who laid on top of her blanket close to her large moonbear-dog. It was hard to tell if she was asleep, and he went to check if she was okay. The closer he walked, the more he heard her voice- soft, gentle, and warm in a tune that sounded almost like a song. It was one he's never heard before, but it was music nonetheless, that sounded like a lullaby, and that's exactly what it was to him.
They dance together forever intertwined, two hands alone and incomplete, balance is the key.
With you my love, my guiding light, I can cross a hundred mountains and dance along the seas.
I can do everything as long as you're with me...
It sounded like she might have been singing to Kuma, maybe he was restless while she was gone and sang him lullabies from her old city to calm him. Or it was a way to help herself sleep, maybe she felt a little homesick. However, he had recalled her mentioning old lullabies based on legends her mother used to sing to her to him when they were talking earlier; he wanted her to demonstrate and sing one to him, but she was too embarrassed to, and after having listened just now, he had no idea why.
End.