"Five copper pieces, kid."
The young man stood before the merchant searched avidly through his coin purse for one more coin, but it seemed that no matter how many times his fingers prodded the folds and corners of the fabric, he couldn't unearth another measly copper piece.
The old man tapped the counter impatiently. "Look, I'm running a business here, kid, I can't wait around 'til the sun sets waitin' for ya." The old man's loud, gravelly voice gave him a perpetually grumpy and irritable sound. And if the voice wasn't enough to ward people away, his gruff and scraggly appearance certainly was. It truly was a miracle that he managed to get any customers at all.
The young man sighed defeatedly, returning his coin purse to his shoulderbag. "Sir, please-"
"Call me Bo, son. 'Sir' makes me sound old."
'You are old,' the younger thought, frustrated with being interrupted, but insulting the mangy codger surely wouldn't help his case. "Very well, Bo, I am just one-"
"Ya gotta name, boy? We don't git many strangers 'round here, especially sailors like yerself. Our small village ain't really considered a lively trade port."
'Sailor?' The young man's attention drifted to the clothes he was wearing, 'These must have belonged to a sailor. That would explain why the travelling merchants let me onto their boat so easily.' He had stolen them from a clueless, sleeping commoner's line of clothing back in the Fire Nation. They were the plainest clothes in the selection and would allow him to easily blend in with the people of any nation he traveled to. Discretion would be essential if he wanted his journey to go smoothly. His laced v-neck shirt was a mud-brown color and was made of the worst and most painfully itchy material the man had ever felt. 'Must be made of woven spider wasp stingers,' he mused. His pants were a bit better, mostly because they didn't make his legs feel like they were wrapped in stinging nettles. They were made of a durable, heavy, dark-brown material which, even though they were freshly washed when he stole them, were stiff and crusty with accumulated earthly material in the lower pant-leg areas. His only saving grace were his boots; a soft, slightly-worn high-quality leather with flexible, but durable, soles. They were the only item of clothing he had retained from his home and he intended to care for them well so they would last. He certainly couldn't afford a new pair.
"I, uh, yeah, I'm a sailor. My name is Lee. My captain decided that our crew needed some rest before continuing our journey north, so we're stationed here for the night." the boy lied. He certainly couldn't tell the old man that he was a Fire Nation runaway, particularly one who stole and lied his way onto a merchant ship to escape to the Earth Kingdom. Abandoning his family in a time of war, particularly for someone of his status, was an undeniable act of treachery to his country, but the young man was sure that any Earth Kingdom citizen wouldn't see it that way. Ninety years of war gives its victims a severe case of selective hearing. They would hear that he was Fire Nation, ignore everything else, and probably try to imprison or kill him. He couldn't even tell the man his real name. It was too distinctly Fire Nation.
Bo noticed the young man's stutter and hesitation with his response and narrowed his wrinkled brown eyes suspiciously, his bushy, gray eyebrows following the movement. "Yeah, I saw that merchant ship dock down the way this mornin'." He brought his face down closer to the other's. "Yer a bit scrawny for a sailor, though..." he grumbled.
The young man held his breath, schooling his face and body to remain still and not reveal any semblance of panic he was feeling as he waited and hoped the old man wouldn't catch his bluff.
"Bah!" The old man threw his hands up in the air. "Ah, well, it ain't none o' my business anyway." The old man ducked below his counter and pulled out the goods that the young one had asked for. "Like I said, lil' Lee, five coppers."
"Ah, yes, well, as I was trying to say, I am, uh, one copper piece short..." the young man said as he placed his four coins on the counter. One coin spun around on its face on the old wood for a ridiculous amount of time, reverberating an annoying metallic noise until it eventually slowed to a stop by the others. Once it stopped, however, the young man wished for the noise to return.
The silence the old man offered him was excruciating. He did nothing but stare at the younger man as a gust of wind blew salty ocean air through their hair.
"Bu- But I mean, I'm sure such a thriving business such as yours wouldn't suffer from the loss of one copper piece," the younger man struggled to fill the void of silence that was only disturbed by wind gusts and ocean bird squawks. "Think of it as a kindly act of charity. I'm sure the spirits would be pleased with your generosity." This was, by far, the most awkward and uncomfortable interaction the young man had ever experienced. Back at home, he was only expected to speak a few sentences a day, and he certainly never had to lie, beg or haggle for anything. If he wanted something, his family's servants would get it for him without question. He had never conversed with someone as paranoid and inquisitive as Bo. Hell, he had never had a full conversation with anyone who wasn't a noble before. Even when he was sneaking on the merchant ship, all he had to do was mumble some nonsense about being hired to wash the deck and they didn't ask questions. When he had bought his shoulder bag and other supplies from a supply shop earlier that morning, he wasn't interrogated about his clothing or his identity. Now, though, the young man felt very uneasy and out of his element.
The old man continued to stare, keeping the rest of his face almost completely expressionless. "Ya tryin' to mock me, boy?"
"No no no, of course not sir- or uh, Bo, I just-" the young man sighed. He really wasn't used to talking so excessively and was beginning to physically tire from the duration and stress of this conversation. He took a deep breath, lowered his voice and continued in a less panicked and hurried tone. "Please, I'm absolutely desperate for any for food, especially this nonperishable seal jerky you have as I have no idea how long I'll be out on my next- um, expedition, and having some food that'll last the journey would definitely make the trip bearable."
The old man stared. The young man gulped, 'Please, just give me the food and let me be on my way.'
"Bah! Absolutely not. Ya don't have the coins, ya don't get the goods." Bo grabbed the jerky off the counter and walked to the back of the shop and placed it on one of the shelves.
"Wait!" The young man reached out to somehow try to stop the man from taking the jerky away. He let his arm drop limply on the counter in defeat when he failed to do so. He covered his face with his other hand and rubbed his forehead as his eyebrows scrunched in exhaustion and irritation. The young man was fed up with this entire situation. He was tired, he was hungry, and at this point didn't care whether or not he got the seal jerky. He was desperate enough to eat just about anything at this point. "Fine. Do you sell anything else for four copper pieces? Preferably something that won't rot on my trip?"
The old man looked up and scratched his grungy beard in contemplation. "Hm... I think I have some dried elephant rat that's worth 'bout four coppers."
The young man grimaced. He remembered seeing those creatures back at home, rummaging in the more impoverished areas. Absolutely disgusting, really; feeding off trash and rolling in the dirt, waving their hairless tails around and grabbing things with their creepy snouts. The young man couldn't even imagine how vile their taste must be. But, he was desperate, and with such an insignificant amount of money, this was the best he was going to get. He was beginning to regret spending five gold pieces on supplies this morning. The young man sighed again. He just hoped the sea salt used to dry the meat would make the taste somewhat bearable. "I'll take it."
The old man frowned, "Hah!" he barked. "Sorry, it ain't for the likes of you."
'What?' The young man's eyes widened and his jaw dropped open a bit in surprise. The village this small shop was in was tiny. Very tiny. It only had about twenty residential houses, there were two shops other than this one, and there were a bunch of wooden boats on the docks that would probably allow any citizen to go out and catch their own fish in the bay. Any food business would certainly struggle under these conditions. Could this old man really afford to deny him, a paying customer, service? The young man really didn't think so, so he was utterly dumbfounded by the man's words. 'Is he saving the elephant rat meat for a pet or something?' The young man's mouth opened and closed a few times, trying to formulate a well-constructed response, but his mind wasn't cooperating and all that came out was a measly, "Uh, what?"
Bo huffed a cynical laugh. "Yer unbelievable, kid. Ya come up to my shop counter, try to hustle me out of a copper piece, lie to me, and then expect me to still sell to ya? Bah! Ridiculous." The old man watched the kid's jaw drop even further. "I'll tell ya what, lil' Lee, if ya tell me who ya really are, right now, I might consider sellin' to ya."
'Shit,' the young man thought. 'Man, I must be a terrible liar. I think. I don't know. I've never had to lie about this stuff before. What the hell am I going to do? He's never going to sell to me now- wait. Does he know? Oh no, I'm going to go to prison. Or worse, he's going I'm going to be returned to my family. I can't face them again! What if he finds out I'm a firebender? He'd probably kill me! What the hell am I going to do?!'
The young man took a few deep breaths, trying to calm his racing, panicked thoughts. 'Inhale, exhale. You're okay. There is absolutely no way the guy knows you're Fire Nation. You're being completely irrational. Calm down.' The young man was normally very calm and collected. He really didn't know what was wrong with him today. 'Probably just a mix of stress, hunger and exhaustion.'
After taking a few more deep breaths his momentary internal panic managed to subside. Whatever emotion remained quickly transformed into irritation and something akin to anger. 'This old man is the ridiculous one,' he thought. 'He won't sell to me because I won't tell him my life story? What an invasive, nosy jerk.' His mind began to wander away from his situation as his irritation escalated. 'Is this how most businesses run in the Earth Kingdom? How idiotic, it's no wonder they're losing the war. An economic system that functions only when the vendor completely trusts the customer is incredibly inefficient, not to mention pointless.' The young man huffed, accidentally blowing too-hot air through his nose. Thankfully, it wasn't noticeable to anyone but himself. He figured that that was his body's warning to calm down before he accidentally creates fire in front of the paranoid codger. 'Maybe, if I did, it would burn this shoddy wooden shack to the ground.' He almost smiled at the thought, but quickly shook his mind of the idea. He needed to focus.
"Alright," the young man began. "I'll tell you the truth." The young man figured that he could just tell a more convincing lie this time and the old man won't know the difference. He'll definitely exclude the part where he was a sea-living sailor. He knew he looked nothing like those men. The young man was tall, sure, but he was skinny, had dainty hands that had never known the pain of calluses, and skin that lacked any sort of blemish or alteration. 'Not exactly the look of a gruff, working man.' "I am from a village on an island east of here known as Makapu. You've probably heard of it, it's by a big volcano. Anyway, my brother, who is a sailor- a deckhand, actually, um, he returned home after a long voyage last week. I didn't know when he would be leaving again, nor did I know how long he'd be gone for. So, I took advantage of the situation. I stole my brother's clothes the night of his return and sneaked onto one of the merchant ships that were stationed at our docks. One week later, I'm here! And uh, oh, I left home because of personal reasons. I do not wish to discuss them." He took pride in his last statement. It sounded honorable; a man did not have to discuss his life if he didn't want to. He was also thankful he was so attentive during his world geography classes when he was younger.
Bo glanced at him contemplatively with his wrinkly, pale-grey eyes, making the young man nervously pick at the worn wood of the counter out of discomfort. A few pieces flaked off the pitted, bumpy surface. After what was another uncomfortably long silence, the old man turned and disappeared into the back room.
"Uh..." The young man shifted awkwardly, unsure of what to do with himself. 'Was my lie not good enough? Again?' Panic, once again, began to bubble up inside him.
Just before the young man grabbed his coins off the counter and made a run for his life, Bo returned from the back, carrying a cloth sack. His body relaxed, panicked tension leaving his muscles.
"Here ya go, kid," the old man said, swiping the coins off the counter, pocketing them, and dropping the sack on the counter. "One sack of good ol' dried elephant rat meat. Now, git outta here before ya get yerself in trouble."
The young man respectfully bowed his head, grabbed the sack and ran off, his feet pounding loudly against the wooden planks of the docks. He didn't stop until he was well down the path that led away from the coastal village and into the forest.
The young man's next destination on his journey was another small village; his last stop before facing the challenge of scaling the tall mountain peak beyond it. He hoped there would be a barn with hay there that he could sneak into and sleep on. It was a far cry from his fluffy, cotton mattress back at home, but it would be a lot better than the sacks of potatoes he used as a bed in the ship he rode in on. Walking down the dirty path through the forest, the young man thought about how much his life had changed in just one week. He went from taking luxurious bubble baths every night to bathing with a measly bucket full of sea water and lemon juice. He went from being called by his unique, noble name of Keiza to the grossly commoner name of Lee. 'Not that I really mind. I don't like my name anyway.' Last week he was eating moon peach glazed hippo cow garnished with mint for dinner, and now, he gets one strip of dried elephant rat.
His stomach growled. "Eh, maybe sampling one strip before dinner won't hurt," he muttered to himself. He hadn't eaten since his meal of old, dry bagged carrots on the ship yesterday.
Keiza found a mossy rock near the forest treeline and took a seat atop the springy surface. The sun was still high, but it looked to be about to begin its descent down towards the horizon. He figured he had plenty of time to make it to the next village before sunset. He was already two-thirds of the way there anyway, according to his map. For now, Keiza wanted to relax; to enjoy the mild, mid-spring weather and the gentle, forest breeze as he attempted to choke down the meat of a creepy garbage creature.
He pulled out the cloth sack that he had stored in in his black shoulder back. After some consideration, he pulled out his half-full metal water container as well, just in case the meat needed something to dilute its taste. As he pulled open the cloth sack, the first thing he noticed was the strong scent of smoke. 'Maybe it's smoked meat. I hope it is smoked, actually, that'll make it taste better- or, at least, less like garbage meat. Come to think of it, smoked meat of any sort is usually worth more than four copper pieces.' Keiza shrugged, 'Oh well. That old man wasn't the smartest, was he?' He removed one strip from the bag and inspected it. It felt unusually light, but perhaps the unappealing diet of the creatures made their meat airy. Keiza shuddered. 'Best to just not think about it.' He noted the black residue the piece left on his hands. 'Definitely smoked meat.' Keiza allowed himself a rare smile at the old merchant man's stupidity. The texture was quite peculiar as well; rough and scratchy. 'It's probably going to be very dry. I'm glad I have water.' After he steeled his stomach and mustered up the courage, he put the strip between his teeth and bit into it.
He immediately spit out blood and chunks of what he just ate.
His hand shot up to try to console his pained tongue and gums as he took a closer look at what he had just eaten.
It was was wood.
Keiza had just tried to eat a scorched wood chip.
The old man had sold him a bag of charred wood that he had probably pulled from his fireplace.
Snap.
Keiza always tried to stay relatively calm. With the endless, horrible teasing from his brother back at home, he learned to let nearly nothing elicit a reaction from him. If he ever showed any sort of anger or frustration, his brother would win. Keiza never wanted that to happen. But every once in a while, usually in times of stress, something inside his mind snaps when presented with a situation that would anger him and his rage is impalpable. Being given pieces of wood in exchange for the last few coins he had, feeling utterly humiliated after trying to eat said wood, starving, sleeping on potatoes, having uncomfortable conversations, and bathing in seawater all within the time of one week is certainly enough to elicit such a reaction.
Rage seared through him, hot and fierce, boiling his blood, making his body temperature skyrocket, and causing a short stream of flames to shoot from the bottom of his tightly closed fists. Keiza's thoughts ran wild as he momentarily forgot about his status as a treacherous runaway, reverting to a feeling of noble superiority. The sharp pain from the splinters in his mouth only fueling his menacing ideas.
'How dare that insolent peasant, treating me, an admiral's son, a noble, in such a deceitful and degrading manner! Insolent Earth Kingdom swine. Absolutely unforgivable. Calling me a liar and selling me a sack of wood. That piece of trash, that thief, will pay dearly for his actions. He will regret the day he opened his run-down, shoddy, impoverished shop of garbage!'
Keiza unclenched his fists, stopping the stream of flames that were shooting from them. He hastily shoved his water container into his shoulder bag and stood up with a huff, a small lick of flame escaping from his lips. He left the discarded, charred wood chips on the ground and began stomping back towards the village by the ocean, to where the thieving merchant sold his garbage.
'That piece of shit will burn.'
As soon as Keiza placed his foot on the short docks rounding around the village front, as soon as he heard the hollow sound echo through the brisk night air, he realized that he had made a huge mistake. His rage directed towards the old man had almost completely dissipated and the rational part of his mind had begun to work again.
He had wasted a whole day.
Keiza had been handled, scammed, and made to backtrack a ridiculously long way for some frivolous revenge mission all in the course of one miserable day. He scoffed at his own idiocy. 'I mean, what was I even going to do, firebend at the old guy? Someone would've probably arrested or killed me on the spot.' Keiza wasn't by any means a skilled firebender. He only really knew the basics, but it was only through his mediocre bending that he was able to fight. Even if the shop man's old age made him feeble and weak, without using his bending, Keiza would be nothing more than a sitting turtle duck with an good fighting stance. He knew almost no martial arts or self-defense and had no idea how to wield any sort of weapon. If he encountered the old man like he had planned, the whole experience would've been extremely embarrassing. And although he was glad to have stopped himself before jumping into a fight that would've either ended in death, imprisonment or utter humiliation, Keiza wished he had made the realization before he had marched all the way back to the village.
Keiza sighed and collapsed down onto the dock, his feet dangling off the edge and his back flat against the worn wooden planks. The old dock creaked and shifted underneath him. One of Keiza's hands fell to his face, the back of his hand covering his eyes. 'What am I going to do?' he wondered. He had no money, no food, only half a bottle of fresh water, no bed, no shelter, no extra clothes- His breath caught in his throat as a surge of regret poured through him.
"I should've never left home," he whispered softly, the breath quickly being lost among the loud, palindromic sound of ocean waves lapping against the supports of the dock.
Keiza had a nice home. Sure, his brother would always go through great lengths to make him uncomfortable and his mom was a pushover who did nothing to halt his brother's antics, but it wasn't necessarily terrible. He had food, financial security, a warm bed and bath, and clean clothes; all of which he took for granted before he left on his little adventure. 'And our family survived for years without Dad. Is there really a point in searching for him now?'
His thoughts abruptly halted and his breath hitched once again as a surge of grief flowed through him.
'Dad...'
Keiza choked down a sob. He refused to cry. His dad wouldn't want him doing something so pathetic, especially on his behalf.
He steeled his face and took a few calming breaths. 'I can't let the desperation of my situation influence my thoughts. It's absolutely miserable at home. I will not go back there without completing my search. It took me months to muster up the courage to leave and I will not run back crying. I have to find Dad. He was the only one who-' he took a deep breath and repressed the rising emotion that threatened to tighten his throat. 'He's strong. He can help me. He can help all of us: our nation, our family, everyone.'
Finally relieved of his temporary bout of mental anguish, Keiza made to stand up, to go search for a nice forest bush to sleep on- but his body refused to cooperate. Exhaustion had settled into his muscles, the stress of the day was finally catching up to his body, fueled by his hunger and dehydration. He only managed to lift his arm off his face before letting it limply fall to the dock, succumbing to his fatigue and quickly slipping into sleep.
"It's him! It's that Fire Nation spy I was tellin' ya'll 'bout yesterday! He's come back fer me! He's come back to kill me!"
'What?...' Keiza struggled to open his eyes, but exhaustion and the bright sun of morning forced them shut again. Everything in his body ached horribly. He couldn't tell if it was from exertion or from sleeping on a terribly hard surface. 'Where the hell am I? Is that Bo's voice?'
There was a small sigh. "Bo, he's just a boy. Poor thing. Can't imagine how uncomfortable it would be to sleep on a dock all night..."
Keiza didn't recognize this other, more feminine, voice, but it whoever it was did help him remember his situation. 'Oh right, I came back to the port village last night. Must've passed out on the docks from exhaustion.' Keiza would've frowned if he had the strength to move his muscles. Making the mistake of leaving himself so vulnerable for a whole night was absolutely idiotic and humiliating.
"He ain't just a boy! You didn't see him! He lied to me, right to me face, twice, and he- oh, he had the eyes, Lin! He had them firebender gold eyes!"
"There's lots of people with gold eyes. Even in the Earth King-"
"I know what I'm talkin' about! I served in this war fer thirty years! I know what evil looks like."
There was another, more exasperated, sigh from the feminine voice. "Guiren! Jiao! Come out here please!"
Keiza, from his half-conscious state on the dock, flinched and almost groaned at the sudden, loud voice emanating from a point uncomfortably close to his head. What sounded like two pairs of footsteps raced over to where he was lying.
"What is it, mom?" a new voice asked. It was a deeper sounding voice, but it rang soft and clear as a bell. 'A young man's voice,' Keiza concluded. 'Maybe he's around my age.'
The other new voice issued a shrill squeal of excitement. "He's so cute!" The 'so' in her statement was ridiculously exaggerated. "Who is this guy? Can he stay at our house?" Keiza took a deep, exhausted breath, 'A young, annoying girl. Lovely,' he thought dryly. He heard quiet thumps echo across the dock surface and assumed the little girl was jumping up and down.
"Quiet, Jiao," said the feminine voice the Keiza could only assume was Lin based on the old man's dialogue. There was some scuffling near his head. "I need you both to help me carry this young man to our house-"
"Ee!" The girl, Jiao, squealed. Keiza flinched again.
"Jiao! What did I just say?" Lin scolded. "Guiren, you get his shoulders. Jiao, come help me carry his legs."
"Hold it," Bo interjected "Hold on here a minute! This spy needs to be tossed in prison! Or executed! We can't just let him wander freely around our-"
"Enough," Lin's voice ran firm and thick with conviction. "I'm- no, not just me. Everyone in this village is sick of your irrational paranoia. I understand that serving in the war was hard for you, and I really am sorry about that, but this is the last straw. You want to kill this poor, young man, who is basically a child, with absolutely no proof? Ridiculous. I'll personally see to it that your voice will have absolutely no power in this village from here on out. C'mon, kids, let's go."
Keiza felt hands grip under his armpits and grab both of his legs. He wanted to struggle, to open his eyes, to do something, but he was trapped in some half-asleep comatose state that he couldn't awake from. Involuntary muscle movements, like flinching, seemed to be all he could manage.
"Bah! Fine!" Bo shouted, "But don't come whinin' to me when he burns yer house down! I won't be luggin' any buckets of water for ya!"
"Crazy old man." Lin mumbled from somewhere in front of him.
Keiza felt his three carriers shuffle down the dock for a while. They were completely quiet except for a few occasional grunts of exertion. He felt extremely uncomfortable. His armpits ached from the fingers digging into them and someone's nails were scratching his calf. He could only hope his little 'ride' would be over soon.
Suddenly, and powerful wave of exhaustion crashed over Keiza and he once again fell into a round of dreamless sleep.
Something tickled his hand.
Keiza's fingers twitched, trying to absolve themselves of the irritant.
He was tickled again and Keiza snapped his hand up from where it was hanging beside the bed, tucking his hand safely under his stomach. He took notice of the soft surface that brushed his cheek.
Keiza's eyes snapped open. 'Where the hell am I?'
His eyes quickly took in his surroundings and he slowly relaxed as he remembered what had happened. 'Right. I had passed out on the docks last night and was carried away by some lady and her kids this morning. I must've fallen back asleep while they were carrying me.' Keiza now appeared to be in something of a small cottage, most likely the place where the family who carried him resides. He was in his own room, perhaps the bedroom of one of the children. It was small, extremely small in comparison to his own room back at his house, but it's still infinitely greater than what he's been subjected to recently. The room smelled slightly of mold, mildew and fish, which wasn't too surprising given that the house is stationed directly over water.
Disregarding Keiza's minor criticisms, it was just a simple wooden room. Planks lined the walls, floors and ceilings, decorated only buy a few paintings of fish and some candle fixtures. A few socks that had spilled from the laundry basket in the corner were the only things marring the bare floor. 'The bed's kind of nice, too,' Keiza thought, spreading out against the soft, cotton sheets, stretching his still sore muscles. Judging by slightly bumpy texture under his palms, he concluded the bed must have a straw-filled mattress. 'Still much better than potatoes.'
"Meow."
Keiza jumped, causing the wooden bed frame to creak and rattle.
His once lethargic eyes were now wide and alert, searching the room for the source of the noise.
"Mrow?"
Keiza didn't jump this time, but instead focused on where the sound was coming from. Slowly and cautiously, he slumped over the side of the bed, slowly bringing his face and field of vision down to the space between the bed's bottom and the floor-
Bang!
Keiza jumped again. He flew back onto the top of his bed, his muscles actively protesting the movement, and his eyes focused on the figure standing in the now open doorway.
'Crap.'
"Ah! You're finally awake! Oh, oh, oh, sorry, did I scare you? Sorry! I just heard little Mun-Mun meowing and I just had to make sure you were okay," the young girl, 'Jiao,' Keiza remembered, exclaimed enthusiastically. She pranced into the room, her dark side-braid bouncing on her shoulder, and dropped to her stomach on the floor right in front of the bed. "There you are, Mun-Mun!" she said, peering underneath the bed. "Come out and meet the mysterious stranger!"
Keiza rolled his eyes and sighed, sliding onto his side and relaxing back onto the bed. 'What a rambunctious little girl.'
Jiao suddenly sat back up, a black and white ball was now curled in her arms, the colors contrasting against the backdrop of her dark green dress. "This is Mun-Mun, our cat owl!" She held the animal out towards him. It was a rather dopey looking creature, with its green eyes crossed and its wings spread out lazily behind his body, but Keiza thought it was fairly cute nonetheless. "She's a bit dumb, but she's very lovable and cuddly. We call her Mun-Mun because of the black crescent on her forehead. Kinda looks like a moon, right?" Jiao pointed at the cat's forehead and placed it down on the bed in front of Keiza. The cat owl tucked its wings to its sides and waddled around on the mattress on its two stubby legs before turning its head towards Keiza and making a noise akin to a bark, demanding attention.
He almost smiled at the thing's silliness.
"It's cute," Keiza mumbled, his voice gruff and scratchy from sleep and dehydration. He reached his hand out and stroked the cheek of the whiny creature.
"Ee!" Jiao squealed, clasping her hands together in front of her. "I'm glad you like her! Oh, um, what's your name? I mean, you don't have to tell me, I guess, if you really don't want to, but I'd like to know! Oh, I'm Jiao, by the way!" She bowed respectfully.
"I remember," Keiza grumbled. His attention was almost entirely taken by the cat owl and he didn't notice the young girl's blush.
"O- Oh," she giggled. "That's nice of you to, you know, remember and- and stuff." Jiao tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and cast her glance away from the young man in front of her. "So, anyway, what's your name? Like I said before, no pressure to talk, but it would be much appreciated if you did."
She smiled a big goofy smile and Keiza raised one eyebrow in confusion, 'Why the hell is she so happy?'
He was about to give the girl his alias when she spoke again, "Oh!" Jiao looked shocked, "I am being incredibly rude. Um, before you answer any of my questions, would you like some water? Or food? We have some fresh bread, it's pretty tasty."
Keiza nodded.
"Is that yes to the water? Or yes to the food? Or maybe both? It's hard to tell, you know, with-"
"Both, please," Keiza stopped the young girl's incessant rambling before it got too out of control. "Your generosity is appreciated." He bowed the best he could from his position, resulting in an awkward movement of his head with his fist tucked into the palm of his other hand.
"Oh, hehe," Jiao blushed again, both at the use of her name and the respect he was giving her. "Alright then, I'll be right back!" she exclaimed and scampered out of the room.
Keiza sighed and rolled onto his back. He pulled Mun-Mun onto his chest and continued to pet the soft, feathered bundle. "That girl is exhausting," he muttered quietly to the animal. "How do you live with her?"
Mun-Mun just stared at him with half-closed eyes. "Oh well," Keiza continued, muttering more to himself at this point, "She's giving me food and water. Soon I'll get my energy back and I'll be able continue on my journey." Even if he didn't have any money, he'd figure something out. He was far from daft. Keiza still had some useful supplies. He'd be able to figure out a way to-
Keiza froze, his eyes widening.
'Where is my bag?'
Keiza's stilled moment of panic upset the cat owl who was enjoying Keiza's attention. The creature exhaled loudly and jumped off the bed, apparently too lazy to use her wings. Keiza heard the retreating taps of talon claws on wood as she hobbled out of the room.
Keiza quickly shot up into a sitting position. The sudden movement made his head throb and his muscles screech from exhaustion, but he grit his teeth and ignored them as he started frantically looking around the room for any sign of the only possessions he had. 'Did someone steal my bag when I was asleep on the dock? It would certainly be possible, seeing as I was too exhausted to move.'
Keiza bent down to look underneath the bed after finding no trace of his items anywhere else in the room. 'No, I don't think that happened. Even if I was exhausted, the feeling of someone rearranging by body to get my bag off of my shoulder would've roused me. Damn it. If only I could remember if I had it when I was carried here.' Keiza's suspicions immediately flew to the family who was housing him. 'Maybe they stole my bag,' he thought darkly. 'It would make sense. Judging by this room these people are bordering poverty. They'd take every opportunity to get free stuff, wouldn't they?' He grimaced. 'Just like that thieving, crazy old man. Everyone's the same in this crooked village.'
Keiza heard footsteps approaching his room and he repositioned himself back into a laying position on the bed. He glanced at the doorway with narrowed, suspicious eyes.
"Hey, stranger!" Jiao pranced through the doorway with a tray in her hands. A jovial expression was plastered onto her face, warping her mouth into a ridiculously goofy smile. "I brought you some-"
"Where's my stuff?" Keiza interrupted, his voice sounding more gravely and menacing than he had intended and turning his question into more of a harsh, imperative order.
Jiao's expression crumbled at his tone, her steps stopping in the middle of the room. "Oh, um, you're talking about your bag, right? I'm sorry," she said in a soft voice. Her expression had quickly turned downcast and she focused her attention down on the floor in front of her. "Mom left it in the kitchen when we brought you here. Hold on, I'll go get it for you." She placed the tray adorned with a bread roll and glass of water on the ground in front of Keiza's bed before running off again.
"Hmph," Keiza muttered to himself. 'It's probably been searched through already. All my valuables probably won't be there, and when I ask them about it they'll probably say, "Oh! I have no idea where those went. Must've disappeared on their own! How weird!"'
Keiza sighed to himself and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He was being paranoid. These people have been incredibly nice to him thus far and he shouldn't jump to conclusions. He reached down over the side of the bed and grabbed the glass of water Jiao had brought him, sat up, and quickly downed its contents. He quietly hummed in satisfaction. Keiza hadn't realized just how thirsty he was.
Maybe, once he was properly fed and rested, these paranoid, aggressive and irrational thoughts he's been having would go away. They were unlike him, and probably brought upon by his weariness. He sure hoped he'd get back to his normal, calm, apathetic self soon.
The quick, quiet footsteps indicated Jiao's return. She appeared in the doorway holding Keiza's black bag in her arms. Her expression was still somber.
Keiza held one of his arms out, indicating for Jiao to hand him his bag.
She hesitated briefly. "Um, we didn't steal anything if that's what you're thinking," she said nervously before handing Keiza his bag. "None of us even opened it."
Keiza gave a curt nod to show his thanks, set his empty glass down on the blankets and began rummaging through his bag. He found that everything appeared in the same place he left it. He let out a sigh of relief when his fingers brushed against the cool metal of the rectangular piece of memorabilia he knew he couldn't live without. It was still safely stored at the in the hidden place at the bottom of his bag. Other than his boots and his coin purse, it was the only thing he brought from home. It was, by far, his most precious possession. "Thank goodness it's still here," he muttered
"Thank goodness what's still there?" Jiao's inquisitive voice interrupted Keiza's thoughts, startling him slightly. "Do you have something special in there? You know, I think it's so cute when boys-"
"Forget you heard anything," Keiza said sternly as he closed his bag and set it down on the bed next to him. He didn't notice how Jiao's face fell even more.
"Do you," the unusual softness of Jiao's voice surprised Keiza and he felt compelled to look at her. She was staring at the floor again, her head hanging low. "Do you hate me?" She swallowed and squeezed her eyes shut, seemingly bracing herself for his answer.
Keiza's eyes widened. "What?"
"You sounded so grumpy earlier and you don't seem to want to talk to me and I think that you think that we're thieves or something and I don't know if I did something wrong and-"
"Jiao, I don't hate you," Keiza interrupted in a tired voice, halting her rather pathetic rambling. This girl was completely exhausting. Keiza was suddenly very glad he didn't have any sisters.
He grimaced. 'I wish I didn't have a brother, either."
Jiao's face lit up again, "Oh good! 'Cause-"
The sound of a door opening somewhere within the small house halted yet another one of Jiao's tangents. Keiza perked up and sat up straighter on the bed. He picked up the glass he had discarded earlier and fiddled with it nervously.
"Oh, Mom and Guiren are home! They've been fishing since this morning, in case you were wondering, 'cause I forgot to tell you and stuff." Jiao turned toward the doorway and yelled, "Mom! Guiren! The stranger's awake in here!"
Keiza flinched at her loud voice. He was still too tired to handle yelling. Her words did incite a thought in him, though. 'Morning?' he wondered, 'Was I asleep all day? Or- wait, how long have I been out?'
His thoughts were interrupted by two sets of footsteps hurrying to the doorway to his room. There stood a short, pudgy woman who looked to be an older version of Jiao. She had soft features, long, dark hair that fell past her large bosom, and spidery wrinkles around her Earth Kingdom-green eyes. She had a kind face. 'The face a mother should have,' Keiza thought. She was shadowed by a boy next to her who stood a few lanky foot-lengths above her. His looks differed from the other two; his features being more angular and sharp and his hair being lighter, a soft, tree-trunk brown fashioned into a long ponytail. The only feature they all shared were the eyes.
"Good to see you're alright," the pudgy woman, Lin, said with a huge, caring smile adorning her aged face. She walked to Keiza's bedside and wrapped her arms around him for tight hug.
Keiza stiffened and his eyes widened as his face was squeezed against this woman's shoulder. He was very uncomfortable. He hadn't been shown such affectionate physical contact since he was a child. Being held in such an embrace now was unusual in the worst way and Keiza felt strangely threatened.
"Mom, get off him before you squeeze him to death," a low voice, belonging to Guiren, spoke from behind Lin.
She thankfully released Keiza and looked down at him with a frown and scrunched eyebrows. "Oh no, I'm sorry, dear," she said, patting down the ruffled fabric on his arms. "We're all just very worried about you. You hardly seemed alive when we found you this morning." Keiza sighed in relief, realizing he'd only been out for a few hours. "Nothin' we did woke you up, not even slapping you across the face!" Lin giggled, Keiza rubbed his cheek. "Anyway dear, I see Jiao gave you some food and your bag. I'm glad I raised such a good host." She looked back at her daughter appreciatively. "By the way, Jiao, dear, can you go start prepping the fish in the kitchen for me?"
"Sure!" the young girl piped, running towards the doorway. "Bye, stranger!"
Lin giggled as she scurried away. "I hope she didn't bother you too much," she said, turning back to face Keiza. "She's a nice girl, very sweet, but she can be a bit, well," Lin looked up for inspiration, "spirited. Especially because she seems quite enamored with you." She giggled and winked at Keiza, who averted his gaze uncomfortably. "Anyway, dear, that's enough joking around. We've all been terribly curious about you. What's your name? Why were you asleep on a dock in our village? And why was Crazy Ol' Bo so angry with you?"
"Uh," Keiza said stupidly, sliding his fingers across the glass he remembered he was holding. He was uncomfortable with the expectation of having to talk so much, but he really didn't have much of a choice. He figured he should tell her as much of the truth as he can considering how terribly things went when he lied to Bo. "My name is Lee," he began, still refusing to expose his true name. "I, uh, a week ago I left my home. I'm from a village east of here called Makapu from which I escaped by stealing my brother's sailing uniform and sneaking onto a merchant ship. My dad is, well, missing, and I felt that it was a good time to search for him."
"Oh, you poor thing," Lin said, "I lost my husband in the war when Jiao was just a baby, and I think Guiren was still too young to remember him." Guiren, who was leaning against the doorway awkwardly, nodded at her statement. "Was your father in the war, too?" Lin asked.
"Yes," Keiza replied. 'But he's in the Fire Nation,' he thought bitterly. He wondered how differently these people would look at him if they knew; probably with disgust instead of empathy, even though they were in very similar situations. Keiza sighed before continuing his story, "The merchant ship I was on docked in this village yesterday and the first thing I did was buy supplies from the shops, like this bag here." He patted the bag beside him. "But when I went to Bo's shop for some food, all he did was interrogate me and sell me burnt wood chips that he told me was dried meat." Lin gasped, Guiren tried to cover his laugh with a cough. "I came back here after I found out he scammed me but I decided he wasn't worth confronting and I was so exhausted that I fell asleep on the docks."
"But, Lee, why did Bo think you were Fire Nation? Other than your golden eyes, of course- which are gorgeous, by the way," Lin said with a kind, sympathetic smile. "He seems to think that all golden-eyed people are firebenders for whatever reason."
"Uh," Keiza twirled the glass, almost dropping it. "Well, when he started asking me questions about myself, I lied to him out of convenience. I told him I was a sailor and he called my bluff."
Guiren laughed again, not even bothering to try to hide it this time. He glanced at Keiza's body, "Wow, wonder how he figured that out," he mumbled. Keiza's eye twitched. 'What the hell is his problem?' he thought bitterly.
"Guiren! Be nice or leave," Lin said sternly, her head flying back to glare at her son.
Guiren glanced at the other two in the room before turning on his heel and leaving.
Lin sighed, closing her eyes and dropping her head. "Sorry about him. He can be as paranoid as Bo sometimes. He just wants to protect his family. It's kind of sweet." Lin smiled and looked up, just missing Keiza rolling his eyes. 'Kinda just sounds like an immature teenager to me.'
"Don't worry, Lee," Lin continued, "I could never mistake you for one of those Fire Nation dogs."
Keiza flinched.
Lin clapped her hands together. "Anyway, Lee, I wanted to tell you that we have some extra traveling supplies and some dried food you could have since you kind of seem like you're struggling a bit. Not to suggest you couldn't manage on your own, of course, we just want to help in any way we can! Anyone whose family has been hurt in the war deserves all the kindness they can get." She put one of her hands on Keiza's empty one and smiled down at him.
Keiza laid the empty glass down on the bed and pulled his hand away to bow respectfully. "Your kindness is much appreciated, Lin. Thank you. I will not waste your gifts."
Lin giggled at his actions. "My, what a respectful young man! You could teach my children a lesson or two. It's too bad you have to leave so soon. By the way, where's the next stop on your journey going to be? Guiren could probably give you a ride on our ostrich horse tomorrow morning, as long as the place is close, of course."
"Oh, well, um, I was planning on going north and taking a stop at the village at the base of the Jianwang Zheng mountain before scaling it."
Lin gasped, looking absolutely terrified.
Keiza, thoroughly confused, said, "Uh, don't worry, it's not far from here at all."'
Lin grasped his hand again. "No, Lee, dear. Do you not know?"
'What the hell is she talking about?' Keiza shook his head.
"There's a terrible rumor that everyone who tries to scale that mountain either never returns or loses their memory. Permanently. People say the spirits who live on that mountain are furious for some reason. Even the people at that village you were talking about left decades ago, around the time the war started. The spirits got especially angry around that time. So, maybe, you'd like to rethink your itinerary to avoid the mountain? It's really not worth the risk."
Keiza wasn't phased in the slightest by her information. He didn't believe in the supernatural and he wasn't scared of haunted areas. He knew spirits could sometimes be unreasonable, judging by stories he's heard over the years, but they were like people; they could be reasoned with. Besides, he couldn't go around the mountain without taking a boat, and he certainly couldn't afford that.
"I don't really have a choice."
A warm, tropical wind blew in from the open window, rustling the crimson velvet fabric hung on the golden curtain rings. A young man sat alone at a dark mahogany table in the center of a large room. He watched the candles at the center of the long table flicker in the wind.
He wondered how his life would be different if he were a firebender. He'd probably spend all his time training and showing off his skills. He'd probably be hot-headed and arrogant, like most firebenders he sees around the capital. Based on his family's status, he'd probably long to serve in the army; to be a great general or a war hero, like the infamous General Iroh.
He let out a light-hearted cackle, "What a complete waste of time that would be!"
He leaned back in his black metal chair and grinned. A beautiful insignia of fire set on a lake of blood red hung from the ceiling, gracing the room with its gloriously powerful symbolism. 'What a great nation to be a part of,' the young man thought to himself. 'As long as you aren't an idiotic firebender.'
There was a knock at the front face of the room, the sound emanating from the large, bronze double-doors.
The young man smirked, "Please enter, my belated guests!" he yelled in a sing-song voice.
The double-doors opened with a moan and two individuals entered.
One, a female, her long, black hair pulled into a weird ponytail style with a swirly, black metal fixture clipped in above her ear. She looked athletic and fierce, her eyes sharp and demanding respect. Her attire consisted mostly of bronze metal armor with unnecessary belt buckles wrapped sporadically around her appendages.
The other was a male who looked to be the perfect aristocrat's son. He looked sharp, the glasses that sat on his nose only adding to his intellectual look. He wore all black clothing made of a flexible, but expensive, looking material that could be good for fighting, especially good for firebending. Most of his black hair was pulled into a traditional bun with a red tie, the rest falling against his forehead. He, like his companion, was tall and fit.
The young man smiled brightly at the two before him. "Welcome to my beautiful conference room!" he exclaimed theatrically as he threw his arms out wide. "Please, have a seat." His voice dropped into a smooth, seductive tone.
The two sat down across from him and the glasses-wearing man spoke, "I apologize for our lack of punctuality, Izo, sir. I assure you it was far from intentional."
"No, no, don't worry! I am a patient man," Izo said, his smirk returning. "But don't be too surprised if you receive stopwatches as your payment."
"We will discuss payment once we agree to your assignment," the woman spoke, her voice low, cold and commanding. "Do not waste our time."
Izo giggled, gripping his stomach like a child. "Oh, you're as scary as they say, beautiful Majime. Hopefully your reputation in the field holds up just as well."
The duo stayed silent, waiting for the eccentric young man across from them to continue.
"Oh, very well, then. Here is my assignment for the legendary Shihong duo." Izo stood up from his chair and started pacing beside the table. "It seems that about a week ago, my dearest twin brother ran away from our wonderful estate. I need you two to find him." He glanced out the open window behind him. "Poor little thing, must be so scared; being out there in the big, war-scarred world on his own."
The duo exchanged glances before the male spoke, "Izo, I do believe that what you're asking-"
"Quiet, Seiya," Majime said before turning to Izo. "We are not dogs. We will not be playing fetch with you and your brother.
Izo cackled again before turning and placing both of his palms on the dark wood of the table and leaning over to bore his gaze into the other two. "I am not asking you to 'fetch' my brother," his voice dropped into the low, seductive tone again as he continued, "I am asking you to do your job."
The duo looked nervously at each other again. Seiya opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted.
"My father has already embarrassed this family enough with his mysterious 'disappearance'," Izo resumed his speech and began pacing again. "Whether he's dead or defected, he's left a treacherous scar on our family's good reputation. If I'm to further advance my already blooming political career, I cannot have brother dearest running around the world causing problems and being an absolute bother to our nation." He turned to face the duo and stood with his hands folded professionally behind his back. "I need you to stomp out the spark before it turns into a forest fire. Find and end his little escapade before he ruins my life. Can you do this for me?"
The two looked at each other and whispered amongst themselves a bit. Majime then turned to Izo, "That is acceptable as long as payment is sufficient."
Izo smiled wide, clapped his hands together and jumped excitedly, "Great! He exclaimed. "Shall we draw up a contract?"
In Chapter 2: The Mountain
Completely disregarding the rumors regarding the Jianwang Zheng mountain, Keiza begins his ascent. When he reaches a pristine lake after hours of hiking, he witnesses an impossible and unbelievable event.