Chapter 2: Makapu Village

Thoughts of home swam around Tsuchi's mind. He had missed his mother deeply. He even missed his siblings. Tsuchi was sure that Akira's erhu lessons were going well. Even though the erhu was a Fire Nation instrument, and the two nations were at war, the lessons of playing it had been passed down from generation to generation. Tsuchi's paternal great- great grandmother had learned to play the instrument when she lived in the Fire Nation with her best friend. Her dying wish was that each born girl would learn to play the erhu. She believed playing it to be soothing. Tsuchi's great- great grandmother also did not want the custom to be lost. Akira loved to play the erhu so she didn't mind three hour practices every morning.

That was another thing. The war.

Makapu Village was nestled deep in the mountains of the Earth Kingdom so they weren't very much involved with the war. Tsuchi's family knew of the war, but what they did not understand was the severity of it.

On from when Tsuchi was about eight years old, he had heard various stories of the growing war from the numerous traders who had stopped off at Makapu Village to rest for the night. He had heard of the Air Nomad Genocide. Tsuchi did not understand how the Fire Nation could be so selfish and greedy, enough to slaughter a civilization. The idea of it stabbed at his heart.

The Avatar was believed to be gone. People believed that when Avatar Roku had died, the spirit of the Avatar failed to reincarnate into the next nation in the cycle, which was air. Maybe that was why the Fire Nation killed all of the nomads: they needed to get rid of the only person powerful enough to stop their heinous crime. But this was more than just a crime. This was war. People's lives, in every nation, had been affected.

Sons had been sent to fight a war that they hadn't even started.

Wives had become widows.

Hope had been completely and utterly destroyed in almost everybody except for in Tsuchi. Even though he had come home crying many times at the terrible stories he had heard that day in the village, he still believed in love. He believed that even people of the Fire Nation were capable of feeling the emotion. Tsuchi believed that the Avatar would return. His mother would always tell him: "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace."* That kept him hopeful.

Tsuchi did not want to live his life in a haze. He knew the war was upon them. He did not want to only know of it. To make himself more aware and worldly, Tsuchi left his home at the age of nineteen. Returning sometime around his twentieth birthday would be the plan. His caring mother had understood her son's curiosity and let him leave. He had become a young adult. Tsuchi was no longer the wild earthbender child she had raised. He had become fairly advanced at the skill and could handle himself. His wild nature also subsided, leaving him calm and gentle. Through the years, he developed a love for books. Tsuchi was constantly reading. He would spend hours and hours at the village library after a day of school. All of the reading he did made him smart.

The platypus- bear Tsuchi had befriended the day before followed him on his journey home. He decided to name her Airi** for the gusto she exhibited when eating pears. They had been traveling since daybreak and were both starting to get hungry. Tsuchi and Airi's stomachs growled in unison. The young man and hybrid both turned their heads to look at each other. Tsuchi allowed a smile to creep on his face as Airi licked him.

The two friends settled alongside a river. While Tsuchi soaked his feet, Airi swam up and down the river catching fish for lunch. Tsuchi noticed, now that the Boar- Q- Pine quills were out of her paws and they had healed, Airi was quite the talented fisherman. She had caught two Se Tu fish and three koi fish. They would be eating marvelously on this beautiful afternoon. Airi relaxed in the stream while Tsuchi set up a fire to roast their freshly caught fish. While the fish were roasting, the young man scaled many trees to gather fruits.

When Tsuchi returned to the campsite, he could smell the delicious aroma of fried koi wafting through the air. He strutted through the bushes, proud of his assortment of fruits.

"Hey, girl," Tsuchi called to Airi. "It's time to dig in!" Tsuchi saw Airi's giant head pop out from behind an even bigger rock that was set in the stream. Tsuchi beamed as the giant hybrid came galloping out of the water on all fours. When she reached the fire, she stood on two legs, reaching to a height of six feet tall. Her massive platypus- like tail thudded happily against the ground. "So do you want koi or se tu first?"

An hour had passed and Tsuchi and Airi stood at the entrance to Makapu Village. A shiver of joy slinked up and down Tsuchi's spine.

"This is it, girl! I'm finally home! After six months. . I hope mother isn't mad at me for being gone so long. I wonder if they'll recognize me," Tsuchi confided in his new friend. "Of course they will! I'm their family." Nervous doubts surfaced but Tsuchi quickly pushed them aside, not wanting them to ruin his homecoming. His mother would be so proud to see how much he'd grown in the past six months.

"Alright, now listen girl. People in the village may be afraid of. You behave yourself or you'll have to wait outside the village for me. You won't be able to meet my family either! So stay by my side the entire time and don't do anything that might frighten people. Ok?" Airi responded with a nod of her head and a pleasant roar.

Turning his attention back to the entrance, Tsuchi took a deep breath and stepped under and through the large wall that bore the mighty Earth Kingdom symbol.

A/N:

*- quoted Jimi Hendrix there!

** Ai means love and ri could mean pear. Together, they make Airi. Tsuchi's platypus- bear is a pear lover! :D

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