CHAPTER SIX: Airbenders and Injuries
[for Erica-the-nerd]
It was decidedly weird to go from having only three or four airbenders with you, and then having a little over twenty of them, so it was understandable that Jinora felt overwhelmed. Not that she wasn't happy, oh no – on the contrary, she was ecstatic. It was just a lot to take in.
"You okay?" Kai asked her quietly at dinner. He was still in the clothes the Dai Li had given him, with bandages wrapped around his torso. A few of the other airbenders had needed to be patched up as well. Thankfully, Kai's injury was only bruising and nothing had been broken. When Jinora had asked how it had happened, he had changed the topic, so for now, Jinora had decided to leave it alone.
"Yeah," she managed out. "I'm fine just... trying to take it all in. What about you? How are you feeling?"
"Better now," he told her, giving her a lopsided smile. Her stomach did a somersault. Then he helped himself to one of the many, many salads and pastas laid out before them. The rest of the airbenders looked equally hungry, but Jinora found she couldn't manage much of an appetite. So much had happened; so much hadn't happened. She needed some time to sort it all out.
Jinora cast a meaningful look to her father; Tenzin nodded solemnly, and Jinora stood up from the table. Kai looked up at her (the only one who did) and she gave him an apologetic look. 'Need some air,' she mouthed, before leaving the table.
The night air was cool and crisp against her skin, refreshing after such a busy, stressful day. The moon was bright and beautiful. It made Jinora think of the moon spirit, Yue, who had given her life on a night like this years and years ago. A few spirits flew along the airship, chirping to each other like birds. Jinora grinned at the sight; spirits were wonderful, amazing creatures, and she couldn't be more happy that she had such a strong connection to them, and to her own spiritual self. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to find Kai...
Kai. For what seemed the hundredth time that day, she wondered how he had managed to hurt himself so badly. Had the Dai Li become especially rough? Why him though? Why had he been thrown into that tiny cell? Had he acted up? It seemed like something he would do, but still... Maybe one of the other airbenders would know. She would have to ask.
She rubbed her wrists; they still hurt from where the Dai Li's rock gloves had bound them. It was too bad Aunt Kya was back at Air Temple Island, she was great at healing things like this.
A chill ran through her and she shivered. Jinora sighed, deciding to go back inside. It was a little too cold for her tastes to stay outside. She turned around and jumped, a little startled, at seeing Kai standing behind her. Feeling suddenly nervous, she licked her lips, tucking a strand of behind her ear. "Kai," she greeted. Her face felt hot.
"Just wanted to make sure you were okay," he explained, shrugging. He rubbed the back of his neck, looking a little sheepish. "If you want to be alone, I'll go inside..."
Jinora couldn't help but be reminded of the reverse scenario that had taken place between them, when they had talked about stars and homes and Lionturtles. Had that really only been two weeks ago? It seemed like forever.
"Actually no, that's alright, I was going to head inside myself. Maybe for some hot chocolate." She gave him a bright smile. "Care to join me?"
Kai grinned back at her. "Sure."
Tenzin had said it would only take a few days to get to the Northern Air Temple, but in the meantime, as eager as Jinora was to arrive, she also felt perfectly fine with where she was. Getting to know the rest of the airbenders - her people now - was fun, exciting and a great way to pass the time. There was Shyla, a pretty girl with her hair pulled in a bun, locks of hair hanging down on either side of her face. The hairstyle actually reminded Jinora of Korra's, except distinctly Earth Kingdom rather than Water Tribe.
Then there were the other girls - a bunch of them and Jinora kept getting their names mixed up. She was just happy that everyone was still trying to learn everyone else's names. It seemed that Shyla and Pomba - a girl with fancy bangs and hair pulled fancily back into a bun - had hit it off, but everyone else was still pretty withdrawn and trying to adjust. Which was fine, because Jinora was still trying to adjust herself. She hadn't gotten a chance to get to know almost any of the boys yet.
The main bright-side was Kai. He had already gotten to know a couple of the airbenders, most notably Yung, who had been his sparring partner. The former thief seemed to have adjusted well to the sudden change; Jinora guessed that was a side affect of growing up on the streets. You had to adapt quickly. Besides, Yung was friendly enough, and Jinora found his company enjoyable.
It only made her realize that what she had with Kai was special. She would definitely call Yung a friend, even if he was a very new one. But Kai was her best friend. The thought of it made her feel all fuzzy inside; she had never had a best friend before. She was grateful Kai was hers. She wished she knew how he had gotten hurt, though...
"-never went too far from Ba Sing Se," Yung was chattering on happily, and Jinora realized she had zoned out. She gave him an apologetic smile, but it didn't even seem like he had really noticed.
"Yung," she began hesitantly. "Can I - can I ask you something?"
Yung blinked, momentarily taken aback. "Uh, sure. What do you want to know?"
She swallowed the sudden surge of shyness and carried on. "Well, Kai got some bruising near his stomach, and I was wondering how he had gotten it?" Jinora arched her eyebrows, hoping Yung would answer.
"Oh," was the short reply. Yung's eyes flitted to her nervously. "Well, the Dai Li were making us spar each other, and Kai was my partner... He's a good kid, ya know? So he'd go a little easier on me, help me out. The uh, Dai Li didn't like that too much, so... Rock shells."
Jinora shifted uncomfortably. That was how. Admiration for Kai - for her best friend - rushed through her. He had been so selfless, had been modest, not wanting to tell her. She smiled to herself. "Thank you for telling me Yung. If you don't mind, I think I need to go find Kai." Yung grinned. "Any idea where he is?"
"Last I saw he was in the main room," Yung said, shrugging.
"Thank you," Jinora repeated, flashing him a smile before she headed to the main room: she had a friend to find.
"There you are," Jinora greeted, having found Kai in the kitchens closest to the main room. He was near the hot chocolate packets. "I see you've discovered the joys of hot cocoa," she added, eyes gleaming with amusement.
Kai held up a packet to her, turning to face her. "Want one?"
She shook her head. "No, but thank you for offering..." He turned back to the packets and the mug of steaming water. "I was talking to Yung," she continued casually, "and I asked him about how you got hurt." Kai froze.
"Huh," the boy managed out. "So..."
"I just wanted to say... I'm really proud of you Kai." Jinora beamed as Kai straightened up and turned around, a look of disbelief flashing across his face before being replace with a small smile. His eyes were wide, as if to say, Really? "Really proud," she confirmed, flushing under his intense gaze. "That was very brave and selfless of you."
Vaguely, some part of her wondered if anyone had ever been proud of Kai before, or had told him so. Either way, she was glad she was telling him now.
A faint blush dusted Kai's cheeks. "Thanks Jinora," he said cheerfully. An awkward silence fell between them before Kai broke it: "Do you know where the marshmallows are?"
A giggle erupted from her. "You'll spoil your dinner." Jinora had meant to sound scolding, but wasn't able to manage it, merely amused instead. "I know you'll take more marshmallows than you need. And Air Nomads aren't supposed to indulge in superficial treats."
Kai raised an eyebrow, pouting. He looked cute when he did that. "Please?" He gave her a big goofy smile and her resolve which wasn't all that strong to start vanished. Jinora rolled her eyes.
"Fine," she relented. Kai pumped his fist in the air and she giggled again. "My young pupil, if you direct your focus to the highest cupboard to the right, you'll find the treats you seek."
Kai did a fancy, ridiculous bow. "Why thank you Sifu Jinora," he trilled, but his 'seriousness' returned as he licked his lips, rubbing his palms together and fixing a hungry look on where the marshmallows were. When he finally managed to grab the bag, he practically ripped it open, grabbing a handful of marshmallows and dropping them into his hot chocolate. He took another handful and was about to pop them in his mouth when Jinora reached over and stole a few of them.
"Hey!"
Jinora winked at him, chewing her marshmallow smugly. "The student has not yet become the master," she teased.
Kai didn't know a whole lot about the temples. He had heard about them from Jinora and seen pictures from the history books, but he didn't really knew. All he really knew was that Jinora was nice and funny and pretty and his best friend; that his life on the streets was over; that hot chocolate with marshmallows was the newest best thing in the world; that he and the other airbenders were going to have a new life.
And he knew that the Northern Air Temple was absolutely beautiful. Its turrets and towers rose up with the peaks of the mountain, and he wondered if they had been carved out of the mountain itself. The tallest tower was the highest point of the temple, and it was stark in contrast with the bright blue sky. Spirits fluttered by as well, and Kai swore he saw a couple of sky bison in the valley below, but whatever-it-was moved too quickly for him to be sure, and the airship was heading in the opposite direction too.
He grinned at Jinora, who grinned back. "You know, they used to hold sky bison polo competitions here," she told him, and had to fight back a laugh at how his face lit up.
"That's so cool!" he gasped. Jinora couldn't hold in her laugh any longer.
"Yeah," she agreed. Seeing him so giddy and happy was a nice change. "So, are you ready?"
Are you ready? Ready for a new life? A new home? His first home. A beautiful home. With a best friend, and more friends sure to come. Are you ready?
Kai looked back at the air temple, a softer smile coming onto his face. "Yeah," he replied. "I am."
Sorry for the long wait - school's back in session so less writing time. However, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next one will be covering the week(s) or so until Original Airbenders - which means Kai's first time on a glider XD Also you got Kainora friendship mushiness so hopefully that'll help tie you over until we get their reunion in Book 4.
This chapter's for 'Erica-the-nerd' because when I was lurking around tumblr I saw that this was her favourite story and that really touched me so, I hope she likes it! :)
This was also a more Jinora POV chapter and it was fun to write. I've also named the rest of the airbenders using the concept art as reference (book 3 & 4) but that'll come into play later. See you guys soon, love you all! :3
