~First stop: Kui Island, Earth Kingdom~

The little town is a charming place, full of children and strange new animals. There are lots of people from other nationalities here, so it's like a whirl of color on noise. You stop there for a week, going to the sandy beaches and (duh!) to the market. The beach is a special delight, as you have never seen a beach with a sandy coast, much less seashells and corals. You wonder at the tiny shells and big conches, miracles of nature, and start collecting them

~Second stop: Kyoshi island, Earth Kingdom~

A gaggle of people surrounds you as you reach their shores on a sailing/manual speedboat you bought, using a combination of of bending and actual sailing to make it work. The island is lush with vegetation, the plants and trees growing green and tall with the help of numerous undergroung springs and pools of clean, sparkling freshwater that are scattered through the island. There is also abay in which, surprisingly, no one is swimming. You think about going in, although you really should know better than to jump in water that no one is swimming in. Well, almost no one. Out of the corner of your eye, you see some shadows flit through the water.

Then, suddenly, a shiny koi fish jumps out of the water. But it's HUGE! Way bigger than you. It's about the size of a young adult of an elephant. This fish is followed by dozens more, all jumping out, sparkling in the sun. Suddenly, a much less agreeable unagi sea serpent appears, and starts chasing them, to eat them, you suppose. It succeeds catching wo adults, and devours them beneath the water. It emerges and looks at you, its piercing green eye startling you when you see the pulsing, living slitted black pupil changing constantly from sideways to lengthwise.

You enjoy meeting the Kyoshi warriors, their honor so big that their home island carries their name. The seem to you fearless warriors, wonderful women that fight bravely. It seems unusual, if not weird, that a group of non-bending women had made such a group. Later on, you learn it had been the Avatar Kyoshi who had separated this piece of land from the mainland, making it an island, giving it her name, and training warrior women with her style and teaching them honor.

You decide to attend one class, just to pick up some pointers. When you go to apply, the leader agrees, and lends you a Kyoshi warrior uniform. When you put it on, the leader helps you put on your makeup. You look at yourself in the mirror. You look so different! The dress is not uncomfortable (it's not supposed to be) and you can move rather easily. The gloves are smooth and flexible, and they seem to adapt to your hands. The skirt is made of a rough cloth, sort of like leather, but it also works a sort of shield. The headgear is pretty, but it feels as if it were going to fall off, although it is designed not to. The fans are wonderful, though, painted with flowers and vines. You try to flick them open but you can't. "Excuse me... these fans don't work." The leader laughs and tell you you need to know a little trick to open them, one you shall learn in class. The only uncomfortabel part of the uniform are the boots. You just can't get used to pointy leather shoes. One thing are the fluffy, stuffy snow boots and the other are knee-high stiff leather boots with the toe curling up.

The class is really fun, and you meet lots of new girls. You learn how to flick and press the fans correctly, and your fans flip out sharply, scaring the bejeezus out of you. After a while, you get the hang of it, and start adding movement to your wrists and arms to make the fans seem part of you, deadly and graceful. You start dancing, weaving, leaning and using your body to create waterlike movements. You get excited and bend water out of a nearby pitcher. Your fan-clad hands make the water flat like a blade, thin, long and deadly. Jumping and twirling, the blade turns with you like a ribbon. You divide it in half, one strip for each fan, and do twin movements of slashing downward, making two cuts on the floor.

You open your eyes. All the girls, incluiding the leader, starts clapping, slowly at first, then faster as more and more girls start. You blusha little for having "Bent" out of control, but take a slightly mocking bow.

When the weeks at Kyoshi are over, you promise to write to all of them, letters describing where you'd been, letters for the girls to read in group. They give you a Kyoshi pair of fans

~Will update with more travels!~

Update: OHMYGOODNESS I HADN'T NOTICED THE TYPO! Oh I'm so sorry and embarrassed! To those of you who noticed it and knew what it meant I AM SORRYYY I promise I never meant to post something like that!