Jinora got out bed and tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes. She felt a cool breeze over her head when Ikki ran past her to beat her to the bathroom, and she remembered that she didn't have her hair anymore. She looked in the mirror, not exactly upset with how she looked, but still missing how she looked before. She still wondered whether she would grow it back out or not.
She found her father before meditation started, and he looked at her fondly.
"Good morning Jinora. Are you ready to lead the group today?"
"Yes daddy, but I wanted to ask you something," she fiddled with her hands and quickly said the words, "Am I supposed to keep my head shaven, or do I grow my hair back out?"
Tenzin stayed silent for a moment before answering her question, "Well Jinora, like I've told the other airbenders, it's a personal choice."
"But what do you think I should do?"
"Jinora, you're an airbending master now. You're going to have a lot of responsibility and face many situations that will require your judgement, so a decision as simple as this is something you should be able to make on your own."
"I can decide that you're no help," she murmured with her arms crossed as he walked away.
She arrived in the meditation pavilion before everyone else, and as the airbenders walked in they greeted her and bowed their heads in respect. "Good morning, Master Jinora," they would all say. It felt strange. They hardly ever behaved that way with her father, but she also knew the airbenders took a liking to her more due to her patience and kind nature. She just hoped people wouldn't treat her too differently. She felt grateful for the respect, but she's still the same Jinora. She remembered reading about her Grandpa Aang feeling left out when his friends found out about him being the Avatar. Would being a master cause for her to be alone?
Kai walked in and sat down, still rubbing his eyes and trying to shake off his tiredness. Jinora looked at him and chuckled, wondering if he would ever get used to waking up early. He looked at her and waved slightly before dropping his head and dozing off. Ikki ran to Jinora and told her about how she should start being tougher on everyone since they have to listen to her now, and as she provided plans to push the airbenders, Jinora swore she saw an evil gleam in her eyes. When Jinora scolded Meelo after he went on an air scooter rampage through the pavilion, he screamed that he couldn't be stopped. Opal arrived as her usual calm self and simply gave her a sympathetic smile before sitting down after witnessing the chaos of her siblings.
At least some people will always treat me the same.
Jinora stood up and walked to Opal after Ikki stopped talking.
"Hey Opal, can you give me some advice?"
"Sure Jinora, what is it?" Opal briefly looked over to Kai, assuming it would be about boy troubles. She appreciated having someone to think of as a younger sister, and it excited her that Jinora would want to open up to her about something of that nature.
"Well, I was wondering whether I should grow my hair out or not. I'm not sure what I should do."
Opal looked at her, not expecting the topic.
"Oh. Well, I just assumed that you would grow it back out, but now that you bring it up, I'm not sure. I'm not an expert on air nomad culture, but I do know that you should do whatever makes you happy," Opal said as she smiled warmly at her.
"Okay, thanks." Jinora walked back to her original spot to start the meditation session, and Opal thought that she should work on her big sister skills after seeing Jinora's defeated look.
For the rest of the day, Jinora went around the temple asking for advice. However, time and time again, everyone gave essentially the same response. She could do whatever she wanted. Jinora just wanted a straight answer. Everyone had to have an opinion; they just wanted to be considerate, and it became annoying. It turned out that she did have to make this decision on her own.
"Hey Jinora. Whatcha doing?" said Kai as he looked over her shoulder to see her jotting down something on a notepad.
"Making a decision." Jinora sat under a tree with a pen in hand and a look of pure concentration directed at the paper.
"About what?" He sat down and leaned towards her to get a better look at her writing.
"About whether to grow my hair out or not. I can't decide, and no one else is helping, so I'm making a pro/con list."
"Wow, a list. Those are usually for serious stuff, like what food you need to buy at the market."
"Ha ha, very funny," she said, still looking intently at the notepad.
"So what do you have so far?"
"Well, as a pro for keeping my head shaven, I can sense my surroundings better."
"That can come in handy."
"I can also show off my tattoos more, which is important for a master, I guess. Apparently I look like my grandpa Aang, which is pretty cool. It's also a tradition for airbenders to have their heads shaven."
"Your eyes look pretty," said Kai. Jinora paused and looked at him.
"What?"
"Your eyes. Without your hair, they look bigger…which is nice." His confidence faltered the longer she watched him.
"Oh, thank you," she said, not sure how to respond. It did make her feel better that Kai liked how she looked. His opinion meant a lot to her.
"What about the cons? Why do you want to grow your back out?" He asked.
"I like how I look with my hair. I've had it as long as I can remember."
"And?" Kai looked at her, smiling at the fact that he could tell which side was easier to argue.
"Um…my hair can keep me warm during the winter."
Kai started laughing at her, and she shot him a glare.
"Hey, that's a valid concern," she defended.
"I'm sure it is, but can't airbenders regulate their temperature?"
"Well, yes."
"I can see why you needed a list."
Jinora started to feel upset with herself. Kai was right. There wasn't much to think about, so why did she have such a difficult time making a choice?
"Kai?"
"Yes?"
"What do you think?" She realized that he's the only one she hasn't asked yet. He's her best friend, and she trusted him.
"About your hair?"
"Yes. Should I keep my head shaven?"
Kai looked down in thought. She obviously cared about it a lot, and it bothered her. What if he made the wrong decision? What if she didn't like his answer? What was his answer? She looked amazing either way. However, he missed the way her hair reflected the sunlight and flowed in the wind; but her eyes did look beautiful, and she couldn't hide behind her bangs anymore. Then he thought back to when they were stuck in the cave and remembered the droplets of water dripping from the ends of her hair, and how it made him get lost in thought about how his feelings were growing for her. Then again, that pros and cons list…
"Well, even though I think you look great either way, and it's completely up to you," When Kai paused for a moment before continuing, Jinora raised an eyebrow in annoyance at him, "I do like your hair." He rubbed the back of his neck and spoke the words hesitantly, afraid of somehow upsetting her.
Jinora smiled at him and replied, "Okay. I'll grow my hair out."
"Really? That's it?"
"Yup. I just wanted an answer from someone. Thank you, Kai."
"Are you sure you just wanted an answer? Or were you waiting for someone to tell you the answer you wanted so you wouldn't feel bad about betraying your list?" Kai said with an amused expression.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. My list agrees with me one hundred percent."
"Of course it does. I'm sure you'll have a very warm winter."
Jinora pushed his shoulder, causing him to fall back and catch himself with his arms.
"Shut up."
"Hey! What about your oath of nonaggression? That was pretty aggressive if you ask me."
"It's not very respectful to tease a master. I would tell you to go meditate about your actions, but you would end up falling asleep. I had no other choice."
"Fine. I'm sorry."
"You need to apologize to my list, too."
"Jinora."
"It's waiting." She handed him her notepad and crossed her arms, trying to stifle a laugh so it wouldn't ruin her serious façade.
Kai took the notepad from her and looked at it. He noticed how her handwriting made the words look prettier than they usually would in a book. The letters were small and curled, but very neat. They somehow matched her personality in a way he couldn't explain. He sighed and began to speak.
"I'm sorry, list…that you couldn't be put to better use, like for the food we'll eventually eat."
With that, he stood up and ran with the notepad still in hand.
"Kai! Get back here!" Jinora yelled before bolting after him.
A/N: Hi everyone! Here's a cute chapter of these little sweethearts. Thank you for your reviews/favorites/follows. I always appreciate them so much, and it makes me really happy that you all like this story. I'll see you guys with the next update!
