Kuseron raised a brow inquisitively at the sky. It was beautiful, but... He didn't feel impressed, or in awe at the Meteor shower. It showed people how little they were, how far we hadn't gone. Kuse only sniffed, placing a hand down by his side. Toph shifted and placed her hand in his. The sky was lit up beyond measure with the meteor shower. They came across the sky, cascading like blue fireflies. He squeezed Toph's hand and she squeezed back, harder than he expected, but he didn't mind. He was actually quite used to it now.
"Wow. This is so amazing to watch..." Katara whispered. She was smiling up at the sky, her face held wonder.
"Kinda makes you realize how insignificant we are..." Sokka remarked.
"Eh..." Toph sniffed. "You've seen nothing once, you've seen it a thousand times."
Everyone except him and Toph began to make sounds of awe as one Meteor began to descend from the sky, but Sokka sat up quickly. "You've never not seen anything like this!" One comet broke off from the rest, flying over their heads and breaking for the land. They ran down to Appa when they realized it was a fire that was breaking out. "That fire is going to destroy that town!" Katara cried as they dove for a landing. "Not if we can stop it!" Aang cried.
Katara hopped over to Appa's head, taking the reins as they jumped off. "There's a creek over there, I'll bend the water onto the fire!"
Kuseron was already in his stance, he spun around sharply and brought his hands out over each other, one palm facing up the other down. He took in a sharp breath and let it out, stepping back and bringing his right hand in. A dome of darkness formed over the fire to keep it contained.
"Toph! Let's make a trench to keep the fire from coming any closer." Aang commanded.
"What should I do?" Sokka cried.
Kuseron looked back at the boy. "Look stupid." The warrior turned to glare at him. The Shadowbender sneered at him before turning his attention back to the darkness. He had to keep the dome up. It was big enough for Appa to fly around in. "Keep an eye on Momo!" Aang said.
"So, what I'm just a Lemur sitter?" Sokka grumbled.
Kuseron sneered more in mockery. Yes. Yes you are. Sokka was helpful in some situations but not ones like this.
It was over before he knew it. He drew back, standing straight and let out a much needed replacement of air. "Good work everybody." Aang said cheerfully.
Kuseron shifted, walking over to the pile of snow that contained Sokka. The Water tribe boy poked his head out and huffed. "Here." He held out his hand to the warrior, who took it and Kuse pulled him onto his feet.
He raised the cup to his lips, letting the bitter tonic roll over his lips, through his teeth and across his tongue. The cool, bitter liquid quenched his dying need for the drink that would later only make his head hurt and his mouth parch. Kuseron scowled slightly. "Another Kio." He grumbled to a baldheaded man. Kio was a light tan, with a dirty look to him, but he was a rather nice person once you got past the looks. "Rough night?" Kuseron placed a few copper coins down. "What do you think?"
"I see." Kio quickly fixed up his drink, taking the empty glass and replacing it with the filled one.
Kuseron didn't usually pay attention to the other thugs and thieves that entered the bar, but a loud man came bustling in. He had a few other thugs following behind him. "Hey Kio!" He brandished a small dagger. "Get us a round of your finest." The Thug grinned devilishly. This guy, the Shadowbender remembered him. He was a top-notch thug apparently. Kio didn't ask for money. Status held power, power gave you pawns, and Pawns gave you what they had. It was a simple process.
The Thug pushed his way to the bar, his train making people move. Kuseron did not move. He wasn't going to move, just because they wanted the bar to themselves. Kio looked at him with wide eyes, "You better move!" He hissed.
He still did not move.
"Hey Worm! Move your scrawny ass!" One man pushed him aside, causing his drink to spill down his shirt as he landed on the ground. Laughter came out from around the bar, some of it was hesitant. The Shadowbender lifted his gaze, eyes deadly and a hiss slipped through his lips. "Bastard!" The head thug turned to him, glaring down at him. "What did you just call my friend?"
Everything went silent.
"You heard me." Kuseron growled, pushing up onto his feet with a scowl that held every ounce of anger in his body.
The thug loomed over him. "Are you asking for a fight kid?"
Kuseron lifted his gaze, returning the man's glare. "Maybe I am..."
The thug brandished his dagger near his throat, pressing it near his jugular. "You're pretty stupid kid. Do you know who I am?" Kuseron didn't answer, slamming his palm into the man's stomach, pushing him back with a single thrust. "Do you know who I am?" He whispered, eyes deadly.
The thug grabbed the hilt of his dagger, "You just asked for a whole lot of pain worm."
Kuseron only snorted, "You should know something, I'm not normal. Never was... I was born with something inside me."
He was returning to the memory. The night that he had killed that Thug. What did he do that night? What caused him to kill that man? The Shadowbender inhaled slowly. Everyone was asleep, but tonight, he wanted to know. He closed his blood red eyes.
The Thug scowled up at him. "So what? You're still going to get your ass kicked kid!" The thug stood up and ran at the Shadowbender, with his knife drawn ready to strike.
Kuseron shifted into his snake-like stance, eyes narrowed to slits as his markings glowed, the eye blinked before he seemed to slide forward, one hand slamming into the leg of the thug and the other posed to send the man flying over him. It happened, the man flew over Kuse without so much as touching him.
The Thug spat onto the ground angrily and pulled a man's sword away from him. "Damn you!" He turned, swinging the blade around at Kuseron, who ducked backwards, flipping backwards. The Thug went after him, swinging his blade with every step he took. Kuseron slid left to right and away. The blade never touched him.
"Stand still!" The Thug hissed, bringing the blade up for a downwards swing. The blade came down, but Kuseron, who had been backed against a wall, easily dodged it. He fell into the darkness and reappeared behind the Thug with a scowl. "You're getting on my nerves." He growled.
The Thug spun around, swinging the blade diagonally. The Shadowbender bent sideways, grabbing the man's wrist before taking his elbow and slamming it into the man's nose. He heard a loud crack which gave him a satisfied sneer. The Thug tried to kick him but Kuseron ducked under that, spinning away quickly.
The man was bleeding badly from his nose and Kuse could only sneer more. "I thought you were supposed to be the best."
The Thug gnashed his teeth and darted forward. The Shadowbender slid into his snake stance, striking forward with his fingers to the man's throat. The Thug choked, backing away. "I strike when they least expect it..." He murmured, beginning to strike repeatedly at the man with his fingertips in vital points of the body.
He was backed to the wall and Kuseron brought back his left hand for one last strike. The thug was pleading for forgiveness and for him to stop. "Please. I'll do anything. Please..." He whispered hoarsely. Kuseron scowled more.
"It's too late for that..." He struck, one final blow to the throat. The Thug choked once more before slumping to the floor.
Kuseron turned away and walked back to the bar, sitting down and looking at Kio. "Another." He muttered. Kio gave him the drink in shaking hands and Kuse gladly took it, placing money down on the counter before walking out in silence.
Kuseron's eyes popped open. That was not helpful. It gave him some insight, like how he acted when he wasn't in full control, but that... It just showed him that a part of him was different, very different. He groaned. It was almost morning. They were probably going to go into town for food today. He slipped off towards the creek and stared down at his reflection. What am I? He frowned at himself.
He could feel whatever it was that was inside him. He wanted to know who it was... He had always wondered how he was so special. In the visions of his Family, his father hadn't been a Shadowbender. He had some recollection of words in his head. Something that had happened earlier this week. ...Stupid reincarnation cycle goes all over the place.
The Shadowbender sighed, making his way back to camp. The others were getting up now. Was he something like Aang? He silently followed the others as they moved on towards town. They went straight to town for food. Kuseron sat in the spot Sokka did not sit at. He pushed his food around, Am I just a tool? Aang walked over with his bowl of rice and some kind of veggie platter. "This people have no idea how close they came to being toasted last night..."
"Yeah." Toph took a bite of her bread. "The bad thing about being in disguise is we don't get the hero worship anymore. I miss the love." Toph frowned, leaning her head into one of her hands.
Kuseron poked at his meat with a fork. "I'd rather not be worshipped like a Spirit or God." He muttered gloomily.
"Boohoo. Poor Heroes..." Sokka grumbled. He hadn't even touched his food. That was bad. He seemed just as bad off as him, except for a different reason.
"What's your problem? You haven't even touched your smoked sea slug." Katara remarked.
"It's just..." He looked back at them. "All you guys can do this really cool bending stuff, like putting out forest fires and flying around and making other stuff fly around..." Aang and Katara looked between one another. Toph just looked bored. The Shadowbender didn't move to even acknowledge the boy, he was to caught up in his own thoughts. "I can't fly around, okay? I can't do anything." Sokka sighed.
"That's not true!" Katara said quickly. "No one can read a map like you."
Toph nodded and put her hands out in a shrugging gesture. "I can't read at all."
"Yeah, and who keeps us laughing with Sarcastic comments all the time?" Aang mused. "I mean, look at Katara's hair." The airbender took a lock of Katara's brown hair in hand. "What's up with that?" Katara took her hair back, looking flustered. "What? What's wrong with my hair?"
Aang frowned slowly. "Nothing, Nothing. I was just trying to..."
Sokka cut in. "I appreciate the effort but the fact is, that each of you are amazing and so special..." The boy's shoulders slumped forward. "And I'm not."
Kuseron pushed away. Anger flared up inside him. The Shadowbender looked at Sokka with a scowl. "You can be amazing. Just get off your lazy ass and do something about it." He hissed, storming away quickly.
"What's his problem?" Aang asked as he walked away.
The others returned to soothing Sokka afterwards. Kuseron returned back to the campsite, and slumped against Chiel. He wanted to know who he really was. Who was there inside him? What type of spirit was in there? The Shadowbender rubbed Chiel behind his ears. "I don't know what to do..." He murmured. What was his reason for his powers? Was the spirit the reason why he had memory loss? Chiel licked his cheek with a low whine. "Yeah bud. I know..." He had to be patient, in time it would reveal itself. He closed his blood red eyes. Why did he come with them? Was it fate? Or just simply him choosing the path that would only end in destruction?
He opened an eye only when the others returned, except Sokka wasn't with them. "Where's the whiner?" He grumbled.
Katara looked at him with a scowl. "He's gone to see if a Sword master will train him."
He grunted back and closed his eyes again. The other three went to laying on the ground. Silence... Pure silence. He hoped it'd stay that way—
"What should we do today?"
"I'm tapped out. I've already picked my toes... Twice."
"Twice?
"The first time is for cleaning, the second time is for the sweet picking sensation."
"Sokka's been in charge of the schedule. I'm not sure what we should be doing."
"Plus... It's so hot today."
"How hot is it?"
"I dunno."
"It's so hot... It's so hot... That Momo is shedding like Appa!"
"I guess the jokes don't run in the family..."
"Oh. Everyone's a critic."
Appa growled.
"How about some peace and quiet?" He asked. The other lifted their heads and looked at him. Kuseron raised his brows. The Shadowbender sighed and stood. "Aang can I talk to you?"
The airbender stood. "Yeah?"
Kuseron motioned for him to follow him. "Alone."
Aang followed after him and he stopped a little ways from camp. "Aang, can you help me?"
The Air Nomad shrugged. "It depends on what it is."
Kuseron licked his dry lips for a second before thinking carefully. "I need you to help me with a Spiritual journey. I need to go into the Spirit world."
Aang eyes widened in surprise. "Why do you need to go to the Spirit World?" The Avatar asked.
"I need to contact a spirit." He replied.
Aang narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "I'll see what I can do."
Kuseron nodded slowly. When should they do it? Tonight, when the moon is new. The Shadowbender shifted a bit before sighing. "We can do it tonight then. It's the night that gives me the most power."
Aang nodded and turned back to go to camp. He followed after and sat back down, slumping against Chiel. Katara had pulled out a map and was looking over it. "So, where are we going next? We're starting from here..."
"No! We're over on this island!"
Oh Spirits make it stop. Kuseron closed his eyes with an annoyed huff.
"You noodlebrains don't know what you're doing." Toph grumbled. "I miss Sokka."
"Oh! I got one!" Katara was probably grinning. "If you miss him so much, why don't you marry him?"
Toph grunted in response. Kuseron opened his eyes and stared at the Waterbender. She wasn't good at making jokes and that was clear. Toph came rolling over after a moment, curling up with her head in his lap. He lightly stroked her cheek, glaring at the other two before he closed his eyes once more. Finally. Now he could think without having to say it out loud...
Kuseron groaned as someone poked him in the nose, hard too. He swatted at whatever was poking him and shifted over in his sleep. It was too late for him to get up! This time he was poked roughly in his shoulder blade. Spirits! What the fuck? He flashed his eyes open and rolled up onto his feet, glaring into light blue eyes. "Sokka? Damn it!" He hissed and grabbed... a sword? He looked down at the sheathed sword. What was this? Was he dreaming that really awful dream again...? Where Aang was a hog-monkey, Sokka would never stop poking him, Katara would follow him around and shout irately at him and Toph would be a statue, that talked rather awkwardly...
He gave a quick look around before raising a brow. Katara was sitting by the fire and Toph was a little ways away, eating. "Oh thank goodness." The Shadowbender murmured.
Sokka took his sword back and glared at Kuseron. "Aang wanted to talk to you..." The warrior walked away with a sigh.
Kuseron screwed his eyes shut for a second, trying to process the information. Right... He had asked Aang to help him tonight. He opened his eyes and stared at the moonless sky. He drew in a deep breath and heard a yelp of surprise, darkness was dancing around the edge of camp. Katara looked at him with a frown. Toph looked around confusedly. Sokka, well, he was floating in place. The warrior had been caught right where the darkness was dancing, sending him up and down repeatedly.
"Put me down. Please..." Sokka grumbled.
Kuseron grinned at this but put the warrior down. "Where's Aang?" Katara lifted her free hand whilst she waterbended the water in the pot, "He went that way."
Kuseron shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked away. He had to find this Spirit, this other presence. Why was it attached to him? Why was the Spirit reincarnated into him, why not someone else? He licked his lips as he walked, lifting his blood red eyes from the ground to Aang, who was sitting on a large flat rock. "Hello Aang."
"Hey Kuseron." The boy airbended into the air for a split second before landing beside him. "I don't know how we are going to get to the Spirit World, but I guess we have to try..." Was he the Avatar or not? There had to be someway that he knew about!
Kuseron sat down. "Well, let's try meditating first. I suppose that is how you get there." He replied dully.
Aang sat down beside him and they both went to try and meditating. The Avatar took up his usual position, hands balled to fists and put together. He did his meditating quite differently. Kuseron shifted a bit, fixing his hands to where his tattoos faced out and his left hand was over his right, both hands brought towards his midsection. Silence. It was something that could be quite helpful. He focused in on the presence inside him and gasped, a sudden tugging sensation came from behind his navel.
That was rather quick. His vision was fuzzy as he woke again and could hear in the background, concerned yelps. It was Aang. "Kuseron...!" "KUSERON!"
He slowly sat up, groaning slightly as he rubbed his eyes. "What happened?"
"We're here." Aang stated simply.
It took several moments for him to process that he was no longer in the Physical world. "Whoa..." He exclaimed under his breath. They were in a very dark place, the moon was risen and they were near a lake. It seemed a bit to comforting. Kuseron stood up slowly. "Where are we exactly? Do you know, being Avatar and all?"
Aang shook his head. "I haven't been around the whole Spirit world, I think it just goes on and on."
Kuseron felt a familiar presence. It was a comforting one and then there was a more frightening one, strong probably foreboding as well. The Shadowbender spun on his heel. There was a woman standing near the lake. "Murmur?" The woman whispered, almost looking a bit happy[1]. His brows furrowed, this person looked absurdly close to the... Painted Lady. "No. I'm Kuseron." He replied.
The dark presence seemed to shrink away. The Painted Lady looked off into the distance. "How did you get..." She trailed off, catching sight of Aang who happily bounced over. "Are you the Painted Lady?" The nomad asked quickly.
Kuseron ran a hand through his hair before deciding to go off on his own. He left Aang, who was now grilling the poor Spirit with questions, and went after the dark presence he had felt earlier. He wanted to know who it was. No. He needed to know! He broke into a sudden run when he caught sight of a retreating figure in dark billowing robes. He was tempted to call out to the spirit but decided against it, in case that it was the spirit that he needed to speak to.
Kuse watched as the shadow flew into the sky, leaping but he kept after the spirit.
The closer he caught up, the more he knew that this was who he was looking for. Although, he was wondering why it would run from him when he was its host. "Hey! Wait!" The figure looked back at him and Kuseron stopped at the sight of the blood red eyes. He was definitely the spirit he was trying to find.
Murmur? Was that his name? The Painted Lady had called him Murmur, so was this spirit's name Murmur? It would befit such a spirit if he was this shy, or scared... Whatever. "Murmur!" He called.
The spirit slowly stopped, skidding to a stop before heaving his shoulders in a heavy sigh. Kuseron came up behind the spirit, grabbing him by the shoulder and bodily spinning him around. The Shadowbender reeled back in surprise. It, he, Murmur—! The spirit looked just like him! Except taller, more of a man than a young boy and quite pale. Murmur was clad in all black, rather lanky and his blood red eyes were more like a cat owl's. The spirit's messy black hair resembled Kuseron's. He wore a long cloak, black boots, dark black pants and a black shirt, a sword attached to his hip. The spirit scowled, baring sharp fangs down at him. "Finally figured it out did you Kuseron?" The spirit hissed with malice in his voice and an anger contorted face.
"You? You're the one inside me?" He asked.
Murmur shifted a bit before flopping down into a rock. "Yeah."
Kuseron had expected something different. More like a spirit that was... Well that didn't look like him! Murmur, was he the reason why he was a Shadowbender? Was he the reason why his memories were fuzzy? He sputtered slightly, trying to find the words he wanted to ask. "Spit it out!" The Spirit commanded.
"Are you the reason why I can shadowbend?" Kuseron fell back onto his backside, staring across at Murmur.
The Man sighed. "Yes, I give you the ability to control the darkness."
Kuseron frowned slowly. Then... He looked down at his hands, the tattoos were glowing strangely. "Ever on and on, I continue circling with nothing but my hate in a carousel of agony. Till slowly I forget and my heart starts vanishing and suddenly I see that I can't break free... I'm slipping through the cracks of a dark eternity." Murmur mused softly.
The Shadowbender stared at the spirit. "Will you tell me?"
The man shifted, something glinted in his eyes. "Tell you what?"
"Everything..." He replied.
Murmur huffed, "I'll just release your faded memories, they'll come to you slowly but..." The Spirit shifted and placed his hands together, leaning his chin against his hands. "As you know now, I am Murmur." Kuseron shifted a bit, feeling as if he was staring into the face of his future self. "I am the spirit of dark vengeance and justice. I have helped the Avatar a lot in the past, they just never knew it."
"So, in the past you've helped the past Avatars accomplish tasks?"
"Yes," Murmur continued on. "My gift to my host is Shadowbending. It's fitting because I am a spirit of darkness yet my intentions are good." The spirit shifted and stood. "This is all I shall tell you for now. We will be speaking again soon..."
Kuseron blinked. Was that all he was going to get? He scrambled up. "B-But...!"
Murmur glared down at him, "With nothing but my pain and the paralyzing agony, To tell me who I am, who I was. Uncertainty enveloping my mind. Till I can't break free, and maybe it's a dream; maybe nothing else is real but it wouldn't mean a thing if I told you how I feel..."
Kuseron refrained from asking his question. He could wait. Patience was a virtue, right? Aang suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Murmur disappeared in the wind like dust. "Kuseron, are you ready to leave?" The Shadowbender shrugged.
"Yeah, sure."
"Aang, I know swimming is fun, but should you really be exposing yourself like that? Cover up!" Toph was leaning beside him as she stared sightlessly out across the water. Kuseron wasn't much a swimmer himself but he would occasionally enjoy the cooling water. He was still partially soaked from earlier, having took a little time to relax in the sweet, cool water. Toph leaned into him more, placing her head on his shoulder.
"What? I'm wearing trunks." Aang replied, grinning a bit. He seemed all too happy. Momo was laying on the monk's stomach, purring gently as he napped a bit. Katara finished ringing out her hair and stood up, staring at the boy as he floated along. "I know! But it's your tattoos I'm worried about!" Kuseron couldn't help but grin to himself. "What if someone sees you?"
"There are walls all around us. It's completely safe." Katara replied.
Toph huffed in some annoyance but returned her head to his shoulder. He picked up his lute, strumming down on some strings. A little break was nice, he had felt quite stressed over the last few days anyways...
Kuseron stared up at the night sky with a frown. He was thinking about what Murmur had told him again. The Spirit had told him he had helped Avatars in the past. So, I am worth something. He wasn't just a lowly thief, he was more than that. He had a great thing ahead of him. But...
The Shadowbender jumped when he saw Murmur appear, it was only an outline of him. You are troubled Kuseron. Ask the question you've been dying to ask.
He sat up, looking across at Toph, who was sleeping with Momo curled in her arms. Murmur looked at the earthbender and he sighed. You're wondering about your future? Kuse nodded slowly. "Yeah. What's going to happen in the future? Did you have to sacrifice yourself in the past...?" He chewed his lower lip after he spoke, eyes meeting the spirit's but they held fear.
Murmur graced the silence with a frown. I have sacrificed myself many a times, but only few have I truly died when doing so...
Kuseron felt a bit reassured. "So, do you know, if I survive in the future?"
Murmur looked at the ground, At this point in time, I am unsure. The Shadowbender slumped slightly. I understand your pain youngling, at one point in time I, too, was an actual person and in love.
Kuseron blinked, thinking back to the Painted Lady. "You mean... The Painted Lady?" He asked. Murmur seemed to visibly stiffen but nevertheless smiled. Yes, she was known as Kasumi once. The Spirit sighed before standing. Listen well Kuseron, in time you will know when you have to sacrifice yourself and when that time comes, you will know then whether you will survive or not... Kuseron took a deep breath. He hoped he would survive. He didn't want to leave Toph behind. He had literally fallen 'head over heels' for her. Murmur faded into the darkness and he looked over at Toph, blinking slowly.
The Armadillo-wolf was snoring away. "If I make another move there'll be no more turning back, because everything will change, and it all will fade to black. Will tomorrow ever come? Will I make it through the night? Will there ever be a place for the broken in the light? Am I hurting? Am I sad? Should I stay, or should I go? I've forgotten how to tell. Did I ever even know? Can I take another step?" He murmured to himself, leaning back into his furry buddy before closing his eyes.
Sleep alluded him however...
"Guys, you might all think I'm crazy but... I think a Metal man is coming." Toph was sitting up and staring off at something.
Kuseron blinked. A Metal Man? He shifted as he caught sight of a figure up on one of the high walls of the dip in the earth. Aang rubbed his eyes before he jumped forward, airbending as the man... firebended with his...? He was sent flying backwards and he groaned, landing lightly on his feet with a scowl. Toph quickly earthbended at the man. The man destroyed the rocks sent at him and Aang kept them from getting hurt by airbending again. Katara waterbended but the man blew that away too... Steam rose into the air and he narrowed his eyes.
They dove behind one wall of earth, well, except for him. "Kuseron! Get your butt over here!" Toph cried.
He narrowed his eyes darkly before sliding across the ground to land beside Aang. "This is crazy! How are we supposed to fight a guy who blows things up with his mind?" Sokka cried.
"We can't! Jump on Appa. I'll try to distract him!" Aang ran off before he could stop him. It wasn't this time then... He wasn't meant to sacrifice himself here.
"He's gone after Aang!" Katara cried.
The Metal man hadn't even given them a second glance as he ran after the Avatar. Kuseron used the shadows to get Chiel onto Appa. They took off into the air and he narrowed his eyes as he saw the scene below. He watched Aang fly into the air as a rock person before the earth dropped to the ground and he landed beside Katara. "I'm okay." He gasped.
Toph was lightly gripped his arm. "That was random."
Katara shook her head. "I don't think so, I have a feeling he knows who we are..."
They flew off into the night.
Kuseron sighed as they landed on the ground on a black island. The place was completely covered in lava that had hardened years ago... The Shadowbender sighed. "Why are we here?" He asked for the second time. He understood that Aang had been called to go to this place, but this place was just an old ash pile. "But there's nothing here." Katara muttered.
Toph leapt down beside him. "Y-Yes there is..." She frowned slowly as she spoke. "A village, a hundred homes, all buried in ash."
He stared down at the ground. Where were you when this happened Murmur? He could see his tattoos dimly glow. My, our, past life was in the Northern Water tribe. Kuseron frowned more but they quickly set up camp as the sun began to set.
Aang took up a sitting position on the edge of a rock formation. Kuseron watched as the boy's tattoos glowed. He had entered the spirit realm.
It was well into the night until the Avatar moved, but he had not returned from his journey in the Spirit world, instead they watched as he looked like he was... using... the restroom. Katara and he were both wearing the same face, "Do they have bathrooms in the Spirit world?" She asked with her eyebrow twitching in disgust.
Sokka shook his head. "A matter of fact, they do not."
Kuseron looked at the warrior. "How would you know that?"
Sokka looked back at him with a frown. "Got trapped there once, wasn't fun."
They went back to their places as Aang resumed his sitting position. The Shadowbender frankly, he was going to be scarred for a while about that whole matter. "You alright?" Toph asked as she sat down beside him. Kuseron sighed. "Yeah, I'm good, just going to be scarred for a while." He replied. The earthbender jabbed him in the side. "I mean are you actually alright? You seem a bit..." She trailed off. "Not like you."
Kuse blinked. He had been sulking a bit since he found out about the sacrifice thing. When the time came would he die? Surely not, he didn't want to leave Toph. The Shadowbender was unable to help himself, he drew the blind girl into a hug. If I do die, hopefully, she will be able to move on... Toph had gone stiff. She was surprised probably. "Sorry." He muttered as he drew back, smiling at her when he saw her face. She was blushing fiercely and visibly surprised on usually straight face.
Toph finally came around after a minute. "T-That's okay." She stammered a bit but only soon, curled into him. Morning would come soon, so it was best that they got some sleep. The Shadowbender buried his face into her soft, raven black hair. The earthbender was already snoring lightly.
He brushed his lips against her ear as he spoke softly. "I love you."
Sleep would allude him once more, but on his own accord. He was just thinking a little too much. Kuseron hadn't even notice the sun beginning to rise but Aang was slowly returning from the Spirit World. Toph lifted her head, she probably could tell Aang was moving around now. "He's back!" Toph said loud enough to wake Katara and her brother. They quickly got up and gathered up on the rock that Aang was on. The Air nomad looked at them with a small smile. "Hey guys."
Aang quickly explained that Avatar Roku and Firelord Sozin had been friends. Kuseron wasn't as phased as everyone else. "You mean after all Sozin and Roku went through together, even after Roku showed him mercy, Sozin still goes and betrays him like that?" Katara asked, shrugging slightly.
Kuseron looked down at Toph as she spoke. "It's like these people are born bad."
That wasn't true. He had learned that a long time ago... "No that's wrong. I don't think that was the point of what Roku showed me at all." Aang replied quickly.
Sokka spoke next. "Then what was the point?"
"Roku was just as must Fire Nation as Sozin right? If anything this story proves that anyone can do great good and great evil." Aang stood. "Everyone, even the Firelord and the Fire nation are worth treating like they have a chance, and I also think it was about friendships..." The Air nomad turned back to look at them.
Kuseron looked down at Toph again, she was frowning and looked a bit sad. "Do you think friendships can last for more than one lifetime?" Aang took her hand, as well as Katara. Kuseron smiled and hugged her lightly from behind. "I don't see why not." Aang said.
"Well scientifically speaking, there is no way to prove—" Sokka was cut off by Katara.
"O! Sokka just hold hands!" She growled at him. The boy stayed in the position he was, in a thinking pose but he quickly took his Sister's hand.
Lovely way to end the 9th chapter eh? So this is a collection of things from episodes 4-6. Next will be the Runaway! Don't worry, it'll be getting better soon... Oh, and keep the idea of sacrifice in mind guys. I'm not implying anything, but soon... Soon you will all see my thinking.
[1] The Painted Lady and Murmur used to be in Lurve~ If that wasn't very clear.
Anyways~ Love it, hate it, review it~ I love your reviews guys, it's what makes me keep going.
Also, please check out the next Author's note, it's important.
