I'm feeling fast. I don't know why, but I do.
There is no holding Kiran anymore. We quickly find out where his destination fever came from, and to be honest... I feel stupid. I could have figured it out earlier.
So, we've been chasing the boy through the village, and I was wondering where he leads us to, because the house he singled out as his goal didn't even look remotely like a guard post.
It's simple, though. He knocked at the door, impatiently bouncing up and down in his spot and muttering "Come on! Come on!" just loud enough to be heard around my position. Then the door was opened by a woman bearing more than a passing resemblance to him. Same black hair, same brown eyes, same round face. Before I could process the whole thing, he jumped into her arms, crying. And the woman joined right in.
"Kiran! Thank Agni you're okay!"
Yup, that's it, folks. Kiran told us he lives here. So it makes sense that his family lives here, too. Really, stupid! But at least I'm not the only one. While the rest of us puts some politeness distance between ourselves and the overjoyed family reunion (father and a little sister appear soon enough in the door frame), Li Yu whispers, "And here I thought he was just being a jerk."
"Yeah..." I whisper back. "Turns out we've been the jerks all along for keeping him."
"Didn't see that coming," Maila states, and Judai shakes his head.
"Me neither."
"Club of idiots, anyone?" I remark, with a feeling of defeat instead of the shame I suppose I should be having. There's just the fact that I find some comfort with the knowledge that I'm not the only candelabra-head around.
Else, I'm just glad when I turn back to the scene, with Kiran being all but buried in a group hug and the participants mumbling stuff I can't hear, but clearly filled with happiness. It's just really sweet.
"We've done it," I hear Judai's voice out of the blue and spin around to face him. His gaze is trained at Kiran, so he probably hasn't been talking to me, but still.
"What do you mean?"
He flashes me a sidelong glance before focusing on the family again. "I mean we've been out for a while, but it's only now that I fully realize it." His hands clench into fists, causing me to frown. But I don't interrupt. "You know, all this time, I felt like some part of me was still locked in that cage. It's gone now."
I smile, that explanation makes me happy for him. "That's good."
He hums and crosses his arms behind his head again. Yup, definitely a habit. I tear my gaze away from my friend and look around the village. Just as assumed, it seems like a relatively wealthy place. The houses are made from stone where most villages have huts from wood. The street is gravel (which Li Yu keeps moaning about, and I really can't blame him), but I remember the main street to be cobbled. We came across it while running after Kiran.
I also notice some neighbors peeking out of their houses or blatantly gathering around. I'm getting increasingly uncomfortable with the gawkers and catch myself sliding behind Judai, for want of a better hiding spot.
Then a girl shoulders her way through the circle, sweaty and disheveled, and obviously in a hurry. She yells Kiran's name, grabbing at first his attention, then the rest of him. I can almost hear his bones crack from the hug.
"You're alive!" the girl cries for the whole village to hear, while the poor boy looks just about ready to fall apart.
"Not for long," he grunts and the girl jumps back, almost tripping over her own two feet. She seems just about to apologize, but Kiran quickly follows up, enveloping her in a less bone-crushing hug and planting a kiss on her lips. Which she eagerly returns.
I can just gape at the scene unfolding in front of my eyes. Girlfriend. Lo and behold, that dead serious guy has a girlfriend. Who knew?
My brother would turn away with a disgusted look on his face. (And Kiran's sister certainly does. I hope Maila will get off Judai's and my back now and pester him instead.) A few years earlier, I would have done the same thing. But these days, I'm mostly like: Meh. I couldn't care less. As far as I'm concerned, people are free to smooch wherever they want, even if it just so happens to be in the family door frame.
As soon as they break apart, the girl utters in a thick, breathy voice, "I thought I lost you." She is visibly shaken and overflowing with emotions.
"I'm home now," Kiran mutters soothingly, or at least I think so. He talks a good deal quieter than the girl. After that, the circle of onlookers is set into motion when more people break out of it to welcome the teen home. Give him hugs, slap him on the back, or just give a nod and receive a bow in return, in case of the eldest. Maila, Li Yu, Judai and me are skillfully ignored. Which I don't really mind, however, Maila does. At some point, she gets fed up and stalks over to Kiran.
"Hate to interrupt, but..." She jerks her thump at Li Yu. "Some help over here?"
"Oh, right..." At least Kiran has the decency to look abashed. "Sure. I'm sorry I got carried away."
Maila gives his arm a reassuring squeeze. "It's okay. We're happy for you, too."
She earns a suspicious glare from Kiran's girlfriend for her troubles, but she doesn't even see it. Just as well. Kiran waves us over, so my Judai-shield walks out on me to grab Li Yu instead. Maaan!
I plod after them, reluctantly joining the now very large door frame community. Well, at least they make a path so we get through without problems. The red footprints Li Yu is leaving on the gravel probably help, it's alarming how much his condition seems to have worsened. Kiran's mother is instantly on the spot.
"Oh my goodness," she breathes in shock. "Come on in, dearie! Kiran, show your friends to the bathroom, I'll bring some ointment and bandages!"
"I'm on it, mum!" He gestures into the house. "This way."
"No need to make such a fuss," Li Yu grumbles, but Maila has another opinion on the matter.
"You wanna catch an infection and lose your foot instead?"
That silences him. I can't really judge from the back of Li Yu's head, but I'd say he's still not happy with Judai and Maila dragging him around. Not exactly sure what to think about the scene, I resort to shrugging my shoulders and following them. I don't really want to stay outside where the gazes of the whole neighborhood bore into my back. Still, shouldn't we be finding the guard post? It's not like we're so badly needed for Li Yu to get medical attention. I can imagine that Kiran and Maila would like to stick around, the former with his family, the latter with her injured friend. But Judai and me are pretty much useless here, and I'd rather not spend more time at this place than absolutely necessary.
I awkwardly hang around a corner of the hallway, avoiding family members, while Judai drops Li Yu off at the bathroom. I've rarely been more grateful than when he joins me afterwards, leaving Maila and Kiran (who's trailed by both his sister and his girlfriend) to do their thing.
"A copper piece for your thoughts?"
"There's not much to say." I catch myself fiddling around with my hair. It's been a while since I've done that, but now that Judai has my tie, I'm not wearing it fixed tightly in a braid anymore. Which is a pretty odd feeling. "I'm just not that good with new people, you know?"
"Oh, come on!" Judai groans in response. "Who was the one who went out of her way to get me to talk, hmm?"
"That was different," I claim, refusing to look at him and checking my nails instead. Not that I actually see them. "It was such a dismal place, so dark and dingy, and I just needed to fill the silence. It was much more horrible than anything you could have said."
I catch movement from the corner of my eyes, but I don't bother looking up.
"Well, I guess that counts."
"So, what now? We got a little sidetracked on our mission."
"And rightfully so."
"I didn't deny that. It's just... the others are waiting for us and we can't afford to stay here for too long."
Noise makes me swivel around to the bathroom door. Kiran is just stepping through it and the open door wouldn't block Li Yu's struggle anymore.
"Look at the bright side!" I can hear the voice of Kiran's mother. "Now you've got all these beautiful ladies all to yourself!"
Wait, even Kiran's sister? And his girlfriend?!
Kiran slams the door shut and leans against it, groaning and rolling his eyes. "I'm embarrassed to be related to that woman," he mutters just loud enough for Judai and me to hear.
"Don't say that," Judai urges, friendly but firmly. "You just got her back."
Kiran sighs. "I guess you're right." He pushes himself off the door and pads over to us. "Is there a problem that you're standing in this dark corner?"
"This is Kami's waiting spot of choice," Judai defends, pointing at me with something akin to amusement. "I'm just here to keep her company."
Not feeling any need to explain myself, I go straight to the point, "I think we should get moving. We need to find the guard station and tell them what happened."
"So now you're suddenly in a hurry," Kiran complains, crossing his arms and eyeing me with furrowed brows. My cheeks start burning.
"Uh... sorry?" I offer meekly, and Kiran shakes his head.
"Don't worry about it, my father already went to fetch someone. You two just go to the living room, okay? I'll make some tea."
"Thank you, Kiran," Judai says and I raise a brow hearing it. Taking stuff for granted, are we?
"Can I help you with it?" I ask, but Kiran just shrugs.
"I'll be fine. Come on!"
He herds us into a spacious room, brightly lit by two large windows. A cozy fireplace makes up a part of the wall, a tapestry of the Fire Nation symbol above and a fluffy wool rug laid out in front of it, with a low table on top. A corner is occupied with a sofa and a higher, but smaller table covered in scrolls, a closet is standing next to the reading corner(?). A second door leads to the kitchen.
I'd say Kiran's family isn't the wealthiest I've ever seen, but they're definitely not too badly off, either.
"Make yourself at home," Kiran tells us and disappears into the kitchen. Judai takes the chance to stretch out next to the table on the wool rug, while I walk over to the other table.
"Can I look at those scrolls?" I call out for Kiran.
"Knock yourself out!" comes the response, and I go right ahead and browse through the paper. There is some history stuff like Breaching Ba Sing Se or Avatar Roku, and also some stories. The classic Love Amongst The Dragons, now a bit discredited due to the appearance of the Blue Spirit, who used a mask from the play to hide his face. Also The Tale of Liko, a story about a nonbender guy named Liko (obviously), who strives to become the best warrior of the Fire Nation, then Loves and Legends, a cheesy romance I never got past the first couple lines no matter how hard I tried (my mum loves it), a scroll which is simply labeled Bedtime Stories... Plenty of stuff. There is even a book among them, apparently some sort of diary. Still rather rare objects, those books, but I believe that, given another couple years, they'll replace scrolls entirely.
Nothing really catches my interest, apart from the scroll about Avatar Roku perhaps, but I don't think I should start this one now. Besides, it's probably chucked full of propaganda.
Oh, the High Dragons have mercy... When did I become so suspicious?
"You're into reading?" Judai's voice rips me out of my musings. I look up and find him watching me, still lying on the wool rug, but with the upper body hoisted up on his arms.
"Sure am!" I reply enthusiastically. "I recognize a lot of these. I think this is my favorite." I flourish a certain scroll. "It's called Dragonheart. It's about a girl who was raised by dragons, but then there is an epidemic which..."
"Epiwhatnow?" Judai cuts in, sounding almost offended by the word. I blink at him, thoroughly puzzled.
"An epidemic. A disease which spreads widely and quickly." Why doesn't he know that?
"Right..." Judai drawls, still somewhat sarcastically. "Can you use that the next time?"
"What?"
"Words that ordinary mortals such as myself can actually understand."
Everything I manage is standing there in flustered silence.
"Look," Judai sighs, putting his palms together to form an arrow. The scathing tone has vanished from his voice. "I don't know about you, but I'm just a simple peasant who went to school for four years, and waving one of these overly long texts around is a sure-fire way to drive me off."
"What are you trying to say?" I ask cautiously. Scroll still in hand, I walk over to Judai and flop down next to him. "You can read, right?"
The boy in question has sat up by now, but his slouched posture speaks of discomfort. "Yes," he puts most of my worries to rest, but the way he draws out the 's' almost into a hiss is still rather unsettling. So I wait for him to continue, which he does after a few seconds.
"I can read, I can write, but I don't like it. I prefer watching a play or listen to a storyteller when one is in town."
I chuckle. "Hey, you know 'prefer'!" I point out, cheering on the inside. "I always considered that one rather fancy."
Judai gives a noncommittal hum and shrugs. "Well, it's not like I don't know anything at all. It's just that I'm not a walking wordbook."
"Dictionary," I correct teasingly and earn a playful punch against the shoulder.
"Oh no, you won't!"
"Whatever you say, Master Wordbook!"
It's only when I hear a strange voice giggle that I realize that we're not alone anymore. I catch sight of Kiran's girlfriend, and by Agni, my face must be on fire!
"You two are enjoying yourselves, I see," she comments with what seems to be genuine gladness. "Do you know where Kiran got stranded?"
"Uh..." I make, stretching for the kitchen door. "Last time I checked, he was in there." I frown when I stretched far enough to spot an empty room. "Only that he isn't."
"Well, last time I checked," Judai stresses, "he left the kitchen and went somewhere, but I have no idea where. How's Li Yu doing?"
"Loud," the girl complains, and I feel her. "But he'll be fine, Mei is bandaging his foot right now."
"So Mei is Kiran's mother?" I ask, mostly for confirmation. Which is why the answer takes me by surprise.
"His sister, actually. But she's really good at it, despite her age."
"I'll... take your word for it," I drawl, unsure about the image in my head. "What's your name, by the way?"
"I'm Lori," she introduces herself sunnily. "And you are?"
"My name is Kamina, and this is Judai," I announce, causing my friend to roll his eyes to the heavens.
"I'm perfectly capable of saying my own name, you know?"
Okay... Didn't see that coming. "Sorry?"
"Agni, you're hopeless," Judai sighs, and this time, there is no playful undertone. He gets up and smooths out his robe. "I'll check on the stove. Can't have a fire in here because Kiran doesn't know how to boil tea properly."
And with that, he's gone, leaving me confused and a bit scared. Did I... miss something? A signal I went too far?
Did I push him away?
Haaah... Check, double-check, out.
Candelabra-head is... not exactly an insult I came up with myself. Candelabra is a rather common euphemism for 'idiot' in my country, and I thought it fitted the Fire Nation, theme-wise. So I just rolled with it when it sprang to mind while writing, I think it's fun. ^-^
Else... Gaang drought? I already miss Sokka, hahaha! ^^"
But I love my little Fire Nation babies, too. We mostly see the high society in the series (plus the school and Jang Hui), and it's fun to mess around with the lower classes. I imagine the Fire Nation to be a country with a real good education system, but it gets problematic when students don't have time to attend because they've got other stuff to do.
Oh yeah, world building! Always a pleasure!