Avatar Spirit had a Shamrock Exchange for the last St Patrick's day, with a "Green" theme. My recipient was The Quaint Quill, who among other ships likes the idea of Teo/Jin. Always one to go looking for trouble, I decided to take a crack at that one.
Two Shades of Green
The color of the Earth Kingdom is green. It is a strong color, associated with the ground they draw their strength from, and reminiscent of the life that springs from it. Its people embrace the color, and happily incorporate it into their dress. The green of the Earth Kingdom is a statement of its identity.
Yet, not everyone wears the same shade.
Teo lives atop the Earth Kingdom's tallest peaks, surrounded by the sky, where the air is too thin to hold any heat, and all it takes is a single misstep to make a lethal enemy of the ground. Teo often leaves the Earth behind, to see how high he can soar.
Jin lives in the Earth Kingdom's widest city, surrounded by walls of stone, where loyal citizens can bask in the warmth of absolute safety, but one can find it all too easy to appear disloyal to the wrong people. Jin is content where she is, for she cannot imagine that this supposed shelter could ever be breached.
Teo's life is lit by the stars in the night sky, stars that shine brighter over his home than anywhere else in the world. The stars are far off, but clearly defined, more constant than even the sun itself. Teo does not know what the stars are made of, but he wonders.
Jin's life is lit by homemade lanterns, little flames that struggle against the pervasive darkness. The lanterns hang amongst the city folk, easily reachable, but only because they are so fleeting. A mere breeze can extinguish them, or their fuel could run dry, and it falls to the people to restore their light. Jin knows what the flames are made of, but pretends it is beyond her comprehension.
Teo finds freedom in technology, mechanical creations that allow him to move and live and fly. He thinks it an improvement when ancient temples are filled with pipes, decorative walls punctured to allow access points, art covered with functionality. He reasons that survival and convenience are worth giving up culture and history.
Jin finds freedom in people, fellow humans who can enrich her life by sharing knowledge of their own. Though she may never know of traveling across her nation, of experiencing the fun and joy of exotic amusements, of growing stronger for life's complexities, she can learn of them from those who have. She believes that without the simple happiness of a life well lived, there is little point in survival at all.
Though for all their differences, Teo and Jin both wear green. They both have been hurt by people they thought they could trust. Both want nothing more than to share the source of their joys with all their friends, and they would take unending pleasure in making friends with the whole world. Both have experienced the sudden appearance of war in their peaceful lives, and both received unexpected delivery from the new Heroes of a New Age. Both have, in their own unique ways, helped those Heroes reach their greatest victories.
The color of Jin and Teo, together, is green.
END