A Note: The character Rin Hiwasaki and her kin, as well as Neeko Island, are copyrighted to me. All other things are copyrighted to the creators of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Kin is just another word I use for family and closefriends.
Chapter One
She stood there looking out to the wide blue waters which surrounded the small island of Neeko. The island was only one of many within a chain of islands, including Kyoshi as the largest. Her blue eyes, more pure than the clear sky above, scanned the calm waters in front of her. Nothing stirred, save a few golden-red hairs that fell loose from her braid. Silently, the wind began to blow softly as she turned her back to the ocean.
The small village which she walked through was near empty, it could easilybe mistaken for a ghost town. Within the center of the town laid a pile of ashes and fading embers resided inside a circle of stones. The smoke which came from the bygone fire from a fruitless ceremony still loomed in the air above. An elderly man was on both knees in a monk's robe as he placed another stone in the circle. The old man put his hands together and whispered a prayer. He got up and leaned on his walking stick.
"Another lost," he said in as the girl walked up behind him. She said nothing in return and knelt where themonk had been. Her lips moved while her hands were together and eyes were closed, but not even a whisper was sounded from her mouth. As she got up, the old man started speaking wearily in his cracking voice, "I cannot take this anymore. If the Avatar had not disappeared when I was young, I would not have to pray for my kins' safe passaeg to the Spirit world." The girl turned around and looked at the monk. His gray hair was short and messy, but his eyes were the most vibrant color of yellow she'd ever seen. When he was growing up he trained as a Firebender on the island, but had settled down and started a family. "Rin," he began to say again, "You are near age to leave the island. I don't want you to worry about us or get yourself in trouble." The girl, Rin, smiled weakly and gave the monk a hug.
"I don't want to leave you here all alone though daddy," she responded and rubbed her eyes to keep herself from tearing up. Rin let go of her father and took a long inhale of air. "I am worrying for you and the others, and beside the last part I haev no idea if I will get into trouble or not."
"Rin," he said and put his hand under her chin, "You are a beautiful girl who just turned fifteen a week ago. I don't want anyone in my family to cry at that age." He could see that she rubbed her arms again across her eyes and made a sniffing sound. He sighed and turned around to leave her. She watched her father leave before landing on both knees and started crying. She didn't want to leave the island. It is only by the word of a 'prophecy' that she is to leave the island at this age. Rin wrapped shaking arms around herself and let the tears come falling. There she stayed for a couple of minutes. At the time she hadn't noticed the other presence hiding behind a building.
Closer and closer the other girl came on her tip-toes. Rin got up at the sound of rustling leaves. She looked around and cleared her tears away before anyone noticed. "Wh-who's there?" she said, trying to clear her throat of all mention of crying. The other girl was only ten years of age with long brown hair and wore the clothes of a Waterbender. Tears streamed down the girl's own blue eyes. "I heard everything," she said and sniffed, "I don't want you to leave Rin!" The girl lunged forward and grasped Rin around the waist.
Rin smiled and returned the hug. She loosened the girl's arms and replaced them around her neck so she could kneel to eye level with the younger girl. "Marine," she said and wipped a tear from her eyes, "Everyone has their own destiny to do something." The little girl sniffeled one more time before giving her another hug. "I will be fine Marine. May I ask you a favor?" Rin continued. Marine nodded and finished cleaning the tears from her face. Rin smiled, "Take care of Furtado for me, okay?" Marine's face lit up brighter than the sun above them and she nodded with much excitment. She turned around and ran away from Rin after bidding farewell and waving good-bye. Rin watched the little girl fade into the distance, and still waved. Her smile faded before she turned towards her home. Furtado is Rin's pet bird that has a variety of colored feathers and is not too small, yet not too big. Within her room Rin did her best to memorize the fun she had and even some of the sad things.
Opening a small drawer within a small chest of clothes and trinkets, Rin pulls out a travel journal. The pages aare all blank as she checks to see that it it so when flipping through the booklet. A knock on the door shot her out of thoughts of past and maybe future events. Inside came her father witha bag used for travelling. "We will all miss you," he said and gave his daughter one last hug. Rin's body trembled with even more fear for the future, and she began to tear up once more. Before another tear fell onto her soft cheeks, she started packing lightly. Her mother was the only person to not see her off that day. Everyone on the island knew why... She had been taken away from them during the first ever raid that swept their town since the war started. No one knows of what happened to her since, but a few have thoughts that she was killed.
Another Note: I will continue updating this story, but only if the reviews I recieve show that this is a good fan-fiction so far.
