Title: The Nomadic Journey of Kari
Author: Annie Dolnar
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T
Originally written: 2008
AN: I wrote this long before we received the info we have about Korra, so obviously this is an AU. My guess is I never posted it due to canon coming through.
The Nomadic Journey of Kari
Dear Family,
Papa has only just left, and I already miss you all! Traveling won't be the same without you guys!
I found out, upon arriving, that Lanaya is married to Aken. They've both changed a lot! I won't be surprised when I find out they've had twelve children.
Anyway, I admit I'm a little scared to start a journey on my own, but I'm excited. I think I'll start with Kyoshi Island when I leave the Southern Water Tribe, even though I've been there dozens of times. I do have friends there who I would like to see, after all.
I've decided to think of my journey as more of a journey to find myself, since I probably will not be a nomad all my life. I want to ask myself the big questions, like Uncle Iroh says- who are you, and what do you want?
I love you all,
Kari
The day Kari left home, the sky was grey and bleak, and rain was falling on the house which she had called home her entire life.
All of the animals were hiding beneath trees or inside the usually cheerful temple, but for now, the humans were not. Rather than be inside in the dry, warm home of theirs, Kari's family was out in the open, although they weren't actually getting wet, as her father and mother were bending a sort of cover over the little group. And, two animals were outside-her father's flying Bison and the oldest bat lemur, Momo, who was on the shoulder of Kari's brother Anil.
Her mother was crying. Kari had known she would, but now that she was, her coming journey scared her. The nomadic journey- a journey her three brothers and sister had all taken, a journey her parents felt she should go on, even though she was not an airbender. Her brothers and sister were supposed to be nomads, since they were airbenders, after all. The newer air nomads, the ones who had been born recently and taken to the temple to be raised- they would also be nomads, and airbenders too. But Kari was a waterbender, conceived and born in the water tribe.
Kari's sister Rinchen airbended a bag onto Appa. Then she turned to Kari, put a hand on her shoulder, and said, "When you get to Ba Sing Se, say hi to Tenzin for us and tell him to visit or else. He hasn't visited since his wife had the baby!"
It was then that Katara ran to her youngest daughter and, giving her a big hug, whispered in her ear, "Please be safe, Kari," before moving back to her two middle children. While Kari climbed onto Appa- with some help from Rinchen- Aang went to kiss his wife goodbye and tell her not to worry, and then climbed on Appa himself. And they were off.
Thirty minutes into the trip, Kari couldn't hold in her questions any longer.
"Where should I go, Papa?" she exclaimed out of the blue. "I have no idea how this nomad-thing really works! I mean, usually you and mom are the ones who travel, and I just... Stay home, and take care of the air temple."
Her father smiled. "You go wherever the wind takes you, Kari," he said lightly. "But for now you're starting at the water tribe. Visit Uncle Sokka and Aunt Suki if you like, or even Aunt Toph. Wherever you feel like going, whenever you feel like going there. Even home. You can come home any time you like."
"No matter how early?"
"No matter how early, or late, even. Tenzin waited almost two years to return, and even then he was already planning on settling. Anil returned in eleven months. Rinchen came home in six. You can come home whenever you like, or not at all, if you so desire," Aang explaned.
"Not at all?" Kari replied incredulously. "Why would I not come home at all?"
He shrugged, still smiling. "You might find yourself a boyfriend out there, Kari, and then settle down. Tenzin did about the same, except he returned home with Nina before he married her."
She shivered. "I- I don't think I'm ready to get married yet," she told her father. "Just the thought makes me feel sick. All the boys in the water tribe, and all the boys on Kyoshi Island... They're all so... So stupid..."
"I'm afraid all boys are stupid, Kari," Aang said wearily. "Perhaps it would be better if you waited a few years to go on this journey..."
"Oh, Papa," she giggled. "I'll be fine. I'm not soul searching, you know- I'm only sixteen."
"Tenzin was born when I was seventeen," Aang reminded her. "I got married at sixteen."
"But Mama was eighteen," said Kari. "And she was marrying the avatar. I can't imagine you being anything like those stupid boys who follow me around in the water tribe."
Aang laughed. "You'd be surprised," he muttered. And then he said, in a quiet, airy whisper that Kari barely heard, "I love your mother so."
Kari looked up from her weaving. "You must really love Mama, to have wanted to marry her the minute you turned sixteen."
"I gave her that engagement necklace on my birthday," he chuckled. "My sixteenth birthday. That was when the Water Tribe fully recognized me as an adult. But so many also proposed to her, whenever we visited the Northern Tribe, or whenever Northern tribers came to live in the Southern tribe... It drove me crazy! There she was, a sixteen year old beauty, having boys after her left and right, and I couldn't have her for two more years. So all I could do was watch as all of them tried to give her engagement necklaces, and then feel triumphant when she told them, "Sorry, but I'm the Avatar's girl." After a while, they stopped asking."
Kari was laughing too, by the end of the story. "You must have liked that," she said.
"It was something off of a play the Ember Island players did," he explained sheepishly. "They tried to reenact our lives up to a few days before Sozin's Comet came, and they butchered it all. You remember Firelord Zuko? They thought he and your mother had something. And this was all before your mother and I started dating, so I was pretty.. frustrated. There was a part where Zuko and Katara were stuck in the crystal caverns, and Zuko said "aren't you the avatar's girl?" and Katara said something along the lines of "no way". And I suppose Katara remembered that particular line, because she always said she was "the avatar's girl" when anyone asked..."
"That must have made you feel better," Kari said knowingly. "But I can't believe it- they thought there was something between Mama and Firelord Zuko? Were they smoking something?"
Both of them were laughing now, so hard that Kari's eyes watered a little. When the laughter finally died down, though, Aang had to make his point.
"My point is," Aang began, "that if you find the right stupid boy, Kari, you won't want anything to do with anyone else who might come between you."
Kari smiled. "I don't feel like finding the "right stupid boy" just yet, Papa," she assured him.
"I'm just saying," Aang said, throwing his hands in the air as though surrendering, "you never know. I certainly did not expect the first person I would see after being freed from an iceberg would be the love of my life. Destiny is a funny thing, Kari. You never know."
"But... Isn't your destiny to save the world and keep it balanced?"
"That doesn't mean it isn't also to love Katara forever, and never let her go," he said distantly.
Kari stared at him for a moment before saying disgustedly, "Now you're going all mushy on me."
Her father only laughed.
They were silent for a long time after that, Kari weaving her basket which she would carry everything in(she had kind of procrastinated weaving, as it had made her feel like her journey was further away than she hoped). Now that she had started the journey somewhat, she felt excited and could not wait for what was in store.
"Maybe I'll go see the ember island players," she said aloud. "Or visit Firelord Zuko and Firelady Mai, and GranFirelady Ursa. Or I'll go to Omashu and go through the Cave of Two Lovers... Or to the swamp, and visit our swamp bending brothers..."
"Well, unless the wind is seriously taking you there, don't go to the desert," Aang said seriously. "Or to the village that celebrates Avatar day. That place... Wasn't fun."
"What about Aunt Wu? You mentioned a lady named Aunt Wu before."
"Aunt Wu? She must be so old by now, I'm not even sure if she's still alive! Maybe you can check for us," Aang said.
Kari went silent for a moment, before bringing up the only subject no one ever spoke of first when she was around.
"How is Prince Roku?"
The Avatar sighed. "In need of forgiveness," he answered. "I know you're afraid, Kari, but everyone needs to be forgiven."
"I don't have to forgive him if I don't want to," Kari said irritatedly. Then her face grew softer. "Is Roku really that upset with himself?"
"After he burned you, I went to talk with him," Aang said quietly. He had never told anyone but Katara about this, but he felt perhaps Kari should know. "He told me he was afraid he would be like his Aunt Azula, that he would be uncontrollable. I told him that the fact that he was so worried proved that he was nothing at all like Azula, and that seemed to cheer him up. But not by much. He told me he could still go bad, that his whole family had bad in them, and he told me he never wanted to firebend again. I told him all about the first time I had ever tried to firebend- how I had accidentally burned Katara, and how I had not wanted to firebend either. I told him about how I knew his father was to be my firebending teacher when, after accidentally burning Toph, he told me it was important to keep control. But that didn't seem to help him- he only said his father would be furious, and that he would be squashed like a bug. So I reassured him that his father was not Ozai, before going back to the room your mother was using as a sort of hospital bedroom."
"He was beyond reassurance," Kari whispered.
"He needed comfort," Aang agreed. "Forgiveness, and for someone to tell him everything would be okay, that he wasn't a monster. And it wasn't me he was supposed to hear it from. But I tried anyway..."
"I'm sure you helped him, Papa. Are we almost to the water tribe?"
Aang looked out over the ocean, which was steadily becoming more icy. "We're almost there," he replied. "Just a few more blocks of ice," he chuckled.
Kari watched as, slowly, the pieces of ice along the water became one mass of ice, until they had finally arrived at the water tribe. They were greeted with shouts of excitement and welcome as Appa landed and Kari jumped off as fast as she could.
"I'm going to go see Lanaya," she yelled at her Papa. "I'll be back to say goodbye in a little bit!"
The crowd of people were gathered around Appa, ready to properly greet the Avatar, but Kari knew Lanaya would stay in her family's hut- neither Lanaya nor her mother liked crowds very much. Breathless, she knocked on the door of the large igloo-like structure, only to find Lanaya's mother standing alone in the house.
"Kari?" she asked. "Is that you? My, have you grown!"
"Where's Lanaya?" Kari asked, looking around.
Lanaya's mother looked estatic. "Oh, that's right! You haven't been here to hear the news! Lanaya's gotten married!"
Kari's jaw dropped. "Married? Wait..." she thought deeply for a moment before saying, "it's that tall boy named Aken, isn't it?"
She smiled. "Yes, that's him. They live in an in igloo not far from here. It's brand new- they just got married a few weeks ago- you can't miss it!"
"Thank you," said Kari before running off in the direction Lanaya's mom was pointing towards.
Lanaya's hut looked very new indeed, thought Kari as she came towards the small home. Small, because only two people lived in it. Kari thought they would probably move to a larger home, or extend on their own, once they began having chilren. Children! Kari could certainly imagine Lanaya with children, but not with children of her own. It was strange enough that Lanaya was married- MARRIED- to Aken, who Kari imagined had yet to reach his full height. Aken, who had stumbled around her and stuttered when trying to speak a word to Lanaya, becoming redder and redder in the face with every giggle Lanaya let out, before finally running off.
The door opened, and there was Lanaya, tall and smiling and... Blushing? Was she blushing?
"Kari!" she yelled before attacking her friend excitedly. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm taking the Nomadic Journey," she answered, just as much excitement in her own voice. "And it looks like you've started a journey of your own," she smiled.
Lanaya smiled slyly back. "Kari, you remember Aken, don't you?"
"How could I forget?" asked Kari as Aken appeared in the doorway, grinning. "Last time I was here, you couldn't even say an entire sentence without stuttering if Lanaya was within fifty feet of you."
Aken laughed. "Glad I've changed in the last two years," the tall watertribe man said, and Kari had to wonder if she was seeing the same Aken in front of her. She knew she was when he blushed. "I wasn't that bad, was I?" he asked nervously.
"You were pretty bad," Lanaya said. "But that ended pretty fast, after you kissed me."
"Whoa. Stop. Hold up. I need to hear this story!" Kari cried.
"Come in, then," Lanaya said, pulling her inside the little home. "Have some tea, and we'll tell you what you've missed."
Kari allowed herself to be pulled in and given a cup of hot tea, while Aken and Lanaya both told the story.
Aken had apparently been practicing talking to Lanaya in front of a mirror about two months after Kari left, and when he went outside to find her, he simply couldn't say a word. According to Aken, no words could do her beauty justice(at which Lanaya blushed), and finally he did the one thing he never thought he could do- he kissed her, right then and there. Lanaya had surprised herself by kissing him back, and after that, Aken did not stutter nearly half as much as he had. They had been together ever since, and Aken had carved her an engagement necklace on her sixteenth birthday.
An hour later, Kari was heading back to Appa, to say goodbye to her Papa. She felt refreshed after a nice hot cup of tea, and was now ready to say goodbye. And it seemed Avatar Aang was ready to return to his wife and other children.
"Bye, Papa," she said, giving him a big hug. "I'll send letters as often as I can."
"Have fun, Kari," Aang whispered. Then he let go of her, before backing away and jumping onto Appa, who growled.
Kari laughed and patted the Bison's fur. "I'll miss you too, Appa," she said sadly.
And soon her father was gone.
Ten Weeks Later
Dear Family,
Papa, remember how you said I might meet a stupid boy? Well, I've certainly met a stupid boy! His name is Romulus(from the Firenation), and he's a comeplete moron. He rushes into things without thinking and loses things by setting them down and walking away, and then forgetting he even had them! Romulus is so stupid that I decided he's not quite fit to travel alone, and so now the idiot is traveling with me.
Honestly, I'm not sure what compelled me to invite him along, but I fear that if he doesn't join me, he'll end up lost in the desert, and perhaps dead, all because he had no idea that deserts were hot and made up of an endless sea of sand. Please pray for my sanity as I guide this weirdo around the Earth Kingdom.
I found another Bison Whistle in the marketplace, and I bought it this time. I figured it might come in handy if I need to calm anymore animals, like that poor hungry Platypus Bear which attacked me this morning for my food(I'm fine, I'll tell you the whole story when I return). And I know you're worried about how airbenders will get to the temples in the future, dad, but don't lose hope! In the last town I was in, a woman told me that all the answers to your prayers are right in front of you, even if you don't always see them.
Rinchen, make sure Anil doesn't overdose on oatmeal cookies.
Your daugher, sister, and friend,
Kari
The day was bright and sunny- a good day for traveling, Kari thought to herself as she walked along the riverside. I feel good about this day.
Of course, that was when she tripped over a rock. Cursing her Uncle Sokka for making her inherit his luck, she got up and dusted herself off... And began to hear a sort of growling to her left. She looked in the direction, and there, standing between two trees, was an angry-looking Platypus Bear.
"Ack!" she exclaimed, jumping about a foot. Then she took a deep breath and started to slowly back away towards the river. If she could get to the water before the bear got to her, she could waterbend herself away. She was almost to the water when she heard something else, and it sounded like a battlecry.
Monkeyfeathers! she thought as a young man sprinted toward the Platypus Bear, spear held high. The bear heard his cry and immediately started toward him. Kari's eyes widened.
"No!" she yelled. "Don't hurt it!"
The young man turned to look at her in surprise, just as he reached the bear, who took the spear, broke it in half, and let out a ferocious growl. Kari wasted no time in bending water from the river at the bear, trying to distract it again. It worked- the bear was now coming for her again. She readied herself for the attack, waiting for just the right moment.
Sadly, the moment never came. The young man, who seemed to think he was helping her, ran up from behind and tackled the bear. Kari mentaly kicked herself for not freezing him to the ground when she had the chance, since he had already made it quite clear that he was somewhat of an idiot.
"RUN!" he cried fervently, trying to blind the Platypus Bear, but the bear was smarter, and so the young man was easily swatted off its back.
Kari didn't waste time seeing if he was injured- in her opinion, the world could do without a few dumb-dumbs(really it was because the bear was top priority at that moment- Kari wasn't that mean). She bent more water at the bear before finally freezing it to a tree, then ran to the young man, who was slowly drifting into unconciousness.
"You are the stupidest, most unlucky man I have ever met," she said softly as his world went black.
An hour later, Kari was sewing in the hut of a medicinal herbist, who had kindly allowed the young man to rest there. She peered over at him curiously; since she had healed his wounds, he had not stirred. So Kari silently set down the clothes she was repairing for him, took some water from a bucket, and massaged his head with her healing power.
"He hasn't slept in ages," she murmured. "Not since the night before last. No wonder he hasn't woken, and I suppose he won't until he gets hungry."
Wondering how anyone could go an entire night without sleep, she carefully removed her hands, placed the water back into the bucket, and returned to mending the clothes where the bear had cut through.
The Herbalist peaked in. "Miss Kana, would you like anything?"
Kari considered her for a moment. "Jasmine tea would be nice, if it's available in this area," she said.
The Herbalist smiled. "It is, ma'am. I'll return soon with some tea for you."
You'd be calling me "My Lady" if you knew my real name, Kari thought to herself as the herbalist walked away.
Just then she heard a small sound, a sort of groan. She looked back at the young man, who was blinking his eyes tiredly. He's stirring, she thought.
"Where am I?" he croaked. Kari waterbended a sips of water into his mouth so that he could drink.
"You're inside the home of an herbalist," she explained. "That bear knocked you unconcious."
He slowly turned his head toward her in order to see who was talking to him. "You're a waterbender," he whispered, his voice getting less croaky.
"A master waterbender from the Southern Watertribe," she said cooly. "My name is Kanna."
Before he had awoken, Kari had considered revealing her true identity, but had decided against it. Most of the people she met from all the kingdoms treated her like royalty when they learned her name and heritage, and the friends she had made throughout her travels, both with and without her parents, did not actually know who she was. To be treated like royalty was the last thing she wanted.
"A waterbending master, huh?" he asked tiredly. "Now I feel foolish."
"You should," she told him, crossing her arms. "I was fine, but you could have been killed! What were you thinking, rushing that bear head-on?"
He blushed. "I was thinking, 'A pretty girl is about to be eaten by a bear'"
Kari rolled her eyes and sighed. "Thanks for the gesture, I suppose, but I was most certainly not about to be eaten by that bear. I had a great escape plan and could have escaped by icebending on the river before you came rushing in."
"I'm sorry for being concerned," he said bitterly, glaring at her weakly. "I didn't know you were a waterbender."
"No, I suppose you didn't," sighed Kari. "No matter. I was only going to stop at this town long enough to gather more supplies, and now I get to do something interesting- babysit you, and finish mending your clothes."
When he suddenly realized he wasn't dressed, the young man blushed and pulled the blanket over him closer. "My name is, uh... Romulus."
"Nice to meet you, Uh-Romulus," Kari said with a small smile and a twinkle in her eye. Romulus smiled back at her. "Do you live in a town nearby? No one here knew who you were."
"I don't live around here," he answered. "I'm actually from the Firenation. I guess you could say I'm on a journey to discover my destiny."
Kari studied him for a moment. "I thought Romulus sounded Firenation," she muttered. "What a coincidence. I'm on the same type of journey. My family is nomadic, but I wanted to take a journey on my own."
"A nomadic Watertribe girl?"
She blushed- she had said too much. "My parents traveled to the Earth Kingdom from the Watertribe a long time ago," she said quickly. "They met some nomads here and joined them. But we did spend a lot of time in the Southern Watertribe, and sometimes we'd journey to the Northern one too." It was all true, aside from her family "joining the nomads".
He shrugged a little. "I've always lived in the Firenation," he said. "I'm not really used to it here."
I must be losing my mind, she thought before saying, "You can travel with me if you like. I know this place back to front, and it sounds like you're in need of a guide."
"I'm not a bender," he pointed out, sounding a little disappointed in himself.
But she only shrugged. "Neither was my Grandpa," she said. "Or my Uncle, my Aunt, three of my cousins, my mother's-"
"Okay, I get it," he laughed.
She smiled. "Why don't you learn to handle a sword? My uncles spar with each other a lot."
"I know how to use swords," he said sheepishly, "but mine got lost."
"Then you ought to get another one," she said.
He looked away from her in embarrassment. "You don't understand. I lost the sword because of my own stupidity, not in some epic battle. I set it down somewhere and forgot about it."
"I didn't expect anything less," Kari said, raising an eyebrow.
"I can't keep track of things on my own," he pointed out.
"Then I guess I'll have to keep track of it for you," she said, rolling her eyes as though she already wished to be rid of him. Romulus blushed a deeper red, but before he could reply, the Herbalist entered the room.
"I have your Jasmine Tea, Madame," she said, placing the tea in front of her. "Now that your patient is awake, will you be able to heal the rest of mine?"
Kari stood and bowed. "Of course, Madame," she said reverently. "It is my duty to help those in need, and those who help me first, in any way I can."
She then turned to Romulus. "Go back to sleep, you," she instructed. "From my examinations, you haven't slept for an entire night," she grumbled before following the herbalist to a new room.
Romulus sighed, feeling tense muscles relax suddenly as she walked away. "She may be polite, but boy is she grumpy!" he grumbled to himself. "Kind of reminds me of Aunt Toph. And I am foolish for rushing that bear head-on without any reasonable thought- she was right about that! Aunt Toph would have been disappointed in me," he whispered. "Just like everyone else. She always told me to wait for the right moment, to think things through. But noooo, pretty girl needed saving right then."
Eventually, Romulus fell asleep and did not wake again until Kari returned with dinner. When she woke him and helped him slowly to sit up, he fount that he was sore and that the food she had brought him was all vegetables, and both findings made him groan, though he said nothing.
"I'm sorry if you're a bit sore," she remarked, pulling a bucket of water a little bit closer. "If it's too much for you, you can lie back down and I'll put you through one last healing session."
"Ah-no, that's fine," he said, groaning as she helped him up. "The soreness can be my reminder not to be stupid in the future."
"Like you'll remember not to be stupid," Kari muttered, rolling her eyes. Then she sighed again. "Back when my sister or brothers or I did something very wrong that ended with us being physically hurt, she would heal us. But she wouldn't put us through that last healing session to get rid of the soreness. She told us it was to remind us of what we had done, so we wouldn't do it again."
"So you approve of me not letting you heal me?" he asked hopefully. She raised an eyebrow.
"I never said that," she said. "Though what you did was foolish, you sincerely meant well. Aside from that, I'd like to be out of here by tomorrow, and that would be hard if you couldn't wake up because you couldn't sleep tonight because of your soreness. And you really need a good rest; like I said, you were up all night last night."
He was blushing again. 'How about I eat, and then you take away the soreness?"
That earned him a small smile. "Okay, tough guy," she joked.
It's like she's trying to act meaner than she really is, "Romulus" thought to himself.
"And I'd like to know how you got us away from that bear," he said sheepishly.
She pushed the foodbowl in his direction. "You eat, I'll talk," she said.
"I don't know what you remember before being knocked unconcious, but the Platypus Bear wasn't happy about you being on its back, so he knocked you off and knocked you out. Well, I had been planning on not fighting him at all, but I had to get you out of there, so I froze him to a tree. Since you were unconcious, I bended water underneath you in order to lift you onto a block of ice I had bended in the river and used icebending to secure you. Then, when we were safely in the water on the ice, I freed the bear and bended us down the river. I found this town, and some of the men helped me carry you here. The herbalist is allowing us to stay for the night, in return for my help with her patients. She is a very polite hostess," Kari remarked thoughtfully. "You need to thank her."
Romulus nodded. "I was kind of wondering... Why didn't you want me to hurt the bear?"
She shrugged. "It wasn't the bear's fault you were a fool. And I didn't really have to kill it, or hurt it- just subdue it. If I had truly had to kill it, I would have." And that is where my father and I differ, she added to herself.
"I guess that's easy enough to understand. One of my uncles used to say that all life was sacred."
Kari narrowed her eyes. "Did your uncle know the avatar?"
Romulus considered her for a moment before saying, "Doesn't everyone? Avatar Aang is quoted by people all over the world. Why?"
"My family spent a lot of time in the Southern Watertribe," she reminded him quickly. "I saw him from time to time because that is where his wife is from. He always refused to wear animal skin because of that- he'd repeat what you just said."
"I think if I lived in a place as cold as the South Pole, I'd take the animal skins," said Romulus. "Must be nice, knowing the Avatar. I wouldn't know, though."
"I don't know the Avatar," she said firmly. "I've only seen him every now and then."
"Same here," Romulus said. "He visited the Firenation a lot when I was little, to help the Firelord with reforms and stuff."
"My mother always said he must be a great man, to be able to put up with all the stupid beliefs most of the Firenation seemed to hold and still be sane," Kari said quietly. This was, in fact, somewhere along the lines of something her mother had said.
"Are you sure he's sane?" Romulus joked. "From the stories I've heard, he's quite the character."
"If you count the ability to play with dozens of little kids without getting tired as insane, then he is," Kari said, raising an eyebrow.
Romulus just laughed, then made a funny face and brought his hand to his stomach, where the bear had scratched him. Kari took his empty foodbowl from him and bended some water to her hands. "Lie back down," she commanded softly, "and pull your blanket down to your waist."
Reluctantly, he complied. Or, he thought he had, until Kari grumbled, bended the water back to the bucket, and pulled his blanket down to his hips, way below his bellybutton, before bending the water back around her hands like gloves. "Geez, Mr. Firenation," she muttered, "you act like you've never been half-naked in front of a girl before. My brothers strip down to their underwear to go swimming all the time. Or, they did, until they hit puberty. Then they kept pants on, but they still stripped."
He didn't reply; he only blushed like mad and wondered why he was so nervous to let this girl heal him. He was so embarrassed that he remained silent until she was done and he had pulled the blanket back up to his chin(though his silence had been partially because the healing session felt so good on his sore muscles). After he was safely covered yet again, he tried to restart the conversation. "You said you were taking a journey," he said. "Were you headed anywhere, or were you just going wherever the wind took you?"
She shrugged. "Both, I guess. I've been sort of... Blown to Ba Sing Se, so I'm heading in that direction. More like floating in that direction, though, with how slow I've been going. Like the breeze is just gently nudging me toward the Earth Kingdom Capital."
"Why Ba Sing Se?"
"Well, I do have a few friends living there," she admitted. "What about you? Where are you going?"
"Honestly? I don't know. I just started walking away from my house one day. I haven't even looked at a map," he admitted sheepishly.
Once again, Kari did something Romulus did not expect- she nodded. "I keep a map to keep track of where I am and where I'm going, and to see how long my journey will be so I know how much supplies to buy. Otherwise, I don't use the map. I guess it's a nomad thing. I mean, sometimes I ignore it completely."
"I guess so. But I have to admit, Miss Kana, I hope the wind doesn't blow us in different directions later."
Kari blushed. "Just Kana is fine," she assured him. "Go to sleep, Romulus. We're leaving early, right after we find you a sword."
"Umm... Uncle Aang?"
Aang turned around. "Prince Roku? I thought your father said you ran off to look for your destiny?"
He hugged him. "I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd stop by," Prince Roku explained, smiling. "And my quest hasn't ended just yet, so I'm leaving in a little while."
"Be sure to say hi to GranFirelady Ursa and your parents," Aang told him. "You've got them worried. But gosh, have you grown!"
"Yeah... Listen, Uncle Aang... You have all the wisdom of every Avatar ever, right?"
Aang frowned. "Where are you going with this?"
"I need advice," Prince Roku pleaded.
"What on?"
He sighed. "Well, there's this girl..."
Aang grinned. "A girl, huh? You should take her penguin sledding."
Prince Roku nodded. "She'd probably enjoy that," he said. "She's from the Southern Watertribe, after all. She's a master waterbender. But, Uncle Aang, the problem is- the problem is, she thinks I'm a Firenation peasant named Romulus. And I'm worried that if I tell her who I really am, she'll be angry with me."
"Well, you did lie to her," Aang remarked. "But Prince Roku, I'm sure you have little to fear. If this girl truly loves you, she will understand- or at least try to understand."
"I'm afraid," Prince Roku admitted sheepishly. "I'm afraid to tell her how I feel. What if she doesn't feel the same way?"
"Ah... So your identity isn't really the biggest problem here, is it?"
Prince Roku shook his head helplessly.
"Prince Roku, if you have the chance to tell her, then tell her. If she loves you, then she loves you, but if she doesn't, then hopefully you can still be friends."
"But if she doesn't... I'll be hurt," Prince Roku said. "And I'm half sure that she doesn't."
"You know, when I was twelve, on the Day of Black Sun, I kissed your Aunt Katara goodbye because I was afraid I would never see her again and that I would die and she would never know I loved her. And do you know what?"
"What?" the Prince asked, face in his hands.
"She ignored it comepletely. When I returned, it was as though I had never kissed her. When I tried to kiss her again, she ran off."
The Prince frowned at the Avatar. "That's harsh," he said.
Aang laughed. "Don't get me wrong, Roku- I was kind of stupid about it. I kissed her even though she had just told me she was confused, and that was wrong of me- you can't blame her for running away. Love is hard when you're young. It gets better, but it's hard when you're young."
"Really, Uncle Aang?"
"The man you were named after told me the same thing a very long time ago."
Prince Roku nodded. "I'll tell her, then," he agreed. "And be prepared to face things."
"Good choice," Avatar Aang said, "because if you never say anything, it's likely she'll end up in someone else's arms. And I'm sure you don't want that happening."
"Definetly not," Roku said, grimacing. "Thank you for the advice, Uncle Aang. I'm going to go visit my family now, if you don't mind."
"Papa?"
Aang turned around. "Kari? What are you doing here?"
"I came here to tell the Firelord that I forgive his son," she said. Her father smiled.
"I'm proud of you, Kari," he said, pulling her into a hug. "Your mother's here somewhere, you know."
"I know. I already saw her. Listen, Papa, I know I've been gone a while so far..."
"You can be gone as long as you like, Kari."
She smiled. "Thank you, Papa. I'll visit as soon as possible."
"I'd hope so!"
A bell sounded in the distance. Kari looked around. "I must head back, Papa," she said. "I love you, and I'll miss you."
"I love you too," Aang said, kissing his daughter's forehead. "See you soon."
"Goodbye!"
It was only later, when Aang was chatting with Katara about his visit with Kari, that he remembered Kari had a friend.
"Did Kari say anything about Romulus when she saw you?" he asked her slowly.
"Yes, I asked where he was, and she said he was waiting for her out somewhere. Why?"
Aang told her what Roku had come to him about, including the fact that the girl he liked was a waterbending master who knew him as Romulus. Katara gasped.
"It can't be! Roku and Kari… But they don't know who each other is?"
"Seems like it!" Aang exclaimed. "I'd like to see how this goes!"
"Rrrraaagghhh!"
Kari shot up in her bedroll. "Romulus... Did you hear that?" she whispered.
"Rrrrrrrraaagggghh!"
"It sounds like a bear, or a Flying Bison," Roku whispered sleepily. Then his eyes went wide. "You don't think... Avatar Aang...?"
She shook her head and stood. "I'm going to go check it out," she said.
"Don't go without me," Roku said quickly. "I want to see this."
They walked towards the sound, finally reaching the base of a large bit of earth, shot up out of the ground like lava. Kari started to climb it, and Roku followed close behind.
When they reached the top, they couldn't believe their eyes.
"They... They look like Sky Bison," Kari whispered in awe.
"But... Brown, with black arrows," Roku pointed out. "And less like Bison... More like Bears with Bison feet."
Kari grabbed Roku by his clothes. "Romulus, do you realize what you're seeing?"
He looked out at them, and his eyes widened even more. "They can fly," he whispered, pointing at one which was soaring above the sleeping ones, making that same sound.
"RRRrrrrraaagghh!"
"They're the descendants of the sky bison... Romulus, this is such an amazing discovery! Both giant bears and flying bison went extinct during the hundred-year war, and somehow they must have bread, and created this," she whispered excitedly. "Romulus, we have to bring one to the Southern Air Temple! I know for a face that Avatar Aang will be there; Mama said in her last letter that they were returning there for a few weeks."
"How will we get one to come with us? They're wild, Kana!" exclaimed Roku quietly.
"Apples," Kari said. "Do we have any apples?"
"Yes, there are a few in the bag, but-"
"Then let's go, Romulus!" she said, starting her way down. Roku followed after her, wondering what she was doing.
"We heard many Airbending stories in the watertribe, due to the fact that an airbending avatar married into it," Kari explained as they searched for apples. "Airbenders chose life companions by feeding the Sky Bison an apple."
"So, by feeding one of these things an apple, we're making it our life companion?" Roku asked incredulously.
"I think we only need one. I'll do it... It wouldn't be bad to have a Giant Sky Bison Bear, anyway," Kari muttered. She and Roku ran back to the giant sky bison bears and climbed the wall as fast as they could. Kari pulled out a whistle she had brought along. "I bought this so we wouldn't have any more animal problems," she explained at Roku's questioning look. "Here goes..." and she blew the whistle.
The guarding bison bear looked at them, as did a few others, who flew into the air. They came toward them slowly.
"What if they decide they don't like apples?" Roku asked her.
"Then it sucks for us," said Kari.
The bison bears reached them and all stared at Kari, who was holding an apple. Finally she chose an older looking female, and tossed her the apple. The female ate the apple and licked her, causing Kari to laugh. She then licked Roku, who laughed as well. "I guess you're both of ours," Kari said, laughing. "And we're yours. And I think we'll name you... Anju."
"I like it," said Roku. Anju licked both of them.
"Anju likes it too," Kari said happily. The other bison bears began to wake up, and Kari climbed onto Anju and pulled Roku up with her.
"Anju, can you take us to our campsite please?"
Anju roared and then dove, flying toward the campsite. Once there, Kari and Roku quickly packed- even quicker when they realized that all the other Bison Bears were following behind- and jumped back onto Anju(but not before Kari fed her a watermelon).
"Alright, Anju," Kari said, tying rope around Anju's horns, "I hope you don't mind this. I'm taking you to see an ancestor of yours... And all of you will have a home," she called to the Bison Bears, who all roared at them. "YIP-YIP!" Kari cried, and Anju flew, leading the other Bison Bears to the Southern Air Temple.
The Southern Air Temple was very quiet, due to the fact that everyone was asleep.
They landed the Bison-bears over by Appa's little grazing area(Appa was pretty surprised to see them, but he integrated well), and ran inside.
This is it, Kari and Roku thought, I'm about to be found out!
"Where do we go in here?" Roku asked, looking around.
Kari swallowed. "Um… This way, I think. That way looks more… Spiritual. Like, not a place kids could run around and play in."
She pointed towards a part of the temple surrounded by trees and sleeping lemurs. The other way was more temple-looking, and had a few statues. Roku had been here before, though he barely remembered, and he knew which way to go, but he pretended as if he didn't.
Just as they came close to the entrance to the "family" part of the temple, the Avatar ran outside, clad in only a pair of pants and rubbing his eyes a little. When he saw his daughter and his nephew, his eyes widened.
"KATARA!" He yelled happily. "ANIL! RINCHEN! COME QUICK!"
Then he hugged both of them. "I had no idea you two would show up this late at night- and without a letter or anything! How did you get up here, anyway? I thought this place wasn't accessible to anything but a sky bison."
Kari and Roku stared at him blankly. "Um…"
Aang frowned. "You two look sort of confused. Were you not expecting me to look this good in the middle of the night?"
He gave a mischievous smile and held out his arms, as if to day, "TA-DA!"
"So," Kari said, catching Roku's glance, "you know… both of us?"
"Yeah," Roku said, looking confused. "Both of us?"
It was then that Aang frowned for a moment, and then facepalmed.
"Don't tell me," he muttered. "You still haven't told each other who you really are?"
"KARI!"
Katara came running up from behind Aang and tackled her daughter in a big hug. "Kari, you're home! Oh, my little waterbender, we have to celebrate! And your friend-"
She stopped when she saw Roku, and grinned. "Roku, should I get out the fireflakes? I know you like them."
Rinchen and Anil came from behind her, both looking as though they had been dragged out of bed. Rinchen smiled. "Sister! You are home," she said, and hugged her. Anil grinned as well.
"There's my baby sister," he said. "Nice to see you after so many months."
Then he looked at Roku, and his eyes became hard. "Roku," he said simply, glaring now.
Roku glared back. "Anil."
"What are you doing here?"
"Traveling."
"With my sister?"
"Obviously."
"OKAY!" Aang exclaimed, pulling Roku away from Anil. Katara took Kari by the arm. "Let's just, you know, go sit at the table and eat fireflakes. It's a wonder we still have so many…"
"Yes," Katara said, catching on to the confusion between Roku and Kari. "Anil, Rinchen, go… Go get us some water."
She and Aang dragged Kari and Roku to the kitchen.
"Listen up, you two," Katara said, and for a moment, she thought he was going to scold them for the co-ed travel. "You both TOLD me you were going to tell each other who you were MONTHS ago. So why am I still sensing complete confusion?"
Kari looked sheepish. "I kept getting nervous," she said.
Roku twiddled his thumbs. "Couldn't find the right moment," he muttered.
"Then let me introduce you," Aang said. "Kari, this is Prince Roku of the Firenation, son of your Uncle Zuko, and he is the most forgetful boy I know. He gave up firebending when he was young. You know him as Romulus, a non-bending Firenation peasant. Prince Roku, this is my daughter Kari, and she's the most unexpected person you will ever meet. You know her as Kana, a waterbending master from the Southern Watertribe."
Kari and Roku looked at each other in shock.
"Now, I won't have either of you two saying you're angry because of all the lies, because both of you lied. You don't have a right to be mad at each other. Clear?"
They murmured in agreement.
"Okay," Katara said cheerily, "sit down at the table while I get the fireflakes. Anil and R-"
Anil and Rinchen walked in, holding a bucket full of water. "Thanks, kids," Katara said, taking it from them.
They sat down at the table. Anil sat next to Roku , glaring murderously, while Rinchen sat next to Kari. Kari leaned over a little and whispered, "um, Roku? Remember the brother I told you about? The one that likes his special seat at the table?"
Roku didn't listen, only glared back at Anil. "The head of the table, huh?"
"Um… Yes…"
"So, how has your journey been, Kari?" Rinchen asked kindly.