FIC #2 HERE WE GO! Maka and Blackstar time :)
This fic isn't going to update nearly as quickly as FStS did, but I still don't plan on dropping off the face of the earth, so hopefully this will move along slowly but steadily!
Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater or Avatar: the Last Airbender
When Kid gets his first glimpse of the Northern Air Temple, he is immediately sure that no description or picture of it can possibly do it justice.
Towering spires of stone rise like sentinels above the clouds, their bases melding smoothly with the mountain they sit on. The temple itself seems impossibly high up, almost as though it is hardly connected to the earth at all.
"And here we are!" their guide, a monk in his early twenties, announces cheerfully. "Now we just have to wait for our sky bison to arrive."
Excited murmuring runs through the small crowd- all travelers picked up from the nearest Earth Kingdom town. The air nomads are happy to share their homes with curious outsiders, so it had been easy for Kid, Liz, and Patty to join a group headed for the Northern Air Temple.
"I can't wait to sleep in a real bed for once," Liz sighs, staring up at the complex longingly.
"Whatever happened to 'beds are for spoiled brats who wouldn't last a day on the street'?" Kid teases, lifting an eyebrow at his friend.
"Shut up," she says, although there's no malice in it. Kid smiles. Finally, after weeks of darting from village to town to empty forest clearing like elephant rats, Kid and the sisters will be able to rest without worrying about Arachnophobia goons hunting them down. Plus, Kid will finally get an airbending master! He's slept lightly these past few nights, wondering what bending an element besides fire will be like. He'd be lying if he said he isn't excited.
"Aaand there's our ride!" The whole group follows the monk's outstretched finger, and Kid's eyes widen. A sky bison! The enormous beast glides down to them with grace it shouldn't seem to have, six legs treading air like water. He's seen pictures of these animals, but seeing one in person is a different experience altogether.
"It's huge!" Patty exclaims, her eyes sparkling.
"Yeah, it is," Liz grimaces. She doesn't look so excited.
"It's an herbivore, Liz, it's not going to eat you if that's what you're worried about," Kid assures her, recalling what little he's read about the creatures. Liz doesn't look convinced.
"Meat-eater or not, it's still got teeth the size of my head. Is this really the only way up?"
"It is if you don't wanna climb!" Patty chirps. Liz groans, but doesn't argue further. Gradually, the sky bison closes in on the little group, and before long it's landing in front of them, pushing a light gust in all directions. A large saddle is attached to its back.
"Alright everyone, time to-," the guide starts, but a desperate shout cuts him off.
"Wait!"
Running up the trail is a blonde-haired girl about Kid's age, a blue-haired boy right behind her. Both are dressed in typical Earth Kingdom clothes, but the girl carries an airbender's staff. At the sight of her, Kid freezes, shocked. No way...
"Please wait," the girl pleads again, coming to a shaking halt in front of the guide. "We want to come too!" The guide looks apologetic.
"I'm sorry you two," he winces. "But we can only take so many people at a time. Why don't you catch the next group?"
"But that's in two weeks! We've got to get up there now," the girl insists.
"I'm really sorry, but-,"
"They're with us!" Kid exclaims suddenly, surprising everyone. The boy and girl in particular are staring at him, shocked.
"Yeah," the girl chimes in after a moment. "We were going to meet before we got here, but somebody made us late." This last statement is punctuated with a scowl at the blue-haired boy, who either doesn't notice the jab or is ignoring it.
"Oh! I didn't realize," the monk says, looking between the two groups. "Well then, I suppose we can make room for you."
"What are you doing?" Liz hisses to Kid, side-eyeing him as the Earth Kingdom teens head over.
"That's the girl I saw in the swamp!" Kid whispers back. Liz's eyebrows shoot up.
"Wait, seriously?" she asks. Kid nods. Although being in that swamp had felt like wading through a fever dream, he remembers the face of the apparition he'd seen there. Green eyes, blonde pigtails- it has to be her.
"Thank you so much," says the girl, once the five of them stand together in a little group off to the side. "We owe you one."
"Speak for yourself! A big star like me doesn't go around owing anyone anything!" the blue-haired boy pouts, sticking his nose in the air.
"Shut up, Blackstar," the girl hisses, elbowing her companion. He sticks his tongue out at her, but quiets down. Together, the five of them form a line with the other travelers, everyone taking their turn to climb up into the sky bison's saddle. Kid tries not to grip the creature's fur too tightly, but it hardly seems to notice him.
"My name's Maka," the girl tells them, once they're all settled. "It's nice to meet you."
"I'm Blackstar," the boy announces proudly, jabbing his thumb in the air. "You know, you guys did good, helping out my friend like that. It's stuff like that that'll help you climb the minion ranks real quick!"
"Huh?" Kid stares at him, baffled. Maka shakes her head, sighing.
"Ignore him. He's got a bit of a god complex, but he means well."
"I mean awesome, not just well-,"
"So why are you guys headed for the air temple?" Liz cuts Blackstar off, addressing Maka. "You're Earth Kingdom, aren't you? Besides, I thought the northern temple was guys only."
"My papa's Earth Kingdom, but my mama's an air nomad. I got my bending from her," Maka explains proudly. "She left when I was young, and now I'm trying to find her. I don't expect her to be here exactly, but I'm hoping to get a lead from the monks."
"You're an airbender?" Kid asks, sitting up straighter. So that part of his vision had also been true as well...
"Yep! My mama trained me before she left. I probably could've gotten my master's tattoos, but I didn't want to shave my head."
"I don't blame you," Liz nods. "Like, I guess some girls can make it work, but I would not be one of them."
An airbender, Kid thinks. And a skilled one, by the sound of it. Why would the swamp have wanted me to see her? Unless...
"Is everybody ready?" The guide's call pulls Kid from his thoughts. All the travelers have settled down, and the monk is holding the bison's reins. When no one objects, the monk nods, turning in his seat on the animal's enormous head. "Alright everyone, hold onto your luggage, please!" With a light snap of the reins, the sky bison lurches into motion. Six legs churning, it climbs into the air like a huge, fluffy bird, and they're on their way.
"Oh!" Kid exclaims, watching as the ground drops away beneath them. Liz and Patty, along with many other passengers, are similarly entranced.
"We're flying!" Patty cries, and Liz laughs in amazement.
"What, you guys have never flown before?" Blackstar asks them, from where he's lounging against the saddle. Neither he nor Maka has even glanced over the saddle's rim.
"Definitely not," Liz says, her eyes still glued to the scenery.
"It's amazing, isn't it? My Mama used to take Blackstar and I for rides on her bison when were little," Maka tells the trio.
"Your mom has one of these?" Patty asks, turning to face her.
"Yep! She grew up at the Eastern Air Temple, so she got him when he was a calf," Maka nods.
"Lucky! I want one!"
"I'm sure they're a lot of work, Patty," Liz points out, settling back into the saddle. She smooths her hair down with one hand, trying to flatten out the flyaways. Kid pulls back as well, facing their new companions once more. Maka and Blackstar, huh?
"Oh!" Kid exclaims, a thought hitting him. "I'm sorry, we haven't introduced ourselves. I'm Kid," he says, bowing his head politely at the duo. Maka returns the gesture, but Blackstar just grins.
"Kid, huh? I can remember that. I'll give you a shout-out when I'm surpassing the gods."
"...Thank you," Kid blinks, unsure how else to respond to that.
"I'm Liz," his companion says, waving her hand a little. "And that's my sister, Patty." Liz points to the girl in question, who's moved towards the front of the saddle and seems to be trying to get the bison's attention. Kid groans when he notices this.
"Patty, leave the sky bison alone!" he calls over to her. Patty pretends not to hear him, running her hands through the animal's soft pelt. He can just make out snatches of things whispered into its ear, and he hopes she's not trying to convince it to run away with them. Although, being able to fly everywhere would be nice. He's finally used to all the walking they do now, but he'd still appreciate an easier mode of travel. Maybe they should look into getting some ostrich horses?
"It's alright, they like it when you talk to them," Maka assures him.
"Do they?" Kid asks, interested. He doesn't know much about sky bison, but he's heard they're fairly smart. Perhaps it shouldn't surprise him, then, that they like direct acknowledgement.
"Maka's read, like, every book ever written about sky bison," Blackstar informs him, rolling his eyes. "It's super nerdy."
"There's nothing nerdy about wanting to know as much as you can about something so important!" Maka huffs, scowling at Blackstar. To Kid, she elaborates: "All airbenders get a sky bison as a lifelong companion. Since I wasn't raised in an Air Temple, I'm pretty behind on getting mine, but I want to be ready when I finally do!"
"That makes sense," Kid nods, and Maka gives Blackstar a haughty smile.
"See?" she announces, folding her arms.
"So he's a nerd too, big deal," Blackstar snorts, and Maka's expression sours once more. Lifting one arm high over her head, she brings the side of her palm down on Blackstar's head. The boy grunts, his eyes crossing from the force of her strike, and for a moment Kid is afraid a fight is about to break out right there in the saddle. After a dazed second or two, however, Blackstar shakes his head and laughs. Is that a regular thing for them? Kid wonders, bemused.
"So what are you guys visiting the temple for?" Maka asks, as though nothing at all strange had just happened. Kid blinks for a moment, but quickly regains his composure.
"We're looking for-," he starts, then pauses. Should he tell them he's looking for an airbending master? His clothes are distinctly Fire Nation, as are Liz and Patty's. Then again, Maka's wearing Earth Kingdom clothes; can he claim to have also been raised outside the temples? From the corner of his eye, Kid sees Liz watching him. Revealing his identity in Marie's village, when their lives may have depended on it, was one thing, but sharing his secret with two people he's just met is another entirely. They seem friendly enough, but for all he knows, they could be loyal to Arachne.
"What's wrong?" Maka asks, brows furrowed in concern. He's been silent for too long. He flashes what he hopes is an apologetic smile.
"Sorry, lost my train of thought," he tells her, and she makes a noise of understanding. "My situation's actually pretty similar to yours. My mom was an air nomad, but she died when I was young." Silently, Kid sends the blurry figure in his memories an apology. From what his father's told him, his mother was pretty easygoing, but it never hurts to be respectful.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't realize," Maka winces. Kid shakes his head.
"Don't worry about it," he assures her. She smiles gratefully. Then, she gasps, her eyes widening at something over Kid's shoulder. Kid turns to follow her gaze, and he gapes.
They've arrived.