An unexpected lull in my real-life duties gave me some time to write, so here's chapter 2! I'll also be posting a short oneshot later today :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater or Avatar: The Last Airbender
Heads up: Some language
"It's so pretty!" Patty exclaims, looking down over the saddle's edge in wonder. Beside her, Liz whistles appreciatively, also taking in the scenery.
"Meh, I've seen better," Blackstar shrugs, though the gleam in his eye is hard to miss.
Gliding down in a wide, slow curve, the sky bison gives its passengers a bird's eye view of the Northern Air Temple. Green-tiled roofs cast shade on wide pavilions from atop staggered towers. Staircases weave throughout the complex, and a light dusting of snow turns the whole scene white. It's unlike anything Kid's ever seen, and for a moment, all he can do is stare in awe.
As they get closer, the outlines of people throughout the complex become clearer. Most of them are men, shaved bald and sporting distinctive arrow tattoos. They all wear the reds, yellows, and oranges traditional to their culture, which makes the few foreigners among them easy to spot.
"Welcome to the Northern Air Temple!" announces their guide, smiling over his shoulder at the travelers. With skill that's surprising for his relative youth, he brings them down gently on what appears to be the main courtyard: a large pavilion boxed in by two layers of balconies. As soon as they've come to a stop, people begin to dismount.
"Finally here," Liz sighs, arching her back in a long stretch. "I was starting to think we'd never make it."
Kid can sympathise; there were points along their trip where he'd thought they'd be running and hiding forever. But now, hopefully, they can rest for a little while; It's supposed to be nearly impossible to reach an air temple without a sky bison, and Arachnophobia may be reluctant to besiege it from the ground. Here, the trio can rest, for now.
The last of the passengers is just climbing down from the bison's saddle when a small group of monks approaches, led by an elderly man. Judging by his robes, which are longer and more shawl-like than what his younger companions wear, Kid assumes he must be an official of some sort.
"It is our deepest pleasure to welcome you to our home," says the man, bowing low. Many of the travelers emulate him in response, all expressing their thanks for the hospitality. "I'm sure you've all had a long trip, so if you would like to collect your things and follow my disciples, they will show you to your rooms."
"Would the ladies please form their own group?" a younger monk announces, stepping forward to take charge.
"Guess we're splitting up for now," Liz gives Kid a wave as she heads over to join Patty and Maka with the other women. "Have fun with blue boy." Kid scowls at her retreating back.
"Alright, now it's party time!" Blackstar whoops once they're gone, his fists in the air. "Hey, baldy, when's dinner? I'm starving!" Kid rests his face in his hand, but the monk just laughs.
"We eat around sundown, so it shouldn't be too much longer. Alright, everyone, follow me!" With that, he sets off towards one of the large wooden doors encircling the courtyard. Following him, the group passes through a veritable maze of hallways.
"This place is a lot bigger than it looks on the outside," Kid murmurs to Blackstar.
"You think so? Cuz' I was just thinking how cramped it is for a big man like me!" Kid rolls his eyes, beginning to see a pattern in his interactions with the blue-haired menace.
As they walk, they pass by countless doors, all seemingly identical. It makes Kid wonder how anyone can live here and not get lost on a daily basis. Though, he supposes, if one's been here long enough, they'd probably know their way around. Finally, the monk comes to a stop outside one door in particular.
"Here we are!" he announces, pushing the door open. "This is where you guys'll be staying for however long you're here. Go ahead and make yourselves at home!" Spilling into the room, the group is greeted by the sight of rows and rows of beds, lined up against the walls of a long, narrow room. Each bed has a basket tucked underneath it, presumably for personal belongings. It's small, and certainly sparse, but it looks clean and comfortable, which is all Kid can ask for at the moment.
As the monk leaves them to get settled, each of the travelers sets about picking a bed and putting away his things. Blackstar charges ahead of everyone else, yelling "DIBS," before slamming his rucksack down on the cot closest to the door. "Kid! Quick, take this one," he shouts, jabbing a finger at the bed beside his own. "You can be closest to my star power!" Kid rolls his eyes yet again (he has a feeling he'll be doing a lot of that with Blackstar around), but moves to take him up on the offer. As they put their belongings away, Blackstar chatters animatedly about whatever comes to his mind.
"...and I was like, 'uh, I know I'm a better earthbender than you,' and I dropped a boulder on his head! You shoulda seen it, Maka was pissed-,"
"You're an earthbender?" Kid interrupts, surprised. He's only been half-listening until now, so the information catches him off-guard.
"I'm the earthbender. The best!" Blackstar grins, drawing himself up proudly. "Sid says- Sid's my dad, adopted dad, but you know- he says I was hucking dirt at people before I knew how to walk! I'm basically an earthbending genius."
"You don't say," Kid muses. Two skilled benders, each wielding an element he doesn't know yet, traveling together. And he just happens to run into them? It could be a coincidence, sure, but the more Kid sees of the world, the more he thinks some things happen for a reason.
"Yup! And-" Suddenly, Blackstar gasps. "Sunset!" he shouts.
"What?" Kid tries to ask, but the other boy is already dragging him into the hallway.
"Sun's down! Time to eat!" Blackstar cheers by way of explanation. It's all Kid can do to keep up with him as they race down the corridor.
Miraculously, considering neither of them had been given directions to the dining hall, the pair only makes three wrong turns before reaching their destination. Bursting into the large room, Blackstar- finally releasing Kid's arm- inhales deeply, relishing the scent of spices in the air.
"There you guys are," comes a familiar voice. Maka, Liz, and Patty sit on cushions at the end of one of the long tables that take up the majority of the room. Liz has spotted them through the crowd, and waves them over. "Maka said we'd find you here."
"He goes where his stomach takes him," Maka nods, and Patty laughs. The pigtailed girl has traded her Earth Kingdom clothes for the traditional outfit of a young airbender.
Blackstar appears unfazed by his friend's teasing, and drops himself down on the cushion beside the younger Thompson sister. Kid takes a seat next to Liz on the other side of the table, listening as the group begins sharing what they've learned about the Air Temple.
"Meditation for three hours a day just sounds crazy to me," Liz is telling Maka, shaking her head in disbelief. "I mean, I could probably do it for a few minutes, but hours? That'd drive me nuts!"
"It's all about achieving mindfulness," Maka explains. "Some of the great masters- the ones who've completely severed their ties with the earth- can do it for weeks at a time, surviving entirely on dew!"
'We better not be having dew for dinner," Blackstar grumbles, staring hungrily over at the door to the kitchen. Maka sniffs.
"You know, some of the guys who do that can fly," she informs him. "As in, on their own, without gliders."
"Big deal. I like my feet on the ground, anyway, where they belong," Blackstar shrugs, but Patty, who until now has been acting out some sort of skit with her chopsticks, looks up eagerly.
"You can do that?" she gasps. "Like a bird?"
"That's what they say," Maka nods, looking pleased to have found a more receptive audience. "Of course, you basically have to spend your entire life training for it. And you have to be an airbender." Hearing this, Patty appears to lose interest in the topic, but then she gasps again.
"Kid, that means you could do it!" she exclaims, looking to her friend excitedly. Kid laughs nervously, holding his hands up in a 'slow down' gesture.
"That's an interesting thought, but I think I should probably get the basics down before I give flying a shot," he says. Maka raises an eyebrow at him.
"Wait, do you not know any airbending?" she asks, disbelief in her voice. Silently, Kid curses his slip-up.
"No! I mean, yes. I mean-," he stutters, scrambling for an excuse.
"That's kind of a sore spot for him," Liz whispers to Maka, just loud enough for Kid to catch it. Maka's eyes widen, the confusion in them turning to sympathy. Note to self: thank Liz later, Kid thinks.
"I understand completely," Maka tells him, scooting forward a bit in her seat. "I didn't learn any actual bending moves until I was eight years old! Before that, all I could manage were aimless blasts of wind. Papa wouldn't take me to the city to find a teacher until he thought I was old enough." Liz frowns at this.
"I thought benders are supposed to learn the basics when they're, like, five or six, so they don't go around breaking things on accident," she says, and Maka's expression pinches in irritation.
"That is what's supposed to happen," she scowls. "But stupid Papa wouldn't listen."
"Her old man's a total sap," Blackstar explains. "He gets all weepy and shit whenever Maka acts all grown up. My baby girl isn't ready to be a bender, she'll get hurt!" He puts on a deeper voice for this last part, presumably in imitation of Maka's father. Despite himself, Kid laughs a little.
"I can relate; my father's always been on the sentimental side. I think I was the one comforting him on my first day of school," he says, and Maka smiles. Then, a thoughtful look rises to her face.
"So, you're in the same position I was, right?" she asks, and Kid nods. Maka brightens. "Well then, if you'd like, I could show you a few moves! I mean, I know you're probably here to find a real teacher, but I could at least introduce you to the basics. That way you won't be going in completely blind when you start taking lessons."
"You'd do that?" Kid asks, straightening. She nods.
"Sure! We airbenders gotta look out for each other, after all."
Kid thinks back to what he'd seen in the swamp. He recalls the vision of Maka, dressed like an Air Nomad, flitting through the trees like a bird. Could this be what the swamp was trying to tell him?
"Oh, shit!" Liz exclaims suddenly, jolting Kid from his epiphany. The tall blonde is staring at her wrist. "My bracelet! It must have fallen off on the way over here. Kid, come help me look for it!"
"But-," he starts, but Liz ignores him, grabbing his wrist and pulling him out of the dining hall. "Alright, where did you last see it?" he sighs, resigning himself to the task at hand. But to his surprise, Liz retrieves the blonde bangle from her skirt pocket the moment they're alone in the hallway.
"We need to talk," she informs him, sliding the bracelet back over her hand. "What are you doing, talking about lessons with her? Did you forget we're supposed to be laying low? I thought you were gonna talk to whoever's in charge here about a private tutor."
"She's the girl I saw in the swamp," Kid reminds her, but Liz looks unconvinced.
"I know, but what does that have to do with this? It doesn't automatically mean we can trust her."
"Look, I think she's supposed to be my airbending master," Kid says, finally giving voice to the suspicions he'd had earlier. Liz arches an eyebrow.
"Her? She's, like, your age. What's she supposed to teach you that you couldn't learn from one of those monk guys?" she points out.
"I'm not sure, I just… have a feeling," Kid says. Liz still doesn't look convinced, but she seems to at least be considering it. Finally, she sighs.
"I guess a lesson or two wouldn't be the end of the world. Just as long as you don't slip up and firebend," she says, eyeing him sharply. Kid gives her a dull look.
"You know, it wouldn't hurt to have a little faith in me," he suggests. Liz snorts.
"I'll keep that in mind next time I'm pulling you out of a greaseberry bramble."
"That was one time!" Kid protests, his ears turning red, but Liz laughs him off. Together, they step back into the dining hall.
"Oh, good, you found it!" Maka perks up as they approach their table. Neither Patty nor Blackstar acknowledge the pair's return, too engrossed in their food to notice.
"Yep!" Liz grins, flashing her wrist as she reclaims her seat. The food looks as good as it smells, and Kid finds his stomach growling. Without further ado, he and Liz help themselves.
"So," Maka speaks up between bites of steamed tofu. "Was that a 'yes' to me showing you some airbending?"
"If it wouldn't be too much trouble," Kid confirms, spooning some bean curry into his bowl.
"Not at all! Let's meet in the courtyard tomorrow morning." she suggests. Kid nods his agreement, his mouth full. Maka gets the idea, though, and with their plans confirmed, the two benders join their friends in enjoying the meal.