It was dark here, and so, so quiet.
Massive trees soared around him, the tops reaching up towards the clouds. They dwarfed him, the trunks at least three times as wide as he was tall. The canopy cut out the sun, so he was left in an immense world of half-light, shaded by the ghostly yellow-green hues of lightning bugs. Feet padding softly on the moss-covered ground, he picked his way through the trees, peering through the low-hanging mist that clung to his sleeves. It was beautiful, in a gloomy way. He heard the thumps of a herd of giant liondeer passing by and scrambled to see them, slack-jawed in awe as he gazed up at their magnificent flanks and dimly glowing eyes.
"Beautiful, aren't they?"
He whirled around to see the young girl standing beside him, barely visible in the dim light, a strange blue arrow tattooed on her forehead and on the backs of her hands. "They're wonderful."
"You're right." She smiled gently. "Come on. It's less gloomy in the tree tops." She held out her hand for him, toes already leaving the ground.|
"I can't fly."
"That's where you're wrong. You can do anything you put your mind to, here. Like a dream."
He took her hand slowly, and felt his feet lift off the ground.
"Perhaps Master Jianyu can enlighten us?"
He snapped awake to the sound of muffled giggles from the girls in the class, looking up at the teacher hurriedly and then around frantically for help. His friend Honjo was sitting beside him, casually collecting pebbles on his desk to toss at the front row while Sifu Horikoshi wasn't looking. Jiji could tell he wasn't going to be much help. "Could you, uh, repeat the question please, sir?"
"Sleeping in class again, Jianyu. These are important lessons, you need to pay attention."
He could feel himself blushing as Sifu Horikoshi shook his finger at him. "Apologies, sir."
The elderly teacher nodded and turned back to the board. "The question was, why did the Great Uniter attack and conquer the former United Republic?"
"Because it was built on the stolen land of the former Earth Kingdom, sir, which made it the rightful property of the current Earth Empire."
"And why was it necessary to take the United Republic?"
"We are strongest when we are united," Jianyu could feel the practised words rolling off his tongue, "divided, we fall. The former United Republic is a part of our land, and our people, and belongs as a part of the whole. Without it, we would not be the nation we are today."
Sifu Horikoshi nodded his head solemnly, "Quite correct. Though I'd be concerned if your mother hadn't drummed it into you by now." He moved on, explaining the details of the battle to the class, a story they'd all heard before. A renegade Avatar and her friends creating injustices and destruction wherever they set foot, and their own heroic Great Uniter, bringing about order and peace in the most direct way possible, sacrificing her own beloved fiance in the process. Jiji fixed his glasses absently, staring at the images of the Avatar's friends peering back up at him in flat black and white print from the textbook. It just seemed sad, really. They had thought they were doing the right thing. They were just taught by the wrong people. Everyone knew now; the Avatar was the ultimate force of chaos in this world.
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the obnoxious ringing of the bell. All the children scrambled to pack away their books, bowing hurriedly to Sifu Horikoshi and running out into the welcoming summer sun. Honjo leaned over, putting away his textbook. He was rather stocky in build, sturdy and still taller than Jianyu, with short black hair and a square-jawed face that the girls in the class liked to call 'handsome' to tease him. "Are you coming to play kickball, Jiji?"
He grinned. "Sure."
He slung his bag over his shoulder. "Come on then, we're heading to the park." He moved up to the front of the classroom, bowing to Sifu Horikoshi quickly before running off to catch up with the others. Jianyu quickly followed him, bowing and hurrying out before the Sifu's grumpy huff could evolve into a lecture.
"I should probably head home."
They were both covered in dust, scuffs and grazes, uniforms messy and disarranged. Honjo kicked a pebble along beside him, his hands tucked into his pockets. "We could. Ooor, we could climb up on the roof of the radio building and watch them close the domes."
He chewed his lip. They shouldn't be out after curfew, if they got caught Mom would find out… but Mom wasn't there. "Just until the domes close?"
"Just until they close."
They turned a street corner, heading towards the radio building in silence. Honjo lead him to a ladder in a nook on the side of the building, clambering quickly up to the platform beneath the base of the broadcast tower and sitting down, legs dangling over the side. Jiji followed after him, sitting down beside him and looking out over the valley the city was nestled in. The sun shone off the metal domes folded open like lotus flowers as it set, the river that flowed between the domes glittering silvery-gold. Honjo shielded his eyes, looking at the city splayed out below, "The domes are amazing. I'm glad they were replaced after the Republic City battle, I never get bored of looking at them."
"I heard this place was called Zaofu, before Mom changed it to Jin Nuo." He swung his legs absently, "Apparently this is where metalbending was invented."
"And look at it now."
Jiji smiled, "It's beautiful."
Honjo nodded and pulled a pair of apples out of his school bag, passing one over before taking a bite of his own, "I wonder what else is out there, though."
He took the apple happily, polishing it on his sleeve, "Why would anyone ever want to leave?"
A shrug answered him, "Adventure?"
"Mom says it's very dangerous out there."
"Isn't that exactly what an adventure is?"
Jianyu looked out over the gold-tipped mountains as the giant metal of the domes began to fold up. The end of the valley stretched out over the horizon, sun-lit and shining. Mom was out there, somewhere. "Maybe you're right, Honjo." The domes locked shut, the valley disappearing, "Maybe you're right."
Sneaking through the city at night isn't as easy as I thought, Jianyu considered, crouching behind a low wall near the rail station, Especially to try and get between domes. Idiot! I knew this would get me into trouble!
Still, he was here now, and there was nothing he could do about that fact. And now he had a train to catch, without the guards spotting him. As another one pulled up to the station, he ran out behind the pair of guards who had just walked past, scrambling towards the train doors-
A pair of metal wires hooked around his ankles, hoisting him up and dangling him upside down. He smiled sheepishly at the guard who held him, glasses hanging crooked on his forehead, "Oops?"
The lock-up hadn't changed since she'd quit, Qí could see. It was still the same complex of tiny dark wooden boxes, still the same filthy taste of sweat and rust hanging in the air. The warden, a short, heavily-built man named Deng, was waiting for her out the front of the interrogation block, arms folded across his metal-plated chest. Slimy ass-, she thought, before she could stop herself. He was just doing his job, she knew, but the way he leered at her made her want to crush him in his own armour like a cabbage slug.
"Nice of you to show up, Sergeant."
"Don't rub it in, Chief." She wasn't going to let the salt sting that old wound. "Where is he?"
"Inside, sulking."
She brushes past him, pushing open the doors of the interrogation block and glaring the hopeful look off of Jiji's face. "You, mister, are in big trouble. Get up, we're going home."
She pulls him out of the block once he got up, ignoring the smug look on Deng's face as she dragged him out to the rail station where the last train was waiting. Climbing on board, she waited until the doors were shut and the cars moving before addressing Jiji's sheepish silence. "What, in the names of Oma and Shu, did you think you were doing?"
His feet shuffled aimlessly on the metal floor, and she could see the ringed bruises of the guard's cables coming up in welts on his ankles. "I just wanted to watch the domes close with Honjo. I forgot it took longer to get home than him."
She rubbed her eyes. "With luck, this won't get back to your mother. You could have been mistaken for an insurgent, Jiji. You know how dangerous that is."
"I know."
Spirits, his voice was so bitter. She knew how it felt, to see the mountains outside the city and think, what if? No, she thought, your place is here. You know that. They need you here, for when the time is right.
Thank Guanyin Kuvira hadn't built a machine to read minds yet.
She sat down beside Jiji quietly, wrapping an arm around his shoulders gently. Careful, careful. Be a mirror, reflect only what they show you. "Look, I know you were just having fun. But there are rules for a reason. Promise me you won't do it again."
He leaned into her, resting his head on her shoulder. "I promise."
She nodded and squeezed his shoulder gently, "I'm still mad at you. But I'm glad you're okay. Pipsqueak."
Be patient. Wait and listen. The time will be right soon, soon.
A/N:
Lou: Thank you so much to everyone who's following this :) we're having a lot of fun.
We've been getting some questions about Jiji, Kuvira and air benders, and just want to say that all questions will be answered soon enough, we're planning chapters well ahead.
A note for anyone curious:
- There's a fairly well-circulated fan theory that Zaofu was built in the mountain pass where Toph discovered metalbending, so we're running with that.
- A few references to The Wind Rises in here.
- Guanyin is both the name of Jiji's badgermole and of the Earth Kingdom Great Spirit of compassion and mercy, taken from the Chinese deity of the same name.
- Qí is going to become a much more major character soon.
- Jinora's first cameo! :)
Pat: Sorry for the delay if you've noticed, as there was a slight difference in upload times between ao3 and here, as Lou and I were busy today. Also, the chapter lengths will get progressively longer - we can't help it, its so much fun writing about the Avatar universe.
We hope you're enjoying it so far! :)