Book 1: AIR

CHAPTER 17:

THE RUNAWAYS

The group of kids was stopped, staring intently at the mysterious creature that was sitting in front of them. It looked like a fox, but the markings were white and it was brown and looked slightly like a coyote. A scroll was sitting in its mouth. "Someone poke it." Long-hin joked as he tapped Kan on the back.

"What?" Kan asked back at him.

"Well, you're the one always wound up for a fight." Long-hin stated. "You go at it." He used a small bit of earthbending to push Kan forward. Kan retaliated with a large burst of air, sending Long-hin reeling onto his back.

The fox dropped the scroll from its mouth and it unrolled in front of him.

"Look." Jip said as she pointed to the scroll. Ran-fo leaned in closer to see what was happening.

The Runaways

The ink finished this first stroke and stopped, a line appearing under the title. The fox- coyote thing had appeared out of nowhere in their camp. Alpha even refused to confront it. The coyote nodded it head to the kids.

"I think he wants us to talk." Aer deduced as the fox's ears perked up. She moved closer to it and leaned towards the small fox. "What do you want me to say?" Aer asked.

The scroll answered her question again.

It all began…

"Of course." Aer said as she shut her eyes and took a deep breath. "It all began three years ago…"

Aer was walking towards school, a young girl of thirteen. She had her books tucked under her arm and a skip in her step. She walked along with the other girls of her posse. They entered the wooden abode that served as a school, twenty small desks with pads to sit on lined her classroom. She was scholarly, always on top of things, as she is now. But it was then that she saw the person to change her the most. On her way home from school she saw the boy sitting on a ledge outside of the school. "I haven't seen you around here." Aer said as she walked over to the boy. "What's your name?"

"Kan. Kan Benda." The boy replied as he turned to her. He then spun around and proceeded to ignore her.

"Well, hello, Kan." Aer said as she tried to make small talk. " Why haven't I seen you around here before?"

"'Cause I'm not around here." Kan quickly replied. Aer was slightly taken aback.

"Well, I'm leaving."

"Good."

"You would rather be alone?"

"Yes."

Aer shrugged her shoulders and left for her home, books tucked under he arm once again and no mind on what would become of the boy.

Kan was the governor's son. Primped and polished to look his best every day. He was made to sit through boring meetings and public visits to help his father keep office. He was fifteen when he met Aer. He had run away from home and was sitting on a ledge outside of the school. He just wanted to be alone. All his life he had felt different, like no one understood what he felt inside of him. A powerful energy that was waiting to consume him.

Aer came and went. He was glad. He had more time to think by himself now. Nothing to worry about, until the other visitor poked her head around a tree some where off. She was an eight year old girl with a stuffed rabb-a-roo. She had short black hair and wide grey eyes that peered at him.

"What do you want?" Kan asked the girl as she gave a squeak and fled back behind the tree. "Well, what do you have to say?"

The girl poked her head around and stared at him again. "I just wanted to know why you are here. That's all." The girl managed to call out. "I've never seen a guy like you before."

"Yeah, well then it's your lucky day." The girl gave a small laugh. Kan rolled his eyes. "Now go away and leave me alone."

"You didn't push Aer away that fast." The girl said.

"Who?" Kan asked as he straightened up. The girl ducked a little further behind her tree cover.

"Aer. The girl you were just talking to. You kept her around for a bit."

"Aer? What kind of name is that?" Kan asked. "Besides, how do you know her?"

"She's my cousin. We're very close." Jip replied as she walked out from behind the tree, her stuffed animal held firmly between her arms.

"Oh, so you know all about her." Kan stated.

"Not really. We just see each other every day. We're both only children. We've got no one else. At least she has a lot of friends."

"Well, then that's a relief for both of your parents." Kan turned away from her, no longer wishing to hold this conversation. Jip gave a squeak and left. Long-hin, Bakiko, and Ran-fo would fall into the story later.

"I didn't know you were cousins. I thought you were just really close friends." Bakiko said as he stared at Jip and Aer.

"No, cousins." Aer replied.

"We are close, as family." Jip said. "I look up to her is all."

"And you find that all right?" Bakiko asked.

"I don't think it really matters who Jip chooses as her role model." Long-hin said.

"That's a lot coming from an ex-lover." Kan snapped.

"Kan, leave it alone." Aer said.

The knowledge spirit nodded its head again, asking for more of the story that was coming together. The ink had stopped on the page where Kan had left off.

"I'll continue." Long-hin said as he airbent Kan out of the way.

Long-hin was thirteen, a couple of months older than Aer. He had had a crush on Aer ever since he first saw her. He used to send her notes in class and try to make small talk at lunch break. Aer had never really given the idea of dating Long-hin much thought. He asked her to get togethers and dances, but Aer refused all of his advances. "Just one date." Long-hin pleaded with Aer as she sat at her desk, trying to keep everything in a neat order.

"Maybe." Aer always responded.

"You always say that."

"So?"

"So, will you go out with me or not?"

"Maybe."

Long-hin face-palmed himself and left. Her friend automatically rushed over to her.

" So, what did he ask you?" The blonde one asked.

"He asked me to go out with him." Aer responded as she finished arranging her quills from largest to shortest.

"And? What did you say?" another one asked.

"I said 'maybe'." Aer responded.

"Again? The poor thing must be getting tired of rejection." The blonde one said again.

"Yeah, it is totally giving him a bad aura. I can tell." One with long brown pigtails said.

"I doubt that." Aer said.

"You know, if you don't want him. I'll have him." A girl with black hair said.

"Then take him." Aer said. The girl snapped her fingers.

"The jealousy route always works."

"But not on Aer."

"She's different."

"No wonder lazy boy couldn't get you." Kan said triumphantly as he tried to wrap his arm around Aer. She pushed him off. Long-hin glared at him.

"Yeah, but if you weren't there, she'd be mine."

"I'm not some gift you can wrap." Aer said as she shot a look at Long-hin.

"That's why you're different."

Aer's mother died of disease a couple of weeks later. She fell into a deep length of depression. Jip tried to comfort her, but she was only good for a hug or two. He friends did not know how to console her. "Everything's going to be all right." Long-hin would say to her whenever she would start to well up.

"And how would you know?" Aer would respond and then walk away. She was in no mood to deal with Long-hin's advances.

"I'm just trying to be a shoulder to cry on here." Long-hin said as he jumped up and blocked Aer from leaving the room. "You're my girl and I don't want to see you go away with all this emotion bottled up."

"I'm not any one's girl." Aer said as she tried to shove past her.

"Hey, don't be like that." Long-hin said as he grabbed her and dragged her back to the table.

"Let go of me, Long-hin." Aer scolded. Long-hin struggled to get the chain undone before holding his crystal up in front of her.

"What is this?" he asked her. Aer stared at it.

"A crystal I found when we were up hiking a couple of days ago." Aer said.

"Yeah. You gave it to me so we could remember the date." Long-hin pointed out.

"Shut up and leave." Aer said as she stood up. "You're a skunk-pig!"

Long-hin shot up and glared at her. "You just walk in here whenever you want and treat my mother's death like some way to get me into your arms! Leave!" Aer turned on her heel and left through another door, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

She walked out into town and began to walk a ways away from the village. She knelt down at her mother's grave set into the hill-side. She wept over it until she heard a twig crunch behind her.

"I said go away, Long-hin!" Aer said as she she turned around.

"I don't know who he is, but you must really hate him." Kan said as he backed up to give Aer some space.

"Oh, it's you." Aer realized. "Well, go away. I don't want to talk to anyone right now." She turned back to the grave marker and began to wipe her eyes.

"I know how you feel." Kan said as he hung his head. "It's good to be alone sometimes."

"Yes. It is."

"I feel that way everyday."

"You don't seem it now. You seem quite all right with talking right now." Kan turned to her.

"I only seem this way when I'm around you." Aer perked up and turned around to Kan.

"We've only met once."

"Yeah, but I didn't mind it as much as I usually mind talking to people. You make me feel different."

Aer gave a small smile and quickly turned around. Kan looked away again.

"I'm going up into the mountains. Tonight."

"You're what?"

Kan looked down to the hard earth.

"I'm leaving. I can't take this life anymore. Living with all these rules and structure. I need to be free. I want you to come with me. What do you say?"

Aer's face was in complete shock. "We can't do that. Our parents…"

"Your mother is no longer here…pardon my brashness."

"Okay…but how will we live up there?"

"Do you know how to cook?"

"Yes, but…"

"Than there we go. We'll go home and get supplies. I can hunt and you cook and there won't be anything to clean."

"Kan, we can't…"Aer started as Kan bent down to her. "Our families, especially mine. I don't know about yours. But I am assuming that…"

Kan kissed her.

Aer's eyes fluttered shut and she fell into the moment. He was someone to lean on and someone to lean on her. This was it.

Kan pulled out of it. "Bring friends if you really want."

Aer was still in awe with the kiss. Kan smiled.

"I'll meet you tonight."

Bakiko and Ran-Fo were orphans. No one cared what happened to them. Bakiko had taken to caring for Ran-Fo for most of his life. It was Ran-Fo, however, that roped him into this entire plot. He had made friends with Jip. She was a couple of weeks older than him and he saw every day going to school. Jip had stopped to give him food from the lunch room everyday. It was autumn so it was cold.

"Come home with me." Jip said one day. "I can keep you warm."

Ran-Fo was expressionless. He didn't talk so his body movements gave away his intentions. He instead grabbed her sleeve and dragged her to where his brother was trying to beg.

"Please, any food for us? I have a younger brother. He doesn't even speak. Please. From the kindness of your heart. I…it is getting…cold. I…we just… would it kill you to not eat in front of me?" Bakiko threw his small wooden cup at a guy and then scrambled to retrieve it and take up his begging again.

Ran-Fo went up behind him and tugged on his brother. He turned around to see Jip there.

"What did he take this time?" he asked.

"Nothing. I just wanted to know if you wanted to come to my house tonight. It is getting cold." She squeaked as she seemed to shrink in fright.

Bakiko didn't give it much thought. "Sure, where do we sleep?"

Aer tried to be as quiet as she could as she snuck out of her home. She shared it with her cousins now that her family had fallen on hard times. Jip had even brought some hobos to dinner.

"You thought we were hobos?" Bakiko asked Aer as the ink continued to write.

"Shut up, we're almost done." Aer shot back. Kan and Long-hin were locked in a heated stare down.

Aer had almost reached the door when she heard a plank squeak behind her. She stopped and turned. Jip was standing there with Bakiko and Ran-Fo behind her. "Where are you going?" Aer asked as she saw the packs on their backs.

"Wherever you're going." Jip responded.

"And them?" Aer tried to catch Jip.

"They're coming too." Jip said.

"We don't have anywhere to go and only got a few pieces of clothing. We won't be much trouble." Bakiko said. "Besides, anywhere is better than beggin in some dingy alley."

"And Jip should stay here." Aer pointed out.

"No." Jip said.

"Yes, you should." Aer tried to state. "You have to stay here. What would our family do if they lost you too?"

"We just lost an aunt, your mom." Jip pointed out. "Our family can handle anything. And…I'll miss you. I don't want to leave you." Aer hugged her and then grabbed her hand.

"Okay, but you're staying very close to me." Aer patted her on the shoulder and heaved open her door.

She almost tripped over Long-hin, who was hunched over his pack, making sure he had everything.

"What are you doing here?" Aer asked impatiently.

"I thought you might need some protection." Long-hin said. "Never can trust a stranger."

"And what are you?" Aer asked as she led Jip and the two brothers behind her towards the meeting spot.

"I'm just a concerned person. I only want what's best for you."

"You've been stalking me ever since I turned you away this morning." Aer deduced.

"That's not the point." Long-hin said quickly as he struggled to keep up with Aer's pace. "Why are you even going anyway?"

"Why? Because I don't want this life anymore." Jip was basically being dragged behind Aer as she sped up. "I don't want the posses or the hours sitting at a table, or any of it. Not even the creepy lovers." Aer shrugged past Long-hin as she turned towards the tree, where Kan was crouched under. Long-hin and Kan had been enemies ever since.

"And that's when we went to the mountains and found this secret path up. We were there for three years…until this." Aer finished.

The ink stopped and the scroll rolled itself up. The knowledge spirit barked its thanks as it took the scroll in its mouth and made off to where its master waited for this new information. They all sat there in stony silence.

Bakiko got up first and brought Ran-Fo over to where they slept, nothing better than the dingy alley they had started in.

Jip was next, going to pick up the picture of her family as she remembered how quickly she had left them.

Kan finished his stare down with Long-hin and walked over to Aer, where he tried to put his arm around Aer. She pushed him off and continued to stare at the same patch of shrugged and left to his mat.

Long-hin sat for a couple more minutes. "You have no feelings still?"

Aer lowered her head. That was all Long-hin needed. He ripped the crystal off his shoulder and held it in his hands.

"I wore this, hoping one day you would love me again." Long-hin clenched his fist and threw it on the ground in front of Aer. He got up and left quickly towards the other side of camp.

Aer sat there for the entire night.

She cried.