Some (minor) canonical characters shall be introduced in this chapter. Takes place right after "Zuko Alone". I don't know how "in character" Gow or Lee are . . . then again, they only appeared in one episode, I'm doing the best I can.
They woke at around noon, Kunwei rose from his slumber, feeling stiff and sore, he glanced at his surroundings and saw that Gang Chao was nowhere in sight, "Brother?" he called worriedly.
"I'm outside," the teen's deep voice responded.
Kunwei heard the crackling of fire and smelled smoke, he walked outside and saw Gang Chao cooking something on a small fire, he patted the ground next to him, "I want to show you something," he said as he spread the map of the Earth Kingdom on the ground, "We're right . . . here," he said, pointing to an area just in front of a large mountain range, "If we head over the mountains, we'll arrive at a place called Plains Village," he said as he traced a path through a mountain pass, "Then we can stay there for a few days before heading on the path to Ba Sing Se."
"But brother, why can't we just stay there until the war is over?" Kunwei asked, he was confused as to why the final destination of many refugees was the massive walled city.
Gang Chao sighed, "None of the villages are safe from the Fire Nation, Ba Sing Se is by far the safest and most secure location. Villages are also suffering from the war, just like we were, they will most likely not take us in, even though we are kids."
"Won't it be dangerous to walk all that way?" Kunwei's brown eyes reflected fear and trepidation, he played around with the hem of his tunic again.
The teenager looked at Kunwei, "Don't play around with your clothes, you'll wear them out that way," he said, gently taking Kunwei's hand off the hem, "I'll protect you, don't worry."
Kunwei drew his knees close to his body and rested his arms and chin on them, "Is there any way for me to learn earthbending now?"
The brother was silent for a moment, "Why don't you try what you know?"
"I don't know anything," Kunwei replied exasperated, "Only how to chuck rocks at people, and how helpful is that?"
"Well . . . maybe we can find a few teachers along the way who are willing to give you a few pointers," was the reply, "Just go practice what you know every day."
"Right . . ." Kunwei got up and dusted himself off, he looked for a suitable area in the main street, finding one that had plenty of space so he wouldn't accidentally launch a rock into where they were sleeping.
He took up the a stance and levitated a fist sized rock in the air before launching it at a building, it hit the wall and made a small hole in it, Kunwei scowled, he was aiming for the window 2 feet from the hole.
"Good shot," Gang Chao offered as he took the food off the fire, "Come on and eat, we need to leave soon."
Kunwei nodded and joined Gang Chao and Yinling at the fire, "I missed what I was aiming at, how is that a good shot?"
"You need to lower your expectations a little before we get to a teacher," Gang Chao said as he took a bite out of the meal he made, "Then you know what to do and how to do it."
Kunwei shrugged and ate his meal in silence, Yinling spoke up, "You were awesome Kunwei!" she said reverently, looking up at him with her big, brown eyes.
"Err, thanks," Kunwei replied before lapsing into silence, he wondered why he hadn't studied the scroll more closely, it would have been better than remaining almost completely uneducated.
They finished their meals and while Gang Chao doused the fire, Kunwei packed the bags and placed the lighter one on his back. Gang Chao walked into the building and grabbed the heavier one, "Ready?"
Kunwei and Yinling both nodded slowly, not exactly willing to walk further away from the place they once called home. Kunwei looked to the east, where they came from, hoping to find his father walking along the pathway, coming up to the trio and taking them into a big hug. He wanted his father to tell them that everything was going to be okay and that they were safe now.
No one came up the deserted path, Kunwei turned away and caught up with his brother who had already started walking to the west, towards their new life as refugees.
As they made their way towards the next village, the going got tougher and tougher. The once even and fairly clear and wide path began to get narrower, steeper and rockier. Kunwei tripped more than once on the baseball sized rocks that littered the ground and clattered down the steep hill as they were knocked loose. The path got even more treacherous as it wound its way through a pass, a steep drop off on one side, the unyielding walls of the mountain on the other. Kunwei began hugging the wall.
Yinling suddenly cried out as she stumbled on a large rock, she lost her balance and began to make her way closer and closer to the edge. Kunwei ran forward and grasped her flailing hands as she screamed in terror, they stopped with Kunwei leaning back with all his weight, pulling towards the mountain, Yinling was leaning away from Kunwei, her feet planted on the edge and hanging over the abyss.
With a mighty heave, the brother pulled his sister back onto the path and they both fell on the ground, gasping for air. Gang Chao looked back, saw their predicament, and made his way towards them, "Are you two okay?" he asked worriedly.
Kunwei nodded, and thanked his brother as he was handed a water skin.
"You guys need to be more careful on this path, I only hope we'll be off it soon," the teen replied as he began walking again, Kunwei and Yinling struggling to catch up.
They doggedly pushed their way through the steep mountain pass, reaching the highest point and walking down the long, winding path. If they had thought the uphill part was the hardest, they were sorely mistaken. Going down the path was a dangerous journey, filled with loose rocks, sudden scree slopes and landslides that blocked the path. It was obvious that the pass hadn't been used in a long while.
Finally, after long hours of treacherous travel, they reached the end of the pass, and a small village that was illuminated in the setting sun. The place looked run down and in dilapidated, yet not as vacant or decrepit as Tu Zin. People still roamed the four main streets and men stood in the single watch tower at the center of town.
They had reached Plains Village.
The half-hour walk to the village was easy compared to the treacherous pass, they were weary though and they trudged into town, Kunwei encouraging his sister to keep walking for just a little further. Finally, they reached the outer limits of the town, small wooden shacks and stalls lined the streets. Merchants watched warily as the three kids walked by, the trio made their way to one of the stalls.
Gang Chao reached into his pocket and pulled out some coins, "How much for water and food?"
The merchant counted the coins and went to the back of his shop, grabbing 3 meals and a few water skins, "This is the amount you paid for," the merchant said.
"Is there any place we can stay for the night?" the teen questioned.
The merchant shook his head, "Nope, sorry kid, the only inn in town's full of refugees. There's a barn a few minutes up the road if you want to try there," the merchant pointed up the street.
Suddenly they heard shouting, a man was harassing a young boy, "You know the 'tax', give us your food."
"No!" the boy yelled back.
"You don't have that Fire Nation prince to protect you," the man sneered, snatching the food from the kid's arms, "Thanks for your 'contribution'."
"I hate that prince, I don't need protection!" the kid kicked the soldier in the shin . . . hard.
The man's face paled in the dim light and he bellowed, "Why you little!" he pushed the kid to the ground and made to punch him, the kid clenched his eyes tight.
The punch never connected and the kid opened his eyes and saw Gang Chao gripping the soldier's raised fist, "I don't know about the laws of this village at all but any citizen of the Earth Kingdom willing to punch a little kid is a criminal in my eyes."
The man sneered, "But I'm no citizen, I'm Gow an Earth Kingdom soldier. I can do whatever I want under the name of the Earth King, even if it means bending a few rules."
Gang Chao didn't back down, "A soldier's supposed to protect three things, his country, his honor and his people. Right now you're doing neither of them, which makes you a coward in armor, not a soldier."
"I'll have you pay for your back talk," Gow roared and launched an earth column, throwing Gang Chao back several feet. The teen landed several feet away on his back, hitting the ground hard.
"Brother!" Yinling yelled out of worry, she saw her brother's face contort in pain.
Kunwei said nothing, but his breathing got audibly louder. He saw nothing but Gow . . . and the rock that was conveniently placed in a perfect location to launch at Gow's face. The rock sailed through the air, hitting Gow on the head. Kunwei didn't need to aim this time, rage amplified his power.
Gang Chao saw something dark fly through the air at Gow, the corrupt soldier recoiled instantly and crumpled to the ground, unconscious. He looked over to the side and saw Kunwei standing there in a rage, "You don't hurt my brother!" he was yelling.
The teen got up, "It's okay Kunwei, let's go see if we can find a place to stay," he said and walked over to his younger brother, "and thank you."
The kid who was bullied stood up, "Wait, I think I can help you . . . want to stay over at my family's farm?"
Gang Chao nodded, "That would be nice, thank you."
"Don't mention it," the kid responded, leading the siblings down the street, "I'm Lee by the way, that guy was Gow, he used to be a really bad bully around here."
"Seems to me like he still is . . ." Gang Chao responded blandly as they walked towards the farm, "I'm Gang Chao, and these are my siblings, Kunwei and Yinling."
"Nice to meet you guys," Lee said and then looked at Kunwei, "So you're an earth bender?"
Kunwei nodded, "I'm not really good at it though, I never had a teacher."
"Oh," Lee said and then grinned, showing all his missing teeth, "Well I'm sure you'll be an awesome earthbending master one day!"
The young boy smiled at Lee, "Thanks," he replied, suddenly the sound of pig hybrids met their ears. Kunwei felt a stab of homesickness as he thought of their farm and those same animals that inhabited it. He wondered if he'd ever see the place again or if they'd ever see their dad.
"Hey, are you okay Kunwei?" the kid asked, his boyish face showing worry.
The brother nodded, "I'm fine, it's just that this place reminds me of home," he replied as he looked over the pens of pigs, "and we left home only a few days ago."
"What happened?" Lee asked.
Gang Chao answered for Kunwei, "The Fire Nation attacked it a few nights ago, we've been walking ever since."
Lee looked at them with sympathy, "The Fire Nation took my brother away from me, Gow said that his battalion was captured. My dad's been looking for him ever since."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Gang Chao replied as they reached the house, he saw the door open and a woman was silhouetted in the light that streamed from it and into the twilight.
"Lee," the woman said, "Who are these people?"
Lee introduced them and Gang Chao walked up, "If it isn't too much of a problem, we'd like a place to sleep for the night."
"Of course," the woman replied, allowing the four to walk in, "come on in," she said, "We can set you up in the barn."
Sorry for the slightly longer delay in chapters, I've been busy with school, predicting the next major snow storm (Mid-Atlantic region may get something on Christmas) and fighting off a nasty cold.
Review! Reviews make the chapters come faster (though they will still come, I'm NOT holding a fanfiction hostage).