Welcome! Here's chapter 10 and it's a brand new story of Eira's mini-vacation*holiday*.
Well, let's get on with the show and I hope you enjoy it. Please remember to review, they help me focus on writing and stop procrastinating.
Sokka and Katara were splayed over the dry ground and panting like dogs under the sun. Eira wrinkled her nose at the irritating dirt dried on her skin but when she tried to brush it off her arms just flopped around like gasping fish.
Eira envied the Water Tribe siblings. They were at least in Appa's big shadow for shade. The sun was less fierce than the one above the desert but they hadn't managed to escape its heat that easily. Hills surrounded what would have been an isolated grassland yet among the light grass and beige earth was the set-up of a rough park.
Stout podiums rose from the ground in a grid and two stones like oversized ceramic cups on their sides stood at their respective ends. It was set up like a pitch but it wasn't being used for any sport Eira knew of.
She darted out the way of a speeding stone sphere and was left wide-eyed at the thought of what would have happened if she'd been slower. She wanted to yell, 'You could have knocked my head off!' but sadly she'd already blown the budget of that particular phrase.
Apparently the aim of the game was to get the ball into the basket opposite you and if you fall off the pedestals you're out. Eira knew that she'd only survived this long because she was an airbender but Toph was not helping matters. Aang was doing better than her on the dodging front since evasion was his best skill but his style ended up with him spinning too often and having to change targets.
This game was perfect for Toph though. She stayed focused and where she was and seemed to be having a blast. Although, this was her treat so Eira couldn't blame her for enjoying herself.
Toph stood firmly while Aang and I watched her tentatively. Aang beamed and when he glanced at me and did so too. We're going down, Eira thought cheerily.
The ball was down her end so it had turned into Toph versus the airbenders. Toph grinned triumphantly and thrust her hands towards them, sending the stone rocketing towards Eira and Aang. It looked like a bullet but Aang leapt up into the air, twisted and a burst of air spun the sphere away from him. Eira caught a glimpse of a proud expression just before it flew at her.
She brought her arms around and made to redirect the rock but its path stayed annoying true. No wind followed her lead which unfortunately left her soon on the ground. She landed on her back and with an 'oof'.
Eira stayed lying down on the dirt, chuckling softly. She'd been an airbender for a long time now yet some things just didn't work for her yet. Her baguazhang training had helped her for a while but Eira didn't expect to become a master; she was just visiting in this world.
"Are you alright, Eira?" Katara shuffled closer to her friend, grinning tiredly.
"You'll be fine, Fairy Feet!" Toph called confidently from the pitch, pulling one of the stone podiums up higher to catch the ball in its track.
Eira nodded, something she found was much more difficult when facing the sky. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Come on, you guys!" she cheered to Aang as Toph as she sat herself up.
Katara smiled and brushed a loose strand of dark brown hair behind her ear. "Toph looks happy," she noted as the ball clattered once more into the goal behind Aang. Both contestants were grinning.
"Well, she shouldn't be. Go, Aang!" Sokka cupped his hands over his mouth and cheered on the one who hadn't knocked him off in the first minutes.
Katara rapped her brother's arm sternly. "Don't do that."
Sokka pulled his face into one of sly innocence. "What? Support my friend?"
Red dotted the waterbender's cheeks but she was quick to retort. Eira listened happily but found her sky eyes wandering towards Toph. Something had been nagging at Eira. Aang, Katara, and Sokka all knew her secret: why she was blonde, why she spoke differently to them, why she was an airbender despite the fact that all but one should have been gone. Toph on the other hand was newer to them.
She'd joined quickly and was welcomed faster than that but Eira hadn't quite found the right opportunity to actually tell her. She almost did but then the professor had been around. Clouds swirled above her. Eira had decided. She was going to tell Toph, hoping quietly that this wouldn't be awkward. She rested her hand on her head, surprised at first but then remembering that she'd lost her headscarf.
"So..." Katara's voice captured Eira's attention. She was staring at Eira with a curious and kind spark in her blue eyes. "What do you want to do Eira? We may have a while before either of them loses so we might as well use this time wisely."
There was a small quiet. You could still hear Aang and Toph in the background along with Sokka's cheering however the distant noise was comforting. All the bags were sitting a small way away, sensibly out of range of the game, but it meant that Eira didn't have the map on her.
She shrugged and looked to Katara for advice. "I'm not sure. Do you have any ideas?"
Katara leant back and her eyes turned upwards in thought. "Oo, I know. How about we visit one of the air temples? You haven't had much opportunity to learn about your culture after all. It could be fun." She glanced around and sighed at the distance between her and their things. Katara turned back to Eira, smiling consistently.
"Yeah, I guess." To be honest, Eira had thought about the air temples, but for some reason she had a small nagging voice at the back of her head whenever she did. It made her feel... awkward? She didn't really know how to describe it. Eira would do anything to go home but that wasn't really an option... but maybe, just maybe, she could make do with what she had in the Earth Kingdom.
Climate-wise, at least some parts of the Earth Kingdom were similar to the UK, a bit too sunny and bright perhaps, but close enough with its greenery and mountains. Eira's eyes and smile widened, an idea charging her like lightning.
She rolled and made her way to her feet, sauntering over to their bags while Katara watched curiously. Eira, grinning, pulled the map out from her bag and sat down in between the two siblings. She tapped Sokka on the shoulder and presented the map to him.
"Sokka?"
He wrenched his eyes away from the match and stared at the map. "What is it, Eira?"
Eira hesitated, but only momentarily. In that moment, she made up her mind. "You're better at this than me, so do you know where a mountainous, forest-y kind of place would be? I'd like to visit a place like that. You know, for my holiday?"
"Where do you want to go?" Katara wondered, catching up to our conversation. Eira didn't answer. Instead, she turned to Sokka expectantly.
He cleared his throat and studied the green sections and the lines on the map. "I belieeeeeve..." he drawled while trying to buy himself some time. "...you would probably, maybe, want to go...here!" Sokka pointed at the closest forest spot to them; it was almost too perfect but Eira was not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. She beamed.
"Brilliant! We can go there af..."
Eira yelped as Aang fell but a puff of air caught him before any collision. Aang flew onto his feet and spun around so he could see us as well.
"Yeah! I am the champion!" Toph boasted, standing firmly with her fists on her hips and a crescent moon grin on her face. She whooped victoriously.
"Well done, Toph. Guess you won that."
Toph kept celebrating. Aang smiled benignly and met Eira's eyes. "So, Eira, where are we heading next?"
Eira beckoned him over and his eyes followed her finger to the green spot Sokka had pointed out. "Here. I've been kinda missing my home lately, so I thought it would be cool to go to a place that's like it. Mountains, forests, that's basically my home in a nutshell. All you would need to do is add some sheep."
Eira found her eyes lightning up unintentionally, but they dulled briefly with worry. Her sky eyes flickered to Toph but as they fell back, Katara caught them meaningfully. Katara smiled and nodded.
The blonde inhaled deeply. "Hey, Toph?"
The earthbender sat cross-legged on the podiums. "What're you worrying 'bout, Fairy Feet?"
Eira paused, confused, but then remembered. Toph's seismic sense was spectacular. "Uh, Toph. A while back, in the desert, I was going to tell you where I actually come from." She tried to get the words out. It felt so awkward having to say it out loud again.
"I wasn't born an airbender. I come from another world."
One moment of silence. Another moment of silence. Eira had expected Toph to laugh or something but instead the younger girl's expression was surprisingly contemplative, then she sighed.
"I suppose you're not lying, are you? It doesn't feel like you are. Well, explain."
Eira stared at her, but then relented. She could have handled a more explosive reaction but this just made her realise how crazy she sounded. Then again, this whole situation was utterly insane.
"A couple months ago, actually it was only a day before we found Aang, I fell from the sky into the Southern Tribe sea. I found out later that some spirits had kidnapped me and given me airbending." Her eyes shot up immediately to Toph's unseeing ones, awaiting judgement, but once again she didn't get what she'd expected.
Toph smirked. "Wow. That sucks."
Eira couldn't help but chuckle at such a...a blasé response. "On the bright side, I met you guys. That's been the one shining star through this whole thing so far. Having a world with bending doesn't even come close to having you by my side."
Katara smiled and pulled Eira with one arm into a hug. "Aw. Thanks." Eira hugged her back shortly.
"Ha! Your world doesn't have bending? Sounds boring to me. I bet I could take on any of leaders, easily."
The Welsh teenager's mind went to her Prime Minister and she couldn't help but agree. All world leaders would bow before a twelve-year-old blind girl as she took over the world. We pledge our allegiance to you, our Melon Lord, Toph Beifong, Eira thought, quickly realising that her mind had spiralled out of control pretty quickly, even for her. Not that it wasn't funny to picture.
Eira shook her head and grinned. "It's not boring at all. Sadly, we do have much more wars than you guys..." A large downside of her world. At least these guys have had only one real war, to Eira's knowledge even though it was highly likely that they have had more. "...but that's just because we have over two hundred different nations, and even more languages!"
Sokka's eyes widened. "Wait. Over two hundred!?"
She nodded happily and eyed Toph. "That's not boring at all, is it?"
"I still think I could take them."
Eira's eyes fell to her interlocked hands. "I can't take you guys to Wales itself but I thought it might be cool to, you know, be around a place like it."
Aang nodded in understanding. He darted over to Appa and leapt with an air-aided jump onto the air bison's neck. He wrapped his hands around the reins and beamed readily at the four others. "So. When do we leave?"
Appa grumbled happily. Eira smiled in appreciation and packed away her map. She hefted her bag over her shoulder and jogged over to the big fluffy animal. His tail was curled around and presented like a staircase which Eira took. She didn't attempt to airbend up onto the saddle as Aang had done, not feeling that she could have actually done it as she was.
She dropped down into the saddle and shuffled her way to lean against the edge, half excited and half nervous. She couldn't help but feel as this was a bad idea but she also couldn't help herself. Eira had been in this world for a long time, it felt nice to think back once in a while.
O.o.O
Blonde hair whipped Eira in the face consistently in the wind as they travelled through the sky. She felt everyone's curious eyes on her as they went but allowed herself not to mind. Her eyes glossed over the amazing sites beneath Appa. The grasslands slowly turned to forests as they moved further north, the greens of the landscape becoming richer and richer on the way.
Toph was asleep but that didn't really surprise them. Eira always envied anyone with the ability to sleep on cue. She wasn't the best at flying so Eira couldn't blame her for anything.
Her eyes were wandering aimlessly until they finally arrived at Katara's. There was short exchange of glances which led to Katara tilting her head towards Eira's bag. Eira smiled. She knew what she wanted.
Eira still couldn't actually write anything the others would understand but she still kept a notebook close and treasured at all times. Some of the random things she scribbled down at the spark of an idea were little notes to herself but the majority were little sketches she'd done.
There were plenty of characters with no intended names and landscapes with no intended history but she didn't hand it over to Katara then and there. Eira held up a finger, asking for a moment, and started to draw. Blue irises flickered up every so often when Eira consulted her memory but after a minute or two the little lines became a map. A smile grew as the picture developed. Admittedly, some of the details completely escaped her but she was soon happy with the result.
She scanned it briefly then reached over to hand it to Katara. "What do you think?" she wondered.
"Oh, I always love your art, Eira. I wish I could do something like this." She chuckled. "At least you've fixed the proportion thing."
Eira laughed. Heads were always a problem for her. "It's a map, Katara."
"I know. I know. I grew up with Sokka. I think I should be a master of maps and sarcasm by association." She analysed Eira's drawing again. "Wait. Is this..? This is your home, isn't it? A picture of your world."
Sokka slid closer to his sister, having caught onto the conversation. She leant on Katara's shoulder to get a better look at the map, the eyes of a tactician replacing the eyes of a teasing older brother for a moment of inquiry.
"I thought you said your world had more nations, but this is tiny," he noted in a matter-of-fact tone.
"That's not everything, Sokka. They're only two islands. You see the dotted lines? There should be three of them."
Sokka and Katara nodded.
"They separate the five countries. Well, two technically." Eira noted their confused expressions. "Don't worry; I won't get into all the politics. It's hard enough to understand the history when you've lived through it. The biggest island and the bit at the top are all different but are connected. It's a bit like the two Water Tribes or all the Air Temples, I guess."
Eira knew it wasn't very safe to stand up when Appa was flying so she just leant forwards, blinding pointing to what she guessed was the right place.
"Clockwise, they go: Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales..."
"Land?" Sokka completed, albeit incorrectly. The light-haired teen shook her head with a small grin.
"No, but it probably should be. You see the little cross I drew? That's about where I live."
The brown-haired siblings were staring at the map with fascination. It was funny to Eira. She'd seen that map all her life. It was interesting to see an outsider's view on it.
"It looks so cool, Eira." Katara met Eira's eyes again. "How...How would you describe them?"
Eira considered this for a moment. "They're all pretty green but Scotland and Wales are really the mountainous ones. It only really gets cold up north but with the rest of them it's usually overcast or raining.
"I wouldn't say they're like any of the nations, though. But...I could say they're pretty similar to the elements. England's fire and Northern Ireland would be air, and I'd say Scotland and Wales were water and earth respectively. Power, freedom, change, and substance. It fits better than I thought now I think about it..."
Something struck Eira and she quickly crawled to Katara's side so she could glimpse at her own drawing. She muttered something she was glad neither of them heard then groaned.
"What? What is it?" Katara asked, sounding worried which worried Eira in turn.
"Nothing. Nothing important. I just realised something. It's just, I always forget to include Scotland's...er…Quiff."
The waterbender shot her friend a very odd look. Eira's lips curled as she searched desperately for the right wording. It was very hard to describe. She ended up having to push up her own hair to try imitating the hairstyle she was imagining which brought laughter from Sokka and Katara. Eira's pale skin was brushed with red as she put her arm back down with a sheepish smile.
Katara's eyes were bright and intelligent. "It's so fascinating. It's hard to imagine a whole other world, and the one you come from being so much bigger than ours…Wow."
It was funny. Eira could imagine other worlds quite easily. Besides from the fact she was living in one there was also her imagination. All the planets and cultures from fiction sprung to her mind quickly. She assumed it was just because she was more used to it.
O.o.O
Appa landed and Eira stumbled over to Toph; her legs had fallen asleep a while ago at that point. Eira gently shook Toph's shoulder and prodded for her to wake up.
"Come on, Toph. We're here."
Aang whooped and leapt off Appa. He landed with a buffering breeze and sauntered around the small clearing. A small river rolled past peacefully and the grass he found himself on was dotted with little white and yellow flowers Eira didn't recognise. They looked pretty though.
Eira crawled down the thick white fur and landed on the earth, glancing up to check the others were going down, then she strolled around, slowly twirling around. Mountains. Forests. General greenery. It felt so much better but the small details, the small changes, were still there.
"Hey, guys! Do you want to go to Jin Feng for lunch?" said Sokka, waving my map in the air.
"What?" Toph asked as she jumped down to the grass.
"A small town near here. Anyone hungry?"
Katara walked over to my side and nodded to her brother. "That sounds good, Sokka, but how far do we have to walk this time?"
"Not as far as last time," he assured her.
Eira smirked. "So at least less than five miles."
"It was not five miles. It was one...one and a half miles, tops!"
Thankfully it turned out to be much less than that. From their landing site there was a small path that led into the town Sokka described: Jin Feng.
Eira couldn't help but think that if she wanted to go to a place like Wales she would have to avoid all settlements since they felt so much more like Asia than anything she'd find in the UK. The town sloped up over a gradual hill with long rows of buildings making up the majority of the high street. Behind this main road there were less organised clusters of houses, still formed in lines but those lines curved and stopped in ways that showed any newcomer that they were built before people began to plan out cities.
Okay. It was more similar to the UK that it first appeared.
A grin grew on Eira's face as the five of them strolled into the town. Jin Feng was a mass of bright banners, large signs written in lovely calligraphy, and stalls.
"Must be market day," she noted happily.
On their journey through the Earth Kingdom to Ba Sing Se they'd had a much easier time when it came to the expenses. Even though Eira was happy to be frugal when they didn't have an easy way to get more money but she managed to use the fact it was her treat to go a bit crazier than she usually was.
She felt the eyes of the residents on her and her blonde hair but she didn't let it bother her. Eira bounced from vendor to vendor, enjoying herself immensely as she did so. The market was full of interesting things and creations which she and all the others loved. It reminded her of her little adventure in Omashu when Aang, Katara, and Sokka were meeting King Bumi. It seemed like such a long time ago.
Eira made sure to get more stationary for her newly-bought notebook but she mainly bought herself some ingredients, an idea gradually building in her mind. Flour, some sugar, butter, eggs, milk, some currants and mixed spices. She held a bit of worry about her memory being faulty but baking had been something insisted on in Eira's old household.
The town was a fun place but sadly the sun set quite quickly. They travelled back to Appa, Eira's bag in particular was much heavier than when she'd first come. It would theoretically be one of their last days camping since Ba Sing Se was only a short distance away without any more real reasons to delay any further.
Eira had saved Appa, but she didn't know how greatly that had affected the grand scheme of things. Maybe Ba Sing Se would be safe from Azula. Maybe things would turn out exactly the same way. She was hoping for the latter yet she knew that was unlikely.
All their tents were up but there was still one last thing to do. Smiling, Eira got to work on her plan. On the other side of the river, purposely away from Eira and the fire, Aang was training with the two other benders. They took turns on which element to practice with though Toph got the majority of the attention since the young Avatar had a lot to do with his earthbending.
Sokka was occupied with something else. With only a few days before he met the Earth King he was checking up on his battle strategies for the day of Black Sun. His expression was still in concentration but he didn't look entirely dissimilar to his regular self. Sokka's tongue was stuck out in thought, making Eira chuckle softly as she cooked.
Night seemed to come sooner in an area surrounded by mountains. The sun was hidden away by the peaks which obscured it in an almost arrogant way. Something thousands of miles away shone its light onto the globe only to have it stopped at the last moment. This thought made her laugh in an even self-depreciating manner. Her friends had always teased her over-introspective mind...
Eira paused. She froze for a moment while her eyes stared unseeingly at nothing. She looked up, forcing herself to gaze instead at Aang, Katara, and Toph. She swore that she wouldn't leave them until Ozai was defeated. With her knowledge she knew she could help save people, she already had in the case of Appa and Yue. But she became suddenly aware of her actions.
She'd acted rather foolishly today. She'd been obsessed with Wales and the UK and Earth and now she felt embarrassed about it. She couldn't stay in the past while she was nowhere near it. There was...Eira's face fell in realisation. There was no point.
Her open hand rose and covered her face from view; Eira hoped she could just block everything out for a moment. She heard the river. She heard the faint melody of birds about to go to sleep. She heard the trees around her rustle. She could have been camping anywhere in Wales. The grass beneath her was no different and the breeze was the same. But it wasn't. Why had it taken her all day to remind herself of that?
Eira didn't move. All sections of her brain devoted to the overwhelming thoughts instead of anything else and the buzzing in her mind drowned out the rest. It disappeared all until she felt a weight rest on her shoulder.
The Welsh girl jumped and her wide eyes leapt to Sokka's. "When did you..?" she blurted out incompletely. Sokka's expression was sober and concerned. His eyes wandered every so often from his friend's, analysing her expression in the hope of understanding her thoughts.
"Are you alright, Eira?"
Her hand dropped from her face to just her cheeks. They were damp. Her eyebrows knitted together. She hadn't realised...
"D-Don't...Don't worry, Sokka. I'm fine."
Sokka raised an eyebrow, showing exactly how much he believed her. "Eira. I am a master strategist, among other things, as well as being a big brother. I can see through any lie."
Eira chuckled while she wiped her face. "I know. I know. No point lying to you, is there?"
"So can I ask again? Are you alright?"
Eira opened her mouth to speak but found the words were ready to come out yet. She sighed and chuckled again without mirth at herself. "I, er, don't...I'm not sure. I'm sorry about today. I can't believe I've been so stupid."
"You're not stupid," Sokka said, stern. He studied her face again. "You're just homesick. I miss my home too, but..." He met Eira's eyes. "...I guess it's more serious with you. It'll hard to go back. Harder than it is for Katara and me anyway."
He wavered but then put his arm around her briefly. In that moment, Eira saw the brother of Katara shine through. "I don't want you to be unhappy, Eira. None of us do. The best case scenario might have been if the spirits had just left you alone but, I'm going to sound selfish here, it's awesome I got to meet you."
Eira smiled. "It's awesome I got to meet you as well. I love every single one of you. You're all such amazing people after all." Sokka grinned at the compliment. "I promise I won't leave you. I want to resolve all of this. I want to help Aang, and you, and Katara, and Toph, and everyone. I've just been a bit jarred today. Sorry."
"Don't be. It's fine to be a little expressive once in a while. I've always thought it was weird at how long you go without it to be honest." He tapped Eira on the arm playfully. "Feel free to talk to us whenever you want. We're going to be there for you no matter what, since you're coming with us and all."
Sokka stretched his arms tiredly. "D'you need any help. I've got no idea what it is but what you're cooking smells amazing."
He's right, Eira agreed in her head. She hugged him back shortly and gestured to the pan, allowing her smile to broaden. Sokka's presence always seemed to do that.
"These are Welsh cakes. As the name implies, they're from my home. It is basically just batter, currants, and sugar so what's not to love?" Eira fished around for one of the kitchen supplies and prodded the little, thick sweet circles. "And now they're done."
Eira looked across the river. "It's done, everyone!" she called. Eira took the pan off the fire and blew on the food to cool them down. "They smell lush," she admitted, beaming proudly.
Aang was dotted with mud from training as he sauntered over by Katara and Toph's side. He was smiling from the success of the session and it only widened at the sight of Eira and Sokka.
"Wow, Eira. This looks amazing!"
Katara nodded. "They look really good, Eira. I can't wait."
The three benders sat cross-legged on the grass and joined a rough circle around the campfire.
Eira breathed deeply and handed the Welsh cakes around the five. "How is everyone? Have you enjoyed the day? Jin Feng was fun."
Aang agreed. "The market was so cool." He held the warm cake in his hand and bit into it. Everyone followed suit and Eira had to admit that even though she'd messed up a bit on the specifics it was good. She loved Welsh cakes.
"It can't be too long until we arrive in Ba Sing Se now," said Katara. "I know we have a lot to do but I thought these little holidays were a good idea."
"Yeah. Mine was really fun," Toph said.
"I think we all had a fun time," Sokka agreed. "We deserved the celebration."
"Is there anything else you want to do, Eira?" Katara turned to Eira.
The blonde thought about it for a moment, then nodded her head. "One more thing. I hope you don't mind."
"Depends what it is." Toph leant back, brushing the grass with her bare hands and feet idly.
Eira smirked. "I'm not whether it'll be your thing, Toph, but it would be cool to teach you something. A little song?"
She looked sceptical but Katara especially seemed motivated. She clapped, excited. "Which one? Is it the same one you were singing a while back? By the Cave of Two Lovers?"
"Not that one. I know quite a few but I prefer this one. It's called, 'Old Land of my Fathers'. It's not the best out of all the others but it's still my favourite."
Pronunciation was not the greatest yet considering it was a common sight to hear a crowd who didn't know the words at all Eira was ready to give them a pass. Eira doubted they would ever win any contests but there was something so fun about giving it your all regardless of circumstance.
Eira sat with them in the firm knowledge that something bad was going to happen in their future but she was happy to know she'd have these memories. Aang, Sokka, Katara, Toph. They were all brilliant people and even greater friends. In spite of everything, Eira was overjoyed to have met them and to be able to be with them. That was something she would never deny no matter where she ended up.
Hey everyone! :D
Bast's really sorry about having to delay this over and over. I can vouch for the fact that she's been swamped! But then I noticed this was special - the 10th chapter, the 1 year anniversary of Eira's journey, an off-script episode - so I (the other side of this account and her twin) decided that I'd give her a present.
It's her idea but I wrote it! I wonder if you noticed the style had changed. I would say I'm a different writer to her.
I would fight for the right to be her biggest fan but from what I can see from the reviews, favourites, and follows that I have competition ;)
So thank you all for reading this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you continue to support this fic! :D