Nianzu's Journey
Meanwhile...
Nianzu never got the chance to meet Aang after Zuko's coronation, so Nianzu decided to take matters into his own hands. He left the Capital City and headed towards an Air Ship Travel Agency that Zuko had called for to act as an Airport for citizens. Earth Kingdom, and Water Tribe travelers could now explore the Fire Nation faster and cheaper than waiting for a Ferry Ride. The Air Ships were constructed from the Idea of the War Ships, but were now more economical and weren't designed for strength, but for speed. They also were constructed Larger than Normal war ships, so they could hold more passengers. The Larger Air Ships were used for rich people and had larger rooms, about the size of a living room. While the normal sized Air Ships had rooms about the size of a small bedroom. Nianzu packed his things and hitched a ride to the Airport.
Nianzu was short on money, considering his parents only gave him a couple gold pieces, he had used all that money just to get to the Capital City. Nianzu didn't want to become a criminal, but to survive he decided he needed to find some money, quickly before the Avatar had to go somewhere else. Nianzu walked towards a small, unpopulated Tea Shop. Nianzu didn't know much airbending, the most he could do was shoot a blast of air out of his hand, but the air would only be powerful enough to make a person stumble back a little. Nianzu walked inside the Tea Shop, acting like a normal customer and requesting a table.
"What kind of tea may I get you sir?" the manager asked Nianzu.
"I'll take some Jasmine please." he told the man.
"Excellent choice sir." he said before walking away to the kitchen. There was a small pamphlet on the table. Inside it was a coupon for the airport and it was expiring the next day. It would give you a ride to Whale Tail Island for only 75 silver pieces. Nianzu cursed at himself, seeing he only had about five gold pieces, and 20 silver pieces left.
The manager returned shortly with Nianzu's tea, "Here you are sir. That will be five copper pieces."
Nianzu searched his pockets and took out two silver pieces, "Will this do?" he asked.
The manager nodded and Nianzu handed him the money. The manage bowed and put the money in his money box, which only held about 50 copper pieces and now two silver pieces. Nianzu sipped his tea and gazed at the pamphlet, trying to figure out how he could get 70 gold pieces in less than twenty four hours. Whale Tail Island wasn't far from the South Pole, and they gave out cheap ferry rides to the Southern Water Tribe. Nianzu kept thinking of ways, but after a while, he singled them all out except for one way, and that was robbing the store, and every other tea shop within the area. He hated the idea of robbing innocent people. Even though he didn't know much about his people, he knew they were peaceful and non-violent. But Nianzu wasn't them, he needed to do this. To him it was more like, self defense for helping him travel.
Nianzu finished his tea and walked up to the counter, "Is there something wrong sir?" the manager asked.
"No, but I need to tell you something." Nianzu said, then he shot an air blast out of his hand that made the man stumble back and fall. Nianzu quickly grabbed the money box and ran out of the shop. He kept running and running until he was out of breath.
"Just another one of my brilliant ideas huh?" he asked himself. Once he regained his breath he opened the box to see how much he had stolen. He cursed at himself as he saw the box only contained 50 copper pieces and two silver pieces. He flopped to the ground, trying to figure out how he could live with himself to rob so many stores from such innocent people. Then he had an idea.
I'll go to the Airport, and I'll have to steal someone's ticket to Whale Tail Island. I mean, it's not like I have a choice. I need to meet Aang, and I don't have time to ride for 2 weeks on a shitty ferry ride. The Air Ships will get me to Whale Tale Island in a matter of 3 to 4 days, depending on weather. Then the ferry ride to the Southern Tribe shouldn't take but 6 to 8 hours.
Just then a soldier walked up to Nianzu, "Hey kid, you're gonna have to come with me." he told Nianzu.
"And just why should I?" he asked nervously
"Because, I was just told a young boy just robbed a tea shop a few blocks down." the soldier said before grabbing Nianzu's arm.
Nianzu looked at the soldier, "Get your hand off of me right now."
"And who's gonna make me kid?" the soldier smirked.
Nianzu smiled deviously and shot out a blast of air at the soldier, tossing the man across the street into a wall.
The man grunted and got up, "Who-How did you do that?" the guard asked, struggling to get up.
"I am Nianzu. I'm an airbender, and you better stay out of my way. I doubt you've ever fought an airbender." Nianzu stated, standing over the man.
"Just get away from me." the man said as he ran away. Nianzu smiled at his success. He was finally making stronger blasts of air, without Aang, though he still needed to learn more.
Nianzu headed towards the Airport, where he would find a way to steal someones ticket to Whale Tail Island. He had never stolen something that valuable before, but he didn't care. It was the only way he could get to Whale Tail Island.
Meanwhile...
Hey Dad, have you seen Aang?" Sokka asked as he came downstairs.
"Yea, he and Katara just left to go for a ride." Hakoda answered.
"On Appa?" Sokka asked.
Hakoda shrugged, "Maybe. Aang took his staff so..." But before he could finish Sokka interrupted him.
"Wait, he took his staff? The orange and blue one with the Air Nomad and Water Tribe Symbols on the wings?" Sokka asked.
Hakoda nodded, then Sokka continued, "Oh crap. One thing is a ride on Appa, but when they're flying like that they could fly to Whale Tail Island without even realizing it." Sokka explained.
Hakoda rolled his eyes, "And why would they not realize it, Sokka?"
"Because, they make out the entire time they fly. By the time they stop, they won't even know where the hell they are." Sokka said.
"Oh come on, Sokka. They're more mature than that. Besides, where's your say in what they do, as long as they don't do anything they shouldn't be doing, I don't really care." Hakoda said before sipping his tea.
Sokka sighed dramatically, "Fine, it's just those two are always doing something. Ever since we were at the Jasmine Dragon, they're always doing something, whether it's making out or just plain kissing."
Aang and Katara had just finished feeding Appa. They always fed Appa around noon and fed him again at six, and they were getting ready to fly. Aang was getting ready for their flight, and Katara was petting the large bison.
Aang twirled his staff in the air, causing the Custom Made staff to open up, revealing large blue wings, and the lower rings were an orange color. The left blue wing had an Air Nomad Symbol on it, and the right wing had a Water Tribe Symbol.
"Ready?" he asked
Katara ceased petting the bison and walked over to Aang, who wrapped his arm around her waist, "Ready."
Aang pulled her closer to him as she wrapped her arms around his neck, ready to take off. Aang shot air out of his feet, launching them into the air. Katara's grip tightened as she brought her head closer to the airbender's. Aang turned his head back to reveal his loving grey eyes, which met her sparkling blue eyes. They stared at eachother, before Katara pressed her lips against his. Aang loved the feeling of her lips against his, as her tongue asked for entrance into his mouth. He opened his mouth to allow her entrance. They both moaned with pleasure as their tongues battled for dominance. Katara broke away slowly to catch her breathe.
"No one could ever replace you, remember that." he said lovingly. Katara smiled in response, and pressed her lips against his.
She broke away for a moment, "I will, you don't have to worry." with that she continued the kiss.
The crowd was large, waiting in Line for Tickets and showing passports, boarding the Air Ships that were taking off, and just plain waiting for their flights to begin boarding. There were small Tea Stands around the large building, handing out tea for small prices, and other small restaurants. Fire Lord Zuko had this Airport personally constructed a few weeks after his coronation, to allow Fire Nation Citizens to travel the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes and other areas in the world. Citizens from the Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom could now also travel through the Fire Nation.
Nianzu was looking at the list of flights, looking for one to Whale Tail Island, or the Southern Water Tribe. He noticed that because of weather, the flights only reached Whale Tail Island. Nianzu looked at the cheapest flight to Whale Tail Island. Sadly he found that the cheapest flight was in an Old War Ship that was nearly destroyed in Ozai's Fleet. The War Ship only had room for 25 passengers, and it cost 300 silver pieces, though with his coupon he found at the Tea Shop, he could ride for 75 silver pieces. Sadly Nianzu only had 20 silver pieces, and five gold pieces left.
Nianzu walked up to a counter where a woman was allowing money exchanges.
"Can I exchange five gold pieces for 20 silver pieces?" he asked the woman.
"Certainly." she said. With that Nianzu handed her the five gold pieces and she handed him back 20 silver pieces, "Here you go."
He thanked her and walked away, now carrying forty silver pieces. Now all I need it 35 more silver pieces, but how am I gonna pay for the Ferry Ride?
He walked towards the crowd that was boarding the Air Ship that was heading towards Whale Tail Island. He saw that a man had his ticket in his back pocket. Nianzu thought for a minute, then began twirling his finger in a circle. A small twirling current of air began to form behind the mans pocket. The ticket began flapping as the air began twirling around it. The ticket began coming out of the man's pocket, as the wind twirled around it. After a few seconds the ticket was released from the man's pocket and if floated to the floor. Nianzu quickly picked it up and headed towards the Air Ship.
"Air Ship Flight A2442 To Whale Tail Island is now boarding!" Shouted a man collecting tickets at the entrance of the small Air Ship.
Once Nianzu got to the front of the line he handed the man his ticket and looked for room number A15, meaning he was in the upper part of the Ship. He walked up three flights of stairs before he finally found his room. He walked in to see it was about the size of a normal small bedroom. It had a single mattress with Earth Kingdom furniture. The bed was designed with Badger-Moles on the Head and Foot of the bed, with grass green covers and a normal white pillow. There was an Earth Kingdom Insignia on the roof of the room, and Badge-Moles decorated the walls. There was a small closet for him to unpack his things and there was a small bathroom roughly the size of a large box, and the bed took up most of the room. There was a small table in front of the bed, and a chair in left corner of the room beside the bed.
"Well, atleast I'm here." he told himself, disappointed at the size of the room. He barely had any walk space, considering the bed and table took up most of the room. He walked over to the closet and put up his clothes, then he walked over to the bed and laid down, holding his head in his hands. He slowly drifted to sleep, feeling quite more comfortable than he expected. He drifted to sleep after an hour of just staring at the roof, thinking about Avatar Aang, and how powerful his own airbending was. He wondered how strong Aang's airbending was, and how it compared to his own strength. With all these thoughts in his head, he fell asleep.
The Next Morning...
The couple laid in bed for a few moments before Aang finally woke up. He yawned and turned over to see his girlfriend still sound asleep. He smiled and laid back down, trying to go back to sleep, but was found unable. Instead he began stroking her beautiful, silky hair with his fingers, trying to work out the knots without waking her. He loved the feeling of her hair as he ran his fingers through it. He did this same routine every morning he found himself up before Katara. She would smile in her sleep, but Aang knew that meant she wasn't really asleep, but that she didn't want him to stop. He continued stroking her hair with his hand, and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand.
Katara awoke a few minutes later, with a soft smile on her face, "Morning beautiful." Aang said.
"Morning handsome." she said, with that she put her hand behind his head bringing him into a kiss.
She broke away and slightly laughed, "You'll never believe what I dreamed last night."
"What did you dream of?" he asked her.
She smiled lovingly and put her mouth near his ear, "Airbenders." she whispered.
Aang chuckled, "Of course you did. I mean there is another airbender in the world and-" he began, but before he could finish Katara put her finger on his lips.
"That's not what I meant, Aang." she said lovingly.
Aang's eyes widened a little and he smiled, "Oh, I see. Well, we can wait, can't we?" he asked, biting his lip for her reaction. They usually didn't talk about that, it would only come up once in a while since they got engaged. Aang was nervous about that idea, they never had taken it that far, and weren't planning to anytime soon. But Aang knew it would happen at some time, not just to repopulate the Air Nomads, but to be parents together.
She smiled, "Yes Aang, we'll wait...until we're married." with that he pulled her into a kiss. It was slow and peaceful, and they enjoyed it, it was something they didn't do much anymore, it would usually go farther but not this time. This time it was slow, steady, peaceful love. They continued for a while until they got up and got dressed.
Aang put on his normal Water Tribe clothing and watched as Katara was putting up her hair loopies. Those were one of the things he loved about her, the way she always had her hair done. It was so long so it had many ways to style it. It could be braided into a long rope, and many other styles. She was trying to get some strands of hair into one of her beads and was struggling. Aang walked over to her and gently pulled the bead from her hand.
"Here, allow me." he said, with that he moved the strands of hair into the bead and then clipped it to the top of her forehead.
"Thanks." she said, kissing him on the cheek.
"My pleasure." he said, then he thought of something. Her birthday was coming up in a month and he hadn't yet thought of a present to get her. But now he knew what he would get her.
"Come on, we gotta go help Gran Gran plan for our wedding." Katara said taking Aang's hand and heading out the door.
"Alright. It's gonna be a great wedding. It will be like a traditional Water Tribe Wedding. Too bad the Air Nomads weren't big on weddings either." Aang explained.
Air Nomads, the words rang in her head. Then she remembered something she thought of a few weeks ago. She stopped in the hallway and faced Aang.
"Hey Aang, can I ask you something?" she asked him.
"Of course, what did you want to ask me?"
She bit her lip, "Once we get married, you think we can...go live at the Southern Air Temple?" she asked, biting her lip.
Aang produced a large grin, "Katara, if that's what you want, I would love to live at the Southern Air Temple with you." he told her. With that she pulled him into a hug, and they kissed passionately.
Meanwhile...
Nianzu lay in his bed, sleeping soundly. He had fallen to sleep without realizing it. Nether the less he still slept peacefully, dreaming of being the best Airbender in the world. He woke up to the sound of knocking at his door. He yawned loudly and got up and put on a night robe. He tied it around his waist and walked towards the door, rubbing his eyes. He opened the door to see a crewman, with a cart loaded with teas and food.
"Good Morning, sir. Would you like a continental breakfast?" the man asked.
Nianzu smiled, "Yes please. What do you have?"
"We have ginseng tea, and some Stewed Sea Prunes, or instead you could have some rice." the man said.
"I'll take the tea and Prunes, please." Nianzu said. With that the man took out a glass of tea and poured it into a small cup and placed it on a plate. Then poured some stewed sea prunes into a bowl and placed it on the plate and handed it to Nianzu.
"Thank you." he said. The man bowed and continued to the next room. Nianzu closed the door slowly and headed towards the small table that was at the foot of his bed. He sat and ate the sea prunes, which were surprisingly good, compared to they're look. Once he finished eating he changed into his normal orange and green robes and headed outside to the decks of the ship. He walked to the rails next to a dark haired man and looked out onto the sea. There was a beautiful view of the ocean, and the feel of the wind blowing against his skin made his feel stronger and more alive. He stuck a strand of wheat into his mouth to chew on, it was a habit of his.
"The airbenders probably get their strength from the wind." he told himself.
"Yep, that's what they say." the young man said. With that the man walked over to Nianzu, "Hi, I'm Tau." the man said, holding out his hand. Tau was about 15 or 16 years old. He had dark brown hair and had two strands of hair hanging off the left side of his hair. His hair was long and thin, and his face looked serious, as if he was about thirty. He was wearing some Water Tribe clothing, not much different than normal Water Tribe clothes
Nianzu shook the man's hand, "I'm Nianzu. So, you headed to Whale Tail island to?" he asked.
"Yea, me and my buddies, Sorin and Ryu, and heading there. We figured that now that the war's been over for seven years we should start a new life." the man explained.
"Oh, your lives were uprooted by the Fire Nation?" Nianzu guessed.
Tau chuckled, "Nah, my buddy Sorin is a firebender, and Ryu is an earthbender, and I'm a waterbender." he explained, "I lived in the Earth Kingdom most of my life, In a village the Fire Nation had taken over. It didn't really matter, me and Sorin became friends right away. Kinda crazy though, huh? Ryu was in the same village as me. So basically me, Sorin, and Ryu were like a team. We would mess with the soldiers every now and then."
Nianzu chuckled, "Sound like good times."
"Yea they were. Until we decided to leave home and go make lives of our own. So anyway, what element can you bend? Water, Earth Fire?"
"Air." Nianzu said.
Tau laughed a little, "You're an airbender? Dude the airbenders are extinct and Avatar Aang is the only one left, but good try though." he said.
"What you don't believe me?" Nianzu asked.
"No, sorry. So seriously, what element can you bend?" he asked again.
Nianzu smiled and shot a blast of air out into the sea. Tau's eyes widened, "Whoa, you really are an airbender!" he exclaimed.
"Yea, I'm heading to the Southern Water Tribe to meet Avatar Aang. To learn about my heritage, my ancestors and other stuff, but mainly to learn airbending." Nianzu explained, flicking his strand of wheat into the sea.
"Hold on a sec, I'm gonna get my friends to meet you." Tau said before running off. A few moments later he came back with two guys following him. Ryu and Sorin were about the same age as Tau. Sorin wore a Fire Nation robe and Ryu wore something similar to what Dai Li Agents wear.
"Guys, this is Nianzu. He's an airbender, one of the last on Earth, and he's looking for Avatar Aang." Tau told them.
"Pleasure to meet you." Sorin said, shaking the young airbender's hand.
"Likewise." Nianzu replied.
Then Ryu shook Nianzu's hand, and they all talked for a while. Soon they became great friends. They roamed around the ship, talking about their lives and experiences. Nianzu became tired around six and told them that he'd meet them on the decks in the morning. Nianzu headed off the bed, and fell to sleep easily this time. The next day the gang did the same they did before, they practiced their bending and talked a lot, and it continued for the next two days they were flying. They landed on Whale Tail Island two days later. Nianzu was packed up and he and his friends left the ship together. Nianzu told them he was gonna get a Ferry Ride to the Southern Tribe, and they bid him farewell.
"Hey, if you're ever on Whale Tail Island, look us up okay." Sorin told Nianzu.
"Sure, I hope to see you guys again soon." he told them, with that he bid them farewell and headed towards the Ferry Ride. His ticket cost him the rest of his money, but it was worth it. He boarded the Ferry just looked out onto the sea as the Ferry Made it's way to the Southern Water Tribe.
Nianzu was nearing The Southern Water Tribe,
And was finally gonna meet Avatar Aang,
And learn Airbending from the master,
And Nianzu knew one thing,
"My new friends will be
useful someday."
Okay long chapter I know, but I wanted to show you some of Nianzu's personality. He is a peaceful man but will do whatever it takes to get what he wants. Also, I want to thank Private LL Church for helping me with the new characters Tau, Sorin, and Ryu. Please review and continue reading.