Avatar: The Warring Earth
Book Two—Air
By Twins of the Pen
Disclaimer: Avatar in itself belongs to Nickelodeon and Bryan Konietzko/Michael DiMartino. The only things that belong to Twins of the Pen are the original characters.
It was morning. It was late morning. Syaoran had already managed to drag himself out of bed, do his meditations with Tiki, and come back for breakfast. And yet, there was still an empty seat that had yet to be filled. The lieutenant had been attending to Shun the day before. That made sense. Was Shun still sick? Is that why she had yet to appear? It was more than a bit peculiar when the firebender wasn't up at the crack of dawn. There wasn't even the subtle hint of smoke that would sometimes be left behind after she came back from a morning workout.
"Has anyone seen ZanYi?" the Avatar couldn't help but ask, walking in through the front door.
Shun, seated however at the table, had just been wondering the same thing. He had gotten up a couple hours later than usual, but his fever was gone, and he only sneezed occasionally now. Thank goodness his body specialized in quick recoveries.
"No, I haven't seen her yet this morning," YinLi answered before Shun could. "I would have assumed she was taking care of Shun again, but since he's down here, I wonder if she just slept in?"
"ZanYi doesn't simply sleep in," Shun informed Tiki's aunt. "There's usually a reason why… maybe she didn't get enough sleep."
ZanYi had taken Tiki's floor again the night before, leaving Shun with YinLi's old room to himself once again. He took this to mean that she was definitely still mad at him—especially when she acted cold and distant with him all through dinner the night before. Honestly, he just could not win with her. With a sigh, the giant waterbender stood up, tossing his napkin onto his empty plate.
"I'll go check on her," he volunteered, heading to the stairs—he had just reached them when an unexpected ball of energy came barreling down, almost colliding with him.
"Whoa!" Tiki cried, skidding to a stop just in time. "Sorry, Shun. I was in a hurry to get to breakfast. My bad." Shun blinked down at Tiki as she moved around him to head into the dining room, humming off-key. Did he dare to believe that the old Tiki he had come to know was back?
"Tiki…?" Shun asked, as if he could not believe it was her. Tiki turned to him, her expression expectant.
"Hmm?"
"…"
Shun gave Tiki a once-over. She looked the same way she had the past few weeks: long-sleeved peasant tops, yoga pants today instead of jeans, and the blue arrow on her forehead on full display with the beautifully-jeweled butterfly clips in her hair. Her eyes remained those of an adult as well, the child-like roundness of them Shun had come to know missing. But she was smiling. And for the first time in weeks, Tiki actually looked… happy. The bright smile she wore was definitely missed, and it made her new mature look a lot prettier.
"…Nothing," Shun said, deciding not to mention it and just play it by ear. He did, however, reach out and pat the tiny airbender on the head, a relieved smile stretching across his features. "Welcome back, Teeks."
Tiki seemed to know what he meant; her smile brightened. As Shun left to search out ZanYi upstairs, Tiki approached the dining table, her spirits higher than ever. YinLi stared at her niece, as if she were a stranger.
"You're in a good mood," she noted as Tiki grabbed a plate and squeezed herself in between Syaoran and Kei, loading the plate up with food.
"It's a nice day," Tiki said simply with another smile to her aunt. She began humming tunelessly again as she took a seat, but found herself rather squished. "Guys, would you move over? I may be small, but I do need some room."
Kei obliged, grinning at the tiny airbender. "It's good to see you looking so cheerful, Tiki," he said, pleased. Tiki was certainly very pretty when she smiled. "You must have slept well last night."
"Actually, not really," Tiki contradicted, her expression becoming perplexed. "Grandpa Meelo kept me up most of the night again."
Kei just looked at Tiki, uncomprehending. "Grandpa Meelo?" he quoted when it became evident that Tiki was not going to explain. Her mouth full of food, Tiki simply shook her head at him.
"Don't worry about it. If I start babbling about my Grandpa Meelo, you'll never get me to shut up," she warned him once she had swallowed. Kei chuckled, amused by this. Tiki was actually pretty funny. Usually it was her that was laughing at his jokes, but this was a nice change of pace, the nonbender had to admit.
Syaoran pushed ZanYi to the back of his mind as much as he could, leaving that can of worms alone. She hadn't been with Shun, clearly, and besides, Syaoran needed to start rethinking whether he should pursue her. So he took to conversation that was easier.
Watching Tiki bustle about the room, it was almost reminiscent of some very early mornings in Omashu, on Roku's Island. She'd been quite cheerful during meditations that morning as well—even if she hadn't stopped scolding him for almost falling asleep. He rolled his eyes, eventually letting them fall on Kei as he peered around Tiki. "You really don't want her to get started on her grandfather. She'll talk your ear off," he warned the nonbender, speaking from personal experience.
Tiki had to resist the urge to stick her tongue out at Syaoran. She did, however, elbow him in the ribs. "You'd talk a lot about him too if your grandpa was as interesting as mine was," Tiki reasoned, taking a sip of her milk. YinLi smiled fondly.
"Ah, Dad was an interesting man indeed," she reminisced. "He would get up to all kinds of shenanigans, even at an old age… his sisters and brother are still confused as to how he got married and had kids."
Tiki giggled at this. Grandpa Meelo had been a character indeed, and he was always a blast at parties. He died when she was still young, but she still had a few good memories of the man from the few times she had met him.
"Your parents always said that you would grow up to be just like him, Tiki—" YinLi continued before she realized that she had just brought up Tiki's parents. Her shoulders hunched and she shot a guilty look at her niece… only to find that Tiki appeared unfazed. On the inside, however, the tiny airbender was the one feeling guilty: had she become so sensitive that her mother's own sister could not talk about her around Tiki? That wasn't very fair.
"Auntie," Tiki addressed YinLi, looking curious, "what was Mom like as a child?"
YinLi choked on her tea. She set her mug down, giving a hearty cough and focusing rather watery eyes on her niece. "You… want to know what YinXiang was like?"
"Yeah," Tiki persisted, ignoring the gaping looks she was receiving from her aunt and her cousins. "I don't really know much about my parents, come to think of it… did you know my dad growing up too?"
"Of course," YinLi replied, her eyes faraway now as she took a trip down Memory Lane. "We all grew up together: me, YinXiang, LingShi, and our brother YunZhong. We were as thick as thieves back then, inseparable…" YinLi pulled herself out of the past with a sigh. "I miss those days… but I can tell you all about them later. For now, eat up. You'll need your strength up if you want to continue teaching the Avatar airbending, right?"
Tiki dropped her fork and stared at her aunt. Really, did the woman not know the meaning of the word "discretion"? Tiki allowed her to ramble about one thing, and here YinLi was, blabbing secrets to the world… or Kei, as it were. And the worst part was that YinLi appeared confused over the look Tiki was giving her.
"What? What did I say?" YinLi wanted to know. Kei slowly turned to stare at Syaoran, looking awed and fearful all at the same time.
"…You're the Avatar?" Kei asked quietly. YinLi gasped, her eyes wide.
"Who told you?!" she demanded to know. Tiki slapped her forehead, unable to help herself. YinLi was not known for her subtlety… perhaps it was a hereditary trait.
Syaoran was mirroring the same motion, smacking his own forehead. "You told him, Li…" he muttered, a bit exasperated. They had been hiding that large detail for a reason. The people who knew he existed were very small in numbers, even smaller a number outside of the bender community.
And so Tiki's aunt accidentally tells the son of a mob boss that may or may not be trustworthy. Fantastic.
"She's so your aunt," Syaoran mumbled to Tiki, with a pointed look. However, he had to address the gaping stare that was being given to him by Kei. Taking a deep breath, Syaoran looked over at him, meeting his eyes. "Yeah. I'm the Avatar. Is that a problem…?"
This was one way to find out whether Kei was loyal to them or not. Not the way Syaoran would've liked to find out, true, but nonetheless, it was certainly a moment of truth.
Kei continued to stare at Syaoran, looking him up and down. His expression slowly changed from shocked to perplexed. "I guess I just never thought I'd meet the Avatar," he answered slowly. "Funny, I pictured you more… impressive."
Though Kei had said it as mildly as he could, Tiki took issue with his choice of words. "You haven't seen him in action," she chided Kei, pointing her fork at him. "He made a dormant volcano EXPLODE once."
And it was back to looking scared for the nonbender. "The Avatar has that kind of power…?" he asked, eyeing Syaoran as if he were a ticking time bomb. Tiki moved to sit on her knees, blocking Kei's view of Syaoran.
"Calm down," she urged Kei with a frown. "What did I tell you? We're benders, not monsters. Chill out."
As much as Kei wanted to 'chill out', as Tiki suggested, knowing that someone like Syaoran had that much power intimidated him… and this was coming from the third child of a mob boss. Kei pushed his chair back and stood up from the table. "I think I need some air," he announced before striding out the front door as quickly as he could. Tiki sighed and got to her feet as well, shooting her aunt a rueful look before following after Kei.
"Kei! Hey, wait up!"
Kei paused on his way to the beach, acknowledging Tiki's request. Once she caught up with him, however, he resumed his fast pace, causing Tiki to jog to keep up. "What's your problem all of a sudden? Syaoran's the Avatar: so what? That doesn't mean you should start treating him like a pariah."
Kei sighed heavily, abruptly stopping. Tiki came to a halt as well and turned to fully face the nonbender, her arms crossed as she waited; it looked like Kei wanted to say something. "…It's just," Kei began, appearing as if he was choosing his words carefully, "knowing that one person has all that power… is it safe?"
Tiki deadpanned Kei a look. "Well I don't know… Syaoran hasn't blown anything up in the past week, so I think we're actually okay," she answered sarcastically. Kei, however, gave her a skeptical look.
"What about that shift in the island we thought was an earthquake?" he reminded her. "It wasn't an earthquake, was it?"
Tiki frowned. He had her there. "Well… no. But before you jump to conclusions, just know that Syaoran was having a bad day. Stuff like that almost never happens otherwise."
"I'm sure," Kei agreed sardonically with a snort. Tiki's frown deepened: so here was the prejudiced side of Kei she had had yet to see. She had to admit, it was not attractive at all.
"What's your malfunction?" Tiki wanted to know, her crossed arms getting tighter. "You can accept the fact that I'm an airbender, but you can't accept that my friend is the Avatar?"
"That's different," Kei said immediately, his face flushing with some emotion unbeknownst to Tiki. "I've seen the documentaries; I know what the Avatar is capable of. Besides, you're just an airbender. You're—"
"Not a threat?" Tiki filled in for him, becoming more and more offended by the minute. Kei's face paled at the assumption.
"I didn't say that!" he tried to correct, but Tiki had already heard enough. She took a step back from the hands that reached out to her, wanting to grasp her shoulders and make him understand.
"Look, Kei," she began, fixing the nonbender with a serious gaze, "I know you have some pre-conceived notions about benders, but while you're here, you're going to have to get over them. If you really want to prove to me that you're on our side—on my side—you're going to have to start with that."
Not giving him a chance to shove his foot further into his mouth, Tiki turned her back and began to head back to YinLi's house. A thought seemed to strike her, however, for she turned to face Kei once more. "Oh, and before I forget: as you know, it's a secret that Syaoran is here learning how to airbend. Tell anyone…" Tiki let this sentence hang, opting instead to drag a finger across her neck, illustrating perfectly what would happen to Kei if he tried to inform anyone not on the island of the Avatar's presence. And then she continued to walk away, leaving Kei to ponder the words she had just spoken to him.
Shun crept across the landing, silently making his way to the room ZanYi was occupying. He pressed his ear to the door first, checking for any sounds that might signal that ZanYi was awake. When he heard none, he let himself in, knowing from experience that ZanYi would not awaken to knocking at the door.
"ZanYi?" Shun called, putting one foot over the threshold, but no more—any further and he would be in for a bad time. He kept his eyes focused on the bundle of blankets on the floor that housed ZanYi rather than how small and close together the walls were. It helped him to keep calm. "ZanYi, are you awake?"
However, clearly she was not awake. In fact, she was still deeply asleep. Despite the blanket that wrapped around her, the lieutenant was curled up in a ball, shaking a little. It was like she was cold, back in the coolers even. But sweat dripped from her furrowed brow, her skin hot to touch. Even asleep though, her lungs revolted, a whooping cough emitting from her throat. The cough startled Shun, mostly because he had not been expecting it. But now that he had heard it, he was starting to get a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach…
Stepping into the uncomfortably small room (and being a man about it), Shun knelt down next to ZanYi, his fingertips brushing against her forehead as he pressed his other hand to his own forehead to compare. It was no contest—though ZanYi's temperature definitely ran hotter than most others, it was clear she had a fever.
"Oh no," Shun mumbled, guilt beginning to rise within him. "I got you sick, ZanYi? I'm sorry…"
She couldn't hear him, but that was okay: he would probably just repeat himself later. But he could not allow the lieutenant to slumber on this hard floor. Gathering the bundle that was ZanYi into his arms, the giant waterbender stood up and edged out of Tiki's room, heading across the hall to the room ZanYi should have slept in last night. As long as she didn't wake up and attack him, Shun was going to make sure ZanYi was as comfortable as possible.
All the way in his arms, ZanYi didn't stir, which was a red flag in and of itself that something was wrong with the woman. Few times was her guard ever down. When the lieutenant was sick was one of those times.
She kept moving around in his grasp, like she couldn't get comfortable, couldn't get warm enough. "Zar…" she mumbled in her deep sleep, unaware completely of what was going on. "I'm… fine, Zar…" Her words came out slurred and soft. "Don't… baby me…"
A rush of affection for ZanYi coursed through Shun; he didn't know whether or not to find her refering to him as her brother as adorable or tragic. She must really miss him to be calling for him now.
The giant waterbender said nothing until he got ZanYi into bed, pulling the covers over her, even though she was already burning up. Some cold compresses awaited him already on the nightstand, and he immediately attached one to ZanYi's forehead, brushing her sweat-soaked hair back first. He let his hand stay there for a while, looking down into ZanYi's red face as he stroked her hair.
"…I love you, ZanYi," Shun whispered to her, knowing that she was deeply asleep. "I'll baby you if I have to. I'd do anything for you."
Speaking of doing anything, ZanYi was going to be extremely thirsty when she woke up. Though he was reluctant to leave her side, Shun was determined to give ZanYi everything she needed when she woke up. With a swift peck to the unconscious woman's cheek, Shun left the room to head downstairs. He needed soup, water, and medicine, stat.
Syaoran was starting to feel very uncomfortable. Things were just not going right at all. And he was getting more anxious by the moment waiting to see if Tiki and Kei would come back. He wasn't even supposed to be letting the nonbender out of his sight, but Syaoran kind of thought it would be a bad idea for him to be the one to go after Kei. He'd seen that look Kei had shot him: the distrust was clear.
He was relieved when he looked out the window to see Tiki coming back up the walk, albeit alone. That wasn't a good sign, Syaoran was sure of it. But at least his friend was coming back alive. The Avatar was suddenly grateful that ZanYi had taken the gun away from him. Syaoran didn't even want to consider what Kei might have done if he'd still had possession during breakfast.
Just as his thoughts traveled to the firebending lieutenant, Syaoran could hear the footsteps coming down the stairs. Dismayed to find that it was Shun, he quickly covered it with a frown. The waterbender was back and without the lieutenant. Had he not been able to find her? "Where's ZanYi, Shun?" Syaoran asked, hoping that she was just upstairs and had sent Shun down while she got ready or something. The last thing they needed was the person who'd threatened to kill Kei just yesterday off on her own while he seemed to be in a wreck over Syaoran's identity.
A corner of Shun's mouth turned down. Well, wouldn't this lead to awkward questions…
"She's running a high temperature," the giant waterbender informed Syaoran, and then admitted sadly, "I think I got her sick."
"Oh dear," YinLi said, clicking her tongue and getting up from the table. "She really should have taken precautions, like wearing a mask—there are airborne diseases nowadays."
"Is there any of that soup left, by any chance?" Shun wanted to know, glancing anxiously after YinLi as she disappeared into the kitchen with a stack of empty plates and cutlery from today's breakfast.
"I think you finished the last of it off yesterday, but I can make more," YinLi offered from the kitchen.
"That'd be great," Shun said, following Tiki's aunt into the kitchen. He glanced around before asking next, "By the way, do you have a pitcher of water? ZanYi will probably be dying of thirst when she finally wakes up."
"Sure." YinLi pulled down a glass pitcher from one of the cabinets, filled it with half ice, half water, and gave it to Shun accompanied with an empty glass. "Here you are, Shun. I'll be up in a minute with the soup, all right?"
"Thank you, Li."
"Don't mention it."
Tiki had just re-entered the house as Shun was exiting the kitchen; he nodded to her before carefully heading up the stairs, his arms stiff as he focused on not spilling or dropping anything. Tiki's eyes followed his progress a moment before they came to rest on Syaoran.
"What's going on?" she asked, jerking her head to the stairs. Why was Shun bringing water upstairs? Was it his peace offering for a parched lieutenant who was mad at him for whatever he had done this time? Honestly, ZanYi and Shun fought so much that they seemed by all rights already married, in Tiki's eyes.
Syaoran found himself to be frowning as the waterbender traveled carefully back up the stairs, the water tight in his grasp. When the Avatar did realize it, he did his best to shake it away, trying to rationalize and calm himself. Shun, in love with ZanYi or not, was a healer. Therefore, especially since Syaoran should be training, it made sense for him to be with the lieutenant.
It made all the sense in the world, and he still didn't like it. But Syaoran had to stop himself. It had been a good meditation—or at least decent enough by Tiki's standards—this morning. If Syaoran wanted any progress with airbending, he was going to have to push this stuff away.
"Apparently Shun got ZanYi sick," he finally answered, trying to sound neutral on the topic. "He came down to get some water for her and your aunt is making up some more soup." Eager to drop the topic of the lieutenant, Syaoran looked at Tiki, a frown on his face. "Any luck with Kei?"
Tiki scowled, her recent encounter with Kei making her irritable all over again. "He's freaked out, but I told him that if he wanted to stay here, he'd have to get over it," she informed Syaoran, heading back to the dining table only to pick at her breakfast, not even hungry anymore. "The way he looked, it was as if you were carrying the plague! He's such a… a…"
There really wasn't a word Tiki could use to describe Kei without being a hypocrite: if she wanted him to get over his issues with benders, it was only fair for the tiny airbender to work through her issues with nonbenders. She couldn't very well preach to Kei about his prejudices while harboring a few of her own. With a sigh, Tiki turned to look at Syaoran. "I'm sorry he reacted to you that way," Tiki apologized to the Avatar, feeling responsible. "I wanted to keep the truth from him for as long as possible, but even I didn't know that he'd react like this."
Syaoran shrugged his shoulders, trying not to let it bother him. It did bother him. Quite a bit. And it only served to put him back on the fence about whether to trust the man or not. But Tiki was his friend, and she was the one probably most surprised by the behavior. She had enough problems; Syaoran was trying not to make more. "It was going to happen eventually," he supposed, lifting his hands like there was nothing they could do about it. "We'll keep a watch, see if this changes his mind on anything. But don't let him get to you, Tiki. Now eat your food."
It felt almost a little nostalgic, having to try and coerce the girl to eat. The last time had been when she was sick with worry about her parents. But nostalgic or not, the airbender needed to teach, and therefore needed to eat. Syaoran even made a point of continuing his food.
Tiki quirked an eyebrow at Syaoran. "Yes, Father," she responded sardonically, taking a bite of her breakfast. The omelette over rice really was delicious, but Kei's attitude had soured her whole appetite. She pushed the plate away a little with a sigh, deciding that she would wrap it up now and eat it later… or she could always ask Syaoran if he wanted it, considering the fact that he never turned down food.
The tiny airbender turned to Syaoran to offer her half-eaten breakfast when she took in the state of his face and giggled. "Syaoran, you have rice all over you," she informed the Avatar, leaning in to brush the flecks of rice off his cheek. "I know the food is good, but you shouldn't wear it—it's not your color, anyway." Tiki's buoyant mood had her acting without thinking: the last pieces of rice on Syaoran's cheek she got off with her lips. She chewed and swallowed, drinking from her glass of milk before getting up from the table. "I think I'll wrap this up for now. Waste not, want not." And the tiny airbender flounced off into the kitchen without a care in the world.
Syaoran jerked his head back away, not even caring that Tiki was already leaving his presence. Just what was the airbender thinking? With a grimace, he lifted a hand to wiped repeatedly at his face, more to erase where Tiki's lips had been than where the rice was.
"She's back…" he groaned under his breath, not sure what to do with this realization. Overall, this was a good thing. Syaoran agreed with that. And if it got rid of her grumpy attitude, that would be good. Still, the mischief had returned—the only difference was that she seemed unaware of it.
The Avatar sighed heavily, hanging his head a little. He had a feeling this was going to make airbending training a lot more spirited from now on. Shaking his head, he finished off his plate and moved to the kitchen with his dishes, ensuring first that no more food was left on his face. "That wasn't funny, Tiki," he told the girl, walking in to put his dishes in the sink, frowning grumpily. Tiki blinked at him from behind the refrigerator door—she was attempting to find room for her plate in the already jam-packed fridge. The funny part was, YinLi's fridge was always this full, even when she didn't have a house full of people.
"Please don't keep that door open like that, Tiki," YinLi reminded the tiny airbender, bustling past her niece with a steaming hot bowl of soup in her hands.
"Sorry, Auntie," Tiki apologized as her aunt left the room. After deciding to balance her plate precariously on what she thought was a half-eaten casserole, Tiki shut the refrigerator door and made her way over to Syaoran. She took the dishes from him and stacked them in the sink, running the water and soaping up a sponge. "What wasn't funny?" she asked curiously, peering up at Syaoran in confusion. She hadn't cracked any lame jokes… so what was he talking about? Tiki had no idea, but judging from the grumpy look Syaoran now wore and past experiences, she had apparently done something that the Avatar did not appreciate. Weird, since she wasn't really in a mischievous mood—just a playful one. Even so, what did she do in the span of two seconds that had offended Syaoran?
Syaoran just looked at Tiki, like a fish out of water. Was she completely serious? Even if she hadn't meant to eat off of his face, did she really have no idea that was what he was referring to? Truly, the old Tiki was starting to come back and bit him in the butt. "My face, Tiki," he deadpanned. Thinking that it sounded like the end of a bad joke, Syaoran explained, "You ate off of my face." That just sounded bad too. The Avatar realized he could not win and threw his hands in the air before his shoulders slumped and his head hung. "Nevermind," Syaoran told her with a sigh, ruffling the back of his head.
Tiki tilted her head a little. So that was what was bothering him? Honestly, Tiki couldn't understand why he was fussing. It was just a bit of rice. What was the big deal?
"Oh. Um… sorry?" she apologized awkwardly, feeling as if this were the right course of action. Usually when she did something wrong, if she just apologized, the people she offended would let it go… even if she wasn't always confident on what exactly she had done wrong. She returned to the dishes, scrubbing them with her soapy sponge before setting them to the side to be rinsed under the running faucet. "Anyway, just give me a few minutes and we'll head over to the dojo so you can practice your forms with the kids."
Syaoran almost grumbled aloud again, unhappy with this development as well. "With the kids?" he repeated, like this was some sort of unfair punishment put on him. "You're going to put me in a room full of kids that know what they're doing?"
It was bad enough he couldn't airbend yet on his own after over a month of practice and training. Now she was going to put him alongside the little children that could probably air-scoot circles around him? If she was trying to publicly embarrass him, this plan was going to work swimmingly.
Tiki frowned at Syaoran, displeased by his tone. That wasn't the right attitude to have at all. "I have to take Ping's class for him today—he needs to help Mrs. Mahayana fix her leaky sink. As the oldest boy left here aside from the refugees, he functions as the only repairman we currently have on the island. I told him it would be no trouble, and that you wouldn't have a problem training with the kids…" Tiki shook her hands to get rid of the excess water on them before she folded her arms, giving Syaoran a pointed look. "Do you have a problem, Syaoran?" she asked, lifting a brow. So what if the airbending children were better than he was—they were airbenders! They were supposed to be more skilled in the ways of airbending! Besides, Syaoran had had to train with Agni-Kais when ZanYi was his bending teacher. What was so different about training in her dojo? Whatever Syaoran was taking issue with, he was just going to have to get over it: Tiki would not leave the children to hang by the wayside over something as petty as pride.
And then she went back to that attitude. Syaoran couldn't win with either side of Tiki today. A part of him was starting to wonder why he had tried to cheer her up yesterday. Then he remembered that Tiki was still Tiki, which meant somehow they were friends. And she was his airbending teacher. Which meant he should probably be listening to her.
"Nope," he answered Tiki, popping the 'p'. "No problem at all."
After all, it was just one day. He could put up with it for one day, right? Syaoran was already starting to tell himself that over and over, a mantra to add to his meditations.
Tiki nodded in approval, her smile returning. "Good," she responded, returning to her task and rinsing off the soapy dishes. "Besides, working in a group might be good for you. You work well under pressure, Syaoran." When the dishes were all washed off, Tiki placed them carefully on the drying rack to be put away later. She dried her hands on the towel that hung from the handlebar on the oven, and then looped her arm through Syaoran's. "Come on then, let's go."
They had gotten out the door and off the porch before Kei reappeared, looking anxious as he approached the pair. "Tiki," he addressed the tiny airbender, who put her hands on her hips, "can we talk?"
"I'm busy right now," Tiki brushed him off, sweeping past him. Kei would not be deterred, however, and he grasped Tiki's hand as she went by him. She whipped around, scowling.
"Let go, Kei."
"Tiki, please," Kei begged, his expression contrite. Tiki felt pity beginning to well up inside her, and it irritated her.
"I said let go, Kei. I have a class to teach."
"Can't it wait? I only need a second—"
"You have a second to let go of me before I blast you back into that tree over there," the tiny airbender threatened, pulling against the strong grip Kei had on her. Honestly, was he deaf? She was not opposed to talking to him—if his head was cooled down, that is—but now was not a good time. She had responsibilities to fulfill, and she did not appreciate Kei holding her up. Who did he think he was, anyway?
Syaoran frowned at Kei. On their side or not, this was not cool. He didn't care that Kei had a problem with him being the Avatar at the moment. The nonbender was about to alienate his main ally on that island. Syaoran was sure that this was a time that keeping watch on Kei was a good thing. Detaching Tiki's other arm from him, the Avatar reached and roughly removed Kei's hand for him. "Tiki said this wasn't a good time, so if you really want her to listen, back off and talk to her later," Syaoran warned him, standing between the two of them.
After all their time together, Syaoran and Tiki—and Shun and ZanYi—were a team. Nobody messed with any of them without repercussions. It was that kind of loyalty that he had learned from the AKs. So Syaoran stood his ground, ready to bend at a second's notice if Kei didn't take the hint.
Kei frowned at the Avatar. Who did he think he was, butting in like that? Kei had things to discuss with Tiki, and that was between him and Tiki. Why was the Avatar taking it upon himself to fight her battles for her? Kei craned his neck around Syaoran to address Tiki once more when he caught the look on her face: her cheeks were rosy, and she was staring at the back of Syaoran's head with a grateful expression, as well as something else hidden in her gray eyes…
Suddenly, a lot of things at once made sense to Kei. He looked in between Tiki and Syaoran, the dots connecting themselves in his head. How had he not seen it before…?
"…I get it now," he mumbled, another frown aimed at Syaoran. Tiki did not appreciate this look, or the nonbender's tone.
"Get what?" she ventured to ask.
Kei spared her a glance before he shook his head, the dark waves of his hair bouncing from side to side. He even stepped back a bit, raising his hands in surrender. "Nevermind. You said we'll talk later, so we'll talk later. I'll just make myself scarce for now. Wouldn't want to interrupt the Avatar's special training…"
Tiki watched as Kei marched up the porch and into the house. Something about his tone irked her, though she could not exactly place what. Where was nice, sweet Kei, who went out of his way to compliment and joke around with her? She liked him better. "He's being so weird," she grumbled, crossing her arms and still frowning at the front door, as if Kei were still standing there. "If this is how he really is, I don't like it at all."
Syaoran just grumpily glared at the porch door, as if waiting for Kei to come back out and try something again. While he may have been on the fence before, the Avatar certainly wasn't anymore. He didn't like Kei. Therefore, he did not trust Kei. "Don't let ZanYi hear you say that," he managed to tell Tiki, looking back at the airbender. "She's probably waiting to say 'I told you so'."
He could already hear it in his ears. But that didn't matter. Kei was being a grouch and a bit of a jerk quite suddenly, and Syaoran felt as if the distrust was mutual. The nonbender had given him quite the look before he'd stormed off.
"You okay, though?" Syaoran asked her, as if verifying that she was just irked with Kei, not frightened or anything.
"I'm fine," Tiki assured the Avatar, removing the scowl on her face to offer him a half-smile. "Kei may be the son of a mob boss, but he's on my turf right now. And my turf means my rules. Ryuunosuke or not, he doesn't scare me." Mostly because Tiki had never heard of the Ryuunosukes before meeting Kei—apparently they were a big deal, since they supplied the Neo-Equalists with weapons… weapons that likely helped to murder her parents…
But no, Tiki couldn't think like that. She would not let her irritation with Kei evolve into full-blown hatred because of who his father was. Kenta Ryuunosuke she could not forgive on principal. Kei Ryuunosuke… well, Tiki would make up her mind when they finally had their talk later.
Turning her back resolutely on her aunt's house, Tiki continued towards the dojo. "Come on, Syaoran. We're already late. If you keep airbending children waiting for too long, you'll have chaos on your hands within seconds."
But Tiki hardly needed to explain that to Syaoran: he just had to think back on all the times she had gotten bored in the past. That ought to be a vivid reminder.
While the mere thought of a bunch of little airbending children flying amok was frightening, so was the idea of the son a mob boss on his own after finding out he'd been staying in proximity with the Avatar for days. It was made worse by that son of a mob boss also on bad footing with his main ally and supporter. Even as Syaoran followed after Tiki, he kept looking furtively back at the house, just waiting for something to happen. Nothing did happen, but it did not ease the Avatar's worries.
When they reached the dojo, he reached out a hand to tug back Tiki's elbow a bit, just to halt her. Letting go, the Avatar looked back at the house and then back down to Tiki, a twist to his lips. "Hey, when you guys talk later, let me know before you guys go, just so someone knows you two are off together," he requested. That way, if something happened to Tiki, they could be on high alert immediately without surprise.
Tiki turned to fully face Syaoran, surprised. Was he truly that worried that Kei would try to do something to her? How sweet… but unnecessary.
"Relax, Syaoran," she said with a flip of her hair, "even if Kei tried something, I know how to airbend. I could have him spinning in a cyclone faster than he can…" Tiki trailed off in her analogy once she saw the depths of Syaoran's concern in his jade eyes. With a small sigh, she nodded. "Okay, Syaoran. I'll let you know, I promise."
Tiki slid the door to the dojo open, the high-pitched giggles and chatter reaching their ears immediately. With a smile, she signaled for Syaoran to enter first. "Let's go: our public awaits."
Syaoran lingered for a moment, but was thankful that Tiki had agreed to his request. He didn't trust Kei even as far as the Avatar could probably throw him. So he didn't like the idea of Tiki wandering off to talk to him when clearly Kei had some issues he needed to work out.
"I'm going to hold you to that," he assured Tiki with a pointed look. But then he looked to the open dojo door and felt dread well up inside again. Syaoran tried to tell himself that it was just one day, that they were just children. Well, the latter of those two facts is what made him chagrined. "Let's just get this over with…" Syaoran muttered, hoping this day of training would pass quickly. And so he stepped into what he considered the most dangerous war zone since leaving Republic City.
Tiki rolled her eyes as she followed Syaoran into the dojo. He was acting like training with the kids was the end of the world when it totally wasn't. The children knew how to behave themselves. "Just take a seat anywhere," she encouraged the Avatar and she strode past him, to the front of the room. "Good morning, everyone," she greeted with a bow to her class. Immediately, all chatter ceased as the children mimicked their airbending master.
"Good morning, Sifu Tiki!" they chorused together. This made Tiki smile.
"Is everyone ready to work?"
"Yes, Sifu Tiki!"
"Very good. We'll start with group meditation."
The children obediently got into their meditating positions. Tiki did the same. As one, the room breathed, chi flow humming through the air. Tiki always preferred to meditate in a group: there was much more energy involved, even if they were just sitting there and breathing. The bright sparks of her pupils could be felt, and Tiki's smile widened. It was good to be back.
Syaoran, of course, took a seat in the back, behind all of the children. It was a little freaky to watch the children so obedient to Tiki. As the Avatar, he trusted Tiki with his training. But to have her in charge of a small army of children? And totally in command of them? It was a little disturbing, and Syaoran made a note that it was probably not a good idea to tick Tiki off during training today.
Seating himself in the proper form for meditation, he sighed, but nonetheless tried again to meditate. Tiki had to teach; therefore he was going to have to calm himself. Syaoran took deep breaths, breathing from his stomach like he'd been taught.
It was soothing and calming. There was a gentle ease to the atmosphere that almost made it difficult to feel any other way. Syaoran could feel the charge of chi flowing through the room, gentle and flowing. It was light, it was lively. It was… like air.
And slowly, Syaoran felt himself slip farther and farther into his meditation, deeper than he'd ever gone before. Images started to flash by in a flurry behind his closed eyes. Orange. Blue. Little airbenders? There was a sensation of flying, gliding through the air. Laughter.
"Wait up, Aang!"
He could voices call out. Aang? His name was Syaoran. He could see the clouds moving around him. Was he on an airplane? A glider? All Syaoran knew was that he was flying, the feeling of breathlessness coursing through him, making him feel lighter than he had ever felt before.
In the front of the room, Tiki frowned a little, her eyes still closed. Something was off. There was a very powerful flow of chi swallowing up the others, making it very hard to tell who was concentrating properly and who was not. The problem was, Tiki had no idea where this strong energy was coming from… unless…
Tiki snapped her eyes open, searching for Syaoran. He was in the back, meditating along with all the others. But he was too still. Slowly rising to her feet, Tiki padded barefoot to the back of the room, approaching Syaoran. She pressed a finger to her lips when children looked up at her as she passed; they returned to their meditation, though some snuck glances at her every now and then.
The tiny airbender sank to her knees in front of Syaoran, observing him. He was still breathing, but he was clearly on autopilot: he was there, but he was not there there. Where, exactly, had the Avatar gone?
Tiki wanted to shake his shoulder, to ask him what he was seeing. But she knew that she could not—if she interrupted whatever enlightenment Syaoran appeared to be reaching, she would never forgive herself. It was finally progress! It was not progress in airbending, but it appeared to be progress with Syaoran's spiritual self, so Tiki was happy.
But Syaoran couldn't even hear Tiki. The outside world was lost to him. All he could feel was the air around him, moving through him. He could hear the voices again, calling still.
"Aang! Slow down!"
There was a bout of laughter—was it coming from him? Syaoran soared and swirled in the air, feeling like he was part of the wind, whipping through the clouds. The sky was the limit, and it seemed boundless up there, unending. The blue seemed endless, freckled with white wisps.
He looked below him, the earth disappearing and giving way to water. And Syaoran saw his reflection. But it wasn't him. A young boy, a bald airbender, was where he should be, smiling and laughing as he dipped close to the water and back into the air. His arrows were clear as day.
"Aang!"
Aang? As in… Avatar Aang?
Syaoran slowly opened his eyes, but they were not his own. They had a light glow to them, and the wind started to pick up around him, circling him. Syaoran's brown hair fluttered in the breeze, but his body remained still, motionless.
Tiki heard gasps and shrieks all around her; the children scuttled to the other side of the dojo, looking frightened. She turned and stood, raising her arms. "It's okay, it's okay!" she called above the din. "Everyone, don't panic! This is what is known as the Avatar State! It's nothing to worry about!"
"Shifu Tiki, what if he deshtroysh the dojo?" Sho asked, looking the most frightened of all. Tiki wanted to move over to comfort her, but she was afraid to leave Syaoran unattended.
"I promise, Sho, Syaoran will not destroy the dojo," she told her cousin confidently, before looking behind her at Syaoran, taking in the glow of his eyes and the wind whipping around him. Then again, he had caused the island to shift just a few days ago… "Um… everyone, go out into the courtyard. Independent study!"
Though the children were frightened of the phenomena that was happening right in front of them, 'independent study' was code for 'free time' to them, so they filed out of the dojo without hesitation. Only Pai and Sho lingered, looking nervously between their cousin and the Avatar.
"Tiki… are you going to be all right?" Pai addressed her informally, now that none of the other children were around. Tiki stepped to him, ruffling his and his sister's hair.
"I'll be fine," she promised with a smile before pushing them out the door. "Now go play, Tile Game!"
Tiki turned to observe Syaoran, now that everyone was gone. He looked harmless enough right now… although the glowing eyes were a little creepy, now that she was forced to look at them for an extended period of time. Still, the air he was generating was harmless—for the time being—so the tiny airbender sat in front of him again, her gray eyes alight, expectant.
Was he in the Spirit World somewhere, consulting a past life? Was he even having the pleasure of meeting her great-great-grandfather, Avatar Aang? Tiki leaned forward, her excitement difficult to contain. She did not want to ruin this for Syaoran, but she also wanted to know what was going on. Was there a way to talk to him while he was in the Avatar state without him losing such progress?
"…Syaoran…?" she could not help but call softly, wondering if he was too far gone or not to hear the sound of her voice.
The sound of his own name was enough to startle Syaoran. The little Avatar Aang reflection was ripped away from him, his vision growing dark and fast. The wind and air stilled and his eyes gave a harsh blink, causing him to flinch a little, as if he had been under a spell.
With eyes completely his own, a glimmering green, Syaoran found Tiki right in front him. The young airbender seemed quite excited about something and was giving him a rather funny look. Looking around the room, the Avatar found the dojo to be completely empty. Had he slept through the lesson? Was all of that just a dream?
"Where'd everybody go?" he asked Tiki, turning back to her with mild confusion. His posture slackened, shoulders dropping to their usual slight slouch. Syaoran's eyes were wide, almost reluctant. "Please don't tell me I fell asleep again."
"No, not at all!" Tiki chirped, an awed smile stretching across her face. She was a little disappointed that such an event had been so brief, but she supposed she had no one else to blame for that but herself, after all. She had woken Syaoran out of his state. The tiny airbender reached out, resting her hands on Syaoran's shoulders. "Syaoran, you reached the Avatar State through meditation!" she informed him, getting more excited by the minute. "So tell me: what did you see? I want to hear everything!"
This was a huge breakthrough! The question was: would Tiki be able to get him to do it again? Only time would tell, but it seemed group meditation did wonders for Syaoran after all.
Syaoran's jaw dropped. "I went into the Avatar State?" he asked Tiki incredulously. He hadn't been sleeping? So if what he was seeing wasn't just a dream, then… what was it?
His brow furrowed, and his gaze dropped, as if trying to concentrate on remembering what he saw. "At first… it was just a bunch of glimpses of airbenders. The ground. The sky. Voices calling out to me… only, I wasn't me." Syaoran looked back up at Tiki, thinking back on the reflection in the water: the cheerful, smiling airbending child that had peered back at him.
"I think I was Avatar Aang."
A/N from Eva: Yay, progress! Now that Syaoran's touched base with Avatar Aang, perhaps he'll have a little more luck with airbending...? We'll find out! Until then, we shall address letters from our adoring fans! Or that's how I see them, at least, hahaha.
Americaiuno: Thanks for the favorite on Fire! We're glad to see our first book is still doing so well! We hope you enjoy Air as well! :)
Same Guest: Hahaha, always great to hear from you. XD We get a little more into Kei's character in this chapter, but he's still shrouded in a bit of mystery. We'll see how things unfold and whether your suspicion is spot-on or not. ;)
writingbrick: No worries! While DJ and I love long reviews, we're always honored when someone simply drops a line about what they like about the story, or encouragements to keep writing. Still, it's nice to know that you're still reading, so for that, we thank you! :3
japaneserockergirl: Yay, you live! :D Hahaha, I'm assuming this review is a compilation of all of your thoughts while you were reading. XD Yeah, Air is a drama-filled book, sadly. So much happens. x.x And yeah, it seems our poor Avatar often gets the short end of the stick with things. Being the Avatar does not work out in his favor in the slightest sometimes. XD And I love seeing Syaoran interact with Tiki. Their dynamic is really fun to watch, because it grows in so many new and interesting ways. :) Shun...well, yes, I will admit that we pick on him more than is warranted. XD But he's a big boy, he can take it (that's how we rationalize it anyway, ha ha). It's a good thing he's so patient! Ah ha ha...I wonder what your opinion of Kei is, now that he knows the truth about Syaoran? Let us know. :)
That's all for now! I think this is one of our shorter chapters, believe it or not. Only by a little, though. XD As always, thanks again for all the love and support, and we'll see you all next week! :D