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.
Early the next morning, a knock sounded on Shun's door. The giant waterbender hadn't gotten much sleep the night before and wanted to sleep in, so at first he was disgruntled at whoever was at his door at such an early hour. But then, when he thought about who would actually come to talk to him so early in the morning, he could only think of one person.
"Hey, come to kiss me good mor—!" Shun cut his teasing joke off with a choke, once he realized it was not ZanYi who was at the door, as he thought, but Tiki, who was giving him a funny look. Shun slapped a hand over his chest before remembering that he had a shirt on, and ZanYi's dogtags were tucked safely away below the collar of his shirt. "Uh, hey, Teeks," he greeted awkwardly, trying to dispel the awkwardness of the moment with a laugh. "Um, what's up?"
"Hey," Tiki said back, though she was still eyeing the giant waterbender quite suspiciously. "Do have a minute? We need to talk."
Uh-oh.
"Er… what about?" Shun asked, suddenly anxious. Had his accidental utterance just now been the tip-off Tiki needed, or the last nail in his coffin? Tiki had the uncanny ability to be able to guess what went on in his head sometimes, and Shun didn't know if it was women's intuition, or if his expressions just showed on his face a lot.
"Relax, this isn't about you and ZanYi… although if you want to talk about that, we can," Tiki offered, a tiny smirk on her tiny face. Deciding not to respond, Shun stepped back, allowing the mischievous airbender entry.
"So what's the matter?" Shun asked, moving to sit next to Tiki on his bed, the latter swinging her legs back and forth and staring at nothing.
"What makes you think something's the matter?" Tiki asked, avoiding the giant waterbender's gaze. He smirked a bit. It had been too long since he had talked to Tiki one-on-one like this: she had forgotten that he could read her just as easily as she could read him.
"Because you're here instead of outside training Syaoran," he pointed out. When Tiki's shoulders stiffened, Shun's smirk disappeared. "Tell me what's the matter, Teeks. Maybe I can help you."
Tiki took her time with what she wanted to say, mulling over the words as she ran her fingers through her long hair. Finally, she looked up at Shun. "How did you know that you were in love with ZanYi?" the tiny airbender asked, her gray eyes full of curiosity. Shun's face flared, the question taking him by surprise. Why did she want to know this all of a sudden? He almost asked, but Tiki's gaze was avid upon him, as if his answer was extremely vital to her health. Frowning slightly, Shun considered her before he asked a question of his own.
"Do you think you might be in love, Tiki?"
"No, I don't think so," Tiki was able to reply immediately, though a hint of rosiness came into her cheeks, and she dropped her gaze to the floor. "I just want to know what love is. I really don't know what it's like… so how am I supposed to know when I'm in it?"
This was not the easiest question to answer. It had even taken Shun a while to realize he was in love with ZanYi, and he was usually very sensitive towards emotions… just those of others, it seemed. Shun leaned back on his hands, staring up at the ceiling as he thought on how to answer Tiki's question satisfactorily. "…I've heard some people describe love," he began slowly, thoughtfully, "as friendship… but on fire. Everything's ten times more intense, and you're suddenly aware of everything that person says or does, and they're on your mind all the time, and every love song you've ever heard suddenly makes sense." Shun tilted his head to look at Tiki, a little smile curving his mouth. "Does that make sense at all?"
Not really. Tiki still had no idea what it meant. Maybe it was something she couldn't hope to understand until she had actually experienced it. Or maybe she would be better off talking to a woman about it. "Thanks, Shun," she said, hopping off his bed and heading to the door, determined to search out Sikka instead. "I'll see you later, 'kay?"
Pausing, her hand on the doorknob, Tiki turned back to look at Shun, the ghost of her kittenish smirk on her face. "By the way, you have a hickey on your neck."
The giant waterbender immediately slapped both hands over his neck, his expression of horror. Tiki watched in amusement as Shun jumped up and raced over to the mirror opposite his bed, inspecting every inch of his neck… but finding no such blemishes. Realizing he'd been had, Shun turned to frown at Tiki, who only had the door open a crack by now.
"Made you look," she teased, finally closing the door with a snap. Shun huffed, but a corner of his mouth was pulled up. Tiki could be such a handful… but it was nice to see she still had her sense of humor.
"Syaoran."
When the familiar voice called out to him, the Avatar turned, finding ZanYi walking down the corridor. He stopped in his tracks, waiting for her to catch up. If he didn't know any better, he would almost say she looked like she was in a good mood. Granted, she wasn't smiling—she never did—but the lieutenant certainly wasn't scowling, and there was almost a bit of saunter in her walk.
Not that Syaoran should be noticing those differences anymore.
With a smirk to the firebenders that flanked her, ZanYi dismissed them on ahead, only to stop in front of Syaoran. "You look… satisfied," Syaoran observed slowly, as if his mind was playing tricks on him. But her smirk only deepened.
"Bomb training today."
Of course.
Let a bunch of firebenders practice with bombs.
Syaoran would have made a comment about pyromania, but he didn't. Not because it would get him a scowl, but because they're firebenders; it was an obvious fact. "Right…" he drawled, "Guess that has to do with whatever big plan you guys have?" Plans that no one was telling Team Avatar about, it seemed. Even then, ZanYi only nodded, refusing to expound on that. It made Syaoran frown a bit, feeling like he was left out of the loop. But he supposed if there was a role for him and the others to play, she would say something.
"Why aren't you in training with Tiki?" the lieutenant did round on him, gaze curious and a bit demanding.
"We… uh…"
Syaoran could not lie to ZanYi, more out of self-preservation than his feelings for her. So with a begrudging sigh, he admitted, "We had a fight last night."
"Well, fix it and then get back to work. We talked about this yesterday. Do it again."
Easier said than done. But what could Syaoran do? He had to airbend. He did it yesterday; maybe it would happen again today. Which reminded him, he hadn't been able to tell the lieutenant since she hadn't shown for dinner. Syaoran opened his mouth to tell her just that, but found she was already walking away.
"Hey, ZanYi!" he found himself calling out to her, and she stopped for a second, turning halfback to look at him expectantly. Then he said something he didn't expect. Instead of telling her about his airbending, Syaoran asked, "You wouldn't be with a guy just because he makes you feel wanted, right?" He felt stupid for asking, surely, but it was like he was trying to justify what he'd said to Tiki, make sure he wasn't wrong. And with the look ZanYi gave him, he was almost regretting that he'd asked.
But in the end, the lieutenant simply answered, "No. I wouldn't."
When ZanYi walked away, it looked like her hand went to her chest, but Syaoran couldn't tell, nor did he care. She'd proven his point. Now the problem was just dealing with Tiki while she thought about that… and Kei.
"How do you know when you're in love?"
Sikka repeated the question slowly, as if Tiki had posed it to her in a foreign language. The waterbending woman had consented to take a break from the waterbending practice Ransik was leading in order to talk to Tiki in private, though she had not been expecting the questions Tiki had for her. The tiny airbender observed as Sikka sent a glance Ransik's way, her eyes warm.
"…You just know," she said finally, a hand touching her engagement choker. Tiki smiled for a moment before her expression slipped back into uncertainty.
"That doesn't really help me though, Sikka," she prompted.
The waterbending woman tore her gaze away from her beloved to size Tiki up, her head tilted to one side. "Why the sudden questions about love, though, Tiki? Aren't you a bit young—?"
"I just turned twenty last month, Sikka," Tiki deadpanned at her. Sikka's eyes widened considerably at this news.
"R-really?!"
"You wanna see my ID and check?"
"Oh… no no, that's not necessary. I believe you." Sikka didn't look like she believed Tiki, but the tiny airbender was willing to drop it. It was more important that she got answers, and so far, neither Shun nor Sikka had illuminated anything for her.
"Just… can you give me definite symptoms or something?"
Sikka considered this question, her eyes intent upon Tiki. Finally, a knowing look entered the waterbending woman's eyes. "Oh… this is about Syaoran, isn't it?" she guessed. Tiki huffed and folded her arms.
"You could say that," the tiny airbender grumbled. Okay, so maybe Syaoran had a point last night; she was still mad at him and wasn't talking to him. All Tiki wanted to do was gather testimonies from other people, just so she could feel like she knew what she was talking about the next time this subject was brought up with Syaoran… and it most definitely would be brought up again.
Sikka giggled. "Oh, that's so cute: you and the Avatar. Considering how you two get along, I always had a feeling…"
Tiki glanced up at Sikka, confused. "What are you talking about?" the tiny airbender wanted to know, perplexed by Sikka's statements. This only caused the waterbending woman to grow even more amused.
"I'm talking about you and Syaoran, of course. Funny, I always thought he had a thing for the lieutenant, but if it's you he really likes—"
"Wait. Wait, wait, wait," Tiki interrupted, holding her hands up to indicate to Sikka that she needed to slow down, "I think you've gotten the wrong idea somehow. Syaoran and I aren't a couple."
Sikka blinked. "You're not?"
"Noooo," Tiki stressed, shaking her head vigorously, "not by a long shot. We're just friends—well, we're mad at each other right now, but we're friends! That's it!"
Great spirits, this was the second time she and Syaoran had been mistaken for a couple! That was not good! Tiki couldn't even laugh about it now! Why were people saying such things? Did they just give off that vibe? She didn't get it at all.
"Oh," Sikka replied, looking surprised, "I see. Well, anyway, in regards to your previous question: I'm sorry, but I can't just tell you what love is. It's not something you can simply describe. You have to feel it."
Shun had described it… but then again, his description hadn't made much sense to Tiki either. She was beginning to get frustrated. "But how do I know, Sikka?"
Sikka smiled and leaned over, patting Tiki's head. "Trust me: when the time is right, you'll know." Leaving her with that vague answer, Sikka returned to her practice, taking the front, beside Ransik. Tiki turned with a sigh and headed back the way she had come, not any closer to the answers she wanted than when she first started. Shun said love was friendship on fire. Sikka said that love was a feeling, not a description. Which one was right? Or were neither of them right? Or both?
Tiki let out an even longer sigh, the gust blowing back in her face and messing up her hair. She gathered the long mane over one shoulder and began to finger-comb through it, her eyes on the ground as she thought. Okay, so she couldn't know what Sikka or Shun was talking about, all because she lacked the experience. But it was because she lacked the experience that she went seeking answers. What a paradox. What was she supposed to do now?
…Train Syaoran. She was supposed to be training Syaoran. Yes, she was mad at the Avatar, but that didn't mean that the world would wait for them to resolve their petty arguments. Tiki would have to suck it up, be mature about the situation, and move past it. Her new goal in mind, the tiny airbender set off at a trot to search for Syaoran.
When Tiki had finally given up searching for the elusive Avatar in the base, one of the soldiers guarding the entrance informed her that he was already topside. They granted her access to the world above at her request.
Where she would find Syaoran was already at work, but it wasn't on his airbending. The Avatar had tried meditation. And flopped. No such focus was coming to him today, no peace. Knowing he couldn't even get things right normally, that was enough to discourage him from the time being.
So he had gone to his default: earthbending. And in some ways, it felt great to be back in his own element. Practicing the moves his father had taught him young, Syaoran got loose, working with some jabs and punches. Each stone he lifted, he kept on punching into the nearest tree, starting to make a dent there. They were the moves his father had learned as a brief stint in pro-bending, back before the revolts, the war, meeting his mother, and moving out to the middle of nowhere.
And Syaoran loved it. Each move was tight and precise, rigid and stern. Every muscle in him was tensed and he had complete control of all of it.
He had long since taken his shirt off, the sweat unbearably clingy. His shoes were tossed to the side as well, working on feeling the earth beneath him. Something else his dad had tried to teach him was about feeling the vibrations in the earth, focusing on it. Syaoran hadn't been much good at—still wasn't. But he did feel the ripples in the earth that would pass underneath him every once in a while, some big, some small. Seriously, who thought it was a good idea to let firebenders play with bombs?
"Syaoran—" Tiki sighed as she approached, ready to hash out their argument already, when the image before her stopped her. There Syaoran was, completely focused on his earthbending as he flung rocks toward an abused-looking tree. Sweat was glistening off his back, the muscles there contracting and rippling along with his movements. After a moment, Tiki realized she was staring. She dropped her gaze to the ground, her face burning. What was wrong with her? It wasn't like she hadn't seen Syaoran shirtless before. No big deal… right?
Her heart was pounding way too fast, and her mouth was suddenly dry. What was going on? Was she suddenly falling ill? But she felt fine, save for a weird fluttering in her stomach and her quickened pulse. Again, what was going on?
"…Syaoran," Tiki spoke up again, after giving her head an experimental shake. The sensations were weird, but she could ignore them and contemplate them later if she was focused on something else. "Come over here. It's time for your airbending training."
Syaoran waited to heed her, finishing off the stones he had put aside. The last one he pushed with as much oomph as he could muster, the tree finally splintering and falling into its neighbor with a crack. Panting, he turned to Tiki, wiping the sweat from his brow. "It was time for my airbending training hours ago. Lunch should be ready soon," he corrected her. The Avatar walked over to pick up his shirt and use it as a towel, drying his face. Breathing for a moment in it, Syaoran threw it back to the side and moved over to Tiki.
Apparently Tiki was ready to teach him again, which was a good thing he supposed. Just he didn't know how relieved and relaxed he was going to be with the status of their friendship. Seriously, it almost felt like they were getting to be as bad as Shun and ZanYi…
He shook his head to rid himself of the thoughts. Thinking about the two of them never was conducive to airbending.
With a deep breath, Syaoran tried to focus on airbending, pushing the earth and stone from his brain as well. The two ideologies of earth and air did not work well together. "So, now what? Do we fight again or do we try airbending?" he asked her, peering down at the girl. Then Syaoran quirked a brow. "Why's your face so red?" He leaned down to look closer. "Are you blushing?"
"No!" Tiki denied, and then immediately cringed. That had come out sounding very defensive. With a disgusted noise, the tiny airbender turned and strode away from Syaoran. Two seconds and he had already caused her to become annoyed once again. What, was it some special talent of his to rub her the wrong way? It was certainly starting to appear so.
But his previous question made her think: fight or train? Considering Tiki's mood, fighting seemed like a very possible route. She hated fighting with Syaoran—but always after the fact. During the fights, all she thought about was winning. Airbending obviously was not going to happen at this moment… unless…
"Both."
Tiki pulled her hair up into a ponytail, her back to Syaoran as she did so. "Sparring match. First one down on the ground loses." When she was sure her hair was securely held, the tiny airbender turned to face Syaoran, no mercy in her gray irises. "And we're only using airbending," Tiki dictated, her expression daring Syaoran to protest. He wanted to give her grief? Fine. She could dish out some of her own. Besides, Syaoran learned best when he was getting his butt handed to him—maybe this would actually bring out his inner airbending potential.
Syaoran smacked himself in the forehead. Great. Now he'd made things worse. Why hadn't he learned to just keep his mouth shut? Because clearly it didn't matter with which one it was, but he would never win with either female on Team Avatar. And it was here to bite him in the rear again. Seriously, only airbending? Syaoran knew in a way he'd just brought this down on himself, but he still hated the idea. He couldn't even produce a puff of air until yesterday, and even that had been quite limited. So he was now being expected to spar with it?
This sucked.
Deciding not to make it worse for himself—how, he couldn't imagine, but he had confidence Tiki would find a way—Syaoran kept his mouth shut. Instead, he just nodded to show he understood. Then he sunk into his airbending stance, still trying to figure out how he was going to do this.
Relaxed, light, free, relieved—he was none of those things, and air was all of those things.
Tiki was satisfied by Syaoran's nod, and dropped into her own airbending stance. The Avatar was sweating about this, she could already sense it.
Good.
Inhaling and exhaling slowly, Tiki made herself relax, loosening the stiffness in her muscles. She was already riled up emotionally, and that would have an effect on her bending, but the least she could do was make sure her body was relaxed. This was her game now. She had this.
Without warning, the tiny airbender spun on the spot, throwing a moderate blast at the Avatar—light enough that it wouldn't hurt him, but strong enough that it would knock him off his feet, if he wasn't careful. Tiki had taught Syaoran how to divert air blasts, and if he could not produce air, he was going to have to rely on defense rather than offense. Tiki just hoped for his sake that he remembered how to do so.
He did remember that much. He just didn't react fast enough. Therefore, it resulted in the Avatar getting blown back by the gust, falling on his rear end and rolling. But he sprang back to his feet quickly, ready for the next one.
Syaoran took a deep breath, as if trying to relax himself. It helped, but it wasn't enough. Still, feeling like he'd give it shot, Syaoran took a small leap forward and spun to expel air back at Tiki.
It didn't work.
Tiki snorted. "Is that all you've got?" she taunted, spinning herself into a mini tornado, heading straight for Syaoran, but veering to the left at the last minute. She slid to a halt behind the Avatar, digging her heels into the earth to steady herself before popping up to whisper in his ear. "If so, I'm about to destroy you." Tiki threw a solid kick to the small of Syaoran's back, forcing him forward. Maneuvering her arms, she summoned another mini-tornado, but this time under Syaoran, lifting him up ten feet above the ground and spinning him around to get him good and dizzy.
"Come on, Avatar!" Tiki called to him, her voice competing with the roar of the fierce winds she had summoned. "Impress me! Show me that I haven't been wasting my time on you for the past month!" She halted her arm movements, causing the tornado to dissipate and Syaoran to fall back to earth. But there was no need to worry: Tiki was being mean at the moment, yes, but she wasn't about to let the Avatar die. If he failed to catch himself, she would be able to react quickly enough to cushion his fall.
But to him, that was it. Syaoran was officially ticked off. And if this were an actual fight and not just sparring, he would've earthbended her runt self down to the ground. It took everything in him not to do just that. The self-control he learned under ZanYi was both a blessing and a curse.
He fell to the ground, but the Avatar made sure to land on his feet, knees bent. Then he used what he could at the moment: his strength. With a swift sweep of his leg, he knocked her feet right out from under her so she landed flat on her back.
To the untrained eye, it would appear that Tiki's back was flat on the ground, that she was defeated. But the tiny airbender had reacted quickly, and placed a thin but strong layer between her and the ground, keeping her aloft. Even as she lay there, feigning defeat, the layer was growing at her beckoning fingers, morphing into a ball of air that supported the small of her back, arching her upwards. With a quick push off, Tiki managed to flip backwards over the ball of air, sending it forward to blast Syaoran back a couple steps. Crouched down, the tiny airbender launched herself at the Avatar's waist, using air to help propel her flight.
And then, just like that, it was over. Syaoran fell to the ground with a dull thud, Tiki straddling him to make sure he was completely down, a hand braced against his chest and a fist raised, should he try anything. The tiny airbender was breathing hard, both from her anger and the exertion of the fight. Her eyes tightened as she glared down at Syaoran, bringing her fist back before she allowed it to lash out… and slam into the ground inches from Syaoran's head. It hurt, but Tiki was too upset to pay it any attention at the moment.
"You make me so mad!" She railed at the Avatar, as if that fact hadn't been clearly illustrated already. But the thing was, Tiki didn't look mad: she looked distraught. Letting out a sigh, Tiki brought her hand back up to push her bangs out of her face; they were poking her in the eyes and making them water.
"…What's wrong with us…? Why are we the greatest of friends one minute, and then at each other's throats the next? Why are we like this?" she asked softly, shutting her eyes tiredly. She hated this—why was their relationship so hot and cold lately? It was beginning to scare her, because the way she and Syaoran fought was beginning to remind her of Shun and ZanYi. But they fought each other because they cared about one another… what were Tiki and Syaoran really fighting about?
Syaoran hadn't flinched when Tiki punched the ground by his head. A part of him knew that, despite her anger, she wouldn't do it. Sure, Tiki had her issues, but she wasn't like ZanYi where she had rage issues.
As if to prove his point, he saw bits of water starting to collect in her eyes. And Syaoran hated that, despite the fact that a good portion of him still wanted to trap her in a stony cage. So slowly, he sat up, Tiki still on his lap. "People fight, Tiki. No one is going to see eye-to-eye all the time," he answered her, resigned that he had to tell her as much. Resting one hand back to support himself, he used the other to pat down Tiki's head. "We fight because you still don't listen when people are trying to help you," he continued, but Syaoran had pulled back any bitter and angry edge from his words. It was just quiet and factual. "Before you just didn't like to listen. Now you like to think you have the answers and know better. But Tiki, no one has all the answers, and no one knows everything there is to life."
Leaving a hand on her head, Syaoran leaned his face forward to look closer into her eyes. "It's okay not to know everything. You don't have to be all grown-up, and you're not weak if you aren't. If you just accept that and move on, it gets easier to listen when people who care are trying to help you out."
Here Syaoran was, a year younger than her, and still wiser than her in some respects. On a normal day, it would have irked Tiki. Today, she was glad he was her friend, despite the fights they often had.
"Ugh. Why are you always right? It's annoying," she said, the words weightless because she was wearing a half-smile. Feeling as if the make-up was long overdue, the tiny airbender slid her arms over Syaoran's shoulders and hugged him, sighing again, but this time in content. "I'm sorry."
Tiki was still adamant on the fact that Syaoran didn't know everything either. But since he felt so strongly about this, she made the decision to trust that he knew what he was talking about, just this once. Like she had already realized, he knew her, and he would never steer her wrong on purpose. Despite their blow-ups over the silly things as well as the serious stuff, Syaoran was her best friend and he cared about her. At the end of the day, that was all that mattered.
Syaoran rolled his eyes, but the corner of his mouth pulled back. Patting her back, he said, "It's all good, Tiki. Don't worry about it." He could deal with this part of Tiki—well, he dealt with all of her, but this part was the easiest. It's the part that made her so easy to be around, that calmed him. She could never stay angry for very long. And she was fairly patient, soft, gentle…
Hold up. This was Tiki he was thinking about. So why was Syaoran blushing at the thought of her like that? He repressed a shudder.
"C'mon, let's go on down for lunch and we can try again afterwards," he suggested, trying to get them back on their usual track. Syaoran moved to stand up before the earth rumbled at his feet again, this time one big enough to jolt him. On instinct his arm tightened to hold Tiki to him, making sure she didn't fall. "Watch your step," he warned her, letting her go once the rumbles ended. "Someone thought it was a good idea to let the AKs play with bombs today."
Tiki really wished he would just put on the shirt. For whatever reason she did not care to admit, she had trouble looking at him shirtless without her face flaring up. Again, what was wrong with her?
"Bombs?" she questioned to distract herself, reaching up to let her hair down. "Whose idea was that?" Probably Zaron's. Tiki wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be his suggestion.
"Beats me, but it had ZanYi in almost a good mood," the Avatar shrugged. Moving away from his teacher, Syaoran grabbed his shoes and shirt, slipping the former of the two back on while using his shirt as a towel around his neck. "You ready to go?"
Finger-combing through her hair a little, she nodded to Syaoran. "Okay, let's go."
As they entered the underground base, leaving behind the light of the late summer's day, Tiki could better hear and feel the tremors going through the base. Was it really safe for the firebenders to play with bombs like that? What if they destroyed something and brought the whole base down? Tiki shivered at the thought. Whatever damage they might cause on accident, she hoped it was reparable.
As they strode past the hall where their rooms were, Tiki's gaze was drawn to the door second to the end… the door that had been firmly shut for what seemed like a long time. Tiki sighed. Speaking of repairing damage…
"Syaoran," Tiki called to the Avatar, halting her steps and turning to fix him with a serious gaze. "Do you trust me?"
She had to fix things with Kei. There was no way she could leave things as they were. Despite his behavior and her misgivings, Tiki was the only friend Kei had on base, and she wasn't about to leave him alone.
Syaoran looked puzzled at first, as if he didn't understand the question. Didn't their entire team trust each other by that point? Of course he trusted her; when it came down to it, it was probably Tiki he trusted most. Shun had kind of blown that one. ZanYi he could trust with his life and welfare, but she never told him the whole story. Tiki was the one who was always on his side, the one who never lied to him.
He was going to remind her of that fact when he realized where they had stopped. And the Avatar kept his mouth shut then.
Kei. After all, what else could she be referring to? Maybe that was one instance where he didn't trust the airbender—he certainly didn't trust Kei.
"Really, Tiki?" he asked, disapproving. Syaoran shook his shaggy hair, perplexed and dismayed. Personally, he was quite content to let Kei sulk for a while. But once again, Tiki wasn't that kind of person. Knowing that and therefore knowing what she felt compelled to do, Syaoran groaned. "Fine. But if you don't come to lunch soon, I'm coming back here to get you."
Tiki smiled. "Wait here if you want to. I just want to talk to him."
The tiny airbender strode away from Syaoran, gathering her courage. It was okay. They'd both had a day to calm down and think things through. If Kei still didn't want to see her, then she would not push him. At least she could say she tried to fix things.
Tiki tapped on his door, stood back, and waited. There was the sound of groaning springs and footsteps. A second later, Kei pulled the door open, his expression neutral as he set eyes upon Tiki. But Tiki was more preoccupied with the fact that she could see his bare chest. Jeez, what was with the shirtless guys today?! Was there a 'No Shirt' policy for guys today that she had missed? Hastily looking away, the tiny airbender played nervously with her hair.
"Um," she began, glancing to Kei's face and away, "can we talk…?" Kei said nothing. But he did step to the side and open the door wider. Tiki took that as an invitation to come in.
Conscious of the fact that Syaoran was just down the hall, but still not wanting to put herself in a compromising position just in case, Tiki avoided sitting on the bed and instead propped herself up on a nearby wall. Kei didn't seem to mind; he sank down on the edge of his bed, his arms draped over his knees and his eyes on the floor. He didn't speak. So that left it to Tiki to break the silence. She sighed.
"…I'm sorry I hit you," she said eventually, playing with her hair again, "but Kei, you have to understand that you just can't come on to me like that. You scared me."
Kei kept his silence. Tiki watched, with growing trepidation, as his hands slowly balled into fists. When the void grew, she could only feel anxious. "Oh, come on! Don't give me the silent treatment!" she protested when the quiet of the room had become unbearable, "I thought we were past that already!"
"And I thought you liked me," Kei replied unexpectedly, his voice low and rough. Tiki stared at him, unable to believe it. Was Syaoran right after all? Was Kei just using her to get what he wanted?
"So you're going to continue to pout just because I turned you down?"
"No! I just…" Kei huffed, turning to give Tiki a frustrated look. "Was I just reading all your signals wrong? Or were you leading me on?"
Now Tiki was gaping at him. "Kei, I have no idea what you're talking about," she pointed out with a shake of her head. "I've never dated, and I've never had a boy like me before. Don't you get it? This whole 'attraction' thing is all new to me. I have no idea what I'm doing."
Kei's hazel gaze widened. "You've never dated… ever?" he asked, as if that was such a foreign concept to him. Tiki threw him a deadpan look.
"It's kind of hard to form a relationship when your parents have been kidnapped—and later are murdered—by Neo-Equalists and have been chasing you for a good part of your life," she said, her eyes tightening. Kei's face colored, and then looked down at the floor again. He seemed to be speechless again… maybe that was his defense mechanism in stressful situations? Tiki heaved a sigh, her bangs fluttering for a brief moment. Pushing herself off the wall, she moved to stand in front of Kei. "Look, Kei: I do like you." The nonbender glanced up, but before he could get his hopes up, Tiki continued, "But not the way you like me… at least I don't think so. These feelings I have… they're complicated. So if you're serious about me, you're going to have to give me time to adjust, okay? Let me figure this out."
Kei searched Tiki's face, considering her. Finally, hesitantly, he reached out and grasped one of her hands. "So… there's hope?" he asked, looking like a lost puppy who had finally found its master. Tiki giggled a little, squeezing the nonbender's hand before she let go and moved to the door.
"We'll see. Anyway, put a shirt on and come on. It's lunch time, and I know you have to be starving."
"Uh… actually…" Tiki turned to look at Kei, who was wearing a very sheepish grin. "…The guards have been bringing me food," he admitted. Tiki raised her eyebrows.
"Have you been bribing people again?"
"Actually, they did it on their own at first. I didn't know they were expecting a tip until they held their hands out like the bell boys in hotels do."
Tiki shook her head. Perhaps she would have to have a word with ZanYi about some of the guards around the base… but then again, it was those same guards who said nothing when she, Syaoran, and Kei were out skulking about the night before. Okay, new plan: as long as the guards kept their mouths shut, Tiki would mind her own business.
"Come on," she beckoned to Kei, "let's go get some lunch." The nonbender smiled and, after he tugged on a shirt at her request, followed Tiki out the door. Down the hall, Syaoran stood waiting against the wall with a keen eye. Kei was coming to lunch, so it was safe to assume he and Tiki had made up. However, there was still no love lost between the two guys, as far as Syaoran was concerned.
He just had to hope that things would start to get a little smoother from here.
Twas evening when there was a knock to ZanYi's door and she looked up at the clock, alert. Sure enough, it was getting close to dinnertime. Her first assumption was that it was probably just Shun, assuming she wouldn't make it down to the mess hall. After all, her attendance there in the evenings had been spotty at best the past week and a half. The raid on the POW camp was only two days away, everything was in place, the plans were made, and the soldiers were prepping.
If it weren't for cleaning up all of the files and maps that littered her desk, ZanYi probably could have made her way down to dinner for once, not that Shun would realize that. Looking down, she found his necklace still tucked in her tank-top and the lieutenant was satisfied. Just in case.
But before she could even call out for her visitor to open the door, it burst open, revealing, not Shun, but her brother as he strode with purpose across the dark stone floor. ZanYi was about to reprimand him for being so impatient—and for leaving the door open—but then she noticed the intense look on his face. Her expression sobered.
"What's wrong, Zaron?"
"The recon team came back," the sergeant major answered her, and there was a look of urgency and fire in his eyes. ZanYi nodded slowly and crossed her arms as she leaned back on her desk, brow furrowed. It seemed like the man could barely contain himself, and she couldn't tell if that was a good thing. The reconnaissance was just routine; nothing out of the ordinary should have turned up.
'Should' was the operative word.
"We have a chance to take down WeiTai."
That made ZanYi freeze up, suddenly very, very alert. "What? How?" she demanded, suddenly understanding the intense emotions welling up inside her brother; ZanYi felt them too. Whatever they'd found, this could be a chance to take down the figurehead of this war. Since the revelation of the moniker in Omashu, the Resistance had been working around the clock to gather everything they could on the mystery figure. Still very little had shown up, but they did know that WeiTai was almost never spotted, never in public. They also knew every move the Neo-Equalists made went through him first. If they could put an end to that…
"He's visiting the POW camp," Zaron explained tersely, brimming with tension and urgency.
"When?"
"The day of the raid."
Oh.
And now she understood the mixed look of emotions that Zaron had. If the WeiTai was there during the raid, that would change everything. It would put him right within their grasp—the war within their grasp… but it would also call for a change in strategy, for moving units around, for a brand new plan. That would require a lot of effort. It also meant there would be increased security at the camp, the schedules of guards there shifted. The implications had ZanYi frowning.
"Zaron, that only gives us forty-eight hours to change everything around. We don't have the time!"
"But we have to try!" Zaron proclaimed back, determined. "This is our chance to end this for good! WeiTai is basically handing himself to us!"
A loud clatter sounded behind Zaron, and both sets of golden Tsong eyes diverted to the source. Shun stood in the doorway, his hands half-raised, as if he was still carrying the tray he had just let crash to the floor, splattering food everywhere. He was too busy staring in horror at the Tsong siblings, Zaron's words ringing in his ears.
WeiTai? They were going after WeiTai? ZanYi had told him it was just a rescue mission from a POW camp! Why was the head of the Neo-Equalists suddenly involved?!
"…What's going on…?" the giant waterbender wanted to know, glancing past Zaron to meet ZanYi's eyes. He had established a schedule the past week and a half, where he would bring her meals after he'd finished eating with Team Avatar—which took ten minutes if he ate slowly—unless ZanYi let him know beforehand that she would be present in the dining hall. Personally, Shun liked it better when he brought her food—it gave them time to be alone together. Today, he had been surprised when he'd found her door already open, voices inside drifting into the lit hallway. Shun hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but it had been too late to turn around and come back later—he could already make out what they were saying.
He had missed the first part of the conversation, it seemed, for ZanYi was telling whoever was in there with her that they didn't have time for something. And then Shun heard Zaron, asserting that they had to try, that WeiTai would be in their grasp…
And that would have been when Shun dropped the tray. He didn't want ZanYi anywhere near WeiTai. What had happened to suddenly change their simple rescue mission into an assassination attempt?
As Shun stood stricken, ZanYi gave her brother an incredibly dark look. Things had just gotten difficult on their own. Zaron just had to make it worse for her. Peering over at Shun, the lieutenant asserted, "It's nothing, Shun. Go get something to clean that up with." Walking over to her brother, she stared up at him, urging him to go with a terse tone, "We'll talk later, Zar."
"Like you said, we don't have time. We have to meet with the other leaders now," Zaron protested in a growl, ignoring that Shun was even there. It didn't surprise the sergeant major at all, but they had bigger problems to contend with. Like WeiTai. Much bigger problem. "If we jump on this opportunity, we can clear your name and end the war."
ZanYi rubbed her temple, a headache starting to form. "Zaron, we don't even have other units to spare to help counter if he brings a brigade with him."
"Then we'll form one out of some of the members of the other units. I can spare some of my men to make another unit out of soldiers from some of the other units and that will free you up to lead the AKs and take out WeiTai."
"So it's true?" Shun wanted to know, stepping over the mess he'd made to enter the room. "You're going after WeiTai—you, personally?"
This news had Shun's hands balling into fists, an inner war waging within himself once again. Everything connected to his protective feelings for ZanYi wanted to shout at her that this was insanity, that she could not put herself in this kind of danger and expect to leave unscathed. But the part of him that knew and trusted ZanYi was trying to talk the other part down, to assert that ZanYi was a trained soldier long before she met Shun, and that she knew what she was doing. Still, even the reasonable side of him was not above overwhelming worry.
Not even caring that Zaron was there, since the sergeant major seemed to be ignoring his presence as well, Shun reached out and placed a hand on the lieutenant's shoulder. "ZanYi… are you really going to go through with this?"
ZanYi met Shun's eyes, then Zaron's. In all honesty, she didn't know. She'd just been handed this information and they really didn't have time to decide later. A call had to be made, and quick.
Stepping away from both men, the lieutenant walked back over to her desk, surveying the maps still laid out. The POW camp was sizeable; it could take time to find WeiTai in there. But if they went in stealthy to look around, had a few others to break out the prisoners, and then the others to come in as back-up…
ZanYi pursed her lips, trying to calculate in her head just how many soldiers they had access to and could pull from. "…If we pull a couple from each unit to make a mixed squadron… then we can afford to take the AKs and go after WeiTai," ZanYi admitted, working it all out in her head. She had the smallest group and one of the deadliest. This is what it meant to be part of Special Forces. So she made the call. "I'll do it."
Zaron needed nothing more. "I'll tell the other leaders. We'll need to put together the extra unit and brief everyone tonight," he said. ZanYi just nodded, knowing that as soon as her brother left, she was going to have her hands full. With only one cursory glance at Shun, the sergeant major breezed out of her room, off to find the other team leaders. With a resigned growl, ZanYi moved over to the door. Kicking the fallen tray away with her boot, she closed the door, leaving her alone with Shun and a loaded silence.
Shun stared at ZanYi's back, conflicted. He didn't want her to do this; he wanted her to be able to clear her name. He didn't want her anywhere near a man that dangerous; he wanted the war to end. He didn't trust her being out there with only a small group of AKs; he trusted her to be the only one capable enough for the job.
As he struggled with himself, Shun came to the inevitable conclusion that it was not about what he wanted, nor was it ever about what he wanted. It was all about what ZanYi was willing to do in order to make sure their side won the war. Shun would just have to support her in her decision. He didn't have to like it, or agree with it, but he would accept it.
…With just one stipulation.
"I'm going with you."
ZanYi turned to face Shun, frowning. Part of her had expected this. The man was always persistent, especially about being at her side. But this was something she couldn't allow him to do. "No, Shun. You're not." ZanYi stepped back over the mess on her floor, but did not approach Shun. She moved back to her desk to pull out some files, trying to figure out recommendations to put together the new troop. "You're not trained for this," she justified and reminded him, "and it's going to be tricky enough. You're not coming."
Just as well as she knew him, he knew she was going to be like this. Didn't mean he was going to let it stop him, though.
Purposefully stepping in her path, Shun reached out again, grasping ZanYi's shoulders firmly. His eyes were serious as he asked her, "Aren't you already going to be short on soldiers? And have I not proven myself capable on every mission we've ever been on? Why is this time different?"
He wished he could tell her he loved her. Shun wished he could let her know how much it would kill him if she left him behind… and never came back. But he could not let her know any of that, or she would feel like he was smothering her. Although they were together, it was still a struggle for Shun to keep his feelings in check. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her off. But this was one of those times where Shun's concern with ZanYi's safety would override his desire for her to be happy. No matter what, she would not leave him behind.
But ZanYi was not easily swayed. Or swayed at all. She let her eyes tell him that, defiant and rebellious as she looked at him, "This is different, Shun."
The lieutenant pulled away from his grasp, moving back to the papers in front of her. She was going to have to help Zaron and the other leaders put together a capable squad, address her AKs, put together some special training for tomorrow…
"This isn't about whether I think you're capable, Shun. I need soldiers that are going to listen to my every word, and not have other agendas for being out there aside from the job," ZanYi continued. She did give him a look briefly. "You're not going out there. End of discussion."
And, if she let herself think about it, she personally just didn't want him out there. There was already so much on the line. ZanYi couldn't let something happen to Shun. She didn't want or need that distraction.
Shun scowled. Now he was getting irritated. He slammed a hand down over the papers ZanYi was trying to organize, wanting her full attention. "How is this different from you asking me never to sideline you again?" he pointed out, his icy blue eyes fierce. He did not want to lose this argument. He couldn't. "You're doing the same thing to me! What is this, payback? I thought you had let that go!"
Shun wanted to say that ZanYi wasn't being fair, but he knew that argument would just blow up in his face. This wasn't an issue of fair—it was an issue of protection and dominance, as it often was. ZanYi was stubborn when it came to someone questioning her authority, and Shun was equally as stubborn when it came to her safety. Shun hated it when they clashed like this, but he also felt it was necessary. He always had ZanYi's back, and even if they had to have a million of these fights for the lieutenant to remember that, they would.
The strong hand to her desk forced ZanYi to look up and meet Shun's gaze. It was unrelenting as the blue stared down at her gold, and she was suddenly acutely aware of the necklace hidden underneath her shirt. Perhaps Shun's sister hadn't been far off when comparing him to a wolf.
"I did let that go, but you are forgetting something, Shun," the lieutenant growled, finally turning completely to face him. "You are not a fighter! You are not a soldier! I am those things, Shun. This is what I do! This is my life! And I will not put you out there!""
He was Shun. Patient Shun. Gentle Shun. Caring Shun. Her Shun. This war was not the life he'd chosen. And ZanYi was not about to put him back into the middle of it. Omashu had been because it was even less safe to leave Team Avatar behind than it would be to take them into combat. They could be left behind here and still be protected, and that's what ZanYi was determined to make happen.
Shun grit his teeth. So suddenly, just because he was not a soldier, he wasn't good enough to fight by ZanYi's side? Because he was not a fighter, he didn't know what he was doing? Because he had not been trained for combat, he could not be trusted to handle himself on a battlefield?
That hurt. And it showed in his eyes. He briefly looked away, willing himself to calm down. This discussion was going nowhere: neither of them were willing to surrender to the other. Now what?
"…I thought you trusted me," he mumbled, his voice rough with emotion. Glancing back to ZanYi, the giant waterbender continued, "ZanYi, I need to be out there with you. Do you know how sick it's going to make me, knowing you're out there fighting while I have to stay here? Can't you understand?"
Shun pulled her dogtags out from under his shirt, holding them in the palm of his hand. "I know you gave me these to stop me from worrying, but knowing that your opposition is WeiTai…" It was different. Everything was different. Shun closed his hands around the dogtags, meeting ZanYi's eyes once more. "I want this war to end as much as you do…" his eyes tightened, dreading even the thought of his next words, "…but not at the cost of your life."
Shun knew as well as anyone else who knew ZanYi that she was the best at what she did. But he also knew, better than anyone else, that she had a penchant for being reckless. And what if she was seriously injured, in need of healing, without Shun around? He would never forgive himself for not being there when she needed him the most. Just the thought of her perishing on the battlefield left him raw and bleeding on the inside. He was feeling everything too strongly right now—if ZanYi continued to deny him, he was going to have to find another way to get in on the mission. The lieutenant would be angry about him going behind her back, but he could always deal with that later. As long as she would remain safe, he would be happy.
ZanYi openly scowled. Was this why she never did relationships? All of these emotions? If not, it was about to become a reason. Everything was clear on Shun's face: his hurt, his defiance, his desperation, his persistence. And ZanYi didn't like the myriad, didn't like that Shun had to feel like this, and in relation to her. "Shun," she growled, but her voice cut short. The lieutenant never wanted to be angry with Shun, but he just didn't understand. "I know all of that… which is exactly why I can't take you out there with me."
Against her better judgment, she stepped closer to Shun, her crossed arms being the meager divider between them. "This is what it means to be a soldier. I lay my life down so that others don't have to. I can't bring someone out there who is going to put one life—my life—ahead of all else." Mirroring him, ZanYi pulled his necklace out of her shirt, looking down at it in frustration. "I trust you with my life, Shun. You're the best back-up plan I've ever had." But her eyes looked up at Shun, almost wistful, an emotion never splayed on the lieutenant. "But unless you can manage to be there to help everyone else, I can't bring you out there. I can't risk their lives."
Shun stilled, his thoughts overtaking him. When had ZanYi consumed everything in his life? Was it when he realized he was in love with her? Was it when they had become more than friends? Or did this go back to the very first time he had ever volunteered to be her back-up? Shun couldn't have known then what he knew now, of course, but the lieutenant had a point: Shun may be in love with her, but there were other lives at stake other than her own. He could not focus solely on her and expect everyone else to just deal. It went against his code as a healer… and his nature as a person. With a deep sigh, Shun finally nodded.
"You're right. I can't be there if it means I'm going to ignore everyone else who needs assistance. That is not what healers do… it's not what team players do." Shun let go of the dogtags to touch ZanYi's face instead, his fingertips gliding down her cheek. "I understand what you mean now. But ZanYi, people are going to get hurt. I know Sikka, Ransik, and many more in their unit are adept healers, but it wouldn't hurt to have extra help, right? So if I promise I will only go where you need me to go, will you let me help you?"
This was as far as Shun was willing to compromise. ZanYi could tell him he couldn't be out there all she wanted—it would not stop him from finding another way into the battle, with or without her blessing. If they were going up against the leader of the Neo-Equalists, than the Resistance was going to need him… ZanYi was going to need him. And he would do everything in his power to make sure everyone came back safe.
ZanYi stayed quiet, mulling over the proposition. This seemed to be something that Shun did not want to back down on. And if there was any evidence from Shun's determination to defy her when they'd left Roku's Island to try and save Tiki's parents, Shun might just do it again. But even if he made such a promise, even if he stayed within the confines of the role given to him, that still placed him out in the field. That was the last place she wanted him to be.
So they were at an impasse, and Shun was relenting a bit. ZanYi guessed she was supposed to meet him halfway—compromise. That went against her nature, but she had to roll with the punches if she didn't want this to end up a disaster, and that much she could do.
"I can see if Ransik's group has a space for you. You would be going in with his team, which is responsible for freeing the prisoners and taking care of the wounded. I can offer you that…"
ZanYi made sure to keep her eyes dead-set on Shun then, her following words gravely serious.
"But you have to promise me that you will not toe out of line, will obey every command, and you will not leave your post unless you are given explicit orders to, whether be to help me or anyone else. You will not be on my team, but his. Ransik will keep you safe, if you listen to his orders." The lieutenant reached up to touch the dogtags around his neck, her finger stroking the engraved letters. Shun was hers. And she was going to keep him alive, one way or another. Her fingers wrapped around the tags, eyes looking up at him. "Do you understand me, Shun Jiang?"
There she went again, talking to him as if he was a subordinate… well, if he ended up accepting her terms, he guessed he would be. That would be an incoming headache he could deal with later. For now, Shun just nodded obediently. "I understand," he assured her, placing a hand over the one that held her dogtags. It wasn't exactly where he wanted to be, but even Shun knew that he could do the most there. And he had worked with Ransik before, so following his orders would not be hard to do. Truthfully, if ZanYi had denied him again, Shun probably would have gone to Ransik anyway. With a half-smile, the giant waterbender slid his other arm around ZanYi's waist, pulling her closer to him. "Can we make-up now?"
ZanYi was relieved that he accepted her terms. She would have to talk to Ransik, and Shun would have to get read into the whole mission—once they finished making the proper adjustments. He would have to go to training with Ransik's team tomorrow and do his best to get up to speed. But it was the safest place for Shun out on the battlefield, and the best ZanYi could get.
The lieutenant eyed Shun's grasp around her waist, the action and feeling growing more and more familiar with the passing days. "Make-up…" her golden eyes went skeptically up to Shun, brows raised, "or make-out?"
Shun blushed. Initially, that wasn't where his thoughts were. But now that she had mentioned it…
"Um… I meant the former, as in hug it out… but if you'd prefer the latter…" he replied uncertainly. ZanYi had made the distinction, but the two options were beginning to sound like the same thing. Wasn't that why the whole phrase was 'kiss and make-up'? Crap, now Shun was self-conscious and over-thinking things. He glanced away, a hand over his mouth. Despite their changed status, the thought of kissing ZanYi still embarrassed him quite a lot.
"Uh, nevermind. You have work to do. I'll go clean up the mess I made in the hall and bring you another tray," he decided, moving his arm from ZanYi's waist. It was crazy how much power she had over him… and the weirdest part was that Shun didn't even mind it.
It made ZanYi snicker. Seriously, Shun was so easily flustered, it was still amusing to her. Probably the only time that stopped and he got bolder was when they were already kissing. But for tonight, he was right: she had a lot of work to do. Things were about to get crazy and there was no way she could leave any stone unturned now.
"That sounds like a decent plan of action," the lieutenant agreed. But then she looked over Shun, knowing that all of this was probably worse on him than it was for her. He hated fighting, and here he was volunteering—forcing himself to the front lines. All because he was that worried. ZanYi sighed a little, irritated by this. But this was Shun, and she was going to have to accept that, as well as keep finding ways to put him at ease if she didn't want him driving her crazy.
So, cautiously, she moved back over to Shun and, instead of treating him roughly like always, ZanYi tried a different approach. His approach. It was a bit uncomfortable for her, but the lieutenant slipped her arms around his large frame to hug him, her face pressed lightly onto his rigid chest. It was easy for her to react to force, to things of a sexual nature. This whole gentle, affectionate thing was new, and not her at all.
But if it was for Shun, at least every once in a while, she could try.
This move surprised Shun beyond words. For a moment, he stood frozen, stunned. Only for a moment, however—ZanYi's obvious attempt at affection had the giant waterbender feeling sentimental. He reciprocated the hug, his enormous arms winding around ZanYi and holding her close, his cheek resting on the top of her head. This was nice—usually ZanYi was a lot more aggressive. Not that Shun minded—it was kind of a turn-on.
But things like this, gentle embraces in the peace of their alone time… Shun sighed in content. He could definitely get used to things like this.
Shun's enveloping arms made some of the discomfort go away for her; it was something she was used to. Even before all of this, Shun had hugged her on several different occasions. But she never made that particular first move. The waterbender, however, seemed really touched by it. So in ZanYi's book, this time it was worth it, after all of the self-inflicted worrying he was doing.
Deciding enough was enough, however, the lieutenant extricated herself from his arms, pulling back a bit. "I'll speak with Ransik tonight, and you will have to report to him first thing in the morning so that you can get caught up to speed. And you will be working with him and his troop for the remainder of the day." Gaining her own saunter back, ZanYi reached up and grabbed the back of his neck, pulling his mouth down to meet hers. Pulling back, she added, "I'll see you tomorrow night, though, after all of the preparation is said and done."
And just like that, the peaceful spell was broken with the reminder of another impending fight, one that could possibly turn the tide of the war. What a depressing topic to return to. 'The kiss was nice, though,' Shun thought. Very ZanYi.
"Right…" Shun replied, almost absentmindedly. Tomorrow night, after all the preparations were complete… the last night before the battle that so much was riding on. Shun refused to think of it as their last night together—such thinking never bode well for anyone. But what if something did happen to one of them during the battle? How would Shun handle it if either he or ZanYi left this world without the lieutenant knowing how he felt about her?
But there was also Syaoran to consider. The giant waterbender had promised the Avatar that he had no intention of moving in on ZanYi… but now here he was, sneaking around with said woman. What did this mean now, for him, Syaoran, and ZanYi?
The giant waterbender sighed. He was thinking too much. It was time to take a step back and analyze the situation from every possible angle before he was too hasty, or not hasty enough. This decision could wait until tomorrow night. For now, he had other things to do. After one more quick kiss, Shun bade ZanYi goodnight and left her room. His first mission: find a mop. His second, actually get food to the lieutenant. And the third… try not to freak out about the coming two days so he could actually get some sleep and be ready for training tomorrow morning.
A/N from DJ: And so the climb begins~ Beginning in December is our three-week finale! Hopefully that will help you as you adjust to post-LoK Book 2 withdrawal! Prepare yourselves for a bumpy ride! Also, there is one month left of my contest over on dA! If you want in, let me know! I'm accepting art AND writing submissions, so all my fellow writers on here, you are not excluded! Now, to the acknowledgments!
Masseffect321: I'm so glad you enjoyed the chappie! We like to incorporate themes that are common throughout the series, while still putting our own twist on them to make a story unique, but still believable within the Avatar world. Good luck in your own writing ventures!
Same Guest: Welcome back! I'm just happy you're still around! It makes us smile~ And yes, Kei is an... interesting character xP Now you're getting more attuned to his personality! As for ShunYi... well, that chapter when they first got together was when the War fans were heard around the world XD But there is so much more to relationships than just getting into one, and so we're trying to show that through the series.
Sidesplitter: Woah! A reader from the Netherlands - that's awesome! Thanks for the alert! I really hope this means you're enjoying Air and that some time we'll get to hear from you!
Puttekara: Ah! Thanks so much for the Author Alert, the Story Alert for Air, the favorite for Air, and the Author Favorite! That's so much love from SWEDEN! As an American, that's just so awesome to see readers from around the world! Thanks and I hope we get to hear from you soon!
Hppj4ever: India! INDIA! This just so cool, to see so many international or abroad readers. I'm wigging out. Thanks so much for the favorite and alert for Air! I hope we get to hear from you, because we love to hear from our readers!
Revolution But Civilization: SO LOOOONG! xD And for the record, I'm not late. It's still Friday, and we established a month ago that the updates could be either Friday OR Saturday. But anywho, I think it's safe that you should just sit back and watch the characters unfold xD There are many layers to every character in this story, just like real people. And yeah, Syaoran is your average guy, so he's not exactly always forthcoming about what specifically he's feeling - which is fine! As long as he's honest when it counts, which he is~ As for ShunYi, I'm so happy you're enjoying it! We've set out to make the relationships real in this story, and there's so much more than just the initial connection or getting together. We like to use that and capitalize on it! xD
Phew! That's all now! We'll see you guys again next week! Have a good weekend!