AMS
GUILT
When Noatak felt all three heart beats fade away to nothing, he felt anxiety ridden but at the same time he felt proud of himself. In his mind, he only helped three kids who have all lost their parents and only had each other stay together. But in reality, he blindly played a hand in his own downfall. The boat finally made it to Air Temple Island where Master Tenzin, Pema, Bumi, and Kya were standing on the dock to greet the new airbender. The adults were confused when they saw three kids come off the ship though.
"Uh, which one of you is the airbender?" asked Bumi, raising his eyebrow and placing his hands on his hips.
Quey stepped forward, making the signature Avatar smile that all Avatars make. Tenzin looked past it though since he believed this boy could only airbend, and that the Avatar at this point is either going to be an earthbender first or a firebender first since they know what happened to Ba Sing Se.
"Ah, so you're the airbender. Uh, what's your name again? I feel like I've heard it before, but I must have forgotten," asked Tenzin, smiling warmly.
"My name is Quey. You must be Master Tenzin? It's an honor to meet you," bowed Quey.
Pema came forward, smiling and hugging the boy. Quey hugged her back, already feeling a mother and son bond forming with her.
"My name is Pema. I'm Tenzin's wife, and the mother of Jinora, Ikki, Meelo, and Rohan. Rohan is your age, and hasn't begun airbending yet, but I think the two of you will become great friends," smiled Pema.
This excited Quey. He was a little disappointed to hear the kid his age couldn't airbend, but he stayed hopeful in that maybe he can help teach Rohan. Quey nodded.
"Speaking of friends. I bet you're all wondering who these two are. These are my friends, Bobbi, and Brady. They're twins, and they've almost mastered bloodbending. But!" Quey said the last word loudly when he saw everyone shy away. "They've used their bloodbending for good. They used it to protect me while I was in Ba Sing Se, and they were gonna use it to help us all escape. But because they were homeless, the bloodbending leader Noatak took pity on us all and allowed them to come here to live with me in peace. But what he doesn't know, is that they really want to go train at Varrick's to learn how to use their bloodbending to save lives. So, can they get a boat prepared to take them to Varrick's in about a couple days or so?"
The adults were stunned. It was all so much information to take in at once. Noatak? Where had they heard that name before? It was definitely water tribe since Quey said he's the leader of the bloodbenders.
"To Varrick's? They want to use their bloodbending to save lives rather than for evil?" asked Kya.
"Yes please! We had no idea what our tribe really did to Ba Sing Se and its people. We were told that the Earth Queen rounded up her people and left to go to another city so we can live in Ba Sing Se. But then Quey told us what they did to his parents, and that was when we wanted to get away with him, and to make a better name for our abilities," piped up Bobbi, her brother Brady nodding his head next to her.
The adults all exchanged glances, and Tenzin sighed.
"Your friends will have to wait a week before we can prepare a boat for them so they can make it there safely. I have no doubt that this Noatak most likely has spies around Varrick's. So, to be on the safe side, we will wait a week, and then disguise you both to look like young girls," said Kya.
Brady gaped.
"Why girls? Why not boys?" he pouted.
"Does it matter, Brady? It's just to get you in there safely. Once you're in, you can take off the disguise. I know for a fact that Varrick has high security around his place. All you two gotta do is go to his security wall, press the buzzer on their intercom, tell them you're bloodbenders who want to master the art, and he will let you in," explained Bumi.
Brady sighed and crossed his arms, still pouting.
"Alright. Fine," he grumbled.
"Come along with me, Brady and Quey. I'll show you both the boy dorms. Pema, why don't you go ahead and show Bobbi to the girl dorms," said Tenzin.
Pema smiled and nodded. Kya decided to follow along with Pema and Bobbi, since she had nothing better to do and decided it was better to get the exercise since she spent a lot of her time sitting down and taking calls, listening and arguing with hysterical people. Soon, everyone was seated at the table where Quey finally got to meet Rohan. Quey waved at the boy enthusiastically, excited to meet someone his own age who isn't a bloodbender. Rohan looked over at him, smiled shyly and waved shyly.
"Rohan, this is Quey. He is the new airbender we told you about," said Tenzin, smiling at his youngest son.
"Oh, so you're Quey. Nice to meet you!" said Rohan with more confidence.
Quey chuckled as he beamed.
"Nice to meet you too. I can't wait for us to learn together," said Quey.
Bobbi and Brady were a little jealous of how well they were getting along already since they had to work hard for Quey to smile at them. Even though he called them his friends to others, it was only to help them get where they needed to go. Quey still doesn't consider them his friends. Just people he knows he can trust now.
"Who are those two people?" asked Rohan in a small voice.
"That's Bobbi and her brother Brady. They came with me from Ba Sing Se and will be going to Varrick's in a week to master bloodbending," introduced Quey.
Bobbi frowned. He didn't call them his friends that time, and it made her even more sad and a little bit angry. It just wasn't right. It wasn't their fault his parents were killed, and it wasn't their fault that they were born with the ability to bloodbend. The way Quey was treating them just didn't sit well with Bobbi and Brady anymore, but they held their tongues. They knew Quey needed time to accept their friendship, and getting mad at him for taking his time would only lengthen the time he needs.
"Bloodbending? Why do they need to master that?" asked Rohan.
"Because," Brady interrupted, "we want to learn how to use it to save people's lives."
Rohan made an o face and nodded.
"That's right, Rohan. Bloodbending is just a form of waterbending. Regular water is used to heal outside as well as internal bruises. But bloodbending can be used to stop internal bleeding altogether while someone else uses regular waterbending healing to close the wound," said Kya.
"Ohh. Cool," said Rohan, taking another bite of his creamed corn and asparagus.
Quey was loving the fact that there was no meat on his plate. There was meat on the table for Bumi, Kya, and the twins to eat. But Pema, Tenzin, Rohan, and Quey all had vegetarian plates. Tenzin was impressed.
"Did you grow up eating nothing but vegetables, Quey?" asked Tenzin.
Quey shook his head.
"No. My mom and dad always cooked meat, and it always disgusted me! I told them that air nomads don't eat meat, and they told me to eat what they worked hard for. I never liked eating meat, so I'm really glad I can finally eat the way I always wanted to. Well, I've been eating like this since my parents were killed, so I guess what I mean is, I'm happy to eat like this with fellow air nomads," explained Quey.
Tenzin and the other adults suddenly stopped eating, and frowned while Quey was smiling, shoveling the tasty vegetables in his mouth. He too stopped, noticing the tension around the table.
"Uh, please don't worry about it! It's been a whole year. I've had time to get over it," pleaded Quey, waving his hands frantically and chuckling nervously.
Tenzin looked over at the boy who was the same age as his youngest son, and truly noticed how different they were, and how much older Quey seemed in personality.
"Of course," Tenzin said, going back to eating his vegetables, the other adults going back to eating as well.
The twins went off to their rooms for the night after thanking Pema for the food. Quey was about to follow after Brady until Tenzin put a hand on Quey's shoulder.
"Quey, I want you to tell me how far in your airbending you are. On a scale of one to ten, ten being completely mastered," said Tenzin softly.
Quey thought about it.
"I'm about an eight and a half," answered Quey after minutes of deep thinking.
Tenzin's eyes widened.
"Already? And you're only five," said Tenzin.
"Well, I turn six tomorrow," shrugged Quey.
Tenzin whipped his head back at Quey.
"Tomorrow?" he asked.
"Yes," nodded Quey.
Tenzin pat Quey on his back.
"Thank you for your time, go ahead and go to bed now. You'll need to be up bright and early for your lessons," instructed Tenzin softly yet hurriedly.
Quey nodded, then ran off towards the boy side. Once Tenzin was sure he made it to his room, he went to his wife who was reading in bed. She looked over at her frazzled husband, sat her book and glasses down, and cocked her head to the side in a silent question.
"Tomorrow is Quey's sixth birthday. We need to bake him a cake, and get him presents tonight. I sent him off to bed. Oh! He's also almost mastered airbending already! He only needs to learn a few more things, and then he can get his tattoos," hurriedly answered Tenzin, pacing.
Pema stood up and changed back into her robes, then grabbed her purse and hat. Tenzin followed behind her. They took their canoe to the mainland, where they then hailed a cab to go to a supermarket that's open twenty four seven to buy cake ingredients and presents they think a six year old airbender boy would like. They almost left the store when Tenzin saw something, and he knew Quey had to have it. It was a large book that had over one hundred airbender songs and poems. He grabbed it and paid for it. Pema noticed what he got for Quey and she couldn't help but chuckle into her palm.
"What?" asked Tenzin as they hailed another cab back to their parked boat.
"I think he'll love it," said Pema, smiling.
Tenzin's lips curled upwards back at her.
"Yeah. I think so too."
They paid the cab driver fare money, and paddled back to the Island where they put away the boat. Pema started to work on baking the cake while Tenzin took the gifts to their room and began to wrap them. Quey couldn't sleep at first. He looked over at Brady who had his back to him, but was also having trouble sleeping. Quey felt guilty. He knew he had formed a bond with Rohan right away, and Rohan did absolutely nothing to deserve it. Yet, the twins worked so hard to help him, and he can't even bring himself to really feel like they're his friends. He knew he needed to make things right. He tip toed over to Brady and poked him. Brady pretended to be asleep. He didn't want to see Quey right now. He was too hurt.
"Brady. I need to talk to you. Please," said Quey.
Sighing, Brady rolled over to face Quey. Quey noticed Brady's eyes were red, and he felt all the more guilty.
"What?" whispered Brady. Not harshly, not sadly either. Just a simple what.
"I know you and Bobbi worked hard for me, and I know it was messed up of me to suddenly take a liking to Rohan who didn't do anything for me. I've been such a butt to you and Bobbi, and I'm sorry. I realized that you two are my friends, and that just because you're bloodbenders doesn't mean I should treat you like you're them. Because it's not your fault where you came from. What matters is where you're going. That's all I wanted to say," apologized Quey.
Brady, now wide eyed, sat up and just looked at Quey for a solid minute, searching his face before a small smile formed on his face.
"Thanks Quey. It means a lot to hear you say that. I'll let Bobbi know tomorrow. By the way, happy birthday," said Brady.
Quey was the shocked one now.
"How'd you know my birthday's tomorrow?" asked Quey.
"When we first met you, one of the questions that we asked you was when your birthday is. We marked it and never forgot," said Brady.
Quey smiled.
"You guys really are my friends," chuckled Quey.
Brady lightly punched Quey in the shoulder, laughing.
"Of course we are, dude. We should get some sleep now," said Brady, sniffling.
Nodding, Quey went back to his bed and pulled the blanket over him.
"Good night," Quey whispered, laying down.
"Good night," Brady whispered back in between a yawn.
Quey felt another chakra open before he drifted off into a deep sleep. The breeze from the outside blew across Quey's face, making him wake up. He sat up in bed, squinting at the open window.
"That's weird. I could have sworn it was closed last night," he wondered out loud.
Shrugging it off, he looked over at Brady's neatly made bed and decided he must have gone to eat breakfast. Then, he panicked.
"Aw geez! The first day and I'm late for breakfast!" he yelled, rummaging through his suitcase to find something to wear when something orange and yellow caught the corner of his eye.
He looked and saw that on the end of his bed were neatly folded air nomad clothing. Quey lifted the robes and admired them before shaking his head and taking off his clothes. Once he got the robes on, he looked in the mirror and smiled at himself. He only wished his parents were here to see him now. Clenching his hands into fists, he willed a smile again and headed for the dining room.
"I can only hope he will be surprised," said Pema giddily.
"He's going to love it," smiled Kya.
"Yep! I betcha that when he gets here, he's gonna cry tears of happiness," Bobbi added.
They heard the door open and they knew Quey was coming. All of them turned to face Quey, and they all smiled.
"Happy birthday, Quey!" excitedly yelled Rohan, waving his hands in the air.
Quey definitely looked surprised, but he also looked uncomfortable. His last birthday was celebrated with his parents, and all he could do now was think about them and how every birthday he has from now on will be without them. He looked at their faces. They all looked so happy. Now they all looked worried for him as he took small steps forward, tears coming down his face.
"Do you think those are the tears of happiness?" Bumi whispered to Bobbi who only slowly shook her head from side to side.
Quey wiped his eyes and sniffled.
"I'm sorry. It's just, I thought about, how my parents will never be around again to celebrate this moment with me. I'm really happy you all put this together for me," said Quey, smiling through his tears.
Pema walked around the table and pulled him into a hug as she ran her hand up and down his hair in a soothing manner.
"Honey, we need to tell you something very important," she said softly after she got him to calm down in her arms.
She put distance between them again as she walked back around the table to sit down in her spot. Quey was curious as to what she was going to tell him, and the twins were curious too. They looked around the table, and it seemed all the adults, even Rohan, knew what was about to be said. Quey took his seat and gave Pema his full attention.
"Your parents..." she started, causing Quey and the twins to perk up even more, "weren't your real parents."
Brady sputtered while Bobbi's jaw dropped. Quey just blinked.
"I'm sorry? My parents weren't my real parents? Then who were they?" he asked.
"They were your adopted parents. Your real parents are alive and well. It's just, when you were born, they were too busy trying to keep peace and balance in the world, that they knew they wouldn't have the time to take care of and raise you themselves. So they did the selfless thing and gave you to the people you called mom and dad," explained Kya.
Bobbi and Brady smiled at this news. Their friend has his parents after all! But when they looked at Quey, they couldn't tell what was going through his head. Quey didn't quite know how to feel about all this either. Talk about a birthday surprise.
"They're still helping the world?" Quey asked.
"Yes, unfortunately. In the years you have grown up, they never had any time to just be with each other," replied Tenzin. "Your mother helped keep peace in Omashu from before you were born to a couple years ago. Then she got stationed in Zaofu, her old home, where she is now, still protecting it and keeping peace in there. Your father is a police man who was stationed in the Southern Pole for a little while, but when you were one, he got moved to the Fire Nation where he is now."
Quey was torn. On the one hand, he was excited to hear that he still had parents who were alive and well and helping the world, but on the other hand, he feels sad that he most likely won't get to meet them for a while.
"When can I meet them?" Quey asked, furrowing his brows.
"Well, the Air Nation and the police are spread thin across the world. Unless you master airbending and get stationed in Zaofu or the Fire Nation, then you won't get to meet them until the next Avatar shows up and takes charge," sadly said Bumi.
Quey breathed in...and then exhaled slowly.
"Thank you for telling me about my birth parents. It pleases me that they gave me to that nice family simply because they were too busy helping the world. I want nothing more than to master airbending now so I can do the same, and help the world until the Avatar returns," bowed Quey.
"My, such a good head on your shoulders. Well everyone, let's get this birthday celebration started!" exclaimed Kya.
During the birthday song, Quey smiled over at his two friends who smiled brightly back at him while singing to him. They weren't at all jealous that Quey still has parents. They were excited for him. They want their friend to be happy. If anything, they want to meet or at least see pictures of his real parents. After they were done eating cake, the twins got bold and decided to ask their question.
"Do you have any pictures of Quey's real parents?" asked Bobbi and Brady in unison.
Tenzin chuckled and nodded then stood up and motioned for the kids and anyone else to follow him. Quey smirked at his friends in a way that said "thanks". He wanted to ask that question too, but was too afraid. They followed Tenzin to his library where he fingered over photo albums until his finger stopped on a light green one and pulled it out.
"You should know something Quey. When you were born, you were sent to Ba Sing Se because everyone was certain you would be an earth or non bender. No one thought you would be an airbender. But, it is a good thing you are an airbender," said Tenzin, not opening the album yet while Quey, the twins, and Rohan sat on either side of him.
"But my mom's an airbender, so why didn't you guys think I would be an airbender?" asked Quey.
"Well, that's because your mother was born as a non bender in a metalbending family, the Beifongs. Your great grandmother on your mother's side is Toph Beifong. She invented metalbending when she was twelve years old. After Avatar Korra defeated the force of pure evil on Harmonic Convergence, non benders in the Earth Kingdom were suddenly given airbending. Before that, only me and my children were airbenders. And before my children and I, only my father was an airbender. My father was Avatar Aang. The Avatar before Korra," explained Tenzin.
Quey had stars in his eyes. His mother's story was so cool!
"Nice," he said.
"Because your mother was born in a metalbending family and because your father is an earthbender and lavabender, we thought for sure you would be an earth or non bender. But I am so happy you're an airbender! Now, on to the pictures," said Tenzin, opening up the album to the first page.
The kids got closer to the album to look at the pictures. There were a lot of people in each picture.
"Uhm, who are all those people?" asked Quey.
Tenzin used his pointer finger and explained.
"That right there is your mother Opal, when we all met her and before she was given airbender robes. Next to her is your father, Bolin. That's your uncle, Mako. He is also a police man, but he is not an earthbender. He is a firebender. Your grandmother on your father's side was a firebender while your grandfather on your father's side was an earthbender. I say was because they passed while your father and uncle were kids. They grew up on the streets," said Tenzin.
"Wow. Mako and Bolin are kinda like us," said Brady.
Tenzin smiled.
"Yes. And together, they became probenders. Mako became part of the police a little after their probending days and Bolin became a mover star, then they both stopped what they were doing to help Korra, that's her there, to go search and recruit airbenders. That older looking woman next to your mother is your grandmother, Suyin. The other older looking, and more grumpy looking woman, next to her is your great aunt, Lin. She was the chief of police. Now she is back as a police woman. Though she is not the chief anymore, she is one of the higher ups who trains all the rookies," said Tenzin.
"Wow. Who's that lady with the long, wavy, black hair?" asked Quey, pointing.
"Ah. That's Asami Sato. Her father, Hiroshi Sato, created the Sato mobile. He didn't turn out to be such a nice guy, so he is in jail right now. Asami runs her father's company by herself now. She was good friends with Avatar Korra and your father and uncle. She was me and my family's friend too. She did a lot of good while she was around. She, along with her friends, stopped Amon, a guy who was using bloodbending to take away other people's bending. She stopped, with the help of my daughter Jinora, the dark force of evil, Unavaatu, and she left the spirit portals open and tried to help humans and spirits get along with each other. You've all noticed the vines in Republic City through your dorm windows?"
They all nodded.
"Those vines appeared because of Harmonic Convergence. Korra spent a lot of time meditating, trying to reconnect with her past lives that were severed from her. During one of her meditations, she was killed. Then the world was thrown into chaos," said Tenzin.
He showed them more pictures and told them the stories that involved the pictures.
