Chapter 14

Being in an Earth Kingdom village was much different than being in Republic City. I bet that the village looked exactly the same during Aang's time. It had the timeless white stone, the old style double eave roofs. Citizens milled in mixed green dress while a flag of the Earth Kingdom waved happily.

I felt a sense of belonging here. The Earth Kingdom was the home of most of the world's earthbenders after all.

I found the sign dangling from one of the green double eaves, the sign of a wrapped candy carved into a swinging square of painted wood. I grabbed Lee by the hand and pulled him through the crowd. People looked at us in curiosity. We obviously weren't from the Earth Kingdom in our dress. Lee was in his Air Acolyte clothes and I wore the mixture of colours signature of the United Nations.

I was greeted by the sweet warmth of the candy store when I pushed open the door. A bell rang above us. My eyes widened, seeing all of the clear cases full of candy, in all the colours of the rainbow. I held out a hand and a metal scoop flew into my open palm. The presence of the metal in the room pressed against my mind.

I went for the blue section, taking a plastic bag, and shovelling some blue shark gummies into it.

"What are these?" Lee asked, pinching one of the gummies between two fingers.

"Blue shark gummies?" I answered. "You don't know what candy is?"

"I've never had it before. I grew up at the Southern Air Temple," he said as an explanation.

"What are you, like twenty? I'm eighteen and I've still experienced more of the world it seems," I said.

"Twenty-one," he answered.

I turned to him, giving him an once-over. "You know when I get you settled at Air Temple Island, I'm going to take you around Republic City. You need to get out," I said.

Lee shrugged and popped one of the candies in his mouth, starting to chew. His serious face morphed into pure delight. "It's really good!"

"Yeah!" I said, laughing.

"You have to pay for that!" the shopkeeper yelled.

We both laughed. I added another scoopful of gummies to my bag and went to the counter. I handed over the proper Yuans while the shopkeeper scowled, reluctantly giving me my change.

"Have a nice day," he spat, his moustache crinkling with his scowl.

I just chuckled, taking my baggie and leaving the shop.

Lee plucked the baggie from me, and began chowing down on the candy.

"Save some for me!" I complained. He just mumbled something at me through his mouthful of gummie sharks.

I managed to pick out one blue shark before the entire bag was gone.

"Sorry, Tiana," Lee said, giving me puppy eyes.

I couldn't help but smile. "It's alright. I can get some when we get to Republic City. The candy shops there make that one look like nothing."

"Really?" His eyes lit up, like an invisible light just turned on behind his irises.

"Yeah, it'll be a date," I said lightly. "Come on, let's get back to camp. I have to get cleaned up in that stream nearby."

"How did you know about the stream?"

I couldn't say that I sensed the body of water when we went into town. That was a waterbending thing.

"Oh, I just saw it when we were passing through. Well, meet me back at Selene," I said.

I ran off while Lee headed back to Selene. Once I was hidden by the trees, I used airbending to speed my way, riding a cloud of air to the stream.

I shed my clothes and stuffed them into my bag, pulling out new ones. There was a dark blue jacket with silver piping, a white tank top, and flexible black pants that were fitted. I put them down in a nice folded pile, while I stepped into the water. I warmed it as I stepped in, which would probably be the closest thing to firebending I could do. It was like Yena's ability to make water colder if she wanted. Those elements just couldn't come to us.

I lifted my hands slowly, making waves with my palms. Watery tendrils rose from the stream, splashing my skin, soaking though my undergarments. It spread into my hair, cold fingers spreading on my head.

I scrubbed the days worth dirt off my skin, feeling fresh and invigorated. Turning my palm so it faced me, I slowly lowered my hand. Water immediately was leeched from the white cloth of my underthings and splashed back into the stream. I was completely dry. Perks of being a waterbender!

My snowy hair billowed down in gentle waves. It felt weird, having the full weight of my hair on my back.

"Tiana!"

Lee burst through the trees, his dark eyes wild, hair all wind tossed. He jolted into a standstill, like bouncing off an invisible wall. His face pulled tight, his eyes unreadable as he took me in, only covered by white bands of fabric.

"What?" I asked, not fazed by this beautiful male specimen seeing me in my underwear. It was like wearing a bathing suit so no problem.

"Um, we have to go. More Neo Equalists have been sent in to the village. Soon enough, they'll be on to us," his voice was rough and choked, like he had something in his throat.

"Okay," I answered, reaching for my pile of clothes. When I started to pull them on, Lee fled into the trees.

I just snorted as I pulled everything on, finishing off by pulling on my jacket. The familiar plush fabric caressed my skin as I shoved my arms into the sleeves.

Smiling, I swaggered through the woods, my hair swaying with my movements. I was so used to having my hair pulled back into a braid. It was liberating having it down.

Lee was tightening the harness around Selene, who watched him through lidded eyes. Her tail waved back and forth, making the grass underneath her hiss. The waving increased when she landed eyes on me. She was definitely excited to go back home, to the waters of Yue Bay.

Yena, are you there? I thought, trying to reach her across the kilometres of distance.

Tiana, I scarcely heard. Did you find out what happened?

Yes, I answered. What about you?

Yes. I couldn't reach you before. It was like the link was gone, she told me.

It was because I was sucked into Korra's memories. Nobody could reach me, I answered. My chest warmed, feeling her worry and unease. It was nice being cared about.

Get here quickly. In a couple of days, there's going to be a final Neo Equalist meeting, she informed me.

I couldn't help the sinking disappointment in my chest. I didn't want to leave Yena alone again to investigate. We had to do this together. I don't know if I'll be able to make it, Yena. We're still more than two days away.

Okay, well stop near the nearest city and find a phone. Call me. We have to talk before the next meeting.

Okay. Talk to you soon, I told her.

Talk to you soon, she said. The link that opened our minds to each other closed, the weak stream of thoughts drying up.

"Where's the nearest city?" I asked Lee, hopping onto Selene's back. Lee jumped up behind me.

"Just half a day's journey," he replied.

"Then let's go," I said.

Selene shot into the air once more.