The strings of the Erhu produced an elegant and wonderful sets of tone. Its player churned out notes that are so smooth, that even the transition between one note to another is almost perfect.
The owner of this fiddle sat around a small campfire, where he is in company of three other men. While the music is as pleasant as it can be, the mood of the other men are mixed. As the musician played on, Jargal used his spoon to scoop up some stew from the cauldron. He positioned it near his nose to smell it. "It's ready!" He exclaimed, and proceeded to prepare four bowls of the stew for himself, Ganbaatar, Khenbish and the musician. The dish used the same turtle duck meat Jargal has hunted, only it is the leftovers from the feast. Which doesn't seem to bother the four from consuming it.
Ganbaatar and Khenbish both took a sip out of their bowl of hot stew, and the change of their facial expression immediately paints their opinion on Jargal's questionable culinary skill.
Khenbish's face turned sore, he felt his throat has endured poison when he tasted the food. He didn't openly tell it to Jargal, knowing it might offend the young hunter's confidence.
Ganbaatar was not as forgiving, his face was full of disapproval when his tongue made contact with the meat. "Jargal," he addressed sternly. "Tell me, what did you put in the cauldron? Trust me, if it's poison, I suggest you give it to those four bald heads."
Jargal maintained his cheerful attitude, and responded accordingly to the captain. "Just some salt, spices and herbs, this turtle duck didn't taste as good when I put it in the hotpot before, so I moved it here to see if I can make it better!"
"You might have added a bit too much salt," Ganbaatar commented, not impressed with stew. "I don't think even Batu would have the stomach to eat this potion of yours."
Jargal only chuckled. When he decided to take a tiny sip from his stew, he immediately spit out the content.
"Uh yuck!" Jargal complained. His reflex caused him to air-bend the bowl to the ground. He then backed away from it, as if his food could kill him immediately. "I think there is a cabbage slug in my stew!"
The dead cabbage slug was spilled across the grass along with other contents like vegetables and meat. Alarmed by this news, Khenbish and Ganbaatar both checked their own stew thoroughly, hoping there is none in theirs.
"I think you should stay away from cooking the food in future," Khenbish kindly suggested. "Maybe cooking may not be the best hobby for you to pursue."
Jargal cheekily acknowledged this obvious observation, clearly a hunter like him would serve a better purpose by working with food outside the kitchen. He then laughed it off.
There may be no more slugs in the cauldron, but none of them have the appetite to continue experimenting with this.
Click!
Ganbaatar suddenly heard the sound of a wooden stick being stepped on behind him, he didn't turn his head around to see who it is. "Oh, you are back," Ganbaatar casually. "Now report, are those blue arrows up to anything suspicious?" He continued look into the fire, waiting for a response.
"I'm not sure what they are up to, but I do feel that two of them might be planning something." A feminine voice answered. While there are confidence in her words, subtle uncertainty is also there. She is definitely not fully certain if the air-nomads are actually plotting something.
Ganbaatar spun around, realizing that it's Mayumi.
The Kyoshi warrior walked to the campfire, and sat on the grass, not waiting for them to give them permission to allow her to join.
"What do you mean?" Jargal wondered, scratching the grey arrow on his forehead. "Are they plotting something against us, in our own camp? You saw them?"
The musician continued to play, he appeared to be undisturbed by the appearance of Mayumi.
"No, I'm not sure if that was actually them since my eyes didn't capture them. When I woke up, I only felt two objects flew by above me." Mayumi recounted, not certain if she can trust her own senses. If those air-nomads can fly and are discovered by the camp's inhabitants, things wouldn't be pretty for Tenzin and that woman named Jinora. "We should not jump to any conclusions here."
Mayumi said the last bit just in time, she knew Ganbaatar would be reaching for his saber the moment he even suspects the monks are acting against his clan's interest. The man let go of his weapon, and decided to wait and see what happens next.
"Very well, then I will wait for my guards instead." Ganbaatar said, adhering to Mayumi's advice. He seemed to be a little disappointed that there are no concrete evidence which can be used to discredit those monks. "But do not worry, some more solid proof might show up if those monks are up to any funny business!" He proceeded to chuck another piece of wood into the fire. The wood burned away into a piece of char, until it slowly disintegrated into nothingness as the flames engulfed its entirely. This action seemed to mesmerized Ganbaatar, something Mayumi did not know why.
"Are you sure you are not here just to tell us this?" Khenbish asked.
Mayumi became embarrassed. The whole reason she is here is more trivial than they think. The familiar music played by this musician is actually what truly initiated her coming here. "Well, it's very just the music. I came to check out what is happening here." She openly disclosed. "My great grandmother loved to listen to it, she is a big fan."
"This music?" Jargal asked with a confused look. He looked at the man in green deel, who is still playing a tone. He looked back at Mayumi, not sure how to put it. "You are here because he is playing the 'Secret Tunnel' by the 'Trustfully in love' band?" The young man then become more energetic, cheerful even. "Ganbaatar, I told you this music isn't for losers!" He told the middle aged warrior, glad that at least some people have the same love for the music. "This lady here also appreciates my taste of music!"
"Well that song is very old, and a wonderful classic by itself. I am surprised that the singer, Chong, is able to incorporate an ancient Earth Kingdom tale into a song. It's a shame that talented man is no longer around, otherwise that man could have made even more songs that is as cherish-able as this one ." Khenbish commented. "My lother used to sing me those."
"Oh, give me a break!" Ganbaatar muttered in annoyance, which was ignored by them all. "This song has been stuck inside my head for quite a while now. I can't get rid of it!"
"I know right!" Jargal jumped, still trying to contain his excitement. "That band and its songs may be a fossil to the rest of the world, but like an old pair of socks, they are all legends that will never die!" Jargal declared, almost causing them all to laugh.
They all sat there, silent. It wasn't until Mayumi herself went over to the cauldron to examine what's inside. From her point of view, who ever made this stew must have no experience in cooking. They must have cluelessly inserted any ingredients without carefully considering how they would change the overall result. She is aware that various aspects of maintaining a balance of the stew's taste is vital, and could only be achieved when you have a deep knowledge of the each ingredient.
She noticed a small bag of ingredients laying near the fire, which contains spices and vegetables used to made Jargal's turtle duck 'stew'.
"There is no use in recovering this stew, I might as well as dispose it." Jargal said, covering his nose to block out the terrible smell. "No way is someone able to fix this mess!"
"It's like the Earth Kingdom," Ganbaatar commented. He drink his fermented milk before tossing his bowl away. "A pile of mess made by architects that don't know what they are doing."
"I can still try," Mayumi asked Jargal, imploring him to not abandon the stew yet.
"Some things in this world is better to just leave it," Ganbaatar advised, seeing no hope that such disgusting stew can even be made edible. "When you fail to recover it, it might just be another disappointment."
Mayumi was silent, she thought about what he is saying, but decided to persist. She went over to the stinking cauldron and start to work. "My mother taught me how to recover a ruined dish whenever I was cooking, surely there is way for everything to be resolved."
"Whatever, go ahead." Ganbaatar blurted, and proceeded to drink some more.
Mayumi started to readjust the stew. She noticed that there is an excessive amount of meat when compared to the number of vegetables. Since meat is much more common for this group of nomad, it is understandable that they utilize it more than those who lived a sedentary life. However, adding too much meat can often saturate its taste, therefore some plant based ingredients are recommended to balance it out.
As she begins cook, Mayumi started to ask questions that may prove to be sensitive to these people.
"About the air-nomads," she asked. "What are they?"
She already know who they are, the cultures, traditions and history. But she wanted to know what Ganbaatar and the rest think about them first. This simple question may incur lower risk of angering them.
Ganbaatar took a small sip out of another bowl of fermented milk. Still unaffected by the drink, he started to state his own opinion about them. Which was harsh. "You heard the Khan earlier, he described those dull-witted temple dwellers better than I. If it wasn't for the Khan allowing them to stay here, I would have kicked them out the second I can."
Mayumi continued to stir the cauldron, she added some ginger to the mix in hopes that it can diminish some unwanted flavor.
"Perhaps I should explain it," the airbender in green deel finally spoke. "Well, I guess I can sing it out if you want."
"Why aren't you singing before when you are playing the secret tunnel song?" Jargal questioned.
"The music is intact, but the lyrics are...questionable." The musician replied. He started to change the tone of his Erhu to a more somber one. "I can perhaps provide whatever knowledge we have to this young lady here."
"Please do," Mayumi said. But the musician was stopped when Khenbish stand up to prevent him from doing so.
"I think I should do it," Khenbish suggested. "I don't think a song would tell the whole picture, sorry."
The musician was not offended, instead he continued to play his music, and allow Khenbish to tell the tale. Batu's father looked towards Ganbaatar, his superior, after receiving an affirmative nod, he begin to tell the feud between them and the air-nomads.
He sat down, and spoke. "It's a tragic story," Khenbish emphasized. It's probably difficult for him to tell what happened all those years ago. So much intricacy and complication is hard to anyone to understand. "The reason why we and the traditional air nomads never see eye to eye is because there is simply too many aspects of our way of life that contradict one another. But none of this would be an issue if it wasn't for what happened when our hometown was besieged by a group known as the Acolytes of Vaatu. It was at that time, the seeds of our mistrust towards the monks were firstly sowed."
He took a long pause, and finally revealed what's very important. The very root of the tension between the two culture, the very reason for this hatred for one another.
"It was years ago, but not long after Korra has been slayed by the Avatar killer. I sometimes forgot how many years it has been since our homeland was destroyed by the bandits under the Acolytes of San Bao. There were many of them, all followers of this strange cult which we have no understanding of at that time. We never know who they are, only they wanted to eradicate everything they deemed to be impure, by that, it means they wanted to eradicate us. We, some random people who they never met before. They said that the our people have committed the crime of dirtying the blood line, that air-benders born here is not the natural order of things."
"But why," Mayumi cannot help but ask. This is something that boggles her mind. Why would these bandits want to massacre the whole town just because some air-benders are born in it.
"Because of us," Jargal said, no longer as happy as before. He pointed at the grey arrow on his head and looked down on the grass, folded his arms. "They believe that benders of different elements as well as non-benders should not have interbred children. It would pollute the blood line, they say." Jargal almost laughed at this notion. But Mayumi knew he was not chuckling out of joy. It was a disturbingly combination of fear and anger, something she has never seen before in this always joyous man.
"When Korra opened the spirit portal, many people across the Earth Kingdom suddenly received air-bending. Our town just so happens to have many of them, and the new Air-nation promised to teach them how to master their new ability." Khenbish said, there wasn't much enthusiasm in his speech. What he is about to say next, troubled Mayumi deeply. "But those cultist got to us first," Khenbish announced grimly. The music nearby also seemingly adapted to this terrible news. "Before the air-nomads can transport the airbenders out of the town, an army of those cultist arrived outside our walls. They are well equipped. Metals machines with claws and birds that fly. They demanded us to surrender so that they can 'purify' everyone in the town. We thought that as long we can get the air-benders in town to the air-temples, they would leave the rest of us alone."
"But-"Mayumi wanted to ask. "Why would they even bother themselves to invade your town just because there are air-benders living in it."
Khenbish thought about this for a while, and remembered the answer. "Because of order."
"Order?" Mayumi asked.
"Order. To them, everything has its own place in the world, benders born in a nation that is not its own is considered an abomination. An impurity that must be destroyed along with the family that give birth to it. Only then, can they achieve what is called 'Eternal balance'. They knew that the Earth Kingdom is in a state where it can no longer defend itself. Kuvira is gone, Korra is gone, and the officials in the many Earth Kingdom states will not help us either."
"Those cultist's belief are like a bunch of fancy words made by little kids!" Ganbaatar ranted bitterly. "Those grown ups actually believed it!"
Khenbish looked into the fire, and continued. "When our previous leader fled the town on his personal airship, we were left behind to fend for our own. We can't just leave behind the children and elderly. Most important of all, we can't let our loved ones be subjected to the brutality of some perverse ideology. When the Khan tried to negotiate with the enemy for the safety of the people, he was refused. We were confused at first, we wondered, why are they even doing this? What can they achieve? What is their true goal? Surely, their leader must have bigger intentions then simply going around targeting settlements with air-benders who don't have bending parents. Whatever they want to accomplish, we knew they want to harm everyone in the town, and there is no more use for the Khan to settle this peacefully."
"So our Khan took a different route," Jargal said from the side, tasting the sourness of fermented milk. "Since the air-nomads are not coming to pick up those air-benders in time, and everyone in the town would be killed anyway. Our Khan sent a telegram to everyone he knows." Jargal leaned in and whispered. "Even the ones he has angered."
"The White lotus?" Mayumi remembered that the Khan left some sort of organization which Tenzin might have some interactions with.
"Yes, our Khan was a young foot soldier when he first joined. Since he was a non-bender back then, his only weapon is a sword and bow. His non-bender status itself is a hurdle, it took him years to convince the white lotus to allow a non-bender like him to serve as a guard. But it was only after joining the order and going through countless missions did he slowly realize what the order has become, glorified body guards for the Avatar. He disagreed on them with many issues, like how to fight the Red Lotus, or how they shouldn't confine Korra in the South Pole. Thus limiting her knowledge on the four nation's culture and people. Nevertheless, this discontent only grew, until it reached a breaking point. When Korra died, the order were quick to start the search for the next Avatar. But the Khan wouldn't have it, he thinks the Avatar cycle is gone, done for, and the Order should spend more time bringing peace and stability to the world directly. Even though he was later punished for rebellious nature, he was still tasked with searching the Avatar near our homeland. It was there, he arrived back to the town where he was born and raised, where all his family resides. When he found out that his own town is threatened by the bandits, he called the White Lotus for help."
"They didn't help did they?" Mayumi said it first. "They must have ignored his plead for help."
"Aye, I suppose they didn't grasp the severity of the situation. Bandit raids are common across the Earth Kingdom after all." Khenbish said, bringing the conversation back to him. "Disappointed by this, our Khan telegramed nearby towns, only to find out that they are also threatened. When he reached out to the state's governor, that man also refused, saying that the countless lives in our town are not worth his time and effort to save."
Khenbish stopped, as if he remembered something. Something very unpleasant. But he soldiered on. "The air nomads," Khenbish said with a grimaced expression. "They are the only ones that accepted to help. When we heard that it was from Tenzin himself, we saw a glimmer of hope. Even though it was faint, we were bolstered and resisted the invasion with high moral. We were grateful that we at least got someone sending help. But-"
"But that was all a lie," Ganbaatar sinisterly insinuated, interjecting Khenbish. The air-nomads were too few to protect the whole Earth Kingdom from bandits, which is why the tyrant Kuvira and her legions gained so much popularity when they did what the air-nomads can only dream of, enforcing stability. "Those temple rats think what we are facing is just some regular robbers stealing some grain. So, the ever so wise Tenzin decided to send TWO LITTLE BRATS TO SAVE THE DAY!" He suddenly elevated. The others around the campfire froze at the captain's burst of anger. Clearly, he loathed those two air-nomads that was sent to 'save' them.
Mayumi was spooked by the warrior's fury, she never thought that the hatred is so imbued in Ganbaatar. She knew what it's like to be disappointed. But when it affects the lives pf those you trust, you can't sat idle.
Khenbish waited for Ganbaatar to calm down, and continued on. "Yes, two young air-nomads came to our town that day." His description of the two were more lenient than Ganbaatar. "While we have hoped for more people, we were still grateful they at least came. We thought they were here to help us to fight the bandits, but, they said they weren't. They promised us that more air-nomads are on their way, and their own assigned priority is to rescue the air-benders and escape before the bandits breached the walls. An argument broke out between us, we urged them to stay and fight for us. We know there is no way reinforcements would make it in time, and if all the air-benders are evacuated, the other citizens would not be spared. Those two insisted that they are in no condition to help us, if we refuse to give up our air-benders, then they would just leave."
Even though Mayumi was near a fire, her hands felt cold. Hearing that the air-nomads would simply abandon those in need conflicts her own perception of these peace loving people. Surely, no matter the situation, would air-nomads bring themselves to stand idle when a massacre of town's population is imminent. Mayumi thought to herself, how much of what she is hearing now is true? Would Khenbish lie to her? Maybe not intentionally. What she is certain is that the people were mostly killed when the bandits finally breached through, and for some reason those two didn't stay to fend off the raiders. But she still firmly believe there is more to this story. Maybe listening to the other side may understand more...
Khenbish sniffed his nose. "We don't have any choice, there isn't enough room on two bisons for all the whole town. It was only after countless negotiation and painful compromises did we struck a deal. Even though no family wants to be separated, we reached a consensus that the future generation must survive. Any air-benders selected by the two air-nomads will escape, but they must also take the youngest kids first. My Sarangerel was one of those being picked, she was just a kid back then, her age and possession of air-bending allowed her to be chosen. Even though she was lucky, we have to let her go so that she can be safe. I still remember she and the other children on the bison would cry the whole time, knowing they would never see the rest of us again."
She swallowed her throat hard. She can only imagine what it feels like when families are split apart like this. Those children may have escaped danger, but they could never live with the fact that their family are left behind just to be killed by bandits. Mayumi looked at Jargal and the musician, both of whom are air-benders. Judging by their age, they are possibly not yet over thirty. If Khenbish was a young father when their town was destroyed, these two would possibly be much younger.
"I decided to not go with those monks since I couldn't just leave my mother behind," Jargal casually said. Trying to act as content towards his life as possible. "If I was to die, I want to die with her. But she died first when the walls fell, just so that she can protect me and keep me alive for a few more seconds. I guess you can say her sacrifice has paid off." He wasn't proud that something like this happened. But if it wasn't for his mother delaying the bandits, he wouldn't be here breathing the air of this world.
Mayumi poured some vinegar into the stew. She did some taste testing, and continued to change the flavor.
"I'm sorry..." Mayumi knew this is going to be painful for them to answer. "T-Then, what happened...next?"
It is a very sensitive topic, which why they all fell silent in Mayumi's question, even more silent then before. Even the musician stopped playing his instrument. Ganbaatar raised his head, and looked at Mayumi with a blank face.
"We lost everything," he said, surprisingly calm. "Fire and blood became as common as the grass itself. The bodies of our people littered across the streets, as machines with metal arms thundered through our homes. Those creatures spared no one, not the women, not the elderly, and especially not the remaining children. We only fought with our swords and arrows against metal machines we have never seen before. Our Earth benders were the first to perish, then it was the civilians. I saw my own whole family being locked inside their homes, and those acolytes set fire to it until my kin all burned to dust."
Mayumi did not spoke a word, only gently stirred the cauldron as she tried to comprehend the scale of this violence. Every words felt like a warning, a reminder that this world is full of cruelty that cannot be forgiven. It made her question the safety of her sister, who still have a long journey to go before reaching Ba Sing Se.
"At that point, the Khan lead us to fight for every inch of ground there is. Everyone who can hold a knife have no choice but fight those bandits without any training at all. Of course, we know that is only delaying what is inevitable." Ganbaatar picked up what is possibly his third bowl of fermented milk, and devoured every drop of its content. When he is done, he chucked it carelessly aside. Mayumi can notice his trembling hands. She can sense something she never thought she would expect. Fear. The very warrior who have saved Satchiko and faced Shui heads on is actually showing signs of fears in his hands. "No air-nomads came to save us, so we chose to accept our fate, and fought till the end as all those we hold dear are being slaughtered around us. But then." His trembling stopped abruptly.
"But then what?" Mayumi asked eagerly and stopped cooking the stew. She very wanted to know how they managed to escape the entrapped city. "Did the air-nomads finally show up?"
Ganbaatar's eyes were no longer as gloomy as before. The expression on his face was surprising a little more hopeful. "It was, a miracle. I suppose no other words can explain how we can got out of the mess alive."
The others around him all mumbled in agreement. What happened that day was as if the spirit of Aang and Yangchen sending their blessings to them all.
"We never knew why they did it. But the sky bisons, a whole herd of them, came to our aid." Khenbish told Mayumi, who widened her eyes when she hears this. "There were many of them, they fly in circles around the sky and created a large tornado that separated us from the enemy. The few survivors gathered at the very center of the town, and eventually, all of us got out alive as we are being carried by sky bisons. I guess the Eternal Sky is being merciful, who knows."
The campfire cracked a bit as they remained in silence. Mayumi was at a loss of words. She subconsciously felt a sense of relief that these people are saved from total destruction. She wondered why these bisons would risk their lives for some strangers. Whatever the reasoning, she is glad that they have found a new life after being saved. "Wait," she asked and suddenly remembered a minor detail from earlier. "What about the children and those air-benders that was rescued before the town fell."
The four clansman didn't answer at first, they wish one of them can explain it.
"Well," Jargal said. "I guess those two kids are definitely surprised that we are still alive!" He laughed loudly lightheartedly. "We regained our strength and learned airbending from the sky bisons. The first thing we did was to head to the Eastern air-temple and demand that they give us back our children. Of course it wasn't easy retrieving them, since air-nomads are not the most keen people to return little kids back to their guardians." This man doesn't appear to hate the monks that much. Like Khenbish, his tone isn't s more moderate.
"But why would they do this?" Mayumi inquired, a little appalled herself. She felt that so far almost everything these people told her about the air-nomads have drifted so far away from what she has known in books. "Are they that desperate to rebuild their culture to the point of separating you from kids?"
The musician was the first to speak, and he rested the Erhu to the side. "While the air-nomad culture demands children to be separated from their parents by birth, I don't think that is the true reason why there was resistance in the temple. The Air nation is only recently brought back from extinction. The opening of the spirit portal offers the Air-nation a new chance, which is why they are very hesitant to relinquish us." His deep voice explained. "Many children that is taken to the temple are of course excellent resources in helping them realizing the goal of increasing the numbers of true air-nomads in this world. Since all air-benders are considered valuable by the new Air-nation, Tenzin has sent many offers for the rest of the clan to join. Of course, no one brought it. The only thing we want is for the Air-nation to return the children back to them. However, the monks also do not wish to do that. They wanted us to not follow the same path of danger. They believe we are safer in the temples, and our spirituality can be better nurtured there."
"So that's why there is a deep mistrust between you and the air-nomads. Despite your shared use of air-bending, you both just couldn't agree how those children should be handled." Mayumi cleverly deducted. Since the air-nomads wanted those children to live a more peaceful life, so they refuse to return them back to their original families in fear that it would expose them to more danger of the outside world. Some of those children might not even have families who survived.
"Yes, but there is more to it." Ganbaatar confirmed, while drinking his fourth bowl of fermented milk. "It was also because we might have accidentally caused a fire in that temple."
Mayumi couldn't speak, her mouth is opened wide. At this point she felt tired to even ask why they did this. She just continued to stir the stew and pretend she didn't hear that part.
"It was only a distraction ok! Since the the air-nomads and their acolytes refuse to return what is ours, we employed some more forceful tactics. We lit a small fire in one of their empty building which houses some weird wooden objects, I don't think they were anything important." Ganbaatar stated firmly. "No one was hurt, at least not that I know of. Anyway, when all those bald heads are distracted, me and Khenbish infiltrated their temple with two bisons and saved those children."
"Khenbish too?" Mayumi asked. Until now, she only thought of Khenbish as a common foot soldier for this clan. He is like a background character of a tale, never expected to be that important anyway.
"Yeah, his own daughter was still in the air-nomad's clutches remember? Sarangerel said all they told her to do was to meditate. Something to do with increasing your spirituality ." Ganbaatar looked like he is going to vomit when he said those words out loud. To a warrior, those monks only would sit around all day just to close their eyes and do absolutely nothing. How can they be restful when their pacifist belief would only be taken advantage of by the evil forces of this would. Perhaps to the Kheshig, those who are hesitant to kill an evil person is considered weak.
Khenbish looked up, and decided to conclude the story behind their misgiving towards the monks. "That fire in the temple has definitely started something that is irreversible, whatever suspicion between us and them, it can never be resolved. Back then, we only think about reuniting those children back to us. But in the process, we have deepened the rift that separates us, the nomads who kill and eat meat, and the other nomads, who would demonstrate mercy and are vegetarians. All I am saying is that people, regardless of where they come from, will always use differences to justify being apart from others that are unalike. They will fear and be suspicious of others that look or believe in diverging things, or maybe past conflicts is what divides them in the present. It seems that even we cannot escape this fate with the air-nomads." Khenbish paused, resting his throats after speaking for a while. "Does that answer your question, Mayumi? Broken promises, refusal to give us back our children, confrontation, along with the will of us not wanting to get along with them. All of that, is why there is still no peace between us and them. We don't expect you to take our side and wholeheartedly believe our side of this story. We just hope that you can maybe be opened minded, and accept not everyone in this world can be easily trusted. Including us."
"Wow, that sounds very unlike you Khenbish!" The young man Jargal chanted, quickly agreeing with Khenbish's realistic take on this messy world.
"Is that why Batu hated them too?"
All five individuals turned to the direction of the new voice. Another girl, wearing nothing but green kimono appeared in front of them.
"Satchiko!" Mayumi said after recovering from her shock. "Why are you awake, you should be alseep. Thank goodness mother isn't here."
"Well you are here too," Satchiko countered. "Mum always say we should stick together."
"Well, yes." Mayumi replied. "But staying up like this is bad for growing girls like you. Poor sleep leads to lesser development to your body."
"So you were listening to us the whole time?" Khenbish asked. Not too affected by Satchiko's also surprising visit.
"Not the whole time, but I was just looking for Mayumi when I heard some music playing around here." Satchiko answered.
"My son suffered the same thing we did, but the weight and burden of which he is carrying is much heavier than any of us." Khenbish recounted, retelling their earliest encounter with the young air-bender. "He was the only one to have air-bending in his village, but still, his village was targeted. To this day, he still felt that it was his fault that his original family was killed during the attack. Those Air-nomads once told him, that as long as he is willing to become an air-nomad, his village would receive protection." He sighed triedly. "Well, can't blame them. Tenzin and his followers are too few, overstretched. Think about it, how much people do they even have? I guess maybe around a hundred?"
"Probably less than that," Jargal said.
Khenbish looked at Satchiko. The Kyoshi warrior already knew what this man is implying here. At first she didn't fully understand why Batu would despise the air-nomads the moment they appear. Things just got so much more complicated for now, but she at least got a foundation she can start with. But even after listening to all of this, she still cannot tell which side is in the right. The Air-nomads were supposedly a force of good, yet they seemed to have turned this group of people into their rivals through a series of action.
"Whatever path we take, I don't think we would ever trust the Air-nomads to protect us again." Ganbaatar declared. "Any Earth nationals that placed their faith in a group of monks are only asking for trouble. We did it, Batu did it, when was the last time the Air-nomads ever did anything significant that improved our safety? They promised us to save our homes from bandits, but let's be honest here, I think they are solely concerned with collecting air-benders so that they can replenish their Air-nation with true air-benders. They don't even have the capacity to protect us all, but they still have the will to take any air-benders back to the temples. I still couldn't believe that the kid's original parents still thoughts those monks would come and save them. While the whole town evacuated, those two still stubbornly waited for help."
It's a shame that Batu's original parents have such faith and respect for the Air-nation, to the point of placing their own lives in front of danger.
Ganbaatar continued, almost scowling. "We had enough of trusting others to protect us, whether if it's the Avatar, governors or even organizations that claims to be serving good! From now on, we will trust no one but ourselves, no one except for the sky bisons. And we will go wherever the wind itself carries us!"
Satchiko felt those words may have pierced through her. She thought they and Mayumi have already gained the trust of these people.
"But what about us?" Mayumi asked. Ganbaatar was slightly surprised, he forgot he is still in the presence of these two esteemed guests.
"Well..." he struggled to respond. This is clearly a little bit disrespectful to the two Kyoshi warriors.
Mayumi didn't chase Ganbaatar to immediately answer. Instead, she prepared the now completed stew in bowls, and gave it to everyone around the campfire.
The faces of the four nomads said it all. Jargal tasted the stew, and complimented the improved texture. "Looks good!" He said, and proceeds to gobble it all up. "Delicious!"
Khenbish and the musician also tried it, and they too approved this new improved version of Jargal's horrible stew.
Ganbaatar, while skeptical at first. After looking at Mayumi's stew for a long time, he reluctantly took a small sip out of it.
He couldn't stop. If this was the same stew which Jargal had made just before, he would have threw the bowl to the ground. But no, instead, he ate the stew, all of it. Once he is done, he rested his bowl on his lap, and stated his final verdict. "It's...good."
"What did you put in it?" Jargal asked out of curiosity.
"Oh, just some spring onions and vegetables. It helped by making the stew taste more fresher." Mayumi replied with a bright smile. "My father told me that not everything in this world is as irredeemable as we believe. Sometimes, you need to give things or people a second chance. Perhaps then, you can be surprised by possibilities you never knew was their before."
"Hmm, your father is weird." Ganbaatar said. Before the captain can think this through, a sound of a hurried foot step have arrived. Sound of scale lamellar rubbed against each other immediately confirms that one of his warriors have arrived back.
"Captain, I have spied on them for a while now." The guard reported. "Two of those bald heads have been to the tent of where we held our captive.
Two air-nomads.
Mayumi's hunch was correct, she wasn't dreaming. Now they know for sure those air-nomads must be sneaking around the camp, doing something clearly unauthorized.
Everyone around the campfire watched nervously at Ganbaatar, who has the highest position here. What is his orders? Are they going to confront Tenzin right now?
Ganbaatar looked intensely into the fire, for a moment, as if he can still see silhouettes of people in it. He finished the remaining of his fermented milk. Without glancing at Khenbish, he asked the injured warrior a question. "There is nothing wrong with my memories, but Khenbish, would you kindly remind us the names of those two Air-nomad brats. The same ones that have stolen your daughter?"
Khenbish was perplexed by the question. The middle aged herdsman rattled his head for answers. "Um, it was a boy and a girl. If I am not wrong, the two hooded ones we saw today was also a boy and a girl." Khenbish widened his eyes, and realized where Ganbaatar might be coming from. "Hold it, you think those two hooded ones are them? Of all the people, it's those two?"
"Correct old friend, it's not impossible right?" Ganbaatar applauded this man's good memory. "Two air-nomads went to that bandit's tent, I wonder what they are up to?" His word play was insinuating, but they still need more evidence to justify any wrong doing. "I wonder, what are the chances that we met the same brats that not only did not help us against the bandits, and conveniently taken the air-bending children away."
"Ganbaatar, don't jump to any conclusions, we don't know if that is very them." Mayumi pleaded quickly. She doesn't want to expose Satchiko to any potential danger. While she doesn't care who they are referring to, she cannot guarantee that Satchiko would be safe if a fight broke out here.
"That you should not worry," Ganbaatar assured. He sharpened his saber with rock nearby, and looked into the weapon's metal reflection. "This grudge is between us and them, like you said, we should give people a second chance, aren't we?" He then proceeded to laugh, which is a little disturbing for the two warriors.
"Khenbish," Satchiko inquired, drawing the injured warrior's attention. "What are the names of those two air-nomads that didn't help you against the bandits?"
Khenbish looked at the Kyoshi warriors, he appear to want to involve both her and Mayumi into this.
"Their names are...Opal and Kai."
Author's notes:
Honestly, I never very thought that Khenbish would have so much appearance on this story. I originally only intended for this guy to be as a person that is mentioned only once, a sort of plot device to demonstrate Ganbaatar's personality towards the warriors he is leading. Ever since I extended his appearance by writing how Satchiko tries to help him in chapter 26, I have uncontrollably increased his prominence from some person in the background to an actual character. He was supposed to be just person who isn't even going to have one dialogue. I am actually glad that I have not only decided to make Khenbish a minor character, but also a person that can explain the history to our protagonist.
