Light diffused through the thin leafs of a tall tree. They stood in a pleasantly sized natural clearing. Buffeted by trees on either side. Jinora sat on a stone bench.
"Has either of you naturally come to airbend?" she said.
Tetsu pointed to his brother.
"It's the one I can bend a little," Renshu said.
"Interesting." Her gaze shifted to Tetsu. "What about you?"
"Water."
"That's a good start. I wonder as to why you didn't develop airbending at the same, but even twins can differ," she said, standing.
"Tetsu, I'm afraid I can't help much with waterbending. But you can watch to study the forms of airbending." She stopped near Renshu.
Tetsu nodded and sat on a bench.
The scene reminded him of when Renshu discovered his abilities. They'd been walking home from school from the center of town. Tetsu had been studying the history test he had taken earlier. It had focused on the area previously labeled as the Earth Kingdom. Mid-read the text in his hands had been ripped from his grasp by a strong gust of wind settling several paces away in a mud-filled puddle. He'd turned around to see Renshu behind him covering his mouth.
"Are you laughing?" Tetsu said, pulling Renshu's hand away from his mouth. But it was hanging wide open.
"What?" Tetsu said, brows lowering.
"I—," Renshu said, "I blew your papers all the way over there!"
"What are you talking about?"
"I don't know!"
"With your breath?" Tetsu snorted.
"No, with my...mind? Hands?" Renshu flailed his arms. "I don't know!"
Tetsu stomped towards the soaked pages and pulled them out of the muck ripping, soundlessly where they had become vegetative pulp. He was left with only the top left corner in hand. He screwed his lips together. He held the damp remains and looked at Renshu.
"You want to claim this?" he said, red-faced.
Renshu put his hands up. "It was an accident!"
Tetsu blinked for a few moments. He let go of the small shred.
"You can, Airbend?" he whispered.
Renshu looked between the papers in the puddle and his brother with wide eyes and tilted his head. "I—guess?"
Renshu yelped as Jinora blew a gust past him.
"This is just to see where you are." Her hands settled to her sides. "Let's try this." She formed a collection of air in her hands, made visible by the smattering of particles and dust encased by the whorl.
"Try to send it back to me," she said, pushing the air with her long fingers toward Renshu. He stretched his hands out and clapped them together, catching the air but mitigating it. The particles and leaves trapped within the gust fluttered to the ground.
"Just try to hold it." She formed a new gust. "Ready?"
Renshu nodded. Jinora seemed to push it more slowly than the first time. Renshu was able to place his hands around it at the appropriate time. He laughed, keeping the gust in a wide space between his palms. He let it drift back and forth.
"Try to send it back to me."
Renshu steadied his palms and pushed the gust with his hands upright. It shot forward, and Jinora had to bend back to catch it flying past.
She held the gust in her palms. "You're quick, just like my niece. Airbending is a fairly fast-paced form, which is why it's important to learn it well. You're not bored yet, are you Tetsu?"
Tetsu shook his head.
By the time Jinora held up her hands in a cross Renshu was sweating even under the shade. The sun dipped into their eyes.
"You look like a farmer on harvest day with that amount of sweat."
"We are farmers," Renshu said, punching Tetsu in the arm.
"Still?" Tetsu laughed and cleared his throat. "Sorry, everyone, I must decline being the Avatar. I have much to till."
"I could go back to farming. You could still be the Avatar." Renshu laughed.
"But you won't do that."
"Of course not. I need new clothes."
Lunch wasn't exactly what either of them had expected.
It was light. Small herb-like salads portioned on smart square plates along with healthy juices and a large portion of both fruits and steamed veggies.
"This all tastes very fresh," Tetsu said to Jinora.
"It's grown close by. Some of the herbs are from the garden here," she said, picking up a steamed shoot with polished dark brown chopsticks.
The light caught script carved into the side of the chopsticks as she raised the shoot to her mouth.
"What does that say?" Ren asked, looking at the chopsticks in her hand as he ate a mouthful of sweet fruit.
"Hm?" She looked down, still chewing, and swallowed. "The inscription? It's a quote from a water tribe scroll."
"Really?" Tetsu said looking down at it.
"Yes," she nodded, "you'd probably expect it to be from an air nation scroll, which are all kept safely in the museum. Let me see if I can remember how to read it."
"It's not in vernacular?" Tetsu said.
Jinora shook her head. "It's an old inscription." She screwed her eyes onto the small text on the side of the wood. "As with the concepts of Tui and La..." she began, then shifted the chopstick to catch the light better, "...balance begins with two points set in equal validity and then can multiply from there."
Renshu and Tetsu look at each other and then back at her. "That makes sense," they said.
"It does, though I find the Waternation and their customs strange and elusive to me at times—even though my grandmother was from there," she said. "I have a few antiques of hers. They crumble whenever I move them."
"Are they as old as the air nation artifacts?" Tetsu asked, perking up.
"No, but they are more weathered. They are about one hundred and twenty years old."
"The air nation scrolls are even older?"
"Yes, two hundred and forty years and upwards." Jinora straightened. "That's why we are careful with them. Of course, we have inscribed everything legible."
The three of them looked up as the sliding door opened, and a man stood there. "Hey, Jin." He blinked. "I'm off."
The man waved and slid the door back. Tetsu and Renshu stared at the closed door.
"My brother, he was probably just letting me know he was going to be away for a while. He usually doesn't do that unless it's several weeks." She sighed.
"What does he do?"
"He's an engineer."
Renshu plucked several more pieces of food from the platter. "Could he train me?"
Jinora shook her head. "He doesn't bend," she said, "someone has to be special, after all. I have to make a few calls," Jinora said, standing up from the low wooden bench. "You can go stretch your legs if you want."
The boys nodded and stepped outside, taking in the brisk air.
"It's nice here even though it's in the middle of a city."
"It is."
"What do you think grandmother is doing right now?" Tetsu said inspecting a leaf shaped like a crescent moon.
Ren shrugged. "Cooking."
"How do you think she's doing?" Tetsu said, looking up.
"I'm not sure." Ren covered his eyes as they hit a break in the foliage. "She doesn't need to spend money on us now."
"True," Tetsu said.
Ren pulled his top layer off over his head and tied it around his waist, "It's itchy and also hot. Bonus"
"I didn't expect it to be this warm here," Tetsu said.
"Everything is different about this place, must be since it's off the water."
"Could be."
They paused, walking at the sound of a struggle and a whine. Parting the trees, they saw a girl trying to catch a running baby.
Looking back at each other, they came around, trying to intercept the baby. Its large brown eyes widened as it looked up at them. It tried to run between them, but Ren caught the wriggling baby. The girl jogged up to them.
"Thanks, Tashi gave me a run for my money," she said, hands on her knees.
"No problem," Renshu said, depositing the child back into the girl's arms.
She was dressed in loose clothes.
She did a double take, then opened her mouth. "Wait, you're the Avatar—Avatars?"
They nodded.
She turned the baby in her arms. "Tashi, you've just been saved by the Avatars. How does that feel?" The baby gurgled. "I'm Hira," she said, giddy, reaching her free hand out.
"Renshu."
"Tetsu."
"Whoa, I wouldn't be able to tell you apart," she said. "It's not a bad thing!" She added, her gray eyes large. Two brown braids fell to her shoulders.
"Hira! Are you with Tashi?"
"Yeah!" she called back. She looked back at the twins, pulling her eyebrows down. "Do you want to meet my family?"