Responses to Reviews:
RonaldM40196867: Both questions have the same answer; her immense dedication and perfectionism.
Zigzagdoublezee: Lu Ten does have the full weight of the Fire Nation military at his disposal, as does Azula. It's entirely possible that could include Iroh.
As Always, Please Review!
The following day, Gembul left Kyoshi Island and the Southern Water Tribe fleet behind and flew north, Team Avatar on his back. After a few weeks of staying in one place followed by travelling by ship, the return to the nomadic lifestyle they had experienced on the journey south felt like the return of normalcy for Yue.
Which was odd, considering she had spent sixteen years living in one place as Princess of the North, and a few months travelling the world as the Avatar.
She relaxed back into the saddle, and looked around. Katara was reading a waterbending scroll, absent mindedly moving her arm to mimic the moves depicted on the page. Sokka, meanwhile, was looking down over the side, watching the world go by underneath them.
Team Avatar's newest member sat opposite Yue. She had one of her golden-war fans out, which shone in the morning sunlight, and was playing with it absent-mindedly.
This was the first time she had seen Suki outside her Kyoshi Warrior uniform, Yue realised. Instead, she was wearing blue robes, a much lighter blue colour than was the fashion among the water tribes. She was also not wearing any makeup, or her golden headdress, both of which sat in her bag.
Up ahead, Rinzen sat on Gembul's neck, directing the bison north. For a while, nobody spoke, content to sit in companionable silence as they waited for the southern coast of the Earth Kingdom to come into view in front of them.
Then the Air Nomad suddenly looked up, and pointed.
"Look!" He called.
Yue looked- and saw dozens of shapes in the sky ahead of them, flying in a similar direction. Sky-bison. A whole cloud of air nomads, flying north in formation. They must have been coming from the Southern temple.
"I've never seen so many," Suki breathed.
"Why are there so many?" Sokka wondered, as Gembul began to fly faster and gain altitude to catch up with them.
"I guess it's safer to travel with lots of friends," Yue remarked. "Safety in numbers."
Gembul joined the rear of the formation, and the nomad on the nearest bison noticed them. He brought his mount right next to Gembul and began moving his arms quickly. Steadily, as he did this, the noise of the wind around them disappeared so they could speak.
"You're the Avatar!" He said. "I saw you at the Southern Temple."
He bowed.
"It's an honour to meet you. My name is Norbu."
"Where are you going?" Suki asked.
"The Eastern Air Temple," the man said. "And then on to Ba Sing Se."
"Why?"
"A great council has been called," Norbu said. "With the world... how it is at the moment, us air nomads need to decide what the best course of action is."
His face darkened.
"Particularly as the Fire Nation has already taken the Western Temple from us."
"They have?" Yue asked, shocked. She hadn't heard about this before.
"Oh yes," the nomad said darkly. "They came as guests, apparently. And then one night they just took over the place. Let their soldiers in and forced all the Nuns to leave."
Yue didn't say anything. She was trembling slightly. The parallels with what had happened presumably on the very same night to her home were too obvious to be ignored. In terms of Fire Nation perfidy, the North Pole was not an isolated incident.
"Why Ba Sing Se?"
"Well, it seems pretty clear, if we decide to help, which side we'll be on," Norbu shrugged. "The Earth King has done nothing to us, and we can more easily communicate with him. It's safe, too, and easier for all of us to get to rather than us making the journey all the way to the northern temple or them coming all the way down here. And they're used to dealing with Air Nomads."
"Do they know you're coming?" Sokka asked.
"Of course!" Norbu nodded vigorously. "We did ask the Earth King first."
He perked up.
"You should come with us!" He said. "There is always a place among us for the Avatar and her companions, and we would be honoured to have you there."
"What kind of discussions are you going to have?" Rinzen asked.
"Well..." Norbu hesitated. "As I understand it, some of us want intervention, some want isolation."
"Intervention?" Suki asked. "I thought Air Nomads are pacifists."
"We are," Norbu frowned. "Nobody's thinking about fighting ourselves. We're thinking about helping the Earth Kingdom by assisting refugees. There are even people talking about carrying messages or soldiers for them."
"And what's the alternative?"
Norbu shrugged.
"Hiding in our temples and hoping for the best," he said disdainfully. "Personally, I don't see it. If the Fire Nation wins we will never be safe, and they've already taken one temple. Why not the others?"
He shook his head.
"Neutrality is not an option. Ozai will never allow it to be. We stand with the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes, or we fall alone."
Yue considered for a moment, and then she shook her head.
"We are headed to Ba Sing Se," she said. "But we're taking the scenic route. So we'll turn up eventually, if you're still there."
The monk smiled, and bowed.
"I see," he said. "Well, I'll tell the others I saw you. Is there anything you want me to tell them?"
"Uh... keep up the good work?" Yue tried.
"Don't forget my tattoos!" Rinzen called.
"Tattoos?" Norbu seemed curious.
"He's recently earned them, but there hasn't really been time yet," Yue said.
"Ah," Norbu beamed. "Congratulations, brother!"
"Thank you!" Rinzen called back.
"No problem. Do you know where you are headed, if not Ba Sing Se?"
"No," Sokka replied.
"We're just going where the wind takes us," Suki added.
"Well, be sure the wind doesn't take you too far west," Norbu warned. "I wouldn't want you to stray into Fire Nation controlled territory."
He made to pull his bison away.
"Wait!" Yue called. Norbu stopped, and looked at her.
"Tell them... tell them to help. The world needs to band together."
Norbu nodded.
"Great minds think alike," he said. And then the wind noise returned as he flew away, and Gembul began to dive out of the formation.
Yue hoped that she had made the right decision. She had no idea how senior Norbu was, whether anyone would believe she had spoken to him, and how likely anyone was to listen to him. If she went with them now, she stood more of a chance of influencing the Air Nomads to take an active role in the war herself.
But she knew she couldn't do that. People needed her too much outside Ba Sing Se.
Gembul carried on, as the southern coast of the Earth Kingdom crept into view in front of them.