Post by Teяa253 on Oct 25, 2008 13:58:15 GMT 1
ooh! chapter 20!
and the funny thing is, is that I'm nowhere near the halfway point. this is one heck of a long fanfic. =3
CHAPTER 20: TOMORROW WE FLY
“So what are we going to do while Aiku and Zakura are gone,” Zinjamyn said to the others, ruffling a passing Kimiko’s hair. This made her scared and she turned around and scampered off.
“Poor kid,” he remarked, “she’s so timid.”
“The last time she spoke out against anyone,” said Cheng, “she was forced to watch her family killed in front of her. I wouldn’t blame her.”
“I wasn’t getting after her,” Zinjamyn shrugged, “I was just saying that I feel sorry for her; and to see that huge scar on her face...”
“It destroyed me,” she said, and it looked like she was crying. “I hate every new day I remain alive, and yet I lack the will to end my own life.”
Zinjamyn paused for a moment, “well, Kimi,” he said, “I heard that in your younger years you were eagerly awaiting your 18th birthday. Your parents were proud of your eagerness to join them.”
At once though, he paused, closed his eyes, and smacked his forehead, realizing what he had just said, and the painful memories he had probably just helped poor Kimiko bring up.
He was right. Kimiko started to cry—to just weep. She curled up in a ball on the ground and just wailed and whimpered. Little Altina appeared, walking into the room, still looking like a little ball of blue fluff with her little parka on. When she saw Kimiko crying, she put her tiny little hand on Kimiko’s head and began rubbing it caringly like a little 2-year-old child would.
Kimiko actually looked up, and upon seeing Altina, she stood on her knees and scooped the child up, squeezing her tightly. Her little head, hands and feet were all that poking out from that little blue ball of fluff, and Kimiko found said ball of fluff fun to cuddle. She stopped crying and just continued fondling the child.
Naturally, Lehran came in a few moments later looking for her. He stopped in front of Kimiko, gently lifting her face so that she was looking into his eyes. He smiled lovingly at her.
“You like my little sister, don’t you,” he asked her,
“Aye” said Kimiko, “very much so. I want to keep her. She makes me happy; she giggles when you squeeze her, and she’s so fun to squeeze.”
Kimiko squeezed Altina again and she giggled playfully. Kimiko actually gave a weak smile.
“I can’t let you keep her obviously,” said Lehran, “but you can play with her whenever you want.”
“So Zinjamyn,” said Cheng, “what were you saying about the whole “while-we’re-waiting” deal? That actually sounded interesting.”
“What we do,” said Zinjamyn, is we go south—far south—the Southern Water Tribe. We’re going to lure them into attacking us there, and thus lure them away from the Fire Nation. They are on the southeastern bounds of the Earth Kingdom at the moment, so what would have to be done is that we’d have to get them to come south.
From what Ryuka said, we would just need to know where the Tribe has positioned their warriors, and if we can pick up a few Kyoshi Warriors along the way. Those girls are dead valuable, and are merciless fighters; always a good choice to have with you.”
“Where do they run off to these days,” Cheng asked, thinking about Taki at the moment (nothing new) as usual;
“Perhaps the city of Gaoling,” said Mulan, “for surely The Order will not cross the desert when they can stick to the edge of the mountains. It’s closer to the Southern Water Tribe anyways.”
“But that would mean we would have to cross the Si Wong Desert.” Said Zinjamyn, “and even today that means trouble.”
Mulan actually chuckled.
“Zinjamyn,” she said, “you’re talking to an airbender. I would not have suggested it if I didn’t know what I was thinking. The Northern Air Temple is at our doorstep. We all know the airbenders are for the most part all against the Order, and so if we made a stop there, I’m pretty sure they’d let us borrow a flying bison. It’s how we airbenders usually travel to one of the other three temples—unless they’re like me and are in a different part of the world.”
“That sounds like a simple concept, Mulan” Zinjamyn shrugged, “but I’ll let you do the talking. You’re more likely to convince them than a scraggly guy like me.”
Mulan chuckled, “so who are you going to take to Gaoling,” she asked
“Anyone willing to come,” Zinjamyn replied, “I think Sanaki, Alzar, Shinon, and Royota can hold this place down if the rest of us are willing to go”
“So that means Sanaki’s not coming,” Kimiko asked,
“I’m sorry, Kimi,” she said, “but I’m blind, and it’s cold down in the Southern Water Tribe. I can’t feel anything in the cold.”
“It’s...” Kimiko stammered, holding back tears, “its fine.”
“So are you coming, Kimiko,” said Mulan, gently placing a hand on Kimiko’s shoulder. Mulan was barefoot, and the sleeve of her robe slipped down to her elbow. Kimiko turned around, looking into the eyes of the loving young mother-to-be. She ran her fingers down Mulan’s left arm, following the arrow tattoos she had. Mulan stared back with a gentle face—gaining Kimiko’s trust was a feat.
“I will,” she said resolutely, “for my family, for me, for the avatar.”
Mulan smiled and gently put her arm around Kimiko. She was bound to be giving birth to her child at any time, and yet here she was, willing to go out and fight.
“Tell you what, Kimi,” said Lehran, stepping forward, with an excited little Altina in his arms, “I’m going too. The Water Tribes, be it north or south, are a place I can call home. Zinjamyn, I’m in.”
“Dandy,” said Zinjamyn, “and I assume you’ll come too, Cheng? That would be all of us but the ones I said would stay here to hold the fort.”
There was a chuckling from above them. They looked up to see Alzar and Shinon and the 2nd tier above them.
“So that’s all we’re good for, eh, Zinj?” Shinon chuckled, jumping down, “I thought that Ryuka’s warning had taught you better.”
Zinjamyn laughed, “Well,” he said, “Someone’s gotta be in the Earth Kingdom. Ba Sing Se is huge; take a break, have a look around.”
“Very funny,” said Alzar, flipping herself over the tier and landing on her bare feet without a sound, “and yet you have a point. So be it.”
Later towards sunset, Zinjamyn, Cheng, Kimiko, Mulan, Lehran, and Altina arrived at the Northern Air Temple, where they were welcomed by the Air Nomads, who recognized Zinjamyn.
“So Zinjamyn,” said one of the head monks after everyone got settled. Cheng, Kimiko, and Altina were asleep; Lehran was up and about, and Mulan had actually gone into labor as they left Ba Sing Se. They were all glad (especially her) that she would most likely be giving birth in the sanctuary of the air temples, as it could have been problematic for Mulan anywhere else.
“Eh,” said Zinjamyn, indicating he was listening,
“What brings the world’s greatest earthbender to the Northern Air Temple at this time of the evening?”
“For one thing, a place to stay,” Zinjamyn replied, “and for another, that airbender who is with us is bound to give birth within the next few hours. We figured that the airbenders were the most hospitable, especially with one of their own kind.”
Although back in the older times the Northern and Southern Air Temples were exclusively male; and the Western and Eastern Air Temples were exclusively female, nowadays that was more relative, considering that 1200 years ago the air nomads had nearly faced extinction. There were males in the previously all-female temples and vice-versa, but they were outnumbered. Of course, since the air nomads were virtually all united, this made no difference.
“Also though,” said Zinjamyn, “we were going to ask if we could take a flying bison to cross the Si Wong Desert.”
“Well,” the monk chuckled, “you’re not part of The Order, are you?”
“Please, Ling,” Zinjamyn laughed, using the monk’s name, “would I have taught Avatar Zakura all she knows about earthbending if I was part of The Order?”
Ling chuckled, “very true,” he said, “you would not.”
For the most part, the airbenders were well-informed by this point about who the avatar was. However, not very many outsiders knew that the airbenders knew, and so the secret was generally well-kept.
“And since I know you’re not part of The Order,” he said, placing his hand on Zinjamyn’s shoulder, “we will grant your request tomorrow whenever you and your group are ready to leave.”
Zinjamyn smiled. “Thank you, Ling,” he said, and Ling returned it. A few moments later, they heard what sounded like an infant’s cry. A Kyoshi Warrior who appeared more as a messenger rather than a nurse (this was the case) appeared, turning to Zinjamyn.
“Master Zinjamyn,” she said, “the airbender has given birth.”
“I see,” said Zinjamyn, “I’m glad it happened here. Tell her that I’ll be right in to talk with her.”
“Oh, it’s okay,” said Ling, “if she’s your friend, you should talk to her; especially with what recently happened with her and her husband. That must be terrible—poor woman...”
“If you insist,” said Zinjamyn, going back into one of the back rooms where Mulan, her child, and several Air Sisters were. Mulan’s child was a baby girl, and Mulan herself looked more relaxed then he had ever seen her. She smiled up at him, and yawned. Her baby was wrapped up in a neat little bundle in her arms.
“This is it, Zinjamyn,” she said, “Tomorrow We Fly”.
~Azula~
and the funny thing is, is that I'm nowhere near the halfway point. this is one heck of a long fanfic. =3
CHAPTER 20: TOMORROW WE FLY
“So what are we going to do while Aiku and Zakura are gone,” Zinjamyn said to the others, ruffling a passing Kimiko’s hair. This made her scared and she turned around and scampered off.
“Poor kid,” he remarked, “she’s so timid.”
“The last time she spoke out against anyone,” said Cheng, “she was forced to watch her family killed in front of her. I wouldn’t blame her.”
“I wasn’t getting after her,” Zinjamyn shrugged, “I was just saying that I feel sorry for her; and to see that huge scar on her face...”
“It destroyed me,” she said, and it looked like she was crying. “I hate every new day I remain alive, and yet I lack the will to end my own life.”
Zinjamyn paused for a moment, “well, Kimi,” he said, “I heard that in your younger years you were eagerly awaiting your 18th birthday. Your parents were proud of your eagerness to join them.”
At once though, he paused, closed his eyes, and smacked his forehead, realizing what he had just said, and the painful memories he had probably just helped poor Kimiko bring up.
He was right. Kimiko started to cry—to just weep. She curled up in a ball on the ground and just wailed and whimpered. Little Altina appeared, walking into the room, still looking like a little ball of blue fluff with her little parka on. When she saw Kimiko crying, she put her tiny little hand on Kimiko’s head and began rubbing it caringly like a little 2-year-old child would.
Kimiko actually looked up, and upon seeing Altina, she stood on her knees and scooped the child up, squeezing her tightly. Her little head, hands and feet were all that poking out from that little blue ball of fluff, and Kimiko found said ball of fluff fun to cuddle. She stopped crying and just continued fondling the child.
Naturally, Lehran came in a few moments later looking for her. He stopped in front of Kimiko, gently lifting her face so that she was looking into his eyes. He smiled lovingly at her.
“You like my little sister, don’t you,” he asked her,
“Aye” said Kimiko, “very much so. I want to keep her. She makes me happy; she giggles when you squeeze her, and she’s so fun to squeeze.”
Kimiko squeezed Altina again and she giggled playfully. Kimiko actually gave a weak smile.
“I can’t let you keep her obviously,” said Lehran, “but you can play with her whenever you want.”
“So Zinjamyn,” said Cheng, “what were you saying about the whole “while-we’re-waiting” deal? That actually sounded interesting.”
“What we do,” said Zinjamyn, is we go south—far south—the Southern Water Tribe. We’re going to lure them into attacking us there, and thus lure them away from the Fire Nation. They are on the southeastern bounds of the Earth Kingdom at the moment, so what would have to be done is that we’d have to get them to come south.
From what Ryuka said, we would just need to know where the Tribe has positioned their warriors, and if we can pick up a few Kyoshi Warriors along the way. Those girls are dead valuable, and are merciless fighters; always a good choice to have with you.”
“Where do they run off to these days,” Cheng asked, thinking about Taki at the moment (nothing new) as usual;
“Perhaps the city of Gaoling,” said Mulan, “for surely The Order will not cross the desert when they can stick to the edge of the mountains. It’s closer to the Southern Water Tribe anyways.”
“But that would mean we would have to cross the Si Wong Desert.” Said Zinjamyn, “and even today that means trouble.”
Mulan actually chuckled.
“Zinjamyn,” she said, “you’re talking to an airbender. I would not have suggested it if I didn’t know what I was thinking. The Northern Air Temple is at our doorstep. We all know the airbenders are for the most part all against the Order, and so if we made a stop there, I’m pretty sure they’d let us borrow a flying bison. It’s how we airbenders usually travel to one of the other three temples—unless they’re like me and are in a different part of the world.”
“That sounds like a simple concept, Mulan” Zinjamyn shrugged, “but I’ll let you do the talking. You’re more likely to convince them than a scraggly guy like me.”
Mulan chuckled, “so who are you going to take to Gaoling,” she asked
“Anyone willing to come,” Zinjamyn replied, “I think Sanaki, Alzar, Shinon, and Royota can hold this place down if the rest of us are willing to go”
“So that means Sanaki’s not coming,” Kimiko asked,
“I’m sorry, Kimi,” she said, “but I’m blind, and it’s cold down in the Southern Water Tribe. I can’t feel anything in the cold.”
“It’s...” Kimiko stammered, holding back tears, “its fine.”
“So are you coming, Kimiko,” said Mulan, gently placing a hand on Kimiko’s shoulder. Mulan was barefoot, and the sleeve of her robe slipped down to her elbow. Kimiko turned around, looking into the eyes of the loving young mother-to-be. She ran her fingers down Mulan’s left arm, following the arrow tattoos she had. Mulan stared back with a gentle face—gaining Kimiko’s trust was a feat.
“I will,” she said resolutely, “for my family, for me, for the avatar.”
Mulan smiled and gently put her arm around Kimiko. She was bound to be giving birth to her child at any time, and yet here she was, willing to go out and fight.
“Tell you what, Kimi,” said Lehran, stepping forward, with an excited little Altina in his arms, “I’m going too. The Water Tribes, be it north or south, are a place I can call home. Zinjamyn, I’m in.”
“Dandy,” said Zinjamyn, “and I assume you’ll come too, Cheng? That would be all of us but the ones I said would stay here to hold the fort.”
There was a chuckling from above them. They looked up to see Alzar and Shinon and the 2nd tier above them.
“So that’s all we’re good for, eh, Zinj?” Shinon chuckled, jumping down, “I thought that Ryuka’s warning had taught you better.”
Zinjamyn laughed, “Well,” he said, “Someone’s gotta be in the Earth Kingdom. Ba Sing Se is huge; take a break, have a look around.”
“Very funny,” said Alzar, flipping herself over the tier and landing on her bare feet without a sound, “and yet you have a point. So be it.”
Later towards sunset, Zinjamyn, Cheng, Kimiko, Mulan, Lehran, and Altina arrived at the Northern Air Temple, where they were welcomed by the Air Nomads, who recognized Zinjamyn.
“So Zinjamyn,” said one of the head monks after everyone got settled. Cheng, Kimiko, and Altina were asleep; Lehran was up and about, and Mulan had actually gone into labor as they left Ba Sing Se. They were all glad (especially her) that she would most likely be giving birth in the sanctuary of the air temples, as it could have been problematic for Mulan anywhere else.
“Eh,” said Zinjamyn, indicating he was listening,
“What brings the world’s greatest earthbender to the Northern Air Temple at this time of the evening?”
“For one thing, a place to stay,” Zinjamyn replied, “and for another, that airbender who is with us is bound to give birth within the next few hours. We figured that the airbenders were the most hospitable, especially with one of their own kind.”
Although back in the older times the Northern and Southern Air Temples were exclusively male; and the Western and Eastern Air Temples were exclusively female, nowadays that was more relative, considering that 1200 years ago the air nomads had nearly faced extinction. There were males in the previously all-female temples and vice-versa, but they were outnumbered. Of course, since the air nomads were virtually all united, this made no difference.
“Also though,” said Zinjamyn, “we were going to ask if we could take a flying bison to cross the Si Wong Desert.”
“Well,” the monk chuckled, “you’re not part of The Order, are you?”
“Please, Ling,” Zinjamyn laughed, using the monk’s name, “would I have taught Avatar Zakura all she knows about earthbending if I was part of The Order?”
Ling chuckled, “very true,” he said, “you would not.”
For the most part, the airbenders were well-informed by this point about who the avatar was. However, not very many outsiders knew that the airbenders knew, and so the secret was generally well-kept.
“And since I know you’re not part of The Order,” he said, placing his hand on Zinjamyn’s shoulder, “we will grant your request tomorrow whenever you and your group are ready to leave.”
Zinjamyn smiled. “Thank you, Ling,” he said, and Ling returned it. A few moments later, they heard what sounded like an infant’s cry. A Kyoshi Warrior who appeared more as a messenger rather than a nurse (this was the case) appeared, turning to Zinjamyn.
“Master Zinjamyn,” she said, “the airbender has given birth.”
“I see,” said Zinjamyn, “I’m glad it happened here. Tell her that I’ll be right in to talk with her.”
“Oh, it’s okay,” said Ling, “if she’s your friend, you should talk to her; especially with what recently happened with her and her husband. That must be terrible—poor woman...”
“If you insist,” said Zinjamyn, going back into one of the back rooms where Mulan, her child, and several Air Sisters were. Mulan’s child was a baby girl, and Mulan herself looked more relaxed then he had ever seen her. She smiled up at him, and yawned. Her baby was wrapped up in a neat little bundle in her arms.
“This is it, Zinjamyn,” she said, “Tomorrow We Fly”.
~Azula~
