Avatar World

The small earth kingdom town was just a speck of brown amid the green of the farmers fields around it. From high in the sky a massive white bison plumeted down to land on the outskirts of the town. From the saddle on it's back jumped a man in orange robes who landed gently in a vortex of wind. He had a shaven head though bore none of the tattoos of an airbending master and carried a glider staff. "Ok Pumpky you stay here while I go check out this town," the man named Ahn-Chu said to his bison patting it on the head. The bison roared and licked him happily before starting to graze while the man walked off down the main Street examining shops around him.

The horizon was a perfect line, the sun behind her, not a cloud in sight, just light blue, meets deep blue in perfect symmetry.
Azurfa stood on a a rocky outcropping, taking long calming breathes, eyes unblinkingly focused on the horizon. Her breath waivered for barely a beat as the fluttering sails of huge merchant ships creeped out of the perfect blue seem. She stood, breathing, moving her body slowly, stretching, posing.. until the ships had sailed so close to the shore, tiny blue clad figures could be seen darting around the decks, pulling ropes, getting ready to drop anchor.
Azurfa shrieked with girlish excitement and jumped, waving both hands in the air in greeting.
A soft thud next to her brought her attention back to herself. A small pile a rough ore, shaped into spheres was stacked at her feet, with one a foot away in the grass, she gathered them up and dropped them into a heavy leather sack at her waist. The ground she stood on was scarred, and torn up, undersoil turned over, and fresh earth exposed.
She ran down a steep hill toward the beach, again throwing her arms over her head, she'd caught sight of one particular blue figure on the lead ship. She whistled with her fingers in her mouth, and shouted and laughed as she ran across the beach and into the waves, barley even noticing the cold water crashing against her legs she stopped to watch as the ships started lowering small boats to row to shore in.

Ahn-Chu wond his way through the crowded market place sniffing at the air. On all sides farmers and merchants shouted their wares and children chased each other through the streets. Ahn-Chu ignored most of the goings on around him sidestepping whenever he felt the breeze of someone about to bump him and following the scent like a dog.

At last he saw it, a stall with a grill in it maned by an old woman. "Hello ma'am," he said smiling.

"Oh you're an airbender aren't you hon," she said. "We don't see many of your kind around here."

"No there aren't too many of us to begin with," he replied. "Actually I've been searching for anyone who might have airbending power, I'm something of a teacher. You haven't by any chance heard of anyone around here who might be an airbender?"

"Oh not around here deary," she grinned toothlessly. "But about 50 miles from here there's a port town called Jingon. I heard a story about a family with a toodler that blew the roof off their house a few years ago. You should look there."

"Many thanks ma-am," Ahn-Chu bowed graciously to the old woman. "Now if you'll excuse me I must be going."

"Oh would you like a snack for your trip," she offered up a stick with a piece of simmering meat skewered on it. "I raised these goat-hogs myself on a special diet of herbs."

"Thank you ma-am," he bowed again. "But I can't. We Airbenders are strictly vegetarian."

She smiled but replaced the stick and he turned to go. He'd only gotten a few steps though when she called to him again.

"Deary I think you dropped a coin." She called.

He stopped took out his purse and quickly rummaged through it before shaking his head. "I'm not missing anything."

The old woman looked a bit perplexed before pocketing the coin with a grin. Ahn-Chu left the stall and walked briskly down the street until he sharply turned into a winding alleyway. He followed it until the market was out of earshot then stopped. He looked around fervently seeing no one around him. He crotched down and with a single leap and the help of a minor cyclone cleared the houses around him to land on the terracotta roof.

He scampered over to a curve of the roof that blocked him from the street and the other surrounding roofs. After one last look to the sky and seeing nothing he pulled from out of his robes a stick with a large chunk of meat skewered on it from the old woman's cart.

Ahn-Chu inhaled deeply savoring the delicious aroma. Then he bit into it tearing a chunk of flesh of as juice dripped down his chin.

The row boats took what seemed an agonizingly long time to make their way to shore, before they even landed a tall woman in thick blue clothes hurled herself into the water.
Azurfa splashed into the waves as her friend ran toward her, they met forcefully, body's crashing together as the water crashed around them. Embracing tightly, they both threw their heads back laughing in Glee.
The women made their way out of the surf and up the beach together, arm in arm. The people and ships behind them forgotten. They made their way up the winding hill path chattering like old friends.

Past a tall shining metallic house, silver spires stabbed the sky, slender curving arches at weird angles kept the slender tower stable standing on the top of a high hill.
Back down the hill on the other side, they broke into an almost run, hand in hand, making a beeline for the stables. A conparably unimpressive wooden barn nestled at the foot of the rocky hill that hid expansive silver mines.
Two horstriches in expensive sadles were munching hay in the yard. Azurfa gave the handler a smile of thanks as the women mounted the black feathered horstriches and took off as a canter down the winding road that lead to the nearest town.

They rode into the day, slowing to a trot next to each other to chat, their lengthy conversation far more satisfying then the monthly letters that were their usual correspondence.

The sun was setting behind them, over the ocean, casting brilliant gleaming light beams across the Silver tower miles away near the beach. The horstriches stopped at the edge of town and waited patiently as Azurfa paid a stableboy to take them.

The old friends made their way down the market Street.

"So your brother just started bending during your voyage here?!"

"Yeah it was the craziest thing. Sailing was slow, the weather was crystal clear, but very little wind. It had been a few days and the Captians we're getting inpatient. Then out of no where our ship picks up and sails out ahead of the fleet."

"Wow! How could he do that? Isn't he only 5?"

"Yeah, just turned a week before we left. I heard him shout Talia from the crows neat and when I scurried up the ladder he told me HE had made the ship move! I didn't believe him at first but then he did it again! It's all any ones talked about the whole rest of the journey"

"Meat kabaab! Fresh and juicy!" An old woman in a stall was holding out two large sticks of slightly burnt meat.

Talia held a hand up to say no thank and the women walked on, giggling together.

Ahn-Chu sat back on his roof picking his teeth with the skewer stick. He'd need to wash up before going back to Pumpky. The bison disapproved of eating meat but it was just so good.

Ahn-Chu got to his feet picked up his staff and flicked the glider wings open. He pushed off from the roof into the sky letting the wind lift him up toward the sun. With a subtle tilt of his wings he angled out toward the ocean. The rooftops sped by below and in no time he was over the crashing waves.

The airbender circled down to the beach and landed in a whirl of sand. Ahn-Chu kicked off his boots and pulled his outer robes off piling them with his staff. He trotted out into the surf and started soaking himself, replacing the meat smell with sea smell.

They wound through the streets, gawking at expensive jewelery, fine clothing, and pretty boys. Lanterns were lit in stalls and along the street, the town hummed in the glow, buisnesses slowing down for the night.

Eventually they did stop to eat, salads with fresh fish on top. The only time they stopped talking was while they ate. Before they left, Azurfa bought a bottle of spirits which she tucked inside the no empty belt pouch. The smooth balls of silver ore traded away to various venders for jewerly she now worse, most of which where made of metal that came from her families own mines.

They didn't even need the alcohol though, the women were intoxicated on good food, and good company. They locked arms again and slowly wandered back through the streets. Back to the stables.

They rode through the night. They would have been too excited to sleep anyway, and the ships never stayed in port long enough.

The sun rose behind them as the Gyria family hill came into view. The morning sunbeams bouncing brilliant orange off the silver tower. They left their horstriches to be cared for and stretched after their long ride.

"You feeling tired?"
"No way!"

They shared more laughter and tired smiles as they made their way around the hill and down rocky steps to a smooth s

A roaring Bellow echoed down from the sky as Pumpky flew into view. Ahn-Chu strode out of the surf as the big bison landed on a sand dune nearby.

"Well no luck in this town," he announced as he air-dried himself with a cyclone. "We'll go to another town in the morning."

The bison snorted and waddled out into the water to take his own bath. Ahn-Chu meanwhile started a small fire and meditated until his bison was done swimming and needed to be dryed off as well. It was dark by then so he cuddled up with Pumpky and the two fell asleep.

The two slept soundly until a rooster lizards shreikes woke the two up. Pumpky kicked off to go find some breakfast while Ahn-Chu stretched out began practiceing his airbending forms. He hadn't been at it long when he spyed a pair of women approching along the beach. He stopped practicing and stood up straighter waving to the pair.

"Good morning ladies."

Azurfa and Talia had barely drank half the bottle. The made their way gracefully up the shore, leaving matching sets of foot prints for the surf to wash away.

They hadnt noticed the man standing on the beach in front of them but they had noticed the huge bison that flew over their heads. Looking up, that gawked at the magnificent creature as he cast a shadow over them for a second.

Their gait slowed as they heard the greeting called out to them. They both waved. Put their heads together whispering something between them as they closed the distance between them and the stranger.

"Ahoy!"

"How are you on this beautiful morning?" Azurfa stretched her arms out and up to the sky, motioning to seemingly the entire world.
"Are you from around here?"She asked, already knowing the answer, she knew most everyone that lived near her familys mines. She had done business with all the villiages in the area for years.

"You thirsty?" Talia offered up the half empty Saki they had been drinking straight from the bottle as their breakfast.

Ahn-Chu grinned and waved as the two walked up. His eyes widened as he noticed one of the women was blue.

"I'm an air nomad," he replied. "We tend to roam, and I'm sorry but I'll have to decline your offer. We have a pretty strict diet being monks."

"If it's not to rude to ask why are you blue," he asked. "I've never met someone with blue skin."

Azurfa wanted to laugh but only smiled.
"My family lives on the silver mines" she replied simply, ar though it explained everything.

"An air bender?!" Talia chimed in over her friend, hardly able to contain herself.
"You're an air bender? How did you learn to do that?"

"Well I learned with all the other Airbenders at the northern temple," he explained. "That was before it was destroyed though."

"I never knew silver turned people blue," he commented. "And your from the water tribes aren't you?"

"I'm not, I live right over..." Azurfa started matter of fact but she was cut off.

"You learned to air bend? How does someone learn, could the teach themselves?"
And then out of the side of her mouth Talia said more to her friend then the stranger.
"Sneaky kid must have been studying in secret."

"Well you'd need to have airbending power to learn but that's a lot more common since the harmonic convergence," he explained. "I'm actually traveling around teaching those who can't or don't want to go to the air temples."

"You two wouldn't happen to know anyone that's developed air powers?"

Azurfa, not liking being interrupted, answered quickly, dominating the conversation.
"Her little brother started air bending on their trip here. Just last week. He's never studied anything as far as we know. In a water bending family, have you ever heard of such a thing?"

Talia motioned with her hands excitedly , affirming everything her friend was saying and staring at the Stranger expecting answers.

"You'd be surprised," Ahn-Chu replied. "I came from a nonbending family in the earth kingdom. I know several Airbenders who came from the water tribes some of them even grew up in waterbending families."

"If you want I'd be happy to teach your brother a thing or two," he mentioned to the water tribe girl.

"It was crazy.." Talia started and she recounted the tale again as the three stood on the beach, the sun slowly rose over them and the waves creeped closer to their ankles.

Azurfa busied herself watching ParrotDolfins jumping playful out in the ocean. She wandered down to where the waves were breaking, leaving the two to talk. Sitting in the soft beige sand, she wiggled her gery-blues toes in the white foam and waited for the tide to rise around her. Her head was swimming but she took more sips from the bottle she snagged out if Talias gesturing hands.

She could hear Talia laughing, and she glanced over her shoulder, sizing up the tall bald air bender. His robes we're a brilliant orange. She wondered where they came from. Where he came from. She had been diplomatically involved with the water and fire nations, and of course earth.. but she new little about the Air people.

Ahn-Chu listened to the story of this new airbender patiently. For his part he did his best to tell Talia about a culture that was still new to him.

It wasn't long though until both women's attention was grabbed by the return of Pumpky. The big white bison kicked up a small sandstorm covering them with sand. Ahn-Chu sputtered and brushed the sand out of his eyes.

"This fine fuzzy fellow is Pumpky," he said patting the the big guys furry head. "He's my sky bison."

Azurfa was starting to think about how good some food might be when she heard the animal land in the beach behind her. She whipped her head around on excited, Sprung to her feet and sprited to the sand to greet the creature.

The women met the air bison with delight, petting and hugging and running their fingers through his thick fur. The cooed and made baby noises at the enourmous beast, the man beside it nearly forgotten.

The great bison turned his head towards this new friend. He let out a thunderous bellow and licked her with a tongue larger than she was.

Ahn-Chu laughed scratching the two ton beast behind his ear. "Looks like he likes you," he commented. "How would you two like a ride?"