The cold bit at him, no matter how many months Gitso spent in the tundra, he couldn’t get used to it. The cold was burrowed deep, down to the bone. What little Firebending technique he knew was all he could do to stave off death, beyond leaving the South Pole. He was safe here though, while he was still closer to the Fire Islands now than he had been before in the Earth Kingdom the cold helped the nightmares, he couldn’t stand the heat. The fireplace flickered in its own corner of the hut as Gitso sat as far away as possible from the flickering flame, steam emanating from his nostrils as he breathed out, heating himself ever so slightly.

“It doesn’t have to be this way Gitso.” He rolled his eyes as the feminine voice came out of thin air. The Former Avatar, the famous Si Wong. She who brought an end to wars within the Earth Kingdom and tamed the desert of her namesake. She had helped him in ways he could never have believed, teaching him how to master the Avatar State from beyond the grave, allowing him to bend in ways he could never imagine. He had hoped that she’d leave him alone once he escaped, instead she constantly came back. Preaching about his duty, and responsibility to the world.

“It does Si Wong. I never asked for this, I don’t want this. If I’m anywhere but here, I need to be the Avatar. It may be cold, it may be lonely, but here? Here I can just be Gitso, I go into town with fish and bump into hunters in the tundra and help them find their way. It’s a simple life, but it’s mine-”

“This is so much-”

“-bigger than me? If the world was in such a dire situation then why didn’t you do more? You’re the great Si Wong. Surprised you didn’t unite the world as one nation.” He chuckled slightly, picking up his rough wooden spoon he dove it into his bowl. His entire body shivered with disgust as the cold stew touched his tongue, he had become too lost in thought. Still, unable to waste the food he swallowed, shuddering as he did so. “The Great Si Wong, master of the desert. She couldn’t even bring peace to the Fire Islands.”

“I felt that in the nature of balance it was best in keeping the Fire Islands as separate entities rather than one all-powerful fire nation.”

“Yes, warlord nations are great in the name of balance-”

“The unification of the Earth Kingdom is as responsible for just as many issues as the Fire Isles. The difference is should the Earth Kingdom actually succeed in uniting the various states, and the Fire Isles unite into a nation. Who do you think they will fight then? They could alter the balance of the very world in fact-”

Gitso slammed his spoon down. “Enough. You’re not dragging me into this debate again. You keep forgetting, that I don’t care. I was sold by my family to a ruthless warlord, I saw things and was made to do things that I can’t even begin to describe. When I close my eyes-” Tears began to stream down his face, warm paths left behind on his near-frozen cheeks. “-All I feel is the searing heat they used to burn me again and again until I did what they wanted from me. I agree with what you want for the world, really I do. It’s just not for me, I don’t want to be the Ava-”

Before he could finish the sentence the wall behind him exploded, Si Wong disappeared as he was thrown clear across the igloo and into the opposing wall.




The Caravan of Toz moved through the wastes. The winds carrying the heat of the desert, it would only get hotter as they ventured deeper towards the city. The path they followed was rough, the road was worn down by the foot of man and beast. The carriages bumped and rocked as they traversed the uneven surfaces, several times they had to stop their progress in order to recover goods that had fallen off a cart. The first time Toz had been understanding, the second he had issued a warning. The third time the one whos cart forced the caravan to come to a halt had received five lashes, since then they had increased the pace and as of yet, nobody had called for them to stop. Such was the way it should be.

He turned his head as he heard one of the Komodo Rhinos come tearing up the line towards him. Nodding at the face of one of his most trusted generals. “General Shaó. How can I help you?”

“In no way Sir, I am merely here to inform you that the hawks have returned. We will be at Si Wong City by day break on the morn. Shall I send away a hawk to have them prepare for your arrival?”

Toz shook his head. “No. I want them to catch them unaware, the last thing I want is for them to steal my Avatar again and have them fight us. By this point, the Avatar may have mastered all four elements, we can’t give them time to prepare.”

Jemmu knew that the best outcome possible had been achieved when Kyouna managed to cause the thugs to back off, but he was still left with an inescapable feeling of disappointment. As crazy as it might sound to nearly anyone else, Jemmu was more than eager to take advantage of any situation in which he could pit his bending against someone else’s. If it wasn’t for that fact that it would be highly improper, he would have challenged Kyouna to a friendly sparring match ages ago - if only because he simply didn’t have the opportunity to practice against Waterbenders all that often. After observing what Kyouna did with the boiling tea, Jemmu was more excited to see what else she could do. Thinking of all the possibilities was making him a bit hyper, so he proceeded to engage himself in some stretching, if only to expend some of the pent up energy that had begun to grow within him. Now all he wanted to do was anything that could get his blood pumping.

“That thing you did with the tea was really, really cool! Can you make icicles and shoot them like this?” Jemmu motioned with his arms to truly emphasize his point, though it was only a brief interlude before he resumed his stretching, practically jumping up and down as he did so. It was as the adrenaline was passing through his body that his mind finally returned to the most pressing matter within the tea shop - the man that had been assaulted. Thus, Jemmu’s entire demeanor quickly shifted. It was time to be serious.

“He’s… he’s not going to die is he?” Jemmu wasn’t clueless when it came to first aid or tending minor wounds, but he had to admit that he wasn’t exactly in his comfort zone. The man had been sent through the wall of a building. As far as Jemmu could know, there was a possibility of internal bleeding or dozens of other life-threatening injuries. Just thinking about it made his head spin. Jemmu was aware that Waterbending offered healing properties; he could only hope that Kyouna was a skilled healer. There just wasn’t a lot he could pull off on his own, and he’d be more than happy to help in any way that he could.

Jemmu returned with the clean water that Kyouna had requested. Fortunately, it wasn’t that difficult to attain, considering that they were in a tea shop, and all he could do next was hope for the best as he handed it off to Kyouna. The power of healing through Waterbending greatly fascinated Jemmu, and it was a skill he wished that he could learn. Of course, he knew that was impossible for obvious reasons. It was then that it dawned upon him that they hadn’t even bothered to ask the man what his name was. At the very least, it could serve as a ploy to help maintain the man’s consciousness for only a while longer, and that could only be a good thing. Before he could formulate the words in his mouth, Kyouna seemed to have the same idea and she beat Jemmu to it. It was then that he heard a far away sound to his left.

As the door opened, Jemmu nearly shouted out that the shop was closed, but he stayed silent upon seeing the person who had just entered the tea shop. Hiro. An intense feeling of dread was already beginning to wash over him. As for Kyouna and the man, it was unlikely that they had ever met Hiro before, and that was only to their benefit. Hiro was a protege of Jemmu’s father, which was noteworthy, considering that the two of them were polar opposites in nearly every aspect. Even Jemmu would rather keep his distance whenever he had a choice in the matter. Truthfully, the only positive trait that could be ascribed upon Hiro was the man’s undying loyalty towards Jemmu’s father - which was probably the only reason why the One-Eyed Dragon even trusted Hiro in carrying out his will at all.

Hiro casually entered the shop, seemingly ignoring the three other people that shared the room with him. The Firebender whistled in awe once he laid his devious eyes upon that damage that had been done to the tea shop.

“Hiro! What are you doing here?” Jemmu knew that it was a pointless question as soon as it had left his lips. It was clear that Hiro had come for him, and that only caused his heart to leap into his throat.

Hiro smiled at Jemmu’s question. Jemmu gritted his teeth as soon as he realized that Hiro was openly mocking him. For that moment at least, it ended up not going further as Hiro promptly chose to ignore Jemmu instead.

“I am deeply sorry for the tragedy that has befallen your shop. If you require anything at all, do not hesitate to contact me or Zhou.” After Hiro gave Kyouna a short bow, Jemmu could swear that he noticed Hiro look at the wounded man with great disdain. “Instead of rebuilding, it may serve you to move this shop to the Fire District. I can assure you that you won’t have any issues there. Rogue benders are swiftly dealt with.”

Following the brief exchange with Kyouna, Hiro began to approach Jemmu, and that was where the boy lost his nerve, slowly backing away so that he could maintain distance from the man. This didn’t last long, especially after Jemmu nearly tripped over an adjacent chair. He chose to hold his ground after this, and so did Hiro, who still had a menacing smile upon his face. Jemmu returned the gesture with his own look of defiance.

“I was quite surprised when my men told me that you weren’t responsible for this… destruction. You didn’t have anything to gain from doing so, of course, but that didn’t stop you from senselessly destroying the statue of Avatar Si Wong either.”

So Jemmu had been right. There were men who were watching the tea shop in case Jemmu had attempted to slip away. Given the present situation, he could only assume that it wouldn’t have made a difference if he had chosen to do so. After all, Hiro had to be here to drag Jemmu to the monastery - he couldn’t think of any other reason why Hiro would bother coming to the tea shop.

“It wasn’t on purpose. I didn’t mean to…” Jemmu’s voice had gone low, becoming little more than a mutter.

“Accident or not, the result was a damaged statue.” Hiro crossed his arms as he looked down at Jemmu. “Berating you isn’t worth my time. Remove the apron - you’re coming with me.”

Siyu was already beginning to try to push off the floor before being taken aback starkly as this young woman bore down upon him, making him drop once more to the floor in surprise. A flurry of movement and words, an admonition for moving that left Siyu with just enough courage to mutter, "I-I'm..." before she asked him if anything in particular hurt. He had forgotten about the pain in the wake of her energy, but the question brought it flooding back. Intense embarrassment for being in such a situation, so vulnerable to another, rapidly entered his heart as Siyu's eyes fluttered and he looked away, "Y-you can heal? I think..." He closed his eyes and tried to narrow down the pain, "I think they fucked up my back..."

But there was little time before the younger man returned with water and the woman requested his name. "Siyu," was all he could say to the woman, his eyes never making connection with either of the two before yet another visitor burst into the shop. The new person's energy screamed 'prick', strolling inside towards Kyouna and Siyu. Siyu listened carefully as he tried to examine the man, distinctly aware of how vulnerable Siyu was, and distinctly aware of a glare that Siyu assumed was because he was a Sandbender, Yep... fuckin' prick alright... Yet there was little he could do in this situation as the pain and embarrassment increased further. Hearing the man demand the young boy come with him forced Siyu to bite his lip, feeling he'd only worsen the situation.

---

𝓚𝓨𝓞𝓤𝓝𝓐

𝓚𝓨𝓞𝓤𝓝𝓐

---

”Not if I have anything to say about it.”, she said gently to Jemmu, trying to calm his worries before focusing her attention back on their guest. She listened to him carefully, not surprised that his back was the biggest problem seeing as it had taken the brunt force of the shop wall. It wasn’t going to be easy to help that along in the healing and was probably not going to be a pleasant experience. She knew she could handle stitching him back together but it was going to be a lot worse before it got better. Kyouna nodded softly, thanking Jemmu for the water as she scooted it a bit closer. ”Don’t worry, Siyu. I will have you back on your feet in no time.”, she replied with a soft smile, trying to keep him calm. Kyouna was about to warn him about the unpleasantness he might feel before getting started when a new guest entered her shop.

She turned her attention to the man that entered, feeling a chill run down her spine at the look on his face. The aura he exuded made her on edge and leery of what he could do since she had a child as well as someone in a vulnerable state that would need her if anything went sideways. He was not someone she felt comfortable having in her company but it was best to play it safe for now and not make a move. Her turquoise eyes darted between Jemmu and the man she now knew as Hiro, wondering exactly what their connection was. She didn’t like the tone of the boy’s voice and the question made her worry about why he was here now. Kyouna kept her expression neutral even though she was annoyed by Hiro’s mocking smile and lack of manners at answering a simple question.

She didn’t want his attention on her but unfortunately, she had it anyway. Kyouna listened to his words, giving a small bow of her head to show some respect as he had shown her but moved herself in front of Siyu as to block the disdainful gaze that Hiro shot. If she could keep herself as a shield or keep his focus on her that would be better for all of them. ”Thank you for your kind words. I will take your generous offer into consideration but this place has special meaning to me and I am not sure I could part with it. A lot of love and care went into this shop.”, she answered politely, not moving her eyes from him. A frown graced her features as he approached Jemmu, fearing that something might happen but stuck where she was since Hiro had not made a move to harm anyone which meant she had no right to attack.

She didn’t like how he treated the boy that had been placed under her care for now. Why was he even here when Jemmu’s parents had worked out a deal with her? It felt like this had been the plan all along and giving someone hope to rip it away didn’t seem right or fair. Kyouna stood, making sure to keep herself between Hiro and Siyu as she spoke, making sure she was ready if this turned ugly. ”Excuse me, but does he really have to go? As you can see, my shop is in quite the disrepair and it would be helpful to have another set of hands to help out for the day. I would also feel more comfortable hearing from his parents if Jemmu will continue serving out his punishment here or not. We both understand the actions he took and the mistake he has made but he has been working quite diligently here to absolve himself of those past actions. I wish for him to remain here to learn that lesson if that would be acceptable.”

Xonsu took a deep breath. “Okay.” He paced around the room, unsettled his energy twirly and chaotic. “Okay, Okay, Okay.” He sighed. “You want him to be part of your life…” She nodded. “So that rules out sending him away to one of the air temples, which means training him here which means that we’re probably going to get found out.” She nodded again. He stopped as there was a knock at the door, and he rolled his eyes groaning. “What now?” He walked over the door, indicating for Tuo Po just to stay sitting where she was. Opening the door an acolyte stood there bowing his head out of respect, too which Xonsu returned the gesture.

“Pardon the intrusion Monk Xonsu. However, reports are coming in that Warlord Toz has been sighted at the edges of the desert. We expect him to come into the city by the end of the day.”

Xonsu sighed that’s exactly the kind of day he was having. Of course, Toz was a lot closer than was expected. Why wouldn’t he be? He turned to Tuo Po. “Excuse me, this needs my attention. I’ll send a hawk for you first chance I get.” She nodded as she stood up and bowed her head.

“I understand. I’ll await your Hawk.” She bowed towards the Acolyte as she walked out and around the halls.

Xonsu turned back to the acolyte and indicated down the hall as he followed him, walking along. “We must prepare the temple for his arrival.”

“Do you truly believe he would attack us here?”

Xonsu nodded. “If Toz believes that the Avatar is here then there may be no way to stop him from attacking us. If the rumors are true he held the Avatar for several years before they managed to escape his compound. That was years ago now, but he clearly is still hoping to find the Avatar and use them as his ultimate weapon.” He paused. “Move all of the scrolls out of the temple, have them sent to the Eastern temple. I don’t want to lose anything from our history in the city or any of our training methods.” He sighed. His mind still reeling from the revelation from Tuo Po, the fact that he had a son and now the news that the most brutal warlord from the Fire Islands was on his way here, to visit the city and spend some time at the Air Temple. This was not a great day.