Book 4: Winds from Tomorrow [Action: May 30th-June 1]

[savedtheworld]

[Action: Days 5-7]

[It's odd for Aang, waking up in House 56. What is this, some sort of bunked bed? He can't remember whatever led him to sleep there. Doesn't this violate his decision to maintain some distance from his younger friends? He slips out of the house early in the morning, or tries to. It's possible that anyone else in the household could have caught him before he was able to leave.

Aang spends the rest of the day and the next two days going back to his daily routine. He meditates in the forest near Avatar House. He goes through town, either casually strolling or zipping through on his Air Scooter, to stay social. On Day 5, he also has to set up his tent near his meditation spot again. Where could his old tent have gone?]

[ooc: Aang is aged up (kinda)-canonically to around his 40s. He also remembers Luceti in an alternate way where he was brought here at this age. The shift has also caused some memory fluctuations (who's that Yakone fellow again?), although the possibility always remains that he's actually from a somewhat alternate version of canon (aka my handwave if my few assumptions get jossed)

Replies come from beardofbalance.]

Comments

Day 6

[markofthebrave]

[Oh, mercy, a beard contest.]

It's not... quite the same thing, you know.

Day 6

[beardofbalance]

[He sighs.] Yeah, yeah. But it still looks pretty neat, right?

Day 6

[markofthebrave]

Yes, it looks pretty neat. [Small smile.] You're very handsome.

[For a guy old enough to be my dad.]

Day 6

[beardofbalance]

[Perhaps a very similar conversation happened when he first grew the beard. His cheeks still do glow faintly, coming from someone young enough to be their daughter. He the rubbed the beard confidently.]

Thanks, Katara. It's been a while since I've heard a compliment like that. [Since the last time he can remember leaving home.]

Day 6

[markofthebrave]

[She resolutely ignores that blush. It was a compliment to an older version of her friend and there was nothing weird about it. Just... there was something weird about all this.

..."became sweeties."

No, she's not thinking about that right now.]

If you remember living out here the whole time, I can see why.

[Isolation = bad; Community = good.]

If you're so set against staying with us, then why aren't you in town?

[Making new friends and getting complimented on your beard.

...why does thinking that way feel weird?]

Day 6

[beardofbalance]

[He's been trying for the best of both worlds.]

I wanted to try something more like a classic monk lifestyle. I still make time to go through town. And there are a number of interesting people who happen upon my campsite, whom I wouldn't have been able to meet otherwise. And it helps me connect with nature, too! Moro actually complimented me yesterday.

Day 6

[markofthebrave]

You've always had a way with really big spirit animals.

Day 6

[beardofbalance]

[He laughs.]

Like good old Hei Bai, right? Of course, Moro's really picky compared to the spirits back home, so I felt special. At least I can still be a spirit bridge of some kind around here.

Day 6

[markofthebrave]

She's always liked you.

Day 6

[beardofbalance]

Oh, she has? I feel even more honored.

Day 6

[markofthebrave]

She has good taste.

[...]

Sometimes.

Day 6

[beardofbalance]

Hopefully not literally. But yeah, she does seem to have very strong opinions on the nature of man.

Day 6

[markofthebrave]

[This... isn't telling her what she wants to know.]

She had a daughter here for a long time. San. She was adopted.

Day 6

[beardofbalance]

[A quick nod.]

Ah yes. Moro mentioned her along with a sad story about a boy who tried to reason with the men burning her forest. She called the boy selfish... since he was trying to take San away from where she belonged, because he was in love with her. [He tried to focus on the fire as he said this. It's odd to say even that phrase about another set of people around this version of Katara.]

Day 6

[markofthebrave]

Really? She never mentioned him to me.

Day 6

[beardofbalance]

No? Well, she seemed to think I'd have done a better job than the boy. But who could tell.

Day 6

[markofthebrave]

A better job doing what? [Seducing San?]

Day 6

[beardofbalance]

Oh, of protecting the forest. She didn't know what would happen to the forest, but she thought that the boy was too selfish to save the forest because of his attachment to San. [A meek chuckle.] I'm not so perfect myself, but I like to think I could have pulled it off.

Day 6

[markofthebrave]

[Heh. Of course you could.]

It's nice to hear you believing in yourself like that.

Day 6

[beardofbalance]

Thanks. It's not so hard when the best people have already believed in you for such a long time.

Day 6

[markofthebrave]

So things are all working out all right?

Day 6

[beardofbalance]

[There's a slight pause, as he considers the gap in his memories.]

The last few decades have been kind to us. All of us. We've still had our shares of hardships and new responsibilities, but... we've also all experienced such happiness.

Day 6

[markofthebrave]

[She smiles a little bit.]

Tell me about it.

Day 6

[beardofbalance]

[He grins back at her].

Children. [How does he continue? How much does he tell? He grips his beard tightly and nervously looks around a few times.] Some of us... amongst our group... have had kids. Beautiful, wonderful kids. In fact... [He calms himself, releases his beard and gives an even brighter smile. There's that one bit he can't help but share] Katara, I'm not the last Airbender anymore.

Day 6

[markofthebrave]

[...wow, she. Really doesn't know what she feels about that, or what to say.

And neither did I, for the longest time.]

That's great, Aang.

[She forces herself through the strange feelings to connect to the part of herself that would always remember taking a twelve-year-old boy home only for him to find it a skeleton of itself.

For that feeling of aloneness

I'm so happy for you.