The Avatar's Xīn

The Journal

        Caishen sighs as he watches the small fleet of ships shrink in the distance as Aang guides Appa away through the sky. Slowly, the waving figures of Haru and his father shrink until they become small specks on the ship's surface. 

        "I can't believe the Fire Nation had them locked away like that." Caishen mumbles glumly, "Working them like slaves, it's not the way our nation should be, we used to coexist with the other nations."

        Caishen hears Aang hum in agreement from Appa's head as he focuses on navigating them through the clouds in the sky. "I know, Cai. Every day I'm reminded of just how much everything has changed. How much I've let everyone down."

        Katara speaks before Caishen gets the chance, "You haven't let anyone down, Aang. Every day since you've woken up, you've helped people as much as you can. You're making a huge difference. We all are."

        Aang acknowledges her words with a quiet hum but doesn't speak any more on the matter. His eyes stay locked on the horizon, seemingly deep in thought. 

        Sokka lets out a huff as he stares down at the water below. "I can't believe the Fire Nation were ever peaceful, and they definitely don't seem like the type to just coexist with other nations. All they want to do is burn any and everything-" Sokka's rant gets cut off by Katara's elbow jabbing into his side, a glare on her face as she jerks her head to the side in Caishen's direction. 

        Caishen sits at the back of the saddle, a frown on his face as his eyes continue to stare back at the horizon behind them. His fingers fidget in his lap as they tug on the hem of his shirt.

        Sokka rolls his eyes at his sister before sarcastically speaking again, "What I meant to say was...The Fire Nation is full of amazing and friendly people. All of which I'm sure is just a part of a huge misunderstanding."

        Caishen's eyes drift to Sokka, his frown deepening at his sarcastic tone as Katara smacks on the back of the head and she starts to chastise him quietly.

        "It's fine Katara." Caishen sighs, "I imagine it's hard to picture them as anything but what they've become. I wouldn't call my nation peaceful, that's one thing we never were. I mean, we solved our differences with Agni Kais, firebending fights that ended only once we burnt our opponent." 

        Caishen looks out to the horizon for a moment before continuing, "We were passionate though. In each of us, our fire burned bright and hot, pushing us onward toward our goals and dreams. And we coexisted peacefully with the other nations, our nation's highest-ranking officials would travel the world, visiting and learning from others."

        For a moment, Caishen thinks of Bao again. Remembering how he was the son of a general, and often would disappear for weeks at a time to visit the Earth Kingdom with his father. He remembered feeling jealous of his boyfriend then, longing to travel and see the rest of the world. Instead, he had to settle for hearing stories of what Bao had seen or done once he had returned home.

        "I personally never got the chance to leave my village, but from what I heard it was beautiful back then. Everyone trading goods and knowledge with each other. True balance between the four nations..." Caishen trails off as he gazes off into the distance again in deep thought as the two water tribe siblings look at each other before deciding to leave him to his thoughts for the time being.