spark || lin beifong

Chapter II - Introduction Part 2

She left to get her share of food and settled at the front deck of the ship where she ate and watched as Republic City materialized before her eyes. Seeing as she had figuared out the time, Leia expected there to be some kind of city-noise that you'd typically expect from a place meant to the the capital of the melting pot of cultures.

Her eyes immediately glue themselves to the giant statue of the famed Avatar Aang. Well, muffins. I'm actually here.

The blue of color of the bay glimmered and twinkled in the light of the sun. Birds Leia had only seen in books flew ahead, sqwaking in all their morning glory. Leia continued to scan through the scenery and was taken aback slightly by the sight of Kyoshi Bridge. It was towering and mighty, much like the avatar it was named after. She's my favorite Avatar. I mean Aang's great too, but imagine what it felt like living in an era when the Avatar basically took continental drift into her own hands.

Soon, the boat Leia had stayed on for the past 3 days had docked and she had all her belongings ready to go in a giant duffel bag that towered nearly a foot over her head. She stepped onto the wooden port and relished in the feeling of being somewhere new... and considerably hotter. The sun-kissed breeze finally became a little more noticeable for the teen.

Scrunching her face at the feeling of warm humid sea-air sticking to her face, she complains out loud, "Gosh, it's sweltering here, how do people even live getting cooked under the sun?"

"It'll take some getting used to, but Katara and Sokka didn't seem to mind much," a deep voice reverberated from behind her. Leia produced a small "eep!" and let her eyes grow wide in response to the sound and turned around in surprise. The sight before her made her eyes widen more. Holy mother of eel hounds! May Tui and La guide my soul out safely, it's the Avatar himself!

Leia immediately gathered herself, straightened up, putting her left opened fist to meet with her right one that was closed, and bowed, "Avatar Aang, sir! What an honor to meet you!" It was quite a big mistake since the duffel bag that was very much heavier than it looked weighed on her head as she did so and almost stumbled forward if not for her quick reaction time. "Eek!" Her face was about to hit the ground so her arms immediately outstretched themselves and made contact with the ground, bending them slightly to reduce the strain, and then pushing with all her might to stand up once more.

The balded man before her simply smiles a cheeky grin. "That was quite a move you got there."

Leia's eyes widened even more. He was complimenting her. "I trained under Mastar Katara, sir! She helped me bulk up quite a bit and improved my reaction time greatly!" She then cringed, realizing she was shouting like a maniac, and quickly shrank, bowing her head in embarrassment. "Sorry for yelling, sir. I'm just really excited to be in Republic City. Most of the things I've been seeing so far are things I've only seen in books. I'm Telepyleia of the Southern Watertribe, sir."

The man towering over her only laughed once more. "It's fine, Miss Telepyleia. Katara has told me so much about you. You're welcome to stay on Air Temple Island for as long as you need to."

Leia immediately shakes her head, putting her thumbs under the straps of her backpack out of habit. "Thank you, sir, but really, I'll make sure to only stay a few months at most. My parents have given me enough money to at least jumpstart my education so all I need to do is look for a job."

Avatar Aang then ushered her to follow him as he started to walk off the port. Leia followed closely, stared at the cloak the air nomad wore and blinked several times. This is all real. I can't believe I'm really here in Republic City, walking just a few feet after one of its founders, the Avatar no less!