spark || lin beifong

Chapter II - Introduction Part 2

"I think I'm gonna vomit."

"Oh no, okay, hold on."

Aang commands Appa to go faster and dive down which makes the feeling much worse for Leia. She grips her mouth with one hand while the other hangs onto the edge of the saddle to keep herself from falling. Leia barely registers them flying past Aang's statue before they've landed and she's quick to jump off the saddle despite her wobbly legs. Aang goes down after her and she approaches him and whines through her mouth.

"HmmmmMMM!!?" Leia sounded and Aang somehow understood it as "where can I puke?" He points in the general direction of the water and Leia doesn't hesitate to run and relieve herself.

Feeling thoroughly embarrassed, Leia bent the vomit-tainted portion of the bay water down below and drew the newly risen water to clean at her mouth, using it to calm her upset stomach. She focused on letting her insides settle, the water glowing a bioluminescent blue, and then moved forward to letting the water climb up her arm and onto her shoulder to further heal the wound she drew blood from.

After a few minutes, her healing was successful and she splashed some water onto her face to refresh herself. She bent it off her skin just as easily and took a look at her reflection in the water to render herself presentable.

She stood up, shook her shoulders a bit before returning to the spot where Appa had landed. Leia was surprised to see that the bison along with her duffel bag was nowhere to be seen. She looked around and only now noticed the presence of other people on the island.

They were all very much focused on going about their tasks for a day. One of them walked by and smiled at Leia, a gesture which she returned.

She looked around her and saw Aang walking through a roofed hallway. He was looking at her with a kind smile and gestured for Leia to follow him. Once she was underneath the sheltered path and beside Aang, he spoke as they walked towards a room that looked like it could be the mess hall, "The Air Acolytes brought your things to the room we've prepared for you."

Leia's embarrassment just got worse and she frantically replied, "They didn't need to do that. That was really heavy, Aang. I could've carried the duffel bag on my own."

Aang shook his head and laid a hand on her shoulder. She would've screamed at the interaction if it weren't for her rationality reeling her composure in. He replied in an earnest tone, "Nonsense, Leia. You're our guest." Leia felt her heart swell at his gesture. If there was one more thing the books didn't pay justice to, it's the depiction of Aang's kindness. Katara and Aang were giving her parents a run for their money with the way they're treating her. She smiled at him in gratitude, "Thank you so much for this."

He gave her shoulder a quick squeeze. "Come on, I'll give you a quick tour. And before I lead you to your room, I'll introduce you to someone."

Seeing as Air Temple Island was a relatively small patch of earth in the midst of the city bay, Leia didn't have much trouble getting familiar with the placement of everything. As she's shown everything, she thought her favorite spot would have to be the garden with the different plants and flowers she'd seen. Leia knew from that moment that it was going to be a place she'd frequently visit and stay at.

Then, she was lead to a place where there was a man that was easily almost a spitting image of the man who she was currently striding beside her, arrows and all. He was wearing pants similar to that of Aang's but was currently naked from the waist up. Leia immediately gathered that he was training, or that he was doing some routine or exercise. Aang and Leia walked nearer to the man whom Leia could now see was air bending. The younger version of Aang was in front of a contraption she'd never seen before. The man was doing several stances in front of it, looking like he was sparring with the air itself. Aang had stopped walking and watched the boy from a distance, Leia following suit.