THE AIR MASTER {LOK/ATLA}

(IV)

"Alright, a little lighter on your feet, Dad. Remember, airbending is a defensive art, so you must try to be as evasive as you can," I told him. "Besides, stomping that much isn't good for your knees."

"Don't worry about me, sweetheart. I've been in a scrap or two, you know. Ha ha!" Dad assured me, before turning to Kai. "Oh, you're just a youngster, so I'm gonna go easy on ya. Wouldn't want to hurt a kid..."

Kai didn't even let him finish before sweeping his legs from the floor with his bending and making my dad land face-first on the floor. I sighed heavily. "Jinora, care telling my dad what he did wrong this time?"

"Uncle Bumi, you've got to work on your stance changes," Jinora said, and I nodded.

"Looks like we got to train some more. Kai, good work. Jinora, care to take my dad to the infirmary?"

Jinora nodded. "Come with me, Uncle Bumi. Kai, you did great."

"Thanks Jinora, you're a great teacher," Kai said with a grin, before clearing his throat when turning to me. "I mean! You both are! I didn't mean to say you weren't, Master Zaya—"

"Yeah, yeah, go get some water, kid," I sighed, rolling my eyes as he walked off.

"Did I drop my wallet?" Dad asked from the other side of the deck.

I sighed once again. "Give the wallet back, Kai."

Jinora giggled with him and they tossed the wallet around to mess with my dad. Honestly, it was silly, and I was really glad to see Kai adapt to being with us so fast.

"You really are a good teacher, Zaya. You have so much patience and knowledge, it's like watching a younger and funnier version of Tenzin," Asami said with a smile.

I shrugged. "Thanks. You learn this after being stuck on Air Temple Island with no other entertainment than teaching three little airbenders all day, everyday."

"You make it sound so boring, but it's an incredible honor."

"Well, yeah, unless they also happen to be your cousins, so you're obligated to change their diapers, too," I retorted with a frown.

"This is it, Mako! We made it! This is where Dad grew up! Come here! Look, look!" I heard Bolin yell from the railing above.

Apparently, we had made it to Ba Sing Se.

"Okay, calm down, I'm looking," Mako assured him calmly.

I knew the city of Ba Sing Se was divided by walls, and I knew the walls themselves separated the poorer districts from the richer ones. But this was something a lot worse than I anticipated. The minute we flew over the Lower Ring, I could see many people sleeping on the streets, which were themselves littered with trash and only had small, wrecked houses. The smell from below stung my nostrils.

"I knew the Lower Ring wasn't as luxurious, but this is a lot worse than I thought," I told Asami, while still pinching my nose.

She nodded. "It smells like ten different animals died here."

The Middle Ring wasn't so bad. It looked a lot more like a regular town with regular people, and it didn't smell badly at all. My Air Nomad values were telling me not to judge the people living in the Lower Ring or compare them with those in the Middle Ring, but my regular self couldn't deny that I did have a preference between them.

We finally reached the palace, which was located in the very center of the Upper Ring, in other words, at the center of the city. Things were really beautiful and luxurious here. There were more things made of gold here than I'd seen in my entire life.