The Warrior And The Pacifist

Omashu

Omashu was perhaps one of the very few Earthen cities that Leki had any knowledge on. Built atop the Kolau Mountain Range, the city served as a monument to a pair of lovers long since passed on. As far as Earthland cities went, Omashu was possibly the most technologically advanced. A testament to Earthlander ingenuity all throughout the massive city a series of chutes had been constructed to aid in the transportation of cargo from one end to the other, using a mixture of earthbending and gravity.

Leki had expected the city to be huge but as she guided Pungsan over a mountain peek she was taken aback by its size, while not as large as Ba Sing Se it was by no means small and no less impressive. As the city grew forever closer she could see a single lane road leading up to a wall around the city perimeter. She thought the wall was a bit redundant given Omashu position but she wasn't an architect and she supposed whoever had built the wall had done it as a precaution more than anything else.

She glanced over her shoulder, her eyes falling on Tamura who was curled up at the very back of Pungsan's saddle, a bit of black cloth pulled over his eyes to form a makeshift blindfold. She had noticed quickly that Tamura didn't sleep at night, instead he stayed up to watch over Leki while she slept, he had told her that the Earthlands were full of danger and not all of them human, telling her it wouldn't be wise for them to both be asleep and risk a carnivorous animal sneaking up on them. Though she suspected he was less worried about animals and more worried about people.

So instead of sleeping at night he would sleep during the day as they traveled, but his sleep never seemed to be a restful one. He stirred often and seemed to be saying Matsushima in his sleep over and over. She quickly came to the conclusion that whoever Matsushima was, they had been someone close to him. It made Leki wonder if when she slept did she say Yengi's name? If she did Tamura never said anything.

"Ava- Tamura...we're here." Leki said softly, trying not to scare him awake, she had heard that for some who had seen terrible things scaring them awake could have unintended violent consequences. Though Leki was quickly learning that Tamura wasn't the blood thirsty monster she had originally believed he was, she didn't want to break that streak any time soon, especially after what he had said last night.

Tamura groaned as he sat up, removing his blindfold and blinking rapidly as his eyes readjusted to the sunlight. "The Palace is at the summit of the city."

Leki smiled. "Believe it or not I knew that, the Western Library had a book on the layout of the city. Though our book may be a little out of date, the city looks like it has more buildings than the diagram I saw."

Tamura seemed surprised but only briefly. "Impressive." Was his only reply.

Flying over the city walls and towards the summit Leki could see that down below people who were on the streets would look up When Pungsan's shadow cast over them, some actually waving up as they flew by. Leki felt obligated to wave back at them, feeling like she was one of those Fire Nation singing celebrities she had heard about that toured around the Fire Islands putting on concerts that gathered crowds in the thousands. She wasn't so egotistical as to believe the people down there thought of her as a celebrity, it was most likely that they had never seen a Nomad or a bison before.

"The people here seem...livelier than those in Ba Sing Se." She commented.

"Probably because they are." Tamura responded. "The Kingdom of Quanchun enjoys more...freedom than many in Shaoliang could ever find. King Gemeng and his predecessors worked hard to make the kingdom stable, not just in its outward position but as well as its inner position, that meant keeping the lower class happy. In Quanchun a farmer can have dreams of being a regional Governor, in Shaoliang a farmer will always be a farmer."