Chapter 3: The Safe House
(A/N Seeing as though there isn't much to the journey where they hardly speak to one another, I'm going to speed up to where they get to the safe house.)
The Sato-Mobile left us off in the middle of nowhere. There were huge trees around us, but that was it. It wasn't until we had walked a good mile before we saw the first house. In the time it took us another mile to find the next house, I decided to find out why Chen was with us.
"Well," he said, "I'm almost 18 and father thought I should keep an eye on you." I have him a confused look.
"What does being 18 have to do with anything?" He laughed.
"You know, the whole going out into the world for a year thing." I nodded, remembering. When a citizen comes to the age of 18, the must go out into the world for a year, and explore and discover it. This gives them an option of staying down in Cakuho, or staying in the upper world. Going on this expedition is mandatory because knowing the dangers of the outside world shows you what you need to learn, whether or not you stay up there.
I knew that my brother was using his time to make sure I'm safe up in the world. Knowing he would never listen to my reasoning of him going and exploring, I stopped talking, and was glad when Miro started along the pathway to the front door of the next house.
Even though I tried to exercise daily, nothing could exactly prepare me for walking a couple miles. The house was mud-colored with hints of green, and it seemed to melt into the trees. Whoever had built it wanted to make sure it could blend in easily. It had many windows and wide doorways. So this is the Safe House, I thought.
A couple seconds after Zen Whi had rang the doorbell, a man's voice called out, "Just a minute!" Suddenly, the slot in the door slid open and very regal looking orange eyes looked back at us. I knew immediately that he was a Firebender because his eyes looked like tiny little flames themselves.
"Is there something I can help you with?" the man asked. Vashmu made tisk tisk sound.
"Honestly, how could you not recognize the Members of the White Lotus?" he asked. The man rolled his eyes, and said," You could be impostors. And even if one if those 2 is the Avatar, I wouldn't believe it unless they proved it."
It was as if Avatar Korra whispered it into my ear. The name Mako entered my thoughts and I knew that that was his name. Thanks, Avatar Korra, I thought. And, seeing as though they were friends for quite some time, I knew exactly what to say.
"Says the man who stands behind a doorway with only a slit for the eyes, waiting for danger, only to find a pleasant conversation. There's no need to be so uptight, Mako." His eyes, which had been focused on Vashmu swiveled over to where I was. From the way the skin around his eyes crinkled, I could tell he was smiling.
"Only the Avatar could say something that had Korra's wit, and yet, still make it very polite." He pulled open the door. "Come on in." I was surprised he hadn't locked the door.
As soon as I walked in, it was hard to keep my mouth closed. There was so many things that I didn't know the names of. Like that black boxy looking thing with the alphabet on it. Or those odd short wooden handles with a curved blade on them. Or the jewel encrusted swords on the wall. Even though Mako was a Firebender, you could tell an Earthbender lived here too. There were plants on the window sills, lifting weights in the corner, and that moist feeling of dirt in the air. There is also a short table with an unfinished Pai Sho game on it.
I must've been staring for awhile because Mako said, "I see you've seen never a house quite like this." I shook my head and quit staring. "Compared to others in the Earth Kingdom," he said, going on, "this isn't quite as extravagant."
"Then you haven't seen her village," Vashmu mutters. Mako crossed his arms and gave Vashmu a look of disgust. I was starting to really like this guy.
"I have been all over the Earth Kingdom," Mako says, "and I think I know what I'm talking about." I step forward before a verbal argument. breaks out. "It's quite alright," I say. "Where I'm from, the houses are much smaller."
"And I believe we should be getting down to business," Miro says. Mako nods and gestures at the table. "Please," he says, "make yourselves at home. I'll brew us some tea." I wait until everyone is seated to make sure I don't sit in someone else's seat.
In the few minutes it takes Mako to set up and make the tea tray, nobody speaks. I just sit there, staring at my hands in my lap. I look up when he comes in.
As he walked in, I decided to take note of his physical features. He had dark black hair with silver streaks at the roots. He looked old, but in no way frail. You could see the muscles in his neck and arms. Once he set out the tea, we began.
"So tell me," Mako said, "where are you two from?" I looked over at Chen, checking to see if it was okay. I wanted to make sure I didn't spill any big ol' secrets.
"We're from a small underground village called Cakuho," I replied. Mako frowned and asked, "Why would it be underground?" I sighed, knowing it was going to be a long story.
"During the Hundred Year War," I began, "the leader of our village (which at the time was above ground) decided he needed to find a way to keep his village safe. He had been hearing about the attacks in other parts of the Earth Kingdom, and he didn't want his village to suffer the same fate. So, he wanted us to go away somehow. And, we were small enough to without being noticed.
"But, the only problem was, where was he going to hide his village? He couldn't just go into the wilderness. The Fire Nation soldiers would burn it down and trap everyone. They couldn't stay out in the desert, they would die of dehydration. Then he remembered that when he was younger, he liked to hide things underground. When he would go looking for them, he would forget they were underground and not even look there.
"So, he took his greatest workers, and went to the most deserted place he could find. In this case, it was a vast field with a huge lake nearby. He knew that when they were underground, they could just pump water from the lake. It took about 2 years to build the city underground. But getting everyone accustomed to the underground conditions was tricky. They eventually got the hang of it, and we've been living that way ever since."
"Now here's my question," Mako said. "Why are you guys still underground?" He leaned back on his hands, awaiting an answer, his eyebrows raised.
"It's kinda like you and your slot," Chen answered. "You feel that it is a necessary precaution because you've had the need for it before and have never really gotten around to taking it down. It's the same with us. We've needed to stay underground to stay out of danger. Even though that particular threat is no longer out there, we still stay underground. It protects us from other dangers." Mako nodded, satisfied with the answer.
"Mako," said Miro, "we need to discuss the plans for what is going to happen next. How is she going to be trained? Is her Earthbending at a satisfactory rate? We need answers, Mako. For twenty years, all we've been doing is searching." Mako held up his hand to stop him.
"I understand that, Miro. But I still remember what Korra told me what she wanted to happen." Vashmu laughed. "And what exactly was it she wanted?" he sneered. Mako's nostrils flared and I could hear the breath he let out.
"I will have you know that I hold Avatar Korra in high regard even though she is dead, and even though you do not. You may think that you can disrespect her anywhere else, but you will not disrespect her in front of me!" Mako's face was tomato red and looked about ready to punch Vashmu in the face.
"Why don't we just talk about that wish," Zen Whi suggested. I nodded, wanting to hear all about it. Before we could speak any further, there was a knock at the door.
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So, I know this was a long chapter, but I just had so much to explain. I loved writing this chapter a lot!!
Ciao! -Lauren
P. S. Sorry for the clif hanger again. I just felt the chapter was too long as it was.
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Avatar: The Earthbending Revolution
Fanfiction(Strays from what's cannon) Avatar Korra has been dead for almost 20 years, and people are starting to doubt there will be another avatar. Ever since Raava was ripped out of her, and her connection with the past avatars was lost, Korra always had a...
