Nazadori waited by the large, earthen gates separating the palace from the public, the same gates that she stood at when King Bumi's casket traveled through the streets of his beloved city. This time, though, tears weren't brimming her eyes. A smile actually appeared on her face when she saw each member of the White Lotus approaching her. Each of the old men (besides that waterbender, the man was a menace sometimes) had made such an impression on her in the past few days that they had been staying here with her, and she was sad that they were all going back to their homes. However, she had a lot of work to do now.
One of her earthbending butlers huffed and grunted on his way over to her, pushing an earthen cart against the ground. She was glad that all the goodie bags she designed and made all through the night were ready for the members of the White Lotus. She hoped they would enjoy the effort she put into these goodie bags, with the little pieces of Earth Kingdom desert she attempted to bake by herself at home along with the tiny bouquets of flowers she put together. By early morning, she ended up throwing whatever random object she found in her house into the goodie bags to complete them in time.
"Thank you for bringing this here," Nazadori said to the butler with a sweet smile on her face. The butler bowed, but she waved her hands at him quickly. "You don't need to do that. I'm just Nazadori, not the queen. Yet anyway."
The butler bowed again to her before walking away to wherever he needed to be. Her heart sunk in her chest as she watched his retreating form. The servants were supposed to listen to her, but he didn't today. Maybe she didn't have enough of an imposing voice or form. Or maybe it was against the rules to not bow to the monarch of the city. Whatever it was, she wasn't excited to experience that level of treatment. She was just Nazadori, a normal girl who had gotten thrown into this mess.
She shook off her bad feelings as the White Lotus finally made it to her. Nazadori plastered the smile back on her face, but it didn't feel that fake when she saw Iroh approach her first. Without saying a word, he opened his arms wide, and she fell into his embrace, grateful that he knew exactly what she needed just by looking at her. His hug was warm, and she realized it was something she never really had before, especially not with her family. Her mother, yes, loved her, but she never really hugged her like this, where Nazadori knew just how much she was loved.
"Thank you all for coming here," she said once she stepped out of Iroh's embrace. She smiled warmly at each man that stood around her. "It means a lot to me. I hope you enjoyed your time here, and I can't wait to see each of you again." She turned toward the earthen cart that sat right next to her and said, "I made each of you a goodie bag to take on the journey home. It has some snacks in it and other little treats for each of you."
"You didn't have to do that for us," Master Piandao said with a small smile on his face.
"Oh, I think it's nice that she's done this for us," Iroh said, already reaching for his own goodie bag. Nazadori stifled a laugh underneath a cough. "I appreciate all the baked goods, Miss Nazadori. I will surely enjoy them on my journey home."
Each member of the White Lotus took their goodie bags before they took their leave. Chariots were waiting for them outside the gates, and they all got into their respective one, leaving her all alone in the palace. It was absolutely silent around her, but she wasn't complaining about that. She didn't get much silence at home, so she had to enjoy it while she lasted along with being alone here.
"Did they already leave?"
Well, not entirely alone.
Nazadori whirled around and saw Avatar Aang hurrying toward her. Today, he wasn't wearing his formal robes like he had been around the members of the White Lotus and the other royal leaders of the world. Instead, he had on what seemed to be a normal set of yellow and brown robes, something that he could be actually comfortable in and move around easily.
Her eyes flicked back to his face before he noticed her prolonged gaze at his body and his clothes. Nearly getting caught by him, her cheeks heated up uncomfortably, and she hoped he didn't question her on why she was blushing. "Yes, they left," she quickly said, clearing her throat. "You just missed them."
The Avatar let out a sigh, raising on his toes to see the chariots that were traveling down the road. For a second there, it seemed like he was going to stay where he was, but then he gave her a wide grin before hitting his staff on the ground. Blue wings unfurled from the wooden staff, and then he was off, dust circling around her as he flew toward the White Lotus. The animals that were pulling the chariots shrieked in astonishment when they saw the Avatar land on the ground in front of them.
Nazadori also stood on her toes to try to see Avatar Aang, but she was too short to do so. Instead, she listened as hard as she could. A part of her mind wondered why she was so intent on trying to understand him, the Avatar, but she ignored that part of mind for right now as she heard snippets of conversation floating through the air closer and closer toward her. She could hear that they were talking about her because she heard her name on the breeze. She hoped they were all good things they were saying, not bad.
A cloud covered the morning sun, and Nazadori glanced up at the otherwise bright blue sky. She frowned when she realized that a cloud wasn't covering the sunlight; it was Avatar Aang circling back toward her! She moved out of the way as he landed lightly, his glider closing. There was a soft grin on his face as he stared out at the chariots as they drove away. "If there's a will," she said, chuckling, "there's a way."
"Very true." Aang laughed along with her. He shook his head for a second before adopting a serious look on his face. "I'm here to help you find the candidates for the council," Avatar Aang explained to her with a nod. His cheeks were reddened from his flight around Omashu, and his eyes were still faraway, like he wanted to be in the air. "As you already know, I will fulfil the Air Nomad role on your council because I'm the only one around."
Nazadori was surprised to hear him say that to her. Of course, she knew that he was going to be on her council, but he seemed almost . . . okay with saying that to her, like he had accepted his fate a long time ago. Maybe that happened during the war, when he had to save the world. She knew that if she was the last of her group, she wouldn't take it well.
"Thank you for helping me," she finally said to him. "I appreciate it."
"Of course." He offered her a smile, his eyes shining in the bright morning sun. "I need to know if I like the people I'm going to work with."
Laughter bubbled out of her mouth, and she covered it in embarrassment. She hadn't known that the Avatar had a sense of humor. As much as he had been through, she expected him to be serious and solemn, ready to take on anyone who challenged the balance he tried so hard for eternity to right. For a second there, she forgot that he was once a kid.
"The first candidate we're going to find," he continued after his own laughter died away, "is the Earth Kingdom one. The White Lotus, your own advisors, and I all have agreed that we will meet a few people per area and then choose based on how they answer our questions."
"Sounds good to me," she said. There was a small part in her mind that wondered why she wasn't part of that decision to begin with, but she tried to ignore it for right now. There were some things she didn't need to know about, for the sake of her mental health -- at least, that was what she told herself. "How are we going to get there?"
A grin formed on his face as he looked at something beyond her shoulder. She slowly turned around and saw the Avatar's large, white flying bison standing just beyond the gates, nudging at some straw on the ground. She hadn't noticed him standing there when the White Lotus were leaving. Was her mind that scattered that she didn't even notice a gigantic creature standing there? Perhaps. Or maybe some of the servants had brought him here.
"Is it safe?" she asked him as he started walking toward his flying bison. She hurried to catch up with him as fear started to grip her heart. She anxiously ran her fingers through her hair as she looked back at the Avatar.
His laughter echoed around her, sounding so angelic and happy. "Of course, Appa's safe," he said, patting the bison affectionately on his flank. "He's been through a lot, but he's still a great flyer." He glanced at Nazadori with a wide smile on his face, saying, "Are you ready?"
Avatar Aang held his hand out for her, and she took it gratefully. His hand was warm and soft, sending lightning bolts through her skin. His other hand gently rested on her waist as he easily jumped both of them up into the saddle on Appa, almost like she weighed nothing at all. For just a second there, they remained in that position, with him holding onto her tightly, her looking up into his stormy gray eyes. But then he jumped away from her, floating over to where the reins were.
Nazadori closed her eyes for just a moment, wondering why her heart was beating so quickly in her chest. Maybe it was because she was about to take off flying on a gigantic creature. Yes, that had to be it. Settling down in the leather saddle, she tried to ignore the way her heart thudded against her chest and how her head felt incredibly lightheaded.
The Avatar glanced over his shoulder with a wide smile on his face. Nazadori looked at him, trying to contain the blush spreading through her face. "Hold on tight. Appa flies really high." She watched as he turned back toward the front, his back ramrod straight. He snapped the reins, saying, "Yip yip."
Appa, the flying bison, walked forward, gaining speed. Before she knew it, they were launched into the air, the blue sky enveloping her. Her hideout on top of the mail system seemed better than this because she wasn't moving and flying through the air. All she had to do was sit there while thinking about things. Flying on Appa, it was something so different -- so scary -- than anything else she had ever done in her life before. It was not something she wanted to do more of.
Nazadori held in her screams in the depths of her throat as Appa rose higher and higher in the air. Her fingers dug into the leather saddle edge she was sitting next to, and she prayed to whatever Spirits were listening to protect her and make sure she wouldn't fall off this adorable flying deathtrap. She screwed her eyes shut as the blue sky spread out around her, her stomach still on land as the two of them soared above the clouds.
"I jumped through the clouds once," Aang said suddenly, his voice traveling through the whistling air. "You wouldn't believe it, though. Clouds aren't made of anything besides water."
"Weren't you afraid?" she asked him, her voice shaking.
"Yeah, I was when I first started training with Appa," he admitted. She slowly opened her eyes and saw him sitting at the reigns, his back slouched like he was comfortable and content up here in the air. "But I try not to let fear stop me from doing things. Sometimes, I don't honor this, especially when my human desires come to the forefront."
Nazadori stared at his back and swallowed hard. He seemed more and more human, not the image she had in her mind about the Avatar. She was realizing that, though he may have been the Avatar, the great Spirit to lead the world to balance and peace, he was still human, still a man with emotions and desires. Avatar Aang was so different than what she had imagined, a good different. She hoped she could spend more time with him to see the real Avatar Aang behind closed doors.