With a sheepish grin, you remove the binding on the Avatar's son. He wears a look of refrained anger, holding himself back for the sake of saving his Air Nomad façade. You don't fully blame him though. He did endure a long ride on the back of an unagi all taped and bound.
"Why did you tape my mouth too?" he seethes as the last of the tape hangs from his left cheek.
You give an awkward laugh, "Haha... just in case you began complaining during the trip here."
"YOU KIDNAPPED ME! I HAVE A RIGHT TO--"
Hammy speeds up your arms and kicks the tape back onto Tenzin's mouth, silencing him. Your mouth forms on 'o' shape before scooping the cute rodent into a hug.
"Aren't you so cute, my little Hammy," you coo.
As you shower your pet with affection, Iroh inspects the map in his hands. "It says it's up the stairs around here."
You travel over to Iroh's side to view the map. "Fuuun, I love stairs."
In the background, you hear Tenzin ripping the tape off his mouth and storming off north. The group watches on as he huffs off towards the entrance of the temple. You then stare at each other in a wordless agreement to follow him
"Maybe we shouldn't have treated him like a criminal," Tonraq mentions as you guys trail a few feet behind the airbender.
"It was [Name]'s idea," Haku throws you under the bus. You send him a scowl and he shrugs, "What? It's true."
"This was the best way to escape and you guys were on board," you point out.
"The tape was your idea though," Iroh adds.
You pout at your defeat. "He just acts so whiney that it's annoying."
Iroh slips his hand into yours and squeezes, "Don't worry. I'm just you can smooth it over with an apology."
"An apology, huh?" you think out loud as you ponder on ways to apologize.
[x]
As everyone disperses to take a look around the renovated temple, you try to remember where you last saw the airbender go. As you wander around in hopes of reconciling with him, you pass antiquated rooms and relics. The small plaques that describe each historical attribute distracts you from your mission, but alas you find the boy at the top of the temple where a few statues are scattered around the lawn.
The afternoon light floods your view, and it takes a bit for your eyes to adjust. Once the see past the overwhelming light, you notice Tenzin staring at one of the statues that is fashioned after his father. You step forward and the sound of your quiet footstep steals his gaze away from said statue and onto you.
"What do you want?"
"I just want to apologize for kidnapping you," you say as you walk up next to him. "Even though your father made you part of the group so we technically didn't kid--"
His glare stops your excuses.
"Sorry." Your mouth seals shut as you await for him to respond to your apology.
He stands there in silence for a few minutes until he finally heaves a sigh. "I am a busy man, I can't be just traveling around the world like you guys."
You turn to face him. "The others are also busy like you, but they found it best to detach themselves from their bubble and learn the world. I don't think it's fair of you to judge them for that."
"I'm not judging."
"You are... you think you're above us and carry this larger responsibility than us," you wave your hands around to express your frustrations.
"But I do carry a larger responsibility," he states. "I am the only airbending child of the last airbender, who happens to be the Avatar. The responsibility of making my father's dreams come true is solely on me."
Your eyes widen. "What a burden..."
"It's not."
"You sure about that?" you tilt your head to the side. "It sure does seem that way. I mean, what you are going through isn't normal... It's more lonely than anything."
"I have my family... and Lin," he shifts his head to the side as a somber expression paints his face.
You notice his change in demeanor but refrain from acknowledging it. Having no real close connection to him, you don't know how to cheer him up. Angering him seems to be the only real talent you have. "Uh... Lin is a pretty name."
"I suppose."
You click your tongue, "You should be a little happier about the compliment I gave your girlfriend."
"That's barely a compliment."
"A compliment is a compliment!" you gasp. "If someone said that to Iroh, he would act all prideful!"
Tenzin crosses his arms as he recalls the fiery wrath of Lin and how little she did for their relationship. It doesn't take long for him to begin comparing it to how his parents acted around each other, and another bout of depression drifts over him.
You realize that you've worsened the mood and frown. "Ahh... Well, everyone is different I suppose."
"E-Excuse me!" You both turn and face a women who's barely 20 years old. Her dark hair and messy bangs are the first to stand out to you, but it's her button nose and frazzled demeanor that causes a smile to form on your lips.
"Can we help you?" you ask.
She pulls on the sleeve of her acolyte frock as she squirms in her shoes. "I was hoping to speak to Master Tenzin... I have some questions on the culture that I'd like to ask him."
"Who is Master Tenzin?" you smile.
Both of them stare at you in shock, but the girl is quick to answer. "The man next to you."
"No... This is Tentacle--"
"It has always been Tenzin," he groans while rolling his eyes. "I just didn't have the energy to correct you anymore."
As your world crashes down and brain malfunctions, Tenzin walks up to the girl. "And your name?"
"Pema!"
[x]
A/N: Thanks for the lovely comments. I appreciate each and every one of you so much! Btw, a more uhh mature chapter is coming up soon, just teenagers messing around (first time and all) but it still stays strictly in Teens category. Nothing completely explicit or close to explicit. I am just warning you since the story has mostly been in the G category and hasn't really been Teen.