Some R&R in the Homeland

Matsu laughed as she walked along, holding hands with a little girl, her other hand holding a woven basket atop her head. The woven basket was full of vegetables and fruits, even some meat. The girl was skinny, too skinny. It was obvious that she and her mother were having a hard time getting by. Her mother was Mrs. Li, a nice woman who was widowed earlier in the year by a horrible fall in the Great Divide. She was pregnant, almost eight months now, and both Mrs. Li and her daughter, Semwa, were starving. Semwa was busy telling her about how a boy had fallen in the mud at her school, her eyes full of a light that Matsu had not seen in months. They soon arrived at Semwa's small house in the poorer districts of Makapu Village, a coastal village in the Earth Kingdom, often visited by travelers.

She knocked on the door, and Mrs. Li's weak voice called out, "Enter." Matsu did so, entering the two room hut. The living room was paired with the kitchen, only a small bedroom in the back. Matsu knew this because she had been here many times before. In fact, she had been in the homes of most of the people in the poor districts, as she often bought them food and supplies. She and her family visited two months out of the year, in the fall, taking it as a 'resting' period before having to deal with trudging around the world when it was cold out.

"Hello, Mrs. Staran. How are you this afternoon?" Matsu asked politely as Mrs. Li was busying herself in the kitchen, finding a bit of rice here, a few beans there. She looked up as Matsu spoke, and then noted the basket atop Matsu's head. Her eyes instantly welled up with tears. "Oh, you blessed girl!" she said, her voice thick with emotion. Matsu smiled at her, her usually hyper mood calmed when she was helping those in the place she loved most--home. Mrs. Li pulled her into a tight hug as Semwa pulled the different foods out of the basket. When she got to the bottom, she exclaimed happily, "Momma, look! She got us sweets, too!" Semwa ran to hug Matsu, and Matsu laughed as Mrs. Li examined all of the food Matsu had brought them with wide eyes. "Oh, it is too much, beautiful child, we can't accept this. I'll never be able to repay you," Mrs. Li said. Matsu waved it off and told her it was the least she could do for them.

With that, she let them know that she couldn't stay very long, and said her farewells, reminding Semwa to eat her vegetables. Semwa pouted, but Matsu tickled her, and then was gone. She walked through the streets of the poorer districts of Makapu Village, all of the citizens smiling and waving at her, or asking her how she was doing. She smiled back at all of them, and answered their questions fine. If she saw someone who was looking a little run down, she made a mental note to bring them a wonderful breakfast in the morn. But for now, it was time for training.

She headed to the fields, passing occasional farmers who did just as the other citizens, smiling and waving at her. She smiled and waved back, and even airbended some rice off of a rice plant that a child was trying to help his mother with. She loved her home, Mt. Makapu always making her feel safe--which it was. During the Hundred Year War, Makapu Village remained completely untouched. It was just too hard to get there.

She finally came to the end of the fields, near the border of the village, and headed up a trail that went to a nice, flat area near the base of Mt. Makapu. It was here that she had trained as a child, airbender or circus performer, it didn't matter. She set out in her usual stance, practicing first the stances of airbending, then the motions, then finally with the air. She did this everyday, and while it wasn't rigorous activity, she usually ended up pretty sweaty afterwards, before even starting her circus training.

Two hours later and she was drenched in sweat, her motions now tired. She then sat down in the soft grass and meditated for another forty-five minutes, floating slightly above the ground. When she finished with this, her heart rate was normal again and her body no longer tired from her airbending training. She stood then, and began stretching. Today, she'd work on the contortionist part of her act. She worked on a different part everyday, to keep the training exciting, and since she didn't have her trapeze equipment up on the mountain and didn't want to go back to the training tent her family had set up, she chose cotortionism. She had done her tight rope exercises yesterday, her acrobatics the day before. She took deep breaths, then worked on stretching some more. She spent forty-five minutes stretching her body out, then began the real workout. It started with one leg behind her head, then the other, then her arms in a position held tightly against her chest. The end result? She looked exactly like a box.

An hour later and she was exhausted. She lay in the grass for a few minutes before heading back down. By this time, her mother was a little worried about her, as her training had taken a half hour longer than usual. Normally, it only took 4 hours. Today, she'd spent four and a half, and when she got to the house that had once belonged to her grandfather before he passed, her mother chided her for taking so long. She apologized and then went and got the metal tub out from inside a kitchen cabinet and took it to the washroom, where the metal floor was filled with tiny holes to let water drain out. She plunked the tub on the ground there, then went and boiled some water. Once this was done, she dumped it into the tub, added a small amount of cold so she didn't burn herself, and stripped out of her clothes. She eased her aching body into the tub, relaxing for a few minutes before grabbing a cloth and beginning to wipe the sweat from her body.

Twenty minutes later, she was in fresh clothes and out on the street again, lounging about in the market, eating an apple while chatting with an old friend of hers, Talsan. The young man was secretly in love with Matsu, but sadly, she showed no interest. All she ever talked of was airbending and circus acts, or when she wasn't talking of those, she nearly killed him with her studies on mathematics and philosophy. His hand rested casually on hers, but she didn't even seem to notice. He wished that she'd acknowledge that she was beautiful for once, because he was sick of the richer boys in Makapu looking at her with interest, and she couldn't even care less. She flipped her braid over her shoulder, tossing her apple into the trash, letting him know that it was near dinnertime and that she would have to help her mother prepare dinner for all of the members of the Pasang Travelling Circus. He offered to go with her and help them with the cooking, and so she smiled and they walked through the street together, Matsu laughing here and there at his funny comments.

Matsu's slight pause forgotten, she smiled and waved as Talsan had paused and was now staring at them. He waved back half-heartedly, then continued on his way, and when Rin said that she'd like to stay at Matsu's house, Matsu practically exploded.

"SLUMBER PARTY!" Matsu shrieked, then jumped happily into the air, using her airbending to twirl herself up high into the sky and then releasing a bunch of compressed air under her as she fell back to the ground, the compressed air acting as a pillow. She landed on the ground, grinning so big that it looked like her face hurt. "Well, come on! Shanlei doesn't like working past midafternoon!" she said, automatically assuming that Rin would know who Shanlei was.

Shanlei was a waitress at the Pai Sho Tea Shop, the only worker, in fact. She was pretty...if you didn't look at the right side of her entire body. Matsu didn't think twice about bringing a girl who looked a little Fire Nation to the Tea Shop, but Shanlei was a girl who had been burnt by a firebender every day of her life--to teach her pain tolerance. That firebender was none other than her twisted uncle, and since the day that she escaped such horrible treatment, she vowed never to even look at another firebender.

Matsu grabbed Rin's hand, not thinking anything of it, and began pulling her along the road. "You know, you look like you're a Fire Nation girl! We have some Fire Nation people in our circus, they breathe the fire and make it twirl and dance and stuff! It's soooo pretty! You should come by our practice tent tomorrow, I can show you around! Oh, you could join the Circus! We could do an act together, "The Amazing Talents of Firey Rin and Breezy Matsu!"" Matsu ran on excitedly, her hands making an arching motion as she suggested the name for a possible act for the two to do.

She didn't wait for Rin to reply as the Tea Shop came into site. She simply kept pulling Rin along and pulled the door open, practically tossing Rin inside and following after her. "SSSHHHHAAAAANNNNNLLLLLEEEIIIIII!" she yelled, and the people sitting and drinking tea inside all laughed at her. It was apparent that no one in the village could possibly get mad at Matsu. She was simply too lovable.

Shanlei came bustling through the kitchen door, laughing, the left side of her face alight with happiness. The right side, though, was red and marred, and was pretty much paralyzed. Her right eyelid dropped over her eye, and her mouth was formed into a permanent frown. But Matsu hardly ever noticed Shanlei's right side, she always thought Shanlei was gorgeous because she was such a good person.

"Well, Matsu, I would assume that you would be home right now having supper!" Shanlei said, her voice slightly scolding. Shanlei was about ten years older than Matsu, thirty-three, and was married with one child and another on the way. She patted her round belly happily, then kissed Matsu's cheek. "I'm glad to see you though, dear. It's been a while since you've come 'round," she smiled. "I heard that you took Mrs. Li some food today. How thoughtful of you," she continued.

"How'd ya know about that?" Matsu asked with a grin. "We expecting mothers keep in close touch," Shanlei replied with a smile before her one good eye wandered over to Rin--and the happy expression alighting the left side stopped, her mouth frowning to match the right side.

"Can I get you a table, Itamatsu?" Shanlei asked coldly before turning on her heel and showing them to a table before going to take an order at another table. Matsu didn't notice the change in Shanlei until she called her by her full name, but she only pondered at this for a second before looking at Rin with excitement written all over her face.

"So, how long do you want to stay in Makapu? We're all really a friendly bunch, Matsu grinned. Matsu was slightly mistaken in that statement, though. They were a friendly bunch--to everyone but Fire Nation. Which really made no sense, since Makapu was untouched by the Hundred Year War. But enough refugees had come to the small farming village with tales of torture and horror that it was forever a stain on the heart of Makapu. And poor Matsu was blissfully unaware that no one was very happy to see Rin there.

Matsu notice the regret in Rin's voice, and finally understood that the people in her village weren't being very friendly. Well, she wasn't one to just sit there and let something happen to her new best friend! She stood up on the table, shouting at the top of her lungs: "HEY! HEY EVERYBODY!"

Everyone in the tea shop shut up instantly, looking intently at her. Some people from outside even came in for a moment, seeing what the ruckus was about. Matsu shouting was nothing new, but it was the way she was saying it. Because she wasn't happy. She was MAD. At this moment, her head was unusually unclouded, and her vast stores of knowledge that she kept hidden behind the joyful haze made an appearance.

"THIS IS RIN, A GIRL OBVIOUSLY FROM THE FIRE NATION. AND YOU ARE ALL TREATING HER LIKE SHE'S A CRIMINAL! SHE DID NOTHING WRONG TO YOU, NOT EVER, AND YOU'RE PERSECUTING HER FOR SOMETHING THAT HER NATION'S LEADERS DID DECADES AGO! WE WEREN'T EVEN AFFECTED BY THE WAR! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO JUDGE HER, OR TO STARE AT HER CRUELLY! SHE'S WONDERFUL AND SWEET, SO TREAT HER THE WAY SHE DESERVES TO BE TREATED, OR YOU'LL HAVE TO DEAL WITH ME! GOT IT?! Matsu practically screamed.

There was quite a crowd of people pooling at the door to the tea shop, and with a harrumph! she sat down with a plop, an unhappy expression painting her pretty features. Which was strange for everyone, especially her.

She then turned to her friend Rin, smiling sheepishly and apologizing for her outbreak. "Everyone's usually really nice, you know. I didn't realize that they were so..prejudiced against Fire Nation. Of course, assuming that you're Fire Nation. I hope I didn't get that wrong, I'd just assumed, what with your long dark hair and your amber eyes and the red clothing, I didn't mean to offend you or anything..." Matsu trailed off again, feeling a bit of a fool.

She looked around the Tea Shop. Everyone was still staring at her with their mouths agape. "Oh, go back to your tea, I've got nothing more to say," she grumbled. She normally didn't grumble or moan or get mad like that, but nothing angered her more than when someone was being unfair to another person. Especially if that person was her friend.

Matsu grinned at Rin, and when she was hugged, she was slightly surprised, but happy. She hugged her back, squeezing tightly and smiling happily. When they pulled away, she motioned for Shanlei to come over and take her order.

"Look, honey, I'm sorry about giving you the cold shoulder, I don't mean it personal or anythin'. I've just got some bad history, that's all," Shanlei said, motioning to the right side of her visage. Before Rin replied, Matsu smiled at Shanlei and got up, hugging her too."I'm sure she understands," Matsu said, then let go of Shanlei and sat down again.

"Alright, well, fire girl, whatever you order today will be on me," Shanlei said, apology written across the side of her face the could still express emotion. "She's never been here! I'll order for ya, Rin, ol' buddy ol' pal!" Matsu said happily, not realizing that she kept cutting across Rin.

"Well, ya like spicy food, right? Okay, well, spicy noodles are a must, then. And, uh, tea and rice." Matsu grinned then, looking at Rin as Shanlei walked away. If Rin wanted anything else, she'd have to signal Shanlei herself and let her know so.

"Well, you should probably eat quickly, since Ma's busy making food and I'm late for supper, and if we wait too long, then Mother will make me go to sleep without the slumber party!" Matsu said, gasping overdramatically at the thought of not having said slumber party. "Oh, and my mom's name is Pei Zhi. And Tal will probably be there, along with the rest of the circus! I hope you aren't shy!" Matsu said, grinning from ear to ear, her gray eyes shining in the light.

Rin's food arrived, Shalei setting it down in front of her before toddling off to help some other people. Matsu was grinning from ear to ear, hoping Rin liked the food, since this was her favorite place to eat in the whole world! "Soooo...Matsu....you know your little friend 'Tal-Tal' likes you right?" Rin suddenly said, and Matsu turned a deep shade of pink. "Nah, he's into some other girl who won't give him the time of day. An earthbender from a rich family, or something," she said, slightly mumbling, a little embarrassed at the thought.

She just wasn't Talsan's type. "His name's Talsan. I just call him Tal-Tal, since that was his nickname when we were younger. It's a little joke we have going on," she said with a grin before motioning to the food for Rin to eat, floating in her seat because she was excited for Rin to meet her circus family.

Matsu happily saw that Rin liked the food, and Shanlei passed their table, asking how the food was. Matsu gave her a thumbs up, before helping her with a tray because it looked heavy. When done helping, she went and sat back down across from Rin, looking quite over the moon.

An older gent came by to tip his hat in Rin's direction, who was eating quite happily, and ask Matsu about her mother. "Oh, she's doing wonderfully! Why do you ask?" Matsu said with a large smile. The elder man simply said it was not oft that he saw Pei Zhi, and Matsu thought nothing else of it. She smiled at the man, bought him a cup of tea, and off he was to play a game of Pai Sho.

She then turned back to Rin, and waited for her to be finished, staring out a window daydreaming about a world where guys didn't just call her circus freak. So many years of travelling and being an outcast; well, the happy haze around her protected her, but she understood how Rin felt. She thought about Talsan a little too, but the thought was just too weird. Besides...she didn't think she'd ever be able to fall in love. It wasn't a matter of the fact that she was incapable, but simply that she wouldn't appeal to someone. She was too childlike; no man wants to babysit his wife. She then looked at Rin with a small smile, awaiting what would happen next.