Searching for a teacher

Sounds like fun?

Hiro left the academy in a grump, he had only been in Gaoling a few hours and already it had been a waste of his time. He had hoped to find a earth bending teacher here at Gaoling's famed earthbending academy but was kicked out of the school before he had time to enrol due to the academies entry fee. If he had known about the enrollment fee he would have bypassed Gaoling all together, but now he was stuck here. Money had been tight for Hiro on his travels, only having enough to pay for shelter and food supplies. He would have to find a way to get extra money if he ever hoped to get into an earthbending academy.

Right next to the academy was the Gaoling market, Hiro decided that he would wander round the stores, even though he had no extra money but thought of it as a good way to take up his spare time.

Hiro paused outside one of the many stores in the market, admiring the flashy rucksack lying on a pedestal in the center of the store. Reminding himself that he didn't have the money, he forced himself to walk away and start heading up the street to search for some accommodation. He had only just turned around when a young woman walked into him. She had fallen to the ground from the impact but Hiro seemed to be unaffected and remained standing. She apologized and used air bending to get back on her feet. An airbender! He had so far never met an actual airbender on his travels. She was actually quite beautiful, her long brown hair was tied up in a plait and rested on her shoulder. Her bright gray eyes stood out to Hiro the most as they were the first thing he noticed on the woman. Hiro found himself attracted to this woman. He blushed when she found him studying him, she must have noticed because she also blushed a few moments later. She began apologizing again "I uh....sorry, I was practicing....I didn't see you there...." she blew the dust off her that had attached itself during the fall which then hit Hiro in the face, blowing dust into his eyes. Hiro grabbed his eyes and cleared the dust out, when he could see clearly again he found the woman already heading in a different direction. He called out to her " Wait don't go. I don't even know your name!"

The young woman spun around, her cheeks had gone red again, she muttered something that Hiro could hardly hear. They stared at each other for a few moments until she noticed that Hiro was staring at her as well and quickly avoided his gaze. "I'm Matsu Pasang, of the Pasang Travelling Circus," she had to shout to be heard over the other people in the market. She grinned at him and brushed her hair out her face. The world seemed to slow for a moment, he noticed nearly every detail on Matsu's face and found himself once again staring at her, he blushed an even more deeper shade of red. "Who're you?"he heard her ask as she floated over the crowd closer to him. Hiro felt quite foolish, realising that he hadn't even introduced himself before asking for her name. "I'm Hiro Tomosaki, it's nice to meet you Matsu. A circus! Are you performing here?"

Matsu smiled again lighting up her whole face, Hiro blushed, he hoped she hadn't noticed. It seemed she hadn't as she was now floating in midair. "Yeah! You should come see the show, before we have to leave!" Hiro's eyes lit up, he had never been to a circus before, maybe visiting Gaoling hadn't been a waste of time after all. He looked up at Matsu and was surprised to see that her expression had changed. "I leave tomorrow!" obviously upset. Hiro didn't know if he should comfort her, he'd never been in this sort of situation before and wasn't very good at it. An idea popped into his head, "I know, why don't I visit your next show. Where are you performing next?"

Matsu looked over the moon when Hiro asked the question. Hiro was taken completely by surprise when she pulled him into a tight hug. It seemed the world had froze. The hug continued for what seemed like hours, when she finally released him. Hiro stood there, absolutely stunned, his cheeks blushing a bright pink. He was oblivious to everything around him. He just stood there, staring at Itamatsu.

Everything seemed to have slowed down for Hiro. Matsu was the first person to ever hug him, even if it was a short one, apart from his parents. He was oblivious to everything else, it was like he was in his own little world. Her apology brought him back to attention. Hiro didn't know what to say, his mouth had gone dry. Both of them blushed, and there was an awkward silence between the two of them until Matsu spoke once again. "Um...uh...so what brings you to Gaoling?"

Hiro made sure to wet his lips before answering to stop him making a foll of himself. "Well.... I ummm.... Well I've been looking for an earthbending teacher and I heard some good comments about this earthbending academy here from some travellers I came across, but so far I haven't had any luck at Gaoling so I thought I should go to Omashu which is convenient because then you'll be performing there next so I can watch you perform as well as find a teacher!" Hiro found himself puffing from lack of oxygen. He covered his head with his hands, embarrassed.

Hiro held his head up at the sound of Matsu's bubbly, cheerful voice. "Well, that's perfect then!" She didn't seem phased by his nervous personality, things seemed to be going well between them so far, even though they had only just met a few minutes ago. "How are you getting there?" Hiro hadn't thought of that. He guessed he would have just traveled by himself, walking the whole way but now he was wondering if there was an easier way. There must be, because why would Matsu ask otherwise? He had spent I moment or two pondering on this thought when he noticed that she was staring into his eyes, they met each others gaze for a moment and then both blushed. Hiro asked after the awkward tension between them had passed, "Why do you ask, I guess I would just walk there."

If Matsu's smile got any bigger, her face might have broken. "You can travel with us! I promise, us circus people are lively folk! And my mom's such a good cook, you'd be surprised, what with her making food in the back of a wagon! I hope you don't mind sitting in wagons, or ostrich horses! I'm sure they'll love you though, they love everybody! Oh, and the wagons are comfy, you don't have to worry about that! Although, they can get bouncy if we drive over bumpy roads! You'll love it!!" she said, ending without enough air like Hiro had moments before, and took in a deep breathe to begin again as a thought crossed her mind. What if he didn't want to go? "Um..you know, that is...if you want to come?" she said nervously, looking up at him with hopeful eyes. She tried to not blush again as they met each other's eyes, but did anyway, and she looked back down at the road as her cheeks flared.

Hiro couldn't help but smile, Matsu was just so cheerful and so full of life. He chuckled a little when she had to gasp for breathe but quickly hid this hoping that she hadn't seen this as she may have been offended. "Um..you know, that is...if you want to come?" she seemed nervous, how could he refuse, by saying yes he could spend more time with Matsu. The thought made him even more cheerful. They met each others eyes for another brief second but looked away as they both blushed. "Thanks so much for the offer,I'd love to come with you and your family. So when do you leave again?" He was still surprised at the offer seeing as they had only just met, but was still very grateful and pleased that she had asked.

Even though it seemed impossible, Matsu's smile became even bigger. "We leave at noon tomorrow! Right after our last show!" she said, still smiling. She was now able to look at him without blushing so much, although some color still remained in her usually pale skin. She almost began cartwheeling again, but decided against it, instead watching the people passing them curiously. How strange, she had almost forgotten that they were there. She shrugged, though, and continued watching them. Gaoling was so interesting...

Hiro could tell their conversation was coming to a close, so he said his farewells and headed off to find accommodation for the night. This was the first time he had really become excited about something on his journey, leaving his home had been rather depressing and preferred not to think back on those first few lonely nights. Traveling with Matsu and her family would be really enjoyable, he could tell, and the best part was he could spend more time with Itamatsu. Getting to know her better over the weeks of traveling not just in the few minutes they had shared earlier.

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Hiro had slept surprisingly well considering his many thoughts keeping him up to begin with. He thanked the inn owner at the front desk and left, heading towards the park where the owner had said the circus had set up. He carried only his small rucksack, containing a spare pair of clothes. He could hardly tell it was there as he was distracted by his returning thoughts about the weeks ahead. He could now make out the slightly deflated circus tents and could see many of the members packing up. "I just made it" he thought to himself. He hoped he would meet Matsu first before he had to introduce himself to the rest of the circus troupe but couldn't see her anywhere. Hiro didn't want to seem rude so he decided to offer his assistance to one of the men packing up. As he got closer only then did he realise the size of the man. He stood a meter taller than Hiro, who was considered tall for his age, and had the muscular physique that matched his height. The sight of the man shocked Hiro so decided to maybe sit out until Matsu found him. He put down his bag next to a large tree and watched the troupe pack up, keeping a look out for the young airbender.

"MOMMA! I need to get outside!" Matsu said, interrupting her mother's long stream of things that Matsu needed to do before they could get going.'Well, yes, but honey, remember, we need to feed the ostrich horses and make sure--" her mother, Pei Zhi, began yet again. "I don't want to keep Hiro waiting!" Matsu interupted. Pei Zhi smiled and nodded, waving her out the door. Matsu sighed in relief and ran.

Matsu cartwheeled outside, weaving between the people or just flipping over their heads. Those who saw her waved or shouted hellos, until she came to the edge of camp. An eager boy, who had just joined the circus the day before, was asking her about doing a trapeze act with her. Matsu nodded and promised that she'd look into it, but her eyes were on the edge of the camp. Now...where could he be? She looked around, hoping to spot him, still walking. She bumped into one of the performers, who chuckled and said that they'd seen a stranger over at the east end. Matsu thanked them and flew over the heads, looking around. She spotted him under a tree, and landed lightly, running towards him.

"HIRO!" She shouted with a wave as she ran, stopping just in front of him. "Hi..." she said breathlessly, giving him a small smile.

The air was warm and the tree Hiro was sitting under, offered a pleasant coolness that made Hiro feel sleepy. He had only closed his eyes for a few moments when he heard someone calling his name. He opened his eyes to find Itamatsu running towards him. Hiro thought she had never looked so beautiful. She stopped only a few centimeters from him, a slight breeze passed over his face from the abruptness of her halt. "Hi..." she said, smiling at him. He smiled back at her and there was a moments silence between them as they stared at each other. Hiro broke the silence, "So is there anything that I should do to help, I've been looking forward to getting to know everyone?"

"Help?" she said. The way she said it had made Hiro sound stupid, like he had insulted here in some way. He hoped he hadn't said the wrong thing, his journey had just started with Matsu and already it felt like he had ruined it. "Er, right, um..." this made him feel even more embarrassed. He had to do something quick if he was going to make her think he was cool. "I guess you can help me tend to the ostrich horses....everyone out here has it covered. We're used to moving every few days anyway." she smiled up at him. This reassured him, however when he looked back at Matsu she was crying! He didn't know what to do. If he tried to comfort her, he may just seem awkward and he didn't want to give her that impression of him. He had to say something to reassure her. "Are you alright?" he asked. "Oh so stupid"