The Future of the North

Kano carried the stack of folded, freshly cleaned Kyoshi robes into the training hall and put them in the wardrobe in the armory. It seemed like he'd done it thousands of times before, but since he was the Chief of the North now, it was a little funny seeing him carry the laundry. The warriors training, at least, seemed to find it funny. He couldn't exactly blame them. It was spring at last. And for the first time in a very long time, there was no war. Time for vacation was at his disposal. He was happy of the opportunity. He had invited Hun to Kyoshi for a little rest and relaxation after their many troubles. It was a good time...

Then again... no one ever escaped the chores of the great Anena.

"Whew." Kano said, straightening up. That was the last load of clothes. He felt like he'd just run about five miles without a break. His grandmother was quite the slave-driver when it came to helping out around the village.

Mei-Mei gave a contented groan and shuffled, paws plucking through lush grits of island sand. Her sturdy legs moved in tandem to the rhythm of the island waves, lifting and falling with every single build up and release of the tides. The vast sea sprayed both bison and rider with its bittersweet waters, gaining a groan from the beast and a jittery laugh from her master.

"I don't know Mei-Mei......I've never had much of a problem traveling before, so why do I have the turtleduck bumps now?" Hun-Hun leaned over and patted the bison on her soft arrow, with a half-hearted smile,"Maybe I should've just said no? That's not right, he's my best friend....and we hang out all the time right?" She dropped the worn leather reins and scrambled into Mei-Mei's saddle. Hurriedly assuming a lotus position she dug around for her orange Air Nomad satchel and procured her trusted glider spear. This one was fairly new, designed by no one other than herself and rather dark in color...a cherry redwood with a glistening finish. Hun-Hun twirled her glider spear and propelled herself from the saddle, landing in front of Mei-Mei; the latter holding a bemused expression.

Mei-Mei groaned and blew through her nose.

Hun-Hun huffed and put her hands on her hips, "What? What do you mean stop worrying? I'm not worrying, I'm....I'm fine!"

Groan. Groan.

"You keep this up and you won't get any papaya, you hear me Mei-Mei?" The airbender gave a slight pout and folded her arms, "Oh what do you know anyway buddy."
The two stood at odd ends with each other in silence. Both remained resolute in their stance until the bison rolled her tongue out of her mouth and slapped it over Hun-Hun, lathering her master in all of her salivating goodness. Mei-Mei retracted her tongue with a resounding fwoomp! and regarded her companion with amusement. Hun-Hun's hair stood up and dripped on one side with the other half of her hair was plastered all over her face and chest. The airbender wiped the slobber off with one hand and and blinked. Mei-Mei stared at her, and Hun-Hun returned the gesture.

Her pouty lips curled into a beaming smile, "Oh no! Now I have to wash all of it out!" She cried, feigning distress while planting a hand on the blue arrow of her forehead. Mei-Mei only groaned knowingly and rolled her chocolate brown eyes. That is, before hovering her tail over the bank of the island and giving it one powerful SLAP!

The water shot upward and bowled over the both of them in a fast curve, showering both bison and airbender and drenching them to the bone. Hun-Hun laughed and twirled her glider-spear vigorously. The ocean water ricocheted from her manifested air current and splattered over the nearby whirlpools and beach stragglers. Embarrassed, Hun-Hun stumbled over a sheepish apology and dove into the precious liquid gold.


"Yea-heh-heah!" Splash!

Mei-Mei swished her massive tail in the water and craned her head to the side. Hun-Hun had safely executed a flip-and-jump from the saddle and cannon-balled into the waters. She waited several seconds before a familiar head of thick black hair popped through the surface, the airbender gasped for breath and swam to the shore.

"That...was the best....cannon-ball...I'd ever did.....Kano can't beat-"

Bluish-grey eyes snapped open and peered into equally astonished browns.

"Oi! Kano! Town Square! Mei-Mei we're late!" The airbender blasted herself out of the ocean with a powerful gust of wind and fell into Mei-Mei's saddle. The bison took off without a second to waste and soared over the tree-tops toward the island's Town Square, both unaware that they were saturated with water. After a good five minutes of flying the bison landed in a nearby clearing and found herself some shade, already in-tune with the routine. Hun-Hun rolled down her bison's tail and sprinted into town, the gait made stronger by her bending.

Mei-mei watched her master take off through a pathway to the town and grunted slyly to herself, Hun-Hun's worries had been diverted effortlessly thanks to her cunning...... 'Mission accomplished.'

Meanwhile Hun-Hun raced through the winding streets of the bustling island mumbling frantically and coming up in dead-ends,
"I'm late! Don't even know where Town Square is....it's been years since I've been on Kyoshi Island! Ooooh!"

"Seriously!" Kano laughed, sitting with Old Man Bonzo, the local wise man. He was something of an fixture on Kyoshi these days. He was quite the character. Kano had been waiting for Hun, but she'd proven to be running quite a bit behind schedule and he'd been roped into a debate by Bonzo regarding the latest tall tale to travel the Earth Kingdom countryside and find its way to the island.

"Really!" Bonzo said in his eccentric, nasally voice. "They say she has fur all over! Yellow eyes! Claws and fangs! She's even striped!" the dramatization of his voice was typical of the old tale-spinner. "They say she can kill ten men with a blink, twenty with a growl, and a thousand with a swing of her spear!"

Kano laughed openly, sitting back in his seat next to Bonzo in front of the old mill where the man lived. Its porch looked out on the town center. He had his arms thrown lazily up along the back of the bench as he sat there in the shade, the cool breeze playing over him. It was quite a nice day.

"You find the tale of the Tiger Woman amusing, young whippersnapper? Do yeh!?" Bonzo shot at him.

"Well, I might find it morbidly horrifying," Kano said through tears of amusement. This was just too good. "If it weren't for the fact that I know her personally. She'd be a quite beautiful lady if it weren't for her murderous side. Katsumi Yu is many things," he continued, wiping his eyes, still chuckling slightly. "But an actual tiger-woman is not one of them."

"Agh!" Bonzo snorted dismissively, waving a hand as if to dispel Kano's words. At that precise moment, Hun wandered into town at the far end of the main street near the dojo, the forest at her back. With one last shake of his head, he stood and thanked Bonzo for the entertainment (a gesture the old man responded to with a quick lecture about respecting the wisdom of one's elders) and then headed over toward Hun with a smile lingering on his face.

"Sparrow!" he said, throwing his arms out wide as he approached, smiling broadly.

Hun-Hun trudged through another alleyway and kept straight, each footfall weighed heavily with dread. Her lips were pursed into a thin line and she held her glider-spear in a vice grip, not at all pleased at running into yet another dead end. "If this doesn't take me to Town Square I'm sending a flare." She knew that would be blowing it out of proportion, but at this point the airbender was desperate. Before she knew it she'd reached the end of the alley and found herself standing infront of a random statue of Avatar Kyoshi.

The second biggest one on the island.....which meant....

"Sparrow!"

The airbender craned her neck to her left and her stomach flip-flopped into her throat. Mentally she cursed herself, 'Yue I feel like I'm gonna' throw up.....' A prickling sensation brewed at the base of her neck and tickled its way up to her ears, turning them a deep red color. Hun-Hun shook her head ferociously and clasped her hands behind her back innocently, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet.

'This is beginning to be too hard to bear, and I don't know why.'

Becoming fed up with herself, she left her anxieties in the dust and broke off into a dash. As tiny as she was, she ended up jumping on the heels of her feet at the last minute and tackling the Water Tribe Chief, scrambling all over him until she was sitting on his shoulders.

"Kano! Sorry I'm late I uh.....my flight was delayed from a storm in the Kolau mountain range yesterday and it put us back several hours." She embellished the word "several" with a dramatic drawl, complete with an eyeroll. Realizing where she was exactly, the airbender felt her muscles freeze and she slid from his shoulders, landing on the ground with a soft plop.

"So um..," Hun-Hun supplied sheepishly,
Hey and stuff?"

Before he knew it, Hun was on Kano's shoulders, perched there looking down. And what was more, she was spinning a tall tale. He sighed, not even bothering to look up as he stood there, his arms folded and a bemused smile on his face.

"I should think so." he said once she was done, speaking in direct reference to her comment about the Kolaus. "Since the Kolau Mountains are several hours--" he mimicked the embellishment she had put on the word to perfection, nodding slightly. "--in the wrong direction."

He chuckled slightly.

"You know," he said. "It's not like we're on a tight schedule or anything. You don't have to lie to cover for being late. If you stopped to do something fun, that's fine..."

She sweatdropped out of sheer embarrassment," Well that was stupid." She grumbled and nudged her shoe against the ground, offering him a hopeless smile. 'So I'm in the clear!'

"When I got your letter I tried to come as fast as I could. It took a few days to get clearance with the elders and find someone to substitute for my children back at the temple.It wasn't like I could just drop everything and run like I used to, seeing as I have other lives I'm responsible for now." Hun-Hun crossed her arms over her chest and looked over at her best friend pointedly before giving him a quirky grin. "Kano one day you've gotta drop by and meet my kids! Especially Hye-Ying, she just learned how to walk a few months ago!"

The airbender clapped her hands together excitedly and bounced a little, excitement bubbling through her veins for a reason she couldn't really explain. Perhaps it was because she was reunited with her best friend in the entire world after so long? Or maybe because she was able to get away and be one vacation? Or maybe both?

'I won't even worry about it, don't ask and just say thank the universe!'

Like a chittering lemur spotting a ripe fruit, the tiny airbender's attention switched elsewhere. She suddenly became aware to all of the sights, sounds, and smells emanating from the melting pot of the island. Instinctively her stomach growled sharply, drowned out by random music floating in the atmosphere. Hun-Hun turned this way and that, taking in the entire view with twinkling eyes and lips pressed into a small "O" shape.

Her lips twitched and her eyes devoured the atmospehere hungrily, head flitting in every direction with curiosity that rivaled her nickname. Before long, she was eyeing Kano with that same fervor she'd had as a child.

When she was ready to get into some mischief and have some fun.

"Kano! Kano! Kano! Oh! What're you still standing there for? Let's go have some fun! Where do we go first??"

"What did you have in mind?" Kano smiled, placing his hands on his hips as he stood there. He reminded himself, at least internally, of his mother and found his smile broadening because of the thought. But he didn't dwell on it long. He had more pressing concerns and interests. Namely, what Hun had in mind when she said 'fun'. You never knew with her. It could have been anything.

The day was spent exploring the island's most enticing attractions. The Unagi's cove, the Split Cliffs where Kyoshi broke the island away from the mainland, and the Koat hot-springs in the hills near the island's several mountains. It was quite the hop about the place. But by the end of the day, they'd had just about all the entertainment they could handle. As the sun began to fall, the two of them made their way back to town by way of the beach.

"So tell me about these kids of yours." Kano said, walking along, feeling the sand under foot. All this was more fun than he'd had in a very long time...

"Eh?" Hun-Hun quirked her head to the side and looked at him, her tongue stuck in her ice cream. She retracted it and turned her eyes over to the darkening open waters of the island, searching for the spot where she and Mei-Mei were at earlier that day. 'The tide's probably carried our footprints away anyway.' Sure enough, the pair passed by a faint indent in the sand in what looked like a misshapen pawprint. Hun-Hun slapped her hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle and turned her attention back to her best friend, clearing her throat.

"The kids? Oh, I've only got about 12 or so....the oldest is about 10 years old. His name's Lao Chi and he's the sweetest student I've ever had, but a little shy. Then there's Su-Ming, Kwang-In the little troublemaker, Kyoko who's really my little drama queen and so many others. The youngest is Hye-Ying at a year old. " Hun-Hun strolled alongside Kanoei and gazed at their feet as they walked, her eyes glazed over and her tone wistful.

"She reminds me so much of Nakkoa, only a year old and full of so much personality! Hye-Ying is very determind and knows what she wants." She giggled at a faint memory with the bold water tribe warrior and with the toddler, "And....she's very vocal."

She blew her bangs out of her face and looked skyward, revealing the vibrant blue arrow on her forehead. Her heart beat with a distant ache for her students back at the eastern temple, wondering whether or not they were fairing alright without her. Was Lao Chi already finished with his paintings? Is Hye-Ying eating alright? Had Kwang-In gotten in trouble AGAIN? Were Su-Ming and Nariko ready to get their own little bisons?

The airbender shook her head absentmindlely and smiled to herself. She was on vacation, she needed to keep her mind on Kyoshi island and her bestfriend only, though it was no secret how much she loved those little people. "It'd be nice to have a few of my own children one day..." Hun-Hun mused, unaware that she was speaking aloud.

She knew the retort to that wish, and everytime she saw her reflection it was a painful reminder. 'You're too small!' Every single medic had told her, from both her cultures, 'It wouldn't be smart for you. Master Hun-Hun you're too tiny to have children...I'm sorry....but you can't. Not to mention....you would positively die.'

-----

"Enough about me Mr. Ice Prince," Hun-Hun sent a harmless jet of air his way and laughed, "What about you? I haven't seen you in forever. I feel like I'm kept with the badgermoles around you, tell me how you've been!"

Kano looked over at her, surprised. He'd never heard Hun voice a desire to have a child before. Not that it was entirely surprising. She'd always loved children. Though to hear her say it was something of a leap from assumption to fact that he'd never been privy to before. After a moment, he turned his gaze forward again, smiling to himself. He could only imagine Hun-Hun as a mother. He had a feeling she'd be good at it...

A few moments later, he felt the gust of air up side his head and chuckled. It tickled him, his hair. Brushing his hair back to it's normal, comfortable arrangement with one hand, he contemplated his answer to the question.

"Well..." he said. "I fought a war. We won. Now we're at peace and I'm here with you. I don't think there's much else I care to tell. Heh... I don't think there's much else to tell. To tell the truth, I'm just happy to be here now."

Hun-Hun bristled when he mentioned the war. She'd spent the entire first year of her rehabilitation in the Southern Air Temple, secluded from the world and unaware of the goings on. It wasn't until she'd returned to the Eastern Air Temple during her second year had she learned of the war, her purpose for being relocated also being revealed. Hun-Hun averted her eyes from Kanoei and traced her fingers in the sand, suddenly finding its gritty nature interesting.

She was standing in the circular room of the temple's council, dwarfed by the elders resting in the arc-shaped seats around her. Rays from the sun distorted her vision of the center elder and she had to squint in order to see her. She was able to make out a few other elders she'd known personally, as well as a few of her teachers....and her mentor.

"Master Niu?" She whispered.
The center elder, Yun-Ah, enclosed her hands in her robes and regarded the young airbender firmly. Though she'd never had the chance to know her personally, she'd seen the airbender flitting about the temple since the day she'd arrived at six years old. While she was a.....definite contrast to the kind of airbender they were used to (wasn't the child half water tribe?) and pulled a multitude of pranks, she was generally a good natured and it hardly shocked Yun-Ah when she'd......heard that the child began working on her own technique to gain her tattoos. If she remembered correctly, Master Niu never did explain it fully....and openly refused allowing Hun-Hun to pursue it any further.

Yun-Ah pursed her lips, 'And after everything that's happened two years before, who would blame her?'

"Pupil Hun-Hun, have you been well?"
"Yes. And I hope you don't mistake this for a poor display of manners but, Yun-sshi why am I here?"
The elders exchanged glances and Yun-Ah nodded, "Getting to the point hm?, that I can appreciate. We've called you here.....to determine your fate after your rehabilitation."
Hun-Hun felt her heart flop into the pit of her stomach.
Yun-Ah pressed on, "Due to the crimes you have committed during your stint of emanicipation the wager that your deeds pay is death. However, we have come to a decision that will not only free you from the bonds of this wager....it will also tip the odds of the world in every nation's favor."

Hun-Hun scratched at her elbow and bit her lip nervously. She was aware of the dire consequences, but she couldn't understand what that had to do with the war. Hadn't it ended some time ago? Maybe recently?

"You are aware of the War of Tipped Scales, and you aware of the victory of the world powers against the Fire Nation. Firelord Novai has been usurped from the throne and convicted for his treason and other treacherous actions. However, there still remains unrest, skirmishes, and parties loyal to the previous Lord."

Yun-Ah's eyes never left Hun-Hun's gaze and she noted how the young airbender seemed to be unnerved by it, through the tell-tale twitching of her fingers.

"In order to....quell these rebellions we need to get to the core of the problem."
That was when Hun-Hun's brain gave a sharp QUACK!
"You mean you want me to assassinate people." She supplied, glancing over at her mentor who avoided her eyes. Yun-Ah nodded in approval.
"Exactly."
"What?? I'm a world class criminal for murder, you rehabilitate me, then you tell me that if I kill people legally that I can walk free?!"

She was met with a single unified answer from everyone in the room, "Yes."

A nearby chirruping snapped her out of her reverie and she looked up. A flock of flamingo-parrots danced around each other where the forest began, farther away from the shore. Hun-Hun flicked grains of sand from her hands and pursed her lips together. 'I'd rather not think about that right now. It was a covert operation, no one's supposed to know about it. And I don't want Kano finding out about that either. What would he think of me?'

Out of habit, she turned her head a little and studied him. Her eyes traced the spike of his hair, the rich blue in his eyes, all the way down to the strong definition of his jawline. It was weird really, in a good way, Kanoei looked so different from the eight year old she remembered him as and then again he seemed just the same. He was just....when did he get so tall and strong?

Hun-Hun's cheeks flushed with embarrassment and she turned away, favoring to watch the rolling tides for now. 'He's just how I remembered him, exactly how I remembered him.' Hun-Hun turned her hands over and examined them, flexing her fingers and making them twiddle. The hand of misery snaked its way around her heart and gave a hard squeeze; she winced closed them into tight fists. These were the very hands that had crafted many things, the hands that handled many children, hands that had seen every corner of the world.....

Hands that took the lives of so many, and had done it all over again.

Hun-Hun's eyes snapped over toward Kanoei when she was sure he wasn't looking and she hiccuped. 'I don't deserve his friendship, not then and not even now. I don't deserve the world's forgiveness or my family's for everything I've done. And I'm even dumber to think......to think of that....I don't deserve anyone, and he deserves better.'

The realization was painful to swallow and, more than anything she just wanted to crawl in a hole and rot there. She leaned her head back and blinked rapidly to discourage the tears she knew were sure to fall. Hun-Hun pinched the bridge of her nose and forced herself to smile.

"That's great! And I appreciate you inviting me, because I really needed to get away for a while." She flopped on her back and moved her limbs to and fro, not even caring about the sand sticking to her skin and clothes.

"Kanoei,"Hun-Hun positioned herself up on her elbows, her hair draping over her left shoulder, "You never told me how long we'd be staying here you bonehead!"

"As long as you want." Kano smiled. "The old man is taking care of things up north while I'm away. He insisted I take my time, so that's exactly what I intend to do."

He sat there next to her on the sand, not a care for the grains and their annoying tendency to find their way into the most uncomfortable places. This wasn't a time to let things like that ruin one's enjoyment of the moment. Plus, it was nothing a little shower couldn't fix. He looked out across the water at the vibrant horizon. It was a mass of brilliant orange and yellow setting beneath a sky of azure which flowed into the deepest, richest violet. Night was coming soon. It was a shame that days like this couldn't last forever...

Though he didn't know it, his thoughts had turned to the past just as hers had. The faces of so many he'd cut down by blade and with the force of his powers swam in his memory like a haze of sorrow. Such a pointless war when it came right down to it. What were all those lives sacrificed for? A man who refused to let his people have peace? One man's desire for conquest and the inevitable response. Kano had led his people to war. Many had not come home. He would be repaying that debt for the rest of his life...

"This place hasn't changed a bit..." he said finally, looking out across the bay. "Not... one tiny bit..."