After camping outside the Fire Nation Bazaar with our companions, the night passed by relatively quickly, though I didn't bother sleeping after what happened in Ba Sing Se; whenever we were near society, I simply mediated through the night while also keeping an eye out just in case. I may have been acting a little overprotective, but so what? No one was going to tell me otherwise, and even if they did, I would ignore them.
Thankfully, just like most nights, everything went smoothly, and other than a few people entering and exiting the city, nothing noteworthy happened, which is just how I liked it. When the first signs of dusk arrived, I stopped meditating and began performing my morning routine, with Monk Gyatso joining me a few minutes after he awoke.
"My throat is feeling a little better." Muttered Aang lightly as he stood upright while gently rubbing his neck before turning around when he heard a familiar growl.
'Heh, someone's up early.' Mused Aang with a small smile as he approached Appa and scratched behind his growing horns, causing him to growl softly.
Reaching into Appa's pouch, I grabbed him a few cabbages of lettuce, along with a few apples; seeing how much he enjoyed lettuce while in Ba Sing Se, I decided to change his diet a little; besides, I'm sure eating only apples would become boring.
"Try not to eat too much; you almost choked last time." Remarked Aang lightly as he eyed Appa, who grunted while munching on his breakfast.
Rolling my eyes at Appa, I glanced at Monk Gyatso, who had just finished the morning routine and began gathering his companion's food, which was that of a similar diet to Appa, only the portion was nearly three times as large, though to be fair, Appa was only a little over a year old.
Once Monk Gyatso finished preparing the food, we ate breakfast, which was the same food as our companions, just without lettuce; it was a little boring, but I've grown accustomed to it.
"So, do you have any locations we'll visit next, or shall we just go with the flow of the wind?" Asked Aang curiously as he glanced at Gyatso while biting into an apple.
"Hmm, I do know the layout of the Fire Nation better since I'd frequently visit my friend, but since we're on Crescent Island, which is the first Island among the Peninsula of Islands, why not visit them one by one as we head towards the Fire Nation Capital?" Remarked Gyatso softly with a thoughtful expression as he glanced at Aang, who nodded while tossing the apple's core off into the distance.
"Well, I'm ready to leave whenever you are, Monk Gyatso." Said Aang lightly as he stood up and stretched a little before approaching Appa and leaping onto his back, prompting him to stand up.
"Hoho, time waits for no man." Said Gyatso with a faint chuckle as he stood up and copied Aang, gracefully landing atop his companion.
"Specifically you, Monk Gyatso." Added Aang lightly, his words causing Gyatso to look at him in fake surprise.
"Ahh, what could you possibly mean by that, Aang?" Asked Gyatso as he looked at Aang, who faintly smirked while patting Appa's head.
"Many things, Monk Gyatso… Many things. Yip yip, Appa." Replied Aang with a faint smirk while Appa gently roared before flapping his tail and taking to the skies.
"Hoho, is this the so-called rebellious phase?" Muttered Gyatso with a chuckle as his companion followed behind Appa, taking to the skies and heading towards their next island.
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"Is something the matter, Monk Gyatso?" Asked Aang softly as he glanced at Gyatso while sitting atop Appa, causing him to shake his head.
"Just a little nostalgic, that is all, Aang." Replied Gyatso with a faint smile as he nodded at Aang before closing his eyes, causing his companion to slightly drift away from Appa.
It's been a little over two weeks since Crescent Island, and currently, it's the middle of the day, though we had just departed from an Island known as Roku's Island, which was the place of his death. The Island was just as I imagined; there was no sign of life, and everything was covered in a thick layer of ash; it was honestly a little depressing, considering I knew what exactly happened during Roku's final moments.
'It's never stated in the show, but I wonder if Roku and Fang's bodies are still there, somewhere hidden beneath all of that ash.' Mused Aang with a thoughtful expression as he glanced behind him.
I didn't know whether someone from the Fire Nation had already searched for their bodies, but I intended to do so; they deserved a more respectful and honorable burial. He may not have been the best Avatar, but he still sought to keep the peace and balance Kyoshi had created.
'Peace and balance, huh? Such a pointless thing to do; humans are too chaotic for such things to ever be achieved. Let's not even take into account spirits.' Mused Aang lightly as he shook his head, taking in the beautiful sky.
While Monk Gyatso dealt with having just visited the island where his friend died, we continued flying through the sky, passing over the ocean and several tiny islands that the Fire Nation didn't officially recognize. It wasn't until late in the day that Monk Gyatso finally seemed to return to his usual joyful self, partaking in pranks, which made me appreciate the peace I had before.
After resting through the night on one of the many tiny islands littered across the ocean, we took back to the skies as we headed to our next destination, which was supposedly North Chung-Ling; if I'm not mistaken, it was more commonly known as Fire Fountain City; one of the many small tidbits of knowledge have regarding this world.
The city was more on the western side of the island, so even after we arrived at the island, it still took us about three hours before we finally neared it, and I must say, from up here, it looked so vastly different than Fire Fountain City, especially since there isn't a statue of Fire Lord Ozai in the middle of the city.
As we neared the city, we lowered to the ground and approached the city from a distance while walking.
"North Chung-Ling is famously known for its spiritual experiences, which occur almost daily; it even happened to me a long time ago." Said Gyatso lightly as he looked at the city before glancing at Aang, who raised his eyebrow in slight surprise.
"One can even see into the other side during day-to-day activities, and it's even rumored that during the winter and summer solstice, you can physically cross over to the other side." Added Gyatso, his words slightly shocking Aang as he widened his eyes.
"Cross over to the other side? That's unexpected; it usually takes a tremendous amount of meditating before one can ever hope to accomplish such a task." Remarked Aang, his words causing Gyatso to nod as he faintly smiled while looking to the sky.
"I've crossed over to the other side a few times throughout my life, and till this day, I can vividly remember every moment of that day; everything looked and felt so surreal, it's impossible to describe with mere words. Though, to be fair, I ended up getting chased by several spirit animals and nearly lost my life; quite hard to forget when something like that happens." Stated Gyatso lightly with a reminiscent look as he glanced at the sky, only to wryly smile while Aang looked at him in disbelief.
Shaking my head at Monk Gyatso's somewhat crazy adventures, we arrived at North Chung-Ling, though with most previous places we visited, minus Fire Nation Bazaar, we were required to show some kind of identification, and, unfortunately, proving to be Air Nomads weren't enough, though we had already dealt with this problem, so entering was rather easy.
After having given enough food for Appa to be pacified, they lay just outside the city while Monk Gyatso and I entered, and it didn't take long for me to feel the higher spirituality in the atmosphere, which felt quite good and speaking of good, the residents themselves were pretty nice.
"They're good dancers." Said Aang lightly as he stood amongst a crowd and watched a couple dance with their bending.
"Well, you could say dancing is the truest essence of fire bending." Muttered Gyatso lightly as he stood beside Aang, appreciating the couple's dance.
Once the couple finished after a few minutes, the crowd they had gathered, thanks to their impressive moves, all clapped while they held hands and bowed; they weren't the only people I've seen dancing, but they seemed to be the most experienced, especially with how they incorporated their bending into it like it was naturally supposed to be there.
Continuing on through the city, I spotted many places that advocated the chance to experience something spiritual, but I paid them no heed; I was the Avatar, and not just any Avatar, but an Air-Nomad one, and regarding one's spirit was one of the last things we needed assistance on.
However, while walking through the street, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a bluish butterfly fly out of a small crack in the very air itself.
"Spirit animal." Muttered Aang lightly as he outstretched his finger, causing the butterfly to land while Gyatso faintly chuckled.
"Hoho, it seems it didn't take long for you to encounter one." Said Gyatso with a faint smile as he glanced at Aang, who outstretched his hand towards the crack in the air.
After a moment, the bluish butterfly took to the sky and flew back through the crack in the air, which promptly closed a few seconds later, only for me to see a sign for boiled lobsters behind it.
"Well, that was unexpected." Said Aang lightly with a raised eyebrow as he glanced at Gyatso, who nodded.