Avatar:Kindling[M]{DamoniquexAshen}

[Damonique]

They left the train, and Xia resumed her act, wearing the mask of courtesy, superiority, and indifference drilled into her by the Fire Nations finest girl's schools. Her eyes were half lidded to display the striking silver paint that was high-fashion back home, emphasizing her natural smoke-grey. Jon Li San proved an able guide, introducing the notables by name and rank and title.

All fifty-seven members of the court were in attendance, forty nobles, twelve commoners(all wealthy guildsmen), and five generals. The Avatar addressed each as befitted their station. Prince Kito was right there beside her...carrying out his own diplomatic duty, and by time they reached the end of their walk they both had sore backs and wrists from bows, salutes, and handshakes.

Aoki was dragged along like a leaf in a storm. The great men and women paid her little notice, but the younger Earth princesses and notable's daughters were more interested in the Water Tribe girl. They invited her along their idle pastimes and frolics as if she were a lady of rank, assuming that any friend of the Avatars would be a good friend to make, full of gossip.

And there were the boys...noblemen's sons, generals attaches, a few princes...all were dressed up in their finery, and every man felt the pressing need to introduce their sons to the Avatar personally. Both Avatar and the daughter of one of the most stories families in the Fire Nations, Xia was the most desirable bachelorette in all the world. She hand her fingers kissed, her beauty praised, jewelry pressed into her hands.

Xia found it all frivolous...even if she were seeking a husband, this occasion wasn't suited to courting. There were enough truly important names to remember that she could hardly remember who gave her what or invited her where. Kito shared an amused smile with her as they broke past them, knowing personally there was more to seeking her hand hand than pretty words and gifts.

As this went on, Tsun, trailing behind, wore an utterly unreadable expression that could be just as well indicate contentment as contempt.He was polite when addressed, but his usual solemn self.

Finally, they were done...Xia had avoided as many obligations as she should, but some were unavoidable. Breakfast with the Royal Family, a dedication ceremony at the University(which at least she and Aoki could enjoy), and attending the next session of the court, ostensibly as an observer.

Their party was reduces by time they turned off the Royal walk, Prone Kito and his attendants accepting lodging in the palace, Elder Liang would be lecturing on philosophy as a guest of the University. The rest of them proceeded down a well appointed street to their desitination.

As soon as the passed the low earth-bent walls, Xia felt at home...her eyes flashed blue, and a content smile spread across her features as they walked the meandering paths through the gardens Avatar Song hand planted with his own two hands to the compact manse he had built with his earthbending so long ago.

In the courtyard, a dozen well-dressed servants awaited them, and when they saw Xia, their expressions were somewhere between overjoyed and reverent. Xia recognized the older ones, from an earlier life...the people who had attended her predecessor in his final difficult years.

It took her no time at all to set her household in order, if her mother had taught her little else, it was how to manage the help. She wasn't unkind in her orders, simply exacting. Everything from when she slept and was not to be disturbed, when when she took her meals and the dishes she preferred for each, even security she took into her own hands, establishing guard stations and patrol schedules.

Finally, as the guards and servants dispersed, she was left along with her strange new party of retainers. Caius was still carrying her chest and bags, wearing that unshakeable smile. She smiled back, the way one would at a somewhat dull puppy.

"Caius, I'd like my things placed in the master bedroom. Aoki can have the adjoining nurses quarters. You and Tsun can have suites across the hall..." She explained, along with simple directions as the where the rooms were. Xia had never set foot here, but she knew it as well, perhaps better, than her girlhood home.

[Ashen]

All the fanfare was bound to be exhausting. Aoki kept glancing towards Feng, wondering how she kept that polite smile, that iron-straight posture. Aoki became aware of the slouch in her own back and awkwardly corrected it. All these people had come to see the Avatar. Hadn't she been just like them merely an hour ago? But now she was in an entirely different place, as if on a stage, to be ogled alongside the one deserving of their attention. She felt out of place here, intruding on this ceremonious gathering, but unable to do anything about it, she silently followed where she was supposed to go and tried not to think too hard about the multitude of people gathered around her.

Cai, on the other hand, was loving the attention. He greeted everyone who met his eye with an unwavering smile. Some he even greeted verbally, showing with pride his street accent, so unlike the speech of the nobles around him. Cai marveled at that. He was born not far at all from this very city, and yet, his life had been so different than anything these people could know. Absently, he wondered if he should sharpen his tongue, polish his accent, but his train of thought was lost as he eagerly greeted a noble lady.

Once the salutations were concluded, Cai nodded his head and took Feng's things inside like he'd been told. The servants around him all seemed wary. He wondered if they were put off by his clothing, by his manner, as if they knew he didn't belong with someone like Feng. He shook it off. Feng had chosen him, had judged his bending and had decided he was worthy of being a teacher to her. The opinion of these servants didn't matter at all. What mattered was that Feng believed in him, and that he would be able to teach her everything she needed to know to be the Avatar of the world.

The building itself was more spacious than any Cai had been in before. He found the master bedroom with ease and noted how it was bigger than his entire apartment back home. He set Feng's chest down gently, then looked around the lavishly decorated room. It was a room fit for royalty alright. Looking behind him, he found only servants rummaging about, so he took the opportunity to go across the hall in search of his room. He poked his head into two rooms, mostly identical, probably where he and Tsun would be sleeping, or some of the many servants buzzing around. Even these smaller rooms were gigantic, and Cai wondered how any one person could live in such a place and not get lonely. He walked to the bed of one of the rooms and collapsed onto it. The soft sheets, the dive of the mattress, the absolute paradise this room provided; the earthbender could hardly believe his luck.

Aoki was slower to enter the palace, making sure to stay behind Feng. She took in everything, from the towering ceilings to the decorated halls to the shimmering adornments on the walls. It was a place out of a fairytale, a princess's quarters set for balls of all kinds. Aoki sighed dreamily. She was looking forward to spending her days here, especially in the room right next to the Avatar herself. It was hard to believe just last night she had slept on a cold bench in a mostly deserted town. How things had so suddenly changed, again.

Once everyone was inside, Aoki looked around at the servants. "Do they live here?" she asked, then regretted her stupid question. "I really don't need to be waited on," she mumbled, unused to the lifestyle and not wanting to be a burden to anyone. A servant approached her and offered to take her bag, but she hesitated and kept it. She looked to Feng, clearly used to this. "How long are we staying here?" she asked. "This place is so huge... I can hardly believe it." Her cheeks reddened a bit. She wasn't acting proper at all, but then, that just wasn't her. "Sorry, I'm just so... excited. Surprised. Sorry, ignore me."

[Damonique]

The squad of White Lotus sentries that had accompanied them shut the gates to the compound and set to go about their business, and Xia began to visibly relax now that she was once again closed off from the prying eyes of the outside world. She dropped the expression of feigned indifference, the straight-backed posture, and, as promised, did away with the formal topknot. She winced when she prised the pins from her hair, which immediately dropped past her shoulders in a wild black mane, that she quickly bound up with one of the several ornamental rings she wore. It was a beaten band of reddish old gold, set with a ruby and likely worth more money than Aoki had had ever seen in one place, and she was using it like a common hairpin.

Aoki seemed awe-struck by her surroundings, at a loss for words at even the most pedestrian trappings of wealth and privilege as she followed after like a lost puppy. Xia found it endearing and intriguing at once. Never in her life had she been allowed to be seen in the company of the 'common' people....perhaps that was why the first thing she had decided to do, when left to her own devices, was to take in a pair of them. When the Earth Court finally released her from their charade of hospitality, and she set off on her journey proper, it would be she who would have to learn to adjust to unfamiliar surroundings. A few footsore travelers would making getting on that much easier.

Finally, the scribe seemed to find her tongue, and began rambling about everything and nothing, even the most trite details, embarrassing herself in short order and becoming silent once again. Xia stopped to look back at her, chuckling in amusement...she had her Avatar's undivided attention, and her first questions were about the servants. How quaint, how cute. But also, how boring.

"Of course they don't live here, they live with their families, wherever it is peasants live. The Middle Ring, most likely...but a few will be staying in the servants quarters for so long as I remain in residence to ease the day-to-day. The maids, the chef, a some strapping manservants in case I feel like rearranging the decor...as fine a show as that would make, I think I'll leave it as Song had it, though. There's a certain nostalgia here..." Xia began in a haughty manner, but quickly grew wistful as she took the time to look, really look at the murals and frescoes that lined the walls, study the leaves of carefully-pruned bonsai trees. Her past lives fingerprints were on everything here, especially the Earthbent architecture that still seemed to resonate with a bit of the energy that went into it's creation. Her eyes flickered blue, and she turn to give the scribe a smile in a serene manner that didn't match her usual dire set at all. The change in demeanor was gone in a flash, though, and the Avatar looked as if waking up from a dream, confused for a moment before resuming their conversation as if nothing had happened.

"They serve at my pleasure, same as you. And if it pleases me for them to serve at yours, they will. And for the moment, it does. And it's not as if it's just charity on my part...if you're going to play your part and distract some of the interminable chatter I'm sure the courtiers will drown me in, you'd best look the proper lady-in-waiting. If you manage to catch some eyes, and a few less of them will find me. Get the dirt of the trail off and treat you to some pampering, and I'm sure you'll be up to the task." The noblewoman stated with a flippant disregard for how that sentence might have sounded coming from anyone else. Without meaning to, the scribe had fallen into the Avatar's orbit, and become a tool of hers to be set to it's most useful purpose. And for Xia, her most sought-after treasure was space and solitude. So Aoki would become another barrier she could put between herself and the world. And why not? Tsun had been doing the same for her for years. It was what her 'friends' did.

And on that possibly-unsettling note, depending on what the water tribe girl expected, they reached the double-doors leading to the master bedroom. It was well-appointed, tasteful but not grandiose. A large, plush matress on an Earthbent frame, bookshelves against the walls broken up now and again by artwork and artifacts depicting Earth Kingdom history. Covering just half the wall above the headboard and below a wide bay window was another fresco on the Avatar Song's favorite subject matter, his, and thus Xia's, past lives, following the cycle from Kyoshi forward, with a conspicuous empty space after Korra, who was depicted, rather than in the brash and heroic action she was known for, lying on her back, doubled over in pain, fighting the metallic poison that had nearly claimed her life. Xia shuddered slightly at the sight, and examined back, finding each of the images seemed to be of her past lives in the moments of greatest weakness. Aang, being struck through the chest by a bolt of lightning, Roku facing the flames of the Volcano, Kuruk turning his back on Koh, the face Stealer. It was a distressingly legacy to have literally hanging above ones head, but Feng understood the message trying to be imparted. Avatar's were not defined by their obvious triumphs, but the personal struggles that brought them to that point. It was her destiny to suffer for the worlds peoples, and she would face it headfirst with a soldiers bravery. She turned back to the scribe, and gestured to the smaller door inset into the wall beside the bed.

"That's the nurses quarters...bed-and-bath all in one. I...Song required much assistance towards the end of his life, and brought on a healer from the Southern Water Tribe to help ease his passing. I'm not sure how well you know your Avatar history, but our spirit, Rava, was damaged when Korra fought the Dark Avatar Unalaq....and just as the state of ones soul affects their health, the state of our Spirit is reflected in our bodies. I'll have to make the most of the time I have, before the same befalls me." Xia explained, suddenly somber, and serious. While the Fire Sages had not been unsympathetic, they hadn't insulted her by sugar-coating the downsides of her unique inheritance. Korra had hardly made it out of her thirties, and while song had held on to a respectable age for a regular person, those later years had been a excruciating fight with mortality. Truly, gone were the days when the Avatar was a preternaturally long-lived demigod. Rava was healing, and that took a toll on the mortals she chose. It was just the reality of her duty. Suddenly, Xia, didn't feel much like chatting.

"Please, make yourself at home, and then draw a bath for the both of us. I'll have the servants prepare something of the latest fashion in the sky-blue of your tribe to wear, and we'll go out for that tea I promised. If you'll excuse me, I have to go find out just how much this Mercator fellow has to offer me." She half-explained, half-directed, before circling her hand in the air in a universal expression of 'get to it', and turned on heel to seek out her other stray.

[Ashen]

And just like that, the noble air fell away. Aoki wondered if she would get used to the seamless way Feng's demeanor changed or if, like now, she would always spend several moments just staring, watching, wondering if it really was the same girl in there. She quickly averted her eyes, silently scolding herself for looking too long. She listened to her explanation for a few moments before looking to the same things Feng was looking at. These decorations, every detail of this place; this had been Feng's home, once, long ago. Aoki shifted awkwardly. She watched Feng's gaze waver, her expression pause. Quietly, Aoki slunk away, watching from the corner of the room, giving the Avatar a chance to reconnect with people and memories long gone.

She wondered if this was how she might feel, someday. Aoki's mind was left wandering, remembering brown faces framed by thick furs, dark braids. The crunch of the snow underfoot, the sound of children's joyous screams carried on crisp, frigid winds. A gloved hand wrapped in hers, an eager look, a Let's go sledding, Kiki sang between pockets of laughter. A sister she'd likely never see again. If Aoki ever found the courage to go back, to return to a war-torn battlefield, a place that used to mean home, just what feelings would rush back to her? She turned away from Feng, suddenly lost in her own thoughts, remembering too much about things she couldn't decide if she wanted to forget.

She pulled herself from her thoughts as Feng began talking again. Aoki didn't want to look any part, she was comfortable in her furs, the remnants of her family, and she didn't want to change how she presented herself. She stayed silent, planning a later protest in her head.

Feng rambled on a bit about history, about her past selves, and after planning the rest of her day she was off to find Cai. Aoki stood unwavering, uncomfortable, too many thoughts circling in her head. It was the way Feng talked down to her, talked down to everyone, the way she commanded and went on about things only relevant to her; Aoki had a bad taste in her mouth. She doubted Feng would ever see herself equal to someone like her, some orphan too learned in the ways of the world from firsthand experience rather than books and lectures. And maybe she wasn't an equal; what did a non-bending tribe girl know about helping a noble, anyway? When she no longer heard Feng's footsteps from outside the room, Aoki started pacing. Was this the right idea? There were so many better teachers, so many waterbenders out there, ones who knew how to be formal and proper. What could she do?

Her hands started shaking, muscle memory recreating quakes in her body. "Stop it," she whispered. Aoki went to start the bath, finding the right temperature for the water and looking around for soaps that smelled like things she'd never heard of. As the bath readied, her hands still shook, and she noticed ripples in the water. Almost scared to look at it, she peered over the edge and saw her blurry reflection, those wide eyes, the same hue as her sister's. Her hands shook harder then. The bath water became an ocean, crashing against the tub walls. Aoki had to stop the water, but she couldn't move, couldn't think. Wasn't this like last time? The traitorous eyes, the shaking hands... Water spilled over the tub, splashing onto the floor. Aoki's lips formed words her voice couldn't say. She watched the water fall, soaking her boots now. Finally, ripping herself from her reverie, she clutched her hands tight and pinched her eyes shut. The water, still not shut off, stopped spilling to the floor.

Aoki opened her eyes carefully, and only then could she bring herself to shut off the water. The pipes were frozen solid, as was the water she'd just prepared. Snowflakes blossomed under the surface of the ice, trapped now in an amber-like cage. Aoki panicked and pushed away from the tub, now uneasy on her own feet. She looked to her hands, to the icicles dripping from her fingertips. No, she thought, flailing her hands until the ice shattered on the floor. No, no, no. She looked back to the room, praying Feng would be gone long enough for her to fix this.

---

Cai was only relaxing for a few minutes when he heard footsteps outside his room. He hopped out of bed and headed into the hallway, where he saw the Avatar approaching. "Oh, hi," he greeted warmly. "We've brought in your things for you. Anything else you need me to do?" He looked over her face, noting the difference in demeanor from when she was outside, the center of attention. "Are you alright?" he added.