Anonymous
Dec 26, 2013 1:56:36 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Dec 26, 2013 1:56:36 GMT -6
"Here we are. Welcome to Air Temple Island, Miss!"
The ferryman smiled cheerily as he brought the ferry in to dock on the island. Returning his smile, Khalama Choden bowed politely as she came to her feet, grabbing her gun staff in hand.
"Please, just call me Khala." She rose. "Thank you for the ride."
The ferryman held out his hand, obviously looking for a tip from the happy customer, but Khala didn't seem to get the point. She looked at him awkwardly for a moment, then suddenly realized what it was he wanted. "Oh! I'm sorry." Reaching down, she pulled a small stack of yuan bills from her pocket and handed him one, then stepped out of the boat and waved him off as he pulled back out of dock.
As the ferry made its way back toward the city, she turned toward the air temple, breathing in the air deeply. There was a good, natural smell here, unlike the city, where everything smelled somehow... dingy. She'd worried that smell would be here, too, and was very grateful to find that it wasn't. It was still a heavier smell than the air at the Northern Air Temple, but that was to be expected at the lower altitude of Air Temple Island.
"Well, here I am then." Gripping her staff in her right hand, she began to head toward the temple. She wasn't exactly sure who she was looking for... she knew her mentors at the northern temple had sent word ahead of her arrival, but she didn't know who would be expecting her. She was sure she'd figure it out, though. When you let the world work around you, things usually had a nice way of doing exactly what they were supposed to do. Whoever it was she needed to talk to, she'd find them sooner or later.
Dec 26, 2013 2:20:52 GMT -6
Post by A Long Display Name Here on Dec 26, 2013 2:20:52 GMT -6
Ren scrambled to the docks. She had overslept, the heating inside the dormitories keeping her lulled in dreamland despite her alarm clock's best efforts.
Luckily, the ferry was just pulling into the dock as she arrived; a young lady stepped down the ramp, looking a little tentative and lost. The taller-than-average woman bowed as she reached her, her sloppy braid of grey hair fluttering in the chill early winter wind. She was dressed in the standard winter female acolyte attire of red robes and gold sashes (whereas the male acolytes wore robes with reversed colours) and brown winter boots.
"W-welcome to Air Temple Island," she stuttered softly in her husky, wood-smoke voice as her wire-rimmed glasses slipped down her nose. "I'm Ren, and I'll be showing you around the Island today. I trust your journey was pleasant?"
Inside, her heart was hammering. She hoped her voice wouldn't crack or squeak from nerves while she showed her new charge around the grounds.
"First, we'll need to check in with the head acolyte on duty," she murmured. "Do you have all your things?"
Once they were ready, Ren lead the way to the main entrance. "Please check in with the head acolyte here," she murmured.
"Hello Ren!" said a bald man behind a desk. "Ah, you must be our newest acolyte. Please sign in here," he pointed to a piece of paper on a clipboard, "and make a note of the possessions you're bringing with you."
Ren stepped aside to allow for her charge to do as instructed. The bald man continued. "Ren, why don't you show her the bison first? Should be about time for their morning feeding."
The tall woman nodded. "Okay."
"Have you seen an air bison before?" she queried once they were on their way. "If you haven't, I have to warn you — they're a lot bigger than they sound in the stories!"
Anonymous
Dec 26, 2013 2:48:21 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Dec 26, 2013 2:48:21 GMT -6
Khala smiled, returning the bow. Unlike the woman sent to greet her, she had dressed herself in the training clothes typically worn by airbenders; she hoped the actual airbenders here wouldn't take offense to that, but as a bender herself (even if not of air), she wanted to be as close to the air nomads' bending traditions as she could.
"Good to meet you, Miss Ren." She rose. "The journey was as pleasant as could be expected, coming from the northern temple without a sky bison to fly me."
She looked around herself as the second question was asked of her. Robes... check. Water skins... check. Staff... check. "Yep. I have everything I'll need." She gave another warm smile as she followed the other acolyte toward the main entrance to the air temple.
The temple here was a lot different than the northern air temple where she'd been raised. She'd expected it to be... higher, more suitable for flying. In truth, though, the change was a pleasant surprise for her - what could be better for a waterbending acolyte than a temple surrounded by water?
Khala greeted the head acolyte as she walked up to his desk, leaning over to sign the form. "It will be a pleasure to be able to learn from you all. Thank you for the warm welcome."
She finished signing the paperwork, then waved goodbye to the head acolyte as she followed Ren back outside toward the bison. "Yes, there's a herd of them living at the northern temple, too. I used to take rides on their backs from time to time."
She hesitated for a moment as they made their way across the temple grounds. "Um..." She hesitated again. She was a bit nervous to be asking this. "You... you don't think I'd be able to meet Master Tenzin at some point, do you? I'm not an airbender... but I was hoping he might be able to teach me something I could use for my waterbending."
Dec 26, 2013 7:32:41 GMT -6
Post by A Long Display Name Here on Dec 26, 2013 7:32:41 GMT -6
"Just Ren, please," the taller woman murmured. Formality made her feel uncomfortable, as if someone was calling attention to the discrepancy between her gender and her body. She lead the way to the air bison fields, where the herd was just receiving their morning meal.
"Um.. You... you don't think I'd be able to meet Master Tenzin at some point, do you? I'm not an airbender... but I was hoping he might be able to teach me something I could use for my waterbending."
Ren paused, turning to face her new co-worker (so to speak). "I'm not sure," she said honestly. "Master Tenzin is very busy with his children and training Avatar Korra. He checks in on everyone from time to time, but daily activities are monitored by the head acolytes and the assistant head acolytes." A small smile played at her lips as she continued. "I met him, once, quite by accident. He was heading out to the library, and I accidentally ran into him. My scribing bag fell to the ground and my ink bottle shattered everywhere! It was embarrassing, but he was very kind about it. That was a while ago, though, before all the trouble with the Equalists and the Galgori."
After petting the bison calves and feeding them a little bit of sweet grass by hand, Ren continued on the tour: the dining hall, the meditation pavillion, the training area, the temple, the greenhouse, and finally, the dormitories.
"Here are the dorms," Ren said, coming to a stop. "They're separated into three sections: the women's dorms, the men's dorms, and then family dorms. I um... I stay in the family dorms, due to a... a...rooming conflict when I first arrived." The grey-haired woman looked down at a small slip of paper. "It looks like you're set for the women's dorms. Shall I help you get settled in before we head over to breakfast?"
Anonymous
Dec 26, 2013 12:31:57 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Dec 26, 2013 12:31:57 GMT -6
Family dorms, hm? They'd had those in the Northern temple, of course, but she'd never considered that a person could live there without a family. She'd always been fine living in the female dorms, but she had to admit that the concept of gender was one that had never resonated strongly with her before, and she'd always felt somehow different than the other girls. Not a boy, she knew that. But... still, not quite a girl either. She'd always been just been Khala, and that was fine.
Living in the female dorms had never bothered her, though. Most people saw her as female based on her appearance, and that was fine by her. Would have been fine by her if they'd seen her as male, too. But... Something about Ren. Maybe it was her imagination, but Ren seemed somehow lonely to her, like she could use a friend close by. And leaving behind the word "female" wouldn't bother her in the least.
"Actually..." She hesitated again. "Do you think I'd be able to stay in the family dorms as well?" She offered a warm smile.
Dec 26, 2013 19:59:12 GMT -6
Post by A Long Display Name Here on Dec 26, 2013 19:59:12 GMT -6
Ren looked up from the paper with surprise. "You want to stay in the family dorms?" she repeated uncertainly. "Well... we'd have to check with the head acolyte to see if there is a room available. We can just call up to the office from here, one moment."
She disappeared into the family dorms, calling from the hallway phone that was just connected within the temple grounds and not to any outside lines. After a few moments, she came back out.
"The head acolyte says it's okay for now," she said in her quiet way, "but you'll have to go up and talk to them later to explain why you would like to stay in the family dorms."
She lead the way into the family dorm housing and to one of the empty rooms. "This will be your room, unless the head acolyte wants you to change locations," she said, opening the sliding rice-paper door. "I'm supposed to be showing you around for this week while you get accustomed to the changes from your last temple and here, so if you need me my room is just down the hall, third door to your left." She pointed down the hallway, to the left after exiting the empty room.
Once the waterbender had set her things down, Ren led the way back to the dining hall. "It's time for our breakfast," she said by way of explanation. "I'm not sure about other temples, but here we have about an hour for morning chores and / or meditation before we eat. We grow everything on the island here, so we're completely self-sufficient. The cooks here are also really amazing about making meat-substitutes. Just a few nights ago we had a tofu-based sweet-and-sour stir fry, and I wouldn't have been able to tell you it wasn't meat if I didn't know better."
She opened the door to the dining hall and motioned for her charge to sit across from her. "We don't have assigned seating here, so where ever is empty is usually fine. We alternate on kitchen duties, so you will eventually have to cook and wash dishes, though not on the same turn."
As the acolytes on kitchen duty began serving breakfast — okayu, a rice porridge with chopped green onions — Ren turned to look properly at her companion. "I'm sorry," she murmured, feeling embarrassed. "I've been talking a lot and I don't think I ever caught your name."
Anonymous
Dec 26, 2013 20:38:33 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Dec 26, 2013 20:38:33 GMT -6
"Thank you, Ren." Heading into her room, she dropped off her staff. She wasn't likely to need it for breakfast, after all.
She listened as she followed the other acolyte into the dining hall.
"Yes, that's very consistent with the northern temple. We grew all of our own produce there, as well. And you should taste some of the fruit pies our cooks made! It seems a little quieter here, though - we had to share the northern temple with a group of non-acolytes, who apparently moved in during the hundred-year war, before the acolytes were formed, and they were always flying around on their mechanical gliders and... occasionally blowing things up." She shook her head. "Should be a lot easier to find a quiet place to meditate here."
She took her seat across from Ren, looking around the table at the other acolytes. "You know, I've grown up an acolyte from the day I was born, but I never found a whole lot of vegetables I like. I know we're not supposed to eat meat, but..." She leaned forward, whispering. "Sometimes I used to sneak a bite from the non-acolytes' tables when no one was looking. Don't tell anyone!"
Khala grinned as her breakfast was placed before her - she hadn't been eating as much as usual during her trip to Republic City, and she was hungry for a good meal! Just as she was about to take a bite, though, Ren dropped a bombshell on her. Had she really forgotten to introduce herself?
"Oh. Uh. Sorry..." She flushed, putting her food back down. "That is, uh..." She extended her hand for a late introductory handshake, looking away and avoiding eye contact. "I'm Khala." She let out an awkward, nervous half-laugh. "Pleasure to meet you..."
Awkward...
Jan 3, 2014 6:35:11 GMT -6
Post by A Long Display Name Here on Jan 3, 2014 6:35:11 GMT -6
ooc; feel free to move the plot along if you'd like! you don't have to wait for me (:
—-
Ren took her hand briefly but firmly. "Nice to meet you," she said softly, a gentle smile on her face. She was reminded a little of herself, before she became an acolyte and before she met Hangetsu. She realised now that she was a bit calmer when meeting new people, at least if she were in a comfortable environment.
The taller woman dragged her spoon slowly through the okayu, letting it cool a little before eating it. As she lifted her spoon to her mouth, her glasses fogged up from the steam coming off the porridge. She ignored it; as a life-long glasses-wearer, Ren was more than accustomed to such things occurring.
It was good; the porridge was hot in her mouth, sending warmth and comfort coursing through her down to her bones. She almost didn't miss the chicken her mother used to add to her version.
Almost.
After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Ren rested her elbow on the table. "So, Khala," she murmured, her tone curious. "What's it like in the — the northern temple, was it?" She leaned in a little. "How is it, living so high up?"
Anonymous
Jan 3, 2014 14:09:06 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2014 14:09:06 GMT -6
Khala smiled as the question brought into mind some fond memories. "Well, it's very different. The air's thinner, it's colder... but the view..."
She took a deep breath through her nose, as if she were trying to find the scent of the northern temple lingering somewhere in the air around her.
"At that height the clouds aren't in the sky above you, like they are here. They're under you, and all around you. When I looked out from my bedroom, I could see mountain peaks rising above the clouds on into the distance, and in the other direction if you looked far enough, you could see the ocean stretching to the horizon, all through layers of cloud. The sky bison and lemurs were always flying around, too. It was really amazing. And even though we didn't have any airbenders there, the other group that we shared the temple with had invented gliders that anyone could use - I used to ride them sometimes. It's the closest I've ever gotten to knowing what it felt like to be an airbender."
"There was always snow there, too. I used it to practice waterbending. But of course it was nothing like the water surrounding the island here."
She took a bite of the Okayu... it really hit the spot! The first real hot meal after days of traveling always seemed to be the best meal of a person's life. She closed her eyes as she savored the flavor, letting it sit on her tongue for a few moments before swallowing.
"So do you get a lot of new acolytes coming from the city here? It sounds like your cooks put a lot of effort into making it easier for people who are used to eating meat."
Jan 6, 2014 16:24:57 GMT -6
Post by A Long Display Name Here on Jan 6, 2014 16:24:57 GMT -6
"Snow is okay," Ren murmured. "It's supposed to snow soon."
Living in Republic City, one grew to expect snowfall in the winter; the air had been getting crisper, and according to the weather forecasts on the radio and newspaper they could expect the first snowfall of the year around the winter solstice. Absently, the tall woman wondered if she should cut back on her candies and book purchases to save up for a new winter coat.
"So do you get a lot of new acolytes coming from the city here? It sounds like your cooks put a lot of effort into making it easier for people who are used to eating meat."
She looked up, her inner thoughts disrupted. "Oh. I'm not sure to be honest. I think so, at any rate. Air Temple Island is kind of the... melting pot, if that makes sense, when it comes to acolytes. The rejuvenation started here, with Avatar Aang and his family, and spread out. This is also the most accessible temple, being just a ferry ride away from the city properly."
Leaning in conspiratorially, Ren lowered her voice to a whisper. "To be honest, I used to cheat a lot on the diet. I've gotten better lately, but the first few months I snuck meat snacks on my trips to the mainland." She giggled. "I don't think anyone really cares here — I mean, we're really only hurting ourselves when we cheat — but for a while I felt so guilty!"
Her okayu was about half gone; Ren added a little lemon to it to make it a little more acidic. "So does the Northern Temple allow you to go to town? Here we're allowed to go to the mainland a couple times a week as long as our chores and work get done."
Anonymous
Jan 9, 2014 22:53:06 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2014 22:53:06 GMT -6
"Well... since we shared the temple with a group of non-acolytes, the temple and town were kind of... well, you couldn't really tell where one started and the other stopped. We were encouraged to go throughout the temple to see not only where our roots had come from, but how the temple had managed to support and even save the refugees who had come there even after the air nomads were gone. They taught us that the temple had been altered by the refugees and some of its history had been lost, but that change isn't always a bad thing, and sometimes it's ok to forget some of the past to protect the future."
She paused to take a few bites of her okayu.
"Personally, though, I spent a lot of my free time alone, meditating, having tea, writing, or playing my flute. I find music is a good way to center myself. I think I'm going to have to spend more time in the city here, though - I hope the abbot understands. The reason I came here was to learn waterbending, and I'd hazard a guess that there aren't any waterbending teachers on the island." She diverted her eyes, looking slightly annoyed. "Personally I'd rather just sit and meditate by myself, but the abbot at the northern temple thinks it's important that I embrace my waterbending so I can achieve proper balance and self-harmony. He's probably right... but, I dunno. I just hate that I have to divert time from my spirituality for the sake of my spirituality. It seems so... backward." She grimaced. "That, and I'm really not good at meeting people... as you've probably noticed."
She sighed and sat her bowl on the table. It wasn't empty, but she was done eating. Also, she wanted to change the subject, talking about her reason for being here brought up some conflicting emotions - she missed home already and didn't really want to dwell on the fact that she'd left to study something she wasn't even that interested in to begin with.
"So what's after breakfast? At the Northern temple, we'd follow breakfast with meditation facing the morning sun, and then we'd have a half hour of stretching and start martial arts training."
Jan 12, 2014 20:55:35 GMT -6
Post by A Long Display Name Here on Jan 12, 2014 20:55:35 GMT -6
Ren finished up the food in her bowl, tilting it slightly and scooping out the very last bits til the bowl was clean.
"Mm," she murmured, putting the bowl aside and wiping her mouth daintily. "We take duties in rounds; one group is meditating, the other is working on their craft, one is tending to the crops, and so on." She closed one eye and looked up with the other, as if trying to manually "search" her head for information.
"Since I'm showing you around today, I guess you'd come with me to the library. I'm a scribe here at the temple, I help write down the Air Nomad teachings onto paper."
With the end of the breakfast services, Ren led the way to the library, showing Khala the vinyl records with the recorded lectures from Avatar Aang, Master Tenzin, and various other older acolytes. "The head librarian," Ren said quietly, pointing discreetly to a wizened old lady, "loves phonograph. Ever since the temple got one, he says, it's made transcribing so much easier." She showed Khala how to transcribe in beautiful calligraphy, her already darkened fingers becoming more ink-stained as she wrote. Unlike other scribes, Ren found little reason to lift the sleeve on her writing arm as she moved across the page; being left-handed, the right-to-left writing system worked in her advantage, preventing her robe from smudging over wet ink.
As she paused the recording, Ren dipped her pen into her crystal inkwell and began scratching the nib against paper. "So what did you do in the other temple?" she asked quietly, keeping her voice low so as to not talk over the other scribes' recordings. "It would be easier to place you if we knew what you did before."
Anonymous
Jan 14, 2014 23:35:15 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2014 23:35:15 GMT -6
Khala nodded. "I think I'd enjoy that. The air nomad teachings are very close to my heart. A lot of the acolytes my age at the northern temple used to chastise me for being too stiff about them, actually..."
She followed Ren into the library, and was instantly enamored when she saw the records of Avatar Aang's lectures, to the point that she didn't really notice what Ren was saying or doing anymore. She pretended to watch Ren writing, but was spending her every conscious thought on hanging onto every word of the recording. The moment the record started, she was almost entranced.
Unfortunately, someone just HAD to go and turn off the recording! "Hey! I was listening to that..." She realized what she'd said, flushed, and gave an apologetic bow. "Sorry. It's just, I haven't heard a new lecture by Avatar Aang in a long time." Of course, she'd listened to all of the recordings of the lectures he'd given at the northern temple, but it had been years since she'd had a lecture to listen to that she hadn't already heard a dozen times.
"Um, well, I didn't really have a dedicated position... I'm only sixteen so I was still spending most of my time studying and going to lectures from the older acolytes. And when I wasn't studying the nomad teachings, I was studying hand-to-hand and staff combat, and studying the techniques of the airbenders. I'm not an airbender, but since, to my knowledge, I was the only bender at the temple, I think they really wanted me to learn the airbenders' approach to bending in general. Other than that, I just did whatever chores were assigned to me."
"I really like studying, though. I'd like to be a spiritual mentor some day, help teach the Air Nomads' ways to the young acolytes, both philosophically and physically. But I'm far from mastering those things myself, so I'm not sure I'd be qualified to teach anyone else. But that's why I'd really like to meet Tenzin. I was hoping maybe he could teach me more about airbending than what I was able to learn from the books at the northern temple.. Especially since a lot of those were destroyed during the hundred year war."
She thought. "Since I'm not ready to teach yet, maybe there's something in the library I can do? It might give me an opportunity to learn more about the air nomads and their teachings. I want to learn everything I can."
