Daughter of the Moon - Book Three: Fire

Chapter 3: Avatar Kyoshi

- Elara -

I swear, the Spirit World was full of nothing but wretched trees and vines that were out to get me. It was just one giant, glorified spirit jungle that was literally alive and active, and on the rare occasion where I wasn't confident that the canopy was following after Aang and me, I had to worry about whatever dark spirits were hiding in the relatively dark patches of forest. It was driving me to the brink of insanity.

"So, Hei Bai..." I wondered out loud as I worked my way over yet another spirit vine (making another lame attempt at a distraction). "Isn't that the spirit you tamed in that small forest town a few months ago?"

"Yeah!" Aang said with a cunning smirk. "And I know exactly where to find him."

"Really? How would you know that?" I asked.

"I met him during one of my trips to the Spirit World, you know, when the Fire Nation attacked the North Pole and Zuko tried to capture me again?"

I knew that Aang had no intention of being spiteful with that statement, but I couldn't help but feel a sharp pang of guilt at the mention of that day. I was ashamed because I had foolishly allowed him to do all those terrible things to my friends not just at the North Pole, but all over the world. And I was heartbroken because...well...I didn't need to worry about that small detail.

"Yeah, I remember," I eventually croaked. "That's cool...I guess..."

"I know, right!?" Aang cheered as he began to survey the foliage before us. "And if I remember correctly, Hei Bai should be right...THERE!"

No sooner had Aang spotted the large bear munching on a bamboo stick than the airbender sprinted right towards it, colliding with the massive pile of fur as the creature seemed to return the boy's embrace—although, it didn't seem to lose interest in his little snack throughout the entire interaction. I could respect that. Hei Bai had his priorities straight.

"Hey Bai!" Aang cheered as he stepped back to address the spirit. "Roku told me we'd find you here."

Hei Bai quickly finished his bamboo and stooped down to give Aang a wet and slobbery kiss, roaring happily as he stood to his feet.

"I'm happy to see you too," Aang answered (because he must have had some magical ability that allowed him to talk to animals, or something). "I don't suppose you've seen Avatar Kyoshi around, have you?" he then asked, to which Hei Bai nodded in response. "Great! Can we catch a ride?" Aang continued.

Hei Bai nodded once again before turning to the side to beckon us abord the panda express. Aang hopped on without a second thought almost as if he had done the very same thing before (and he probably had), but I was a little more hesitant. Perhaps Aang had complete trust in Hei Bai, but my last encounter with him mostly included the spirit wreaking havoc on a small village and kidnapping the people living there, including Sokka. So, yeah. Not the best first impression, if you were to ask me.

As I weighed the pros and cons of the situation in my head, Aang extended his hand to me as he flashed a comforting grin. "Come on, Elara. I promise Hei Bai is friendly!"

"Alright," I answered as the bear roared in agreement, and I took Aang's hand as he pulled me up behind him. "I'm trusting you on this one Aang..."

Once I had seated myself on top of Hei Bai and had practically glued myself to the airbender (the ground was a bit too far away to be seated on top of a beast without a saddle, after all), Aang looked forward excitedly as he struggled to keep his rump in his seat. Initially, I was worried that he was going to be bucked off the moment we started forward with how much he seemed to be wiggling, but then I realized that he was literally so excited that he couldn't sit still (oh, to have even a tenth of Aang's energy...).