Carved In Rock || ATLA

Critical Acclaim

The Tales of Ba Sing Se/Appa's Lost Day's/Lake Logai

"Excuse the obscene, ignore the untrue, depictions we see try and get through. Admitting mistakes can hurt, I'm not the last but I sure ain't the first." - Avenged Sevenfold

🌊🏔🔥🌪

"And then what happened?"

"A whole bunch of animals came stampeding down the street! There was even a tigerdillo!"

"In the middle of the city?"

"I saw it with my own two eyeballs, I swear!"

"I believe you Usagi." Kyojuro smiled at the young girl dragging him along through the busy streets. "I just didn't know our zoo had a tigerdillo, I heard they can be pretty tempermental. Imagine finding one of those in your backyard one morning and asking your parents if you could keep it like a house cat."

"I would've named them Noodle because everyone loves noodles." Usagi declared before noticing their destination in the distance. "We're here!" She cheered, quickly forgetting about the animals as they approached a rather unsuspecting shop in the row of buildings, not a single word on its front and one, thin curtain serving as the only door. It was Usagi's absolute favorite place. "Come on!"

Kyojuro allowed himself to be pulled past the curtain and up to a countertop where Usagi was already scrambling into one of the five seats. Behind the counter was by far one of the oldest people the Prince had ever seen. His back was hunched just slightly from years of work and the hair on his head had long since disappeared. He reminded Kyojuro of the way beloved elders were described in old wives ' tales, their looks often accompanied by an equally soft demeanor.

"Shit!"

So much for soft.

"Oi, Jiji! There's a child here!" The only other patron of the restaurant scolded the man, a girl that looked every bit of the Prince's age minus her strange, grey hair.

"A child?" Roshi turned around to see a familiar face and a smile bigger than the Outer Wall spread across his face. "Usagi! I was beginning to worry you and your mother hadn't come to visit me." His grin faded when he noticed that the child wasn't accompanied by the older version of herself. "Where is Ikuko, anyway? Why aren't you with her?"

"She's working in the Upper Ring." The child said without missing a beat, far more happier and hopeful than she was just a short while ago. "But it's okay cause I've got family like Kyojuro!" She motioned to the burly boy, his jaw slightly tense and his eyes constantly looking over his shoulder. The amazement he had felt this morning when he first fled the palace had long since disappeared and was instead only replaced with more mistrust and disdain the more he learned about his city.

Aelita didn't trust it. Something about this guy just didn't belong.

"Kyojuro, you say." Roshi raised a brow. "Like Prince Kyojuro?"

Fuck.

"Prince?" Aelita didn't hide her surprise. "The Earth Kingdom has a Prince?"

Outsider, that would explain why she looked so different.

"Supposedly." Kyojuro quickly picked up one of the lies he had heard about himself. "He hasn't made an appearance since King Kaito and Queen Kaguya's assassination. My crazy conspiracy theorist neighbor swears he's dead too, hates that my mom and dad named me after him."

"Glad to know my country isn't the only one fucked up." Aelita watched her drink swirl in her glass before tipping it back. There was still something about this kid that just seemed out of place. "For the eighth time, if you can't find your dam - dang, dang spark rocks quit being stubborn and let me help you."