Forsaken Wasteland | Iroh II

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Chapter 1 : 

Life in the desert

Sometime during her travels, in a land she does not quite remember, Kanna heard a whisper. While most had a tone of hatred when thinking about it, the old man admired it. "What draws us to the desert," he explained as he pointed to the numerous paintings of sand dunes he was trying to sell, "is the search for something intimate in the remote."

Maybe that was the reason Kanna found solace in the sand covered land. Her travels, no matter where they started, always seemed to end in the depth of the Si Wong desert. The remote caves were, surprisingly, filled with people. People that were more than just strangers or friends or lovers, they were family. Kanna admired it: their way of life, their clothes, their smiles, their intimacy. It all seemed so natural. To be with them, to act like them, to be them. In the end, they were Kanna's family, just as much as she was theirs.

But the circumstances of her life made her leave the desert. She roamed the lands of the Earth Kingdom, making sure to finish every task she took the responsibility of. While her work was not well regarded, she did not shy away from judging eyes. She found things, it was her talent. With or without her animal companion, she found them. People usually, sometimes objects that noblemen were ready to give their fortune for.

Her last travels were no different. A kind noblewoman from Ba Sing Se had asked for one thing in return for a hundred things. And Kanna found that one thing, like she always did. The stone was one of a kind. It was no precious stone, not even some sort of crystal, but for the noblewoman, it mattered more than anything. When Kanna walked out of the capital, her shirshu following close behind, she let a smile cover her tanned face. She stood, unmoving, her back to the tall doors of the city walls, and she smiled. Her hands went to her dark hair, letting her fingers roam on her scalp. The shirshu walked forward, nudging the woman as it passed her. The smile not leaving her face, Kanna opened her eyes.

"Let's go home, Nyla."

Her travels continued, but this time, the destinations were clear. First her home, the desert and the caves of the Hami tribe, then her second home, the small hut at the outskirts of the swamp, also near the desert, where her mentor decided to retreat.

When the sun started to shine brighter, when the air started to become dry, that was when Kanna knew, she was on the good road. Nyla climbed the hill easily, Kanna holding her reins tightly not to fall. When the animal stopped, the young woman smiled again. She looked like the happiest child alive, her eyes bright, almost shining at the sight of the sand dunes. Just with that view, the nineteen year old girl became eleven again, her eyes brighting up when her oldest brother came back from the military.

Her head turned and her cold grey eyes fell on the small village on the outskirts of the desert. She gently tapped on the shirshu's head, making the creature turn towards the village. Kanna turned to the bags that were attached to the saddle and opened biggest. Roaming through the numerous pouches of coins the noblewoman gave her in the exchange of the stone, she pulled out two beige scarfs. The color was the same as her clothes, a dull beige close to yellow, blending perfectly with the sand of the desert. The first scarf, she wrapped it carefully around her head, slowly not to rip the golden chain that attached her nose ring to her earring, successfully hiding her hair and lower half of her face. The second scarf came around her bare waist, hiding her exposed stomach, abdomen and numerous scars and red ink patterns. The long fabric fell under her waist, also hiding the whip and dagger attached to her low belt.