Eclipse (Avatar the Last Airbender)

Chapter 13: Her Homeland

Miyuki spun the knife in her hand as she checked the balance. Her eyes narrowed. It caught her eye because the blade looked to be made of high quality steel. The balance was decent. Not the best, but not terrible. Definitely not worth the high price tag though. It was a shame considering the quality of the materials.

"You have quite the skill with a knife, young lady," the storekeeper commented.

She flashed a polite smile. "Thank you. It's a lovely knife, but I'm afraid that it may be too nice for me." She set the knife back down and picked up a whip. The handle was finely carved and fit into her hand well. The material of the whip felt of high quality. This one, on the other hand, seemed like it could be a good investment. She gave the storekeeper the coins for it before making her way back to the boat.

She attached the whip to her belt when she returned to the boat and went to check if any of her hawks had landed while she was out. She would attach the whip in a more discreet location on her person later, but for now, this was fine.

"I've never seen a bender so adamant on keeping weapons."

She didn't turn to face Master Pakku as she found one of her hawks on the perch that she had set up. She'd recently re-trained them so that they would bite anyone who tried to touch them if they weren't her or the informant they belonged to, so the area around this perch was typically empty.

She took the message from the hawk, who stuck its leg out dutifully so she could retrieve the message tied to it. This one earned itself a treat, it seemed. 

"You saw it for yourself during the invasion." Miyuki shrugged. "Admittedly, even I never could have predicted that something like that would happen. Generally speaking, however, weapons are useful during times like lunar eclipses or, as I heard from one of my informants, when chi-blocked."

"Chi-blocked?" the master repeated.

"A technique that temporarily disables your bending ability, or so I'm told," she explained, "Apparently, there's a small group of individuals who do it rather skillfully and have taken that skill to battle. Aside from that, it's useful for when I don't want anyone to know I'm from the Tribes or that I'm a bender."

She began to skim through the message when Master Pakku started to scold her for not being proud of her lineage, her bending, etc., etc.

"Master Pakku."

The older man stopped his rambling upon hearing the seriousness in her voice. He even went as far as to forgo chiding her for interrupting him. "What is it? What did you learn?"

"I..." she began. "I think I need to go to Ba Sing Se."

Finally, word on Zuko's whereabouts had arrived. Ever since he and his uncle were declared Fire Nation traitors, they obviously went into hiding, which made things more difficult in terms of keeping an eye on them from a distance.

"Ba Sing Se?" He raised his eyebrows at her. "For what purpose? And how? Without the proper paperwork, you'll never manage to make it in."

"I have some acquaintances there that are going to need my help. As for the paperwork, well, I have my ways." She folded her arms. "One way or another, I always manage to get what I want."

His brows were scrunched as he rubbed his temples as though to relieve a sudden headache. "Now, that is something I can attest to." He heaved a sigh. "Very well then. If you want to go to Ba Sing Se, then Ba Sing Se it is. I'll have us redirected just a bit so that you'll be as close to Ba Sing Se as we can get you."

"Thank you, I appreciate it very much."

He shook his head disapprovingly. "You've always run about as though you're as free as a tiger-seal, haven't you? Following the wind on a whim and leaving on another."

She shrugged in response. "Is a life without that level of freedom even worth living?"

He heaved a heavy sigh. "There will come a time when you must settle down, Miyuki. I hope you find that life is still worth living when the time comes." 

He folded his arms. "Still, Kazumi and Yukio named you well. You truly are like the snow itself, coming and going as you please without hesitation, and leaving those in your wake to deal with it on their own." He pinched the bridge of his nose as though he already had another headache forming at the thought. "And I have no doubt in my mind that, that older brother of yours has no objections to your behavior."

She felt a smile creep onto her face at the thought of her parents and Izuki. "Our parents did encourage us to roam freely from a young age."

·:*¨༺ ★ ༻¨*:·.

In the last hours before she would split from the Northern Tribe once again, she had a meal with the waterbending master. It was a situation that she could not have imagined in her wildest fevered dreams even a handful of weeks ago. Not if it wasn't for some sort of scheme to embarrass him or collect some information. Yet, it happened, and they ate in peace.

They sat mostly in silence throughout the meal, with the old man asking short questions like whether or not she'd finished packing her things or if she had any new intel for him regarding areas or routes that they should avoid on their journey to the South Pole. Though she assured him that he would receive all the updates she got on that front.

All the while, Miyuki savored the taste of the proper Northern Tribe food. It would be the last in a long while. Among all the things that she didn't miss about the Tribe, the one thing that she did miss was the food. Although she wasn't particularly picky with her food, there was nothing quite like it anywhere else. It was a long missed, homey taste.

When she finished the meal, it was nearly time for her to depart. She went to her quarters and checked the room over once more for anything that she may have forgotten. When she was satisfied, she took her bag and headed onto the deck.

"Before you depart, I have something for you, Miyuki," Master Pakku began as the boat drew near the docks. "It isn't much, but I packed you some rations, a sleeping bag, and some books."

She felt as though her ears themselves perked up at the phrase, and she echoed, "Books?"

"Well, they're less books than they are war logs and reference materials, but-"

She smiled. She'd never thought that a day would come where she would appreciate the waterbending master quite as much as she did now. "Thank you."

His shocked expression melted into a faint smile. "Travel safe, and don't forget about your people. Even if you aren't ready to settle yet, you will always have a home with us, Miyuki."

She ducked into a slight bow to the man for the first time. "Thank you, Master Pakku."

"May the Spirits guide you, Miyuki."

Extra:
Miyuki sat up in the sleeping bag that Master Pakku had given her and reached into the sack of rations in search of something to eat for breakfast at dawn. She paused when her hand grasped something she wasn't expecting to find. It was a small pouch. She pulled whatever was inside out and took a look at it.

She hesitated for a moment. Considering the size of the pouch, she had assumed that it would be spices or something like that. It was a pai sho tile— the white lotus piece, to be exact. She stared at it for a moment longer before stowing it back in the pouch and then back somewhere deep in the bag.

Whatever it was, it seemed important.