Wandering Firebender

Twenty Three: Farewell

Elio woke up sluggishly in bed to the sound of knocking on the door of his room. As he slowly got up and stretched his back and shoulders out, his nappy hair fell down over his eyes. He could hear Cindra's voice speaking through the door.

"Elio. Hey, are you up yet?" She asked.

"Uh, I am now," He answered in a low, dry voice. "What's up?" He asked, rubbing the leftover sleepiness out of his eyes.

"Can I come in?"

"Yeah, of course. Just let me grab my shirt." He said with a yawn. He got up out of bed and grabbed his casual long sleeve shirt. He quickly put it on as he made his way to the door.

He opened up the door to see Cindra already fully awake and dressed to go out. She smiled pleasantly and entered into the room, holding some sort of ticket in her hands.

"You look like you slept well." She said with a giggle.

"Heheh, I haven't slept in a real bed in awhile," He admitted. "What're you doing up so early?"

"I had to go and get my ticket for the boat ride up north. I paid for passage as far north as they were willing to take me." She explained.

"Oh," Elio said in surprise. He knew Cindra would be leaving very soon, but he was still somewhat caught off guard by how quickly she had already prepared herself. "That makes sense."

"Mhmm! So I'm all set!"

"That's good," Elio said, taking a moment to fix his bed sheets. "When do you head out?"

"First thing tomorrow morning. Which leaves us one more day." She answered.

Elio nodded, letting this sink in. After traveling alone for so long, it was nice to have a partner. He and Cindra had gone through a lot together and had become quite close. Saying goodbye would not be easy for him, but he knew that it was the best thing for her.

"Shame it has to come so soon." He commented.

"Yeah. But we got one more day! And I wanna make the most of it! So what's the plan?" She asked. Elio hummed and shrugged.

"I'm planning on going to the market. I need to resupply for my trip to Ba Sing Se." He answered simply.

"Right! Well, grab your clothes and I'll go with you!" She said with a smile.

"You want to come with me? You should take this time to relax." He recommended.

"I can relax on the ship! Don't be such a stick in the mud, Elio. I'll wait for you outside." She said brightly, squeezing him on the arm before making her way out of the room. Elio went up and closed the door behind her.

Elio sighed and went to get dressed in his clothes to go out. He wasn't sure yet how to handle Cindra's departure. Her cheerful disposition added a bittersweet feeling to the mix; he always enjoyed her upbeat attitude, but this time it was clashing with his desire not to see her go.

Elio went downstairs with his bag and his staff on hand. He found Cindra waiting by the door for him with a smile. He walked over to her and nodded wordlessly. She fell in step next to him and they made their way to the market.

"Something smells really good." Cindra noticed and pointed out. Elio lifted his head and was able to smell what she was talking about; it was a kind of sweet and savory scent.

"That does smell good," He agreed. "Wanna check it out?" He offered.

"Duh!" She answered with a laugh.

The two of them made their way to the food stand where the smell was coming from. They watched as the woman running the stand was using fire to cook fruit, eggs, and meat. The smell hit both of their noses and made their stomachs rumble.