Wandering Firebender

Sixty: See You Later

Elio's eyes fluttered open, and he was blinded by the gentle glow of a bright white light. He groaned in surprise, shielding his face with his hand. He sat up slowly and felt his other hand slip into ankle-deep warm water. He looked down at his hand and then around him.

That's when he saw her: the figure of a woman wearing a flowing white dress. She had beautiful blue eyes and long white hair. Elio stared up at her, astonished by her appearance and the otherworldly white glow that was surrounding her.

"Whoa...are you a spirit?" Elio asked slowly.

"I am." She answered. Her voice was very kind and surprisingly youthful in its tone. Elio swallowed nervously.

"Am I dead?" He asked. She smiled softly and shook her head.

"Not yet. Please stand, if you can." She invited him. Elio stood up slowly.

"Where am I?"

"You're still at the North Pole. You're standing in the sacred alcove of the ocean and moon spirits." The woman answered him, gesturing towards the water that Elio had just accidentally dipped his hand in.

Elio looked down at the water. Inside of a small little pool surrounded by grass were two koi fish: one white with a black spot and the other black with a white spot. Elio leaned over a little to get a closer look at them.

"Wow...these are the spirits?" He asked, pointing to them.

"Yes." The woman answered with a giggle. Elio crouched down a little, watching them swim in circles around each other.

"The ocean and moon spirits...what were their names again?"

"La and Yue." She answered. She gestured to herself when she said the second name. Elio turned his head and looked her up and down again.

"Yue... That's you? You're the moon spirit?" He asked, standing up again. Yue nodded.

"I am. It's nice to meet you, Elio."

"You know my name already?" Elio's eyes widened in surprise.

"I've known about you for awhile now, Elio. You've come a long way to get here, haven't you?"

"Yeah...last thing I remember, I was on a-a ship. I was..." Elio trailed off. The memory was hazy for him.

"She saved you. She pulled you out just before they would've killed you." Yue said. It took Elio a moment to understand what Yue meant, but his eyes widened again once he figured it out.

"Cindra saved me...where is she now?"

"Close. She's alright." She answered with a reassuring smile.

"Good. Good," Elio nodded in relief. "I guess I...owe you an apology...? This whole time, I was kinda doubtful of the whole 'Spirit World' thing. Turns out, I was very wrong." He admitted with a chuckle, looking up at her in admiration again.

"Heheh, it's alright, Elio. It was only a matter of time. A lot of people don't believe things until they see it for themselves." Yue said.

"Yeah that's very true," Elio chuckled. "This is my first direct experience with the Spirit World. Is this...standard procedure?" He asked cluelessly. Yue laughed again.

"There really isn't any 'standard procedure' in the Spirit World." She said.

"Ahaha, oh, my bad," Elio chuckled awkwardly, looking down in embarrassment. "So if I'm not dead, why am I here? N-Not that I'm not honored! I'm just...curious."

"Heheh, well...I brought you here because I wanted to thank you, Elio, for everything you've done for my home." Yue said appreciatively.

"You're welcome...I guess this is your home, huh? In the Northern Water Tribe."