Chronicles of Kairo

The United Forces' General

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender and Legend of Korra, or any of the related characters. The Avatar universe is created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and owned by Nickelodeon. This fanfiction is intended for entertainment only.

Book 1: Dark

Chapter 9: The United Forces' General

The morning sun painted the sky in hues of pink and gold as the group gathered in the kitchen, preparing for the next chapter of their journey, which was to leave Republic City with United Forces' fleet and full support. Mona and Gyila, having spent most of the night chatting, found themselves waking up next to each other. The air was filled with a comfortable warmth from the morning sunshine as they exchanged playful glances, fully clothed but hearts laid bare. Their connection had deepened over the course of the night, setting the stage for a new understanding between them.

As Jinora, Gyila, Kairo, Mona, and Senna had breakfast in the Republic City Air Temple calmly, thinking about their soon departure, a familiar face entered the dining room. Everyone glanced at this young airbender. Gyila stood up and cleared his throat. "Rala!" he tried to exclaim.

"It is nice to see you!" said the woman named Rala, punching Gyila's arm playfully. "I totally forgot you live here," said Gyila with a nervous smile.

"Everyone, this is Rala, my uh, yeah, Rala Beifong," Gyila introduced her to everyone. Mona noticed the little chuckle coming from Jinora in response to Gyila's struggles with talking.

"Beifong?" wondered Mona. Kairo, almost feeling Mona's confusion, whispered in Mona's ear, "She is Opal Beifong and Bolin's granddaughter." Now that made sense. "Oh, and also Gyila's ex-girlfriend," he added.

"Gyila, Rala will accompany you to the meeting with the President," said Jinora informatively.

"Kairo! You little Fire Nation Cop, what are you doing here?!" exclaimed Rala, followed by her run towards Kairo. This woman was sure very energetic. Rala slowly met everyone and joined them for breakfast, while Mona kindly remembered last night.

"You know, air nomads' culture really interested me while I was studying at Ba Sing Se. I admire your way of living," said Mona mid-conversation. They were talking about their lives and trying to learn every little detail about themselves. "Thank you," he answered. "I felt really connected to this culture. It feels right."

"What about your parents?" asked Gyila, hoping it wasn't a delicate subject.

"My mother is an accounting professor at the Republic City University, and my father works as Future Industries' publisher. They came to Republic City to study and met at college. They decided to stay in the city, got married, found jobs, and eventually had me. They are very clever when it comes to technology and invention stuff. But I really am an idiot when it comes to those kinds of stuff. I am old smart, not new smart," she explained. Gyila responded with a chuckle.

"What about your parents?" asked Mona curiously. "My mother is a merchant, and my father is a councilman in Omashu. They are quite rich. You know, Kairo has always been my best friend. Of course, I am not happy he was abandoned, but I am glad my parents found him," Mona cut his sentence. "Wait, what?"

"I never mentioned it to you?" asked Gyila, surprised. Mona answered by shaking her head. "Huh."

"You never told me how you managed to befriend Wan Shi Tong," asked Gyila, changing the subject.

"When he found out I was an anthropologist, he got warmed up really fast. He has a saying: knowledge for knowledge's sake. Well, anthropology is somewhat like that. We just study the cultures just because of knowledge's sake."