Avatar: The Wheel of Time | Book One: The Earth Kingdom |

Chapter 4: The Plains Village

Okay.

Okay, okay, okay. No need to panic.

I could find people to teach me bending here, it would just be a bit harder. And maybe I wouldn't get the guidance of Avatar Aang, but there had been no guarantee that he would teach me anyway.

Just focus on finding an earthbending teacher. Or even a waterbending teacher, since my waterbending was far from perfect.

Sela emerged from the room, Lee trailing behind her like an excited puppy.

"You all right?" she asked, seeing my conflicted expression.

"Yeah," I answered, rubbing my head. "Can I ask you a weird question?"

"Of course."

"What year is it?"

Sela blinked. "100 AG."

Oh, spirits.

Look on the bright side, I thought, you might still get to meet Avatar Aang!

That was pretty cool. But still, I don't think Ji-ho or Akeno meant to drop me in the middle of the Hundred Years War.

I kneaded my forehead. "Are there any benders here, do you know?"

Sela sighed. "Just Gow."

Right. I recalled what Lee had said, No earthbenders here... well, except Jerko, but he wouldn't pave our roads for us in a million years.

I guess he's not a viable option as a teacher, then, I thought.

I should move on. But then again, did I have to?

"Can I stay here for a while?" I asked Sela, a little nervously.

She smiled. "Of course! You can stay as long as you like."

"Thank you!" I gave her a quick hug and quickly let go, fearing I had overstepped my boundaries, but Sela didn't seem to mind.

I guess there was no harm in staying here for a while, to rest and get my bearings and maybe wait out the war. I had as much time as I wanted, and while I didn't particularly fancy spending it all in this sandy, rundown village, it seemed safe enough. I liked Sela and Lee, but if I wanted to stay with them...

"Is there a way I could help out around here?" I offered.

"You could clean my room," Lee suggested hopefully.

"Lee!" Sela scolded, "you can clean your own room. I could use your help cooking and cleaning, I suppose, if you really wanted to."

"Absolutely! I'd feel bad if I didn't help out at all," I assured her.

*  *  *

Several days later, I was still living with Sela. I'd traded my tunic and pants for a more traditional Earth Kingdom dress. It was nothing fancy, just a white wrap with dark green hems and a thick matching strip of cloth for a belt. I felt like I should be in a history book.

I kind of enjoyed living with Sela, Gansu and Lee. It certainly was a nice change from all the running around I'd been doing for the past month and a half. Here, it was quiet and peaceful, and though it got boring at times, I would take boring over running for my life any day. I was even beginning to get used to the heat.

Having a sibling figure in the house was an entertaining new experience. I mean, I had a brother, but he was an adult who had moved to Ba Sing Se, gotten married, and had two kids already.

"Kiyan, finish up, supper's in an hour!" Sela called to me from the house.

"Okay!" I replied. I had taken laundry duty today, and though washing Lee's and Gansu's dirty socks was far from pleasant, it gave me ample opportunity to practice waterbending.