Avatar: Rebirth

Chapter 5: Wings of Rebellion

"That will be twenty-three copper pieces, please," said the shop keeper as she bagged our goods.

"Do you accept gold?" I asked nervously, holding a coin out in front of me. I didn't do shopping trips like this very often, so when Wan joined me, I wasn't exactly the richest person. Two weeks past, draining me of all my copper and silver pieces, and now I was stuck with gold which, unfortunately, a lot of shop owners in the less established towns don't accept.

"Who do you think I am? Some rich shop owner from Ba Sing Se? I am not!" she spat at me, giving me a dirty look. "We don't use gold."

I knew this was coming. "Please," I pleaded, "I really need these supplies. I have an animal to feed and I'm going on a long trip and----"

"Fine!" she shouted, giving into my plea. She reluctantly swiped the gold piece from my hand and slammed my change on the table.

"Thank you m'am. I really appreciate it." I tried to give her a polite smile, but it ended up as an awkward grin.

"Hmph!" she grunted, turning her head from me. "Don't expect me to do this again. Now get out of my shop!"

And I did just that. Picking up my bags and change, I hurried out to avoid people's stares. I didn't stop walking until I was at the edge of the town. I looked around and spotted a small park with a fountain and a few benches. I walked to one and sat down, dropping my bags to the floor. I sighed and rubbed my forehead. "At least they accepted my money," I muttered to myself. That was the third store I had visited. "What's wrong with gold anyway? Ugh, stupid----"

"Stupid what?" a voice said behind me, startling me.

I jumped out of my seat and look around, even reaching for my knife, until I realized that it was Wan. Well, I feel like an idiot. At least there's no one here. Irritated, I spun around and scowled at him. "Can't you give me some kind of warning before you just pop up out of nowhere?"

"Geez May," he said, putting his hands up in defence. "I didn't mean to scare----"

"Startle," I corrected.

His narrowed his eyes in annoyance, but continued. "Okay, startle you. Anyways, I've been looking for you around town. Where did you go?"

"I went to buy some supplies for our trip." I picked up the bags and thrust them into his arms. "Here. Now take them to where Yi is so I can finish our shopping," I demanded. "And you better hurry up before people start noticing me talking to a bunch of floating vegetables. They'll think I'm crazy."

"You are crazy," he teased. I stuck my tongue out. "Why so many bags?" he asked me.

I glared at him and angrily poked his forehead with my finger. "It's because I have to buy food for you." I huffed. "You eat a lot, y'know that, right? Just two weeks of travel and you've nearly eaten me out of all my cash. I'm down to three gold coins, and I haven't even bought any meat yet." I sighed and sat down again, wondering how many shops I'd have to go through this time.

He noticed my distress and patted my head reasurringly, ruffling my hair. "Well, hurry up and finish," he said, smiling. "Be back before sunset. I'll be waiting for you with Yi." He waved at me and walked away.

"Hey, don't eat any of that food!" I yelled at him before he left me sitting on the park bench alone.

I fixed my now messy hair before getting up and dusting off my clothes. He's right, I thought while waking to my next destination. Better hurry up before the sun sets.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What do you mean by 'don't accept gold coins?'" I yelled, raising my voice angrily at the shop keeper.