Avatar:Folk tale of an earthbender{Book One:Earth}

Chapter 9: Constellations

A week had passed, and Kaori and Daiki had been living together for the time being, they got along well ans Kaori had been picking up earthbending very well, which put Kaori in good spirits, along with Daiki.

Kaori stared into a small pocket mirror she'd brought, looking at how pale she looked, with her dark hair, she looked whiter than snow in comparison. She frowned, realizing that she hadn't washed her hair in a week, and true be told, it was a birds nest at that point.

She stopped by a small river, dipping her head in and beginning to wash her hair the best she could. Thankfully, she saw the black dye flow down into the stream. "I could be near unrecognizable with my natural hair!" She muttered as she tried her hardest to get the black colour out completely. Much to her delight, after much scrubbing, it disappeared. She shook her head, looking in a small pocket mirror smiling. She placed a hand on her cheek, just staring at herself for a moment. "I look like Mama.." she exclaimed proudly, stroking her own hair.

She walked back to Daiki's cottage, spotting him outside. "Hi!" She said eagerly. Daiki turned around suddenly, yet it took him a few moments to realize. "It's you." He said, almost confused. "Blonde?" He said, tapping her head. "I washed all of the dye out...or at least I tried to.." Kaori said, smiling awkwardly. "Is it bad?" She asked. Daiki picked up a stray strand of hair and tucked it behind her ear. "It's nice and all but...why did you dye it?" He asked, tilting his head. "Is it really? I looked so pale in comparison to my old colour!" Kaori said, spinning around, smiling with glee. "You didn't answer my- nevermind" He smiled, patting her head. "It's...pretty." He whispered. "Did ya say something?" Kaori asked. "Nope!" Daiki said quickly , turning his back to her and covering his now red face

One month later

Another month had passed, and Daiki and Kaori were still living together in that small cottage just outside of omashu. Somehow, Kaori managed to keep the fascade that she was a watertribe native up, though there were many slip ups. Her story became more and more twisted as the days went on. But the two felt content. Something neither of them had felt in a long time.

"That one looks like a.....badgermole!" The two were sat on the roof, cross-legged making up constellations in the stars. It'd become a bit of a habit for the past week or so, both of them enjoyed it. Daiki chuckled. "I could see that. The one over there looks like an elephant rat!" He said. Kaori tilted her head. "Looks more like a fire ferret to me." She said, squinting. Daiki smiled "Whatever you say. What about that one, looks kinda like a..." "Flying Dolphin fish!" She said eagerly, interrupting him. "Mhm. We should really learn the names of the actual ones." Daiki chuckled. Kaori shook her head. "I like our game better!" She said eagerly, smiling her usual, enthusiastic, smile. It was as if her lips, her eyes, her spirit, and her whole being was smiling at him. Daiki just sat there, looking at her for a few moments, before shaking his head. "Uh..anywho..let's see...uh that one looks like a...uh..Snake.." He said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "Really? Looks more like a noodle..think of something more interesting..that one's like an..otter penguin!" Kaori said, standing up and pointing one out. "I've always wanted to go penguin sledding!" She said eagerly. Daiki nodded. "Well, didn't you live in the southern water tribe up until recently? You have to have seen a few." He said. "Oh! Yeah..uh..My father never let me" She muttered, realizing that she'd let her tongue slip. "Well..I doubt they're that vicious." He laughed. "What other things do you wanna do?" He asked, turning towards her. "What?"

"Well like...What other things do you wanna do? Go penguin sledding. Find the avatar? Learn earthbending? Besides all that." He said, leaning closer to her and listening intently. "You remember all that?" Kaori mumbled. "Was I not supposed to?" He said nervously. "No no..it's fine really...I wanna..be somebody! Not famous..but like..the type of person who inspires people! I want people to look at me and feel safe! And nice!" She said, looking upward, the stars shining down onto her bright green eyes. "I think those are fine ambitions." Daiki mumbled, his eyes fixated on her, drawing his knees to his chest. "What do you wanna do?" Kaori asked, looking at him with wide eyes. "I wanna go penguin sledding." He said, smiling widely. Kaori giggled. "That isn't exactly an ambition. But that's okay. We can do it together!" She said, smiling. "I wanna ride a flying byson too. And a polar bear dog. I wanna travel the whole world! All 4 nations! Republic city!" Daiki said, lying back. Kaori clapped. "That's the spirit!" She said eagerly. "Anyway..what's it like in the water tribe?" Daiki asked curiously, with a smile. Kaori froze up. "It's...cold...and uh..there are a lot of...otter penguins.." she said, desperately trying to think of random information on the water tribes. "That's kind of obvious." He muttered. "Enough about me! Tell me about omashu!" She said, desperate to change the subject. "Well..it's one of the largest cities in the earth kingdom? It's....uh..pretty diverse." Daiki said bluntly. "Not too interesting."