The Origin of Roh-Shan

Spirit World

Kota dreamt about flying every single time she fell asleep.

The days were almost unbearably hot, and only the occasional breeze drifted in, so she and Taatu used that time to sleep, when they could. At night they tried to plan an escape, although it was seeming less likely each day, as they ran out of ideas and strength.

Once a day, the man would jump down through the window, landing with a clunk in his metal boots, blindfold them, unlock their chains, and lead them out the window briefly before entering another window one room over, to let them use the bathroom. Kota used that time to also test the strength of her ankle. She could walk, but was unsteady. Once they were locked back up in the first room, he would leave a small amount of food, a small bucket of water, and he'd scratch a tally mark into the wall with his knife.

There were six tallies on the wall.

"Please, take it. I don't need it."

"Yes, you really do." Kota looked at Taatu's shaking hands in the moonlight. She put the small piece of bread in his hand. "I'm not going to eat your half. You need it too."

"I'm used to fasting."

"This is not fasting, this is starving."

One of them would have to eat it. When they'd tried to ration food a few days ago, the man found it and threw it out the window. She could still see it rotting out there. They wouldn't make that mistake twice.

Taatu lifted the piece of bread. He broke it in half again, and ate one of the halves. He handed the other to Kota.

"No."

"Yes. Take it."

She pushed his hand back in front of him. He didn't argue any further, which broke her heart even more. At first, he'd been very insistent on sharing his portion of the food and water. But after the man had come and cut his throat exactly as he had Kota's, Taatu was growing more and more distant, and frequently dissociating to the point where he wouldn't even answer her. When he wasn't, though, they kept conversations going like old friends, which was probably what kept them from going insane.

She watched to make sure he ate it, and then sat back. She tried to keep him from slipping away again. "Hey. I heard somewhere that airbenders aren't raised by parents. Is that true?"

"Community. All kids are raised by the whole community. A few close adults, more than others."

"But you never know who your parents are?"

"Nope. It's not important."

"So... when you fall in love with someone... how do you know it's not your sister or brother?" She fought back a small laugh.

He gave a weak laugh, too. "Each couple only has one child."

"So there are couples, though?"

"Of course."

"Alright, so... what happens if you fall in love with someone who's not an airbender?"

He shrugged. "It rarely happens. The only time we really encounter non-airbenders is at the Embassies or out on peace missions. If they do, they have to live somewhere else. The temples really aren't built for non-airbenders. The couple will usually go off and live somewhere on their own."

"Huh. And what if their kid turns out to be an airbender?"

"I really, Kota, I don't know these things." He smiled, like he was tired of answering her most wild what-if questions.

"Sorry." She smiled back.

He thought for a moment. "That reminds me of something I've uh, been meaning to ask..."