Book One: Spirits

Kari woke in a cold sweat, sitting straight up in bed. She couldn’t remember her most of her dreams, but she had to wonder if they were the reason she was always the first person up. Shaking it off, she took a nice hot shower and waited for the others to wake up.

“Where’s Yubi?” were the first, frantic words of Pong. Both he and Rikkako began to flip over pillows and look through drawers, but it was Kari who spotted the large fluffy tail sticking out from under the dresser. She snuck over to find the hamster sleeping, its legs kicking as though chasing something in its sleep.

“Yubi!” she called softly. The white furball yawned and stretched, opening its beady black eyes, then happily hopping into Karizibi’s open hands.

“I found her!” Kari called to the others, noticing Yubi sneeze. She was covered in dust from exploring under the furniture. “Yuck! Who wants to help me give her a bath?”

“I will.” Rikkako volunteered, groggily.
Much splashing and cursing later, the dirt and dust had been mostly removed from Yubi’s white fur.

“Here,” Kari generated a fire in the palm of her hand. “Let me help you dry her...”

“NO.” Rika all but screamed, quickly removing the water through waterbending. “I have it covered. Put the fire away!” Kari pouted, but did as she was told.

“It’s how I dry my hair...” she could be heard mumbling.

“The caravan leaves at noon.” Kari reminded the others before heading for the door. “I have to run to the post office. I’ll be back in a bit for breakfast.”

“Sending a letter to mommy?” Rikkako teased.

“Yes, sending a letter to Mommy.” Kari glared at her.

“Be sure to say hello for me!” Rika smiled sweetly. At that, Karizibi left.

“S.W.” she addressed the first letter before going on to explain the events of the previous day and what she had learned from Katara. “I’ll be heading to Ba Sing Se today and all my mail will be forwarded there. I’ll let you know what we find out, but let’s hope for the best. If you have any firebending scrolls you could send my way, I’d greatly appreciate it.” After a pause, she continued writing. “It also might be helpful to send anything my way you’ve learned about the eternal flame. It could be important.” She signed off with her name and handed the letter to the postmaster before starting to scribble on a second piece of parchment.

“Shiro,” this one was addressed. “In an interesting turn of events, I’m heading to Ba Sing Se on a mission for the Avatar. As it turns out, Rikkako trained under Katara, the Avatar’s wife. As such, she’s asked a favor of us. All of my mail will be forwarded to me there, so please write if you can. I’d love to explain more, but I’m afraid you’d find it all a little hard to believe. It involves the spirit world and how someone in the group is impacting it. Hope to hear from you soon!” after signing off and handing this letter to the postmaster as well, she met up with Rikkako and Pong for a quick breakfast before the group traveled to the caravan’s pickup location.

Within the first few minutes, Karizibi had already spotted someone she thought she recognized. It was a small girl with black hair cut in a blunt bob.

“Stay here.” she pointed at Pong. “And stay out of trouble!” The young earthbender kicked the ground and crossed his arms, clearly annoyed, before Kari hurried over to the car the young girl had walked into. A tall man in uniform suddenly stepped between her and her destination.

“May I see your tickets, young lady?” he held his hand out expectantly.

“My apologies, sir.” Kari put on her sweetest smile. “I believe a friend of mine is in that car and I wanted to speak with her.”

“No one is allowed in there without a ticket.” he crossed his arms.

“But couldn’t you possibly go in and see if she’ll speak with me? Ask for Shu. Tell her that her dance partner, Kari, is here.” For good measure, Kari batted her eyelashes a few times. The man’s cold demeanor seemed to melt a little.

“Alright,” he consented. “But wait here.”

Meanwhile, Rikkako just barely managed to grab Pong before he went running off toward a cart full of piglambs.

“They’re so cute!” he crooned, reaching in.

“How can you say they’re cute one minute and eat one the next?” Rikkako asked, not taking her hand off the back of his tunic.

“Because they are adorable!” he explained as though it were the simplest idea in the world. “But also delicious!” Rika rolled her eyes. “I want one! Can I have one?”

“No, Pong.”

“Please?” Rika sighed in disgust.

“Why don’t you ask one of their keepers?” she suggested.

“Can I?” he asked of one of the nearby farmers. The man stared at Pong, disgruntled, before walking away without an answer. “That wasn’t a no!” Pong told Rikkako, cheerfully.

“Miss Shu says she will see you.” the man exited the car, then stepped aside to let Kari in.

“However, you are not permitted to ride here. You must exit by the time the caravan begins to move.”

“Of course.” Kari smiled, but rolled her eyes once she entered the car. There, in the back, was someone she hadn’t expected to see for a long time. Her name was Shu Tzi, a noble from Ba Sing Se. She wore robes in a style common of the Earth Kingdom, but their quality showed. A person looking closely could tell that she came from money but chose to dress for comfort.

“Shu!” she called. “How long has it been? A year?” Shu and Kari knew each other through their families. The Tzis and the Shinus often attended the same parties as they were in similar social circles. At one of these galas, realizing Shu had been trained to dance formally, Kari was immediately drawn to her. Discovering she had a very mature personality for her age, the two clicked.

“I heard about a party going on in the lower ring.” she whispered when their parents weren’t looking. “If you can show me a few of those moves, I’ll take you there. I can tell you’re dying to get out of this place.” Shu agreed and the night became a fond memory for both. Shu was rarely taken out of the upper ring and was happy just to see what the rest of Ba Sing Se looked like.
The two made idle chat for a while, catching up on pointless details about each other’s lives, before they returned to the present.

“So why are you going to Ba Sing Se?” Shu asked curiously.

“Uh, interesting story...” Kari rubbed the back of her neck. “I’m actually here on the orders of the Avatar.” Shu didn’t look like she believed the firebender. “Well, technically the Avatar’s wife, Katara...Anyway, we’ll need a guide while we’re there. Think you could give us a hand?”

“Sure,” Shu shrugged. “Sounds like a good time.” At that, Kari thanked her and exited the car to find the conductor yelling about leaving soon. Within moments she spotted Pong attempting to get inside the cage of piglambs, Rika still restraining him boredly.

“Pong,” Kari spoke sternly. “Time to go.”

“But, but...” he sputtered.

“Speaking of, do you have your ticket?”

“I...Don’t...” he started searching himself.

“Guess you can’t come with us if you don’t have your ticket...”

“I don’t wanna get left behind!”

“Well maybe if you hadn’t been playing with the livestock...” at this Pong began to cry. Kari rolled her eyes, producing Pong’s ticket from her pocket. Rika patted his head in a small form of comfort. “You need to pay more attention to your surroundings.” Kari scolded. She then gave their tickets to the conductor and had the group board their car. Things seemed tense between Rika and Pong, which Kari didn’t understand.

“Excited to go back to Ba Sing Se?” Rikkako asked while trying to make polite conversation.

“Whatever.” Pong grumbled back.

“What’s your problem lately?” Rika snapped.

“Why should I tell you?” Pong crossed his arms in a very immature manner.

“Fine.” Rika didn’t know what she did, but she couldn’t escape the feeling that both of her now friends were angry with her: first Kari abandoned them for a girl in the luxury car, then Pong stopped speaking with her. All the years of abuse she took from her peers in the south pole really took a toll on her psyche. A lone tear rolled down her cheek.

They stopped for the night in the town of Mickapu around sunset. Once everyone was gone, Rika ripped off her necklace Pong gave her and threw it in her bag. She couldn’t wear a symbol of something she felt had collapsed overnight. She looked forlorn at the river, tempted to jump in and let the tide take it on whatever course, slightly hoping for death’s embrace. She shook her head and began to survey their surroundings.

Kari’s first stop was the tavern in search of a meal and a drink. Upon scouring the bar for anyone attractive or interesting, the color flushed from her face - a shadow seemed to be making its way out of the corner and toward her. She hurriedly exited the building, deciding it would be a better idea to sit outside.

“I’ll just be checking some things out. If you could grab me some food inside, I’d appreciate it.” she handed Rika a few coins before scurrying off.

The group ate their meals under an earth tent erected by Pong and went to sleep for the night. However, as everyone curled up into their bedrolls, Kari noticed Rikkako crying.

“You okay Rika?” she asked.

“I’m fine.” Rikkako couldn’t hide the emotions in her voice.

“You’re lying.” Kari sighed.

“No. I’m not.”

“Rikkako, we’re a team here, and if you’re hurt, it matters to us. We care! Besides, you need to talk about it if something’s wrong or you’re never going to feel better.” This gave Rika pause, but before Karizibi could question her any further, Rika disappeared from the tent. “You should go after her.” Kari told Pong, laying back down and rubbing her face.

“Why me?” Pong seemed angry. “Why don’t YOU go after her?”

“Because she clearly doesn’t want to talk to me. Maybe you’ll have better luck. I don’t want her out there alone.” Pong made an annoyed sound before stepping out of the tent and calling her name, loudly, several times. Growing irritated with the racket, Karizibi pulled herself out of her bedroll and pushed Pong aside.

“I’ll go look for her myself if that’s all you’re going to do.” she snapped. As quietly as she could, she creeped out of the tent in the direction Rikkako was headed. She managed to sneak up behind the waterbender, who was hiding in a bush. “You have to talk to me sometime.” she whispered causing Rika to jump and angrily storm away. Before she could move any further, Pong erected an earthen box around her and then a tent over the box. The waterbender was, effectively, trapped. Pong and Kari took everyone’s things from the other tent and moved them over so they could all sleep together.

Rika sat awake for a while. She loved the light of the moon creeping into her confines. She sensed Kari really wanted to know what was wrong, but she couldn’t tell her.

“How will I know they won’t just betray me like everyone else?” she wondered silently. Rikkako toyed with a small orb of water, contemplating her current situation. She put so much faith in random people that she barely knew, entrusting them with the knowledge she was planning to break a worldwide law. Why? Had the 16 years of physical and mental abuse from her homeland not been enough? It was in the midst of more tears that she finally fell asleep.

They were only asleep for a few hours before Kari awoke to a strange sound the ostrich horses were making. She kicked Pong gingerly.

“You hear that?” she asked, to which he groaned and rolled over. Karizibi simply pulled him out of his bedroll and forced him to lower the walls around the now awake Rikkako. She dragged them both with her, but despite some sneaking around, no one could figure out what had spooked the ostrich horses. Suddenly, they saw a figure dart into a cart. Kari snuck closer to get a better look. Nothing looked out of place, but she noticed that one of the passengers seemed to be breathing differently than the others, who were asleep. Kari made a face. She knew she had no evidence he had done anything, so decided to sit and wait near the cart.

“Can’t we just go back to bed?” Pong whispered loudly.

“Who’s there?” an old woman yelled inside the car. The three decided it would be for the best if they snuck away. “I know you’re out there!” the old woman yelled again, just a few moments later. At this point, Kari motioned for Pong and Rika to stay still. She completely changed tactics, turning on her heel and walking back to the cart.

“Is everything alright over here?” she asked, feigning ignorance.

“I heard someone sneaking around in here!” the elderly woman sounded worried.

“On my way over, I think I saw some movement in your cart. Maybe you should check and see if you have everything.”

“Oh, thank you dear!” the woman began to check herself. A few others, who were roused by their voices, also began to check over their items. No one seemed to be missing anything.

“Good to hear.” Kari frowned, confused as to what the man had been doing. “Just make sure you keep an eye out. It sounds like we aren’t alone out here. Holler if you need anything!” At that, she returned to collect the other two and head back to their tent.

“Maybe we should post a guard.” she suggested.

“I’ll stay up.” Rika sighed. “I feel rested enough now with all the sleep I got earlier”. Pong and Kari accepted this and went to bed. A few hours later, Rika was nudging Kari awake. The ostrich horses were making noise again. The group headed out again but didn’t see that anything had changed from earlier. However, as they returned to their tent, Kari shivered.

“Anyone else think it feels a little cold?” the worry was plain on her face. Pong and Rika exchanged glances, knowing what this probably meant, but for Kari’s benefit, claimed that she was imagining things.