[Finished] To Air Temple Island!

[Narye Matsuya]

Dear Mr. Matsuya,

Through recommendations made by the school that you currently teach at, the elder Acolytes of the Air Temple wish to make a request for your services. The younger Acolytes, while well-versed in the teachings of the Air Nomads and whatever is written in our donated texts, they are lack proper a education that would put them on equal footing with people of similar age.

We cannot pay you, as we are still a simple Temple, and we hope that you can donate some of your time to teach at the Temple. Please send us a correspondence if you wish to take up our request.

Go in peace, elder Acolytes of the Republic City Air Temple

The letter from the Air Temple was folded up and replaced back into Narye's pocket as he looked out over the water to the approaching island. If Narye's presence on the ferry to the island was not enough of an indicator, he did indeed write a letter back to the Air Temple saying he would teach some classes to the acolytes there, pro bono of course.

For the Air Temple, that is. After some negotiations with the school, he had managed to snag a nice deal: The school would still pay him to teach at the Air Temple, during non-school hours, if he managed to convince the Temple to only request teachers from that particular institution. If sounds a little underhanded, but Narye was still doing this out of the kindness of his heart. He was just getting paid to be charitable.

In the cargo hold of the small ferry, was a trunk Narye had brought along for the excursion. In it were stacks of books on various subjects that he was borrowing from the school for the acolytes. Hauling that thing around was pretty big pain until he got to the ferry and some dockworkers were nice enough to help it aboard, along with the belonging of a few other people that were headed to the island too, for whatever their reasons may be. He assumed that he would have to resume lugging the trunk around by himself once he got the island since the dockworkers stayed right there, on the docks.

The entire time Narye had lived in Republic City, he had never actually set a single foot on the Air Temple island before now. Mostly it was because he had never found a good reason to go out there and he was busy a lot too. But the island had always been a nice sight whenever he was near the water, and he often found himself wondering what it was like to live on that peaceful-looking island. It just stood out so much from the city proper with the trees and rocky outcroppings.

Leaning on the outer railings, Narye continued to look out over the water toward his destination, anticipating what it would be like to teach the young Air Acolytes. Maybe he would even get a chance to see an Air Bender too.

[Zian Chen]

At was a beautiful sunny day on the air temple island. A slight breeze washed over the island, cooling down the residents on what would otherwise be a scortching hot day. Zian had been in the courtyard meditating when his master inturrupted. Not that the young air acolyte minded, he was about to stop anyways. His master told him that there will be a guest arriving on the island, and he was to greet them. "Who is it?" he asked curiously, standing up from his meditating position. His master told him that the guest was a new teacher that the acolytes were bringing here to teach art. Zian's face lit up at the news. An art teacher!? He couldn't wait to start learning from them! Bowing in part with his master, Zian headed to the docks, awaiting for the new arrival.

As the ferry pulled up, Zian watched it dock, his brown eyes scanning the passengers. He wasn't told what they looked like, but was sure he would figure it out eventually. Plus this person was probably going to be looking for an air acolyte when arriving, and he was the only one here, so his yellow and orange robes gave him away quite nicely. The acolyte was so excited to meet them and start the lessons, though they probably won't start immedietly. While the passengers got off the boat, Zian let his mind wander, thinking about the kinds of things that this teacher would show him and the others. Hopefully he brought some paints, Zian loved to paint. But knowing the Acolytes, they were probably just bringing a bunch of books, nothing really that fun. Sure the temple was a nice place, but wasn't really brimming with excitement, Zian often went out to find or make his own fun. Everyone here was so old save for a few, and didn't really hold the love for fun that he had.

[Narye Matsuya]

"Approaching dock!"

The captain of the ferry calling out to his couple of deckhands, and passengers, alerted Narye to the fact that he should probably be getting ready to disembark. Watching the water ripple and wave must had a hypnotic effect on him because he was jerked, rather violently, from his trance when the captain called out and nearly thought he was going to tip over the railing into the water below. Narye, fortunately, had a half-way decent sense of balance and kept himself dry for the time being. While the boat pulled up to the singular dock on the island, Narye went around to secure his teaching trunk.

"Gangway down!"

One deckhand yelling out was accompanied by the sound of the wooden mini-bridge hitting the dock and giving everyone a way to get on and off the ferry. Narye, meanwhile, was waiting for some people to get their things off of his trunk. He could have easily moved them himself, but it seemed rude to move someone else's luggage. It took a minute or two, but his trunk was finally uncovered and Narye could begin to try and lug the damn thing off the boat without killing himself.

Taking hold of a handle in each hand, on opposite sides of the trunk, Narye did everything he learned from lifting heavy objects on the farm. It was just like lifting a bale of hay, hopefully. Bend the knees. Straighten the spine. Breathe...

With one smooth and strenuous motion, Narye lifted the trunk off of the floor of the ferry and got it to comfortable height to move to the next step. Counting down for himself, he summarily hefted the trunk onto his hand, then onto his shoulder. Holding it with one arm of his shoulder put some stress on that arm, but it was easier to walk with the trunk like this.

As Narye walked himself off the ferry, he got a few looks from the other passengers whom seemed surprised or impressed by his show of strength. Narye was just trying to concentrate on not dropping the trunk. He nearly missed the lone acolyte waiting to meet him. Though when he spotted the young man, he gave him a smile and made his way over to him.

"I guess you're my envoy? I'd bow, but as you can see..."

Narye knocked his head against the drunk to indicate his temporary handicap.

"I'm Narye Matsuya. I guess I'll be teachin' you."

He held out his one free hand to the young acolyte.

[Zian Chen]

Zian watched the individuals exiting the ferry, giving each one of them a small bow or smile, welcoming them to the island. His brown eyes widened as a man carrying an extremely heavy looking trunk approached him, smiling. He gave him a quick bow "Matsuya-shīfu, it's a pleasure to meet you. But that looks really heavy, can I help you at all? he asked, concern showing in his voice. He didn't want his new teacher to strain himself when he could have helped. He shook his new teachers hand as it was offered, not being used to the type of greeting, but knew it would have to do with the circumstances. Not that he was a stickler for formality.

"I am so excited to be learning from you." he said with an excited tone, smiling up at the man. It was pretty rare that he had to look up to people, he was one of the tallest ones here. It was a very nice change. "There's not a lot of art around here, you'll see. Only traditional air bender paintings made by us acolytes, so I guess they're not Actual traditional paintings just done in the traditional style. And even then there's not that much. They're still nice and all, don't get me wrong, but looking at them your entire life you kind of want something else, you know what I mean?" he asked, realizing with a small laugh that he had done that thing where he talks too much at once again. It always bugged people when he did it, he found. "I'm sorry." he said with a small bow. "I'm just very excited to be learning from you.... but I already said that, didn't I" with a small laugh, he decided to just shut his mouth for now.

[Narye Matsuya]

"Shifu". Narye had never been given that title before. Though he had heard it spoken on occasion, usually when he passed by some local dojos or during sparring matches in the gym. He knew it meant, or carried, the meaning of teacher or instructor, but with more reverence and respect than simply calling someone teacher. It was a foreign title to him, but he had to admit, it felt good. He could definitely get used to being called Shifu.

On a non-ego-related note, Narye was incredibly grateful that the Acolyte offered to help him carry the trunk. The relief showed on his face and he nodded excitedly. He leaned the trunk's handle closer to the Acolyte, for him to take hold.

"Thank you so much. I could use the hand. Just take the handle, and I'll take the other one. Be careful now, it's pretty heavy even though I'm carrying it like this."

With the weight of the trunk off his shoulder, Narye breathed a sigh of relief and moved his shoulder around to loosen it back up. All the while, the young Acolyte was letting his excitement get the better of him if his amount of talking was any indicator. Narye could only chuckle a little at his rambling and how he apologized afterward. He thought the Air Acolytes were supposed to be reserved and calm and stuff. But he saw that all the monk training in the world could not snuff out the energy of youth and this young man's personality.

However, when the young man mentioned being taught art, Narye was struck with a slight bout of apprehension. By trade, he was a history teacher, and he could sort of teach many other subjects. But art was a little out of his range. He would still try just for this young man, if he so insisted.

Narye let the acolyte lead him to the classroom or temple or wherever he would be teaching, trunk carried between them. Looking around, he saw that the island was even more beautiful when you were actually on it instead of looking over the bay to it.

"And I'm excited to just be here on the island, not to mention getting to work with the acolytes. Especially you! I like a student with enthusiasm. Though I don't think I caught you name, son."

[Zian Chen]

Quickly grabbing the other end of the handle, Zian bared his part of the trunk with a little bit of difficulty, but wouldn't have a hard time. How was he just carrying this thing on his own? He must be very, very strong. Physical strength wasn't something was was strived for, so it was kind of rare for him to see someone with such brawn. "I'm so sorry! That was rude to not introduce myself. I'm Zian Chen. I was born and raised here on the island, one of the only ones." he said proudly. Zian led them into the temple, over to the side which kept the boys, past the bison barn. The island and buildings were so beautiful and untouched compared to the city, he knew why people came here just for the scenery, to escape from the hustle and bustle of the big city. It was almost weird that such a haven existed so close to such a big industrial place, but even the noises of the factories couldn't make it across the water, making the place peaceful, free of any unnecessary noise.

Leading them towards the classrooms, they huffed the trunk up some stairs. "So what's in here?" he asked without thinking, the realization settling on him only a moment after the words left his lips. "Duh, of course, it's probably full of books, right? I love reading, We have a pretty nice collection here. Probably nothing compared to the one at the university, right? I've been there once, I wanted to stay forever, just to see everything in there. I wonder if it's even possible to read all of those books in a single lifetime." he mused, mostly to himself, he had a habit of thinking out loud most of the time. Once they got to the classroom, he helped his new teacher put the trunk onto the main table, dusting his hands off for a job well done.

[Narye Matsuya]

"You were born here? Hm. Interesting."

That was an interesting little fact that Narye could not have foreseen. Before Zian mentioned that, Narye had figured that all of the Acolytes at the temple had come from other places around the City or the world to learn the ways of the ancient Air Nomads. There was a tiny twinge of pity for the kid. If he was born on the island, then he probably did not get off of it much. He did not want to judge the lifestyle of the acolytes, but that seemed too limited for Narye's tastes.

Enjoying the sights of the Air Temple and the island kept his mind and imagination busy for the most part. The architecture of all the buildings was beautiful and a drastic change from that of the City. The City was beautiful in its own right, but it lacked the openness and naturalistic-feeling of the temple. Instead of flattening the land for the buildings, the buildings were built into the landscape and become part of it. Not to mention the abundance of trees and nature in general.

The bison barn, as it was called, intrigued Narye the moment Zian mentioned it. He had seen no more three Sky Bison in his life, and all of them were at a distance as they flew over in the sky. Unfortunately, he was not able to see any from where he was walking and he made a mental note to try and visit the barn again when he had a chance. Maybe he could ask to fly on one too!

As they approached the designated classroom, Zian went about his already very familiar habit of rambling out loud, a trait that Narye found endearing about him. Even more so, was the teen's very evident curiosity and hunger for knowledge. Setting the trunk down, he leaned back to stretch out his back a bit.

"Thank you so much for helping me with that, Zian. You were a big help. It was also nice to hear that you're, well, pretty darn eager to get to learning."

Narye wanted to say "damn" but that felt inappropriate in the temple.

"Now the class proper isn't supposed to start for a little while and obviously your fellow acolytes need to show up too. But I think I can give you something to occupy that brain of yours until then. Hold on..."

Turning around, he unlatched the trunk and opened it up to reveal stacks of books and novels of varying shapes and sizes. From in it, Narye grabbed a leather-bound book and handed it to Zian. It was An Illustrated Guide to the Northern Water Tribe, a book that contained pictures and drawings of the city at the North Pole, along with the architecture and layout of the city.

"Seeing the the temple here up close reminded me of this book, in that it's really interesting to see how the different Nations building their... buildings."

[Zian Chen]

He was glad to have the weight of the trunk alleviated, letting out a sigh of relief as his muscles relaxed. He still wondered how his new teacher was carrying it all on his own. He sat ontop of one of the desks, swinging his legs back and forth. "Oh it wasn't a problem. I wasn't doing anything today anyways. It's always nice to meet someone new, and I got to meet the new teacher before any of the other students." he said with a smirk. It was very true, the fact that Zian was eager to learn, but he always had been that way since he could remember. There was just so much knowledge on this planet, and in order to be a well rounded person, he needed to learn as much as he could. Of course he knew that travelling was also a part of that, and couldn't wait until he was given permission to do so. Though he loved his life on the island, it was very strict and regulated, something he had always not liked.

Zian's face lit up even more if possible at the mention of having something to 'occupy his brain'. He assumed Narye was talking about a book, and couldn't wait to see what he had in that heavy trunk of his. Hopping off the desk, he waited almost impatiently, bouncing on the spot a little. Books always excited him. As the book was handed to him, the young acolyte let out a small gasp, examining the book in his hands. He looked over the entire surface before opening it up, quickly reading the first page, his brown eyes trying to take in as much as possible. "wow, thank you so much! I've always wanted to go to the northern water tribe, but I bet it's really really cold. I don't really like the cold, but to see this beautiful city I would definitely stand it." he said, closing the book, looking back up at his teacher. "So would you like a tour of the temple? Are you going to be staying here as well? I forgot to ask, if you are I can show you to where the guests stay."

[Narye Matsuya]

Zian was quickly turning into one of Narye's favorite students, even before he had officially begun to teach him. He had taught and worked-with kids whom were enthusiastic or enthralled by learning, but few came to Zian's level of energy. Hell, Narye had never had a kid who literally bounced at the prospect of getting to read a book before the young Air Acolyte came along. Narye hoped the other acolytes were just as exuberant. But even if they were not, Zian would suffice.

Narye had been leaning up against the table, expecting his student to leave to get back to his studies or bury himself in the book. It would seem, though, that it was his turn to be enthused about something.

"Actually, yeah. I would like a tour of the temple. Thanks."

Standing back up, he had to keep himself from replicating Zian's bouncing and compose himself. Maybe he would actually get the opportunity to visit the sky bison barn. He wanted to ask about it, but it seemed too upfront. Instead he allowed Zian to lead once more.

"As for living here... the elders didn't mention anything like that. I thought it would be more like I came by every so often to teach. But maybe... Hmm..."

Living on the island was something Narye had never considered until his new tour guide mentioned it. He already had a place back in the City, and that is where his usual work was, but maybe a re-location could be arranged or something. Narye was not about to make this decision now, but it was an option he had never thought about until now.

[Zian Chen]

"Excellent. I've never really given an official tour before, but i'll try my best. I've seen the others give a pretty good tour, so I'm pretty sure I wont miss anything. Hmmm, where should we start though. Usually the tour starts at the entrance but we're already halfway through the place." he said with a small laugh. "Oh, I know. We can stop by my room to drop off this book. he said holding up the book. "Then we can go wherever you want to go first." He said, leading them out of the classroom, down a hallway. "It would be fun to stay, everyone loves it here. Plus it would be a lot of travel time to have to take the ferry out here everyday." he wasn't trying to force him to stay, was more or less trying to talk him into it. He was good at talking people into things.

Leading them through a series of doors and hallways, he finally stopped in front of his own room, opening the door. "Well, the rooms aren't much to look at, but I promise the rest of the temple is nicer." he joked, quickly walking into the room, putting the large book on the small table beside his bed. The room itself was very plain, the only things that really gave it any ownership was the picture of his family, air bison included, sitting on his writing desk. The rest of the room just consisted of a single bed with orange coverings, a small window, a writing desk, and a chair. There was a book shelf with some books and scrolls on it as well, but they were mostly just bending material he studied in his spare time.

"So where to first?" He asked, looking up at his tour guest with his signature smile never leaving his face.