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Post by Narye Matsuya on Jul 6, 2012 16:17:50 GMT -5
Narye was so enthused by the whole experience, that looking back over at Zian and seeing him the loose the reins on Bao did not make him panic as much as he thought he would. It still gave him pause to think that the, more or less, "driver" of Bao had completely let go of his means of control. It almost felt like someone driving a Satomobile just jumping into the backseat mid-drive. But, then again, Bao was not some mindless machine. Bao was his own means of transportation so flying without a rider was just... flying. Remembering that much about the majestic beast on which he sat, Narye found himself right back in an elated mood with Zian by his side.
Having his prospective student back so close, and not busy at the Bao's helm, made Narye settle down a little into a more mature mood. He was still excited, of course, he just was not bouncing whooping like he was earlier. Plus, bouncing around seemed like a poor choice of movement while this high up in the air.
"It's better than nice up here. It's awe-inspiring. You really don't get a sense of how big the city is, or any place for that matter, until you see it like this. It's just... grand."
Seeing the buildings up close, at ground level and craning your neck up at them, was one experience, one that spoke of being small and awe-struck. But being up in the sky and seeing ALL the buildings in one glance, as a bigger whole, gave a sense of pride at how much they had accomplished in building that city, and the amazing structures therein. Next time, Narye would have to bring of those camera-dealies the reporters had.
Zian's question about Narye's career choice was a bit of a change from the experience of flying. But the atmosphere of just being alone in the quiet, albeit slightly chilly, air allowed one's thoughts to open up. It was like an easier version of meditation.
"It's hard to say why I got into teaching. It's easy enough to say that I love enriching the minds of my students, and interacting with the young kids, but that just doesn't... feel like it encompasses it all. I just don't know how to put it..."
There was just that intangible "it" that Narye could not put into proper words.
"Becoming one was... okay, I guess. The stuff they teach you to be a teacher is less about the material, since you have all the books at your disposal, and more about how to deal with the kids.
You're not just getting up and explaining things at them, you're trying to convey knowledge and experience that they don't have. So maybe you could be a decent teacher with practice. You really like to talk after all. The books can explain well enough, but you gotta make the kids FEEL it. Unless it's math because... numbers."
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Post by Zian Chen on Jul 8, 2012 21:52:48 GMT -5
He was glad that Narye was enjoying his time up here. "Even though I've seen it since I was a baby, this sight never gets old." he said, looking around at the scenery. He had seen paintings from a similar point of view, they just didn't do the true thing justice. It was amazing that they lived in a time when the average person could experience this, with the floating balloons. They moved a lot slower then Bao and the other bison, but the end result of scenery was the same. Flying on Bao was just more fun, Zian found. Most would probably agree.
Zian looked at Naryre as he explained why he was a teacher. He could tell it was something he was passionate about. He was also flattered that he thought he could be a good teacher. The young bender had never thought about becoming a teacher before, but now that he thought about it, it sounded pretty fun. He would want to be able to travel, though. "You really think so? I don't know if i'd be any good, I ramble too much, and get off topic a lot... I guess I would get better with practice..." faults with ones self can always be worked on, and he knew that if he really wanted to pursue a career as a teacher, he was definitely capable of doing it. He would just have to work and concentrate really hard.
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Post by Narye Matsuya on Jul 10, 2012 12:53:46 GMT -5
"Since he was a baby"? That particular phrase made one of Narye's eyebrows raise in interest. Taking off on the back of a flying Bison was enough of a rush as it was for Narye, and he was a grown adult. He could not imagine how over-the-top stimulating/terrifying the experience must have been for a small child. When he thought about this own daughter, there was no way he would even think about letting her ride Bao was he was flying. Sure he would let them be around each other, even let her into the saddle-platform, but only if Bao remained firmly on the ground. But what did Narye know? Maybe Zian was a much more reserved and stationary baby than Chiru had been...
Thinking about his little girl made his heart sink a little, as it usually did when he thought about her. But he did not let it show and he did not let it get to him as it had in the past. Sure, he still missed her and loved her like any father, but it had been three years and, well, time had begun to heal that wound.
Thankfully, between the bird's eye view and talking with Zian, it was enough to keep Narye's mind distracted from his little pang of pain. He had to smile when Zian owned-up to rambling a bit too much, which was pretty obvious even after their short time together. At least he recognized that little shortcoming. Most people did not know that it was themselves they needed to rectify or fix sometimes.
"Yeah, you're going to go in teaching blind. You're probably going to be taught how to teach, and that includes keeping things on-topic. I know I tended ramble when I first started."
Actually, it was more like Narye tended to go on diatribes when he became too impassioned by whatever lesson was going on, or that one time he got in a heated "debate" with one of his smart-mouth students. He nearly lost his job that time.
Off in the distance, Narye spotted one of the Police zeppelins and he immediately had a question for Zian.
"Hey! So what do the Police think about you and the other Acolytes riding the Bison around up here? Does it annoy them or something?"
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Post by Zian Chen on Jul 12, 2012 23:00:50 GMT -5
It was a relief to hear that he wasn't the only one who had an issue with rambling. Most of the Air Acolytes were quiet and reserved, and definitely didn't share his enthusiasm for speaking. He just wanted to share what he had to say with people so badly, he often forgets how long he has been talking for. It's almost like he just gets so wrapped up in communicating his ideas and thoughts, that he just forgot to stop. Sometimes he catches himself and tries to stop, but when he got excited, it was hard to stop. Especially when meeting new people, there was just so much to share. "Well that's encouraging. I've never really thought about being a teacher before. But it seems really fun." though he wanted to spend a portion of the next few years travelling around the nations, he could always think about teaching further down the road. Anything was possible, really.
Zian had never really considered Narye's question before. The police had always been very friendly to him, and had never heard of the other Acolytes saying that they had gotten a hard time from them. The skies were big enough for the both of them. Plus, who doesn't like seeing a flying bison soaring through the air. His head shook in response "No, I don't think it does. We don't go out of our way to bug them or anything, though. We just kind of share the sky. They wave when we pass, too!" he said looking over Narye's shoulder, the Bao now having flown fairly close to the zepplin. Close enough to see the waving police on the inside. Zian laughed at the coincidence and waved back enthusiastically calling out a greeting to them, even though he knew they probably wouldn't hear. "HELLO THERE!!"
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Post by Narye Matsuya on Jul 14, 2012 21:40:16 GMT -5
Seeing Zian wave and yell back to the police airship pretty much confirmed that there was no bad blood between the two occupiers of the sky. Considering all the space and that they were pretty much the only two groups capable of being up there, there was more than enough airspace to go around. Besides, if Narye was in the police force, he personally would not have had much trouble with the Acolytes on their Sky Bison. It's not like they showed much of a threat, if any at all. They were pacifist monks after all. What harm could they possibly do?
Though he refrained from yelling out an unheard greeting like Zian, Narye brought his arm up and gave the officers a big wave of his own. His eyes weren't quite as adept at picking them out but he assumed they were waving too. While he was looking over at the awesome sight of one of the police airships up close, Narye's scanned across a clock tower in the city.
"Oh boy. Zian!"
Narye tapped the boy on the shoulder.
"I think we should start heading back soon. My class is scheduled to start in a bit."
At least, Narye had gotten a chance to ride on a Sky Bison, which was something he seriously had wanted to do. It meant he could come back at some time and maybe ask Zian for another ride if time permitted.
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Post by Zian Chen on Jul 17, 2012 0:02:03 GMT -5
It didn't even seem like they had been up there for very long when Narye told him they had to go back. Bao would be disappointed a little, but Zian was excited to see what kind of teacher the elders hired. He climbed back over to the reins and tugged on them, Bao making a wide turn in the air, heading back to the island. It didn't take long for them to get back, landing with a thud in the barn where they had started. Zian jumped down, petting behind Bao's ears. "Thanks for the ride! I promise we'll go out later, I have to go to class now." the great beast grumbled at his owner's words, letting out a light roar. "Hahah, okay, fine, you can have a snack." Zian knew he would be at least a little hungry after flying. Walking over to the stacks of hay, he pulled out a huge arm full, walking back over to Bao, plopping the pile in front of his mouth. "There, that should do till I get back" the hay was gone in a second, Bao eating it all in one mouthful.
Dusting the remaining particles from his clothes, Zian turned to Narye. "Alright, Sifu Matsuya, let's get to learning!" he said, not aware of how lame he really sounded as he led the way back to the classroom.
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Post by Narye Matsuya on Jul 17, 2012 19:55:57 GMT -5
Suffice it to say, Narye was also a little disappointed that they had to end their sight-seeing flight short, but he was commissioned to teach the Acolytes, not fly around on their Sky Bison. He took in as many more sights while they returned and descended, but the City was absolutely huge and he would probably need a couple more Sky Bison tours just to get it all. However, his intense gaze over the water made the rather loud and rough landing all the more surprising to him. He nearly fell over onto the floor when they landed in the barn. It wouldn't have been a long fall, but it would have been embarassing.
Still concerned with harming Bao somehow while he was clambering out of the saddle, Narye opted to just hop down directly the ground while Zian got Bao a reward snack.
"Thank you, Bao. I really enjoyed that."
He gave Bao his own little reward pat before setting off back toward the classroom. Already he was trying to get into a professional mood and not let the experience of flying get to him in the middle of class. When they arrived, there were already a couple of fellow Acolytes seated and more were already walking to the room.
"Go ahead and take a seat, Zian."
Once all the Acolytes had settled in, Narye stood at the front of the class with a big smile and began.
"Hello there, Acolytes. I'm Mr. Matsuya and I'm here to supplment what you've learned here on the Island. Normally I'm just a History teacher, but I'll do my best for any subject that you may have questions about.
Now before I came to the class, a fellow Acolyte took me on a quick airborne tour of Republic City on a Sky Bison. I very much enjoyed it, as he can attest to, and seeing all the buildings and the true extent of the City inspired a lesson that we could start off with: How Republic City was founded. But before that, lets go ahead and do some introductions so I can learn your names..."
From there, Narye took off into a routine he knew very well from being a teacher. He got to know the students a little, answered a few questions about himself, and started talking how Avatar Aang and his compatriots founded the City.
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