[Mu] Basking in moonlight

[Zian Chen]

It was so rare that he was allowed to come into the city by himself, but apparently was old enough now, according to the head acolytes. Usually if he was to ever leave the island, he would be accompanied by another acolyte, or his parents. Never was he just given a task that allowed him to travel by air bison right into the city. In his mind, it was his first real trip into the city. Being allowed to go wherever he wanted, to DO whatever he wanted (well other then the task he was sent there to do). All he had to do was deliver some papers to City Hall, the elders even told him to explore the city a little. So he wasn't even going to be sneaking around behind their backs, they actually wanted him to expand his horizons. This thought filled him with joy.

Hopping on Bao, his family's sky bison, they flew over to the main island, landing in the designated bison spot for City Hall. He always loved coming into the city, but didn't quite like the crowds, and how loud it was. But he would probably not even notice those two things, there were just too many other things to see and do in the city, it would be hard to be cranky about the noise level, or crowd density. Sliding down off the bison, he gave the reins to the boy who was apparently caring for the bison stables. Well at least he had a place to keep Bao while he was here, because he intended on being here for a long while. Probably all day. He had a few yans to buy food, so there was nothing keeping him from having an amazing day.

After dropping off the paperwork where he was told, he exited city hall, into the crowded streets. What was he going to do first? There was just so many options, he opted for just strolling down the main streets, checking out the shops that caught his attention. This took up quite a lot of time, there were so many interesting shops, by the time he had his fill, he was starving. The teenager ate at a noodle shop, quickly downing the delicious soup. Normally he would enjoy it a little more, but the sun was already set, and there was so much more to do. He had a feeling that he wasn't going to get to do everything he had wanted to today, but knew that he would have a lot more opportunities like this one now that he was 'old enough'.

After eating, he headed into the park, enjoying the small break from all the noise. The sound of the city was still evident, but it was muffled greatly by the trees, and distance from the roads. Most of the noise in the city came from the automobiles. The park was almost empty, save for a few couples strolling along holding hands, and the occasional single person walking swiftly like they had somewhere to go. The moon was full, its pale glow lighting up everything, giving it a beautifully eery look. The grass looked so inviting. Stepping off the path, Zian laid down in the soft grass, looking up at the sky. The moon shone so brightly it muted a lot of the stars around it, but there were still plenty of stars to look at.

[Mu Sheng]

It would be the understatement of the century to call Republic City big, and the chances of getting lost in the hustle and bustle of the day was all too easy, especially for those new to the place. Mu Sheng found himself turning every which way throughout his trek with most of his journey adhering to the flow of traffic whether he wanted to venture that way or not. Though he had more than enough stature to muscle his way through the thick streets satomoblies were an entirely different story. With enough motivation a person could easily adjust the style in which they were walking, but something told Mu that the cars weren't as easy to control. One wrong move could have landed himself, or worse, someone else in the path of one of the monstrosities. With a chuckle the earth bender thought back to the days when people's main mode of transportation aside from their feet was an ox driven cart. Now people could just zoom along in the metal deathtraps with little regard to their surroundings.

Alas, there was nothing the young man could do about it now as the times had changed and would continue to change whether he liked it or not, and even if he didn't like the contraptions being aware of their existence would help him fit in a bit more. As the sun began fall behind the large buildings Mu realized that he was no where near his abode, and that trying to get back home in the dark would have him walking around in circles for the rest of the night. However, he had heard that a select few specially painted satomobiles would take people wherever they wanted for a small fee. In what was probably the most blatant form of irony, this would more than likely be the reason Mu returned home this night. Unfortunately, none of said cars were in sight which prompted the boy to continue walking down the street in search of one when he came upon a familiar sight: the park.

A bone-chilling shiver went down his spine as he thought back to his first encounter with the place: a crazed Fire Nation loyalist attacked him out of the blue. It was truly one of the more bizarre encounters Mu had ever come across, and one he would be hard pressed to forget. A voice inside told him not to enter the park for fear of history repeating itself, but as there were none of those special cars anywhere to be found he had little choice in the matter. Besides, there might have been someone who could point him in the right direction to find one of those cars, or at the very least show him how to get back to his home. Within the park there was very little in terms of people, as most had left for the day save a few couples and some stragglers; one in particular that piqued Mu's interest.

Even though the moonlight could only illuminate so much, it did not take a genius to recognize air nomad clothing. After history's past events seeing one of their kind had to be a rare treat; even though Mu had no idea that Zian wasn't an air bender. "Ah. Excuse me, from the clothing I gather you are an air nomad?" Mu questioned as he closed the gap between the two but stopping a few feet short as to not invade the man's privacy, especially when he seemed to be so relaxed laying on the ground.

[Zian Chen]

Taking a deep breath, Zian relaxed as he gazed up at the stars. They were so beautiful, he had always been amazed by the cosmics and the mysteries they held. So much had been discovered in these lands, but there was still so much out there, so much more to see. The constant sound of satomobiles was actually kind of soothing when it was muffled by the nature. One could almost imagine it to be the sound of a waterfall. The young acolyte let his mind wander into a daydream, his thoughts touching on many different subjects, until they were interrupted by a voice. Tilting his head back, Zian got an upside down look at what the individual looked like. Smiling up at him, he flipped over onto his stomach, then stood up.

"Yes, kind of. I mean, well, I'm an air acolyte. I can't airbend, but we study and follow the ways of the airbender monks." he explained, not knowing if this guy knew the difference, but definitely didn't mind explaining. He was proud to be an air acolyte, and loved explaining it to people. "But I am a bender, just earth though." he said with a small laugh, giving the stranger a small, polite bow. "I am Zian" he said in a friendly tone "It's a beautiful night to be out for a walk, you enjoying the warm nights?" The young bender always loved meeting new people and tried to make friend at any opportunity, this moment was no different. He loved talking to and learning about new people and places. Being kept at the air temple all the time was kind of stifling, but he understood why: his parents wanted to keep him safe. But once he was older, maybe in a year or so, he planned on travelling the world, learning as much as possible.

[Mu Sheng]

A slight feeling of guilt washed through Mu as he seemed to break the other man from his star gazing or whatever air acolytes did; though the smile seemed to release any notion of unwanted interruption. His little knowledge of the air nomads and their style of life made Mu susceptible to believing just about anything Zian would tell him, but from what he could gather they were a very simplistic people who were not concerned with life's material possessions but instead lived on some principle that the earth-bender would never be able to comprehend. Hearing that the boy wasn't a bender came as little surprise given that the race was still walking the fine line between endangered and extinct, yet even more intriguing was that the nomads allowed those not of direct descent to live with them.

As if there could be an even higher achievement to the revelation, Zian had made mention that he was an earth-bender which damn near shocked Mu. For years he believed that the ability to bend earth was strongly connected to power, which was the complete opposite of the docile air nomads. Zian's next comment brought a sheepish laugh from Mu as the true reason for him wandering around the park at night set back in. "Wow, never thought I'd see a fellow earth-bender as an air acolyte. They seem almost polar opposites." Mu replied as he attempted to repress the slight embarrassment that would come from his next statement. "Well.. I'm a bit lost, actually. Rather new to Republic City and I still don't know my way around to be perfectly honest."

Aside from the route from home to work and everywhere in between, Mu might as well have been running around like a chicken with its head cut off when it came to traversing the rest of the city; something he hoped to have resolved sooner rather than later.

[Zian Chen]

Zian nodded at the stranger's words, still smiling. "Well earth is air's opposite, technically." Zian knew this too well. He had studied the air bending forms, along with the other two, water and fire, and definitely found air to be the most challenging for him as an earth bender. But it wasn't impossible. "But technically the separation of the elements is an illusion, so they can't be that different, right?" he asked with a playful grin. He had studied extensively on this subject, and had even invented altered bending stances to mimic the other bending styles with his own. He even made a special belt that carried the substances he used to do this, but had left it in Bao's saddle. It was kind of heavy, but he liked having it with him if he left the island. You never knew when you would get a chance to show it off. Zian had spent many years refining all of this, and was very proud of it. It was a little shameless, but he enjoyed showing it off, and explaining it to people. It opened their minds to new possibilities, he thought.

"I don't usually come to the city alone, but I know my way around pretty well. Maybe I can help you?" he offered. If it was far enough away, he would take them on Bao, strangers always loved meeting him. Zian always tried his hardest to help people, but found it hard when he was on the Air Temple Island all the time. But now that he was in the city, here was an opportunity! It didn't really look like there was anyone else around to help him, anyways.

[Mu Sheng]

Mu nodded at Zian's first statement as he seemed to explain it with such ease. Perhaps it was all of the tutelage, or maybe it was just common knowledge. He felt silly for not thinking his previous statement through before blindly putting it out there like some gushing school girl. However, what had been done could not be retracted which left the rest of the conversation for the young man not to screw up. What the man said next would cause a single brow to raise almost involuntarily on Mu's face. He sounded like a person who had lived in a temple for a good part, if not all, of his life.

Though it was true that bending and spirituality went hand in hand, Mu was lucky that the saying was more theory than fact otherwise he might have never been able to bend. He rarely dabbled in any serious spiritual practice whether it be reading, meditation or anything in between. Choosing this moment to half-heartedly reconnect with said spirituality, or play a facade in front of Zian. Chances are it would have been seen through within moments anyway. A simple nod would be the man's response as he couldn't think of any response that wouldn't either offend the acolyte or show his indifference on the subject.

What he heard next would come as a bit of a surprise as most would not want to do more than give general directions then return to whatever they had been doing beforehand. But then again, Zian wasn't the normal type of person you would see in Republic City and for that Mu was grateful. "Really? I'd greatly appreciate it. The east part of Republic City is what I've heard others say that part was, but after that it's a mystery." Mu replied with a bit of a grin as it was truly embarrassing for a grown man not to have his place of residence memorized. "Oh, I'm Mu by the way." He added after realizing that he had forgotten to give his name.

[Zian Chen]

"It's very nice to meet you, Mu." he said will a small bow of his head. "Hmm.. the east part, you've strayed pretty far from home, huh?" Zian tried to get his barrings for a moment, thinking about the fastest route. It was pretty far away, so he decided taking Bao would be the best bet. Especially with it being night time and all, though two earth benders should be able to keep themselves out of danger. "I have a friend who can help." Zian told his new friend with a smile. "I left him at city hall though, it's actually just over there." he said, pointing to the large building a little ways off. He started towards it, assuming Mu would follow. "So what brings you to the big city? You said a job, right? Where were you from originally? I was actually born and raised here. Well not here, on the Air Temple Island, but I'm pretty sure it's considered part of the city..." Zian had a tenancy to ramble and ask a lot of questions, which some found over whelming.

He waited until the road was safe to cross and led them across the street, into the large doors of City Hall. It wasn't a long route to his bison, and soon they met the night air again. Stepping out, Bao stood up, letting out a happy roar as he saw his owner. "I hope you don't mind flying." Zian said with a laugh, petting Bao's head, the air bison closing his eyes happily. He would get nervous when left alone for a while, but was happy to be back in the presence of someone known.

[Mu Sheng]

"Yeah, one minute you're walking down the street and the next you end up on a completely different part of town." He replied as his situation began to settle in a bit more. To get lost twice was a feat on its own, but to end up at the park both times surely had to be the stuff of legend; and even though he had found someone to help him get back to the part of the city he was used to the need for a sense of direction was becoming pertinent with each outing. Mu shifted his sight to the large building that Zian had pointed out which held the newcomer that would further aid the situation. "Ah, yeah. Anyone who can help is a friend of mine."

The trek to the city hall was a short one which left little time to take in the sights. Republic City was a beautiful place, especially at night, and seemed to calm any of the odd sensations Mu felt whenever he got lost. The thought of returning back to his home village had sprung up multiple times as the hardships of city life continued to pile, but the young bender had made a promise to his parents to see it through and would do so.

" A small village in the Earth Kingdom. Parents owned a farm and for the longest I believed that I would take over when the time came, but after I found an earth-bending teacher I felt that there was more to do in life and set out here. Oddly enough, my job still deals with farming... just the business aspect of it." He replied while pondering about Zian's lifestyle choice, which it seemed wasn't really a choice at all since he had been born on the island surrounded by the monks his entire life. "So I've got to ask, have you ever thought of doing something other than living under the air nomads lifestyle? Being on that island must have kept you isolated from experiencing anything. Seems a bit unfair."

Mu took a deep breath as he ended his spiel, and though he had no intentions of questioning the methods by which air nomads lived, the practices seemed to deal a lot with isolation and only knowing that singular style of life. Any further thoughts, however, would be violently pushed out of the way as the hulking image of what looked to be some sort of bison filled Mu's vision, and the sound of its roar filling his ear drums. This certainly wasn't what the earth-bender had in mind when Zian mentioned another helping. Images of a police officer or something similar where the first things that came to mind; but it seemed there were other plans on the agenda.

"Uh... First time for everything, I suppose." He replied with a shaky chuckle.

[Zian Chen]

He chuckled. "Ya, that happens to me a lot too. I'll just zone out and the next thing I know I don't know where my feet led me!" he remembered this one instance when this occurred, where he got lost on the Air Temple Island itself. It of course didn't take him long to find his bearings, but getting lost on the small island you grew up on was still pretty humorous. "Farming sounds like a lot of fun. I love watching things grow, I even have a little garden at the edge of the island. It must be so cool to watch all the crops grow at once. Unless you're a livestock farmer. he said with a laugh. "It would still be fun to work with all the animals." Though he didn't agree with the ways of a lot of farmers, killing and eating their livestock, he understood that it was their living, and didn't think down on them at all. Just because he didn't eat meat didn't mean he was going to try and force it onto others.

"I actually love living on the Air Temple Island. I plan on travelling, but not for while now. Maybe next year. There's still so much I haven't seen in the city here, so it's not like i've gotten bored or anything." he explained with a smile. "It's not unfair, really. My parents just want to make sure that I have a good life, you know? I'm only 17 so I have a lot of my life left to explore." his parents were also getting old, his mother was sick, and he wanted to spend as much time with them as he could before they passed. They had him when they were very old.

He climbed up onto Bao's saddle, motioning for his new friend to do the same. "Don't worry, it's a smooth ride, you won't fall off or anything. And even if you do, Bao's an excellent flyer, he'll catch you!"

[Mu Sheng]

"No livestock, fortunately. Just crops." He replied as the sounds of his neighbors who raised animals and had to put them down rung in his ears. Though Mu was able to habituate to the sound after a few years one could truly never get over what had been seen and heard, but it was something that up until this point the young man had not thought about. The large buildings and satomobiles pushed out most of the memories of the small village Mu called home for so many years, which was both a blessing and a curse. It was the small things that separated Republic City from his true home: waking up to mostly quiet mornings aside from the occasional cattle or rooster, the lack of people rushing from place to place, and so on and so forth. All a part of the adjusting process, he figured, and something that would pass in due time.

Mu couldn't fault Zian for being happy with his life decisions, as the boy hadn't reached legal age and as such had nearly all the time in the world to do what he wanted. Oddly enough, the two were in a similar boat as until a few months ago all the bender knew was the life of a farmer and for years had been more than content with it. If anyone had came in and questioned his way of life Mu would have nine times out of time given an answer very similar to Zian's. "Good point. No need to rush. Sorry about that." He replied, feeling that an apology was order; more so to clear his conscience than anything.

Zian's attempt at relieving the worries of a person who had never flown, let alone seen a flying bison before caused a cold sweat to form on the back of Mu's neck. He had faith in the acolytes abilities to fly, but was more than aware of animals tendency to act out when on a whim. Though at this point if he had any hopes of getting back home this seemed to be the only option. "Heh, good to know." Mu replied as he climbed upon the saddle of the large creature. It was more spacious than first seemed which provided plenty of room to roll into a fetal position should the need arise.