[Illah] Gone for Good

[Kalanni]

At first, Kalanni was shocked by the words that had sprung randomly out of her mouth. Impulse. One of my weaknesses. By I guess it wasn't all that bad this time. She was a little taken aback by Illah's response. And yet, I could have expected that from anyone. She's right. I've only known her for five minutes, and yet I seem to want to trust her. That would seem strange to anyone. But...I just have this hunch that Illah is a good person on the inside. But I can't tell her that, unless I want to create a really awkward moment.

Having to raise herself for most of her life, Kalanni never knew how to respond to situations like this. She didn't know what to say or do. This was just like how she would somehow manage to embarress herself at school, and she didn't know how to defend herself, even thought she would have done nothing wrong. Coming from a well-to-do family, all of her schoolmates assumed herto be bratty and spoiled, without even taking a chance to get to know her. Kalanni's heart yearned for a friend, someone to talk to and spend time with. Somehow...Illah seemed like that kind of person.

"Well," she began, rather uncertainly. "You yourself have said that you would want to leave Republic City and move around for a change. And...in the past five minutes or so that I've known you, you haven't mugged me, though you very well could have. You told me that it was dangerous to be out here at night, which you wouldn't have if you didn't care for anyone else here but yourself. And..." Should she say it? Tell Illah what she thought of her, expose her vulnerability? "And I-I just have this feeling that you would be a really nice travel companion."

[Illah Karu]

Illah sighed deeply and stood up. She proceeded to look down on Kalanni with an expression that was equal parts annoyance, awkwardness and pity. The girl in front of her seemed to be at a loss what to do and she apparently wanted someone she could confide in during her travels. But Illah was not a mother figure and she was not a very good girlfriend with whom one could share the latest gossip. Even though she liked meeting new people and talking with them about various things, she was still a loner deep down. At least that’s what she’d told herself for a few years.

“Darling…Just because someone doesn’t jump you the moment they see you don’t mean they’re not going to hurt you. Might be they’ll do something worse than mugging you,” she told her and rubbed the back of her head in exasperation.

“How would you know that? You don’t know what I’m like on the road…You don’t know what I’m like period,” she thought to herself and shook her head in an effort not to actually say her thoughts out loud.

No matter how naïve Kallani seemed to be, Illah did not want to purposely hurt her feelings. And it was true that it might have been best for Illah to leave town. She was staying in one of the cheapest hotels of the city, but after her most recent gambling fiasco, she had no means to continue her stay there longer than a few days. And maybe North Pole was a better option than her birthplace; at least there were no surprising memories and nostalgia there.

“Really…If I should entertain the notion that I’ll go with you, what do you expect me to do? Share my tent and sing songs by a camp fire?” she asked and could not believe she was actually considering her suggestion.

[Kalanni]

Kalanni slightly smiled as Illah considered her offer, the corners of her mouth moving up her face ever so slightly. She suppressed herself from grinning widely, for she knew that Illah might still say no. "If you come with us," she began to reply, Nasa curled up by her feet. "Then all I expect you to do is travel. I don't know how we're going to get to the North Pole, or how long it will take, but I know we can do it. And it will be better for us if we do it together. Two heads are better than one." And I can tell that you want to go there anyways. Why not go together?

Nasa jerked up her head and looked at Kalanni, as if she were realizing that her owner was saying something that might matter in the future. She softly cried out, and lazily settled back down by her feet, knowing that she could worry about whatever it was later. Kalanni didn't even know why she was admitting to Illah that she had no idea what she was doing, but from what she knew, Illah had no way of knowing too much either. But I could be wrong. Maybe she does know more about this than I do. After all, she is older and more knowledgeable than I am. But this has been my dream for the past couple years. I just know that my heart will be in this. I just hope hers is to. Kalanni tought.

Wanting more than anything to just have someone to talk to on her travels, someone to be friends with, Kalanni wanted very badly for Illah to say yes. Before she could resist the urge to ask again, the words spilled out of Kalanni's mouth like a swiftly-flowing stream. "What do you say? Will you come?"

[Illah Karu]

The girl was in the habit of ignoring half of the things Illah said to her and twisting the rest to suit her own ends. It was starting to grate on Illah’s nerves especially when Kalanni seemed to completely disregard her advice against trusting her in case she was some villain intent on doing more than just emptying her purse. With an attitude like that Kalanni would no doubt end up getting killed in some ditch somewhere and her bending would do little to help her. There were devious benders in the world as well, some truly heinous creatures who would not even bat an eyelash at the prospect of having to squash the poor girl.

What kind of life had she led up until now to end up such a naïve and careless person?

“If you propose to walk most of the way, it will take weeks and after you make it to the coast you’ll still need a ship to take you the rest of the way. Though I suppose you could make do with a raft if you know how to build one,” Illah replied bluntly not really trying to hide her growing aggravation anymore.

“Then there’s the issue of food and shelter. Do you have any idea how much preparing an undertaking such as this requires?” she asked, placing her hands on her hips in a challenging manner.

Illah had to wonder if the girl had thought any of this through. She said she wanted to go to the Northern Tribe, but she didn’t seem to have any clue about the logistics of her proposed journey. It was better to open her eyes now, before she did something stupid.

She closed her eyes for a moment and sighed deeply. She knew how to get to the northern coast at least and crossing over to the North Pole would be a cinch if she could get that far. But she wasn’t sure if she wanted to be saddled with a so far so bratty stranger. And yet, she wasn’t exactly comfortable in leaving the girl to fend for herself. To abandon her seemed like a rotten thing to do; after all she had had her share of abandonment.

“Anyway, I’m going to the Northern Tribe. You can follow if you want; it’s not like I can stop you, but I’ll be going on my own terms and I won’t hear any complaints about it,” she finally said and stretched her arms before crossing them over her chest.

[Kalanni]

So she is going, but on her own terms. Kalanni didn't know how to respond to that. It was true, she never really had any experience or knowledge of journeying, but she still had her fair share of disagreement. And for something like this...this wasn't something that she would want to disagree with someone on.

Smiling, the answers to every one of Illah's questions formed in Kalanni's mind. "Walking isn't that bad if you know the right way to go. And I've been stuck in that awful place called school long enough to know every turn in every road from here all the way to the North Pole. As for building a raft, that's something not very hard. All there is to do is bend water into ice and form the shape of a raft with it. Yes, it will be cold to use, but it will work sufficiently. Believe me, I've tried right here in this lake.

She may think that I'm too weak to do this, or something else. Maybe I am, but I have my own way out of every situation. I've come to this lake every day of my life since I was four years old. I've taught myself to waterbend in so many different ways. I know how to use water in the best way of attack and defense I can. And that's my one strength. The one you don't know about, Kalanni thought.

"As for the issue of food and shelter, the answer is simple. When Avatar Aang and his friends traveled, they had no food or money with them. They never prepared for their journey from pole to pole. Yet, today, they are known as heros. Why is that? Because they made their own way. When food comes, you eat it. When you see shelter, you use it. Simple."

Kalanni inwardly sighed. She wanted to go to the North Pole, but Illah seemed to know more about this than she did. Well, of course she wasn't going to admit that. If she wants to travel her own way, so be it. I don't have much of a choice otherwise. Her heart wanting nothing more than to just see the North Pole, she yielded.

"Okay, so you will go on your own terms. And...I guess that means I can come with you?

[Illah Karu]

Illah listened to the girl as she spoke, and little by little her mouth started to hang open in a way that no doubt made her look like a halfwit. She snapped her jaws shut the moment Kalanni finished her little plan and was about to comment on it, when she realized there was very little point to argue practicality with a girl half her age. At least she hoped the girl wasn’t older than sixteen; that would have added a whole new level of awkwardness into their newly formed camaraderie. She would not be able to stomach this level of naiveté from anyone who was considered to be an adult by most social standards.

Illah sighed and gave the girl a resigned smile. It was hard to keep her mouth shut, but she was not in the mood to dive head first into a furious diatribe about how many things in Kalanni’s plan were, well, wrong. For one thing the trip from the northern coast of Earth Kingdom to the North Pole would take days and the sea was a tough mistress to anyone with a proper ship not to mention for a couple of blunderers on a raft made of ice. Saltwater and sun did not agree well with ice so their little transport device would be in a constant threat of melting away from under them. Kalanni would have to be bending more ice on the thing constantly and for what Illah could gather about bending, was that it was a physical act that required stamina.

She meant no offence on Kalanni, when she doubted her physical fitness. And then there were the weather conditions. It would be cold in the northern seas, cold and windy and no doubt rainy and snowy depending on where their location would be on any given time. Illah would not be crossing the waters on a block of ice, but she need not say it right now. She would figure things out on the way, like she always did.

“Yes well, Avatar Aang did have something we don’t. He was the avatar. I’m sure he received a lot of help from the many villages he visited. He was a revered person with great power after all,” Illah replied and started to walk away from the pond.

She needed to pack her things and figure out the best route to north. A route that enabled her to pick up some money she’d stashed away would have been preferable but she did not want to take a needlessly long detour if there was a shorter way to be had. She needed to look into that.

“I’m going to my hotel to sleep. I’ll be leaving at first sunlight. If you want to come with me then come,” she called out to the girl and walked on, wondering why she had to go out of her way to make things harder for herself.