Avatar: The Story Continues 20

The next day, Aang decided to take Sokka and Zuko to the pond outside of the village walls.  He wanted to practice some of his waterbending techniques and thought he'd take friends with him to keep him company.  Katara wanted to keep an eye on Kotori, so she didn't think that it would be a good idea to have both her and Aang together so far outside the village.  She, instead, spent the afternoon having lunch and talking with Fei Yen and Haruko.

A few hours later, the teens decided to head back towards the village and meet back up with their other friends.  As the entrance to the village came into view, lo and behold, who emerged from the village but Meifeng.  She looked around to make sure no one was there (the three friends had ducked behind some trees and bushes when they first caught sight of her).  She turned towards the right and started walking in the opposite direction.  

"I wonder where she's going?" asked Aang.

Sokka shrugged his shoulders.

Zuko took the lead and started following Meifeng from a good distance behind her so as not to alert her to their presence.  

"Looks like she is heading towards the cemetery," remarked Sokka after a few moments.  

"What on earth is she…?" started Aang.  

Meifeng reached the cemetery and looked around once again.  The three friends were safely hidden away so she could not see them.  She walked around the central building – the burial place of Peng and Saura.  She looked up at the birds that were carved into the stone towards the roof.  She circled the building a few times.  She then looked at, and stepped on, some of the stepping stone markers.

After about 10 minutes of watching Meifeng do pretty much nothing, Sokka whispered, "Maybe she is just paying her respects?" He shrugged his shoulders again.

"She's not doing anything.  There's nothing here," whispered Zuko impatiently.  "Let's just go."

"No…wait," replied Aang not wanting to leave quite yet.  He held up his hand mistakenly thinking that would cause his friends to halt in their tracks.

"You wait if you want to, I'm hungry.  I'm going back to the village," said Sokka.  "You coming Zuko?"

Zuko looked at Aang with a look that said 'I'm sorry' and he turned to follow Sokka.  

But Aang refused to leave.  He had to know what Meifeng was doing.  

Still nothing happened for the next few minutes.  Meifeng looked unsure of herself.  She continued to circle the stone building, every once in a while looking down at the stepping stones.  

Finally, Aang saw her jump up to the carved birds and touch the top portion of the building.  Of course, normal people cannot leap that high, so Aang instantly knew he was onto something.  Now Meifeng was on his list of people who could airbend.  

When she landed back on the ground, she leapt again, this time to the top of the building.  She aimed her hands downward and let out a blast of air onto the roof.  Suddenly, there appeared an opening door - actually, it looked more like a hatch.  Aang hadn't seen it before when he was looking around.  He certainly couldn't tell it was there when it was closed.

Meifeng disappeared down the hatch.

I guess now is as good a time as any, he thought to himself.  He left his hiding spot and flew to the top of the building as fast as his bending could take him.  He looked into the hatch and saw Meifeng in there along with papers, books, and various bits of memorabilia.  She had one of the books in her hand.

"What are you….?!" she exclaimed.  "Please leave!"

"Meifeng, you don't know me but…." Aang started.

"No, you don't understand.  You need to go!" she urged.

"Meifeng, calm down.  I'm not going anywhere," Aang said.

"I am going to get in so much trouble if you are found here," she replied, tears welling in her eyes.

"Meifeng!" a voice called to the girl.  "Meifeng, are you out here?"

"Oh no!" Meifeng said to herself.  She looked at Aang, "You need to get in here, and please, be quiet."

"Meifeng!" came the voice again.  It was Kotori just now entering the cemetery.

"Meifeng, what are you doing?" asked Kotori.

Meifeng stuck her head out from the hatch.  "I was just….ok, you caught me.  I need to study more, Kotori.  I am not keeping up with your lessons and I came out here to study the history," Meifeng replied.

"You know I have forbidden you from coming here without me," Kotori said.  "Someone could have followed you."

"I know," Meifeng replied.  "I'm sorry for disobeying you, Kotori.  I really just want to live up to your expectations of me."

Kotori paused and thought for a moment.

"Very well.  Please do not do it again," said Kotori.  "You are here now and I can see your intentions were good.  No one is around.  You may stay and study, but the hatch must be closed so no one knows you are here.  Do not come out again until I come fetch you in a few hours time."

"Yes, Kotori, I will follow your instructions," said Meifeng.  She then ducked back inside the small area in the top of the stone building.

Kotori walked around the building.  She jumped into the air and sent an air blast towards the hatch which blew it closed.  

She's an airbender, too.  Now we're getting somewhere.

Aang and Meifeng stared at each other for the next few minutes.  They dared not say a word until they knew Kotori had walked away.

"Thank you for not getting me in trouble," Meifeng quietly said to Aang.

"No problem," he said and smiled at her.

Although he thought knew what he was looking at, he played dumb and started questioning Meifeng.  "What is all this stuff?"

Meifeng hesitated.  She didn't know what she should do.  One of the first rules of being the Keeper is that nothing should be shared, especially with outsiders.  But here he was inside this secret place with her.  Two tears dripped from her eyes.  She felt trapped.

"Look Meifeng, I know I shouldn't know about this place.  But I'm glad I do.  For the last year, I thought I was the last airbender in the world.  Now I know I'm not alone.  I saw you airbend.  I've seen others airbend.  If we can save some parts of the air nomad nation, it's our duty to do so.  I just need to know how there are still airbenders alive after all these years and no one knew about it."

Meifeng still didn't say a word and just stared at Aang.

"I won't tell Kotori that I was here.  In fact, I won't tell anyone anything. I won't mention a thing to anyone without letting you know first, ok?" said Aang.

"Uh….ok," she finally responded, still feeling a little nervous.  She knew he was the Avatar and had seen him around the village.  Her gut told her that he was trustworthy, but Kotori's teachings and influence still had a hold on her.  She knew she really didn't have a choice.  He now knew where this place was now and even if she didn't agree to tell him anything, he could come back at any time and get any of this information himself.  In fact, he could even steal the information, or destroy its hiding place if he wanted to – not that she really thought he would.

Aang looked to his right and his eyes stopped on a rather large scroll.  

"That's the genealogy of our town since the time of Peng and Saura," remarked Meifeng.  

Aang opened it up and was amazed at what he saw.  Peng and Saura were at the top of the scroll.  After them were their four children - Qing, Shen, Bolin and Tori - who he earlier found was also buried in this same cemetery.  Each of these names were written in blue ink.  

Aang could now clearly see the linkages between the people he knew from the village today and the children of Peng and Saura.  Meifeng was the great-granddaughter of Qing.  Her name was also written in blue ink.  Her father, Youfeng, was also written in blue ink, but her two sisters, Xia and Hye, were not.  They were written in black ink.

"What does the blue ink mean?" asked Aang.

"Blue ink indicates the ability to airbend," said Meifeng.

Suddenly it was so clear to Aang.  As it sunk in, his face slowly let out a huge grin.  This is exactly the information he had been looking for.  

He looked for Fei Yen's family on the scroll.  Fei Yen and Kochi were also great-grandchildren of Qing.  Kochi was written in blue ink; Fei Yen was not.  Kochi is an airbender, just as I thought.

Aang started to count.  Peng and Saura had four children.  Their children had a total of seven children, including Kotori whose name was also written in blue ink.  The next generation was 12..  And the final generation on the scroll currently stood at 19.  Then he noted something that concerned him.  As more and more generations came to be, there were less and less airbenders.  Of the 19 kids currently running around Qi Cun, only four were airbenders.

Hmmmm…he thought to himself.  Airbenders have always lived with and had children with other airbenders.  In this village, they only had children with people from the Earth Kingdom.  So both parents are no longer airbenders – at least not until there were enough of a genetic distance between family members.  That must be why the lineage is getting watered down.

So who are the airbenders? he thought to himself.  Aang looked at the scroll again and noted the names of the airbenders who were alive.  Meifeng and Kochi….and looks like a 13-year old boy named Tengfei and a 7-year old boy named Kanpu were in the youngest generation.  There were a few other airbenders who were older – Mengfei's Dad and Haruko's brother were just two that were named.

"So Mengfei, how much airbending knowledge do you have?" Aang asked having exhausted his knowledge of the scroll.

"Only the basics and what I've figured out on my own," Mengfei replied.  "Kotori recently taught me how to open this vault with my airbending, but other than that,  I haven't received much formal training yet."

That's too bad, thought Aang.  I need to make sure the knowledge isn't lost.  "I assume this is true of all the people with airbending abilities in Qi Cun?" he asked.

"Yes.  No one is trained.  The only person with any formal training at all is Kotori.  And I still don't think it is that much," said Meifeng.

Aang looked around and saw many journals.  He picked one up and looked at it.  This is from 70 years ago, he noted to himself.  "Meifeng, are there any journals here that were written by Peng and Saura?" Aang asked.

"I know the history if you'd rather I tell you," she said.  "That was one of the first things Kotori insisted I memorize."

"Sure, you tell me the story then," said Aang.  

"It was a little over 100 years ago.  The Avatar…uh, you….had disappeared just recently.  The Fire Nation had attacked the Eastern Air Temple and killed all the nuns that lived there using the power from Sozin's comet.  Later we would find out that they attacked all the air temples on the same day – thus no one in any air temple had any time to flee."

"Peng was on official Northern Air Temple business at the Eastern Air Temple and while there, visited Saura, his bonded mate.  He was 25 and she was 22 when the war started.  They escaped the attack because they happened to be away from the air temple that day.  They had decided to cross over into the Earth Kingdom and spend some time alone together.  As they approached the air temple that evening, they saw smoke coming from the mountain and Fire Nation troops moving away from the area.  They stayed hidden for the night and went back to the air temple the next morning.  They did not find any survivors from the attack."

"They spent the next week at the Eastern Air Temple grieving for their lost sisters.  They found a stash of Earth Kingdom clothing and carefully devised ways to cover their arrow tattoos.  Sometimes it was with a colored cream and sometimes with a headband or a hat.  They entered the Earth Kingdom near Chameleon Bay and never returned to the Eastern Air Temple again."

"After nearly a year wandering the Earth Kingdom, Peng and Saura found the village of Wushi.  By this time, they were well-aware of what had happened to all the Air Nomad temples.  All they wanted to do was find safety and leave the war behind them.  Wushi seemed like a lovely village, though there was a great deal of worry among the villagers about the war.  Their cover was blown when they happened to be walking by a small boy playing on the top of a cliff near the village.  He fell.  He surely would have been killed if not for Peng airbending him softly to the ground.  Other villagers were around and had seen all this happen.  To Peng and Saura's delight, they found that the village embraced them and wanted them to stay with them for good.  They agreed."

"It was a few months later when the war finally reached their doorstep.  The Fire Nation did not enter their village, but they did hear several explosions off in the distance and saw some soldiers around a few of the neighboring towns.  It was then that Peng and Saura devised a plan to move the village to a safer location.  They scouted locations and ended up finding where Qi Cun is today – protected from most eyes by natural rock walls.  They suggested the move to the villagers at a town meeting.  All agreed a move would give everyone more peace of mind.  Since the town would be in a new location, they decided to give it a new name.  Because it was their idea, they let Peng and Saura choose.  They chose Qi Cun.  The new village was built and the old one abandoned.  The villagers have been safe ever since."

"So what happened after that?" asked Aang.

"You've already seen the genealogy scroll," said Meifeng a bit confused.  "They settled down in Qi Cun and had four children – three boys and one girl."

"…and they were all airbenders," continued Aang.  

"Yes, they were all airbenders.  But you have to realize a few things.  Everything had changed for Peng and Saura.  Even though they found friends and a new home, their lives as airbenders would never be the same.  First of all, they made the conscious decision that no formal airbending training would occur.  They knew that as their family mixed with the villagers, the airbending trait would become less and less common – not to mention a village with airbenders would surely attract the attention of the Fire Nation if they happened to ever find it.  Starting with their children, spouses and families would no longer be purely from the Air Nomad nation – the fact that marriages would now occur was also a huge difference for them because, as you know, Air Nomads do not marry.  But to assimilate to the Earth Kingdom culture, it was a necessary change.  Arrow tattoos would be dead giveaways to their true identities and would no longer be applied, though it wasn't a problem if the training was eliminated – no one would ever become a Master Airbender again.  This is what they decided their culture should morph into as a result of their ordeal.  This is their way of coping and moving on with their lives."

"So how did the Keeper come to be? Asked Aang.

""As they got older, Peng and Saura decided that they wanted to preserve some of their history.  With one person from every 1-2 generations knowing the entire story, the history would never die completely.  They passed it down to their granddaughter Kotori.  Kotori is now 62 and she has chosen me as the next Keeper."

What's the point of hiding a history that no one will ever know, Aang asked himself.  I bet they hoped it would be useful some day.  That day has arrived, only Kotori doesn't realize it.

"I'm not sure you'll need a Keeper anymore with the war being over," remarked Aang.

"What do you mean?" asked Meifeng.

"Why do you need to hide anymore?" he asked.  "You all live here in your guarded little town.  It's safe, I'll give you that - but there are so many experiences out there to have and people to meet.  You can't explore the world from your little village.  And keeping your abilities a secret?  Well, there are definitely perks to being able to airbend."

"Like what?" Meifeng asked.

"Self-defense for one.  There are a ton of games involving airbending.  Have you ever flown on a glider?" Aang asked in return.

"No," Meifeng replied looking at him curiously not fully being able to picture a human flying.

"I'll have to demonstrate for you sometime when Kotori doesn't have you locked up in her house with her," Aang said.

Meifeng shrunk a little bit remembering that her ability to airbend was still supposed to be a secret from the Aang the "outsider".  She remembered the precarious situation that she was in with Aang now knowing all this information.  

"Aang, please don't tell Kotori anything," Meifeng asked yet again.

"I won't.  And even if she does find out, I'll make sure you aren't there to be blamed," Aang said.  "You've given me everything I need to know, Meifeng, and I thank you.  I have a lot of things to think about.  Are you ready to head back to the village?"

"I, uh, can't," she replied.  "Kotori will come back and fetch me soon."

"Ah, that's right.  She did say for you not to go anywhere until she came back for you.  I guess she's trying to protect her secrets," Aang replied.  "See you later, Meifeng.  Happy studying."  And with that, Aang opened the hatch and leapt out of the building and was quickly on his way back to the village.  

OlOlOlOlOlO

"Aang, where have you been?" Katara asked as he entered their room over the kitchen of the inn. "It's almost time for dinner!"

"You won't believe where I've been and who I've been with!" he replied.

He told Katara the entire story of the afternoon.  She was shocked.  "I guess there is no reason to tail Meifeng or Kotori anymore then, eh?"

"I guess not," he replied.  "I'll tell the others as I see them."  

"So what's next?" she asked him.

"I don't know.  First, I have to find a way to let them and Kotori know that I know their secrets," said Aang.

"Why?" asked Katara.  "I mean, you know, and life moves on, right?"

"Not exactly.  Katara, none of these people know anything of where they came from.  Well, no one but Kotori or Meifeng.  My entire way of life, which I thought was gone, could possibly be brought back," said Aang.

"Aang, I hate to burst your bubble, but do you really think that these people, who grew up with mostly Earth Kingdom traditions will really want to go back to being separated by gender, living in air temples, and becoming nuns and monks again?" asked Katara.

"No, and I don't intend to ask them to," he said.  "I agree that my exact way of life is now gone.  There will no longer be four air temples, just as there will no longer be any sky bison once Appa is no longer with us.  Things do and will change, Katara.  But I can't sit back here and let everything die, at least not while I have a chance to save it."

"What do you have in mind?" she asked.

"Airbender training," he replied.  "Perhaps, a return to the temples.  But like I said, first I need to be able to talk to them about it.  Right now I can't even do that."

"Let me think about it while we go get some food," Katara replied. "I'm sure we'll come up with something."