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Airbenders are pretty thoroughly repopulated now, but they're still minorities anywhere but the handful of enclaves that have retaken the open temples or integrated into the populations that have woven into them. Beila doesn't live in one of those enclaves. She lives in Republic City. Benders are a minority, airbenders more so. She's the only one in her class. It could still be a coincidence that she's supposed to do her history project on Avatar Aang, her some-number-of-greats grandfather, and not casual stereotyping. Whatever. Her partner's not a bender at all unless he's very quiet about it, he's just a random cute boy who sits to her left. Dao, that's his name.
"Hey," she says. "When's good for you to meet up and work on this thing?"
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roc_on
roc_on
She grins and waves at him.
Of course, the next day, her birthday turns out to be global news.
She is - mercifully - the first to know. The monks from the nearest temple show up at the crack of dawn on a sky bison and report to her in grave voices about a day she can't remember when she was a year old when she grabbed the right three toys out of a selection of hundreds.
Beila's not that surprised. She didn't expect this, but there wasn't such a huge candidate pool, really, she knows four other airbender girls close in age. She nods, and agrees to find herself a waterbending teacher immediately, and she's supposed to check in with a nun periodically and she carefully reserves judgment about whether that's going to happen.
Then they make the general announcement and the whole world knows.
She doesn't even ride Liqing to school, arriving there on her glider instead, because she fears the crowds will spook the birds.
Of course, the next day, her birthday turns out to be global news.
She is - mercifully - the first to know. The monks from the nearest temple show up at the crack of dawn on a sky bison and report to her in grave voices about a day she can't remember when she was a year old when she grabbed the right three toys out of a selection of hundreds.
Beila's not that surprised. She didn't expect this, but there wasn't such a huge candidate pool, really, she knows four other airbender girls close in age. She nods, and agrees to find herself a waterbending teacher immediately, and she's supposed to check in with a nun periodically and she carefully reserves judgment about whether that's going to happen.
Then they make the general announcement and the whole world knows.
She doesn't even ride Liqing to school, arriving there on her glider instead, because she fears the crowds will spook the birds.
thinklikethis
When she gets to class, there is a little tiny roc waiting for her on her desk.
roc_on
"Don't you usually sit here?" she asks him, pointing at the vacant chair right beside hers.
roc_on
"It's not like I'm any more likely to start accidentally firebending than I was yesterday," she points out. "Thanks for the carving, by the way, it's really cute."
thinklikethis
"It's. Um. ...You're welcome," he says, with a brief flash of a hunted-looking smile.
roc_on
"No, seriously, did something happen, is something wrong, I totally have license to go around fixing wrong things now if something is wrong."
roc_on
"Yeah, it's all over the news, I glidered in, Liqing would freak with all the reporters, I'm just glad they're keeping out of the school building proper," laughs Beila. "What's the matter?"
thinklikethis
"I guess I just don't think I'm friends-with-the-Avatar material," says Dao.
roc_on
"I'm still the same person. I've been the Avatar since I was born," Beila says. "They just didn't tell me till this morning."
roc_on
"I'm not, like, overwhelmed with people who wanted to be my friend before knowing I was the Avatar," Beila points out. "I'm not saying I can never make new friends, but they'll be a little trickier to vet, you know?"
roc_on
"But okay," she sighs, "if you wanna sit over there, you wanna sit over there."
roc_on
"So is this a - a 'I am concerned in spite of your reassurance that you may unexpectedly firebend' or a 'I want some distance from your incipient fan club' or a 'get away from me, spirit-touched creature, I certainly do not want to go flying with you next weekend' or what?"