.Lost to a World of Fantasies. <Earth Kingdom>

[sakurako]

The soft clomp of hooves on stone echoed softly throughout the deserted temple as a scrawny, yet spirited dappled horse walked on, slowing to a halt when an assertive pull of the reigns slowed it to a stop. A woman dismounted the horse and rubbed her nose kindly, reaching into the pocket of her satin pants to offer her a few treats.

The trusty mare chewed up her lunch and the golden-eyed woman smiled, unhitching her bridle and leaving her to munch on some weeds that had grown in between the stones. Taking a book from the horse's side bags, she walked over to a stone balcony that overlooked the rest of the garden and and threw her long legs over the wide rail, leaning against a pillar to begin.

Now, where was she? She flipped through the pages of the green-colored book, searching. Page 107, page 108...Ah, there we go. Page 109. Glancing over her shoulder to check if her noble steed was still present, she then turned to the cream-colored pages, her eyes starting to glow with intrest and thought as she was lost to a world of distant stories and fantasies.

[diao]

It had been a boring trip from Zhy, but she was finally here, at the Temple ruins of Avatar Gensei. She had heard of the Temple from a local merchant in Zhy and decided it would be an excellent place to become in tune with the spirits.

She hefted her new monkey staff, made from black tsung wood she bought and carved, and began her walk across the beautiful gardens. The gardens were indeed a wonderful place because of the rich soil. She picked out a stone close to the center and took a seat on it, placing her staff along her knees and closing her eyes, beginning meditation. She could sense a strong spiritual presence, not in any tangible way, but she knew it was there. With each breath, she felt more synergized with nature, every breath amplified the senses. She felt that she was about to connect with the spiritworld, when the pattern sounds of hooves came to her ears. Many people visited the ruins as a shrine, so it could've been anyone, and she did not suspect anyone hostile would come to a place like this.

She peacefuly returned to meditation and resumed her breathing. Whoever it was, they were clearly here for a tranquil relaxation as well.

[sakurako]

The images in her head started to crumble slowly around her, like her world was melting. It soon disappeared until the words on the pages were, well, just words. She looked up, scanning the land, thinking the new sounds were just her scrawny mare.

Her golden eyes glanced around slowly, but became worrisome when they found nothing. Then, she paused and listened. Behind her, the cream-colored horse trotted over to the woman and sniffed at her, not realizing she was meditating. She nudged her arm, and then Sakurako spotted her. She leapt to her feet and rushed over swiftly.

"I'm terribly sorry for my mare, ma'am." She said honestly, quiet embarrased. She immediately grabbed a hold of the animal's reigns and gave her a dissaproving tap on the neck. She then looked back to the woman, an uneasy smile planted on her face. What an embarrasment. She had had the old, scrawny mare for as long as she could remember, and if there was one thing she knew about her, it was that she loved to get into trouble.

Sakurako had bought Lia from a fairly nice stable in a small Earth Nation town when her family's ostrich had passed away. She smiled at her slightly. The woman never knew why she had picked her out of all of the nice, strong stallions there. Out of pity, perhaps? No, that wasn't it. She had truly caught her eye, and she didn't regret choosing the weak thing out of all of the mares there.

[diao]

"Not at all, miss." she looked at her from the corner of her eye. "That mare's a fine catch. It may not look it, but sometimes, the mind of an animal can serve better than its physical prowess."

She breathed deeply again and looked out onto all the pretty foliage.
"Have you come to seek the tranquility of this place as well?" She asked, "My name is Diao Chan, by the way." she reached out her hand in a warm greeting gesture.

"It's lovely here. I wish it could be this way everywhere...." she then realized she was speaking her thoughts aloud and stifled a look of embarrassment.

[sakurako]

The mare stopped nuzzling the woman when Sakurako tugged on her reigns, but it was clear that she wanted to. At her wise words, she looked into the soft brown eyes of Lia and smiled. "You're right. Maybe that was why I chose her." She said giving her an affectionate pet on the nose.

Then she looked back to the woman. Diao Chan, eh? She shook her hand warmly, a smile on her face. "I'm Sakurako, no last name." She said as if it were her name, like one whole phrase. It had always been her, her entire life. No last name, no identity. Her kind mother had never told her much about her childhood, which she thought was odd. Nothing about her birth, either. Sakurako had no idea that she had been born from a Fire Nation woman.

She then listened to her next words, but she didn't realize that they were unintented. "Without chaos, there cannot be peace. Such is the way of life." She said, but she hated the fact. It showed in the bitterness of her tone. Sakurako wished that the four nations could live like the temple, quiet and tranquil. It was a forgotten place, but it was still. Destroyed by war, but formed by peace.

She waited for a while, staring out into space, but when she looked back, Diao Chan hadn't said anything. Looking at the sinking sun in the sky, she beckoned Lia to her. "I'm sorry, I must depart. I have faith we will meet again." Sakurako promised and galloped back down the garden path, loud clomps echoing as Lia leapt agily over the wall and dissapeared.

[diao]

Diao Chan stared off at the figure of Sakurako and her horse until the horizon engulfed them in its glare. She meditated more and felt extreme relaxation as an exhilerating chill crept up her spine. The spirit world often did that.

Hours passed on hours, and soon, Diao's eyes shot open to meet darkness. The temple did not look like a beautiful palace of greenery. An eerie shadow was now cast over it, but it wasn't scary. Rather, it had a more secluded feel to it now, like it was off in some far away land.

Sitting up from the rock, she twirled her staff and started at a walk back into the forest. She could not very well sleep while sitting on a stone. A campfire and a pitched tent wasn't much better, but it would do for the night.