Post by gandalan on Oct 8, 2006 22:11:27 GMT -5
Thayari was quiet a moment. Nakamura was thankful for this, and he finished his cold rice. It was good. As good as rice could be anyway. He has angry at himself now, because he was throwing a pity party. Such things were not manly. His father had taught him that, and so he vowed he would not even shed tears in front of a girl again. He was homesick... he realized that a long time ago. But he was still trying to get over it.
But to be homesick, one needed a home, and he didn't have one. This was a different kind of sick. He would get over it eventually.
He stretched his arms and legs out because they were cramping, and he realized his clothes were too small for him now; he'd grown since he left the North Pole. He'd need to get new ones somewhere...
However, on that train of thought, Thayari got up and walked over to him. Before he could thank her for the rice, she said something that made him feel good inside.
"You know, you remind me very much of my brother Pisco. My brother thinks big, dreams big, and because of this is often downcast, discouraged. But you know, my entire life I was content with what I had, to never leave the mountains, to never amount to anything more than a herder's daughter. Personally, I think he got the better deal. I think someday he will be a teacher or professor of some kind. I'd really hate to see him go, but he would thrive in a place like Ba Sing Se."
It was a kind thing to say. At least she listened to him. His lips curled up slightly into a smile. "Thanks..." he said quietly.
She put a blanket round his shoulders, which felt good. He pulled it around himself. He murmured a "Thanks..." again, and felt warmth return to his arms and body.
"You don't seem much like the country type, but who knows, perhaps the mountains will look more kindly on you than anywhere else. And you may not get sick, who knows, it happens occasionally."
That meant... she was going to take him with her? Great! He would get to see mountains again... "Do I really get to go to your mountains?!" he asked enthusiastically. "I've been in the mountains, and I didn't get sick once!" he said. He was thankful for the change in topic. He didn't like getting emotional around girls, and first impressions were a bad time for it to happen. This got him out of his emotional mode. "I liked the ones I went over. They reminded me of where I came from." And he felt no pain when he said this, strangely. Perhaps he was getting over his homesickness just by talking to someone else. He'd not had anybody to talk to since he left Raine. Maybe that was his problem.
Thayari continued.
"We have an avatar temple back home too. Well, actually, it's more of a shrine inside the general temple. It's right there in between the shrine to the moon spirit and the shrine to the llama spirit. It may not be big, but I think it's really nice. I'll have to show you the temple some time. It's built of stone, so it's sturdy, and there is usually a village girl that tends to the shrines. A priestess of sorts I suppose. The shrines themselves are filled with statues and draped with silk and fabrics. There is always some incense lit as well, it's all very... I guess you could say very spiritual."
It sounded much like the shrine in the North. He was, again, thankful for the change in subject, and so, he dived into this one full bore.
"We have an oasis in the North. It's the only warm place there. Water flows into a waterfall, and even grass grows! Even TREES! It's very nice... there are two koi fish there that circle each other forever! One's white with a black spot, the other black with a white spot. I forgot why they were there, but they just stay there. I think that it just stays the same, year after year. It's just nature doing it's work. I used to like going there, but I really liked the cold better." Which was truthful. He'd missed the cold so much in the Earth Kingdom, even though water was plentiful. He was much better at bending the ice than the water in the Earth Kingdom.
He yawned, and he realized it was really time for him to turn in. Just a short conversation had helped get some things off his chest, and he felt much better. Perhaps he'd just needed somebody to talk to after all this time.
He smiled over at Thayari, and said, "I think I'm going to bed, Thayari-san. Thank you so much for your kindness." He layed down, a few feet from the fire, and pulled the blanket over him, and soon, he was asleep, as the moon and stars watched over him.
But to be homesick, one needed a home, and he didn't have one. This was a different kind of sick. He would get over it eventually.
He stretched his arms and legs out because they were cramping, and he realized his clothes were too small for him now; he'd grown since he left the North Pole. He'd need to get new ones somewhere...
However, on that train of thought, Thayari got up and walked over to him. Before he could thank her for the rice, she said something that made him feel good inside.
"You know, you remind me very much of my brother Pisco. My brother thinks big, dreams big, and because of this is often downcast, discouraged. But you know, my entire life I was content with what I had, to never leave the mountains, to never amount to anything more than a herder's daughter. Personally, I think he got the better deal. I think someday he will be a teacher or professor of some kind. I'd really hate to see him go, but he would thrive in a place like Ba Sing Se."
It was a kind thing to say. At least she listened to him. His lips curled up slightly into a smile. "Thanks..." he said quietly.
She put a blanket round his shoulders, which felt good. He pulled it around himself. He murmured a "Thanks..." again, and felt warmth return to his arms and body.
"You don't seem much like the country type, but who knows, perhaps the mountains will look more kindly on you than anywhere else. And you may not get sick, who knows, it happens occasionally."
That meant... she was going to take him with her? Great! He would get to see mountains again... "Do I really get to go to your mountains?!" he asked enthusiastically. "I've been in the mountains, and I didn't get sick once!" he said. He was thankful for the change in topic. He didn't like getting emotional around girls, and first impressions were a bad time for it to happen. This got him out of his emotional mode. "I liked the ones I went over. They reminded me of where I came from." And he felt no pain when he said this, strangely. Perhaps he was getting over his homesickness just by talking to someone else. He'd not had anybody to talk to since he left Raine. Maybe that was his problem.
Thayari continued.
"We have an avatar temple back home too. Well, actually, it's more of a shrine inside the general temple. It's right there in between the shrine to the moon spirit and the shrine to the llama spirit. It may not be big, but I think it's really nice. I'll have to show you the temple some time. It's built of stone, so it's sturdy, and there is usually a village girl that tends to the shrines. A priestess of sorts I suppose. The shrines themselves are filled with statues and draped with silk and fabrics. There is always some incense lit as well, it's all very... I guess you could say very spiritual."
It sounded much like the shrine in the North. He was, again, thankful for the change in subject, and so, he dived into this one full bore.
"We have an oasis in the North. It's the only warm place there. Water flows into a waterfall, and even grass grows! Even TREES! It's very nice... there are two koi fish there that circle each other forever! One's white with a black spot, the other black with a white spot. I forgot why they were there, but they just stay there. I think that it just stays the same, year after year. It's just nature doing it's work. I used to like going there, but I really liked the cold better." Which was truthful. He'd missed the cold so much in the Earth Kingdom, even though water was plentiful. He was much better at bending the ice than the water in the Earth Kingdom.
He yawned, and he realized it was really time for him to turn in. Just a short conversation had helped get some things off his chest, and he felt much better. Perhaps he'd just needed somebody to talk to after all this time.
He smiled over at Thayari, and said, "I think I'm going to bed, Thayari-san. Thank you so much for your kindness." He layed down, a few feet from the fire, and pulled the blanket over him, and soon, he was asleep, as the moon and stars watched over him.