Summoning the Avatar's Shadow

[partofthecycle]

Characters: Anyone
Where: Aquares Ixen Lab.
When: March 3rd (backdate like a champ!)
Summary: Aang faces his Shadow
Warning: Probably Avatar spoilers (if that's not past the statue of limitations, discussions of genocide, will edit as things come up. Aren't kids cartoons great?

This feels familiar. Like opening his chakras under the guidance of Guru Pathik. Which might not be the best thought: Aang hadn't done so well with that.

He'd asked Mogya to let the other Heroes know, and he'd see if anyone showed up. He was new, after all. Well, sort of. In the mean time, he sat in meditation, trying to settle his frazzled mind. He shouldn't be doing this; not now, right before a giant battle. But, if not now, then when?

He looked up, nervously seeing if he'd have company, beyond Momo curled in his lap.

Comments

[heartofthesword]

At first, Kenshin lingered by the entrance to the room, for he was reluctant to interrupt anyone at their meditations - especially a young monk about to face a trial of the self. Much more than a monk, though, he thought, remembering what Mogya had told him of Aang and the great power that he commanded. The great power that he was, rather. But from where he watched, Kenshin saw only a young boy and his lemur, looking a touch anxious under the gravity of the moment. For a moment, some memory pulled at his thoughts, and Kenshin could see his own young self struggling to keep a warrior's calm before the eyes of Master Hiko. He smiled. Perhaps he could offer the young Avatar some of what he wished he could have offered that young, uncertain boy he'd once been.

So at length, Kenshin knocked against the wall once to announce his presence, and entered to greet Aang with a gentle look.

"Sorry for the intrusion, but this one did not wish to distract you if you were at your preparations." Kenshin bowed first to Aang, deep at the waist. "You are Avatar Aang, correct? This one is called Kenshin Himura, and if you will allow him to join you, he would be honored to stand at your side for this trial."

The lemur in Aang's lap caught his eyes as he straightened, and Kenshin offered both of them an easy smile. "Though it seems you count a very reliable ally in your company, that you do."

[partofthecycle]

"No, I'm just waiting. I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Thanks -- can I call you Kenshin?" Aang was not one for whom hierarchy came easily; sure when he was being raised in the Air Temple, you obeyed the senior monks, but that was because they knew so much more than you did.

Momo picked up that Aang was going to stand so as Aang did, the lemur climbed up to perch on his shoulder. "Momo's been with me a long time," Aang said. "He's one of my oldest friends. He's from my world; lemurs live near the temple I grew up in." And... well, he would have liked other friends there, but maybe it was better they were safe at home, even if it meant Aang was protecting the world on his own.

So what else was new?

"Do you think anyone else is coming?"

[heartofthesword]

"This one would be happy if you did, Avatar Aang," Kenshin answered, very pleased with the young man's approachable and friendly demeanor. He had expected nothing less from what Mogya had told him, but to a new arrival such as he, Aang's easy welcome meant much. And it was - humbling, in its own way. For someone so much more than mortal, something about Aang just seemed very...well, fun.

He folded his arms in the loose sleeves of his shirt, pacing thoughtfully to Aang's side. "This one is often the first to arrive where he wanders. Please, do not worry. Others will come if they believe you can take strength from their presence - and those far from here have surely lent you their thoughts. You are not alone." He smiled to the lemur Momo, cooing softly on Aang's shoulder. "And that has surely always been true, that it has."

But Kenshin's smile relaxed itself carefully as he sank to kneel beside Aang. He had thought carefully about what sort of words to give the young monk, and though Kenshin meant these assurances, they came only from observation. Aang, perhaps, deserved some that came from experience.

"But if this one may say so, Avatar Aang..." Kenshin straightened as he looked down to Aang, the young monk actually not much shorter than he. "We sometimes discover that there are talents, or powers within us that no one else can check or control. That responsibility falls to ourselves. It can be a lonely feeling. No matter who we surround ourselves with, or how many, it is...something that walks with us, wherever we wander."

Though his expression was serious, Kenshin kept his tone gentle. He had not been told much of Aang's past, but he had an eye for those whose shoulders had known weight beyond their years. Maybe more than they ever should.

"If this one may ask, what is it you expect to face in this trial, Avatar Aang?"

[forcegalactic]

"Naw, naw, I'm here." Right on cue, Mordecai shuffled into the room. He hadn't worn his robes today, preferring to wear the more practical blouse and vest. While he hadn't spoken with Aang often, he did run into him around the hospital wing, as the two of them had woken up there very recently.

"So!" He clapped his hands together. "Did I miss anythin'?"

[rialynn]

Right on Barkeep's heels was a young woman in a loose white blouse and leather doeskin trousers, neatly stuffed into a pair of dust-scuffed riding boots. She knocked on the door of the lab, more as a courtesy than anything since she was already stepping inside. "Is this it? Are you Aang?"

She'd been more than a little surprised when the Moogle crashed into her head first. (Her bandanna covered up the bump nicely at least.) She'd been even more surprised when she found out there was a Hero of Light preparing for the Calamity trial who was actually asking other Heroes to lend their support as back-up. Surprised...and beyond delighted. She knew how personal those trials could be (boy did she ever!), and to be invited was both exciting and flattering.

She came forward, walking with her hand outstretched to greet him. "Hi, I'm Rialynn. I got your Moogle's message and came as soon as I could." Once she was conscious, anyway. "I'm a bard, and I'd love to get your story afterward if you're up to it."

It wasn't until after her introduction that she noticed Aang already had another Hero present, and surprise surprise, it was actually someone she knew. "Oh, Kenshin, hello! Good to see you again!" Rialynn had witnessed firsthand just how good he was in combat, calm and composed, and so much wiser than his cheery happy-go-lucky personality let on. Aang was in good company, especially with Barkeep around to play the doting uncle.

...And what was that creature in Aang's lap, anyway? She stared at it, the curiosity gnawing away at her and causing her to chew at her lip, but she kept her questions to herself for now. Aang was probably trying to stay focused on what was to come, there would be time for questions later.