While practicing, I heard the door to the temple open, prompting me to stop as I glanced at Monk Gyatso and Sage Kujian, both sporting troubled expressions, causing me to frown slightly.
"I appreciate that you spared your time to speak with us, and while we won't interfere with your decision, I hope you'll rethink the decision after you visit the Fire Nation Capital. Ever since Avatar Roku's sudden death, Fire Lord Sozin has been making non-stop moves to acquire more political and military might; I fear something dangerous is brewing." Remarked Kujian softly with a troubled expression as he gazed deeply at Gyatso, who sighed while nodding.
"Yes, I know, Sage Kujian; I've heard rumors, and now that I'm here, I can use this chance to look for myself." Said Gyatso lightly as he glanced at Kujian before clasping his hands together and slightly bowing.
"Regarding our earlier discussion, I'll need to discuss with the Council of Elders after relaying what I've learned during this trip through the Fire Nation; however, I hope both of our concerns are just needless worries of the older generation." Added Gyatso as he looked at Kujian, who sighed in frustration before reluctantly nodding.
"I understand, Gyatso; you don't need to worry about his true identity being found out. No one shall even speak of this meeting." Stated Kujian sternly as he looked at Gyatso and glanced at Aang, who was looking at them from a distance.
"Until next time, Sage Kujian." "Farewell, Gyatso." Said Gyatso and Kujian, respectively, prompting the former to turn around and approach Aang, distancing himself from the temple.
Giving a slight bow to Sage Kujian, he gave a friendly nod before entering the temple, closing the door behind him, and locking himself within the temple.
"Nearly an hour passed, Monk Gyatso; whatever you and Sage Kujian discussed must've been quite important, seeing as you two have only met today." Remarked Aang lightly as he looked at Gyatso, who softly chuckled before gently waving his hand, kicking up a soft gust of wind that blew a bundle of grass into his face.
"Hoho, always so curious, Aang." Said Gyatso lightly with a faint smile as he glanced at Aang, who was blankly staring at him.
"Well, who wouldn't be curious, though you don't need to worry, this prank of yours made me lose any interest in what you and Sage Kujian spoke about." Stated Aang calmly as he blankly looked at Gyatso before shaking his head, ridding himself of any grass stuck to him.
"Seems my prank worked." Muttered Gyatso with a sly smile as he glanced at Aang, who rolled his eyes before shaking his head once more.
I didn't bother to ask further about what happened inside the temple; Monk Gyatso wouldn't tell me and would just continue to blow around the cloud, not like I didn't already have a good idea what they discussed. Since it seemed like Monk Gyatso didn't intend to stay for much longer, we headed back to our companions and took to the sky once more, yet instead of heading deeper into the Fire Nation territory, we flew north of Crescent Island until we came across a town or a city, which wasn't what I expected.
However, after closely inspecting, it didn't look like a normal city as there seemed to be an abnormally large number of street vendors given the town's size.
'Hmm, sort of like a supermarket.' Mused Aang lightly as he curiously gazed at the town down below.
Descending towards the ground just outside of the city limit, I hopped off Appa, and although after what happened in Ba Sing Se, I'd prefer if he'd stay far away from civilization, but the further away he is from me, the harder it'll be for me to protect him.
'While it's rare, poachers do exist.' Mused Aang lightly as he gently stroked underneath Appa's horns, causing him to growl softly.
"Alright, stay here, Appa, Monk Gyatso, and I won't be long; if you need me, just roar loudly." Said Aang softly as he fed Appa an apple and fluffed his shedding fur.
After making sure Appa was fine, only then did I leave him be and follow after Monk Gyatso, who had already entered the town, thankfully, not needing to identity ourselves, though that was probably only because it wasn't very large.
"Do you know what this place is called?" Asked Aang curiously as he glanced at Gyatso while walking through the bustling street, dealing with crowds of people, something he wasn't a fan of.
"Fire Nation Bazaar. It's a small city on the northern end of Crescent Island, and it's pretty well known for being a popular place where one can acquire all sorts of trinkets, clothes, accessories, books, and food." Replied Gyatso lightly as he walked through the crowds with his hands behind his back while Aang followed right beside him.
"Hmm, so you can essentially find anything here? That is interesting." Muttered Aang with a thoughtful expression as he gazed at the numerous vendors, only to glance at Gyatso, who was no longer present.
Not seeing Monk Gyatso beside me, I clicked my tongue and leaped into the air with the help of a small vortex, launching me several meters into the air as I searched my surroundings, looking for a bald head with sizeable blue arrow tattoos, something that should be easy to spot, though unfortunately, I came up empty-handed.
Landing back on the ground, I couldn't help but sigh, though the worst part was that I half-expected Monk Gyatso to do this, yet he still somehow managed to elude me.
'I guess that just goes to show how beneficial experience can be.' Thought Aang lightly as he rubbed his head while gazing at the sky, only to begin walking.
Thankfully, the Fire Nation citizens seemed to be much nicer than Earth Kingdom citizens, seeing how I wasn't getting pushed around like a child's doll.
While walking through the city, I decided to stop at a random vendor who had his wares laid out on a thin cloth, and while there was nothing that stood out to me, I did find a rather lewd and naughty book; of course, as an eight-year-old, who doesn't have any recollection of naughty stuff from his past life, I couldn't contain my curiosity.
"Excuse me, but how much for this book?" Asked Aang curiously as he picked up a book of a man and woman holding each other while glancing at the owner.
"Huh? You don't look a day over 10; why would you be interested in the book of Unquenchable Love?" Asked the owner with a raised eyebrow as he leaned forward while suspiciously eyeing Aang, who handed him the book.
"Curiosity." Replied Aang calmly, his words causing the owner to frown before nodding.
"Can't argue with that. Alright then, what do you have to offer?" Remarked the owner as he glanced at Aang, who tilted his head before opening his satchel.
Seeing how we were bartering instead of using currency, I looked in my satchel for something that could prove equal in value, yet, other than a few fruits, waterskin, Sky Bison whistle, and other random things that held no value, I grabbed the whistle as while it wasn't anything special, it wasn't easily accessible for non-Air-Nomads.
"A Sky Bison Whistle." Said Aang lightly as he glanced at the owner, who lightly frowned while holding the whistle.
"Huh, even if it doesn't work, I like the craftsmanship. You've got yourself a deal, kid." Said the owner lightly as he glanced at Aang while handing him the book, prompting him to clasp his hands before leaving.
Right now wasn't exactly the right time to read such a book, so I just stuffed it into my satchel while I continued walking through the bazaar, stopping at many different vendors and while I never bought something else, mainly because I didn't have anything to offer, it was rather fun to see all these random things people were selling. However, as the hours passed, I eventually encountered a child who seemed roughly the same age as me who was currently haggling with a vendor.
"C'mon, just sell this to me, please? It's probably not even an accurate map anyways; it's probably just fake, so you might as well give it to me." Said the young boy enthusiastically as he looked at the older man, who seemed annoyed with his presence.
"Look, kid, I wouldn't mind giving it to you if you offered me something, even if it's probably fake; I've got to earn something out of this." Said the older man with a slight frown as he looked at the boy while pushing him away, causing him to pout.
"Don't be that way; I'm definitely worth it." Said the boy pleadingly as he tightly held the man's hand, further annoying him.
"I already said no. Either come back with something or leave me be." Stated the older man as he forcefully removed his hand from the boy's grasp, causing him to smirk.
"Fine, how about this! If I can make a massive fireball, will you give me the map?" Asked the boy as he leaned forward, causing the older man's face to twitch aggressively before nodding.
"Yeah, sure, whatever. Just leave me alone, Kid." Replied the man, as he dismissively waved his hand, causing the boy to grin as he firmly planted his feet on the ground before punching upwards.
The boy's enthusiasm was there, but his fire bending wasn't, and he was only able to make a decent-sized flame for his age, but that was more than enough as I manipulated the air to surge into the wave of flames, giving the fire more fuel to burn as it rapidly grew in size, surprising the boy, the vendor, and me.
'Well, I wasn't expecting that, but hopefully that should be enough; I'm curious if that Dragon map is true.' Thought Aang lightly as he gazed at the map in the vendor's hands.