an end is also an beginning

Trira was at home again, after she had visited some friends and met some new people. She looked at her son, smiling. She was sure her son had liked the travels. He also had learned a little bit more about his bending. She closed her eyes and breathed in the fresh air of the air temples. Suddenly she heared some steps behind her and thought that her son would try to fool her. Trira smiled and turned fast, opening her eyes. While she turned, she saw that her son was standing next to her, but she was to fast to stop to look at him. Soon Trira looked into the eyes of her brother. Before she could say something, she felt a sword in her chest. Slowly she sank down to the ground. "Why now?", were her last words, before she closed her eyes, fell to the ground and was dead. But soon the next Avatar was born.

"MOM!", Alasdair shouted, not knowing what to do. He stood there, not able to move really much. With fear he looked at his mother, who was dying right now. Slowly he began to cry and turned his head to his uncle. "You have killed her.", he said angrily and wanted to bend a spirit, but he had not time for that. His uncle made an airball and pushed Alasdair away, towards a rock. When he hit it, he too fell to the ground. He was bleeding a little bit, but it was not much. When Alasdair looked up, he saw his uncle running away. Slowly Alasdair stood up and moved towards his mother. There he sat down, taking her head and holding it. He sat there, not concentration on anything around him, only crying. "Why, why, why?", was everything he said.

~ KIARI

A man, seemingly young, paced his way down a path not at all familiar to him. This was the first time he'd been to one of the Air Temples, and couldn't help but feel awed at the gorgeous buildings surrounding him. His long brown hair fluttered softly around his delicate-featured face. Elegant violet eyes peered aroudn him in silent observation.

Kiari was a kind individual with a wise past and a dutiful nature. He'd come because there'd been rumors of a kind of herb that only grew in high altitudes. He figured he may as well stop by the temple for the first time anyway, to pay a visit.

"This place is so quiet," he noted casually, rounding a corner of some kind of large mosiac.

His eyes widened at the site before him. A young boy crouched over the body of a woman, sobbing. From where he stood, Kiari could ascertain that the woman was already dead, and couldn't help but feel a sharp shard of bemusement and sorrow in his very soul.

Approaching the pair, he spoke in a low, emphatic voice. "What has happened her, child? Here, come to me. Let me take a look at her."

Alasdair heared a voice behind him. Fast he turned his head, his eyes were red because he had cried so much. Fast he got away from the stranger, still holding his mother. He did not trust anybody anymore. He knew that the murderer of his mother was his uncle. He also knew that they had never liked each other. But Alasdair could not imagine why somebody should kill his own family.

"Her sould has already gone from here to get to the next one.", he said quietly. "I can feel it.", he added. Then he looked into the eyes of his mother and closed them. He rested his head on his mothers head and cried more. Now he had lost his mother completely. But he knew that there could still be hope when he found the new avatar. But Alasdair also knew that he could not try to find him right now, and that this should not be his goal.

Then he looked at the stranger. "My uncle stabbed her with an sword.", he finally explained to the man. His face suddenly turned from sadness to hate. "And he will die for this too.", he said loud and angry. He wanted to stand up right now, but he did not liked to leave the body of his mother.

Kiari's eyes clouded with sorrow for the woman and the boy. The way he clutched his mother -- so protectively and heartfelt -- it made him get yet another pang of remorse for the pair.

"Her spirit won't rest in peace knowing that her son is filled with so much hatred," he announced wisely, regarding the boy with calm violet eyes. "If you wish, I can help you give her a proper burial. I am in tune with the spirits myself, I can try to get her where she needs to be. If only you'll trust me."

Alasdair looked at the man, but could not see him clearly because of the tears in his eyes. "Her spirit will never really rest, even if I was not filled with hatred. She was the avatar.", he explained to the man. Then she looked down at his mother again. "I will come to meet you again, mother. But first I have something important to do.", he whispered to her. Then he looked up again and nodded. "I am sure she would be glad to know that this body is proper burried.", he told the man, and stood up, but still not leaving the body. "My name is Alasdair.", he told the man and bowed a little bit.

Kiari was in shock. This woman -- lying before him -- was the former Avatar? His voice died for a moment, all thoughts and cognition retreating to the very depths of his subconscious, and he was struck rigid with sorrow and surprise.

The boy bowed respectfully after saying his name, eyes brimming with tears. The strong spirit inside of him blazed however, and Kiari almost felt a bit overwhelmed.

Finally finding his voice, he spoke, "I am pleased to meet you, Dear Boy. I'm Kiari. Do you need anything? Anything at all?" His tone was soft and lilting. Understanding.

He'd been here before, having to watch his beloved sister -- who was very much like a mother to him -- get skewered and die right in front of his eyes. Then her own daughter, his neice, betrayed them and married her mother's killer. In the end they were both dead, and Kiari hadn't said goodbye. He only had the scars to remind him of the pain he'd endured under Sasuno'o's devious hand.

His heart ached with the memory. Made his own eyes mist a bit. But he had to stay strong for this boy.

Alasdair thought for a while what he would need. But he thought that most of this could not be provided by Kiari. "Do you maybe know somebody who could teach me swordfighting?", he finally asked. The would be one of the first things he needed. After that he would try to find Amatsu again, so that he could learn more about spirit bending. And when he had finished learning, he would hunt down his uncle.

Alasdair did not cared about everything else he would need for the journeys that lay before him. From the scared 9 year old boy he had been just seconds before he had changed to a young man who wanted revenge. He was completely different now, but he knew that what he had been before was still inside him. "And do you maybe know somebody who can tell me how to survive in the wildernes?", was the next question of him.

Kiari gazed at him. "I know very many that can teach you that art," he said. "There is my son, Noriaki, for one. I think you'll do very well with him."

Alasdair nodded. When his son was as nice at Kiari, he would be a really good teacher for him. "I will accept your offer. Thanks.", he said to the man. Then he bowed in front of the body of his mother. "I hope you will sometime find out what had happened to me and be proud of me.", he whispered. Then he turned back to Kiari. "Lets bury her, then I come with you.", the boy said.

Kiari nodded, impressed by the child's maturity but deeply saddened for his loss. Together, with Kiari carrying the woman's body close to his slender frame, the two walked deep into the wood. Finding some soft soil, Kiari aided the boy in digging a deep hole for the woman. Then, taking the body, he very gently and carefully lowered her in.

He filled the hole, sparing the boy the burden of seeing his mother covered by the soil, and held Kiari's hand to say a prayer. Once finished, he pulled the boy into a tight hug, saying nothing.