eachdraidh | 1st Element ☲ Video

[It's helpful that so many people have been fiddling around with their lockets, and that Aang's given himself some time to try figuring the thing out. There are only three false starts before he manages to properly turn it to video.

A twelve-year-old bald boy with arrows tattooed on his head, arms, and legs sits in a lotus position. To those who would recognize it, his clothes seem similar to those of Tibetan monks.]

Is this thing on...?

[The locket's also upside-down as he works on it, his tongue sticking out with concentration, before he blinks.]

Oh! Hi!

[He puts the locket down upright and tries to look like he knows what he's doing, but the image is kind of ruined by his somewhat sheepish smile and the way he waves.]

I'm Aang! [He puts his hands in his lap, gray eyes bright and curious.] I don't really know many of you, but I'd like to! I kind of what to say something to everyone on both sides of this.

[The smile begins to fade.] In my world, there's been a war going on for a hundred years. I still don't know why it began. From what I hear, one nation attacked the others, and the others are now just trying to protect themselves. I've always wondered why that first nation attacked. [The smile's completely gone now. The eyes have lost some of their brightness.] But now... we have these lockets. So we can talk to each other, and we can find out why we're being told to fight each other.

So I came on here to ask... [He puts his palms together and closes his eyes. Just a twelve-year-old boy, trying to fulfill his duty to achieve peace and harmony.] that before we start fighting, that we talk first, and we compare what our separate sides have told us. That we try to learn about each other. I'll start.

[The boy unfolds his legs and picks up a wooden staff from the ground, using it to get to his feet and leaning on it while he speaks.] Like I said, I'm Aang. I'm an Air Nomad. That means I'm a monk, and I was taught to respect all life. [Perhaps conspicuously to those who know him, he doesn't mention his status as the Avatar. That seems like heavy stuff to tell people who don't even know what that is.] When I came here, I was told that I had to kill people who were chosen by the Unseelie to steal their Shards, and if we didn't do that, then everything I ever loved would be destroyed. They said that this is a kingdom that represents light in the world--things like honor, courage, love, justice... that kind of thing. And that the Unseelie are going to destroy all of it.

So... what about everyone else? Seelie and Unseelie? Who are you? Where are you from? Why did they tell to fight?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He must've been an intelligent guy. Or was that meant as a criticism or a warning? [House doesn't care either way. Only hard evidence can sway him from his belief about how the universe works. Everything else is just talk.]

To an extent, sure--most of us have experiential or even innate knowledge of how things work. But say you wanted to fly. It doesn't matter whether it's from one city to another or from the Earth to the moon, you'd need to have specific information about gravity and acceleration and aerodynamics. Otherwise, it would be really short trip.

I'm not criticizing you. I don't think we would have managed much if he hadn't been around thinking about plans and things like that. [Oh, Sokka.

His voice quickly becomes somewhat amused. Well, clearly their worlds are very different.] But I can fly, and I only know what I've been able to see and feel.

Plans are good. They rarely ever go as, well, planned but they're a place to start.

[Aang's going to get a couple long moments of silence as House tries to work out what he means.]

Are you saying you have wings? [Seriously, it wouldn't be the strangest thing he's seen lately.]

Tell me about it. [He knows how this works. Make plan, go into situation, everything goes to hell.

He laughs.] No, I don't have wings! I'm an airbender. I can control air currents.

Apparently I don't have to. [And he thinks that's a surprisingly cynical comment for a mini-monk.]

Control...like with the power of your mind?

[Yep. Despite his bubbly attitude, Aang has been swiftly developing a realism streak that may seem cynical to outside observers.]

No, with my chi. I use my body to manipulate my chi, and my chi bends the air! If you don't mind going on video, I can show you!

Silly me--of course it would be chi. [He believes that about as much as he believes in Santa Claus. Still, he can hardly turn down the chance to catch Aang in some kind of trickery or illusion.

He changes the setting on his locket to video.]

Okay, kid--show me what you can do.

[Aang grins the biggest grin that's ever grinned and puts aside his staff for a moment, standing up and stretching his back to work some of the stiffness out.]

Okay, this is my favorite form, the air scooter. You can play so many games with this one.

[Then, in one gliding motion, he jumps into the air, spinning and swirling his arms, and for a moment, he's hugging a whirring ball of compressed, blowing air.

Then he thrusts it downward and lands on it with his legs crossed and his fists touching each other around his abdomen. He's literally sitting on a ball of air.] And this is airbending!

Okay. That's cool.

[Yeah...there's going to be some serious silence now as House tries to find a logical, scientific explanation. Wind is a known entity. It can be explained and even controlled in perfectly rational ways...just not in this particular scenario. Not yet.]

And you've always been able to do this?

1st Element ☲ Video

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