I had been in Omashu restocking on supplies when I had heard the rumors. Fisherman returning from the south claimed to have seen a flying bison. A flying bison, an ancient species claimed to have been the first air benders. They had been believed to have been wiped out along with the Air Nomads. It was likely that the fisherman had seen an illusion caused by dehydration and few believed them. I had been planning to visit the south to document otter penguins so I decided to take the detour.

I wore a standard issue khaki explorer's outfit. The logo of Ba Sing Se University had been sewn on the backside of my shirt. I had my black hair tied up. On my back I carried a bag filled my camping equipment, including a special pocket that stored water for my bending.

It was around late in the day when I began to think about setting up camp for the night. It was then that I saw a light in the distance. Another's campsite? It would be worthwhile to speak to them on the off chance they could provide me any more information about the alleged flying bison.

Most of my encounters in the wilderness were peaceful, but I readied myself to run on the off chance it was a military scout, catgator, or hostile spirit.

"Hello over there!" I shouted as I neared the camp. I raised both hands in the air, hoping to signal that I carried no weapons, "Are you a spirit? A catgator? A little of both?"

It was lucky that Karena kept aware of her surroundings, or the shouting voice she'd heard would have startled her. She rolled her eyes, knowing there was a chance the woman could see it as she approached, and not really caring if she did. "No, obviously not, and even if I were, I wouldn't be likely to come out and admit it, would I?" She supposed, though, that one had to say something if they were going to be coming upon a camp and not wanting to be attacked, though the arm waving indicated she apparently came in piece. "If you want to sit by the fire, you're free to. I don't bite, I promise. Don't have anything to share, but you can join me if you want." Besides, being alone would mean less likely that someone would come up to attack her. She tried not to use her bending, but she had to defend herself a few times from bandits and creeps who made the mistake of thinking that they could take advantage of her because she was a young woman travelling alone.

"Would a spirit lie about being a spirit? They would hate to be mistaken as a mortal." I said as I neared the fire. Its warmth felt pleasant as the temperature began to cool.

I lowered my hands and instead stretched them out toward the fire. 

"If you don't mind I will take your offer up. Making a fire can be such a hassle. It's time like these that I wish I were a Fire bender."

It was while I enjoyed the fire's warmth that I gave the traveler a look over. You could never be a hundred percent certain, but at the very least she did not seem to be a military scout or a hostile spirit. Likely a merchant or a pilgrim. 

"Tell me stranger.. I am Ticasuk of Ba Sing Se by the way... Have you seen any flying bison by chance? Oh I suppose that might be a silly question since most people have never seen a flying bison so let me rephrase the question. Have you seen a giant furry flying creature?"

Karena fought to keep the smirk off her face when she mentioned wanting to be a Firebender at times like this. Well, she supposed it did come in handy. After all, it was easy to make a fire. "My name is Karena," she said. "I from nowhere." She raised an eyebrow at her talk of... giant flying furry creatures. "Um, no, I have not. I have heard rumors of the Avatar returning during my travels, but that's about all I have heard lately." Maybe the Avatar knew something of giant furry creatures, but who knows. "That is a rather strange question to ask someone you just met." Is that why she was out here? Asking random strangers if they had seen this... thing? Well, if the Avatar could return, then maybe, who knows, giant flying furry bisons could exist, too. "So, you mentioned you were from Ba Sing Se, huh?" She wondered what it was like there, if she was going to head there. She was, for all intents and purposes, a refugee. A lot of refugees went there, but she had left one big city, she wasn't sure she was ready for another.

"Oh well. Those rumors are probably fisherman's tales...," I said, "WAIT. The avatar is back? Huh. I wonder."

I rubbed my chin as I processed the new information. The last avatar should have been an Air bender. The flying bison were native creatures to the Air Temples. If she (he?) had returned, it was possible that she (he?) also had a flying bison. If that was the case it was all the more important to catalog the animal. It was the last of its kind!

The avatar was back and she (he?) likely had the last flying bison... I was brought back to the conversation when Karena asked about Ba Sing Se.

"Yes. My home is in the Middle Ring near Ba Sing Se University. I don't visit too much. I mostly use it to store my books and specimens. To be honest I do not enjoy the city much. The streets are too narrow and the walls feel like giant prison walls. I hear the Northern Water Tribe has giant walls too. Walls everywhere. I wonder if the Fire Nation has walls too?"

Karena shrugged. “Rumors I heard recently, that’s all. I don’t know how much truth there is to it, but there’s been a lot of talk lately in the towns about the Avatar returning,” she told her. She nodded as she talked about Ba Sing Se. “That’s why I’ve never been. I’m not sure I’m going, but… it just always seemed like a prison, you know? If I’m going anywhere, it won’t be there, I don’t think.” Despite everything, she was fairly certain on that remark.

Figuring that they needed to keep talking, because she couldn’t stand the thought of just staring at someone from across the fire until they went to sleep, she decided to ask a question. “So, are you from there? Or did you relocate?” She just hoped that this girl didn’t ask too many questions of her – because she couldn’t answer back. That also meant she had to be careful about what questions she asked her, if she didn’t want her being asked in return.

"Oh..." So the Avatar's return was just a rumor.

"I hope the Avatar is back. Being able to see a flying bison with my own eyes would be incredible. Who knows what other creatures she'd bring back."

It was then that Karena asked if I was from Ba Sing Se.

"I'm an Earth Kingdom subject if that is what you mean," I said as I pointed towards my blue eyes, "You are probably curious why an Earth Kingdom subject has blue eyes? I am not from the Northern or Southern Water Tribes. I was born nearby in the Foggy Swamp before moving to Ba Sing Se."

"Everyone always talks about how the four nations should live in peace separately, but that is hog monkeywash. You have people like me who are Water benders, but who've lived their entire lives in the Earth Kingdom. You have Fire benders who have lived their entire lives in Earth cities like Yu Dao. Between us, I think there must be Air benders secretly living in the Earth Kingdom too. I can't believe an entire race of nomads were wiped out."

I pointed towards Karena, "Who knows? Maybe you are one eight Air bender on your mother's side."

Karena wasn’t sure what she thought about the Avatar being back. She didn’t agree with what her former nation was doing, and if the Avatar came and stopped it like he was supposed to, good for him. It didn’t mean she was ever going back. Who would take over? Zuko was banished, but she didn’t know if he would reverse her banishment even if he was on the throne. Azula would probably throw her in prison and throw away the key if she took over, and the chances of the war ending would go down even more. She was just fooling herself, she supposed. She had come to terms a long time ago with the fact that she was not going home.

Still, if the Earth Kingdom was going to be her permanent home for the unforeseeable future, then she didn’t want it taken over by the Fire Nation, either. That wouldn’t bode well for her. She had to stay clear of any Fire Nation controlled areas – just in case. She didn’t know what the rules were when it came to things like this. It made her uncomfortable to be around places like that. She would rather stick to Earth Kingdom areas. They didn’t care who she was, as long as they didn’t think she was Fire Nation – and she made sure they didn’t.

“I actually wasn’t curious, but that’s rather interesting, I don’t think I’ve heard of that place,” Karena responded. “Well, regardless of the fact if there are secret Airbenders around, I think we should live in peace. People like you are exactly the reason why. All the Nations and the people in them should be able to live without persecution. That’s what it means. Without one people or one nation thinking they’re better than everyone else.” She shook her head. “And I know where my family came from, and while it’s nowhere important, I highly doubt that I have any Airbender in me.”

"Would it not be better if we got rid of all these nations? Fire, Earth, Water, Air. Why not just live as a single united people? I never heard of Turtle Ducks or Saber Tooth Moose Lions having different nations."

I shrugged, "But I am a biologist. I'm sure my colleagues in the political science or history departments have thought about this more." 

I opened my mouth to ask where she was from, but I got the feeling it was a touchy subject. If I had to guess she must have been from a small Earth Kingdom village that got wiped out by the Fire Nation. Then again, I could probably say that for most people. I was lucky that both my homes were safe from attack. Neither the Foggy Swamp or Ba Sing Se were friendly to invasion.

"So... What do you do for money?"

Karena thought about Ticasuk’s words for a bit. “That’s not a bad idea, but of course, there’s complications with that, too. Who’s in charge? How to make sure things stay fair for all of the former nations,” she brought up. This was not what she had expected to talk about with a random stranger, but it was easily better than probing questions about where they were from – questions she couldn’t and was not willing to answer. “Also, how to make sure that all people get to have their own traditions saved?’ She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know, that might be more complicated than just… making sure all the Nations live in peace, but then, like you said, the Earth Kingdom is full of people who are more than just… non-benders and Earthbenders, like you.”

Karena was glad that she had asked about what she did – thought that wasn’t a very interesting answer – than where she was from. She had already told her nowhere, and it seemed that her companion for the night had picked up on that. “Nothing special,” she answered. “Just odd jobs here and there when I need money. I manage to catch some stuff myself for free, so I can keep what money I need for when I pass through towns for inns and food and stuff like that.” She paused for a second before continuing. “I assume that you are some sort of student at the University?” She figured it was polite to return the favor, and ask her something in kind, since she had asked her.

Who would be in charge? I was confused at Karena's question. Why would anyone be in charge? The subject changed before I could follow up.

"Yes", I said, "I am a biologist at Ba Sing Se University. I would not bother visiting the city, but if you ever do I suggest visiting the university. We are an island in a sea of ignorance. Mostly because we're above the sea level and we have coconut trees growing on campus."

I stretched out my hands and let out a yawn. It was starting to get late.

"I think I will head to bed. I hope you don't mind if I stay the night? It'd be a bother to make my own fire this late. I can return the favor by making breakfast tomorrow."

“I hadn’t ever considered going there,” Karena said. “The idea of a city with walls and such… doesn’t appeal to me. Good to know my feelings were right, though.” She had been a bit disappointed that Ticasuk hadn’t continued their other conversation, but she had a feeling they weren’t going to agree on it, so it was probably best that the conversation ended. Besides, she wasn’t sure that she was in the mood to have a deep discussion like the one they had been about to get into if it had continued any longer.

Karena shrugged her shoulders as she asked if she could stay. “Sure, I don’t mind,” she said. She almost bit back a comment about it being an open field – she didn’t own it and couldn’t force anyone to leave. “That sounds fine to me.” At the very least, it would be nice to have another person around in case someone came in, so she wouldn’t have to be on watch all night long for her own stuff. She wouldn’t be able to feed the fire herself, though – not with company.

Karena sighed, and laid down, grabbing her knife out of habit more than anything else and making sure it was next to her. Just in case someone tried to ambush them in the middle or the night or something. Wouldn’t be the first time that had happened to her.