cyclicality | [CLOSED to Jin, Aang, and Lloyd] Land ho!

This is seriously like the coolest trip I've ever had! Captain Lloyd you'd the smartest captain in all the lands!

[ Jin looked back at him with this big grin on her face as she continued trying to keep this washtub steering straight. ]

[Aang happens to be near the shore of Air Temple Island, dressed in monk training clothes, and lightly skipping rocks into the water. And slowly noticing something coming in the water...]

[If Lloyd's hands weren't occupied with the oar right now, he'd rub the back of his neck at that. As it is, the compliment makes his grin widen - because come on, what guy wouldn't respond to having his ego boosted like that?]

Hey, I'm only as good as my First Mate, Jin. You did pretty good with your part, too!

[But the shore's coming up now, demanding his immediate attention - and that's when he notices that there's someone standing at the water's edge. Someone short and bald and wearing orange-

Lloyd starts in surprise and recognition. Surely there's only one kid in the world who looks like that! Rowing forgotten, he stands up and waves.]

Hey, Jinora- whoa!

[Whoops! Standing in a floating washtub probably isn't a good idea! Lloyd barely catches his balance in time.]

[ Jin lets out a loud squeal as the "boat" begins to rock like crazy. get back down Lloyd! ]

I-is the boat s-suppose to do this captaaaaiiin?

[Another person who thinks he's Jinora... Trying to be undercover with these tattoos is tricky. But he raises his arms in warning.]

Be careful! [And then he squints at the person who's with the boy with the giant hair. Jin?]

[He's sitting, he's sitting! Sitting so fast he thumps the bottom of the tub.]

Whoops, sorry! Hang on, we're almost there.

[Seriously, just a few more paddles and the washtub starts to scrape on the sand. Taking that as a cue, Lloyd hops out of the tub to start dragging it up onto the beach. They don't want it to float away after they get out, after all.

As he pulls, he tosses another grin at Aang.]

I didn't expect to see you here! Did you ride in a washtub, too?

[ jin lets out a sigh of relief and wobbly jumps out of the wash tub. That was certainly an experience she never would have expected. ]

Woah... that was so weird.

[ She paused and looked over to Aang with a big smile on her face. ]

Aang! Long time no see!

[It is Jin! And now he looks back and forth between the two, looking happy to see Jin but confused on how to handle each of them calling her a different name.]

Um... Hey! Actually, I took a boat here, but I wish I rode a washtub instead! It sounds more fun! And it's nice to see you again, Jin! [Is this the same day they first met...]

Aang?

[Lloyd glances at Jin, vaguely confused. Why was she calling Jinora "Aang"?

Speaking of Jinora, though...]

Well, I'm sure we'll sail back eventually. You could come with us then, if you want! We wanted to see the statue first, though.

[Something about that statue...]

Oh yeah! That's right. That's why me and Lloyd came all the way out here. Since it was so far away we thought we just had to get to it all up close.

Oh, you did? Well... don't let me stop you! It's... kind of a neat sight?

It's huge! I've never seen a statue that big before in my life!

[His eyes travel up, up, way up to look at the statue's face, and- huh, that's kind of funny. He glances back at Aang again. Statue. Aang. Then a grin splits his face.]

Hey, that statue looks just like you, Jinora! He could even be your dad!

[ Jin gave Lloyd a very confused look while looking up at the statue. Why did he keep calling Aang that name? It was really strange, but what was even stranger was Lloyd was right! This statue did look just like aang! ]

Woah....Aang have you secretly been shaving and not telling anyone?!

Well... I'm... Jinora's my...

[He rubs at his head awkwardly.]

I do shave my head every morning! It's no secret at all!

[Aang, you kind of suck at clearing up Lloyd's misconceptions.]

Hey, I shave every day, too! Or, well, almost every day. Sometimes it's kind of hard if I'm out traveling and there's no water.

[Like Triet Desert. Or the snowfields around Flanoir. Not places anyone wants to shave in.]

I only shave my face, though, not my whole head. Man, that'd really be a pain.

So, wait, Jin, do you shave, too?

[If 'Jinora' shaves, so could Jin!]

[ She gasped and quickly moved closer to poke Lloyd's cheeks a few times. Then she quickly runs over to do the same thing to Aang, but with his head instead]

That must be why your guys's skin looks so nice and smooth! Now it all makes sense. I thought it was magic. or something like that.

[ She laughs ] You can't just ask a girl that kind of question though. That's just not nice you know?

[ She wasn't actually mad at the question. She just wanted to tease Lloyd a bit. ]

[Aang giggles sheepishly as he's poked.]

Nope! No magic here! [Then he gives Lloyd a look of disappointment.] And you should be more polite to girls, you know.

Huh? [Lloyd blinks at them both, a little bit nonplussed, absentmindedly rubbing his cheek. Never had a girl do that before.] But Jin, you asked Jinora about shaving first, and she didn't seem to mind.

[That's right, Aang. He thinks you're a girl.]

Why's it not polite if it's me?

Edited 2014-10-25 13:03 (UTC)

[ She? Oh... OOOOOH now it all made sense. Lloyd though... Pfffft!

Jin was trying to hold back, but the thought of it all was just too hilarious. Jin started laughing and had to hold her stomach because it hurt too much. ]

[Aang just gives a meek shrug.]

I... I'm kind a boy. Jinora's my grand- a grand other person.

What? But you said-!

[No, Jinora said. Lloyd stares at Aang, like the world just flipped him on his head.]

You're not Jinora? But you look just like her!

[His eyes dart between Jin and Aang. Were they both teaming up to pull his leg?]

[ Jin finally stopped laughing and was just looking pretty amused. ]

Maybe Aang has a doppelganger running around.

I don't know what a doppleganger is, but I do have a grand... [Pause.] ...um, a very grand friend who does look a lot like me! That's Jinora!

Don't look at me. I don't know what an apple ganger is either.

[Someone who gangs up on apples???]

Hey, what if you're long lost cousins or something? That could explain this all!

That would be pretty neat! Do you think it could be something like that, Aang?

It could be... like that! We definitely maybe could be kind of are related in some way! [And then he zips over to Jin.] Hey, your friend with the hair... do you think I can trust him?

[ Jin looked over to lloyd and then back to Aang. ]

He seems pretty good to me, lost and a little confused, but he seems to have a good heart.

[ooc: Lloyd said it was okay for me to comment again ]

Edited 2014-11-05 22:11 (UTC)

[Aang takes a moment, narrows his eyes conspiratorially, then he nods.]

Actually she's my granddaughter! But it's a secret, okay?

[Okay, sorry Aang, but that declaration's going to earn a bit of staring there. Because...

...actually, maybe that's not so hard to believe. After all, look how old Lloyd's own father is, no matter how old he looks.

...but on the other hand...]

But you only look fourteen. Did you really stop aging that young?

[Is this guy like Presea?]

[ Jin gives Aang a really confused look too. ]

How do you already have kids?

Edited (whoops hit enter on accident) 2014-11-06 23:10 (UTC)

Well... Jin... we're in the future now! And that's why. I only didn't get older cuz I got pulled here. So I have kids but I don't have them yet. [He gives a nervous smile.]

[Lloyd's head jerks up at that sheepish admission, eyes widening with a mixture of surprise and alarm.]

You guys traveled through time?

[Unbidden, his mind flashes back to the conversation he had with Raine about the power of the Eternal Sword.]

But- What if that changes something? The past or the future - they're both connected. What if being here undoes something that should've happened before?

[ Duh. How could she let that slip her mind. She was focused on how strange and fun all these new things were that she forgot for a moment just exactly where they were. Looking a little embarrassed. ]

That's why we're suppose to be making sure we keep quite so not to many people realize.

Sorry! We didn't try to. It was the vines. [Some quick, placating nods.]

But Jin's right. As long as we keep quiet, everything'll be okay! I think. ...So, you're gonna keep our secrets too, right?

[Lloyd's eyes travel from Aang to Jin, then settle back on Aang with a frown. It's a little better that they aren't trying to change the past, but it's still a pretty serious problem.]

I don't like lying, but...

[But keeping quiet isn't quite the same thing, right? He hesitates, then finally gives them both a nod.]

I can keep your secrets, but why'd you tell me at all? And what about your families? Wouldn't they recognize you guys?

I don't really have to worry about it myself. My parents are... or should be all the way back in Ba Sing Se. I'm not sure this place is too close to there?

[ She gives an awkward smile. She hadn't even thought of how weird that might be. ]

I don't like lying either. And... that's kinda why I told you. So you'd know for sure, and because Jin trusts you.

I- I think all the family I have here already knows. But it's for the best that the rest of the city doesn't know the truth about me yet.

You should still be careful. [That's directed at Jin.] If you're from the past, you don't know where they are now. People you know could've traveled to here.

[And while he can't really fault Aang for not wanting to lie, and the trust is flattering...]

But it's not a secret if you tell a lot of people. Isn't there something else you could say if people ask? [You know, without necessarily lying] Is your family... Is that going to be problem?

[ It almost felt like they were getting scolded by Lloyd at the moment. Jin sort of glanced away at the moment. ]

You're right Lloyd. I guess maybe we should think a little more on this.

I- I tried saying some things like that at first! It's just gonna be tricky, cuz my granddaughter apparently looks like me, and people think she's the only new airbender to get the arrow tattoos. S-so... it's still a work in progress... [Geez Lloyd it's just his first day.]

[Lloyd blinks and blows out a breath, deflating. Jinora... He hadn't really thought about the implications of Jinora looking just like Aang. That would make it hard to keep things under wraps.]

Maybe... you could wear a hat?

[Yeah, that's kind of his best idea right now. It's clearly something that's going to take some thinking.]

But I guess right now it's okay. I won't tell on either of you, and there's no one else here... is there?

[He glances between Jin and Aang again, this time wondering if either of them even know. They are both from the past, after all...]

[ Jin looks from Aang to Lloyd, not really sure what to say. She wasn't sure how many other people were pulled into this time like the two of them. ]

Well... a an old friend of mine. I bumped into him while I was exploring...

A hat does sound like a good idea. Thank you, Lloyd, for keeping this secret.

[Then he thinks it over.]

Um... There are a few other people. My girlfriend, her brother and a girl from my time... oh! And I kind of told someone named Asami, too.

[Lloyd frowns, clearly troubled by what they're telling him.]

Man, I had no idea how big this was. Something must be really wrong if it's messing with time this much.

[Not just one or two people, but a good half a dozen or more.]

I wonder if we can figure out a pattern, like a place you all were, or something you guys all did. If we can figure out how it happened, maybe we can figure out how to fix it.

That's a really great idea, Lloyd! Maybe if we all have something in common we can fix whatever this is!

A pattern, huh? Jin's right... It is a good idea. And I'm gonna do my best to try to figure it out! Time really shouldn't be this screwy...

So you'll both talk to the other people you know? The ones who got pulled here like you?

[It's not much of a reassurance, since nothing's actually been fixed yet, but it's a plan, and Lloyd feels better for having it.]

And I'll see what I can find out, too. I'm not sure if it's the same thing for me, but something happened to me, too. This wasn't where I was before. And this way we'll have three people looking. That gives us three hundred percent more of a chance!

[Hush, math totally works like that.]

[ Jin laughed a little and nudged Aang with her elbow. ]

See I told you Lloyd was a wonderful person. Do I know how to call them or do I know how to call them?

Three hundred? aht's great! [He cheers, and he laughs a little as Jin nudges him.]

You can call them, Jin! Great job!

[CLOSED to Jin, Aang, and Lloyd] Land ho!

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