cyclicality | Welcome to Republic City!

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Welcome to Republic City!

It was a bright and sunny normal day in Republic City. Children were playing, spirits were chirping about, and everything was going along like normal. Well at least that's what everyone seemed to think. That is until so many people seemed to be appearing out of nowhere. For some reason Republic City seemed to be more lively and the crowds bigger.

The spirits have grown restless as if something important was about to change, and to try to fix that change, the spirits with their big long tree like limbs dragged people into the world left and right. Even the vines covering Republic City seemed to help. Although the spirits had the best intentions in mind, some people were more affected by the grab than others. There's talk that people in this city don't even know what this place is. People who have never heard of the words "bender" or "non-bender."

Welcome to Republic City! And to those who already live here: Happy Saturday. Please make yourselves at home and don't mind a little spirit gunk. It's mostly harmless. Go enjoy yourself a classic mover. Maybe you're the athletic type. If that's the case, come watch a few Pro-bending matches or form your own team. Just watch out for any Satomobiles. They can be deadly no matter how pretty the driver is.

Please remember to enjoy your stay and don't cause too much trouble. The Republic City Police don't need more riffraff to take care of. And don't stray too far. To make the the peace is kept, there's a huge spirit barrier around the perimeter of the city. It seems pretty strong, but it won't be able to last forever. Still, it's worrying. Radio signals and telegraphs don't seem to be getting past it.

[ OOC: The game is officially open! From this point on, feel free to make any posts you want or tag into this. Please remember to tag your posts with Canon: Character. Finally, although the game has no real network, you're free to respond with prose or brackets, whatever you're comfortable with. With that said, have fun! ]

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There's a wince that Bumi can't hide when Aang mentions Ba Sing Se.

He grew up with the story of how his mother saved his father's life that night that Azula struck true. Grew up looking at the scars that were left as a constant reminder. Sometimes Bumi even asked to hear the story, because of how brave both of his parents were in that moment.

The older he gets, the more horrified by the stories Bumi becomes. And now, when he's faced with his actual father at around the right age...

"Plants. I think they're just out to get us," he says in an attempt to lighten not only the situation, but his own mind. "Come on, let's go see if Mister Spiritual has any amazing insights for us."

There will always be dark memories associated with that place - and nightmares. But Aang came from a later visit to Ba Sing Se, one which helped to mix that memory with one of peace and hope and making out.

Aang nods along with Bumi. "Mister Spiritual, huh? That's sounds great! Lead the way... o Bumi one!"

He quietly chuckles and shakes his head before turning towards the path that leads up to the main plaza, and his baby brother's residence.

"Can I interest you in the yuan tour? Or would you rather hear it at five times the speed from Ikki?"

Aang follows the older boy and scrunches up his face as he pretends to understand some of the terms/names there he's never heard before.

"Hmmm... only a sillyhead would say no to a you-on tour. But then again, five times is a good speed..."

He throws his arms up in a shrug.

"Why not both?"

His mispronunciation of the currency's name only serves to make Bumi laugh, because ... well Aang is on it. So, got it in one, Dad.

"Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you."

As he leads Aang up the path he narrates the history of the island, pointing out various landmarks and structures along the way. The number of trees on the island is mentioned, along with where the sky bison sleep, the location of the dining hall, and various dormitories.

He stops on the main central plaza, standing with his hands on his hips.

"And so there you have it. Air Temple Island."

It's like a whimsical tour of a chocolate factory, but with less slave labor. Aang looks on with a sense of wonder and bemusement as he's led through the area, with no shortage of questions. It's like a little piece of his home has been reborn on his island, and he wants to know everything about it. It helps feed this feeling of bittersweet nostalgia inside. Something in him that yearns for time long gone.

He tears up more than a few times; especially upon hearing about the other bison and lemurs. Appa sets off, with Momo clinging to one of his horns, shortly afterwards to find those bison. Aang lets him head off - he knows that even the bison must want space for a time like this.

And once the tour is complete, Aang stands before him and claps eagerly. "Great! I loved the tour, Bumi! I... I never even imagined a place like this." But apparently, he built it.

"There'd better be some moonpeaches left when the two of you are done," Bumi had called over one shoulder at the retreating forms of Appa and Momo. As if he knew them all too well, which...he kind of does.

"Well I'm sure you will at some point, or we're all going to look pretty foolish."

Bumi laughs, and then scratches at his beard.

"Okay, when I went after BumJu with the sweater Pema was in the kitchen making breakfast, and Tenzin was in his office doing...I have no idea what he does in there, actually. So let's go there and bother him in his natural environment. See if we can't make the back of his head come flying off in shock, eh?"

Bumi lives for this sort of thing. It's his entire purpose for existing.

Aang's smile wavers between mischievous and sheepish as he contemplates this. All he's seen of Tenzin so far is a baby photo, after all. "Maybe not that bad! But how about... we make him make a silly surprised face?" He thinks it's a rational compromise.

"How about we split the difference and call it a deal?" he says with a grin that only his mother would tolerate, and even then...not for long. "It's this way," he says gesturing towards the proper building before moving in that direction himself.

The family's living quarters are a bit less spartan than the rest of the complex, with gifts from the various other nations decorating the halls. While Bumi knows the island like the back of his hand, he knows this particular building best of all. It's where he and his siblings grew up for the most part, and though he now resides in the Men's Dormitory, this will always be home to him.

Which is why the tingling feeling at the back of his mind bothers him so.
There's something wrong here, and he can't place what that is exactly. He tries to pass it off as merely the side-effect of walking the hallways of his Father's House with Aang, but...that's not quite it.

The reach the office, and Bumi gestures for Aang to stay back and keep quiet.
This...this is going to be good.

Bumi knocks at the door, and in his sweetest voice calls inside, "Tenzin, you decent?" Then, before Tenzin would have had the chance to respond, he slides the door open with a flourish.

Only to find the room...empty.

It's distracting from their mission to actually be inside now. To see those halls that tug at that sad feeling of nostalgia inside. It's not home - not the one he remembers. But it's distinctly familiar.

But once the time comes for knocking at the door, Aang manages to be in a mischievous mode. He hands back and places his hands over his mouth to stifle some belly giggles.

Once the door is slid open, Aang hops out into the doorway! And he's making a pose that oddly resembles jazzhands. But... there's no one there.

Bumi just stands there, stock still a few feet inside the doorway.
This...this isn't right. It's not right at all.

"He should be here. He's always here this time of day. This..."

His furry brows furrow in a confusion that borders frustration.

"Maybe...maybe he's helping Pema in the kitchen."
Without any more notice than that, Bumi pivots on a dime and begins to double-time it towards the large communal kitchen.

Aang's smile fades in favor of a frown. He can't help but feel something's up. He nods as Bumi pivots and then scrambles to pursue him.

"Who's Pema?" He calls out while they're on the move.

"Tenzin's Wife," Bumi calls over his shoulder without breaking stride. He rounds a corner, then another corner, down a hall and through a set of doors to...an equally empty kitchen.

"What in the flameo is going on around here?!"Q

His wife... so that would be Jinora's mom. He hurries his pace and skids to a halt when Bumi stops. Then he looks around.

"Flameo is right! Um... What if they went out to eat?"

"Out to eat," he says with a dry laugh. "You clearly haven't met Meelo yet. No something is wrong. They were all...here when I last saw them. All of them, even Kya."

He snaps his fingers. Kya! She'll know what's going on. He turns towards the door, and yells as loudly as he can for his sister. Only...this time it's a bit more loudly than usual. Bumi hasn't quite realized the potential of his airbending yet.

Or how to control it.

"KYA!"

Whoa. That is some shout. Even Aang ends up covering his eras as a result.

"H-hey. Calm down. Everything's gotta be okay. ...Right?" He is starting to get a little worried. Aang had heard about Tenzin getting kidnapped when he met Korra, but then they found out he had been saved. It's still enough to give him some concern.

Bumi waits by the door for the return bellow from Kya...that doesn't come.

"I don't like this. Something's wrong," he mutters to himself, before turning towards Aang and trying his best at putting on a brave face.

"I'm sure it's fine. It's totally fine that everyone appears to be gone when they were just here a second ago."

Aang is only getting more worried from that, but he wants to put on a brave face too. And he smiles sheepishly as he goes on.

"Y-yeah. Maybe it is fine. Is... is it your birthday? Maybe they're hiding for a- a surprise party!"

Bumi scratches at his beard in a very Sokka'esque manner.

"No, but...that would make it an extra surprise," he attempts to reason.

"The surprisiest...." he mutters, and he is reminded of Sokka enough to wonder if that cool beard is real. "If it was, then where would they hide?"

Bumi blinks.
Thaaaaat was a good question.

"The highest shelf in the library."

And with that Bumi's off again, this time towards the library.
Volume upon volume of Air Nomad history, law, and philosophy line the floor to ceiling book cases. Well...most of the bookcases. There's one small nook up towards the ceiling of one case that's less full than the others.

"The library?" Aang pops up an air scooter this time as he pursues Bumi! And once he enters it, for a moment his worries are sidetracked as he takes in the sheer volume of literature. "Whoa... so many books! A-are they all about... the air nomads?"

Bumi, for his part, is hyper-focused on climbing up to the topmost hiding spot on the room.

"Most of them, though...Jinora's got a bunch of romance novels stashed away up here..."

"There are novels about romance?" But seeing Bumi climbing like a hog monkey helps him to return his mind to his mission. The missing family. Aang makes some airbending hops along the shelves to try to reach the shelf first.

Aang's earlier arrival allows him a little more time to get a good look at the lemur's nest of a book nook. It's a well loved, and long used private space high above the floor of the library. And as mentioned...there are polarbear dog-eared romance novels lining one wall.

"All novels are about romance in one way or another...aren't they all?" he reasons between huffs as he climbs.

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