sakari (sakari) wrote in avatarnation, @ 2009-08-31 20:05:00 |
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Entry tags: | isska, sakari |
Looking for home
Who: Sakari and Isska
When: Monday afternoon
Where: Waterbending School
What: Two sisters who haven't seen each other in a decade meet under less than ideal circumstances
Sakari had started searching for Isska at the city gates, stopping anyone who didn't seem too intimidating to ask for directions. The answers had been vague at first-- "I'm looking for a Waterbender named Isska" wasn't very much to go on-- when she'd gotten answers at all, but they'd seemed to sort into two categories: go to the Water Tribe island off the coast, or try the Waterbending school in the city proper. Sakari had chosen to start at the latter, mostly because it was closer and if she didn't find Isska she'd be heading back to the harbor anyway to try her luck at sailing. The most helpful of the people Sakari had asked had assured her it wasn't hard to find, so she took the liberty of studying the city while she walked.
Awatan Sathit was massive, much larger than she remembered the North Pole being. That might have been just an illusion, though, created by the diverse architecture, the vibrant awnings on market stalls, and the boisterous people. Even the woman. It shouldn't have been such a surprise after Aza and the other woman Sakari had met on the trading vessel, but they'd been sailors. Sailors were always noisy, even if they were woman (which they hadn't been at the Pole). But the woman here must have been everything: wives, students, shopkeepers, teachers, healers. And they were all so much more animated than the women Sakari had known back home.
She felt a pang of homesickness, and of fear. Sakari had known when she left that things would be different here-- she'd heard snide comments about "foreign girls" often enough to not expect the polite ladies of home-- but she'd never let herself fully realize how hard it might be to fit in.
Sakari was still brooding when she reached the Waterbending school, and she felt another twinge of panic. She was a nonbender, moreover a girl, and didn't belong here, her instincts whispered. But Isska might be here, so Sakari latched onto her remaining courage and began asking questions again.
They were surprisingly helpful this time. People would respond "Master Isska?" and mention classes or point her down a hallway. Sakari had been a little startled by that. Her parents had mentioned that Isska had continued with her studies, but they'd left out any mention of teaching in Isska's letters, and Sakari had never been allowed to read them herself. It was intimidating to learn what her sister had accomplished, and made Sakari a little jealous.
She was mostly intimidated, though, Sakari admitted to herself as she watched a cluster of students stream out the classroom her questions had led her to. It was to late to leave, though, so Sakari tapped on the door frame gently, peered inside, and asked, "Excuse me, are you Master Isska? I'm your sister."