Ship/Member: 8jun Major Tags: nonbender-turned-airbender jun / nonbender air acolyte minghao Additional Tags: when ur childhood non-bender bestie gets the element u could only dream of bending in a freak accident Permission to remix: Yes
set in S3 of legend of korra when people all over the four nations develop airbending randomly.
***
Minghao has, objectively, the worst assignment out of all the acolytes, which is to say that he's on a boat, violently seasick, to go pick up someone from his village who miraculously gained the power of airbending.
What a joke.
The boat pitches and rolls in the strong wake of the bay, pushing and pulling Minghao around like he's just a jar that fell off a shelf, forgotten and about to roll somewhere no one can grab it.
Minghao hasn't been back to the rocky, jagged coast of Wulong since he met Tenzin years ago and shaved his head. He hasn't thought about rocks in a while. Instead, he's been meditating, searching for enlightenment in whatever form suits him best.
The boat hits a rough patch and Minghao feels his stomach turn. He's still waiting for that enlightenment to come.
---
Minghao disembarks on thin, shaky legs, presented with a ostrich horse he has never met and is expected to finish his journey on. There are people there to make his journey easier every step of the way, but short of just doing it themselves, Minghao doesn't see how it's going to be easy.
He names the ostrich horse ZhenZhen. It spits at him.
Minghao has a lot of time to think as ZhenZhen lopes across the rocky, hilly terrain he grew up scraping his knees on.
The truth is, when Bumi came to the island with air pushing out of his palms, Minghao went around to the docks of the island and spent hours just pushing his hands into the air and hoping, stupidly, for something to happen. He tried everything he learned; breathing techniques, acrobatic stances, even imitating what he would often see Tenzin teaching Korra. It was pointless.
Minghao cried on the docks, the antithesis of enlightenment. He was supposed to stop wanting things, to give up all earthly attachments and submit his soul over to the universe. He thought he had done a pretty good job. He thought he would get something back. Maybe that was why he didn't.
---
Wuyuan smells the same. Minghao curls his lip as ZhenZhen brings them both through the outskirts of town. It's a mix of something metallic and earthy, coupled with the sharp scent of humanity, the stench of people living and breathing and dying within 20 meters of where they were born.
People are staring. Minghao can't blame them; his shaved head and his robes look deeply out of place in contrast to the deep, earthy colors of the people hawking goods and cooking out in the street.
By the time he's at the center of the village, Minghao is overwhelmed and tired. ZhenZhen seems sort of pissy, too, her head swiveling at every loud noise that rings out through the street.
He needs to find an inn, to sleep, to rest his legs. But there's always a small chance he'll run into someone he knows from his childhood and Minghao can only handle so many blows to his already damaged ego. He really should be more gracious, more generous with his time and energy like some of the other acolytes. That's something to bring up with Shung when he gets back.
---
Some woman that might have been his aunt's sister's best friend catches him in a long conversation about what he's been "up to," but by the end she's directed him up the southern hill to the cluster of houses pushed up against the forest.
Minghao opts to leave ZhenZhen at a stable near where he used to clean dishes for money, wrapping his bald head up in his robes to avoid being noticed.
He feels ridiculous as he ascends the familiar hill, hoping beyond hope that, at the very least, the new airbender will be someone he's never met before.
The universe hates him, surely, because at the crest of the hill Minghao finds Wen Junhui floating upside down, his mother screaming and hitting him with a broom to get him to come down.
---
Junhui has been floating on and off for three days now, apparently.
He shrugs upside down, which does almost nothing, and says, "Just happened."
Minghao is at a total loss for words. He hasn't seen Junhui since he was 18. They didn't stay friends once Minghao moved away.
Now Minghao has to swallow whatever bitterness coats his tongue. It doesn't serve him, he tries to remind himself. The water that wells up in his eyes is born of something ugly, something he is trying to fix.
Junhui looks beautiful upside-down, his face ruddy and his hair pointed and grazing the ground. Minghao doesn’t know how to get him down and Junhui doesn’t seem especially concerned.
“You’re sleeping here, HaoHao,” Junhui says, still using his stupid nickname. Minghao draws himself up to his full height and attempts to look serene and detached.
“Thank you,” he says. “We can leave tomorrow.”
Junhui falls to the ground in a heap. “Leave?” he huffs out.
---
How fucking stupid. Minghao considers just sending a messenger hawk back to Air Temple Island to tell them it’s a lost cause.
Junhui doesn’t want to leave his cat. Won’t even entertain it. Minghao has tried everything within his power short of literally begging to get Junhui to understand the gravity of the situation.
“What do you mean, rebuilding the nation?” Junhui asks. “Are you guys gonna make me like, have airbender babies?”
Minghao flushes and says, “No, of course--we need you to come, even just for a little bit, to make sure you’re safe. Bending without training is dangerous.”
Junhui flips upside down, the bottom of his tunic covering his face and exposing his torso. “I think I’m doing okay.”
Minghao refuses to talk to Junhui’s belly button instead of his face. This is why they aren’t friends anymore. Minghao tries to remind himself they don’t have to be friends now. But Junhui does have to come with him.
“Fine,” Minghao spits out. “Bring the cat. But you’re coming with me.”
Junhui lets out a sigh that pushes him up, up, up, and with a loud cracking noise one of his feet punches through the solid wall of the ceiling and leaves him hanging there.
[FILL] a glass jar and four deep breaths
Major Tags: nonbender-turned-airbender jun / nonbender air acolyte minghao
Additional Tags: when ur childhood non-bender bestie gets the element u could only dream of bending in a freak accident
Permission to remix: Yes
set in S3 of legend of korra when people all over the four nations develop airbending randomly.
***
Minghao has, objectively, the worst assignment out of all the acolytes, which is to say that he's on a boat, violently seasick, to go pick up someone from his village who miraculously gained the power of airbending.
What a joke.
The boat pitches and rolls in the strong wake of the bay, pushing and pulling Minghao around like he's just a jar that fell off a shelf, forgotten and about to roll somewhere no one can grab it.
Minghao hasn't been back to the rocky, jagged coast of Wulong since he met Tenzin years ago and shaved his head. He hasn't thought about rocks in a while. Instead, he's been meditating, searching for enlightenment in whatever form suits him best.
The boat hits a rough patch and Minghao feels his stomach turn. He's still waiting for that enlightenment to come.
---
Minghao disembarks on thin, shaky legs, presented with a ostrich horse he has never met and is expected to finish his journey on. There are people there to make his journey easier every step of the way, but short of just doing it themselves, Minghao doesn't see how it's going to be easy.
He names the ostrich horse ZhenZhen. It spits at him.
Minghao has a lot of time to think as ZhenZhen lopes across the rocky, hilly terrain he grew up scraping his knees on.
The truth is, when Bumi came to the island with air pushing out of his palms, Minghao went around to the docks of the island and spent hours just pushing his hands into the air and hoping, stupidly, for something to happen. He tried everything he learned; breathing techniques, acrobatic stances, even imitating what he would often see Tenzin teaching Korra. It was pointless.
Minghao cried on the docks, the antithesis of enlightenment. He was supposed to stop wanting things, to give up all earthly attachments and submit his soul over to the universe. He thought he had done a pretty good job. He thought he would get something back. Maybe that was why he didn't.
---
Wuyuan smells the same. Minghao curls his lip as ZhenZhen brings them both through the outskirts of town. It's a mix of something metallic and earthy, coupled with the sharp scent of humanity, the stench of people living and breathing and dying within 20 meters of where they were born.
People are staring. Minghao can't blame them; his shaved head and his robes look deeply out of place in contrast to the deep, earthy colors of the people hawking goods and cooking out in the street.
By the time he's at the center of the village, Minghao is overwhelmed and tired. ZhenZhen seems sort of pissy, too, her head swiveling at every loud noise that rings out through the street.
He needs to find an inn, to sleep, to rest his legs. But there's always a small chance he'll run into someone he knows from his childhood and Minghao can only handle so many blows to his already damaged ego. He really should be more gracious, more generous with his time and energy like some of the other acolytes. That's something to bring up with Shung when he gets back.
---
Some woman that might have been his aunt's sister's best friend catches him in a long conversation about what he's been "up to," but by the end she's directed him up the southern hill to the cluster of houses pushed up against the forest.
Minghao opts to leave ZhenZhen at a stable near where he used to clean dishes for money, wrapping his bald head up in his robes to avoid being noticed.
He feels ridiculous as he ascends the familiar hill, hoping beyond hope that, at the very least, the new airbender will be someone he's never met before.
The universe hates him, surely, because at the crest of the hill Minghao finds Wen Junhui floating upside down, his mother screaming and hitting him with a broom to get him to come down.
---
Junhui has been floating on and off for three days now, apparently.
He shrugs upside down, which does almost nothing, and says, "Just happened."
Minghao is at a total loss for words. He hasn't seen Junhui since he was 18. They didn't stay friends once Minghao moved away.
Now Minghao has to swallow whatever bitterness coats his tongue. It doesn't serve him, he tries to remind himself. The water that wells up in his eyes is born of something ugly, something he is trying to fix.
Junhui looks beautiful upside-down, his face ruddy and his hair pointed and grazing the ground. Minghao doesn’t know how to get him down and Junhui doesn’t seem especially concerned.
“You’re sleeping here, HaoHao,” Junhui says, still using his stupid nickname. Minghao draws himself up to his full height and attempts to look serene and detached.
“Thank you,” he says. “We can leave tomorrow.”
Junhui falls to the ground in a heap. “Leave?” he huffs out.
---
How fucking stupid. Minghao considers just sending a messenger hawk back to Air Temple Island to tell them it’s a lost cause.
Junhui doesn’t want to leave his cat. Won’t even entertain it. Minghao has tried everything within his power short of literally begging to get Junhui to understand the gravity of the situation.
“What do you mean, rebuilding the nation?” Junhui asks. “Are you guys gonna make me like, have airbender babies?”
Minghao flushes and says, “No, of course--we need you to come, even just for a little bit, to make sure you’re safe. Bending without training is dangerous.”
Junhui flips upside down, the bottom of his tunic covering his face and exposing his torso. “I think I’m doing okay.”
Minghao refuses to talk to Junhui’s belly button instead of his face. This is why they aren’t friends anymore. Minghao tries to remind himself they don’t have to be friends now. But Junhui does have to come with him.
“Fine,” Minghao spits out. “Bring the cat. But you’re coming with me.”
Junhui lets out a sigh that pushes him up, up, up, and with a loud cracking noise one of his feet punches through the solid wall of the ceiling and leaves him hanging there.
Minghao watches Junhui’s mom get the broom again.
Junhui agrees to come with him.