Avatar: The Last Dicebender (A:TLA/A:LOK Quest)

You stare in the eyes of death.


You step forward with your left foot, reaching toward Fushi with the right side of your body. As the monster prepares to leap, your right foot digs into the ground and creates a shockwave in the earth. It travels almost two meters, then creates a thick, brown wall from stone, which blocks the wild spirit.

You swipe both of your hands, spreading two additional walls around the sides of Fushi, encasing him from three sides and creating a tunnel of space between you.

You kick the first wall you created, sending it forward like a cannon. It slides along the two walls and hits Fushi, pushing the wolf monster away toward the corner of the chamber. This creates over twenty meters of space between you two, and staggers the wolf.

You take your chance and run.


You turn around and pack it, at full speed. There is no more discussions to be had and nothing more that simple talk will achieve.

+680 XP!
+1 CP!
+Communicate with a spirit. (+400 XP, +1CP.) Fulfilled! +400 XP! +1 CP!

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Siph squints, noticing a shape in the darkness. The shape grows, prompting her to take a step back in a semi-defensive stance. The shape runs out of the darkness - you. Taking Siph's hand and dragging her, you mutter with shallow breath, "Go, go, go!"

You don't give her time to ask questions. Running is the essence of survival, and grasping the concept that you are being chased she joins in without discussion. Once you sense her legs thumping behind you, her hand is released from yours and both of you move your arms to add momentum to the run.

As you step through the doorway of trees, you dig your heel into the ground. A wall of brittle stone rises and covers the exit. No need to worry about Fushi.

Finally, you turn to Siph, who kept running for some time and now stands meters away from you. She stops when she notices that you stopped as well. "What happened?"

"The negotiations..." You pause. How to tell her that you got angry and attacked the big rock guy without making her upset?


"Went south." You settled for a vaguer wording.

Your wheedling went unnoticed. "We made a bad first impression, got it. Hm." Siph's fingers clutch her chin thoughtfully. Her eyes leveled a curious look at you, "What else?"

You shrug. "Nothing."

She cocks her head to the side. "You're not telling me something, are you?"

"No," you lie, convincingly.

"Alright," she submits the thread, then raises her hands and stretches a little, closing her eyes. You watch, confused. Once she has sufficiently relaxed her muscles, she looks at you. "Let's pack it up, I guess. Unless you want to keep exploring."

"Honestly, I don't know myself." You step back, then rest your back against a tree, sitting down. You huff out in relief that you've obtained a short break from your problems. Long seconds pass by, then Siph walks up to you and sits beside you.

Some more time passes. The two of you rest like this for a minute or two. The fatigue from today's exploits was triumphant, but you feel that it explicitly made you stronger. You're tired but stauncher. Finally, Siph asks, "Tié, is something wrong?"

The question originates from the fact you sat down to rest. The question doesn't prompt you to think about your exhaustion, but about your feelings. Toward yourself, and the world. That makes you react abruptly: shaking your head, you reject, "No."

You're not sure why you said that. Is it the wish to be strong? Is it the wish not to bother her with your problems? You're the very opposite of 'not wrong' right now. Siph smiles sadly, "You can tell me anything."

Tell her anything.

Anything.

You feel a pain in your stomach. You can't tell her that you're the Avatar. She'd be overwhelmed. There are too many variables. What if she told your parents? No, Siph wouldn't do that. She wants you to stay. Or does she want you to perform your duty as the Avatar? You're not sure what she'd want in that situation.

In the first place, you're not even sure why you're considering what Siph would want. You're not sure of what you want for yourself. From one side, you want to stay in the desert with your family. From the other, though, you want to become a police metalbender in Republic City. You're not even sure you want to become the Avatar. You consider all of the possibilities. You try to calculate them, but your young mind is troubled by the train of thought. It's far too much. The thoughts are too powerful and complex for you to disassemble and understand. You struggle internally, quietly.

...

Suddenly, Siph hugs you. In an instant, your bad thoughts disappear and are replaced by comfort. Knowing that you're feeling bad, she did the only thing she could to comfort you. You don't think about the gesture. You embrace your sister back and sink into her. The weight of not knowing who you are and who you want to be is replaced by what you're feeling right now. Safety and compassion.

"Siph, I..." You struggle to speak, biting your tongue as soon as any words leave your mouth.

She doesn't answer. Siph remains quiet and not even a whisper leaves her mouth.

You try to again. "I..."

"Shhh..." She rubs the back of your head.

No. No. Have to tell her. Painfully, you whimper, "I-I..."

[] It's the only way. One day, you'll leave her and everything else behind to fulfill your duty. It's best to tell her early. "I'm the Avatar."
[] You need to avoid it. Maybe you can avoid being the Avatar. Maybe you can live a normal life with your family? "I'm feeling better now."
[] The future is not important. You need to focus on the now. You need to focus on the one person that is here for you. "I'm sorry to keep worrying you. I always pester you with my problems, but I never help you with yours."
[] Stay silent. Don't disrupt the moment. You can tell her anything you want to tell her later.

Afterward, you...

[] Keep exploring. (Will begin Questline: Past Your Own Self.)
[] Pack it up.

+150 XP!

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