"Wow! Is this the woman who lives inside every Avatar?" Sokka asked after carefully observing the beauty of Raava's human form. This time, he received a slap on the back of the neck from Suki.
"I'm still here, stupid," the Kyoshi warrior whispered, causing Sokka to laugh nervously and scratch the area where he had been hit. However, he was still glancing at Raava because, honestly, she was too beautiful.
"What do you think, Shisui?" Ty Lee, who loved to cause trouble, approached the sage from behind and asked him a question that would leave an ordinary man speechless. However, her friend was someone who would answer questions like this.
"She embodies many of my personal tastes, I admit," Shisui replied, ignoring the cold stare Azula was giving him. Instead, he wrapped his arm around his fiancée's waist and leaned close to her ear.
"Azula, isn't she really striking? We really did a good job on her!" the sage said excitedly to the princess, causing her to roll her eyes before smiling.
"I have to admit, I'd like to be like her when I'm older," Azula replied, acknowledging the fact. The moment she opened her eyes and saw Raava's new form, she imagined herself looking similar.
"But do you really have a human body?" Katara asked curiously, looking intently to find anything that would suggest what stood before her was anything other than human.
Except for the subtle spiritual aura that gave Raava an ethereal temperament similar to Yue's, there was nothing that could be used to dispute what they had achieved together at that moment.
"Of course I do. Would you like to feel it?" asked Raava, who had retained the voice they had in their spiritual form.
Katara's cheeks felt hot from the sudden question, but she did not refuse. Instead, she approached the woman and touched her outstretched hand. Katara placed two fingers on Raava's wrist and felt her pulse, just as the healers of the North Pole had taught her.
The touch was soft and slightly warm, with blood traveling where it should. Katara even sent a small amount of ki into Raava's body and scanned her more thoroughly using her medical knowledge. The result made her eyes widen.
They had really done it! She felt all of her internal organs were functioning properly; none were missing. Katara had a strange thought: If Raava wanted children, she could probably give birth. This raised many interesting questions.
"Wait a minute. If she looks like that and she's practically connected to the Avatar, doesn't that mean she's Aang's mother?" Toph asked, causing the room to suddenly fall silent.
Aang, who had been planning to speak with Raava, fell silent. Ty Lee couldn't take it anymore and ran over to the Avatar. She stared intently at his face as if looking for something.
"Hmm, they have similar noses. That's all I need to say, they're mother and son." Ty Lee said with a laugh before stopping abruptly and looking in Toph's direction.
"Hey, I know we all had a mental image of how it would turn out, but...why do I feel like you're looking at me? No! Your aura is full of emotion. What happened to you?" Ty Lee approached the young earthbender and stared at her. To her surprise, instead of tilting her head to hear her better, Toph just kept "looking" at her.
"Oh, that's an interesting topic..." Toph paused deliberately, making Ty Lee feel as if a cat were scratching her heart. She was dying of curiosity.
...
"Are you wondering how I might resemble your mother? I admit that I used your appearance as inspiration to fine-tune some details of this body." After most of the group gathered to discuss the recent events, Raava approached her current host, Aang.
"I...I don't think I remember what my mother looked like. Women and men lived in separate temples and only came together on special occasions. I have very few memories of the woman who gave birth to me, and most of them are vague," Aang replied honestly. He really couldn't picture his mother. He only remembered her giving him a cupcake once, on the rare occasion they saw each other. It was the only gift she ever gave him.
His relationship with her was limited, to say the least. She had other children before and after his birth. Did he play with his siblings? He didn't even know who they were. That's how his culture worked.
"Many Avatars born with Air as their primary element used to have this kind of problem. If it's any consolation, you are all like children to me, so consider me your mother." Raava hugged the Avatar tightly, causing Aang to stiffen for a moment before he returned the hug.
"Now that I can move around on my own, I can finally talk with that sage. Come on, Aang. As the Avatar, you must participate in this." After hugging the Airbender for a few seconds, she pulled away and walked toward Shisui, pulling Aang along as if he were a small child, which, as she said, he was in her eyes.
As if he had been waiting for this conversation, Shisui sat down next to Azula at the edge of the Spirit Pond. He played with his fiancée's hair, combing it with an ice comb and braiding it.
Azula's neck was wrapped in the scarf that the sage had knitted for Terumi. Since Terumi was still unborn, her mother decided to use the scarf first. An unborn baby wouldn't complain about it anyway.
"Sit down. I think I know what you want to talk about," said Shisui, pointing to the space next to him.
Raava sat down without hesitation, letting her feet dangle over the Spirit Pond. Because of who she was, Tui and La only flicked their tails in protest before continuing their perpetual dance.
"Look how the Spirits of the Ocean and the Moon dance in perpetual balance. Many things in nature are balanced. A poisonous tree will have its antidote right next to it. I have Vaatu. I know you've met him," Raava began. This caused Shisui to stop braiding Azula's hair for a moment.
"Shisui, do you think you have something that can be considered your fair counterweight?" The spirit finally asked. The Sage sighed but continued combing his fiancée's hair with a carefree attitude.
"Oh, of course. There's Azula and Zuko, talented Firebenders. I don't know their enemies, but I know they exist. There's also an ancient spirit that continues to slumber." Shisui replied easily. Raava shook her head before looking at the Avatar.
"Look at Aang, at all the Avatars. Inevitably, beings will arise who, for one reason or another, will go against him. Sure, some Avatars lived quietly. Others, like Kuruk..." The woman narrowed her eyes at that moment, feeling annoyed toward a certain impertinent face-stealing spirit.
"What exactly do you want to talk about? How do my actions affect the supposed balance and equilibrium of things?" Tired of the conversation going nowhere, Shisui asked that question, causing Raava to look at him before looking back at the pond.
"No, your actions, like those of all humans, are in line with the natural flow of things. If one day human civilization severely pollutes the world, driving many species to extinction and causing its own demise, it would be sad, but on a macroscopic scale, it would also be part of the natural flow." Raava placed her hand on Aang's head. He was lost in thought as he listened to the conversation.
"The same would be true if they managed to understand nature, coexist with the spiritual world, and promote its values through the stars. Everything that exists in nature is natural, something simple and redundant, but many do not understand it." Raava looked directly into Shisui's eyes and saw the fervent desire that many humans have had for millennia: to go beyond, to understand the world, and to visit the stars.
Ever since the first human observed the night sky, this longing has been imprinted in the DNA of their entire race, and Raava understood it well. After all, as an ancestral spirit, how many civilizations had she seen rise and fall?
"Usually, we believe that balance is when one side prevails over another or neither side does. Is it balanced for my light to illuminate the world for 10,000 years? But tell me, despite being irradiated by the light of order and peace, why is there still chaos?
Balance is never an established, rigid, unchanging order! The essence of nature and the elements is constant change. The earth, however solid it may be, will change over time. You understand this well; you are water."
Raava then watched as Shisui finished combing Azula's hair before sitting down next to her and holding her hand in an intimate gesture.
"As a spirit, I can say that your way of seeing things is far above us humans. I simply seek to grow, and I want those around me to do the same so that no one is left behind.
"It doesn't matter if it's Aang or Sokka; I want each of them to stand out in their own way. My way of making the world a better place was never to intervene directly, but rather to show them things they had overlooked and encourage them to progress on their own. Shisui had always considered this one of the driving forces in his life.
He couldn't go all the way alone, reaching the peak of strength with no one to accompany him. The heights were cold; why not have people around to keep you warm?
"What will they do with firearms? I know! I participated in one. But can't they use their knowledge of the physics and chemistry of guns to advance in other fields?
I know a Fire Nation citizen who discovered a liquid used to treat heart disease while searching for a more controlled explosive. The Avatar must safeguard a balance between humanity and between the earthly and spiritual worlds." The Sage recalled receiving that news when he returned from the South Pole, though he was still mourning Azulon's death at the time.
A man named Nobelius, born in one of the Fire Nation colonies, became interested in explosives when they became more accessible. He studied the chemistry information left behind by Shisui and, after some experimentation, discovered a compound he called liquid fire.
He did not expect that it would be used to treat heart problems or to create explosives for demolition, facilitating the construction of tunnels and roads in mountainous areas.
"I've never been against that. In fact, I support it." Humanity can be very stubborn and prone to war. Haven't you seen how children play with sticks?" Shisui's serious expression as he made this funny comment made Aang hold back his laughter. He also agreed with the point because he himself could not resist the urge to grab a stick and use it as a weapon, even using his glider that way.
"Do you know how I imagine the right balance? Intervene only when it reaches a dangerous extreme, regardless of both sides. Excessive peace dulls the human mind, causing a loss of creativity, competitiveness, and the desire to move forward.
Excessive war causes trauma, madness, and damage. A middle ground allows humanity to continue advancing." A certain degree of conflict and adversity makes humans instinctively want to better themselves.
Of course, this is only my view of balance, biased by my experiences and knowledge, something far from the real meaning. No human can come close to understanding it, except you, the embodiment of order and peace and the counterpart to the chaos represented by Vaatu. Shisui kissed the back of Azula's hand. She patted him on the head as if to calm him down.
"I'm not saying that Aang should encourage conflict. I'm saying that if he sees two nations at odds, he shouldn't immediately try to mediate peace. Rather, he should let them battle it out before talking to them. Or he should resolve the issue before things get that far.
As I have told you, and as I'm sure you understand, peace is only the result of prior conflict." After finishing, Shisui rested his head on Azula's shoulder.
"Will you help the Avatar when certain special measures are necessary?" Raava asked suddenly, causing the three humans present to glance at her.
"The Avatar is human. How can he be alone? Avatars who remained alone were rare," the woman explained, noticing the strangeness in the others' gazes.
"Raava, am I not Aang's friend?" That's enough! As his friend, I will help him without hesitation as long as it doesn't go against my principles and ideals." Tired of this philosophical discussion, Shisui gave that answer before closing his eyes. He wanted to sleep, feeling the warmth of his fiancée.