Gold and Stone, in Questing for Camelot

[Alex Mercer]

This is a direct continuation of A New Avatar Arrives.

The voyage took some time. Thanks to Aang's goofing about, it took a bit more time than necessary. About half an hour in, he had tired himself out. The fire rings stopped and instead he looked over Appa's head to the world below. There were a number of smaller villages here and there that looked almost like those found in the Earth Kingdom. In fact, this whole place felt rather like home.

"Should we stop at a small village, or go straight for a big city?"

Lysandra was quick to respond. "Big city! I wanna see a castle! Ooh, maybe I can even buy a pretty dress! ... if I had money, I mean... I don't think they'll take my credit card..." Her what card?

Chakravartin even agreed. "Let us head for the capital. It should be the center of trade, so it will have everything we need." Leave it to Chakra to think about it logically.

"Big city it is then! Common Appa, not much farther!" Not that Aang really knew where he was going. He was more or less following the broader road below. Big roads meant big trade routes, which lead to big cities, right? He could think logically too!

Momo had come to rest upon one of Appa's horns and was peering out with golden eyes towards the world. Every now and then the lemur would chatter, and sometimes Appa would seem to respond with a deep groan-like bellow. The sound of their back and forth lifted Aang's spirits. He had missed Momo.

A thought came to mind... a tidbit of information Chakravartin might like to hear. "Hey Momo... why don't you show Lysandra your loopdy-loops?" Aang made little circles with his fingers, tracing the trick out in the air. Momo chattered back at him before taking off. He waited till the Lemur was distracted and Lysandra was clapping happily at Momo's fanciful flight.

"You might find this interesting... but when we summon people, they aren't ... they aren't the real thing.  They are copies... Momo died in my world. Old age... but when I thought about him, I thought about the younger Momo from when I was just thirteen." He let that sit. He hated the thought, but he had brought Momo back from the dead by focusing on his memories of the lemur's youth.

"I don't know how that is even possible... Maybe I created a younger body and pulled his spirit form the Spirit World to fill it... or I just plucked him from some time in the past..." This was a topic Aang had to think about. It was as complex as it was difficult to think about. He had literally brought his pet back to life. It was creepy...

Momo eventually returned, landing on Lysandra's shoulder for a bit of human therapy... also known as a bit of pampering. Lysandra offered a soft peach from one of the bags and Momo happily accepts. It would seem a combination of the wind in her ears and Momo's antics had helped Lysandra tune it out. Or she might have ignored it because of Aang's tone. It did not take a psychologist to know this more than troubled the Avatar.