Two Weeks after Niva and Lavi left for Niva’s training.
Niva’s eyes fluttered open in the bright morning sun. She immediately regretted that decision and shut them tightly again. The sun was an evil ball of fire and spite that had a grudge against her eyes specifically.
She rolled over to hide her face in Lavi, only to hit Lavi’s pillow.
Her eyes snapped open again, her heart suddenly hammering in her chest. She pushed herself up, looking at Lavi’s side of the bed to find it completely empty. She looked around the room, not seeing her sister anywhere in line of sight. “...Lavi?” she croaked, panic swelling in her throat. “Lavi!?”
She scrambled out of bed, her hands already shaking as she threw the door open, looking out into the hall. “Lavi?!”
Lavi poked her head out of another door, a basket in her hands. “Yeah?”
Niva gasped before surging forward, all but tackling Lavi into a hug. With the difference in size between them, Lavi wasn’t even pushed back an inch, though she did look down at Niva in surprise. “Whoa. Hey, what’s up? You alright?”
“I thought you were gone,” Niva whimpered into Lavi’s tunic.
Lavi blinked. “I stepped out to get some supplies. You were still asleep, Nee,” she said, running a hand along Niva’s back.
“I woke up and you were gone,” Niva sobbed, clutching onto Lavi tighter. “I didn’t know where you were or why. I was terrified.”
Lavi’s brow furrowed. It wasn’t unlike Niva to get anxious when she couldn’t see her, but Lavi had been starting to hope she had been growing out of it. Apparently not, especially not with the anxiety of being on their own. “Let go of me for a second.”
Niva reluctantly pulled back. Lavi set the basket down before cupping her face in both hands.
“You listen to me, Niva. If I’m gone, I stepped out to get something. I’m not about to just vanish and leave you out here to fend for yourself, understand?” she said firmly, but gently.
Niva, eyes watering and lip quivering, simply nodded. “...Okay, I understand,” she said quietly.
“Good girl,” Lavi said, pressing a kiss to Niva’s forehead. “Come on, let’s go downstairs and order breakfast. What do you want?”
Niva hummed to herself for a moment. “Fried dough sticks and dumplings if they got them,” she said. “And some juice.”
“Alright, let me just put our new supplies away,” Lavi said, patting Niva’s cheek and picking up the basket again.
Niva looked at the basket, curiosity piquing now that the alarm in her had settled. “What did you get?” she asked.
“A pound of rice, a pound of flour, some cooking fat, and some dried fish,” Lavi said. “Enough for twice the trip to the next village.”
Niva smiled, thinking about the meals they had on the road before reaching this village. Lavi’s cooking was always the best. Nothing could compare. “I can’t wait,” she said eagerly, clutching Lavi’s free arm and nuzzling into her shoulder.
Lavi chuckled. “You’re awfully excited for travel porridge.”
“It’s the best porridge,” Niva said. “Especially when you make it.”
Lavi went still for a moment. “You can be really sweet sometimes, you know that?” she said, leaning down and kissing the top of Niva’s head.
Niva beamed at the praise, her earlier fears and malaise forgotten. “Thank you,” she chirped. “When do you suppose we’ll be on the road again?”
“In a few days,” Lavi said, putting the sacks away and tossing the basket over her shoulder. “I’m still trying to ask around about Earthbending teachers. C’mon, let’s head downstairs.”
Niva’s smile dropped slightly. As much as she didn’t like the idea of having breakfast in a big room around a bunch of strangers, she knew she’d have nothing to fear so long as Lavi was close by.
Hopefully.
“Okay,” Niva nodded.
The two of them headed down into the main dining hall and found a seat. Lavi was about to get right up and order when an idea came to her. She’d been thinking about it for some time since they started their journey.
Niva wouldn’t inspire very much confidence as the Avatar if she were cowering behind her big sister and hiding from people. Let alone the anxiety that would put in the public, how was she supposed to intimidate some imperialist bastard like that? Niva needed to gain more social confidence. More ability to lead.
And as her spear instructor always said, the forest won’t spread without its first sprout.
“Do you mind ordering?” she asked. “My feet are killing me.”
Niva squeaked, her eyes nearly bulging out of her head. “M-Me?”
“Yeah,” Lavi nodded, wincing visibly as she shifted in her seat. “I think I might have a blister coming on, I’ve been on my feet so much.”
Niva quaked in her seat, looking over to the bar and then back to Lavi. She really, really, really did not want to go up there and order. But… Lavi asked her to. And if there was one thing she hated more than anything, it was disappointing Lavi. “...Okay,” she said shakily, rising from her seat and dragging her feet over to the counter.
Then she paused and turned back. “W-What do you want?”
“A bowl of jook and ginseng tea,” Lavi said with a smile. “Thanks Pebble.”
“N-No problem,” Niva squeaked, giving her a shaky thumbs up before shuffling back towards the counter. ‘Jook and ginseng. Jook and ginseng.’
She shuffled up to the counter and looked up at the bartender.
“Yeah?” the bartender asked.
“I… w-we… I would…”
“That’s alright, take your time,” the bartender said flatly.
Niva cleared her throat. “C-Can me and my s-s-sister get two bowls of jook and two cups of ginseng?” She hadn’t thought of what to get for herself, so she just opted for what Lavi was having.
“Two bowls of gook and two ginseng,” the bartender nodded, throwing a cloth over his shoulder. “That’ll be right up.”
“Th-Thank you,” Niva said before bolting back to her table and hunching down.
“Thanks Nee,” Lavi smiled. It wasn’t a graceful first step, but it was a first step.
“Your welcome,” Niva said, shaking like a leaf in front of her sister. “H-He was nice.”
Lavi smiled and wrapped an arm around Niva, pulling her against her side. “You’re less anxious around people than you used to be. I’m glad.” That was a lie, Niva was just as anxious as she always was, but a little encouragement went a long way with her sister.
Niva blinked owlishly. “Y-You are?”
Lavi nodded, smiling warmly as she gave Niva an affectionate squeeze.
Niva’s chest fluttered with pride. Lavi was proud of her. She did good. This was great! “Thank you,” she said with a slight giggle, relaxing into Lavi.
Lavi gave her an affectionate squeeze. All Niva needed was a little nudge and plenty of encouragement, and soon she’d be fine talking to people. She was certain of it. Her sister was going to make an amazing Avatar soon enough.