Chapter 23: Sigun Til

Feeling something wet, rough, and large cover my face, I slowly opened my eyes and saw Appa looking right at me, only for him to lick my face once again, covering me in his saliva, causing me to internally sigh as I pushed his tongue away while slowly sitting upright.

"I'm awake, I'm awake; you don't need to keep licking me. You don't have the best-smelling breath, and I'd prefer not to smell like lettuce." Said Aang calmly as he gently pushed Appa's face away, using his furry body to dry himself.

Removing my face from Appa's furry body, I spat out a bunch of his fur and rubbed my face clean before eyeing him as I scratched his body, causing some of his fur to fall off.

"We must be getting close to your shedding season." Muttered Aang lightly as he looked at Appa, who yawned before resting his head atop his front legs.

Clearly, Appa still wished to sleep, which I found hard to believe since that's pretty much all he's been doing, but he was pretty lazy in general, so I just shook my head and stood up, doing some stretches before performing my morning routine like usual. Although quiet, Monk Gyatso was beside his much larger sky bison and was doing the same as I; after roughly thirty or so minutes, I finished all thirty-six stances before yawning and approaching Monk Gyatso.

"Good morning, Aang." "Good morning, Monk Gyatso." Said Gyatso and Aang, respectively, as they both clasped their hands, greeting each other, though only one of them bowed.

"About what happened last night, Aang…" Stated Gyatso lightly as he glanced at Aang, who promptly cut him off with a slight bow.

"I would like to apologize for my behavior last night, Monk Gyatso; I felt a great deal of inexplicable sadness wash over me." Said Aang apologetically as he clasped his hands together, his words causing Gyatso to sigh.

"It's fine, I don't mind, Aang; besides, you're correct, that wasn't the time for us single folk to visit." Remarked Gyatso lightly with a faint smile as he dismissively waved his hand, causing Aang to nod as he stood upright.

"Now, though, seeing as we didn't have anything for dinner, I'm sure you must be hungry." Added Gyatso with a faint smirk as he looked at Aang, whose stomach suddenly growled, causing him to chuckle.

"I'm sure I'm not the only one that's hungry." Said Aang softly with a slight smirk as he glanced at Gyatso, whose stomach also growled, causing him to laugh while patting his stomach.

"You're not wrong; this old man is starving. I could eat a bull!" Stated Gyatso with a large smile as he walked in a random direction, intending to find a local restaurant.

"That's not exactly a saying that goes well with us Air Nomads, Monk Gyatso." Remarked Aang lightly while shaking his head as he followed behind Gyatso, who nodded with a chuckle.

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After finishing breakfast, which was exceptionally delicious compared to yesterday's lunch, we promptly headed to where I'd wanted to go since the moment we got here.

Landing on the ground after a rather long flight above Ba Sing Se, Monk Gyatso and I stood before the large building, which was eager to enter.

'Ba Sing Se University. Looks massive; I wonder where the library is.' Thought Aang lightly as he gazed upon the large University before walking forward and stepping onto the university grounds.

Unfortunately, my joy was abruptly cut short as stone wall suddenly emerged from the ground, blocking our path, causing me to furrow my brows as I shifted my attention to the approaching man, who seemed to be the University's acting security.

"May we help you, Young man?" Asked Gyatso softly with a friendly smile as he clasped his hands towards the man who stood before them.

"I've never seen you two before, nor have I got any notice of transfer students from the Air Temple." Stated the man with a frown as he folded his arms while eyeing Gyatso and Aang.

"Hoho, no, we're not young man. My student of mine simply loves learning, and when I informed him about the prestigious University of Ba Sing Se, he was eager to visit the library. That isn't a problem, is it?" Remarked Gyatso with a soft chuckle as he looked at the man with a smile before furrowing his brows.

"Only students, faculty members, and teachers are allowed within the grounds of Ba Sing Se's University." Stated the man firmly as he narrowed his eyes while glancing between Gyatso and Aang, causing them to sigh with a nod.

"Haa, I see; that is unfortunate, though thank you for informing us, young man." Said Gyatso with a sigh as he gave the man a friendly gesture, only to suddenly snap his fingers.

"If you don't mind me asking, is the Director still Sigun Til?" Asked Gyatso lightly, his words causing the man to raise an eyebrow before gently nodding.

Monk Gyatso simply chuckled at the man's nod, which caused me to think he possibly knew this Sigun Til, though, before I could ask him, he suddenly grabbed his bo-staff off his back before flying high into the air, causing me to tilt my head in confusion as I watched him fly away.

Not knowing what to do, I just looked back at the security, who was doing the same, before sitting down and meditating; Monk Gyatso was most likely going to return, and if he didn't, well, I was meditating so it wasn't a waste of time.

However, my assumption was correct, and roughly ten minutes later, Monk Gyatso landed right next to me, prompting me to open my eyes, though he wasn't by himself, and instead, there was an old woman glaring at him. The old woman looked rather good for her age, as she had long white hair tied into a bun, her skin wasn't all that wrinkly, and she was wearing a suit, which I had to admit, she wore pretty well.

'If I'm correct, that's Sigun Til. Huh, with a name like that, I expected the Director to be a man.' Thought Aang lightly as he stood up and glanced between Gyatso and the old woman, Sigun Til, who was furiously pointing at him.

"Ohh, it's taking everything in my power to not slap you, you fossil." Said Sigun dangerously as she took several deep breaths while glaring at Gyatso, who merely chuckled.

"You were already on your way to the University; I merely helped you; no need to get so angry." Said Gyatso lightly, his words only adding fuel to the fire, though Sigun was a woman with great self-restraint.

"So, Gyatso, why are you here? I hope it's not to visit me since I have no desire to talk with you after that stunt you just pulled." Said Sigun sternly as she fixed her suit while eyeing Gyatso, who composed himself before gesturing to Aang, causing her to slightly widen her eyes.

"Ahh, you must be Aang, nice to meet you, I've heard a lot about you from Gyatso. I just hope you don't enjoy pranking like him." Said Sigun as she approached Aang with a professional smile before outstretching her hand while he clasped his hands together, causing her face to twitch.

"A pleasure to be in your presence, Sigun." Said Aang lightly, his words causing Sigun to nod while retracting her hand.

"So, Sigun, I was hoping–" Saing Gyatso yet Sigun promptly cut him off before he could finish.

"I can already guess; Aang would like to visit the University's library? Am I correct?" Asked Sigun as she eyed Gyatso, who nodded, while Aang raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"No need to be surprised, Aang; Gyatso often mentions you in the letters he sends via Messenger Hawk." Added Sigun lightly as she fixed her hair while glancing at Aang with a slight smile, only for it to vanish when she looked at Gyatso.

"Yes." Replied Gyatso with a nod, his words causing Sigun to grunt as she glanced at the security guard before waving her hand.

"Let them through; I'll handle them." Said Sigun as she walked into the University, passing the security guard, who nodded and stepped to the side, causing the stone wall to drop back into the guard.

While following behind Sigun, I couldn't help but give Monk Gyatso a curious look, causing him to chuckle with a faint smirk.

"Are you more curious about Sigun and I's past or getting access to the library?" Asked Gyatso with a smile as he looked at Aang, who furrowed his brows with a thoughtful expression.

"Library. I can always ask about your past later." Said Aang lightly, his words causing Sigun to release a short laugh while Gyatso chuckled.

Since it was still pretty early in the morning, we saw hardly anyone besides security and some teachers, but the University was quite beautiful, and the architecture was quite gorgeous; when we finally arrived at Sigun's office, which was unnecessarily large, we entered and sat down while she sat behind her desk.

"Alright, so, you want access to the Library? That's an easy thing to do; however, after that stunt Gyatso pulled, I'm not going to allow you entry so easily. Sorry." Stated Sigun professionally as she rested her elbows on her desk while looking at Aang, who nodded before eyeing Gyatso.

"So then, what must I do to acquire entry to the Library?" Asked Aang curiously as he ignored Gyatso and looked at Sigun, who faintly smirked.

"Nothing excessive; I'd simply like it if you could teach a class about being an Air Nomad." Stated Sigun lightly as she leaned back in her chair and looked at Aang, who seemed quite surprised.