Avatar:Reading Leaves

"I'm not working for a shang or the zongdu or any of the powers that be in Bin-Er. I hate this city with every fiber of my being, and I want nothing more than to leave both it and you behind. [...] Now if you're done measuring my pulse and checking if my pupils are changing width, my tea is getting cold."

— Kavik passing Yangchen's test.

Template:Chapter infobox"Reading Leaves" is the fourteenth chapter of The Dawn of Yangchen.

Overview

Despondent after receiving news of Kalyaan, Kavik is visited by Yangchen once again. The Avatar reveals to the Water Tribe youth that the shangs are in the process of attaining a weapon known as "Unanimity" to use against the four nations. Obtaining a promise from Yangchen to help his family leave Bin-Er once his job is complete, and successfully proving his honest disdain for the shangs to her, Kavik agrees to be the Avatar's agent in Jonduri and help stop Unanimity from being deployed.

Synopsis

Still sitting in the Golden Cloudberry while in a state of dysphoria about his missing brother Kalyaan, Kavik is brought back to reality when the establishment's cook stands over him and reprimands him for not ordering anything. Not in a mood to argue, Kavik starts to leave his booth, but stops when a young woman apologizes to the cook for her being late and sits across from the waterbender. After hearing the woman's voice and analyzing her outfit, her apparel including gloves and a coat, with her "hair" arranged in two buns and styled with a fringe that covers most of her forehead, Kavik almost immediately realizes the person across from him is Yangchen. Panting in exertion, the disguised Air Nomad explains she had to move around the packed city square to get to the teahouse, eliciting the sympathy of the mollified cook, who gives Yangchen the opportunity to read the menu with her companion alone.

Able to speak freely, Kavik compliments Yangchen for her wig; the Avatar accepts the praise while noting herself that its Fire Nation style does not mesh with her Earth Kingdom garb, as she only had limited time to come up with a disguise to cover her noticeable tattoos and fool the shangs' agents shadowing her every move. Yangchen confirms Kavik's suspicion that she was watching his and Qiu's sloppily-handled exchange in the restaurant, having instructed the waterbender to make the trade during their last meeting to maintain his role as an errand runner, with the stolen document being nothing but fake correspondence meant to throw off her adversaries. The job's product also doubled as protection against any higher-up who would be displeased with Kavik returning empty-handed.

Though impressed with the Avatar's diligent planning, Kavik remains hesitant in accepting Yangchen's previous offer to spy for her, and requests details on the particulars of the job. After a moment of wavering over whether to fully include the waterbender in her conspiracy, Yangchen reveals her discovery that the shangs in the cities of Bin-Er and Jonduri are attempting to acquire a weapon strong enough to wrest control of their holdings from the four nations' rulers. While she does not know the nature of the weapon, throwing out her theories of it being poison, political blackmail, or an object of personal value to a world leader, Yangchen does know the shangs call the weapon "Unanimity". She explains that Kavik's mission would be to intercept the weapon before the merchants could acquire it, and ensure it does not fall into the wrong hands. His interest piqued, Kavik questions if the evidence Yangchen has is enough to convince the four nations to get involved, but Yangchen is adamant in her desire to prevent anyone from learning of and obtaining Unanimity for fear of how it would dangerously affect the balance of power in the world.

Kavik's excitement regarding the job quickly dulls at the sound of more agitated protestors heading toward the square. Shifting focus, he questions why Yangchen, as the Avatar, would bother operating against the shangs in secret when she could simply act in her role as a public peacekeeper, only for a frustrated Yangchen to counter if Kavik's definition of peacekeeping is her flying above the city's disaffected populace and ordering them back to their homes. Though Kavik objects to her insinuation, Yangchen nevertheless explains that she had tried to fix Bin-Er's issues with the shangs in the open, only for them to scorn her solutions and plot behind her back. She likens her current plans for containing Unanimity to the waterbending saying, "a feather's weight moves a wagon's load", a classical teaching emphasizing subtle redirection over brute opposition for maximum effect. Dwelling on her impotence, however, weighs heavily on the Avatar, as, in a moment of weakness while wiping at her moistened eyes, she admits to Kavik she is tired of fighting the same types of battles again and again.

Arriving with a fresh pot of jasmine tea, the cook offers it, to Kavik's shock, free of charge for Yangchen in light of her current state. Accepting and pouring out the entrepreneur's gift while conversing with him directly about his life in Bin-Er buoys Yangchen's spirits as it was, in Kavik's view, her preferred way to interact with others. The cook leaves them once more, with another parting warning for Kavik to treat his companion well. Alone again, the waterbender, despite knowing the answer, asks Yangchen if the job will be dangerous, with the Avatar confirming they will be acting against the interests of several powerful people, and that both of them will be at fault if something goes wrong.

Realizing that there is nothing tying down him or his parents to Bin-Er anymore with his brother gone, Kavik names his price for accepting the job: exit passes from the city for him and his family. Yangchen, however, hesitates at immediately fulfilling his demand, as her getting involved with the merchants' bureaucracy on Kavik's behalf would signal their connection to the shangs, and ruin his effectiveness as a spy. Kavik discerns that Yangchen is struggling, as he once would have before coming to Bin-Er, with taking this pragmatic option, and the inherent implication of their partnership being centered around the transactional benefits both parties would gain, when she would prefer to be generous to Kavik, and give him the choice of working with her based on his conscience. Given her limited circumstances, and time available, Yangchen admits she cannot afford to delay sending Kavik to Jonduri.

Kavik takes the tea Yangchen poured for him, and states the Avatar will just have to trust him despite her misgivings. Without warning, Yangchen suddenly reaches over and tightly grabs his wrist from across the table, all the while maintaining eye contact, her face in close proximity to his. The Air Nomad demands Kavik prove his intentions once more by answering her questions while looking back unblinkingly at her. She first inquires who Kavik gave the money to after he had received payment from the Avatar at the Blue Manse, to which the Water Tribesmen honestly relays was Ayunerak, the operator of a local food kitchen for the city's vulnerable population, who has resided in Bin-Er since before the Platinum Affair.

Accepting his answer, Yangchen asks Kavik if he is working as an infiltrator for a shang. Before Kavik can fully protest, Yangchen cuts him off, and lists how, from the moment the two of them met, the waterbender had displayed both skills and qualities that would appeal to the Avatar and her mission, such as him being the same age as her, his physical attractiveness, his ability to lie convincingly, the fact he does not look or act like the domineering dignitaries she has dealt with in the past, and the esteem his neighbors hold him in, though Kavik notes privately that his kin in the Water Tribe Quarter likely kept their true opinions to themselves. The Avatar leadingly asks Kavik how the best con jobs work, with Kavik responding that the con artist would make their target feel as though they were still in control, which, in Yangchen's scenario, would mean all their past interactions were a ploy on his part to gain her trust. Yangchen repeats her question if Kavik is working for a shang or Zongdu Henshe; aware that both his answer and physical responses are being measured, Kavik bluntly tells Yangchen that he despises Bin-Er, the powers that control it, and that his ultimate desire is to get away from the city and her, while demanding she release him so he can enjoy his tea.

Though Yangchen let goes of Kavik's arm, she makes no response to his declaration, instead scrutinizing him while remaining as still as a statue. Internally, Kavik notes the correct choice he and his parents made in not mentioning Kalyaan to the Avatar, surmising Yangchen would never entrust her mission to someone connected with an agent of the shangs. In grudging acceptance, Yangchen raises her cup to Kavik's to her hope of a successful partnership. The youths drink their beverages in silence, never taking their eyes off each other.

Production notes

Series continuity

• Kavik noting his countrymens' tendency for keeping the personal business of other community members private from outsiders is a cultural attitude described by Kya in the first issue of the Turf Wars graphic novel.
• Yangchen observing Kavik's physical reactions in response to her questions, namely his pulse and pupillary response, is similar to the truth sensing technique first employed by Toph Beifong in Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Trivia

• According to Kavik, having one's tea poured by the Avatar is a honor even nobles are never likely to experience.
• Kavik's initial observations of Yangchen's disguise note the lack of furs in her outfit, likely in adherence to Air Nomad beliefs on vegetarianism.