"I don't have anything that you want," the little firebender said, the sound echoing around the dark alleyway. His amber eyes flashed as he clenched his fists and moved to stand in front of his baby brother. The Triple Threat Triad member smirked and stalked closer to the two boys.
"Of course you don't," he said and bent down so he was face to face with Mako. "That's why I'm just gonna chunk you into the bay." The man's breath smelled of tobacco and alcohol as he breathed heavily in the children's faces. He grabbed the front of Mako's overly big jacket, gripping his scarf in the process, and lifted him easily off the ground.
"Bolin!" Mako threw his head around, looking for his brother. He saw the tiny earthbender cowering in the shadow of the towering triad member. "Run!" he shouted. The small boy looked nervously between his brother, dangling a good three to four feet in the air, and the man holding him there. "Run, Bo!" The little boy obeyed this time and took off in the opposite direction down the alley they had been hiding in. He didn't know where he was running; he just knew he had to run away. But… what about Mako? He couldn't just leave his brother behind.
"I didn't want the earthbender, just you and your smart mouth," the man drawled. Mako ignored him as he kept jerking around; making sure Bolin had gotten away. The triad shook the small firebender roughly, making him look at him. "You listen to me, kid," he brought his face closer to Mako's almost making their noses touch. "I'm Two-Toed Ping, and you know what? Nobody messes with Two-Toed Ping." He smirked as he threw the child to the ground. Mako squeezed his eyes shut anticipating the impact as his flew through the air. He hit the concrete. Hard. All the air left his lungs in one big 'whoosh'. He groaned and opened his eyes blearily. Everything was blurry as he watched the man walk up to him. As his vision cleared, he saw Two-Toed Ping in front of him, but behind him… Bolin was crouching at the edge of the alley, the moonlight shining on his small, round face. Mako tried to push himself up on his arms, but winced and fell back on his face. Pain shot through his arm, and he clutched at it. He prayed to the spirits that it wasn't broken. The triad firebender grabbed the small boy by the clothes at the scruff of his neck and yanked him to his feet.
"Ready to go for a midnight swim?" Two-Toed Ping asked him as his dragged him to the edge of the pier. Mako fought him with his good arm until the man lifted him into the air again. His feet were set against the railing. The thin metal bars that were supposed to keep people from going over the edge weren't going to be any help while he was standing on top of them.
"Lemme go!" Mako yelled. Two-Toed Ping knocked him in the back of the head, making him see stars. He shook his head and looked down frantically. The water was dark and unforgiving. He gulped, scared of being thrown into the undulating water. He and Bolin had never been taught to swim. He knew if this triad member kept his word and chunked him in, he would drown. He thought of Bolin then, small, tiny, helpless Bolin. What would his little brother do? He was young and as innocent as could be. Mako had tried to keep the horrors of the world at bay, to keep them from getting to the boy. What would Bolin do if Mako died tonight? He struggled and squirmed, trying to loosen the grip on his shirt.
"Let my brudder go! You big meanie!" Both heads whipped around to see Bolin, fists in the air, threatening to earthbend Ping.
"Ha! You actually think you have a chance? Against me?!" he scoffed at the young earthbender. Bolin's bright, green eyes gleamed, and he stomped his foot. He sent a miniature quake through the ground, and a small hill erupted underneath the triad's feet. He stepped backwards, and his fingers loosened from around Mako's collar as he lost his balance. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The fabric slipped from Ping's fingers, and Mako fell forward. He tried to turn and grab Two-Toed Ping's wrist, but missed by less than an inch. Bolin's eyes widened in terror as he watched his brother, his protector, disappear over the edge. He stared for a moment before shakily lifting a large rock and hitting Ping in the head with it. The triad firebender fell to the ground, and Bolin rushed to the railing in a vain attempt to find his brother. The firebender already knew what was coming. He took a deep breath and hit the water with a resounding 'smack'. The impact dazed him, knocking him almost unconscious. The cold sucked the air from him, freezing him to the bone. He tried flailing for a moment, kicking and swinging his arms, ignoring the pain in his limbs, to try to float back up. His lungs began to burn, needing oxygen that wasn't there. He looked up to the surface of the water and saw the moonlight shining through. That might be the last thing he ever saw.
As he began closing his eyes, water starting to fill his lungs, drowning him, he saw something. Something that was swimming towards him, something that had a human torso and a… and a fish tail. Now he knew he was dying. He had to be to be seeing this strange hybrid. The creature swam towards him hesitantly, slowly reaching out a hand to touch his face. As the very tip of her finger made contact with his cheek, air rushed back into his lungs. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes. He was alive? He hadn't drowned? He was breathing again, yet he was still underwater. He looked around and saw the fish thing he'd thought he'd been imagining.
As he looked her over, he realized she had to have been right around his age, six or seven, no older than eight. Her skin was a light, youthful bronze. Her dark brown hair was held back in a ponytail by a delicate looking hair piece and then two smaller ones beside her face. She had bright, cerulean blue eyes, and she was wearing a blue top that changed shades as she swam. It was long enough to cover her, but short enough to show her belly button. As he looked down, he saw her tail. It was a beautiful shade of ocean blue. She grinned at him and giggled. She was missing her left front tooth.
"Hi," she laughed as she spoke. It was a sweet, graceful sound. Mako blinked before a small smile tugged at his lips.
"Hello," he replied. She smiled and giggled again. He quirked an eyebrow. "Um, what are you?" he asked.
"I'm a mermaid!" she cried and flipped backwards, doing several underwater cartwheels. Mako stared in awe. She was kinda sorta cute, maybe even pretty. She grabbed his arm, intending to drag him off somewhere, but he hissed in pain and jerked away. Her bright eyes clouded over with concern. "What… what's wrong?" she inquired. He cradled his arm against his chest and bit his lip as he waited for the pain to ebb away. He took a shaky breathe and looked at her.
"B-before I fell down here… I uh… I got into a fight and something happened to my arm," the small firebender confessed. Her eyes widened in realization. She reached out half way for his arm.
"I can heal that if you want," she told him, swimming closer and stared into his bright orche eyes. He gave her a disbelieving look.
"You can?" he asked. She nodded and held out her hand for his arm. He stuck it out, and the girl gently grabbed it. She placed her hand over the injured area, and her hand turned blue. No, not her hand, the water around her hand. It glowed bright blue and moved with her hand as she gently rubbed his arm. She pulled away after a few moments, the water returning to its original color.
"How is it?" she asked him. He stretched it and bent it back and forth. It worked perfectly.
"It's amazing! Thank you!" He smiled at her.
"You're welcome." She grinned her sweet, toothy smiled. Her eyes widened, and her grin faded. She tilted her head as if trying to listen to something. She nodded and looked at the young boy. "I have to go now. I had a lot of fun." She began to swim away, but he threw his arm out.
"Wait!" he called, "could you help me get back up to the surface? I… I can't swim," he mumbled embarrassed. She giggled again and smirked.
"If you can't swim, then why did you get in?" she asked as she swam back and gripped his arm.
"I told you! I fell in!" he said defensively. She chuckled and rolled her eyes.
"Whatever you say, city boy." She smiled and began swimming up quickly. Mako didn't realize how far under they were. They made it to the surface, and their heads bobbed along with the water.
"Thank you," he told her, looking around tiredly.
"No problem," she replied. He looked up and realized just how far from the pier he was. The girl followed his gaze and smirked. "Come here." She wrapped an arm around his waist and closed her eyes. "Hang on tight," she instructed. He looked at her like she was crazy before clutching to her arm. She concentrated solely on the water around her, and they were shooting into the air on a geyser of water. Mako's eyes widen and then slammed shut as he flew upward toward land. The mermaid opened her eyes and maneuvered them over to the wood. "Here you are," she told him with a smile. He jumped off onto the dock and turned back around.
"Thank you for everything," he told her, leaning over the railing and nearly falling back in the dark water again. The girl looked conflicted for a moment before she leaned in and kissed him quickly on the cheek. Mako blushed the color of his crimson scarf.
"You're welcome," she whispered. She winked and dove backwards into the water.
"Wait!" Mako yelled, "I don't know your… name." He sighed and turned around. "Oh well… I guess I need to go find Bolin." He stopped. Bolin! His brother's bright, emerald eyes flashed through his mind. He'd totally forgotten about his baby brother. He has no clue how long he'd been down there, or what had happened to his brother.
"Bolin!" he cried out, "Bo! Where are you!?" The boy began running around, searching every nook and cranny. He ran past a dark alleyway and heard someone sniffling. He lit a tiny flame in his hand and tip toed forward. "Bolin?" The crying stopped and someone looked up.
"M-Mako?" Luminous jade eyes reflected the fire in his palm.
"Bolin!" Mako rushed forward and enveloped the boy in a hug, crushing him.
"Mako!" the earthbender cried, relieved. "I-I-I thought y-you'd drowneded," he blubbered into his brother's scarf. Mako gently rubbed Bolin's back, muttering soothing nonsense into his ear.
"Shh, Bo. It's okay. It's all okay, Bo" He pulled back and put his hands on the boy's shoulders. The earthbender's eyes shined with tears. "I'm here now, everything's gonna be alright now," he reassured the shaking child. He nodded as he stared into Mako's orche eyes.
"O-okay," he mumbled. The firebender wrapped an arm around his little brother's shoulders and sat down on the ground, pulling him into his lap.
"We'll just hunker down here for the night, okay?" he told Bolin. The small boy nestled himself comfortably into his brother's arms and nodded.
"Mako," he said with a yawn, "how did you get back?" Mako blinked, surprised by the question, before messing up Bolin's hair.
"You know, Bo. I really have no clue," he whispered. He thought of the young 'mermaid'. He owed her his life. "I have absolutely no clue."