This is set 17 years after season 3 ended. I know I said I would do a different one next, but that was before Airbender. It now rules my life.
Swampbender Chp 01
Dawn sunlight broke over the still morning air, misty from the velvety night. Silence draped the trees, animals blinked sleepily in the growing light. Vines swayed lightly in the gentle winds that played with the murky water, creating small patterns on the smooth surface. A squirrel-rat scampered over a small tree root, terrified squeaks breaking the silence like ice cracking. It ran into a hollow, and clutched a nut, glaring at the space outside. There was a sound of water rushing, and the squirrel-rat didn't have time to time before it was hit with water, guided by some unknown force.
Miyuki laughed as she saw the squirrel-rat shaking itself dry, chattering noisily and angrily. "That's for stealin' my nut!" She yelled after it, her bold accent making the words jibe and sing. She shook her head, her copper curls bouncing. "Steal my nuts, I'll steal your nuts you piece of…" she muttered, turning around. She jumped as she looked up and saw her master standing right in front of her. "Master!" She choked. "I was just…practisin'!" She giggled nervously, and rubbed the back of her head. "Sure is a nice day for waterbendin'!"
Master Huu folded his arms, a frown on his wrinkled face. Standing nearly a head shorter that his pupil, he still held more authority than the whole swamp tribe could muster up in a year. "The new light of day is the time when our energy begins to dip. Why waste it tormentin' squirrel-rats?" His deep, fruity voice filled the air around Miyuki.
She frowned sulkily, and grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "…stole my nuts. Everyone's against me today." She sighed. "I'm sorry Master." Bowing respectfully, she waited for him to talk.
Huu watched her sadly. "Pleasure is fleeting, young one, but wisdom lasts forever," he said slowly.
Miyuki's head snapped up. "If pleasure is fleetin', shouldn't we enjoy it while we can?" She smiled widely, her green eyes bright.
Huu sighed again. "By chasing pleasure, we don't notice the more important things." His tone turned strict. "So get up to that tree to begin your lesson!" He stalked (slowly and calmly) off into the vines.
Miyuki stuck her tongue out at the spot where he left. "What does he know," she asked herself. "I am a waterbender! This swamp obeys me!" To prove her point, she pulled a tiny strand of water around her neck like a necklace. She smiled, and started to walk away. The water splashed onto her clothes as she fell flat on her face. "Hell!" She yelped, and twisted onto her back. A tree root slithered smugly back into the mud behind her. "Ok, ok! I get it. You own yourself," she said hastily. "I am but a small part in the swamp of your greatness." The swamp, satisfied with her answer, did nothing.
Miyuki picked herself up, picking the mud off her clothes. A clomp caught, and smeared a long trail down her dark green wrap, a long piece of soft material that was slung carelessly over her shoulder, and wrapped around her waist. Her fists clenched, her eyelid twitched and she threw back her head and yelled to the treetops. "That tears it!" She lifted her arms and shot a jet of water, edges sharp as knives, into the mud beneath her. A wave of muddy water shot up, and she lifted it high above her head and tossed it into the distance. "That's why you don't mess with a waterbender!" She cried, laughing in victory. She folded her arms, and nodded sharply. She looked down, and saw that she was now standing on dry ground. She'd picked up so much mud there was only hard earth under her bare feet. "Whoops," she bit her lip. "Master Huu is not gonna be pleased."
A slight wind ruffled her curls, and she looked up, master Huu forgotten. "I didn't think you were comin' here today," she said softly. She looked to her left, and saw a woman standing there. Her long black hair was almost completely still, but looked as if it was blowing in the wind. It swirled around her face, like she was standing underwater. Her red and black dress hung motionless on her thin frame, her figure delicate, but holding back iron strength. She looked sadly at Miyuki, her caramel coloured eyes distant.
Miyuki looked back at her, brown boring into green. She barely breathed as the woman opened her mouth to speak. Her voice dimmed and throbbed, throaty tones wrapping around Miyuki's mind. "Help…" she whispered.
"Who are you?" Miyuki whispered.
"Help my child…please…" the woman breathed in deeply, her eyes widening. She fell gracefully, slowly backwards, and vanished. Miyuki looked at place where she had stood, stunned. The woman had never spoken before. Miyuki had seen her since she was a child, every so often. It started just for moments, then gradually built until the woman would stay with her for hours. No one could see her but Miyuki, and it had made her something of an outcast. Master Huu had seen her talent with waterbending, and had taken her in. She had no parents. Her mum had dies in childbirth, and her dad…Miyuki closed her eyes, hot tears burning. He hadn't ever been like her dad. He didn't want anything to do with the one who killed his wife, so he ignored her, even when he got sick with swamp gas disease and died. She sniffed angrily, rubbing her eyes. She turned her thoughts to the woman's message. She had looked so sad…like she was suppressing the need to say more, to express more. And who was her child? Why did she or he need help? What was going on outside the swamp?