Equilibrium

Chapter One - Observation

The sun was swallowed by the mountains, leaving only the scattered remains of subdued red light to accentuate the outline of the mountains enclosing Republic City. The fading red of the sunset caused the old cream stones of Air Temple Island to take on a muted tone of deep orange. Looking outward, the graceful figure of Jinora practicing her air bending forms could be seen clearly from the balcony on which he was standing. In watching her, it was almost hard to believe that six years had passed since he had first met her. He leaned on the railing of the balcony and allowed himself to become entranced by her movements. She masterfully danced her was through her stances, circling the yin and yang mural as she demonstrated her incredible control over the air around her. He observed the way the dying sunlight enhanced the colours of the robes which clung to her body, the shine that it gave her long brown hair. Everything about her, even from where he was standing, showed a confident and beautiful young woman. Jinora had been putting in extra hours of practice each day in preparation for her Airbending exam. This was a big deal for not only Jinora, but the whole island. If she passed this last test, she was to be deemed an Airbending Master. This didn't just require a display of her Airbending skills; it also required a test of spiritual strength and endurance. A twenty four hour meditation test would also take place. If she was able to successfully complete all the thirty six elements of her test, she would earn her Airbending arrows. The young man on the balcony tried to picture Jinora with the blue arrow tattoos on her body when he was swiftly snapped out of his daydream by the sound of the door sliding and a familiar voice behind him.

"Hey Bolin! Dinner's almost ready. You coming?"

Bolin gave a quick glance in Mako's direction to indicate that he had heard him.

"Yeah bro, just give me a minute. How about I meet you down there?"

Mako nodded quietly in answer to Bolin and then turning on his heel, he casually headed out to the dining room. When Bolin looked back at where Jinora was practicing, he could see her finishing up with some stretches. She then bent an air scooter and headed towards the girls quarters. He gave a soft smile in her direction before realising that he was swooning over a sixteen year old girl. He then started scolding himself for being interested in Jinora, telling himself that it was creepy. It was no use though; it didn't change the fact that he had strong feelings for her. Sighing in internal defeat, he turned towards the door and headed down to dinner.

Jinora wasn't blind. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Bolin watching her as she practiced. Even though he was a considerable distance away, she could clearly make out his broad shoulders and goofy smile. She didn't acknowledge him though, it would have distracted her. It wasn't that she didn't like his attention, in fact over the past few months she had started noticing the young man a lot more and had developed strong feelings towards him. She could only attribute it to the kind of feelings described in the books she would bury her nose in all the time. Jinora knew however that now was not the time to even entertain the thought of being with the older Earth bender. Jinora needed to let go of her feelings for Bolin and all other earthly attachments in order to concentrate on the spiritual freedom she needed to pass her Airbending exam and most importantly the meditation phase of the test. At least, that's what she told herself. It may also have been the fact that he was her first crush and she had no idea what to do about it. Something told her that the six year age difference may also be an issue for him. Exhausted, she decided that it was a good time to stop practicing for the night. Stretching her arms in the air and moving them gently side to side she let out a contented sigh then promptly made an air scooter and rode back to the girls' quarters in preparation for dinner.

Dinner, as usual was filled with amazing food, laughter, idle conversation, heated debate, pass the such-and-such and the latest gossip around the island, which Tenzin was not so fond of. The atmosphere at the table was warm and friendly. There were enough members at the table that there was never a dull moment in the conversation. After Tenzin had had enough of the idle gossip emanating from Asami and Korra's direction, he excused himself from the table and said his goodnights. After his departure the hot topic of conversation at the table shifted to Jinora's upcoming Airbending test the next day.

"So Jinora, are you excited about your test tomorrow?" Korra asked with an interest.

"To be honest, I'm trying not to think about it right now." Jinora replied truthfully, placing her rice bowl on the table. She continued

"I want to be able to sleep well tonight so I can focus properly tomorrow." She continued in a reasonable voice.

"You don't have to be nervous, you'll do great." Asami offered with a smile.

"I'm sure you'll do just fine." Pema added supportively.

Jinora smiled at everyone appreciatively, taking solace in the words of encouragement and enthusiastic smiles of her family and friends. She would never admit it to any of them, but she was absolutely nerve wracked about tomorrow. As the first of the Airbending children she felt an enormous amount of responsibility to pass her test and present everything perfectly the first time around. As she thought everything that she had to do tomorrow she started having stress fuelled thoughts on what she might mess up in her exam. It's when she heard the sound of people shifting that she was brought out of her thoughts.

'The nerves are already starting to cloud my mind.' She thought to herself as she realised that without her noticing the majority of the group had left the table already. Leaving only Korra, Bolin and herself still seated.

"I'm absolutely stuffed," Stated Korra while rubbing her belly.

"I think I'm going to call it quits for the night. Good luck for everything tomorrow Jinora. I know you'll be great." Korra said encouragingly whilst standing ready to leave. She walked out of the dining room, leaving Bolin and Jinora alone.

Jinora could tell that Bolin had something on his mind by the not-so-subtle way he opened and closed him mouth like a giant Lizard Fish out of water. Jinora giggled endearingly, which seemed to loosen him up a bit and allow him to regain control of his speech.

"Now Jinora, I know you were able to convince the others that you aren't nervous, but I'm not so convinced." Bolin stated in a well natured matter-of-fact voice.

She could tell that he wasn't originally going to say that, but regardless Jinora looked down at her lap and felt a blush rise to her cheeks. He had her pegged, but she wasn't about to readily admit it.

"Well, unfortunately your skills of perception seem to be off because you happen to be wrong." Jinora replied simply, trying to play it cool. She blew some of her loose brown hair out of her face and smiled at him calmly.

"Oh really, do I?" Bolin replied in an amused tone and a twinkle in his eye.

"If you're so chilled out than why haven't you picked up a book all week? Hmmm..."

Damn it. He noticed that? Quick, think of something witty, avoid the topic. Jinora thought to herself frantically.

"I uhhmm... I've just been really busy and I haven't had the... uhhh... time! I have been practicing really hard and... I had to do the washing! And I... "Jinora sighed in defeat.

"Ok fine you're right. I am nervous." Jinora admitted with defeat.

Instead of doing what he would normally do and giving a hefty 'HA! I knew it!', He instead chose a more sympathetic approach to her.

"Jinora, listen to me. You are going to be great. I've seen how you move when you practice, this week you've been nothing but perfect. Besides, you can only move like you move if you're a master. You've got this!"

Jinora's face was encompassed by a giant blush from the kind words that Bolin had given her. She was extremely grateful for his support and at the same time slightly embarrassed because he had pretty much just admitted to regularly watching her practice. She watched him as he stood from the table and followed suit herself. Bolin walked around the table to where she was standing, leaving only a small amount of space between them. Her breath caught up in her throat at the feeling of him in close proximity to her. She looked slightly up at the taller young man. Their eyes locked in an intoxicating gaze of affection. The only thing she could manage to utter was a small "Thanks Bolin" Bolin brought Jinora into his chest and hugged her for a prolonged moment. One thousand thoughts rushed into Jinoras mind. Mostly about the way she seemed to fit perfectly against Bolin's taut body. She placed her hands on his arms and held him back. He regretfully released her from their embrace and slightly blushed. They looked at each other again with an even greater amount of care and after a moment they said their goodnights.

As they reached the split in the boys and girls quarters, Bolin said a final Good luck to Jinora, giving her a heart melting smile before turning and continuing down the corridor to the boys quarters.

Jinora sighed contently and secretly knew that she wasn't going to get much sleep tonight.