I was sitting around a fire, laughing with Mommy, and Daddy was at the table working on something. Mommy had gone to the sink to grab Sela's bottle, and screamed when she reached the window. Daddy had jumped up and ran to her, shoving her to the ground. I screamed, and then Sela was in my arms, crying. There was a blast of fire, and flames engulfed our home. I gripped on tight to Sela and tried to run, the smoke choking my lungs. Sela was struggling in my arms, trying to run back to Mommy. She cried and cried when I made it outside, and I remember someone picking me up, rushing through the woods and towards the ocean. My throat was still scratchy, and Sela kept her choke hold on me. They set us down against a tree and motioned for us to be quiet. I remember blue eyes, and they had facial hair. I kept rubbing Sela's back and watched as our savior ran back into the woods, leaving us to die. A giant spider hunkered over us, spinning its web around me, leaving Sela to fend for herself. I tried escaping, but the hold was too strong, too forceful.
"Sela! Run!"I screamed, but she just sat there while a fire bender came up behind her, preparing to strike.
"Wake up, Rori! Aunt Wu wants us to be prepared!" I snapped up in bed. The sheets were tangled around me, and Sela was sitting on the edge, her feet dangling to the floor. She had a comb in her hand and was brushing through her thin golden brown hair. I passed a shaky hand over my face, trying to steady myself. It was just a dream. Sela is fine. I felt her shift on the bed, and I looked up to see her stretching a grimy hand to me. I grabbed it and took the comb from her, brushing it behind her before tying it into a knot at her neck. It was silky smooth, and I wished my hair was more like hers. Instead, mine was thicker, and curled at the ends when it got hot. Her eyes were hazel colored, and I brushed a stray piece behind her ear. I was glad Aunt Wu had taken us from those woods. I really was. She gave us food, and a home, and she was mostly a very nice lady. While we had been sitting in the woods, she told us, there was a war going on around our home. When I asked about the man who had taken us from the house and rushed us to the beach, she said he was probably fire nation and was planning on taking us prisoner. Therefore, we believed everything Aunt Wu said. But there was something wrong with her, the way she beats us when we backtalk, saying it was for our own good, and how she smoked leaves when she got shaky.
I loved Sela more than anything, and I refused to let anyone hurt her. If Aunt Wu tried to beat her, I would do the first bad thing that came to my head, forcing her attention on me and saving Sela. She used a whip, one that had thorns and left scars along my back and legs. She was eleven, and I was fifteen almost sixteen. Our house had been burned down when we were four and eight. I wouldn't let anyone toch her for months afterward, keeping her in my sight and not letting anyone near her. I had spent months lying awake at night, listening for a branch to break or the sound of fire crackling. It had taken me a year to go around fire, and I was still hesitant when I had to light it, although my actions were much surer of themselves than before. I still kept an eye on her, although I trusted her more than before. I vowed that as soon as I got the chance, I would take Sela and we would run off together, make a new home and make real friends, instead of the wacko's here.
I finally slipped out of bed and pulled my clothes on, just a fancy looking tunic that Aunt Wu had gotten me, one that went all the way to the floor to cover and scars on my back and legs. I gave Sela a kiss on the head as I headed to the tea shop, ready for whatever Aunt Wu would throw at me. Mang greeted me in the kitchen, trying to trip me.
"Aunt Wu says there are going to be very special visitors today, so make bean curd puffs. And tea." I sighed and rolled my eyes while pulling out the mixing bowl
"Aunt Wu always says there are going to be visitors. And the only reason you believe her is because there always are visitors. Because the whole village relies on it." I told her. She just stuck her tongue out at me. Since she was Aunt Wu's legit niece, she was made Aunt Wu's assistant. And she got her fortune read every day.
"Just make the puffs and shut up, or I'll tell her Sela spilled tea again." I turned to face her and gave her a death glare that sent her scurrying back to welcome some visitors.
Sela stumbled into the kitchen, carrying the pot we used for tea on her shoulder. I took it from her and put it over the tiny fire, and rinsing her hands in a bowl. She sighed and dried them off on her clothes, sitting on a stool while I heated the bean curd puffs. Mang came back in, looking dazed.
"I just met the man I'm going to marry. His name is Aang. He's sooo dreamy!" She said with a smile on her face. I laughed lightly and piled the finished curd puffs in a bowl, puring hot tea into cups and setting them onto a tray. I handed the bowl to Sela, who grabbed one out and stuffed into her mouth before I could protest. I rolled my eyes for the second time that day, and carried the tray of tea into the room. Mang trailed behind me, probably trying to get a good look at "the man shes going to marry". He was probably thirty and had a wife with him. Mang didn't like to pay attention to details.
"Oh, Rori! Aunt Wu said I was going to meet my true love!" Somi told me with a smile on her face, while she practically skipped out of the room Aunt Wu used for fortune telling. "He's going to give me a rare panda lily!" She said with a sigh.
"Congratulations." I told her blatantly. Mang, on the other hand, got so excited and dreamy.
"That's so roman-" She started.
"Stupid." Sela finished. I elbowed her lightly while holding in a laugh. Mang glared at her and turned back to face Somi.
"What Sela meant to say was congratulations. I hope you have a hundred fat kids." I told her with a fake smile. I knew she took it to mean healthy, well fed kids, since she just smiled at me and turned to look at the visitors.
"I wonder if my true love will give me a rare flower.." Mang said while looking at a boy with arrows on his head. Weird choice of tattoo. I would have gone with some type of bird. Something that symbolized freedom and flying away.. .
"Good luck with that!" Tattoo boy shouted to her.
Somi giggled while whispering behind her hand to Mang. "Is that the big eared guy Aunt Wu predicted you'd marry?" She asked with a laugh. I smirked and headed over to the group of two guys and a girl.
"Hi, I'm Rori, this is Sela, my sister. If you need anything, just ask." I told them while setting the tray of tea on the ground in front of them Sela copied me, tripping over her shoe, almost spilling the bean curd puffs on tattoo boy. He caught her hands before they spilled, and a light blush covered both there faces. She turned away and stood up, while I looked at the boy beside tattoo boy, who was wearing some water tribe getup. I widened my eyes as I realized they were the same shade as the man who rescued us from the fire. I shook my head and stood back, yanking Sela away from tattoo boy as Aunt Wu stepped in. She gave me a glare with her overly made-up face and I mouthed a sorry while looking down.
"Welcome, young travelers. Now, whos next? Don't be shy." The water tribe boy turned and looked me over, while tattoo boy just sat there, looking from water tribe boy to the girl sitting beside him. She looked water tribe too, but when tattoo boy looked at her, she jumped up.
"Guess that's me!" She ran with Aunt Wu to the fortune telling room. water tribe boy stuffed a bean curd puff in his mouth and smiled brightly when he realized how delicious they were. I slumped down as soon as Aunt Wu was gone, leaning against the wall and crossing my legs. Sela sat beside me, looking tattoo boy up and down. Water tribe boy offered some to me, but I shook my head, and he offered some to Sela, then tattoo boy.
Tattoo boy glanced up at me, then Sela. "I'm Aang, by the way. And this is Sokka." I tilted my head at Aang, his ears WERE pretty big.
"Mang was right. You do have big ears. Ar you gonna marry her?" I asked with an earnest look on my face. I laughed out loud at the scared look on his face, like a dear caught in headlights. "I'm only kidding, Mang just loves you, and thinks your gonna marry her. You might want to set her straight. And anyways, it's nice to meet you." He let all the air out of him and settled back down.
"Soo. . what do you think they are talking about back there?" Aang asked while rubbing his neck.
"Boring stuff I'm sure." Sokka supplied. I nodded my head to him. At least someone agrees with me. "Love, who shes gonna marry, how many babies shes gonna have."
"Yeah, dumb stuff like that." Aang bit his nails, and I realized what he wanted to do.
"You know, bathroom is right down the hall and to the right. You can't miss it." I winked at him as he stood up. Sokka kept eating the bean puffs while relaxing onto the pillows. A little monkey bat thing came out of nowhere and stole it, while I laughed and pet the thing. Sela really warmed up to it. It jumped on her shoulder and tried to feed her a bean puff, and she pet it and cuddled it.
"So. Why are you here?" Sokka asked me while sipping tea.
"Oh. I- uh. Fire nation burned down my house and Aunt Wu saved us. So. . here I am. . repaying my debt to her." I shrugged it off and grabbed the empty bowl, standing to take it to the kitchen. Sela stood up to follow me, laughing while the monkey thing circled her shoulders and fell to rest on the top of her head. "You can stay here. I'll be back in a second." I told her. She sat back down and began petting the top of her head. I hurried to the kitchen, passing under Aang as he jumped all the way to the ceiling. So he was an air bender? But those are extinct. Wait. so are flying monkey type things. . what were they. FLYING LEMURS! I gasped as I realized something big must be going on with that trio. Aang floated back to the ground as he saw me, and I rushed sat him to set the bowl in the kitchen sink.
"I can explain!" He whisper shouted to me.
I turned to face him, he was nearly six inches shorter than me, a little taller than Sela. "You have nothing to explain. Your just a visitor." I told him harshly. I don't know why he felt the need to tell me what was going on, he was just here for a visit.
"No, listen, I'm the avatar." I gasped and looked over him again. His type of clothes hadnt been worn in nearly one hundred years. He was an AIR BENDER. The fire nation had killed all of them. Or so they thought.
"Y-y-your an avatar!" I almost shouted. I ran my hands through my hair, the ponytail coming out and dropping to the floor. He flicked his hand up and it flew into the air. He easily caught it and held it out to me. I'm sure my eyes were huge, I was just so surprised that this eleven year old was the avatar! the one who was suppose to save us from all this fire nation crap! I ran my hands through my hair again before taking the hair band from him and tying it back into its ponytail.
"Well good luck on rescuing the world." I told him while rearranging some dishes on the counter. Questions were running through my mind, but I bit my lip to keep from voicing them.
"Your not going to lecture me on how I shouldn't have disappeared? Or how I'm hiding from everyone? Or how I should be out learning the elements instead of visiting some fortuen teller?" He began poking my shoulder, forcing me to lean over the burner.
"Of course I want to! But I'm not going to. It's your business what you do. I'm not a part of your group, and I'm not a part of our destiny. You'll do whats right. I can feel it." I COULD feel it. Ifelt it in the way he held himself. The way he was so sure of his actions. I smelled something burning in that instant. My mind flashed back to memories of the smoke enveloping me, and I immediately yanked my head forward and slapped my hands over the piece of hair that had been burning. I didn't feel any heat from it, only the essence of a tickling sensation. Aang looked at me stunned.
"What?" I asked while grabbing a knife to cut the dead ends off before it became a problem. I didn't care if it made my hair more uneven than before, I just wanted to be rid of the pieces that melted together.
"Nothing. Thats just. . the least someone has told me about myself since I woke up." I cocked my head at the way he said woke up, but turned around when he opened his mouth to explain.
"Your friend should be done with her fortune telling now. And Aunt Wu would kill me if she found out you were in the kitchen." He nodded and headed out the way he came, back to where Sokka was watching Sela balance on one foot, petting Momo with her hand, and balancing a tea tray in the other hand.
"Looks like someone had a pretty good bathroom break." Sokka said while turning to face us.
"Yeah, while I was in there-" Aang started. I hurried to Sela and grabbed the tea tray, gently pushing the Flying Lemur off her head, just as Aunt Wu came in.
"Whos next?" Aunt Wu asked in her sweet voice.
"Okay, lets get this over with." Sokka said while standing up.
"Your future is full of struggle and anguish. Most of it self inflicted." She said with a straight voice.
"But you didn't read my palms or anything!" He complained. I laughed while he shoved his palms in her face.
"I don't need to. It's written all over your face." She told him in a tired voice. I laughed harder and Sela began chuckling, these kinds of people came in at least once every few days, and all of them left feeling worse than before, usually tripping on the way out or stepping right into a rain storm. I finally calmed down when Sokka glared at me, and then Aunt Wu tsked under her breath. I straightened up at that and put a steely face on. I was going to get so many lashings for today.
"You there, come with me." She told Aang. He got up and followed her into the bone room. The water tribe girl sauntered in and sat down on the pillow, her legs crossed.
"Hi, I'm Katara!" She said cheerily. She sounded about thirteen.
"I'm Rori." I told her while slowly sitting down.
"And I'm Sela! Who is this?" Sela asked while the flying lemur jumped onto her shoulder again.
"That's Momo. He's Aangs flying lemur." Katara answered.
"Momo." Sela said, I guessed she was rolling it around on her tongue, because she said it a few more times while stroking the soft fur.
"So what are you guys doing here?" I asked while Momo ran in a circle around me and Sela.
"Well. . . " Sokka began. "We were out in the woods when we saw this man getting attacked by a platypus bear and we finally got the bear away from him and then he said he got his fortune read by Aunt Wu and he would have a safe journey and then if he met any visitors to give them and umbrella, and then he gave us an umbrella and then it started raining so we decided to come get our fortunes told but all this stuff is just mumbo jumbo and frankly I don't see what is so great about her." He said all this in one breath and as soon as he finished gulped air down.
"He pretty much summed it up." Katara told me. "What about you? You look nothing like Aunt Wu." I let out a giant sigh and wiped my hand across my forehead.
"Phew, I thought we were twins for a while." They laughed easily and I smiled at them before telling them my real story. "Well when we were little our village was attacked by fire nation soldiers and someone took us from the house and Aunt Wu found us and took us in. So we are staying here while paying for her saving us." Katara looked actually interested in what I was saying, so I continued on. And it felt good to finally tell someone my side of the story.
"I don't know what happened to my parents, If they are alive and well, or if they are gone. I only remember the color of the mans clothes who saved us. I wish I knew his name so I could thank him, but Aunt Wu would never let us leave. I'm saving up my money so we can leave. I don't know where we would go, much less how we would get there." At that moment, Aang and Aunt Wu strolled out. I jumped up, yanking Sela to her feet. Momo jumped off her shoulder and ran to Aang, climbing on his shoulder.
"I guess we are leaving." Katara said while standing up. I nodded at her and stepped out of the way. Sela stuck by my side, and I felt her grabbing at my clothes. She could predict when we were going to get a lashing, even while Aunt Wu was still being nice to visitors. I clenched my hands and nodded as the trio filtered out. Right before Aunt Wu shut the door, Momo ran back in and hopped on Sela's shoulder.
"Woah, Momo!" I heard Aang call. He rushed back in, blushing and smiling as he reached around Sela's neck to grab Momo. He hissed at Aang and tried to curl up around her neck, but Aang just gripped tighter and pulled Momo out. "I'm sorry, I don't know what has gotten into him." Aang apologized while backing out the door.
"It is quite okay, Aang. Have a good day!" Aunt Wu called out while shutting the door. She turned to face us, where we were backed against the wall. Her voice turned malicious when she strode over to me, grabbing my hair. "How many times have I told you not to socialize? I raised you like my own daughter and you treat me like this?" She yanked my hair back to face up at her and I yelled out as she slammed me against the wall. Sela screamed and tried to get her to break the grip on me.
Aunt Wu grabbed her by the neck and shoved her against the wall, choking her. I screamed at her to let go and tried smacking her and pushing her. She slapped her hand against my face, and I felt blood start gushing out of my mouth. I coughed and spit at her, finally getting a good punch in to her face. I grabbed Sela away from her and cradled her in my arms, keeping her from being hurt again. She was taking deep breaths and I held onto her tightly.
"Don't touch me!" I screamed. She backed away and fixed her hair, glaring at me in the mirror.
"I have to be cloud reading, anyways. I'll finish what we started when I get back." I let out a sigh of relief as she left the room, tugging Sela with me to our apartment. I washed her face and neck first, muttering about how I was gonna kill that son of a bitch as soon as I got the chance, before I rinsed my mouth with water and cleaned my chin and face. My eyes were red, and Sela was openly crying. I settled her onto the bed before standing back up and putting my stuff in a bag. We were getting out of here soon, before Aunt Wu could set her hands on Sela. I heard the crowd cheering as Aunt Wu predicted that the volcano wouldn't hurt the village this year. I pulled Sela to her feet and snuck to the door, opening it just a bit to peer into the village center. I waited for Aunt Wu to begin her journey back before pulling Sela outside. She gasped when I did, before sprinting with me to the market place. Aunt Wu wouldn't look for us for at least an hour, more than that if someone went to her to get fortunes told. I kept pulling Sela untill we gat to Omaru's small house.
He was a good friend of mine, often letting me hide out there and eat for breakfast and dinner. I knocked on the door while Sela slipped her arms around my leg.
"Hello? Oh, hey Rori. Want to come in?" I nodded and snuck a glance back at the crowd before stepping in behind him. "Is this Sela?" He asked while holdng his hand out to her.
"Yes, and I can speak for myself." She told him while shaking his hand. Omaru was a year older than me, with dark brown hair and brown eyes to match. I had met him one day in the marketplace, and we naturally bonded. He was an earthbender, and he tried to see if I could earthbend, but it never clicked, so we had that knocked off my list. I could bend, I remembered doing it when I was tiny, but my parents repressed me from doing it, and I just couldn't figure out what it was anymore. "Rori, why can't we go and talk to Aang and them. I want to play with Momo." I looked down at her while sitting on a chair.
"Because that's the first place Aunt Wu will look for us. We need to lay low for a while, then we can go back." She looked down and wiped at her face. With my constant shielding her from the real world, she still acted like a five year old, I finally admitted to myself. I didn't know whawt to do. I was too young to be a mother, I couldn't raise her. I loved her, but taking her with me will be such a hastle.
"Well you can stay here as long as you like." Omaru told me. I shook my head and pulled Sela into my lap.
"We just need to stay here for a few hours. We will leave in a few hours." He nodded and gave my shoulder a pat while handing a few pieces of paper to Sela, along with some ink. I laughed while she used her fingers to paint. She painted a fire, a house, and Aunt Wu. Well a stick figure with long robes and a heavily made up face. I sighed and took the sheet from her, tearing it into small pieces. I let her color for a few more hours while me and Omaru talked, untill it started to get darker. I gave Omaru a hug goodbye and gathered Sela into my arms. She held onto me while I made our way back to the apartment. When I was in the village center, there was a loud blast, and then a stream of smoke rose up from the volcano.
"Oh no." I muttered. Sela cowered in my arms while I pushed through the crowds of people.
"Everyone! That volcano is gonna blow any second!" Sokka called. i turned to race towards him, letting Sela down and run beside me. "Aunt Wu was wrong!" He called out. There was a small group gathering hile people from the village back talked to him.
"If you won't listen to him, maybe you'll listen to me." Katara said calmly. I pushed through the crowd and stood beside her, preparing to back her up. I felt Sela step beside me, then over to Aang.
"I want to believe Aunt Wu and her predictions too, but my brother and Aang saw the lava with their own eyes!"
"Well, I heard Aunt Wu's prediction with my own ears." One of the village's older people offered up. I sighed in frustration and spoke up.
"Listen everyone. Aang is smarter than anyone of us here, and I suggest you believe him! Who wants to hear an ld lady on crack tell them their fortune? It's just the crack talking! The only reason she said that stuff is because its so obviously going to happen! Rayko, you have worn those same shoes every day for the past two years, of course your going to meet the love of your life in them! So shut up for once, and listen to what someone SMART has to say!" I yelled at the crowd. There was a long pause, and I saw Aang nod a thanks at me before swooping up to the rooftop.
"Please listen to me! You all are in danger! And we have to get out of here! You can't rely on Aunt Wu's prediction! You have to take fate into your own hands!" He called out. At that moment, another loud blast shook the village square.
"Look! Can your fortune telling explain that?" Sokka called out while pointing. There was a steady stream of smoke pouring out, and I was erally nervous now.
"Can your science explain how it rains?" Omaru asked Sokka. I punched him in the arm and then shoved him back, hard.
"Yes! Yes it can!" Sokka yelled back. None of the villagers looked frightened. They sauntered away, dispersing themselves.
I stepped into the huddle of us five, being me, Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Sela.
"They just won't listen." Katara told us exasperated. Sela was looking up at the clouds.
"But they will listen to Aunt Wu!" She said excitedly. Everyone looked at her while she explained her thinking. "If we can shape the clouds into shapes that predict bad things, then Aunt Wu will predict bad things. But we need Aunt Wu's cloud reading book. Rori, can you get it for us?" I nodded and backed up, looking over my shoulders to make sure noone was looking. I pushed up from the ground and did a backlfip to the roof, landing lightly on my feet. I stepped to the window where Aunt Wu's room was, where she kept all of her psychic stuff. I slid in through the window, caerfully dodging her desk, reaching under some papers to grab a key that unlocked her dresser, where she kept the cloud reading book. I stuffed it into my shirt, and was fixing to jump out the window, when I heard the door start to click open. I jumped up on the desk and grabbed onto the ceiling bars, sliding into the shadows. I had a view of outside, and I could see Aang and them biting their hands. I looked down and saw Aunt Wu below me, striding to the window. I motioned for Sela to hide, and she did, behind a cart. I sighed silently and kept my breathing steady while Aunt Wu waved to everyone below. They waved back excitedly, and I slid down, praying the floor wouldn't creak. I moved behiind Aunt Wu, trying to keep her back to me. The second she turned from the window, I slid out of it, grabbing onto a pole so i could slide down to meet everyone. They cheered as soon as I was out of the window, and I slapped my hand to my head before grabbing another ceiling rafter and positioning myself so I was hidden in the dark. Aunt Wu turned back to the window and laughed, waving again. Her head was right below my stomach, but she never once turned up. I felt the book start slipping from my stomach, and I stretchd as far as I could so that I could use one hand to yank the book into my hands. I felt sweat start to drip on my fae from the force of exertion I was using holding myself up. Just as the first drop fell, Aunt Wu turned back inside. I slid from my hiding place and dropped to the ground, running to the group and pulling them behind a corner. Sela hurried to catch up to us as I passed her the cloud book. Sokka and Katara high fived me, while Aang just hugged me tightly around my stomach. I smiled and hugged him back while Sela flipped through the book.
"There. We need to get the clouds to look like that. Katara, your a water bender, and Aang, your an air bender. You two can shape the clouds. But you need to get up to the clouds to shape them. How. . ." She tapped her head, and looked up at the sky.
Sokka gasped and yelled out "Appa!" I turned my head to him and tilted it.
"Yeah. We need to go up-a. But how?" Aang and Katara smiled and laughed.
"No, Appa! My flying bison." Aang told me while pulling me and Sela towards a barn. I almost screamed. That thing was huge. Sela squeeled and ran up to it, hugging and petting its giant nose while it licked her. Sokka and Katara pushed me forward, even though all I wanted to do was go hide in a corner. It stopped playing with Sela and turned to sniff me. I stuck my hand out to it, petting its giant nose. I saw it open its mouth and I turned to run and scream, before I felt something giant and wet, like a wet blanket, smother my back. I shivered and tried shaking it off of me, but my hair was sticking up and I was pretty sure I had a disgusted face on me. I turned to face the thing, Appa, and I opened my mouth as I saw its mouth was open again. I was shoved to the ground again while it licked my head. I screamed and laughed while trying to shove it away. Appa was pretty funny. Eventually, Aang pulled his face away from me and I could stand up. I brushed my hair back down and looked at how high the saddle was. I know all Sela was thinking about was how something so huge could fly.
"So. . How do we get up?" I asked. Thats where I mad ethe first mistake. Aang smiled at me and shoved his staffto the ground, and all of a sudden I was being cradled in the wind. I laughed while I flew up, Sela beside me. He dropped us into the saddle, and Katara climbed up. She sat next to us, while Aang sat in front, right behind the bisons huge horns.
"I'll stay here and get Aunt Wu to look at the clouds. You guys hurry up." Sokka told us. Appa pushed off the ground, and I squeeled while we sailed high into the air. It took a few moments to get used to it, but then we were right next to a cloud. I saw Sela stick her hand into one, pulling it out to see it wet.
"So we know clouds are made of air and water. So between the two of us, we can bend it into any shape we want!" Aang told us.
"Exactly. Now here is what ou need to bend it into. A symbol of panic and doom. A skull." Sela said. Aang climbed up into the saddle, while telling me how to steer Appa. I nodded and slid down to the reins, gripping his head tightly with my legs. I found it was actually easier than it sounded, and in just a few seconds, I could twist him into the right direction. Sela made sure they were making the shape right, and I was steering Appa to keep him from messing up the cloud, but also make it easier for them to bend. I snuck a look back at them, and then it hit me. I remembered doing those same fluid motions. I was a waterbender. I could bend water. I almost shouted with joy, but then I heard Sela call out, and I yanked on Appa's reins. He turned sharply to the left, and I caught a glance inside the volcano. There really WAS lava. And a lot of it. I gasped as the hot air hit me, and we turned quickly. Aang slid behind me and took the reins from my hands, while I hurried to climb back up to the saddle. I ended up slipping and holding on for dear life to Aang, who had an arm wrapped around my stomach, and pulled me behind him. I held on to his stomach while we dipped below, and finally landed.
"You okay?" He asked while helping me down. I nodded and took a deep breath.
"Fine, just a little shooken up." I smiled at him as we slid down Appa's fur. As soon as all of us were back on the ground, we sprinted for the village center. Aang ran to the podium, where Aunt Wu was standing. I stood in the crowd, still hiding.
"We can still save the city!" He called out. "Sokka has a plan!" He gave all the attention to Sokka, who immediately started calling out orders.
"Lava is gonna flow downhill to this spot. If we can dig a deep enough trench, we can direct the flow to the river." He yelled out.
"If any of you are earth benders, come with me!" Aang called.
I heard the two twins call out, and then Sokka yelled after them.
"Everybody else, grab a shovel!" Another tremor shook the center, and everyone rushed to their place. I grabbed hold of Sela and tugged on Katara's sleeve.
"I can waterbend. I know what we can do." She nodded and followed me, and I ran towards the river. We needed to hurry. As soon as we got there, I told Katara my plan. "If we can get the water to slice through the earth, then we can cradle it and throw it across the river, do you think you can do it?" I asked while Sela backed up.
"We can try!" She yelled over the tremors. I nodded and tried familiar moves, moving the water into the air and then bringing it down. I felt my water connect with Katara's and we both pulled the ground up, and even though it was heavy, and I havent bended in years. It felt good to stretch muscles, and both of us kept at it, eventually getting about twenty feet cleared. We had just reached the other earth benders when a huge tremor shook the woods, and I looked up to see the lava start to over flow.
"Everyone needs to evacuate! We'll come for you when its safe!" Aang yelled. Katara and I pulled at the ground, trying to climb back up. Sela was standing there, staring at the fire. I yanked her out of her day dream and pulled her towards Aang and Sokka.
"Go! We'll get you when its safe!" Katara yelled at me. I shooke my head and grabbed a hold of her hand.
"We are sticking together." I told her firmly while we ran to catch up to the others. She nodded and squeezed my hand back, as we reached Aang. The lava began pouring out, and we stood in a line. Ash was falling on our faces, getting caught in our hair, but all we could do was watch as the lava spurted out. I watched as it burned the entrance, and then the small statues. I wanted to cry when I saw the flames, but I kept my ground. The lava reached our ditch, quickly filling up, and it wouldn't move fast enough down the ditch to the river.
"It's too much! It's gonna over flow!" Katara yelled out. Another, stronger, tremor shook the earth, and I almost lost my footing on the edge, I felt my foot slide down, and my hands start windmilling to keep balance. Sokka grabbed me around my waist and pulled me up, holding me while I shook. The heat was tremendous, I never felt so hot, except from the one night when we burned. Lava spewed out of the mountain, and Sokka pulled me back to safety. Before I could grab Sela, she stood firm beside Aang, grabbing his hand while keeping her eyes on the volcano. I saw him look at her, sending her some sort signal. A huge ball of lava landed right in the ditch, and I saw it form a wave. Aang let go of Sela's hand, rushing forward Sela ran right beside him, throwing her arms up in a move liek water bending, but more fierce. I wanted to scream, but shock overwhelmed me and I almost collapsed. Aang jumped into the air, and Sela lifted her hands, throwing them down the second Aang touched the ground. I was beyond surprised and shock when I was the lava actually follow Sela's movements. Aang forced air onto the lava, cooling it, and Sela looked like some fierce little kid as she bended s ball of lava away from her and Aang. My mouth was open, and I felt sweat drip down my face from the heat.
"Man. Sometimes I forget what a powerful bender that kid is." Sokka told us quietly. My legs were barely holding me up. Why could Sela bend fire? And I could bend water? What was going on? Could she bend water too? And could I bend fire?
"Wait. What did you just say?" Katara asked.
"Nothing. Just that Aang is one powerful bender." He grabbed my hand and squeezed while I felt my world tilt.
"I suppose he is." She said quietly. I stumbled to walk up to Sela and Aang, pulling Sokka behind me.
"What just happened?" I asked Sela while Sokka gave Aang a hug.
"I just. . .fire bended." She told me, a smile creeping onto her face. My mouth dropped open.
"How did you know what to do?" I asked while hugging her tightly.
"I don't know. I just did it." She answered while hugging me back. I turned to Aang, smiling.
"Thank you." I told him sincerely. He looked at me for a second, before hugging me around my waist. I squeezed him as tight as I could, trying to tell him how much I would miss him when he left.
"Well. . I guess we should go round up villagers then sleep." Katara told us. I nodded and headed down to the woods, where I knew everyone would be waiting. A few hours later, me and Sela were laying in our beds, listening to each other breathe.
"While me and Aang were up there, he asked me something." She told me while turning to face me.
"Whats that?" I asked while facing her.
"He asked me to come with them. He wants me to travel the world with them, Rori." I smiled, even though I was incredibly sad.
"Thats great, Sela. I'm so proud. You should go." I told her.
"No. I told him I wouldnt go if you couldnt go." I was shocked.
"No, Sela, you need to go, I don't care how much you don't like it. But you would love exploring the world with the avatar. Take it. We will meet again." I told her. I could see through the darkness.
"Rori. He told me he understood. He said he wanted both of us to come. Not just me. We can finally escape this hell hole." I snapped up at what she said.
"Watch that language."I told her sharply. "And I couldn't do that. He invited you, not me. You should go, I can handle Aunt Wu by myself." I told her. She sighed and turned to her back.
"Think about it, Rori." Was the last thing she said before her breathing evened out. I laid in bed, truly thinking about it.
The next morning, when I woke up, Sela was already gone. I sighed and cried into my pillow, wishing I really could go with her. Before long, Aunt Wu stormed up the stairs.
"Where is she?" She yelled at me while I jumped up from bed.
"I don't know what your talking about." I told her while sticking my nose in the air.
"The little brat of a sister you have." She slapped me across the face, and I held my ground, clenching my hands into fists.
"Don't call her a brat." I muttered. She turned to look at me, murder in her eyes.
"I never punished you from yesterday. And now youve back talked me." I gasped and ran for the door, trying to get away from her. I felt her grab my hair, and I twisted my head to look at her. I slapped my hand across her face, using my nails to make long scratches. I was sick of standing and taking what she threw it me. It was time to fight back.
"You little bitch!" She screamed at me. I ran from her and made it to the stairs. I glanced back over my shoulder, and saw her right behind me. She shoved my shoulder, and I lost my footing on the stairs. I stretched my arms to catch myself, but instead the hit a stair, and I ended up covering my head as I crashed down the stairs. I screamed out in pain, finally landing. I saw Mang standing beside them, looking at me shocked. I grabbed her collar and pulled her down to me yelling so she understood I was being serious.
"Go to the village center! Find Sela and tell her to leave! NOW!" I yelled. She nodded and bolted for the door, and I turned back to face Aunt Wu. I stood up on shaky feet, rushing to the kitchen, where I could find water. I bended some into the air, throwing it at the door when she rounded the corner. She screamed at me, grabbing the first thing she saw, a knife. I screamed and bended more water in between us, throwing it at her and running past her, back towards the stairs. I felt her scratch with the knife down my back, and I felt something drip down. I kept running, finally making it back into the fortune telling room. I looked around desperately for a weapon, but seeing none, I back against the wall as she stepped in the room. She no longer had a knife, but the second she saw me, her hands gripped my throat and pushed me up the wall, choking me. I saw the door open in front of me, and I wished that she would turn her head so I could kick her. She didn't, instead she tightened her grip. I couldn't breathe at all, and I was choking for air. Black was enveloping my vision, and I felt something call out to me, telling me to just accept I was going to die and give up fighting. I saw a figure walk behind her, and hit her over the head, knocking her out. I fell to the ground, trying to catch my breath. I sucked in air, still coughing, and I felt someone reach their arm down tome waist and haul me up. I stopped choking anough to realize it was Sokka, and he was pulling me towards the door.
"Bag. Bag" I gasped out. I pointed towards the table, where I had hidden my bag in case I needed to make a quick get away. He grabbed it and slung it over his shoulder, hurrying me to the door. I saw the whole village outside, Mang crying into her hands when she saw me. I was still breathing hard, but I could breathe, so I slipped out of Sokka's grip and rushed to Mang, squeezing her in a hug. She hugged me back, and I let go as Sokka put his arm around my waist and gently pulled me towards Appa. He helped me climb up, and Aang, settled me in the saddle. Sela hugged me fiercely, and I pet her hair while she cried into my shoulder. Sokka climnbed up beside me and Katara made Appa push off. I sighed and relaxed as soon as we were off the ground. I kept my back rigid, trying not to make it bleed anymore.
"Let's wrap it up." I looked to him, while he pulled something from a bag beside him. It was a long bandage, and then what I guessed was rubbing alcohol.
"I'm fine." I told them. But Sokka just pushed me onto my stomach, exposing my back to them. I saw him rip some of the bandage off, pouring the alcohol on it. Sela let go of me and sat across from me. Aang held my arms down, and Sokka pushed my back onto the ground. I held my breath as the scent of it hit my nose, and tensed my muscles. I didn't move when he oushed it against my skin, I waited for the sting to fade. A few minutes later, I had had to take my dress off, and Sela wrapped it around my stomach and chest. She gave me her dress to wear, while she was left in a slip and her tights. We agreed to stop in the next city we found and buy new clothes.
