Yay! I absolutely love writing for this family. So many possibilities. I must apologize for one thing ahead of time though. It switches from past tense to present somewhere in the middle, then back to past. I didnt care to fix it, but i thought this is one of the more confusing, but fun one shot i've done for these people. And before you ask, yes, you can sprain a toe...dont ask.
Kya looked up at her youngest brother using his new glider. He and their father had been in the air for a while now, just letting Tenzin get used to it, and Aang showing off for everyone else who just happened to be watching, even though he wouldn't admit it. She thought it must've been amazing to fly like that, but didn't have much time to ponder it as her mother snapped her back into attention by sending a water whip her way.
Kya quickly moved the water around her and pushed it back, and Katara smiled before sending it back as a wave that crashed over her daughter. "Kya, are you even paying attention today?"
"Yeah. I just didn't see that coming," she replied, moving loose strands of hair out of her face. She usually loved waterbending with her mother, but she hated doing it in the middle of the day, when she could barely concentrate on anything. The sun was too high in the sky, and she could feel her mind begin to wander to other, trivial, things, such as airbending.
She loved being a waterbender more than anything, but often would watch her brother train with their father, especially during the hottest days, when water seemed as far away from her mind as possible. She even tried to get through the spinning gates of death once, to which she utterly failed, earning laughter and praise from her father, who said she did nicely for someone who had been used to a completely different style of bending.
Katara nodded, looking at the sky, "It's an amazing feeling, isn't it?"
Kya followed her gaze to her father, who was giving some pointers to Tenzin. When she looked back down, she saw her mother smiling at her. "What is?" Kya asked, trying to look like she didn't quite understand, which wasn't hard at all. The older waterbender could sometimes be as confusing as her father when he was talking about spiritual nonsense.
Katara waterbended the water around them into a sphere above their heads before moving it over to water some nearby trees. When she finally spoke, she had an understanding look in her eyes, "We'll try this again some other time." She smiled and the two of them bowed to each other before going their separate ways. Kya watched her mother walk away as she sat on the edge of the cliff overlooking the bay. She looked down into the water below her, feeling the mist spray up as it crashes against the rocks.
She leans back on her hands and looks up at the sky for a minute, swinging her legs back and forth. She smiles when she sees Tenzin gliding over the bay, with Aang a short ways off giving instructions. She can hear their laughter, and it almost makes her laugh along with them.
The wind here is wild, and she can feel a sudden, cold, breeze flow along the edge of the cliff, tangling her hair and filling her lungs with the salty air. She loves the air and water mixed together like this, in perfect harmony with each other. She can feel the bits of water in her hair and the wind is nice against her skin. When she closes her eyes, she in engulfed in air and water, just the way she likes it, with nothing to pull her away from their embrace. When she opens them, it is almost dark, the moon slowly rising in front of her, and her brother and father gone from the sky.
She doesn't know how long she had been sitting there, but she feels better now that the moon is up. Now she can focus on the water. She can feel the moon's pull on her as she stands. She almost wants to take another step towards it, but stops before she can even lift her foot, knowing she would go right over the edge. The moon definitely has a pull, but she takes another breath of cool air and turns to walk away.
When she finishes the tenth step, she turns back to the cliff. She looks over her shoulder to see if anyone is watching her, and runs full speed until she leaps off the edge, and dives. She is once again engulfed in air, but only for a full two seconds before the bay catches her. Those two seconds are complete freedom from everything. She laughs at the sheer joy of flying into her own element.
She swims a ways out and lies on her back for a minute as she looks at the temple her father built, the lights making it seem to glow, and the water around her rocking softly back and forth. She lets the water cover her ears and listens to the muffled sounds for a moment before pulling them above the water to listen to the wind as it slowly moves along the water. When she thinks it has been long enough, she swims back to the beach.
Katara is waiting for her with a smile. She gives Kya a knowing look, "Are you ready now?"
Kya nodded, "Yes. I think I am," before moving into a defensive position as her mother pulls water from the bay to form the octopus. She demonstrates the movements before letting the water settle again and tells Kya to try it.
Kya moves the water slowly, focusing as much as she can on the push and pull of the water and forms the octopus after a minute of shifting through stances. Katara smiles and they continue training.
During the middle of the training session, another cool breeze swirls around them and Kya stops to listen to it, dropping the water in the process. "What did you mean earlier?" she eventually asks her mother.
Katara smiled, "You may be a waterbender, but you have airbender blood in you."
"What do you mean by that?" Kya asked.
"You're connected to both elements, Kya. Just because you waterbend doesn't mean you can't enjoy the freedom air brings to you. I saw you truly embrace freedom when you jumped off that cliff earlier, and I know it wasn't because of the water or the moon that you did that."
"You saw that?" Kya asked, rubbing the back of her neck.
"Yes, and you almost gave me a heart attack so you should tell me before you do it again," she replied, thinking about the first time she had jumped off a cliff into water. That had been many years before. "The only element I grew up with was water, so I don't know what it's like for you, but I will say, you are your father's daughter. You've always been a free spirit. Ask your father to let you use a glider. Flying is amazing."
"Have you used a glider before?" Kya almost laughed at the impossibility. Katara preferred staying closer to the ground. She had never shown any interest in gliders before, or even now.
"Yes."
Kya actually did laugh. It wasn't judgmental, but she had never known that. "When did you ever use a glider?"
"Do you remember the time I told you about the Northern Air Temple?" Kya nodded. "I first tried it there. It was absolutely terrifying, but I loved the feeling. After the war, Aang and I would both use his glider when we needed to."
"Why did you stop? If you enjoyed it so much..."
"Air isn't my element. I was surrounded by ice and snow until I was fourteen. As much as I loved…love flying, I choose not to because I'm not a free spirit like your father. I just can't get the hang of it."
"You think I can?" Kya asked, looking up to the sky for a moment and wondering if she could possibly make the most of both elements.
"I know you can. Maybe we can even get you one of the special gliders from the Northern Air Temple. They are much easier to control than the ones Aang and Tenzin are using."
"Thanks mom," Kya said. Katara nodded before they finished practice for the night.
A week later, Kya was ready to use one of the gliders that her father had gotten for her and Bumi. They both stood on the edge of the cliff, more nervous than they had ever been before, while their father explained how the gliders worked and what to do once they were in the air. Tenzin was holding his own glider and uncharacteristically smirking at them as they looked down over the edge.
Kya was suddenly nervous at the idea that the water might not catch her if she fell. She couldn't bend it if she couldn't move her hands. As much as she thought the elements went well together, she had to admit that maybe she and air didn't go good together.
Bumi, not being a bender at all, was absolutely terrified of falling onto the rocks or into the water, but loved the thrill it gave him, and Aang said that he would keep an eye on him and help if he needed to. Tenzin, on the other hand, would watch out for his older sister and keep her in the air without falling himself. Aang even made it into a training session for the boy.
After about an hour in the air, a few bruises, a shirt full of sand, and a sprained toe later, Kya refused to use a glider again. As much as she loved flying, she decided she would enjoy freedom with her feet firmly on the ground.
Please review! It makes me smile!