A/N: This is my Round 6 entry for the Pro-Bending Circuit.
My challenge: Your character succumbs to his/her fear.
Additional Prompts: Include; (dialogue) "Just because you say so, doesn't make it true!", (smell) vanilla, (quote) "On the other side of every fear is freedom" - Marilyn Ferguson
Word Count: 2077
Note: This is an AU where Mako and Bolin are younger. I put Mako at around 9 and Bolin at around 7.
Mako's POV:
"No!" I screamed in agony as I watched the firebending thug inch his flames closer to my mother and father. We'd all gone out for a walk in the park because it was such a nice evening. My brother and I had begged for a few more minutes to play the first time our parents told us it was time to go, earning us a few more minutes to run around. Our need to play a little longer meant that we would have to walk home in the dark, which is what brought us to where we were now. As we turned down a tiny side street to get home, the thug had jumped out from behind a dumpster and ignited his palm.
"Give me your wallet!" The firebender demanded, his flames flaring up a bit.
"We don't have any money." My father told the man, holding his hands up in surrender as he pleaded with him.
"Momma!" Bolin tugged on the side of my mom's skirt, tears in his eyes. She plastered on a smile and crouched in front of us.
"It's okay honey, Mommy and Daddy are going to take care of this." She whispered, pulling us tight against her. I clung to her, breathing in the familiar smell of her vanilla perfume, it made me feel a tiny bit better.
"Momma! I'm scared!" Bolin wailed. Our mother squeezed us tight one more time before pulling away from us. She wiped away my little brother's tears and turned to me, the serious expression on her face terrified me.
"Mako, I need you to take your brother and get away from here." She pushed my little brother into my arms, her eyes getting misty. "Promise me that no matter what happens you will protect him."
"Ahh!" My father screamed, brushing fire off his sleeve.
"Promise me!" My mother begged, shoving us away from here.
"I promise!" I managed to squeak out, swallowing my tears. I grabbed Bolin's hand and hurried down the alley with him, surprised that the thug had just let us go.
"Mako!" Bolin was sobbing uncontrollably as we rounded the corner, finally out of imminent danger. "What's going to happen now!?" He choked out. I pursed my lips and scanned the area for a safe place.
"Come." I ordered, dragging my baby brother across the street to the park. I hid him inside a bush and took his shoulders. "Bo, I need to go help Mom and Dad." I watched as my brother started to shake his head. I sighed, we didn't have time for this.
"No! No! Don't leave me Mako! Please!" His crying seemed to intensify, but I needed to help my parents.
"Bo, I'll be right back. I promise you." I didn't wait for his answer before sprinting back across the street and rounding the corner to the alley my parents were in. The scene I saw laid out before me was terrible, there was no more fighting, the alleyway looked like an explosion had gone off, probably because of my mother's earthbending and my father's firebending. Where could they have gone? There was fire. So much fire. My breath hitched as I ran to where the flames were thickest. I nearly jumped out of my skin when the thug stood up, he held my father's scarf and his empty wallet.
"You shouldn't have come back." He laughed, throwing the items at me, I picked them up off the ground, clutching them to my chest as my breathing sped up.
"Where are they?!" I screamed, biting back angry tears. I refused to cry in front of this pathetic excuse for a man.
"They're dead!" He smiled, proud of himself. I shook my head in disbelief. How could that be true? My parents were both very powerful benders… they wouldn't have lost a fight against this man.
"No!" I shook my head, glaring up at him. I looked back into the flames, finally catching sight of two charred piles about the size my parents were. My heart skipped a beat and the tears spilled over. I couldn't accept that they were really gone. "Just because you say so, doesn't make it true!" I screamed, producing my own angry little flame in my hand. I took a deep breath and sent it flying towards the thug. He dodged it easily and closed the gap between us, grabbing me by the arm. He produced a giant fireball and held it close enough to my face that I felt my skin starting to cook. I struggled to pull away, but he held me still.
"If you ever firebend again… and I mean ever… I'll find that little brother of yours and kill him right in front of you. You're lucky I don't do it now you little streetrat!" The man shoved me backwards into a puddle and ran off in the direction I'd gone with Bolin.
"No!" Not looking back at my parent's ashes I scrambled to my feet, falling a few times as I sprinted back to the park. "Bolin!" I screamed. My heart was pounding and my whole body felt tight as I rushed to the bush I'd left him hiding in. "Bo! Please be okay!" I prayed as I shoved the branches out of my way.
"Mako?" My little brother sniffled. He was about to say more, but I didn't give him any time as I slammed him into a tight hug, squeezing him to my chest. Thank the spirits that thug hadn't found him.
"Bolin! I am so sorry! I never, ever should have left you alone! It will never happen again!" I felt my brother's little arms wrap around me and violent sobs started to shake my body. "Bo, I'm sorry! So, so sorry!" I cried, horrified at the idea of losing him too. I knew right then that I would never firebend again.
"Mako." Bolin rubbed my back gently. "What happened?" He asked innocently, an image of all the flames that had surrounded my parents filled my head and I shook my head.
"Mom and Dad are gone, Bo. It's just us from now on." I felt so incredibly guilty for their death, if only we'd gone home when they'd asked the first time! I shook my head knowing that I'd keep the promise of protecting my brother for the rest of my life.
"I'm scared!" Bolin sobbed against me, I hugged him tight, trying to make him feel better, but it didn't work. We were both just so sad, all we could do was hold each other and cry. We stayed that way for the rest of the night. We knew there was no other option now, we would have to try and make it by on our own.
…
A few weeks after the death of our parents, Bolin and I had seemed to be getting along alright with living on the streets. I hadn't used my firebending since the incident in the side street, but since then Bolin and I had found a different alley to call our home. I was there picking up the trash that had made it's way into the gutters overnight and Bolin was around the corner picking through the dumpster for leftover scraps we could eat for lunch.
"Hey!" An older looking kid and his friend stood at the beginning of the alley, they had their arms crossed over their chests and looked smug as they stood before me.
"Word on the street is you're a firebender." The second boy told me. My breath hitched as I thought of what the man who'd killed my parents had told me… 'If you ever firebend again… and I mean ever… I'll find that little brother of yours and kill him right in front of you.'
"I… I'm not good." I tried to lie to them, I didn't know what else to do. The boys didn't seem satisfied with my answer. One of them ignited a flame in their palm.
"Let's just see how good you are." He jeered, sending the fireball my way. I easily could have handled it with blocking fire, but I was frozen.
"What's wrong little boy? Are you scared?" The other boy ignited his palm, as he laughed at me. A few tears stung at my eyes as I realized I was scared. I was terrified that if I protected myself with my fire that something bad would happen to my little brother. I wished my Dad were here to help me. What had was it he always told me when I was afraid? Something along the lines of 'on the other side of every fear is freedom'. I failed to see the freedom in jeopardizing my brother's safety.
"Please leave me alone!" I begged, my voice sounded pathetic and small as I spoke. That only added fuel to their fires.
"What do you say we make this a little more interesting?" The older boy snickered, looking over to his friend when he saw the makeshift shelter of boxes Bolin and I were living in.
"Yes, lets!" The younger of the two agreed. "If you lose, you leave!" He shouted, stepping closer to me with fire in his hands. I balled my fists, knowing I needed to fight to save my little home.
"I don't want to fight!" I told them.
"Too bad!" The older boy shouted, kicking a fire blast towards my stomach. I should have countered his attack with my own fireball but all I could think of was Bolin. I wanted to make a fire, I really did, but my fears consumed me and I choked. The fireball hit me in the chest, knocking me to the ground.
"Ow!" I wailed so loud that the birds perched on the rooftops above me flew away. The heat of the fire was almost too much to bear, tears came quickly as I realized that this was how my parents must've felt before they died protecting me and my brother.
"Get up and fight!" The smaller one laughed. "Stop crying!" He added as he sent another burst of fire towards me, I closed my eyes tight. I hoped that if I couldn't see the fire it wouldn't hurt so much when it hit me, I was surprised when I didn't feel the heat at all. I opened my eyes a crack and found a little rock wall had risen up to protect me.
"Don't you dare hurt him!" I heard my little brother yell as he returned the earth back to where he'd taken it from. His arms were outstretched, trying to shield me from their view. The two boys laughed in his face.
"And just what do you think you're going to do to stop us?" One of them laughed. Bolin dug his feet into the earth and kicked a few chunks of rock towards them, levitating a few pieces and hurling them at their heads.
"I'm going to protect my brother!" He screamed, backing them up until they were out of the alley. Once they were out of our little home Bolin brought a high wall up to protect us from their counter attacks. When he turned to kneel beside me angry tears were flowing down his cheeks. "Are you okay?" He asked, lifting my shirt up so he could see how bad it was. I frowned, pulling my shirt back down.
"Bo… I'm sorry." I couldn't look up at him as I said the words, I didn't want to see the hurt in his eyes.
"Mako why didn't you use your firebending?" He asked, resting his hand on my arm. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen you use it since… that night." To my surprise my brother's words weren't angry, he sounded concerned about me.
"I was afraid." I whispered, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to spill down my cheeks.
"Afraid of what?" He asked, trying to stay calm. "Mako you're a great firebender, I don't understand why you wouldn't have tried to protect yourself from those mean boys." When I peered up at my baby brother I saw how worried he looked. I shook my head, so disappointed that I'd let my fear of fire, my fear of losing Bolin cause this. I was so ashamed of myself, but I wasn't ready to talk to my brother about this just yet.
"I was just afraid, Bo."