Water, Earth, Fire, Air.
My uncle used to tell me stories about the old days. A time of peace when the Avatar kept balance between the Water Nation, Earth Kingdom, Fire Tribes, and Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Water Nation attacked.
Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he could stop the ruthless waterbenders. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.
A hundred years have passed and the Water Nation is nearing victory in the war. Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom. They left to help fight against the Water Nation, leaving me and my sister to look after our tribe.
Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads. That the cycle was broken. But I haven't lost hope. I still believe that somehow the Avatar will return to save the world.
A lush, green meadow stretched out. Bordered by trees on all sides, it was pristine in it's almost undisturbed, natural beauty. Birdsong filled the air. Looking around, one wouldn't believe that this was once a scorched, barren wasteland. Yet nature, as always, prevailed. Save for the blades crushed underfoot by two children, the verdant grass was almost untouched. They moved silently, staying low and remaining cautious. They were hunting, but not in the fatal sense. They were hunting for an escapee.
"Shh!" hushed one of the children, a girl. Her long, black hair was arranged into a small, practical bun. She wore simple garments. A red, strapless midriff cloth top and matching pants with a yellow sash tied around her waist. "I see it up ahead!"
"So do I, Azula. It's a hippo cow, it's pretty hard to miss!" the boy hissed back. He was the elder of the two, but his sister had a tendency to take the lead. She was eager to prove herself, both in her independence and ability to lead. Her brother was still unsure of himself, uncertain of his abilities or his place in the world. His left eye was scarred from a severe burn, something he rarely liked to talk about or explain.
The younger boy also wore red, cloth garments with a yellow sash. The only noticeable differences were his sleeveless shirt and his simple ponytail. A hundred feet from where they both crouched stood the white and black form of the hippo cow. Grazing in the meadow, it had escaped for one of the tribes pens and had made its way to this clearing. A century ago this island had experienced a series of eruptions, twice in the span of twelve years. The lava flows had decimated much of the island. But from that wasteland, plants once again bloomed. Trees grew and birds returned. The cooled, hardened lava carried minerals with it. From all that destruction, life took hold and grew almost greater than it had before.
This specific area was especially loved by any escaped hippo cows. For some reason the grass here seemed greener and even tastier to the grazing animals.
"Be quiet and don't do anything until do and follow my lead." Azula whispered back, ignoring his dry sarcasm. "If we can spook it into those trees to the left then it should follow one of the old trails back to the farm!"
"Azula, we were told not to worry about one hippo cow." the boy reminded his younger sibling. "The rest of the herd is fine and we fixed the-" Azula leapt to her feet, cutting him off mid-sentence. She took off sprinting towards the animal, fast and low. "Or we could rush it." he sighed.
The two siblings ran towards the huge mammal. They tried to wait until the last possible moment before allowing it to see them. As they sprint past the protruding rock formation in the center of the field the animal raised its head. They'd been spotted.
"Now!" Azula cried. The young girl leapt into the air with a spin, bringing her right foot up over her head while spinning in a circle. As she landed, she brought her foot swinging back to the ground. With it, she sent a crescent wave of flame flying behind the rump of the creature.
"Midsection! Midsection!" shouted her brother, coming up behind her. Coming to a dead stop he thrust out both his fists. One was positioned his over head with the other at chest height. He sent two smaller jets of flame towards the middle of hippo cows body. The flames died out mid-air before they could even singe the startled animal.
Almost immediately, the black-spotted behemoth started running. It began heading for the leftmost treeline as the children had hoped it would.
"Yes!" cried Azula, "Keep the pressure on, don't let up!"
"Wait, Azula, not too much! You might make her double back!" but it was too late. The raven-haired girl was letting loose a flurry of punches. A series of small fireballs flew after the frightened creature. With a sharp left turn, the hippo cow came to an abrupt stop, staring at the two children.
"Uh… Zuko?" the girl asked. Uncertainty tainted her words for the first time since they had left their village.
"Run." answered her brother, his voice flat as the hippo cow pawed the ground, snorting.
"Zuko?!" the hippo cow lowered its enormous horned head and started charging at the two.
"RUN!"