Aang shook his head in clear disgust at the older gentleman. The man sat high in his seat as if the deed he'd done was something to be proud of. Maybe to the old firebending solider it was, but many of the surrounding people seemed to follow Aang's feelings.
The girl jerked against the black chains that wrapped itself around her neck, and this time it broke the tender surface of her skin, and caused blood to run down her pale neck.
The firebending solider didn't see this, and continued with his tale, "And there I was. I was alone, or so I thought. From the blackest part of the cave came this young girl. Her sightless eyes reflected my flickering light. She bared her teeth as if she was an animal, and began moving her hands. I instantly knew that it was earthbending, and fought to stop her. She moved with barbaric ferocity."
The man leaned back in his chair, clearly enjoying all the eyes that watched him, "I beat her eventually, and wrapped her hands and feet in metal, so she wouldn't bend anymore while she growled and snapped at me. Apparently, she was raised by some sort of animal. The people around there say that these animals can actually earthbend, and that's where she learned it. I don't remember the name, though."
The girl jerked against her chains again only to make her small wound grow.
"I cannot allow this," Aang said, getting to his feet, "The treatment of her is not fitting for an animal let alone a human."
The older gentleman whirled to face whoever had spoken out against him, but when his eyes landed on the tattoos of an airbender on Aang's arms, the man's face became pale, "Avatar," he whispered breathlessly, "I was only defending myself. She is very dangerous."
Aang watched the man with cold eyes, "If she is as dangerous as you say than I must not allow her to be in your hands. Any danger to my nations must be properly taken care of." Aang walked past the man towards the chained girl.
She bared her teeth in obvious distrust at him. Aang leaned down out of her reach to look her over. She had black hair that had been obviously cut in spite that stuck out in all directions. Her eyes were a stormy blue color that hinted at blindness. She appeared to be around his age, but it was hard to tell, for she was underweight and small.
He slowly raised his hand up, and the girl followed it with her head, but not her eyes. Strange, he thought, she seems to know where my hand is, and, yet, she is blind.
The man stood up from his seat as he realized that the avatar meant to take her, "Avatar, I found her. That makes her…"
"The rule to finding objects in the mountains of the Southern Earth Nation does not apply to humans," he said stiffly, "If you wish to uphold your beliefs in the specifics of that law than it is only fair that we settle this in a duel. Whoever wins gets control of the girl." Aang did not even glance over at the man to know that the man had backed away. Not many would take the Avatar on in combat.
Aang slowly reached forward. The girl bared her teeth, and seemed to snake away from him. He suddenly lashed out, and pressed his fingers to her forehead at the same exact moment that she tried to leap out of his reach.
A stream of blue raced from his fingertips to her head, and she collapsed in an unconscious heap. Aang reached out, and caught her before she hit the unforgiving ground. He easily hefted her up.
As he held her he marveled how small and fragile she seemed. Even with the added weight of the chains, and the metal that fit snuggly around her hands and feet, she still weighed less than a normal man.
He shifted her onto one arm, and with his free hand, he froze the chains. At first nothing happened but a small layer of frost that decorated the pitch black chains, and then they suddenly burst apart leaving a little bit of frostbitten skin underneath.
He broke the one on her feet, and was surprised to find her instinctively move them away from his hands. He glanced at her eyes to see if she'd awoken, but he found that she was still deep in sleep.
He reached out to touch her feet when he suddenly threw his arm sideways. He caught her capturer's hand, as the man tried to burn down the avatar. The man's eyes widened in surprise, and he dropped to his knees, and emitted a strangled noise.
Aang slowly turned to the man, and tightened his grip until he could feel the bones started to creak. The man wailed his pain for all who would listen.
Aang slammed the man away, and sent him tumbling over himself, and into the nearest chair. He sat there, his eyes large and his clothes covered in stray bits of food, and started shaking in clear fear.
Aang could hear some people, who believed themselves out of his hearing, whisper to one another, "That's the avatar?" a woman whispered.
The man she was talking to grunted, "Yes. They say that the only reason the firenation backed down was for they feared this cold blooded boy after he publically murdered the Fire Lord. They say that the son is even too afraid to assume the throne."
The woman seemed surprised, "But he seems so young. He can't be twenty."
"No one knows how old he is," the man whispered back, "There were documents that depicted him in the air temples when the airbenders were still here."
"But," the woman said with a gasp, "They were wiped out a hundred years ago!"
Aang allowed the whispering to continue at the outskirts of the assembled crowd, and he placed a whistle to his lip that eerily resembled a beheaded bison. Luckily, the whistle still was able to produce the needed sound.
A distant bellow split through the darkening dusk, and sent shadows of scurrying animals across the ground that were deformed by the position of the sun.
Despite the sound being so far away in mere moments a large beast landed on the ground so hard that the more unsteady glasses fell to their sides and spilled their contents. People shied away from the large creature.
Oppa threw his head to the side, and let out a roar. Oppa's fur was darker than most people had heard. A snow white beast, they had heard, with eyes as deadly as any sword. One look into them, and you perish into the wind to be scattered all around the world.
Aang slowly walked to his side, and Oppa gave the girl in his arms a distrusting look. Despite Oppa's dislike for strangers, he dropped his knees to allow his rider to lay the girl in the saddle. Aang grabbed the side of the saddle, and swung himself in.
Oppa remained still until his rider had tucked the girl tightly in a fur blanket, and settled down between his horns. Aang grabbed the reins in his hand, and gently flicked them.
Oppa bunched up his powerful muscles, and was leaping into the air. There is a moment right when Oppa starts to fall back towards the ground where Aang's heart stops before Oppa suddenly shoots upward into the sky.
Aang felt the cold air fill his lungs. It was the air that he enjoyed. It was not the weeping air filled with smoke and the breath of the near people. The air that seemed to shine with its purity was the one that he felt most peaceful in.
Maybe the girl related to him in this manner, for the second they entered into the pure air high above the earth, she opened her eyes. Aang heard her give a snarl, and he turned on Oppa's head. He'd expected her to be out longer, but sometimes the chakra pools clean themselves out faster on certain people.
The girl violently shook the blanket off of her, and nearly tore it in half in the process. When she untangled her feet from it, she threw it away from her so hard that it fell over the side of the saddle, and plummeted towards the earth below.
"I hope you realize that's the only blanket you're going to get." Aang said, as he watched the blanket disappear into the low hanging clouds.
The girl whipped her head towards his voice, but made no move to move. Instead, she clutched the saddle tightly, and tucked her knees underneath her. Aang had a hard time seeing through the dusk light if she was shaking or the air hitting against her loose clothing was just giving her the illusion of shaking.
Aang placed the reins down, and moved towards the girl. She seemed to twitch every time his foot landed as he made his way to her side. When he came to her side, she swiped out at him, but instantly returned her hand to clutch at the saddle.
Aang sat down by her, and felt a little bad. It was clear that she'd never flown before, she was blind, so she had no idea where she was, and she didn't seem to be able to speak, so he couldn't explain to her what was going on.
He reached a hand out, and touched her shoulder. Her head shot towards him, and she whipped her body away from his with such force that she slammed into the side of the saddle. She squeezed herself against it, as if she hoped to merge herself with the leather.
Aang sighed, and reached for her again. She seemed to sense his hand coming towards her, but this time she didn't seem to be able to completely pinpoint it. He touched her shoulder once more. Her body jumped, but she had no place to go.
Aang kept his hand on the shaking girl's shoulder, he stretched out his other hand to rummage through one of his bags. He pulled out a small bundle of dried seal meat out. He placed it in his lap, and unwrapped it.
The girl's nose flared despite the fact that the moving air should have blown away the scent before it could have reached her nose. She turned her head towards the jerky, but made no move to move towards it.
He grabbed one of the largest pieces, and went to give it to her. He held it a foot from her face, and he saw her lock her blind eyes on the jerky. She licked her lips in obvious hunger, and reached on of her hand out towards it.
She got it halfway there before pulling it back, and tucking it between her chest and knees. Aang released his hold on her shoulder, and shifted his position to sit in front of her face. She moved backwards, but seemed reluctant to really move around.
He reached out, and pressed the jerky to her lips. She jerked backwards. He pressed it to her lips again. She swallowed nervously, and reached out with the hand she had previously used. She got halfway there, and quickly snatched it away as if she feared he was going to take it away.
She stirringly sank her teeth into the meat. She used her back teeth to tear the meat to bits, and ate in a speed that Aang found dangerous. She licked her fingers, and seemed to smell around for more.
Aang reached into the bundle, and pulled out another piece. She instantly located it, and turned her timid eyes towards him. Aang held the jerky out, this time closer to him, and let her move towards him. She obviously distrusted humans, but her hunger won out, and she moved just an inch.
Aang did this with the entire bundle of meat. At the end the girl was nearly in his lap, but when she realized their closeness, she backed away until she was farther away than when she started.
Aang leaned back against the front of the saddle, and watched the girl. He was secretly afraid that she'd try to run from him, and leap over the saddle. The girl remained frozen for most of the ride, but right before they landed for the night, she started to show an interest in her surroundings.
She started by just exploring the area around her. She did this in an interesting way. She would pound her fist into the ground in front of her, and then she would move around with confidence before she would stop. She would repeat this until she had successfully explored the saddle. The only place she did not fully explore were the places closest to Aang.
She would come into a foot range of him, and would just stare at him. It was slightly unnerving to be stared at by such unique eyes, but it was also a relief. In those sightless eyes only curiosity shown.
There was no greed, lust, admiration, or hatred of him. Her eyes were innocent, and despite being in a girl his age, it felt like they were eyes that belonged to a child. Someone still ignorance of hatred and the dark that lurked within man.
Oppa landed on the ground, and the girl was jolted from where she had been sitting awkwardly. He found a strange pattern in the girl's behavior. When Aang would get excited, or he would get nervous about what the girl was doing than she would tense up, and turn to look at him.
She'd watch his every move until he would grow bored. The second he lost interest, she would relax, and continue being the odd creature she was.
The girl seemed to sense that she was on the ground, and leaned over the saddle's edge. She gave him a curious glance. It was clear that she was wondering what would happen if she ran. Aang was relieved to see that the girl was able to reason and think at a human level which would make finding someone to look after her much easier.
He stood up, and tapped her shoulder as he passed her. He didn't know why he did it, but when he leapt off of Oppa the girl followed. She landed on the ground, and instantly started to roll in it. She buried her hands in it, and buried her face in it.
Aang had seen animals do this, but usually the rolled around in the rotting carcass of another dead animal. She rolled at his feet for a few moments before she, once again, realized how close she was to him.
She got to her feet, and dashed towards the cover of the thick trees. Aang sighed, and rose earth walls around them. The girl surprised him by, with a quick wave of her hand, completely tearing down a section of the wall.
He titled his head, and grinned. When he'd been dealing with a traitorous band of Earthbenders that had been running amuck through the war stricken nation, he had come up with a new technique. One that turned Earthbending unusable.
Aang took his stance, and the earth compacted itself until it was as dense as metal. The girl barely slowed her pace, and started to move her hands in attempt to bring down his wall. Aang took a deep breath, and released it in the form of a blue fire.
The fire raced the perimeter of the wall, and left behind a wall made out of a pure diamond. The fire finally completed its circle, and it disappeared into the near air. Aang looked at his handiwork. A diamond dome surrounded them. It ran below them as well, but he had learned that diamond was not something that made a good bed, so he left a thick layer of dirt on top of it.
The girl had slid to the stop at the sound of the fire racing around her. She leapt towards the wall, and banged her fist against it. It gave a thundering crack, but the diamond held firm. The girl seemed confused.
Aang knew the reason. Diamond was still earth, but the spirits had once seen as earthbenders rose in prosperity as they bended precious metals from the earth. Their souls became corrupted in their wealth, and the spirits revoked the abilities to bend all precious metals. As avatar he was the only exception to that law.
The girl gave a cry of frustration which was actually the first human noise she'd made the entire trip. Despite being filled with frustration, confusion, anger, and fear it was actually quite a beautiful noise. It also made him ponder about what her real voice sounded like.
"Hey," he called as she pounded her fist again to the wall, "You're going to hurt yourself." Aang set fire in the middle of the dome, so the girl could come to it without being near him, but he could still enjoy its warmth.
Oppa settled down against the diamond wall, and waited for Aang to pull his saddle off. Aang did his usual cool down to Oppa which consisted of removing the saddle, pulling off shedding fur, and feeding the large beast.
Oppa curled himself up, but left a spot near his head for Aang to curl up in. Aang sat down right in front of Oppa's shoulder.
He instantly saw the girl in the flickering light at the other end of the dome. She seemed defeated against the beauty of the diamond. As if feeling his eyes on her, she stood up, and moved towards him. She sat down by the fire, and laid down.
Aang leaned back against Oppa.
He barely slept at all that night, because the girl whimpered, howled, and yelled in her sleep. Aang couldn't wait to be rid of the strange girl.