Chapter One- Earthbending Lessons - Attempt 1
When Jun had discovered that she and her sister were both Avatar, she had been shocked. Never before had the Avatar been born into twins. However, they were the only babies born that day on which the previous Avatar had been killed from the Airbenders. Now she was suddenly co-Savior of the World. Of course she loved her sister and didn't hold it against her that they shared the power, but it would have been nice not to be shown down so much by her sister's upbeat attitude. They had never been the same in social situations, and they both knew it.
Right now her biggest concern was what she should wear for the Earthbending lessons. Her sister was right beside her trying things on. "What about this?" Mana asked, holding up a green kimono. It fitted nicely, but it was also a pantsuit version and would be more useful in combative techniques.
"It's perfect I think." Jun replied, smiling as she picked up her matching one. "So you think we are ready now, sis?" She asked, slipping off her current moon kimono. Mana nodded.
"I have all the provisions divided and arranged neatly in our bags.."
"You would." Jun added in, rolling her eyes. Mana was such a perfectionist with things like that.
"Yes, well, anyway...I'm going to go get Taka packed while you spend another half hour on your hair, as always." She added with a playful grin. Jun laughed and picked up her comb set. It was the one thing she was particular about, and she could care less if it mattered to anyone, as long as her sister approved.
Almost half an hour later, she walked out to see Taka stomping around with a new harness on and some gear stowed away on it. This made both girls laugh, as they hadn't been able to take Taka out in a while.
"Ready girl?" Jun called out to the bison, bounding up to take her reins with ease. She looked back at Mana. "You ready too? Didn't forget some meaningless little trinket...okay okay!" She laughed, as Mana had flung a button at her head with airbending. "Yip yip!" She called out to Taka, as this was the command to set her aflight. "To the Earthbending Salvation, girl! We've got an Earthbending class to attend!"
When Taka had taken off with Mana on her back, she felt the rush of excitement flowing through both their bodies. They were really going to find out how to Earthbend, just as they had done in thousands of previous lives. It blew her mind to think of it that way. She, Mana, had once been the fabled Aang, who prevented the airbenders from being wiped from existance. It was a lot to take in.
She kept quiet while they were flying, as she knew Jun loved to feel the and listen to the sound of the frigid wind as it rushed by their faces. It was energizing, having the air bend itself around you when normally you were controlling it. It was as the sun is to a firebender. It gave them a charge. But right now she needed to focus on grounding herself, letting go of the familiarity of the wind and embrace the solidness of the Earth.
It was not a very long flight, and the two touched ground before lunchtime. They were recieved by a crew of Earthbenders with smiling faces. "Hey, welcome to the Salvation. It's an honor to meet you both." One of the younger men greeted them with a big smile. No bother trying to guess his intentions, she thought with a giggle.
"Pleased to meet you." The twins answered in unison. They did this often when meeting people, if only to freak them out a little by their synchronicity. The guy blushed a little and nodded back at them, as they both wore the same dreamy expression on their faces.
"So can you lead us to Sensei Ishwa, then?" Mana piped up, seeing that they hadn't come here to flirt with the locals. He nodded and extended his arm, indicating they should follow. "I hope this guy is as good as the Elders said, this place looks a little... mediocre." Jun nodded in agreement about the condition of the camp. There was litter all around, and no plant life to be seen. The tents were all made of rock and looked very uncomfortable, plus there was some underlying stench that just made their hopes sink.
When the man finally gestured to a larger tent, they stepped inside. Mana gasped when she saw how elegantly this tent had been set up. Little figurines were stacked on shelves, a warm fire was glowing from a carved fireplace with all four Tribes' symbols. "Wow. I could live here." Mana commented, not seeing the small man meditating in the corner on a Moose-Lion pelt rug.
"Well I'm glad you think that, because I do." Came a small voice that made them both jump. The little man stepped up and walked over to them calmly, though he didn't look them in the eye. "And be careful with those, they are one of a kind." He stated simply, as Mana had picked up a figurine. She gasped, as he hadn't been looking at her when she had picked it up, and carefully set it back down.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know. We are the Avatars here for your wisdom, Sensei." She apologized, bowing her head down when she addressed him. Jun followed suit.
"Of course, of course. I knew I hadn't met you before. Now back here is where we will train." He gestured to the other entrance, still not looking at either one of them. They curiously followed him through the large door to see what lay ahead.
When they stepped through, they were not expecting what they saw. A large rocky arena extended far away from the rest of the Salvation, and Ishwa sat himself down upon a particularly large boulder, where he assumed a mediative pose once more. He beckoned them with his hand and they stood below him at the foot of the boulder.
"Sit, please. Feel the earth under your feet." He instructed them, still looking away. They listened and sat together, both staring up at him intently. When he didn't utter another instruction for a little while, Mana spoke up.
"Master Ishwa, what are we supposed to be working on next?" She asked a little impatiently, not wanting to waste her time with simple meditation.
"You are supposed to be feeling the Earth. Earthbending is not to be rushed!" He answered back very firmly, pointing down at her in distaste. "You will never Earthbend without patience! Follow your sister's lead and be silent. Feel the vibrations of the Earth under your feet.
Easy for this old fool to say, but we have an Earth to protect. I can't waste my time sitting here being quiet. That's Jun's bit. There's no vibrations. This is so frustrating! She kept thinking so negatively, she hadn't even noticed when her sister's eyes shot open and she said "Oh!"
"What is it now? I know, I can't get this 'feeling' stuff either." Mana started, before letting her sister elaborate.
"I feel it. The low vibration of the Earth. It's connected to everything; it's like seeing the true world." Jun finally answered, beaming up at their Sensei. "You are blind, aren't you?" He smiled down at her, finally turning his eyes in their direction to show how they had the glazed look of a blind person.
"Well done, child. Your sister could learn a lot from you." He added, frowning a little. "I will show you your first move now, though you both might not get it right away." Mana felt this comment was directed towards her more, as her sister had always been the more contemplative, grounded one. "You will move this rock while I sit on it to over there." He pointed down the length of the rock field, littered with smaller boulders and probably double the length of their whole village.
Jun was calm and collected as she stepped over to the boulder and placed her hands atop it. She looked at Mana as if to silently tell her to mimic what she was doing. Mana came over and braced herself against the rock, but she didn't really appear to get it yet. Jun felt more stable and felt the vibrations of the rock with her Sensei upon it.
She lightly nudged the rock with her hands, willing it forward just a bit to test it out, she was very surprised to find that it actually moved about ten feet. Obviously Ishwa hadn't expected her to grasp this so quickly either, as he slipped forward a bit before bracing himself for the movement.
"Well done, well done girl! You're ah...Jun? Correct?" He called out, as she and her sister ran up to him together.
"Yes, Master Ishwa. I did it with a little help from Mana." She lied, trying to include her sister on the success. Her sister blushed a little, giving her sister a grateful look. "Should I continue? You seemed startled."
"Oh, I think that's good for now. Mana, I want you to focus on rolling those two rocks in different directions simultaneously. Jun, come over here. I want to try something with you on this boulder." Mana looked a little disappointed as she focused on the two watermelon-sized rocks before her. She couldn't seem to get them to move. It had been Jun who had done it completely. I knew it Mana thought, glancing over to her sister to see what they were working on.
"Okay, now stand like I showed you and focus on the boulder. Will it into a ball. Feel the Earth twist shape and lose its rigid appearance." The blind little man called out to her, standing only a few feet away. Jun felt the large boulder again and then felt the entire bumpy surface of it. Holding her hands in front of her, she pressed them together, crushing the ovalish-shape into a more perfect circle. She packed it down more and more with her hands and finally it resembled a decent circle shape. There were a few bumps and craters, but overall it was a sphere.
"Excellent work, my dear. Lets see how far you can throw it now!" He called out excitedly, clapping his hands together. Mana looked pretty jealous before she turned around to focus on throwing her little boulders.
Jun felt the more dense rock with her hands. She tried to remember the hand movements for a similar airbending move, where she'd send a shockwave of air at the ground to launch in attack. She ended up throwing the sphere-shaped rock a good twenty yards away on her first try.
"You know this is truly amazing, most Airbender Avatars have the hardest time starting with earthbending! You are truly gifted, girl!" He gloated, patting her on the back roughly. She smiled widely, clearly thrilled to be doing this much already.
I can't believe this is all happening so fast! The Earth is so calm and peaceful, which is just like how I feel all the time. I feel like I am visiting an old friend. It is so strange. I wonder how Mana feels about it.. Jun thought, looking back at her sister. She was holding her hands over one of the rocks, with a determined and frustrated look on her face. Jun raced over to her to see if she could help.
"Jun! Oh, you startled me." Mana gasped, as Jun had taken her by surprise. She looked down at the rock that she had failed to move with disgust. "I can't do it. I'm not like you." She looked like she was on the verge of tears for not accomplishing this so fast.
"Mana, calm down! I do not know why I can do this so easily, it just happened. Here," she said, taking her sisters hand in her own and holding it against the rock. "Feel it's vibrations. They pulse in the calm state of mind I have. Picture the world how I do for a moment and feel it."
Mana tried to feel it, but it was hard. She concentrated and pretended she were her sister, looking at this in her zoned out state, and felt a little hum. She thought of becoming one with her sister and concentrated on moving the rocks around with their energies.
Suddenly, their eyes started to glow, and blue arrows streamed down their head and limbs. Somehow, together, they had reached the Avatar state. But before they could reap any damage, they released contact and in doing so stopped the glow.
"What was that?" Jun exclaimed, a little shaken from the extreme power she had just felt. She had, with her sister's help, just felt all of her past lives at once. Dangerous and devastating powers that could end many lives. It had stopped very quickly though, when she had let go of Mana's hand..
Mana was afraid as her sister was, of this ultimate power. She had felt like the two of them were one, and everything they saw, they saw together. She had never felt this close to her sister before. She almost felt like they both lost themselves for a moment in time.
"That was insane. Master Ishwa, what just happened? I've never felt that before. Is it like Earthbending?" Mana called out to their teacher, as he sat stunned from the specticle.
"Mana, that was not Earthbending. I felt the Avatar State." Jun fiercely whispered to her sister.
"You two are crazy! One second you're both pushing the rock, the next you are one larger monstrous-looking figure! Then you split in two again, just like that! Oh...Ishwa needs some tea." The blind man moaned. He propelled himself to his feet with earthbending and stalked off to put on a kettle while the twins stood there, shocked at his statement.
"We were...one? We really were? But..how is that possible? We both exist, but we can mold into one? Jun, I'm so afraid.." Mana sobbed, holding onto her sister tightly.
"Mana, the man is blind. It doesn't mean we became one person. I bet there is another explanation." She said half-heartedly. She had felt an extreme sense of connection with her sister and loss of self too. But they were still okay, so clearly nothing went wrong. "Here, put your hands on the little rock and concentrate on it. I'll just watch for a bit.
Mana could tell she was a little nervous about touching the rock with her again, and so she assumed a meditative position around the rock, as before. She started to feel the vibrations her sister had been talking about and concentrated on moving them. She closed her eyes to better see them in her mind's eye. She felt the radius of it and the smoothness. She pushed down with her fingers and felt the rock bend to her will. She started molding it into a little sky bison as practice, all without opening her eyes. When at last she was confident in it's likeness, she opened her eyes.
In her hands she held a mini version of Taka; long arrow stripe and all. Jun gasped when she saw this and clapped. "Perfect, you really got this now sister!" She laughed, happy to see her sister learn it a different way. Jun had more force with it, but Mana shifted it like water almost. She was always more artsy. "Let's show Sensei Ishwa." Jun suggested, as her sister continued to marvel her creation.
Together they went inside and handed the little sky bison to Ishwa. He felt its vibrations and was very pleased. "I can't believe you managed such detail already! Surely I was wrong about your current abilities. You will be a very cunning attacker, as your sister is a commanding force. You two compliment each other perfectly; I think we have a chance with you!" He commented, placing the bison on a shelf. "If you don't mind I would love to keep this. I've never met one before, and think it's marvelous."
"Of course, Sensei Ishwa. Consider it my gift." Mana bowed down, in respect. He chuckled and poured out some tea for the three of them to sip. The girls sat down and drank with him until twilight crept up on them.
"Dear dear, is it that late? Come with me, I'll show you your tent." The man led the way outside his hut and walked over to a nearby stone tent, which had been adorned with two little beds side by side.
"Thank you Master." They said in unison, before tucking themselves in. They both were a little nervous sleeping away from home, and ended up falling asleep holding hands. They knew they were safe together.
When morning came, Mana woke up first and crept out into the chilly sunrise. Her stomach rumbled a little, so she made her way to the smell of food from Ishwa's house. She poked her head in and smiled. "Mind if I join you?" She asked, sitting down by his seat.
"Of course, please sit. It's almost ready." He continued cooking some breakfast stew and then served it up on two plates. She took it graciously and started to eat it fast. It was some kind of meat with rice dish and she loved it. Before he had taken a few bites, hers was gone.
"MMmm.. Thanks Sensei! That was delcious!" She commented, her mouth still a little full.
"I'm glad you liked it. Family recipe, very secret." He winked, taking another bite of his own. She sighed and put down her plate, feeling lazy with fullness. She hoped her sister would wake up and join them soon, as she wasn't sure what to say without her here.
When Jun awoke to find herself very alone, she was immediately worried. Her sister never did things like this without good reason. She worried there had been a raid and she had been overlooked, or that she had just started training early. Whatever the case, she was very relieved when she poked her head out and noticed that the world was still as she had left it yesterday. She breathed out a sigh of relief.
She must've been really hungry to ditch me for breakfast. She concluded, as she walked into their Sensei's house. She looked pretty full and dazed out as she sat on the couch. Jun smiled at her, sitting beside her with a tight squeeze. Master Ishwa was busy with his tea, so did not notice her at first, or at least he didn't appear to. He finally came over with two cups of tea, face as relaxed and happy-looking as ever, and handed them each one. "Morning Lady. Nice of you to wake up at last." He said with a cackle.
"Sorry Master, I didn't realize how much energy I used up last night training. I'll manage myself better today, sir. I promise." Jun replied in all sincerity. She was airbending the top her her and her sister's cups, as they held them next to each other, something she and Mana had just done for years. They would just do these small things for one another now without realizing it. It was just second nature, but other people were confused by it sometimes. They just couldn't understand how the other would possibly know that they were going to airbend a puddle away from their feet, or keep the rain shield up over the other's head while they didn't move. They could be like a hive mind together. It was very strange how deep their connection lay, as they themselves had yet to find it all out.
"It is time for some work on sensing vibrations today." Ishwa stated, as he tied their eyes blind with a scarf. "You will see with your Earthbending, like I do. Feel me attack you." He added, making them both take protective stances. Mana looked over at Jun, and Jun to Mana; they could still see each other, even blindfolded. It wasn't the same as seeing the earthly vibrations around them, forming a static picture in their minds; it was colored and with solid lines. Jun could see Mana's pupils contracting with fear. It was that clear. But right now they needed to focus on the vibrational blob that was their Earthbending teacher, Ishwa. Jun felt him gathering the rocks around his body and then she felt him send two waves of rocks, one directed at each of them. Both Jun and Mana lept aside just as the rocks would have come barreling right through them. Then, without warning, a boulder was launched at Jun, and she raised her hand before her face, thrusting out a chop at it to split it in two, with each half just missing her body as it flew behind her.
Mana was also getting attacked at that moment, though she didn't fare as well. Ishwa had sent two waves of rock at her to dodge, and she had only felt the first. She was sent flying up in the air, wailing from shock and a little pain, but Jun had rushed to her side at once and earthbended a pillar to reach her as she reached the maximum height of the launch. With the pillar, she was able to lower her sister gently back down again, though she sensed a more shaky feeling from her stance this time. Apparently Ishwa had sensed it too, as he came over to Mana.
"That was a good try, my student, but you are lucky your sister is a little more sensative than you. Try not to fear so much, I can feel the fear in you!" He commented, sounding a little annoyed with her. So what Jun had felt on the ground was her sister shaking from fear..she never realized she could use earthbending as an emotion reader. The best lie detector in the world.
"Master, please, she might just be at a different level than me right now, perhaps we should study separately." Jun commented, though she didn't want to see her sister leave. She knew that it was safer for her to learn it at her own pace. Jun couldn't help it if she just seemed to have a knack for earthbending. Mana would probably get one of the other elements better too.
"That sounds good, Jun. Mana, you may go to the other end of the field for now and meditate with the Earth. Try to watch us duel with your Earthbending." The Master instructed, which seemed good enough for now. Jun didn't really see it as training for Mana, but at least she would see it in action properly. She braced herself for what Ishwa had to throw at her next.
He sent bunches of arrow-like rocks at her, to which she merely deflected to the side, out of harm's way. Then he shook the earth to try and unbalance her, to make her lose hold of her earthbending. She quickly thought to get on hands and knees to earthbend some stable ground to work with. She sent herself shooting upwards, about 20 feet before she stopped. She then sent down little disks of rock, lowering herself a few inches with each one, with the hopes of having one find her target. But the old man was way too good for that, though impressed by her quick thinking. He surrounded himself with rock again, grabbing what was left of her pillar and throwing it to the side. She lept down with the grace of an airbender and landed lightly behind him. She could feel him starting to get tired from battle, despite still being blindfolded.
She finally sent several seismic shocks at the man herself before boxing him in with earthbending and leaning on the little cage. She laughed, removing the blindfold and drawing the earth back to it's rightful position in the Earth around him. "Looks like I learn fast, Master Ishwa." She commented, seeing him with a very frustrated look. She wondered how much Mana had seen with her earthbending, or if it had been too fast for her to catch. She walked over to her and untied the blindfold. "So what did you think, sis? Am I a good earthbender or what?" She noticed that Mana had a very distant look on her face.
"It was good. I'll never get it that fast, but it was still good." She said with a monotone. Jun wondered why she was being like this. So what if she had finally been good at something, more than her? She was always good at making friends and learning airbending faster, so now that Jun was good at this she was just going to be indifferent? She couldn't stand it.
"Why don't you just keep sulking over here then, I'll be doing some more Earthbending without you." Jun turned around moodily, as she prepared to duel with Ishwa again.
"Calm down, young Avatar. Master needs a little break after that one..I haven't had someone that lively fight me in a while." He stated to her, rubbing his back. He started hobbling back in to his hut when Jun dashed after him, not wanting to give up so easily.
"Wait, sir! Please, I need to learn this and learn it fast. We need to fulfill our destiny as Avatar and master all four elements on time. It is important for the war!" She pleaded, being just a little over dramatic about it. She already had a good head start in the learning by her natural advantage, but now she was pushing her old Master a little too much.
He turned to her, placed a hand on her shoulder, and stated, "My dear, I don't think we should continue our lessons like this. I think now is the time for you two to strike out and see what the Fire Nation has done to our country, and what you can do now with what you know. When you are more level-headed I will show you more advanced earthbending practices. Until then, you should start your journey together as the Avatar Twins." The old man bowed low to them and then returned to his cabin, leaving Mana and Jun a little dumbstruck.
"But I hardly learned anything, that's not fair! Jun, why do you always have to ruin everything?" Mana growled, stalking off towards where they had kept Taka.
"I do NOT ruin everything!" Jun shouted after her, walking briskly to catch up before they reached Taka. The sky bison was busy chewing some grass, and had already eaten all the hay that they had put out for her. Jun and Mana both hugged the beast before nimbly climbing atop her. Jun sighed heavily, holding the reins loosely. "So where to now?" She asked with a dissatisfied tone to her sister. She was feeling very responsible for their getting kicked out early. The other airbenders wouldn't be pleased.