Terumi sat in the water with her hands making intricate patterns on the surface. Her lips trembled. She couldn't do it. She couldn't compete. The most untalented bender was chosen. She couldn't bend well and her teachers weren't helping. Was she really that bad?
She had been sitting there for a while. Being the Avatar was something she didn't want. Why couldn't she trade with Nanuq? Nanuq was a great girl, she was level-headed and intelligent for someone of only 16 years. Terumi was just a short kid that couldn't pay attention for longer than 20 minutes before getting bored.
The new avatar stared at her reflection in the cold water. The same chubby child's face, the same icy eyes, same tangled mass of dark brown curls. Why didn't she look mature and proper like Nanuq? Nanuq had beautiful hair and eyes the color of water. She was pretty as well.
Her image was distorted with a splash of water. She sighed. She really needed to stop whinging. She stood to go back to her hut, when suddenly a footstep interrupted her.
"Who's there?" Terumi asked immediately. A sudden ruffle came with a grunt. Out of a child's igloo- one someone would play in- stepped Nanuq. Her face was calm as usual.
"Just me." Her voice was expressionless. "I was looking for Nukka. What are you doing out this late, Avatar Terumi?"
"Don't call me that, I'm still just Terumi." She stated quickly. She and Nanuq were friends and it felt weird to have your friends address you as if you were suddenly extra important. "And I was just going in. You should too, I saw Nukka run in about an hour ago."
Nanuq nodded and they began to trek back to the camp. The snow crunched under their furry boots. Terumi couldn't help but notice how the older girl walked with such elegance, the elegance of a water-bender, when she didn't even have the power to bend anyway. You could easily confuse who was the Avatar between them.
Walking to the camp was surprisingly short and relatively quick. They both entered the dining hall and sat in their respective places.
The dining hall was always the favorite place of Terumi's. She loved to eat and she was good at it too. She could easily stuff herself. One time, she filled herself up so much, she threw up and was ill for the rest of the day. She remembered the exact day.
Kerrif, the healer who was currently sitting far down the table, had been by her side all day and Sufik, the boy she liked who was older than her by two years was laughing outside the tent, calling her silly, and immature.
Days like that were the reasons Terumi had no chance at doing well being the avatar. She was embarrassing and immature.
She shook herself out of her thoughts and stared at her food. Sea prune stew. Hopefully it there was more. Her bowl was tiny and she could eat triple the amount that filled it.
In a matter of ten minutes, she was finished. She tapped her mother, Yiu, trying to get her attention. Yiu ignored her, choosing to continue talking to Mikki, Nanuq and Nukka's mother. Terumi tapped harder, wondering why her mother was ignoring her so deliberately.
Not nearly soon enough did she respond, because Terumi grew frustrated and yelled her mother's name in an effort to gain her mother's attention. Of course at that moment, her mother turned around and she found herself yelling in Yiu's face. Her face twisted in a horrified way. She tried to apologize but her mother had enough.
"Go! NOW!" Thundered Yiu at her 13 year old daughter. Terumi stared at the ground and walked out of the room. Her stomach hurt. She could hear everyone laughing, making fun of her, when all she wanted was seconds.
She ran to the icy waters yet again, not even paying attention to the fact that she was being followed.
"Terumi, stop running!" Yelled Nanuq. Her face was flushed from running after the thinner girl. Terumi turned on her heel to face Nanuq, square in the eyes.
"What do you want?" She asked rather snottily. Though, she was just trying to save face, for she was sure her face was wet with tears. What an Avatar-ly thing to do. Cry at someone simply yelling at her. She really was not fit for the job.
"Calm down Terumi! She didn't try to be mean, she just got distracted. She's not that mad. Just calm down! We can go back in an-" Nanuq tried to finish her sentence, but her eye was caught by something glinting in the pale moonlight by the water's edge. A… a boat? Yes, it was a metal boat.
Nanuq approached the boat with caution.
"Who's boat is this?" Yelled out Terumi without thinking. Nanuq whipped around to reprimand but was caught first. A tan hand wrapped over her mouth.
"Hello, Avatar, I see you and your friend wanted to see who owned the boat. Well, it's mine. And if you're a couple of good little girls, you'll get on it before I have to make you." A raspy voice choked out these words. Nanuq and Terumi froze in fear.