Umikei and Ila had set up camp late in the afternoon after a hard day travelling. They were surprisingly exhausted, and made camp near a large lake. The earlier stop was so that Umikei could practice some waterbending, and have a look at that scroll he was given. Some of the moves looked fairly advanced, so he wanted to try something slightly easier first. Waterbenders have the ability to change water's state, and can therefore take water from many places one might not expect. Although taking water from strange places was a little out of his league, he wanted to try changing water's state anyway. He'd spent a lot of time manipulating water at home, and could move reasonable amounts of water with ease. He bended a small amount of water from the lake and concentrated on it. He concentrated on the feel of the water, its form and its state. Taking in his power, he slowly but surely froze the water, creating a ball of ice. Umikei laughed as he spun the ball around
"Look, Ila! I did it! I froze the water!" he shouted happily. Ila was lying on a rock whilst tossing her sword about. She sat up and watched him bend the newly frozen water
"Brilliant! But have you used it?"
"What do you mean?"
"Have you used it? You know, in combat?" she asked
"Um, no, I haven't. I haven't really thought about it"
"Well, then; let's give it a shot!" she said confidently
"What? You mean now?!" Umikei asked hesitantly "I-I don't know how to fight!"
"Well, now's a time to learn" Ila replied jumping down from the rock. She breathed deeply and pulled herself into a fighting stance, sword at the ready. "Now, hit me." Umikei uncertainly pulled a large amount of water from the lake, and sent it at Ila. She easily dodged it, and frowned. "Come on, is that the best you can do?!" Spurred on, Umikei tried a different approach; he sent a stream of water along the floor and froze it along the way. Ila back flipped away from the stream and onto the rock, frowning again.
"This isn't working; you're not going to be able to fight anyone like this. Have you had a look at the scroll you're dad gave you?" Umikei pulled out the scroll and had a look at it
"No, I haven't had the chance to." He unrolled the scroll and had a look at the moves displayed. The first one seemed to portray a whip or a lash; it seemed simple enough, so Umikei placed it on a rock near the lake and began practicing.
Umikei was having trouble performing the whip. For some reason, all his attempts either backfired or failed altogether. He'd no real knowledge of waterbending up until now, and had an Earth Kingdom mind set; transitioning to a waterbender wasn't going to be easy. He was still stiff and tough, whereas he needed to fluid and light. He didn't know that though, and hadn't someone to tell him so.
"Why?! Can't?! I?! Get?! This?! Right?!" he shouted throwing his water away in rage. Ila quickly sat up, she had been napping for most of the day and was woken quickly by his shouting
"Why don't you take a break and get some rest, huh? You can learn anything when you're tired, and you haven't even eaten yet!" she replied whilst stretching
"No eating until I've mastered this move!"
"You're not going to master it in a day, and you've only just started! Just get a bite to eat and get back to it later." Umikei sighed and slumped back to the campfire. Ila had set up camp and got a fire going (something she demanded he'd make up for) and got some of the supplies prepared for the dinner.
"Umi, do you mind getting me some water for the fire?" Ila asked. She had deliberately left the water, letting her little Umi show off his new waterbending.
"Sure!" Umikei took a deep breath and pulled some water from the lake. He'd never moved water to such a small place, and struggled with it slightly. As he bought the water into the pot, it began to ripple and struggle against his control. Eventually, he dropped the water… onto the fire.
"UMI!" Ila screamed
After restarting the fire and eating dinner (and surviving Ila's wrath), Umikei went back to practicing. As he did so Ila went to exploring some of the area. They were near a forest, and Ila had been forbidden by Umi to go in. He was busy practicing though, so she ducked into the forest to have a look and what there was. After sifting through sights of cute animals and dark caves, Ila came upon a dreaded sight: a Fire nation patrol. Four of them, firebenders it seemed, and they were just standing there as if they were waiting; but for what? Ila gasped as someone grabbed her from behind
"Hello, little girl." The man said. He was clearly the captain, and was clearly ambushing her
"OK, five firebenders…" she said sarcastically. The captain pushed her to the ground, directly into the middle of the clearing where the firebenders were. They made firebending stances, and there was no way out. Ila readied her sword anyway, almost for self-esteem, and kept an eye on them.
"Why do you bother, you're trapped little girl" the captain said smugly
"Don't call me a little girl!" Ila snapped back
"Yes you are, and you're all alone."
"Not all alone!"
The firebenders spun around to see a teenager dressed in Earth Kingdom clothes, bending some water by his side.
"Umi! You're late!" Ila shouted
"Sorry, Ila. Won't happen again!" Umikei said
"What's this? A waterbender dressed in Earth Kingdom outfitting? How strange…"
"You got that right, but it doesn't change anything. You're going to regret touching Ila." Umikei got himself into a more stable form and prepared for a fight. The firebending captain smiled grinned confidently and bended some fire around himself.
"Ok, Umi; just keep an eye on him." Umikei thought to himself. The firebender set a stream of fire straight at Umikei, who deftly dodged it and returned a shot of the water. The firebender braced himself against the water, but was pushed back anyway. His subordinates readied themselves to join in, but the captain stopped them; he wanted Umikei to himself. Ila took this moment of distraction to strike, easily incapacitating two of her guards. The remaining two spun around and attacked her with firebending. She dodged them both and attacked one of the benders, knocking him out with her sword hilt. His ally pulled out his own sword, brandishing it menacingly, as Ila smiled. The firebending captain continued his attacks on Umikei, who was becoming tired dodging his relentless attacks. He wasn't a fighter, and was losing his speed. Umikei knew this, and that he had to end the fight quickly otherwise he wouldn't be the one ending it. Umikei dodged another one of the captain's attacks and fell back as another was sent. Reaching desperation, Umikei bent his water and sent it towards the captain. To his shock and delight, the water formed a whip, and lashed out at the captain.
"Umi! You did it!" Ila shouted. Umikei smiled and continued his assault, whipping the captain until he was on his knees. He then bent a large amount of water around his body and froze it, incapacitating him totally. Umikei fell to the ground, exhausted. He'd never taken part in a fight before, and especially not with firebenders. Ila quickly dispatched the bender and then checked that all the men were down, and then went over to Umi. He looked tired, very tired. She'd forgotten that her little Umi had never seen a fight, after all he just took out a firebending captain all on his own. She always had to look out for him when they were in Ba Sing Se, but it seemed that was about to change.
Ila dragged the unconscious Umikei to their campsite. It was evening now, and they both needed some rest. Umikei slowly came around, and sat up.
"How did I do?" he said slowly. Ila giggled slightly, and then spoke:
"You did great, Umi" she said quietly, she then went back to her fire "You did great." Umikei watched her for a few seconds, and then lay his head down to rest. As she heard him fall asleep, Ila turned around to check if he was definitely asleep. She sighed worryingly; they had to get to the North Pole, but had no idea how to get there, or if they even could! They couldn't walk to the North Pole, especially with the Fire Nation breathing down their necks the whole time. Ila looked over to her sword, and to the scroll; would it be enough? Ila put her worries to rest for a while; she couldn't let Umi lose hope, to lose his drive. He'd spent his whole life ridiculed for not being a bender, for not living for to his father's legacy, and now he finally could. It was his chance to make his father proud, or at least make himself proud. She lay down on her sleeping mat and watched the stars for a moment, before closing her eyes.
"Good night, Umi."
Ila was awoken by an excited Umi.
"C'mon Ila! We need to get up early if we're going to get to the North Pole before Summer!" he cried happily. Ila promptly slapped Umi for waking her up so early, and then grumpily woke herself up. It was about an hour after dawn and no one is awake at this time.
"Umi! Are you insane?! It's basically dawn!" she snapped
"Exactly! Now we can get an even better start of getting to the Northern Water Tribe!"
"Umi. We're getting to the North Pole, I promise, but we'll get there in our own time!" Ila sighed whilst packing up her sleeping bag "Look, I know you're excited - really, I do – but we need rest if we're going to get to the North Pole at all." Umi paused, and slouched a little
"You're right… You always are…" he said sadly. Umi sighed and leant on a nearby rock. Ila placed her hand on his shoulder
"We'll get there. I promise." Umi smiled and sat back up.
"OK, let's get going."
Umikei and Ila continued travelling west, only stopping every once in a while to drink and eat. The landscape was mostly country or rock formations, and there weren't many settlements. Umikei wondered if there were any around the Earth Kingdom. All he ever knew was of Ba Sing Se and its walls, and even then that wasn't much. Ila had much more knowledge of the surrounding world, and had visited some of it; or a least, that's what she told everyone. Umikei shook some of his coins around, and spoke to Ila:
"I don't think we'll ever be able to use these. There hasn't been a town or city in miles!" he laughed
"We're still pretty close to Ba Sing Se, remember? Be patient, we'll find a town soon!" she confirmed confidently. They continued walking onward, and almost as if by magic a small town formed in the distance.
"Well what do you know! I guess you were right!" Umikei said happily
"Well, yeah, but I didn't think it would be so soon!" Ila said, slightly bemused. They quickened their pace and arrived in the town.
It was a quaint little place, with little to behold or of any notice. The people were friendly and warm-welcoming, and greeted the two travellers happily. Umikei and Ila spent a while shopping and replenishing supplies, and eventually decided on spending the night there. The village was named Kueiville, which Umikei spent no time pulling apart.
"Kueiville?! Are you serious?!" he said in awe
"Yes, of course!" a passer-by said
"Kueiville. As in Kueiville, the Earth King?"
"Yes! Kuei is our great and illustrious leader, and we named our village from him in respect!" Ila almost literally pulled Umikei away before he went for the passer by, and scolded him for it.
"Umi! You can't moan at people because of how they named their village!" she said angrily "We're not getting a hotel room if you keep this up!"
"OK, OK!" he snapped. They both laughed and continued their search, eventually settling on a small hotel in the north of the village. They bought a room and settled down, leaving their things in favour of exploring the town a little. Kueiville was hardly a tourist destination, with little shops and little attractions. Umikei and Ila had a look anyway, thinking that maybe they'd find something they needed. The market mostly sold groceries and pottery, with the occasional import from around the Earth Kingdom, and sadly nothing of real interest. The only thing that caught their eye was a weapons shop, which Ila immediately fell in love with.
Umikei turned to speak to Ila, and instead saw her drooling over an antique sword.
"Umi! Look at this! It's beautiful!" she said loudly
"Yes, it is, but we can't afford it, OK? We need money for food and proper supplies, not antiquities." Umikei answered calmly
"But I am a swordfighter, and I need the best weapons if I'm going to protect you!" Ila set, clasping her hands as if begging "Please, please, please, please, please!" she begged
"No! Now let's go!" Umikei practically dragged her from the store, as she moaned and cried. She spent the majority of the day in a strop because of it, and was giving Umikei the silent treatment in protest.
"Are you speaking yet?" Umikei said, toying with her. She replied by crossing her arms and huffing "You're going to have to speak eventually, you know. You can't play a tantrum forever!" She still continued her strike, turning her head away as well. Umikei smirked and continued walking. All was well and good until the town was attacked…
Umikei and Ila were returning to their hotel room when they saw a group of people running past. They looked terrified, and were constantly looking back and stumbling. Umikei caught one and spoke:
"What's happening? Why are you running?" The villager was breathing heavily and in a cold sweat
"The-the Fire Nation! They're here!" Umikei let the villager go and looked towards the gate. There were five firebenders there, burning the buildings as they went. Ila gasped
"It's him! The captain from the forest!" she said in shock. It seemed they had come back for revenge, or maybe this was just pure coincidence! Whether it was the latter or not, they weren't going to let them get away with it.
"C'mon Umi! We've got to help the townspeople." She cried, grabbing his arm and pulling him to the firebenders.
"So, it's the little girl and his waterbender sidekick." The captain said mockingly; he bore a cut over his eye, a memory of his fight with Umikei.
"Sidekick?! Are you kidding me?!" Umikei shouted as Ila giggled. Angrily, Umikei bent a large amount of water from a nearby well, and split it, knocking off two of the firebenders. He then froze the water, already knocking out them out. The captain looked worried, but quickly drove out his fear and ran, attempting to lose himself in the town.
"Ila, go after him. I'll take care of these two, go!" Umikei shouted, bending some water in front of him
"Sure thing, Umi!" Ila replied, pulling out her sword and following him. Umikei watched her leave, and then moved his attention onto the firebenders. They both bended fire, and sent it flying towards Umikei. He quickly raised a shield of water to block it, and returned a torrent of water. They both flipped out of the way, clearly learning from the last fight. They both lashed out of kick, shooting a single line of fire in Umikei's direction. Umikei ducked whilst lifting his water above himself, blocking the heat and some of the fire. He hit the ground hard, and was slightly winded as a result.
"They've gotten better. I need to keep my guard up if I'm going to stand a chance!" Umikei thought. He pushed himself back up and created another shield. His waterbending was still very basic, so creating a shield and then attacking is his only real tactic at the moment. The parade of fire continued, and his agile dodging and blocking was working well. He was realising that it wasn't doing any damage, and that he needed to do something quickly. An idea suddenly appeared in his head; firebenders struggled firebending when cold or wet, and a waterbender could use that to their advantage. He dodged another attack and then bent a large amount of water above the firebenders, he concentrated hard, and turned the water into snow. He dropped it on the firebenders and then condensed it around their ankles. Umikei took this time to strike, running towards the firebenders and quickly punching one of them. He reeled back in pain, forgetting it was metal helmets. Instead, he shot a blast of water at them, creating the equivalent force of a right hook. The firebenders fell to the ground as Umikei released control of the water. He relaxed and caught his breath, before running after Ila.
Ila met the captain in the town centre, and readied her sword. Firebenders may be evil, but they've a shocking sense of honour, which often puts them at a disadvantage. He'd refuse to let his 'honour' be damaged by defeating a non-bender girl with bending. He pulled out his dao sword, and readied a fighting stance. They circled each other menacingly, waiting for someone to strike. The captain was bored of waiting, and rushed at her. Ila blocked his strike, and butted him with her sword hilt. He stumbled back, but regained his composure quickly. It was Ila's turn to strike now, and she did so mercilessly. The captain hadn't expected a little girl to be such a strong fighter, and was shocked by her attacks. He was knocked to the floor, and Ila pointed her sword at his neck to signify his loss.
"It's over. The little girl won." As Ila was about to finish him off, a chunk of ice did it for her. Ila spun around to see Umi throwing a rock about.
"Hey Ila, am I late?" he said. Ila grinned, and sheathed her sword.
"You could of left him for me. Now I have to say that you knocked him out!" she laughed. The two friends returned to their hotel for a round of applause. They awkwardly accepted their thanks, and ran up to their room quickly. They quickly fell asleep, exhausted by the events of the day.
